Conrad spotted the two Jedi entering before anyone else, and he jumped up from his place at the table to greet them. "Master Eeth, Raven," he said in a tone that was far more reserved than he actually felt. "Come, your seats are by my father's side, but we can't eat until my sisters get here." The boy rolled his eyes as he pulled out the chair for Raven and gestured that Eeth sit at her side. "Which means we could be waiting a while." He was only half serious, but still, they were taking forever!
"Surely you are not as starved as all that," Eeth said. "Besides, we are two minutes early."
He politely greeted Conrad's father and took the offered seat.
Conrad started to argue that he was almost starved. However, the retort was cut short as everyone's attention turned towards the door where his two sisters were finally making their entrance.
Andrag Mitaivar stood, and the rest of the table followed suit. "Take your seats, please, we are ready to begin," he said warmly. He knew that his son and the Jedi could use a good meal and did not want to keep them waiting any longer.
Raven nodded her head as the two girls sat. She thought the two Gelis girls looked like little dolls with their brightly-coloured dresses and small statures.
She watched curiously as the many covered dishes were placed on the table and inhaled the salty smells appreciatively as the lids were lifted. "Don't eat anything that looks mushy and blue," one of the servers whispered to her and placed a bowl of colourful steamed vegetables closest to Raven's reach.
Raven couldn't care less about the blue mush because the bowl of vegetables before her was truly a sight for sore eyes.
"In honour of Conrad's safe return and the Jedi that delivered him, eat," Andrag announced jovially as the last dish was set onto their table. It was, much to Conrad's delight, freshly baked haroun bread with melted cheese!
While they ate, Andrag Mitaivar and his wife kept asking the Jedi and Conrad questions about their escape from the anarchists and their way through the wild. Answering them, Eeth made sure to emphasise Conrad's resilience and resourcefulness.
"We might have taken two days longer, had Conrad not pulled himself together so well," he said.
Conrad sat up a little straighter at Eeth's praise and flushed slightly as his father nodded proudly at him.
"You acted with honour and courage," the chancellor said. When his son glanced at his hands for a split second before replying, however, he started to suspect that he had not heard the entire story.
"Did you get to have a sword to fight off the bad men?" the girl by Raven's side asked with far too much enthusiasm, and Conrad blushed a little more.
Andrag Mitaivar glanced from his son to the Jedi master and raised an eyebrow. He let it be for now, though. "No, my little sweetpea, that is what the Jedi helped to avoid," he said. "He is too young to be fighting with weapons."
"I would have got them, just like this, bam!" The little one stabbed her fork into a piece of meat as if it were about to jump from her plate and try to get her.
"Nobody was killed," Eeth said calmly. "And if it had been necessary to do any killing, especially of the kind that involves sabers, then my padawan and I would have been the ones to do it. Your brother might explain that to you on occasion."
Conrad's little sister, who had shyly introduced herself as Annah, glanced from Eeth to her big brother looking confused. She didn't understand what that meant, and given that Raven had just finished cutting up another portion of her meal, she was easily distracted.
Andrag Mitaivar, however, was not; his son was rarely, if ever, silent when presented with an opportunity to tell a story, and he made a mental note to find out what had happened. For now, though, they were celebrating, and he took another sip from his mug of spiced wine.
The food was great. Raven spent most of the evening entertaining Annah and bantering with Conrad. Finally, one by one, the chancellor's family began to peel off, until it was down to just the two Jedi, Andrag and his wife, Conrad, his grandfather and a handful of others.
Raven was tired and she wanted to go, but despite the desperate pleading she started sending Eeth across their bond, no one else was any the wiser.
"I thank you for your hospitality," Eeth said to Andrag, giving no outward indication that Raven had actually asked him for permission to leave. "My padawan is tired, I think; and the same probably goes for your son. Besides, I would like a private word with you."
"I am not tired," Conrad said, ignoring the fact that Raven had stood and was practically gone from the room before he had finished his sentence. He wanted to be a part of this talk between the Jedi and his father. After all, he had been there!
Eeth raised his eyebrows. "I think we all know that this is a blatant lie," he said calmly. Conrad was currently high on adrenaline, but anyone with the slightest amount of Force sensitivity could sense his exhaustion.
"Besides," Eeth continued, a tad more pointedly, "I do need a private word with your father. And 'private' means that it is not meant for your ears."
Conrad looked from Eeth to his father, hopeful that he would get some sort of reprieve, but it wasn't to be. Apparently they were both kicking him out. "Fine," he said, annoyed. "But I was there, too."
Andrag ignored this. He would talk to his son later. "Did Conrad cause you and your apprentice trouble?" he asked knowingly when Conrad had left the room. If he had, he was a little disappointed that his son had not confessed as much himself.
"Nothing I could not deal with," said Eeth. "Your son is a bold and headstrong child. These can be good qualities, but they may also cause problems. What I was going to tell you is related to this. I have disciplined your son during our trip back – twice, and not lightly. I would rather have you hear it now and from me than have you guess it or wheedle it out of your son. I am sorry that it came thus far. I had no desire to interfere with the way you raise your children, and I certainly did not enjoy calling your son to task for the things he did. But he endangered our safety and his own by disobeying me and by taking my apprentice's weapon against explicit instructions. I did what I had to to secure our escape and keep all of us alive and healthy. Of course, I am entirely willing to accept your censure in case you disapprove of my actions."
"Conrad knows better than to touch weapons without permission, and certainly knows not to take things that do not belong to him. I thank you for keeping him safe." The gelis scratched at his red beard thoughtfully. "Did he apologise?" Andrag assumed that his son would have, but sometimes Conrad could be stubborn.
"Yes," said Eeth. "I consider the matter closed, and I did not tell you about it because I expect anything more from Conrad or from you. I simply wanted you to know what has been going on. Conrad is not the first child to act against his better judgement when his instructions go against his momentary desires, nor will he be the last."
The Gelis gave a low rumbling chuckle that sounded odd coming from such a small being, but his gaze was sincere as he spoke. "Councillor, I have eight children, six of whom are boys. I'm afraid I learned early in the piece that good judgement does not always trump childish curiosity. I do, however, expect my children to conduct themselves honourably, both home and away; the Gelis have high standards of honour. Conrad's behaviour, boyish as it may be, was not acceptable and he would have known this. I trust that the consequences you provided were sufficient. Nevertheless, I would have preferred to hear it from him first. No matter."
Eeth inclined his head. He had wanted to make sure that no diplomatic problems arose from his decision to discipline Conrad; he had no interest, however, in advising the Chancellor of Gelisia on how to deal with his children.
"I sincerely hope that Conrad's rescue has prevented difficulties with Gelisia's bid for membership in the Republic," he said instead. "My apprentice and I will have to leave tomorrow, I am afraid. But I daresay that, once Gelisia has reached membership status, we might be in contact more often."
Andrag set his empty glass onto the table. "I'm certain you have. Regardless, Gelisia is indebted to you and your apprentice for the safe return of my son. If either of you ever need anything from the Gelis, I will do my utmost to make it possible," he said seriously; honour was important to them and Andrag Mitaivar was a man of his word.
Eeth stood and bowed. "I thank you for your hospitality," he said. "Now if you will excuse me, I will look after my apprentice and make some arrangements for the onward trip."
Andrag Mitaivar did not accompany Eeth from the hall as he was not yet ready to return to his family. Conrad's behaviour notwithstanding, he needed time to collect his thoughts; he had been worried about his son for a week now, after all. They all had.
Meanwhile, Eeth knocked on his padawan's bedroom door, finding her lying facedown on her bed still fully clothed, boots and all. Her eyes opened as Eeth entered and she sat up, still groggy from sleep.
"I had a message delivered to your family," said Eeth. "We should have a reply by tomorrow morning. They do not have interstellar communications in their home, but their town has a facility for that. We will be leaving after breakfast tomorrow. Please get undressed and brush your teeth before going to sleep."
It took a moment for Raven to take all that in, but once it registered, she smiled; tomorrow was going to be an exciting day and she was looking forward to it.
Conrad was lying in his bed, unable to sleep, when he heard his father approaching his door. Andrag had a distinctive gait. It was measured and heavy, not frenetic like that of his younger siblings, deliberate like Jayan's or the nonplussed dawdle that his mother and nanny favoured. He sat up.
"Not asleep yet?" Andrag asked softly, sitting on the edge of Conrad's bed.
"I can't sleep," Conrad replied, scooting back in his bed and making room for his father to sit.
"Why not?" asked Andrag, resting his hand on Conrad's shoulder. He was really hoping that his son would come clean by himself. It was the honourable thing to do, and the Gelis placed great value on honour.
"Wellll, there were a few incidents. I mean, some things happened while I was with the Jedi that were my fault and…" Conrad paused, considering his words. "I don't think you're going to be pleased about it," he concluded.
"What did you do?" asked Andrag. "Master Koth apparently felt the need to punish you twice, but he did not give me any details."
"I didn't like doing as they wanted, some of the things were silly," said Conrad. "Secondly, I might have taken advantage of Raven and procured myself her lightsaber at one point." He squinted. "While she was taking a bath and Eeth thought I was taking a leak." It had been ingenious, but sneaky and ultimately dangerous, or so he had come to agree.
"You absolutely know better than to handle weapons you're not supposed to handle," said Andrag sternly. "And since when do you get to decide whether an instruction you've been given is silly? Let alone an instruction given by someone who is a guest on this planet and has helped you escape! Is this how us Gelis treat their allies?"
Conrad shook his head and lowered his gaze. "No, and that's not the worst part," he admitted. He knew that his father would want the truth from him, but having to admit to such a breach in honour was tricky. "I took a couple of swings at Eeth. I didn't mean to. I was just so angry and I didn't want to be in trouble, plus he was hurting my ear, and then I made it worse!" The boy went on to explain exactly what had happened. When he had gotten the last few words out, he met Andrag with a pained expression.
"Conrad!" Andrag exclaimed, shocked. Eeth had not mentioned this, but then, Andrag knew that the Jedi could not have possibly been hurt by his son's attempts to hit him, and he probably had no idea to what extent the Gelisian culture considered such a thing dishonourable.
Andrag took a deep breath. He needed a second until he felt he could speak calmly. "Son," he said. "I would have hoped you had more self-control than this. You are young, but you are not a toddler. Behaviour like yours is inexcusable."
Conrad sat up in his bed and met his father's gaze, trying to look less childlike in this awkward situation. "I know. Dad, I'm sorry. I felt bad about it so I approached Eeth later and apologised."
"Good," said Andrag. "May I ask what consequences he provided?" It was true that Eeth had informed him he had punished Conrad, and "not lightly", but Andrag had no way of knowing what the Jedi considered light or not-so-light punishment.
"He!" Conrad baulked, swallowed and then blushed, which was all-telling. Andrag raised his eyebrows. He wanted to hear it from Conrad.
"He swatted me. I thought he rattled my teeth loose but he didn't," Conrad confessed.
"That was all he did?" asked Andrag.
Conrad looked indignant for a moment; he rather thought it had been plenty. "For lashing out at him, yes. He seemed more concerned with the fact that I deceived and disobeyed his padawan because he full-on spanked me for that part, even added a few with his belt because I wasn't taking it in good grace." In hindsight, the memory was a little funny now, but at the time it had been no laughing matter.
"You should have," said Andrag pointedly. "Conrad, what has gotten into you? And taking the Jedi apprentice's weapon, on top of that?"
"I know." He forbore to add in the part about this having been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as that rationale had gone down spectacularly badly with Eeth. Instead, he grimaced. "He whipped me with a switch for that one," he confessed. It was still too soon to find anything at all amusing with that situation.
"That sounds harsh, but you deserved it," said Andrag after a moment's pause. "If he hadn't called you to task thoroughly for your behaviour, I would have. I expect better from you."
Conrad looked at his father with slight surprise, but it was more an expression of relief. Andrag had rarely spanked any of them. That he was implying that he would have over this showed Conrad exactly how seriously the man was taking it. "I promise it won't happen ever again," Conrad said quietly. "Tell me what else I can do to make it up to you?" At this point his father had made him feel suitably ashamed, and he wanted to be back in his good books.
"Conrad, I'm just glad you're back with us, alive and well," said Andrag with feeling, pulling his son into a hug. "Your promise is enough for me. Stick to it, please."
"I will, I give you my word." Conrad returned his fathers hug, and it felt so good! He had been scared, not that he'd ever admit that, not even to himself, and he had missed the love, comfort and security of his family greatly.
"Thank you," said Andrag gently, squeezing his son as tightly against his chest as he possibly could.
At the same time that Andrag was talking to Conrad, Eeth was coming to tuck Raven in.
"Sleep well, padawan," he said quietly, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Your performance during this mission was…" He made to say "adequate," but at the last moment he remembered how Lakhri had once vented at him for calling his successful conclusion of a life-threatening mission nothing more than "adequate." Thus, he settled for "exemplary," patting her back briefly and affectionately as he did.
"Exemplary?" Raven repeated, enjoying the way that word rolled off her tongue. "I'm going to tell Lakhri you said that." Raven did her best to be humble but she couldn't help her broad smile which was all teeth. "I'm looking forward to our next adventure," she said through a yawn, her eyes closing.
The next morning, Eeth found a message from Raven's parents informing him that they would be welcome to come and stay with them. He went to tell Raven. For once, he did not have to drag her from her bed; she was already sitting up when he flicked on the light. They showered, dressed and completed their morning meditation. Once everything was packed Raven arranged for a droid to take their luggage to the ship while Eeth was speaking with the chancellor.
Twenty minutes later, they were shown to a small dining room where the family was assembling for breakfast. Conrad ate as he always did, with gusto, and was well and truly full by the time breakfast was cleared. "Can I come to the ship and watch you take off?" he asked, glancing from his father to Eeth as they rose; he wanted a chance to say a proper goodbye and thank both Jedi for rescuing him.
"In fact, I was going to ask you to come," Andrag said. "You may join me when I take the Jedi to the spaceport. And I'm afraid with the two of us, the driver and the two Jedi, the speeder will be full," he said to the younger children, effectively cutting off any protests they might have uttered. "You may say your goodbyes here. You haven't known the Jedi for as long as Conrad has."
Andrag's announcement went over badly with them. They all wanted to come and see their brother's rescuers safely off of Gelisia! Raven hugged them all tight and had to grin at seeing Eeth do the same as such things were not his strong suit.
Farewell ceremonies notwithstanding, they were soon on their way to the speeder. The expression on Conrad's face was priceless as he strode beside the group. He felt important at being allowed to accompany them, not to mention relieved that his father still thought him mature enough to conduct himself appropriately after the dishonour he had caused during his rescue.
Another hour later, Eeth and Raven had boarded their small private starship, had given Conrad a quick tour and were now saying their goodbyes.
Raven was still smirking at the muffled gagging sounds that had come from Conrad as she'd pulled him into a hug because, naturally, she'd held him there a far longer than necessary. She might have teased him this way had they been siblings. He had a fairly good sense of humour, though, so she had taken the playful nudge he'd given in retaliation in stride. "May the Force be with you," she told them both, mirroring Eeth's words and bow as the two Gelis entered their speeder and took off.
Eeth went to the cockpit to prepare for takeoff, motioning for Raven to take the co-pilot's seat.
"Only two hours' flight time to Chine," he said. "And from there, a mere fifteen minutes to your family's home. They live in the capital city of Allbost, where Chine's only spaceport is located."
Given that Raven had never had access to her sealed file and knew nothing about her family, she only had the information Eeth was now giving her, plus the general information on Chine she had obtained from the database, to go by. "There's supposed to be quite a lot of farmers markets around the city fringe," she said. "I read that most of the population live outside the capital and make a living by selling their produce in those markets. If you say my family lives in the city itself, it's unlikely they're farmers. Perhaps they are professionals of some sort. Did they say?"
"No, but nor did I ask," said Eeth. "Your file says that at the time you were taken to the Temple, your father was training to be a doctor and your mother was a teacher. You were the youngest of three children. That is all I can tell you. Oh, and their first language is Basic, which is convenient."
"It is," Raven agreed. That she had siblings was something the girl had only ever dreamt about, and to hear that her father might share her interest in healing made her smile. "I wonder what sort of doctor he is, and what my mother teaches," Raven mused aloud. Suddenly, she felt nervous.
"We will soon find out," said Eeth gently. "Do you feel up to taking over the pilot's seat? I think you will be able to land the ship with my assistance." He also suspected that this would take her mind off things, which would be an added bonus.
"Land the ship!?" Raven repeated as if saying the words aloud would prove she'd heard him correctly. "For real?"
"I assume that was a rhetorical question," said Eeth, rising from the pilot's seat and beckoning for her to take his place.
Raven didn't need telling twice and in a split second, she was in the pilot's seat. This was going to be awesome.
"We still have some time in hyperspace," Eeth told her. "I rely on you to find the right time to take us out. You may also contact Chine's spaceport and ask for permission to land. If you need my advice, let me know. Otherwise, I will not interfere."
When they had reached the coordinates their navigation system suggested as the correct place to exit hyperspace, Raven checked it against their manual calculations. "I'd pull us from hyperspace now," she said. Eeth just gave a brief nod, and she smiled. She allowed her finger to hover over each button before engaging it, just in case it was wrong, but Eeth didn't say a word. A minute later, the stripes reverted to stars, and the planet of Chine could be seen as a slightly larger speck of white amongst a tangle of stars. She opened a channel, contacted the spaceport, identified their ship and gained clearance to land. Now it was just a case of entering the atmosphere and finding the correct docking bay assigned to them.
Twenty-five minutes later, Raven sat motionless in the pilot's seat, looking pretty pleased with herself. She wasn't sure if she had gotten it all right, but they were still in one piece, and Eeth did not look as if he were about to jump from the ship the moment they stopped, nor were there fingernail marks in his armrest.
"That was an acceptable landing," Eeth said a little stiffly. For some reason, he felt compelled to add, "For your first attempt, it was really quite good. Now let us get our luggage. Your family will be picking us up at the entrance of the spaceport."
While Raven had been busy piloting, he had sent a message to Raven's family informing them of the approximate time of their arrival. Chine's spaceport was small – tiny, if compared to Coruscant. There was very little traffic, and right now, the only thing happening, apart from their arrival, was the loading and unloading of some freighters. Whoever came to meet them would have no problem identifying them.
They loaded their packs with enough clothing and supplies to make a return trip to the ship unnecessary, and then they made their way to the main terminal where Eeth arranged payment for the space they were occupying.
Raven still had a smile on her face from Eeth's praise for her first landing, although that elation was now mixing with curiosity and butterflies over meeting her family. She coughed as if doing so would actually release them, but it didn't work. Eeth rested a hand on her shoulder and sent her a brief surge of calming energy through the Force, just as a protocol droid tasked with greeting newcomers approached. Apparently, it was almost four in the afternoon on Chine, the weather slightly overcast but warm with a cool breeze, and if they needed public transport, there was a stop just outside. True to his word, when Eeth and Raven stepped into the air outside, it was warm and smelled unexpectedly fresh for a city.
"There she is!" yelled a boy's voice. A tall teenager with hair the exact same shade of blonde as Raven's detached himself from a small group of people and came running towards them. A considerably smaller woman with reddish-brown hair came hurrying after him, and last was an imposing elderly man with a little girl on his arm.
"Hi," said the boy, beaming at Raven and giving a quick wave at Eeth. "I'm your twin brother, Bram. Just so you know, I'm ten minutes older than you. I guess it shows." He laughed and gave her a brief hug. Indeed, he was at least a head taller than his sister.
"Bram!" Raven hugged her brother tightly. She had always hoped that whoever her family turned out to be, they had given her to the Order from a place of love and universal charity. That they were good people would be enough for Raven, but to find out that she had a twin brother? This was far more than she could ever have hoped for.
"Raven," said the woman, who had caught up with Bram. "Oh my God, Raven." She was looking the girl up and down, tears in her eyes.
"This is our mother," said Bram unnecessarily. "I think she isn't sure whether it's okay for her to hug you. Is it?"
"Bram!" said the woman, half laughing, half scolding. But she did open her arms, inviting Raven to hug her.
Raven didn't answer, she just fell into her mother's embrace.
"Hello, you must be Eeth Koth," the elderly man said when he finally caught up with the group, the girl on his arm hiding her head against his shoulder. "Raven's …"
"… master," Eeth supplied, gathering that these people were unfamiliar with Jedi terminology.
"I'm Al, Raven's grandfather," said the man. "Father of Selwin." He pointed at Raven's mother. "And this is Belle, her youngest sister. She's a bit shy but that will pass. To tell you the truth, she's never seen a non-human up close."
A bright eye peeked forth between the blonde curls. As it met Eeth's dark gaze, the girl quickly turned back, clinging to Al.
"I understand," said Eeth. And he did. Besides, he had never thought of himself as a children person.
"Come on, Selwin, let's get them into the speeder," said Al. "Her grandmother is impatiently waiting for her at home."
"She's busy making dinner," he told Raven. "By the time we arrive, your younger brother Jai will be back from school, too. He had afternoon classes. Bram didn't, so he got to come. Your father has to work all day, unfortunately. He couldn't swap shifts at such short notice."
Selwin reluctantly released Raven who stepped up to her grandfather's side, eager to meet further members of her family.
"Shall I take your pack?" Bram asked Eeth as they started walking. "Our speeder is parked in the garage below the square."
Eeth raised his eyebrows at being treated as if he was too old to carry his own pack. But then again, Bram did not look as if the act would do him any harm. He was tall, sturdy and looked healthy. So he handed the boy the pack. Otherwise, he was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, not wanting to interfere with Raven's first opportunity to meet her birth family.
"What does…" – Raven hesitated, not quite sure what to call him – "… my father do?" she finally asked Al, trying to get a peek at her baby sister without scaring her. Much to her surprise, though, Belle wrapped one arm around her neck before anyone had a chance to do anything. "Hi hi hi!" she said. Raven pushed a ringlet of curly blonde hair aside and for the first time got a good look at her baby sister. She had darker skin than Raven did, but her eyes were the same bright green.
"Looks like you have a fan already," said Al with a grin. "Jobe is a doctor. He works in the local hospital's ER. Your mom's a teacher."
"I could take today off work," Selwin said. "I've been yearning to see you for all these years. The Temple has sent pictures but that was all. Are you doing alright?"
Raven had no idea that the Temple had sent pictures; it wasn't something she had ever thought to ask about. It wasn't that Raven had never thought about where she had come from, it was more that her life didn't leave a lot of room to ponder much else other than her career as a Jedi. "I am alright, more than alright," she said. She looked from her baby sister to her mother, still taking in all the details and thinking how lucky she was to have such a wonderful family. "What do you teach?"
"Pretty much everything," said Selwin. "I have a group of a dozen five-to-nine-year-olds at the moment. I'm doing projects with them and using them to teach them reading, writing, numbers and so on."
"Yeah, at that age, school was still fun," said Bram. "Now, not so much. At least not for me. How about you? Do you have to go to school?"
"Six days a week, sometimes seven if I have to make up extra work," Raven replied unenthusiastically.
"Ugh," said Bram. "Here we are, look." He pointed at a large, slightly battered-looking speeder that could hold up to nine persons. Selwin opened the back door and Bram placed Eeth's pack inside. Then he took Raven's and put it next to Eeth's.
"Hop in," said Al.
Belle jumped in quickly so that she could sit beside Raven in the back. "I hope you like your bedroom, I made it special for you," she said.
"I'm sure I will," replied Raven, smiling at her sister.
"Thanks for letting us stay with you," she said, looking at them all now.
"We do not wish to impose," added Eeth. "We will be happy to make ourselves useful in any way we can."
"You are not imposing!" exclaimed Selwin as she sat next to Al, who had taken the driver's seat. This left Eeth to sit in the middle with Bram.
"I've been dying to see you for all those years," Selwin continued, turning to look at Raven. "You're always welcome. – And you as well," she added, facing Eeth. "Whenever…" She wanted to say 'whenever you please' but paused, unsure if this was the right way to put it. She settled for: "Any time your duty permits. And of course you don't have to make yourselves useful. You're our guests!"
"Sure, but we're happy to help if we can. Whatever we can do around the house," Raven said sincerely.
"Well, I'll take your help, if nobody else will," said Bram, grinning at her. "Look. This is Allbost. It's not much, compared to Coruscant, but it's the biggest place we have."
To Eeth and Raven, Allbost was a charming little town. It had a city centre of red brick houses, two or three stories tall, with cobble-stone streets and a lot of bridges that crossed small rivulets. Towards the outskirts, it sprawled out a bit more, the houses built of wood and most of them having gardens. There were signs of building and growth; Eeth saw quite a number of new houses squeezed in between old ones, and consequently, the size of the gardens diminished.
"I'm sure it seems quite boring to you after having grown up on Coruscant," Bram said apologetically.
"Actually, to the contrary. I think it's far from boring. It's beautiful," Raven said as she watched the scenery go by. "How many brothers and sisters do we have, and does anyone else live with you?" she asked.
Bram frowned in thought. "Besides the people in this speeder?" he asked. "Well, there's Bubcha. Her real name is Baka, but we all call her Bubcha. She's Al's wife, and our maternal grandmother. Dad's parents are also in town, but they live with his elder sister and her family, just two streets away from us. We meet often; they have five children, too. Only you went away, so in our case, there are only four children living in the house. Then there are Mum and Dad, of course, and Jai, our younger brother. He's ten. I'll be moving in with him while you're there so you and your master can have my room. It's a bit cramped, but the whole house is cramped – sorry about that. Where was I? Oh, yes. And then there's Katlin, our oldest sister. She's already twenty and she's studying to become a pharmacist. She still lives with us, but she's going to move in with her fiancé and his parents when term is over, in about two months' time. She's pregnant, you know – with twins. It seems to run in the family. Her fiancé's grandparents are going to help look after the babies so both of them can finish their studies; like Al and Bubcha did for Mum and Dad."
He grinned. "Sorry, I always talk too much," he said, but he did not sound particularly apologetic.
"Two little magpies. That's what your mother used to call you both as babies, always gurgling and making noises at each other," Al said through a chuckle as he watched the scenery. So much time had changed in the time since they decided to send Raven to the Temple.
Raven smiled at that comment, thinking how many times she had been told she talked too much over the years. Bram was most definitely her twin.
"That's a lot of people," Raven thought aloud. "And thanks for giving up your room, I hope Jai isn't put out at sharing with you." After all, she was not sure what personalities each of her family were going to have.
Bram laughed. "Jai's fine with it. When I say it's 'his room', that's a relative term anyway. The house is small, and we have guests more often than not. It's only been two months since an older cousin moved out. She'd stayed in my room for half a year until she got a place at the university dorm. Sometimes one of us gets to stay with other parts of the family, too. When I was twelve, I stayed on my uncle's farm for nearly a year because the family thought I should learn something about farming. Jai will go next year or the year after. No, really, don't worry about it. It's a bunk bed, though. Your master might have to pull in his legs."
"I will manage," Eeth said. "We are thankful for your hospitality. And I am sorry we could not accept your invitation sooner. Temple rules are very strict on that matter."
"So I gathered," said Selwin a little wistfully.
Raven smiled. "I'm glad I get to be here now," she said, wanting to comfort her.
"I am, too," said Selwin, returning the smile valiantly although her eyes teared up.
"Raven will be allowed to keep in touch from now on," said Eeth quietly.
Bram chuckled. "If she still wants to after she's met the whole family," he said. "The house is almost always full and noisy."
"I'm sure I will. I think it's great that you get to live with your whole family," said Raven. "Sometimes I stay with my Jedi brother, Lakhri, and his apprentice Flynt. But that's all the 'family' I have at the Temple."
"You must tell us all about it," said Al, swerving to avoid a boy on a bike. "Hey, Ed!" he yelled out the window. "Watch where you're going!"
"Sorry, Al!" the boy yelled back.
"Second cousin," Bram told Raven, turning back in his seat to look at her.
Raven nodded. The idea that you could drive down a random street and see relations was a new concept to Raven. Having grown up on Coruscant, which was enormous, there was little chance that she would recognise anyone from the Temple unless it was close by, and no chance that it would be a relative. She liked the idea, though, the idea that everyone kinda knew everyone, and that was the sense she was getting about this place so far. It was very friendly, people smiled when they drove by, unlike Coruscant where a being was just as likely to pull a blaster on you.
They drove another ten minutes. It was a comfortable atmosphere and the conversation wasn't strained even though Raven felt a little nervous. Belle was starting to find her voice more often and added in her comments here and there. "When did Katlin find out she was pregnant with twins?" Raven asked, wondering if they would be here to welcome the latest additions to her family.
"Oh, I dunno, a couple of months ago?" Bram said. "She's still got four months to go. She's getting pretty big, but she's hoping to finish her term exams before she has the babies. Then she'll take a break for one term, and then she'll go back in. Like mother did when she had Katlin. Look, here we are!" The speeder had turned into a street that was lined by wooden row houses with small gardens. Bram pointed at one that was painted blue and looked inviting and a little chaotic. Children's bikes were lying around in front of the door and creepers with large orange flowers were covering most of the lower walls.
"It's, it's lovely," Raven said, a huge smile on her face. Sure, it was a bit of a mess but the entire street had a contented harmonious feel to it; the neighbours here would be like extended family, Raven thought as a young man waved to their speeder from his bike. They would probably take turns with chores to keep the street clean, and help each other out. It wasn't anything like the huge blocks of duracrete apartments one saw on Coruscant. No one talked to anyone there, and if a person reached for their keys, a passer-by might as soon assume that they were about to be shot at.
Belle was already unbuckling herself from her seat, eager to show off the room she had made up for their visitors. The moment Eeth and Raven stepped out of the car, Belle took Raven's hand. She was still hesitant to grab Eeth's so she took his sleeve.
"Belle, give them some room to breathe," an elderly woman, who Raven knew had to be Baka, said from their front door. She had kind eyes and was smiling broadly while wiping her hands on an apron that had clearly seen better days.
Belle released them and went to hug her grandmother, which was accepted with little kisses on the girls head. "Raven, let me look at you," Baka said, taking her youngest granddaughter's hand to keep her from monopolising the Jedi.
"Hello, Ma'am, it's really great to meet you," said Raven. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of this but making a credible effort at not showing it.
"Oh, call me Bubcha like everyone else," said her grandmother.
"Yes, there are no Sirs and Madams here," said Al, taking their packs past his wife inside the house. "Follow me, Raven and … umm…"
"Eeth," said Eeth, who was absolutely not used to such an informal way of dealing with people he had only just met but felt he could hardly ask them to call him "Master Koth" when they were just "Al," "Baka" and "Selwin" to him.
Raven could imagine how all this cuddling and informality would be going down with Eeth, but he was taking it in stride, as far as she could tell.
Again Belle took their hands, pausing to look at Eeth's. "You are almost as tall as Daddy and so dark. Is there lots of sun on Coruscant?"
Baka gave Eeth an expression that was a little apologetic but mostly that of amusement.
Eeth had to smile at that question. "No, little one," he replied gently. "I am a Zabrak. I was born this way. My race comes from a desert world. Our skin is dark so it can protect us from the sun. Would you like to show us inside?" They were still standing around in the entrance and blocking each other's way, after all.
Belle seemed to contemplate his words for a moment. Then, as if deciding that the answer was satisfactory, she grasped his hand, or more like a few of his fingers, and led them inside. "I'll show you's the room we made up," she told them.
The group entered single file, the door being far too narrow to accommodate more than one at a time. They entered into a medium-sized room with lots of soft, comfortable-looking chairs and several lowered desks that were surrounded with pillows and still held books and coloured pencils that Raven suspected belonged to Belle or maybe Jai. The antique white walls were old, and paint was chipped off in areas, but they were clean, as were the darkly stained floorboards, which were scratched and scuffed from a lot of use. The home was bigger than it looked from the front, Raven mused, as Belle led them down a narrow hallway and upstairs. They passed several open doors and entered a small, brightly lit room.
"Ta Da! Do you like it?" Belle asked, looking from Eeth to Raven expectantly.
Belle and Selwin had spent some time that day helping Bram settle into his brother Jai's room, but according to Belle, Bram's bedroom was too boyish for her big sister, and that was how it had started. After redressing the top bunk with Belle's favourite rainbow-coloured sheets, she had parted with one of two mushroom night lights that gave off a dim white glow just bright enough to look at picture books when no one was watching. Finally, she had swapped Bram's "ugly" brown shaggy rug for one with coloured polka dots. Placated, Belle had then been happy to help with other things, like joining Bubcha in making dinner, whilst Al had set to knocking out the foot rung from the bottom bunk so that Eeth could at least stretch out, even if his legs were going to hang over the end.
It was clear to Raven that her little sister was proud of their work, so she put a hand over her mouth and gasped. "Wow, I really like it! Thank you, Belle, it's so pretty," she said, grinning at her sister's expression. Raven had to chuckle at spotting the size of their bunks; even with the foot rail removed, Eeth's legs would stick out from mid-calf, not that he hadn't endured worse in his time.
At that moment, a cheerful-looking boy came strolling in, a school bag slung over his shoulder. "Hi, you must be Raven!" he said, beaming at her. "I'm Jai." Jai was small and slender, like Raven, but he had Bram's curly hair, only it was reddish-brown like his mother's. His eyes were green and he had dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. He was much quieter and less prone to mischief than Bram.
"Hello, Jai, it's nice to meet you. Thanks for sharing your room," said Raven.
"No problem, you're welcome," said Jai.
"Do you need to take a shower or something?" asked Selwin. "Our bathroom is a bit cramped but you're welcome to use it."
"No, thank you," said Eeth. "We did not have a long trip."
"Your message said it was delivered from Gelisia," Bram said. "That's not far from here. What were you doing there?"
"We were sent to rescue the son of a high-ranking politician," said Raven. "Ragan Greyhym's men were attempting to bully Gelisia IV out of joining the Republic, but the politician appealed to the Republic for help and they sent us. It was all very hush hush." This answer created several other questions, and soon they were all seated in the living room hearing the story of how they had found Conrad and the trip to return him to his family.
Raven imagined that there were going to be a lot more questions about her life as a Jedi, but she also had some for them. Her family seemed lovely and she wanted to know all about them.