Disclaimer:
I don't own the name Star Wars; I'm not using this for money, yatsa, yatsa, and yatsa.
Claimer:
I do, however, own the following characters:
Carime Liepti – A ten-year old Ipiacian.
Cataline Liepti – The mother of Carime.
Algahan Liepti – The father of Carime.
Ami Skywalker – Carime's older friend.
And the planet Ipiac. I also own the city of Iott.
---
The Past of Carime
---
Ipiac
Carime looked at the silver box. Klora Cate was written on the top in her mother's beautifully curvy handwritting. She opened it and looked at the contents. She picked up a baby bracelet. It was gold with Klora Cate written in delicate script. She traced the lettering, and put it against her wrist. It looked familiar, yet not truly familiar. Who was this Klora Cate? Why did her mother have a box of this girl's stuff? And why was her baby dress in this box?
Carime got up from the table and went inside to her mother, Cataline. At 68, Cataline remembered everything about the past – especially about her daughter.
"Mommy." Carime started, "Who is Klora Cate?"
Cataline looked at her daughter, "I was wondering when you were going to ask, Cari." Cataline motioned for Carime to follow her outside. Carime's father, Algahan Liepti, was standing on the porch. The two women sat down next to him, and Cataline began the tale of Carime's past, "31 years ago, before the fall of The Empire and three days after the distruction of Iott, Your father was out trying to teach Carime…"
---
Ten-year old Carime Liepti looked at her father.
"Concentrate, Cari." The tall, darkskinned man coached.
The darkskinned, blue-eyed, black-haired girl tried to concentrate as her father had told her, but she couldn't levitate the object above the ground more then an inch.
"I can't, Daddy." Carime cried.
"That's okay, Kitten. We'll try again later." Algahan Liepti said to his only child. He piccked up the object, kissed his daughter's hair, and went back inside the cabin home.
Carime climbed the hill and looked at the still smoking rubble, which was once the capital city of Ipiac.
For as long as Carime could remember, The Empire had ruled her homeland. Ipiac had been a planet left alone in the first seven-years of Carime's life, but the last three involved revolts from the Ipiacians and war. The capital city, Iott, had been destroyed just three days before. Nearly seven hundred people had been killed.
Carime climbed down the steep hill, and walked to the city gate. The smell of smoke and burned flesh filled her nostrils. Bits of the green and white buildings were everywhere – one had crashed into another, and then it formed a domino effect.
She hesitated for a moment, and then walked down the main street. The silver metal cooled her barefeet, as she made her way to her friend Ami's house.
The light green house was in ruins. She causiously walked into what was left of the first floor and sat down on the destroyed bed. Ami had been Carime's favorite person in the whole world, even though Ami was 54 years old and Carime was 10. Carime leaned back on the bed, and looked out the crushed window. Twilight was fast approching, but the sudden wail of an infant caused Carime to jump. It was impossible that a child could have survived – right? Carime shook her head. No way. No one could've lived. But the sound came again and Carime's curiousity got the best of her. She climbed out of the ruins and back onto the street. She looked around, and felt something as she walked down the street. The feeling became greater and greater as she walked. This was weird.
After climbing over the ruins of the secret temple, she came upon an infant. A baby girl. She was clothed in a yellow dress and partially covered by a yellow blanket. Her face was red, and her tiny hands were clenched in fists.
Carime smiled at the infant, "Hello baby. What's your name?"
The infant stopped crying and studied the face of the person in front of her. The infant's white eyes seemed to pierce Carime's soul and her fluffy black curls spilled out around her. The child laughed and reached for Carime. A bracelet was on the girl's wrist, the name Klora Cate engraved in delicate script.
"Klora Cate. You have a very pretty name, Klora." Carime said, laughing. Gripping Klora Cate, Carime headed back toward the city gate. 'Mammy is going to love this! She always wanted another baby!' Carime thought.
Carime jumped over a piece of a building, and looked up. A stormtrooper was in front of her.
"What's your name?" The trooper demanded.
Carime froze, "Ca…Car…Carime."
"What's your last name?"
"Liepti." She said, confidently – her father was coming down the road quietly.
"Whose baby is that?"
"This is my sister, Klora Cate." The ten-year old said, watching her father move closer with his lightsabre drawn.
"Where…" The trooper cut himself off, finally hearing Algahan's teal lightsabre. He turned around and shot at the tall Ipiacian. Algahan blocked it.
But instead of hitting the stormtrooper, he hit Carime. Her body fell to the ground, still cluching the infant. Algahan's eyes widened and he went after the trooper. He stood there for a moment, and then walked over to his daughter.
"Carime. Carime, anwser me." He said, tears comeing down his face already.
Carime looked at her father, her eyes already beginning to droop. She looked at the baby, smiled, and looked at her father.
He nodded his head – he knew what she was thinking, "I promise you, Cari. She will be your little sister." He said. Carime was dying – one blaster shot was all her thin body could take.
Carime closed her eyes, still smiling.
---
Cataline looked at her husband. He was outside, on Carime's hill, watching the ruins of Iott. His deep blue eyes watching the landscape. The smoke had dissapated in the last two days, and the scent of burnt flesh was gone.
The few people that had known Cari had attended the small funeral. They'd buried her the day before. She'd been buried in her favorite outfit and her stuffed Kline Bear.
A wail interrupted Cataline's thoughts and she quickly moved to pick up the eleven-month old. In the day following Carime's discovery of Klora Cate, Cataline had asked the surviving three hundred Ipiacians if they knew Klora's mother. No one knew whose daughter she was, so Cataline and Algahan decided to rename her – they would call her Carime Klora-Cate Liepti, after their child who'd never gotten a chance to live. However, when Klora would start to be called Carime, they would make sure she wouldn't know her real middle name – not until they could explain the past.
Cataline picked up Klora, and bounced the infant on her knee. Klora laughed at her new mother, and Cataline laughed back. Carime may have died and Klora would never take her place, but at least Klora would have the chances Carime wouldn't.
"Hello, my little girl." Cataline said, picking up a disturbance. She stopped bouncing Klora, and looked at the child. Carime was supposed to become a Jedi, even if it was in secret. Cataline had thought all hopes of having a Jedi Knight for a daughter were gone – But Klora could be the Jedi Knight Cataline had hoped for.
---
Carime looked at her mother, "I'm Klora Cate?" She asked, shocked by this discovery.
"Yes and no."
"I've been living a lie?"
"No. Carime look at me – you are Carime Klora-Cate Liepti. You are the child of Cataline and Algahan Liepti. Nothing will change that. You were never living a lie." Algahan said, tripping over his words.
Carime looked at her parents – they were right. She hadn't grown up in a lie – Her parents had never made her do anything she hadn't wanted. They'd never forced her to do anything like the first Carime. They'd let her do her own thing – from climbing in her Jedi robes when she was 15 to letting her date a boy when she was 18 which was against Jedi Law. She was named after Carime Liepti, yes, but She was Carime Klora-Cate and nothing would ever make that false.
Carime leaned over and hugged her parents, "I'm sorry my sister had to die for me to be here."
Cataline smiled, "You were a blessing, Carime Klora-Cate Liepti. Never ever ever forget that."
Carime smiled, and looked in front of her. A blue apperition in the shape of a ten-year old girl stood a few feet away, smiling.
---
The End.
Cassie Jamie