Chapter One: The Force Loves Irony

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of its characters, ideas, etc. George Lucas has all rights.

Listening to the music from Naboo in Episode II. It's so perfect for this chapter.
Here's a link:
http :// www . youtube . com / watch ?v=Rr – Esnaps JU
Remove the spaces before going to the link, of course.

Note: The main character's name is pronounced like "sea" and "elle" put together.

A female, purple twi'lek sits down beside the gushing waters of the Dantooine river, dipping her toes in the water and humming a soft melody. She doesn't notice the tall, pale man standing behind her and he does not notice her. He comes out of what appears to be a meditative trance and sees her, then walks towards her. Realizing that he has never seen her in the Jedi Enclave before, his paranoia kicks in as he looks at her. He stands about four meters away from her, on his guard, though he gives her a friendly greeting and strikes up a conversation.

"It's pretty, isn't it? I've always had a thing for nature."

"Oh! Hello." She smiles, surprised by his presence, though she recovers quickly, "Yes, it's… beautiful. I've always had a thing for nature, too."

There is a somewhat awkward pause as they stare at the river before them. After a minute, the man speaks again.

"I just arrived at the Enclave a few weeks ago and haven't had a chance to meet everyone yet. Are you new as well?"

The twi'lek wonders why he is standing so far away, but doesn't say anything about it, simply replying with a shy smile, "Oh yes, I'm quite new. I was just admitted yesterday, actually. I'm not so great at meeting new people..."

There is another awkward pause and she mistakenly thinks he is annoyed with her. She looks up at him. "Am I talking too much again?"

He grins and says, "Of course not. I'm worse, trust me."

"Well it's good to know I'm not the only one with a tendency to ramble around here." She replies, scratching her neck awkwardly.

Noticing the distance between the two of them he mumbles an apology, obviously embarrassed.

"I've been kind of paranoid lately." He says, attempting to explain himself. "Don't get me wrong, though; I wasn't implying any…thing…" His voice trails off at the end of the sentence and he shakes his head. "Never mind."

She chuckles, answering, "S'okay. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

He walks over to her and sits down next to her. "The Sith probably have every bounty hunter in this half of the galaxy after me by now, you know."

The man sees the fear on her face and quickly changes the subject, realizing saying that right as he sat down next to her probably wasn't the brightest idea.

"Ah, well, if you were admitted yesterday that would explain why I haven't seen you. Welcome to the Enclave. My name is Natan. You may already know who I am. I seem to be quite infamous around here. Don't ask why. I'd rather not get into it unless you're really interested.

"It's wonderful to meet you." She replies, concealing the small amount of fear she feels. She imagines she should be more cautious, but something about his presence makes her feel safe, contrary to what his reputation seemed to convey.

"The name's Ci'el. Normally, Natan, I would listen to your story, I'm just so tired from my journey here I might fall asleep any minute. I am interested, though. You'll have to tell it to me another time, okay?"

"Sure, if you're up for it." Natan replies, smiling, "Though I've got to warn you, it's a bit long. I could try to shorten it into a nutshell, I suppose. I'm interested in hearing yours as well. Everyone here seems to have their own unique story as to how they ended up here."

"That's alright... I enjoy listening to other people's stories. Yes, I've got a story of my own, though it's nothing too interesting. The classic female twi'lek's story... sold into slavery, gained my freedom, the works."

"Hmm. I think most Twi'lek females unfortunately share the same story as you. That's the worst kind of slavery, if you ask me. Don't they have any respect for women on Ryloth? It's unbelievable."

Ci'el looks down at her feet before answering him.

"No... No, they really don't have any respect for us, which is why, as horrible as my slavery was, I'm a little glad I was taken from my home world. It gave me the chance to go out and pursue the dreams I'd always had as a little girl, but didn't think I'd ever get to fulfill. And here I am, in the Jedi Enclave, about to start my training to become a Jedi."

"It's hard to believe that slavery still exists in the galaxy." He says, "I thought that the Republic Civil War had abolished it in the western sectors of the galaxy, but apparently it hasn't. I wish the Galactic senate would do something about it and intervene, but you know how politicians are. They're more interested in things that are blowing up than they are about the common wellbeing and good of the people."

"Hey, I can't say I blame 'em." She shrugs, "I like blowing things up just as much as the next person. Well… that's not true. I can blame them, but that's not the point. What I'm saying is I understand their fascination with explosions."

Ci'el laughs but after a moment she sighs and looks up at him with an odd look on her face and says, "I'm surprised you've gotten so much out of me; I don't usually talk about that time in my life."

She closes her eyes for a moment and Natan watches her silently, considering placing a hand on her shoulder, but instead he looks back towards the water, sensing she simply needs a minute. Ci'el lifts her eyes as he looks at the water. She looks down, then back up at Natan, and unconsciously leans forward, but quickly pulls herself back before he can notice.

He shakes his head, and then grins, thinking her eyes are still closed and unaware of her temporary close proximity. He mutters, "Sorry I'm complaining. I've had quite a bit on my mind lately. I'll have to work on that."

There is a comfortable pause before he returns to a previous subject.

"I haven't been here long myself. I was actually brought in here unconscious. It's good that you were admitted under normal circumstances." His grin grows as he continues to speak.

"Wait… did you say unconscious?" She looks at him worriedly, and then sighs. "I always get worked up when people tell me they were hurt or injured... even if they're sitting right in front of me, perfectly healthy."

"Unconscious... yeah..." He turns his face away, trying to hide his dumbfounded appearance, "That's going to be a hard one to explain. It also has to do with why the Sith probably have every bounty hunter in this half of the galaxy after me." He pauses for a moment, then continues, "Well, they won't get in here!"

He notices her concern for him and calms her, saying, "No worries, I'm alright now... I think. I have to use Force Sight in order to see, though."

She looks at him sadly, understanding that he dislikes being forced to use Force Sight. "Could you see before without Force Sight, or were you born blind? I can't imagine... losing my vision..."

Natan looks away and down at the water, replying, "No, I lost my eyesight the last time I was on Manaan. It was actually only a month ago. Don't ask how. Let's just say at least it went out with a bang." He chuckles sadly at the pun only he understands, and then continues with, "Unfortunately, I haven't gained it back since then, so this is the only way I can see. Though I have to say, using force sight makes everything very interesting colors, so maybe it's not a very big loss." He forces a slight smile, trying to be positive in a negative situation.

Ci'el gives him an empathetic smile, then stares at the water for a moment and begins to hum once more. He listens to her hum and lets out a small chuckle.

"You like singing, I take it? Have you got a voice for it?" he says, but realization strikes him and he says, "Sorry… I didn't disturb you, did I? It just hit me that you might have been trying to relax without realizing I was here."

"Oh, no, I enjoy the company. I was actually waiting for someone. He should probably be here any minute, actually. Anyway, yes, I adore singing. I can be rather shy about it, though. They tell me I'm an excellent singer, but I've always been unsure. Back in my entertaining days, I was both a singer and a dancer."

"Entertaining days as a singer and dancer, eh? I think the majority of Twi'lek females do that. Where I lived on Corellia there were quite a few of you all there, so I got to know some pretty well, though, unfortunately, the people they worked for were usually up to no good."

Natan pauses and looks at her, seeing her look away to hide the pained look on her face and absentmindedly playing with her lekku. He decides not to continue, keeping her happiness in mind. He wants to ask her about her lekku, unsure of what they are, but thinks better of it.

A tan, muscular twi'lek walks towards the riverbank as they speak, looking for Ci'el, but stops walking when he sees Natan. Nevertheless, he approaches her and speaks.

"Hi, Ci'el! You haven't been waiting long, I hope." He nods in greeting to Natan and sits down beside Ci'el. Natan nods in return.

"Oh, hello, Rand." Ci'el replies. She hesitantly, albeit lightly, kisses Rand's cheek as he sits down. He is a little caught off guard but pleasantly surprised by the kiss.

Natan watches and lifts his left eyebrow as Ci'el kisses his cheek. Fortunately for Rand, he gathers that they are on date. "Ah, I see." He says, more to himself than to them.

"I haven't been waiting too long. Natan here was nice enough to keep me occupied." Ci'el tells Rand.

She smiles up at Natan as she speaks, then looks at Rand awkwardly, then back at Natan. Rand had intended for their outing to be a date, though she had no intention of informing Natan of that fact. They had just become friends, after all. Telling him to scram because she had other plans would be a surefire way of making him dislike her. A small part of her didn't want him to leave, anyway. He's a nice… friend, after all.

"Well, don't worry." Natan says, perceptive enough to know when he should leave, "I have to go do some work at the Enclave anyways, so I'll leave the two of you alone."

As he stands, Ci'el notices just how big he is, standing at least six and a half feet tall, and even more muscular than Rand. His curly, brown hair is blown about by the wind.

"Take care." He says to Ci'el, a kind expression on his face. "It was nice meeting you. The planet is small, and so is the Enclave, so I'm sure we'll see each other again." He smiles and bows slightly, then begins to walk away toward the Enclave courtyard. She reaches an arm out towards Natan as he stands up, but stops just as her fingers brush his arm. As he stands up he feels her fingers. He stops and thinks a second, looking at his arm.

"Well, if I do see you again, and I hope I do," Ci'el says, attempting to distract him, "I'm going to make you give me a lesson on Force Sight whether you like it or not."

Natan gives her a huge grin, saying, "Well, we should talk more often then. It seems that we have much to talk about. We hit it off quite well today anyway." He looks at Rand as he says this, and Rand's eyes squint just slightly. He turns back to Ci'el, saying, "I'll tell you what. I'm going on a mission to retrieve my ship on Nar Shaddaa tomorrow and won't be back for a few days, but after I get back I'll give you a buzz, we'll meet up, and I'll gladly give you a few hints on how to use force sight. It'll be fun. Sound good?"

"I'll hold you to that, you know." She answers, smiling, "To meeting me once you get back, and to giving me the lessons, I mean. See you soon."

Ci'el smiles and winks at him and he grins in return. She bites her lip as he walks toward the Enclave courtyard, stopping herself from asking him to stay.

Rand, happy that they are finally alone, kisses her cheek in return for the kiss she gave him earlier. She smiles, though she seems distracted. He offers Ci'el a sip of the Corellian ale he brought with him from the nearby cantina for their picnic.

"Oh, thank you. I don't usually drink that much, though." She takes a sip to be polite.

"So, how have you been?" he says.

"I've been… good…" she answers, obviously still distracted. Rand makes several attempts to have a conversation with her but she is absentminded, the man with the pale skin and the white eyes ever occupying her mind.

Awkward turtle all over the place in this chapter, huh?

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