After the Storm
II: Twins
~o~
They woke up and it was cosy and warm in their nest, like inside a small tent, the one where they had slept when they had been camping when they were little. Toes curling, Leia pushed herself upwards, until her face finally peeked out from under the heavy blankets. The air in the room was cool. Luke's head emerged next to her, his hair sticking up. It was dim, because there were no lights and the window was shut with the big board. But it was morning, and they had slept forever and they weren't even a little bit sleepy anymore.
Daddy and Obi-Wan were still asleep, so they had to be quiet, and they could hear the soft pitter-patter of rain against the roof. Leia hated the rain, and Luke didn't like it very much anymore either. It had rained days and days and then there had been a real storm, ripping trees and howling like a beast and there had been loud thunder too, and they could tell that Daddy and Obi-Wan were worried. They hadn't let Leia and Luke go out at all, not even to the latrine. They had to use the gross bucket.
They tried to be quiet, so Luke nudged Leia with his mind. He wanted to play the picture game and Leia agreed, even though she would have rather gotten up and played with their toy ship. Because of that it was fair that Leia got to begin first; she sent Luke a picture of a grassy clearing, surrounded by tall, green trees. The sky above them was deep blue, Leia's favourite colour. Luke knew the place right away, just as Leia had known he would. It was the place, where Daddy had taken them to practise using the Force. But that had been before; here the sky was not the same colour, even when there were no clouds.
Then it was Luke's turn and he thought about the hangar full of fast ships, and there was Daddy's starfighter too, it was the best one. Next, Leia showed the tiny storage room, where she had gone to hide when they had played hide-and-seek, or when she had been mad and hadn't wanted anyone to find her. For some time, they sent pictures back and forth, but when Luke imagined a red scarf, Leia didn't want to think about it. It was boring and she was too hot under the blankets and she didn't want to play the stupid game anymore.
They were squashed against each other; Leia shoved Luke back, but Luke couldn't get away much, for there was Daddy's big chest and arms, unmovable. Obi-Wan was sleeping behind Leia, and his arm brushed her side, heavy. She wanted to get up, so she wriggled herself downwards, slithering like an eel on her belly under the covers, until she reached the foot of the bed. Luke yelped, when she hit his stomach – by accident! – and that woke Daddy up.
When she dropped to the floor, Leia noticed that Daddy had lifted his head from the pillow and was squinting at her. "Do you need to go?" He whispered, meaning the bucket. Leia shook her head quickly. Luke tried to clamber over Daddy, but got tangled up in the blankets; Daddy sighed and lifted him by the armpits, swinging him from the bed.
"Can you play quietly in there?" Daddy asked, meaning the front room, where their ship and some other toys were. Leia and Luke nodded, because Obi-Wan was still sleeping, and they could be good and quiet. Daddy smiled a little and said, "I'll be there soon to make some breakfast."
They tiptoed out of the room really silently, but the bedroom door banged shut behind them. Luke felt bad, because Daddy had told them to be quiet, but Leia did not think it was their fault. There was some light in the main room, because on the table was the lantern, and inside it a small candle was still burning. Leia went to the trunk in the corner and started taking out their toys: the pilot doll and her helmet, the collection of cards, the wooden game board and pieces, the stack of flimsy and various pencils, the model ship. All of them clattered to the floor loudly.
"We're supposed to be quiet!" Luke hissed.
Leia stuck out her tongue and grabbed the ship; she wanted to play rebels and pirates. Luke would have liked to be the rebel pilot, but Leia insisted it was her turn, although it wasn't. But because Luke had made her sad picturing mommy's red scarf, he agreed to be the pirate. He dragged a chair to the kitchen nook and climbed on to it. On the shelf above the sink was a small dented pot that they pretended was a pirate ship. Daddy had promised to make them a proper pirate ship from wood.
Leia launched the rebel ship from the base and zoomed around the room, patrolling the space and protecting the rebel base from wicked pirates and the bad Empire. She was the best pilot, as good as Daddy, and no one could catch her. Luke flew the pirate ship after her, jumping in front of it, and Leia shot the ship's lasers with a great bang. The pirates dodged the shots and then swooped on the rebels and they all crashed hard, the pirate ship spinning and falling and exploding.
The bedroom door opened and Daddy stepped into the room. "This is you being quiet? This racket could wake the dead." They had forgotten to play quietly and now Daddy sounded cross. Luke picked the pot from the floor; Leia was still clutching the ship in her hand. They didn't like it, when Daddy was mad at them, and they muttered, "sorry."
"Gather your toys up and then go get dressed," Daddy ordered them firmly. He looked grim; Leia and Luke knew his face looked like that when he was grumpy, and sometimes when he was tired or sad.
They put their things quickly back inside the trunk and then went to the bedroom. Obi-Wan was standing beside the bed; the board had been drawn aside and light came through the window. He turned to look at them and said softly, "It looks like it might stop raining soon. Perhaps, if the weather permits, you can go out to play today."
That was a promise, and just the thought of going outside was exciting and they felt better. Leia pulled at the dresser's middle drawer, but it was heavy and got stuck. Luke joined her and together they got it open. All of their clean shirts and tunics and trousers and socks and undergarments were there in neat stacks, Leia's on the right side and Luke's on the left side. Obi-Wan helped them find all the right clothes, but they put them on by themselves. Luke had to brush his hair while Obi-Wan braided Leia's.
"Let's see what your dad is making for breakfast, shall we?" Obi-Wan told them when they were ready, or as Obi-Wan sometimes said, when they were looking civilized.
But Daddy was not making breakfast; he was lifting a rucksack over his back, adjusting the straps. He was wearing his long coat and his boots.
"I want to go out with you!" Leia demanded, running to Daddy and grasping the sleeve of his thick coat.
"Later, sweetheart." Daddy freed himself gently from her hold and took a step away. "I have to go gather up some firewood. You and Luke behave yourself until I get back, you hear?"
"Okay," she promised, fighting back tears. Luke and Obi-Wan did not say anything, and Daddy opened the front door and vanished into the rain.
~o~
They had porridge for breakfast, and after their bowls were empty, Luke and Leia dashed to the window. Obi-Wan had drawn the shutters aside, and they could see into the yard, where everything was still grey and rainy. After clearing the table, Obi-Wan took out the pencils and the stack of flimsy, because it was time for lessons. They were not fun lessons like the ones where they practised using the Force, instead they had to learn about things like math and history and different plants and trees. Today they had to practise writing, which Luke didn't like very much, because his letters were always wobbly, not neat like Leia's. But Obi-Wan promised they could draw after the lesson, and he liked that. He would draw Daddy a picture of his starfighter, so when he got back Luke could give it to him.
Leia didn't want to write words and she didn't want to draw silly pictures. She wanted to go out and find Daddy and make him less sad. Obi-Wan wouldn't let her though and she called him some wicked names, and if mommy had heard her, she would have put Leia into a corner for a very long time. But mommy wasn't there – she had gone away and then Obi-Wan had come, and he didn't get angry, no matter what she said. Leia felt bad and hugged him really tight.
So, they practiced their writing and then they drew and after that they played the board game and had a snack and then finally Obi-Wan said they could go out. Luke and Leia had to put on their coats and scarfs and mittens, and like always, they had to promise not to leave the property. Leia was ready first and she dashed to the yard, not waiting for Luke, because he was so slow, fumbling with his boots. Luke ran after her and they both shrieked; everything was muddy and wet and fresh, the sun shining.
They chased each other around the cottage, laughing. Luke jumped into a big puddle, splashing water everywhere, and Leia joined him. She kicked mud towards him and then fled through the garden, Luke fast on her heels. He caught up to her near the edge of the yard, panting. There they noticed that the latrine was missing a roof and a door! Luke thought that perhaps some big animal – a monster – had tore the wood away, carried the pieces to its lair in the darkness. Leia said that was stupid and dared him to peek inside. In the end, they decided to do it together, exactly at the same time. But there wasn't anything interesting there, no evidence of a beast, and they backed away disappointed.
Obi-Wan had come to look at the latrine too. He stood right behind them, and if there was a monster nearby, it would not have dared to do anything with Obi-Wan there. Leia was glad that the latrine was broken, because she wouldn't have to walk through the yard in the dark anymore, but then Obi-Wan said they would have to use the bucket. It was not fair; Luke's throat felt tight. He remembered the proper fresher in their old room, and the tiny, but clean one on the ship. Suddenly he wanted to go back home so badly his tummy ached.
Leia's mind curled around Luke's, warm and soft, making him feel happy again. She wanted to play treasure hunters and that was one of Luke's favourite games; they started their search for lost treasure from under the big tree at the edge of the property. The tree's gnarly roots twined around its trunk like a snake, and one of the branches almost touched the ground. Sometimes they would climb the tree, and from high up they could see far away. But they weren't allowed to do it by themselves, only with Daddy and Obi-Wan.
Kneeling in the muddy ground, they dug between the roots with sticks, but found nothing. The treasure was well hidden and they searched the garden and behind the latrine and all the good hiding places. Luke was the leader of the expedition and he had gotten a secret map from an old wizard. The map showed the location of a silvery cube that could grant wishes, and it looked like the cube Obi-Wan kept in his drawer, the one Leia and Luke didn't have permission to touch.
They journeyed through the galaxy in their ship and searched through different planets, avoiding the pirates who were after the treasure too. Threepio was carrying their bags and tent and all of their equipment. Finally they found the magic cube; it had been hidden under a small bush. Not wanting to be seen by the pirates, they crouched low on the ground as they looked at the treasure. They touched it, silently making their wish. Leia imagined how mommy would find them, come back from one of her important missions, happy and smiling.
Then Obi-Wan called them back inside; Luke let go of the rock and clambered up, but Leia turned to peer at the open hillside. It was as empty as before.