Thanks everyone for responding! I'll try to get posts up as soon as I can.
More to come! :)
Stars in the Darkness - Part Two
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Onara smoothed back strands of hair that had escaped from her bun and were tickling the sides of her face. It was the evening of the day Ben had terrified her by levitating that huge box over his head. As she walked down the gleaming hallway of the manor towards his room, she found herself wondering what would have happened if his concentration had broken. She shuddered thinking of it. He had been doing a lot of reckless things of late with his Force abilities and, as Sinja-Bau had pointed it out, it was all in reaction to Onara's pending departure tomorrow for Coruscant.
She turned a corner and saw one of the servants closing the door to Ben's room. It was Keria, the young girl who had seen to Anakin's leg after his dramatic rescue of Ben from Onara's grandmother, the Lady Tsara. Two years had passed since that day, but Onara knew the young blonde girl still dreamed of the handsome, young Padawan. As Onara herself still dreamed of his equally handsome Master.
"Milady," Keria said, curtseying as Onara approached.
"Has he had his bath?" Onara asked smiling.
"Yes, milady. Though I think you will find it hard to get him to lie down and go to sleep. He's quite excited about your leaving tomorrow," Keira said, her dark brown eyes twinkling.
Onara sighed. "Yes, I know."
Keria moved closer, but stopped just short of taking Onara's arm. Although Onara would have welcomed reassurance from anyone at this moment, the servants had become even more deferential to her since she had been elected Senator of their homeworld.
"Do not worry, milady. He will be fine. We will all do our best to ensure he is never lonely."
Onara, who never treated her servants the way most of the major houses of the Ahjane did, reached over and took Keria by the shoulders.
"I know you will, Keria. Actually, I think out of everyone you are Ben's favorite."
Keria blushed prettily. "No, my milady. Everyone knows it is you and Mistress Sinja-Bau he loves the most."
Onara smiled. She released Keria's shoulder and was about to open the door to Ben's room, when she heard the young woman's voice. She turned and looked at her.
"Milady, do you think, perhaps, when you go to Coruscant, you will see Master Anakin?"
"I don't know, Keria." Onara smiled. "Do you have a message for him?"
Keria blushed again. "No, my milady. None at all. I just thought...if you were to see him..."
"I will tell him you send him your best wishes."
Keria, who had been staring at the floor, swinging the toe of her slipper back and forth under her long skirt, looked up at Onara and smiled widely.
"Oh, thank you, milady. Thank you!"
She curtsied, turned and almost skipped down the hall, her long blonde hair swinging across her shoulders. Onara watched her for a moment, shaking her head but smiling fondly. Keria was now the same age Onara had been when she first met Obi-Wan. At eighteen, she was only two years younger than Onara, but she felt years older than the young servant girl.
She turned back to the door to Ben's room. Opening it, she stepped inside. Ben's room used to be one of the larger guest rooms in the manor. His nursery, where the Jedi Healer Master Eo had been killed by members of the Red Tide as he had tried to protect Ben, had been closed off. Onara could not abide the idea of her Force-sensitive baby sleeping in a room where so much death had occurred, for Master Eo, before he had died, had killed a number of the Red Tide members. Since then, the room had become something of a shrine. In front of its door, fresh flowers were placed every day by the servants in remembrance of the gentle, but valiant Jedi Healer.
Now, even two years after his death, Onara's eyes still stung with tears when she remembered the Quarren Jedi. Humanoids dominated the planet of Ahjane and alien visitors rarely came, so when Obi-Wan brought Eo to Ahjane to see if he could cure her of her midi-chlorian poisoning, brought about by her pregnancy, many of her people had been taken aback at the Jedi Healer's strange appearance; the four tentacles that had protruded from his jaw, his bulbous, turquoise eyes, his long suction-tipped fingers. But, in the short time Onara had known Master Eo, he had become as dear to her as her own father, who had also died that terrible night.
Now, as Onara walked into Ben's room, she noted the electronic security screens on the windows. Although her grandmother, the Lady Tsara, the mastermind behind the plot that had brought such pain and grief to them all, also died that night, killed in self-defense by Anakin, Onara would never feel completely safe, and she would never forget the terrible sound of Ben's scream when her grandmother had stolen him and how helpless Onara had been to stop her. After recovering from her illness, she had vowed never to be that vulnerable again. Therefore, when she looked over at Ben's bed and saw it was empty, a dizzying wave of vertigo washed over her.
Then she heard a tiny sneeze and relaxed. Noting the sneeze had come from under the bed, Onara made her way across the plush blue carpet to Ben's closet. Since his room was both bedroom, playroom and study room it was quite large. She opened the closet and looked inside.
"Now, where could my little Jedi Knight be?" she said in a loud voice. "Hmm, he's not in here."
Onara closed the closet door. Walking across the room, she made sure Ben could hear her as she searched. She stopped in front of his computer terminal, where Sinja-Bau gave him his daily lessons. Bending over the computer, she pressed some of the keys.
"Hmmm, I wonder if he's hiding in this computer?" she asked loudly.
She heard a barely suppressed giggle from under the bed.
"No, I think not," Onara said as she moved away from the computer. "Even a Jedi Knight could not make himself so small as to hide in a computer."
Usually, Ben would wait until she had looked in at least three places before he revealed himself. She walked over to his play area which was littered with all the toys she and Dalan, along with Sinja-Bau and his twin elderly great-aunts, who spoiled him to death, had bought him over the years.
Onara had succeeded in getting rid of some when Ben had grown tired of them. Those she donated to the orphanage in the capital. Stepping carefully over the stuffed bantha, Force building blocks, Serisian puzzles and assorted playthings, she finally stopped and put her hands on her hips.
"Well, I've looked and I've looked. And I can't find my little Knight anywhere." She sighed heavily. "I suppose I'll just have to find some other little boy to give a goodnight kiss and a bedtime story to."
Her back was to the bed when she said this. She soon heard soft movement behind her. Once she was certain Ben was standing behind her, she slowly turned around and, throwing her hands up in the air, gasped in fright.
"Here I am, Mama!" Ben shouted, jumping up and down.
"Oh, you frightened me," Onara cried, her eyes wide, her hands clasped to her chest.
Ben laughed, his blue-gray eyes shining. Then he lifted up his arms, beckoning her to pick him up, which Onara did quickly and gladly. Except for the incident with the levitating box, she had not seen Ben all day as she had finished her last minute packing and her nearly day-long meeting with Shiro, her major-domo, regarding last-minute household matters.
As she walked over to Ben's bed, she held him tight, letting herself revel in the softness of his round cheek against her face, the warmth of his little body in her arms, the smell of the bath soap on his skin, and the heady realization that he was the embodiment of the single night of passion and love she had shared with Obi-Wan, and the flesh and blood essence of the deep love she still carried for him.
Reaching his bed, Onara carefully laid Ben on it. Keria had, she noted, at least gotten him to put on his sleep clothes. Onara helped him slip under the covers, then sat next to him. But, before she could say a word, she heard a strange noise from under his bed. At the sound Ben, who had been smiling up at her, suddenly froze and his eyes widened.
"Ben, what is that under your bed? Is that one of your toys?"
"No, Mama."
The sound became louder and, as it did, Ben's eyes grew larger.
"Well, what is it?"
"I don't know, Mama."
"Ben Kenobi," Onara said, as she frowned down at her son. "What did Mama tell you about telling lies?"
"Not to."
"Exactly. So, I will ask you again. What is that noise?"
Ben gazed up at her for a moment and Onara could see the nervousness in his eyes. Climbing out from under his covers, he got off the bed and scooted under it. Onara sat waiting. Long moments passed.
"Ben?"
"Yes, Mama?" he replied, his muffled voice coming up to her from under the bed.
"I'm waiting for you and whatever it is you have hidden under your bed to come up here. Right now."
"Yes, Mama," she heard him say with a sigh.
He pushed himself from beneath the bed and stood. His thick black hair was tousled, his blue-gray eyes staring down at the floor, and both his hands behind his back. Onara crossed her arms over her chest.
"What is that you're holding?"
Ben reached around with one small hand and showed it to Onara. It was empty. Onara shook her head and pointed to his other hand which was still behind his back. Ben put his empty hand behind him, kept it hidden, then showed her his other hand, which was also empty.
"Ben," Onara said in a warning tone.
"Oh, Mama, please let me keep it. Please," Ben pleaded.
"Keep what, darling?"
Ben looked at her for a moment, then brought both his hands from around his back and showed her what was in them. At first Onara saw what looked like a large, golden furry ball. Then she noted the ball had tiny eartufts, a white chest and bright blue eyes ringed with red. It was softly cooing and Onara noted a faint, but pleasant scent from it. Before she could ask what it was, however, it suddenly stood up on eight tiny, thin legs. Onara drew back. Ben laughed as she did so, the creature balancing perfectly on his hands.
"Don't be afraid, Mama. It won't hurt you."
"Ben, what is that and where did you get it?" It certainly didn't look like any creature Onara had ever seen on Ahjane.
"Bau-Bau gave it to me. It's a....a..." Ben screwed up his face until he remembered. "It's a voorpak."
"A voorpak?"
Ben nodded. "It came from Naboo. Isn't he pretty, Mama?"
Onara eyed the creature. She had noted when it had opened its mouth to yawn, it had two rows of tiny, but very sharp teeth.
"It's a he?" she asked.
Ben nodded. He climbed back onto the bed and snuggled next to Onara, the voorpak having now collapsed his legs back under himself. The creature closed his eyes, and humming softly, went back to sleep. Ben carefully placed the creature in his lap, gently stroking it.
"Feel," he said.
Onara reached over and gingerly touched the creature. His fur was quite soft and Onara soon found herself, along with Ben, gently stroking it. The voorpak cooed louder.
"He likes you, Mama," Ben cried happily.
Ben had never had any pets, although he had been prone to bringing into the manor whatever bugs, grubs or worms he found outside. Thinking about it now, Onara realized she had never even considered giving Ben a pet. She supposed it was because he was only two, but he was much brighter than any two-year old she had ever known.
"What's its name?" Onara asked as Ben continued to gently stroke the voorpak.
"It doesn't have a name, Mama. I want you to give it a name."
"Me?"
Ben nodded, his bright blue-gray eyes fixed on her.
"But, it's your pet, darling. You should give it a name. That's one of the fun things about having one. You get to give it a special name all its own."
Ben thought for a moment, his forehead furrowed. Then his face brightened.
"I know, I know. His name is Obi-Wan."
"Obi-Wan?"
Ben nodded happily, patting the voorpak on its tiny head.
"Like the Jedi Knight in your stories, Mama."
Onara's heart turned over. Despite her promise to herself she would tell Ben about his father, although she still told him stories about Obi-Wan, for he always asked for them, she had stopped telling him the Jedi was his father because, as Obi-Wan had predicated in the letter he sent her, it had only confused him. She had even stopped using Obi-Wan's whole name in the story so as not to bewilder Ben even more.
The only father Ben had ever known was Dalan. He was Papa. Trying to tell Ben, at least while he was still so young, that the man in her stories, the Jedi Knight with his wondrous blade of light, was his real father had only perplexed him and Onara had stopped telling him so.
To Ben, Obi-Wan was not Papa. He was the hero of his favorite bed-time stories, the brave Jedi Knight who slew valkons and dragons, rescued princesses from evil dark lords, defended the weak and upheld justice. When Ben was a little older, and could understand such things better, Onara would tell him the truth about his father and hoped that Obi-Wan, if he ever found out, would forgive her.
"Can I name him Obi-Wan? Please, Mama?"
Onara leaned down and kissed the top of his dark head. "Of course you can, darling. Now, where do you plan for Obi-Wan to sleep?"
"With me," Ben replied smiling.
"But, don't you think Obi-Wan would like to have his own bed? That way, if he wants to he can stretch out all his legs. You're such a big boy, he might not have room to do that if he sleeps with you."
Ben mulled over that for a moment. "Okay. But where is his bed?"
Onara looked around. She spied a box on the floor where Ben's toys were. She rose from the bed, got the box and brought it back to Ben. The toddler looked inside it.
"He's going to need a blanket, Mama."
"Oh, yes, of course."
Onara went over to Ben's dresser and took out one of his handkerchiefs. She placed it in the box. Ben reached over and carefully laid the still sleeping voorpak into it. Onara took the box and put it on the nightstand next to Ben's bed. He looked at it for a moment, making sure Obi-Wan was comfortable. Once he was satisfied, he turned back to Onara and slid his little arms around her waist.
"Mama?"
"Yes, darling?"
"Can I come with you?"
Onara closed her eyes for a moment, tears stinging them.
"Oh, darling, I wish you could. But Mama must go on alone. I'm going to be very busy with my new job, and I wouldn't get to spend a lot of time with you. And I wouldn't want you to be lonely. Here, you'll have Papa and Sinja- Bau, Aunt Rylea and Aunt Gendra, Shiro and Keria and, now, you even have Obi-Wan."
"But, aren't you going to where the Jedi live?"
"Yes, dear. Their Temple is on Coruscant."
"I want to be a Jedi. Can I come with you and be a Jedi, Mama?"
Again, Onara felt a stab of guilt. Ben was strong enough with the Force to have warranted admittance to the Jedi Temple, but she had wanted him here with her. It was bad enough she had lost Obi-Wan to the Jedi; she wasn't going to lose her son too. Also, complicating matters was the fact that Ben was heir to both hers and Dalan's conjoined provinces. Once he came of age, he was going to be a very powerful and influential man on Ahjane.
But, Onara sometimes wondered if she had done the right thing in not letting Ben attend the Temple. Even Sinja-Bau had commented on how gifted he was with the Force and, although the ex-Jedi trained him as best she could, Onara knew that by not training at the Temple under the tutelage of the Jedi Masters her son was missing out on a lot.
"Ben," Onara began as she held him close, "one day, when you're all grown up, you're going to be Dynast of our province. Do you know what that means?"
Ben shook his head.
"It means you're going to have great responsibility when you become a man. It will be your job to take care of the people who live in our province; to make sure they get enough to eat, have jobs where they can earn a living, and are protected and cared for if something bad happens to them."
"Like the Jedi?"
"Yes, like the Jedi."
"Can I have a lightsaber when I'm a Dynast?"
"Only Jedi can have lightsabers, darling."
"Then I don't want to be a Dynast. I want to be a Jedi. Like Obi-Wan and fight dark lords and save pretty princesses."
Onara sighed. It was getting late and, although she longed to spend all night with Ben, knowing she wouldn't be seeing him for awhile, it was way past his bedtime and she still had things to take care of tonight. Her ship for Coruscant was leaving early tomorrow morning.
"I tell you what, Ben. When you come to Coruscant, I'll see if I can arrange for you to visit the Jedi Temple?"
"Really, Mama," Ben cried as he looked up at her. "Will they let you?"
Onara smiled and touched the tip of his nose with her finger. "I'm a Senator, now, remember?"
"Senator Mama," Ben said, then giggled.
Onara laughed with him as she hugged him tight.
"Will I get to see Obi-Wan?" He asked, then glanced over at the voorpak. "Not him. The real Obi-Wan?"
"I don't know, darling," Onara replied, trying to ignore the wild beating of her heart at Ben's question. "Jedi Knights are often away from the Temple, on missions that take them far across the galaxy."
Ben suddenly yawned, nestling his face deep against her stomach. "Tell me a story, Mama," he said sleepily.
A soft smile crinkled Onara's lips. Ben was notorious for falling asleep at the drop of hat.
"And which story would you like to hear tonight?"
Ben yawned again, his long-lashed eyes drooping over his eyes. "The story where Obi-Wan rescues the pretty princess from the evil dark lord."
Onara made herself more comfortable, drawing Ben as close to her as she could.
"Once upon a time, on a planet where the stars sang in the sky and the trees danced in the forests, there lived a beautiful princess named Sari. One day, while walking in the woods, she came upon a...."
To be continued...
P.S Some readers have noted that Ben doesn't act like a normal two-year old. He is not. :) He started walking and talking at one, so he's very developed for his age.
Stars in the Darkness - Part Two
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Onara smoothed back strands of hair that had escaped from her bun and were tickling the sides of her face. It was the evening of the day Ben had terrified her by levitating that huge box over his head. As she walked down the gleaming hallway of the manor towards his room, she found herself wondering what would have happened if his concentration had broken. She shuddered thinking of it. He had been doing a lot of reckless things of late with his Force abilities and, as Sinja-Bau had pointed it out, it was all in reaction to Onara's pending departure tomorrow for Coruscant.
She turned a corner and saw one of the servants closing the door to Ben's room. It was Keria, the young girl who had seen to Anakin's leg after his dramatic rescue of Ben from Onara's grandmother, the Lady Tsara. Two years had passed since that day, but Onara knew the young blonde girl still dreamed of the handsome, young Padawan. As Onara herself still dreamed of his equally handsome Master.
"Milady," Keria said, curtseying as Onara approached.
"Has he had his bath?" Onara asked smiling.
"Yes, milady. Though I think you will find it hard to get him to lie down and go to sleep. He's quite excited about your leaving tomorrow," Keira said, her dark brown eyes twinkling.
Onara sighed. "Yes, I know."
Keria moved closer, but stopped just short of taking Onara's arm. Although Onara would have welcomed reassurance from anyone at this moment, the servants had become even more deferential to her since she had been elected Senator of their homeworld.
"Do not worry, milady. He will be fine. We will all do our best to ensure he is never lonely."
Onara, who never treated her servants the way most of the major houses of the Ahjane did, reached over and took Keria by the shoulders.
"I know you will, Keria. Actually, I think out of everyone you are Ben's favorite."
Keria blushed prettily. "No, my milady. Everyone knows it is you and Mistress Sinja-Bau he loves the most."
Onara smiled. She released Keria's shoulder and was about to open the door to Ben's room, when she heard the young woman's voice. She turned and looked at her.
"Milady, do you think, perhaps, when you go to Coruscant, you will see Master Anakin?"
"I don't know, Keria." Onara smiled. "Do you have a message for him?"
Keria blushed again. "No, my milady. None at all. I just thought...if you were to see him..."
"I will tell him you send him your best wishes."
Keria, who had been staring at the floor, swinging the toe of her slipper back and forth under her long skirt, looked up at Onara and smiled widely.
"Oh, thank you, milady. Thank you!"
She curtsied, turned and almost skipped down the hall, her long blonde hair swinging across her shoulders. Onara watched her for a moment, shaking her head but smiling fondly. Keria was now the same age Onara had been when she first met Obi-Wan. At eighteen, she was only two years younger than Onara, but she felt years older than the young servant girl.
She turned back to the door to Ben's room. Opening it, she stepped inside. Ben's room used to be one of the larger guest rooms in the manor. His nursery, where the Jedi Healer Master Eo had been killed by members of the Red Tide as he had tried to protect Ben, had been closed off. Onara could not abide the idea of her Force-sensitive baby sleeping in a room where so much death had occurred, for Master Eo, before he had died, had killed a number of the Red Tide members. Since then, the room had become something of a shrine. In front of its door, fresh flowers were placed every day by the servants in remembrance of the gentle, but valiant Jedi Healer.
Now, even two years after his death, Onara's eyes still stung with tears when she remembered the Quarren Jedi. Humanoids dominated the planet of Ahjane and alien visitors rarely came, so when Obi-Wan brought Eo to Ahjane to see if he could cure her of her midi-chlorian poisoning, brought about by her pregnancy, many of her people had been taken aback at the Jedi Healer's strange appearance; the four tentacles that had protruded from his jaw, his bulbous, turquoise eyes, his long suction-tipped fingers. But, in the short time Onara had known Master Eo, he had become as dear to her as her own father, who had also died that terrible night.
Now, as Onara walked into Ben's room, she noted the electronic security screens on the windows. Although her grandmother, the Lady Tsara, the mastermind behind the plot that had brought such pain and grief to them all, also died that night, killed in self-defense by Anakin, Onara would never feel completely safe, and she would never forget the terrible sound of Ben's scream when her grandmother had stolen him and how helpless Onara had been to stop her. After recovering from her illness, she had vowed never to be that vulnerable again. Therefore, when she looked over at Ben's bed and saw it was empty, a dizzying wave of vertigo washed over her.
Then she heard a tiny sneeze and relaxed. Noting the sneeze had come from under the bed, Onara made her way across the plush blue carpet to Ben's closet. Since his room was both bedroom, playroom and study room it was quite large. She opened the closet and looked inside.
"Now, where could my little Jedi Knight be?" she said in a loud voice. "Hmm, he's not in here."
Onara closed the closet door. Walking across the room, she made sure Ben could hear her as she searched. She stopped in front of his computer terminal, where Sinja-Bau gave him his daily lessons. Bending over the computer, she pressed some of the keys.
"Hmmm, I wonder if he's hiding in this computer?" she asked loudly.
She heard a barely suppressed giggle from under the bed.
"No, I think not," Onara said as she moved away from the computer. "Even a Jedi Knight could not make himself so small as to hide in a computer."
Usually, Ben would wait until she had looked in at least three places before he revealed himself. She walked over to his play area which was littered with all the toys she and Dalan, along with Sinja-Bau and his twin elderly great-aunts, who spoiled him to death, had bought him over the years.
Onara had succeeded in getting rid of some when Ben had grown tired of them. Those she donated to the orphanage in the capital. Stepping carefully over the stuffed bantha, Force building blocks, Serisian puzzles and assorted playthings, she finally stopped and put her hands on her hips.
"Well, I've looked and I've looked. And I can't find my little Knight anywhere." She sighed heavily. "I suppose I'll just have to find some other little boy to give a goodnight kiss and a bedtime story to."
Her back was to the bed when she said this. She soon heard soft movement behind her. Once she was certain Ben was standing behind her, she slowly turned around and, throwing her hands up in the air, gasped in fright.
"Here I am, Mama!" Ben shouted, jumping up and down.
"Oh, you frightened me," Onara cried, her eyes wide, her hands clasped to her chest.
Ben laughed, his blue-gray eyes shining. Then he lifted up his arms, beckoning her to pick him up, which Onara did quickly and gladly. Except for the incident with the levitating box, she had not seen Ben all day as she had finished her last minute packing and her nearly day-long meeting with Shiro, her major-domo, regarding last-minute household matters.
As she walked over to Ben's bed, she held him tight, letting herself revel in the softness of his round cheek against her face, the warmth of his little body in her arms, the smell of the bath soap on his skin, and the heady realization that he was the embodiment of the single night of passion and love she had shared with Obi-Wan, and the flesh and blood essence of the deep love she still carried for him.
Reaching his bed, Onara carefully laid Ben on it. Keria had, she noted, at least gotten him to put on his sleep clothes. Onara helped him slip under the covers, then sat next to him. But, before she could say a word, she heard a strange noise from under his bed. At the sound Ben, who had been smiling up at her, suddenly froze and his eyes widened.
"Ben, what is that under your bed? Is that one of your toys?"
"No, Mama."
The sound became louder and, as it did, Ben's eyes grew larger.
"Well, what is it?"
"I don't know, Mama."
"Ben Kenobi," Onara said, as she frowned down at her son. "What did Mama tell you about telling lies?"
"Not to."
"Exactly. So, I will ask you again. What is that noise?"
Ben gazed up at her for a moment and Onara could see the nervousness in his eyes. Climbing out from under his covers, he got off the bed and scooted under it. Onara sat waiting. Long moments passed.
"Ben?"
"Yes, Mama?" he replied, his muffled voice coming up to her from under the bed.
"I'm waiting for you and whatever it is you have hidden under your bed to come up here. Right now."
"Yes, Mama," she heard him say with a sigh.
He pushed himself from beneath the bed and stood. His thick black hair was tousled, his blue-gray eyes staring down at the floor, and both his hands behind his back. Onara crossed her arms over her chest.
"What is that you're holding?"
Ben reached around with one small hand and showed it to Onara. It was empty. Onara shook her head and pointed to his other hand which was still behind his back. Ben put his empty hand behind him, kept it hidden, then showed her his other hand, which was also empty.
"Ben," Onara said in a warning tone.
"Oh, Mama, please let me keep it. Please," Ben pleaded.
"Keep what, darling?"
Ben looked at her for a moment, then brought both his hands from around his back and showed her what was in them. At first Onara saw what looked like a large, golden furry ball. Then she noted the ball had tiny eartufts, a white chest and bright blue eyes ringed with red. It was softly cooing and Onara noted a faint, but pleasant scent from it. Before she could ask what it was, however, it suddenly stood up on eight tiny, thin legs. Onara drew back. Ben laughed as she did so, the creature balancing perfectly on his hands.
"Don't be afraid, Mama. It won't hurt you."
"Ben, what is that and where did you get it?" It certainly didn't look like any creature Onara had ever seen on Ahjane.
"Bau-Bau gave it to me. It's a....a..." Ben screwed up his face until he remembered. "It's a voorpak."
"A voorpak?"
Ben nodded. "It came from Naboo. Isn't he pretty, Mama?"
Onara eyed the creature. She had noted when it had opened its mouth to yawn, it had two rows of tiny, but very sharp teeth.
"It's a he?" she asked.
Ben nodded. He climbed back onto the bed and snuggled next to Onara, the voorpak having now collapsed his legs back under himself. The creature closed his eyes, and humming softly, went back to sleep. Ben carefully placed the creature in his lap, gently stroking it.
"Feel," he said.
Onara reached over and gingerly touched the creature. His fur was quite soft and Onara soon found herself, along with Ben, gently stroking it. The voorpak cooed louder.
"He likes you, Mama," Ben cried happily.
Ben had never had any pets, although he had been prone to bringing into the manor whatever bugs, grubs or worms he found outside. Thinking about it now, Onara realized she had never even considered giving Ben a pet. She supposed it was because he was only two, but he was much brighter than any two-year old she had ever known.
"What's its name?" Onara asked as Ben continued to gently stroke the voorpak.
"It doesn't have a name, Mama. I want you to give it a name."
"Me?"
Ben nodded, his bright blue-gray eyes fixed on her.
"But, it's your pet, darling. You should give it a name. That's one of the fun things about having one. You get to give it a special name all its own."
Ben thought for a moment, his forehead furrowed. Then his face brightened.
"I know, I know. His name is Obi-Wan."
"Obi-Wan?"
Ben nodded happily, patting the voorpak on its tiny head.
"Like the Jedi Knight in your stories, Mama."
Onara's heart turned over. Despite her promise to herself she would tell Ben about his father, although she still told him stories about Obi-Wan, for he always asked for them, she had stopped telling him the Jedi was his father because, as Obi-Wan had predicated in the letter he sent her, it had only confused him. She had even stopped using Obi-Wan's whole name in the story so as not to bewilder Ben even more.
The only father Ben had ever known was Dalan. He was Papa. Trying to tell Ben, at least while he was still so young, that the man in her stories, the Jedi Knight with his wondrous blade of light, was his real father had only perplexed him and Onara had stopped telling him so.
To Ben, Obi-Wan was not Papa. He was the hero of his favorite bed-time stories, the brave Jedi Knight who slew valkons and dragons, rescued princesses from evil dark lords, defended the weak and upheld justice. When Ben was a little older, and could understand such things better, Onara would tell him the truth about his father and hoped that Obi-Wan, if he ever found out, would forgive her.
"Can I name him Obi-Wan? Please, Mama?"
Onara leaned down and kissed the top of his dark head. "Of course you can, darling. Now, where do you plan for Obi-Wan to sleep?"
"With me," Ben replied smiling.
"But, don't you think Obi-Wan would like to have his own bed? That way, if he wants to he can stretch out all his legs. You're such a big boy, he might not have room to do that if he sleeps with you."
Ben mulled over that for a moment. "Okay. But where is his bed?"
Onara looked around. She spied a box on the floor where Ben's toys were. She rose from the bed, got the box and brought it back to Ben. The toddler looked inside it.
"He's going to need a blanket, Mama."
"Oh, yes, of course."
Onara went over to Ben's dresser and took out one of his handkerchiefs. She placed it in the box. Ben reached over and carefully laid the still sleeping voorpak into it. Onara took the box and put it on the nightstand next to Ben's bed. He looked at it for a moment, making sure Obi-Wan was comfortable. Once he was satisfied, he turned back to Onara and slid his little arms around her waist.
"Mama?"
"Yes, darling?"
"Can I come with you?"
Onara closed her eyes for a moment, tears stinging them.
"Oh, darling, I wish you could. But Mama must go on alone. I'm going to be very busy with my new job, and I wouldn't get to spend a lot of time with you. And I wouldn't want you to be lonely. Here, you'll have Papa and Sinja- Bau, Aunt Rylea and Aunt Gendra, Shiro and Keria and, now, you even have Obi-Wan."
"But, aren't you going to where the Jedi live?"
"Yes, dear. Their Temple is on Coruscant."
"I want to be a Jedi. Can I come with you and be a Jedi, Mama?"
Again, Onara felt a stab of guilt. Ben was strong enough with the Force to have warranted admittance to the Jedi Temple, but she had wanted him here with her. It was bad enough she had lost Obi-Wan to the Jedi; she wasn't going to lose her son too. Also, complicating matters was the fact that Ben was heir to both hers and Dalan's conjoined provinces. Once he came of age, he was going to be a very powerful and influential man on Ahjane.
But, Onara sometimes wondered if she had done the right thing in not letting Ben attend the Temple. Even Sinja-Bau had commented on how gifted he was with the Force and, although the ex-Jedi trained him as best she could, Onara knew that by not training at the Temple under the tutelage of the Jedi Masters her son was missing out on a lot.
"Ben," Onara began as she held him close, "one day, when you're all grown up, you're going to be Dynast of our province. Do you know what that means?"
Ben shook his head.
"It means you're going to have great responsibility when you become a man. It will be your job to take care of the people who live in our province; to make sure they get enough to eat, have jobs where they can earn a living, and are protected and cared for if something bad happens to them."
"Like the Jedi?"
"Yes, like the Jedi."
"Can I have a lightsaber when I'm a Dynast?"
"Only Jedi can have lightsabers, darling."
"Then I don't want to be a Dynast. I want to be a Jedi. Like Obi-Wan and fight dark lords and save pretty princesses."
Onara sighed. It was getting late and, although she longed to spend all night with Ben, knowing she wouldn't be seeing him for awhile, it was way past his bedtime and she still had things to take care of tonight. Her ship for Coruscant was leaving early tomorrow morning.
"I tell you what, Ben. When you come to Coruscant, I'll see if I can arrange for you to visit the Jedi Temple?"
"Really, Mama," Ben cried as he looked up at her. "Will they let you?"
Onara smiled and touched the tip of his nose with her finger. "I'm a Senator, now, remember?"
"Senator Mama," Ben said, then giggled.
Onara laughed with him as she hugged him tight.
"Will I get to see Obi-Wan?" He asked, then glanced over at the voorpak. "Not him. The real Obi-Wan?"
"I don't know, darling," Onara replied, trying to ignore the wild beating of her heart at Ben's question. "Jedi Knights are often away from the Temple, on missions that take them far across the galaxy."
Ben suddenly yawned, nestling his face deep against her stomach. "Tell me a story, Mama," he said sleepily.
A soft smile crinkled Onara's lips. Ben was notorious for falling asleep at the drop of hat.
"And which story would you like to hear tonight?"
Ben yawned again, his long-lashed eyes drooping over his eyes. "The story where Obi-Wan rescues the pretty princess from the evil dark lord."
Onara made herself more comfortable, drawing Ben as close to her as she could.
"Once upon a time, on a planet where the stars sang in the sky and the trees danced in the forests, there lived a beautiful princess named Sari. One day, while walking in the woods, she came upon a...."
To be continued...
P.S Some readers have noted that Ben doesn't act like a normal two-year old. He is not. :) He started walking and talking at one, so he's very developed for his age.