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Author	Topic: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara -- sequel teaser up 5/23
Knight_Aragorn Registered: Jun '03	Date Posted: 4/12/05 6:38pm Subject: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara -- sequel teaser up 5/23 - Date Edited: 5/23/05 6:15pm (13 edits total) Edited By: Knight_Aragorn
	Title: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore Author: Knight_Aragorn Category: Dark AU, angst, romance Genre: Short-ish? story Disclaimer: Star Wars isn't mine, and I make no profit, etc. Summary: What does love become? A/N: This is kind of very loosely inspired by Mara's nightmare in Union and a curiosity about whether a full-blown Sith could love, and what the effect might be. PLEASE NOTE: This story will be dark. Lots of Sithly-ness and angst, possibly even character deaths -- all the really fun stuff. If you don't like that, it's not for you. Otherwise, enjoy! YOUR EYES AREN'T BLUE ANYMORE Cover art by academygrad88 is here. PART I By Knight_Aragorn ======= Luke Skywalker stared through the darkened window. Reflected in the glass was the opulence of his spacious bedchamber, rich colours shadowed and distorted in reflection. Winds churned darkly outside. “Your eyes aren’t blue anymore.” The words came from behind, spoken with typical flatness – incongruous from such soft lips. He turned, and was momentarily diverted. Reclined in the centre of the wide bed, she was tousled and magnificent. Fire-shaded hair tumbled wildly over her shoulders, down the back of her trailing robe; ruby-red silk sheets tangled in disarray around her pale legs. He frowned faintly, eyes returning to her face. “What?” She lifted her chin, her gaze hooded and cold. “Your eyes,” she repeated distinctly, each word coated with affluence under her rich Court accent, “aren’t blue anymore.” He turned back to the darkened window. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She said nothing. After a moment, he flicked a glance back at her. Wordlessly, she rose, the silken tails of the robe slipping down around her legs as she crossed to the wide dresser. She selected something from the gleaming objects strewn across its polished surface and walked back to him. Her eyes were on his all the way. She had never been shy about holding his gaze; sometimes, in certain circumstances, she insisted on it. Tonight, for instance, earlier – her fingers had twisted painfully in his hair, forcing his head down until his eyes met her blazing stare. Her lips had curled into a snarl – demanding, resisting, revelling – until he met them with his own and made softness from fury. The stares were a challenge, he recognised. And he relished in it. The blatant confrontation in her emerald gaze had been one of the first things about her to entice him. Those eyes were very faintly sardonic now, as she held out the object from the dresser. He narrowed his own eyes and took the object from her hand with more force than was necessary. She tilted her chin, eyebrows raised, and crossed her arms over the loosely-bound silk of her robe. He looked down. It was a small hand-mirror – a delicate, gaudy thing, seeming ungainly in his hand. He flicked a glance at her, and she said, “Look.” He lifted the mirror. The man that looked back at him was in his twenties, with light-brown hair and pale skin, of fair-to-middling looks. The long white scar marking his left cheek – faded, but still noticeable – may have added or detracted from that appeal, depending on the preferences of whoever was looking. The reflection’s eyebrows drew together, lips twisting. “The eyes.” She spoke softly, her honey-toned voice neutral. Obediently, his gaze flicked to the eyes in the mirror. Yes, blue. Blue like the sky he barely remembered, gleaming over sparkling sands. “Look closer,” she said, her voice even lower now. He flicked a glance at her carefully flat eyes; then, his brow furrowed in confusion and irritation, he returned his gaze to the blank blue ones in the mirror. After a moment, his frown deepened. He brought the mirror closer, stared for a moment, blinked, and glanced at her again, surprised and discomforted. “Like his,” she said. She met his eyes, her own deep in a face utterly still. He turned his gaze back to the mirror, staring into the blue orbs reflected there. The blue orbs, and the thin ribbons of yellow that spiked outwards from the dark centre, sickly-yellow fingers splayed through pale blue. His eyes returned to hers. She watched him, her face blank; only the almost-imperceptible wideness of her eyes broke the illusion. He glanced down. The amber-tainted eyes stared back at him for a moment, then narrowed with disgust. His fingers curled tightly around the elegant gold handle of the mirror, as though it were a tender throat whose breath his hand could purloin. He lifted it high; brought it down on the window frame as hard as he could. The glass shattered, tinkling shards of inescapable truth raining down around his feet. She did not move. He flicked the empty mirror-frame away. “It means nothing,” he said flatly, and turned back the window. In the distorted, colour-leeched reflection, he watched as she looked at him. Her face showed nothing; she was silent, voiceless. Then she turned and walked to the bed, moving with nary a whisper of sound. She lay down, stared at the ceiling. He turned the lights off eventually and came to bed. He knew from her breathing she was awake, but she lay on her back, motionless as a corpse. He rolled away from her, staring sightlessly into the darkness. The space between them was icily cold. She left him the next day. Terrified by the prospect of being without her, he begged on his knees for her to stay. Pleaded with her, apologised, touched her, whispered. Clung to her like she was life support, and he was drowning. “Save me,” he begged. “Mara, I need you. I need you to save me from this. You can’t leave me here alone.” “Don’t do this,” she told him, with a strange anger. “Get up. Get off your knees.” “Save me from the shadow,” he whispered, fingers twisting desperately into the soft fabric of her tunic. “Save me, Mara.” “Get up, damn you!” she snarled, savagely thrusting him away. “Stop begging!” “Please,” he said. “Please, don’t go.” She turned away from him, bowing her head, pushing back her flame-shaded hair with slender fingers. She bent, picked up her bag. His fists curled. He surged to his feet, blocking the doorway. His cloak spilled down behind him, pooling darkness at his feet. “I won’t let you!” he snarled. She turned back, bag in hand. Met his eyes calmly. Her green orbs were clear, clear and sparkling. Shimmering. Relentless. “Yes,” she said softly, “you will.” Her eyes held him; her truth gutted him. He closed his eyes, slowly turning from that burning gaze. He stepped aside. Luke Skywalker stood, head bowed, as his soul walked out the door. Palpatine was not pleased. “I perpetuated this union with an aim to forging cohesion in my Court,” he said, the words sharp over blood-drained lips. “Jade was my most loyal servant. I did not give her to you lightly, Vespasian.” “My lord,” Luke said, his eyes on the dull metal floor. “I certainly did not expect you to turn my devoted Hand into a deserter!” the Emperor continued, irritation plain in his voice. “A remarkable feat, Lord Vespasian, even for you. Your appetites must exceed even their quite imposing repute.” “My lord.” His voice was flat. It was easier that way, he’d found. Be still, be dead, don’t feel and it won’t hurt. Yellow eyes turned on him. “Is that all you are going to say, my apprentice?” The Emperor’s voice was soft. Luke turned his eyes away from that debasing gaze, the gaze that plumbed him without mercy, without dignity. He said nothing. “I see,” Palpatine said slowly, after a time. He was silent for a moment, and then said, “Perhaps this is for the best. She has proved more of a… distraction, than I had foreseen.” He nodded, his gaze never wavering in sharpness or intensity. “Yes, my apprentice. She is better away from you. Her influence is a disturbance that you do not need.” Luke inclined his head; there was nothing else to do. Inevitability smothered him like turgid water, closing over his head, forever sealing him to the river and its cloying depths. Dooming him to die there, choking on heavy riverbed silt that filled his mouth with blackness as he sank further into the hungry mud. Day by day, he succumbed to the river, and slowly, inexorably, he was consumed. He sought her, in the years that followed, with a desperation that expanded as his darkness grew more profound. He hunted her without relenting, using every spare moment to trawl through realms of records and information on the HoloNet and in Imperial files. He visited worlds he thought she might be drawn to, walking alone through the darkened streets as the wind howled around him in icy desolation. His eyes moved constantly, scanning shadowed faces as he walked: the huddled and the wasted, hunched in dirty gutters; the flagrantly gaudy, sweeping past in their glittering groundcars; the flat-eyed women on the street-corners, selling their dignity to the coldness of night. None of the faces were hers. But he continued his search. While Palpatine lived, he kept his activities secret, restricted by a fetid yellow gaze that saw too much. His master wouldn’t understand; would see it as weakness. Perhaps it was, but he did not care. Nothing mattered like she did. It was a hunger, an aching need, a fire blazing in his veins. It would not stop until he found her. When he killed Palpatine, finally, and became Emperor himself, there was no longer any need for concealment. So he discarded all pretence at delicacy, sending vast fleets to the systems where the data-trails from years before had petered so gallingly to nothing. Officials who previously could only be bribed and threatened in secrecy could now be ordered by Imperial decree. Her details were dispersed to every soldier in the fleet. He offered a vast reward. Still, she evaded him. All rumours were lies; all trails faded into the emptiness between the stars. She slipped from his fingers like dust in the wind, as elusive in absence as she had been in presence. As well try to seize love, or beauty, or trust, between the palms of his hands, he thought to himself in moments of deep and staggeringly painful depression. But his hands were gloved, now, and his eyes were blue no longer. He would find her, would capture her and gather her and make her his. Forever. At night, he dreamt of her. She danced in his dreams, all twirling skirts and pale smooth skin, waves of wild flame-touched hair. Her green eyes blazed into his, down into his soul, eternally unafraid. Daring him near. But however far or fast he moved, she remained just beyond reach. Only the edge of her gauze skirts ever brushed his fingertips, and the wisping softness of that momentary contact tormented him endlessly. Asleep in his wide bed, he twisted and turned, thrashing between silken sheets. “Mara,” he whispered into the darkness, over and over. “Mara. Save me. Please save me.” Sometimes he spat the words; other times he sobbed them. But she never did. He woke burning for her, in the gloom. Feedback would be appreciated... -----signature----- Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. Pieces of Air (ESB short story, complete) - http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27283200/p1
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djcati Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 4/12/05 6:48pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	low awe-filled whistle I really like it. I don't think I've read anything quite like this before, and it's very good, very interesting. Dark!Luke... Yes, I like it, a lot. -----signature----- http://admiraljello.livejournal.com/4778.html ----- "I have an A-wing on my laptop!" Yub yub, Commander!
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Jedi_BMK Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 4/12/05 6:48pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Great job so far. I love the way you showed Luke's descent into the dark through his eyes. It was rather creepy to visualize the mixture of amber and blue, but quite telling as well. He was obviously teetering on the brink. At least he recognizes on some level that he can be saved. It's good to hear that he is redeemable, even if Dark Luke can be rather fun to read. Look forward to more. There is more, right? -----signature----- Destiny of the Skywalkers II: Splintered Paths OT AU (L/M H/L A/P) http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28042042/
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obaona Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 4/12/05 6:49pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst - Date Edited: 4/12/05 6:52pm (1 edits total) Edited By: obaona
	Okay, I'll try to be coherent. That image, of Luke's eyes no longer being blue ... whoa. Powerful. I hadn't considered that would eventually happen to a dark Luke, that his eyes would yellow as Palpatine's did. And then Mara leaving him, and his continuing obsession with her - I suppose it looks like he's obsessed with things he can't have as a Sith, in the dark side. Interesting, that. Kind of indicating that maybe he isn't entirely lost ... just mostly. Of course, even if that is the case, that doesn't mean he'll ever turn back to the light. Fantastic, Knight_Aragorn. I hope you know that whenever I see you've posted something new, I hop to it immediately! -----signature----- atty is the bestest! MS Word is designed by sadists with masochists in mind. - teh atty
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Leia Registered: Aug '98	Date Posted: 4/12/05 7:38pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Ooh, darkness. Pretty. Splendid piece, Knight_Aragorn. Like oba, I'd never considered his eyes changing. Two things I liked a lot: 1. that he never found her (or at least, thus far) 2. the total flatness to Mara--it really interested me Two things I did not expect: 1. She left him the next day. 2. he begged on his knees for her to stay...“Save me,” he begged. “Mara, I need you. I need you to save me from this. You can’t leave me here alone.” Very different. I much appreciate that. -----signature----- Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. (Roald Dahl)
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Jedi_Scooch Registered: Nov '01	Date Posted: 4/12/05 8:00pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Wow, that was amazing! Spurred a longtime lurker to post. I agree with oba - the image of Luke's yellow eyes is quite powerful. I love seeing Dark Luke. Normally, he is too often portrayed as such naive sweetness and light, that I find such stark differences so intriguing. Might there still be some good in him?? He asks Mara to save him, but does he really want to be saved. I see some parallels with Anakin. I am interested to see where you go with this. Keep up the good work!
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Knight_Aragorn Registered: Jun '03	Date Posted: 4/12/05 8:01pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst - Date Edited: 4/12/05 8:14pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Knight_Aragorn
	Maybe I should mention that there will be more - I don't know if that was very clear in the post. It was originally going to be a viggie but kind of... grew... djcati: Thank you! Yep, very dark Luke. I thought I should warn people because it's going to get pretty grim. I like my dark!Lukes dark. I'm hoping that there are other people who share my twisty evil!Luke tendencies... Jedi_BMK: Thanks! But note that it wasn't Luke that saw the amber in the blue but Mara? And that he flatly refused to acknowledge it? If he had reacted differently, maybe she would have as well... Yep, there's more. obaona: Coherent is good. The yellow eyes being a Sith characteristic wasn't something that I'd considered either until recently... looks around for anti-spoiler patrols Won't say more than that. And yes, Luke's obsession with Mara is interesting. It's great to hear you enjoy my fics. Thank you! Leia: Ooh, darkness. Pretty. Gotta love that angst. Interesting that Mara's flatness struck you. She and Luke and very much a product of their circumstances, here. Not as you might expect them to be... Very different. sighs It gets weirder. This one kind of spun out of control... so much for my one-shot dark!Luke vignette. Thank you! Edit: Jedi_Scooch: Thank you for posting! I like dark Luke too. I think that there's more potential for darkness in him than what's usually portrayed. And as for him begging Mara to save him -- well, you'll see. But it's not what it seems. He is similar to Anakin in a number of ways, but also very different. Hopefully that'll come out as well. Good to have you reading! -----signature----- Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. Pieces of Air (ESB short story, complete) - http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27283200/p1
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Mirax-Jade Registered: Mar '03	Date Posted: 4/12/05 8:11pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Oh wow. Just...wow. That's all I can think right now is: WOW! I can't wait for more. -----signature----- www.livejournal.com/users/wild_n_kayzie be still my heart, this could be a brand new start, with you www.milliways-bar.livejournal.com
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Ackyuna Registered: Oct '04	Date Posted: 4/12/05 8:23pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Nice.... need...more! It's so... good! -----signature----- Check my Bio for my Fan Fic links!
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LadyPadme Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Sep '02	Date Posted: 4/12/05 8:30pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Ahhh...the one that got away... Haunting and lovely! I love that you didn't let him find her and left us wondering what happened to her in the end. Great viggie! -----signature----- Crest MD Naimé Evil Twin of Gabri_Jade When a baby smiles the world is happy VOTE OBAMA '08
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Jaina_Solo_15 Registered: Dec '02	Date Posted: 4/12/05 9:14pm Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Oooh, me likes! Dark and angsty and rich and wondeful. I can't wait to read more of this. It looks like a very interesting and wonderful story. -----signature----- Proud Dark Lady of the DLC
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Gabri_Jade Title: Fan Fiction Archive Editor Emeritus Registered: Nov '02	Date Posted: 4/13/05 12:29am Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst - Date Edited: 4/13/05 12:38am (1 edits total) Edited By: Gabri_Jade
	It's up! tackle hugs K_A Ah, Dark!Luke. is contented Magnificent. As always, your writing paints a wonderfully descriptive mental picture, and the characterization of both Luke and Mara is awesome. “Your eyes aren’t blue anymore.” Kind of interesting that Mara bothers to point this out to him. It requires a response of some sort, and Mara's attitude, muted though it was, seemed to indicate that she wanted to spur a change from him. How emotionally attached to him is she, then? Or was it nothing more than an attempt to escape the trap in which she found herself? Rhetorical questions both, since I'm sure that's something I'll find out in the course of the story. She lifted her chin, her gaze hooded and cold. “Your eyes,” she repeated distinctly, each word coated with affluence under her rich Court accent, “aren’t blue anymore.” Excellent description of Mara's aloofness, and I love the added detail of the Court accent she'd have to have. It's so very Mara to not give in when Luke brushes her off, too, and it seems even more in character that she'd do so as simply, silently, and effectively as she does. The stares were a challenge, he recognised. And he relished in it. The blatant confrontation in her emerald gaze had been one of the first things about her to entice him. This strikes me as very accurate. I can definitely see Luke thinking of Mara's silent challenges as enticing, especially a dark Luke. He turned his gaze back to the mirror, staring into the blue orbs reflected there. The blue orbs, and the thin ribbons of yellow that spiked outwards from the dark centre, sickly-yellow fingers splayed through pale blue. Ewwww! What a fantastic development, though. She left him the next day. That was unexpected. Terrified by the prospect of being without her, he begged on his knees for her to stay. Pleaded with her, apologised, touched her, whispered. Clung to her like she was life support, and he was drowning. “Save me,” he begged. “Mara, I need you. I need you to save me from this. You can’t leave me here alone.” That even more so! And interesting that Mara is made so angry by the sight of him begging. Another indication that she might care for him in some way? She turned back, bag in hand. Met his eyes calmly. Her green orbs were clear, clear and sparkling. Shimmering. Relentless. “Yes,” she said softly, “you will.” Oooh, look at that girl go. Love how Mara's eyes remain untainted, in contrast to Luke's own. Inevitability smothered him like turgid water, closing over his head, forever sealing him to the river and its cloying depths. Dooming him to die there, choking on heavy riverbed silt that filled his mouth with blackness as he sank further into the hungry mud. Day by day, he succumbed to the river, and slowly, inexorably, he was consumed. I just had to quote that, simply for its power. It's a truly fantastic description. At night, he dreamt of her. She danced in his dreams, all twirling skirts and pale smooth skin, waves of wild flame-touched hair. Her green eyes blazed into his, down into his soul, eternally unafraid. Daring him near. But however far or fast he moved, she remained just beyond reach. Only the edge of her gauze skirts ever brushed his fingertips, and the wisping softness of that momentary contact tormented him endlessly. This too! That's just beautiful. Wonderful start! I can't wait to see how this one goes. Edit: Typo. -----signature----- Evil Twin of LadyPadme This concept of "wuv" confuses and infuriates us! - Futurama All I can do is be me. Whoever that is. - Bob Dylan Serendipity (Leia-Mara vig) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/30178069 !!11!1eleventy
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RedGold Registered: Nov '04	Date Posted: 4/13/05 1:09am Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Argh! Why didn't she save him! knocks Mara over the head -----signature----- Legend... Recluse... Forgotten... Will one day return... http://www.starwarsfanfic.com
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DarthIshtar Title: Former CR Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 4/13/05 7:18am Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Very interesting. Quite the role-reversal. -----signature----- "I feel like a more down-to-earth Pink 5 when I'm writing Leah. Same attitude, less lip gloss." ~Me on how to get in the right mindset for Twilight fanfic.
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Jedi-Tiger-Lilly Registered: Mar '05	Date Posted: 4/13/05 7:20am Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Wow! That was amazing. Dark Luke is quite fascinating, isn't he? Especially the way you've written him. -----signature----- "The Jedi travel to the stars; and wait; and hope, with a candle in the window." Master Yoda - Dark Rendezvous Newborn Empire http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/19545501/?0
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VaderLVR64 Title: Fan Fic Manager in Combat Boots Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 4/13/05 7:28am Subject: RE: Your Eyes Aren't Blue Anymore -- Dark Luke, Mara, major angst
	Whoa! That is the first thought that comes to mind. The second is wow! That was incredible! I can't wait to see what happens next, because if this is just the beginning I can't even imagine how amazing the next posts will be! “My lord.” His voice was flat. It was easier that way, he’d found. Be still, be dead, don’t feel and it won’t hurt. I ALMOST felt badly for him there. Almost. More very soon? Please??? -----signature----- The Night Shift http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/30112305 Legal, Schmegal http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28454351 Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 629 soldiers waiting for someone to care
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