Yané converted me to vegetarianism when I was nine.  My grandmother called in the local expert to evaluate my strengths, and the tall, skinny, feminine man who scared me, told my grandmother to enroll me in a dance class.  I was wary at first, but with Yané and my grandfather's, whom I call Papi, encouragement I went through with it.  I loved it.  I took a total of five dance classes that year, and excelled in all of them. 

                My grandmother was thrilled; I had found a "womanly" thing I liked to do.  My grandparents where happy, my parents where happy, but best of all, I was happy.  I enjoyed living with my grandfather; Papi, more than grandmother.  He would tell me stories of traveling the galaxy and the Stark Hyperspace Wars in which he fought with a couple of Jedi, and his near death experiences, which thrilled me to no end.  After I was a famous dancer, I decided, I was going to join the Republic Intelligence. 

                School was a different matter for me.  I'm smart and clever enough, and I did well mentally in school.  Socially, I was a disaster.  Part of this was that I had always been tutored before and I wasn't used to not having individual attention paid only to me, and more than four people in a class.  Another factor was that my only good friend was Yané, and she was in a different class.  Plus, I had my accent, which all the kids made fun of, you know how kids are.  I hated school.   Yané and I had a very fun time doing practical jokes to people who were mean to us.  Pretty soon, people got smart, and stopped teasing.

                When I was ten, I first heard my grandparents disagree, and Papi work his negotiation skills.  It was late at night, and I was supposed to be asleep, but I had stayed up to finish reading a book for school that I was supposed to have finished yesterday.  I slipped out of my bedroom and down the hall to the 'fresher. 

When I came back, I heard noises coming from my grandparent's room and snuck to their door, which was an old hinge door that was partially cracked open.  I took shallow breathes and crouched on the floor, my silk nightdress trailing on the carpet and my knees tucked up under my chin.  My long black hair curtained around my face and covered my bare arms. 

                "-sometimes I just wonder if he made the right choice."  Came the stressed voice of my grandmother.

                "Of course he did."  Papi said soothingly.  "He loves her, and now we have these wonderful grandchildren."

                "You only say that because of Rabé."

                "Of course I do.  I love her."

                "I just wonder about Adela sometimes, she's so, rough."

                "Nonsense, she a charming young woman, who happens to like outdoor activities; we are lucky to have her."

                "But if he married Quellé..."

                "Quellé was a sickly little woman with no spark of life within her and you know it."  Papi said sharply.  He tone softened.  "And, I seem to remember your father or mother not liking it very much when you broke off your engagement to that stuffed shirt and married me."

                Grandmother laughed.  "Alright.  I promise.  You'll hear no more doubt from me."

                "Good.  Let's go to bed."  The light switched off in their room and I backed away from their door and went back to my room.  Somehow, I felt I knew my parents a little bit better after that. 

                When I turned twelve, my parents returned from Ma'lacia with my brothers.  I was ecstatic.  I hadn't seen them in an eternity.  I would go, on special occasions, like holidays, to visit them in Ma'lacia, and I would talk to them every other week via holonet, but it wasn't the same.  So, when they came I was about to burst with happiness.  We moved to Theed, and I continued with my dance lessons.  My dream was to become a dancer; I wanted it more than anything in the world.  Before we moved to Theed, I had competed in 18 dance competitions and had 15 firsts, two seconds and one third.  I was good.

                My new dance classes where held in a large hall with many windows that let light stream in from all sides.  It was a beautiful marble building; complete with everything I could ask for.  My instructor, Madame Joualier, was world-famous, and the equipment was all new and in excellent condition.  A couple rooms over where the theater students, and there were many rooms for private practicing.

                I loved living in Theed.  Amidala had just been elected Princess, and sometimes I wished I was her, she didn't have to go to school, or deal with popularity or unpopularity.  I didn't really make any friends in school, and I missed Yané terribly.  I was absolutely devastated when it occurred to me I would have to leave her behind in Oxon.  I was kind of a loner and people started making fun of me again.  Not in the childish way, but I was excluded from a lot of things, not that I was the social queen or anything.  I never dated and I never went to school dances.  I always thought that people who voluntarily came to school when they didn't have to were all a little slow in the head. 

                I always saw Eirtaé Bukuro in the halls with her gaggle of rich, snobby friends; Firenzé Gajin, Rissé Rukan, Danzé Nakano and a bunch of girls who could be clones.  They scared me slightly because of their obsessive-compulsive impulses concerning Princess Amidala, fashion, and anything that came out of the Palace.  I saw Sabé Hirota in  a couple of my classes with her best friends, Aselpha Duulé, an exchange student from Garos IV, and Kallé Layoré, all of them doing better than everybody and anybody in the class. 

                I competed in more dance competitions against Eirtaé and many other girls in my new school, who all happened to be her friends, and won them all, hands down.  Perhaps they were angry or jealous of me, but after I beat them all, their snubbing increased ten-fold.  I kept to myself a lot, and didn't talk much in class.  I hated school with a passion, and it hurt my parents to see me so sad and depressed all the time. 

                I started dreaming of life after school was over.  Visions of traveling the galaxy and performing at all the famous stages for important people came to me.  Coruscant, Corillia, Bothawui, Caamas, Kuat, Garos IV, Chandrila and especially Alderaan.  I longed to go there; it looked so peaceful, so beautiful.  The shining white of Aldera, the ingenious design of Crevasse City, all of it.  Oh, how I wanted to travel the galaxy and have adventures instead of sitting in Ancient Naboo Literature class learning about themes and symbolism. 

                I was twelve and a half when I first really heard of Jedi.  I had heard of them, of course, through Papi's stories and mother and father's political discussions, but they didn't interest me very much.  You may think this odd, being the child of diplomats, but politics and peace-keeping didn't interest me, and I didn't pay attention to a word my parents said at the dinner table, I was mostly plotting my next revenge on my brothers.  I was quite good at practical jokes.

                I was on the school grounds one day, out walking during my empty class period (since I took dance, that counted as credit for my school), when Eirtaé came up to me and started talking to me (to this day, I'm still not sure why), with her high and mighty attitude, only the whole effect was absolutely destroyed because of her somewhat of a rural accent.  Not that I should be making fun of anyone with an accent or anything along those lines. 

                Anyway, I started laughing and she got angry and started yelling at me about how stupid I was, and I was still laughing, only now I was sitting-on-a-bench-rolling-on-my-side laughing.  If Eirtaé lost her temper and her control of "non-accented" basic, you'd be laughing too.  So, as you can see, we were quite the sight to behold.  Finally, she yelled at me,

                "You're so stupid; I bet you don't know what a Jedi is!" 

                "I know what a Jedi is." I said indignantly.

                "Oh yeah?"  She asked snottily.  "Tell me what the definition is."  She commanded.

                I made a face at her.  "This isn't Inter-Galactic History."  I pointed out rather haughtily.  "And you aren't Mrs. Bendishi."

                "They are the protectors of peace and justice." She said, still with the smug look on her face. I guess she took my retort as an answer.  "I knew you were stupid.  You're not even pure Naboo."  (Eirtaé had a pure-Naboo obsession too) Well, she got what she asked for.  My stomach fell to my knees.  Nobody insults my family.  Have a go at me, sure, but don't mess with my family.  I stood up, coldly evaluated her, then slapped that smug look off her face.  I then turned on my heel and marched out of the school gardens, leaving her to her tears. 

                As soon as I got out of her sight, I ran to the refresher and almost started to cry myself.  I remembered Natan's words when I was young, and I decided that some revenge was in order instead.  So, I went to my favorite spot in the school garden, far away from Eirtaé, took out my small datapad and made a list of things to do.  It looked something like this:

                                ~Wreak vengeance against she who insulted me

                                ~learn about Jedi

                                ~meet a Jedi before she who insulted me

                                ~take a self-defense class

                With all that in mind, I gave myself an evil little smile and went to my next class.  Within the next week and a half, I wreaked my vengeance on Eirtaé by gluing her locker shut with a solvent used to patch holes in starships, courtesy of Jayen, who hung around the Royal hanger a lot and wanted to be a Republic pilot; spread a rumor around that she liked the school dork, Kal, then told Kal via Rayel that she liked him; and finally, I (with the help of Yané, who was becoming a slicer in my absence) took a horrible holovid of Eirtaé and played it on all the computers and projectors at school.  She was utterly humiliated and embarrassed, but I was as pleased as a person could be.

                Wasn't I horrible?

                So, the first part of my plan was completed, on to part B; the Jedi.  I started out by going to the school library.  There wasn't much there, but I checked it all out anyway.  I finished going through them all within two days.  I didn't learn much, just the basics.  Jedi rely on the Force.  Jedi are taken at a young age to train at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.  Jedi Apprentices are Padawans.  Once a Jedi Knight trains a Padawan, she is a master.  The Jedi are "ruled" by the Jedi Council, ect. . .

                I found this all very interesting and couldn't wait to learn more.  So my father obtained a pass for me to research the Jedi at the Royal Theed Library in the Palace.  Eirtaé was walking past me and Natan in the halls when Natan stopped by my school to give it to me.  I flaunted in her face when she asked what it was.  She turned beet red and tried to contain herself.  All the more amusing when I told her why I was going to the Royal Theed Library.  She turned even redder, and her eyes bulged.  I smiled prettily at her and flounced away, which is not something I normally do.  Flounce, I mean.

                So, I went with Natan, who was 16 at the time and had passed his Royal Exams with flying colors and was now an aide and apprentice of Hugo Eckener, the Chief Architect.  He and I dressed in some of our nicest clothes and went to the Palace.  It was very quiet and calm in there, our shoes made clicking noises on the marble floors.  Natan showed me the library and left to go to work.  It was very empty in the Library, the air was cooler in there and there was that musty smell that is always associated with libraries.  I asked the librarian and he pointed me to the Jedi section.  To my surprise, and dismay, it was quite small.

                I went through all the bookchips, regretfully placing aside the Jedi Story and Myth books and focused on learning the facts for the time being.  When I had about ten bookchips that looked half respectable, I took them to a table and sat down to work.  I went through each bookchip and took notes on my datapad. 

                I was so serious in my endeavors that I hardly noticed a group of boys my age that came into the library, presumably to work, but they kept watching me.  They kept interrupting my work to ask for chairs from my table that, as far as I could tell, they did not need.  That got me irritated.  I gave them my most annoyed and angry looks, but they wouldn't stop.  I finally got fed up.  I took my bookchips and some of the Jedi Story and Myth bookchips and went to the outdoor library veranda.  They followed me.  I sat out there, in the sun reading my reference material and taking notes, perfectly content, and lost in my work when that stupid boy asked me for the chair across from me.

                "No." I said flatly. "I'm using it."

                "For what?" He asked, somewhat incredulous.

                "A footstool." I said in the same tone, putting my feet up at that moment.  He blinked and went back to his friends.  A few minutes later I heard their laughter.  I smiled slightly.

                It was about midday when he came back over, and I got my first good look at him.  He had short, curly black hair and green eyes.  He wore an expensive tunic, pants and jacket set, and was pretty tall.  I didn't notice him at first, so he cleared his throat.

                "What? Oh, it's you." I said, looking up from my reading.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you again too." he said, "Mind if I sit here?"

                I looked around, although it was more crowded, there were still plenty of empty tables, but I shrugged and moved my feet from the chair.   "If you want to."  I told him in a not-really-caring sort of way.

                "Thanks."  He sat down opposite of me.  I went back to my reading and note-taking.  I guess he was expecting me to talk to him or something.  Well, whatever he expected; I doubt it was that I would ignore him.  Pretty soon, he started to fidget.  I could see out of the corner of my eye his friends gesturing and making faces.  Anyway, his fidgeting soon got on my nerves, he had, after all, come to me, it wasn't my job to hold a conversation.

                "Would you please stop fidgeting?" I finally snapped at him.

                He looked mildly offended, but sat still immediately, "Yeah, sure." he said.

                "Thank you."  I said, scrolling down my reading.

                "What are you reading?" he asked.

                I looked up, trying to determine whether he actually cared or not.

                "Jedi stuff." I finally said.

                "Really?" he asked, "Stories or facts?"

                "Both."

                "Really?" he said again. "How do you keep it straight?  I always get them confused."

                "It's not that hard.  All stories have basis in fact."

                "That's not true."

                "Yes it is."

                "No it's not."

                "Then prove it." I said, sick of the back and forth.

                "All right."  He said giving me a half grin and getting up.  "Come on.  I'll show you."  When I made no attempt to get up, he grabbed my wrist and half dragged me inside.  I gave him a sour look and he released my hand. 

                "Sorry." he said.

                "It's okay." I said.

                He offered me his hand and said, "I'm Riv Jakeen."

                I took his hand.  "Rabé Napola."

                "Nice to meet you Rabé.  That's a pretty name; I think we have Astro-Physics together."

                "Really?"

                "Yeah.  I sit in the back with Dek and Joss.  You sit in the front, by Sabé and Aselpha."

                "Oh."  I was kind of startled, I usually notice things better, but I despised A-P and didn't pay too much attention to it.  I knew that when I was a dancer, I wouldn't need A-P.  "Joss, isn't he Governor Bibble's son?"  I mused.

                "Yeah."

                "And Dek is Gromyko Trenerem-Ser's son isn't he?"

                "Yeah." he said, slightly rolling his eyes.

                "What were you rolling your eyes for?" I asked, offended.

                He chuckled, "It's just, you say it like it's important or something."

                "It is."

                He laughed, and I got more offended. 

                "If you're going to be mean, then I don't care about your supposed 'book not based in fact'."  I snapped, and started to walk away.  I was so sick and tired of people laughing at me.

                "Wait!"  Riv said, grabbing my upper arm and roughly pulling me to a halt.  I spun around to face him, glaring laser bolts.  "I'm sorry.  Listen," Riv said, smiling, "its midday, do you wanna get some lunch with me 'n Dek 'n Joss?  On me, as an apology."

                I looked at him skeptically, thinking about it.  I was supposed to have lunch with Natan, but I eat with him everyday, and there was something about Riv's face that just screamed earnestness.  I nodded slowly, looking to the ground.  "Yeah, sure, but I have to tell my brother, I was supposed to meet him."

                "Great. C'mon, I'll introduce you to them."

                "Okay."  We walked back inside; I went back to my table and got my things, which wasn't much; just my datapad and some of the Jedi Story and Myth bookchips.  Then I joined Riv at his table.

                "Hey. Okay.  Guys, this is Rabé Napola."  He looked at me, "Rabé, this is Dek Trenerem-Ser," he pointed to a boy with short, spiky blond hair, blue eyes and an expressive face, "and this is Joss Bibble."  He pointed to a boy with brown eyes and curly light brown hair that was slightly long.  They said hi and hello in a jumble of excited voices and I hugged my arms around my waist, slightly uncomfortable.

                "Well," Riv said, clapping his hands together, "let's go to lunch."

                So we walked off the veranda and into the library.  I realized that Riv never showed me the book that was not based on fact, but I let it go.  For now.  We walked into the hallway, and I attempted to start a conversation,

                "So, Riv, what does your family do?"

                "Huh?"

                "Well, everyone knows what my family and Dek's family do.  And any idiot could tell you what Joss's family does-" Joss and Dek snickered at that, "-and I heard of the Jakeen family, but I don't recall your name."

                "Oh, well, it's kind of complicated."  He said.  I gave him my 'what, don't you think I'm smart enough to understand?' look and he gave in.

                "Well," he began, "my father is dead, and my mother is King Veruna's sister."  I stifled my quick intake of air, but my eyes widened slightly.  "It's nothing much." he finished up.

                "Are you an idiot?" I asked scornfully, "Nothing much?  You're only the king's nephew."

                "It's not that important."

                "Not that important?" I said skeptically.  "You are the most infuriating person I have ever met."  I stated, then paused thoughtfully, "Besides Eirtaé, of course."

                Joss and Dek burst out laughing.  I looked at them in bewilderment.  Riv started chuckling.

                "What?" I asked.

                Dek kneeled on the ground before me, swept up my hand and kissed it.  "Ah, my beautiful lady," he began in a theatrical tone as I tried to get my hand back, "I have searched for you near and far, and at long last I have found you and my heart sings the song of love, and I will marry you!"

                "What are you talking about?!" I demanded, still trying to tug my hand away.

                "I have discovered the only woman worthy of my heart!"

                "Let go!" I said, ripping my hand away, massaging it.  I gave him a weird look, "What spice have you been sniffing?"

                Joss came over to me and took me by the elbow and directed me to the outside and down the stairs by one of the large statues of philosophers where I was to meet Natan, while Riv beat up on Dek on the steps, chasing him around. 

                "Dek and Eirtaé hate each other with a passion."  He paused thoughtfully.  "Actually, more like she likes him, but he doesn't like her at all.  He wouldn't go to the Mai Alai Dance with her so she spread a rumor that he trades with the Gungans."

                "That's horrible."

                "Yeah, he was going to get revenge, but somebody beat him to it."

                It took me a minute to realize that he was mostly likely talking about my revenge.  I started to laugh.  Joss looked surprised.

                "It's not funny."  He said as we stepped into the sun on the steps down to the main street.

                "Oh, but it is!"  I said, still laughing.  "That was me!"

                "Huh?"

                "Are you talking about the person who glued her locker shut with spaceship solvent?"

                "And who spread the rumor that she likes Kal and who spread that unflattering holo, yeah."

                I grinned.

                "You-" he began, and then his eyes went wide.  We both started to laugh.  Riv and Dek came over, looked at each other, and looked back at us.  A slow smile began to cross Riv's face.

                "What are you two doing?"

                "It was her!" Joss exclaimed, "It was all her!"

                Dek and Riv just looked at each other, confused.  I giggled and looked at Dek, triumphant.

                "I wreaked vengeance against she who insulted us!"  I proclaimed to him.  His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped.

                "You-" he started to say, "You-but-I-" then he started to sputter.  "How?  But-I-how could you-I. . ."  He looked around wildly, as if he couldn't believe it.

                I looked at Riv, grinning, he smiled widely back.  I was so happy at that time.  I had friends in Theed.  I had a blast for the rest of the school year.  I was enormously busy too.  Between schoolwork, dance classes, dance competitions, Jedi research and hanging out with Riv, Dek, and Joss, I had a full schedule.  Two months later, I finally turned thirteen.

~~~