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  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. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Riveting posts. And since I too was without Internet for over a week due to my own equipment needing to be replaced :eek: Being unconnected is not! Fun! :rolleyes: [:D]
     
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  2. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Yeah, still four people that still stick with me and the re-written version of this story.

    @earlybird-obi-wan always manages to pop in, even though she is into her own story writing & moving boxes these days. :D

    @Darth_Furio, also deep into his own fanfic, does also visit & comment nicely. @};-
    From Chyntuck & Kahara I know that they are both pretty busy with real life going on. I guess that is also the case with @Lady_Misty. [face_good_luck]


    DarthUncle, I am always glad that you notice such little details and analyse or mention them nicely. This is why I am very nice right now and make no strange things (such as big noise or having one demand after the next) in the flat while you watch your motor sports! O:)


    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Thanks for confirming that & still being my beta! ^:)^


    Next update:



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

    In the weeks to come after the incident, I deepen my friendship with Narthex. The old buzzard teaches me a thing or two about the ways of a true assassin. It leaves me with blue marks and cuts all over, but I appreciate hard training sessions the hard way. The are like a map showing were I am heading to.

    Soon, I get acquainted with Misera, the secret service agent who used to be Tamisra’s decoy. She is a promising sparing partner for my daily caporeia practice. We complement each other.

    With some brave Shesha guards I study more bamboo cane fighting. For some reason Vicomte Ankoù kept mine, but Senator Aletheia has a new one for me one afternoon. I am grateful to him.

    “I admire your bravery, my dear Marquise.” His brown human eyes sparkle with mirth.

    “Bravery alone will not help against the dark side of the Force,” I retort. “Or maundering druids.”

    “Discipline certainly helps.”

    We stand on the veranda of his bungalow together, gazing into the jungle. His older children are inside, using their holocrons at teaching devises. Arcānā nurses the younger ones up in the pyramid. Since the assassination attempt she hardly leaves their side anymore.

    “Why do I have the feeling that you are about to tell me something unpleasant, Senator?” I prompt.

    He grins so wide, that it gives him a boyish touch. “You focus on the negative.”

    “Am I? Well, experience is a good teacher.”

    His assessing gaze is discrete. “You are about to experience my side of the family. They arrive in three weeks time.”

    That certainly is a surprise. “I understood from Narthex that they are not overly found of your wife. That some of them want her dead and gone.”

    There it is again, that steely core I experienced in the Prince Consort recently. “You can’t always get what you want.” He grinds his teeth. “I feel in love with Arcānā seven years ago. We have children together. The rest of the Aletheia family has to learn to live with that.”

    “While you give your best to cope with Force invested children,” I prompt.

    “The Force is not a disease, my dear Marquise.” If he is offended, his eyes do not show nor does his body language. “It is an enrichment, if used wisely. I am glad that you have come to us. You might be the best thing that ever happened to the children.”

    “We both know that I have a hostage status,” I challenge him.

    “In the beginning, yes. But I altered that already. You are very much deserving.” His smile gets to me. It is like a knife cutting through the layers of my bitterness. “War times bring strange allies together.”

    “What war?” I inquire. “The Star Wars are at an end.”

    “Are they?” Now a tinge of bitterness mixes into his smile. “I fear we are at the beginning of a much greater conflict. The future will bring a lot of hardship. And I am not referring to our own.”

    I wonder how much he knows. “The way of the desert people is the best,” I give to consider. “Life happens right here and right now. The past has been carried away by the desert wind and the future is but a shadow, holding death.”

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

    Curtains of rain move slowly over the river valley of Cunabula about six hundred feet below me. The evergreen tree carpet produces shrouds of mist. Those rise up to immediately following the rain. And the sunbeams, undisturbed by the masses of water washing down to earth, paint a large shimmering rainbow over the whole spectacle.

    For the past four weeks the royal bedroom has provided me with that amazing panorama every afternoon. And each passing day I have been glad that I do not need to go outside at all. Rain drops all over my skin are still a freaky experience for me. And one I can do without. Nobody will ever be able to rip the desert out of my soul. I like it plain, simple and dry.

    The royal serpent-spawn and Aranea respect my dislike. During the daily rain shower they decide to go for indoor activities that will not drive me too crazy with them.

    I smirk, taking a big sip from my café mug. Highland blend has turned into my favourite since my arrival, keeping me alert.

    The twelve Tjiehenet princesses and princes are a lively bunch, knowing how to get themselves into trouble, but with me they try to be as good as gold. Well, they try anyway. As for Aranea, she is sort of adopted via the dauphine. Which is fine for me. That girl dotes on my Grianán.

    Resting on my belly on a lama felt, I scan the bed chamber for possible threats. Not only Vicomte Ankoùhas the unpleasant habit of appearing out of nowhere. Elfin assassins also do. The secret service agents of fovea centralis had briefed me on that. I only hope that my quick predator reflexes can be a blessing for the royal household.

    A child’s laughter tickles through the humid afternoon air. Princess Adamah, the next dauphine straight in line after Arcānā, is roaming through her mother’s jewellery box. Her hands happily move through a cascade of diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies. With her palms she scoops the precious gemstones up and then lets them rain down again. I see no harm in that, so I make no attempt to stop the brown haired girl with her olive taint. If her mother has any issues with this later on, I cannot care less. I am the royal nanny and not a guardian of the royal treasure.

    I smile genuinely to myself.

    Princess Adamah is head-strong, even towards me, but each time I give her a sharp order, she simply obeys. It would have been easy for me to stop her right now. From her siblings I knew that she is completely Force blind. I am grateful for this particular flaw of hers, that turns her into a simple mortal being. Therefore her regular fits lack the dangerous edge that those of her mother have. This girl simply is a drama queen, desperate for attention, but not able to force one to give it.

    Princess Caelestris and Princess Aréte, her two blond twin sisters, are less complicated. Right now both of them are engaged in some weaving activities. They love hand craft and are very artistic in that particular field. I never have possessed any skills or enough patience for that so I feel a certain wondering awe for it. If the Force is with them after all, they never show me any indications for that. They seem to be ordinary children with no interest in war craft or mortal combat. In all of my ceiporeia training sessions they surprise me positively though. But in general they prefer to stay away from arms. Which is a pity really. They have the grace required for truly lethal dances.

    Close to Prince Sereno, a true adventurer and trouble seeker, his twin brother Phosphoros dozes along in the royal bed nest, the nidulus. He cuddles with the second serpent-spawn. He is a rather silent boy, never giving me any trouble at all. I always have to check twice if he was still present. He blends in with his surroundings. Sometimes he cries in his sleep, missing Princess Cénere dearly. She had been the seventh child of the serpent-spawn, but has died shortly after birth.

    My exploring eyes shift further on towards Prince Èleos, the Tjiehennet child that is the most talented in the Force. He is a very honest boy with eyes much older than his young life time actually allows. His ways are selfless and protective. He is also a believer in the good side of every person.

    I sigh slightly, close to cursing the mild tempered and very polite boy with his big, questioning eyes.

    At present Prince Èleos is about three feet away from me, propped down on some pillows. I know that he is fully aware of me watching him, but he keeps on reading in some rather old and shabby looking scrolls. Almost before I can wonder what they are about his emerald green eyes are fixed on me.

    Bardo Thodol, the Tibetan Book of the Dead.” His friendly smile, an inheritance from his human father, widens. “It is about the Profound Dharma of Self-liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones.”

    This probably has to do something with his mother, because Arcānā is a wrathful creature and regarded as a god like creature by her loyal subjects. No wonder that the boy seeks to liberate himself from that. There is too much of Senator Aletheia in him to agree with Arcānā’s ways.

    His melodic laughter rolls through the bedroom and out into the jungle. He shakes his head. “No, I am reading this ancient text from Terra because I want to understand how I can lead a more balanced life with the Midi-chlorians that live in me. See, in here you can find meditation instructions, liturgies, prayers and lists of mantras.“

    “So I am right, little mind reader.” I raise my chin proudly, meeting him with a cool gaze. “This is about your mother.”

    Out of a sudden Prince Èleos looks so dreadfully young and vulnerable, like any common child that is concerned for a beloved but flawed parent. “There must be a way of living in peace and serenity, achieving harmony and knowledge. I strongly believe that anger, fear and pain lead to the dark Side of the force.”

    The boy makes me wish with all my heart that he would not struggle with such concepts at his young life time. “Can’t you read something more simple?” I ask. “Something more fun perhaps, non? Your father has many adventure stories in his bungalow. He would not mind lending you one.”

    “I fear for her.”

    I am not sure whether Prince Èleos is speaking to me or simply to himself. He has that very often. One moment he is right there with you and suddenly his face goes blank. When he finally snaps back, he seems very troubled and anxious. Perhaps it is better that I do not enquire where his mind travelled just now. That I cannot grasp the knowledge he had been able to collect.

    “Why?” I say very directly to him, looking for eye contact again, which he refuses. I feel like grabbing him hard by his shoulders and giving him a good shake back into real space.

    Outside, the midday rain suddenly stops. And exactly one heart beat later eight naked feet are making their way down the stairs of the royal pyramid. Enthusiastic shouts and loud laughter roll along with the serpent-spawn. The royal guard, also known as Shesha, will be alarmed by that and go straight into a protective modus. There is no need to worry for me then.

    Princess Adamah and Prince Eléos have remained behind. He keeps reading, while she sits in front of the jewellery box still, playing along with her mother’s treasures. A shout from her twin brother Sereno in their native language makes her jump to her feet and follow the others.

    “Venite a trovarci!”

    I roll my eyes about the entire set-up. So far experience has taught me that telepathic children are very sweet not to listen in into an audible conversation. But I do wonder at times if their minds do not stay tuned in to the thoughts of the persons talking with one another. They might be able to protect their privacy, but I am not sure that I am always able to.

    “No, you cannot, Isa,” answers Prince Èleos.

    Grumpily, I get up from my lama felt. My privacy is basically non-existent. This has to stop!

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

    There is no point hiding anything here in this household from you guys,” I complain. “Not even from Adamah who is curious in her own ways. But do not think that she is totally demented when she does not share your touch of being special.”

    Prince Èleos looks as guilty as he can. It is too much to bear.

    “It’s okay.” I open my arms wide and he throws his scrolls away. While he clings himself to my chest, his hot tears make my long sleeved tunic wet. But I do not mind that. What really annoys me is that a six year old boy has to be busy with his mother’s nagging darkness.

    “I...I..lo-lo-love...” Prince Èleos begins, but I shush him down tenderly.

    “I know that you love her, mon chére. For this I need no mind reading ability. She is your mother.” I begin stroking his blond hair that is so smooth and soft against my fingertips. “But she makes her own choices. You cannot help that.”

    “I... I th-think th-there sh-should b-be a-a co-code,” he hicks.

    “A code?”

    That question calms him somehow. His breath slows down and his shoulders have a more natural angle. “Why not? We should be using our Force skills to defend and protect the realm. In a peaceful way that is. Our family should really serve others instead of ruling over them. For the common good, you see? Life should be respected in any form. Instead of state affairs we should seek to improve ourselves through knowledge and training.”

    He makes me very, very scared for him. I try to wrap my concerns into a loving joke, even though it is pointless with a strong telepath like him. “Do not let your mother hear all those bright and brilliant ideas of you, little knight of justice and truth.”

    It is the knight bit that makes his eyes shine with a strange light. “A knight... like in the old legends that daddy told us about King Arthur and his knights.”

    I keep my mouth shut, but unfortunately my thoughts flow out in every possible direction. A common Draconian man is not really allowed to learn the sword skills of a royal prince. The only existing knight order is of Elfin origin and therefore hostile.

    Prince Èleos smiles anyway. “Imagine, a knight order that serves the light. We would invite women to join us, too. Our members could learn self-discipline, conquer arrogance and overconfidence. Perhaps even stubbornness and recklessness can be fought against. And aggression”

    It sounds so wonderful, but like every dream, reality always has the nasty habit of crashing into it. Perhaps the universe needs somebody with a vision like this boy here.

    With no warning I receive a massage from the future.

    There is a huge plain and a heavy rain storm. Masked warriors are gathered on it, slain bodies lie between them. Their leader has a flame sword. Not only the red blade itself is alive, but also the handle in both ways.

    A voice at the back of my mind whispers: “The master of the Knights of Ren.”

    “I just think to work on from where Dealg was forced to stop,” he wonders softly.

    Despite the lukewarm temperatures my blood freezes all over. “Do me one favour! Never ever speak with your mother about such matters! Do not mention that particular Elfin name.”

    “But Dealg is no Elf. He is one of the first born Force benders of old and...”

    “Never ever say that name aloud again. Do not even think it.” I catch him by the shoulders. “You can honour his teachings as much as you want, but do it in absolute secrecy. Until the day that you are grown and can perhaps survive your mother’s reaction.”

    Tears shimmer in his eyes. “What is wrong about practice honesty and honour life itself as part of the Unifying Force?”

    This child will be my ruin one fine day.

    There it is again. The future, unrolling like a script role.

    The Jedi Temple is a high, impressive building complex rooted in the earth of Coruscant and reaching out into its skies, that are densely populated by air vehicles.

    Traditionally, the Temple Spire is the central and tallest tower of five. It holds the most sacred chamber in the complex: the ancient texts of the founding Jedi.

    Èleos eyes ask more than his frightened face. “You are able to see the future.”

    “I see possibilities. Nothing is written in stone yet.”

    The unimaginable happens. He rises on his toes and when he takes notice that I am too big for him, he follows with his entire body. Hanging in the air right before me, he kisses me on my brow. “Just put a little faith in it.”

    I blink at him, trying to cope. Then I say, “Now let us fetch Grianán from Clementia.” I smirk. “I do not want her to suffer an overdose of esoterism.”

    “It is our religion.” He gives me a rueful smile.

    “I liked the part with the sacrifices and battles much better. Those scented candles give me a headache. And that tea is dreadful.”

    The boy laughs. “It is actually called Spiced Chai.”
     
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  3. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Enjoying muchly the interactions with Agathos and with the various younglings in the household. Knights of Ren ... ooh, masterfully tying stuff together, Azure. @};-
     
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  4. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha. You writing that feels like being knighted. [face_blush]
     
  5. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Is that sentence slightly influenced by a book of which we recently saw the movie as you cleverly got other people to agree to go with us, thus forcing me to enjoy seeing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?

    Very nicely done; again, a lot is happening, you introduce us to the character of the seven siblings, weave a future star wars into it, and foreshadow more trouble ahead, as well as drama behind the curtains that is yet to play out in full view of your readers. Isa's protective tenderness and wonder at these kids is great to see, her lethal confidence in her own abilities, and her singular focus on being the best nanny she can be for these kids. I also wonder how much this reflects your story about Nagina, who is a very different character, in some respect closer to your own; what both have is this focus, and a steel core, I think. Though Nagina doesn't yet is in full knowledge of her own strength, while Isa is still wondering a bit what it means for her and where it will lead. I think in some ways they are both mirror images of eachother, Isa active, physically brave and maybe a bit rash to act, while Nagina worries about what she can do, yet still in the end does what she can.

    There remains a sweetness and harmony to a lot of the characters and interactions you present here here, the torrent of rain outside, a moment of calm (and of course: the rain stops assassins quite well), giving some nice respite. And as said above great character descriptions really.

    Hm, Eleos' father is a bit of the peaceful one, contrasting with his mother the wrathful - very interesting discussion. And again showing (well again, more like: as we might see in continuations of this story/other stories in this world) how children might be forced to a more adult, less innocent view of life through the Force/telepathy, as they see the flaws in peoples minds and thoughts. It reminds me of kids that have parents with an addiction or severe mental problems, where sometimes the young kids end up cleaning, caring for their adult parents. I would say that the Jedi later taking children away from their homes, might also be seen as a way to protect them from some of the harsh reality of people's careless thoughts. (Also thinking of some seventies Sci-Fi that explored mutant/telepathic kids).

    So, today I wrote a bit more about your update - very happy to read it.
     
  6. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Dear husband DarthUncle, only you could be so bold and brilliant to find the connections between my old, re-writen stories and my new one about Palpatine´s niece. =D= It is almost spooky how good you know your wife and her motives when she is writing fan fic stories. [face_nail_biting]You are not easily fooled and see right through me! :) All you said is true again, starting with the visit at the movies at Potsdamer Platz with our friends. @};- I must beware of your Sherlock Holmes like powers. :p
     
  7. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Update time again & I hope my update list is still correct:

    @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha
    @DarthUncle
    @earlybird-obi-wan
    @Lady_Misty
    @Chyntuck
    Darth_Furio


    Dark adapted eyes, Chapter 12:

    The jungle is sticky with heat and moist air, colliding like the light side and the dark side of the Force. One fine sun day my Grianán will play in its thick undergrowth and green shades just like her siblings. There will be much to learn and to see for her.

    A soft rain starts to conquer the landscape around Èleos and me. It tickles nicely on my skin. I like the way the world starts to smell, so fresh and intense. The desert is still at the back of my mind, but I must admit that I got quite attached to all the greenery around me.

    After some time we enter Celestris’ small bungalow. It is nice and homely in there. Love and laughter seem to echo back from each corner.

    The snake priestess stands in front of her fire place, cooking.
    “La saluto, guerriera! Ti saluto con affetto, Principe Èleos!” she greets us in the language of the River Valley without turning around. Greetings to you, She-Warrior! Greetings to you, Prince Éleos!

    While I try to determine the ingredients of the cookery pot, Èleos tiptoes towards a large hammock. I see an arm hanging out of it, covered with deep wrinkles. The smell of old age, not too unpleasant, surrounds the nidulus.

    “My aunt Viola is not a very alert babysitter, but Mora and Grianán are not very demanding,” Clementia says to me. “They get on well and love to cuddle with her. It is also the only arrangement possible for me when I am occupied with household cores. Most of my family died in service for the royal family.”

    It makes me sad hear that, but the snake priestess does not seem utterly occupied with that matter. She is a balanced and cheerful woman.

    “Death and life belong together, Marquise.” Only now Clementia turns around, her lime green eyes strangely illuminated. “One cannot exist without the other. It keeps the universe in balance. It is left to each of us though to keep ourselves balanced. That is the blessing and the curse of a free will.”

    Despite all the esoterica I like the fact that Clementia is an additional teacher to my Grianán. She can teach the girl to be self-contained, help her harness the ability to endure any kind of pain. Those hand gestures are the key to the Unifying Force.

    Clenched to the chest of the sleeping crone are two babies. Both are fully awake. Grianán smiles and so does Mora, her play mate. As far as I know, she was born one sun week before the latest royal serpent-spawn.

    Finding valuable assets for my special ward seems to be easy on this isle. I wonder what else life around here has to offer for her. I for my part cannot wait to introduce her to the ways of
    caporeia. She will be an upright she-warrior. There will be no need for her to fear my step-brother ever. She will not be his equal, she will be his doom.

    “Can I take the girls out for a stroll?”

    The sound of the child voice makes me smirk.

    Aranea stands in front of one of the windows. Her face glows with excitement, but she tries not to
    bat her eyelashes, knowing such mind tricks do not work with me.

    “I do not know about Mora, but if you change Grianán’s nappy and have Èleos accompany you, you can even take her out with your boat,” I say.

    The orphan nods eagerly.

    “Why not?” beams Èleos. Unlike the rest of the sextuplet he likes Aranea very much.

    “Take Mora, too.” Clementia is smiley. “She also loves water above all.”

    There is this special link with children of the River Valley and water. Like the Force it penetrates the Mother Jungle, is its visible vital line.
    “Aqua vitae,” translates the snake priestess into the language of the local Priesthood. Water of life.

    “But if the babies drown, you will be in trouble!” I let Aranea know sternly.


    “If the dark side cannot kill us, then a river certainly will not.”Aranea touches her forehead. “Dark thoughts, dark deeds. They leak into us children as well, and can drive you mad. But there are choices. I make the right ones because of Grianán here. Since I know her, my life is different. You know what I mean, don’t you?”

    I sigh deeply. The little bugger sneaked into my heart and I know for sure that she will always have a special place in there.

    When Aranea passes by with Grianán, I blow a kiss on her tiny brow. The baby girl giggles back at me. For me there is no sweeter sound in the entire universe.

    Fact is, at my arrival on this planet I fell head over heels for the little princess, lowering my inner defences. All of them. The more I must be on my guard. Too much attachment is bad for me.

    “This is why I would ask my knights, male and female, not to form any attachments,” Èleos argues, holding little Mora in his arms.

    “Before you force anybody into celibacy, change her nappy,” I remind him grumpily, not pleased that he is in my head again.

    “The code will not be about celibacy. I just think any kind of attachment is bad for a servant of the Force.”

    This I can deny to a certain extend. “Just because your mom gets crazy now and again, you cannot doom anybody to a life with no family, lovers or friends. Even though I do not love the Force overly much, I think it thrives from love. The trick is, to let go at a certain point. I am talking about obsession.”

    Clementia nods at us. “Let me put it this way, young prince: Non-attachment gives us the much-needed space to contemplate what we want and what we hate so as to more fully reflect upon whether these things we love or loathe will truly bring us the pain or pleasure we believe they contain.” Her eyes are bright while she quotes that from ancient texts.

    I pat on the boy’s bony shoulders. “Do your Force philosophy without me! I have my daily training with Misera soon. We meet back at the bungalow for dinner.”

    ********************************************************************
    Misera is a smug, rather muscular half-blood of the Ophidiae. Once she has started as a decoy of the god queen. That was during her visit to Amnion more than twenty years ago. By now she has risen to a very important rank of the Draconian armed forces. She is as cunning as she is lethal. The right sparring partner for me.


    “You smell of baby powder,” she greets me, holding two sticks.


    “And you of the underground laboratories,” I complement her back. “Have you been brewing some new chemical warfare agents?”

    Misera frowns. “Nope, those are forbidden. What you smell is compound fertilizer. For the fields in the mountains. The army helps out for the harvest up there this year.”

    For me it is a strange concept, that women are into agriculture and farming, but then again, I am not on my birth planet Sapuruh anymore. The Ophidiae intermingle a lot of aspects of daily life. For the better.

    Misera throws one of the sticks towards me and I catch it elegantly, bowing towards her.

    Kendo practice today?” I ask.

    “It is.”

    “But with no protective armour?” I frown. “How come?”

    “In real war times there is no such thing as protection. Accidents are prone to happen.” Misera gives me a flashy smile, exposing her teeth to the fullest. “In for some Kakari-geiko?”

    “I would hate to disappoint you.”

    The short, intense, attack practice, which we are about to engage in, teaches continuous alertness and readiness to attack, as well as building spirit and stamina. It is a cultural left over from Terra. It is also said that a proud nation of warriors developed it thousands of decades ago.

    “Before we start,” my sparring partner grins, “tell me why I am going to hurt you badly, kitty cat.”

    I intensify my grip on my shinai, that is made out of bamboo.

    “To mould the mind and body.
    To cultivate a vigorous spirit,
    And through correct and rigid training,
    To strive for improvement in the art of Kendo.
    To hold in esteem human courtesy and honour.
    To associate with others with sincerity.
    And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself.”

    Misera looks proud. “Good quotation until now. May I hear the rest before I ram you into the ground?”
    I chuckle at her threat, but oblige her anyway.Thus will one be able:

    To love one’s country and society;
    To contribute to the development of culture;
    And to promote peace and prosperity among all...”


    She attacks before I finish the sentence, but I am well prepared and can fend her off.

    Far from dangerous, a shinai is used as a practice sword in order to simulate the weight of a katana or a bokken. All without injuring the user or the target. But wood on wood makes a lot of noise.

    Soon we have many spectators watching our friendly training practise. Even some of my wards are among them – Sereno, Adamah and Phosphoros. But Misera and I focus anyway. Despite our banter earlier on, we do not want to hurt each other badly.

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


    (To be continued!)
     
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  8. Darth_Furio

    Darth_Furio Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2008
    “La saluto, guerriera! Ti saluto con affetto, Principe Èleos!” she greets us in the language of the River Valley without turning around. Greetings to you, She-Warrior! Greetings to you, Prince Éleos!

    River Valley language is Italian? I like it. :D
     
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  9. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Yes, it is, Darth_Furio. And the priesthood & the scientists speak old Latin.

    The people of Amnion, and this includes Narthex & Agathos, speak modern Greek.

    You also might have noticed that the majority of Lidérc speak French. Lucien and his mother Flor can also speak Occitan, the language of the Cathars. Solitaire´s tribe spoke Portuguese.
     
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  10. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Lots of languages here and like how Isa is interacting with the children and the people of Amnion
     
  11. Tyranus230

    Tyranus230 Jedi Master star 7

    Registered:
    Feb 16, 2005
    I like the reference with Italian and the link to Latin.
     
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  12. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    Just caught up again, and what an interesting turn Isa's life has taken recently! I'm fascinated by how these characters conceive of their Force powers and understand the divide between light and dark side -- sometimes they seem to go by what it actually is, as we see (mostly?) in the films, and yet there seem to be a lot of weird wrinkles where what is evil/forbidden is only acknowledged if it's socially appropriate to do so. (Witness a ton of Lucien's behavior, and the overhanging spectre of Arcānā's Sithly nature. [face_thinking])


    Isabeau's own way of integrating things is unique, with her seeming to reject the idea of being bound to the Force at the same time that she's obviously very powerful with it. She accepted Sith training of a sort, but has a distaste for the dark side and tries to shield her charges from it. Then there's the whole future-seeing-is-forbidden, even though the Force seems to be known and used among Lucien's people. Perhaps it is considered to be witchcraft only in females? It's hard to tell with how Lucien swings wildly from one minute to the next, what's his upbringing/belief system and what's... well, him being him! :p Dude has some women issues -- I kind of suspect he'd be less extreme if not for the influence of his dear mommy. Flor's ... well, she's something. I kind of suspect that the way Lucien clings onto misogyny where he's more open-minded about other matters (seems much less xenophobic than Isa, for one), might be that it gives him an excuse to separate himself from Flor and her poisonous ways. Unfortunately, that just leaves him with a different sort of toxicity -- knowing a little of what goes on in later years, Isa may be the lucky one of his female obsession objects. She gets exiled and it's probably for the best. (Or is it? Story's not over yet, of course.)

    The royal family of Cunabula is very interesting, and they seem to be knee deep in old secrets. Isabeau needs her ferocity to navigate this treacherous place, but we also get to see a more caring side to her here. Isa is an amazingly dedicated self-appointed nanny. (The whole bit with her going down into the crypts to basically browbeat the creepy ghosts of royalty past into not messing with her babies' minds? Priceless! She's quite the mama lioness. :)) Side note, but it's very amusing to see that Isabeau loves sand, for reasons that make a great deal of sense, and hates the climate of Cunabula. Like a disgruntled kitty in the rain. ;)
     
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  13. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    earlybird-obi-wan: As a former secondary language and arts teacher I do love languages and the richness of various cultures. In my kindergarten group, consisting of thirteen kids at present, we had a very nice project throughout the last kindergarten year: "Die Welt ist bunt" (translation: "The world is colourful").

    Since I have seen a lamp shade from the 1930ies that was produced out of human skin, I am very haunted by that sight. So I try to educate the children that I work with to be open-minded and showing interest in other cultures instead of condemning foreigners. This is why my kindergarten kids can sing African songs (mostly from Ghana), enjoy Japanese flute music, were keen on producing a second Australian rainbow snake for decoration reasons, saw their kindergarten pedagogue preform some Indian temple dance for the goddess Kali in the morning circle (good that my colleague was preoccupied in the office!!!) and demanded to learn more Chinese signs.

    All this is reflected by my stories and the characters in it. (Also in my story about Palpatine´s more or less secret niece Nagina.)


    Tyranus230: Two Italian Au Pair friends of mine remain from my time in Ireland long ago and I do love Italian food. (But not as much as Asian food these days. I have turned into a sushi addict!)

    About the Latin I have to say, that I was struck with that language for 7 years at grammar school. It must have been good for something. Besides, there are a lot of Latin phrases for the sith culture when you google around the internet.

    By the way, it is good to have you back as a reader. Thank you! My husband DarthUncle pointed it out to me recently when I cried bitterly that I have no readers any more and that my stories must be worthless, boring bantha poodoo.


    Kahara: I am so overly happy to read such a wonderful comment from you. Happy that you seem well enough to post it, yeah! And also happy that there are people who like what I write. Thank you!


    And now my next update, also for Darth_Furio. It is a longer one, because last weekend I did not update at all:


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

    The gong in front of the senator’s bungalow tells Misera and me that dinner is ready. The day has gone by so quickly. Dusk is on its way, activating the nocturnal wild life.

    My sparring partner and I bow politely to one another. When I want to give my shinai back to her, she says, “Keep it for now! You might need it tonight!”

    “What for?” I ask bewildered, knowing that the food Narthex prepares never attacked me before. “Come on everybody!” I address the future dauphine and her age-matched brothers, but they remain frozen to the spot. “If you are not hungry, I am. I could eat an entire bantha.”

    “You could go and bring us some food,” Sereno, a feisty blond suggests. “We stay here.”

    “Right,” I conclude. “I’ll march down to your father’s bungalow and simply come back up them with meals for three lazy children.”

    “Do not forget yourself!” Adamah reminds me, beaming from one ear to the other.

    My lips turn thin. “Something is wrong here. I do not need to be a telepath to sense that. I want to be told what’s up, for I am not in the mood for guessing games.”

    A big wall of silence, until Phosphoros finally delivers the answer. “We do not enjoy our uncle’s company. He arrived while you were training.”

    Now I have the explanation that I need. I decide to share something with the royal bunch. “I am not happy about my step-brother, Vicomte Ankoù, either. Not any more. But the rights of a guest are holy. In a desert tent as much as here in on the Holy Isle. So we all go down to dinner and put on a good show.” My smile is grim, my demeanour even more. “Embarrass this uncle of yours with your politeness, your kindness!”

    “But he is scary!” Sereno pipes up.

    “Do not fear him! Do not let him have this power over you.” My gaze locks with Adamah’s. “Do not have anybody let have power over you, because you fear them.”

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

    Aréte pops up next to us, when we walk towards the bungalow. She is covered in camouflage and leaves all over. “Do you think Granny will dare to bring the blasphemous techno junk with her?”

    “No,” I assure the six year old princess grimly. “The old woman knows that your mother would behead her personally if she did.”

    “Ah come on, nanny, mammy is no monster. She would not harm a family member in any way.”

    Actually, I was not so sure about that fact, especially when Arcānā gives her daughter an intense look at your arrival. I started to measure the distance between me and the children, but then a hearty laughter filled the air.

    “I will not harm her as long as she leaves her little helpers at home and out of my jungle.”

    The dauphine stands on the veranda, obviously waiting for us. I can spot no dinner table so I figure that we all will eat inside for some daft reason. Which is a pity. I got quite used to family dinners outside.

    Adamah stumbles out of a bush next to us, dragging her sister Caelestris with her. “You should not have allowed the Aletheia Clan to set a foot on this holy island. I do not want them here at all.”

    Arcānā gives her official heir a considerate look. “Your father is right. What ever bad start your grandmother and I had, she has a right to see her grandchildren. I should not be too proud and unforgiving to deny her that.”

    “I have no grandmother at all,” Adamah insists. “Dad’s mom calls us names and your mother is nothing more than a pathetic zombie. She cannot walk, she cannot talk. She is completely useless for this family and the realm.”

    I hit my forehead with my flat hand. This girl is a walking disaster! She will not survive until her coronation. I am sure of it.

    “Vieni con me, chiocciola! Facciamo due chiacchiere.” Arcānā gives the girl a creepy smile. Come here, little one! Let´s talk!

    Switching to another language is not a good sign at all. What is even worse is that a certain pair of emerald green eyes had turned into an ugly yellow. Red blood vessels are also to be seen.

    “No! Non voglio, mamma!” With a big delay it seems to dawn on Adamah that her words were not wisely chosen at all. No! I do not want to, mammy!

    “Sì, gentile signorina! Atvanti!” Arcānā’s voice is a mere whisper. It would have been better if she would have started yelling again. Be polite, little lady! Come on!

    “In nessun casso!” Despite her olive taint Adamah does manage to look pale. No way!“Sono veramente spiacente. Mettila come vuoi: sono piú forte di te.” The dauphine isunyielding. I am truly sorry. But think about it: I am stronger than you are.

    Before I can grab the girl by the shoulders, she is flying through the air directly into her mother’s open right hand.

    “Let her down at once, Arcānā, or I swear your husband will be a single father!” I am at the bring of madness, my blood making a lot of noise in my skull.

    A ring of Shesha is suddenly around me, pointing their spears towards my throat. I recognize some of them as spectators during my sparring.

    “Hey, she is the threat here, girls, not me!” I roar. “Hey, Queenie, drop it! It is your own daughter you try to choke.”

    One of the spears slightly drills one inch too far into my skin, but I do not care. My adrenaline makes me sort of careless.

    “Put a stop to it!” I demand. “Or do you want to kill your own flesh and blood? Hello? Anybody in your Midi-chlorian invested body? In the name of the Force take a break. Start thinking!”

    Arcānā blinks, stares at me and suddenly puts her stunned child gently down. “Ut quaeque res est turpissima, sic maxime est vindicanda.”

    The Shesha nods in unison, while I have no clue what was going on. I just know that one sentence in the old language of the priesthood has been spoken. My Ratoriam is a disaster.

    Adamah lies on the floor, crying soundlessly and hiding her throat protectively behind twitching hands.

    “I will tell you about your punishment in the common language. And I will not repeat myself.” Arcānā's attitude is like ice. “From this day on you alone will be responsible for your grandmother’s care. Some of the priestesses will give you an introduction to your new duties. Until her dying day you will stay at her side.”

    Narthex appears on the veranda. “Dinner is served!” he announces. “If you all would care to follow me.”

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

    It is Agathos who comes to greet us in his finest garments at the front door. He gives Arcānā a brief kiss on the cheek that does not hide his nervousness in the least. There is sweat all over his brow. “There you are, my darling. We were slightly concerned that it took so long for you all to arrive.”

    I know he refers to his mother. Usually he is not concerned.

    “Sorry, dad!” six voices blare in unison. “We had to wait for some Shesha to take over the babies before Isa would join us.”

    Narthex raises an eye brow to this obvious lie.

    An honest smile replaces the nervous one that Agathos has worn before. “Marquise, what a pleasure that you can join us tonight!”

    From my point of view he might as well have begged me to stay by falling on his knees. He is desperate.

    “Are they there yet?” a creaky voice wants to know. “The children?”

    Mistress Aletheia appears in the hall way, leaning on to a walking stick. The special and very accurate sense of smell, that my feline race possess, confirm only what my cat eyes saw. This elderly woman is definitely of human origin.

    “No!” insists Phosphorus with a low voice, “She smells fishy.”

    I give the young prince a hard poke with my elbow. “First, stay out of my head! And most of all: some things better remain unspoken.”

    He bites his lip, sulking.

    Luckily, Mistress Aletheia has not heard him. She is too busy having a quarrel with her daughter-in-law. “Perhaps it takes time to take care of eleven children, my dear Arcānā, but you could have sent at least a servant, letting us know of their delay.”

    “You are very welcome to come fetch them in person next time, my dear Téchne.”

    “Be glad that you have young and healthy legs still.”
    When the elderly woman moves forward on her walking stick, my trained ears hear what normal ears cannot guess at. There is a cracking noise with every step she takes. Her hips are not her own. The rumours of Amnion are true. They replace organs and limbs on an artificial basis, when they need to.

    Mistress Aletheia would not survive a single day in the dune sea. With legs like these she cannot climb a dune or descend it.

    One of my aunts had walked out of our camp because she did not wish to be a burden to us. I had been two moon years old, when I watched her leave forever. There had been no tears, no fuzz. It had been a mere necessity and the desert had been gracious. She had been found dead at dawn, only half a mile away from the camp.

    Mistress Aletheia would not do us that favour though. The old girl will fight. Of that I am sure. And she will fight ugly, just to remind us that she is still alive and among us.

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

    While Agathos nervously asks everybody to sit down, I took a careful measure of the enemy. To definitively tell her years is difficult. Téchne Aletheia can be anything between sixty and eighty sun years. Her brown hair, rolled into a strict top-knot, is turning into silver here and there. The clothing she wears is very old fashioned, too. It is a tunic for women, consisting of a long sleeved undergarment and a short sleeved main dress. Both are in a soft lilac tone. I wonder if she is also a sort of senator by her own rights.

    “She is in mourning for Grandfather,” Èleos tells me in a whispering tone. He is the only royal child that was at the dinner table on time. “And before you wonder about it, the fish pendent is a sign that she worships Parhelion.”

    Because Arcānā and Téchne still have some heated discussion going on, I am able to fully focus on the smiley boy. “Parhelion, the one and only god? The creator?”
    Èleos nods happily.

    “I guess everybody has the right to believe in something.” I shrug, thinking of my step-brother. “Who am I to judge? I have turned away from Sodalith and Calme in shame.”

    “They never turned on you,” he replies sadly.

    “Do me a favour, Èleos!”

    “Yes?”

    “Never discuss the religion of Sapuhru with me again!”

    I ignore his hurt look and tune myself into the ongoing battle of words.

    “... Aconite did not get your attention the entire day.”

    “He is not reacting well to my milk. Therefore he has his own fostress. On Amnion. Agathos took care of that about three months ago already. How kind of you to enquire about him.”

    Mistress Aletheia pales, which makes it clear to me she had not known about the entire affair. “Aconite should have been put straight into an incubator. Then the accident with the snake would not have happened at all. The poor boy, poisoned so early in his life. How could you give birth in such a filthy, dangerous place, Arcānā?”

    My eyes turn into small slits. There is no way that one of the holy snakes in the birth cave would ever bite one of the Ophidiae. Especially not one of royal blood. If the prince had been bitten down there, there was only one creature in the entire universe that would have dared.

    I rise more abruptly than I want to. All eyes rest on me with surprise and curiosity. “Excuse me, Grianán needs a new nappy.”

    “Why do you have a servant eating with us?” Mistress Aletheia demands to know from both her son and her daughter-in-law.

    Embarrassed, Agathos answers, “Marquise Isabeau Riwalan is no servant at all. She is the heartbeat of our household as much as Narthex is the heart.”

    This makes me smile, while I leave the dinner party behind me and a sulking Mistress Aletheia.

    “We have a noble woman at our dinner table and you did not introduce...”

    I cannot care less what the old woman says next. Instead, I begin to focus my ears on the humming sound of technical equipment. Another sound was there, weak, but constant. I also smell somebody that I had not seen attending at the table tonight.

    “Narthex, it is me, Isabeau. Can I enter your little kingdom?”

    “We are in Agathos’ bedchamber,” comes the answer from the rear end of the property.

    We. So he was with Grianán. It was her little heart beat that called out to me like a drum.
     
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  14. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
  15. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Lots to take in here; As Kahara mentioned, the contrast in ways of living that you paint, between Isabeau's martial love of sand, the seemingly regulated and technological Amnionians, and the emotional, lively telepathic god-queen people of Cunabula, all without being cliche, is very interesting, en well done. And yet Isabeau als has something of a ninja Mary Poppins to her :)
     
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  16. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    You will, for some reason, always catch me red-handed. Mary Poppins is another favourite of mine, even though the book series differs a lot from the well-known Disney movie.

    It is also my daily work with young kids that formed Isabeau into the person that she is. I just would not dare to use some of her personal pedagogical concepts at the kindergarten. My six year long trials as a secondary school teacher in the Netherlands also have quiet a strong influence on her personality. My bitterness & hurt about the discrimination I experienced as a German had to go somewhere.

    I suppose one could say that writing is a pitch for me, when I can throw it all in. Then my characters come alive like Armus, this malevolent creature that appears in Star Trek: The Next Generation in the first season episode "Skin of Evil". Just less deformed and crazy.

    But you knew already. So I you told you for the fun of it. Once more, thanks for being one of my few readers and making me feel that I really can write. That you do not thing that my words are meaningless trash. I am so grateful that you put a value to the things that I keep myself busy with as a hobby. That you genuinely care! @};-
     
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  17. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Sure, Ninja kindergarten teacher and warrior too
     
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  18. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    See, this so is not a story about me, because I am not into martial arts. ;)
     
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  19. Darth_Furio

    Darth_Furio Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2008
    It sucks getting old like Mistress Aletheia. My joints hurt too. :p
     
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  20. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    I hope Darth_Furio that another update won´t hurt either. See, I will be away the entire weekend meeting a dear friend from the JC in RL.

    But since it is update time, I hope my update list is still correct:

    @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha
    @DarthUncle
    @earlybird-obi-wan
    @Lady_Misty
    @Chyntuck
    @Kahara



    Chapter 13:


    To judge my daughter and her motives is like dancing on the edge of madness,” Narthex greets me when I enter the chamber. He is about to use the night cabinet as a baby change unit. “She thinks in absolutes. And the dark side clouds her mind.”

    I muster Grianán, who lies on her father’s bed, closely. Her boat tour had brought her some healthy taint. Normally, her skin is so awfully pale.

    Suddenly, an unknown male voice asks me very, very coldly, “Will you join us outside, milady? They are all eager for your return. Especially my mother.”

    I turn around to face a human man that slightly resembles Agathos.

    “Senator Kairos Aletheia, I presume.” I give him a stiff, yet formal bow. Lidérc only shake hands with intimate friends or to seal a business deal. Besides, I have no wish to ever have skin contact with that person.

    “And you are the famous Marquise Riwalan, step-daughter of Comte Ankoù. The girl Ive heard so much about.”

    Strangely stimulated by his words my brain reacts with another unforeseen future trip.

    I am inside a forest. Large trees, clad in moss, are all around me. A heavy laser gun is in my hand. I am not on my own. There is a dark knight. I have seen him some place before. Perhaps in one of my nightmares. He stands too close to me, his body language reminding me so much of Luçien.

    Blinking hard several times, I propel my conscious mind back into the past.

    It is a bad omen to be thinking of Vicomte Ankoù twice a day.

    I give the extended arm in front of me an uncertain look. Is Kairos Aletheia really expecting me to take it and walk outside with him? He seems to know little of my people and their traditions.

    Narthex’ subtle breathing tells me that he is doing his best to swallow his upcoming sigh as best and as graceful as he can.

    “My dear senator”, I state with my best fake smile, “your niece Grianán still needs a nappy change.”

    “Then let the valet do it. This is what he is there for, the old fool.”

    I shake my head. “I had rather do it myself and let honoured Narthex attend to his more urgent duties. For I am the royal nanny.”

    Anger gleams on the cheeks of the senator. “Milady, I insist,” he almost shrieks.

    “Leave the princess here with me.” Narthex clips out. “You can trust me with her life.”

    “I am the royal nanny,” I repeat and pick Grianán up, shielding her from her own uncle who glares at her disapprovingly.

    “No, milady.” Narthex gives me a smile that warms my heart. “Tonight you are an honoured guest as well.”

    Defeated, I let go of my protégé. I miss her sweet weight the very instant she leaves my arms. “Only because you asked nicely, dear Narthex. But I will return.”

    “Milady.” The bow that Narthex grants me is reserved for a queen or empress.

    I ignore the senator and his inviting arm when I step outside the bed chamber. Narthex is the real royalty with his heart of gold.

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

    It is such a lovely dinner: tzatziki, baked fish from the local river and steamed vegetables. I am also very proud of the royal snake-bred, who show but their best table manners ever. Yet, Arcānā and her brother-in-law went on making a fuzz about everything.

    Is the food really clean? Is it sterile?” Senator Kairos Aletheia whispers concerned towards his older brother Agathos.

    “Sterile?” A dirty smile forms on the perfect lips of the dauphine. “Would you like to have some distilled water, dear brother-in-law? I can arrange that for you easily.”

    I concentrate on eating again and simply enjoying the food on my plate, until Mistress Aletheia forces a conversation on me. “Marquise, will you not get sick after a meal like this?” she creaks.

    That remark makes me frown. “In how far?”

    “My cats never eat cooked fish. It makes them very ill. Yet, I see you eat and eat. I wonder how you can take it at all.”

    There are indeed some things at this table that make me rather ill: ignorance and strong displays of people having issues. I give the elderly woman a very polite answer, that follows up another daft question of hers regarding my feline nature.

    The evening seems to go on forever and my countenance is constantly challenged. Even after the children are brought to bed by Arcānā herself.

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

    (To be continued!)
     
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  21. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Intriguing discussion :cool:
     
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  22. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Thanks for being my beta and always being quick answering to my fanfic.

    These days I am actually very heartbroken about my writing & putting my fan fics on-line. So thanks, WarmNyota_SweetAyesha for encouraging me together with DarthUncle to go on. With all of my stories, the unwritten ones (like the sequel to Nagina) and the re-written ones.

    But now I better go to sleep before I fall asleep in Cem_Fel ´s place. She is looking forward to a niece girl´s weekend and might not want to hang around with a fat, snoring teddy bear.
     
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  23. Darth_Furio

    Darth_Furio Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2008
    Intriguing and boardering on dangerous. So many underlying feelings. I like the TFA line. "the girl I've heard so much about." ;)
     
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  24. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Thanks for reading. It feels good to have some readers left. I hope my update list is still correct:

    @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha
    @DarthUncle
    @earlybird-obi-wan
    @Lady_Misty
    @Chyntuck
    @Kahara

    If not, tell me so via PM!


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

    During the next few sun weeks, the situation between the dauphine and me turns ever more tense. Neither of us wants to give in. Sharp words and insults fly through the air like daggers each time our visitors from Amnion are nowhere to be seen. Luckily, the royal Shesha guard keeps this development at bay and the serpent-spawn does so as well.

    At the fires of a nomad desert camp you learn how much power a single word can have. Storytellers have the status of a magician in the dune sea. My mother Chaleur had wisely respected her uncle Sage for his powers. When the men of the House Ankoù had attacked, he had been the first to die. A spear had pierced his throat. No curse had been able to leave his lips for our protection.

    Now I curse on a daily basis. Arcānā tickles the lowest instincts out of me. There is no way that I will accept her harsh punishment for Adamah. I want to deal with the little loud-mouth my own way. A way that will not leave her soul crippled forever.

    One morning, I follow Arcānā straight into the river, where she is about to do her morning ritual.The water does not bother me, only the thought that Adamah is practically buried alive.

    The dauphine tries to ignore me with a very regal face, but after a while my verbal attacks get answered with equally harsh words and her mask of tranquillity breaks into a thousand pieces.

    I smile despite all the water around me and the slimy things that it contains: old leaves, exotic fish and mud. “I love Adamah as much as my own, I cannot simply let go of the matter. I cannot and will not.”

    The dauphine looks at me for a very long time, wordless and wide eyed. Even though I do not feel her fumbling around in my thoughts and looking through all the layers, I am the subject of her very thorough research.

    The jungle around us seems to listen breathlessly.

    I feel the Shesha close to us, at least twelve of them, with their weapons ready for attack.

    When Arcānā finally gets out of the water I follow her wordlessly. Our destination was the secret city under the Holy Isle. I dread that place. I have never been a very big supporter of technical things and down here I can sense the birth of something new. The machines are breathing as much as the jungle plants. Their wires and other components are turning into something organic. It is a slow process and might take another millennium to finish, but I knew it will happen. The teachings of the old world are blossoming in the new one, forming an unexpected level of consciousness.

    Arcānā gives me an amused look. “The will to survive always forms the strangest alliances.”

    “I do not believe in any form of alliances,” I snort. “Too many interests, too many secrets, too many crowded spaces. Look at your own body, queenie. Are you yourself or simply the sum of your Midi-chlorians? I know at least what I am: je suisfille de grands chemins.”

    “A daughter of the crossroads.” Her eyes turn into emerald slits, while she translates my title into pure Basic. “At times you do believe too much in yourself.”

    “In the dune sea one fully needs to rely on oneself in order to survive.”

    Together we step through the door that leads into the death chamber of the god queen.

    One look at a beady eyed Adamah is enough to set me in motion. My movements are quicker than her mother has accounted for.

    “You are mad,” Arcānā hisses at me, staring at my twin daggers. One is pressed against the soft throat of the child and the other one is intimately close to Tamisra’s heart.Force powers or not. One of my weapons will draw blood. And my opponent knows.

    “Mad?” I claim. “Then we have at least something in common, you and I.”

    I am more than glad that Adamah is not screaming or struggling at all. She just sits in front of me with a pale complexion and empty eyes. What pains me even more is that my attack on her made no difference to her at all. The girl is as numb and lifeless as her grandmother.

    “You really want me to choose?” Arcānā asks, trying hard to keep her outrage at a low level. I can spot the dark yellow fire in her eyes.

    I give her my brightest smile. “Actually, you chose very recently, Your Highness. But it was a very poor choice. I simply wanted to remind you of that. Your daughter’s life is as much in your hands as that of your mother. But there is one great difference between those two. One has a long life behind her, prolonged in unnatural ways. The other one still has a life, when you let her be.”

    Until now I have held the eye contact with the dauphine. Now she is turning away from me in shame, lowering her eyelids. I let my daggers sink, putting them back into their hiding places.

    Then I turn to Adamah and kiss her on her brow. Her skin is very cold. “I love you, little fuzz ball,” I whisper.

    Outside I can hear the outraged Shesha gather. They want to get me for attempted double murder. I will die today if it is up to them. But I made a point at least and perhaps even a difference.

    “I am sorry that I had to do this to you, child. I bet your mother is also sorry for her unbelievable stupid punishment. And I know how sorry you are for your harsh words against a woman that you never really came to know.”

    I get up, very, very slowly.

    When I start walking out of the room, Adamah basically jumps back into life. Suddenly, she has a personality and a voice again. “Do not leave, Isa!”

    Arcānā and I look at her in utter surprise.

    “I do everything that mom wants, but please do stay with me. I cannot bear grandma’s silence. It is creepy. You know, she is dead and nobody seems willing to notice. Not even the priestesses. See, I talked to her. She did not answer me. I sang, I screamed, I begged, but there is nothing inside her.”

    I give the girl a sad smile. “Where I come from, a body like this is left to the mercy of the desert.”

    “Mercy.” Adamah tries that strange, new word with her own lips.

    “Yes, mercy. When there is no hope left, it is better to let go. Only the strong ones survive out in the dune sea,” I say sincerely, even though I hear Arcānā snort in the background. “Everything else is against The Way, you know.”

    The Way?” Adamah moves away from the bed.

    The Way is about the rules and the code of honour of a tribe. It helps you to find your place in the universe. It protects and gives your life a meaning.”

    While I tell this to the future dauphine, the high priestess enters. She is shaking with rage and anxiety, but Arcānā grabs her arm. “Hush, a lesson is learned here.”

    “So letting grandmother live is without honour.”

    “Yes,” I answer.

    “And her existence has no use for the tribe?” Adamah mutters uncertainly.

    While I nod, a pair of six-fingered hands takes hold of one of my daggers. It all happens so quicklythat none of us can stop Adamah stabbing her own grandmother. While the royal artery sprays bright blood into each possible direction, the girl says solemnly, “I had mercy upon you, grandma.”

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

    Dirty, little fibs are told, but the serpent-spawn knows. And so do most inhabitants on the Holy Island. I bet that the entire nation is fully aware of what their new dauphine had done.
    For some reason I stayed unharmed and in one piece.

    On the day after Tamisra’s funeral service in the royal crypts, I visit the captain of the royal guard. “I murdered your queen. Arrest me!”

    The large Ophidiae looks at me with unblinking reptile eyes.

    “The queen issss dead, long live the queen.”

    “I demand to get my punishment,” I repeat.

    “Being on thissss planet and living among ussss is already a great punisssshment. Now begone!”
    She cannot march away because I drill my fangs into her arms. “Do not turn your back on me, wench!”

    Instead of attacking me back, she stares straight into my eyes. “Lissssten! You may be involved into the queen mother’ssss death, but you alsssso helped giving birth to a new one.” Very intimately she presses her brow against mine. “For that all of ussss will remain grateful, no matter how you crazzzzy behave.”

    With that remark the Ophidiae woman shakes me off like an annoying mosquito.

    I gaze after her in blind rage, my fangs hanging out of my open mouth. There is no way to understand this nation. They are either too hard or too soft.

    And the worst of all, they let their emotions reign over them all the time.

    I wonder if this affects their usage of the Force.

    On my way back from the army barracks I find Éleos sitting on a stone in the sun. His eyes are closed and his legs are strangely entangled into one another. I would not even have managed to get my legs into that position in the first place. His palms, turned upwards, rest on his kneecaps. Light and peace are radiating around him and I feel already better by just watching him.

    “What are you up to?” I ask after a good while.

    “Meditation,” comes the soft answer from far, far away.

    “Ah, this is what it is supposed to be. And have you found your inner peace yet?”

    At this, he opens his eyes.

    “I am still searching, but close to my family this is always very difficult to fully relax and give in to the Unifying Force that surrounds me.”

    “It surrounds you?” I carefully look around, but I can see no evil clouds of Midi-chlorians darkening the sun and being eager to get to me as well.

    Éleos gives me his sweetest, most genuine smile. “The Forceis also inside me. You are part of it, too, Isa.”

    “Sacré bleu!” I curse under my breath. Holy blue.

    The young prince does not look appalled at all. “Me, you, those trees, the earth you stand on and even the rock I sit on are connected through the Force. There is no shame about that, norfear.”

    “Are there places where the Force does not exist?”

    “I hope not. That would be terrible. Imagine, not being a part of anything. Not being able to reach out.”

    “Your twin Adamah can live without the Force, can’t she?” I argue. “Imagine, she would have felt your grandmother the same way as you could.”

    An ugly shadow creeps into his delightful features. “There was nothing she could have felt, for there was nothing there. The dark side left Gran as barren as.... as a... a landscape that was overflown by a lava river. But such a landscape finds healing after a while. Gran was beyond healing. You helped her to die. Thank you! Without you my mother never would have been able to let go.”

    Breathing heavily, I press him against me, stroking his soft hair over and over again.

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

    (To be continued!)
     
    Chyntuck likes this.
  25. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Isa is sure in the thick of things