CHAPTER EIGHT – THE HEIR AND THE SPARE
SIERRA
I know better than to whine when Tandin finally decides I've had enough physical training for the day. It seems as if he knows that if I have energy to vocalize, he'll send me on another run down some long, winding trail. I only ran the circuit once before I found and decided to use the shortcut.
"The shortcut" is basically a tiny footpath that cuts straight through the circuit, pretty much cutting its distance in half. I hide in the jungle until enough time has passed, and then I get back on the main trail.
If Tandin knew about it he'd run the drills right next to me. But I'm not Mina Bonteri's daughter for nothing. By the time I emerged, Tandin didn't bat an eyelash.
On the way home, Tandin's comm rings.
"Sierra, who is it?"
I check the caller ID. "It's Steela."
Tandin grabs the comlink from my and answers it. "Hello, Steela."
"General Tandin, you're never going to believe what happened!" Steela half-squeals. "Bastian proposed!"
What?
I grab my own comlink out of my pocket and check the notifications. Four missed comms from Hero, and then a message. I check the message.
Sierra, why aren't you answering your comlink? Hutch found a diamond ring on Bastian's credit card report! Call me back ASAP!
Uh-oh.
"That's wonderful," Tandin says to Steela. "Have you two set a date?"
"Yes! We're going to have the wedding in two weeks. Saw and Hutch should be back from their hunting trip by then."
Tandin's eyes widen. "Two weeks?"
"Yes. We found the greatest wedding dress and there aren't many alterations, so that's not an issue because the seamstress said she can do it if she puts it as a rush order. And then Bastian managed to get the Unifar Temple booked. It was so easy, everything just fell into place."
Or everything had been planned beforehand, I think, by someone who decided hypnosis is a good way to get married.
But I don't have to say anything. Tandin has his head squarely on his shoulders. "Steela, I think you need to cool down and take a step back."
Steela sounds hurt. "Y-you don't want to come? You're not happy for us?"
"No, I'm very happy for you." Tandin recovers. "But I think you are rushing headlong into this. How long have you known Bastian?"
"We've been dating for a month. But -."
"Steela, you are a very intelligent young woman." Tandin says evenly. Steela wouldn't even know that his face is twisted in a mask of shock and worry. "One month is far too short to truly get to know someone else. You need to have a long engagement, at the very least."
"Why would we need a long engagement?"
Tandin sighs. "Steela, what is Bastian's middle name?"
"Joseph."
"What is his best friend's name?"
"Griff."
"Favorite food?"
"Chocolate, I think."
The tone in Tandin's voice signals me that his foot is about to come down. "Steela, you barely know him. What if after you marry him, he turns out to be a horrible husband? What if he and Saw don't like each other?"
"Saw likes him just fine." Steela argues. "In fact, Saw and Hutch are going on a hunting trip tomorrow with two of Bastian's friends. One of them is in Sierra's class, I think his name's Ean."
I cringe.
Since Tandin let him in the house, Ean Gould has gotten progressively weirder around me. Yesterday at school, he appeared at my locker.
"Hi, Sierra. Do you want some help with your books?" he asked, rubbing a hand through his hair.
I blinked. "Uh, I've already got them. Thanks though."
"Any time! Um…did you have any ideas for our project? Because I did a bunch of research at home yesterday. Do you want to talk about it at lunch?"
"I don't think we have the same lunch period."
"Oh, right." He perked right back up. "We can talk about it in class and maybe get together after school. That would be good. I'm going on a hunting trip in a few days, so it would have to be today or tomorrow."
Thank goodness I used my lunch period to work on the project and somehow managed to get it done.
Tandin barely pays me any attention "Steela, you need to take a breath and calm down…no, I don't mean that, of course I don't mean that…why don't you give Ahsoka a call and talk to her about it? She's very wise... Oh, she didn't pick up? Well, why don't you try again?"
He goes into the kitchen to keep talking with Steela while I sit down in the living room and call Hero.
She picks up on the first ring. "It's about time!"
"Tandin had me out in the jungle." I defend myself. "Bastian proposed?"
Hero swears. "Yeah, did you hear the wedding's in two weeks?"
"Tandin's trying to talk Steela out of it right now but from what I hear, she's not budging."
"Even Hutch thinks something's off." Hero worries. "He doesn't believe the hypnosis story, but he knows something's going on."
"Did you find the bell?"
"No, Hutch found the ring on the credit card report before I could do anything, and once we realized what it was all we cared about was stopping the proposal. But Saw didn't listen to us when we told him to take Steela home right away."
"That's going to be a problem." If we can't convince Saw of the story, then Steela might as well have already said "I do". "Where is he right now?"
"Probably with Hutch, packing for the hunting trip they're going on tomorrow." Hero says with distaste.
"This isn't going to work. We need more allies. We need…" an idea forms in my mind. "Ahsoka!"
"Ahsoka? How do you propose getting Ahsoka to Onderon?" Hero cries.
"Well last the HoloNet news said, she's on leave. So all we need to go is go pick her up."
"One problem, Sierra: getting to Coruscant costs money. I don't have any; all my tips are going toward my electric bill!"
"Money's not a problem. After Lux," I gulp, "died, I became the heir to House Bonteri. I should be able to access the funds."
"...Oh my God!"
"What?"
Hero's voice rises in panic. "Sierra, you're the youngest! You didn't inherit your family's holdings until after your brother died."
I bite my lip. "Yeah? So?"
"So is Steela!"
I pause, letting her words sink in. Steela's what?
And then it hits me: Steela is two years younger than Saw.
"If Bastian marries Steela then he has access to all her holdings, but the only way for a younger sibling to gain access to the family's house is…"
"If Saw dies." Hero finishes. "And he's planning on going out into the jungle on a hunting trip with two of Bastian's lackeys."
Everything that can happen to you in the jungle starts to stack up before my eyes. You can be eaten by wild beasts, fall off a Ruping or Daglo, get lost and die of dehydration, fall off a cliff or into a hole, get shot in the back by one of your companions…
"Sierra, is there a clock near you? What time is it?"
I look at the clock. "It's almost seven."
"Oh God, they left already!"
I'm already running toward the computer, trying to remember my parents' bank account number.
"Hang up and buy tickets to Coruscant!" Hero orders. "I'm going to call Hutch!"
I boot up the computer and pull up the travel agency's website. Hero and I can hitch a ride on a transport, and from there we can try to hunt down Ahsoka.
There's just one problem: for me to access my money, I need an adult's approval. Hero will not work. There's no way Tandin will come with me, so that leaves me with one last option.
I pick up the comlink yet again.
"Nana, have you ever wanted to go to Coruscant?"
"You bet your bottom dollar I have, but your grandfather would never take me!" Nana announces. "He said it was noisy enough in Iziz and that was all he needed. And after he died, Gregory wouldn't take me either."
The idea solidifies. "So, do you want to go to Coruscant, like, today?"
PADME
"Anakin, what is this?"
"What is what?"
I hold up the piece of flimsi. "You know what I'm talking about, Anakin. What is this? Why do the Soul Healers need a permission note?"
Anakin grimaces. "Padme, you and I both know that Ahsoka isn't getting any better. It's been some months since her friend died; she needs to move on."
I start to read the flimsi. "Anakin, you wouldn't."
"I know it sounds questionable, but it's the best option for her in the long run."
I crumple the sheets. "Electroconvulsive therapy? Which could end up erasing her memories of Lux?"
Anakin nods sadly.
"Anakin, that's heinous!" I shout. "That's dishonoring the friendship those two shared. It's the ultimate disrespect to his family, to Ahsoka! You're going to allow the Soul Healers to remove pieces of her mind?"
"Padme…"
I pull out the oldest trick in the book: trap your opponent between a rock and a hard place. "If something happened to me, would you want them to do this to you? Use electricity to erase your memories of me?" I demand.
Anakin responds just like I thought he would. "No, of course not. But -."
"But nothing. It's your job to support and protect Ahsoka through this dark time, not cause her more damage."
"The Council is getting suspicious." Anakin says. "This is affecting her performance. Padme, if we don't go through with this, they might take Ahsoka away from me and do it to her."
"If you won't protect her, I will." I growl. "Ahsoka is staying with me for a while. Tell the Council it's for extra security."
"Padme, listen."
"I don't care if you never liked him. I was a friend of his family, and I will not allow you to dishonor him and dishonor Ahsoka like this." I snap. "I'm going to pick Ahsoka up right now. If she doesn't know what I mean when I ask her about our trip to Raxus, then it's your head."
A/N: At least the girls and Padme caught on to this before it was too late. Unfortunately, Hutch isn't answering his comlink…
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Until next time,
Lux's Sister
