Thanks once again to all those who complimented the last chapter, especially newcomers 'Lady' and 'tink664.' Everyone had good guesses about what's coming up. I'll only say this much ― Pledge has 20 chapters total (yes, it drags on way too long), and Book Three is called Prism.
A Journey of Discovery ― Book Two: Pledge
Chapter Fifteen
Steam sizzled loudly as Luke plunged the newly repaired pump handle into the tub of cooling water.
"Ye're doin' a fine job there, lad," Hiley complimented from across the cluttered shop. "If ye take a notion to stay in Zembuhl a spell, I'd be glad to give ye a job." The toolcrafter frowned as the younger man stared vacantly toward an outside wall, not replying. "Luke? Somethin' wrong?"
The Jedi's head jerked around, his eyes blinking rapidly. "Oh ... I ... No ... I need to go." He laid the handle near the stack of his other mended contrivances, then quickly removed his borrowed gloves and rolled his sleeves back down. "I'm sorry, but ... I need to check on Mara," he said, fumbling for an explanation. "I think she ... something's going on."
"If ye say so," Hiley replied, puzzled by the abrupt change in his temporary assistant. "I thank ye fer the help ye did—" He was cut off as Jaco Modesa suddenly rushed into the shop.
"Luke!" Jaco shouted, struggling to catch his breath. "Ye've got to come quick! They've got Mara!"
"Who's got her?" Luke grabbed his coat and headed to the door, ignoring the incredulous look that Hiley gave him.
"Half the village. They've got her trussed up in the school buildin'."
"Trussed up?" Luke narrowed his eyes. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure." Jaco put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "But they be callin' her a witch."
"I thought that nonsense was settled last night," Hiley put in, as he followed the pair out to the street.
"So did I," Jaco said, glancing aside at Luke, who appeared to be deep in concentration as he strode along at a brisk pace. "But somethin' happened with the children—"
"Children?" Luke interrupted. (Mara? Answer me,) he sent silently. He shook his head in frustration as Mara sent back a sense of wellness, but refused to answer in words.
Jaco nodded at Luke's query. "Some of the womenfolk were near hysterical – kept blubberin' that the witch was hurtin' their young'uns."
"Sithspawn." Luke bit out the low curse and quickened his pace. "I should have gone to her sooner ..."
Hiley grabbed Luke's arm, jerking him to a halt. "Ye knew Mara was in trouble before Jaco showed up." He lifted an eyebrow more in curiosity than accusation. "How?"
"It's ... hard to explain." Luke's steady gaze bore a plea for understanding. "I need to make sure she and the children are safe."
Hiley let go, cognizant of the younger man's anxiety. His questions could wait.
As the trio mounted the steps of the school building, they were immediately confronted by the angry mob inside.
"Look, it be the witch's husband!"
"He surely be one of 'em, too."
"Don't let 'im through."
Luke couldn't see Mara, but felt her presence and her tightly controlled emotions. Before he could start to push his way ahead, he caught sight of a friendly face coming his way.
"Luke!" Merta was wringing her hands frantically. "Thank the Divine One ye're here. I couldna' stop 'em from holdin' her."
"It's all right, Merta." Luke lightly touched his landlady's shaking hands and sent out a calming touch. "Just tell me exactly what happened."
Merta relaxed noticeably and drew him away from his accusers. "Alfa Jueldent and Theda Nondes left the Hall early, to give Mara a hand with the young ones. Alfa come runnin' back fer help, cryin' that Mara had cast a spell on the children. She claimed ..." The stout woman took a deep breath and continued. "... that Thal Ulhas was danglin' in midair, and that Mara had her arm pointin' to 'im, keepin' 'im that way. I ne'er heard such a wild tale in all me born days, but folks are believin' it, and won't let her loose."
Luke blew out a breath of exasperation. "Was the boy hurt?" he asked. "Or any of the other children?"
Merta shook her head. "Not so I could tell. He was whinin' to his momma, lookin' fer sympathy, but that be his nature. The rest o' the children were a might shook up, that be all."
"I need to talk to Mara." Luke patted Merta's arm in comfort. "Thank you."
As the Jedi headed away, several villagers stepped in his path, blocking the way. Luke held up one hand and stared the men down. "You will let me pass." His quiet voice projected a calm authority, and the crowd parted as if possessed. The resulting passageway afforded Luke his first glimpse of his wife.
Luke could see Mara sitting quietly on a bench against a back wall. Paying scant attention to the surrounding men holding long-handled axes, wide-bladed hunting knives, and other crude weapons, he sat down lightly next to his wife.
"Aren't you afraid you'll be guilty by association?" Mara stared straight ahead, refusing to look him in the eye.
"I'm quaking in my boots," he retorted dryly, before directing a pointed gaze at the heavy cord binding her hands together.
Mara shrugged noncommittally. "It makes them feel safe."
"Are you going to tell me what happened?"
"I'm sure you've already heard."
Luke gave a barely discernable shake of his head. "I want to hear it from you."
Mara bit her lip and fingered her rumpled skirt. "You know I have no experience with children."
"That's not what I asked." He waited until she finally met his gaze. "What did you do, Mara?"
"She cast a spell on our children," someone in the crowd called out.
"We should hang her, like she tried to do to poor Thal," another voice put in.
Luke shot a silencing, warning look at the eavesdropping villagers, then turned back to Mara. "Tell me."
Mara grimaced at the commanding tone of his voice. Why didn't he just say it? He was disappointed in her. He'd expected better of her. Mara started to lash out at him, then found herself drawn to his pale blue eyes. In them she saw not condemnation, but concern. Concern, compassion, ... and love. Shame flooded through her as she hunched forward, squeezing her own eyes shut. She felt Luke's arm slip around her in a comforting embrace.
"I love you, Mara," he whispered, his forehead pressed against her temple. "I just want to hear from you what transpired, so we can work through this together."
How could anyone in the galaxy possibly be this understanding? Mara raised her bound hands and rubbed at her eyes. She would not cry. She had learned that lesson at the tender age of seven, confessing an unpardonable training error to an unforgiving master. Admit your failure. Accept your punishment. Taking a deep breath, she shook away the Emperor's voice echoing in her head.
"Thal was taunting little Rasa, and wouldn't stop." Mara lowered her voice, more an indication of her reluctance to disclose her actions than a precaution against anyone overhearing. "I levitated him a bit, just to scare him."
Mara waited for the expected reaction, then narrowed her eyes when all he did was compress his lips in thought. "You already knew," she bit out.
"I knew what," he replied calmly. "Not why." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye with what Mara could only interpret as a mixture of amusement and reproach. "Actually, I'm still waiting to hear the 'why' part." His half-smile abruptly turned to a frown, and he sat upright in consternation.
"Someone's in trouble," Mara mouthed, knowing Luke had felt the same tingling of danger that she had.
"Yes, but where?"
"FIRE!" The cry echoed into the building from the street. "The Hall's on fire!" Agitation rippled through the crowd as some villagers immediately ran for the Fellowship Hall, while a few others debated on whether to abandon the current crisis for the new one.
The newlyweds both sprang up in unison, Mara's bonds falling to the floor as she casually flicked her wrists. Their forward movement was halted by a hayfork menacingly pointed their way.
"Where d'ye think ye're goin'?" a grizzled farmer warned.
"Let 'em through, Bidlu." Hiley stepped up to intervene. "It'll take ev'ry hand we kin muster if the Hall be on fire."
Whether it was Hiley's argument or a desire to get to the fire themselves, Bidlu and the remaining 'guards' put their weapons aside, allowing Luke and Mara to join the flow of anxious villagers running toward Zembuhl's Fellowship Hall. There they found the community already furiously battling the quickly spreading inferno. Nearly the entire wooden floor of the immense building was ablaze, fueled by the paper decorations which had been gathered into baskets by that morning's work crew.
A brigade of men, women, and children were passing buckets of water from a nearby well, while others shoveled snow onto the flames. Desperate villagers were attempting to smother the tongues of fire with coats and blankets, but most found themselves driven back by the heat and smoke.
As the Jedi approached and began assessing the situation they were hailed by Jaco, who had reached the site ahead of them. A distraught Aerie was wailing uncontrollably, and it was evident that Jaco was having to bodily hold her back from rushing into the burning building.
"Luke! Mara!"
"Jaco!" Luke returned, shouting to be heard over the surrounding din.
"Aerie's little sister be trapped on the rafters inside, with two other children," the dark-haired man explained in a rush. "They were takin' down the streamers when the fire started, and their ladder has been felled by the flames."
"We'll get them out," Luke vowed, already turning toward the conflagration. After giving her sobbing friend a reassuring hug, Mara followed her husband.
"Find me some strips of cloth and wet them," he directed. "The smoke will be worse near the roof."
Without pausing to think, Mara pulled up her overskirt and ripped off sections of the petticoat underneath. She doused them in a nearby pail of water and handed the strips to Luke, who stuffed them in his pocket. Mara started to follow Luke to the wide doorway of the Hall, but he held out a hand to stop her.
"I'll get the children down," he shouted.
"I can help you," she countered.
"Mara, I need you to help put out the flames." Luke glanced around at the white drifts of snow. "Scoop up the snow with the Force." He swept one arm out to demonstrate, and startled villagers scurried out of the way as a large sheet of snow flew through the air and landed on the edge of the flames inside.
"Got it," Mara acknowledged with a nod. Even her staunchest accusers recognized that she was helping, not hindering, and they begrudgingly cleared a path for the 'witch' to work her magic.
―――――
Luke stepped as far into the Hall as he could, the smoke already stinging his eyes. Above his head he could sense the children – terrified and losing hope. Taking one last deep breath of fresh air, Luke leapt up and landed lightly on one of the wide beams that crisscrossed the inside of the structure. Squinting through the haze, he could make out a solitary prone figure clinging to a rafter for dear life.
The Jedi sprinted across the expanse, then knelt in front of the frightened girl. "Almie?" he called, hoping he had remembered correctly the name Aerie had rattled off last night.
The girl raised her head at the sound, peering into the stranger's face with a child's curiosity. "I'm ... Tenna," she croaked, coughing as she spoke. "Who ... are you?"
"Luke," he responded, doing his best to instill a wave of calm into the child. "From the party last night, remember?" He laid one hand on the girl's shoulder in a gesture of reassurance, then grimaced as he looked below him to see that the fire had already spread to the spot he had jumped from. Without a safe area to land, all he could do was collect all three trapped youngsters and hope that the fire would be extinguished enough by then to descend. "I'm going to get you down from here, but we have to get the other children, too."
Tenna bobbed her head in understanding.
"Tenna, I want you to climb onto my back." He gently tried to pry the girl's iron grasp away from the rafter. "Tenna, honey, you have to let go of the beam. I won't let you fall, I promise."
"I'm scared," the child squeaked, tightening her grip on her wooden security blanket.
"I know," Luke soothed. "But you can't stay here." He remembered the strips of cloth in his pocket when he paused to choke back a cough. "I'm going to put a scarf over your mouth and nose, so you can breathe better. All right?"
Tenna allowed him to tie the wet cloth around her head and after another round of coaxing, sat upright on her perilous perch. Luke was beginning to wish he'd had Mara accompany him after all, as the girl refused to relinquish her grasp on his arm. Finally he was able to maneuver around to where Tenna was at his back.
"Now, put your arms around my neck."
The girl needed no further encouragement, clinging to him in a chokehold. "Not that tight!" Luke gagged reflexively, reaching back to settle Tenna's light form into a more comfortable position. "Okay, now we need to get the others."
Proceeding a bit slower to avoid frightening his passenger, Luke edged his way across the network of rafters toward the next youthful victim. "Almie?" he called, hoping he had the right name this time. A wracking cough mixed with sobbing was his only answer.
"That's Almie," Tenna affirmed into his ear, her voice muffled by the damp cloth.
Luke laid a hand gently on Almie's back. "Almie, I'm Luke. I'm going to get you down." Looking below him, he could tell that the orange glow of flames was beginning to diminish, but thick smoke still hung in the upper reaches of the room. "Hold on just one more minute, all right? I'm going to put a wet cloth over your mouth, to keep the smoke out." He deftly tied the strip onto the shaking child, carefully maintaining his balance while choking back his own coughing.
(Mara!) Luke called silently as inspiration struck. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his lightsaber. (I'm going to cut a hole at one end of the roof. Can you help me channel the smoke out?)
(Yes,) came the terse reply, Mara's voice sounding distracted.
Luke felt Tenna's hold tighten as he levitated the saber into the air, but to the child's credit, she didn't panic. He triggered the activation switch as the instrument neared the opposite end of the roof, the green blade glowing eerily through the smoky haze. As quickly as he dared, Luke sliced a circular hole in the eave, then lowered the slab of wood to the floor below. Quickly calling his lightsaber back, he felt Mara join his effort in pushing the dense smoke out the natural draft created by the opening.
Now breathing a little easier, the young Jedi turned his attention back to his rescue mission. "Okay now, Almie. I'm going to help you sit up, then I'll pick you up."
"Don't be scared, Almie," Tenna put in. "He won't drop ye."
"'kay," Almie sniffed, scooting upright on the beam as Luke kept a steady hand on her.
Luke brushed the girl's blonde curls away from her soot-streaked face, then hoisted her into his arms. "Two down, one to go," he murmured to himself.
"We not be down yet," Tenna reminded him as they moved toward the third trapped child.
Luke chuckled softly. How could Mara have trouble with children such as these? "Just a saying, Tenna." He looked across the two-meter open expanse to where the last lone figure clung tenaciously to a broad timber. The nearest crossbeam was at least fifteen meters away, and directly in the path of where the lingering smoke was now being drawn out into the winter sky. Bad planning on his part, Luke thought, but nothing to be done about it now.
"Girls, what is your partner's name?"
Tenna, definitely the talkative one, spoke up first. "Kavan."
"Kavan!" Luke called to the boy. "We're going to jump across to you."
"Jump?" Almie and Tenna asked in unison, both their heads swiveling to survey the distance.
"Sure." Luke hugged Almie a little tighter, and patted Tenna's arms that encircled his neck. "You trust me, don't you?"
After a moment of hesitation, both children answered affirmatively.
"Good. Now close your eyes, and don't look down." Luke took a deep breath, sharing an aura of security with his passengers. "One, two, three ..." Bending his legs, he sprang across the yawning gap and landed lightly near Kavan's head.
A cheer arose from Tenna and Almie, but it was drowned out by the terrified gasps coming from the adults watching from below.
(Thanks a lot, farmboy,) Mara sent up to her husband. (Leave me down here to deal with the neurotic parents who're witnessing your crazy antics.)
(You can handle it, sweetheart,) he returned. (I'm a little busy.) Luke turned his attention to the young boy who was eyeing him warily. "Kavan, are you doing all right?"
"Uh-huh," the youngster replied. "I knew ye had to get Tenna and Almie first, 'cause they be girls, and girls be more scared."
The girls in question huffed indignantly, and it was all Luke could do to stifle his amusement. "Well, you're a brave lad, Kavan, but now it's your turn." Luke crouched down by the boy, helping him to sit up with his free hand.
Kavan narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he surveyed his already-burdened rescuer. "I can stand by meself. Ye canno' carry me too, with both o' them."
Luke hesitated, gauging the short distance they would need to travel to be over a safe spot to descend. It would be rather cumbersome to carry all three children, and no doubt the boy had excellent balance or he wouldn't have been up there. "All right, but you have to hold my hand. We're going to walk along the rafter until we're close to the doorway." He shifted Almie slightly in one arm, and gripped Kavan's hand tightly. "Everybody set?"
A chorus of yes's answered his question, and the troupe made its way carefully across the heavy beam, stopping just before the end wall of the building.
"But how are we gonna get down?" Tenna voiced the obvious question. "The ladder fell down in the fire and burned up."
"We're going to jump," Luke replied. "Just like we jumped over to Kavan."
"But this is farther," Almie objected, her head turning around to look below.
"Are ye gonna use yer magic agin?" Tenna asked.
"Magic?" Luke wasn't quite sure how to answer the query. Did the adults' prejudices extend to their children?
"Like ye floated yer light stick to cut the hole," Kavan clarified.
"Ye had lots o' gold petals last night," Tenna continued in a matter-of-fact manner. "So ye must have lots o' magic."
Luke remembered that Tenna was one of the children separating the fortune petals at the previous evening's banquet. "Uh, yes. It will take a little magic," he admitted. Better to admit to magic, he reasoned, than to have them think they could try a stunt like this on their own someday. "We're going to float down, just like a leaf floats to the ground when it falls off a tree."
Even Almie's apprehension change into anticipation. Luke convinced Kavan to let him hold him in the crook of his arm, and the group readied themselves for the coming drop.
"All right now, everyone, on the count of three."
Brimming with nervous excitement, the children hugged their savior tightly, joining him in the countdown.
"One, two, three!"
Calling on the Force more intensely than he could ever remember, Luke stepped off into empty space, hoping that the screams of terror below them wouldn't rekindle the children's fear. The quartet drifted slowly downward, landing lightly near the open doorway.
Panic-stricken parents rushed forward, snatching their children away from the Jedi as quickly as they could.
"Are ye insane?" one of the fathers shouted. "Jumpin' from that height with our children!"
"I—" Luke began, but he was cut off by a distraught mother.
"Don't ye ever touch our children again," she cried, clutching Tenna against her.
"Welcome to the world of child abusers," Mara smirked. "They're convinced I started the fire with my witchery."
Luke frowned and shook his head in dismay. "You did contribute greatly to putting it out, my darling sorcerer. I was watching you work out of the corner of my eye, you know."
"The corner that wasn't tearing up from smoke?" Mara rejoined dryly.
"Exactly." Luke stepped wearily to Mara's side, slipping his hand into hers. He watched as the parents and other villagers fretted over their offspring, examining them for any injuries. "How did the fire start? Do you know?"
"From what I gathered, when word reached here about my ... uh, indiscretion ... at the school, one of the women knocked over a candle in her hurry to leave." Mara grimaced, leaning back against Luke. "So I guess, in a way, it was my fault."
"Nonsense," he replied. "It was an accident." He looked up as Jaco and Aerie approached.
"I want to thank ye fer savin' me sister and the others." Aerie grasped Luke's free hand, squeezing it in gratitude. "And Mara, I don't believe those terrible things they be sayin' about ye. I know ye would never hurt anyone."
"Thank you, Aerie," Luke answered for both of them. "We're just glad no one was hurt." His gaze drifted to where Hiley was making his way through the crowd, grateful for another supporter amid the sea of scorners. The Jedi's hint of a smile turned to a frown, however, when he saw the look of dismay on the toolcrafter's face.
"Luke, Mara." Hiley nodded in greeting as he neared. "I seen what ye both did, and I'm thankful ye were here to help, but ..."
"But what?" Mara said warily, her mind swimming with possibilities of what else could go wrong today.
"Some of the villagers, well ..." The older man scratched at his head, reluctant to reveal the directive he'd been elected to deliver. "They be wantin' an explanation of ..."
"Of who we are," Luke finished. "And all of you deserve that much."
"I'm supposed to bring ye to the pub," Hiley continued. "The village council is meetin' there."
"Very well." Luke laid one arm lightly around Mara's shoulders as they followed the metalcrafter down the snow-covered street. Other citizens were streaming the same direction, giving the newlyweds looks of both awe and contempt.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Thal," Mara said quietly to Luke as they walked.
"Sorry you levitated him, or sorry you got caught?" He squeezed his hand gently on her shoulder to show he wasn't angry.
"Both," she admitted. "He was being a bully, and I lost my temper. It was a stupid thing to do." She gave him a sideways glance. "I don't know how you stayed so blasted calm at the school."
"What did you expect me to say? – 'Mara, how could you have pulled such a bone-headed stunt?'"
"I would have deserved it."
"I'm practicing my serene Jedi Master role," he explained lightly. "Besides, I didn't have a gimer stick handy to rap your knuckles with." Luke shrugged and turned serious. "I couldn't convince myself that I wouldn't have done the same thing in your position." He smiled wanly. "Where were you when Fixer was picking on me?"
"Training to pick off targets at a thousand meters," she replied matter-of-factly.
Luke just nodded, once again reminded of how different his and Mara's upbringing had been – and how much alike they could have been if his father had raised him. In hindsight, perhaps being hidden and lied to had been to his advantage after all.
Abrupt ending, I know, but this was one of those chapters without a good stopping point. More in a day or so.
