Chapter 6

In the back of a large classroom, a human girl with dark skin and long, brown hair sat amidst a diverse group of classmates. She felt the Bothan instructor's evanescent but icy gaze.

"I know this is early, but sleeping is not allowed in class." The history teacher admonished blandly before returning to her lecture. Allya wanted to grumble, but stopped. Nobody in the room knew what it was like to be a Jedi twin, especially twin to her brother, who kept her up through a good portion of the night by chatting with Grandpa over the HoloNet. The reflection on the girl's datapad told her that at least one insect seemed to have made a nest of her long, dark hair.

Questions began to form in Allya's mind as her instructor spoke of the various events that occurred during the reign of Teneniel Djo, but she held them back. Allya had the feeling that she was missing something.

"Twenty-five years after the Battle of Yavin, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded our galaxy. Conflict arose in the Consortium when Leia Organa Solo pleaded for assistance from Teneniel Djo. Isolder dueled Archon Thane to send the fleet to Fondor. Three-fourths of the Hapan forces were destroyed, but the Teneniel Djo was quick to act and rebuilt her cluster's forces in the Transitory Mists." For once, Allya listened attentively in her history class.

"Her operation was secret, and Djo was poisoned as the ships were built. Her unwilling Jedi daughter, Tenel Ka, surprised many by taking the crown." The Bothan continued in her monotonous voice.

WHAT? There's gotta be a mistake! Allya's lime colored eyes widened as her jaw dropped. Her grandmother was a Jedi Master and a witch who stepped into the modern galaxy, not some queen of sixty-three worlds.

"Yes, Allya?"

"Nothing. Sorry." The girl finally realized that she was gaping. Perhaps this is the princess in my class. Allya picked up her teacher's thought through the Force. She grinned. Of all the possible times for those ysalamiri to wander away from her classroom, they did it when the most interesting thought occurred in the teacher's head.

The galaxy had undergone much change since the days of the Yuuzhan Vong wars, and sending Jedi teens to public high schools was the latest one. Because of the fear of Force powers, ysalamiri became popular school pets. However, it was agreed that should there be any danger in a school with Jedi students, the Force-repelling lizards would be driven out and lightsabers would be handed to their owners. Sithspit! I'll have to wait eight hours to see that lightsaber!

The lecture continued, but the details of Tenel Ka Djo's reign flew past Allya's unhearing ears. So I might be a Hapan princess, wonderful.

"Tenel Ka Djo concluded her reign by delegating the powers of the throne to the Hapan people. She is the last and most unique of the Hapan Queen Mothers in that she was the only Jedi to have ever ruled sixty-three worlds. During the Yuuzhan Vong wars, she secretly married Jedi Master Jacen Solo and had two daughters. The eldest stayed in Hapes and the second was sent into hiding on the desert planet of Dathomir." The Bothan droned, unaware of the bored expressions on her students' faces.

Allya's eyes began to wander as the summaries of various historical events appeared on the datapad in front of her. A wave of repulsion hit the girl as she spotted the Gamorrean to her left. The slobber, which was typical of the people, was only centimeters away from the student's datapad. The Twi'lek behind the mucus-covered giant seemed to take no notice as she gracefully twitched her plum colored lekkus. The behavior was typical of Oola Secura, or just Secura, as she was constantly referred to. Like Allya, Secura was also a Jedi apprentice who spent more time with average beings in public schools than the Jedi Academy.

"Even after their mother relinquished the throne, Princesses Sil and Murra continued to play roles in the Hapan government for four years. Forty-three years after the Battle of Yavin, dissatisfied traditionalists made a brutal attack on the sisters. Princess Murra tried to appease them by renouncing her blood right, but it only furthered the resolve to eliminate the royal Jedi. Both sisters disappeared. The former Queen Mother announced Murra to be alive on another planet and deemed her first daughter dead."

Allya bit back her disbelief as she absorbed the story. All of the names mentioned in the stories matched the ones from what she knew of her mother's family's history, but there was no way Allya could be a royal Hapan. What was I thinking then? I'm not supposed to dream about the best.

Flashback

"Mama, who is she? She's as pretty as you." The five-year-old Allya held up a holo of a teenage girl. A pair of gray eyes peered over a scarlet veil, which hid the lower half of the young woman's face. The person's orange-streaked, light brown tresses were held together in an ethereal fashion.

An expression that Allya later learned to recognize as pain swept over Murra's face before the reply finally came. "She's your Aunt Sil. She was only three years older than me."

"Is this her, too?" Prestor's blue eyes glittered as he revealed a holo of the same person, only wearing simple, midnight black Jedi robes instead of some beautifully decorated dress.

"Yeah, my sis was a Jedi like the rest of us, even though she didn't like to admit it." A rare, Jedi tear seemed to slide down Murra Djo's cheek as she spoke.

"Where is she?" The male twin asked their mother.

"She's everywhere. She's one with the Force."

End of flashback

"Lights out!" The classroom darkened at the furred teacher's order. "As promised, these holos and this holo-vid will conclude our Hapan unit. Your test will be next time."

"These are holos from the Treaty of Yuuzhan'tar." The instructor punched a code into some device and datapads throughout the classroom displayed a younger, regally dressed Tenel Ka Djo, flanked by two girls and at least a dozen guards.

Realization sank into the young woman as she recognized the smaller girl as her mother and the other one as the aunt she had occasionally heard of. Why had Mother kept the knowledge of the Hapan royals from me? Why did Grandmother and grandfather play along with the act? Allya suddenly grinned. She would confront Mother, and perhaps her grandparents as well, about the matter, but until then, she should focus her efforts on taking advantage of the royal blood.

"Allya Djo, I believe someone is here for you at the main entrance."