Beyond - Legends Silence - SRJS Wordless Romance Challenge Response - L/M

Title: Silence
Author: VaderLVR64
Characters: Luke and Mara
Genre: Vignette, AU
Notes: Written for the ?Wordless Romance SRJS Challenge? The requirements were as follows:

During the month of May, please write a story that fulfills the following:

1) Begin your story with the sentence "There were fifteen minutes left."

2) Write a story that portrays "romance" without "mush". Luke and Mara may not touch. Find a way for one or both of them to express love without the use of the words "I love you". Be creative!

3) Feel free to use any era, canon or AU, that you wish.

4) Put "SRJS Wordless Romance Challenge" somewhere in the A/N so the story may be indexed.



Silence


?Speech is of time, silence is of eternity.? -- Thomas Carlyle

~~~


There were fifteen minutes left. That was all. They had spent the first five minutes simply gazing at each other, their hearts too full for words. Luke glanced at the chrono ? sensing that Mara did the same. That ugly chrono ruled their lives now, every tick, every minute that marched by reminded him of all they had lost, and all they would never have.

He turned and met her eyes, smiling though he felt as if his heart would shatter inside his chest. ?Are you eating enough?? he asked, feeling stupid even as the words passed his lips. There was so much he wanted to tell her that he could find nothing to say.

She nodded wordlessly.

?That wasn?t what I wanted to say,? he murmured, glancing around them. They had not had a moment alone in what seemed an eternity. Though he could see no one, he knew that every word, every gesture and moment between them was being screened and studied. ?Force, Mara?? He exhaled harshly, letting his head sag forward with the weight of his burden.

Luke put his hand against the transparisteel partition that separated them. ?Mara,? he said simply. Their words to each other were easily audible, but had a strangely muffled quality due to their surroundings.

Mara smiled slightly, placing her hand against the transparisteel, lining up her fingers with his. He could almost feel the heat of her palm, the calluses of her hand brushing against his own. He closed his eyes, letting memory take over.

?Don?t,? she chided softly.

He opened his eyes and studied her, surprised to see tears shimmering in her eyes. Those tears surprised him, frightened him even. Then she blinked them away, shaking her head and taking a deep sigh. Mara was back in control and Luke felt the galaxy right itself. He depended on her to maintain his own equilibrium. She was his strength, his rock, the foundation of his very life. Without her strength and certainty, he floundered.

?I miss you,? he confessed quietly.

?You need to move on,? Mara told him and her eyes locked with his. ?You?re just torturing us both with this.?

?But I lo-?

?Stop.? Cold durasteel in her voice sliced through him, leaving him gasping and wounded. ?You need to stop this.?

?What do you mean??

?I mean that you need to move on,? she hissed. ?It?s been three years, Luke.? She looked around and gave a bark of bitter laughter. ?It?s not going to change. You know that. I accepted it a long time ago. But you?? Mara shook her head. ?You?re too damned stubborn to admit it to yourself.?

Her hand fell from the partition. She pushed away, her head turned, her lips pressed together. ?Just go.? Every line of her body screamed out her refusal of him.

?Mara, I-?

Suddenly, she whirled to face him. ?You?re killing me, Luke.? This time the defiance was gone and only pain and longing was in her voice. ?You?re killing me?slowly and with the best of intentions?but I just can?t do this anymore.?

?What?s that supposed to mean?? Luke surged to his feet, pressed both of his hands against the partition.

?It means that I can?t do this?not anymore?? Utter defeat laced her words. He watched as her shoulders slumped and she wrapped her arms around herself and trembled, as if buffeted by a frozen wind. ?Just go away?please??

?I lo-?

 

Have I mentioned that I love you? I don't think I have.

That. Was awesome. An amazing response to the challenge. This is exactly how I believe they'd respond to a situation like that. I can't pick which part I like the most, because both of them were so well-characterized, and the situation was just heartbreaking, but it felt very real. All in all a very good story, VaderLVR. I love getting to read your fics.

<3

 

What an amazing emotional piece - you nearly had me sobbing at my desk. I think it worked out better, leaving the circumstances to the readers' imaginations; there was a hint of uncertainty. For a while I uncertain who was in prison.

Rip out my heart and stomp all over it, why don't you! Well done!

 

Kim, I love this scenario. More when I can get back to the computer, but that had to be said.

 

oh, wow! Very nice indeed. amazingly done! I loved it.


wow.

Dana

 

Mama Vadie you're breaking my heart. Can't he like bust her out or something.

*grabs kleenex*

I've felt like that before.

Uh, has he been under a rock on Kessell or Tattooine? Does he not know whos he's talking to.

*more kleenex* Beautfifully written.

Beautiful just beautiful; sad but beautiful. Great entry for this challenge!

 

*Clutches heart as it breaks*

OUCH!!!!! Mama Vadey, that was beautiful and heartbreaking and wonderful and--- Amazing!!!!!!!




Can you write something happy now? Please?

Huggles,
Irish

 

?I?ll get you out of here,? he promised rashly, though they both knew he had done everything in his power for the past three years to change all of this.

And nothing had worked. Nothing at all.

She was still here and he was alone.

?We both know that isn?t going to happen,? she said softly. ?Oh my poor farmboy,? Mara whispered. ?Everyone you love gets taken away.? Once more, tears filled her eyes, but he did not notice. His own tears made her image shimmer and tremble. ?I?m so sorry.?

?Don?t keep me away from you,? he pleaded and slid down to his knees.

Oh, gosh that's sad! It breaks my heart!! But so well done! Beautiful and touching. What a stunning and brilliant response to the challenge!!

 

Heartbreakingly wonderful!

Bravo!

 

WAAAAH Tissue alert!!!! Moving and heart tugging!!! I know Luke must've moved heaven and earth

Huggles for such a touching vig!

 

Oh, that was so sad!


(Good job!)


?I?ll break-?
?Hush now.? Her fingers came up to press against where his lips would have been if he had been in her arms as he was meant to be. ?Don?t talk crazy. You know that won?t do me a damn bit of good.?
Once more, their eyes locked and as he gazed at her, he knew the battle was already lost. Her formidable will had given her the victory, and nothing he did or said would change that. ?You mean it?? he whispered plaintively, unable to believe that after all they had been through together, that it was simply over.
?Yes,? she replied sadly. ?I do.? Mara closed her eyes and Luke felt her brush against him in the Force. Her touch was warm and familiar and infinitely bittersweet because he sensed the farewell in the gesture. Luke gave himself up to her caress, floating along in the warm currents of memory.
He would keep silent, locking up the words of love behind his lips, because it would make her stronger, more able to endure that which must be endured. He could not help her in any other way than in this ? the gift of silence. She knew what his heart held, and that would have to be enough.

 

I was just waiting for Luke to break down that barrier between them and sweep her up in his arms . . . but I realized that was forbidden by the challenge.

So sad but stunning! Wonderful job; you never cease to amaze me with your prolific (and great!) writing.

 

Wow, I just had to de-lurk for that. As everyone has already said, it's just so heartbreaking. Almost brought me to tears.

Thanks for the great story! Keep up the great work. I always love your stuff.

 

Ok, I'm trying to think up words to describe this that others haven't already said, and I think brilliant is the only one that hasn't been used yet.

Ok, brilliant. This was absolutely brilliant.

And heartbreaking.

And stunning.

And beautiful.

And all the other readers before me have said.

 

That was brutal.

And I can just image how tortured Luke has been and will continue to be knowing Mara is in prison and there isn't a thing he can do about it.

Great response to the challenge

 

That was AMAZING!!! [/sings]

MJR

 

?We both know that isn?t going to happen,? she said softly. ?Oh my poor farmboy,? Mara whispered. ?Everyone you love gets taken away.? Once more, tears filled her eyes, but he did not notice. His own tears made her image shimmer and tremble. ?I?m so sorry.?

Beautifully done. The idea that each gives up the other because they love them too much to hold on.

 

Beautiful and sad and brilliant and heartbreaking.

So good

 

That was absolutely soul wrenching... I was trembling while reading through it. Their pain of being so close to each other but still being kept separated was so strong and undefeatable that it came close to breaking my heart.

And Luke's thoughts in the end - how can you ever be free when your heart has been captured and shackled to someone else? No matter what he does or who he meets, Luke will always remember and love Mara. It's that kind of undying love that can fly you to the best of dreams and then tear you apart when it's cruelly ripped away from you. And you wrote it so beautifully...

 

Ack conflicting emotions! It was so beautifully written and their love for one another was so poignant, but yet it was such a horrible circumstance! Mara imprisoned with Luke imprisoned in his love... And then the final goodbye. Wonderful job!

 

Wow! Just... wow! I'm speachless. Bravo!

 

Brilliant stuff. So much said in so few words.

 

EmilieDarklighter Wow. Thank you.

Jedi_Emeritus Thank you so much for reading.

Gabri_Jade That'll do just fine, thank you!

Jedimaster_JainaSolo Thank you.

THE_PIED_PIPER Thank you. I'm so glad you liked it.

Irish_Jedi_Jade There are happy writing days and angsty writing days. I guess that one was angsty!

dancing_star Thank you.

Jade_Pilot Thanks!

Jade_eyes I'm sure he did.

Blue_Milkshake This was the saddest scenario I could come up with, I thought it was even worse than one of them dying.

Dana-Skywalker Thank you.

Jedi_Scooch Thank you so much for reading.

Alexis_Wingstar Thank you.

Kellia Thank you, honorable sock.

mara_jade_rox Thanks!

divapilot That's exactly how it is.

aurrasingrules101 Thank you.

Aleria Yeah, it will be incredibly difficult for him to move on.

Jaina_and_Jag Thank you.

Rivad_Bacar2 Thank you so much!

Jek_Windu I'm so glad that you liked it.