Beyond - Legends Beauty of the Beast {POTC quote roulette - L/M oneshot}

Beauty of the Beast

Genre: Drama
Rating: PG
Characters: Mara, Luke
Summery: Mara isn't the only one who knows the darkness well. Yet, even in the darkest of places, there is beauty to be found.

Notes: Written for the PoTC Quotation Challenge, and further inspired by listening to Nightwish - a recipe for a dark fic, I'm telling you. LOL

My quote was number 46, ?You know nothing of Hell.?

---

She remembers.

She'd prefer not too, though.

The memories are blurry, and hazy. Her recollections are hesitant. Though, she can say she remembers beauty intermixed amongst the tragedy. Her mother's eyes were green like hers. Sterling prisms of emerald, shadowed by a ghastly scar running from brow to cheek. Her father's face she can't remember. All that is there of that is a feeling of safety. A feeling of strength accompanied by guiding, loving hands.

It is a feeling that she can only describe as [i]home[/i].

She does remember his hand in hers. She remembers that she had been small compared to him. His hands had been callused ? safety among memories of labor and pain.

Yet, for the life of her she cannot remember his face. It is something that haunts her still.

She remembers more, at least, she thinks she does. Sometimes it is hard to tell what memory is hers, and what is not. She was quite certain that she remembered flames ? in the form of blaster fire ? in her father's eyes as he fought. She remembered flames as her peaceful, safe little world came crashing down around her.

There was beauty, though. There was awe in her child's eyes as she witnessed the perfect unity of the masked solders. Their white armor was unstained, pure, unsullied. Her mother's dress was harsh under her trembling hands.

There was silence after the shouts.

There was sun above the smoke from the burning city.

There was pride in her brother's face, even though his hands trembled.

The armored trooper that took her away whispered soothingly in her ear. His voice was harsh, yet his words were kind.

There was blood on the roses as she left.


OoO


She doesn't remember now. She doesn't let herself. Her master won't let her.

Oddly enough, there is nothing beautiful about him. He's there though, which is so much more than the memories. She can fill her teenage years with thoughts of duty ? they are better than other thoughts she could entertain.

He cackles then, shaking her out of her thoughts. Wincing, she tries to find something in the voice. Not sure exactly what that was, she searches anyway. Humanity, warmth, love, protection. Guidance even?

None are there, she doesn't hear [i]home[/i] in his voice.

Yet, this is home now. This is where she belongs, and she feels oddly safe in that knowledge. That feeling, she will reflect latter, is the safety of the condemned. The one who knows they have no more time to live, yet faces the gallows with an unflinching stare.

She faces no gallows, only her ghosts.

They are the same anyway.

So she ignores the insane ravings of her master, and the courtiers who whisper behind her back. It was ironic when they said that hers were the eyes of the wolf.

At least, in a predator of that caliber, there was beauty in the death that surrounded it.


OoO


The first thing he said he noticed was her eyes.

Shadowed, yet glowing. Rimmed in black, yet the light always managed to shine though. He said that they promised everything, and revealed nothing.

She, of course, had slapped him for spouting poetry, even though the blow was not as severe as it should have been. The smile that had accompanied it shouldn't have been there either.

Yet, then she wouldn't have been amused, and he wouldn't have dared to say anything along those lines.

He was naïve at times, yet never suicidal.

Naïve . . .

He thought that everything and anything could be made right. Every past can be redeemed, beauty could always show in t

 

Wow, thanks to everyone who read and replied! I was not expecting all of that!

JainaRox : Thanks!

Gabri_Jade : Thanks!

EmilieDarklighter : Thanks!

Earthknight : Thanks, I'm glad I could draw you in!

Jedi_Liz : Bittersweet? Just what I was going for, thanks.

Lady_Jade : Thank-you!

ginchy : Thank-you!

VaderLVR64 : Thanks (I'm feeling repetitive)

MirandaFair : Thanks, I love playing around with imagery, and this fic is another result of an experiment.

Bri_Windstar : The title was inspired by a Nightwish song, thanks! And poor MAra. I think that's why I enjoy writing her so much, she has a past to haunt her, and LUke to help her.

Jade_Pilot : Happy to share!

RedGold : Thanks!

SparrowSwan : Thanks for starting the challenge in the first place. It was lots of fun!

StarFighter5 : Thanks!

furrylittlebantha : Between poetry and prose. A wonderful way to word it, and yes, my favorite way to write too! Thanks!

Tych_sel : Good point, thanks for reading!

~MJ

 

Anyone else?

~MJ