AUTHOR'S NOTE: As promised, here's the Star Wars fanfic I said I would post leading up to the first story of second 'volume' of the Silvan Elf. Work on the second volume is already underway with a familiar LOTR character making an appearance in the first story :)
"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." - Yoda
54 BBY
Anna sat underneath the biba tree in the sunshine. Her wondering violet eyes switched gazes quickly as if she was surrounded by predators. Dantooine was full of predators, but she didn't have to worry about them where she sat. She was close to her homestead where her mama was resting because of her pregnancy, and her papa was away on the other side of the planet to purchase enough supplies that would last them a couple weeks after the baby's birth.
The tall, emerald green grass tickled Anna's bare feet and gently bowed underneath the warm breeze. The air felt warm, always warm, with a slight hint of a cool touch accompanying it. Anna loved the way it embraced her face and rustled her ruby hair. All of these feelings though were like second nature to her. She barely even noticed the breeze and the view anymore. She was anxiously waiting for her papa to return. He had promised her before he left that he would bring her back something special.
Finally, Anna heard the engines of a ship flying overhead and slowing down to settle close by her home. She recognized it as her father's ship, sleek and ashen-colored. A buzzing excitement that had been rising within her throat finally shot the rest of the way up and exploded, sending her onto her feet. She ran towards the ship.
"Papa! Papa!" She shouted as she scurried. Her feet ran as fast as they could, until they finally stopped in front of the landing ramp which was already down, revealing her papa in the doorway. Her papa wrapped his arms around her as she tumbled against him with rabid joy. He laughed.
"Hi Anna, how's mama and the baby?" He asked.
"Mama and the baby are great!" Anna replied. Her papa laughed again and tussled his daughter's hair.
"Good. I brought you something," he said. Anna already knew about this, but when her papa told her again, it only made her grow more excited.
"What is it?" She begged. From the left breast of his jacket pocket, he pulled out a piece of juicy Jogan fruit. A purple delicacy that even had its own cake.
"A treat for you," he presented. Anna took the fruit and bit into it, allowing the sweet juice to dribble down her chin.
"Mmmm, this is the best, papa!" She complimented.
"I'm glad you think so Anna. Now be a good girl and help your papa take some stuff inside."
"Hang on, I'm not finished yet," Anna complained. She finished her Jogan fruit and helped her papa carry some of the lighter stuff into their home. Inside, Anna's momma was just finishing making stewed gwouch for supper. As she placed bowls on the table with one hand, she kept her other hand on her belly. She looked up and grinned upon seeing papa come in carrying a crate of goods.
"Look who's finally home," she remarked. Papa set down the crate and leaned in to kiss momma.
"Dinner smells good, I'm starving," he replied. They sat down and ate while Anna fired off one question after another to papa about the thing she loved learning about the most: the Jedi.
"What colors does a Jedi's lightsaber have, papa?" Anna asked. Papa grinned as he took a sip of water.
"Well, I've seen colors such as green, purple, yellow, and blue," he explained.
"What about red?" Anna asked.
"Well you see, a long, long time ago, Jedi fought bad guys who had red lightsabers. Only the bad guys had lightsabers that were red."
"Aw, red is my favorite color."
"I know, Anna."
"But that's okay, I like blue too," Anna squealed.
"So do I."
"I want to be a Jedi myself some day, and me and my new brother will be heroes together!"
"I know."
Dreadfully late into the night, the screams of a woman in labor ambushed the calm, quiet air of the papa's property on the farm, emanating from Anna's home. These screams were eventually followed by the confused cries of a new human entering into the galaxy. Anna's baby brother was born that night, and the family settled on naming him Adam.
Three days later, Anna held the small child in her arms staring down at him in glee. Now she had a baby brother, and when he grew up, him and her both can one day become Jedi themselves and be heroes. Anna settled on her lightsaber being blue and Adam's can be blue too if he wished.
"We're going to be the best Jedi ever someday, Adam," Anna whispered to him in excitement. Adam continued staring his tiny eyes up at his sister in wonder.
"It's feeding time for Adam," momma announced behind Anna.
"Aw, does it have to be already?" She protested.
"You want your brother to starve?" Momma asked in fake surprise. Anna giggled and gently handed the baby over to her momma.
"Of course not. Can I please go explore the enclave?" She asked. Her momma's eyes widened.
"Again?"
"Yes, and after that I will do it again and again and again," Anna vowed. Her momma laughed.
"Okay, go ahead. But be careful. Remember what we told you if you run into trouble."
"I will shriek as loud as I can," Anna responded. Satisfied, Anna's momma let her go. When Anna mentioned the 'enclave', she was referring to the remains of the Jedi Enclave not too far away from their home. The ruins of the enclave have been the same for thousands of years. Anna had never been able to learn what happened, but exploring a place where many Jedi used to be made her feel happy. She ran across the wheat fields, feeling a tiny ache in her leg. The ache had been a result of being stabbed there by a kinrath. A kinrath was a four-legged creature that had a poisonous appendage. Her papa had managed to extract the poison from her leg, but the experience for Anna was still the most painful she had ever experienced. She could still hear her screams and see the infected blood oozing out from the wound.
She finally saw the enclave. Despite it being a ruined structure, it still looked beautiful underneath the morning sun. A Brith, a large, flying creature with fin-like wings, flew over it. It silently cut through air, moving its wings as if it was swimming. Anna anxiously crossed the bridge and continued to look at the enclave in delight. She always came here every other day to admire it. The Jedi were her heroes, and there was nothing anybody could do to change her mind about them.
Just then, she heard a deep growl, and a prickle of fear itched up the back of her neck. She turned her head and faced a horned Kath hound looking straight at her. Like every horned Kath hound, it had two tusks and was slightly larger than normal hounds. Kath hounds normally wouldn't dare go near Anna's home because her papa was good at teaching them a lesson by shooting them in the head with a blaster pistol.
The horned hound was slowly inching towards her to tear her to pieces. Anna grinned and her violet eyes sparkled in determination. She raised her hand at the Kath hound and concentrated on forcing the hound to obey her. The hound stopped and its eyes focused on Anna's hand. Cautiously, Anna walked forward while keeping her hand up. She wanted to dance in excitement for her success. She was using what people called the Force to tame the animal. The Jedi used the Force, which made Anna feel more confident that she can one day be one.
Anna finally reached the hound and was able to stroke the hound's head without it lashing out at her. She smiled. She adored animals, even the savage ones because under her control, they were nice.
"There there girl," Anna whispered. When she had had enough, she used the Force to send the hound off so that it won't bother her. When the hound left, Anna felt an itching feeling to go back home. She wasn't sure why, but the feeling only grew stronger the more she stood where she was. She wanted to see Adam again and help her papa gather crops. Delighted at the idea, she skipped along across the bridge between the enclave and the fields and made her way back to her home. Nobody was outside, which meant her papa hadn't come out to gather yet. This made her more delighted because that meant that she can start when he did.
Anna got back into the house and immediately started searching for Adam. She looked in her parents' room where Adam's crib was. He wasn't there. Anna guessed that her momma had him. She found momma nibbling on a kibla green at the supper table. She looked sad. Papa was standing over her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Where's Adam?" Anna asked. Momma looked at her with concern etched into her features that looked to be permanently stuck there. She opened her mouth to speak but reluctance won over and shut her mouth back up. She glanced at Papa looking as though she desperately wanted his help.
"Where's Adam?" Anna asked again. Papa sighed and walked over to Anna and crouched down in front of her. He looked her straight in the eyes and said:
"Adam is not here right now."
Unease tickled Anna's throat.
"What do you mean? Where can I find him?"
"You can't. Your brother is gone."
Confusion blanketed the girl's face. "But he will be back right?"
"I don't know. We'll wait and see, and maybe you'll see him again, okay?"
Anna nodded. Relief flickered on. The thought of getting to see Adam again was enough for her to relax.
"When will he come back?" She asked. Papa shook his head.
"I don't know, it might be a while. Why don't you come out and help me gather the crops. That will take your mind off of Adam for now."
It didn't. Anna hardly helped her papa while they were outside. She kept staring off into the distance, hoping to see her brother return being held by whoever was watching over him.
On the following night, Anna continued to ask her papa and momma when Adam was coming back and where he was and if she can possibly go see him herself. Her momma and papa evaded the questions, continuing to tell her that her brother was safe and she would get to see him again one day. She didn't sleep all night. Confusion and worry turned to panic, and she asked her momma and papa once again during breakfast when she would see Adam again. Finally, her papa led her to her bedroom. He sat Anna down on her bed and then sat next to her.
"Anna, you're not going to see your brother for a very long time," he confessed. Anna frowned.
"What-what do you mean?" She asked.
"I mean he was taken by a Jedi master to be trained on Coruscant, and one day he will become a Jedi."
"A Jedi stole him?" Anna blurted out in horror. The Jedi were the good guys, this couldn't possibly be true.
"He didn't steal him away. We gave Adam to him. The Jedi sensed the Force within Adam and came here to find him. He says that Adam will become a great Jedi someday," Papa said.
"But what about me?" Anna asked. Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her soft, pale cheeks. Papa put an arm around her shoulder and held her close.
"We told the Jedi master that you loved the Jedi and you wanted to become one too, but when he found out how old you are, he said you were too old to be trained."
"I'm only ten."
"Well, he thought that was too old. The Jedi take people to be trained when they're infants. I'm very, very sorry baby girl," Papa apologized. Anna's eyes gazed at the ground while tears dropped and smacked the ground with a tiny plink.
"It's not fair," she moaned between tears. How could her favorite heroes take away Adam but not her? They also said that she can't be a Jedi!
Papa wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her against his chest and allowed her to sob. She cried out her brother's name over and over again. She thought that maybe if she did that enough times, Adam would return.
But he never did.