I stared up at the mud-and-clay buildings that were covered in dust and dirt from the sandy roads. This was Tatooine? I wondered absently where Anakin lived, and what he did for fun on such a stifling-hot planet as this. I shook the thoughts from my mind, and followed Kasen faithfully as we mingled our way into the street crowds. Vendors lined up on the street we walked on stared at us curiously.
"Kasen," I whispered, "shouldn't we find some sort of… desert disguise?"
He turned and smirked at me. "Like what?"
"I don't know," I pointed to a girl about our age. "She's wearing a tunic, maybe we should find one," I said a bit louder than before.
An older woman caught my eye and smiled. "You need tunics, you say?"
I looked at Kasen, and he nodded to the woman, "Yes, ma'am."
"I have the finest tunics in all of Mos Espa. Come, and see; though I hope you've brought a large amount of truguts with you." She gave us an insider's wink and motioned for us to follow her.
I looked up at Kasen with fear in my eyes. We didn't know a thing about off-world currency; we were used to credits and being taken care of in the Temple. I certainly had never needed anything more than that. Kasen just winked at me, like he had it all figured out. I shook my head. I sure hoped he did.
"This brown will go well with your boots," the older woman rasped, pointing to my feet. "But the lighter one will go better with your hair."
I laughed a little. "I've never really thought about it like that before."
"Are you not a young woman?" the vendor winked at me. "I think the light one is better. You will hold in less heat that way."
I swallowed my offense, hoping she didn't see it in my stiffness. I nodded and she let me try it on. I turned my back to her, careful to hide my Jedi weapon, and slipped it on after discarding my robe.
"It's perfect," I told Kasen. He had whispered to me earlier that we should act as if we are newlyweds visiting family on Tatooine. He had said for me to mush it up as much as possible. I smiled at him dreamily, in character, and he just shook his head.
"I fear it is too expensive," he said, his voice deep and teasing. Though, again, most others would've missed the joking that overshadowed his tone.
I stuck out my lower lip. "But, darling, I want it."
The woman was laughing now. "You are indeed a young woman."
I grinned at her and shrugged, turning my attention back to my "husband".
"Johl," I frowned, laying it on thick. "It's perfect."
He was about to protest again, when the vendor-woman made her move: "Ah, yes, it fits her like a glove."
I turned from listening to her, back to Kasen. "See? Do you not think she knows what she is talking about?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well of course, my dear, but that does not mean we can afford it." Kasen stuck out his chin and stared down at me, past his nose.
My, he has a perfect nose, I thought, smiling inside.
He crossed his arms, and I noticed how broad his shoulders had gotten. He was, indeed, growing up, far more than I must've been… but that would soon change.
I placed my hands on my hips. "Well?"
Kasen rolled his eyes, defeated. "Fine… how much?" He turned to the vendor.
"Twenty-six," she announced.
Kasen's eyes bulged. "We definitely do not have the money."
The woman seemed to ponder this. "Do you have the time to work?"
"We are only here visiting family… but we may be a few days. How long do you need us?" Kasen asked. My eyes bulged. What was he thinking?
"A standard week," she shrugged, "because I like you."
I clapped my hands, trying to pretend this was exciting news. I clutched my Jedi robe in my right hand and Kasen's hand in the other.
He extended his left hand to the woman, and she shook it. "I will see you tomorrow morning at dawn. No need to bring the wife, unless you wish to pay the debt off sooner."
"We do," I spoke for him. "I will come."
Kasen gave me a warning glance as the woman turned to fetch his tunic.
Sorry, I mouthed.
He just shook his head at me. The woman returned and handed him a large piece of fabric.
"I am Lana," she explained, pronouncing it Lah-nah. "And I will be happy to have some help around here."
"We are grateful for this," Kasen smiled at her, slipping the tunic over his head.
"We will be diligent workers," I promised, tugging at the frayed edges of the fabric. She smiled.
"I am pleased to hear this. Enjoy the tunics, and always remember that they are Lana's - the finest in Mos Espa!" We heard her cackling laugh as we walked away to continue strolling through the town.
"Kasen," I said, as I swung his right hand back and forth in my left, "where do you suppose we are going to stay?"
"With my aunt and uncle," he said. "I met them when Master Kit and I were here last. They did not learn who I was, but I learned that their son, Liam, had been taken from them when he was only six months old. They had lived on Coruscant at the time, but Nova's parents had gotten ill, and needed her to take care of them. So, her husband Yahni brought her, and they made a life here."
"Did they have other children?" I wondered aloud.
"No," Kasen said, almost sadly.
"How far away is their home?"
"Not much farther to walk now," Kasen smiled.
We fell silent, and I took the time of our walk to admire the man Kasen was becoming. Certainly I was a bit biased, in my attachment - which I knew to be another reason the Jedi frowned upon such bonds. But I looked at his hair, and despite the little padawan braid, Master Kit had allowed him to grow out his thick hair. It was nearly as long as An—I shook the thought away, frowning deeply and concentrating on following Kasen's lead.
"We're nearly there," he announced.
His voice was like music.
It was too much of a distraction for me not to notice. Keelee Sarai, you are reckless! You aren't focusing. Mace Windu's frowning face filled my mind's eye.
But I won't see that face anymore, will I?
He had never returned from his "important matters", and I had heard whispers in the Temple amongst the Masters, as well as felt his death – along with others with him – in the Force. They hadn't told us anything, and still hadn't later -- even after it had been too late…
Kasen's voice announcing that we were a few steps away from Liam's parents' home was the only thing that interrupted my thoughts.
We were at the entrance of a cave hovel, and I frowned. "Are you sure?" I asked Kasen aloud, and he just shot me a hard look.
I'll take that as a yes.
Kasen knocked on the inside of the rock wall, and we listened to it reverberate inside. Before long, an older man about in his early thirties wandered to the entrance.
"Yes? Can I help you?" he asked in a gruff voice. His eyes were searching but surprisingly kind. Exactly like Liam's… I felt my heart in my throat again.
"I'm not sure if you remember me, but my name is Kasen Johl. I'm the Jedi Padawan who visited you about a year ago with Master Kit Fisto…" Kasen said, and the man nodded in recognition of the names.
"Yes, Kasen, come in." Then he eyed me suspiciously. "Is this your Padawan?"
I laughed. "For the time being," I teased.
The man smiled, and it wrinkled the skin around his eyes. He stuck out his left hand. "Yahni," was the entire introduction I received from him.
"Keelee," I shook his left hand with my right, a bit awkwardly. "You are left-handed?" I asked him, frowning thoughtfully.
"Yes," he laughed good-naturedly. "Are you?"
"Yes, sir," I nodded emphatically. "It makes lightsaber duels very difficult."
"I can imagine," Yahni nodded. "Do come in, and I will introduce you to my wife, Nova."
He called out to her; his deep, gravelly voice echoing her name.
"Yes?" A slightly younger, slender woman appeared, holding a dish and a small drying cloth in her small hands. She had golden hair that was tightly pleated in a braid that reached the small of her back. I had to smile. That was where Liam's shiny locks came from; there was no doubt about it.
"Oh, my, Yahni, why didn't you warn me we were having company?" the scolding tone her gentle voice took on made me smile despite everything.
"Because I just found them wandering outside our front door," Yahni winked at us, and Nova pursed her lips thoughtfully.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, before even learning who we were.
"Oh, yes," Kasen announced for both of us.
"Nova, dear, this is Kasen Johl, and his Jedi apprentice, Keelee." Yahni gestured toward us as he spoke our names, but Kasen and I stifled a laugh when he introduced me.
"It is good to meet you both," Nova smiled politely. "Kasen… you seem familiar, have you been to Tatooine before?"
"Yes, ma'am," he nodded respectfully. "I visited your home just a year ago."
Nova nodded in response, obviously remembering.
"You've grown," she smiled.
"Yes, ma'am, I have," he bowed his head humbly.
My heart swelled with pride and wonder at the boy who was nearly a man standing next to me. All rituals placed aside, he could've been my Master with all of his strength and wisdom. I squeezed his right index finger where no one could see, and felt a rush of warmth emanate from him.