Part One

Estel

The pain was somewhat… abstract, at first. Almost as though, if he refused to pull himself further towards consciousness, if he just refused to open his eyes, it would diminish and let him sleep in peace once more.

Well that wasn't right. His unfortunately awakening mind was beginning to note some inconsistencies with the situation, and he had the feeling that when he finally opened his eyes, he would note several more. Jacen was no stranger to pain, had learned to accept it… and for those times when it was too much, he had the Force to help ease it.

Today though, the Force didn't seem particularly inclined to help him, even as he felt it flowing through his body. The pain was sharp and intense, and as his awareness heightened, it became more concentrated in specific areas- his left shoulder, the right side of his head, the whole right side of his body felt like his ribs were on fire. He groaned.

A soft, hesitant voice broke through his pain-filled reverie. "He's waking up…"

"Quickly then." That voice was gruffer, male and rough.

"But shouldn't we-"

"It'll only be harder when he's conscious. Hold him."

That doesn't sound good. Gentle but firm hands pressed against his right shoulder, the uninjured one, as a practiced hand slid underneath his pained left one. A premonition of pain made him force his eyes open at the same moment that a sickening pop accompanied a strange sensation in his left arm- a sensation that quickly, after a deceptive moment of stunned numbness, gave way to whole new levels of paralyzing pain.

"Ahhh…"

The gruff voice was back, speaking distractedly as the hands probed at his shoulder. "Better when you don't see it coming, son." The hands disappeared and moments later, a sharp sting in his arm quickly gave way to a steady dulling of the pain all over his body. "That should last him through the night," gruff-voice informed gentle-hands on his right side. "I'll leave you some pills for the next few days. When he's upright, you should wrap the shoulder tightly. If there are any complications, send for me or Mryssa; otherwise, I'll be back in three days, in the morning."

"Thank you, Healer Pollor." There was some rummaging, but Jacen couldn't bring himself to open his eyes again right away- the last time had been accompanied by severe unpleasantness, and blind ignorance seemed highly preferable at the moment. Heavy footsteps echoed in his ears, then the closing of a creaking door… and then softer steps came towards him again, and he steeled himself for further pain- and was pleasantly surprised when, instead, those gentle hands began carefully cleaning what had to be a wound on the side of his head with a damp cloth.

Deciding to brave visual awareness once more, he carefully cracked his eyes open… and found himself in an anticlimactically dimly-lit room that offered little clue as to where he was or what had happened to him. To his surprise, however, he did not seem to be in any sort of medical facility. The room was rustic and simple, sparsely decorated without being barren. Almost… primitive though, in its simplicity.

"You're awake." He focused his gaze upwards and was mildly taken aback by the beaming face, the bright eyes that shone in the soft light- light that bounced and shimmered against golden hair that hung straight and sleek over the shoulders of the young woman who was watching him with earnest concern. The concern deepened with his silence though, and she frowned lightly. "Can you understand me?"

"Y-yes," he got out, voice catching in his dry throat. She quickly caught on to his discomfort and poured him a small cup of water from a pitcher on the table beside the bed. He reached up with his good arm but she simply held it to his lips and helped him take a few small sips. "Thank you," he managed. As she set the cup down again, he took a second look around him, noting the finer details now: small room, small bed- simple cover woven from some natural material, not the synthetic fibers he was used to, growing up on Coruscant. Everything was wood, though not of a sort he immediately recognized- wooden furniture, wood floors, wood walls and ceiling. Lastly, he noted the relative silence of his surroundings; not the sort of absolute silence imposed by a Coruscanti force-field, that kept the noise of speeder traffic from keeping residents up all night. But the sort of silence that was broken by the occasional whirring insect, or unfamiliar animal cry.

"You have a name?"

Jacen blinked back up at the girl, wondering how hard he had hit his head. His thoughts were jumbled and unfocused. "Sorry. I'm Jacen. Jacen Solo." She smiled, but seemed unfazed by his famous- or infamous- name. "Who, uh… who are you?"

"Aeryn Freeson." She studied his appearance. "Are you a city boy?"

"Ah…" he frowned. "Sort of?" He'd grown up on Coruscant, after all, even if he'd seen little of it since his days at the Yavin 4 academy.

Pursing her lips slightly, he got the distinct impression that his admission was not a high recommendation in her mind. "You look like it," she concluded. "You're too pale for the countryside."

That assertion led Jacen to make two more observations. First was that the girl- Aeryn- did indeed bear signs that suggested she spent a great deal of time outdoors, working in the sun. Second, as he lifted his arm to compare the paleness of his skin, was the realization that he wasn't wearing any clothing.

Feeling suddenly exposed, despite the thick blanket that covered him from the chest down, Jacen smiled tightly and crossed his good arm over the blanket, as though to prevent anyone from taking it. "So, ah- where am I?"

"About ten kilometers outside of Stelias."

Fighting the scowl- after all, Aeryn did seem to be taking care of him, for the moment- Jacen rephrased the question. "I mean, what planet are we on?"

She looked as confused as he felt for a long moment, and then she laughed softly and reached out to gently probe against a bandage just above his right temple. "Just how hard did you hit your head?" She grinned. "We may not be as fancy out here in the country, but you've certainly not left Estel altogether."

Estel? Never heard of it. "Right," he said slowly, trying to conjure up some image of how he had ended up here. Considering his idea of what, precisely, 'here' entailed was limited to countryside and ten kilometers outside of a city he'd never heard of… it wasn't easy-going. Maybe he just needed a nice, long healing trance to re-center himself and remember what had happened to him since leaving the homeworld of the Aing-Tii monks.

Maybe Aeryn was thinking the same thing. "You probably need some more rest," she stated decisively. "Try not to move that shoulder too much, I'll wrap it for you in the morning."

He smiled weakly. "Thanks. And, uh… Aeryn? Where are my clothes?"

"Oh," she shrugged apologetically, "they were pretty torn up, and Healor Pollor needed to wrap your bruised ribs. But I'll have them patched up for you tomorrow." She hesitated. "Are you cold?"

"No," he assured her. "Just a little banged up and confused." And exposed and vulnerable, he thought grumpily. Speaking of which… he glanced around the room, and looked at the table that held the water cup and pitcher- but couldn't find what he was looking for. "Actually, before you go- have you seen my lightsaber?"

For a moment, she was still, brow furrowed in consternation; and then her eyes widened and she scowled, eyes flashing, and she stomped angrily to the door. "Well," she muttered under her breath. "City boys are so crude!" And she slammed the door.

Head foggy, shoulder aching, ribs bruised, Jacen stared in forlorn confusion at the place where she'd just disappeared.

"What did I say?" he asked uselessly into the encompassing silence.

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