Prologue

The Black night sky covered the surface of the moon of Endor. The only visible light came from the burning trees and villages. A little girl, no more than five, ran through the woods and did not dare to stop. Though her bare feet were bruised and bleeding, and her legs were throbbing, she dared not stop. She ran from the burning village that was her home. She ran from the soldiers that laid waste and burned it to the ground. She ran from the dark, red bladed warriors who killed her parents. She ran because it was the last thing her mother told her to do. That's all she could hear running through her mind "RUN ALADA! TAKE YOUR BROTHER AND RUN!" She had obeyed her mother and ran through the burning village with her three years old brother, holding her hand, following behind her. But he did not make it to the forest with her. A tree branch fell between them and broke a hole in the floor. He fell through the wooden beams into the flames below. The memories brought tears to her eyes, they blurred her vision as she ran. She didn't see the exposed tree root in front of her...She tripped on it and fell face first into the dirt below her. Little Alada just laid there, too exhausted to move. Her small body just could not take any more running. After all, she had been running for fifteen minutes straight now. All she could do now was lay there and sob, her mind filled with the painful memories of what had happened that evening.

As the ashes fell down like snow, the young girl laid weeping. She remembered the soft grass she used to lay in, under the tree hut she lived in. Now all she felt was the sharp twigs poking at her face and sides. She remembered her friends, the Ewok children from the village, and all the games they used to play. Now she was alone. The memory of her family came up in her mind, how her father would hold her in his strong and comforting arms. How she longed for them now. Her mother would nurse her wounds whenever she fell down and scraped her knee or elbow. Now she lay there with scratches and cuts on her face and arms, with no one to tend to them. Her little brother, Jredair, She was supposed to protect him, be his strong older sister. But now he is gone and there was nothing she could do to help him. Helplessness fell upon her, confusion and despair swept over her. She was alone and there was no one who could help her. Her father used to tell her stories of great heroes called the Jedi, warriors of the light and keepers of peace. She remembered the last line of their code that her father taught her, "there is no death, there is only the Force" she was did not know exactly what they meant but they brought her some comfort. Just then she heard a voice like her father's in the back of her head say "The Force will be with you, always". PAPA! She yelled, rising to her feet and looking frantically for him, but alas he was nowhere to be seen. He died right in front of her, there was no way he could still be alive. She looked behind her to see how much ground she had covered. Her eyes were still somewhat blurry from all the crying she just did. She rubbed her eyes to wipe the tears away, which cleared things up. However what she saw made her tremble in fear, the soldiers from the village were searching the forest with flashlights in their hands. She was far away enough that they would not be able to see her just yet, but if she stayed there any longer they would soon find her. She backed away slowly as not to catch their attention. She moved slowly away from them until she thought she was out of hearing distance from them, then she bolted it, using whatever energy she had left. She started to slow down a little bit and transitioned into a light walk. Looking behind her she could not see the soldiers, but she kept on moving just to be sure. She did not want to bump into any more of them. She walked through the dense forest, it had once been green and lush, but was now gray with ash. She could other villages burning of in the distance, for hers had not been the only one attacked that night. It seemed like the entire moon had been laid to waste a burned to the ground. She avoided any fires as she knew that is where the soldiers would be. She was forced to go deeper into the dark woods. The only light coming from the remains of the Death Star. The sun reflected light off its debris like it was a little moon for Endor. It's parts were scattered across the sky, but they gave almost as much light as a full moon, or that is what her parents had told her. She had never been to any other planets before and had yet to have seen a full moon in the sky for herself. The small light showed her a small dirt road that she decided to follow. As she walked it reminded her of all the adventures she would have with her friends, or the long hikes she would take with her family. Tears started to well back up, but she had to fight them, she could not afford to be distracted, or have her vision blocked. She needed to stay focused in order to stay alive. The road had led her to a small cave hidden inside a large hill, and just in time, she was starting to get cold in the night air. She made her way over to the cave and had a look inside. It was very small, almost like it had once been a borrow for an animal that had been dug out. However there did not appear to be any animals inside, in fact it looked abandoned. She climbed in, the cave resided at the base of the hill so she did not have to climb very high to get into it. She found a spot on the ground that was not too wet or hard, and she laid down. But it would be awhile before she could fall asleep. Thoughts filled her head of what could happen to her if she closed her eyes. She could get eaten by a wild animal, she could be found by the soldiers and be shot. She never exactly been afraid of the dark, but more afraid of what could be waiting in it. Her mother used to sing her a song when she was scared, it would always help her fall asleep. /span/p

"Sleep my dear child, sleep for all is well

Sleep my dear child for a story i shall tell

My dear baby you shall see, that the Darkness fears the Light

For the Light is ever present, because the light comes through life

And Life is ever present, though darkness fills the night

And Darkness can not harm the light, for the light shines so bright"

Alada sang it to herself over and over again and even though it gave her some comfort it brought back the memories of her mother and how she would never see her again. She continued to sing it softly to herself as exhaustion and drowsiness swept over her, and she could not hold her eyes open any longer. And after a while she was sound asleep.