1 – Mirdala's Story – Dark Legacy

The little girl ran into her father forcefully tackling him playfully as the man feinted to be taken by surprise, though he could easily sense her speed and direction from the noise she was making. Mirdala so much wanted to be a huntress, she had so much naïve zeal but no training and no comprehension of what her dream entailed. Nevertheless, his daughter managed to surprise him, making him grunt in surprise as she tackled him; he had made the mistake of not taking into account her strength and not paying attention; both worked to her favor though she was small but unbelievably strong. He forced a small smile appear on his face, it wasn't utterly sincere but Mirdala would never know the difference, maybe later in life but not at this age.

As a Mandalorian raised mercenary it was the most essential part of his being to sire sons and daughters, to support and engage in the dynamics of a fruitful family. He'd been partially successful, although his wife was not Mandalorian their marriage was cordial, close enough to sustain damage by way of numerous arguments and still come out intact. He had two beautiful daughters, no sons yet but Mirdala was so like him some days he never wanted for the sons that Mandalorians cherished. The Father-Son bond was paramount in Mandalorian society but Mirdala, his Mir'ika left him wanting for little, if they never had a son, he could be happy with her. Even that was denied him; his wife would never allow him to teach either Mirdala or Ismene in the way of the Mando'ade not even if Mirdala wanted it.

His daughters would not be raised to be warriors, they would be politicians, and his daughters would not fight their battles with weapons but with their tongues and intellect. He'd succeeded and failed, succeeded as a father but failed as a Mandalorian, he was the last of the Mando'ade and his daughters were dar'manda – never knowing they existed without knowing of or reveling in the warrior soul deep within, never nurturing it, ever living a half-life. It killed him to know Mirdala wanted to be a daughter of the Mando'ade but that for the sake of her life and for his wife he'd never teach her, never step out of line; he'd condemn her to be dar'manda – not a Mandolorian.

In an attempt to vainly bury a new wave of self-loathing he rose, getting up and started running around with her on his back. She laughed joyously and his soul rose a bit higher, he felt elated before he gently dropped her on the bed. She grabbed his hand, "Buir (Father), are you going hunting again tonight?"

Inside he closed his eyes, knowing what was coming, she so wanted to go and as always he had to deny her, deny himself, deny them both. Despite his uneasy feelings, an easy smile came to his lips along with the reply, "Yes. Why do you ask, Mir'ika?"

"Take me with you; please, please, please. I am sure Ismene would like to go too. Please," the girl was too smart for her own good, once she'd figured out what he'd done for a living and judged that it was more fascinating than her mother's occupation Mirdala had never been able to give it a rest, she'd begged him each and every night he'd go hunting to take her with him. It astounded him that most of the castle didn't know where he went or when he came and went but Mirdala never missed it, she knew when he hunted as if she knew she was being deprived of some great treat.

"Why do you think Ismene would want to go hunting?" Though they were identical down to the last detail, mirror images of each other, deep down he knew that Ismene didn't desire the same thing as Mirdala but the elder twin amused her younger sister, humored her. Trust came too easily to Mirdala, all the eagerness in the world wouldn't make up for that flaw, trust too easily in his line of work and she'd end up dead. That, if anything else didn't, convinced them he needed to keep Mirdala off a battlefield, coddled in a safety net of Jaleida's own making, her mother knew better what was good for the two girls.

The girl thought a moment and said promptly, "Because Ismene and I are going to become the best and most feared hunters in the galaxy."

"Maybe Ismene doesn't want to be a hunter," he countered, trying to be careful in the way he said it, no reason to brutally crush her hopes and dreams but it was good to put the idea in her mind, then it wouldn't be much of a shock when Ismene revealed the truth.

"Why wouldn't she? She is my sister and my best friend. She would never abandon me, would she, Buir?"

"Of course not, and neither will I," a vow he was sure the two of them would keep, Ismene and Mirdala were close and if there was one thing he'd been allowed to teach them it was the Mandalorian idea of duty to one's family. Family came before ALL else. If anything happened to him and Jaleida he was sure the girls would watch out for each other.

"I love you, Buir," suddenly she turned evasive, her tone lowered conspiratorially so as not to be heard easily, "please take me with you. Dala'buir (Mother) doesn't have to know."

"It would not take long for the servants to notice your absence when they wake you in the morning. You can come soon enough," the lie rolled easily off his tongue but it tasted like ash and smoke.

"Please, take me Buir," she entreated, in a heartbeat he wanted to grab her and take her with but higher reasoning said it was stupid; he wouldn't be able to hunt AND protect Mirdala effectively. No, until she could look after herself he had to agree with the consensus.

"Not now."

"CERTAINLY not now!" came the voice of the girl's mother. She was outlined in the door as she gave a wry smile. It came too easily to be a TRUE smile; Jaleida was schooling her features to hide her REAL reaction from Mirdala who promptly ducked under her covers at being caught. Meanwhile his wife focused all her attention upon him, "If I didn't know any better, Love, I would have believed you were ready to scoop her up and take her."

Busted, Ardeshir thought to himself, although they were ill-matched in what they believe 'right and proper' for their daughters they were well matched when it came to reading and knowing each other. No one could read him like Jaleida could, no one, which of course meant there was nothing that he could hide, "I regrettably have to admit I cannot face her, and her plea was absolutely perfect. What charisma!" he smiled while his wife, ever the all-knowing omnipotent mother frowned, if he didn't know better he would have thought he married a jetii, he rose from where he was kneeling near the bed and kissed his wife, "just like her beloved mother."

The mother kept her eyes on her husband a moment boding something was going to happen - a discussion but she stepped into the room, kissing her second daughter on the forehead before uttering a good night.

The wife closed the door of their bedroom before she started to talk. She was trying hard to contain her voice, for she didn't want to wake her two daughters. "You had every intention of taking Mirdala with you?"

That wasn't true, it was a lie, there is no way he would have taken Mirdala with him TONIGHT but he knew that this argument wasn't for that, it was for the fact he dared to consider taking her AT ALL. It was the one battle they always fought, the one that Jaleida always won and he lost, if she didn't keep him in check Jaleida knew that nothing would stop him from craving to share his Mandalorian heritage and with Mirdala in particular. That was what this argument was for, to keep him in check, to keep him down, a part of him resented the fact she tamed him, kept him under thumb but damn it, he loved her and therefore he allowed it all, "Calm down, Jaleida. I was just a harmless second thought; I didn't have much weight in the area of common sense…"

"But you would have done it?"

Yes, he thought, if she was older and able to take care of herself he would have in a heartbeat. Right now as a child Mirdala knew nothing, she was naïve, and for her own good it was smart that her parents decide what was right for her but when she came of age, the lines would be blurred, if Mirdala still thirst to know and share what only he could give her he knew that in a heartbeat, Jaleida's protests be damned, he'd give it to his little girl, he'd give her anything she wanted once she was old enough to decide her life for herself. There was a fine line between protecting her from herself and shaping her into a puppet.

"Jaleida, she just wants to see, nothing more of anything. Once she sees it, it would terrify her and keep from any more fantasies of following in my footsteps. She just wants to see it," he wasn't sure of that, in fact he was bluffing but Jaleida, so desperate was taking it in, hook line and sinker.

Her eyes shifting over to him, introspectively, "So what do you proposing, Ardeshir."

"Plan a very careful excursion in which the girls and you stay safely inside a well protected building. I go out and hunt as usual and allow her to see the true horror of it. She is bored with lessons, bored with her life and telling her that she doesn't want to be a huntress won't cut it for Mirdala. She is tenacious, she sees a goal and she wants it with a single-minded passion, seeing it firsthand will break her of it," likely another lie, "finally show her it isn't a pretty future, nothing she'd want to pursue in comparison to the safety and security we offer to her in this life."

Jaleida exhaled softly and silently, "There is no other way? I don't wish for Ismene to see such a thing either."

Ardeshir gave an irritable glance at his wife, "Ismene, Ismene, Ismene. You always dote on her, what is wrong with Mirdala?"

"Nothing is wrong with her, I love Mirdala the same. I will plan this excursion as long you can assure me the girls will be perfectly safe and this will dissuade Mirdala from ruining her life," that last was harsh to swallow. That to be like him was to ruin their child's life. It was no new news to him that Jaleida didn't like and didn't think much of her profession previous to wedding her. In truth he'd loved his mercenary lifestyle but he'd abandoned it for Jaleida, to settle down, to spend the rest of his life and dotage within the dreadfully boring royal court. The things you did and do for the ones you love, that was the sad story of his life.

Ardeshir said, "I can assure you that," what was one more lie while her guard was down, while she was buying what he was selling, consuming the empty reassurances he fed her. He looked outside at the storm approaching, perfect to match his mood. He didn't want to do this any more than Jaleida. He didn't want to destroy Mirdala's dreams of becoming a hunter merely to please his wife but he didn't want his beloved daughter to suffer one day from the selfishness lurking in his heart, for his own desire of an heir to his own dark heritage.

He remembered the last time; he had come to terms with his own choices. His mother was a Nagai female and his father a Mandalorian mercenary. The love had been forbidden and his mother had abandoned them both. With a single parent his childhood had been uncomplicated, his Father had raised him as he'd been raised himself. Recently he'd been haunted by her shadow, his mother had returned. As a son he'd been worthless and unwanted by his mother but with two force-sensitive granddaughters, she'd bridged the distance between them since his birth, her wish to consume Mirdala and Ismene in her legacy superseding her abandonment of him in a big way. Ismene was not a worry; she would never take up his legacy let alone his mother's. Mirdala, he worried about, not only did she want to become a Hunter, but she would be eager to take up an accursed rare legacy if given the opportunity. She was attracted and allured by the fantasy of heroics and darkness. He didn't care what he had to do but he knew he had to support destroying Mirdala's dreams for her own good. He'd shut down that down harsh and fast, they'd even denied the Jedi Order, who had wished to take both children early, to indoctrinate them into the Order.

No daughters of his were going to be jetii. The Jedi were worse than Jaleida at her worst, his daughters would be no icon of faith to others, forced to forsake the attachments that made them human. The idea of family and what it meant was the only part of himself he was allowed to teach them, to give to them, to have them taught to forsake the only part of them that was connected to himself was like being disowned, like hell he'd give them up to the Jedi. They could not co-exist, Mandalorians and Jedi, even he knew that. The jetii abandoned or forsook all that Mandalorian culture held dear and/or essential. A Mandalorian could not be a Jedi, Jedi could not be Mandalorian, he might not be able to raise either of his daughters to be a Mando completely, in full circle but better for them to be dar'manda knowing of him and his teachings than among the ranks of the Jedi, never knowing of parents that loved them or nothing about the saving power of family, of 'attachment', condemned for being human.

Queen Nieve bit her lip before looking nervously to her advisor Jaleida, who gave her a small nod of assurance that her husband would take care of the threats plaguing Naboo's citizenry and suddenly as if summoned by fear Ardeshir walked in and bowed before Nieve, saying quietly, "You summoned me, your majesty."

The Queen nodded, stepping up from her throne, no one was around save Jaleida, there was no need for the government to be here while she rectified an internal issue of civil safety, still this was the fifteenth death in three months, a danger from Naboo's wilds were preying upon her subjects and that had to stop, the man before her in a distant past been a respectable hunter, vaunted despite his questionable past. A steady breath exhaled as she tried to ground her voice as she delivered her reply, "I have."

"Then what can I do for you?"

"Some manner of beast torments the citizens of Naboo and threaten our livelihood. If it is not too much to ask, I would ask of you to engage and destroy these threats," it felt wrong to ask this man to risk his life especially where he had wife and children, all of whom she knew well, all of whom she'd have to face if anything happened to him.

Ardeshir's reply was not wholly unexpected, he was unflinching, even though he didn't know what the threat was he radiated a calm cool confidence that washed over even herself, soothing her nerves, "I was a Hunter before I became Captain of the Guard and I shall become so again, if that is what you ask of me, Milady."

Nieve gave a smile, "Sincerest thanks, Lord Ardeshir," turning to dismiss his wife who was watching their interaction with mild disinterest, her advisor certainly felt no threat that she was standing so close interacting with her spouse, ever the perfect profession Jaleida was, "Jaleida, you may retire for the day if you feel so inclined. You may as well, Lord Ardeshir."

Jaleida uttered softly, "I am feeling indisposed so I will take your generous offer. Perhaps I shall see you later, Your Majesty."

Ardeshir eager to take advantage of this opportunity to speak to his wife and rest said, "I will also retire for now but I will return later this evening."

Jaleida then exited with her husband on her heels, and when she was sure they were alone she said, "You are sure about what you said taking us all with you on your next hunt and against something so dangerous?"

"We don't yet know what is out there, while it is still light out I am going to figure out what it is we face, then we can make the decision of what to expose the children too…," if it was too dangerous, none of them would go, "our summer home is situated in the wilds, the children will be safe there in our own home surely."

"Yes, I would believe so, as long as the beasts don't breach the defenses."

"They won't," his tone left no room for argument, brooked no room for disagreement, it gave Jaleida reassurance in him but still she was uneasy and he could tell, his next words said as much, "what are you worried of?"

Jaleida looked away, and Ardeshir knew he was never going to get his answer.

Ardeshir bid Ismene good night before he returned to his room and took a moment to look at his array of books before taking an encyclopedia of alien species off the shelf. His earlier excursion showed him exactly what he faced in the wilds.

Nexu…

Non-native predators, no wonder their presence was a shock, somehow they'd been introduced to Naboo, their numbers had grown extensive enough to be considered threatening, now they had to be put down.

He then went to Mirdala's room and knocked on the door. He heard a quick shuffle and knew she had gotten out of bed and moved toward the door. As he came in, his daughter ran into him and hugged him tightly.

"I got you, Buir."

He smiled and said, "So confident you are, are you really so sure, Ad'ika (Little daughter)?" and without any pause he quickly scooped her up effortlessly into his arms, and carried her back to her bed. She quickly sat down and he sat down next to her on the mattress.

"Buir, are you really going to take Ismene, Dala'buir, and me when you go to hunt?"

When he'd returned, he had assured his wife the threat wasn't so great that they needed to stay back, at dinner they'd informed the girls. Ismene had been passive, almost indifferent, Mirdala had been thrilled to say the least and that in itself was understatement.

"Well, I am going to allow you three to watch, you will have to stay within the safety of our summer home. Do you want to see what I am hunting?"

Mirdala nodded eagerly, and he turned the pages until he reached that page with the Nexu. The girl looked at it intently, "It looks like a big cat, Buir."

"Indeed it does but it is a far cry from tame. See how big its mouth is?"

To give her credit, Mirdala was not cowardly, she looked intent and interested though the maw of a Nexu was large enough to eat her whole. The girl nodded thoughtfully, "Yes."

It had been his hope that showing her might make her scared, act as a deterrent that would keep her back in safety, "So you have to promise me you will stay in the safe area with your mother and sister. Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good, now you need to get some rest or you will be too tired for anything."

He kissed her on the forehead laying the book by the table near her bedside, and turning off the lights as he left the room."

To this day there is not a moment that goes by that I don't wish the events that had come to past had not. When I was young I had been eager to become a shadow of my father's prestige and glory as a hunter but the reality was more than I could bear at that time, at that age. That night turned out to be my Father's last. No less than Six nexus ambushed him and he tried to lead them away from us but succeeded in only getting the attention of three. Those three Nexu killed him and the remaining three turned on us. It never should have happen that way, there is no way my father, so skilled should have met his end like that. Even now I know something went wrong and it wasn't because he was unprepared or underestimated the threat he faced. My father never would have underestimated a threat when our lives depended upon his success.

I had been avidly by the window watching when they attempted to attack us and I have the scar for my foolishness. Deep red, going from the forehead along my right cheek all the way down to my chin.

My life was never the same after that, Dala'buir and Ismene both wanted little to do with me, I was just a living reminder of that day. Whenever my mother had company or friends over I was forced to skulk in the shadows. I wore a black cloak to hide the monstrosity of my face from the world. As Ismene grew up she became more obsessed with her image and ceased to have anything to do with me. Dala'buir forbade me from having anything to do with soldiering or hunting and she tried desperately to continue pretending to the world as if she had a sole daughter, hiding me like a shameful secret.

Dala'buir's career finally earned her what she wished, she finally became Queen of Naboo and my sister was voted Senator at 16. Finally I grew sick of the hypocrisy of her claims to love me and continue to flinch and hide my presence from the world. I was tired of sulking in the shadows while Ismene and she lived their lives, I was going to make and live my own life and she wasn't going to stop me.

On the day of her coronation, I appeared before her and the world for the first time in eleven years and stated my intent to leave my life behind. I would pursue my fortunes elsewhere. Both she and Ismene looked terrified, as the court beheld what had become of the second daughter. The both of them tried to reason with me, Dala'buir begged me reconsider but I was no longer listening to her. Her will had chained me for so long, and I was sick of it. At that moment I no longer knew her as Dala'buir but rather as Dar'buir, "no longer a parent" but in my heart I knew she had ceased to be so many years earlier, I had just not wanted to admit it myself.

- Mirdala Genet

A/N: This story tells a bit about Mirdala's childhood and hints at some of the mysteries that are to come, this is Naboo LONG BEFORE Queen Amidala so don't think I am flaunting canon story according to books and movies. Since Mirdala's was so young, I thought it best to tell her childhood through her father who knew her the most, better than any others. The last part of the chapter is a short narrative that tells you what happened between her childhood and the next time you see her show up. Next chapter is the story of Sarynth, another point of view the story will cover!