Leia had left Tess in the valley about a standard hour ago, having told her sister a big enough chunk of Teyr's events for the day. Tess found herself more tolerant of the wait now that Leia was telling her something. The sixteen-year-old meditated for a while, her mind swirling around what her sister had shared. Shouldn't it have jogged something? Would any of Leia's recaps bring back her lost memory, or would she just live the rest of her life completely disconnected from whatever happened on Teyr?

An approaching presence snapped Tess out of her meditation. Chances were that even after two months, people would remember the face of the girl deemed Spawn of the Emperor. The Jedi-in-training packed up the new training remote and her lightsaber before swinging her brown satchel over her shoulder. She ducked her head while passing a man nearby, hoping he wouldn't recognize her from the Holonet. Tess' heart pounded, a hand on her lightsaber. Sure, it was a dead giveaway of her identity as much as a white suit labeled a stormtrooper, but it was her best defense.

"Tess Naberrie?" came the man's voice.

Kriff.

"Um…no, sorry," she answered quickly. She didn't even turn around in fear that it would confirm the man's suspicion. She heard him quicken his pace to catch up with her.

"It's you, isn't it!"

Tess didn't want to hurt him, but she would do what needed to be done. She spun on her heel, whipping out and igniting her new golden lightsaber. She advanced on the man—whom she now noticed was more of a boy, not much older than Tess herself. He stumbled backwards with the blade of yellow energy inches away from his chest. Tess' eyes met his over the glow of her lightsaber.

"You never saw me," she said, her voice stern but even. The stranger did not strike her as weak-minded, but she had many times proven to have strong abilities in Force persuasion.

The boy's blue eyes—much like Luke's in his youth, Tess noticed—widened at the lightsaber's blade, then searched Tess' face. He was not so afraid as he seemed disappointed. Almost betrayed.

"And all this time I thought you couldn't possibly be what they said you were," he muttered.

Tess held her weapon steadily even though the youth's words left her confused. He spoke as if he knew her. Seeing her confusion, he once again showed reckless bravery and spoke up. Not many would do the same given a Jedi's weapon to the chest.

"What?" the boy challenged. "Don't you recognize me?"

Tess didn't let herself be fooled in case this was a trick.

"No," she said simply. "Should I?"

"Nathen Laethry," he reminded her, hurt that he had to. "We were neighbors, remember? When you first moved here with…" His voice trailed off. Clearly he had heard about Inny's murder five years ago.

As memories of her childhood on Dantooine swelled in her mind, Tess realized that the teenager was indeed who he said he was—the only friend her own age she ever had. She disengaged her lightsaber. Nathen took the opportunity to push himself to his feet, refusing Tess' hand. He started walking off in the other direction.

"Wait!" Tess called out, running after him. "Nathen, wait! I'm sorry!"

"Are you what they say?" he demanded, stopping to face her.

"Funny," she chuckled lightly. "I've been wondering the same thing myself." Curiosity got the best of her. "What do they say?"

"That you're a murderous, world-destroying spawn of the Emperor," Nathen sneered. Her mannerisms at their meaning clearly gave him doubts about the friend he once knew, but she didn't blame him.

"I…I have killed before," Tess began softly. "I killed a man…he was…" She shook away the snap of Admiral Chid Deltrod's jaw from her mind, though a tingle in her own jaw lingered. She met Nathen's eyes more strongly. "I've been fighting for the Rebel Alliance for five years now."

Nathen looked at her skeptically. "You're only sixteen, like me. You expect me to believe that you were a rebel soldier at eleven?"

"I had special circumstances," she explained vaguely. The whole 'my sister is an Alderaanian princess and my brother is a Jedi Knight' could come later. She got back to the talk of killing. "Aside from protecting my friends in battle, I've only killed one man and in all likelihood, doing so saved my life."

Seeing the surprised look on Nathen's face, Tess assumed he was expecting a simple yes or no answer. Too late now.

"And the Emperor?" he asked.

"My father," Tess confessed honestly, a chill in her voice. "But it's not like they say. He didn't—" She cut herself off there. Nathen may have been an old friend, but she had still said too much already. "I only met him once before his death, and I didn't know he was my biological father until that day."

Nathen's familiar blue eyes scanned her face for truth. Looking at him now, Tess wondered how she didn't recognize him before. He was taller, and his thin frame had filled out a bit more. His hair was a darker blonde. His voice was deeper. But other than that, he was the same Nathen Laethry who lived next door to her for a little over a year.

Tess remembered having picnics on the cottage roof with Nathen, having play battles with rock blasters and stick blades, and racing the green fields to the Dantooine sunset before the double moons caught them. She remembered fashioning a tent in their bedroom where they read stories and revealed their darkest wishes and secrets. She remembered Inny calling down the hall, ordering them to go to bed, only to be answered with giggles. Come to think of it, Tess' friendship with Nathen was probably the most normal piece of her childhood—no, her life.

Inny had become good friends with Nathen's mother, Enice Laethry. The children had on many occasions heard the adults gush about how one day Tess and Nathen might marry and the two ten-year-olds had cringed in disgust.

About three months before Tess was ripped from Inny's arms by Imperials, Nathen's mother fell ill. His father insisted the family move into the city so she could get treatment. Inny and Tess went to help the Laethry's pack and assemble Nathen and his two younger siblings into a rented hovercab. Tess remembered crying as they left. Inny had tried to comfort her, offering that they might return once Nathen's mother was well again, but even if they did, Tess' life was turned upside-down before it happened.

My loyal followers of DoaDW, sound off in the comments! I've been hitting bumps of writers' block lately and I'd love to hear what you could imagine happening next, or what you want to happen! Make guesses about things that are still in question, anything you want! And thank you for sticking with me all these months :) Love you guys!