CHAPTER 13

REVELATIONS

Luke walked into his suite. He stopped as soon as he saw Callista rise from the couch. Slowly, deliberately, he turned and shut the suite door. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned back to face her.

"I think we need to talk," she said softly.

"Yes – we do," he agreed. "I hope you'll believe that I didn't want you to find out like this. I wanted to have a chance to tell you myself – to tell you why."

"Then tell me," she responded.

He motioned for her to sit down. She settled on the couch, Luke sat in one of the easy chairs. They looked at each other in silence for a long time.

"I know I've hurt you," he started finally. "That was never my intention."

"Just what are your intentions?" she asked evenly.

He sighed. "Callista, I want you to know that I love you."

She raised a questioning eyebrow but made no other comment.

"When I asked you to be with me, I never expected something like this to happen," he continued. "I didn't know about Amethyst. I had no idea we'd been pledged to each other. But from the first moment I saw her, I felt such a connection, a bond to her like I've never felt before, with anyone. I'm sorry ... not even with you."

"I don't understand. What do you mean you didn't know you were pledged to her?"

"It seems that her father, a Jedi, and my godfather decided we should be married."

She shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense. Jedi always pick their own mates. They may let the family make the arrangements if their culture has arranged marriages, but in order to insure the continuation of the Jedi, it's imperative for the Jedi to be responsible for selecting their own mates."

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. You went through complete training with a Master at a time when the Jedi were still powerful. I don't know anything about the Jedi traditions. But Leia told me that when they were children, Amethyst used to talk about the pendent that she always wore and how it was an espousal token."

"Wait a minute, when they were children?" she asked as she rose to her feet.

"Yes – why?" he asked also standing up.

"How old were you when this betrothal took place?"

"I don't know for sure. I think Leia said Amethyst is one or two years younger than we are. She was given the pendant when she was one day old."

Callista let out a gasp. She turned and walked out onto the balcony but not before Luke had seen the shocked expression on her face. Slowly Luke followed her outside. He stood in the evening darkness studying her.

"What is it?" he questioned.

She turned to look at him. "You have no idea, do you?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know if I can remember all of the traditions but I do know this ..." she walked back to him and took his hands in hers, "Amethyst is what's called A Bride of the Force. As far as I know, there hasn't been one for five or six centuries."

"A Bride of the Force? What does that mean?"

She gave a deep sigh, let go of his hands and moved away from him to lean against the railing, facing him. "According to the legends, a Bride is given when the souls of two powerful Jedi come into being at the same time, one male, one female. It's a way of preserving the strength and power of the Jedi."

"Tell me everything you know," he requested.

She nodded and then continued, "All right, but don't forget, I may not remember everything. When I was growing up, Force Brides were more legend than fact." She smiled faintly. "When we were little, we use to play about being Force Brides – like playing princess I suppose. One of the things I'm sure of is that you may feel connected to her but she is bound to you."

"I don't understand."

"She belongs to you – for whatever you want her for."

"I still don't get it."

"Okay: you can marry her, you can take her as a concubine, you can sell her, you can give her away – you can literally do anything you want with her. There is no law that has the right to interfere in this relationship."

"You mean I ... own her?"

"Yes."

"But, that doesn't make any sense."

"It does," she insisted. "You just have to understand what this means. A Force Bride is almost always made a wife. A few have been concubines. Only one or two Jedi have ever disposed of their Brides. The price they paid was the loss of their Houses."

"Why? And why would any woman agree to this ... this slavery?"

"There is compensation for the woman. If a Jedi is given a Force Bride, hers are the only children that will be Force strong. Since most knights want their heirs to be Jedi, they take the Force Bride as a wife. And since no other woman can have children strong in the Force, most men will not risk the destruction of their House by mistreating the woman."

She walked over to him again. With extremely sad eyes, she gently touched his cheek.

"I've never heard of this happening without both partners growing up knowing about each other," she said. "I know that you must be with her. You have to do whatever you think is right."

She walked past him and headed for the door.

"Wait, Cal," he hurried to catch her.

She turned slowly and faced him. "You know what really hurts the most?"

He shook his head.

"All the times you've asked me to stay with you ... all the times we've talked about children ... you never once asked me to marry you. I'm gone a few weeks and you move in another woman, start calling her your consort and everyone's already treating her like she's your wife." She stared at him for a long time. "Why, Luke?" she whispered.

He looked slight embarrassed. "I'm ... not sure."

"I never pressed it. I figured it had something to do with your father and what happened with him."

"Maybe ..." he admitted slowly.

She walked over to him. She stroked his arm.

"Luke ... we've been together a long time. We've tried." She sighed and her eyes filled with tears. "We've failed."

He took hold of her shoulders. "I owe you something. More than that, I love you. You came back from the dead to be with me – how can I possibly be expected to turn my back on you. I won't."

They stood looking into each other's eyes.

"I don't know what we're going to do, but we are going to work it out somehow," he promised.

Luke and Callista entered Leia's suite. Leia was sitting on the couch, her arms folded, looking angry.

"Where's Amethyst?" Luke asked.

"Her Imperial Majesty is on the balcony."

Luke and Callista exchanged an amused look and then Luke went out on the balcony.

Amethyst was standing looking over the balcony railing as the moonlight played on the flowers in the garden. At the sound of Luke's footstep, she turned around and smiled brightly.

Despite the turmoil he was feeling about Callista, he couldn't resist her obvious joy at seeing him. He smiled and opened his arms. She flung herself into them, hugging him tightly. They exchanged a long, loving kiss. The kiss ended but Luke continued to hold her tightly against him. He could feel her unbounded joy at being reunited with him.

"I take it this means I'm forgiven?" he questioned.

He felt her nod her head as it lay against his chest. His arms tightened in another hug. Then he took hold of her shoulders and held her at arms' length.

"There's something I have to tell you," he told her.

She regarded him solemnly and then nodded.

"You know?"

She nodded again and gestured toward the living area where Callista and Leia were waiting.

"Yes," he nodded. "Her name is Callista. I'd like to tell you about her."

Luke told Amethyst how he had encountered Callista's spirit in the Eye of Palpatine and how she had returned to be with him. Amethyst watched Luke's face as he told her about Callista. She studied him for a long moment after he finished speaking. Finally she took his hand and led him into the living area.

The first thing Han heard when he opened the door of his suite was Leia's angry voice.

"Luke, I cannot believe that you could actually ask that of Callista!" Leia exclaimed. "Of all the cold blooded, inhuman, cruel, brutish ..."

"It's all right, Leia," Callista said softly.

Leia swung around to stare at her in astonishment.

"Good evening, all," Han said as he closed the door and walked over to Leia.

He put his arm around her and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek.

"Doing battle, my love?" he quipped. "You always have such a lovely color when you're in the middle of a good fire fight."

"This isn't funny, Han," Leia told him. "You'll never believe what Luke wants Callista to do."

Han turned a quizzical look to Luke who shrugged.

"Amethyst can only write in a script C3PO has identified as the Classic Language of the High Jedi. Callista's been trained in the language. I asked Callista to read me some things that Amethyst's been writing."

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Han told Leia.

"You wouldn't!" his angry wife retorted.

Callista, who had been sitting on the couch, stood up. "Listen, this is my decision. Luke made it very plain that he'd understand if I refused. But I, for one, would like to know what Amethyst has to say."

Han and Leia returned to Luke's suite with Luke and the two women who had suddenly become a part of his life. Luke had invited Dr. Brenner to join them also. When everyone was seated comfortable, Amethyst handed Callista a datapad.

Callista read it to the waiting room, "I do not wish to do this."

Luke looked puzzled. "I don't understand. Why?"

"You have been restored to me," Callista read from the pad as Amethyst wrote. "I am very happy today. I do not wish to remember things that will make us sad."

Luke took hold of her hand. "But how can we help you if you don't co-operate?"

She stared at him with uncertainty for a moment and then she pulled her hands from his and wrote, "You are my Lord. I am bound to honor and obey you else I would not do this."

Luke sighed and looked around the room.

Leia gave him a look that plainly said, 'I told you so.' Han only shrugged. Callista reached out and touched his arm and nodded.

"Luke, you're right. Order her to do this."

"I can't order her to do something she doesn't want to do," Luke replied.

Callista smiled. "Yes, you can. Remember what I told you about the relationship between you two?"

Luke hesitated and then turned back to Amethyst. "That is not exactly the attitude I'd hoped you'd have, but if that's what's necessary to get the information: I insist you show Callista the things you've been writing."

Amethyst took a deep breath and reluctantly held out a number of tiles that fit into the datapad so they could be read. Callista sat on the couch, fitted the first one into the screen, scanned it and began to read.

"I had been arrested in order that the Emperor might learn where my father had hidden his histories. Both of my parents had been tortured and died rather than reveal where the archive is hidden. When I was tortured, I was prepared for death but for some reason ... maybe because I am the only person alive who knows the location of the data ... I was not subjected to the damaging tortures I know were used on other Imperial prisoners. Instead I was systematically beaten over and over and over."

Luke could feel the pain the memory brought to her. He put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

Callista changed tiles and continued. "There was one night that I did not think I could stand any more. He was so determined that night to get the information. At the time, I did not understand why his attitude had changed. I did not know how close it was to the end of the Empire and how desperate he was. It was only many months later that I learned that right after he left me that night, he had returned to the Emperor and then died during the Rebel attack on the Death Star.

"I was afraid I would not be able to resist the torture that night. I knew he had already, personally, killed both of my parents. He made sure I knew he was the one who had done that. There was such an intensity about him and he seemed to fill all of my mind and spirit. I could not feel the Force ... I could not resist him ... I knew that he must never find the archive ... I knew it would be better that all the information be lost for all eternity ... my parents had died to make sure that he would never have access to it."

Callista glanced over at Amethyst. Both women had tears in their eyes. Luke turned to Callista expectantly as she fitted another tile into the datapad. She continued to read.

"My mind was filled with two warring factors – his presence and my knowledge that I could never tell him the location. I was hit again and I opened my mouth to scream. There was no sound. Since then there has been no sound."

Luke's arms tightened around Amethyst and he stroked her hair.

"Who did this to you?" he asked quietly.

She did not move for a long time. When she did, it was not to write the answer, it was to push herself upright, away from him. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, her eyes lowered, refusing to look at Luke.

"Vader," he replied in answer to his own question. The hatred in his voice caused her to look up at him.

She nodded and then lowered her eyes again.

All the people in the room sat in silence, alone with their own thoughts, for some time. Finally Luke turned to look at Ralph.

"Well?" he asked of the older man. "Does that help you diagnose what's wrong with her voice?"

"I would say it is definitely hysterical muteness since it came on in that manner. I've made several tests and I'm convinced that the vocal chords are not damaged."

"So what do we do?"

"We do nothing."

"You mean she will never talk?"

Ralph shook his head. "No, I mean that she'll never talk until she wants to."

Amethyst jerked her head around to stare at the doctor. He made a soothing gesture.

"I know," Ralph addressed her, "I'm sure that you want to talk."

Amethyst nodded.

"I think that you do ... but this psychological condition has gone on for so long, it's become a real condition."

"What are you saying?" Luke asked.

"I'm saying that she can no longer simply say, 'I want to talk.' It was a very traumatic situation that made her will herself to stop talking. It'll take something equally traumatic to allow her to reverse that command."

Han looked at her. "I am curious, Amethyst. What are these histories that are worth all of these lives and all of this pain?"

Callista walked over to where Luke and Amethyst sat on the floor and handed Amethyst the datapad. Callista sat in the chair beside them and read over the other woman's shoulder as she wrote, "My father intended them as my dowry."

Luke shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. If what Leia told me about you being pledged to me at birth and what Callista told me about Jedi traditions are both true, then your father must have known that I'd accept you without a dowry. There must be another reason why the information is so important. Do you know what it is?"

"It is an archive, in holographic and other forms, that contain the entire history and all knowledge of ..." Callista stopped reading and slowly rose to her feet. She walked around in front of Amethyst and sank to her knees in front of her. Callista took Amethyst's two hands in her own.

"Quintilian ..." Callista whispered Amethyst's last name. "... your father was Master Emil, Lord of Valkarroo. Your mother was the high priestess Aureole."

Luke could feel the deep pain the names caused Amethyst as she gave Callista a regal nod. Callista gave the other woman a sad smile and then placed Amethyst's right hand into Luke's hand.

"I release you from any obligation you think you owe me," Callista whispered.

"What is it? What'd she write?" Luke demanded. He could feel a prickling sensation on the back of his neck.

Amethyst gave Callista another nod. Callista drew a deep, sad sigh and then spoke softly but so everyone in the room could hear.

"Her parents were the king and queen of a paradise-like planet. It was devastated by Vader. Her mother was the high priestess of her people who married Emil Quintilian because she felt her destiny lay with him. Master Emil was the last great historian of the Jedi. Amethyst has written that the archive is her father's histories containing the complete knowledge of the Jedi: all of the histories of each family, all of the teachings of each Master, all of the training techniques for all levels of Jedi."

Luke swung around to stare at Amethyst, his mouth dropping open. "Are you serious?"

She nodded.

"But that would be invaluable. It would be worth ..." He saw the pain in her eyes and nodded slowly. "Of course – it was worth the lives of your parents." He laid his hand against her cheek. "It was worth everything you've endured." His eyes misted over. "Your father saw all of this ... he knew that the histories would be vital if I'm to be able to return the Jedi to what they were in the Old Republic."

She nodded, reached for the pad and wrote something. Luke turned to Callista for the translation.

"It has been my destiny to see that the histories were kept secret and safe until you were ready for them. It is my duty to deliver them, intact, to you so you may complete your destiny."

He looked at her a moment and then looked at his sister. "I don't know what to say. How do I respond to this kind of dedication? How do I make the pain and the suffering up to her?"

Callista touched his hand to get his attention. "The only thing you can do is see that the information is put to the best possible use. And to make sure that you honor the promises you've made about seeing that she's cared for and loved the rest of her life." She looked deeply into Luke's eyes. "You are a fortunate man. I've never known anyone to have been given such an honor – or such a responsibility. You are a great man, Luke Skywalker, but I think that even you will have to work very hard to be worthy of this."

Luke could only nod in agreement.

TBC