Post by Lady Zahra/Jules on Dec 6, 2005 21:22:18 GMT
Chapter 5 - Counsel and Reasoning
Written by: Kelly (Kyra) and Ranka
Written by: Kelly (Kyra) and Ranka
During the course of six months, Kieran continued to grow into a strong and healthy child. Selae bent on finishing her goal spent all of her efforts on healing herself after the bloodbath with Ranka Darkbroode. Once she was well enough, she immediately started searching the galaxy for the last of Sable’s hordes of ancient knowledge.
Restlessness had filled Arael all night and into the day. She could not shake images the vision left in her mind. It had been over two years since it plagued her thoughts. Even their son, Kieran, seemed to be picking up on her distress. Why was it happening now? Six months had now passed and nothing had happened. Selae had not been heard from ever since the day she killed Sable, for Arael knew nothing of the battle waged between Selae and Ranka a few months earlier. Life was as she had always expected it...peaceful. Damien was busy with the Jedi and she spent time at home raising their son. Now these visions would not leave her alone. Standing in the kitchenette, she cradled her cup of tea in her hands breathing in its aroma as her eyes watched their son. Her mind desperately was trying to figure out this mystery.
Damien sat up in his bed. The weary feeling of being awoken after a long night’s sleep overtook him as he rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the clock. It was already midday. He had accidentally slept in, most likely due to Arael’s restlessness the previous night. Making himself presentable, he prepared himself mentally as well to face the countless Jedi who would question his tardiness as they always did when the situation occurred. Once he was dressed, he walked out into the kitchen area for an early lunch.
The floor echoed the patting sound of Damien’s feet as he walked slowly through the halls. Using the wall to guide himself, he took the time to further awaken himself by thinking of the day’s activities. He rounded the corner to see Arael leaning against the counter. Her beautiful blue eyes were gazing lovingly at Kieran. Damien smiled upon seeing her, just as he always did. Just the sight of her alone was what drove him to awaken day after day. It was simply to enjoy being in her soothing presence. He made his way over to her and kissed her good morning.
Her thoughts were distracting her as she seemed startled when he entered the room and kissed her. She smiled at the awakening from her thoughts and turned to watch him as he moved to the refrigerator to make himself a drink. "Good morning to you too," she replied in response to the kiss. "I hope you didn't mind me letting you sleep. You seemed so peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you. Besides you needed the rest. Oh, the Jedi know to expect you late. I informed them that if any of them had objections, the council could take it up with me. I hope you don't mind."
"You’re always one step ahead of me. I wouldn’t have even bothered to inform the Jedi. Just common laziness I guess.” He gave his mind to the force hoping for a quick rejuvenation though when he did so he found a disturbance. She was troubled again. He spoke softly as he sipped on his drink "You didn’t sleep well last night. Are you ok?"
She smiled at his previous comment trying to ignore the question he had just asked her. If she acted quickly, he would forget he had even asked it. As he drank his morning breakfast drink, she walked over to Kieran and held him in her arms while walking back towards her husband. Kieran cooed in her arms joyfully at the sight of his father being up and being picked up. "Want me to fix you something quick before you go? A nice warm breakfast perhaps?"
He smiled, and playfully tickled Kieran. The child’s laughter brought a smile to his face. The little boy was so young and full of life. "No, I’m not hungry, but thank you." He turned back to the sink as he tipped up his glass and finished his drink. Bending down, he began to wash his glass in the sink.
Arael simply watched him as she tried to read his own thoughts. She knew he had picked up on the troubles in her mind. She needed to get her thoughts on something else.
He dried the glass and placed it back up in the cabnet before leaning against the counter next to her. He glanced at their clock again and rubbed his hand over his face. "I can’t believe I slept in so late...."
She shrugs as she laughs with Kieran. The boy had just learned a new sound and was repeating it over and over. Arael’s eyes look back at Damien full of love. "I do the best I can to help keep you out of the hot water but also rested. I think Tweeto's been a bit jealous though."
She moved to put Kieran in his playpen before walking back to her husband and wrapping her arms around him. Her head leaned against his chest like she hadn't done for some time. She stayed like that for just a short while but then pulled away. "You should probably go. No doubt today will be full of Council meetings and the like." She took her hands and brushed them across his shoulders straightening his robes and smiled.
He laughed at her comment, and began to rock her gently from side to side, hopefully bringing a playful mood to the day. Smiling, he answered her, "I know I should. It’s just a matter of wanting to. It’s beginning to be like work."
She pulls back enough to look up into his face and chuckles. "Tell you what then. You go on to work and I'll cook you the finest dinner you've had in some time. I've got to go out anyway. I'll just drop by the market and pick up a few extra things. It will be a special night…our night. How does that sound?"
“Mmm. I can’t wait.” He grinned at her in that boyish way of hers and pulled her closer to kiss her once more before he left for work. Letting her go, he walked over to the playpen and kissed his son on the forehead. “Be good for mommy now.”
Kieran laughs and says something in his marbled baby talk. Arael watches him leave and then turns back to the counter. Placing both hands on the counter, she bowed her head in sorrow. She had escaped his questions for now, but she knew he would figure things out soon enough on his own. Who could she go to though? Lirreka had been busy with matters after the war and she did not dare want to alert her to this vision. The Matron would surely step in and kill Selae; but, if she did, what would happen to Kyra? No, it was too risky. There was one other she knew she could go to. Ranka had become closer to her ever since the day Damien and she were married. He even agreed, though after a lot of persuasion, to be Kieran’s godfather. Yes, Ranka…he would know what to do.
**********
Arael held Kieran in her arms adjusting his weight on her hip as she walked towards the entrance to the Nem'vaah temple. Hesitating outside its walls, she looked to Kieran and pulled his bonnet over his head again. His eyes were fixated on the structure.
"Scary isn't it. Yeah, I think so too." She turned her head back to her son and smiled at him to lessen his fears though her heart pounded in her own chest. She felt the same as when she had to face Gurv after doing something he told her not to do. The dark and powerful structure did not help her feelings either. It stood in stark contrast to the beautiful landscape. Arael could not help but feel the hairs on the back of her neck raise when she entered. She hadn't really spoken to Ranka alone since that day in her quarters. It was the day he told her she could save Kyra but at a great expense. Little did she know at the time just how true his words might be. It was for this very reason she had to come see him now. Her thoughts went back to Damien earlier in the morning. He had known something was up, yet he dropped it. Her excuse to leave for the day so she get some supplies for a lavish dinner had another unspoken agenda....talking with his old mentor. Arael had known how close Ranka was to him; yet, she also knew he and her mother had a dark past.
Kieran let out a gurgle of joy and it brought her back to the here and now. He started laughing at her startled look and she couldn't help chuckling too. Kieran was already strong in the Force. He seemed to know her thoughts and often would lighten her mood with just a simple smile or laugh. Shaking her head, she touched his nose quickly and spoke gently to him. "Just like your father you are. I know. I’m not letting my thoughts get carried away." She sighed and stepped inside.
"Hello?" Her words echoed in a whisper within the great hallway before her. Seeing nothing but a cloak of darkness shrouding her vision within the temple, she stepped further in hoping her eyes would adjust to the change in light. The echo of her voice ended and suddenly the torches flicked to life and started projecting a weak light within the corridor. They were creating a path for her to walk down. The other hallways remained dark as the light directed her down the dark hallway into the labyrinth of the temple deep.
Keiran fell very silent as they had stood within the walls of the cathedral, her steps making a constant tap that echoed within the uncomfortable silence of the halls. It seemed so very different then the peaceful palace she once knew; there now was something odd about the aura surrounding every stone of the structure and the air she breathed. It was oppressing, almost menacing in a way and yet, it was the very same hall she had walked so many times with Damien. Her glance turned to the statues she had admired so many times already in her past visits as they were searching for the one she knew to represent the man she was about to visit. Working her way up from the base of the statue to - what apparently remained of it, she wondered what had happened here. Her eyes searched the rest of the room until she realized there many marks upon the walls that had been scarred. The marks upon them showed a great battle had taken place within. Both marks of a blade and storms of projectiles were upon them.. Even the marvelous red wall hangings had been torn and shredded in many areas. It was then that she saw red marks of dried blood under her feet that it struck her hard: the place bore the stench of the Dark Side.
She turned around; letting out a short scream as a dark figure appeared within her sight. Only a few feet away from her, the recognizable Nem'vaah stood there completely silent. She hadn't seen the temple since before Kieran was born. Afterwards, the boy had taken much of her time. As Kieran started to cry, she shushed him gently and rubbed his back hoping to comfort him. "You scared me half to death, Ranka. What happened here?" Arael’s eyes scanned the once majestic temple as it now seemed more like a wounded beast....hurting yet more vicious than it was before. Her eyes went to his cold emerald green stare trying to find out anything from it. Yet, her efforts were fruitless. Ranka today was as unreadable as he ever was.
The Dematri looked over the crying child as he gestured in an almost invisible manner for the former Queen of Onderon to follow him through the halls. Even though he held an unspeakably dark and mysterious aura about him, his presence was reassuring. They began to walk in the same silence she had stood alone in until now..."Someone wished revenge upon my soul, a person you have not heard from in some while... I believe."
The dark hall gradually began to lighten as they approached the central hall. The pure light of the sun was filtering through the magnificent stained glass overhead as well as the small windows across the circumference of the dome. A refreshing breeze flew into the room, relaxing her muscles as well as the baby's weeps in the pleasant warmth of the planet. The master stood with his arms crossed looking out to the horizon through one of the windows as she was appeasing her child. The bright light revealed his young features and the ancient knowledge behind his eyes. The wind blew silently making his silvery hairs dance within the air. "Your mother came..."
She had seemed to relax much after entering the room. Yet, the news of someone coming and fighting Ranka did not make sense to her. She did not know offhand of any enemies the Nem'vaah master had. Pulling one of the boy's toys out of the diaper bag she carried and handing it to Kieran, she watched him as Ranka spoke. Upon hearing the news news of her mother visiting him, the warmth of the room seemed to quickly leave. Her face paled and the warm blood that had coursed through her veins seemed to be chilled to ice water.
"Kyra was here?" Her voice seemed distant as her eyes moved across the floor still trying to process the thought. After a short time, she seemed to have regained her voice as she sat down in one of the chairs. "How long ago was this?" Her eyes peered into his back as he stood facing away from her.
"Selae..." He corrected her as she had spoken her true mother’s name. Kyra no longer went by her given name having been consumed by the darkness that preyed upon her soul.
He still looked into the light of the outside as she asked further questions about the event he had revealed to her. Memories of Selae’s past visit flashed through his thoughts as swiftly as the light itself. "Six standard months ago, she came here holding many grudges I might say...against me."
Kieran began to get restless. Her eyes surveyed the floor for anything the child might get into before she let the boy down on the floor to crawl around. "Six months ago? That would have been around..." The response went unfinished as her mind did it for her. It would have been around the time Kieran was born. Feeling things across great distances were common to her, yet the birth of her son must have hidden this battle from her and Damien both.
She stood up and walked towards him as her hand went to his arm. Her eyebrows furrowed with misunderstanding and almost a sense of hurt. "Why didn't you tell me? Six months ago and you wait till now to tell me? I need to know what happened, Ranka. It's important. Please, tell me." From the sense of desperation in her voice, it was obvious that something was deeply troubling her.
He let out a nearly inaudible sigh as he still was looking outward into his memories seeing yet again the same treacherous clouds into the sky. Unlike her mother, Arael's thoughts were as open as a book he could read. Yet much unlike her again, Arael held good and caring thoughts. She is such a good person with such a dark future, he concluded. He didn't wish to torment her further with problems of his own. "You need not to worry about Selae's anger against me Arael. She sought revenge for all the times I put end to so many of her plans. Our confrontation simply reached its end in, I must say not the most pleasant of manners..." His gaze broke from the plains to her for a short instant. Seeing her worried expression, he went back to observing the void only he could see…far back into his thoughts.
"Is she...?" Her voice trailed off as she swallowed hard. Arael turned away from him knowing deep down that she already knew the answer. Had Selae been dead, the visions would have ended. No, the monster that was her mother was very much alive.
A long silence established itself between the two as Arael's words ended within her mind. She was worried about her mother's condition. Of course he did not wish to alarm her by revealing to her how injured the Dark Jedi had come out of this...quarrel. Yet, still, her thoughts lingered upon something darker…something which filled her all at once with fear, sadness and somewhat...guilt. She hid it well even from him, yet a book was still a book; thus, the mystery vanished as he simply turned the page leading to her present torments.
Silence continued as his light features seemingly sank within shadows just as he sank within his thoughts once more. He turned to her, his visage lightened again with the grave look upon him that she had grown accustomed to over the years. His eyes spoke for themselves as he seemed to know well the reason of her worries.
"You are haunted by nightmares... Are you not?"
And so indeed he did know...
She didn't answer him outright but nodded her head as she crossed her arms across her chest. Her footsteps carried her across the room to the other side. She did not know how much her son was picking up on. Giving him a motherly glance, she then turned slowly turned around to face Ranka. "You remember the last time I came to you about the vision I had seen...the vision where I asked if it was possible that Damien might turn to the darkside? The person in that vision was Ussej Bac. It was correct, but I just couldn't see the face. Damien had acted so strangely..." She stopped talking and let out an exasperated sigh. "I had her, Ranka. I had her captive on Onderon and I basically just let her go to do as she pleased. I should have known better. She always thought one step ahead of me."
The thoughts of facing Kyra again when she had tricked her on Arkania and almost killed the Matron's general, Barzai rushed back to her mind. It was clear then that her mother was completely absolved and only Kyra remained locked deep down inside. Had Sable not wanted her, she could have well been killed in Selae's rage. "What happened when I was kidnapped I've told no one...not even Damien. I know the horrors he's faced alone. It's nothing compared to what may come now. It's my fault." Her hand went to cover her mouth as she turned away from him again. Tears that had been hidden for the past year she couldn't hold back. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She never should have married Damien. She could have spared him all this heartache now....and their son...what of their son? He would grow up without a mother just as she had. They did not deserve that kind of life....not Damien and definately not their son.
His gazed had gone back to her as the aura of the Jedi filled itself with sorrow. The Force within the temple began to be tinged with the sorrow just as blood slowly mixes itself with water. It was a sadness that he knew far too well to properly speak of it in mere words, as he had lost someone to the force... the only person that by the simple gaze of her eyes, made his cold and steady heart beat once more. He found himself on that very hill again, holding her hands before she fell. Her lips, saying three words in a final whisper...I love you...He brought himself back to the present, having yet again been pushed into his memories against his own will. Damn the woman that had forced him to live this hell yet again.
He turned to the young woman and took her shoulders, turning her around with hands as carring as a father would have done to his dearest daughter. Letting her see the sincerity not only of his words but also within his eyes. These were the very eyes which inspired a range of emotions from people, yet they allow him to see their true selfs. Selae was a frightened person trapped within her perfectionist ways. She was always attempting to execute her plans with a flawless precision, yet always in the fear of something unexpected happening to thwart her own plans. As a result, she was frightened of him since it was he in all of these past years that had stood in her way.
Arael was a strong person with the greatest heart. This very heart belonged to the greatest man he had ever known, his own apprentice, who had been the closest being he would have ever had as a son. He trusted him with his life and would gladly give away his own had it been necessary for him to live a better life. However, now Arael stood as a saddened person afraid to loose everything that was dear to her heart by her actions, her fault.
"Nothing is of your fault Arael, everything we do and live is something already foretold within the force. We are bound by fate wether we wish it or not. To deny fate... would be to deny your entire life, your very existance within the universe. We exist to serve a purpose, it is why we are given life; to understand what we are ment to do. Yet when the purpuse has been served, there are no longer reason for us to live and so it is why we go back to the force, our spirit bound to the wheel of fate. Each and every soul going through the purifying cycle of birth, death and rebirth..." He paused. "...to serve a purpose. It is what you are afraid of as well...meet your destiny?" He asked as much as he answered his own question. "Do not be afraid, Arael. Even in death Damien will love you and remember you as who you are now..." The Dematri loosened his grip on her and gazed back to the horizon. The light of the outside was glistening in his eyes like a peaceful ocean, yet the glistening vanished as his eyes became hidden under the veil of shadows created his silvery hair. A fine line drew itself upon his cheek...a tear. Silence claimed his being for an painfully long moment before he finished his words..."...his angel..."
In her sorrow, she looked into his own eyes that showed a deep heartache of a love long lost. His words she knew were true. There was nothing to fear here. It was just the letting go and letting what was to happen go ahead and happen that was hard. "I've waited for far too long to complete this task. Sable, the sith witch, asked me to destroy her stores of knowledge she created over the years. I had all but completed destroying them when I stopped at Nem'vaar. I got sidetracked. Yet, if I hadn't, there wouldn't be little Kieran nor would I have had this time with Damien. The vision had faded over time and I had thought it passed. Yet, for the past two days, I can't get it out of my mind." She paused for a moment and then looked at him. "The first time I told him about the vision, he didn't take it well, Ranka. I'm not sure how he might take this. He won't let me leave. This I know...but it's the only way to save Kyra. I owe her that much. I'm the only one that can do it. I don't know what to do. The Jedi Code calls me to do one thing while the other part of me questions it and wonders if perhaps Damien's right. Why can't a group of Jedi Masters go?" She pauses and looks back at Kieran as he had grown silent and was watching both of them carefully. The fear of him picking up on all of this was coming true as well. Turning back she spoke softly to the man before her. "Ranka, I know our relationship hasn't always been the greatest, but I need a friend now. You understand Selae and I believe you understand me as well. Do I break his heart and save my mother or is my duty to be there with my family? A Jedi's life is sacrifice, but how many lives must I sacrifice?"
As her words dissipated within the whisper of the breeze, the mask of darkness surrounding the Dematri's eyes fell as his gaze broke deeper into the horizon. However, his answer came as naturaly and with remarkable truth she could only admire as the words inprinted themselves into her very soul. He looked at her and spoke. "Just do what you beleive is the right choice. On one end, you hold the fate of your mother and perhaps even an entire galaxy. On the other, you have your very own fate and love for Damien. It is your descision that will determine if your mother will disappear forever and Selae's anger will spread across the universe like a plague all while you continue to live at Damien's side until the flow of time takes its toll upon both your souls..." He sighed almost from discouragement, an inner sadness she couldn't understand as he looked out into the light of day. "On the other hand, you have the chance of saving your mother and sending Selae back to the abyss that saw her birth. For the cost for saving one's life you will have to sacrifice another. Through this action you would part your destiny from Damien's, forever."
He turned away, facing back the darkness of the hallway as he looked to her over his shoulder, giving his voice a strange echo within the resonance of the temple. "Yet know that for eternity, Damien's heart will always be with you. Where ever fate leads you, whatever it makes you do, he will be at your side. Where the force holds an infinite amount of power, the heart of man is an even stronger thing and Damien's heart is the strongest of any man's. His soul is with you as it will always be... forever"
Her eyes went again to her son playing on the floor with great sadness. She would be leaving him behind. Would he understand? Arael remembered the hell she put her own mother through with abandoning her. She closed her eyes for a moment and slowly turned her head back towards Ranka. "I already know the path I should take. It's having the courage to see it through. Ranka, you must promise me something....promise me you will watch over Damien and Kieran. If I know you will do this for me, it will be easier."
