Chapter Three

Adra sat in stunned silence as she took all of the information in. It was a startling revelation to have what you thought was a normal life when really you were anything but normal. Slowly she raised her eyes to her mother's- Master Thracia's, she amended. It was insane, absurd... but oddly enough? If felt like the truth.

Thracia seemed to be guessing what was going on inside Adra's head because the next instant she had Adra in a tight hug.

"I know this is hard for you to deal with, even if you don't think it is now. It really is a bit freaky to know that everything you thought was fantasy, at least as regards Star Wars, is actually real." In only two sentences, her mother couldn't have been more wrong. And Adra's mother was never wrong.

"No, actually...that's not what I'm thinking at all. I don't think it will be hard to deal with. I think it will be an adventure. And, I'm not sure how, but I think I've always known Star Wars by George Lucas wasn't fake. Whenever I saw a part that was vivid enough to spark a memory, it did... and with it came the feeling of loss as to where the information had come from." She looked helplessly at the only woman she had ever called family. "Am I making any sense?"

The Jedi nodded, providing relief to the girl sitting in front of her. Thracia reflected that this might just be the last time she had been the source of relief for this girl she had raised as her daughter.

Adra looked up, a confused expression rising to the surface of her face. She had felt it, through the force; she had felt the sorrow begin to surface on Thracia's mind. Shock next entered the force, rippling from Thracia once more. Had she known, she would've realized what Thracia was about to tell her.

"Adra... Adra, you- you're using the Force." Thracia's voice broke the silence, a watery yet pleased smile making it across her face. "I can't believe it... You're using the Force, but you haven't even had training..." Thracia seemed to trail off in her own thoughts.

The girl, however, looked at the Jedi Master, wondering at what might've caused this pin-pointing about her never having been trained. Something wasn't being told, and she didn't like it. But before she had time to inquire any further, she suddenly remembered Anna. Thracia nodded as soon as Adra looked her direction.

"Go ahead. You two enjoy being innocent while you still can." Something in her mother's voice caused her to hesitate leaving, but an invisible hand in the Force reached out an nudged her onward.

Go on. I'll be fine. Don't worry about anything.

Unfortunately for Adra, it wasn't as easy as Thracia had hoped. Even after the girl had left to go back upstairs she'd felt a disturbance rising; almost like a suspicion. But the Jedi remained firm. She couldn't tell Adra of her creator, not just yet. The downside to this not telling, however, would show in the Force. And Adra seemed to have a very attuned connection, especially after she let go of her doubts.

What had shocked Thracia earlier resurfaced to haunt her. Adra's midichlorian count. She knew there was something she hadn't considered. But then understanding swept through her, cutting off her annoyance with herself. Adra had been able to read her emotions, even with no training in the Force, because of what Jori had created her to be. She had purposely given the girl a midichlorian level to rival that of Luke Skywalker's and Darth Vader's.

Anna was waiting expectantly for Adra as she entered the room. The look on her friend's face told her she'd been getting worried. With a forced smile and a slight sigh, she looked around the room, trying to find something she didn't even know she was looking for. To no surprise, her search proved futile. Taking off the Jedi Robe, she pulled off the boots as well, uncomfortably aware of Anna's silence. Silently wishing she could understand what her friend was thinking, she reached out with the Force, not even realizing she had.

The thoughts she got in an unconscious return were one of mixed envy, sadness, joy and jealousy. It was all Adra could do to not stumble backwards at the intensity of the last of the emotions. She looked up at Anna, her eyes searching without success to see her expression. Anna herself now stood facing the window, her posture oddly tense.

"What's wrong?" Adra asked her question before she could stop herself.

Anna looked away from the window, her gaze locking on Adra's. On this girl she had thought was her friend. "You should know, shouldn't you."

Adra suddenly realized- how could she have been so stupid?- that Anna had taken it to her own level by listening in on part, if not all, of their conversation. She stood up, her mind beginning to contemplate it's move, when a sharp memory flashed inside her head.

-+-+-

A woman with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail was moving about the room. A small figure beside her was typing away madly at a computer. Unconsciously, the memory allowed her the knowledge that this was Jori Daragon, Sith mother, and her daughter, Mara Jade. Invisibly, it seemed, Adra searched the room, coming behind Mara Jade to see what she was typing. A muffled voice floated across her ears, however, arresting her where she stood. For a moment, she thought that the owner of that voice had been calling her.

"Adra..." The voice nearly came out as a whisper, but even so, she nearly jumped. Then her eyes found who the speaker was really talking to. "Adra, hush. We're going to do nothing to harm you."

A girl who looked hardly a day older than two was sniffling slightly, her thin arms wrapped around the Sith mother's neck. She obviously didn't know that she was holding one of the galaxy's best liars in a hug. And then Adra realized that she was looking at herself.

-+-+-

With a startled gasp, she grabbed the end of her bed to steady herself. That was something new. Something new and something she hoped she'd never have to repeat. The look on Jori Daragon's face was enough to send shivers running up and down her spine.

At last able to look up, she saw Anna's eyes locked on her. Only, they'd changed from their usual friendly gray-blue to a hardened navy. Something definitely wasn't right. Adra looked at Anna carefully, unsure what to make of her friend's- friend's?- new bad temper.

However, it was Anna who broke the silence. "Adra Amidala," they were the only words she said, but immediately Adra knew that they were, first off, correct. And secondly, something that Anna shouldn't know.