Hey guys, here is the next chapter of this fanfic.

Enjoy the read.

Chapter Fifteen

Antiva

Thanks to the pull that Mr. Montilyet had as a high member of Society, the ship that will take them back to Antiva had been prepared the very next day. It had been a quick breakfast for the two girls this morning before they were escorted to the ship that will take them back to their home planet. It was a top-of-the-line vessel, cruiser and from what Ellana could see, only people with money could ever voyage into a vessel like that. As her Master had ordered her this morning, she was to stay close to both Josephine and Yvette as the two girls were targeted yesterday as she will be the one to keep them safe for now. She was already aboard the ship as she followed the two girls down the hall of the ship.

It was well illuminated, the floor was covered with a carpet in the middle of the room, a soft yellow color that muffled their steps as they moved toward the cabin where they were staying.

"It will be a four-day journey to Antiva," Josephine told her as they entered her room, "But it will be great to be home again after everything."

"I don't think mom will be happy to learn that we were attacked," Yvette told her.

A soft chuckle echoed from Josephine.

"I know that," she said.

Ellana tilted her head lightly as she looked at the two of them. Hearing them talk about mother caused her to briefly think back to the time when she had asked the Lavellan clan about her mother. Sure, she had noticed that she was the only one in the clan that didn't have a mother, even thought, many women within the Dalish clan had done their best to teach her their ways…at least the few she knew before she was given to the Jedi.

"Do you have a mother Ellana?" Yvette asked her.

Ellana looked up at her.

"A mother?" she repeated, "No…my mother died giving birth to me but the women in the Lavellan clan were what I consider my mother's if you want to be technical."

"Oh…that's sad," Yvette said a frown upon her face, "But don't worry, I'm sure mom will like you."

"Yvette," Josephine scolded with an exasperated tone, "She is a Jedi…"

"But Josie," Yvette pouted.

Ellana found herself smiling a bit at their exchange.

"It's okay," she said, "I don't mind meeting your mother, thought I have a feeling that I am going to meet her eventually."

Josephine shook her head; thought she wasn't able to keep the smile she wore hidden away. Yvette let out a small squeal as she turned her attention back toward her, a huge grin upon her lips.


On another side of the ship, Solana Amell stood in the room with a light frown upon her face as she was staring at the man across her. With the information that her Padawan had told her this morning and what she had learned from Zevran in their conversation yesterday, she knew she will have to confront the Montilyet patriarch and that is what she is doing right now.

"I understand not wanting this news to spread," she said looking at the man in the eye, "But not being honest with the people you've hired to protect you is unacceptable."

"Those are my daughters," he said, "I wanted to protect her. I believed that I created enough clout that the House's eyes will be focused upon me rather than Josephine and I believed it to have worked…at least, until the attack yesterday."

Solana frowned. The man was telling her the truth she could sense, though there was still this hint of anger within him as well.

"Going home isn't going to change things you know that don't you?" she said, "The House of Repose is still going to send assassins after your daughter. From the information I gained from a trusted source, they won't stop coming after you until their target is killed."

The look on the man's face crumbed lightly at the thought.

"I have been working on an angle for that," he said, "The DuParaquettes line is extinct but they do have some descendants still living to this day. One of my retainers was able to obtain this information for me."

He extended the pad toward the Jedi who took hold of it. Solana read through it, her eyebrows raising for a few moments at what was written upon it.

"They're not nobility?" she said.

"No," Mr. Montilyet told her, "A marriage that happened without the family's approval so they're not considered part of the family. The plan I had was to elevate them to nobility and have them annul the contract on my daughter's life."

Solana glanced at him.

"Do you believe it can work?" she asked.

"It should," the man told her, "If the House of Repose care about their reputation, they will abide by the rules they set out for themselves."

"And how long will it take?" Solana asked him.

He sighed.

"Too long," the man told her shaking his head, "It's one of the reasons why I hired you Jedi. Your reputation precedes you. If anyone could protect my daughter in this time of crisis, it would be you."

Solana wasn't happy about it.

"While you work, me and my Padawan will need to repulse just how many attacks against your family," she said, with a light frown upon her features.

She wasn't happy about this situation at all. The House of Repose are assassins and from what Zevran implied probably one of the bests guilds out there. Now, she and her Padawan will have to push back their relentless assaults for who knows how long while this man works his way to make his plan move forward, and given the notorious works of politics, Solana wasn't sure this would even work as quickly as she could have hoped.

Then it's a good thing Zevran is going to help then.

She tilted her head lightly looking at the man in front of her.

"If the contract is destroyed," she asked, "Then, the House will have no reason to hunt your daughter would they?"

He blinked.

"That would be…preferable yes," he said, "But there is no way of knowing where the contract is."

Solana nodded, a plan formulating within her mind.

A reckless plan, but then again, it wouldn't be right for a Jedi to not be reckless.


Antiva was different than Odessa.

Considering the small number of planets that Ellana had been on, she found that Antiva reminded her mostly of the home of the Jedi. Thought, it could be something that had to do with the amount of greenery that she could see as she was observing the rolling hills and great many forests.

However, the similarity to her home was only to the surface. The Antivans were much different given their cultures of beautiful decorated clothing and the few buildings she had seen had been completely different. There was strange feeling within the Force as they walked through the city with their hoods on. Ellana noticed the numerous looks they have gotten and even then, people don't linger long.

Ellana had kept her hand close to her lightsaber underneath her cloak throughout their journey and could only breath in relief when they left the city port behind and went to their home.

Even calling it a home was stretching it as their transport vessel approached the landing pad. It was a large, towering probably revealing just how wealthy the Montilyet family was to the world. Josephine did mention that her family had fallen on hard times because they were no longer part of the trading business, however, it seems that even so, the family was still quite wealthy, meaning that whatever business that Mr. Montilyet was in, he was quite successful in it.

"Mother is already waiting for us," Yvette said suddenly looking out toward the window.

Sure enough, there was a woman standing there. She was dressed in light clothing, probably comfortable enough to wear in the heat from the sun which Yvette had said that they were in the middle of a Antiva summer right now.

Ellana followed her Master as the two of them followed the Montilyet family out of the transport. Having removed her hood following her master's actions, they stood a little bit away as the family went through their reunion. Ellana observed them, taking in the gentle love between the husband her his wife as well as the mother's care and worry for her daughters. Just looking at them, however, bring memories of her time at Clan Lavellan. She finds herself thinking about Mahanon, the man that was her father in all but name and she also find herself thinking about her mother, the woman who died to bring her into the world…

"Is something wrong?"

She glanced toward her Master. The woman's eyes were curious and yet there was still this kindness within them that had always been there, ever since they first met all those years ago.

Did I project my feelings? She thought to herself.

"No…it's nothing," she said.

Solana observed her for a few moments.

"If you ever need to talk," she said, "I'm here to listen."

Ellana nodded at her and turned to face forward when the Montilyet matriarch approached them, accompanied by her husband. She was a beautiful woman, with rich dark hair that looked almost violet in the sunlight. Her eyes were the same color as Josephine and Yvette's meaning that's where they've got their eye color from and even her skin was similar to them. She had a smile upon her lips, a familiar smile Ellana noticed, from Yvette.

"You must be the Jedi my husband mentioned," the woman spoke out, a light accent in her voice, "I am Esperanza Montilyet nee Lucinia. I want to extend my thanks to you for protecting my family and allowing me to see them once more."

"It was not a problem," Master Amell spoke out, "But I am sure they are many matters that we need to discuss."

The woman nodded.

"Of course, c'mon in," she said with a light smile, "I'm sure that we'll have a lot to talk about."

Later on, all of them were assembled in the main room of the home with some chairs placed around a table. Servants were already placing cup of beverage in front of them. Then, Master Solana looked up toward the assembled family in front of her.

"While it is not the news that most would want to hear," she started, "But this is what is going on right now. The House of Repose is targeting one of your daughters, Josephine because she wanted to try to bring you back into the trading business."

She fell silent for a moment.

"We managed to foil their attack when we were on the Citadel," she continued, "However, if they managed to track you to the Citadel there is a change that they could attack you here as well…Your husband had a plan to help but I feel it will be take too long and while my padawan is well trained, there is no telling how many of their members will attack next."

Mr. Montilyet frowned lightly.

"Last time we spoke, you mentioned a plan," he said frowning.

"Yes," Master Amell spoke out, "I contacted a friend of mine and he is on Antiva right now as he called me and he will be coming here soon."

"You spoke of this to someone else?" Mr. Montilyet said shocked.

Amell glanced at him.

"He is a trusted friend to me," she answered, "And he might be the only reason your daughter is going to survive the House of Repose's relentless attacks."

Mr. Montilyet frowned lightly.

"And how is that going to happen?" he asked.

"The plan is to tighten the security around this place," Master Solana continued, "The House of Repose is going to be making another move quickly and since we know they are coming, we will prepare for them accordingly."

The people around them nodded.

"Ellana will continue the same duties as she had," Master Solana continued glancing at her Padawan, "And we will make sure to protect your daughter as it needs to be."

Ellana glanced at the people in front of her and she can feel their fear, rolling in the Force around her. She looked up toward Josephine seeing the look upon the young girls' features despite Yvette trying to comfort her.

Then a man appeared at the door.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, "But we have two people at the entrance. They said that they are expected."

"That must be him," Master Solana said, standing up from where she was seating.

She left with Mr. Montilyet the guard leaving the two daughters with their mother. Ellana looked at them for a few moments and decided to step out of the room to at least give the family some time alone. The young woman let out a small hum, sinking herself into the Force as she stood guard there.


Solana and Mr. Montilyet followed the guard toward the entrance where two people were waiting for them. Solana recognized Zevran quickly enough, with his signature blond hair pulled back from his face. He was dressed differently than when she saw him in the holo, thought she wouldn't put it pass him not to have a weapon on him.

His companion on the other hand was a surprise.

"Leliana?" she said surprised.

The redhead woman turned toward her at her name. Leliana gave her a bright smile when she took notice of her. Her red hair was shorter than Solana remembers her. Having worked with her ten years ago in Ferelden, she had never expected to see the Orlaisian young woman here with Zevran of all people.

"Salut, mon amie," Leliana spoke out, a grin upon her lips.

"How are you here?" Solana asked, surprised.

"Oh, she was nearby when I got your call," Zevran said, "And if we're going to do what I want us to, we'll need her…and I am guessing you are the man within the House's target."

"I am," Mr. Montilyet said, "the Jedi said you'd help, but I don't see how."

Zevran smiled at him.

"Don't worry," he said, "We already have a plan in place, and we're going to need you Solana."

"Really?"

"Yep, our little bird here managed to get the location of your little problem," Zevran said, "And we can hit them where it hurt."

"You do? Where?"

Leliana glanced at the man.

"Believe me when I said that the less you know the better," she said, her accent quite evident in her tone, "However, given how old the contract is I presume that if we destroy it, then our friends will have no more clout to come after you…however, to break in, we're going to need the help of a Jedi…a strong one."

Solana frowned.

"You want me to leave my charge behind?" she asked, "That's too dangerous."

"Don't worry Amell," Zevran told her, "That's why Leli's here. She'd take your place in protecting the good man's daughter, while the two of us go on our merry way and help your friend."

Solana frowned. It could technically work but it was still a gamble. They had no way of knowing.

"I know how assassin works Solana," Leliana told her, "I'll do what I can to protect her. However, Zevran is better than me at well, everything really, and the two of you can do this."

"I'll tell my Padawan then," she said, "But at least, we have a solid plan."


A new plan in place.

Hope you have enjoyed the read.

Next Time: Knives in the Dark.

Jacques0 out.

R&R