Many thanks to the wonderful Polaryan of Polaryan.net for the generous amounts of time, creativity and love she gave and still gives during our friendship, and for allowing our countless roleplaying sessions to develop into this. It is my wish that I will be able to continue this into completion, but if it be not so, I will look fondly upon it and remember only the pleasure I took in it. I hope you find as much joy reading as I did writing it.
It was dark as night and cold in my dorm room, but, using the Force for guidance, I made my way throughout my little home assuredly. I smiled to myself as I gathered my few possessions, levitating the smaller items into my luggage bags with effort. Khamier will be proud, I thought. The last time we had been together he had made a gift of a light saber to me, and had begun to instruct me in the ways of the Force. That had been several months previous, but I had been practicing much. My connection to the Force surged at the thought thought of my mentor, the man who had once inspired terror throughout the galaxy as Darth Maul, but who now inspired only love and admiration as Khamier.
Thinking of Khammy put a warm glow throughout my body; his lean musculature, his handsome face. Perfectly, I could picture his finely chiseled features, fiery red tattooed patterns enhancing the ebony of his face, eight sharp horns encircling his bald head like a crown. I remembered the first time I had met him, my fear at his fierce looks. How that had changed; now I knew just how gentle and kind he was, how loving. Occasionally, he would tease me with a kiss and a wink, but I had seen the deep love that flowed between him and Pole. Yes, I believe that Polaryan Fallon Narccossee and Khamier Lereux Sarrin were soulmates, you could see it in their eyes.
I sighed, thinking about the love that my best friends shared between them. It would be so wonderful to find love like that; that once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. The kind of love that would fill up every pore in your body, soothe all of your pain and make all of your memories happy ones. The kind of love that would fill the empty void I had felt ever since my father took the journey to the next world. It made me bitter and depressed to so openly ponder on the tender subject of true love, for I had never found it, and I often doubted that I ever would. "But," I reasoned aloud, as I was often disposed to do in my solitary condition, "I am still young. Perhaps one day I will find what I search for."
"Oooh, so deep," I continued to myself, smiling. "I'm such a weirdo. But I should already know that, I am talking to myself and answering, after all."
I tossed the rest of my stuff into my bag, and slid into my small bed, ready to drift deep into the peaceful oblivion of slumber. Soon I would be across the galaxy, sleeping in a much comfier bed, under a much friendlier sky. My friends, no, my family, would all be there at arm's length, ready and willing to be there for comfort and support, laughter and happiness. I smiled as I closed my eyes; the morning and the trip would not come soon enough.
"Polie!!!" I cried, and dropped my bags where I stood. The two of us excitable girls ran into each other's arms, squealing with delight. Over Pole's shoulder I caught the amused look that settled onto Khamier's face, as he stood patiently beside the car. After a long embrace with Po, I released my grip and ran to Khammy. "C'mere, you!" A mock expression of surprise overtook his face, but his arms were open when I ran up, and squeezed the living daylights out of him.
"Okay," Khammy gasped, and pealed me from his torso. "I think I might need to breathe sometime, little one," he added, smiling. In the meantime, Pole had retrieved my luggage from the ground and placed it neatly into back of the trunk. "Come on, hon, let's rock and roll. I'm sure Aimee's tired from the long flight."
In all actuality, I was practically bouncing the entirety of the short trip from the air/space port. I was just so happy! I was finally here, on an extended, unexpected, but definitely appreciated break from the monotonous reality of the Academy. It was like a dream come true, lemme tell ya! Just in time for me to escape a killer of a midterm project, too. Before I knew it, we had reached there home, and as the first one out of the car, stood discourteously on the lawn staring while the other two got out. They had remodeled, again. The windows were all different, and . . .
Before I could finish my thought, I was attacked, by two black and white drooling entities no less. "Ah, no . . .Riot! Tigger, hey there! No that's my. . .! Oof!" I was promptly pummeled into the ground by a 'riot' of dog paws. I giggled as I scratched the dogs from my prone position in the grass. Piper, the resident lemiac, pounced on my forehead without warning, making certain that she was not left out of the fun. "Ah, that's my head, not a trampoline!" In the background I could hear a roar of giggles, and I called out frantically for assistance.
"Just a little help here! Please! Argh!!" Two dogs and a lemiac were really destroying my personal space, to say the least. Yeesh. So, when a black hand was thrust into the chaos of the situation to offer a little much needed assistance, I took it without hesitation.
"Gee, Khammy, thanks for the . . .uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . .you're not Khammy,"
I stood quickly, staring confusedly into the face before me. Though there was a familiar air about this man, black as midnight, but the eyes I looked into were foreign. A long, thick braid the color of ebony tumbled over his left shoulder, to rest on his black sheathed, muscular chest. He smiled in a peculiarly sly way, but placed a fist into his other hand and bowed deeply in a gesture of utmost refinement.
"Greetings," the stranger said when he rose, and he took my hand and kissed it. "I am Khalier Vineeros Sarrin, 'Khammy' is my father. It is a pleasure,"
I gaped at this strange man. Khammy is his father?! What the?! Now that I looked closer at this 'Khalier' character, I had to admit that there were similarities between them. Their eyes and mouth were consistent in shape, and both had heavy brow ridges. Khalier bore only one horn, front and center in his forehead, but their skin was identical in color. Slowly, in the shock of delayed realization, I turned and continued my gape in the direction of Khamier. I discovered, however, that he and Pole were just standing there, laughing.
"Anyone care to explain?" I asked, still quite in shock. It took a moment for one of them to quiet themselves enough to be able to speak.
"Well," Khamier said, resuming a straight face. "When a male falls in love with a female, sometimes they come together and join in . . . procreation. After a period of gestation, offspring is born, and . . ." he continued, but before he was able to finish, he burst out laughing again. Pole was rolling.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Very funny, mister, you know what I mean,"
"Khali's here for an extended visit," Po finally said, wiping a tear that had managed to squeeze onto her cheek. "He's been studying at Hynerion University on Coruscant, and he's on holiday. But come on, let's get you settled. I'm sure you and Khali will have plenty of time to get to know each other later,"
Khamier retrieved my bags and Polie led the way into the house. I, still in shock, followed along placidly into the carpeted hallway, mirrors and pictures blurring by on either side as the troop of three made their way assuredly through the home. Riot, Tigger, and Piper bounced along into the living area, chasing one another over the furniture, and into a pile of papers lying near the computer desk, causing them to fly everywhere.
"Tigger! Riot! Get away from there!" Pole shouted, rushing to chase away her pets, stooping to gather the papers they had disheveled. A sharp sound pulse emitted from the vid-phone, and Khamier thrust my bags into my hands and ran to it, calling for Khalier to show me to my room. Khalier placed a large hand on my shoulder and led me toward the stairs, and up them toward the second storey. Khalier led me on down the hallway, nearly to the end, where we came upon two doors, one on either side of the hallway. Khalier opened the one on the right wide, and gestured gracefully with his arm for me to enter.
Inside awaited a fresh room in fair colors, the large windows on the wall opposite the door allowing bright beams of light to wash over the space. I set my luggage down on the bed, depressing the periwinkle coverlet traced with silver flowers. A scent of flower petals drifted lazily from a decorated glass bowl atop the bureau, and I inhaled deeply their perfumed scent. I whirled around to take my new sanctuary all together, the bed, the windows, the small desk in the corner. My eyes hit the doorway and I started, realizing that Khalier was still standing there, leaning nonchalantly against the door frame.
"Oh," I uttered, startled. "I didn't know you were still here,"
"I apologize, my lady." He replied in a deep voice just a hair above Khamier's bass. His eyes trailed down my body in a lingering way that made my very skin tingle, his lips curled in a devious smile. "I do hope that you enjoy your stay here, and should you need me, I'm right across the way."
My clothes seemed to melt away under his calculating gaze, making me feel naked and infantile. I suddenly noticed how good looking Khamier was, how enticing, a blushing creeping up my neck and cheeks. His grin broadened, but it was anything but pleasant. I took a step back, frightened of the power he was exerting over me, deeply aware of the menacing Force tendrils snaking their way in my direction.
"Aimee! Khalier! Come on down! Khamier's gonna treat us to a night on the town!"
With a sigh of relief, I brushed past Khalier and ran toward the stairs, not failing to notice the smirk of satisfaction that swept across his face as he followed.