Heir Apparent

by Cassila Sanar

Welcome to the Heritage Series, about original characters set in the Star Wars Universe. A 14yearold padawan, Cassila Sanar, gains insight into herself while trying to survive on a primitive world.

HEIR APPARENT

By: Cassila Sanar
Status: Complete
Rating: K+
Setting: About 24 years before Episode I
Category: Drama
Summary: A 14-year-old padawan gains insight into herself while trying to survive on a primitive world.
Disclaimer: I make no money in the writing of this fiction based on George Lucas' universe. In fact, I lose money wasting my time on populating his world just a little more. If only it weren't so damn much fun…
Spoilers: none
Comments: Please!

"Explain it to me again; just what are we doing here on Renaissline?"

As soon as the words fell out of my mouth, I knew I was in trouble. My master, Terryl Grant, looked at me, disappointment on her face. By the Force, I hated disappointing her but it seemed like, after only a short year and a half since she'd taken me on as an apprentice, that it was all I could do any more. My hand reached for my padawan braid so I could twirl it nervously but it wasn't there any more, only the short stubble of hair that needed to grow out again. I made a frustrated fist instead.

"Cassila Sanar," she asked me, "are you angry?"

Of course I was angry but I couldn't admit to it. Being angry was one of those things a Jedi Padawan in training to be a Knight was not supposed to be. "No, of course not," I said too quickly. Lying was one of the other things a padawan was never supposed to do, either, but I was sure my whole fourteen-year-old life was falling apart and I just couldn't stand another lecture about negative emotions right then. I quickly went on, trying to explain the emotion I had just denied.

"It's just that with all the bowing and scraping we just did to every dignitary and pseudo-dignitary on that open field back there they called a landing site – including you having to kiss that religious leader Harliss' ring – I just don't think they're going to respect anything we have to say on their situation." I spoke while trying to hold myself upright as the expensive, beast-drawn carriage we occupied lurched into motion. Terryl sat on the seat opposite mine and she too had to sway and weave to keep up with the rocking of the carriage as it went down the roughly graded dirt road. Even so, her eyes were locked on mine, studying me and making me squirm.

"You have just returned from a very physically comfortable stay on a core world with one of the richest families on Mendoraan," she said. "Am I right?"

"Yes, Master," I said as politely as possible. My heart was sinking, though; I knew she was gearing up to lecture me anyway. "You're right."

"A trip, I might add, I was against from the beginning but was unable to stop due to the political influence wielded by your grandfather, working on the behalf of his daughter, your mother." I wished I could tell her how much I was against the trip myself, especially now that I was back. It had been a horrible experience I wish I'd never had to endure.

Terryl went on. "Now you are back with me, and we are here on what is essentially an outworld, even if Renaissline is located in the mid-rim and has its own senatorial representation. As an outworld, we have to deal with planetary governments that have nothing to do at all with what you are familiar with back on the core worlds. That includes bowing and scraping to their leaders and seeming to put aside our position as Jedi councilors and ambassadors. What would you have us do? Insult them out of your irritation and truly destroy any respect we may command?"

I cringed into my seat, wishing I could somehow fall through it to the road below. Then I could be left there and never again have to worry about being something I now suspected I could never be anyway.

"If you desire it," my Master went on, leaning forward so that we were eye to eye. "You are more than welcome to go back to your comfortable place on Mendoraan when we return, but only once we are done here and done effectively." Through the Master/Apprentice link we shared, I could feel her reaching out to me to back up her words. "However, while we are here, you and I will present a unified front, even if that front is a lie in your heart. Be mindful, though, that lies are fearful things. They make you angry with the person you are lying to and hateful of the situation and even yourself. It is up to you to tell the truth, to yourself first and then the rest of us afterward. Do you understand?"

I stared wide-eyed at her, nodding. Does this mean she'd throw me out? I thought frantically. Would she really dump me? This was the one thing I had always feared the most; that Terryl would realize she'd made a mistake in taking me on and end our relationship. She turned away to look out the unglazed window at the lush green countryside slowly passing by. I watched her for a moment longer, feeling hot tears starting to well up. Losing my master was a horror I did not want. I collapsed onto the length of the leather bound seat under me and let the tears come.

She knows I'm lying, I thought as I cried. I'm withholding information that needs to be made known and she can tell. I feel so confused about who I am and where I really belong. Force damn it, I really do want to be a Jedi and become a Knight but how can I if I'm so useless from the genes up? Maybe it would be better if Terryl did throw me out. Besides, it would save me having to tell my master she was stupid in thinking I could ever make my Knighthood. I pounded the stiff seat padding, really wanting to make the wood underneath break. I wanted it to shatter the same way my tiny self-confidence had been shattered so recently by my own birth parents.

Eventually, my tears ran out and I began to sit up and slowly dry my eyes. I hung my head, desperately wishing for some kind of comfort. I saw the toes of Terryl's dark travel boots peeking out from under her thick brown robe. I scooted across, from one seat to the other, so that I was now seated next to my master. I hoped against hope that she would not throw me out at just this moment. I needed to know I was not really as awful as I felt I was.

I pushed in close to Terryl's body, seeking the comfort of its proximity. She responded to my wordless request by putting her arm around my shoulders and hugging me. Immediately I wanted to cry all over again, I was so grateful for the acceptance that hug implied. I started to stammer out an apology but she shushed me with a hand.

"I don't want your apology, child. You are the only one you need to apologize to right now. In the long run, your confusion is only hurting you. I've not been given your pain."

Pain is right, I thought. I'm frightened, angry and hating myself. How much more miserable could I get? I nestled into Terryl's hug and looked up into her face. She had a round, kind face that looked best laughing. "I just don't want to disappoint you," I said, meaning it with all my heart.

"You're growing up, my young padawan." I loved it when she called me that. "I keep telling you the only person you can really disappoint right now is yourself."

I sighed heavily, regretful that I had caused any disappointment whatsoever. "You're right, Master. I'm just so unsure right now."

"Because you're probably letting others impose their views on you. Always, you alone must decide what's right. Trust yourself and your judgement. You are worthy. I wouldn't have taken you if you weren't. You know that." I glanced up and got her looking deep into my face. I could feel her concern for me radiating out like a warming lamp.

"I am always with you," she went on. "I will always love you, no matter what you decide. I will always be your master, for as long as you will have me." She pointed at me on that last "you."

I nodded without looking up, consoled by her restated commitment to me. Maybe, I thought, when I get my courage up, I can tell her what happened on Mendoraan. Maybe she'll understand after all and let me stay with her. I snuggled a little closer in under her arm, so grateful and relieved that she was intent on keeping me after all. I really did want to be a Knight, if only in my dreams for now. I closed my eyes, trying to find somewhere inside me, a center from which I could find a little peace and calm for myself.

Beyond the window of the carriage, the thick forest foliage had given way to stock grazing fields and farms. In the distance, a castle in the manor house style took up the top of a low hill. I figured that must be where we were headed since we were going to be staying as guests of King Rodik and the very pregnant Queen Sveria. They rode in the carriage ahead of ours and the religious leader, High Cleric Harliss, rode in the one behind. His had been more ostentatious and gaudy than even the Royals' carriage had been. It made me wonder if there was something about religion on this planet that was more important than anything, or anyone, else.

"Did you read the report I gave you on our mission here?" Terryl asked.

Her question broke my thoughts and threw me into a new panic. No, I had not. I'd found a fashion magazine belonging to one of the crewmembers on the Renaisslinian senatorial transport that had brought us here and had pored over that instead. I tensed, knowing I had disappointed yet again.

She must have felt my tension. My master sighed heavily and said, "All right. What do you know about this world?"

I sat up and scooted back to my original seat. The roads had smoothed out, letting the movement be a lot smoother than before. "Um, Renaissline is your homeworld?" I didn't look at her face but stared at her knees. I should have read the report.

"Do you know anything about Rodik and Sveria?"

I racked my brain. I knew they ruled two of the major countries on the planet and that the countries shared a border but I couldn't remember the names. A sad statement as there were only four big countries on this planet and one of them was where my master's family came from. I couldn't even remember which ruler had which country. "Not much," I finally answered.

"Rodik rules Istan and Sveria rules Rittia. Guvlia broke off politically from Istan about fourteen centuries ago and remains stable and a part of the regular planetary religion, along with a handful of other, minor countries that have broken off over the centuries. Fortunately, none of them are among our concerns for this trip." Terryl actually looked relieved at that, which gave me hope this history lesson would not be too detailed. I wasn't sure yet if I could keep it all straight. Terryl continued.

"Rittia broke off from Istan only about six hundred years ago and it's never been completely peaceful between Rittia and the other two since then, even though they all share the same religion. Istan still wants Rittia back, which is the major crux of why we're here. Do you remember anything about the organized religion here?"

"I remember you saying that it was called the Fellowship and that it was like a landless country that rules the spiritual life of the people. The Fellowship of … Of…"

"Xantiar."

"Yeah, Xantiar." Then I remembered a tidbit, which I threw out quickly. "Which is the city where this place was originally colonized?" I hoped I was right.

"Yes. What about the last big country?"

"Oh, yeah. Um…" The last country, the last country. What was it called? Terryl had told me about her homeworld once. I desperately tried to remember everything she'd said. "I do remember it's completely separate from both Istan and all and the Fellowship and it's called Flientis. They have their own religion, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Ehh… Some charismatic leader a long time ago led a successful revolt."

"You're remembering what I told you. That's better than nothing." She smiled, trying to encourage me. I still felt completely insufficient. "Why was the revolt successful?" she prompted.

"The mountain range between Flientis and the big western countries, Istan and Rittia and… Gavlia?"

"Guvlia," she corrected. "Good enough." She reached into her travel bag and pulled out a small, bound set of flimsies. It was her copy of the report I should have studied and left on the ship. "Now read up on what you need to know for the here and now," she said, handing it to me. I took it and leaned into a corner of my seat to study it now, the way I should have done on the transport. By the Force, I wished I wasn't such a loss.

I still hadn't finished the report by the time we got close to the castle I had seen from the distance. I kept getting distracted by the primitive scenes I saw passing us by. I guess if the stuff I was reading about the history of Renaissline hadn't fit in so well with what was just outside the window, maybe it wouldn't have caught my attention so easily.

The planet had been settled almost two millennia before by a batch of conservative, human religious zealots that had decided technology was a bad idea, popular representation (i.e. the Republic Senate) was a chaotic form of government, and that the use of Force-wielding protectors (read "Jedi") was just begging for trouble. They now occupied this mid-rim planet with their outer-rim attitude and their low technology level, yet had Senate representation because of trouble they'd had a thousand years ago with pirates and slavers. With their own Senator, they became even more effective at maintaining their isolationist position, thereby keeping the rest of the galaxy out and their private little world all to themselves. As I continued to read about their monotheistic religion and its paranoid attitude toward anything smacking of off-world or resembling magic (a.k.a. Force-use), I was getting really confused as to why Terryl and I had been asked here. All I could figure was that it was some really weird joke on the part of Rodik and Sveria and the head of the Fellowship of Xantiar, Theocrat Ioan X. I began to wonder if Terryl really was serious about treating this situation as if it meant something. I knew better than to question her about it, though. I'd already messed up doing that.

Instead, I quietly and dutifully carried my big travel bag, following Terryl and her travel bag, up the stairs behind Sveria's secretary, to our rooms on the third floor. At first glance, the place was rich and dignified with all its wood paneling and parquet flooring and heavy tapestries hanging on the walls. A closer inspection showed the dirt and bits of straw in the corners and film of grime almost everywhere. Once we got to our rooms, I couldn't help but notice the patina of dust over everything and the build-up of soot over the area around the big fireplace. I dumped my bag on a bed in a little alcove and cloud of dust rose from the cover. I went back around the corner to where my master was stretching out the kinks after our carriage ride. The disgust must have been plain on my face as I spoke.

"Don't these guys believe in a little soap and water? I know they've got to have soap."

There was disappointment in Terryl's face again but something else as well. "You really do want to give up, go back to your grandfather's and your parents. Is that it?"

I felt her pulling through our link, as well, wanting to get me to talk to her. I just couldn't do it, though. Instead, I shut her out and I could see her react to that mental door closing in her face. "No, I do not want to go back to my parents."

She stared at me for several breaths and I stood there, keeping her out but feeling too guilty to walk away or even look into her face. "Your grandparents, then," she finally said.

"No." That was for certain. I didn't care if I ever saw them again, either. "I don't know where I want to go, but I just don't think I can be a Jedi anymore." There. That much was out. I glanced up to see what her expression held.

It was not anger. I don't know why I had expected that. Maybe I had gotten too much of it from Mom and Dad. Instead, Terryl's expression was one of surprise, even shock. She sat down in a large, ornately carved chair near the bed with her travel bag on it, blinking. "What happened to you on Mendoraan?" she finally said.

I turned away from her and stared at the soot-darkened ceiling. "I found out I can't do this. I can't be what you want me to be."

"What do you want to be?"

I wanted to be a Jedi, a Knight, even. But now I knew that was for someone better than I was. "I don't know anymore," I lied.

"I think you do but you're not letting yourself have it. I wish you would tell me what happened, because you can be a Jedi if you decide to be."

"I can't," I almost yelled, turning back on her. "I'm not good enough!" I hoped she would somehow understand without me having to explain.

"You could be one of the best," she said calmly. "If you'd only let yourself."

She didn't understand and really, neither did I. How in the Force could I ever be one of the best? How could I ever attain that with what I knew about myself? What made Terryl so sure anyway?

She went on. "You keep letting others tell you who you are, what you are. If you could ever decide for yourself and trust your own decision, you could be as good as any Knight or Master in the Temple. I believe you could even sit on the High Council someday." I was dumbfounded at that. She'd never said anything like that to me before. "But only if you'll start trusting yourself more than you trust other people."

Now I was really confused. I'd had no idea Terryl thought so highly of me. I stared at the floor, wishing I could tell her how untrustworthy my parents were, how my grandparents both used lies to manipulate their world. If I didn't trust myself, it was because I had all that deceitful blood behind me. And the lies were only the beginning as far as my father was concerned.

"Padawan, what do you want?" Terryl said, breaking into my thoughts.

I slowly shook my head. What did it matter what I wanted anyway? I wasn't worth anything. Suddenly, it felt close in the room. Too full of light and honesty, things I wasn't sure should respect me any more. "I want to get out."

"Then, go." Her tone was quiet and it frightened me. Did she understand that I just meant out of the room? "Just be back before the sun gets too low." She did. "They're throwing a dinner and dance in our honor tonight and we have to put in a good showing."

"Yeah," was all I said as I escaped. I ran down the halls and stairs, looking for the outside, attracting the stares of servants as I went. Finally, I found a door leading outdoors after several wrong turns and found myself in a large vegetable patch surrounded by fruit trees. It was still spring in the area and so there was nothing but a few late blossoms on the trees. The garden, however, looked to be well on its way to supplying several tables' worth of produce. I pulled up one frilly set of leaves to find a long, narrow orange root. I brushed off the dirt and gingerly tasted it. It wasn't bad. I pulled up a few more and began snacking on them. I hadn't realized how hungry I was.

The smell of animal dung assaulted my nose once I got to the garden gate. I remembered the beasts that had pulled our carriages and wondered if their stable was close by. They had looked a lot like Nubian gualamas though it appeared that the Renaisslinian people had managed to get a much greater color variation than the typical pale gray of the parent stock on Naboo. Hoping I could get a closer look at them, I went out the gate and followed my nose.

The stable was just a short trip around a corner from the gate. A small army of grooms and stable hands tended to the animals that had just returned, rubbing them down, brushing mud and burrs from their long, bushed tails; preparing them for return to the stalls I could just make out in the huge stable building. I approached cautiously, using my best smile for an initial, "Hello." I saw a startled young boy run off and knew he'd be bringing back whoever was in charge. I kept my distance until he came back with an older, large-bellied man in a leather apron. The boy pointed me out and the man approached without losing any momentum in his energetic stride.

"Hail and well met, Mistress," he said. The people of Renaissline used a dialect of Antique Basic that took a few tries to get used to. "Be thee one of Her Majesty's guests?" He put his hand out for me to shake as he came closer. I took it.

"Yes. I'm Cassila Sanar," I answered. "I wanted to find out more about what pulled the coaches."

He pumped my hand warmly. "Most well, most well. Do come thee, then. Thou shalt meet my gualamas. I be Cercil, Her Majesty Sveria's Head Groom." He began to lead me toward the squadron of men, boys and animals.

In the next half-hour's time, I learned more about gualamas, and specifically the gualamas under Cercil's care, than I had ever wanted to know. I was polite about it, though. It was obvious that Cercil was very proud of his charges and his position. He finally led me to the corner of the castle from which Sveria used to start her morning rides when he happened to glance up at the building. He stopped for a split second and I looked up in the same direction.

Behind a closed third story window stood a red-haired girl about my age, dressed in one of the heavy, corseted gowns of the upper class. She watched with a longing in her eyes and waved to Cercil when he looked up. He waved back and pointed at me. She made a hand gesture that asked who I was. Cercil put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me. At the same time, he pointed at me again then made a thumbs up gesture. The girl smiled a little and waved to me. I waved back, smiling the friendliest smile I could manage. Then she turned to someone unseen behind her and disappeared from view.

I turned back to Cercil. "Who was that?"

"That be the Princess Iribess, Sveria's wee sister."

"She has a sister?"

"Aye. Of King Frodin's second wife."

"You seem to know her."

"Aye. She did ride upon each and every day when she were here under her brother's reign. Now Sveria doth keep her far and away. She doth visit whilst thou art here but she doth not ride."

There was a sadness that crept into Cercil's voice as he spoke of Iribess. "Why doesn't she ride?" I asked.

"Queen Sveria doth keep Iribess close, lest there be plots against her. The Queen doth fear her and Iribess doth fear for her life."

I just stared at him, my mind trying to deal with such an injustice.

"But it be not my concern," Cercil went on. "I can say me nothing."

"It's not fair," I said, suddenly angry all over again.

"I do know me it, Lady Cassila, but who wouldst argue it with Her Majesty?" Cercil looked around as if worried that someone might have heard him. "'Tis well enow, Lady. I must me about my duties." With a deep bow, he left. I watched him go, biting my lip and thinking of what changes in the situation Iribess' presence could make. Realizing that Terryl needed to know about this, I ran for our rooms.

When I arrived I could tell Terryl had been meditating. She gave me an odd, speculative look as I came in, but I ignored it in my eagerness to tell her about Iribess.

"Master," I cried out, feeling buoyant about my discovery. "Master, Queen Sveria's got a little sister called Iribess. She's got her locked up here like a political prisoner." I stood there, watching my mentor, pleased with myself for having uncovered what had to be an important twist in our situation. I wanted Terryl's approval on my finding.

"You didn't finish the report, did you?" she said quietly.

"Uh, no." I felt she had taken a pin to my buoyancy. I began to deflate.

"If you had, you would've known about Iribess."

The rest of the air went out of my bubble of pride. I looked at the floor and began shuffling my feet. Terryl didn't let the awkward moment last fortunately.

"Did you meet her?" she asked, genuinely curious.

My head came up, eagerness returning a little. "No, but I saw her through a window. She's in rooms right next to ours."

"What does she look like?"

I told her what I'd seen and what Cercil had told her about me with his sign language. Terryl smiled at that. I felt better.

"It's promising that she shows no fear of you. Cercil, too, for that matter. Did you read about the religion here?"

"Yeah, I did. What a bunch of superstitious garbage. Their founding fathers didn't have a very good opinion of the galactic government, did they?"

"No, but it is the dominant belief here. Don't go spouting your opinions to anyone or they'll burn you at the stake as readily as they would any other heretic or witch."

That stopped me cold. "Master, what do you mean?" An odd, cautionary feeling rose in the back of my mind.

Terryl had been sitting in the big carved chair she had been in before I left to discover gualamas. She shifted in it now, her eyes taking on a distant glaze. "It occurs to me how alone we are here. The Renaisslinian senator's transport is well on its way back to Coruscant by now and the closest center for off-world communication is in Xantiar, on the other side of Istan from where we are now."

"In other words, if the locals suddenly take a dislike to us because we're everything their religion bans, we have no retreat." The cold stoppage had turned to ice. "Is that what you're saying?"

"We may have one friend. My family still serves the former Senator Llyrin at Chipping-Under-Hiwood in the Barony of South Riding, somewhere to the north. But I have no idea exactly where it is or how long it would take to get there, especially on foot."

"Is this why you gave me the odd look when I came in?"

Terryl's eyes focused again, looking up at me. "No. That was something else. But it's what got me to thinking."

The ice in me felt like a dead weight. My master must have had some vision while she was meditating. "What did you see?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to know.

She waved her hand dismissively and stood up. "Nothing that should concern you right now. Instead, we need to get ready for tonight."

"Why? What's happening?"

"Don't you remember? They're giving a dinner and dance for us tonight. As the guests of honor, I suggest we put in good showing in spite of what their religion may think of us. Go find a servant and request some hot water, if they have it."

Now quite eager to avoid giving any bad impressions to our hosts, I turned to do my master's bidding. Her voice stopped my progress short, though.

"However, Padawan, you have another chore before you walk out that door."

I turned back.

"You need to clean your boots first."

I looked down and noticed the bits of stable still clinging to my feet. "Oops," I said giving her a guilty look. She smiled and shook her head, reaching for the boot brush in her travel bag.

We finally got spiffed up, even in time for our honor guard to escort us downstairs to the banquet hall. As we followed the pair of elaborately uniformed men, Terryl spoke to me sotto voce.

"Beware of the meats. They're frequently kept for days or weeks before being cooked and even though we've had all the inoculations, who knows what new bugs could crop up. Not enough is known about the micro flora and fauna of this planet."

I gave her an incredulous look and shuddered. By the Force, I wanted to go home to Coruscant and get the kriffing hell off this rock. Fortunately, before I could open my mouth and insert my foot anew, we arrived at the banquet hall and were ushered in.

A small band played music as we entered and King Rodik escorted us to our seats on his left. Sveria was on his right and High Cleric Harliss, the religious representative from Xantiar, sat on her right. Perpendicular to our head table were two other tables with various noblemen and noblewomen seated along their length. Between the nobles' tables, close to the head table and facing it was a little table for a single person. Behind that, a fire pit held a cheery, warm blaze. As we stood waiting for Harliss to finish his blessing of the meal, I wondered what poor soul would have to sit in that isolated place. Then it occurred to me that Princess Iribess wasn't in the room.

Once the prayer was done and everyone was seated, two plain guards appeared and led in Princess Iribess to seat her at the individual table. She carried herself regally and acknowledged several friendly nods from various nobles and their ladies at the long tables. Before she sat, she made a deep curtsy to Sveria and thanked her for letting her be a part of the festivities. I watched her performance and my heart went out to her. How could Sveria hold back such a dignified girl? I found myself fuming at the Queen all over again.

We were introduced at that point and I stood for the Princess, trying to convey my respect for her and her difficult position. She gave us a bow from her seated place and winked at me as my name was given. I smiled back at her and hoped we would be able to talk later but I doubted Sveria would willingly allow it. I didn't have to see the Queen's face to feel the glare directed at Iribess. A quick glance at Terryl told me that my master felt it, too.

All in the room fell to eating and polite conversation. I quickly found that most of the food being served had meat in it. I watched Terryl's plate and followed her lead on what to trust past my lips and what to avoid. We ended up sticking mostly to bread, fruit and vegetables. I noticed that the rest seemed to fall into the meats and eat little else, including Iribess. I was amazed that they all looked as healthy as they did.

As dinner dragged on, it became obvious that Iribess was only allowed to speak to those at the head table. Even if someone at one of the long tables wanted to speak to her, they had to do it through the Queen. Invariably, Iribess was polite and cautious as she spoke, careful to give regular attention and compliments to Sveria. Sveria, though, seemed to be increasingly angry at Iribess' mere presence, showing it by a growing brusqueness with her that bordered on outright rudeness. Finally, after being mostly silent through the meal, the High Cleric Harliss directed a question to the Princess.

"Your Grace, I would wonder me, what thy position wouldst be, should God call your good sister and Queen to Himself, taking her loving presence away from the people she doth rule so justly?"

I almost gagged as I listened to him, but I held on to my stomach. I knew from the report that Sveria and Iribess' father, King Frodin, had made a religious break from the Fellowship of Xantiar during his reign as he had searched for a way out of his marriage to Sveria's mother. His son, Idlund, had deepened the rift during his short and illness-ridden time on the throne. Sveria was now doing her best to return Rittia to the Fellowship of Xantiar and the suspicion voiced in the report was that it was not a popular decision among most of Rittia's people. I watched Iribess, wanting to know what her opinion was as well.

She made the briefest hesitation before answering, composing her words carefully before letting them out where her sister could hear them. "My good High Cleric, my good sister is well and healthy, and shall bear a strong son to her good husband, King Rodik. I do think me I shall ne'er be upon the throne of Rittia."

"The ways of God be beyond us all, Your Grace. What shouldst you do?" The High Cleric was determined.

"I shall follow me my good sister's instruction in the ways of the Fellowship of Xantiar all her days."

Sveria stood suddenly at that, loudly clapping her hands against the table. Fury was in her face. Harliss went on.

"And beyond them?" he insisted.

Iribess' face took on an odd, almost frightened look, but she spoke in a clear, steady voice. "I may be me dead tomorrow, My Lord Cleric, and thou wouldst be saying my funeral. Should I plan for that which may ne'er happen?"

I couldn't see Harliss' face but I had a feeling he was not happy with the Princess' answer. I wasn't sure what he was trying to get out of her but I was sure she hadn't given it.

Sveria exploded at this point, her fury at Iribess' presence having become more than she could contain. "Do remove this wretched child from our presence!" she almost screamed. The two guards that had escorted Iribess in quick-stepped from the back of the room to do their Queen's bidding. Iribess' expression changed to one of desperate sorrow and she looked to Rodik. The guards each took an arm and almost bodily lifted her from her seat. All except Rodik, Sveria and Harliss stood as the Princess was brought to her feet.

"Hold, men," King Rodik said and the guards and Iribess froze. "My good lady wife," he said, turning to the enraged and shaking Queen, "thou didst tell me that thy good sister should grace us all the evening with her fine company. Take thee back thy word to thy husband, or didst thou lie to me?"

Standing, I could see Sveria's startled expression as she turned to look at Rodik. "Nay, my lord husband," she said quickly, fear edging her voice. "Nay, thy wife wouldst ne'er lie to thee. But her presence doth vex."

"We do wish her here," he said calmly.

Sveria looked back and forth between her sister and her husband, the hatred for the one and the fearful love for the other showing plainly in her face. Finally, she dropped her gaze down to her swollen belly. "Do forgive me, my husband. I be tired."

"Go you, then. Rest. Keep my son strong." His hand rested on Sveria's belly.

The Queen smiled an odd smile and for moment, I felt a great wave of regret from her. Was there something wrong with the baby? "Th'art correct, my sweeting. I shall take me to my bed." Resigned, she turned to leave. Everyone, including Terryl and myself, kept standing until she was gone. Harliss also made his excuses and followed her. I began to wonder if there was something going on between them.

As soon as Sveria and Harliss were gone, Rodik handily took over as leader of the festivities. In a few minutes, he moved the party to the dance hall, gathering up Iribess, Terryl and me for his personal set of dance partners as we went.

The musicians also moved and doubled their number. Rodik only gave them a slight rest before insisting they start again. They began with a quick-tempoed tune that he and Iribess seemed to know well and danced with ease, though I could see that Iribess was doing her best to keep a polite distance from Rodik.

"He's doing his best to seduce her." I had stayed close to my master and now she leaned over and whispered in my ear. "I think he hopes to marry her if Sveria dies."

I turned to look into Terryl's gray eyes. "Why would Sveria die?"

"Didn't you sense it about her?"

The notion of Sveria being ill surprised me. "Sense what, Master?"

"That Sveria is not pregnant, that she has a uterine tumor?"

My mouth must have fallen open because Terryl reached over and pushed my chin up. "I doubt that we're the only ones who know," she went on. "I'm sure the lack of movement in her womb has been a subject of discussion among the servants for weeks. I'd be surprised if Rodik doesn't know."

My master was one of the few Jedi Knights that had a dual talent. As well as working in the usual diplomatic circles that Jedi frequently occupied, she was also a talented healer. If Sveria was sick with a uterine tumor, Terryl would see it as quickly and easily as she saw the Queen's eye color. I had no doubt she was right in her diagnosis.

"Then that's why Rodik is paying so much attention to Iribess," I concluded.

"Exactly. If he can't get a son through Sveria and so take over Rittia that way, he'll do it through Iribess."

"That must be why Sveria wants her locked up. She's jealous."

"And if Iribess wants to continue to keep the Rittian Fellowship separated from Xantiar, that also makes her a threat to her sister on another level, especially if any portion of the Rittian people would prefer it. I'm at least sure they don't want to be Istann again."

I looked back to the girl who carefully enjoyed her dance with her brother-in-law. I wondered if she knew everything that was whirling around her politically. Then I saw again the caution with which she regarded her dancing partner and realized she knew all too well. I thought back to her guarded conversation during dinner and understood that she was much more aware than I could ever hope to be. I began to admire her political savvy that far outreached my own.

"See if you can make friends with her, Padawan." My heart leapt at that; of course I wanted to make friends with her! "See if she knows what the popular opinion of her sister is." With that, Terryl left the dance hall and me. I watched her go with a growing sense of panic.

The music stopped briefly and I felt a hand clap itself to my shoulder. I turned to find King Rodik grinning broadly at me. "Wouldst thou dance, my lady?" His other hand flourished toward the dance floor.

I glanced at Iribess, who nodded and winked. I did my best to smile at the King and he whisked me out to the floor, not even listening to my stammered explanation that I didn't know the dance pattern to join him.

Fortunately for me, he turned out to be a cheerfully patient teacher as he taught me the steps of the dance. I also was an apt student, finding the footwork to be simple compared to some steps I'd had to learn in lightsaber classes back at the Jedi Academy. By the time the music ended, we were doing pretty well together and my panic was gone. Rodik bowed graciously to me and I returned the gesture. He laughed at my efforts and called for wine. Iribess caught my eye and made a quick mock curtsy, trying to tell me my mistake. When the King turned back to me, I tried my best curtsy and he laughed again, reaching out to pull me back up to my feet.

"Ah, ha. Th'art a true woman after all," he said, draining the glass of wine he'd been brought. "In spite of thy breeches and boots. Come thee hither, then. I shall teach to thee another step, my exotic lady." He turned to Iribess. "If thou dost approve, Your Grace."

Iribess smiled at him. "I do so greatly, Your Highness. It doth give me a chance to admire thy leg and bonnie knees."

Rodik beamed and made a truncated bow to the Princess before taking me away again. It was a livelier variation on the dance steps he had just shown me and we were both panting by the time the dance ended. He pulled me over to the bench Iribess occupied, grabbing another glass of wine as he went. He settled himself between the Princess and me and finished most of his wine in a few swallows. He made a few pleasantries with us and a noble that passed, then grabbed Iribess for his partner when the music began once more.

As they danced, I looked around the room and realized that the three of us were being pretty carefully watched. I smiled politely and turned back to watch the two royals. It was obvious that Rodik was thoroughly enjoying himself and that Iribess was at least enjoying the dancing if not Rodik's partnership. I began to realize that unless Rodik chose to dance with someone else, I was not going to have a chance to talk to the Princess.

Somewhere in Iribess' second dance with Rodik, Terryl appeared next to me from where ever she'd gone. Her gaze settled on the two of them. "Has Rodik let you two talk with each other?" she asked.

"No. He keeps wanting us to dance with him."

"I guess I'll have to take over, then. Give you two girls a chance together."

"Can you dance?" I said with some incredulity.

My master turned her gaze on me. "I should still be able to twinkle a toe, Padawan." A small sparkle lit her eye.

"I'll warn you. I think he's getting drunk on the wine."

"I think I can handle a King in his cups."

"What does 'in his cups' mean?"

"Renaisslinian for drunk."

"Ah."

We watched the Princess and the King until the end of the number. Rodik's eyes landed on Terryl with delight. The idea of having yet another female to dance with seemed to excite him. With a curtsy that rivaled Iribess' in smoothness, my master went off with the King to let Iribess and me finally be alone together.

We watched Terryl and the King cavorting about. I was surprised at how light my master was on her feet though I know I shouldn't have been. I'd sparred with her enough to know she could move very quickly when she wanted to. Still, it just seemed so different to see her using her feet for such a light-hearted effort.

"I do think me His Highness doth enjoy his special group of ladies." Iribess had leaned over to speak softly in my ear.

I could see the wide grin that had seemed like a permanent part of Rodik's face since we came into the dance hall. "I think you're right. Is he always like this?"

"Aye. He doth always seek out the ladies that shall bring him the most attention."

"Thinks pretty well of himself, eh?"

"Aye. That he doth."

We glanced at each other at that moment. The fire behind those pale blue eyes surprised me. "You don't like him, do you?"

Suddenly, the fire was hidden. "It doth matter not what I think me of King Rodik. He be my sister's husband and it be my duty to see to his comforts, within the law."

"Princess, you can tell me what you really think. The only other one who will know is my master, and she's not going to tell anyone."

She regarded me like some sort of lab specimen at that point, but I kept myself open. "We are not a threat to you," I added.

"Th'art an apprentice witch," she said.

"We're not witches," I said quickly, remembering what I'd read. I did not want her becoming frightened of me.

"Thou doth use magic." Her face and voice were still calm.

"Not like that." My mind raced for some way to explain use of the Force without it going against their religion. "It's more like when someone does something in the name of your god, it's done with only the best intentions for somebody else. It's kind of like that."

She tipped her head, her eyes still critical. "Dost thou meanest that thy spirit be moved by God? That thou dost ask for His blessing upon thy works?"

"More than that. I guess you could say we have the spirit of god moving through us."

She drew back a little, both astonishment and understanding taking over her expression. She glanced out at my master and Rodik, then focused on me again, studying me even more closely than before, this time with a guarded anxiety that hoped for relief.

"I do have me much to say to thee. We must talk freely and soon." She rested her hand on my mine.

"Fine. Let's talk," I said, putting my other hand on hers.

"Not in this place. I must needs me retire and consider a way." She drew her hand away from mine. "I shall send for thee. Be thou ready." She stood and signaled to the guard that had brought her in to the dining hall earlier. Rodik immediately broke off from his dancing to come to the Princess. The room came to a stand still and all eyes quietly went to watch the King. For the first time since we'd come into the dance hall, his smile broke as he stopped the guards and their charge. "Your Grace, why dost thou leave us?" Terryl followed, listening intently.

"I be most fatigued, Your Highness. I must needs me rest."

Rodik glanced at me accusingly, as if I had brought this on somehow, then back to the Princess. "Dear Iribess. Take not thy company from us."

"Please, Your Highness, I must." She looked steadily at him, pleading with her expression. With a slump of his shoulders, he finally relented.

"Go then, Your Grace. Rest you well. I shall see to your state anon."

"Th'art most kind," she said and left, her guard trailing after. Rodik watched after her, deep in thought.

Terryl came toward me and leaned close. "Is she all right?"

"She wants to talk to me in private. She said she'd send for me."

"Be careful. Sveria's denied us private access to Iribess."

I nodded and Rodik turned back to us, the Princess having gone out of sight. "So we are left with thy alien company. 'Tis well enow." He glanced at me again and I remembered what Terryl had said about our being alone on this planet. I made myself smile warmly at Rodik. Terryl curtsied deeply.

"You honor us with your company, Your Highness," Terryl said and I nodded in agreement while trying to curtsy properly myself.

Rodik held his hand out to my master and she took it as she stood. With a wave of his hand, the musicians began playing again. With another wave, the other nobles began dancing again and in a few moments, the room was as lively and noisy as it had been before Iribess left. I found myself feeling a little chilled by this obedience from all in the room. I began to understand better why Iribess was as careful as she was.

The evening wore on but Rodik's mood was not as light as it had been, though he kept at the wine. Finally, after several more dances with my master and me, he gave up and left the hall. Within a few minutes of his exit, the rest of the party also began leaving. Terryl and I took the cue and left for our rooms as well, escorted by our honor guard.

Once inside the door and the honor guard safely on its way, Terryl told me what she had learned during her absence from the dance hall.

"When I got to Sveria's corner of the castle, her secretary made me wait while she was in with Harliss."

"That nervous little guy who showed us up here this afternoon?" I pulled my boots off and wiggled my toes in the air.

"The same. Then Harliss came out and I asked him about the Queen's health." My master also got her boots off and rubbed her feet.

"What'd he say?"

"He showed no surprise at my question. In fact, I think he expected it. He told me that the Theocrat's own physicians have looked at Sveria and have declared her child healthy."

I slipped off my belt and sash, lightsaber still attached. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. The medicine here is primitive at best but it can't be that bad. There's something else going on. The oddest thing is that I felt like he almost tried to influence me not to press the issue." Terryl took her lightsaber off her belt and set it on the table next to her bed.

"Influence as in a Jedi type of influence?" I quit undressing halfway though taking off my tunic. I was surprised.

"Precisely."

I finished taking off my tunic slowly. "You don't think he's some kind of Force-sensitive, do you?"

"I don't know what to think of Harliss. But I do know I'm going to keep my eye on him."

I started to peel off my undershirt but Terryl's hand came up, stopping me. "Don't take off too much. If something happens in the night, we don't need to dash about entirely undone."

I settled the undershirt back on and nodded. Good thing, too, because a knock sounded on our door at that moment. Terryl answered it to find a man bearing firewood. He made some excuse and came in, dumping his load on the already well-stocked pile by the fireplace as Terryl continued to stand by the open door. He brushed his hands off and looked between us, apparently reluctant to leave, his eyes full of caution and worry. "I do be sorry to disturb thee, great ladies," he finally said after some hemming and hawing, "but I needs must speak private with thee."

Terryl checked the hall, then shut the door. "What can we help you with?" she asked.

"Th'art here to help put Rittia and Istan together again. Ist so?"

Terryl nodded. I wasn't sure; I still hadn't finished the report.

"Please, I do beg thee. Do not this thing. Let them lie apart."

Terryl and I exchanged glances. "Why?" my master asked.

"If thou dost this thing, 'twill be Flientis doth pay the price."

Terryl came closer and guided the man to the big chair by the fireplace. "Why do you say that?"

"The troops would come again and stronger, too. The Fellowship of Xantiar doth believe us heretics and would have us dead; man, woman and child. Repair not this tear. Let the Fellowships lie separate, too."

Terryl settled on her bed, her full attention on the man. "How many more want what you want?"

"All of Flientis, Lady. Many of Rittia and even Istan, too."

"How do you know this?"

"I be sent by King Murag of Flientis to bring thee this word. His majesty Murag were not consulted for this meeting and he doth wish not the coming together again of Rittia and Istan." The man reached into his shirt and brought out a folded piece of paper, sealed with wax. "Here be my commission from his majesty." He held it out to Terryl.

She took it and studied the seal before opening it. She glanced over the letter, then folded it up again. "You've undertaken a great risk in coming here, Balsar," she said.

"Aye. I do know me it. But ist better than seeing my people ravaged again by war and soldiers. Xantiar wouldst again use the power of the countries together should they become one once more. 'Tis better e'en with Rittia's Fellowship separate."

"When is the last time Rittia sent troops to Flientis?"

"In the years after Frodin didst divorce Sveria's mother and did make the Rittian Fellowship. Please, good Lady, it be the women and children do suffer the worst in their own way. When the soldiers do come and the food be gone." There was a catch in his voice as he spoke the last. I had a feeling he had been one of those children once.

Terryl nodded and threw the letter on the fire. She'd heard the catch, too. "I will keep this in mind as I sit before Rodik and Sveria. Your people should not be made to suffer for any reason."

He stood and kneeled before Terryl, grabbing her hand pressing the back of it against his forehead. "Th'art most gracious, Lady." He looked up to her. "My Lord Murag and my people shall e'er be thy debt if thou canst keep all apart."

Terryl pulled him up to his feet, apology in her eyes. "Know that I can promise nothing except that I will advise their majesties and the Theocrat's representative against the folly of attacking Flientis. In the end, though, they'll do what they please. I can do no more than that."

"Thou canst not bewitch them?" He seemed puzzled.

"No. We are not witches. We deal only in truths. And the truth is that attacking Flientis is a foolish endeavor. But if they choose to not see it, there's little else I can do."

Balsar nodded, staring at the floor, obviously disappointed. "I do understand me." He looked back to Terryl, a new consideration in his expression. "Ist true, then. Th'art nobler than some think." He backed to the door, bowing. "I must take me away. We do thank thee for all thou canst do."

He let himself out and Terryl moved to shut the door behind him. She leaned against it and looked at me. "You asked earlier just what we're doing here, padawan? That's it right there. We're here to look for a balance for these people."

"But what if they don't want it?" I asked.

"At least we will have found it for them. You can lead a beast to water but you can't make it drink."

"What about that man? Would he be considered a spy?"

"Very much so. And he will be tortured and killed if he's found out. So will anyone who's had dealings with him."

I nodded and picked up my things and went to my bed, removing my lightsaber from my belt and putting it on the night table as my master had done.

I was on Mendoraan again, in my mother's part of her father's house. Both my parents were there, standing over me as I lay cowering on the floor. They were huge in the dream, larger than life and just as threatening. I felt my fear of them rising and again, I vainly fought for strength against that fear. Like before, I backed into a corner cowering and looking for a way to escape.

"How dare you tell your father you can't help him in his work," my mother shouted, her face as tall as I was, her shrill voice hurting my ears. "You have the way to give him power to make him lots of money."

"No, I can't," I whimpered in a tiny, powerless voice. "Jedi can't do that. It's against the Code."

Like before, my father caught me, holding me in one giant hand. He took the huge scissors from my mother, big enough to remove my head from my shoulders. Too small and ineffectual to stop him, he grabbed my padawan's braid and cut it off even with the skin.

"There!" he yelled at me, shaking it in my face. "There's your damn Jedi Code." He threw the braid in the tiny trash bin and it disappeared into the garbage system. "Now you can work with me. You are my daughter. My blood is in your veins, you little freak. You are a part of me and I am a part of you. Forever! You are coming with me now and helping me." He reached for me again and I fought against him, thrashing and flailing and crying. His hand finally caught both my wrists and I screamed and screamed.

And then I was looking into Terryl's face with wide, wet eyes, her hands on my wrists. My throat was sore and I realized there was a huge lump in it. I turned away from her into my pillow and she let me go.

"Cassila," she said softly, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Were you having that nightmare again?"

I just nodded, trying to swallow away that lump. My hand went up to where my padawan's braid had been. It was still going to be several more weeks, maybe months before there was enough hair again to braid effectively.

"You've got to tell me. What happened on Mendoraan?"

I shook my head.

"Padawan. Look at me."

I didn't want to but I made myself turn to her anyway. I met her eyes only briefly, then looked away.

"This is tearing you apart. The Force used to flow straight as a lightsaber's blade through you. But ever since you came back from Mendoraan, it's been as crooked at that line of mountains out there." She waved her arm toward some point beyond the walls. "You've got to talk about it."

"I can't," I said, still staring at the wall by my bed.

"Why?"

I didn't know how to answer that. I didn't know how to tell her what I knew. So I just kept quiet.

She sighed. "If that stubbornness of yours could just get directed into a commitment, you'd be unstoppable."

I hung my head. I really wished I could tell Terryl what had happened; how my parents had first tried to cajole, and then bully me into using my Force-related powers for their personal gain. I really had lost my padawan's braid to my father and the scissors my mother had provided, right down to the skin. Maybe I should have fought against them, but I had been so confused and frightened by what they wanted from me and how desperate they were to have it. Now I was supposedly back in training, knowing I was nothing but the illegitimate child of a greedy, small-time criminal and a petty, spoiled rich kid. I couldn't imagine it was very good material for making a Jedi Knight.

"Your Grandfather contacted me not long after you came back. It seems your parents disappeared shortly after you left. He thought maybe you knew where they had gone. I'm guessing your Grandmother was worried."

I shook my head. "No…" My voice caught on the remains of the lump in my throat. I cleared it and tried again. "No, I don't know where they would be. I don't care either."

"I told him I thought you didn't know. I didn't think you wanted to talk to him."

"I didn't. Thank you."

Terryl began rubbing my back. I could feel her concern for me both through her hand and through our link. I wondered yet again if I was wrong in keeping my secret from her.

"You can't hate them, padawan," she told me softly. "You've got to forgive them and let go. Move on." I lay down again, wondering how I could ever forgive people who had taken away my dreams and had crushed what little good I was beginning to think of myself. Terryl must have influenced me to sleep because the next thing I knew it was dawn and she was getting me up for an early morning workout. My mind was still on my nightmare, though. It had also become my daymare.

The next two days were spent either waiting for meetings to start or in tremendously boring and useless negotiations for the peaceful merger of Istan and Rittia as well as a full return of the Rittian Fellowship to the Fellowship of Xantiar. Nothing had been worked out beforehand by the involved people because no one seemed to know what they really wanted. Possibilities were bandied about but not for very long either day, due to Sveria's condition and she would not allow any meetings without her there. By the time the night of the second day came, I was ready to slice up something or someone with my lightsaber I was so frustrated. To make matters worse, when I had suggested earlier that afternoon that perhaps Princess Iribess should be invited to sit in on these negotiations, I and my idea had been treated like so much useless, and even irritating chaff. The implication had been plain: both Iribess and I were nothing but superfluous girl-children who were better seen and not heard, and best not seen at all. I was livid by bedtime.

I started pacing when I should have been getting ready for bed. I think part of it was that I didn't want to sleep. My nightmare had been back each night and I didn't want to deal with it again, or Terryl urging me to talk about it.

"What's wrong, padawan?" my master asked, seeing my agitation. She sat cross-legged on her bed.

"Nothing. It's just been a lousy day." I kept pacing.

"Are you upset about how you were treated at the meeting today?"

"That and everything else."

"Which everything else?"

I flopped down into the big carved chair in front of the fireplace. "Just all of it. The whole attitude of adults toward young people like Iribess and me. Do you know what happens to Iribess if Rittia's Fellowship goes back to Xantiar?"

"What happens?"

"She gets labeled a bastard on a planet that looks way down on that sort of thing, just because her mother was Frodin's second wife and Xantiar doesn't recognize the marriage. She might as well have been born on a street corner and not to a king."

"I doubt that Sveria will just throw her out."

"Oh, no. She won't do that. The servant I talked to said she'd probably use Iribess as marriage fodder to cement some treaty or something." My eyes began to sting with tears and I fought to keep them away. "She'll be useless to everybody except Sveria and Sveria will just make her do what she wants out of her, without caring what her sister thinks or wants. It's so wrong."

I sat and fumed, my fist clenching and unclenching. Terryl studied me and I could feel it but I didn't care. "Do you feel just as trapped?" she finally asked me.

"I do."

"I wish I understood why." I expected her to ask about Mendoraan again but instead, she just slid between her rough sheets and blew out the candle on her night table. "I suggest you get to bed yourself, padawan. Who knows how long tomorrow's going to be."

My nightmare hit me very strongly that night. Terryl was there again but she didn't say much before leaving me and going back to her bed. I lay there in the nearly absolute darkness of the room, sensing for my surroundings. Then my mind turned in on itself as I tried to yet again puzzle myself out.

As a child, my mother had been reluctant to let go of me. She had handed me over to the Jedi Temple on Mendoraan when I was about a year and a half old. I had stayed there until I was nearly three. Then my grandfather had pushed for my release back to her. I don't know why he bothered. I only stayed four or five months. Then she put me back in the Temple. My memory was that my father had something to do with it as he had been there for the latter part of my stay. I remembered wondering what I had done wrong to be sent away, and crying myself to sleep each night for a long time.

She tried the same thing just after my fourth birthday. This time, I tried to behave as best I could. I had watched all the attention my mother got from her parents and had thought it was because she was important and that I also needed to stay and pay attention to her. My father again showed up and I tried to behave for him as well. I even got into his private files and tried to learn what he did for a living in the hope of helping him. He found me in the middle of his things, trying to organize them, and got absolutely furious. The next day, I was back at the Mendorani Temple, permanently. My mother didn't even go with me. She had my grandmother take me back.

I fell asleep with all this on my mind. Maybe it was penance enough. The nightmare didn't come back again that night.

The next morning, I finally heard from Iribess. There was a note tucked under the bowl of porridge on my breakfast tray. In it, she asked me to come to her rooms that night after the household was asleep. Terryl worried that the note might be a forgery meant to get us into trouble but she told me to go ahead and see if it was genuine when the time came.

The day dragged by as slowly as the previous two days had, only more so because I was so completely anticipating my meeting with Iribess. I wanted to talk to her. During the negotiation meeting that day, it seemed like Sveria was almost hostile to us, yet she ended it all on a pleasant note, wishing us a pleasant evening before she disappeared into her rooms.

The evening dragged by even more slowly than the day had. Terryl tried to help by keeping me busy with exercises and it mostly worked. Still, my mind kept returning to the regal, red-haired girl who seemed to be as trapped as I was by family and fate. How I wanted to get closer to her and compare notes on our lives, to know how we were alike and how we were different. To find out if we could really be friends and perhaps be of importance to each other as just ourselves, if not to anyone else. How I looked forward to just saying an honest hello to Iribess.

Instead of getting ready for bed, Terryl and I stayed in our clothes. She took the big carved chair and faced it to the lit fireplace. I sat cross-legged on the floor beside it and we meditated off and on until the palace was quiet. Then Terryl's hand dropped to my shoulder in a silent signal. Quietly, I left our rooms and headed for Iribess' door.

There was always a guard posted at Iribess' door and tonight was no exception. This time, though, the man was fast asleep on the floor, slumped against the wall, an empty glass beside him. I stepped past him gently, wondering if maybe he had been drugged. His soft snoring suggested that perhaps that was the case. I rapped on the door as loudly as I dared.

"Who be there?" sounded a female voice behind the door.

"It's Cassila Sanar. Iribess asked for me."

"'Tis well, lady. Do find thee the key upon the guard. I did drug him in his evening cup and he should not wake."

I began rummaging through the guard's clothes, knocking him over in the process. He never stirred. Unfortunately, I could find no key. I informed the voice.

"Fie," it said. "I did fear me it. The key be with the Captain of the Guard. There be no entrance for thee." The voice was genuinely apologetic.

"Wait," I said. "I've got an idea." Through the Force, I reached into the lock and searched out its workings, knowing it had to be a very simple device. Altering my surroundings had always been my strong suit. In a few moments, I had the well-oiled piece opening under my influence. I lifted the latch and the door swung open.

The owner of the voice stood just beyond holding a lit candle in a holder, her expression showing open amazement. "Th'art truly witches. Thou dost open locks with no key." She took a step back.

"I'm only coming as I was asked to do. I'm not a witch." I quickly closed the door behind me.

She looked at me as if to say, "And I'm supposed to believe that?" "I be Katrin, Her Grace's nurse," she said instead. "I shall tell Her Grace th'art here." She disappeared through another doorway. I stood and waited, feeling for moment like I was being watched. I looked around but the feeling was gone again. The woman came back and indicated the door she'd just come through. "Her Grace wouldst see thee within."

I bowed a little and said, "Thank you." Beyond the door was a large bedchamber. Iribess was tucked into the huge, curtained bed and wearing a long white nightgown under a green velvet robe with a fur collar and cuffs. She smiled broadly as I came in and indicated that I should sit on the bed next to her.

"Th'art finally arrived." She took my hand as I sat. "I did begin to fear me thou wouldst ne'er come."

"I'm here now. I've really wanted to talk to you."

"And I thee. How e'er, I have me no good news for thee to begin." Her smile fled.

"What do you mean?" Suddenly everything I'd wanted to say to the Princess took a distant second place. She emanated a worry that that I couldn't help but feel.

"I have learnt me from Katrin th'art here on pretense. I do fear me my sister doth mean thee harm."

I remembered Terryl's fears about our lonely position from that first day here. "What's she going to do?"

"I know me not, though I do know me her feelings towards thee are most ill. Didst thou speak with a spy from Flientis, named Balsar?"

"Yeah, we did. He came to our rooms that first night, after the dinner and dance."

"Aye. He were found upon the next morn. He didst break upon the rack just this morn and didst tell of meeting thee and thy master."

I rolled my eyes. "That's why Sveria was so unfriendly to us today. She knew."

"Aye, 'twould be so. 'Twould also be fuel for her fire against thee."

My mind whirled. Was it possible some trap was closing in around my master and me? I looked away, thinking back to what Terryl had said about High Cleric Harliss. "What do you know about the guy from Xantiar?"

"I do trust me not the High Cleric Harliss. Twice now, he hath miss-said the daily office. No cleric wouldst misspeak such a simple service."

"My master has doubts about him, too. I wonder who he really is."

"I know me not but I do say me this: I shall take me no more services from him. I do think me he be no true cleric."

I looked back to Iribess, my mind on what Iribess might know. There'd be time for more social chat later. "What do you know about Sveria's health?"

Iribess looked very directly at me. "I do know me the child within her be dead. It hath ne'er moved."

I nodded. "My master is also a healer. She says it's a tumor, a growth. Not a child at all."

Iribess nodded slowly. "I be not surprised. I think me God doth not hold her close."

"Harliss told my master that the child was healthy, that the Theocrat's own doctors told her that."

"Aye, they didst see her. I did hear me they didst leave her grim-faced."

"Then it's true. Terryl's right. Your sister isn't pregnant."

Iribess clasped her hands before her as if praying and spoke softly. "Oh my Lord God, do take my sister and let me keep my people safe."

I drew back. This didn't sound good.

She looked back to me, her expression imploring me to trust her. "I mean that not ill. My sister hath become bitter with long years and ill use by our father. She doth wish to right what she doth see as wrong. But she hath become blind and deaf to her people. They do wish for their own Fellowship and their own country." She searched my face, her eyes sincere. "I have e'er known I must be queen one day and heal my people. I do pray thee, hold it not against me."

"I don't. I hear that Sveria would just marry you off if she lives anyway."

"Aye, 'twould be so. And I have sworn me to ne'er marry." There was a fear bordering on terror in her eyes as she said that. Then she quickly amended her words. "Save to marry my people by being their queen.

"Then the people don't support Sveria."

"Nay. The people do wish to be Rittian. They do wish them to be apart, not again in the shadow of Istan and Xantiar. There were great rejoicing when my father didst take us away from Xantiar. If she be sick with an ill humor inside her womb, it be the curse of the people. They do wish her away."

I chewed my lip, thinking. "Does she know what the people think of her?"

"Aye. She be called Sveria the Sanguine for all the executions of those who wouldst keep the Rittian Fellowship."

I whistled. "By the Force, I had no idea. I don't know if Terryl knows, either. Do the people like you?"

Iribess looked guilty. "Aye. They do love me well and know me not, they do hate Sveria so."

"But it sounds like you'd do what they want."

"Ist true. I do love me my people and would serve them well. I do keep me the wisdom of old: He that wouldst rule all shall serve all. Sveria doth serve none but Sveria."

She sounded Jedi with her mention of service. "I admire your commitment, Princess. I wish I could be like you."

"Thou dost not. I would not wish my state upon any." She smiled a sad smile.

"What I mean is, I wish I had your commitment, your strength to see it through. I'm not feeling that way right now about my own situation."

"Thou dost not have my sister. She doth make a heart courageous or she doth make it still." She cuffed my arm, hard.

"Ow! What was that for? I'm really not that…" I stopped, a sudden feeling washing over me. It felt like someone close by had just died. Iribess started to say something but I held up my hand, stopping her. Then I heard the sound of a door being broken in and an ignited lightsaber. I leapt off the bed and drew my own weapon. "Quick, hide," I called to Iribess without looking back.

In the room beyond, I heard Katrin's outraged voice cry out. "Here now, who be thee! Th'art not invited in! What be thy…" Her voice was cut short and I heard her body fall. I made for the door in time to be met by a person swathed completely in black, coming at me in a headlong rush. In its hand was a vermilion-bladed lightsaber.

I met the attack but was shoved back by the power of the rushing assault. At the same time, I called desperately to Terryl through our link. The person pushed on past me and on into the room, looking for something or someone. I gave the being in black no time though, and returned with my own attack. The black-swathed person turned its attention to me and drove in on me with a fury I didn't expect. My blue-green blade clashed against the reddish one and the smell of ozone quickly filled the room. Who ever it was, though, was better than I was and I was soon falling back under its onslaught.

At the Jedi Academy, the only way I had ever won a lightsaber duel was by throwing things with the Force. Most of the kids had called it cheating but Terryl had called it inventive. I began throwing everything I could see at my attacker in an attempt to keep from being cornered and killed. That slowed it down but my effort was not going to stop this person. Still, I fought as best I could, knowing Terryl had to come soon.

I was right. I was getting backed into a last corner when Terryl appeared in the doorway. She didn't stop as she flew into the room and took the black-draped person's attention away from me.

"Get Iribess out of here," she called to me as she came. "They mean to kill her."

I looked around for the Princess and found her coming out from under the bed. There was fear in her eyes but no panic. She quickly placed herself behind me and stayed there as I maneuvered us past the attacker and toward the door to the outer room. I really wasn't sure if she was any safer hiding behind me than she had been under the bed but I was not about to argue it now.

Terryl managed to also put herself between the attacker and Iribess. It strove to get past us but the two of us together was an effective barrier. We kept the person in black at bay as we began moving out of the Princess' rooms.

In the outer room, Iribess gave a gasp when she saw the remains of Katrin. She had been nearly cleaved in two and her outstretched hand still held the candleholder she had greeted me with. Iribess kept moving, though, in spite of her shock. I had to admire her guts.

As we tried to maneuver past the furnishings in the outer room, we found ourselves cornered. The black-draped person tried to take advantage of our predicament and redoubled its attack. Terryl and I were side by side now with Iribess cowering behind us. Despite its efforts, our adversary was unable to penetrate our protection. Even so, we were unable to get past the barrier it and the furniture made. Then I felt Terryl drawing hard on the Force and knew she was going to use her Healer's powers in our defense. A heartbeat later, our enemy stumbled, crying out in pain; Terryl had made one of its leg muscles cramp up. Her purplish blade snaked out and undid the hood and mask of the person in black, leaving behind a deep cut over his ear. The covering garments fell away to reveal the face of High Cleric Harliss.

I heard Iribess hiss a "Dear God," as his face emerged and Terryl said, "I thought so." I just barely riposted his fresh attack. Then I felt the Force gather again in my master.

Terryl's favorite position in life was sitting quietly. So what she did next surprised me. She leapt over my blade and past Harliss, putting him almost between us. As she landed, she drove in hard on him and I followed her example. He back-pedaled quickly, making room for Iribess to slide past the furniture and start for the broken door to the hall. I followed, still facing Harliss, and Terryl came after me, carrying the brunt of his renewed efforts to hinder our escape.

"Don't think you've saved yourselves just because you know who I am," he gloated as Iribess got to the door. "The entire Palace Guard has been alerted to your intentions to kill the Princess. You won't live the night, Jedi."

"And Iribess will just happen to get caught in the crossfire, eh?" Terryl said. "How very convenient for Sveria."

"If she isn't cut down by a lightsaber blade first." Harliss made a vicious slash and part of Terryl's sleeve was cut away. She stepped back next to me and we again took up of the fight side by side. She drew on the Force once more, stronger this time. Harliss cried out in pain and barely deflected our combined attack. Unfortunately, he was well trained in the Jedi Arts and was shaking off Terryl's effect quickly. Still, it gave us a chance to follow Iribess into the hallway. Next to the broken door, the guard still lay on the floor, now framed in a pool of blood from the lightsaber cut running deep through his chest. Harliss had been busy.

Just down the hall from the direction of the main stairs, we could hear the noisy approach of the Palace Guard. Through the doorway, I could see Harliss removing the black clothing, revealing a Renaisslinian-style nightshirt underneath and a robe with lots of room to hide a lightsaber. He grinned devilishly and said, "Good luck." I glared back at him.

"Come on, Padawan," Terryl said. "Time to retreat." She grabbed my arm and we followed Iribess to the other end of the hall where the servants' stairs went down behind a nearly hidden door.

"I did play me in these halls when I were a child," she called to us over her shoulder as she went through the door. "I do know me the way outside."

Beyond the door, the servants' passages were unlit. We followed Iribess, lighting the way with our lightsabers, our passage only startling one, elderly manservant. He quickly disappeared behind the door he had started out of, probably to say prayers for himself after seeing us.

In short order, we were outside in the brisk night air. The moons were both up, one full and one at half, providing an amazing amount of light. We extinguished our lightsabers but not before a lookout on a parapet above us saw them and gave the alarm.

We heard hooves approaching and Terryl turned to Iribess. "Princess, can you ride?"

"I do ride me well," she answered.

Terryl turned to me. "Get the soldiers' mounts," she said. "We need them." She ignited her lightsaber again and I followed suit. "Princess, stay out of the way until we have a mount for you." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Iribess push herself into some bushes.

Four gualama-mounted soldiers appeared, wielding lances. They bore down on us and we made short work of their pole weapons. Startled but determined, they drew their swords and turned back on us. Though probably well trained by Renaisslinian standards, it was still an easy matter to startle the gualamas with our lightsabers. The first one to come at me swerved suddenly, almost unseating its rider. I leapt at the man and pulled him from the saddle, cutting short his sword as I did so. Thus disarmed, the soldier was in no mood to take me on. He backed away a few steps to let his buddy coming up behind try his best.

The second man made a slash at me and I dodged, letting him run his gualama past me. He pulled the animal around and came at me again. I waved my lightsaber and the gualama came to screeching halt, rearing and dumping its rider off backwards. I rushed forward and as the animal came down, I caught its bridle. I put a hand above one of its eyes and did my best to influence it into trusting me. With me in front, it suddenly decided to lash out behind and caught the soldier that had just toppled off it. I heard the hooves strike flesh and saw the man go down and lay quiet. I hoped he wasn't dead but decided not to check. I concentrated on the gualama and it calmed down under my influence. I took the opportunity to look around. One other soldier lay on the ground, moaning. I could see one gualama running away with at least one soldier on its back. Terryl had two gualamas and was handing one off to Iribess. We all started to mount up when the cry came from the roof.

In an instant, arrows began raining down on us. It must have been hard for the archers to aim in spite of the moonlight because the vast majority of them hit nothing but the ground. I saw one stick in Terryl's saddle, though. She yanked it out as she mounted and threw it away.

More flights of arrows came at us right away. I had barely settled into my saddle when a sharp pain pierced my left side. Without looking, I knew I'd taken an arrow. Desperate to get moving before the pain really hit me, I kicked my mount into motion. The beast took off and I could feel it being urged forward by a pain in its rump; it, too, had been hit. We all took off at a dead run, eager to leave the palace and the danger it held far behind.

We followed Terryl now. We barely got a thousand meters before the pain in my side hit me. The arrow, still stuck in my clothing as well as my side, was getting constantly jostled. Terryl must have felt my pain because she pulled up enough to grab my reins. "Just hang on," she called to me and I did, digging my hands into my mount's short, thick mane.

Terryl guided us through the night. In a small, outlying village, she hid us behind a building long enough to throw our pursuers off, then took us down a stream that lay at the bottom of a steep, heavily wooded ravine. She slowed a few times but never stopped, pushing our gualamas until I was sure they would drop out from under us. A few times, I heard Iribess' quiet voice and I felt she was crying, probably for Katrin. For me, the arrow in my side kept rubbing and jostling, inside and out. I kept drawing on the Force and my training to keep from crying out as we hurried on through the night.

Along one edge of the horizon, the sky finally began to lighten with the coming dawn. Terryl led us to a village where an abandoned farm lay on the outskirts. We went into the barn and dismounted. She pushed shut the remains of the door, then helped Iribess lay me down in a pile of old straw. I finally took the luxury of whimpering a little as I turned to lie on my right side.

"I'll look at this further in a minute, Padawan. I've got to look after the animals first." She turned to Iribess. "Your Grace, I could use your help unsaddling them."

I sat up enough to watch. For the first time, I could see what a battering the gualamas had taken. All three stood trembling, their heads down. Terryl's face was grim as she approached the exhausted beasts, and Iribess' face was streaked with tears and dust. The one Terryl had ridden appeared to be in the worst shape. The fletched end of an arrow was just visible in her gualama's side, the rest of it buried in the beast's innards. I saw her run her hands over the wound and shake her head. She quickly undid the saddle, then led the animal to a corner with another pile of old straw. She drew her lightsaber and drove the point of it through the beast's brain. I turned away but still heard its fall. My stomach churned and I remembered the man my gualama had kicked. I lay back and worked to hold my guts down.

"I do pray me no such fate doth await us," I heard Iribess say, her voice not much more than a whisper.

"Only if we're caught, Your Grace, and I don't intend for that to happen. Do you know the way to South Riding?" There was the sound of saddles hitting the ground.

"Baron Llyrin's land?"

"Yes. The former Senator."

"I do know me it were nigh on to a week's travel north, well laden. Howe'er, a rider on staged gualamas didst arrive in three days."

"We'll have to count on something in between that, time-wise. Do you know which roads you took?"

"Nay, I do not."

Terryl sighed heavily. "Well, this gualama's lame but yours should recover with a little rest. It'll take a little effort on my part but I'm sure I can turn these two into three fresh mounts for today." I heard her step towards me. "Now, let's have a look at you, Padawan."

She knelt next to me and began gently peeling away layers of robe, tunic and undershirt before she finally got down to the bare skin. I gritted my teeth through the process and was relieved when she cut away the last bloody layer with her laser scalpel. I heard Iribess give a small gasp when my wound was revealed. I hadn't looked but her gasp told me all I wanted to know.

My master moved her hands delicately over my side and I could feel her definite probings through the Force. I watched the concentration in her face as she worked. She finished and leaned back.

"It hasn't punctured the lung but it's come way too close for comfort." She looked up to Iribess. "These things are barbed, aren't they?"

"Aye, it be a crossbow bolt." I looked at Iribess. Her face was pale.

Terryl reached into her medical pouch and pulled out a small supply of antiseptic bacta salve. "I wish I had more of this on me." She began spreading it liberally on the small bit of fletched end poking out toward my back. "Because of the barbs, I'm going to have to push this on through."

"Why don't you cut it loose?" I asked.

"Because I have no way of keeping such a deep wound effectively closed with all the hard travelling we're going to have to do over the next few days. And because we have so little time in which to do that travelling through enemy territory, there is no time or place for me to heal you properly through the Force. And especially since this arrow is probably filthy; Force knows what you're probably already been infected with." She finished with the salve and looked into my eyes. "It's quite possible you're going to get very sick before we can even get to Senator Llyrin's. I'm sorry I have nothing better to offer you, my young Padawan."

I felt her concern through our link, too, as well as the feeling there was something else she wasn't willing to tell me. I could sympathize with that and decided not to say anything about it. "It's all right, Master."

She looked away and reached for my tunic, wadding up the sleeve. "Shove this in your mouth and bite down on it. This is going to hurt."

I did as she said and in the next heartbeat, she pushed and pulled at the arrow. In that moment, I learned just how relative the word "hurt" could be. I couldn't help but to scream as the bit of wood, metal and feather passed through. My tunic sleeve did a good job muffling the sound, though. No locals came running to see who was being tortured.

Terryl worked quickly, spreading more salve and tearing up my tunic for bandaging. Then she moved on to look after wounds she and Iribess had sustained while I laid back and closed my eyes, dozing. When she was done, she looked to Iribess, who had kept quiet through everything, her face pale. "Keep an eye on her," she told the Princess, indicating me. "I'm going to go find us different clothes and maybe some breakfast."

Iribess settled down next to me, tossing away the bloodied arrow with an expression of fear and disgust. She drew her green robe around her and stared straight ahead, her eyes puffy with fatigue, both physical and emotional. The pain of loss was plain on her face and I wanted to say something comforting to her. "I'm sorry about Katrin. Were you two close?"

She didn't look at me but stared straight ahead. "Aye. She were like to be as my mother." Her voice was rough with sorrow and fatigue.

"I thought your mother was the queen."

"Aye, but she were dead afore I truly remember. Katrin hast always been."

New tears welled up in her eyes and she buried her face in her robe. I started to reach out to touch her but my side complained. I made myself do it anyway.

"I'm sorry, Iribess. I wish I could have saved her."

"'Twere beyond thee. Thou wert with me."

"If I was a better Jedi, more committed, maybe I'd have known he was coming."

She looked at me as if I was crazy. "How couldst thou have known? He didst come as a thief in the night."

"Sometimes a Jedi – a good Jedi – can feel someone like him coming. But I'm not very good."

She studied me hard for a moment, trying to decide whether to chide or encourage. "Thou didst save me," Iribess finally said. "'Tis well enow."

I sighed heavily and nestled into the straw, trying to make my side feel better. I couldn't. "Only because my master showed up. Harliss was about to cut me up for canid food and you along with me."

"I know me not this." He voice was stern, almost regal. "All I do know me is th'art my savior. I do owe thee my life. Thou hast the debt of the future queen of Rittia."

She did something like a bow toward me without getting up. I shut up, not feeling like arguing. She had obviously decided for me and I knew I should be grateful. Iribess picked up a piece of straw and tore it to shreds, then started on another. We stayed that way until Terryl returned a little later. She came in carrying a fair-sized bundle of clothing wrapped up in a big, blue hooded cape. Iribess and she went through the mess and I could tell by the distasteful look on the Princess' face that none of it was to her liking. I gingerly sat up and watched the process.

"From whence didst this come?" Iribess asked.

"The back door of the Fellowship," Terryl said. "There was a bunch more but I only took what we needed. I think somebody had just delivered it for the poor."

"Aye, these indeed be for the poor. They art most well worn." She let the skirt in her hand drop back into the pile. She looked to Terryl with a pained expression. "These do be for us." It was not a question.

Terryl looked apologetic. "Your Grace, we have to play the parts of common folk. We've got to hide who we are."

"I do know me it," she said with a sigh. "Howe'er, I do like it not." She dove into the pile anew, choosing for herself and me. When she was done, she brought me her choices and began helping me get dressed.

"Keep your boots and belt, padawan," Terryl said as I slowly became a Renaisslinian commoner. "Your pants, too, if they'll go under those skirts. And see if there's something to go over your lightsaber."

When I was dressed, I helped Iribess, following her example of what she'd done for me. I glanced at my master and saw that she had chosen men's clothes for herself.

She caught my look and explained. "Women don't go about this country without a male escort. With my use of the Force and short hair, I should best be able to pass myself off as a man, even if I am on the short side."

"What about us?" I asked.

"You two will be my nieces," Terryl answered, buttoning her breeches, "headed off to look for husbands in South Riding."

Iribess looked ill. "I have sworn myself to ne'er be married. This shall be a pretty part to play."

"It's only for a few days." Terryl tried to console her. "I'll call you Riss, Princess. And, my padawan, thou shalt be Sillia."

"Do we have to talk like them, too?" I asked, feeling a little panicked with that idea.

"Aye," said Terryl. "We do."

"Be best for thee, Sillia, that thou dost keep thy mouth closed," Iribess said to me, a wicked grin on her face.

"I think me she be right," my master added, also smiling. "Now, I have to go do some fancy gualama trading. You two stay here until I'm back. If the Force is with us, I might find us some food this time. I suggest you two nap while I'm gone."

She left again, leading the two gualamas behind her. I watched her go, feeling for the first time the emptiness in my belly. I lay back on the straw and Iribess lay down next to me.

"She be right," the Princess said. "We must needs ride when she doth return."

"I know," I said. I felt for my side, hoping it wouldn't bleed much as I rode. I closed my eyes and knew nothing else until Terryl came back.

When she came back, my master brought food in the form of dark bread and dried fruit and meat. She also brought three gualamas that looked much healthier than what she'd taken away. While she saddled the beasts, Iribess and I ate, washing down the dry fare with water from the canteens on the saddles. As we mounted up, Terryl grabbed the last of the bread and ate as we went across the countryside.

"I don't want to go back through the village," she explained. "The man I traded with ought to be coming out of my influence about now and realizing just how poorly he came out on this deal."

As she finished the bread, she pushed us into a faster gait. Before long, we got to the road and headed north. My master had learned the way to South Riding from the man with whom she had traded gualamas, having discovered that he traveled the area extensively in his gualama-trading business.

As we rode, we began talking during the periods when we were just walking our mounts. Iribess was still mourning the loss of Katrin and my master did her best to pull out Iribess' memories of the woman. The Princess was brave about it, keeping her back straight and her voice light as she spoke of her governess, but I could feel the emotions building up in her as Terryl kept pushing. I joined in after a bit, understanding that my master was doing it to help Iribess handle her grief. Finally, under Terryl's expert prodding, Iribess completely broke down. Bringing our gualamas up next to Iribess' we both supported the Princess as she let out all the rest of the fear and sorrow she'd been starting to bottle up. We probably didn't get as far as we should have that morning but by mid-day, I believe Iribess was in far better shape emotionally to deal with continuing our flight to safety.

We took a short rest at mid-day to change my bloodied bandages. Terryl studied the wound with a critical eye, then pronounced it healthy so far. Our gualamas were as tired as we were but we pushed them through the afternoon anyway. We talked more as we rode, and I was surprised to learn that Iribess had spent time in prison when her sister had ascended the throne.

"Aye, in the Keep I did stay," she said, as we walked our animals. "'Tis the home of nobility awaiting trial and execution."

"Were you alone?" I asked. Prison, to me, was a place populated with selfish people like my father; not intelligent, kind people like Iribess, who only wanted to serve her people.

"Indeed. Katrin were allowed to visit but for only a few minutes each day. I were in my solitude otherwise."

I shuddered. How lonely that seemed. To sit alone in a place, through no fault of your own, and await the fate that someone else would decide for you seemed like an utterly desperate position to be in. I expressed my thoughts and Iribess smiled at me.

"'Twere a good thing, though. I did come to know me what I would be if I should live. I did resolve to myself in that lonely place that I should be queen for my people, and not for myself. That if I were to rule all, I should be as servant to all."

Terryl and I exchanged glances. Iribess really was sounding more and more like a Jedi all the time. My respect for the girl was continuing to grow.

Once the sun began to get low on the horizon, my master began looking for a place for us to spend the night. She finally chose a farm that sat in a lonely place, away from the road. Iribess and I hung back as she spoke to the farmer, talking him into letting us stay in the barn. He turned out to be an affable fellow; he even brought us some hot stew and fresh bread not long after we settled into the new, sweet smelling straw. We all thanked him profusely and he left us alone after that.

As we ate, Terryl announced to me that our mission had changed. "We were originally sent here with the idea that we were to negotiate the groundwork for Istan and Rittia to be re-united and for Rittia to go back to the Fellowship of Xantiar."

"But that was just a lie to get us here," I said, stuffing my face with bread and stew.

"Exactly," Terryl went on, eating as eagerly as Iribess and me. "Because of that, I've changed our mission parameters. If the Jedi High Council doesn't like my decision when we get back, then I'll deal with them at that time."

"So, what's our mission now, Master?" I asked.

"To protect and serve Iribess." Terryl nodded to the Princess. "My apologies for speaking around you, Your Grace."

"I do take me none, Good Lady Knight. Truth be, I do find me great comfort in thy decision."

Terryl nodded and went on. "As I see it now, it's the best course of action as regards the welfare of this world. For Sveria and Rodik and Theocrat Ioan to have their way, is to engender the ill will of the populace of not only Rittia but Flientis as well. Not to mention the other, minor countries to which we have no access to know their opinions on this issue. My feeling at this point is that the re-uniting of Istan and Rittia would spark unrest and internal wars like Renaissline has never seen before."

"I do agree me with thee," Iribess said, her mouth mostly full. She swallowed hard before going on. "My sister doth think of naught but Xantiar and herself. She doth think naught of her people."

Terryl nodded. "I believe your sister is a selfish woman, out to use her power as queen for her own ends, and be damned to who ever gets in her way, including the three of us. We must travel carefully. I'll take first watch tonight."

"I'll take second," I offered.

"If I think you're up to it, I'll let you," Terryl said with a stress in her voice. "I would prefer you sleep the night through."

"I would take me a watch," Iribess offered.

"I may take you up on it, Your Grace. It will be tiring for you but it would take some of the strain off me. We'll see how things go."

Iribess nodded and fell back to her bowl and bread. All three of us finished off our bread by wiping our stew bowls clean with it. We settled back in the straw and were quiet for a moment, enjoying the feeling of sitting still with full bellies. Then Iribess broke the moment.

"Good Lady Terryl, hast thou thought upon the reason why my sister would wish me dead? I did think me she would use me to marry, so setting some agreement with another."

"Obviously not, Your Grace. I think, instead, she's trying to secure the line of succession."

"What meanest thou?"

"Are you aware of Sveria's medical condition?"

"If thou dost mean do I know she be with a child dead, mayhap not e'en pregnant but ill humor, then aye, I do know me it."

"Then I'll tell you what I think she has planned." Terryl looked to both of us. "She's going to finish this out as if she really was pregnant. The Theocrat's physicians will come back and be the only ones there when she supposedly delivers. Then another child will be substituted as hers and Rodik's. Whoever that child is, he'll grow up to be the King of Rittia and Istan. Your Grace is being removed so there will be just that much less legitimate competition for the Rittian throne."

I listened to Terryl with astonishment. Could anyone really be that jealous of her position and passing it on?

"Fie me," Iribess said. "Sveria doth turn a pretty plot. What were she to do if she were discovered? There be simmering revolt now. The people should rise against her, tear her from her throne."

"That's what we've got to prevent, Your Grace. A civil war like that would tear this world apart. I believe the unrest would spread to all levels of society, in nearly every country. It would be decades before the mess settled out."

Iribess hung her head, shaking it. "Dear God, how hast the Devil gotten into my own sister so?" She looked up to Terryl, new determination setting her face like stone. "Then ride we unto Baron Llyrin, to offer ourselves, if needs be, to prevent this great sin. I'll not let her hurt my people this way."

Terryl smiled at the young royal, approval shining in her gray eyes. "We're already on our way, Princess." She turned that approving gaze on me. "We're already on our way."

I had the nightmare the same as usual that night that but it came with a twist this time. As soon as he cut my braid off, my father then stabbed me several times in the left side with the scissors. I awoke shivering and crying in the darkness with both Terryl and Iribess leaned worriedly over me. After she was sure no one in the house had been awakened by my cries, she ignited my lightsaber and had Iribess hold it so she could look at my injury. After a quick glance, she got a rag out of my shredded tunic and her laser scalpel.

"An infection is starting, Padawan. I'm going to drain and redress it."

"All right," was all I could say through my chattering teeth. She worked quickly as I clenched my jaw against the pain. Iribess steadfastly kept my lightsaber burning for light. By the time my master was re-bandaging, I was getting sleepy again. Terryl laid her brown robe over me, adding its warmth to mine. Iribess handed my lightsaber back to Terryl and it was barely extinguished before I was asleep again.

It didn't seem like I stayed that way for long, though, before I was awakened by what seemed like a thousand of those furry Renaisslinian avians all chirruping and chattering cheerfully next to my aching head. The sun was rising and Terryl was already awake, exercising through an unarmed kata. Iribess was still asleep, almost snoring she was breathing so loudly.

As soon as she was done with that set of moves, Terryl turned her attention to me. I felt a little guilty to disturb her as she usually meditated through her morning routine and I could tell she wasn't done yet.

"How do you feel?" she asked me in a whisper, coming close.

I nodded and started to sit up. "Okay. My head hurts," I whispered back.

She leaned over and felt my forehead. "You've got a fever starting. Some fever is good but if it gets too high we'll have to start medicating you."

My stomach was unsteady. "Fine," I said quietly, wrapping my arms around my knees and resting my head on them.

"What's wrong?" Terryl asked me, sitting next to me.

"I'm sorry, Master," I said into my skirts, not wanting to wake Iribess. "I didn't mean to get hurt."

"What are you talking about, Cassila?"

"If I was better, maybe I could have avoided it." My deteriorating condition was feeding my guilt.

"How? In that rain of arrows, it would have taken a far better Jedi than both of us put together to handle three frightened gualamas, a scared princess and not get hurt. Do you want to see what I came away with?"

I looked up to see Terryl parting her hair to expose a nasty gash in her scalp. "And Iribess has couple of good ones on her right arm, under her sleeve."

I put my head back on my knees, my guilt still not assuaged. "Still, I'm sorry. I wish I could be better for you."

Terryl shook her short, sandy-colored hair back into place. "You will be. Give yourself time."

I shook my head. "No. Never. I'm not good enough."

"Why do you say that, padawan?" Terryl rested her arm on my shoulders.

"Because I'm not. I found out."

"Found out what?"

"That I can't be a Knight. I'm not good enough."

"Who says that?"

I kept my head on my knees. I didn't want her to see my tears. I didn't speak, either.

"Did your family say it?" she pressed.

I started to keep quiet again, then suddenly decided against it; I'd had enough and it was time. I nodded.

She hugged me. "Is that part of what happened to you on Mendoraan?"

I nodded again.

"Did they try to make you stay?"

I was weeping freely by now, my head pounding. "Sort of," I managed to get out.

"They tried to convince you to stay by saying you were no good, by tearing your self-image to shreds." It wasn't a question.

I nodded vigorously. "But it's true," I said. "My father's a criminal and my mother's just a stupid, spoiled brat. I'm no good."

Now Terryl hung her head. "I was afraid they'd done that to you. I checked out your family while you were gone. I wanted to know what I'd get back."

I should have known she knew more than she was telling. I'd been wrong to not trust her. "It doesn't change anything," I went on. "And it's not just my parents. My mother's parents are just as bad."

"I know. I found out. Politicians don't get as powerful as your grandfather without pulling lots of quasi-legal tricks."

"How can I ever become a Jedi Knight with that behind me?" I was still crying but I looked up anyway, seeking help from my mentor.

She looked straight ahead and not at me. She sat in the same way I did, her chin on her knees. "I don't know how to tell you that it doesn't matter. That it makes no difference who or what your parents are, only what you decide you are."

"But it does matter," I said quickly. "All that tainted blood is a part of my heritage. It's who I am."

Terryl paused, sighing long and slow. "I know it's not, but I don't know how to tell you that so that you'll believe it. I wish I did. I'm sorry, Padawan."

I looked at her incredulously. She must have felt my gaze because she looked back at me. Why was she apologizing to me for anything? I was the one who was failing. I turned away, feeling confused. I just didn't understand.

She put her arm around my shoulders again and patted them. "I know you don't understand but someday you will. Maybe when you have a padawan of your own."

"But I'd have to be a knight."

"I know. You will be." She took her arm away and stood up. "Now, you get the sleeping royalty up so we can be on our way. I'll go see if I can scrounge us up some breakfast and maybe even some fresh gualamas." She picked up her cap and placed it on her head, walking out of the barn. I watched her until she was out of sight. Maybe she's right, I hoped, but I don't know how. My head still hurting and the rest of me starting to ache, I got up and went over to the still slumbering Iribess.

Terryl did manage to get breakfast for us but there were no fresh gualamas to be had at the farm. We rode off in search of the next village, having found that Iribess' gualama had pulled up partly lame. We found the village soon enough and Terryl had us follow her closely as she went to find a gualama-trader and make her deal for fresh mounts. As we went through the crowded market lane, I felt like every eye was on us. Iribess held herself proudly, looking fearlessly back. I just huddled in the blue cape, doing my best to not look actively sick.

Terryl finished as quickly as she could. Iribess helped her transfer the saddles and bridles over. The saddle blankets looked odd because back at the abandoned farm, Terryl had cut off the royal coat-of-arms that had decorated them. A couple of people standing by, just watching, seemed to take special note of our disfigured tack. One of them walked quietly away and I could not help but to wonder to whom he was going to tell what he knew.

We saddled up and left by the nearest way out of town. Again, Terryl started us fast and kept us going quickly until mid-day. We stopped in a shady grove by a stream and let the gualamas graze and drink. Terryl went off into the brush around us to forage for a mid-day snack. I laid back on a rock in the sun and let the warmth of it wash over me. My fever seemed to have calmed down for time being. Iribess sat down next to me, picking burrs and leaves out of the hems of her skirts.

"Tell me of thy parents," she finally asked, still intent on her skirt hems.

I thought of my conversation with Terryl that morning. As the morning had worn on, I had re-convinced myself it really was true that my lineage had ruined me for the possibility of Knighthood. I wasn't sure what Iribess would think of my parents, but my old eagerness to talk to her came back and I decided to tell her anyway.

"Well, my father is a small time crook and con-man and my mother is a rich, spoiled brat."

"Con-man?" she asked.

"Someone who tells people he'll get them something just to get their money away from them, then never does it, just disappears with the money."

"A thief, then."

"Yeah, essentially."

Iribess sighed. "Doth he love thy mother?"

"No. He just likes her money and her comfy place to stay."

"Doth she love him?"

"Too much. She believes everything he says. In her eyes, he can do no wrong."

"She knows not of his paramours."

"Yeah, and I'm sure he's got them. And she's sure he's true to her. I don't get it. Why can't she see what he's really like?"

"Love be strange and doth cloud the mind and eyes. 'Twere so with my parents."

"How do you mean?"

"My father were a murderer and my mother were a traitress. My father did love her that she might give him a son. When I were born, that small love didst go. My mother didst traitor herself to gain him back. He did kill her for it."

I turned my head to stare at her. She was staring off into the distance, her hands quiet. "Your parents were a king and a queen," I said.

"'Twere their titles, not the things they wert. My father did kill my mother for she wert a traitor to his bed."

"How do you know she was a traitor?"

"She did give Katrin a letter, which my dear nurse did keep all these years. Upon my twelfth year, she didst give it me. In it, she didst admit to her infamy though she hadst denied it to all, during her life. I did burn that letter as its words did burn into me." She turned to look at me. She had to shade her eyes against the sun. "But I do believe me my murderer and traitor do beat thy thief and brat." She said it as if she were laying out the winning hand in a card game, with just as big a smile.

I was aghast. I couldn't believe she was treating such a thing with any levity at all. Weren't parents supposed to honored and respected? Weren't they the beginning of our being in this flesh and blood existence, to be revered as such? It was what I'd been taught as a young child when my mother had me with her, in between my stays at the Jedi Temple on Mendoraan.

"Why dost thou look so?" she asked. "Thou dost look as though I have blasphemed against God Himself."

"They're your parents, Iribess. Don't they matter to you?"

"Aye. Their blood doth run in my veins. I do have me my father's red mane and my mother's own sharp tongue. These be but things they have left to me. It be my choice to how I shall use them, or indeed if I shall." She frowned at me. "Surely thou dost not believe th'art a thief or brat?"

"No, I…" I stopped. Did I believe I was doomed to be like them?

"Then they do be left behind. Know you, I do honor me the memory of them. They didst think themselves most well in the sight of God. So it be I e'er do my best before God. I do love my parents but I do like them not."

I looked away, thinking. Is it possible to honor the memory of your parents without letting it control what you are? But to honor my parents, I would have to come and do their bidding. Anything else, as far as they were concerned, was an insult to them.

"What doth trouble thee?"

"Your parents are dead. You can do what you feel is right and believe they'd approve. Mine are very much alive and I know my parents want me to use me and my training as a Jedi for their profit, even though it's wrong." I sat up and looked back to Iribess. "What would you do if your father was still alive and he wanted you to kill me?"

"It be against our God's laws to kill."

"But there's also laws against people like me here. You could use any of those laws to have me put to death and so satisfy his demands." I stared hard at her and she looked away.

"Aye. He didst catch my mother's treachery and didst use it to kill her. 'T'were all very legal." She thought hard now, considering carefully. "I do see me thy trouble," she eventually said. I lay back down, still feeling useless as far as my parents were concerned. Finally, Iribess spoke again.

"Thou dost still have thy choice. We do have us our free will. Per chance 'twould hurt thy heart but thou mayst choose against thy parents. Thou canst be more than them. I do choose for me a greater place in my people's hearts than my own father had, and they didst love him much."

I watched the clouds and thought on that. It would be denying my parents completely, making them into little more than genetic donors. But it would also mean I was free of them, open to leave them behind and any hold they had on me. I would be free to make the very best of myself that I could, doing what I could to overcome any limitations their heritage might have put on me. Maybe that was what Terryl meant by it didn't matter who or what my parents were.

"If naught else, the Spirit of God is in thee," Iribess said, interrupting my thoughts. "God doth make no mistakes in who He doth choose for His own servants."

There was a rustling in the bushes and I leapt up, startled. Terryl emerged, her hat stuffed full of red berries and orange flowers. "It's not much but it's better than nothing," she said as she came closer. She set the hat on the rock between Iribess and I motioned for us to dig in. I tried a berry and found it sweet. Iribess started in on both berries and flowers with relish.

"Hayberries and nurtiums. Good Terryl, thou has found those that e'er I did seek to eat when I were young." I followed her example and made sure to get my fair share. In short order, the results of my master's foraging efforts were gone and we were all left wanting more.

"Unfortunately," Terryl said, "it's too early in the season to find much. I'm afraid this will have to do us until tonight."

"'Tis most well you found what thou didst. I will not complain me a bit."

Terryl rinsed out her hat in the stream and we got stiffly back on our gualamas. In a few strides, we were back on the road, still headed north.

We spent that night in an abandoned, nearly ruined, house on the edge of a small town. Terryl influenced someone on the road to give us a gallus bird and we cooked it in the crumbling fireplace. She also found some vegetables growing along the way to supplement the meat. I didn't eat much because the fever was back and my stomach felt queasy with it.

After eating, my master sat with me and helped me form my meditation to better address the infection now raging in my body. As she did it, I could feel in her the concern for my plight. For the briefest moment, I understood from her that she had foreseen that I would somehow become very ill. Now she was fighting to change the future she had seen. I said nothing to her about it but instead worked to do everything exactly the way she directed. I don't think I had ever been quite so conscientious about her instructions before or had worked quite so hard to put that extra effort into it as I did that Renaisslinian evening. I wanted to quell my master's worry and it was the only way I knew how to do it. Besides, I didn't want to get too sick anyway. If I had to get left behind so that Iribess could be saved, I knew I wouldn't last five minutes past being found by Harliss. I had no ambition for dying early.

In the morning, I felt better. My fever was way down and I regretted not eating the night before. After cleaning and redressing my wound, Terryl went in search of fresh mounts and breakfast but could find neither. We saddled up and headed out anyway, hoping we could find what we needed on the way.

Just before mid-day, my gualama stumbled and almost threw me. A quick examination showed that he had picked up a heavy thorn or twig and the foot was now badly bruised. Iribess saw it and said that with a special shoe-like apparatus from a blacksmith, the animal would be virtually as good as new. So I rode double with Terryl until we got to the next town, leading my limping mount. There, Iribess and I stayed close while she looked for the blacksmith. I was starting to feel bad again and I could tell my fever was starting to go up once more.

We found the blacksmith's shop and dismounted. Terryl spoke to the man privately and I could feel her influencing the man into helping us for nothing. We had nothing in the way of money anyway so it was the only way we had of getting a shoe for the gualama. Terryl finished with him and he set about his work. We left the one gualama with him and Terryl led us and the other two animals out into the town's main street. We cut down a side alley to an area behind a row of buildings. There, she left Iribess and me in the shade of a run-down shed that stood only by the virtue of the tree it was nailed to.

"Stay put until I get back," she told us. "I'm going to trade these gualamas and get us some food." With that, she left us with the two gualamas trailing behind her.

I settled on a small, crude table in a ray of sunlight. I was feeling cold as my fever climbed and the sunshine felt good. Iribess settled on the floor, staring tiredly before her. She closed her eyes and seemed to doze. Then she spoke.

"I have thought me upon thy question," she said.

"What question?" I asked.

"What I would do if my father were still King and didst command me to see to thy death."

I shivered. I think it was due to the fever. "Yeah?"

"I should decidedly deny him."

"Why?"

"To honor him."

I was confused. "How would that honor him?"

"'Twould be a mistake to murder thee, as much as it be a mistake to murder any and not forgive them first."

"Like your mother?"

"Aye. If I did refuse him, I should cleave to God's law against killing. That law be higher than a mere king and wouldst be my law above his whim."

"But everything I am is against your god's laws."

"Then let God kill thee. I shan't do it."

I felt another chill go through me. For a crazy moment, I wondered if this infection and fever was Iribess' god trying to kill me. I shook my head and wished sincerely that Terryl would come back soon.

"What think thee," she went on. "Shalt thou deny thy parents, so that all would think them goodly people for raising such a fine daughter when they be gone, or shalt thou do as they say and all three be cursed upon thy graves?"

I smiled and shivered. She was right. I could honor them more by ignoring them and staying with the Jedi, doing my best to become a Knight. It would be a good that would outlive at least my mother's selfish lifestyle, and maybe even my father's life of crime. For the first time since leaving Mendoraan, I felt something like relief and hope for myself. There was also a fear in there that did not want to believe it all could be so simple, but I shoved it aside. By the Force, I would make it that simple, I decided. My parents and their lives would have no hold on mine. I would be a Jedi.

Then that nameless fear circled my mind again, like a starfighter circling a target slated for destruction. I had to admit that I still had my doubts. I'll work through them, I told myself. All I need to know right now is that I'm still a Jedi and that I can stay that way, by my own choice and not someone else's. I smiled and leaned over on my knees, shivering with my fever.

I meditated in that awkward position, working to bolster my body's defenses and energies the way Terryl had shown me the night before. For the moment, I needed to concentrate on my health. I reached out into the landscape of the Force, looking for the power I needed to heal myself, or at least keep the infection at bay. I don't know how long I stayed that way before I felt something else in the local Force landscape. There was a darkness that had appeared and I immediately knew who it was.

"Harliss," I mouthed silently, bringing my head up and opening my eyes. I glanced over at Iribess, who was dozing for real now. I rose, my eyes and ears as alert as my Force-sense, and gently woke up the Princess.

"We've got to get out of here," I whispered as she blinked herself awake. "Harliss is somewhere close by."

"How dost thou know?" she whispered back, her eyes widening.

"Through the Force. He's here."

"I do trust thee. Lead on."

I pulled my lightsaber without igniting it and grabbed her with my other hand. We crept from the shed, both of us cautious and wary. We edged around the shed toward the alley that led back to the town. I wanted nothing more than to find Terryl quickly and get away.

I heard a lightsaber ignite and I turned to see Harliss step from behind the shed, wearing his High Cleric's robes. I ignited mine and pushed Iribess behind me.

A delighted smile spread across his face as he watched the two of us. "Oh, this is too easy," he said. "It's going to be like shooting frits in a pit." He strode toward us and I took a ready stance.

"Iribess," I said, "run and find Terryl." Iribess started to go but Harliss leapt and cut her off. She dashed back behind me.

"I cannot," she whimpered behind me. I gritted my teeth and steeled myself to face the fight. I would protect Iribess as a Jedi or die trying.

Harliss leapt at me and I parried, moving backward under his onslaught. Iribess kept me between herself and Harliss without hampering my movements. I tried to return the attack but he was too good. He drove me backward into a corner between a fence and a building that faced the main street of town. As my eyes lit on items, I began using the Force to fly them at him, distracting his attention on us. Unfortunately, there was an appalling lack of decent sized objects to throw at him. He finally cornered us and I had run out of room and things to throw. I readied myself for a last defense.

Then Iribess did something unexpected. Perhaps she'd gotten the idea from my throwing things by the Force. As Harliss drove in for what should have been his final attack, the Princess quickly stooped, grabbed up a handful of dirt and hurled it at his face. With a yell, Harliss began clawing at his eyes, dropping his lightsaber. Iribess grabbed it and I took advantage of the break to cut through the fence at our backs. In a few strokes, I had a hole cut in it that Iribess and I could step through to the main street beyond. Iribess went through first and I felt Harliss grabbing at me as I stepped toward the street, but his eyes were still too clouded to let him get a good hold on me.

Out on the street, foot soldiers lounged or walked among the town's populace. By the time I got through the hole, though, attention was centering on our escape. Everyone, including the soldiers, stood and gaped at the sight of two girls, one with a sword of blue-green fire, making their way through a fence and down the street at a run. They opened up a way before us, not wanting to argue with us. Behind us, Harliss' voice at least began to stir the soldiers to action. "That be them!" he yelled. "Hold them!"

The soldiers began yelling, too and we did not get very far before the soldiers, armed with pikes and spears, began to swiftly block our escape. With in a few moments, they had us caught in a half circle, Iribess' back against a wall and me before her, still brandishing my ignited lightsaber and holding them at bay. Above, on a building across the street, I saw archers beginning to arrive, one by one. On the street, behind the soldiers, I saw Harliss approaching at a run, furious and still wiping at his eyes. This was not a situation that could last very long. Unless something changed very soon, Iribess and I were about to be in Harliss' possession.

Harliss was almost to the knot of soldiers surrounding us when a commotion started down at the other end of the street, toward the blacksmith's. There were startled yells and the growing sound of galloping hoofbeats. I glanced at Harliss, who had stopped and was looking with astonishment toward the source of the disturbance. The soldiers around us also began looking, taking their attention off us. I looked as well and was gratified to see Terryl riding toward us at a dead run, leading our gualamas behind her. Yelling like a demon, she had her lightsaber out and was scattering townspeople as she came. She pulled her mount to sliding stop before us and the other two gualamas come to an abrupt and startled stop around her. She yelled to me, her eyes intense. "Now, Padawan! Let's go!"

I leapt at the soldiers, pulling Iribess along behind me. Too startled to think, they backed away. I sliced off a few spear points as I went and they backed off even more. An archer on the roof across the street thought to let fly an arrow but Terryl neatly caught it with her purplish blade, knocking it aside. Iribess and I jumped into our saddles and kicked up our mounts to a run, Terryl following closely behind. In a few minutes, we were out of town and streaking across country and away from the road, toward the forested hills and mountains beyond. We fairly flew across the fields and fences, never letting up in our pace. Soldiers, led by Harliss, took up the chase somewhere behind us but unless they had truly extraordinary animals, there was no way they were going to catch up. In a few minutes, we entered the forest, eventually slowing our speed once we were well in. Trying to keep up the gallop would have only separated us as the trees got thicker and thicker. Finally, Terryl brought us to a complete stop and sat listening and feeling for our pursuers. After several heartbeats, she finally smiled and declared us free of followers for the moment. She did not let us stay stopped, though. She handed out the bread and meat she'd gotten and we pushed on at a quick walk, heading deeper into the woods.

"Th'art mad, Lady Terryl," Iribess said in frightened voice after we had been walking for a while. "The woods be full of brigands and thieves. More than thou canst know. We shall be killed, e'en thee and thy apprentice."

Terryl laughed. "Thieves and brigands, eh?" she said. "Then we'll be in good company, Your Grace. Do you know what crimes we're accused of?"

"Nay, I know me not."

"High treason and witchcraft. Cassila and I for talking with a man from Flientis and you for being with us. Brigands and thieves will be step up in the eyes of a magistrate."

I suddenly saw tears on Iribess' face and a haunted look come into her eyes. "I be in thy care, then, Lady Terryl. I depend upon thee to bring us unto safety."

"I'll do my best, Your Grace. I just hope Senator Llyrin doesn't have any love for your sister either, but I'd be surprised if he does."

We kept on through the afternoon, going as fast as the forested terrain would let us. Terryl was taking us in a straight line toward South Riding, following her sense of direction based on what she'd learned at the town just before rescuing Iribess and me. She figured it would be a shorter route and get us to South Riding more quickly and safely than staying on the road. There was a shallow pass ahead of us and Terryl hoped to get over it before the second night. Once we were over it, she said we would drop down into the valley that was the Barony of South Riding.

As we climbed higher into the mountains, the air got cooler. I huddled into my brown cloak, feeling colder and colder. At one point, Terryl pulled up next to me and laid a hand on my left side. I felt her sensing for my injury and illness. She then took the reins out of my hands. "Meditate, Padawan," she told me. "Just concentrate on your health. I'll look to your travel."

I nodded miserably and closed my eyes, turning my attention inward. By the time we finally stopped just after sunset, I was actually feeling a little better. Terryl doled out the rest of the food and I took a few bites. Then my stomach lurched and I felt miserable all over again. I curled up on my saddle blanket and shivered. The blue cape was draped over me as well and I felt a hand on me. I looked up into Terryl's concerned face as she handed me a pair of capsules.

"Chew those up and concentrate on keeping them down. They'll bring your fever back to a decent level." I felt her caress my spirit through the Force and through our link, felt her implore something: "Live."

I did as I was told, huddled under my cloak and the cape. Iribess suggested that we build a fire to help me but my Master said no; she was sure we were being followed again and she was worried that a fire would too easily tip off our position. In the dark and the cold, we all settled in for the night. I drifted in and out of sleep, too tired to fight off the sleep that kept bringing back my nightmare in disjointed shreds and pieces, and too miserable to want to stay awake or meditate. More than once in the night, I felt Terryl checking on me. I figured she was sleeping lightly if at all, keeping aware of possible attackers.

By the time it began to get light, I wondered how I was going to make it through another day of riding. I wasn't sure I felt any better and my wound was burning to the touch. I kept my worries to myself, though as I finally sat up to eye the new day. Terryl was again deep in a kata meditation and Iribess was lightly snoring under her green velvet robe. There was a fine coating of frost over everything and all three of our breaths were visible on the quiet air. I wasn't cold, though. I hoped my fever was gone. I closed my eyes and felt for my health but was disappointed to find the infection still raged and my fever was still there, just diminished. I began concentrating on it again, hopeful it was at least on the run.

I was roused by Terryl's hand on me, sensing. I opened my eyes to see her smiling at me.

"Good morning, Padawan. How goes it?"

I nodded. "I guess I could be worse."

"Lean back and let me redo your side," she said and I complied. As she worked, I noticed a rotten smell and mentioned it.

"This is getting worse," she said in a tight voice. "I don't know what kind of a microbe you picked up but it must be something Iribess and I are immune to because of being born here. Whatever it is, it's resisting the bacta salve rather nicely so far. If I could just cut into this and get it properly cleaned out, we might get this under control." Her expression was as taught as her voice.

"Then why don't you?" I asked.

"You'd bleed to death before we rode the day out. Everything would be cauterized but without being able to keep you quiet, there's no effective way to keep the resulting wound closed or unabraided. And there's still no time for me to really heal you through the Force. As much as you're suffering, there's no way to change the situation. I'm sorry, my poor young padawan."

I could feel her desperation over my health. I needed a more civilized, peaceful situation and it just wasn't forthcoming. I smiled at her and put my hand on her. "It's all right. I'll make it."

"You'd better." She smiled back at me. "I'll never speak to you again if you die on me."

We both smiled wider at the macabre joke. Under the circumstances, it was the best humor available.

We got Iribess up and they got the gualamas saddled. As Terryl and Iribess worked, I studied Harliss' lightsaber that Iribess had picked up the day before. It was a simple piece, having only an igniting switch and a charging port obvious on the outside of it and a little simple texturing for a handgrip. It was almost primitive compared to the weapons Terryl and I carried. I had made mine a year ago and had been determined to make the very best saber I could possibly manage. It had blade length and power adjusts and even an extra bit to change flat versus cutting edge. I had done very well, or so I had been told. I still took pride in carrying and using the weapon. I was surprised to see that Harliss' weapon was so artless and unadorned.

Terryl sat down next to me. "I see you found Iribess' prize of battle."

"I can't believe there's so little to it."

"I doubt Harliss, or whoever he is, has ever seen the inside of a Jedi Temple. I'll bet his master has, but not him."

"What do you think he is?"

"I think he's just a Force-sensitive that some unhappy washout from the Temple decided to train. It happens."

"Not too often, I hope." I handed the weapon to Terryl.

"Fortunately no, but enough to be a constant concern to the Council. Think of how the Sith started a couple of millennia ago."

I sighed. "I guess you're right. It's a hard path to stay on."

Terryl looked the simple lightsaber over again. "Speaking of paths, it's time for us to get on ours." She stood up and handed the piece back to Iribess, who wordlessly tucked it into her saddlebag. Like us, she was exhausted but not willing to give up. We mounted up and Terryl again took my reins. Without having to be told, I once more turned my concentration inward as we moved on.

Snow patches soon began appearing and became larger and more numerous as we climbed toward the pass. I did my best to concentrate but my fatigue, fever and the burning in my side conspired to keep me from helping myself much. At midday, Terryl gave me more capsules. We rested but ate nothing; there was too much snow-cover for anything to have grown yet. We pushed on too quickly, in my unhealthy opinion. With the sun barely above the horizon, we crossed the pass into South Riding. We finally stopped for the night next to a small lake about a kilometer from the top.

As soon as I got down off my gualama, I began coughing. All afternoon, I had felt an increasing pain and wrongness in my side and lung but I had only been able to slow the growth of the problem. Terryl and Iribess rushed over to me as I fell to the ground, and led me over to a soft spot on some tree leaves under a bunch of saplings. They got me laid down and my master gave me a very worried look.

"You're in it deep now, my young padawan. I'm going to have to go ahead and cut into your side to clean this out. I'd wanted to wait until we got to Llyrin's castle but it won't wait anymore."

I nodded. I remembered what she'd said about the possible bleeding because it would be so hard to keep the wound closed. It must be getting bad for her to take the risk. "It's spreading?" I asked.

"It is," she said simply. "I'm sorry."

I just leaned back on the layer of leaves and closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe in spite of the painful heaviness. I hadn't planned on dying this trip. I really hadn't.

As Iribess unsaddled two of the gualamas, Terryl got back up on hers and pushed the tired beast back up to the top of the pass. Iribess and I watched her go, then Iribess hobbled and staked out the other two beasts. They fell to grazing, tearing up great mouthfuls of new grass and low bushes. I envied their ability to survive on such plant life. I wished I could do the same. Iribess sat down next to me and began stroking my hair. I dozed, starting fitfully a few times.

Terryl returned about the time the light was completely gone, a fresh concerned look on her face. "We've still got our followers but they're well down the other side of the pass," she told us as she unsaddled her animal. "I think they're far enough away that we won't need to worry about them bothering us." She finished and came over next to me, looking like a ghostly figure in the thin light of a single, newly waxing moon. "Iribess, get Harliss' lightsaber and bring it here." She got mine out and ignited it. When Iribess came over, she handed it to the Princess, then had her ignite Harliss' weapon as well. "Together, these seem to provide a fairly white light. I should be able to see to operate with these if you don't mind holding them, Your Grace."

She set about getting my side exposed, then cleaned her hands with a solvent from her pouches, as well as a needle and several hairs from her gualama's tail. She gave me a rag to bite on, then pulled out her laser scalpel and set to work. I concentrated on keeping the pain at bay after yelling through the bit of my old tunic with her first cut. Almost immediately, the smell of rotten meat arose on the air and the lights went out as Iribess turned to retch. My stomach also turned but I fought it down; I knew Terryl needed me still. My master reached a steadying hand out the Princess and in a moment, she was back in place, holding up the two lightsabers.

It didn't seem to take very long for Terryl to get the wound completely cleaned out and swabbed down with the last of her bacta antiseptic. She pulled out an adhesive and threaded her needle, then began closing the wound. "I'm hoping that with a night's rest, this might stay closed tomorrow. Either way, you're going to have some permanent damage here." She worked a few more stitches, then said, "I have no idea how much further it is to Llyrin's but it shouldn't be that far." She looked up briefly, at both Iribess and me. "We will need to take it slower tomorrow than we've been going but I don't intend to stop until we're there. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"All right, Master."

Terryl went back to her suturing and soon she let Iribess extinguish both lightsabers. Hungry, we all three settled in for the night. My side ached with new hurts but I could already feel that it was better, the organism that had been slowly destroying my tissues for the last three days finally dying off. I slept that night without even dreaming.

"Thou dost believe we shall truly arrive at Baron Llyrin's castle this day?" Iribess' voice contained a real lilt of eagerness as she helped saddle the gualamas.

"I do, Your Grace," Terryl said as she tightly bandaged my side. "As I understand it, this pass drops right down onto South Riding lands. I'm hoping we'll be safe by sunset."

"Sweet God, Thou hast delivered me from mine enemies," she prayed aloud, her hands clasping and her eyes closing briefly.

"Don't go counting your blessings, too soon, Princess. We're not actually safe yet."

"Each step doth bring us closer. I do thank thee and thy apprentice with all my heart."

Terryl shook her head. "I accept your gratitude but I think you're premature. Wait until we're within the Baron's walls." Terryl and I glanced at each other. She could tell I was feeling decidedly better and we were both amused at Iribess' good spirits. I think even my Master was feeling better being this close to safety.

We mounted up and started down the hill. Terryl pushed us as fast as my side and the trail would allow. Because I really was feeling better and my side was weeping only just a little blood, our pace ended up being almost as quick as we had been doing before. Finally, about mid-day, we glimpsed Chipping-under-Hiwood from a distance, through the trees. What we saw ruined any good feelings we had built up in our proximity to Castle Llyrin. There was a huge, black billowing cloud of smoke rising up off the town that sat on the south side of the castle. Small figures scurried around the town and castle like angry insects, occasionally seeming to land on something useful, then backing away again. Terryl got out a small monocular from a belt pouch and peered through it at the distant scene.

"The town is definitely in flames," she pronounced, "and it looks like a combination of Sveria's and the Theocrat's soldiers laying siege to the castle." She put the device away. "I'm surprised they got here this quickly. They must have known where we were headed from the beginning."

"We be done, then," Iribess said, looking pale and ready to cry. "I know me not where to turn."

"We're not done yet, Princess," Terryl said, far from giving up. "We'll find a way."

Iribess gave me a frightened look and we moved on. This close to our goal, we were all eager to get there, even if it did mean finding a way past all those soldiers.

We kept pushing on, all three of us riding rounded in our saddles, stooped by our fatigue and hunger. Even the gualamas' heads hung low. By late afternoon, we were finally getting close to the valley floor. It was there that we ran into a small batch of refugees. There were six of them on the path that was our road; a pair of kids old enough to walk, an infant slung to its mother's back, the father and an elder woman. The elder woman led a smaller quadruped that looked a lot like the gualamas but with four horns on its head and a short little stub of a tail. It pulled a small cart loaded with belongings. Judging from the large udder on the animal, it was also a source of nourishment. As the two groups approached each other, they eyed us with frightened suspicion. Iribess pulled herself up straight on her tired mount and approached them ahead of Terryl and me. Her gualama seemed to sense the change in its rider and perked up a bit, as well.

"Hail!" she called to them, pulling up her gualama. "Come thee from Chipping-Under-Hiwood?" We pulled up behind her.

The father brought his family to a stop as well. "Aye, we do. Who be thee?"

"Help to Baron Llyrin. What say the soldiers of the Princess and her companions?" Iribess held herself erect and regal, her voice loud and clear, no trace of the fear she'd show earlier evident now.

The man watched her with suspicion and questions behind his eyes. "They do say them the companions be witches, come from the skies to destroy Rittia. They do say the Princess hath thrown in her lot with them. I believe it not."

"Th'art wise, good man. The Princess Iribess be true to thee and her people."

"So it hath always been said of her. Not like her sister who doth marry the Prince of a foreign land. But I know me not of these companions. Dost thou?" As I watched him, I couldn't help but feel that this fellow was figuring out exactly who we were.

"Aye, I do know me them well. They do be witches from the skies, but they do worship them a god who be the angel of our God. They do seek them the truth and the safety of the Princess Iribess."

I almost fell off my gualama when I heard that and I stared at Iribess in complete surprise. The man went on, now looking to Terryl and me. "But wouldst not the Princess say that if she were under the spell of these witches?" There was a certain fear in his face now. He had indeed figured us out.

"Perchance. But thy Princess be strong like her good father. She wouldst know the lie still and the witches wouldst need them answer for her and so hide them away the true Princess from her people, and from Baron Llyrin."

The man smiled and leaned over to whisper something to his wife, who had watched this interchange uncomprehending. Suddenly, she smiled excitedly, and began bowing and backing up to tell the elder woman what she'd learned.

"Well met, good lady," the man said, straightening and bowing deeply. The elder woman let go her animal's lead shank and dropped to one knee. The mother did the same and urged the children to follow suit. "Go thou safely upon thy journey, in God's Name," the man continued. "Baron Llyrin's castle doth stand strong and shall be stronger yet when the Princess Iribess is within its walls." He bowed deeply one more time and Iribess pushed her gualama up to him. She held out her hand to him.

"The Princess shall be arrived soon unto the Baron's protection." He stood and took her hand as if it were the most precious, fragile thing he'd ever touched. Iribess returned the grasp with full strength and shook his hand hard as she spoke. "Go and tell all that Her Grace be safe and in good company. She doth live for them." She released his hand he stepped back, giving her a salute with his right fist over his heart and a bowed head.

"I shall do me as thou dost command, dear lady." His eyes stayed on Iribess a moment longer, then he gathered his family together and moved them to the side of the path. Iribess kicked up her mount, sitting tall and smiling just a little as she passed them. We followed close behind. As we passed, one of the children pointed at me and cried out. "Dadda! She doth bleed!" I gave the family a tight smile and the father moved to shush the fair-haired kid. I still saw the concern and wonder in his face. Did he think witches from the sky weren't made of flesh and blood like him? I turned my face away and concentrated on the road ahead. I didn't know enough blood had seeped out to stain the outside of my bodice.

Once we were out of sight, we relaxed again. My master brought her gualama up even with mine as she looked to Iribess. "Our god is an angel of your god?" she asked the Princess, her voice full of amusement.

"They didst need them understand, good Jedi. With those words, thy way wilt be better known and thou shalt be e'er more safe from fire."

"I guess we'd better thank you for your quick thinking, then." Terryl glanced back at me, smiling as she laid a hand on my side, sensing for my wound. I smiled back, remembering that the common cure for witches on Renaissline was burning at the stake. Terryl nodded, continuing to smile. In spite of the blood, I guess my wound passed muster.

We fell silent again, our fatigue taking away even the desire to keep communicating. As we rode on, we began to pass more and more groups of refugees from the town and out-lying areas. They came in a variety of sizes and moods, ranging from large and rowdy to singular and terror-struck. All of them stared at the three of us like we were absolutely crazy for heading toward the trouble. We kept quiet, though, having garnered, and disseminated, all the information we needed. Iribess watched the people pass with a combination of sorrow and anger growing on her face. I began to pity Sveria a little, as the Princess' anger grew with each passing party. I began to wonder just what kind of political mess we were going to leave behind on this planet, unlike what Jedi were supposed to do. I kept my thoughts to myself, though. I figured I could bring this up to my master later, if and when we got into the relative safety of Senator Llyrin's castle.

The sun lowered closer to the horizon and we began to smell the charred ruins of the town. We noticed that the few straggling escapees still coming toward us were hurrying harder than the previous groups. They kept looking over their shoulders in a hunted sort of way that left the three of us feeling all the more wary.

A long gap between groups of refugees passed us by and the sun dipped behind the land. Both Terryl and I began to tense up; we could both feel the trouble coming before us. Our eyes searched the dense undergrowth on either side of the road we followed, watching for any threat. We rounded a sharp bend around some rocks and found the problem.

We surprised about a dozen mounted soldiers, two of whom were down on the ground, investigating some tracks. They stared in surprise at us for a heartbeat and we stared back. Then Terryl's voice cut through the surprise. "Run, Padawan! Fly!" Iribess and I kicked up our gualamas, making them gallop in spite of their fatigue and ours. At the same a cry went up from the soldiers: "That be them! Mount up! After them!" I heard Terryl's lightsaber ignite behind me but I didn't dare take the time to look.

Our mounts flew forward and I could hear the pounding of hooves behind us. The hum of my master's lightsaber seemed lost in the staccato of hoof beats. Too quickly, the fresher mounts of the soldiers overtook our tired ones. A hand tried to settle itself on my back and grab me from my gualama but I twisted away at the last second. Swerving my mount away and stopping her, I pulled my saber and ignited it. Four soldiers pulled their gualamas up to face me and two more kept on after Iribess. I began defending myself, cutting away first pikes and lances, then starting on swords and shields while trying to keep my seat on my gualama as she tried to get away from my lightsaber. As I fought, I felt my side tear loose and the blood begin to flow.

A short distance away, I heard a scream as Iribess was caught, then a male cry of pain right after. I hoped it meant she was doing better than I was. With four experienced soldiers on me and a confused and panicky gualama under me, I was beginning to doubt that I could get myself free to help the Princess. A blow from a small shield collided with my left shoulder and I found the ground rushing up toward me. With a jolt, the wind was knocked out of me and the next thing I knew, I was disarmed and staring down the blade of a steel sword. Still gasping for air, I looked around and saw that all four soldiers had their concentration on me, one of them now armed with a crossbow. I might have been able to handle the three next to me if I was still armed, but I had learned, the hard way, a healthy respect for crossbows. I put my hands up behind my head and knelt where I was. Frightened and expecting to be executed on the spot, I called out to my master along our bond. All I got in return was the feeling that she, too, was overwhelmed. A moment later, the two soldiers that had chased Iribess returned with her slung across the front of one of their saddles as if she were just so much baggage. She was rudely dumped on the ground and through the tangle of her red hair, I could see the pure outrage in her face. One of my guards was immediately on her and the swiftness with which the Princess had begun to get to her feet vanished when the sword point appeared in front of her nose. The other solders dismounted and pushed her over and down to sit next to me, which she did with a sound that was both grunt and growl. The five soldiers stood over us, blades of various lengths drawn and ready along with two crossbows.

"I be of the Crown Royal," Iribess said in a low voice, full of fury and glaring up at our captors. "Thou hast no right to treat me as thou dost, e'en as thy prisoner."

A short, bearded man wearing an insignia of rank crouched down in front of the Princess, looking as if he wanted to spit on her. "Th'art the traitor here, Your Grace. Thou dost be the one hast thrown in her lot with thy witches. Cry thee not to me if th'art bruised." He glanced to me with both fear and hatred, then stood up and barked to his men. "One o' thee, go yonder and see thee to our fellows and whether they do indeed hold the other witch."

One of the clean-shaven ones turned and mounted up, heading his gualama back up the trail. I searched through my link with Terryl and knew what he would find. My master was being brought at weapon point, on foot toward us. It was obvious that Harliss had taught the first lesson to these people about how to overcome a Jedi; overwhelm them with superior numbers and keep your distance. I sighed heavily, my hands still behind my head, and hoped that my master would have an idea of how to get us out of this. She arrived a few minutes later and was plunked down with Iribess and me.

As she sat, I saw the vague smile that played across her face. She leaned up against me and through our link, strengthened by the physical contact, I could hear her in my mind: Be ready. Help is close. She shoved me a little, then sat up straight. I looked around and saw my lightsaber stuck in one soldier's belt. Next to me, I could feel Terryl working both through the Force and her arms to loosen the string binding her hands.

Rope appeared and the order was given to tie us. We were ordered to stand up and put our hands behind our backs and a young soldier came toward us with a length of rope in hands. Suddenly, a deafening cry went up in the bushes around us. In the next instant, arrows flew from those bushes, hitting about half the soldiers guarding us. The one with the rope fell at my feet, his last breath gurgling out of him as an arrow protruded from his back. I stared at the body, dumbfounded for a moment. Then Terryl gave me a small thwack and shoved my lightsaber into my hands.

I looked around to see several men in regular clothing fighting with the uniformed soldiers. Terryl was aiding by slicing short the soldiers' weapons. Iribess was being protected behind a pair of the civilians. Without another thought, I ignited my saber and followed my master's lead. As soon as I started, though, the battle was over. The remaining soldiers surrendered by throwing both their weapons and themselves down on the ground. The civilians quickly moved in and began using the soldiers' rope to tie them together.

A middle-aged man, the apparent leader of this group, bowed and knelt before Iribess. As he did so, she pulled herself up and took on that regal attitude she had put on before. "Your Grace," he said to her, "I do be sent from Baron Llyrin to bring thee safe unto him. Wouldst thou and thy companions please accompany me?"

"Aye, good sir," Iribess answered. "I would me indeed. Rise you and take us with all speed." She looked to Terryl and me, a wide grin of relief splitting her face. Then the leader ushered Iribess to his own gualama and helped her mount up, leaving Terryl and me to select our own rides. We chose from the soldiers' more rested animals, intending to leave our tired beasts for them to use, once they got loose from their bonds. Terryl held a gray one for me as I started to pull myself up to the saddle. Then I felt dizzy and had to let my feet back down to the ground, hanging on to the saddle and stirrup to keep from falling all the way. Terryl quickly stepped over and grabbed me from behind. Her left-hand came away covered in my blood. She turned me around and held the hand up.

"Padawan, when did this start?" she demanded.

"When the soldiers found us and I turned to fight. I felt it tear loose."

Terryl's face fell for a moment, then became resolved again. "Let's get you up in the saddle and I'll lead again. You concentrate on controlling that bleeding."

I nodded, then let Terryl shove me up onto the gualama's back. She mounted a brown and white animal, then picked up my gray's reins. By now, all the others were also mounted; we took off at a gentle run, our saviors both leading and following the three of us. I concentrated on my side as best I could, but I could feel myself weakening by slow degrees.

They took us on a circuitous route out around the castle and walled, still smoldering town. It seemed like a long and meaningless trail until we arrived at the bluff at the back of the castle. From the cover of the woods and undergrowth, our escorts signaled to archers on the castle wall, who then laid down covering fire as we were led at a run to a large cave with a portcullis-type gate. Once inside the torch-lit cave, the portcullis lowered again and our escorts got down from their mounts. I saw Iribess get assisted down from her gualama, then started to dismount myself. Suddenly, my vision faded to black and I knew nothing more.

My eyes opened to Iribess' worried face hovering over mine. Behind her, the ceiling and walls seemed to be unsteady. "Lady Terryl," she said over her shoulder without looking away, "she doth awaken." My master's equally worried face quickly replaced Iribess'.

"How do you feel, Padawan?" she asked. I smelled food and looked to see a plate of bread and vegetables on the table next to my bed.

"I wish the room would quit spinning," I said and closed my eyes. The dizziness made my stomach feel queasy and the smell of the food didn't help. My head also ached and I gingerly rubbed my eyebrows.

"You lost a bit of blood," Terryl said, "but I suspect you already know that." I nodded. "However, we've landed quite well by coming here."

"Why is that?" I opened my eyes again to see her smiling now.

"It seems Senator Llyrin has brought a bit of Coruscant back to Renaissline with him. He has a small landing bay and a communications center installed under the castle. He believes that Renaissline will eventually modernize and he wants his family to be the leaders when it does." She shook her head. "I just hope it doesn't happen in my lifetime."

"So did you call home?" Suddenly, all I could think of was getting off this crazy world and going back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

"I did. A shuttle should be here about tomorrow afternoon or evening to take you back."

"Me? What about you?"

"I'm going to stay and help sort out the mess that's about to erupt here."

Going home alone was not what I had anticipated and the idea left me feeling a little desperate. "What mess? These people can figure out what to do without us."

"Senator Llyrin has asked me to stay and so has Iribess. They're expecting relief sometime tomorrow morning against the siege that Sveria and the Theocrat have laid against the castle. Apparently, the senator got word out to other nobles who don't sympathize with Sveria and they should be coming with troops. Once those nobles show up and find out what Sveria's been up to, it's going to take all the diplomatic power Iribess, Llyrin and I have to keep this country – and possibly the rest of Renaissline – from descending into outright civil war. Even Rodik has left Sveria to her own devices and gone back to Istan. I have to stay."

I was not happy about this and I'm sure my face showed my disappointment. Terryl put a hand on my cheek and rubbed it with her thumb. "I'll be home soon enough, Padawan. You need to go ahead of me and heal up so we can return to regular training by the time I get back."

I nodded and turned away. "Eat something as soon as you're able," she said and left me alone. I brooded for a little while, at least until my stomach calmed down. I ate some of the food that had been left, then fell into a dreamless asleep.

I awoke in the dark, Iribess' now all too familiar snoring softly filling the silence. Reaching out with the Force, I could sense her across the room, deep in slumber. At the same time, I sensed another presence in the room, one that took me a moment to recognize. Then its dark signature registered in my memory: Harliss!

I had no idea where my lightsaber was but I could tell where Harliss was; he stood near the foot my bed. As I became aware of him, he became aware of me. In the next instant, his lightsaber was out and ignited, slashing for me. I leapt from the bed, surprised to see the weapon back in his hands. I had no time to wonder how he'd gotten it back though, as he came at me with every intention of murder. Using my link to her, I cried out to Terryl but she did not seem close.

Through the Force, I reached out and grabbed things from around the room through the Force and began throwing them at him as quickly as I could. Then, as it whacked into his upper arm, I recognized one of the items that I'd thrown as my lightsaber. I held my hand out to it and it landed firmly in my grip, igniting as my fingers closed around it. Harliss was not to be deterred, though, and came at me all the harder.

Iribess had awakened and I caught her frightened face out of the corner of my eye, lit by the flashing lightsabers. Harliss ignored her for the moment, driving in on me in his search for my blood. I did my best to defend, continuing to throw things at him as I could. But I was falling backward under his onslaught, already tiring and breathing hard. My lightsaber felt heavy and almost clumsy in my grip and as the combined effects of the last three days caught up with me. Too quickly, I found myself backed into a corner, barely keeping his blows off me. There was only the merest few seconds left before he cut through my defenses for the last time.

Then suddenly, he straightened up, his eyes wide in surprise. He dropped his lightsaber and turned away from me. As he did, I saw the short spear protruding from his back. Beyond him, Iribess stood, her eyes also wide but not with surprise. Instead, there was a mix of fear and anger there, enough to inspire her into violent action against the false High Cleric. She had grabbed a decorative spear from off the wall and had rushed Harliss' back. He fell forward with a loud exhale, and the Princess had to leap backward to avoid being caught under his falling body. In the next instant, my stomach heaved, throwing out what was left of dinner. I heard Iribess fall to the floor and glanced her way long enough to see her kneeling and falling to the floor, already out cold. Then I joined her in unconsciousness.

I heard Terryl at a distance, calling my name. I wasn't sure I wanted to respond, though. I felt I'd let everyone down; I hadn't protected Iribess, I'd gotten sick, and finally Iribess'd had come to my rescue instead of me to hers. Maybe it was just better if I stayed in my dark, unconscious world and didn't worry about trying to be something I was so bad at anyway.

"Please, my young Padawan," Terryl's voice seemed to whisper in my ears. "I need you back with me. You've done well under the circumstances and I want you with me."

I smiled and let myself come closer. In spite of everything, Terryl still wanted me. That was enough for me to come back. I opened my eyes on Terryl's softly smiling face.

"Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

"Very tired, Master."

Terryl nodded. "Good. You should be. You up to company?"

"Who?"

"Iribess wants to say good-bye before you go."

"Before I go?" I tried to sit up but my head began to swim. Terryl gently pushed me back to my pillow.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Padawan, but I put you out for a while. You needed the rest. Now the transport is here and it's time for you to go home."

"Are you still staying?"

"Oh, yes. The Theocrat's and Sveria's troops are on the run and the nobles are ready for open revolt. Iribess is already doing all she can to defuse the situation but she needs help."

"Can't Senator Llyrin do it?"

"Not by himself. Like I said, they both want me to stay."

I nodded. Terryl gave me a last pat on the shoulder and went to go get Iribess. She entered cautiously carrying a small bundle of cloth, her pale blue eyes soft and inquisitive, no longer full of the anger and fear I had last seen in them.

"How fare thee?" she asked.

"Okay, I guess." I looked away from her, feeling guilty, then back. "I'm sorry, Iribess."

"What be thy sorrow?"

"That you had to kill Harliss. I should have done it."

"That be nonsense. Thou wert ill. I did defend me my friend."

"Well, now I owe you. I guess maybe we're even."

"Nay. I would have me thy friendship. Thou dost owe me that."

I smiled. "I'd like that. But only if I can have yours in return."

"Thou didst have it already. Howe'er, thou wert too asleep to hear thee my pledge." She grinned at me, eyes dancing.

"Then I'm glad I woke up in time to hear something of it." I grinned right back at her. "You always make your pledges of friendship to sleeping people?"

"Only when they do sleep them like lazy louts." She socked my arm hard enough to hurt. "I did think me thou wouldst ne'er awake. I did me what were the only thing a Princess could do." She said it with such a mock air of snobbery, her nose high in the air, we both couldn't help but to begin laughing. When the giggles died out, she handed me the cloth bundle. "These be a shirt, tunic and breeches for thee. Thou didst fight in thy chemise. It were quite the spectacle. I did think me thou wouldst like more in which to travel to thy home."

She held out the bundle and I looked through it. It was a very fine set of clothes she'd handed me. "I do also wish me to give you these." She reached up and removed the silver and red, square-cut stone earrings from her ears. "Howe'er, thou must give me thine in return." I felt my ears and remembered that I still had there the little crystals on nearly invisible transparisteel threads. My grandfather had given them to me just before I had left Mendoraan. I quickly took them out and traded eagerly with Iribess. We both put in our new treasures and showed them off to each other. We giggled and talked a little longer as I changed into my new clothes, happy to find the peace in which to make a true friendship. When Terryl finally came back, we were both laughing hard enough to make my head spin, over some terribly ridiculous set of remarks about clothes in general. She caught the mood between us and smiled widely at us both.

"I'm sorry to break this up, but it's time to go. Do you think you can walk, Padawan?"

"I can do it, Master." I slid on my boots and hung my lightsaber on my belt. The boots, belt and lightsaber didn't really go with the Renaisslinian ensemble but I didn't care. I liked my new clothes and earrings and planned to wear them just as long as I could. Iribess and Terryl, along with a servant Terryl had brought with her, escorted me down to the landing bay. Along the way, I met Senator Llyrin's son, who also helped see me off. A grown man, he was well aware of both the Jedi and life away from Renaissline. He spoke in an odd mix of regular basic and Renaisslinian vernacular. Terryl got me settled on board the small transport, then with a small kiss on my forehead, left me to my journey back to Coruscant.

As the ship lifted away from Renaissline, I watched the planet shrink into nothingness, hoping all would work out for Iribess and beginning to feel tired again. By the time the ship dropped into hyperspace, I was once more asleep. I dreamed only of the Princess and coming back to visit her once she was Queen.

The bacta-tank was a strange experience. They gave me something to make me sleep through the whole process but I woke up just before the end. It's rather weird to wake up in a cylinder filled with fluid, your nose plugged and a breather clamped over your mouth. Fortunately, I didn't stay that way for long. In a few minutes the technicians "decanted" me and put me to bed. I slept a relatively dreamless sleep and woke up later to see Coruscant sunlight streaming through the hospital room window. I don't think I'd ever been so happy to see that traffic-filled sunlight in my life. It was just wonderful to be home and on the mend.

For breakfast, I ate like a Hutt. The nurse was amused by how quickly I cleaned my dishes and he offered to bring me more. I readily agreed and he disappeared. A few minutes later, a knock came to the door and I eagerly invited him back in. Only it wasn't the nurse…

My mother poked her head in. In a heartbeat, my eagerness and appetite dropped away like a rock, suspicion and dread filling their places. She smiled at me and pushed her way on in, toward my bed. "Hi, baby," she said in a tone too full of sweetness and light. "I'm so glad to see you feeling better." She looked like she wanted to cry at me. It only intensified my feelings.

"What are you doing here?" I said coldly. I think hydrogen would have frozen on my voice.

"I came to see you, baby, see how you're doing. You're my daughter after all." She sat on the bed next to me and started to stroke my hair, looking me up and down. "Oh, look at you, you poor thing. The doctors told me what happened. I can't believe those damn Jedi would send a child to such a place." Her eyes finally settled on my face. "It's not right, Cassila. You're too young. You need to come home where it's safe."

I turned away from her, exposing the nearly bare spot behind my ear. I was angry with her, that she had the gall to be here. I found her presence so repulsive I didn't even want to talk to her.

"Oh, your poor hair," she went on, touching the spot where my braid had been. "I'm so sorry Loren did that to you but you shouldn't have refused him. It's just that you made your father so angry when you wouldn't go with him. He wouldn't have done it if you'd just gone along."

That was more than I could handle. I turned back to her, working hard to keep my own anger in check. "Kayla, what are you doing here?" I asked again, refusing to call her "Mother."

"Oh, baby, don't talk to me like that. I'm just your mother and I care about you. That's all I'm doing here." She started stoking my hair again without looking me in the face again.

I reached up and grabbed her wrist to stop her touching me. "I don't want you here," I said evenly. "I don't want your mothering. I don't ever want to see you or Loren ever again." I released her hand and pushed it away.

Her face took on a shocked expression and she stared at me for a few seconds. I stared back, doing my best to let her know by my own expression that I meant what I said. Finally, she stood up and began pacing around the room making, little outraged "OH's!" She eventually came back and stood next to where she had sat. Anger was in her eyes now and she locked them on me as it to bore through my stony exterior. "How can you say that? You don't know what your father and I have been doing for you while you've been off getting half killed for those stupid Jedi." She paused and I watched her, wishing she'd just go. Then her face changed and her voice took on a pleading tone. "Your father's arranged for your future. It's all set up. You'll have a good education, a safe life and very profitable work. You won't have to live like a pauper, dependent on some strange organization that regularly sends you away to get maimed or killed. You'll have a life of your own."

I studied her now, realizing that she had no concept of what I wanted or what the Jedi meant to me, or even to the galaxy. All she could see or care about was herself and her little view of that galaxy. I had once thought maybe she could be brought around and made to understand a larger picture, but now I knew otherwise. "I already have a life of my own," I said quietly. "I'm a Jedi."

Her eyes went cold. "Well, isn't that just fine? You little ingrate. We've worked for you, looked out for you, made you a nice place in a business that you can be a part of. And what do you do? Turn us down, just like that. You'd rather be a Jedi. You wretched little beast."

She glared at me as I continued calmly watching her. A moment later, she started all over again. "Well, that's just what you think. Your father needs you to come join him and you are just going to have to come with me." She made a grab for me but I ducked it easily by rolling out the other side of the bed. I landed on my feet and looked back to her. "Why, how dare you?!" she said in surprise going back to anger. She started to come after me again.

I drew on the Force and held up a hand to gently hold her off. It worked and she stopped in her tracks. "I am not going anywhere with you, Kayla. You and Loren have no hold over me. I have chosen my path and it is not with you. I am a Jedi." I put my hand down and pulled back my use of the Force.

She stared long and hard at me, her mouth opening and closing several times as she considered things to say, then thought better of it. Finally, her shoulders slumped a little and she looked to the floor. Her anger melted away and I began to feel the desperation that had been driving it. I never knew she was such a good actress. An honest tear escaped one of her eyes. "You don't understand," she began sobbing. "They'll lock him up and throw away the key if you don't come. I think they'd even kill him. You've got to come and save him. Now."

I suddenly felt sorry for her in a way. When all else failed, she was finally willing to reveal the truth. She wanted me so badly to come away with her, just to rescue the man she cared about and not for any real affection for me. But knowing what I did about my father, I figured who ever it was that had him and wanted me to come was someone I did not want to know. I'd heard Force-sensitive kids with any kind of Jedi training went for a premium price in the Underworld. I'd never have a chance. I shook my head. "Loren has chosen his own path. He'll have to follow it without me."

Her gaze settled on me once more. Cold anger replaced her tears. "All right, if that's the way you want it, Miss High and Mighty Jedi. But you're condemning your own father. I don't understand how you can do that."

"He chose his destiny a long time ago. I can't let myself be drawn into it. I have my own life to lead." I felt terrible, knowing that I probably was indeed condemning my own father by this decision, but through the Force, I could feel the rightness of what I was doing and saying. I clung hard to that feeling, pulling on it to help me stay with my decision and not give in to look for parental approval that would never come anyway.

Fury grew in her expression and she began to step closer to me. I held my ground and she eventually stood right in front of me. "You cold-hearted, ugly little frit." Her hand came up to slap my face and I blocked it without looking away from her. She tried to evade my block but I held her at bay through a few more attempts. At that moment, the nurse came back with my second breakfast. He quickly put the tray down and grabbed Kayla, pulling her away from me. She struggled against him for a moment before finally giving up, just that much angrier now. She then pulled away from him and toward the door, straightening her clothing as she went.

At the door, she turned back to glare at me. That look might have killed if she'd also been a Force-adept. "I hope you rot in your stupid little Jedi life, you lousy, selfish, horrid little brat. I'm so sorry I ever had you." With that, she turned and left the room. I watched her go, still feeling sorry for her but nowhere near enough to apologize and follow her. The nurse came up beside me and gently put me back into bed. Too tired to eat, I made myself sleep and he just left the tray for later. I had a dream of my parents being very small as they quickly packed up and left my grandfather's house.

About a week after I got out of the hospital, I was summoned to the Mendorinian Senator's office at the Senate building. I was still getting my strength back and actually starting to like the scars that the crossbow bolt had left behind. Terryl had contacted me to say it would probably be another few weeks before things really settled out and she could come home, and that she had been correct in her suspicions about what Sveria had planned to do. Feeling pretty good about myself, I arrived at the Senator's office dressed in a new tunic and robe, lightsaber on my belt. As I entered the Reception area, my grandfather Alaine Sanar hailed me.

"Cassila, my dear, so good to see you up and about." I shook his proffered hand as he spoke, then followed him to a corner couch for two. "You really are looking very well." He said as we sat. "And like quite the young Jedi." He smiled broadly at me, genuine pride in his eyes.

"Thank you, Grandfather," I said politely. I remembered this was the man whose influence had gotten me to his house and into my parents' grip in the first place. "You're looking quite well yourself. What may I do for you?"

"Well, well, aren't you the formal one." His smile faded a little and he got a thoughtful light in his eyes. "Kayla said you called yourself a Jedi. I guess you meant what you said."

"Yes, sir, I did. And I continue to do so." I was wondering what his real purpose was in having this meeting.

He nodded, carefully considering me. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. "I can see that. Did you know your mother came back from somewhere last night and has yet to quit crying? She has sworn to never have anything to do with you again."

I hadn't actually heard that but it didn't surprise me. I wondered where she had come from and what had become of my father. I suspected he was now dead and that Kayla blamed me. "That's all right, sir. I can live with that." I considered him, as well. Was it possible he was trying to patch it up with me for just himself and not for Kayla or my grandmother?

He nodded. "Good. Because I think you've made the right choice. You're going to make me proud. I know it." He smiled at me again and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate that." Yup. That was just what he was trying to do. For some reason, for himself, he wanted to patch it up.

"I wish you wouldn't be so formal with me, Cassila. I'd like to be able to take you out for lunch or dinner now and then. Find out how you're getting on. Keep in touch and maybe even get to be friends."

I smiled at him a little and relaxed ever so slightly. That was all right; I'd give him the chance. "That would be fine, Grandfather. I think I'd enjoy that myself." I wasn't sure if he had any ulterior motives in this request but I decided that the only way to really find out was to take him up on his offer.

"Good," he said, clapping a hand on my knee. "Shall we say tomorrow, for lunch?"

"Sure. I'd like that."

"Meet you here, then, midday." He stood up and I followed suit. He stuck his hand out for me to shake again. I took it more warmly this time. "I'll explain the allowance fund I'm starting for you while we eat."

"Allowance?" I said, somewhat incredulous. "I don't need that."

"I know but I want to do it. Donate it if you want. I don't care. I just want to leave you something."

"All right," I said. Jedi didn't tend to own much of anything, usually. This could get hard to explain back at the Temple. "If that's what you want."

"It is." Our hands parted. "See you tomorrow." I smiled and turned to leave and almost got out the door. "Oh, by the way," his voice caught me and I turned back.

"I'm proud of you, Cassila. I think you're the first person who's ever said 'No' to Kayla and stuck by their guns. The gods know her mother never has. Thank you." He gave me a huge grin and waved. I smiled back and bowed a little, then went on my way.