For as long as I could remember I had always been fascinated by the Mandalorians. I would watch them at their enclave and in their camp when they came to Dromund Kaas to hunt. For as long as I can remember my mother, brother and I have lived on the outskirts of Kaas City not far from where the Mandalorians would camp. My mother's friend a Bounty Hunter named Braden would bring supplies every once in a while. He was with us the night before our eighth birthday. I remember my mother and Braden arguing. My mother telling Braden about the Sith that kept coming to our house to test my brother and I for force sensitivity. Tanithos, my twin, couldn't have cared less about the Mandalorians, he was fascinated by the sith. He wished he could be one of them. I heard Braden say "you are no longer safe here, Bella pack up you are leaving the day after tomorrow. I will go to the spaceport and make the arrangements tomorrow afternoon." My mother agreed with him. I heard my mother coming up the stairs, rolled over and went to sleep.
I woke early the morning of our eighth birthday. I left the house and headed straight for the pond that separated us from the mandalorian encampment. I swam the pond every day. When I think back now I wonder why none of the animals ever came after me. I jumped in and swam to the opposite shore I started to run into the woods and ran into a mandalorian boy, literally. I bounced backwards off of him and landed hard on the ground a few feet away. He was taller than me, maybe 2 years older he had blond hair and light brown eyes that looked directly into me. He swore something in mandalorian and then moved towards me. Suddenly, I was frightened, I reached behind me as I still sat on the ground, grabbed the nearest rock and threw it at him. It hit him on the left side of his forehead. I saw blood begin to fall from where I hit him. I quickly got to my feet and ran back to the water I dove in and swam back across the pond. He was quick. He raced after me, I reached the opposite shore and ran out of the pond but he was just a tad bit faster than I was. He grabbed my arm and spun me around. He put a bandage in my hand to stop the bleeding from a gash I didn't even know I had. I glanced down at my hand and the cloth soaked up the blood. I glanced up at the boy and saw his head was starting to bleed again. I reached up with the cloth and put it on his gash.
"Taneesia" I turned so fast my long blond hair swings around my head, Braden stood there with another mandalorian.
"Torian" the new comer said. Torian stepped back away from my hand.
"Taneesia your mother was worried about you." He glanced down at my hand, "What happened?"
I looked at Torian then back at Braden and the other man. "I went for a swim, and ran into him," nodding in Torian's direction. "I fell to the ground. He moved towards me and I threw a rock at his head. He chased me all the way back here. I was caught by surprise when he put the cloth in my hand to cover the gash." I finished looking back at Torian.
Looking into his light brown eyes my vision suddenly clouded, *I saw Torian looking into my blue eyes we were older; he was smiling down at me and calling me "C'yare". *
Next thing I remember I am laying on the ground my head of dark blond hair resting in Torian's hands.
"Nice catch Torian." Braden said as he kneeled next to me.
"What happened?" I asked as I moved to sit up.
"You tell us." Said Braden, "you were telling us what happened and down you went. Torian caught you before your head hit the ground."
I looked back at Torian "Thank you" I said.
"Ba'gedet'ye. Your welcome." Torian replied.
Braden lifted me off the ground and placed me on my feet, "let's go we need to get back."
I glanced at Torian's forehead. "Sorry Torian" He grunted and Braden dragged me away.
The mandalorian with Torian said "Let's get you back and cleaned up. She's some wildcat." Torian grunted again and they walked off towards the village.
When I returned home my mother walked over to me, her blond hair pulled up into a bun and her green eyes sparkling. She takes my hand into hers and removes the cloth, setting it on the table next to her. "Taneesia what did you do?" she holds her hand over mine and I feel a warmth from inside and a bright light envelope my hand. When my mother removes her hand the light is gone and so is the cut. Who knew our mother was force sensitive? This was the first time I had ever seen her use the force. "Now go upstairs and finish packing we are leaving in the morning." "Where are we going?" I ask. My mother looks at me with her mouth in a gentle smile and she says "somewhere safe. Now go." She gently pushes me towards the stairs and I go upstairs to pack. When we finish Tanithos and I place our bags near the front door I pick up the cloth that is still sitting on the table, (my mother must have forgotten about it) and go out into the small garden till dinner. A short time later my mother calls us into the house we eat dinner and she presents a cake for us. "Happy Birthday my little chickadees." We smile and blow out the candles together.
That evening after dinner Braden left for the spaceport to prepare for our departure. But the morning that was planned never came. The Sith that our mother was trying to keep us safe from came in the middle of the night. I wake to loud banging from downstairs, my brother and I move to the top of the stairs.
I hear my mother "I will not let you take them. I will get them free." Suddenly I hear a hum and there are bright lights coming up the stairs. There is buzzing coming from below us. Tanithos and I look at each other he takes my hand into his.
*I will keep you safe 'Esha* I hear in my head.
A black shadow stands at the bottom of the stairs blocking all of the light. Tanithos and I stand up and walk backwards towards our rooms. The shadow becomes two. They get to the top of the stairs and reach out their hands towards us. We are both lifted, I feel a hand squeezing my throat, I can't breathe, my eyes start to water, my vision fades and everything goes black. Unfortunately our mother dies the night of our eighth birthday.
