Hikari-No's Promise
Chapter Two
Hikari-No placed the book down with a rueful sigh.
"Yes Master?" she turned around to him, instantly regretting the fact that she had forgotten to place a marker in the book before closing it. She had been reading a fascinating commentary on the nature of the living Force and the potential for good in the Dark Side that was probably too advanced for her ten year old mind, but she found it interesting. Mi-Rai chuckled at her consternation.
"Smile, Little One. I have good news for you", he said, and she sighed, wondering what he had planned for her this time.
"In what way, Master?" she was polite to him as always, but there was a slight edge to her voice that only he would have noticed. He smiled at her.
"Do you remember a trip we made two years ago, to a remote planet on the Outer Rim?" he asked, wondering what she could remember from the trip.
"You mean Domus Prime?" She had not remembered the trip, but his thoughts had been so clear that it had taken little effort to lift the information she needed. However, she respected her Master too much to truly spoil his game. She thought back to what she could remember of the trip, and found the memories not altogether unpleasant.
He nodded to her, and went on. "It would seem that the peace that was created on that trip has been lasting, and the Princess has invited us back to Domus Prime for two weeks as guests at her celebrations. As neither of us have any important duties to attend to at the moment, the Council has given us permission to go", at this Hikari-No jumped up, smiling broadly and throwing her arms around Mi-Rai. "But", she drew back cautiously, "they have not excused you from the work that you will be missing whilst you are away. You will have to take your books with you, and Master Genki is expecting a detailed report on the importance of the Force in the lives of the people on Domus Prime when we get back."
She sighed at this, knowing well that when Master Genki requested a 'report', he expected a work so complicated that the Temple Librarian had once jokingly referred to one of Hikari-No's projects as her 'thesis'. Even though she knew that Master Genki would not ask her to do the work if he did not think she was capable, Hikari-No still found herself wishing that just once he would treat her like the other students in the class.
It had gotten so that the other students would not treat her the same anymore. In fact, many of them had taken to ignoring Hikari-No, despite the many attempts she had made at becoming friends with them. It had been easier when she was younger, no one really cared then if you did things differently. But they were ten now, an awkward age when differences were mocked rather than respected, and on many occasions it was only Hikari-No's own private certainty that she was destined to become a great Jedi that stopped her from believing the taunts that were thrown at her.
Mi-Rai had said that they were only teasing her because they were jealous of her own abilities, but she was glad that she would have some time away from them all. Perhaps when she returned she would find that they had matured enough to leave her to study in peace.
"When are we leaving, Master?" she asked, hoping despite herself that it would be soon.
"Tomorrow morning, Little One, so don't fret yourself about having to spend one more day in class with the other padawans. I know you're worried about them, but you just have to wait for them to grow up a bit and catch up with you."
"It's not that Master", she spoke softly, wishing she could find the words to tell him what she felt. She sighed and looked up, noticed the time and stepped back, grabbing a datapad from the table.
"We'll talk after your class", he said as she ran from the room in her hurry to avoid being late again.
Tears flowing freely down her face, Hikari-No ran blindly through the Temple corridors, not caring who saw her in this state. Maybe Jedi did not cry, but she was just a small girl who had been rejected by every other person in her age group, and she could no longer hide the pain, even from herself. She sobbed loudly as she crashed into a young man who had not thought to dodge her.
Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, and though she struggled to be free, to continue running until she could no longer feel the pain, she could not break free. So she stood there, crying softly in his arms. She was aware of him waving his companions away without looking up, and she was grateful for the understanding presence of this man, who did not speak, but simply stood there, brushing down her hair as she sobbed herself out.
She did not know how long it was before she gulped down a final sob and looked up at the one who had been so kind to her, more than slightly ashamed at her outburst. He was taller than her, with darkish hair, and eyes that frightened her for a moment before she realised that he meant her no harm.
With a gasp, she realised that he wore the robes of a Dark Jedi, and she stepped back, bowing respectfully.
"I am terribly sorry, sir, I did not mean to disturb you." She backed away further, and he looked puzzled at her sudden change in attitude.
"Are you alright?" he spoke with a slight accent, trying to understand why this girl suddenly seemed so frightened. He looked himself over once, then, realising what had happened, mentally smacked himself on the forehead, cursing his oversight.
"So", he said, trying to find a way of righting matters with this small girl, who only appeared to be about ten years in age, "Could I treat you to a chocolate drink?"
Her eyes lit up for a moment, and she met his eyes for the first time, searching them for reassurance of what she thought of this young man. His shifted uneasily, wondering why her gaze seemed to penetrate deep into his soul, taking note of every aspect of him, including his past, that he would rather forget. She nodded then, and he had no doubts that she was not only approving his offer, but his entire being. For one so young, she was certainly used to using her powers, although he had thought that his mind was shielded at that moment. Something to work on then.
"I'm Hikari-No", she said, holding her hand forward in a ritual gesture of greeting, a smile on her face belying the sorrow that had been there such a short time ago. He shook his head at this sudden mood swing, then took her small hand in his own, to lead her to a place where they could enjoy the promised drinks in quiet company.
"You may call me 'Riddler'."
Sometime later, after Hikari-No had managed to drink two of the hot beverages, he thought that perhaps she was composed enough to explain why she had been so upset in the passageway before. Before he could speak, she met his eyes, and nodded, almost as if she was giving him permission to speak his mind.
"So, what happened back there?" He spoke softly, hoping that his words would not upset her further, although few tears had fallen since her earlier outburst. She sighed, and placed one of her hands on the glass before her, the other one was busy pushing the spoon around it with a musical tinkling.
"I just could not take it any more."
He frowned, surely a girl of her age was too young to be having a mid-life crisis. Something must have happened in one of her classes then, perhaps with the other students.
"Take what?" he prompted softly, wishing that he was more accustomed to dealing with innocents like her. It was easier to fight than to feel sympathy and to help.
"Listening to them." With a discordant flick of the spoon, she pushed the glass away from her distastefully, and started flicking the end of her long braid absently, her eyes focussed somewhere beyond him.
"What did they say?"
Hikari-No shook her head slightly, her eyes snapped back in focus, and for a moment he thought he could see anger flashing in her eyes.
"That is just it. They did not say anything. But I could still hear them. I always hear them, everything they want to say, but are afraid to speak in front of Master Genki. And they know that I can hear them, which just makes it worse."
Tears began to fill her eyes again, and he felt unusually sad for this young girl, who seemed to have come into her powers so early, but did not yet have control over them.
Although he knew the answer, he still asked, "Have you told your Master?"
"I tried to, but he did not understand."
That was understandable, especially if she had been as vague with her Master as she had been this afternoon with him.
"Did you tell him that you hear them in your mind rather than with your ears?" She looked up, startled, and he continued. "Don't look so worried. You're training to become a Jedi, and learning how to hear what people are not saying is an important skill for all Jedi. But, you also need to learn how to create a shield, so that people cannot read your mind, nor you theirs. That way, you might find things a lot quieter."
Hikari-No mulled this over for several minutes, and his eyes never left her face, although she was staring silently at the table before her. When she spoke, it was in a quiet voice, tinged slightly with apprehension and fear.
"Could you show me?"
He nodded, and tried to think of the best way to explain the process to her. He did not think the way he had been taught would be appropriate, and he shuddered inwardly at the memory. Hikari-No caught an echo of his pain and reached out a small hand, not quite understanding.
"You do not have teach me, if you do not want to."
A flash of determination swept over him, and he decided that he could teach Hikari-No how to perform this simple trick, to stop her from feeling pain, and to start on making amends for all the wrong he had done to children like her.
"Close your eyes", he said, and reached over the table, placing his hand lightly on her arm. For some reason, most people found it easier to communicate mind to mind if physical contact was made. He visualised how to make a shield to protect her thoughts, and projected the images directly into her mind.
Hikari-No gasped at the sudden clarity of what she was receiving, and understood instantly how to implement what he was showing her. Without a second thought, she did so.
Riddler sat back, instantly aware of the blackness where a moment before Hikari-No's mind had been. 'That was quick', he thought to himself, 'Either I'm a better teacher than I thought, or Hikari-No is amazingly gifted. I sincerely hope it is the former though, people like her usually end up having important destinies to fulfil.'
She smiled up at him, and for a moment, he felt her shield waver. "Concentrate", he said, but it was too late, she lost control and the shield disappeared, her face filling with chagrin. "With time and practice, you will be able to hold it without even thinking of it."
"Thank you." She stood and dashed around the table, tears flowing freely down her face, and threw her arms around him, embracing him in her happiness. For a moment he was confused and unsure as to what to do, but he gently placed his arms around Hikari-No, caught up in her enthusiasm. He glanced over at the timepiece on the wall and sighed.
When she broke away a few moments later, he looked down at her, sorry for having to say goodbye.
"It's getting late", he said, and she turned around seeing the clock behind her and gasping in shock.
"I should have been back from class an hour ago. My Master is going to kill me."
She squeezed his hand once more, before dashing towards the door, barely waiting for it to open before dashing out. He had raised a hand to say goodbye, but she did not look back in her hurry.
The Riddler sank back down on his chair, suddenly exhausted.
Hikari-No stopped in the hallway, a puzzled expression crossing her face. She had forgotten something, something important. There was something she had been supposed to say, but she could not place it. Something about a knife, no, someone who had worried him, something that had frightened Riddler. In a daze, she walked back towards the Riddler's rooms, and triumphantly recalled what she had been meant to say as she passed it by. She turned around, and peeked her head inside.
A flash of brown hair passed by his door, and Hikari-No peeked back into the room.
"And do not worry", she called, a big smile on her face. "If Blade ever comes back, I will protect you from him."
And with that she was gone, leaving him puzzled once more.
She dashed into the main room of their apartment, and the door closed silently behind her. Hikari-No sighed, and wondered what her punishment would be this time.
At the end of the room stood Mi-Rai, his dark eyes shimmering slightly, and she wondered if something had happened. She gasped as the big Jedi swept her up into his arms, embracing her fiercely. "Don't ever do that again", he whispered to her, and Hikari-No held him back, unused to the display of emotion from her normally calm Master, but cherishing it nonetheless.
"I couldn't find you", he said, putting her back down on the ground, but keeping her small hand in his. "When Master Genki told me what happened, and then I couldn't find you, I was so worried."
"I am sorry Master", she said, her eyes focussed on the floor, "I should not have run away from class like that. Master Genki must have been so very upset."
"Why did you leave like that?" he knelt down before her, and for a moment, Hikari-No could see a shadow of the future, many people performing the same gesture over the course of time. She shrugged it off, and closed her eyes, trying to formulate an answer.
"It does not matter anymore. It is the past, and I had already completed the lesson. And now that we are going away, everything will turn out for the best."
He placed his hand under her chin, and lifted it, raising her gaze to meet his own. His eyes widened, and he understood suddenly what had been so distressing her.
"It seems that your afternoon was well spent however." She smiled beautifully at him, and he realised just how much the influence of his young Padawan had changed his life over the past years. She let go of his hand, and moved to go into her own room, to prepare for the trip ahead and to organise her possessions.
As she walked away from him, she did not look back, but his words echoed in the empty room. "I just wish you wouldn't hide your thoughts from me."
Sitting on the floor of her room, Hikari-No reverently took the box from it's place under her bed and opened it gently, looking down at it's contents with a pleasure akin to bliss. No one, not even her Master, knew about this, her special project. She made a point of never consciously thinking about it, a skill developed after many years of practice. That way, no one else could find it.
Although the pieces seemed jumbled, she could clearly see the pattern they would form, and the end result was pleasing to the eye. However, although there were some parts that could currently be joined, the entire project had been put on hold, until she could find the crystals necessary to complete her work.
Her fingers lightly traced a pattern on the metal casing she would use to finish off her work, and once again she tried to imagine what she would engrave on the finished project. But the paths were cloudy, and try though she could to remember a suitable proverb or motto, her memories and visions told her nothing but that she would one day use this weapon.
With a sigh, Hikari-No closed the box, and placed the incomplete lightsaber on the bottom of her bag, not quite understanding why she did so, and continued to pack clothing around it, glad that she could now hide her thoughts, even from her master. She could not anticipate his reaction to the thought that she was building a Jedi's weapon, and she was more than slightly wary of the day when he would realise just what his Padawan had been spending her spare time on.
The next day, the sun over Coruscant dawned behind darkened clouds, the dim weather convincing Hikari-No, despite her refusal to believe in omens, that time away from the Temple was necessary, and perhaps for the best.
Once the ship left the atmosphere of Coruscant, and made the disorientating jump to hyperspace, she withdrew from her satchel the datapad that Mi-Rai had given her on the history of Domus Prime and settled down to study it.
"For close to a thousand years, the remote planet of Domus Prime had been ruled by a monarchy of great Kings and Queens. The ruler of the planet is not determined by birthright, as is the case on many other worlds, rather, the leader of the people is elected by a majority of the population. Only those with little political experience or ambition are ever nominated for election to the position. As a result, those who are elected are generally peace-loving, with a strong sense of responsibility towards the people who elected them.
"A Council of Advisers assist the monarch of Domus Prime, and it is generally they who select the nominees, although there have been many exceptions to this rule.
"Domus Prime has no unique religion, and is tolerant to those who wish to seek refuge from persecution or indeed and person's belief. Most there seem to follow the same beliefs as the Jedi, and indeed it is a favourite place amongst the Order, for there are many fully trained Knights serving in the Royal Forces under the command of a Master appointed by the Jedi Council.
"At all times, the ruler of Domus Prime maintains a full guard at combat readiness, but this seems to be more from tradition rather than from any real need, for there has been no war or rebellion on the planet for over three hundred years.
"However, in recent years the political structure of Domus Prime has changed somewhat, largely due to the Council of Advisers refusal to replace the late King Alutharum as he aged and descended into senility. The Council had become far separated from their idealistic ancestors, and decided, in their greed, to take as much control and wealth from the people who had put them in their positions as possible. Whilst the King was left mostly to the management of his servants and attendants, many of the Council members became increasingly wealthy, gathering private armies from the Royal Forces, and claiming precedence over each other, and Domus Prime itself. One had gone as far as to declare himself King Themlar of Domus Prime, and rebellion was in the air. When the old King finally passed away, the people took action, demanding that there be an election, which was held much to the dismay of the Council.
"When a young girl by the name of Jenia was voted by the population of Domus Prime to be Queen of the planet, several armies suddenly mobilised to try and overthrow the new monarch. Safe in Fuhenteki Na Shiro, her palace overlooking the capital city, the Queen was kept ignorant for a time of the danger that was threatening the peace of her world.
"This information could not be kept secret forever, and once discovered, the Queen quickly moved, sending what remind of her guard to eliminate the opposition to her rule. However, her forces were overpowered, and she held the throne only because rebellion would have followed her deposition. Knowing that had she called them, the young Queen would have had the support of the people on her side, she retained much of her power over the Council, but it was that, in truth, the throne of Domus Prime had suddenly divided into two sources of power held in a fragile alliance.
"Disgusted with the turn of affairs, the Queen declared that until Domus Prime had returned to it's original state of single monarchy, she would not accept the full title of Queen, and has gone by the title of Princess ever since.
"On several occasions, violence over this state of affairs has spilled over into the streets, but it was always the citizens who suffered at the hands of the Council-owned military. It was out of fear of the people suffering further that the Princess refused to challenge the Council, accepting her fate as she tried to wrest power back from the greedy Councillors.
"Two years ago, the violence erupted in a terrible manner, and many thousands of people lost their lives fighting for the Princess. She herself was grieved by the turn of events, and did what she could to prevent further bloodshed. But the Councillors were intent on trying to take control of the entire planet, using their military force to conquer the generally peace-loving people to their will. It was only the intervention of Jedi diplomats from Coruscant that stopped the Council from the complete genocide of the people of Domus Prime. It is not known why they tried to displace the elected ruler of the planet against the will of the population, but across the galaxy, those who noticed the events that were transpiring on this small planet on the Outer Rim worried, and were afraid that the peace created that day two years ago would not last."
Stifling a yawn, Hikari-No placed the datapad and her pages of notes away, storing them in a safe drawer on the ship. She called out a request for the lights to be dimmed, the computer did so, and she climbed up into her bunk and fell asleep.
The next day, she awoke just as the ship was emerging from hyperspace, feeling a rush of nausea as the universe shifted around her. She was the only person she knew that ever seemed to be affected by the process this way, and not for the first time, she found herself cursing whatever fault of her genetics had caused this defeat.
Switching on a viewscreen, she checked the ship's approach to Domus Prime, and noted with surprise that it would still be several hours before they arrived on the planet's surface.
Tapping a quick request into the catering unit, Hikari-No dressed, tying up her hair so that only her Padawan braid remained loose, stretching down her back, the only part of her hair that was ever neat. She sighed heavily, trying to smooth the bumps that marred the plait that she had tied the rest of her hair into, loose ends falling out at odd angles and intervals.
A soft chime from the wall told her that her breakfast was ready, and Hikari-No ate quickly, surprised at how hungry she was. When she was done, she picked up her datapad to continue with her studies.
"Diplomatically, Domus Prime has never played an important role in inter-galactic politics. It's people are too peaceful, and it's location too remote for it to be significant. Domus Prime is not a wealthy world, although most of the people there live reasonable lives of moderate income. There is no slavery, in accordance with local and Republic law. The people are generous, and so they have few merchants that have acquired great wealth, these few being from other worlds where honesty is not so highly valued."
Hikari-No sighed and looked away. The datapad was so boring, she found that it was putting her to sleep once more. She had found out more from the datapad than she expected, but it was still dull, and did not contain any of the real information that she would need to complete her project. She would just have to complete it on the planet's surface, where the information available would be more interesting.
It was nearly time for the ship to land on Domus Prime, so she went to find her Master and see where he had been this morning.
Several hours later, Hikari-No found herself wandering through Fuhenteki Na Shiro, memories of the last time she had visited the palace washing over her in gentle waves. The Princess had been unable to properly greet her arrivals, being too busy giving a special audience to some ambassadors from Alderaan. However, she had given Hikari-No permission to use the resources of her Royal Library, which Hikari-No was currently trying to find, whilst Mi-Rai had gone off to reminisce with the few Jedi Masters that were scattered around the planet.
Eventually, she located the right door, and taking in her datapads and notes, found herself in a room almost as large as the Great Hall, filled with books and recordings. Hikari-No sighed happily as she turned around slowly, taking in the atmosphere of the library. "I could spend eternity in this place and still not read everything", she breathed reverently, "The more I get to know her, the more I like this Princess."
Closing her eyes and letting the Force guide her to the books she would need, Hikari-No started to seriously work on her project.
Sometime later, she was startled out of her reverie by a friendly voice that had appeared suddenly behind her.
"They told me I'd find you here."
Hikari-No jumped, letting out an involuntary scream.
"Oops, sorry about that."
She turned around, her eyes widening as she realised who it was that had disturbed her, and found herself suddenly embraced by her friend.
"Hello Catherine", she said, trying to disentangle herself from Catherine's arms long enough to stand up properly.
"It's about time you came back here", Catherine said, stepping back, but not relinquishing her hold on Hikari-No's hand. "Everyone missed you."
Hikari-No took a moment to properly see her friend, noting the slight changes that had occurred over the past two years. Catherine was taller than her now, not that it was particularly surprising: everyone was taller than Hikari-No, even Master Yoda. Catherine's black hair was nearly as long as Hikari-No's own, and it was tied back in a neat plait. Then the meaning of her words sank in, and Hikari-No frowned slightly as she mulled it over.
"What do you mean, 'Everyone'?" she asked, confused.
"You know", Catherine made a dismissive gesture with one hand and walked over to the window, standing in the sunlight, "Me, Tamira, Nilanka, Salyfe, the Princess. Even Melvin was looking forward to seeing you again."
"Melvin?" whilst the other names had been familiar, Hikari-No could not remember ever meeting anyone by the name of Melvin.
Catherine turned back, her yellow eyes the colour of the sunlight. "Oh, he told you his name was Jester, didn't he?" Recognition rushed back to her, and she nodded in relief, "Jester's his family name. He prefers it because he thinks that the name 'Melvin' is reserved for geeks."
Although she did not know what a 'geek' was, Hikari-No nodded as if she did. If it was not for her new-found resolve not to read the minds of others unless she had to, Hikari-No could have lifted the information from Catherine's thoughts. Now that she had the opportunity to not listen in, she found the concept of eavesdropping on another person's innermost thoughts repulsive. So she kept her silence, but Catherine did not notice, continuing her dialogue.
"Unfortunately, he recently went off to join the Royal Forces, so you won't be able to meet up with him. That's a shame, because he really seemed to like you. Not that you seem to have had any trouble making friends here. For someone who only spent two days on Domus Prime, you certainly affected a lot of people. You know", she paused and looked at Hikari-No speculatively, "You do look a lot like Tamira. They told me you did, but I just couldn't see it until now. You sure are quiet", she finished with her hands on her hips like an old woman.
Hikari-No couldn't help it. She burst out laughing, shaking her head. Catherine raised one eyebrow slightly, then joined in.
"I've missed you", Hikari-No said when she finally had control again. Catherine nodded, then noticed the books that were strewn across the table.
"Why are you studying? This is supposed to be a holiday."
Hikari-No shrugged. "A Jedi's work is never done," she quipped. "I have this big assignment to do on how the Force is important to the people of Domus Prime. I thought that I'd get it out of the way now so that we could celebrate later."
Catherine could see the logic of this, and flicked her plait back over her shoulder in acquiescence. "So it's a project on religion?", Hikari-No nodded, "Well, then, maybe we could do some field research. There's a Temple in the city that you should visit if you want to find out about the people of Domus Prime. The priestesses there know everything about most of the different religions here. And maybe they could do a Fire reading for you."
Hikari-No had already picked up her notes and was not paying any attention to the end of Catherine's sentence. She looked around, hoping that the Princess would not notice that she had temporarily left the library in such a state. There were books strewn across the desk she had been using, and small pieces of paper lay over them, fluttering in a non-existent breeze.
They walked from the library together, and Hikari-No set out in the opposite direction to Catherine, who turned back in surprise.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"I have to tell my Master that we are going out, or he will be upset." Hikari-No knew that if she ran off again Mi-Rai would be beyond upset, but she did not say that.
"Don't worry about it", Catherine assured her, "I'll tell one of the guards to give him a message."
Thus assured of her Master's continued mental stability, Hikari-No completely failed to notice that Catherine forgot to follow up on her promise.
Hikari-No and Catherine passed through a series of secret passageways to emerge through the darkness in the city beyond the palace. When Hikari-No questioned Catherine on her knowledge of the dark tunnels, Catherine merely stated that the guards would not let her out the front gates, so the passages were the only option left if she wanted to spend any time in the real world.
As the two girls walked down the busy city streets, Hikari-No took the opportunity to question her friend on the exact nature of her position in the palace.
"Don't you know?" she replied cheerfully, "I'm the Princess' chosen one. Supposedly, she's training me to take over when she dies, but I doubt that'll ever happen. So, I get to hang around in the palace, and I get to go to all the parties, and the Princess drags me around with her wherever she goes. I also have to sit in on a lot of politics, but she gave me the afternoon off so that I could go out with you."
"Your Princess seems very wise", Hikari-No ventured, unsure as to what to say now that she realised that her friend was royalty. Catherine turned around, and noticed the expression on Hikari-No's face.
"Don't look at me that way", she snapped. "I'm still the same person I was before you knew, so don't treat me differently. The reason I don't tell anyone is that they then go and start calling me silly names like 'Your Highness', and I cannot stand that. When I become Queen, then they can be silly, but until then, I'm just Catherine, as I was before. So there." She poked her tongue out emphatically, then turned around and led the way down the street to a park.
When she stood at the gateway to the park, she turned and pointed out a lone building on the top of the hill. "That's the temple", she said.
The Temple of the Light was a small, modest collection of buildings on the top of the hill, overlooking the park. It was run by a group of priestesses, who tended the sacred flames in the main room, prayed and tended the many visitors who came seeking advice from the flames. The girls themselves were mostly young, although they were overseen by an older woman who Catherine whispered was also one of the Queen's handmaidens.
As they climbed the hill, Hikari-No noticed two large black birds watching them trace the way up the path. The yellow eyes of the birds were the same colour as Catherine's own, and the way they looked at her was disconcerting. When she looked forward again, and saw another set of eyes looking at her she gasped and took a step back.
"Don't be afraid", the priestess murmured, "I am sorry if I startled you."
"Everyone seems to be doing that today", Hikari-No muttered as she looked up to properly see the raven-haired maiden. About eighteen years of age, her red robes contrasted with her eyes, that were so violet that they almost did not look real. She ran an idle hand through her hair, and laughed softly at the younger girl's attention.
"My name is Rei", she said, offering a hand.
"I'm Hikari-No", she answered politely.
"And before either of you forget me, I'm Catherine", a third voice demanded the attention of the other two.
"Yes princess, we know", Rei flashed her a glance of pure fire, then embraced the girl warmly. "We have missed you here at the Temple. But the palace calls you still, as it always will."
"It is my destiny, you know that."
Hikari-No was confused at this cryptic exchange, but held her tongue. Catherine suddenly remembered her presence, and turned around to explain. "I served as a priestess here for a time, as the Princess required of me. Rei here was my tutor, though she thought I was a rotten child."
"I did not", the woman replied, "I never said that you were a rotten child."
"You did so. You told Priestess Dunn that I was a rotten child with no sense of duty. I heard you." Her hands on her hips, Catherine dared the young priestess to challenge her words. Rei thought about it for a moment, then smiled.
"And how did you hear that unless you were eavesdropping on our conversation?" Catherine had the grace to blush, looking down at her feet and trying to find a way out of the situation.
"Umm, did I tell you that Hikari-No wanted to have someone do her a Fire reading?" she said, neatly changing the subject. Rei raised an eyebrow at the still squirming girl, but followed her lead with a nod of the head.
"What does she want to know about?" although she spoke to Catherine, Hikari-No knew that the question was really directed to her.
"I have never heard of a Fire reading before today, so I do not know what to ask for. In fact", she shot Catherine a glance, "I had intended to come to your Temple to work on my project on the influence of the Force on the lives of the people of Domus Prime."
"So you did", the priestess replied cheerfully, noticing for the first time the stack of papers that was lodged under Hikari-No's arm. "Then you shall learn about our people, and their ways of life. But first", she took Hikari-No's free hand and began to lead her towards the main building, "we shall ask the Sacred Fire to show us of your destiny, little Jedi."