Beyond - Legends Stories of Life [Evil Author Day] - Short Stories - Mara, Luke, Ben Skywalker

Title: Stories of Life
Canonicity: Legends
Notes: These are all posted for Evil Author Day meaning they are unfinished, unedited and unbeta'd, read at your own risk.

Feel free to pick up a bunny if you feel so inspired! Make sure to tag me if you do. I do reserve the right to finish these sometime in the future if the muse is so inclined.

For the ones I kinda remember where I was going, I did include notes in the spoiler tags at the end.


Index
Do You Love Me -- Mara Jade - fluffy
A Life Stolen -- Mara Jade - kinda sad, but not overtly, more in the nature of Mara's early life.
Night Sky -- Luke/Mara, Ben Skywalker - pure family fluff
Life is Love- Mara, Ben Skywalker -- ANGST. Major character death

 

Title: Do You Love Me
Characters: Mara Jade
Genre: AU, big time.
Notes: This story was for the One-Hit Wonder’s Challenge. I was given the song: Do You Love Me by The Contours from 1962.
This song always reminds me of the movie Dirty Dancing, so this story was inspired by the movie and the song.

- - - -

Mara Jade had been dancing her whole life. Even before she could stand or walk, she’d wiggle around anytime music was played. As her movement skills grew, so did her dance ability. Her older brother Darrrk always teased that she didn’t walk anywhere, she danced. Her parents allowed her to take dance as a child, but as she grew they tried to convince her to do other things, explore her horizons a bit more, but she didn’t want to. She loved to dance, and she was good.


Her parents were terrified she’d end up some dancing girl for a rich Hutt mobster on a backwater planet rather than at the Corellian Ballet like she’d always dreamed. Every day she was able, she took classes from different teachers to advance her skills, she took workshops from visiting instructors, and went to every summer intensive she could. But in the end, her parents were not right, she didn’t end up working for a Hutt mobster, but she wasn’t in the Ballet either.


After auditioning for several different ballets on her home planet of Corellia, Mara started to look off world for work. She’d audition, they’d say she did well and inevitably she wouldn’t get the job. Away from home and running out of money, she decided to start auditioning for different types of dance jobs, which is how she ended up working at **Name of space cruise for rich people***


She was starting her second year and she was looking forward to it. Not the teaching rich beings how to dance, that part she could leave in a hurry, but most of the friends she’d made over the past year had also signed contracts to continue another year. During the day they’d teach dance, assist passengers with directions, host games. In the evening’s they’d perform shows, which allowed her to at least put her dance skills to use, even though most of it was just flashy and not what she’d considered real dance. But at night, the crew who weren’t working the night shift would get together and dance the night away.

Spoiler: Full Idea

Full Idea: Mara was the Johnnie character from Dirty Dancing and Luke was the Baby character, but in space. It wasn't going to be an exact retelling, but the basic ideas. I think Luke was there not because he was rich but because Owen and Beru won a contest, or Owen had done a big favor for someone, I don't remember the exact details.

 

Title: A Life Stolen
Characters: Mara Jade, was going to have Luke
Genre: Angst, Drama, family, mush
Canonicity: Legends

- - - -

I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning, though I don't really remember that much from my early life. I have flashes of images but nothing enough to know people or places.

I once asked one of my teachers about where I came from before I had been taken in by the Emperor, but this question caused me to fight the droids with the shock setting on high so I learned very quickly that asking questions about my home planet or parents was off limits.

Luke once tried to help me recall more but I could not really recall more than I already had. I guess I was taken at such a young age there really wasn't that much to remember.

Of the things I do remember is the sunlight, how it was so bright it hurt my eyes. I can recall a shadow leaning over me with long hair, talking to me, smiling at me but I can never remember the sound of her voice or exactly what she looks like, I can only see her in shadow.

I figure Palpatine had been looking for young Force sensitives and took me from my parents. I figure it wouldn't have been hard to do. As I grew older I often wondered how they felt about their child being taken, were they told a lie that they would see me again, that I was going to a school for gifted children and would be home for the next holiday or was I just ripped from their arms and taken by force?

I don't know which one I really hope for, if I had been taken by force, at least they would know they would most likely never see me again and perhaps they moved on? Maybe I have a brother or sister somewhere? But if they were fed a lie, they might have waited and looked for me for years.

Of course, I guess they could have willingly given me up, or even sold me.

I know a lot of Luke's childhood was shrouded in mystery and when he learned the truth it had not been nothing like he had hoped for. I don't which is worse, not knowing or learning the truth.

Spoiler: Full Idea

Full Idea: I don't remember complete details, but it was basically Mara was going to try and find out who she was before Palpatine took her, who her parents were and what happened to them. Luke was going to be at her side and probably finding other Force sensitives along the way

 

Title: Night Sky
Characters: Luke/Mara, Ben Skywalker
Genre: Fluff, family
Notes: This was based on what my parents would do when I was little and something really cool was happening in the night sky. They'd wake us up in the middle of the night to see it. I have very fond memories of this happening.

- - -

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Mara asked as she and Luke started walking toward their young sons room. “When he can’t or won’t go back to sleep, you’re on your own.”


Luke smiled at his wife, he knew she was very serious and that she would go to bed without him and leave him with a grumpy child if this didn’t work out as he planned. “I don’t think it will be a problem,” he answered as he sat down on the edge of his son’s bed. “Ben,” he shook the child gently, “Ben wake up, momma and I want to show you something.”


“Speak for yourself, farmboy,” Mara whispered, “I wanted to go to bed.”


“Poppa?” Ben asked as his father picked him up.


“We’re going to go outside and see something, let momma put some warm clothes on you, okay?”


Ben nodded sleepily. The usually hyperactive child was very pliable when tired and allowed the warm sweater to be put over his head and his arms in the sleeves without problems.


The three of them walked outside to the yard of the small house on Ossus where the Skywalkers currently resided. Luke laid down a thick blanket on the ground and then laid down on it himself. Mara set Ben beside his father and then laid to the other side of her son so that she could lay her head on Luke’s chest but Ben was still between them.


“See that, Ben?” Luke said as he pointed to the sky where the meteor shower was visible. “See the lights that are flying through the sky?”


“Uh hu,” Ben replied not really seeing what his father was talking about.


“There,” Mara pointed as another one passed. “Some beings call them shooting stars, but the really are rocks that are flying through space really, really fast..”


As they talked the rate of the meteor increased. “There’s one!” Ben said, now excited as more and more ‘stars’ passed by their field of vision. Ben delighted in pointing to all that he could, now sitting between his parents with his head looking straight up.


Luke turned his head and smiled at his wife, who proceeded to roll her eyes, though he knew it was a token protest and that she too was enjoying their time as a family. “When I was little,” Luke said “I always wished on the shooting stars that I would get to be among them one day. I guess my wish came true.”


“I wish to be a Jedi one day,” came Ben’s soft voice as he followed a specific meteor with his finger.


Time passed and as the shower began to slow down, Ben leaned back and laid his head on mother’s chest while she laid on Luke’s.


They weren’t always able to be together as a family so they cherished the times they could. Luke could only hope that this would be a fond memory for his son one day.

Spoiler: Full Idea

Full Idea: We'd see them doing it through Ben's life and then Ben sharing it with his kids.

 

Title: Life is Love
Characters: Luke/Mara, Ben Skywalker
Genre: ANGST. Like, even in this very short beginning it's sad. Major Character Death. If that's not something you can handle right now, please don't read.

- - -



It had been two days since it had happened. They knew it was coming, but nothing could prepare a man to lose his wife, and a child to lose their mother.


Ben, at thirteen standard years old was old enough to understand death -he’d seen it more than any child should- but he didn’t know why it had happened to his family. His mom was a Jedi, his father was the Jedi Master. They’d had access to the best Jedi Healers, and yet his mother still died.


He’d heard some of the Masters saying it was the will of the Force, but he didn’t believe that. He couldn’t. Why would the Force want his mother to die? He thought about asking his father, but he didn’t want to hear that the Force had done such a thing. He knew that death was a part of life, but this couldn’t be what had to happen.


Laying in his bed beginning to fall asleep, Ben thought about the last time his mother had been well. He’d been in a bad mood because his parents wouldn’t let him go to some party some of the older kids were having. It was hard for him to fit in being the child of The Skywalkers and to have been invited was a huge deal to him. He had run to his room and flopped on his bed.


“Can I come in?” His mom asked. “I think we should talk.”


“Go away,” he answered pulling his pillow over his head.


Mara laughed, “I think we both know that isn’t going to happen.”


“I don’t want to talk,” was his muffled reply.


His mom walked over and sat on the bed, “Okay, we don’t have to talk tonight, but we will be talking about this tomorrow.” She pulled the pillow off his face and tried to give him a kiss on the forehead, but he pulled away and turned over.


The next day she began to show signs of being ill with some unknown cancer Cilghal suspected was a mutation of the disease Mara had when she was pregnant with Ben.

Spoiler: Full Idea

Full Idea: This was going to be a story where Ben is very upset that his last words to his mom when she was fully aware were in anger and the process of working through grief. It was going to be more about love and life, Ben and Luke coming together to be even closer, and a story about how we continue to honor and love people even after they've gone.

 

Loved these!!

A Life Stolen is wonderful. I love character growth and discovery stories.

Night Sky: This is a wonderful cozy family moment!