Surprise everyone! I'm not dead!
Now, before you people start throwing rotten vegetables at me for not updating in, like, three months… I have a very good reason why I didn't! Yeah! See, my computer broke and I wasn't able to retrieve all my chapters I had on it. But, good news, it's fixed now. (And if you're wondering, I did NOT drop my laptop. I don't know what you're talking about.)
With that being said, here is the long-awaited Chapter Six. I love it (mostly because I love Arc) and I hope you guys love it too! *throws roses and plushy hearts to the world*
May the manda be with you.
The New Mand'alor: Chapter Six: Facing Fate
"Your mistakes don't define you. It's what you do after the mistake that matters."
-Cin Vhetin
Sabine looked up at Arc cautiously, her hands slowly balling into fists. Her cousin was glaring down furiously at Sabine, fire in the young woman's eyes.
Sabine knew that look. What was her cousin planning?
But Arc dragged her gaze away from Sabine and looked out at the gathering Death Watch members. "Everyone!" Arc shouted finally and the Mandalorians quieted. "I've gathered you here today… for your entertainment!"
Arc looked dead at Sabine, slowly raising an arm and pointing to her. "This one, this… traitor, has proclaimed herself Mand'alor!"
There were gasps all around and Sabine kept her eyes on her cousin.
"She promises freedom, when she is the physical embodiment of enslavement! She swears allegiance to only Mandalore, yet her loyalties lie in every other area besides her homeworld!"
Sabine swallowed the bitter words she wanted to fling back at Arc, but she kept her mouth closed. There wasn't much she could do until the young woman stopped talking.
"My own cousin has betrayed me!" Arc shouted. "And I will not let her treacherous deeds go unpunished." Arc finally stopped and looked down at Sabine. "Have you anything to say in defense, outsider?"
Sabine stared up a moment longer, before turning to her right. She stayed silent as she walked along the wooden pole, the same one she had knocked down the day before. Sabine slowly bent down, taking one of the two tattered, dirty banners at the tip of the pole. One was black, which was Death Watch's flag, and the other was green; Clan Caladon's.
Sabine took the Death Watch's.
She walked to the front of the Mandalorians, climbing on top the stage. "Tell me," Sabine began, talking to the crowd. "Who are you? All of you, who are you?"
The Mandos looked at each other before one replied, "We're Death Watch!"
Sabine nodded. "Exactly. And are you the same Death Watch that followed Pre Vizsla, selling yourselves out to be mercenaries and criminals?"
The camp got dead quiet and Arc came up to Sabine. "We've changed," Arc growled. "The Death Watch is ran by Clan Caladon now."
Sabine jumped on the opportunity. "Yes, exactly," she said and held the Death Watch's jet-black banner in the air. "This symbol," Sabine announced, projecting her voice and holding up the banner with the stylized green shriek-hawk. "Was used to represent a band of traitorous mercenaries. They were criminals, willing to slaughter children for their own gain. But, like your leader said, you've all changed. But why? Why did you leave this past behind?"
"…Well," someone from the crowd said hesitantly, "We had to move on. We had to leave what Vizsla did to us behind."
Sabine stared at the man who had said it. "Why?" she pressed.
He looked down at the ground for a moment before glancing back up again. "Because that's not who we are anymore. We're not criminals and mercenaries. We are True Mandalorians."
Sabine gave a slight smile smile. "What's your name, warrior?"
The blonde man straightened. "Jaxon Ordo," he answered.
She glanced over at Arc to find her shaking her head. She knew where Sabine was going with this.
"Jaxon Ordo," Sabine said loudly, projecting her voice. "Makes an excellent point. The Death Watch turned from their traitorous roots. You had betrayed Mandalore for siding with Maul, yet you've changed. You've given yourself a fresh start, a clean slate."
Sabine turned to her cousin. "Tell me Arc," Sabine said, narrowing her eyes. "Do you penalize me for the same thing your Death Watch has done itself?"
The tension was thick. The Death Watch camp was completely silent as all eyes turned toward their leader.
"Are you justifying your actions?" Arc asked, her eyes narrowed as well.
"No," Sabine countered, raising her voice. "Are you justifying Death Watch's traitorous past?"
"I'm not justifying anything. We are who we are."
"And just who are you, Arc? Who? Is the Death Watch the same group that helped launch Mandalore into a civil war?"
"We've changed!"
"I have too!"
Arc seemed past angry. She seemed downright distressed. "You," she shouted, "Don't deserve mercy! Or forgiveness!" Arc's voice trembled as she uttered the next words.
"You don't deserve a second chance."
Sabine looked at her cousin. "No one ever does," Sabine said softly. "That's what makes it so much sweeter."
Sabine watched as Arc bit her lip, a family "tell" that had been passed to Arc as well as Sabine. Her cousin turned away, crossing her arms.
"Even if," Arc said grudgingly, "I was willing to… overlook your crimes, besides forgiveness, you have something else you don't deserve."
Sabine arched an eyebrow. "And what is that?"
Arc turned around to face her. "The Darksaber doesn't belong to you, Sabine," Arc finally bit out, uncrossing her arms. "You have no claim."
Sabine took the blade's handle off her belt and flipped it in her hand. "Well, I'm holding it," Sabine said, thinking quick. "That's a pretty good claim."
Arc laughed coldly and Sabine stiffened. "Perhaps," Arc said with a shrug and moved closer, her eyes narrowed.
"But you're not Mand'alor yet."
Sabine watched, narrowing her eyes as Arc whirled around to face the crowd of Death Watch. The young woman had her shoulder's pushed back, all earlier emotion gone.
"I, Arc Wren of House Caladon," she proclaimed. "Publicly invoke the code to seek justice through single combat!" She turned to look at Sabine and smirked, her fine scar rippling across her face. "Winner gets claims to the Darksaber and title of the new Mand'alor."
Sabine reared back, shocked. She knew Arc was going to duel her… but her claims were ridiculous! Arc couldn't be the sole ruler! No, no, no, Sabine had come too far to be beat by her own family.
"Arc, what are you doing?" Sabine growled.
Arc stepped closer and bent her head down, whispering, "We'll see whether or not you have what it takes to lead, little cousin."
Sabine stiffened. She finally gritted her teeth and got right in Arc's face before snarling, "Yes. We. Will."
Kor, the second-in-command, came up on the stage. He stepped in between the two cousins and cleared his throat from beneath his helmet. "The Darksaber," he asked quietly to Sabine, holding out his hand. Sabine slapped it in the man's outstretched fingers, not breaking the stare-off with her cousin.
Kor held it reverently before placing it on a stand one of his men had brought onto the stage. Sabine watched from her peripheral vision as Kor gingerly set the Darksaber on the stand and turned to Sabine and Arc. "Combatants," Kor announced loudly, "Prepare yourselves for a one-on-one, fight to the death."
Sabine straightened and backed away from her cousin, Arc sending her a murderous glare. Sabine jumped off the stage and walked a ways away. The Death Watch members had begun to make a circle around herself and Arc, allowing them to have enough room to fight.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Ezra, standing at the edge of the circle of Mandalorians. He had his arms crossed but Sabine could see his face lined with worry.
Ezra's brilliant, beautiful, electric blue eyes stared straight at Sabine. She felt chills go up and down her spine and bumps appeared on her arms as Ezra's mind brushed hers. Sabine could feel him at the edge of her consciousness, reading her emotions, feeling what she felt.
Sabine knew Ezra could sense her nervousness that she tried to bury, but she gave him an unconvincing smile anyway.
"Are you ready, little cousin?" Arc called, interrupting the wordless conversation between Sabine and Ezra.
Sabine turned to see a smirk on her cousin's face. "I'm surprised you're so eager for me to put you in your place," Sabine shot back, her hands hovering over her blasters.
The two begin circling each other and Arc shrugged "Well," her cousin said. "You've given me something to look forward to. The Darksaber, the title of Mand'alor… thanks for that by the way."
Sabine gritted her teeth. "You're not Mand'alor yet," she snarled and instantly brought out her dual pistols, firing two perfectly aimed shots at Arc.
Her cousin ducked and rolled, firing a few bolts of plasma of her own. The red lasers zoomed inches away from Sabine and she rushed forward, dodging the shots. At the last second, Sabine fired up her jetpack and it sputtered to a start, giving Sabine enough juice to flip over Arc.
Sabine instantly unleashed a perfect sidekick into Arc's back. Her cousin doubled over herself and Sabine launched out the energized rope from her vambrace. Arc rolled away as the whip-like rope snapped a few inches from her face. Her cousin flipped to her feet, putting up her fists.
"Well," Arc sighed, blowing a strand of hair from her eyes. "Nice little trinkets you got there."
Sabine leveled her Mandalorian vambraces at her cousin, smiling slyly. "You know me," she said.
Arc smirked. "Yes," she agreed, "I do."
Her cousin suddenly launched herself at Sabine, throwing several punches, all of which Sabine dodged. Sabine instantly lashed out a foot to sweep her cousin's legs out from under her, but Arc surprised Sabine by jumping up and executing a turning kick in midair, aimed for Sabine's midsection.
Sabine took it to the gut and stumbled as pain exploded in her torso. Arc took advantage of the error and straight up tackled her, diving for Sabine's legs and tossing her over her shoulder.
Sabine landed flat on her back, and the jetpack stabbed into her spine. She gasped for breath, but found the wind knocked out of her. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, gulping for air that wasn't there.
"Don't think I forgot your fighting style," Arc jeered, and Sabine looked up to see her cousin's face upside down.
"And don't think I forgot yours," Sabine spat before whipping her arm upwards and the repulsor on her Mandalorian vambrace went off, meeting Arc's face nearly point blank.
Her cousin's head snapped back and Sabine heard her neck crack. The young adult nearly did a back flip as she collapsed onto the ground.
Sabine got to her feet, cautiously circling the unmoving body as she trained her blasters on Arc.
Her cousin slowly moaned, rolling to her hands and knees, her forehead to the ground. "Dirty," she growled. "Cheap shot."
But Sabine was emotionless and kept her blasters leveled at Arc. "You're the one who always said 'There're no friends in a sparring match,'" Sabine countered.
Arc spat out blood and picked up her head from the snow, rolling it around on her neck. She shot a murderous glare at Sabine. "No friends is right," she spat. "I'm gonna kill you, kih ba'vod'ika."
Sabine smiled at Arc going back to their native tongue. "Kebbur ni," she taunted in Mando'a.
Her cousin gave an angry battle cry before launching herself at Sabine. Her fists went for Sabine's face and Sabine absently recalled how Arc always favored going for the head shots. Sabine ducked under her cousin's blow and attempted an uppercut to Arc's gut. But the Death Watch leader caught Sabine's fist neatly and clotheslined her with the other arm, thrusting Sabine to the ground.
Sabine landed flat on her back again, coughing, and felt herself get increasingly more angry.
"What's wrong, Bean?" Arc taunted, using the nickname she'd given her from their youth. "I thought you were stronger than this!"
Sabine roared, rearing up and throwing herself at her cousin. But Arc held her wrists with one hand and launched a perfect right hook with the other, aimed right for Sabine's jaw.
"I thought you were smarter!" Arc added as Sabine fell to the dirtied, muddy snow. "Tougher!"
Sabine looked up at her cousin in a daze, her vision blurry. Everything swam but she could just see Arc, standing above her, calling out insults.
"Looks like your game has slipped since you left Krownest," Arc added, disappointment in her voice. "You're too much like those Core-worlders now. Soft. Weak. Laandur," she added in Mando'a.
Sabine catapulted forward. "I'll show you delicate!" she roared but Arc threw herself forward as well and kneed Sabine perfectly in the stomach, throwing the girl's body away.
Sabine grabbed her midsection, grimacing, her face contorted in pain as she rolled onto the ground. Everything hurt. Her neck, stomach, head, jaw. Oh, her jaw ached. Sabine half-thought Arc might've dislocated some of her teeth when her cousin threw that right hook earlier.
Sabine opened her tightly closed eyes to see Arc's mud-stained boot in front of her face, the green-painted armor located just inches away from her nose.
Sabine looked up to see her cousin's face, lined with disappointment, an eyebrow arched, and leveling one of her dual blasters at Sabine's body.
Sabine clenched her jaw, guessing the older woman's thoughts. "I'm not weak," Sabine pressed shakily, her throat dry and metallic-tasting.
"Maybe," Arc said with a shrug. "But… just not strong enough to be Mand'alor?"
Sabine pressed her forehead into a patch of dirt, closing her eyes tight. Maybe Arc was right. Sabine already knew she wasn't the greatest leader there was. Maybe not even a leader at all. Being the Mand'alor meant leading thousands of worlds, all bound to the Resol'nare, and all loyal to her and her alone. Sabine was going to mess up. She was going to make bad decisions and wrong choices. How could her people count on her? Especially after what she had done in the past?
"Nobody cares who your father was, only the father you'll be," Sabine breathed, reciting the old Mandalorian saying.
It didn't necessarily mean just parenthood, but breaking the chains one thought they had been bound with and embracing what one could do with their own life. It meant taking charge of the opportunities Sabine had now, and stop using her past as a crutch, as an explanation to reason why Sabine couldn't be Mand'alor.
No one cared what she had went through, what she had suffered. They only cared about how she would deal with it, how she would cope with it. How it would shape and mold her into something for the better or the worse.
Sabine opened her eyes and looked ahead at the Darksaber. She could just see the ancient weapon's hilt resting on a stand on top the stage. It's silvery handle gleamed in the weak sunlight and Sabine felt a pull at the pit of her stomach. It was weird to think the blade was… well, was calling to her… But that seemed to be exactly what it was doing. Sabine yearned to hold it in her hand once again, to feel that odd but beautiful connection she had with the Darksaber as her thoughts connected to the blade's.
The weapon was old, powerful and mysterious. Sabine couldn't leave it; she had connected with it. Giving it over to Arc was like giving over one of her arms—she'd be incomplete with out it.
Sabine looked up at the blaster barrel pointed straight at her face, and further up at her cousin's emotionless face. "I'm not yielding," Sabine proclaimed finally. "I will be the new Mand'alor. I have to be."
Arc didn't move. Didn't even flinch. "Why?" she asked hollowly, keeping the pistol where it was.
Sabine stared up at her cousin's dark green eyes. "Mandalore will be free again," she swore solemnly, meaning every word. "The Empire has reigned too long over us. Deceiving, enslaving, and blackmailing our people. The Darksaber is a symbol of unity among the clans and it might be the only thing that can bring us together."
"Yes," Arc agreed coldly and Sabine's eyebrows shot up, surprised that her cousin agreed with her.
"But you won't be alive to see that happen."
Sabine jerked her arm up just as Arc twitched her finger. A red laser exploded from Arc's blaster while two yellow ones flew from Sabine's Mandalorian vambrace. The three bolts met in a fiery ball of plasma at point blank, throwing Sabine and Arc away from each other.
Sabine's face felt like the Caladonian Dragon itself had just torched her, the blaster bolts were so hot. She touched her face, making sure it was still there, and looked up at her cousin.
Arc was on her hands and knees, holding her ruined blaster in her hand and Sabine glanced down at her blackened, sparking vambrace. She flexed her fingers, trying to summon the blaster barrels to fire again, but the explosion had knocked her vambrace unresponsive.
Sabine clenched her hands into fists and looked up at Arc again. Her cousin tossed her blaster aside, keyed an order into her gauntlet and the rocket from her jetpack launched forward.
Sabine pushed herself up and sprinted forward, sliding on her knees as the rocket zoomed just over her head. Sabine jumped to her feet and slammed into her cousin, full speed.
She instantly twisted and yanked Arc's hand behind her back, the young woman's palm touching her smoldering jetpack. Before Arc could squirm out of the hold, Sabine pulled the young woman's arm tighter and kicked the back of Arc's knee, forcing her to kneel in the dirty, muddied snow.
Sabine looked up to see the rocket make a wide turn in midair, following the heat signature and start flying right for herself and Arc.
Her cousin writhed violently, trying to get out of the hold as the rocket flew closer and closer. Gritting her teeth, Sabine stomped on Arc's left hand and pulled the right one further up, causing Arc to unleash a guttural cry of pain.
"Are you crazy?!" Arc yelled as the rocket zoomed closer, eating up ground. Her cousin was frantic now, throwing herself from side to side.
Sabine grimaced and dug her right foot into the back of Arc's knee, and Sabine pinned her left arm across Arc's neck, completely immobilizing the young woman.
"We're facing whatever comes together, Arc," Sabine whispered, looking into the eyes of death as the bright, burning rocket was almost upon them.
Arc said nothing—mostly because she couldn't with Sabine strangling her. Sabine felt her cousin's body lock up, every muscle taught as Arc shut her eyes tight.
But Sabine stared unblinkingly ahead. Three, she counted. Two…
One.
Sabine jerked herself and her cousin to the left, feeling the searing, smoldering pain of the rocket as it shot right past her, barely missing her body by a shriek-hawk feather. The rocket tried to turn back for another round, but it had already descended too much and it plunged into the snowy earth, several meters away from Sabine. Mandalorians anywhere near the crash site threw themselves to the ground, covering their heads as the rocket went off.
The explosion was deafening and Sabine covered her eyes with an arm as the rocket imploded spectacularly, flashing an array of sparkling, sizzling lights. As Sabine let her arm fall to her side and stood up, she realized with a smile that the rocket had exploded just where she wanted it to; right under the stand holding the Darksaber.
The ancient weapon was thrown sky-high, twirling and swirling as it arced and made it's speedy decent back to Mandalore earth. Sabine could feel its pull, its gut-wrenching pull, as it flew back towards her. In dream-like slowness, Sabine stretched out her arm, opened her hand, and extended her fingers as the Darksaber landed perfectly in her grasp.
She whirled around, igniting the pulsing, jet-black blade, and held it out, the point right under Arc's chin, inches from her neck.
Arc was already on one knee, reaching for her other dual blaster but the Darksaber's point made her freeze Sabine's lip curled in a snarl as she pressed the lightsaber closer. "Yield!" she ordered.
To her surprise, Arc didn't even seem upset. Her cousin's wide green eyes slowly relaxed, and the fine scar across her face eased. "I yield," Arc said finally. She didn't even smirk. Just smiled an easy smile, her white teeth sparkling.
Sabine retracted the Darksaber but her cousin didn't get up. She watched as Arc lowered her other knee to the ground and gently unholstered her blaster, laying it out in front of her Sabine's eyes widened. She knew what was about to happen.
And apparently, so did everyone else.
When the Death Watch members saw their leader, kneeling in the muddied snow, head bowed, unarmed, the rest hurried to do the same. Sabine watched as the people fell on their faces, mimicking Arc's posture.
Arc splayed her hands out to her sides, palms up. "I swear," she proclaimed, head lowered, "my allegiance to the new Mand'alor. I pledge my clan, my house, and my life to Sabine Wren of Clan Wren, House Vizsla. Par kote bal ijaat be Mand'alor." Arc finished in Mando'a.
The crowd of Death Watch members leaped to their feet with the last phrase "PAR KOTE BAL IJAAT BE MAND'ALOR!" they shouted, echoing their leader's words.
For glory and honor of sole ruler.
The valley erupted in cheers, and people clapped and whistled, many taking off their helmets and throwing them in the air joyfully.
Sabine found herself smiling uncontrollably as many Mandalorians came and slapped her on the back, spewing congratulations in Basic and Mando'a.
Is that it? Sabine thought dizzily. She was still reeling from what had just happened. Earlier, whenever she had been in Arc's tent, she had proclaimed herself Mand'alor, but hadn't really thought what her actions meant. Sabine had just figured something would happen, whether Arc would take the sole ruler title away from her, or reject her leadership and find another Mand'alor.
But deep down, Sabine knew she couldn't part from the Darksaber and if she didn't do something about Mandalore's enslavement, who would? If she didn't unify the clans, who would? Maybe Arc? Or Sabine's mother? Rau?
No, none of them had the vision for Mandalore—not like she did. Rau was a good leader, a great one in fact. But he didn't have the drive to lead all their people—he had told her himself.
Sabine's mother? Heh, Ursa Wren was a jerk.
Sabine shrugged mentally. There was no other way to say it. Her mother was a control freak, demanding the loyalty and devotion of others, while rejecting the one thing that mattered most; her family. Yes, Mom was a strong leader, and yes, she would flourish under the position of Mand'alor. But her mother was too power-hungry and too enthralled in politics to be the leader their people deserved.
Arc? True, Arc was young enough to lead Mandalore for a good, long while, yet old enough to have outgrown the immaturity and reckless abandonment of youth. But Arc was vicious. Cutthroat vicious. Even when they had been kids, Arc would always be the one to take things too far, not stopping until her sparring partner cried and screamed. She had no sympathy and Sabine remembered Arc swearing when they were young that she would kill every Imperial, one by one until vengeance was finally served.
Which worked perfectly for a leader of Death Watch, but not the sole ruler.
Sabine looked around at the hundreds of Mandalorians, all crowded around her. Sabine was the Mand'alor now, and all of Death Watch had just pledged their loyalty to her. She was the Mand'alor—hesitantly, skeptically at first. But now? There could be no doubt. She had won the Darksaber in single combat—it was hers now. Really hers. And Sabine swore she would see Mandalore freed from the Emperor's reign. Free from his tyrannical hand and free from his simple-minded puppet, Gar Saxon. Sabine saw a free Mandalore. Liberated from the atrocities of the Empire and loyal only to itself. She saw a culture, once again, bound only by honor and loyalty to one's fellow Mandalorian.
"Sabine," a voice suddenly said, interrupting her thoughts. It was Arc, shoving aside Mandalorians to get to her. She smiled and extended her hand. "Well done," Arc said finally.
Sabine gave a grudging smile and grasped her cousin's forearm. "Thanks," Sabine replied. Looking closer at Arc's smug eyes, sly grin, and slick expression, Sabine suddenly threw her cousin's arm down. "If you did what I think you did—" Sabine warned.
Arc threw her hands up in the air. "I didn't let you win!" she said, seemingly reading Sabine's mind. But Arc turned dead serious, her smile gone. "I was wrong about what I said earlier," she admitted finally. "About you not being loyal to Mandalore. You're a True Mandalorian, Sabine. You always have been."
Sabine softened. She opened her mouth to speak, but Arc held up a hand."Let me finish," she continued seriously. "What you said while we were fighting? It inspired me. The way you stood up to me, the way you didn't yield or give up, even when I had a blaster trained to your head…" Arc paused and looked sincerely at Sabine. "It showed your true heart. You really are the new Mand'alor."
Sabine could hear the emotion in Arc's voice and Sabine barely stopped her eyes from watering. "Thanks, vod," she said finally.
Arc smiled and tussled Sabine's hair in a sibling-like gesture. "'Course, little cousin," she said with a grin. "And we're family. I've got your back."
"Sabine!" a voice cried suddenly.
Arc walked off to go talk to Kor, and Sabine turned just in time to see a flash of orange as someone rammed into her. Once Sabine was certain it wasn't an attack but an embrace, Sabine gave Ezra a brief hug as he pulled back, his hand still on her pauldron.
"You're alive!" was all Ezra could seem to say. Sabine watched as his electric blue eyes drank in her appearance, as if not believing her head was still intact with her neck.
"Yup," Sabine agreed dryly. "I'm alive."
Ezra took his hand off her shoulder and ran it through his lengthening jet-black hair, which had grown out a little since he had nearly shaved it all off. "Y-You had me worried back there," he said and sighed loudly.
Sabine started to grin, realizing how relieved Ezra was. She could see his hand literally shaking as he ran it through his hair. Sabine pulled it from his head and clasped it, stilling his shaky fingers. "Ezra," she pressed. "I'm okay. I'm fine."
Ezra inhaled deeply. "Right. Right, I know."
Sabine paused and she grew somber, remembering their earlier argument, before she had dueled Arc. Sabine slowly let go of Ezra's hand and backed up a step.
"What?" Ezra asked, sounding confused.
Sabine swallowed, ashamed. How could she have told her best friend that she didn't trust him? "I owe you an apology," she said eventually, her face feeling hot with embarrassment. "I… I never should have said I didn't trust you. E-Ezra, what I said couldn't be farther from the truth, okay? I was just angry… I should've never lashed out like that. I'm… sorry. Seriously sorry."
Sabine glanced up at Ezra's face to see his features soft. Sometimes, she would frown upon how easily the boy forgave, but now… she could feel nothing but relief.
"So long as you don't hold any grudges from me getting you riled up," he said with a lopsided grin, "we're even."
Sabine's shoulders relaxed and she gave a huge sigh. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath.
Sabine smiled and punched him playfully in the arm. "Hey," she said, "guess what?"
She watched as Ezra began to give her a lopsided grin. "What?" he asked.
"I'm Mand'alor now."
"I know," Ezra replied, still grinning, any earlier grievances forgotten about. "I heard."
Sabine put a hand on her hip and waved her finger at him. "You know that means I'm higher in rank than you now," she teased.
"Please," Ezra said exaggeratedly. "You can't get any higher than a Jedi—"
"Ezra!" Sabine interrupted furiously, clamping a hand on his mouth. She glanced around to see if anyone heard him and grabbed the boy's sweater, pulling him down.
"You can't just say things like that!" she whispered furiously in his ear. "If anyone figures out you're a Jedi, they'll kill both us."
Suddenly a foreign voice interrupted their conversation. "Sabine, I wanted to—," someone said but instantly cut themselves off.
Sabine glanced over to see Arc. "Am I interrupting something?" her cousin asked cheekily, an eyebrow arched.
Sabine suddenly realized how close herself and Ezra were, with Sabine pulling Ezra down, her face against his and his hand gently grabbing her elbow. Sabine felt her cheeks flush and she pushed Ezra away.
Arc glanced at Sabine as she walked by, letting out a little snicker. Sabine socked her in the shoulder. "Shut up," she hissed to her cousin. "What'd you want?"
Arc sighed happily and put an arm around Sabine's shoulders, leading her to the middle of the valley and up onto what was left of the stage. "To embarrass you," Arc answered.
Sabine picked up her cousin's wrist from her shoulder and dropped it. "You already did that," she shot back.
"Ah," Arc said with a smile. "No, no, I meant embarrass you publicly."
"What?"
"Everyone! Everyone, attention!" Arc called, motioning for the Death Watch members to gather around the stage. Once they had and the valley had quieted, Arc cleared her throat. "Today is the day for new beginnings!" she began, projecting her voice. "It marks a new era of freedom and purpose! For today a new Mand'alor has risen!"
The crowd shouted in agreement.
"An olaromijaat, " Arc finished in Mando'a, "Mand'alor te mav!"
"AN OLAROMIJAAT MAND'ALOR TE MAV!" the Mandalorian's shouted, taking up the cry until the mountains rang with the sound.
Sabine was stunned. Did her ears deceive her or did Arc just give her her Mand'alor name…?
Her cousin walked by, patting her on the back. "Embarrassed yet?" Arc asked, not waiting for a response as she walked off the stage.
The Mandalorians milled about, some gathering the things needed for a feast they would surely have that night—Mandalorian tradition, of course. But Sabine took no notice and stared straight ahead, mouthing the words Arc had proclaimed.
Ezra must have came up some time between then and now, as she now felt him brush her shoulder. "What did she say?" Ezra asked her. "My Mando'a's not exactly spot on."
Sabine was too shocked to even launch a sarcastic quip at the boy about how none of his knowledge about her culture was spot on—in fact, she half-thought he missed the target completely.
Sabine took out the Darksaber on the back of her belt and looked down at it.
"Sabine?" Ezra prodded. "Could you, uh, translate for me? Your cousin sounded like she said something important—"
"Free," Sabine interrupted.
She saw him frown. "…What?"
"That's what she called me," Sabine elaborated. "Arc's exact words were, 'All hail Mand'alor the Free.'"
A title. That was what Arc had given her. There had been many, many leaders before her, like Mand'alor the Ultimate and Mand'alor the Destroyer. But Sabine was sole ruler now. Her ascension would spark a new age of liberation. Sabine Wren truly was…
Mand'alor the Free.
AHHHHHH!
Sorry. That was my inner fangirl screaming her lungs out. Like the title? Like the story? Love Sabine? Tell me in Reviews! Follow/Fav and all that jazz :)
The next chapter is called Meshgeroya. Fifty space waffles to anyone who knows what that is! (Looking it up on Wookieepedia doesn't count :P )
Specter7 out.