Cleo knew that Marr was up to something, and the fact he wasn't telling her anything yet, made her worried. They both spent the next few days mostly in the base, surrounded by everyone and to her surprise, that day she was approached by Lana in front of everyone in the big meeting room.

"Captain…As you know by now, people are looking up to you…"

"What can I do? Someone tell me how to help. I want our galaxy back just as much as anyone," interrupted Cleo, knowing already she wouldn't like this discussion.

Lana hesitated for a couple of seconds, and Xander was the one taking a step toward Cleo next.

"I think you should accept to be the Commander of this alliance and lead these people. They trust you."

"No," objected Cleo right away, taking a step back and surprising everyone. "First, I never believed in one person leading everyone. There should be a group, a committee or something. We have all seen that all the power in one person's hands is not good. Second, I've just come back, every one of you here knows more about all this, have already done a lot for the alliance. I will help, but by no means I should be…"

"Cleo," intervened Clarisse next and touched her friend's shoulder, sensing her panic and anxiety. "The scions visions…"

"Here we go again with the darn visions," interrupted Cleo and the next second she felt Marr close, right behind her.

"Kitten, you are insulting these people," she heard his whisper and turned to him right away.

"Did you know about this?" she asked him.

"I knew it was coming. I did not know it would be today."

Marr's answer didn't help her much, but she thought about it for a few seconds.

"I mean no disrespect to anyone, but I am not fit for this position you want me to accept. I have been retired for years, asleep for the last five of them. If you all need some sort of leadership, make a committee. I can be your 'mascot' if that helps, but I will not be making decisions. I can have an opinion, maybe help with ideas, but…The big decisions should be made by all of you," Cleo's little speech was received by everyone with some reserve, but considering the circumstances, she was right, for most part, anyways. "All of you have built this from the ground up, you know way better than me what there is to know about this Prince Arcann, about the way things go. I am trying to catch up with everything, but I will never be where all of you already are. You need me to talk with people, I will, you need me to get us more recruits, I will try and do my best, but we should plan things together, we should work this as a team. There are people here with experience in leading positions, people that know how to do what needs to be done. I just know how to piss people off and then shoot them."

Everyone smiled at Cleo and after a few more minutes of going back and forth, it was decided. There was going to be a committee.

Later that day, Cleo was sitting cuddled in Marr's side, on the small couch out on the terrace.

"Looks like we are stuck here for a while. Should we give Arria her place back and have something built for us?" Marr asked her and Cleo looked up to him.

"Well, how long do you think we are going to be here? Is this going to drag that long?" she asked him in return.

"I do not know, kitten, but I feel bad that we have taken over her place. I will talk to Xander tomorrow and see how long it would take to build us something, or even if there is already something we could get."

Cleo nodded and wrapped her arms around her husband's waist, letting her head on his chest.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Marr smiled and looked at her, hugging her closer to him.

"You do know me well. I have been thinking…" he hesitated and Cleo smiled, closing her eyes and waiting for him to continue. "Please keep an open mind about this." Marr's words made her open her eyes the same second and pulled back from the embrace to look at him. He recognized right away some fear and anxiety as she fixated her eyes into his.

"What is it?" she insisted already knowing it couldn't be good.

"I am going to have a talk with Arcann."

Cleo heard the words, but she had to blink a few times to make sure she understood them right.

"Are you kidding me? What is there to talk about?"

"There are different opinions about him, and I have to know for myself what he is made of. He has his sights on our girl and I just have to know what is behind that mask of his. It is something I have to do."

Cleo let out a deep sigh and rested her head back on his chest. She knew she can't talk him out of something he wants to do, years of experience taught her that.

"So are you going to call him?" she asked him a few seconds later.

"Yes, to arrange for a meeting…"

"You are not thinking to go back to Zakuul, are you?" she asked him this time scared that he might. Marr smiled and kissed her lightly.

"No. I will meet him somewhere, a neutral territory."

"What if he refuses? What if he is going to try and…No. I am coming with you," she said right away with tears already filling her eyes just at the thought that she might lose him.

"If he is half as smart as he pretends he is, he won't do anything against me. That would finish any chance he might have with Arria. Trust me."

Cleo looked at him doubtful, she wanted to believe that. She trusted him, it was Arcann she didn't trust.

"When do you want to meet?"

"I am going to call him now and see if we could meet tomorrow. I want this done as quickly as possible."

Marr saw her letting her head down, accepting what he was about to do, even if she was so afraid to lose him.

"Everything is going to be all right. I am going to need you to cover for me, Kitten. Nobody can know where I am going."

"Fine…But you owe me," she added with a smile half sad, half playful.

"Big time," Marr answered and pulled her into a kiss that took both their breaths away.

Only a few minutes later he was already dialing Arria's old frequency, he knew that Arcann had her holo. After only three or four rings, the bluish image of Prince Arcann materialized in front of Darth Marr.

"Prince Arcann," hissed Marr and nodded to him.

"Darth Marr. This is rather…surprising," he answered on the same tone.

"It is still considered common courtesy for any half decent man to first get the consent from the parents of the girl he wants to marry before marrying her," spoke Marr and accentuated the word 'before' on purpose.

"You were…indisposed."

"Thanks to you," replied Marr right away.

"That is correct, it was thanks to me. You could have been dead." Arcann made his point, unimpressed with Marr's statement.

Hm…This might not be as easy as I thought. He is not easy to impress or scare, thought Marr and crossing his arms over his massive chest, looked at Arcann.

"I think we are due to have a talk. You and me."

A couple of seconds passed in silence, while Arcann continued to hold his hands at the small of his back, studying the man in front of him. He already knew who he was, he had done his homework a long time ago, when he first captured him and his wife.

"Very well. I will grant you free passage to my throne room."

Marr lifted his right hand right away stopping him.

"I am not coming to Zakuul. Let us say I do not like the 'climate' in that place."

Arcann immediately gave Marr his attention and asked him directly "What do you propose then?"

"We will meet on neutral territory. Just you and me. No tricks."

Arcann weighted his words, he was fully aware of the tactics the Sith in front of him had used in the past, but he was confident that he couldn't hurt him.

"Name a place and a time. I will be there."

Marr smiled behind his mask, and answered him, while starting to send him the coordinates already.

"Tomorrow, at eleven, standard time I will be at the coordinates that I am sending. Meet me there."

Arcann glanced at the coordinates he was receiving and didn't recognize them. "Where exactly is this?"

"Near Ilum. I will be on my personal ship, and you will join me."

Marr's answer didn't leave any room for debate, and Arcann accepted, but not before making his point.

"I am only doing this for Ria. If you were not her father…"

"I would not be talking to you," Marr's interruption came quickly and surprised Arcann.

They both nodded to each other and terminated the connection. Marr rushed to take off his mask and ran his gloved hand over his face, somewhat worried. Prince Arcann was a worthy adversary. What did you get yourself into, baby girl?

Just as Marr was deep in thoughts, Arcann started to pace in his room. Arria's father's request did surprise him, he knew that his own father wanted that man dead and out of his way for a reason. All that could only make him hold Darth Marr in high regard. He respected the Sith, the warrior he knew he was, but he was above anything else his wife's father. Arcann gave orders right away to have his shuttle ready for the next day and returned to his own thoughts. The late hour didn't stop him from meditating for a while before getting some sleep. He had a feeling that he needed to be in his top shape for that meeting.

~~#~~

Darth Marr was already at the meeting place, he had arrived a few minutes early. He just waited, looking outside the large window, at the planet in front of him, Ilum. There were so many memories on the surface of that planet, from long ago…Along those memories, came others, and then more followed, in an avalanche that couldn't be stopped. His past was coming into the present, old memories and new ones mixing, and a feel of uncertainty took over him.

He had felt Arcann's power before, he knew the man that everyone called 'Prince ' was in reality a fierce warrior, a fighter, and considering his actions in the last few years an excellent strategist. He was after all the Emperor's son…He had watched a few times the recording that was transmitted via holonet, the wedding ceremony between his daughter and the man he was about to meet. The unshed tears in her eyes convinced him that she was indeed doing it against her wish. Her hate for him was genuine and her desire to kill him stronger than any other emotion he could sense from her. He remembered involuntarily the beginning of his own relationship with Cleo. Same eyes, same hate, same desire to kill.

Suddenly he saw a shuttle dropping out of hyperspace and right away felt his presence, checking the chrono more out of instinct. Five minutes to spare. By the time he is boarding it will be eleven. Well then, we should get through with this. Marr continued to just look outside, he had already instructed the droid to let his guest in and show him into the main room. Next he heard the seal closing and the hiss of the hatches opening…Footsteps on the long hallway…

"Welcome aboard," Marr hissed turning to face Prince Arcann the moment he stepped into the room.

"Darth Marr."

"I trust your fleet won't drop out of hyperspace next."

"I do not need my fleet to meet you. I am here. What did you want to talk about?" asked Arcann and for a few seconds the two masked men just stared at each other, measuring one another.

They each recognized the powerful warrior in the other, and Marr asked himself again what was about the man in front of him that felt odd. It was a presence, he could sense it, and shortly recognize it. The Emperor…It was his son, after all.

"What are your true intentions with my daughter?"

It was Arcann's turn to admit that Darth Marr was indeed different from most Sith, or Jedi, or any other force user he had killed in the past. His question found him unprepared and looked surprised at him.

"My intentions? I have married her, I thought that would give you a hint."

The sarcasm in his tone didn't go unnoticed, but Marr chose to ignore it for the time being.

"And why is that? Why did you blackmail her to sign a marriage certificate?"

"She wouldn't see reason. She refuses to admit that we are destined to be together," he explained this time and Marr looked at him tilting his head on one side.

"Your father didn't teach you much about women, did he?" was Marr's turn to put some sarcasm in his words.

"I do not see where you are going with this line of questioning."

"Why Arria?" insisted Marr with increased attention.

This time Arcann didn't answer right away, just joined him by the large window and looked outside for a few seconds.

"Darth Athran didn't tell you?" came his question in a low tone that surprised Marr. He didn't sound like the prince that was holding the whole galaxy in his hands, the tyrant that everyone feared…For a second Marr felt sorry for him, he knew now the reason.

"The opinions I have heard about you are …conflicting at best. I am trying to make my own and not judge you from what others think of you."

"I love her…Since the first second I met her, I knew she was the one, even before I got to see her, when she just materialized in my throne room out of thin air. Her sole presence had created a shift into the force itself…It is hard to explain."

Marr listened to his every word and smiled again behind his mask. Leo was right. The mighty Prince Arcann does have a week spot, it is his heart. Hm...And people think he does not have one."

"Does she know?" continued Marr with the questions.

"She should. I saved her life, I was willing to die for her, I…"

"Have you told her?" insisted Marr this time turning around to face Arcann.

"Not in so many words," he answered and for the first time he let his head down, looking at the black shining floor.

"There are only three little words. They should not take that much of your time."

Arcann looked at him suddenly, and his bright orange eye seemed filled with hope.

"Do you think she would listen? She hates me."

"And at what point exactly was it that you figured forcing her to sign a marriage certificate would make things better?"

"I hoped that spending time with me would convince her that I had told her the truth, I bared my heart in front of her, but…She did not believe me, or she didn't care. She only wants to kill me." This time Marr saw the orange eye turning turquoise, clear, and the pain in it.

"She also wants to ask for an annulment," said Marr and took a few steps away from Arcann.

"No. I am not letting her go."

Suddenly Marr turned around at the sound of the determination in his voice. Once again, the fighter inside him surfaced and that second Marr knew he was telling the truth, that he really loved Arria, that he was willing to fight for her.

"Myself, I fell in love once with a woman that hated me, tried to kill me."

It was Arcann's turn to look surprised at the man in front of him.

"And what did you do?"

"If you are asking me what you should do, I am not the right person. Arria is my daughter, and as much as I understand your pain, I cannot side with you. However, I fought her, made her see the truth, made her fall in love with me."

"How?"

"By letting her see the man behind this mask," answered Marr and Arcann turned around again, looking outside, absently.

"She has already seen me. I have not hidden myself from her, I have not lied to her. Everything I have done was for nothing. Ria still hates me, wants me dead and she won't even listen to me."

"Then there are only two options. Let her go, or make her see you for who you truly are, make her love you instead of hate you. You already said you won't let her go, so that narrows it down."

"I do not wish to fight her, I cannot hurt her."

"I wasn't talking about physical fighting. I know Arria is stubborn and if she gets something in her head is hard to get it out, but not impossible. It runs in the family," said Marr and Arcann faced him.

"What are you suggesting?"

"I am not suggesting anything, just stating a fact." Marr's answer drained away the last sign of hope in Arcann's eyes. His sadness filled the room and Marr smiled again behind his mask. Arria is going to give him a good run…This is going to be interesting. "Is it true that the first time you met there was some lusting between you two?"

Marr's question found Arcann beyond surprised. How in the stars he would know about that? he thought for himself, but answered him. "Yes, it is true."

"Then maybe that is where you should start…At the beginning," hissed Marr on a low, suggestive tone and that was when Arcann understood his tactic.

"You are a brilliant man, Darth Marr. Just one more thing before I go. What happened to that woman that you mentioned?"

Marr giggled, but answered him: "You have met her. That woman is my wife."

Arcann didn't say a word, they just walked to the hatch, and before exiting his ship, Arcann turned to Marr one last time.

"I truly appreciate everything. If we were not at war against each other, I would have been honored to have you as my advisor."

Marr received his compliment with a nod, but before closing the hatch he stopped Arcann one more time. "This war has not been my choice. But it is in your power to stop it."

"Unfortunately, it is not," answered Arcann and closed the hatch at his shuttle, nodding at Marr one more time.

Marr did the same and with the seal deactivated, the small shuttle took off and only a few minutes later jumped in hyperspace. That last sentence raised a few questions in his mind, but Marr pushed them aside. He rushed to call Cleo and let her know he was on his way back. Another smile passed over his face seeing her relieved, knowing he was all right, on his way back to her.

~~#~~

Cleo had been worried, and kept herself busy as much as she could. Often her mind was wandering, and she caught herself every time having a hard time concentrating her attention on anything. The theory that history might be repeating for her daughter, was troubling her. Old memories came to haunt her, the day she met Marr on Rishi, her hate against Sith, the countless imperials she had killed, Yavin, with all the implications. Suddenly Cleo felt she needed to talk to her daughter, she didn't knew how, or what to tell her, but she just needed to talk to her. She found her in that opened space where she had been teaching her combat classes. This time she was alone, just training by herself, pushing her own limits. Cleo stood right at the exit and looked at her for a while. She didn't need to be a force user to see the determination, to feel her anger, her desire to kill that one man, Prince Arcann. A series of acrobatic jumps that Cleo recognized quickly brought a smile on her face. She executed that so perfectly…

Arria felt her mother's presence as soon as she landed that last jump and called her sabers back into her hands. Since Arcann had taken away her lightsabers, she was trying to get used to the new ones, they were just spares, laying around for anyone to use. They were far from fitting her hands like her own, they weren't balanced and tuned to her specific style and she was finding it challenging to execute some of her combinations.

"Mom, how long have you been here for?" she asked running to her mother and smiling happily.

"Long enough to see how magnificent you look when you fight," answered Cleo.

They took a few steps and went to sit on the grass, on the ledge of the plateau.

"I know this incredibly smart woman that told me once that no matter what I am doing, as long as I look like I know what I am doing, it will win half my battle," said Arria and looked at her mother laughing.

Cleo couldn't stop herself from laughing too, her daughter was remembering that she had told her that years ago.

"She is indeed smart. I would think twice before fighting you."

After another few seconds, Arria hugged her mother all of a sudden.

"Mom, I've missed you so much. It is so good to have you and dad back."

Cleo hugged her back with tears in her eyes. Leaving five years ago without even a proper 'good bye' was so hard.

"I am so sorry, sweetheart. I've missed so much in your life, and Leo's. I feel so guilty," she admitted and they both cried in each other's arms for a while.

"It wasn't your fault. It's all Arcann's fault and he is going to pay for it. One day," said Arria after they wiped their tears and Cleo looked at her.

"You really hate him."

"Of course I do. I am surprised not everyone hates him just as much," admitted Arria and Cleo saw a piece of herself in her daughter. She shook her head and looked at the mountains surrounding them. Arria didn't miss her reaction and asked her right away. "You don't seem to agree. You don't think I should hate him?"

Cleo smiled and turned her head to look at Arria again.

"I can't tell you who to hate, or if you should hate someone. I hated your father when I met him. I wanted to kill him. Hell, I took a shot at him..."

"What? That can't be. You and dad met on Nar Shaddaa and you fell for him right away. No?"

"I met Arien Dorrimar on Nar Shaddaa, yes, and I did fall for him quickly. But that happened after I met Darth Marr on Rishi, shot at him on Yavin, and only hours later he saved my life."

"Mom, you are making no sense."

Cleo let out a deep sigh. Her children were never told the whole truth of how she and Marr met, how much she hated him, or how much he fought against her stubbornness. How he defeated all her opposition and made her admit she loved him for who he was inside and out of his armor. She didn't think she had to, but now it was becoming clearer than ever that her daughter was following in her footsteps way closer than she would have liked. Cleo knew instinctively that as much as she and Marr had protected their children, they were both going to have to know the truth, have their own heartaches, fight their own battles and demons before they would hopefully get to be happy.

"I have already told you that my parents were killed when I was sixteen. On Taris…" started Cleo and Arria nodded right away. "What you don't know is that they were killed by Sith. It was war, I know, but starting that day I hated everyone that was imperial, Sith in particular. I spent the next fifteen years killing as many as I could. I wasn't even thinking of them as people, they were just targets that needed to be eliminated, Sith were all murderers. All of the sudden, peace was declared. At the time I was giving retiring a chance, but that didn't work. I found myself back at my normal life, without any targets to take out. When Risse got attacked on Rishi and I was contacted by Grand Master Satele Shan in person, I jumped at the opportunity. I was itching to kill some bastards, since I couldn't kill imperials anymore. This time it was pirates and Revanites." Cleo stopped for a few seconds seeing the expression on Arria's face.

"Mom…Except aunt Risse we are all Sith in this family," she whispered.

"I know. I said I used to hate them. After I met your father that changed," clarified Cleo quickly and Arria let out a deep breath. For the next couple of hours Cleo told her daughter how she met Marr on Rishi, fought side by side and got the information they were after. How everything developed on Yavin, then Alderaan. Arria interrupted her mother a few times, with questions and Cleo answered them without any hesitation. When she finished, the puzzled look on Arria's face amused her and made her smile.

"Wow. I would have never guessed. So you first hated dad, then you fell in love with him."

"I am not even sure, Arria. Maybe, maybe I hated and loved him at the same time. I still haven't figured that out. It doesn't matter, we had an amazing life together, beyond any dreams."

Suddenly Arria looked at her mother with suspicion in her eyes. "Why are you telling me all this now?"

She is my daughter all right. Nothing goes by her… thought Cleo and smiled looking away, at the breathtaking sunset.

"Your heart is full of hate, just like mine was once."

"It is different. Arcann is a monster."

Cleo looked at her and smiled again. "Is that why you two were lusting over each other when you first met?"

It was Arria's turn to look away, and Cleo saw how hard she was fighting against herself, against those memories.

"It was a moment of weakness. Never happened again, and never will."

"Sometimes our weaknesses become our strengths, Arria. Trust me you don't need to fight the way you feel, you will never win."

"What that supposed to mean?"

"As much as we would try, we can't change the way we feel. We hate, we love, feel sorry, we get happy. It all happens without our consent. The heart and the mind are totally separated. And the heart is the one ruling how and when we feel. Even against what our minds tell us, against any common sense, against all odds."

"Are you trying to convince me that I don't hate Arcann?"

"Not at all. You do hate him, I know that. What I am trying to tell you is to always listen to your heart, follow it. If you don't, you will regret it. Do what your heart tells you, just stay true to yourself. I know how hard it can be to admit our own feelings even to ourselves. It took me a while to do it. The only regret I have is that I didn't accept them sooner, I wasted precious time."

Cleo got up on her feet and Arria followed her, still a little confused by everything her mother had told her. Against her wish, Arria got flashes of memory assaulting her mind. And they all involved Arcann. After a hug, the two of them each went their way and Cleo rushed to go home, she knew Marr was supposed to be back soon and she was curious to know how his meeting went. Like he had been summoned, Marr got home only minutes after Cleo and found her in the spacious living room.

"Ari!" she yelled happy and ran into his arms as soon as he entered the room.

Marr hugged her close to him, took his mask off and kissed her with the passion that always had been between them.

"I should leave more often," he joked after they both got their breath back, but the look she gave him made him reconsider. "I was joking, kitten."

"How did it go?" she asked him next, worried still, but Marr kept smiling.

"I think we are going to witness an interesting love story," he answered, sitting on the couch just as a servant placed some drinks on the low table for them.

"So it is true. He does love Arria?"

"Oh yes. You should have seen him. You would have gotten a kick out of it."

They both had some of their drinks and Cleo ran her hand through his hair. "I had a talk with Arria today too. I had to tell her the truth about how we met."

"The whole truth?" he insisted and Cleo nodded.

"Yes, she knows I hated you and took a shot at you," answered Cleo and suddenly smiled, making Marr curious.

"What is it?"

"When I told Arria that I shot you she was surprised that I missed. I explained her that I actually didn't. If it wasn't for your deflective shield I would have put a decent hole in your heart."

"So you are still her role model," said Marr and pulled her on his lap smiling.

"I think so," answered Cleo smiling and giving him a light kiss. "Only that now she is fighting with herself. I am not looking forward to what is to come."

Marr noticed the worry in her tone and wrapped both his arms around her.

"It should not last too long. Arcann is not going to give up."

"I am afraid that neither will Arria."

They both sat in silence for a while, with their hearts heavy, knowing their daughter didn't have a smooth road ahead of her.