Sarai surveyed the party, and was pleased. She had wondered if things would be different from her own wedding almost thirty years ago now. Oh Ian, if only you'd been here today, she thought, how proud of your daughters you would have been! Magdalane, she was so beautiful in her robe, and her new husband, so handsome. Sarai was almost in tears again just thinking of it. Ian had looked at her like Felix had looked at her daughter, after all the roadblocks the council had thrown in their way, they'd made it. Sarai knew her other daughters thought Magdalane was the favorite, but really it was just that Sarai knew the burden and responsibility of force sensitivity and use, and Mags had scored off the charts even as young as three years old.
And yes, she was feeling guilty, thinking back to all the years she'd left Maura and Miriah to fend for themselves. Maura, she thought, it made her tough, gave her leadership skills, helped her become the soldier she was today. She saw Maura and her husband sitting together, Aric whispering to her, Maura looking into his eyes, stroking his cheek. Sarai had only known a few Cathar, but she truly liked Aric. Those were going to be beautiful babies in about four months, she smiled to herself. And they would have plenty of hands helping with them, since Maura's squad had become a surrogate family. Sarai supposed they would have had to be, since they really couldn't discuss what they did every day outside their unit.
She spotted Miriah then, dancing with her husband. I didn't think I'd like that hair, she thought of Corso, but it suits him. The girls at the temple deemed him "hot", but she didn't think he was aware of his looks. Miriah looked like a girl herself, her small stature belying an inner giant. That one, Sarai thought, has been so hard to watch grow up. She reminded Sarai so much of her late husband, the black hair and silver eyes, her easy laugh- and since she'd become well known to Republic forces, the confident, hardass smuggler who would take on anyone and refuse to back down. She had Ian's personality, and that made it hard to get close to her once she'd decided her mother didn't want her. Sarai sighed, knowing that was her own fault too. She watched as they walked back to their table, sat with Maura and Aric. Corso lifted a bite of cake to her and she took it, licking the icing off his hand. As he blushed and the others laughed, she realized Miriah had chosen well.
Sarai saw Mina walk up to the table and marveled at the similarities between Miriah and Mina. They'd practically grown up together, teaming up to torment poor Obomonus. Obo and Magdalane had gotten along well, both in Jedi training, but they weren't as close as Mina and Miriah. Those two, she thought, were a force unto themselves together. She remembered one incident, they'd convinced Obo that his favorite pod racer was going to be at an event on Tython, and he'd skipped a training class to go, only to find he'd been duped. They'd both gotten in trouble over that, but it just made them choose their pranks more carefully. Now, she'd heard that Mina was following in Miriah's footsteps. Ian, she thought, watch after them, you're probably the only one who can.
Magdalane saw her mom sitting there, a vague smile on her face, watching the party go on around her. She walked over and knelt beside Sarai's char. "Mom, why are you here by yourself? Come, sit with us before we leave. Is everything okay?"
"Oh, dear girl," she said, "everything is fine. I was just thinking of how proud your dad would have been to see you today, and your sisters." As she walked back to the party, she looked up, and she would have sworn the stars sparkled a little brighter.