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

Saga - Legends "Rage, rage, rage against the dying of the light" (drama about Palp´s niece, a mix of legend & canon

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by AzureAngel2, Jul 11, 2014.

  1. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Wow, that was very eventufl indeed =D= Whew, glad it went through successfully.
     
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  2. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Here is more then WarmNyota_SweetAyesha.

    I was assured that Cowgirl Jedi 1701 reads along, but does not always comment.

    Well, let us see what DarthUncle, Kahara, earlybird-obi-wan & DARTH_MU have in stock for me.

    Perhaps I even win more readers.

    See you all next weekend, because I hope that my work transfer next week goes nicely and that I am not forced to stay at home any longer for very poor reasons, that basically drove me up the walls at one point. I am mostly happy when I can work. Writing is just a hobby, but not as essential for me as my work.

    Here we go:



    Chapter 29:

    Not shortly after our wedding kiss I am on my way downstairs again, wearing a gown in Tyrian purple, the Imperial colour. I have chosen something with many layers of skirts, slightly flared cuffs and a bodice. It is one of the few Naboo dresses that I have. Sheev gave it to me shortly after Barin's death.

    While Dalus Othona and Brother Durante waited outside, Sheltay Retrac had helped me like a handmaiden would have done.

    Throughout her political career Padmé Naberrie, better known as Senator Amidala, had made statements via her clothing. I am about to make one, too. Not very subtle, but still.

    I use the ironwork of the staircase to support myself. The weight of thousands of worlds seems to lie on my shoulders.

    Another act of open betrayal. Sheev will forgive me as usual, but my god father Sate will not if he hears about it. And I am sure both men will sooner or later. I have thrown too many stones into the giant lake that is called the Galactic Empire. There are tiny ripples on the surface. To the trained eye they will show.

    At least I do not have to worry about Lor right now. Bathseba has put my husband back into a Force trance. He needs more time to heal from his ordeals on Coruscant.

    What also relieves me is that Sheltay Retrac has offered to guard the bedroom until further notice. Dravits wants to stay on with her. Knowing my foster brother, I suppose that he has secret dealings with Bail. The less I know, the better.

    Flanked by Dalus Othona and Brother Durante, both still in awe of my new outfit, I return to the living-room.

    My birthday guests are still enjoying themselves with food and drink. To seek out Orson in their midst is not difficult at all. He laughs loud and heartily, holding on to a cake board. Milow is sitting next to him on the sofa. It is obvious that the two men have started a comfortable conversation. Neither of them does notice me. But somebody else does.

    “Jizz,” whispers a voice next to me.

    “Your Milow is a true darling, Ahetnigac,” I answer in the same hushed voice.

    To keep Orson's investigative mind engaged with his favourite type of music is a fantastic idea.

    One of my foster sister's lekku swings on my left shoulder, drawing me closer to her. “Human men cannot be all bastards like Krennic.”

    “Don't let him hear that!”

    “Where have you been the entire time?” Ahetnigac wants to know. “Not just dressing up for the occasion, right?”

    “Unwrapping the special parcel mom and dad had for me,” I say, hoping it is not too quick an answer.

    “Did you like it? What was it? They didn't want to tell me. Neither would the boys. And what's with your provost? How does he fit in?”

    Berch comes along, carrying two champagne flutes. “Have our parents ever picked the wrong present?” he asks. His triumphant glow reminds me of my Loth-cat after drinking clotted cream.

    Before I can answer, Crix saunters by. He also carries two flutes. “Another toast to our birthday girl!”

    Laughing, Ahetnigac sets me free again and picks her champagne flute from Berch's fingers.

    It is no coincidence that our foster brothers seek us out this very moment. I am not a simpleton. They are really serious about me keeping my marriage with Lor as secret as possible.

    As Crix places a champagne flute into my hands, he leans down to press a kiss against one of my cheeks.

    I take a chance and whisper straight into his ear, “Mission accomplished.”

    He makes a coughing sound, but then says rather innocently, “Well, our Nagina indeed deserves a toast tonight.”

    I raise my glass as high as I can, calling out, “To the love that surrounds us all!”

    The chatter of my guests stops and everybody is looking at me.

    A loud noise and some suppressed giggles tell me that Orson just must have rolled off the sofa.

    The crowd steps aside and I see him indeed lying on his face.

    Berch gives me a thumbs up.

    I flush down my drink in one go. Then I smooth my skirt, even though it needs no smoothing.

    “I would like to thank you all, that you are here tonight. You have come from all of the corners of the galaxy to be around for my birthday. I feel very, very honoured. Because there are more important issues at hand since we are not a Republic any longer.”

    My parents and Crix give me warning looks, while Berch start to resemble a little thunder cloud. He certainly had a different speech in mind.

    “This was supposed to be a birthday speech instead of a political one. I am sorry for doing that to all of you, but a new dawn has broken. Sheev Aurelius Cosinga Palpatine is not the sweet old gentleman that he pretended to be when he took over from Finis Valorum.”

    Tears fill my eyes and I need to pause. The memory of my uncle's destroyed features still haunts me. He has become a creature like Darth Sion, the Lord of Pain. An Undead only held together by scorn, hatred and thirst for power.

    “Forty-one years ago I was born into a Naboo household. I lost my birth mother early in life. Her murderer also tried to get to me three years later. His shocking crime brought me straight into the loving care of Gita and Chetan, who raised me as their own. I have many brothers and sisters ever since.”

    Some of my foster siblings start cheering.

    “Fact is, that I doubt that we all will be able to celebrate my fiftieth birthday together like this. Life has changed profoundly two weeks ago.”

    The cheering stops.

    “It is not the Jedi who wanted an overthrow of government. Just one man did and he planed his rise to power so carefully, that nobody noticed until it happened.”

    I place my right hand above my heart.

    “Please take care from now on! Trust only those close to heart. Do your best to keep your families together! A civil war, far worse than the clone wars, is ahead of us. We all need to be strong for one another. I know you will all make the right choices in the years to come. I love you all. No matter what!”

    Silence falls.

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

    It is Crix, who takes the empty champagne flute out of my trembling left hand. “If you get political during your own birthday,” he muses loud enough for everybody to hear, “then we truly face dark times.”

    I let him wrap his arm around me and squeeze me against him.

    “It was a fine speech,” he assures me. “Thanks for indulging us all. Now it is our turn, to continue the festivities in your honour.”

    I lean further in to Crix, enjoying the scent of his aftershave. It was a present of mine for the last Festival of Light. It makes me happy that he chose it for tonight.

    “Aanor,” he says in a low voice. “Love, no worries now. You did great. Just enjoy yourself now!”

    With one of her brightest smiles Ahetnigac announces, “This year we will celebrate a bit longer than usual. Nagina will start a new job position in a crèche on Lothal and none of us knows if free travel is possible in the nearby future any more.”

    Cautious nods from almost everybody in the room.

    “Tonight we celebrate unity and freedom.” Her lekku move slightly and for the first time I regret that I never learned Ryl from her, the subtle body language of the Twi'lek. “Mom and Dad said it is okay for people to stay on for at least three days. There will be a lot of good food, decent drink, games, music and even dancing.”

    The tunes of Milow's piano play fill the living-room again and our foster brother Rikron, a Bith, joins him with a Kloo horn.

    Suddenly, there is wild applause.

    Maxa Jandovar the famous vandfillist has entered via the veranda door. Her famous song “Does Anyone Weep?” had been high in the charts around the time of Barin's death.

    “Milow has been asking favours the past week,” Ahetnigac beams. “But since mom's cooking is legend, it was not difficult to lure his music colleagues here to Chandrila.”

    Crix pulls her to his free side, hugging her and me like.

    “Look who's there!” she whispers to me.

    Janet Lalasha, an equally known celebrity in intergalactic music business, produces her Dorenian Beshniquel from its travel case.

    I blink at her.

    This woman also runs danger to become a suspicious individual by the regime. Moralisers like Sate hate jizz and all that it stands for. I wonder how long my uncle can hold a protecting hand above his favourite music style. There needs to be a sacrifice

    “This will be the best spontaneous jizz gig ever!” cheers my Twi'lek foster sister.

    I am lead to the same sofa that Orson sat on earlier. His missing body tells me that Berch already had brought him elsewhere. I can only hope that he is just lying on a hay stack inside the barn. The manger of our two Ikopis would be rather a nasty idea.

    My mother comes to sit next to me, taking my hands into her lap. “Are you alright?” she inquires.

    I shake my head.

    “Then you better sit down with me and your father in the kitchen for a while. Your guests are taken care of.”

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

    (To be continued!)
     
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  3. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    What a terrific & stirring speech, full of encouragement and honesty!
     
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  4. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    nice party
     
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  5. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    So someone finally managed to slip that sleeping pill in Krennic's drink, eh? :D It's better that he didn't hear her speech, but if the festivities are going to last three days that's going to require a lot more sleeping pills, and she's going to have a hard time keeping her marriage a secret from him once they go back to Lothal.

    I wonder what role this evening will play in the defection of Madine, Draven and the others to the Rebellion – although Nagina seems to believe that Draven at least is one step ahead of her on that front.
     
  6. Cowgirl Jedi 1701

    Cowgirl Jedi 1701 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2016
    I like how high ranking Imperials hate jizz (space! jazz) and it's only protected because the Sheevster likes it. I'll bet they hate rock and roll even more. And I can think of several Terran songs that would be considered definitely subversive, if not actually treasonous.

    Blowing in the Wind by Bob Dylan
    We Shall Be Free by Garth Brooks
    The Change by Garth Brooks
    Don't Stop Believing by Journey

    And that's just a few off the top of my head. I'm sure if I really tried, I could think of a bunch more.
     
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  7. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    Even in the midst of the celebration, there's an ever-present sense of foreboding here, and I do worry that Nagina is making a prophetic announcement here (self-fulfilling or otherwise). But at the same time, this is a moment of togetherness in the eye of the storm and I love how her friends and family have gone out of their way to make her birthday celebration a good one. [face_dancing]
     
  8. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Thanks, a lot for the praise! I had fun writing that scene.



    earlybird-obi-wan: I hope that you had one for your own birthday, too.



    Chyntuck: Milow did slip a sleeping pill into Orson´s glass. And yes, it will be difficult the next days with the party business and even more difficult to keep that marriage secret. Thanks for reading, analysing and commenting!



    Cowgirl Jedi 1701: Hum, perhaps I ever write a vignette with at least one of those songs above mentioned. Thanks for giving me ideas!



    Kahara: Let me spoiler you to a certain extend. Nagina is an descendant of Grianán and Lucien. So is Palpatine himself. Both have unusual Force gifts, but Nagina uses hers more subtle. Her calling in life is to be a pedagogue.
     
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  9. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Okay update time, dear Kahara, DarthUncle, earlybird-obi-wan, DARTH_MU, WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, Darth Gangrenous & Chyntuck!


    (Still Chapter 29!)


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

    There is no need to be nervous, but I am anyway. I pause a lot while I tell my parents how I met Lor in the first place and what he means to me.

    My foster parents gaze at one another many times.

    Then Gita says, “Do you have a date yet?”

    Before I can answer, Berch knocks from the outside, pressing his nose against the screen door.

    Chetan rises to let him in.

    My foster brother's clothing is covered with straws, which leads me to the conclusion that the unconscious Orson has been carried into the barn.

    “Was I interrupting anything?” he asks with an innocent grin.

    “I was about to tell them about my emergency wedding to Lor earlier on,” I mumble.

    “What?” Gita looks like a woman being startled by attacking Veermoks.

    Chetan purses his lips. He does not seem shocked or surprised like his wife. Then he smiles, and it is a gentle, warm smile. “We should have known better, your mother and I...”

    With a sob Gita gets up and I meet her half-way. “You cannot get married like a thief in the night,” she sniffs. “There needs to be a full ceremony with...”

    “No, mother,” Berch interrupts her. “The less people know, the better. Old Palps might not like it a single bit that Barin has a successor.”

    Her stern gaze shows that Gita does not care about my uncle or his opinion at all. “I have a new son-in-law, dearest. A man who has to hide upstairs due to some coup that turned the Jedi into enemies of state.”

    My foster brother's teeth are clenched tight. “You are missing the point here, mother.”

    “Am I, Berch?” she says with a humourless laugh. “Nagina is caged like a pet. I will not allow it any longer. When the Blue Shadow Virus affair took place, I kept my mouth shut as you requested. But now my patience is used up.”

    “We are trying to protect you all!” he claims.

    “Which is very nice of you, Crix and Dravits, but I cannot, will not deny my son-in-law to be integrated into this household with all honours that go with it. I am your mother, Berch, but I am also a Naboo woman. Keeping a marriage secret like this is out of question.”

    Chetan shakes his head, swinging it slowly back and forth. “Our boy is right, darling. It will neither become Lor or Nagina when it is known.”

    “I do not care!” snaps my foster mother. “The union of a bride and a groom should be cherished. It is not a shameful occasion. They can pursue dharma, artha, kama and moksha...”

    His dark hair is a strong contrast to his red face, when Berch bites out his words, “The right of privacy is a right that no citizen of this galaxy has any longer in the eyes of our government. It started right after the Naboo crisis and it will become worse. Religions like yours might be forbidden any time soon. Palpatine will go for coordination, for closely integrated political and military strategy.”

    My foster mother stops holding me and turns to him weary eyed. “I need no lecture on Sheev's attempt to reign us all.”

    “I want you to listen anyway,” Berch begs her. “Nagina was been right about the Clone Wars having been just an overture for the real bad deal. On many planets out there the population remains separated from the Core Worlds via forced relocations, destruction of villages or generation of refugees. Secretly, the Emperor keeps conditions still insecure, undermining government attempts at both pacification and attrition.”

    “The old Sheevster sorts the wheat from the chaff,” Chetan realizes. “Like those weirdos from the Human League in the Corellian Sector he seems to believe in the rights of a master race.”

    I feel cold and miserable out of a sudden.

    “There are ISB reports about a current blockade of Kashyyyk.” Berch wipes away the sweat from his brow. “Certain individuals plan to take the citizen rights of the Wookies away. They are to be classified as non-sentinent beings.”

    It seems that my uncle needs more than kyber crystals for his secret Sith weapon project. He wants an army of slave workers in addition. Geonosians seem not to be enough.

    “Naga Sadow,” I say and alarm everybody in the kitchen with my grave face. “About five thousand years ago he forced the Massassi to build him countless pyramids on Yavin IV.”

    Crix pops his head in, his ginger coloured hair glimmering. “Can we have back Nagina now? Her birthday party is not the same without her, you know?”

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


    Soon I am back to party business again. I smile at felicitors, accept nicely wrapped presents and kiss cheeks. My happiness is not acted. True joy fills me.

    In dire times people need occasions like this where they can be themselves among like-minded people. I would not have held my birthday speech earlier on if my addresses would be fans of the Galactic Empire.

    I watch Ahetnigac swinging her hips as sensually as her lekku.

    I drink a glass of fountain water with Dalus Othona and Brother Durante, who get along very well.

    I wink at Milow who takes a little break from playing the piano.

    I agree to dance first with Dravits and then with Crix. Berch is not much of a dancer. But little Mara wants to take his place instead. With her feet wrapped around my rib cage we swirl through the crowd in wild circles.

    I bring a tray with refreshments over to my Birth foster brother Rikron and the two famous lady musicians, who honour me with their presence tonight.

    I talk to many of my friends, acquaintances and foster siblings before the rosy fingers of dusk tell us all it is time to go to bed.

    Bathseba makes a noise like an R2 astromech unit when I sneak into the bedroom. There is no reproach in her eyes, just amusement.

    “Yes, it was a long night,” I giggle.

    When I hit the pillow next to Lor, not bothering to get out of my Naboo dress, the convor strokes a feathery wing over my face. Her tender caress sends me straight into the land of dreams.

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


    I am dreaming, of that I am aware. Glittering mist is everywhere. It seems like I am floating through the Force vortex itself. It is peaceful, until his soul calls out to mine, softly and persistent.

    “Nagina!”

    I keep concentrating on the wurthering wafts around me.

    “Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood,” my uncle purrs like a Loth-cat, ready to play.

    Resistance is futile. He will keep calling me, until I face him. Patience has brought him into his current position of power. Not a virtue that a Sith lord usually possesses.

    “Will you order me now to cross land and sea to do your bidding?” I joke dryly.

    His laughter comes from every direction.

    It has been a while since I walked the path of the ghost world. Normally, I use sage to get in the right state of mind and pray to Shiraya. But I am able to peal out of the shell that is my body nevertheless.

    Weightless and silvery, I face Bathseba. The guardian of the Whills looks worried and opens its beak in protest, but I put a shimmering ghost finger against my lips.

    There is no need to worry. I know what I am doing.

    The first time I travelled like this was actually when Grandfather Cosinga started hurting me badly.

    It took me years to tell Sheev about my special gift, but when I did he was pleased. He encouraged me to train together with him.

    “Come!” my uncle woos me again.

    I walk through walls, even through the air.

    The lawn is full of tents, looking like a circus camp.

    My silent journey takes me up a hill from where I can oversee the entire Anil property. In my wake I pass the sleeping body of Aurra Sing. But it is not her that I am interested in.

    A lone figure, bodiless as me, stands in the grass sea.

    “You take a high risk travelling like this in such dark times,” I remark.

    “Humbug! It is safer than the interstellar trade routes to Chandrila,” Sheev answers, the hood deep in his face. “Anyway, I am here to congratulate you for your birthday. I wanted to be the first.”

    I shuffle my feet. “You are not mad that I am not on Lothal?”

    He chuckles. “When Gita and Chetan took you in so many years ago it was clear to me that they would be forced to share you with them. The number of people who want a piece of you has grown immensely the past decades. I keep asking myself where you met most of your friends.”

    “You do not blame Orson for the party here on Chandrila?” I inquire.

    “I would only blame him if he had shamed you in front of your guests once more.” He tilts his head. “There was this infamous birthday cake incident during your sixteenth birthday, am I right?”

    “If I have forgiven him, you should find it in your heart to forgive him as well.”

    “He would not be alive otherwise,” he smirks. “But that is not my birthday present for you.”

    Expectantly, I gaze his shimmering ghost figure.

    “You may visit Padmé's grave if you must.”
     
  10. Cowgirl Jedi 1701

    Cowgirl Jedi 1701 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2016
    He says this like he's making a great concession, but I think he knows as well as we do that if Nagina wants something bad enough, she'll figure out a way to get it no matter what he says, so he may as well give her his blessing and make things easier on himself.
     
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  11. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    I felt the same, but I do wonder, perhaps he has prevented it before - at the least, him 'permitting' it would probably help Nagina fully enjoy it, without a conflict due to knowing her uncle doesn't want her there.
    At first, that last part seemed quite creepy to me, truth be told. But, with the way she reacts, it becomes more of a nice visit than threatening that he can visit her in her sleep.

    Nagina's foster parents and brother remain quite committed to her best interests and happiness - I like the interactions here.
     
  12. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Wonderfully intense discussion. I love gita's insistence on not being ashamed of a joyous occasion like a wedding. @};- Yikes, but the things Birch mentions about the spreading oprression and outlawry of belifs and making everyday routines and being part of a prticular race an actual "criminal offense." :eek: That unfortunate situation does beg for caution & discretion. :(

    =D=
     
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  13. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Great discussions and nice to see Sheev allowing her to visit the grave
     
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  14. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: You can blame Gita´s belief in traditional Naboo family arrangements on my fascination with Bollywood movies. Especially this one:





    earlybird-obi-wan: Sheev cannot be the bad guy all the time. At least not towards his niece.
     
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  15. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Because I will not be able to post between tomorrow and Sunday next week I decided for a larger update in my absence from the boards. Please enjoy yourselves, Kahara, WarmNyota_SweetAyesha and earlybird-obi-wan

    DarthUncle: Please walk me to the fitness centre at this time of day! Our quarter has too many drug dealers at present to feel safe. I rather stand at the edge of the bogland in the middle of the night and face other dangers. "They" are better to handle than the scum on Berlin streets.




    Chapter 30:

    I wake up to with a splitting headache, but at the same time I notice a warm body, framing mine. There is a familiar heartbeat, echoing into my veins.



    “Good morning, sleepyhead,” Lor says and I can hear the smile in his voice. But then he pauses. “Does your uncle know? About us, I mean?”

    Bright sunlight filters through the curtains, hurting my eyes. “Of course not,” I answer, closing my lids again. “Sheev is too polite to read my mind or ask me intimate questions about my love life.”

    “Let us hope it stays this way,” Lor sighs. “Especially after last night.”

    Wide eyed, I turn to face him. My aching head feels stiff and heavy while I do, and I feel at it with numb fingers. “You noticed that I was out of my body.”

    He nods. “The silver thread was hard to miss.”

    It is not easy for me to ask the following question. “How do you know about soul flight?”

    “My great-grand-mother Erna was a shaman of the Whills. Her entire life she was more outside her body than inside. She seldom would get up from her rock chair by the fire place.”

    I press my face against his chest. “Are you mad with me?”

    He starts stroking my hair. “Of course not. I could never be mad with you, Nagina. You are what you are, my wife and his niece.” Kisses rain on my head, chasing the pain away. “And obviously you are gifted with rare Force talents.”

    “The ancient serpentine blood line,” I sigh. “Sheev and I are both descendants of House Tjiehenet.”

    Laughter rumbles through his chest. “The Legends of the Force. I read about them in the scriptorium of the Whills.”

    Lor does not regard me as a freak, nor does he question my calling to be just an ordinary kindergarten teacher.

    Large, hairy hands frame my face. “May the Force be with us and those who care about this union,” he says.

    This leads me to another question automatically. “Does your family on Jedha know?”

    “They know that you are my bride and that you are dear to me.”

    With that he kisses me, long and breathless.

    Soon our hands grope in the light of the late morning hours.

    When I look for Batheba in between, I can see her sitting on the wardrobe. Her avian face averted from us, but she makes happy little sounds. They sound like laughter.

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

    Around noon there is a knock at the door. Lor pulls the bed sheet up to cover our naked bodies.

    “Are you decent?” asks Dravits through the door.

    “Nay!” I can hear Berch chuckle. “But let us go in anyway.”

    “We wait for our sister to let us in, guys!” decides Crix in a calm tone of voice. “It has always been that way.”

    While a hushed quarrel breaks out, Lor gets up with a huge grin and I start roaming the room for fresh clothing.

    There are two chairs opposite the still open window, they both have clothing on them. One for an oversized woman, another one for a large, tall man like my husband. My mother must have brought all of this around last night.

    Lor is quicker in dressing than I am. He makes up the bed while I still struggle with my stockings.

    Finally, I open the door and let my three foster brothers in. They all wear big, feisty grins on their faces.

    “Brunch awaits you downstairs, milady,” Dravits announces. “Orson is still asleep in the barn and a large bunch of new birthday guests arrived. Lor can simply blend in.”

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

    The entire veranda serves as a buffet location. On the row of tables I spot Breakfast Cups, Dampers, Country Breakfast Casserole, Bacon and Egg Rolls, Breakfast Pies, Lamington Pancakes and many other goodies of Chandrilan breakfast culture.

    Accustomed to cook and bake for a multitude of foster children, Gita has pulled off a birthday brunch of this proportion rather easily.

    “Wookie cookies!” Lor whispers happily, a boyish gleam in his blue eyes. “Just look at the large chocolate chunks in them.”

    Berch, usually just a coffee person in the morning, reaches out for an enormous cookie and stuffs it into his mouth in one go. With his puffed out cheeks he reminds me faintly of a Nexu minus the four red eyes.

    Before my husband can grasp a Wookie cookie himself, a deep voice says right behind us, “First, you should try out the Nabooian nerve knockers.”

    My heart leaps into my throat, but not for long. Chetan and Lor exchange but a firm handshake. No testosterone fills the air. Their faces are calm and relaxed.

    “A son of NiJedha,” my foster father states thoughtfully. “I was told you grew up at the foot of the Temple of the Kyber.”

    Lor laughs his irresistible laugh. “I was actually more inside the holy halls than outside the temple.”

    Chetan gives him a questioning look.

    “The order of the Whills differs a lot from the Jedi,” my husband explains quickly. “Their warrior monks are embedded in the real world rather than living an enclosed life among their own kind. Teaching everybody the ways of the Force is important to them.”

    While my foster father follows each of Lor’s words with great interest, Berch gathers a mountain of Wookie cookies in his toga and marches off. Tales about the Force never interested my foster brother, just the gory bits about Sith massacres and their vicious plots.

    “The temple of the Whills is a place of welcome and learning for all the faithful. I was taught reading and writing in Aurebesh alongside the 'temple boys' as we 'city cruisers' used to call them. There where a few rumbles between us now and then, but nothing serious. Mutual respect and friendship are essential in Jedha’s cold climate.” He smiles, his eyes gazing far into the past. “Chirrut and Baze, two dear friends, loved my mother’s po cha as much as her dresil. In return I was able to sneak inside the crystal chamber whenever I wanted to meditate on the nature of the Force. I was granted access to every script roll and book that interested me.”

    Chetan places a hand on my husband’s right shoulder. “If you grew up with a diet based on butter tea, sweet rice and literature it is a miracle that you grew so tall.” He pauses. “It is true that you are eight years younger than our Nagina?”

    I cannot help but blush crimson from head to toe.

    “The Force is a timeless entity and so is love,” answers Lor without blinking. “When I first set eyes on your daughter, she was busy in one of her flower beds. She looked so lovely and lively among all the greenery around her. It was then when I fell head over heels in love with her.”

    Then love has blinded you?”

    A corner of his mouth twitches. “You think so, Master Anil?” He crooks his blond head. “Let me tell you something essential about Nagina. She has much in common with my childhood teachers. Due to her I want to continue to seek out the mysteries of the universe and the true meaning of life.”

    Chetan takes a step closer towards him. “And her true heritages does not bother you in the least?”

    “Family cannot be chosen, Master Anil,” Lor replies in a civil tone of voice. “Only friends can.”

    “This was not the question I asked you.”

    My husband also takes a large step towards my foster father. Their faces almost touch one another. “In the temple I was taught a lot about the nature of the Force. Each of us carries the powers of light and darkness within. Our daily choices matter. And I choose Nagina just as she is.”

    Facing so much loyalty, it is difficult to hold back my tears. I sniff into my left sleeve.

    “Besides, I don’t believe in devils,” Lor moves on. Indifference and misunderstandings can create evil situations. Most of the time, people who appear to be evil are really victims of evil deeds.”

    My husband just has talked about both Sheev and Orson without naming them.

    A sly smile appears on Chetan’s face. “Can you cook?”

    I groan, my face feeling uncomfortably warm.

    “My mother made sure that each of her sons and daughters knows a thing or two in the kitchen.” He winks at me, before adding, “The village of Jhothal, where Nagina is banished to, is settled in a rather rural area. There are no fast-food restaurants within in a radius of two hundred miles. I checked.”

    While my foster father is pleased with the answer, knowing my bad eating habits all too well, I pull myself a glass of Chandrilan grappaberries in order to hide my blushing face.

    Gita, wearing her favourite kitchen apron, passes through the veranda door with a bowl of fruit salad and walks straight towards us. “There you are.” She gives me a quick smile. “Our neighbours from the surrounding farms have joined your birthday celebrations. There are also visitors from Kuat and Hossnian Prime.”

    Due to Barin’s death I have not celebrated my last three birthdays at all. Apart from Sheev and my former kindergarten group on Coruscant everybody had respected my wish. This year everything seems out of proportion.

    “What about Orson?” I inquire carefully and scan the lawn for him.

    “Still sound asleep as a baby,” Chetan ensures me. “You can check on him if you really need to.”

    I press a hand on my fast beating heart. “You have not overdosed him, have you?”

    My foster father laughs heartily. “That bird of yours worked her Force magic on him after Milow’s sleeping pill.”

    From the nearby chestnut tree I hear chirping. Hidden in the dense greenery of the tree crown Bathseba pretends to be an ordinary songbird.

    I smile wistfully.

    The convor has bought me a couple of hours, at best an entire day. The drama will start when Orson wakes up again and starts asking questions.

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


    (To be continued around the 8th October again!)
     
  16. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Delightful update Azure! Lor is articulate and very loving. :)
    Lord I will miss you until the 8th. LOL Your updates on Sunday-ish are a treat! [:D] @};-
     
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  17. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Lor is indeed lovingly articulate and a nice guy, but with a tough interior. I think she doesn't really believe she deserves him, but, he does, and he's making it clear. In this one, the tension is for once far in the background, which is a nice breather for us all - though I am sure it will come back soon, for example with a waking Orson!
     
  18. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Lor is nice in this happy update. And the bird is controlling Orson
     
  19. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Well, controlling, let's call it 'managing him' instead - I am sure Orson would approve of the term earlybird-obi-wan !
     
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  20. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    DarthUncle & earlybird-obi-wan: Thanks for commenting and discussing nicely! I am still overwhelmed by the hug & the kiss that Tori Amos gave me in front of the Tempodrom concert hall last night. Plus I am running late for the Comic Con here in Berlin, trying to find the other members of the Star Wars Dinner Berlin. And I was too tired to do that apple tart for everybody. Dang, dang, dang!
     
  21. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    Aww, this was a really sweet chapter! [face_love] Orson being sacked out in the barn does allow everyone to relax and let their hair down somewhat. :p Loved the beginning; you can see the deep affection between Nagina and Lor. With all of the difficult, tangled emotional connections she has in her life, it's beautiful that she at least has such a good relationship with her new husband. The foster brothers are a bunch of scamps, as seems to be their nature when brought together under one roof. [face_laugh]

    This was my favorite section from the chapter. :)
     
  22. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Kahara: The Harz Mountains between the 2nd October and the 4th October were great. But I had to leave on Wednesday afternoon for a work related seminar in Berlin. The seminar was on the 5th October between 10 am and 3 pm. Around 2 pm a storm called "Xavier" came over Germany and the railway system is still screwed. There have been no available seats on the "Flixbuses". So I was not able to return to the mountains... :_| Monday morning work starts again.

    But I painted a lot and now I am able to upload the next part, hoping that you will like it as well.

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, Darth Gangrenous, earlybird-obi-wan, DARTH_MU and everybody who still reads this.


    (STILL CHAPTER 30!)



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

    With Lor at my side I start my jolly roundabout, introducing him as a dear friend from Lothal. But my blushed face and my bright eyes hint towards something else. There are no questions though, for which I am grateful. My widow status grants me immunity yet.

    I kiss many cheeks in greeting.

    Small talk follows small talk.

    In between, I try to eat something, but I am too excited to finish my food. I do manage to drink a lot of fountain water and juices.

    At dawn, a tall figure dressed in black army trousers and a white tank top leaves the barn.

    Immediately, Lor drifts off to somewhere else.

    “Orson!” I beam and run towards my former ward, whose hands are not wrapped in bacta bandages any longer. “I wanted to wake you up in an hour.”

    “Oh really?” Bitter-sweet irony is written all over his haggard face. “You did not seem in a hurry about that. But then again, you have at least seventy guests that need to be taken care off.”

    “Eighty three,” I prompt for I cannot lie. At least not about that.

    For a moment, we stand motionless. I can feel my heart thudding in my chest, the blood throbbing in my veins. Then Orson lays a clenched fist on his heart.

    “If you lose my valuable service, dear Ina, then your new guardian might be a person you do not like in the least,” he warns me, glancing at me under his long lashes. “And there have been a few requests, believe me.”

    I shudder, thinking of the men who surround my uncle like occultists: my godfather Sate Pestage, Kinman Doriana, the Chagrian Mas Amedda and Janus Greejatus. Only with Ars Dangor I am able to feel comfortable. He worships me since many years, even though he can be extremely cruel with others. If the dark haired Naboo man ever had allowed himself a proper coming out, things would be much, much different.

    “Be glad that I am prepared to fight for the right to be at your side,” Orson says quietly. His face is cold. There is no malice in it, merely a deadly calm. “I am cannot be retired from my current duties so easily.”

    “As my white knight?” I joke, trying to ease the tension between us.

    “If necessary I am your personal killer commando,” he says, the words coming out harshly.

    “You want to surpass the birthday cake incident with a massacre today?” I ask, frowning slightly.

    He says nothing, his eyes narrow and calculating. If he was a target computer, columns of figures would drift over his iris.

    A wind is getting up.

    “No one knows what it’s like
    To be the bad man
    To be the sad man
    Behind blue eyes”

    Orson does not shift, his voice remaining taut even while singing those lines

    “No one knows what it’s like
    To be hated
    To be fated
    To telling only lies”

    Then he bows his head against my shoulder. In that moment, I remember how many times I had held him as a baby boy, sweating and trembling from nightmares.

    “Stop fussing, Orson Callan Krennic!” I advice him. “Have some early dinner instead.”

    He lifts his chin again. “Why are the Hills, the Evans and the Andersons here?” he asks, glancing over the lawn. “I also spot old Mister Taylor, the Hall twins and Mistress Wright.”

    I use my right index finger to coax him closer towards my face, and say in a conspiring tone of voice, “Don’t tell, but these people are my parent’s direct neighbours. It is only a question of politeness to invite them for such an event, so as not to make them wonder.”

    “None of them likes me,” he hisses back. “They never did.”

    I smile brightly. “Then do your best to represent the new you: the Imperial officer and chef architect of the Emperor.”

    He hurries back towards the barn like an eopie being stung by a dung fly.

    Crix approaches me. “Will you stop me from barring the barn and setting it on fire?”

    “Drav is known for such unusual solutions. You wouldn’t even consider it for a single heart beat.”

    My Corellian foster brother gives me one of his mercurial smiles: the rare ones that come from the reserves of his being. “I told our brother you would see right through me.”

    “Let Orson dress properly and give him the chance to do what he has been doing on Coruscant for many years now,” I beg. “Being a sparkling star at parties.”

    An errant shaft of sunlight catches his face, turning it momentarily into the gilded mask of a secret service officer. “Our neighbours will not buy that from somebody who used to torture wild squalls and aimed at their cattle just for fun.” He shrugs and his features become softer again. “But when you dangle from his left arm, smiley and happy, they might believe he changed for the better.”

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

    It is late at night when I intend to walk up to my parent’s bedroom. Orson is still busy partying on the veranda, a glass of aged Chandrilan wine in his hands. He talks lout and animated.

    “The Ersos, Drav, you will make enquiries about them, right?” I remind my foster brother who shields me from being spotted.

    “I still fail to understand how the ancient Sith and a modern specialist for crystallogy can be of use to your uncle,” he mutters, keen not to draw any attention to us. Especially not from Orson.

    “Sheev studied the Celestials hard and long. But not just them. There was once an insect-like race called 'the Kind'. They had developed the Qolaraloq,the World Puller.”

    “Never heard of them, or that weapon.”

    “It was a was a giant space station, capable of moving entire planets with tractor beams.”

    “C’mon, Nini. Giant bugs from the Unknown Regions, who are ruthless architects like Krennic. I would say your uncle tricked you and gave you a science fiction thriller instead.” Now Dravits laughs in almost hysterical sobs. “This was never real history, just Legends.”

    “The Geonosians are a fact, right?” I am sad he, of all people, does not believe me. “They were a huge part of the Clone Wars. Has anybody checked on them since Sheev made himself Emperor?”

    His shoulders stiffen. “You see conspiracies everywhere these days.”

    “Because fairy tales are true and so are the monsters in them.”

    “Reading is not a healthy occupation.” He sniggers. “Trust me on that. In my line of work I have to skim through a lot of text on a daily basis.”

    “But you follow unusual patterns in your security files, right? You never take things for granted. Not you.”

    “Giant space stations cannot be built so easily,” Dravits gives me to consider. “They would cost the old Sheevster more money than he has and he can certainly not take tons of tax money.”

    “Watch him do it,” I answer stiffly.

    He shakes his head. “Then there is the logistics of such a project. Even if slimmy opportunists like Orson are part of it, you need construction materials and workers.”

    Frustrated, I box into his ribs and he does not even wince. “You do not understand the nature of the Sith, do you? Their cunning and ruthless determination to reach for power.”

    He yawns. “Let me sleep on it. I’ll give you an answer in the morning.”

    Sulking, I leave the veranda altogether and step into the empty house.

    The climate on Chandrila is mild throughout the year and so are the nights. All my guests are out there. But one person is not.

    In the darkness of the hallway Lor takes me into his arms. I am faintly reminded of Senator Amidala welcoming her secret husband General Skywalker home after my uncle’s 'rescue' from the 'Invisible hand'.

    “You listened in,” I state.

    “I heard every word of your conversation with Dravits,” my husband confesses.

    I sniff against his chest. “Why can’t he see it?”

    “You cannot force somebody to believe.” Lor strokes through my hair over and over again. “Belief grows inside the heart, bit by bit. It is nourished by experiences and meeting others. Give him time.”

    “Time is something we do not have,” I protest.

    “The Force will smooth everything out in the end, Nagina.”
     
  23. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Nagina handled Sulky Orson pretty well there - and I note Lor is quite handy at not being noticed when it serves his/his wife's purpose! At least one person that knows much of what she knows, and who shares here worries with her.
     
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  24. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Well, this is quite the acrobatic birthday party: avoid arguments (to the extent that's possible), get married to a wonderful man, put one of the guests to sleep, explain the whole lot to your parents, have an out-of-body chat with Sheev during the night, wake up for brunch, play meet-the-parents, soothe any ruffled feathers and go back to your husband while the guest you put to sleep is partying... Nagina is a virtuoso here :D

    There's a pretty dark irony to the fact that Draven doesn't believe her about Sheev's plans. But what does he know...
     
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  25. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    DarthUncle: Yes, I admit it now. I was an Emperor Ming girl long before I was a Vader fan girl. Because Max von Sydow played him so deliciously vicious despite the horrible style of that "Flash Gordon" movie. My love for that great Swedish actor is mirrored in my Lor-Nagina relationship. [face_batting]


    Well, Chyntuck, people always fail to see the obvious. Like who is The Apprentice now that Dooku is no more.

    [​IMG]

    Even Nagina does not get it for many, many years. She cannot know everything. MEGA SPOILER!

    (I am just busy changing lost stuff in my fan art collection! From this page on I had to fill in new stuff!)