main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Before - Legends "Legends of the Force"(epic drama with OCs), book 1, 32 Chapters, FIN

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by AzureAngel2, Jan 7, 2016.

  1. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Nice to see an update of this story, I like the different interaction between Isa and another Ankou, who's not as damaged as her or Lucien, and can see more shades of gray between them, and in the force. I hope he can make her understand some of it too, in time.

    Hmm, healing as only the houses of healing can provide ...[face_blush]
     
  2. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Tralala! Blame Jacqueline Carey for my inspiration here, DarthUncle! O:)
     
    DarthUncle likes this.
  3. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Marvelous duel and wisdom from Valiant. He says profound things she may not be ready to hear right now, but I think if allowed he could have a very good influence on her. Being a peacemaker and a healer.
     
    AzureAngel2 and DarthUncle like this.
  4. Cowgirl Jedi 1701

    Cowgirl Jedi 1701 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2016
    Yup. I see where this is going. ;) :p
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  5. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    She should listen to the nice Ankou and Lucien too
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  6. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Thanks for saying so! I hope that I can write on from there!



    Cowgirl Jedi 1701: One can never be sure about the path a cat chooses.




    earlybird-obi-wan: This is Isa we talk about! ;)

    Anyway, I am sorry for pausing this story once more, but my father´s death almost used up all the words I have.

    I need the ones that I have left at present to console several friends in need!

    And I need plenty of off-line time to be there for those family members, RL friends, dear acquaintances & colleagues of mine.
     
    DarthUncle likes this.
  7. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Okay, because DarthUncle begged me to give it another try and get back on track, I managed THIS - WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, Darth_Furio, Kahara, Darth Gangrenous, Chyntuck, earlybird-obi-wan & Cowgirl Jedi 1701 - but this might be it for a while:



    ********************************************************************

    There is but love and beauty in Valiants touch. The grace of my peoples moon goddess is wonderful. So is her daughter’s dedication to heal. I never thought such things were meant to be felt by a female Lidérc. It had been forbidden territory for me until now.

    But the anointed Force knight stays true to his word. There is no greed, no painful attachment involved. His gifts are freely given.

    The next morning I enter the dinner chamber with a big smile on my face and the Tjiehenet breed makes no comment about it. The able telepaths among them can be extremely discrete if they choose to be.

    Without nagging guilt in my heart I load up my plate and relish the food on it. I even eat things that I usually stay off.

    My new won energy lasts an entire months, before it wears off and when it does there is a discrete knock at my door around midnight.

    It is not love. But it is respect and duty. Which is not bad.

    Valiant is a beaton and the best thing that ever could have happened to a warrior woman like me.

    Months of joy turn into years of balance.

    One fine midwinter morning, shortly before the great celebrations themselves, Grianán is back.

    There had been no official announcement from her temple, not even a personal letter from her. Suddenly, she stands among us in the castle yard, when we are about to start the annual hunt for a deer.

    Her appearance startles the rancors and horses alike, even though she is nothing but a small figure in a humble cape. Its hood is drawn deep into her face, leaving it in shadows.

    ”Bonjour!” she greets me softly in my mother language. The sound of her voice is as lovely and sweet as it has always been.

    Mad with joy I glide off my protesting rancor mare and take Grianán into my arms. She feels awfully skinny and frail under my touch, but my special senses tell me that I deal with a mighty Force user. A woman that can crush me any time without any real effort.

    ”Ma petite!” I beam and tears of joy come running over my face.

    The gathered hunters watch us in silence, most of them sharing my great happiness of having Grianán back. She is kin to most of them and dear to all the servants.

    There are two pairs of eyes that are narrowed though. I do not like the way Draň and Luçien tax her. Tax her like a piece of cattle that has come up for auction.

    While I take the hood down that denies me to have a proper look at Grianán, I grant both men the most poisonous side glances that I can produce.

    Luçien, at least, has the decency to wince.

    But then I get, what really startles my step-brother.

    “What happened to your hair?”

    My throat is dry, despite all the wild dancing snow flakes around me.

    The bare skull in front of me is fully exposed to the harsh winter weather. I can barely resist to put the hood back in place.

    “And what has happened to your eyebrows? Why are they shaven off as well?”

    Grianán looks up into my face with a mixture of sadness and relief. “It is only hair. It will grow back.”

    “And what about those dreadful tattoos?” I inquire sharply. “Will they grow away, too?”

    She says nothing, just looked at me unblinking. There is nothing but peace in her eyes. The same kind of peace that Valiant usually offers me during our sessions. The Force itself has touched my baby girl. But to what extend?
     
  8. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Gorgeous & honest details about Valiant and Isabeau. Yay about Grianan returning; it is so wonderful she is loved as much. She has a lot to explain though about her hair/brows being removed.
     
    DarthUncle likes this.
  9. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Actually, I have more for you now. Behold tonight´s little miracle:


    Chapter 28:

    I am not pleased about the display of ruptured blood vessels around Grianán’s eyes. This corruption due to constant use of the dark side is too familiar to me. But compared to her belated mother, the nineteen year old seems stable and sane. I want to believe that her rendezvous with the darkness had not made any impact on her soul at all.

    “When I agreed on your training as a bean feasa it had never come into my mind that Mórag would cripple you beyond recognition.”

    Somehow I feel those tattoos are not the worst part of it. Underneath the dark blue ink patterns there is a more dreadful truth to behold.

    “You look like one of those Nightsisters of Dathomir,” I state crisply without even knowing why. “Or even worse like the little sister of Darth Maul.”

    A little smile blooms on the haggard face of my most favourite princess. “I missed your clairvoyance, Isa. With you around I would not have made the wrong choices.”

    Luçien grasps the reins of his horse tighter and I hear the leather of his gloves cracking. He always had speculated that the Force to be with me as well, but I never have given him any real evidence before. His clouded look reveals to me that he despises me as much as he pities me for my visions.

    My mother’s tribe had happily ignored my special gift and walked into their own death with grim pleasure.

    The citizens of the desert city are very suspicious about a clairvoyant like me. My kind is not supposed to be left alive. Yet healers are welcome, assassins with multiple Force skills, too.

    All of this is unmistakably written in his icy blue eyes.

    There is be no way that I can ever step on the soil of my home planet ever again. Even if my step-father dies, my punishment will linger on. The future is forbidden ground for my people and the past too delicate a matter.

    I hug Grianán even closer, knowing that her own special Force gift is not welcomed by Luçien either.

    Despite all the light and security that Èleos and his Force paladins have brought us, there are too many dirty secrets left within this family. As a seeker of the Holy Inquisition Grianán is trained to dig deep into unpleasant ground.

    I let out a long, hard sigh.

    The world is spinning around me, together with the snow flakes that are drifting around in the cloudy air.

    This is why her nun order has marked her. It is a clear signal for decent and incident Elves alike. The tattoos must tell them who she is, before she starts to question them.

    Unfortunately, the visual marks that the young woman bears have alerted her to her greatest enemy now.

    I will compose a letter to Her Holiness Mórag MagUhidir that I would have wished for more secrecy and caution on her part.

    ********************************************************************

    A male voice says her name with ardour and startles us all, “Grianán.”

    Narthex has appeared in the door frame of the servants quarters. He is leaning heavily on his wooden cane. His posture reminds me of somebody I have come to known well from the future.

    Age has not been kind to Narthex lately. He is sixty-six and looks ten winters older. We all worry for him. Even Luçien.

    Like Master Yoda the old valet will soon go to sleep and never wake up again.

    Narthex just had hold on for Grianán’s sake.

    “Grandfather!” she sniffs. Gently, she frees herself from my tense embrace and runs towards him. “I missed you so much.”

    ********************************************************************

    I watch Grianán and Narthex embrace one another. Seeing them re-united reminds me of the darkest day of the royal house. Of the smoking skyline of Polysýndeton.

    Quickly, I dismiss the painful pictures and concentrate on Narthex. If he is shocked about the outer appearance of his grand-child, he is too much of a gentleman to let it show. He covers her face with kisses, strokes the bald skull.

    Finally, he suggests, “Come inside, my child. It must have been a long journey for you from the temple. Especially with those bare feet of yours.”

    My eyes wander to the edge of her long travel cape. There is a pair of blue and unhealthy looking feet. My right hand curls up to a fist.

    What ever Mórag and her ghost like priestesses have been up to, they will answer to me. I am the official regent of this planet.

    *******************************************************************

    I do not join the hunting party. Instead, I follow Narthex and Grianán into the kitchen of the midwinter castle. Agathos joins us.

    Soon there is more kissing.

    We get seated at the large wooden table, that is meant for food preparation.The servants leave us with understanding smiles on their faces, even though some give Grianán startled looks.

    The last one to walk out on us is Norn, the chéf. But in her wake she leaves steaming tea mugs in front of us and fresh scones, accompanied by a bowl of cow butter and raspberry jam.

    “Are you sure you want black tea?” Narthex asks his grand-daughter carefully. “I can remember that hot chocolate was your favourite.”

    Grianán turns her head away and starts staring into the fire of a nearby oven. In the soft light her pale lips have a golden touch. “I should not. As Isa told me ages ago, it is not good for my Midi-chlorians.”

    “Nonsense. You have loved xocolatl in all possible forms since you were able to walk. I cannot imagine you without it.”

    Narthex heaves himself up and fetches a small cookery pot from the edge of the oven. He also reaches out for a porcelain mug that is hanging from a wooden stand with a lot of other mugs.

    “Have a sip!” he suggests once he has pulled his granddaughter some real chocolate.

    Grianán shudders, but bravely puts the mug to her lips. In one big gulp she swallows its content. In the aftermath her face glows slightly reddish.

    Once more I am reminded of Darth Maul, the vicious dark knight from the future, who had been in my mind earlier on. He will be the beginning of the end of the Jedi order. Whose end will my sweet angel bring? That of Luçien? Or Draň on whose activities I still cannot not put a finger on? Grianán might even be able to solve the mystery that surrounds the death of Gwenynen.

    While Narthex and Agathos smile at the young woman in unison, too happy to have her back after all these years of uncertainty, I take the time to exchange questioning look with her. Grianán replies with more blushing. To me she cannot lie.

    “How bad was it?” I say aloud.

    Light and shadow dance over her body, making her seem like a fairy tale creature. Even if she is with us in flesh, her mind remains so distant.

    “You really want to know, do you?” She closes her eyes as if she is in pain, a pain so deep it can never be described in simple words. “I cannot give you the details. There is an unbreakable vow. I have to obey.”

    Agathos wipes a tear away with his sleeve and Narthex lets out a loud sigh, that clenches my heart together.

    Grianán gets up from the bench, carefully pushing her mug away. “I think we all could do with a song. Perhaps you know it, father. And you, too, grandfather.”

    Her eyes glow with a strange light.

    “It is a very old song”, she moves on. “Actually, it is not even from this planet. It travelled along from Terra, the source of mankind. A virgin queen is said to have written it to the man she was forbidden to marry by her ministers.”

    Confused, I blink at her.

    “My care is like my shadow,
    laid bare beneath the sun,
    it follows me at all times,
    and flies when I pursue it,
    I freeze and yet am always burned,
    since from myself I turn,
    I love and yet am forced to hate,
    I seem stark mute,
    inside I prate.

    I love and yet am forced to hate,
    I seem stark mute,
    inside I prate,
    some gentler love doth ease itself
    into my heart and mind,
    for I am soft and made of snow,
    love be more cruel or so be kind.”

    Once she has finished, the shadows in the kitchen area start to draw together. They seem to want to seek her out and pierce her right through the heart. But she is not guilty of any real crime against the beanmna feasa. She has stuck to her vow in honour.

    Agathos raises first, squeezing his daughter's shoulders lightly. “I think we all had enough excitement this morning. What about looking for a nice chamber for you now? You can pick one of your own liking. This castle has so many rooms.”

    “Two hundred and two, including all the dungeon cells, wine cellar and attic rooms as well,” Grianán answers with a slight laughter in her voice. “The serpent-spawn and I did count them all on one gloomy afternoon when there was nothing to do.”

    It is like an evil spell breaking.

    The shadows seem harmless again and I start breathing normal. I had not even been aware that I had held my breath.

    ********************************************************************

    (To be continued!)
     
  10. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Bravo on the undertones and reunions with Narthex and Agathos. They really love her and can ground her in her actual true self. [face_thinking]
     
    AzureAngel2 and DarthUncle like this.
  11. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Yes Narthex and Agathos, they should do it
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  12. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Intriguing, tense, and foreboding, but with tenderness and humanity - both Isa and Grianan. I like the way you write strong characters, and I'm both very happy with your short chapter on Valiant's role in enriching Isa's life, and with how you arranged the return of Grianan to your story. Less angst than in previous versions, a lot of dignity, suspense, and warmth.

    Where it will lead, I guess I have some general idea, but a lot of great words will make it flow in a new, uniquely strong way.
     
  13. Darth_Furio

    Darth_Furio Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2008
    "This corruption due to constant use of the dark side is too familiar to me."
    "I want to believe that her rendezvous with the darkness had not made any impact on her soul at all."

    I love these two lines Azure. Sadly any bit of darkness usually does impact people in one way or another.
     
  14. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, earlybird-obi-wan, DarthUncle, Darth_Furio, Kahara & Darth Gangrenous: Thanks once more for your online and off-line support of this story. I relish every comment or hug made by you.

    Here an unexpected update, because it is slowly coming back to me:


    (Still Chapter 28!)

    ********************************************************************

    Much later that night Narthex dies with a smile on his wrinkled face. I am somehow glad that he died holding Grianán’s hand. For some reason Sionnach sits at the edge of his bed as well.

    Astonished, I gaze at two cousins, who are as different as day and night. But the silent wake obviously united them for the pure blooded human who meant a lot to them.

    The news travels the castle in less than an hour.

    Heulwen deals badly with the loss of her great-grandfather. It pains me that she fails to see the obvious. A fulfilled life has come to closure. Narthex has been loyal to House Tjiehenet to the last. What a way to die in service!

    The Amnionian has achieved more than any other master valet ever could. All his good qualities, and he had possessed many, will live on in the royal snake-spawn.

    I gather the family council, including the highest staff members of the stronghold as well.

    It is agreed to give him a traditional Amnionian funeral service and letters are send out into all the corners of the kingdom.

    I spend the next day in my office, trying to write a funeral speech. But I am not any good with speeches. I am more of a fighter.

    Frustrated, I retreat onto the window sill, opposite my desk and stare outside.

    I do not think it is my tattoos, Isa.” Grianán addresses me out of the blue. I had almost forgotten about her. “Heulwen is very shy with strangers,”

    “You are no stranger,” I insist. “You are her aunt.”

    Grianán is sitting at my desk. Her bald head is bent and she is writing into her diary. The goose-feather she uses makes some scratchy noises while it moves over the pergamentus. “I am but a stranger to Heulwen. She hardly knows me.”

    My smirk is bitter. “She will get plenty of opportunity to get familiar with you in due time.”

    I leave the window sill and start stroking over her snow-white skin. So soft, yet so cold. How can she be alive when her skin feels like an ice surface?

    Grianán closes her little diary, bound in cow leather. Then she puts it back into its hiding place. “You know that your midwinter present brings me into a deep religious conflict?”

    I grin down on her. “I dare you to write your thoughts down.”

    Desert nomads have no use for written language. They mark their cattle with tribe symbols, but that is about it. The mind is the greatest storage for poems, songs and stories. To carry books around is but unnecessary luggage.

    Yet I want Grianán to make a difference. She will leave her steps behind in the universe when I am long gone. This I know to be a fact. My recent visions have shown this truth to me. She is the key to something much bigger.

    Do not overestimate my powers, Isa.” Her small hands reach up for mine. Twelve fingers close around my wrists. “And stop talking about your death. We had enough of it in the family.”

    The balcony door opens unbidden from the outside. “I fully agree with that,” says Éleos.

    His ability to appear and disappear out of nowhere is still unnerving for me. With his grey cloak the young man is almost invisible against the stone walls. I cannot even smell him, which is fool play.

    “Can the two of you not feel it?” he moves on. “The atmosphere is statically loaded. The balance between the five elements, but also between light and darkness, birth and death is disturbed.”

    Of late his speeches have gained a weird edge. I start wishing that he and his twelve knights would use more common words to express themselves. It is rather exhausting listening to their lot at times. They clearly drift away from all the normal people the longer they meditate on the Force.

    I stepped outside onto the balcony, leaving Grianán behind.

    But it is a mistake for unhidden glee is in Èleos eyes.

    ********************************************************************

    Within a heartbeat I find myself standing on the west tower.Dún Barr lies peacefully below us, bathing in the light of the increasing frost moon.

    “How many times must I tell you that I hate to be transported this way?” I put my hands on my hips, getting a sunny smile from him.

    “Your Midi-chlorians do not mind, Isa.”

    Midi-chlorians. I recently had allowed myself to be tested for them and I do not like the outcome at all. The infection is worse than I have ever imagined it to be. At least I have someone to blame for my visions of the future.

    “I would like to go down again,” I tell Éleos.

    “The household can manage without you for a while. Sionnach has all under control.”

    “She is not your grandfather,” I mutter bitterly.

    Éleos remains non-pulsed. “True, she is not. But she has the experience of a ducal chamber maid.”

    “Kitchen maid,” I correct sourly.

    “Sionnach is also the wife of your step-brother.”

    “Flor still runs the show in the homestead. Make no mistake about that! She would never allow the favourite of her beloved son to organize household matters.”

    “May it be.” Éleos radiates his unnerving calmness. “Sionnach tries her best.”

    My eyes turn into slits. “Why are we up here, Èleos?”

    “Dána has offered me some amanita muscaria mushrooms a couple of sun hours ago.”

    “Did she now?”

    “Grandfather’s death broke her heart.”

    “She cannot be that broken. Look, who is sneaking into the stables down there. It is a blessing to know that she takes contraceptives. Remind me, when we are back in my office that Boreas Kyrene needs an extra wage for his hard work. He was taken on as a horse whisperer originally. We never told him that he would need to shake off a love crazed princess.”

    “What’s love got to do with it?” Èleos does not look very happy. “If she goes on that way we will lose her to the dark side.”

    “Just because Daná is dancing dangerously close to the edge does not mean that she will initially fall.” I fold my arms in front of my chest. “I taught her better than that.”

    “Did she listen to you recently?” He throws up his hands helplessly. “Did she listen to anyone?”

    “She asked you if you wanted some drugs from her, knowing that you would come to me. This is a clear cry for help. A weird one, but a cry for help nevertheless.”

    In so far, I have taken count of Dána’s affairs, for I do care for the wild, young and unreasonable woman.

    Since Narthex has died she had slept with Laurence, Brian, Robin and Toth. I wonder if she just tries to test my tolerance instead of overcoming the grief about her grandfather.

    “We can be glad that she stayed away from Malm in so far,” Éleos muses, his grey hood drawn deep into his face.

    I smirk.

    The royal blacksmith is sixty years older than Daná and about a hundred kilograms heavier.

    *******************************************************************

    (To be continued!)
     
    Kahara and Darth Gangrenous like this.
  15. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Sad about Narthex but you can tell he is much loved -- Eleos and Isabeau spoke about some very interesting facets of family and choices. [face_thinking]
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  16. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Narthex gone@};-
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  17. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Thanks for your kind observations and taking the time to read. Soon this story will end and somebody else´s will be told.


    @earlybird-obi-wan: But unlike the JC boards who underwent maintanance during the Christmas periode he will not come back. But even when somebody is gone, his or her memory stays behind.
     
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha likes this.
  18. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Surprise update. Short and crisp:


    (Still Chapter 28!)

    *******************************************************************

    Boreas Kyrene is a young man from Amnion. Since two winters the twenty year old serves the royal House Tjiehenet as an animal whisperer. But my princess is a beast that needs special taming.

    “Hey, careful!” I hear the youth cry out, when I enter the scene.

    Daná is all over him, trying to tear his clothing off. The mushrooms must grant her extra strength, but clearly cloud her mind. This has nothing to do with the dark side of the Force. She is stoned, as simple as that.

    “Stop!” Boreas Kyrene pleas. “Men have feelings, too, you know, and where I come from women are aware of that.”

    I smile to myself.

    He is as sweet as honey, but that will not help him to make Dána listen. Her pupils are wide from the poisonous substance she has taken hours before. She could dance the entire night and never get tired of moving.

    “By all means stop now or we both will bitterly regret it!” he goes on, a peak of panic in his voice.

    I already have my hand around one of the stable buckets, when loud sobs fill the air.

    “I am so sorry, but I can... it is all too much for me,” Dána wails. “I tried to talk to her, but she would not listen. Now Heulween is gone without me.”

    The bucket falls out of my shaky fingers. Icy hands reach out for my heart, pressing it together. “Dána, what have you done?”

    I am at her side, dragging her to her feet. Her face is a mask of guilt and shame. She feels like a lifeless puppet in my arms.

    Suddenly, Valiant storms into the stables, his scent teasing my feline senses. “Milady!” he calls out. “We have an urgent message from flight control at Cunabula.”

    ********************************************************************

    (To be continued!)
     
    Darth Gangrenous likes this.
  19. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    :eek: Dana is a mess and then the urgent message... [face_worried]
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  20. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Dana stoned as a 'garnaal' That's trouble
    What's with the message
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  21. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha & @earlybird-obi-wan: You will see when the update of LibreOffice works. For some reason the program stops showing me how many pages a chapter has. This is dangerous for a chitter-chatter-box like me. I need a golden thread. Well, more a stop sign! But I have something at hand already.
     
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha likes this.
  22. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Well luckily, @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha. I have a phone joker in @Cem_Fel and a sweet minion in @DarthUncle.

    Rejoice, @Darth_Furio ! And @Kahara and @Darth Gangrenous !


    Chapter 29:

    My fangs are out when I hasten towards my office chamber. I am not annoyed with Daná and her applying bad choices. Or with Èleos. I have been the one failing them by not considering every possible danger for my clan. Instead of seeing the entire picture, I had been too occupied with details. And my cursed stepbrother.

    A saying of Montségur comes into my mind. “Maro han barn ifern ien; pa ho soign den e tle crena,” it says in his mother tongue. Death, judgement, cold hell; when man thinks about it he ought to shiver.

    My own bad judgement had been in my way to realize that Heulwen had been needing me. In the end I have been my most dire enemy.

    I roar like a lioness when I pull the door open. In my wake are Daná, Boreas Kyrene, Èleos and Valiant.

    Misera, surrounded by four selected members of her staff, gives me a court military nod.

    “Don’t tell me Heulwen stole the private star ferry of Agathos,” I hiss at my old comrade.

    The silence is nerve-wrecking.

    “She is barely nine sun years old,” I rant on. “There is no way that she can control a star cruiser on her own.”

    “The Force is with her,” whispers Dána from behind me.

    “Blast the Force! It does not hand out flight manuals.” I swirl around and push her directly into the arms of the confused animal whisperer. “And consider yourself officially engaged to Boreas Kyrene now.”

    “W-w-what?” the princess stutters, her gaze wilder than her hair.

    “You will marry this young gentleman here once I have Heulwen back.”

    “Marry? Him? Me?”

    Despite the amount of drugs Daná has taken, my words leave quite an impact on her.

    “If Boreas wants to have you, yes!” I shout, making both flinch. Somewhat more hushed I add, “You dishonoured him and a marriage will give him his honour back.”

    “I am not a Lidérc!” she dares to protest with clenched fists, looking far younger than her nineteen years.

    “Tough for you that got raised by one and I am the law around here.”

    Valiant watches me with silent amusement, wise enough not to interfere.

    “I will have her,” Boreas Kyrene says very shyly. “She is a good person and not really herself tonight. I have the power to forgive her.”

    While Dána starts howling like a mad rancor mare, I turn my full attention to Valiant.

    “Now then, paladin, what did happen with the ferry?”

    “We only discovered that Princess Heulwen was inside when it was too late. Not even with combined strength we were able to get her out of the sky. Her Force powers, long dormant, are remarkable.”

    “Formidable, formidable,” I mutter darkly. Fantastic, fantastic.

    If the situation would not be so serious, I would break out in laughter.

    A Force user might be able to achieve true miracles with his or her powers. But moving a star ship, no matter how big, is a bit much. Seize does matter.

    “Tell me, paladin, might I conclude that the ferry was not properly guarded at all?”

    “There was no reason for that. All the funeral guests are either cueing up at the cold buffet or sitting in the dinning-room.”

    “I see.” I cast a glance at Èleos, his superior. “It can’t be fixed now.”

    As soon as this is over I will need to have a very long talk with the Shesha, still the official royal guard, and the Force knights. Glitches like that should never, ever occur.

    “I told her!” Dána sniffs in the background, finally coming back into herself. “She can’t fix matters between Amnion and Draconis.”

    I frown. “Is this about the funeral?”

    There is something in her murky brown eyes, that I did not like. “Heulwen told me that burning grand-dad is wrong. His soul would be much happier if she would scatter his ashes over the waves of his home planet.”

    “Enfant terrible!” My hand hits hard against my forehead. Terrible child!

    In the end my instincts have been right. Luçien is indeed to blame. For he is the only person who might have given the little princess flight lessons. He had the skills, the means and the time to do so.

    “Where is this imbecile?” My fingernails leave deep marks in the desktop.

    “Out hunting with the Prince Consort,” informs Aranea me.

    Until now I had not even noticed my special ward. It was a logic choice of Misera to have the competent woman by her side. Recently, Aranea has been made Director of State Intelligence. I take her in and say, my eyes never leaving her face, “Those two beasts should remain in the woods for now.”

    Luna rushes in. “Birdie has fallen.”

    All eyes are set on the Secretary of Defence, who still clings to her head set in disbelief.

    Heulwen’s code name in emergency cases.

    “Into the ocean of Amnion?” I breath.

    “No.” Her eyes are filled with unspoken terror. “Much, much worse.”

    ********************************************************************

    (To be continued!)
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2018
  23. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Superb and strong assertions by Isabeau. She is forceful in the wake of things she considers to be her fault. Then the dire announcement of "much worse" [face_worried] =D=
     
  24. Darth_Furio

    Darth_Furio Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2008
    "A Force user might be able to achieve true miracles with his or her powers. But moving a star ship, no matter how big, is a bit much. Seize did matter."

    [​IMG]
     
  25. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    much worse. WHAT WILL HAPPEN
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.