Kara continued to cry as she leaned back against the rock. It was all too much for her to take in. Despite having super speed, it didn't mean that she could process emotional distress quicker than anyone else did.
Sniffling, she wiped her eyes and took out a picture she kept for as long as she could remember. A picture of her parents. Her father and her biological mother Tahl on the day Kara was born.
Kara looked at the photo and cried. A single tear fell and dropped on the picture.
Even though she couldn't remember her real mother, Kara felt sure she wouldn't have tried to force her into marriage the way Shmi had. And she would have understood that Kara wanted her freedom. But now, it seemed there was no way out, until...
Kara looked up as she heard a whispery breathing sound she hadn't heard since she was a little girl, and there, by the trees in between two rocks was something blue and ghostly.
A wisp!
Kara gasped. She thought she'd only imagined it all these years, but here it was. A willow the wisp.
The princess looked around and saw that the tall rock she'd been leaning against was just one of many in a circle of tall rocks. Curious, she got up and walked closer toward the wisp. And then, there wasn't just one anymore. There was a trail of them that seemed to lead Kara somewhere.
Kara kept her lightsaber handy, and started to follow the path of the wisps deeper into the woods. It got darker and foggier the farther she journeyed into the woods. It was a good thing Diamond hadn't come along, or she'd be terrified right now. And Kara's curiosity only grew as she continued to follow the wisps until they led her to... a little cottage.
"Why would the wisps lead me here?" Kara asked herself in confusion.
Kara approached the door and knocked, only for the door to open itself a little bit. So, Kara pushed the door open and walked in as a bell jingled.
Inside the cottage, there were lots of wood carved items. Wooden cutting boards, wooden tables, chairs of fine oak, wooden kitchen utensils, even toys and little statues all completely hand carved out of some fine wood. Most of them had butterflies on them too.
All the works were beautiful, but Kara was confused even more why the wisps would have brought her there.
"Oh, look around." said a voice.
Kara looked to see the owner of the voice was a woman with silver hair, though she looked fairly young. She was carving a statue of a dragon out of wood.
"Holler if you see anything you like. Everything is half off." the woman, whose name was Morpha, said.
"Uh..." Kara picked up a wooden necklace she liked. "Who are you?"
"Just a humble woodcarver." said Morpha.
Kara figured she might as well do a little shopping while she was there, as she did see a nice lute Carmine would probably like and a cool-looking wooden dragon for Anakin.
"I don't understand," said Kara, looking at the necklace.
"See anything you like?" said Morpha, appearing beside Kara, which startled the girl.
Is this how I make everyone feel with my speed? Kara asked herself in her mind.
"Uh, yes. This necklace is very nice."
"Ah, good choice! Those beads are cut from a fine mahogany plank."
Morpha also pulled out some other things and offered to give her a great deal if she chose to buy something else along with her necklace. But as Kara was browsing, she heard the sound of sweeping, and looked behind her to see butterflies were sweeping.
"Your broom! Butterflies!"
Morpha snapped her fingers, and the butterflies scattered.
"The butterflies were sweeping."
"That's ridiculous. Butterflies cannot be trained to work with wood or anything else. I should know, I'm a gyp- Genius of the arts with natural material."
Kara could swear Morpha was about to say the word 'gypsy.' But, morpha picked up a wood carved portrait to show Kara.
Kara looked and saw a black cat as it rubbed against her legs.
"Shoo, Fluffy! Shoo!"
Morpha shooed the cat away with her butterflies, only for the cat to paw at them. But then, Kara started to put it all together. Butterflies trained to do work, a black cat, the colorful garments the woman wore.
"You're a doresho gypsy!" Kara exclaimed.
"Woodcarver." Morpha said.
"That's why the wisps led me here." said Kara.
"Woodcarver!" Morpha insisted.
"You'll change my fate!"
"Look, if you'll just give me a moment of your time. You see, it's my stepmother."
"I'm not a doresho gypsy! Too many unsatisfied customers."
Morpha picked the items that Kara chose and had them in the basket.
"Now, will this be all you will be buying today?" Morpha asked.
"The wisps led me here."
"You gonna buy them or not?"
And then Kara had an idea.
"I'll buy it all." said Kara.
"What?" Morpha said, surprised.
"Every carving. The three in the basket, and all the others too."
Morpha chuckled and asked Kara how she intended to pay for that. And then Kara took off the necklace her stepmother gave her. Morpha looked at the necklace. It was made out of very valuable material, and it was lovely. But before she could take it, Kara held it away and said she would pay her the necklace for...
"Every carving, and one spell."
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" said Morpha.
"I want a spell to change my stepmother." said Kara. "That will change my fate."
"Hmm... Done!"
Morpha took the necklace and stepped out of the cottage and shut the door.
"One moment, my dear." said Morpha. "Never conjure where you carve. Very important."
And when she opened the door again, it looked completely different on the inside. Now there was a cauldron and all sorts of potions.
Morpha clapped twice to light some candles.
"The last time this was done by my mother when I was a little girl. She did it for a prince." Morpha explained. "He demanded she give him the strength of ten men."
Morpha pulled out a man's platinum ring with a dragon engraved into it.
"He gave us this for a spell. A spell that would change his fate."
Kara looked at the ring and asked, "Did he get what he was after?"
"Oh, yes. And made off with an especially attractive mahogany necklace not unlike yours." Morpha put the wooden necklace Kara picked around the princess's neck. "But, you look better in it than he did."
Morpha began mixing different ingredients into her cauldron and took a single hair from Kara's head and mixed it into the potion.
The cauldron smoked and began to glow. Morpha covered hers and Kara's eyes as a bright light flashed. Finally, the spell was complete. And out from the cauldron, Morpha scooped out... a cake?
"Perfect."
"A cake?" said Kara.
"You don't want it?"
"Of course, I do! And you're sure if I give this to my stepmom, it will change my fate?"
"Trust me. It'll do the trick."
Morpha wrapped the cake up and placed it into Kara's basket. She sent her off and told her she could expect delivery of the rest of the wood carvings within a fortnight.
"Thank you." Kara said.
And she began walking back through the woods, not wanting to risk losing her cake by moving too quickly, and found the path that would take her back to the castle.