Market day was very busy. Many of Dantooine's locals came to Market Day to sell their goods and buying things. Marilee and Shadow stayed with Mari's brother Clay until the transport arrived with news. When the large transport freighter touched down on the grassy Dantooine the few hundred residents of Ecarg ran toward it to get news, leave the planet or greet friends and family coming back.
Mari and Shadow moved toward the freighter with the rest of the crowd and found an attendant who was not yet being spoken too.
They made their way over to him and Mari said, "Hello sir, we seek some information about Coruscant, the core worlds and the war." Mari was feeling so much better now, having talked to Shadow and spent a day catching up with her brother. Mari and Clay were now great friends and loved each other very much. They found they had a lot in common too.
"The War is over;" the attendant said simply, "the Jedi betrayed the Republic and were destroyed. Chancellor Palpatine is now the Emperor of the Galaxy. The Emperor took on Darth Vader as his new lackey." Mari's jaw practically hit the ground in absolute shock.
"Did you say that the War was over? The Clone Wars? And, Empire, Emperor?" She was so confused. So was Shadow. They needed better information. This man seemed like he could care less about politics and the fate of the galaxy. Instead he seemed more interested in getting his next meal. The man walked away rudely leaving Mari's questions unanswered.
Shadow had a mixture of feelings. If the war was over, that meant he didn't have to fight anymore and could leave the Army. But Empire, what was that? And who was Darth Vader? The Sith weren't real, were they?
….
Still unable to uncover enough information of the happenings of the core worlds, Mari and Shadow began the long trek back to Mari's mother's house. Clay promised to visit soon, as soon as he was able to get his girlfriend to cover the restaurant for him. Halfway back to the house, Mari and Shadow took a short break to eat a mid-day meal. When they both were ready to keep moving toward the house, Mari and Shadow got up and packed their things.
Then, Shadow surprised Mari by getting down on one knee. He pulled a small gold ring from his pocket and said to Mari, taking her hand.
"Marilee Sunstar, you are the love of my life. We have been through so much together. I knew ever since that day back on Kamino that we were meant to be. Will…..will you marry me?" Mari's face flew from pure joy to surprise, excitement, to shock. Her eyes brimming with tears, she answered him.
"Oh my gods, Shadow….Yes. Yes I will marry you!" As he stood up and placed the ring on her finger, she flung her arms around his neck and began to cry happy tears. The two of them practically ran back to Mari's mom's home excited to share their news.
….
Bursting into the small home, Mari squealed in excitement.
"Mom!" she called out. "Mom, we're home! Mom, Guess what?" Marlinda came in to the living room where the happy couple was standing, just home.
"What, what is it my child?" Mari thrust out her left hand, somewhat gently, seeing it was still injured to some extent. Upon seeing the slender golden ring on her finger, Marlinda's face broke into a genuine smile.
"He Propsed?" She nearly screamed, "I can't believe it!" Marilee was at such a loss for words, all she could do was beam raidiantly and nod her head enthusiastically.
"Congratulations to both of you! Oh, we have to plan the wedding, and the food and the guests and everything!"
Mari laughed and said, "Slow down Mother, we can wait a while!"
Marlinda nodded and said abruptly "You must be hungry, come, come, we must eat." After a filling dinner, the newly engaged couple went down the short hallway to speak in private.
….
"Aren't you happy, Mari?" Shadow asked.
"Of course!" Mari said confidently, "It's just that….I don't know what we will do, my dreams…..I don't want them to come true. Especially if we are to be married and start a family." Shadow nodded and agreed heartily.
"I know. But we shouldn't let that stop us from following our destinies. I believe that we are destined to be together, and nothing, not even some….mechanical monster, as you put it, will pull that apart. We are not going to let some vision push our love away, will we?" Mari shook her head sullenly and locked her eyes on his.
"No," she said, "We will not. I love you, no matter what happens." They embraced and kissed, Mari's body relaxed, being held in Shadow's arms. They both knew that getting married would be a big risk, but at this point in time, it would be a risk they would to take. When they finally let go of the kiss, they continued to stay in each other's arms. Nothing, no dreams, no injuries, no monsters would ever tear them apart. Their love was stronger than that. They would make it through. It was meant to be. After a while, the two of them let go and decided to get some rest. After all, tomorrow would be busy. They had a wedding to plan.
….
"But why do you have to leave?" Maryanna Sorun complained to her boyfriend Clay.
"My sister and her boyfriend wanted to visit with me," Clay replied. "At home. I haven't been home in ages, my mother only sees me on Market Day, Maryanna can't you just watch…"
Maryanna's blue eyes flickered, she sighed and said, "Ok Clayie, I'll watch the shop for you. But only for one day understand?"
Clay smiled at his girlfriend, kissed her cheek and said, "Thanks Annie, I owe 'ya one!" He stood up from the table that the two were sitting at, cleared the dishes into the bust-droid, grabbed Maryanna's hand and lifted her from the booth like a true gentleman.
She smiled blissfully as he kissed her hand. After taking Maryanna home to her parents and siblings, Clay returned home to pack all of his things. He had a long walk ahead of him.
….
Clay sighed as he walked the long and tedious route to his mother's home. It would be another three hours before he even came into sight of his mom's home so he stopped to take a break from the walking and eat a snack. Clay smiled to himself, around this time; Maryanna would be opening the shop.
He wasn't worried. His shop would be in good hands, Maryanna was very good at keeping her word. Maryanna Sorun was a beautiful, happy and athletic girl with a great personality. She had short wavy auburn hair with blue eyes.
She was perfect for him, practical, smart, funny, and even slightly sarcastic. He loved her so much and could spend the rest of his life with her. Maybe, someday…. Clay stood up, brushed off his pants and began on the long trek to his mom's house.
…
Clay arrived at his mom's home just after midday. He was met with extreme excitement from Mari and Shadow who exclaimed that they were to be married, soon. Clay was so thrilled for them. Even though he only met his big sister a week and a half ago, but he felt so happy and lucky to get to know her. As Clay set down his things and got something to eat and drink, Mari sat down on the chair next to him.
"What?" Clay asked, seeing how Mari was staring at him.
"Hmm? Oh nothing, just thinking." Mari answered.
"Bout what?" asked Clay his mouth full of bread and curious to know what his sister was thinking about.
"You. I'm still so excited to have a little brother," Mari said, grinning at him.
"Oh," Clay said, "I'm excited too Mari, I never thought I would get to meet you."
He gazed into her eyes and then said, "Wow, You look so much like Mom." Mari smiled and laughed shortly, "I would say that I've heard that before, but I haven't."
Clay laughed too and said, "You know, she was so sad for years and years since giving you up. She wanted the best for you but didn't want to let you go. She was like that for as long as I remember." Clay gripped the mug he was holding tightly and said, "I remember one time I asked a question about the little holo of the baby in the family room and she got so upset she only said "Your sister" and teared up. I never asked again."
Mari nodded. "I wasn't allowed to ask questions at the Temple. We were always told not to question. I never knew where I came from, why I was there, who my family was…I didn't understand why I couldn't know these things." She picked up the warm mug in front of her and took a sip.
Mari glanced out the little window and grinned, Shadow was having a hard time rounding up some shaaks for her mom. It was quite amusing, watching him. He rounded up three shaaks only to have two of them run away. Then he tripped and fell and landed in a bale of hay. Mari snickered under her breath watching. Her mother then came and helped her soon to be son in law up.
Mari returned her gaze to Clay and asked him abruptly, "Clay, have you ever felt things before they happened?" Clay, startled by this question replied, "What, why, what do you mean?" Realizing how nervous this made her brother, she dug deep into his soul with the Force.
"You know what I mean" she said knowingly. Clay looked upset, reluctant and then he nodded.
"Yes, I-I have. More than once. One time a bunch of Grauls were coming to attack the shaaks in the middle of the night and I dreamt they did before it happened. I woke up and shot those monsters before they even touched my mom's herd. I also dreamt that a ship would crash in the fields, way out there." He pointed in the direction that Mari and Shadow came in from on their first time on Dantooine.
"That was my ship." Mari breathed. "Clay, you sensed I was coming! You are Force-Sensitive!"
Clay looked up and said, "You mean I could be a Jedi?" Mari nodded and got very excited very quickly.
"Yes! You have a lot of potential and I could teach you, you would be my Padawan and it would be amazing!" Clay looked up again and said, "Oh, and Maryanna has dreams too. Only hers aren't about shaaks and family members. She has dreamt of other worlds, of the war, and stuff happening on the core worlds."
Marilee looked confused and asked "Who is Maryanna?" Clay smiled warmly and blushed.
"My girlfriend. She is watching the restaurant for me."
Mari lifted one eyebrow and said, "Awwww, you have a girlfriend! How sweet. Maybe she is Force-Sensitive too. I could train both of you, and Shadow, and if we were to have children them too." Mari stopped herself and said, "Now, now, I'm getting way ahead of myself. Clay, you will definitely have to introduce me to this girlfriend of yours"
He smiled, "All right Mari, I will, maybe you can come back to town with me tomorrow." "Shadow too?" she questioned.
"Well, that depends on what Shadow wants to do. But he is definitely welcome to come." Clay smiled at his sister. Marilee winked back.
….
It was decided that Mari and Clay would return to town the next day and that Shadow would stay with Mrs. Sunstar to help around the farm. Shadow would come in three days to visit Mari and Clay and then Mari and Shadow would return to Mrs. Sunstar's home to prepare for their wedding.
As Clay and Mari walked the long hike back to the town, Marilee ran and walked quickly, encouraging her brother to keep up. Clay didn't realize it at the time, but she was testing his Force-Sensitivity. A Jedi could walk, run, and jump for hours before even getting tired. Mari had been through proper training and this exercise was easy for her.
Clay did surprisingly well; he hardly broke a sweat for the first few hours of walking. Mari recited Jedi Lore for him and explained about the Order. She repeated entire lessons and explained their meanings. She said that if she could change one thing about the Jedi Order it would be the inability to form attachments. She was going to get married after all, and Clay had a girlfriend.
"That was why it was forbidden to know our families. We weren't supposed to become attached to them. One very rare case, a friend of mine, Anakin Skywalker, knew his mother for nine years before becoming a Jedi, and then there were rumors that after his mother died, he took is anger out on a bunch of Tusken Raiders from the planet Tatooine. He made two mistakes, going after his mother who he wasn't even supposed to know, and giving into his anger."
Clay nodded thoughtfully and said, "So having so much love for something can sometimes make you do things you aren't supposed to do, right?" Mari smiled; her brother was a fast learner.
"Exactly, but if you can balance the two, you can have peace, harmony, and love at the same time."
"Oh, so you mean, if I understand that death is a part of life, then I wouldn't go to the Dark Side if you, mom, or Maryanna died?" Whoa, this kid got it. No wonder, he was her brother after all.
"Yes, all the people close to you. A friend, a pet, a place, if you can balance compassion and love with the Force, you can be at peace." Clay nodded and didn't ask any more questions for a while.
Eventually he said, "Are you still a Jedi even though you are getting married?" Mari thought for a moment and replied.
"Yes. The Jedi are masters of the Force and have the ability to use the Force to do things normal beings can't. Just because I am getting married doesn't mean that I am abandoning the Jedi Way all together." Clay nodded again and smiled at his big sister. He had a Jedi as his big sister. That was so amazing. Best part was that she was going to make him a Jedi too, and maybe even his girlfriend.
He looked down and remembered the bandages on his sister's arm and became curious. Mari and Shadow only told him that their ship crashed and they needed medical attention and that was why they were on Dantooine, but what had really happened, he wondered.
"Mari," Clay asked, "What happened to your arm?" Mari, startled by the question sighed and explained what had happened to her and Shadow.
"Our ship crashed. Way out in the middle of nowhere. There was no room in the escape pods for both of us and I refused to leave. Shadow was fine, but I was thrown against a wall and broke my arm. Then, something flew from the ship and cut my arm. It hurt like crazy. All I remember was screaming and then nearly passing out. Shadow picked me up and we ran away from the ship. Then it exploded." Clay looked sympathetic as his sister gingerly touched the wrap on her arm with a sad look in her eyes.
"Then," she said, "We saw way out in the distance what was our mom's house. We began to walk all the way there but after too long, my legs gave out. I passed out, probably from exhaustion, but we found out later that it's because my arm was already infected. The next day was terrible. I could barely breathe I was so ill. Shadow had to carry me most of the way to mom's house. It was….not good. Without Shadow or our Mom, I wouldn't be here right now."
Clay looked at her and said, "Weren't you afraid…..and didn't it hurt?"
Mari chuckled and said, "Jedi don't feel fear, or pain, but to me, I was sick and boy did it hurt."
Clay laughed and said, "Yeah, it must've." They were almost to town now and Clay turned to Mari and spoke to her.
"You know, as bad as that was, I'm glad it happened." "Why?" Mari asked. "Because, if you didn't need help or a medic, I wouldn't have gotten to meet my big sister." He smiled and gave Mari a hug.
….
Well how about that? We've got siblings, a new character, and a WEDDING! So, how was it? Did y'all like it? I very much like this chapter. XD It's fun. But, I think maybe this story is moving a tad bit too fast. :P Again, I wrote this AGES ago, nearly a year, and now reading/editing it again, I'm realizing that it's going really fast. But several action scenes are coming up next. I'm actually very nervous about the next few chapters. I'll have to see what y'all think. Pretty please review! :-)
P.S. the character of Maryanna is based off of my best friend, who was my one and only proofreader when I was writing this for the first time around. ;-)
