Nix sprinted through a meadow of flowers at daybreak. She just finished eating her breakfast meal, packed full of protein and carbs to replenish her muscles after her morning combat training. Her father insisted once she turned 7, she would learn the art of war-as all true mandalorians do. Now she was 10, and quite adept at her martial arts.
Nix had one thing on her mind, however. She was headed toward her favorite thing to do-watching her mother meditate. Her mother would sit in meditation on the cliff side every morning overlooking the open plains. But the best thing about the occasion for Nix was being able to watch the floating pebbles and blades of grass orbit around her mother, a side effect of the Force.
She had a small red flower in her hand, and as she snuck up close enough to her Mom, she let it go into the air in front of her and watched as it became entrained in the orbiting ring full of nature's treasures.
"I see that you've been learning the art of stealth from your Father well enough." Her mother was still sitting facing away from her, with her long red violet hair glistening with the rising sun. Her hair contrasted well with her pale gray skin. Nix always felt such love and warmth whenever she was around her Mother. She could sense that her eyes were still closed.
"When will you teach me how to use the Force like you do?" Nix walked around to her mothers side.
Her mother opened her silver eyes and the ring around her began to fall, with the little red flower landing in her lap. "Whenever you're able to be patient enough and sit in meditation with me!" Her mother teased, and snatched Nix up off her feet and into her lap. She began to tickle her mercilessly, and Nix laughed until she couldn't breathe.
They sat for a while. Though instead of meditating Nix sat and listened to her Mother tell a story. It was about a little girl she met who was very powerful in using the Force, but was too impatient and brash to sit in meditation. She had been all across the galaxy to find force sensitive children. Something she did for her old job, she said.
"What happened to her?" Nix inquired of her Mother.
"Well, she-" her mother was cut off by the faint sound of hooves hitting the ground. They were in the open plain, and at any second they would be able to see who was coming toward them-and they were moving very fast.
Her Mother immediately reacted. "Run, and tell your father we are under attack. Go, now!" Nix looked up at her Mother and saw the panic in her eyes. It urged her into action.
Nix took off at full speed. She was headed straight back to the encampment, in the opposite direction of their attackers. She stopped and hid behind a boulder when she heard rifle blasters. She had to see if her Mother was alive.
Looking back across the field the short distance Nix had made in between her and her Mother, she saw that her Mother had armed herself with a saber made of light. It was a rich green, almost the same hue as the grassland around her. Her mother made busy work of the warriors that had come to ambush her, she deflected their blaster bolts as they closed in on her. She effectively and swiftly knocked them off of their stallions. Her Mother moved with such grace and agility, she had never seen anything so beautiful.
Her Mother made one mistake. She caught a glimpse of Nix peeking around her boulder and hesitated for the slightest second, and the last warrior standing lunged his spear right into her Mother's chest.
Nix screamed out in agonizing grief as she witnessed her Mother crumple to the ground. The warrior immediately turned in her direction and started toward her.
Without much thinking, Nix fell back on her training from her Father. They charged each other, Nix and the warrior with his spear. As soon as she was upon him, she parried and disarmed him, he kicked her square in the chest and knocked her back. They squared off, and instead of controlling her emotions, she gave into her grief and anger and let it wash over her. She felt a wave of cold, but she felt-powerful. She summoned all of it to her.
Nix took a step toward the warrior to make him take a counter step the side, right where she wanted him. She swung the spear around just off of the ground and knocked him over. He wasn't expecting a 10 year old child to have that kind of strength.
She lunged at him as he rolled away, but not without cutting his cheek. As he turned around to get up, she swung around at him again, eviscerating his abdomen. He fell to his knees, holding his stomach in.
There was a silent moment where they held the other's gaze, Nix never letting her guard down and holding him there with her hatred for him.
"Just get it over with," he said, eyes wild and blood dripping from his mouth.
She let out a blood curdling yell, and with all of her hatred, drove the spear right into his chest.
She watched the life fade from his eyes, and could sense he was gone.
But she could sense her Mother was still alive, only barely holding to life. She looked around for her, and found her just a few yards away.
"Mother!" Nix cried out to her, and ran over to her, falling down to her knees beside her. She held her hand gently with the same hands that were capable of such violence.
"Nix, my baby girl," her Mother could hardly manage a whisper, and was much too weak to move. Nix listened intently with tears streaming down her face.
"Don't let your hatred consume you. Unless you risk the dark influence of the Force controlling your life. I should have trained you, I should have-"
"No, Mom it's okay, everything's going to be okay." Nix sobbed, and sat there with her Mother in silence for what seemed like a lifetime, yet not enough time at all. And she saw the life fade from her eyes as well, along with a part of Nix.
Nix sobbed for hours until her Father, with a small group of clansmen, came to investigate why they both had been gone for so long. Her Father picked her up and brushed her off-told her to walk home while he carried her Mother's body back.