Ok, maybe not every self-respecting Jedi trainee would kiss Jysella, but I did, and I liked it.
At first she was surprised and then she responded. I felt her hands in my hair, holding me there. Then suddenly, too soon, she pulled away.
In the Force I could feel her excitement, but not her emotions. They were flying too fast for me to actually grasp what she was feeling. For a few seconds she just stared at me, absently biting her bottom lip, as if trying to make her mind up about something.
In those few seconds, I had gone from elation at kissing her, to horror that I had done something wrong. I lowered my eyes from her face, and started to say "I'm sorry." I expected to be slapped and have her walk away from me.
I was not wholly disappointed.
She had wrapped her arms around me and kissed me again. We remained there by that tree, just kissing, long enough for my hair to dry.
It was about that point, when my grumbling stomach interrupted us, and sent her into a fit of giggles. As she stood up she smiled at me, not her half smile, not the small blushing smile, but that real smile I had glimpsed earlier when I asked her to come on this picnic. It was a real smile, one that actually reached her eyes and brightened them. And it brightened me.
For the first time in weeks, she was actually happy. Was she still in pain and still hurting from the loss of her parents and brother? Of course, I could still feel that underneath, but for this moment, she was happy. And so was I.
We finished our walk up the trail, now walking side by side, holding hands. It was an experience that I enjoyed as much, if not more than, watching her walk up the slope earlier.
Like I said, it was a good afternoon.
Too bad the rest of the day sucked.
It started as we reached the top of the bluff. I just felt something off, like I was overlooking something important.
I looked around, noticing that all our stuff was still there on the blanket, yet still unable to get rid of that nagging feeling that something was different. That something was off. A low level buzz in the force, like a flitnat stuck in your ear.
I looked back at our blanket, and it hit me just as Jysella started to open the basket. Everything we had brought with us was out on the blanket, including stuff we had left in the basket and pack. Also, everything had been shifted around; forming a symbol, one of curls and swooshes, just like a child's interpretation of a river. Someone had turned our picnic makings into the Japor icon.
Horror bleed into the Force as Jysella screamed. In an instant I was at her side holding her. She was shaking her head, dread and fear replacing the happiness she had been feeling moments before. I heard her muttering "no" over and over again, and realized that she was still staring at the closed basket.
Reaching out I slowly lifted the lid to the basket and looked inside, finding what had caused her to scream. There in the basket was her master's severed head. A blade emitter shroud sticking out of Cilghal's mouth.
I went and grabbed one of our comlinks and commed my dad as I walked back over to Jysella and pulled her onto my lap and started comforting her.
When my dad came on the line, I told him what we had found and where we were.
As my dad and the crime scene techs arrived, I found it somewhat funny that my dad kept finding me and Jysella holding each other. As I thought that, a darker part of my mind added "and there's usually a dead body involved as well."
As my dad surveyed the area around us, I could feel him probing everything in the Force. It was always interesting to watch my dad use the Force, his hand in it was deft and light, more akin to the soft, light under-feathers of a Tatooine sandhawk chick than anything else.
As he turned his eyes onto me and Jysella and probed us as well, I saw his eyes widen slightly and could feel myself blush as he said "Should this trip have been chaperoned Ben?"
After a while, the crime techs were finished analyzing most things and had gotten the story from me, and bits and pieces of it from Jysella, as she was still somewhat in shock from Master Cilghal's death. Fortunately, I didn't have to draw my saber in order to convince the crime techs that she didn't need to be disturbed that much over this at that moment in time.
As we arrived home, my dad pointed to the main room, and said in a stern voice, "Both of you sit, while I go get Mara."
We sat down on the couch, close to one another, and I could feel her nervousness in the Force. I looked at her and asked, "Why are you nervous?"
She gave me this incredulous look. "These are your parents!", and then in a soft voice she whispered "It's your Mom!"
I took her hand in mine, and kissed the back of it. I then smiled at her. "It will be ok."
With that my parents walked in and sat down on the couch opposite of us, I felt Jysella tighten even more. I just held her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze, and smiled at my parents, waiting for them to start.
My father leaned forward, and put his hands together. "So, is there anything that the two of you wish to tell us?"
I felt the slight amusement from my Mom, the curiosity from my dad, and the fear of embarrassment from Jysella. So instead of answering the question as he wanted, mainly a discussion about my budding relationship with Jysella, I told them about me stealing some sweets from the pantry two years ago.
My dad looked at me and replied "You know exactly what we want to know Ben. And we really are not upset about it. What I really wanted to talk to the both of you about is that it is about time to return to your studies."
Jysella bowed her head and you could barely hear her as she said "Yes Master Skywalker."
Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, I said "I know dad."
Mom suddenly stood up, and took Jysella's hand from me. She smiled at her sweetly, which kind of scared me. "Come on, Jysella, let's go have a chat."
As they walked out of the room, Jysella looked over her shoulder at me, a scared look on her face and mouthed the word "help" to me. I sent her reassurance in the Force, and trusted my mom to not torture her.
I looked at my dad. "So, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?"
My dad laughed. "You have too much of your mother in you."
Then I felt a pain flash across my stomach. Gasping, I bent over due to it, and probed the Force. Whoever was in pain was close to me. It was family.
I reached out into the Force to determine where it was coming from, and discovered it was close and who it was. I heard myself say "Jacen."
As I stood up, I noticed Jysella rushing into the room in a near panic, and when she saw me rushed over to me, and grabbed me, asking me if I was hurt.
Looking at her, I told her that I was not the one in pain, stood up, and went towards the door."
We all ran out into the night, and off in the distance, we could just make out two lightsabers locked in combat.
I pulled my saber and used the Force to enhance my speed as I ran towards the battle.
Then one of the combatants won. The other fell to the ground, and the pain I had been feeling from Jacen spiked then disappeared. And with a sudden Force pulse, so did Jacen's Force presence.
Dimly I was aware that my dad had stumbled in his run. Up ahead I saw one of the forms kneel down beside the other, then looked our way and ran off into the night.
By the time I got to where the battle had been fought, there was no sign of the other person.
I looked down at the body of my Master. His chest flayed open, his internal organs damaged beyond all hope. On the ground beside him, was the symbol of the Japor icon burned into the stone of the pathway. Where his eyes should have been were the two cycling field energizers from a lightsaber.
I could feel the pain coming off my parents, and felt Jysella come up beside me and take my hand.