Knight-Errantly Chapter Seventeen
Main Theme- Merry-Go-Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi
His red hair reaches past his thin waist. It's a wild wad of frizz, and he has nothing to tame it with. His fingers don't work because his nails are far too short to untangle the knots. He works desperately at the knots until he eventually gives up and lays his head back onto the leaves. The azure sky stretches to infinity, while the sun burns more brown dots across his face. The trees offer their emerald leaves as tools, but he refuses them. He gets up and ventures deep into the woods, searching for a brush or a comb. He can't find anything for a long time, save for nature. The woods eventually thin into a clearing where he meets another person. It's a young woman nearly three meters tall and clad in shining armor. Her wavy, black tresses fall to her waist like a beautiful cape. Her face is a strange mix of childish roundness and adult angularity that somehow balance each other out. Her eyes are a piercing silver framed by soft, black brows.
He freezes like he's come across a unicorn. She gives him a rosy smile and speaks in a gentle tone.
"Do you need help?"
"U-Um, I need s-something for my hair." He shyly tugs at it to make his point.
"I've got something." Her shiny gauntlets open the gray pouch on her belt and pulls out a bristly brush and some hair ties. "I can help you if you want."
"Yeah, but you're a giant. I'd have to climb a tree, so you can reach my head!"
"We'll sit in the meadow to be of equal height," she suggested and then led him into the meadow's heart. Red flowers with curling petals, almost like dead spiders, surround them like a moat. He sits cross-legged, while she relies on her knees. Soon, she cards the brush through his hair, gently working at the knots. It feels like a long time for the boy to sit still, but he does so with a bit of fidgeting. Eventually, she turns him around, so he can use her armor as a mirror. His bushy nest of a hair is a long braid with the flowers weaved into it. He feels very much like Princess Meiloorun about to let down her long hair.
"Thank you, miss!"
"It was my pleasure, Armitage."
He blinks owlishly. "How do you know my name?"
"I've been watching over you since you were born. Just in a place far, far away."
"Are you from another universe?"
"No," she laughed softly. "I am from this galaxy."
"Who are you?"
"Kendalina." His eyes widen, and then she stands up. "I have to go now."
"Oh…I guess this is goodbye then." The sun's light grows harsher, causing the armor to get even brighter and dazzling his eyes.
"For now, but we'll meet again."
When Waste returns to the medbay after patching up a prisoner in the brig, he finds Armitage crying in his silent way. He's come across this very same scene throughout Armitage's childhood aboard the Dark Lady Lumiya: his first night away from Brendol, his first time after cleaning blood from the torture room, his first failed match against Captain Siva, and his return to the ship after being in the hands of a madwoman for a year. It appears that these tears are for a dream, or a nightmare, the young human had.
However, the boy is smiling.
Waste brings over Armitage's clothes for Nagi over, including the cloak that miraculously survived the laser barrage, and the boy pays him no mind.
"You appear quite happy," he commented, startling the boy out of whatever he was thinking about. Armitage wipes his tears away with the hem of his blanket.
"Yeah, I'm about to be discharged! Next stop, Nagi!" the boy lied, Waste could tell when Armitage refused to look directly at him.
"I see. Do remember to pay attention to your surroundings and try not to get kidnapped," he said dryly before handing over the clothing. The boy's grin stretches so much that he splits his chapped lips. He winces and touches his bottom lip. Waste sighs.
"I'll get you some lip balm too."
"I swear, Waste, I won't end up in this medbay again for the duration of the trip."
"I hope you don't. And, please, don't get kidnapped again."
"I promise!"
Desolous watches apprehensively as Armitage's shuttle finally makes landfall. Armitage has been on his best behavior after being caught by the meddroid, plenty of bedrests and eating all his meals, and finally got the green light to leave the medbay once dressed. He's been fiddling with the end of his hooded cloak most of the time, nervous about something. Desolous can't guess why since he knows all about the Skywalker family drama and that drama seems mostly resolved. For now.
So, what is eating away at Armitage?
Perhaps, if he watched the comm hail between Armitage and Ben, he would know the source of this new nervousness. Unlike Skywalker, he won't cancel prior commitments just to see every moment in Brendol's or Armitage's life. He could rewind his projector to that comm hail, but he doesn't want to miss the present. Armitage decides to get out of his own head and chats with Siva. Armitage does all the talking, while Siva just nods along.
When he was alive and a Jedi, he inquired about Brendol's family in the creaky bunk of his rusty ship:
"Do you have any family left?"
"Yes. I have a brother; he's a year older than me."
"Does he look like you?"
"No. He's Nagai."
"Then, you're half-brothers?"
"Not a drop of blood between us. We were both slaves together."
"Horror and tragedy bound you two."
"Our love for each other binds us."
Years later after his Fall, Brendol would later add that he hoped they would never meet because they would kill each other. He can understand Brendol's sentiment now though. With his sharp, angular face and cold eyes, Den Siva cuts a menacing figure. He wears a form-fitting dark suit with a royal purple cape that adds a haughtiness to him. He sports a thin foil on his belt of knives, contrasting with Armitage's bulkier Sith sword. Both uncle and nephew share a love for swords and a fondness for capes.
It warms Desolous's heart in a way that he would've confused it for heartburn if he was alive.
His door then slides open, and he turns to see Anakin Skywalker. He wears his ever-youthful face and dark tabards like he's still fighting in the final year of the Clone Wars.
"Can't you imagine yourself a better set of clothes? Even your son retired his dark look," he huffed.
"Hey! I can't help that this is my favorite outfit."
"Your wife is Naboo, have her dress you up."
"She would love that. I just don't have the patience for it." Anakin shrugs his shoulders like an impetuous padawan.
"You have an entire afterlife to learn patience," he reminded the Jedi Knight.
"But not to see our younglings reunite!" Anakin hurries to the holoprojector to see the children. Jacen has a guilty expression on his face whenever he looks at Leia. She doesn't seem bothered by anything and keeps her eyes on the ship. Ben is also strangely calm like his mother. Armitage runs down the ship's ramp and hugs Ben, earning a squeal-like sound from Skywalker.
"You're wearing your cape again."
"I know it makes me feel super!"
Another squeal, more like a screech, emits from Skywalker's mouth. Desolous sighs and hopes that this won't last long.
Jaina was supposed to come, but she wanted to spend more time with their father. Jacen wishes she were here. She would've found ways for him to not think about the current situation, probably through getting into more trouble. Right now, he feels like he's being watched. Like someone is watching him through the Force. Neither Ben nor Leia picks up on this. Then again, they aren't strong in the Unifying Force like him.
Armitage barrels down the ramp, while his uncle walks languidly down it. The white cape whips in the air as the older ginger embraces Ben. Jacen feels a pinprick of jealously at the amount of affection Armitage has for someone he only knew for such a brief time, but he then reminds himself of Armitage's lack of friends.
Before the Academy, Jaina and I were the only friends he had that were close to his age. He's six years older than us, but he was only ever around adults until he met us. In Karrde's fleet, there were plenty of children from all the families aboard. Siva's crew strangely didn't have any children, except for Armitage.
Armitage finally turns his loving embrace onto him. Jacen rubs at his back like he did with Armitage's cat a long time ago.
"Do you see any Force Ghosts?" he whispered into Armitage's ear.
"No. Is there something wrong?" Armitage whispered back.
"It just feels like someone is watching us in the Force."
"I think I had that same feeling one time when I was showering at the Academy."
"Armitage, I'm being serious."
"So am I!"
"Then, we may have a pervert in the Force stalking us."
"Too bad a ring of salt can't solve our problems."
"You two have been hugging for an awfully long time," Ben chimed in with crossed arms.
"It's been a while since I last saw him!" Armitage replied quickly, sporting a grin like nothing is wrong. Ben purses his lips, clearly not buying it. Armitage then promised, "I'll tell you more about it later."
"Alright."
They soon get on the road to the Warlord's Keep. Armitage catches him up on how he got the cape through his recent kidnapping. Jacen knows that Armitage censors what he's saying during various parts of his story, most likely because it involved Dead-Star. By the end of the long story, they arrive at the Warlord's Keep. Armitage spends a good minute examining the Ancient Sith writings on the Keep.
"Huh, I never thought I'd come across a prayer for Bogan."
"Bogan? Is that the name of a local god?" Leia inquired.
"No, it's the ancient name for the Dark Side. Although, I bet the prayer part did come from Nagai religious practices. Typically, you would write out your prayers and, depending on the local custom, burn it at an altar or leave it in a sacred place. Did I get that right, uncle?" Armitage looks to his uncle for approval or corrections.
"Yes, Armitage."
"Senator, the prayer is asking Bogan to lend their power and wisdom to the Nagai. It's a tame request for a Sith. Well, a Dark Sider in this case since he doesn't have the yellow eyes."
"And how do the people feel about their Warlord's religion?"
Armitage looks to his uncle again.
"I have no love for the institute of religion, but he hasn't used it to enslave us nor divide us. He can worship the Dark Crystal for all I care," Siva replied dispassionately. The coldness in his eyes slightly soften at Armitage's cheeky grin at his reference.
"Well, that's one out of a million," Ben commented dryly to his mother. She has a smirk on her lips.
"I guess it's time for the meeting now," Jacen reminded her.
"What meeting?" Armitage asked.
"Warlord Nihl wishes to meet with us." Siva points at himself and at Leia with a sharp, white finger. Then, he looks at Armitage. "He will meet with you after us."
"Oh," Armitage replied humbly. "I can't figure out why."
"Probably to talk about fate or some Dark Side mumbo-jumbo," Ben snorted derisively. Jacen nods but inwardly he disagrees.
We're both Force-users, but Armitage isn't exactly. He can see Force Ghosts and Sith Spirits, but his midi-chlorian count is well below sensitivity. Or at least that's what Armitage told me. He said the Commandant had him tested when he was of age just in case. Clearly, the Force has some design for him. And so does the Warlord. But for what?
Author's Comments- Here is the link:
Here is an image of Rapunzel's braid from Tangled because that's what inspired the initial dream sequence: a href=" . "Link/a
I'd always imagined Kendalina the Jedi Princess looking a bit like Jennifer Connelly in Labyrinth with the hair of Princess Lily in Legend (1985) and a Serenno build. And, yes, Kendalina comes from Legends/EU where she was also known as a Jedi Princess (whatever the hell that meant since the Wookie doesn't confirm if she's either of those) who nursed Triclops/Rama at the hellhole known as the Kessel spice mines. They would fall in love and have Ken, who would be later known as the Jedi Prince, but she would be killed by Stormtroopers and Triclops went even madder from grief. Baby Ken somehow got spirited away to the Lost City of the Jedi on Yavin IV (yes, the same planet where the Rebels had their famous jungle base on) and raised by two droids. She doesn't even get much of physical description sans the color of her silver eyes. I decided to use her since neither canon seems to care about her, but I did change her backstory quite a bit (you know like giving her one) compared to the original.
Next chapter: Armitage meets with Warlord Nihl, Jaina spends time with her father, Anakin and Desolous come across another mystery, and Bren receives some news.
