Hikari-No's Promise
Chapter One
The small girl squirmed in her seat. It was not that the seat was terribly uncomfortable, rather, the child was bored with the proceedings. She flicked a strand of unruly brown hair back from her face and wondered when her master would start paying attention to her again.
Mi-Rai Shinwa was a tall man, with dark brown hair and even darker eyes. For as long as she could remember, he had been there, showing her how to use the Force, and saying "watch and learn". That was what he had said to her that morning, but it seemed to her as though the grown-ups were being difficult, they kept using words she did not understand, and so she sat and watched their faces.
The first person was an old man, with lots of wrinkles like Master Yoda. His eyes were icy blue, and there was a hatred in them that she could not comprehend, that seemed to be directed at the woman at the other end of the table. The man was dressed in blue robes that reminded the girl of something that she had seen in a holocron, but she could not remember what. He had a cruel smile, and kept arguing with what her master said.
She had been outraged by this the first time, but her master had said: "Not everyone in the galaxy sees things the same way as we do. We must be patient, and wait for them to understand. Sometimes, they will never see from our point of view, and we must accept that. Someday, little one, you will understand."
Little one. He always called her that, even though she was no longer little. She was eight years old now, and bigger and stronger than some of the boys in her classes at the Academy. One day, she would be the best Jedi ever, with more control over the Force than any of those silly boys. She would be a Jedi Master, with a pink lightsaber, no, a purple one, and she would be on the Council with Master Yoda and the others.
The grey-haired lady at the end of the table spoke, and the girl's attention was dragged back to the present. She looked down at the woman, and understood immediately why she commanded such power. There was a confidence about her, a sureness that suggested that this was a lady who always got her own way. She smiled a lot, and there was a twinkle in her blue eyes that made the small girl smile back, even when the lady had not been smiling at her.
She thought back to what her master had told her about these people. She had not paid as much attention to what he said as she should have, for she had been watching an interesting insect crawl up the wall behind him. He had mentioned something about a princess, and the councillors from the opposite side of the planet, and that they were fighting, but she could not remember why, or how. Sitting at the table where the negotiations were taking place, she sighed in boredom and frustration.
It did not help that most of the people at the table had not wanted her present. Some had even complained to her Master, but Mi-Rai had just waved his hand in front of their faces and they had gone away. How else was she to learn, if she was not allowed to watch?
Outside the window, trees were flowering, and the weather was very sunny. A perfect day for playing outside, and she was trapped with these grown-ups.
The grumpy man on the end of the table suddenly banged his fist on it, startling everyone and causing them to turn around and listen to his screaming. She sensed that this would be her one chance for escape, and, whilst everyone was distracted, she reached out unconsciously with her undeveloped Jedi powers, and made sure that her Master did not turn around whilst she calmly walked, unnoticed, from the council chambers.
As she walked through the palace, she was amazed that no one stopped her. She did not think that it was usual for a small child to be wandering around on her own, and most of the adults she knew agreed with her. Certainly, it was not allowed at the Temple back home on Coruscant. She followed no set path in her wanderings, for she had never visited Domus Prime before, let alone the Castle.
She passed several guards, but they did not see her.
Some instinct guided her through the passageways where holograms decorated the walls to a room with large doors. Two guards stood outside, and she looked up at them curiously.
"What's behind these doors?" she asked with wide eyes, wondering why she felt drawn to this particular section of the castle. For a moment she thought that neither of the two uniformed men would answer, but the dark haired one looked down at her and smiled.
"These are the Royal Chambers. This is where the Princess lives." He had a nice smile, and she was happy. "You cannot go in there."
She mulled this over for a little while, then nodded. She knew that on many worlds there was a monarchy of some sort, and that they were generally respected and well treated by their people. That didn't explain why her Master was sent to Domus Prime though.
She turned away and started walking back down the corridor, intent on returning to the negotiations and her Master. But halfway there she made a wrong turn, and soon found herself outside in the gardens.
In surprise, she turned around, looking back to see the large passageway that she had just come from. Two guards stood on either side of the entrance, inside the palace looked so dark and gloomy that she realised that five minutes outside would not hurt. She would already be in trouble for disappearing, returning late would not change her punishment.
She looked around in wonderment. The garden was filled with flowers and plants, and many insects flitted around in the golden sunlight. As she started skipping forward into the natural paths and passages, she stayed away from the castle walls, realising instinctively that perhaps these were the gardens that she had seen from the council chambers.
Some sort of flying creature flew up to her face, and she giggled in response, enjoying not only the beauty of the scene, but the peace and tranquillity that the Force presented to her juvenile Jedi senses.
She sighed happily and was content, and when she tripped over a few moments later, causing there to be grass stains on the knees of her robes, she did not cry. Jedi never cried, but she was still young, and so they didn't mind if she cried a little when she was hurt. She stood up, mustering her dignity and brushing down her clothes, pushing back her hair that was falling out of it's braid. For a moment, she thought that she could hear someone laughing at her, but when she looked around, she could see no one, so she moved on.
But the thought that someone was watching her was still unnerving, and she could not shake the feeling that she was not the only person in the garden. Suddenly she burst forth from the pathway to find herself on top of a small hill, looking over the city below. The view was spectacular, only marred by the wall that blocked off the gardens from the city. She sighed happily, amazed at the beauty of the sight before her.
It took an effort to turn her eyes from the vista and move back towards the palace. Just as she was about to enter the dark pathway again, a green face swung down from one of the trees to hang in front of her. The girl screamed as she jumped back, startled, and the one to whom the face belonged giggled.
"Hello" she said, jumping down from the tree to land agilely before the slightly terrified young Jedi. The young girl took a deep breath, and smiled back.
"Hello", she replied politely. Now that she was more in control, she looked over her new friend. The girl was the same age as her, about eight, with skin that was slightly green. Her eyes were an unusual yellow colour, and her hair was black, and tied back into a neat plait. She wore a simple white dress, that was spotless despite the girl's adventures in the tree.
When she realised that she was staring at the girl, she looked away quickly, and lowered her eyes respectfully.
"Who are you?" the other girl demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "And what are you doing here?"
"My name is Hikari-No Miko, and I'm only out here because I got lost on the way back to the Council Room."
The green girl seemed taken aback. "Oh. You must be one of the Jedi she sent for then. I thought they would bring someone older though."
"I'm eight years old" Hikari-No stated defensively, "And they didn't just send me. My Master came too." That should have ended the matter, but this girl seemed determined to continue talking.
"Well, that's okay then. I'm Catherine", she stated, and Hikari-No suddenly realised that she had not enquired about the girl's name.
Blushing at her rudeness, she muttered the first thought that entered her head. "That's a strange name."
"Not as strange as Hikari-No Miko." the girl angrily retorted.
"It is not strange. It is a good Jedi name."
They each suddenly looked up at each other, realising how foolish their argument sounded. Their eyes met, and they both started laughing. Hikari-No knew then that Catherine was her friend, now and forever.
For most of the afternoon, the two sat and talked about everything and nothing at all. As the sun was beginning to set, Hikari-No realised that she still had not found out why this girl was in the garden and who she was. She asked her new friend, but the answer Catherine gave was evasive, and Hikari-No knew better than to pressure her. Catherine would speak when the time was right.
There was a silence between them, as the two young girls sat and watched the sun go down over the city. As the lights started to come on, Hikari-No saw the planet's red moon start to rise behind them, and wondered where her Master was. He should have come looking for her by now.
"Do you see that?" Catherine spoke, waving a hand out towards the cityscape and causing Hikari-No to start. She looked where Catherine gestured and saw the city as it had been all afternoon, peaceful despite the chaos that seemed to engulf the people who held control over it. Even though she was too far away, she saw families rushing to get home in time for dinner, and speeders that took people out for a night's entertainment at the many restaurants and diners that filled the shopping areas and sophisticated places of the city. So engrossed in her new-found perspective, Hikari-No almost missed Catherine's next words.
"One day, I'm going to be Queen of it all." The words were barely a whisper, and yet Hikari-No heard them, and wondered anew who her friend really was. There was a moment of silence as Hikari-No watched the sunset deep in thought.
"Look!" Catherine cried in surprise and wonder, standing up and pointing at where the sun had turned a bright pinkish-orange and was sinking behind the horizon. Hikari-No also stood, following her gaze, trying to see whatever it was that had so excited her green-faced friend. She could see nothing important, and said so.
"Look at the sun. Do you see the shimmering there?" Once again Hikari-No looked out, trying not to stare directly into the star, but still trying to see. Suddenly she realised that the change of colour was not caused by the planet's orbital spin and atmosphere, rather there were several thousand somethings flying in front of the sun, causing a disturbance in the colour and pattern of the light.
She gasped, amazed at what she could see. "What is it?" she murmured.
"They are tiny insects, we call them 'faeries'. They only fly when the weather is right and the moons are in the correct positioning. They say that if you see them in flight like that and make a wish, it will come true."
The two girls sat back down, entranced at what they had seen, and simply enjoyed the silence of the moment.
Hikari-No sighed contentedly, and waited until she heard her Master's voice in her mind. "Don't worry Little One", he said, "we come." She heard voices in the back of the gardens near the entrance to the palace.
Both girls stood up, fear showing clearly on Catherine's face. "They are searching for me", each said at once, then they looked into the each other's eyes in surprise.
Catherine took an involuntary step backwards. "They must not find me here", she whispered to herself, and then she ran into the gardens, not looking back to see Hikari-No gaping at her in surprise and wonder.
From the path came Mi-Rai, and he tried to follow his apprentice's eyes into the trees. He saw no one however, and he walked up to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to sound stern when he spoke.
"You ran off again", he chastised Hikari-No, but she did not hear him.
Looking into the gardens, trying to catch a glimpse of her friend, she followed his lead back towards the palace. For a moment, she thought she could hear Catherine's laughter mocking her from the trees, but she keep walking towards the chambers where they would spend the night, knowing that the sound was just her imagination.
She endured the scolding that followed as she had suffered many times before. She sat and listened politely as Mi-Rai explained to her the reasons why it was not safe to go exploring, especially on a world that could be as hostile as Domus Prime.
She listened dutifully, as a good apprentice should, nodding in the correct places, and agreeing with him when it was required.
He knew after a minute of talking to her that he had lost her attention, but Mi-Rai kept talking out of habit and a sense of duty. Hikari-No would not have gone wandering off without a reason, and he was certain that something of great importance had occurred whilst she was out. But even after she had told him everything that had happened, he could not place a single event as being significant. Perhaps it was her meeting with the girl Catherine that had caused the tremor that he had felt in the force earlier. There was something strange about the circumstance, but he could not name what it was that made him so uneasy.
He sighed as he realised that whatever had happened would have been the will of the Force, and who was he to interfere, even if his apprentice was a wilful child who still did not behave as a Jedi should. She was young though, and so could still be excused for not always behaving properly, but still, the Force ran strongly through her, and it was his duty to see that she learnt how to use that power properly.
He looked down into her blue eyes and smiled. He could never stay mad at Hikari-No for long, and deep down he knew that he loved her like a daughter.
She noticed that he had stopped talking and looked up at him, testing to see if he was done. He knew that he should lecture her some more, but it was late, and it would be better if she knew that she was forgiven now.
With a smile, she disappeared into her chamber and got changed quickly, before jumping into bed. He came in and smiled at her.
"Goodnight Master", she said, her eyes closing over, exhaustion sweeping over her as the events of the day caught up with her.
He turned off the light and closed the door over. "Goodnight Little One", he said, as he turned to return to his meeting with the Princess.
By the next night, an arrangement had been made that suited the purposes of both the Princess and the Councillors, and so there was to be a celebration held in the Great Hall of the palace. Although Hikari-No still did not understand what the conflict was about, nor what events had lead to this situation, she had sat patiently still throughout the day's events, listening to her master as he spoke and made suggestions, then watching as they drew up a treaty which would allow the two parties to rule Domus Prime jointly.
Both Hikari-No and Mi-Rai were invited to the celebrations, and she had to wear her best robes to the social event. One of the Princess' servant came and spent an hour tying up her long hair, and was disappointed when Hikari-No refused to let her tie up her Padawan braid into the elaborate arrangement. They also wanted to paint her face slightly, to make her look more like a 'real lady', but she silently appealed to her master, and he arrived quickly to save her from the girl's ministrations.
Mi-Rai was also dressed up, his hair tied away from his face, and he was wearing his formal cloak over his robes. His lightsaber was still hanging from his belt however, and she wondered what it was he feared.
He looked older to her eyes, and he smiled wearily down at her. "Look who's the little Princess", he mocked lightly as he looked her over. She giggled, knowing that he was teasing her, and he sighed. "Tomorrow we will return to Coruscant. You must be on your best behaviour tonight, or else I will tell the Council of your behaviour."
She stepped back in amused shock. "Oh no, Master, not the Council. Anything but that."
"I'll tell Master Yoda all about you running away, and being a dreadful child, and he will make the Sith Lords come and get you."
"No, Master, please", she begged with him, but could not hold the pretence of being afraid, and collapsed on the floor laughing. He was laughing too, a deep rumble that always made her smile. She was lucky, that she had the best Master in the whole Academy, she thought, as he reached down to give her a hand back up, once she had contained her giggles.
"Come along then Little One, we must go attend the party." He pulled her to her feet, and with a big smile, she folded her arms in her sleaves and smiled up at him.
The Great Hall was filled with people, and Hikari-No wandered if she had ever seen that many people in such a small amount of space before. It certainly seemed crowded, and the room was so charged with emotion that she had to place a shield over her mind to block it out. She was lead through the room with her master, who was deftly weaving his way through the people as they milled about, each one certain that what they were saying was more important than anything else and should therefore be louder.
Finally, they were at the Head Table, and she looked around in surprise. The Princess was already seated, as though she could not stand as everyone else did. Her grey hair was pilled upon her head in a manner that would appear comical on a younger woman, but somehow added to Hikari-No's impression of her having great dignity. She was flanked by two of her servants, they were called 'handmaidens', Hikari-No thought, dressed in sky blue, with silver cloaks over their robes. Something about thing reminded Hikari-No of the Jedi, perhaps the way they sat there, never speaking, always watching and waiting.
Her Master bowed to the Princess then, and hastily she followed, although she stumbled slightly. The Princess laughed softly as Hikari-No blushed in embarrassment, and tried to hide behind her Master.
"Don't be afraid child, I won't hurt you. Mi-Rai, why is this girl so timid? I would have thought you'd trained her better than that." Even as she spoke, Hikari-No's eyes widened, as she realised that this Princess, of the backwater planet, was mocking her master, the greatest Jedi there ever was. She stepped forward boldly.
"He has trained me fine, Your Highness. It is my own fault that I am clumsy, and although I have worked very hard to remove that failing, even for one fully trained as a Jedi it would many years to accomplish such a feat." She spoke with quiet dignity, but when she was done, she realised what had happened, that she had just possibly insulted the ruler of Domus Prime, her host here and someone who deserved her respect. Hikari-No decided that perhaps it would be best if she ran away now.
She was more amazed when the Princess laughed then, and looking up at Hikari-No's tall master, told him, "Oh, I approve. This is a fine child, Mi-Rai, everything you said she was." Hikari-No looked around in confusion, not understanding what had happened here. "It is a pity that she will not be able to sit at our table tonight." she looked back over at Hikari-No, who was still slightly bewildered, but smiled when she saw the twinkle in the Princess' eyes that meant she was not mad. "You will have to sit at the children's table, for even if you are a Jedi, by our custom you are still too young to sit here. One of my handmaidens will take you over to them. I am certain you will find someone to entertain you for the night." With a wave of the Princess' hand, Hikari-No was dismissed, and one of the girls came up to her to lead her away from her Master, who was taking his seat next to the Princess.
The children were seated at a table at the back of the Hall, and most of them appeared to be older than Hikari-No. There was much jostling and laughter occurring between the boys, who were seated at one end, whilst the girls sat at the other, looking decidedly superior to all those boys. Hikari-No sat in the middle of the table, between the two groups, and wondered who to speak to first. As the boys were currently busy, she turned to the girls, and smiled warmly at the girl who was seated at the head of the table.
For a moment she expected to see Catherine seated amongst the other girls, but her friend was not present, and she wondered at this. All of the children also seemed to be older than her, but she knew that she would still be able to find a place in their group.
The girl at the end of the table moved to speak to her then, and silence descended upon the table as she made a small gesture that the others recognised. She was a tall girl, and thin, with narrow eyes of a green hue that was not natural even in adapted humans. She wore a dress that was highly accessorised, and Hikari-No had realised early that this girl was the Queen Bee of this little group.
"What happened to your clothes?" she asked Hikari-No, making a vague gesture towards them, "It's almost as if you don't know if you're a boy or a girl."
Hikari-No wondered about this for a moment. "I am a Jedi Apprentice", she answered with pride, "These are my robes of office. All Jedi dress this way, but being so sophisticated, you would know that, wouldn't you?"
Although Hikari-No knew that it was not the Jedi way to treat people in such a manner, it was acknowledged that ignorance should not be encouraged, and if she did not recognise a Jedi than this girl was clearly ignorant. The girl flushed for a moment, as she tried to think of a cleaver retort, but she could not, and one of the others smiled at Hikari-No. She held out her hand in a gesture of greeting, and Hikari-No covered it with her own.
"I'm Tamira", she said, introducing herself, "and the one with the intelligence problem is Danya." Hikari-No looked her over, and saw at once that Tamira could be her friend. She even looked a bit like Hikari-No, although she was older, and wore her hair differently. When she looked closely, Hikari-no realised that she also had violet eyes that were really quite beautiful.
"My name is Hikari-No Miko" she said, and was about to continue when Danya interrupted them.
"Countess, how dare you speak to this girl without my permission." she screeched, but the noise was lost on the adult, who were all too engrossed in their own conversations to notice the commotion that was brewing on the children's table.
Hikari-No turned back to Tamira and mouthed, 'Countess?' Tamira caught her glance, but turned back to Danya and spoke to her. "Danya, for all you want to play, you will never be a good queen, nor will you even be elected princess, despite what your father thinks. Perhaps you should find a new game to play now, this one grows boring." She turned back to Hikari-No with a sigh. "One of my older relatives died recently, and instead of leaving me credits or something useful, I got stuck with the title of Countess of something-or-other. My Uncle is acting as some sort of regent for me until I'm old enough to manage it myself, but from what I've seen, really all it means is that I get an invitation to all the Princess' parties, and my own set of rooms here in the Palace. There is no responsibility or duties, so it's really just a name. Unfortunately, it seems to fit in with Danya's latest play, so they all started calling me Countess, even though I'm really the only one with a real title. But I suppose I'd better introduce them to you", she leaned over in a whisper, "I cannot remember all their names yet, but I'll give you their 'titles' to make it seem as if you want to play along." Hikari-No nodded at this.
"The girl next to you is the 'Duchess of Fushia'", this was a plain girl, who had tried unsuccessfully to mask her lack of beauty with large amounts of make up, "and the one next to her is the 'Lady of the Faeries'." Yes, she looked a bit like an insect with those large eyes, although the costume wings she was wearing were a nice touch. "Salyfe here is the 'Guardian of the Destiny that binds us all'" Salyfe rolled her eyes, and Hikari-No realised that not all the girls played this game willingly, or wrote their own titles. Perhaps she would be able to make friends with them. "And this is the 'Warrior Priestess' Nilanka." Nilanka also did not seem impressed by her role on this game, but she certainly looked the part, an alien girl with some humanoid features, but with dark hair and eyes that seemed to penetrate deep into Hikari-No's soul. She stood and left the table for a few moments, and Hikari-No was certain that she saw a dagger hanging from the young girls belt. Danya coughed, not too politely, and Tamira sighed, not looking over at her.
"And this is Danya, Queen of all that is Star Wars." Danya smiled in a failed attempt to look regal, and Hikari-No considered turning her back on them all and communicating with the boys.
"'Queen of all that is Star Wars'? What does that mean?" she asked Tamira, who shrugged, and answered with a wry grin.
"Only she knows, and she's not 'prepared' to tell us. In other words", she leaned in close and whispered again, "she hasn't quite figured it out yet, herself."
Hikari-No could not help it, and giggled despite herself. Danya had heard all but the last part of this exchange, and anger flashed in her eyes. "I forbid any of you to talk to this girl for the rest of the evening. I am your Queen, and you will obey me", she commanded, and several groans rose up from around the table. Nilanka returned then, and sat down, understanding in a glance what had happened.
"I'm sorry", Tamira mouthed over the table to her, but Hikari-No understood. Tamira had to live with these people, while she was just a guest. She understood how these social groups worked, and for a brief moment considered using the mind trick to convince Danya that she really would be a pleasant dinner partner. But she knew that it would not be an acceptable way of using the Force, and her master would notice it and punish her. Though it might not be fair, Hikari-No sat silently at the table, and waited for the first course of the meal to arrive.
Halfway through the meal, she became aware of a sadness much greater than her own emanating from someone close by, although not at the children's table with her. She looked around curiously, ignoring the glare that Danya shot her. Finally she pinpointed it to be someone in the back corner of the Hall, and she stood and walked over there.
The Hall was mostly quiet, as many of the people were eating. Several different courses had been served, with different meals served to the aliens and those who had different needs to the humans who formed the majority of the people who filled the Hall. Hikari-No felt her master's eyes upon her, but she sent him a quick though telling him that everything was alright and he went back to his conversation with one of the Councillors.
In the shadowed corner of the brightly lit room, a boy was crying. Silently, he was seated on a box of some sort, and the tears fell freely down his face. He was dressed in brightly coloured clothes, and was wearing a hat with several bells hanging from it's points. She knelt down before him.
"Why are you crying?" she asked with sympathy in her voice. He looked up, embarrassed that someone had seen him, and would have stood and run from the Great Hall had she not been barring his way. With a fluorescent blue sleave, he dashed the tears from his face.
"Am not crying", he said defiantly, with a sparkle in his eyes. She looked up at his face then, and decided that she liked what she saw.
"I'm Hikari-No", she declared, extending her hand. For a moment he looked at her as if she was crazy, then took the hand with a grateful sigh.
"I'm Jester", for a moment she was tempted to respond as she had to Catherine, but remembering the response she had gotten then, decided against it.
"That's a nice name", she said, sitting down comfortably beside him. "So, Jester, why are you so upset, hiding here in the shadows?"
He wasn't going to answer, but he looked down into her blue eyes, and found himself speaking despite himself. "They won't let me perform," he muttered angrily, tossing his head and setting the bells ringing.
"Perform?" she asked, puzzled.
"You know", he gestured over to the Head Table, where a tall man dressed similarly to himself was juggling some brightly coloured balls and dancing for the entertainment of the Princess and her guest. He was very good, she noticed
"Oh", Hikari-No murmured, struggling to understand, "Is he your master then?"
"He's my father", there was a sadness in this statement that she could not understand. "He said that I would be able to perform for the Princess if the treaty went ahead. This was supposed to be my big debut." he trailed off into silence.
"And now they will not let you." she finished for him. He nodded mutely. She thought about it for a few moments. "So perform for me."
He looked up at her in shock, then shook his head. "Come on, how will you ever know if you are ready to perform for the Princess if you will not even perform for your friends?" he looked startled at her use of the word 'friends', and she wondered just how lonely the Jester was. "You know that I will be a good judge for you. I will watch, and tell you what to improve."
For the first time, she noticed that he was holding something closely, but could not see what it was. He shook his head again. "If they see me, I will get in trouble", he said to her, hugging the mysterious item closer.
"You can tell them that I made you do it."
"Why would they believe me?"
"Because", she said with a toss of the head, "I am a Jedi. I will tell them that I mind tricked you into performing for me."
"Could you really do that?" he asked, hope springing up in his voice.
"Of course. Watch." She raised her small hand and moved it slightly in front of his face, imposing her will upon his. "You will get up and dance for me, like a chicken" she said to him.
"No I won't", he said, and she looked over at him in surprise. The Force must be strong in him for him to resist her mind trick, for it was one of the few Jedi skills that she was good at.
"Well, just tell them that I mind tricked you", she said with a frown, still trying to puzzle out how he was able to avoid dancing like a chicken for her.
"Alright" he sighed, and stood up. He took a few steps away, and she settled down to watch whatever we would do for her. Then he remembered what he was holding, and stepped forward. "Here, you hold Harold", he said, holding out a small rubber chicken to her. She took it reverently, knowing without knowing how she knew, that this poor toy was probably one of Jester's best friends. He smiled a thank you to the small girl, and she smiled encouragingly back.
From somewhere in the folds of his costume, he suddenly withdrew a number of brightly coloured balls, and they were soon spinning in the air before her in ever increasing complex patterns. She gasped in delight, as he somehow managed to turn a somersault without dropping any of them, and quickly asked her master if he would be able to drop a cloak of the Force over them so that no one would be able to notice Jester as he performed for his audience of one.
She could no longer count with ease the number that were in the air, and was amazed at the youth's skill. It was almost entrancing, watching the patterns form in the air, the rise and fall of the balls that were thrown with such care. Not one was misplaced, and at all times Jester seemed to know where each of them were. Perhaps it was some unconscious way of applying the Force, she thought, but dismissed the thought, concentrating instead on simply watching her friend and enjoying the scene before her.
Then, just as suddenly as he had started, the balls disappeared back to their hiding places, and Jester bowed before her apprehensively. She clapped loudly, not caring if anyone noticed her, although they should not if her master had done as he had agreed. She leapt to her feet and hugged him, telling him that it was wonderful, that he was the best juggler she had ever seen, that even Harold was impressed by his talent. He blushed slightly and pulled away, accepting back Harold.
"Thank you", he murmured slightly, looking back at her blue eyes. She smiled up at him.
"Someday I am certain the Princess will get to see you perform, and she will be just as impressed as I am", Hikari-No said to him. "What else can you do?"
He sighed. "Not much, although I can also juggle daggers. One day, I will learn to juggle lightsabers, and that will make me the best Jester ever." His eyes shone as he told her his dream.
"You already are", she told him.
She had to return to her table then, but her meeting with Jester had buoyed her spirits, and she found herself smiling throughout the rest of the celebrations, despite the cold silence of the other girls.
The next day, the sun dawned sunny and bright, and it seemed as if all of Domus Prime had come to see them off. As the two Jedi boarded their transport, Hikari-No glanced back to see the Princess and several of her handmaidens waving. Behind them and to one side was the Countess Tamira, and the rest of the girls were close behind her, Danya pretending to be bored with the proceedings. Looking up at the Palace window, Hikari-No was certain that she could see Jester's face at one of them, and she had a feeling that somewhere in the gardens surrounding the courtyard where the ship had landed Catherine was watching her, and laughing.
She smiled back, and waved in a manner that was not really befitting a Jedi, but it suited her mood. Mi-Rai Shinwa reached an arm around her waist and pulled her on board the ship. She quickly ran up to the bridge as the ship took off, for it had the best views.
As Hikari-No viewed the quickly receding planet and it's three moons in the viewscreen, Mi-Rai looked down at her. "I have a feeling we'll be back here one day", he said to her in a tone that suggested that he was trying to cheer her up.
She thought of all her new friends that she had made over the course of her three days on Domus Prime, and found herself smiling happily. With all the seriousness of a full Jedi Master, Padawan Hikari-No Miko looked up at her Master and said, "I know we will."