Chapter One: The Scene Of Tradgedy
I noticed that in my summary in the prologue, it said ten years have passed instead of five. I just thought that I should make it clear that five years have past since Legolas was brought to the galaxy. Not ten.
He hated crowds. He hated pushing through lines of humans and humanoids alike just to reach the counter where his father worked. And, most of all, he hated having to explain over and over to some indignant person that he was not cutting infront of them, but merely pushing through the line so he could get to where his father worked. His patience was beginning to wear even thinner when an angry pale skinned Twi'Lek grabbed his arm.
"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed. Legolas glared up at the Twi'Lek.
"My father works over there," he said, pointing in the direction he had been heading just moments ago "and I'm trying to get to him." The Twi'Lek glared at him for a few more moments before releasing him.
"Holy milking Sith." Legolas muttered as he approached the counter where his father worked, not feeling the least bit bad about using the explanation his parents, brother, and sister did not want him using.
"Legolas! Legolas!" Legolas whirled around and gave a cry of surprise. He ran across the red carpet of the theater and allowed his red-haired older brother, Jamar, to scoop him up into his arms.
"You didn't say you'd be back today. How was Alderaan? Did you like it there? Was it pretty? What did you do? How'd the starship work? Did you get to pilot it?" Legolas said quickly. He was almost breathless when he stopped talking. Jamar laughed cheerfully and tousled Legolas's hair affectionately.
"Alderaan was great, Legolas. Very beautiful. I'll have to take you there one day. And, yes, I was allowed to land the starship back on Alderaan and fly it back here." Legolas grinned as Jamar set him down. Jamar looked up at the stark white ceilings and fancy chandeliers, around at the pictures of holostars lining the brown durasteel walls, the numerous doors and lines of every kind of alien species imaginable.
"Do you always come here alone?" Jamar asked in interest. Legolas nodded.
"Every afternoon to help dad." He replied. Jamar nodded.
"Interesting. Now, what do you say we get through these lines and find him?" He asked. Legolas sighed.
"Definitely. If we can get through them without someone thinking we're cutting infront of them." The younger replied.
"That happen to you a lot?" Jamar asked.
"Oh, you have no idea." Legolas replied cheerfully. Jamar took Legolas's hand and led him through the crowds.
"You see, little brother, the trick is to maneuver around the lines, cut through as few groups and lines as-" Jamar began. Legolas suddenly raced towards a nearby counter where an older man was directing humans and humanoids to different doors, taking tickets, and exchanging credit chips. He latched on to the man, making him start. The man, Brenn, grinned when he saw his foster-son and scooped him up into his arms before giving a Sullustan female a few credit chips. Jamar joined them a moment or two later, grinning widely.
****
"Okay, are you two ready to help clean up?" Legolas pointed at Jamar.
"He gets to sweep. I'm not done sorting just yet." He said. Brenn looked out the window at the pinkish-yellow sky.
"Well, we better get started. Your mother will be wondering where we are." He commented. Jamar grabbed the broom out of the maintenance closet, cursing softly under his breath when a bucket fell and smacked his head, as Brenn grabbed a dust rag. Legolas sat criss-cross infront of the credit holder on the floor as his father and brother proceeded to sweep up bits of food and wrappers from the floor and wipe down the counters and windows. A soft voice suddenly sounded in his head:
I solemnly give my word as a Jedi that I will come back for you, no matter what happens. I give you my word as a Jedi that I will return you to your family when the time is right.
Legolas looked around, but saw no one. A warm feeling stole over him and wrapped around him like a thick blanket, and he felt as if someone familiar was near.
"Legolas?" Legolas looked up at his father, who was watching him with concern.
"I'm okay." Legolas replied with a smile. He went back to sorting the credit chips. The voice suddenly sounded in his head again, only, this time, it said something different:
I am watching you. It won't be long before I bring you home, Legolas. Just be patient.
Legolas looked around once more, his elven eyes searching the shadows for someone that had not left with the crowds. But he saw no one. He frowned as he went back to sorting the chips, the setting sun reflecting off of them as he picked them up. Jamar and Brenn talked softly as they cleaned, as if trying not to let Legolas hear, but the elfling caught every word. He was an elf, after all.
It was a few minutes before Legolas finished sorting the credit chips. He picked the heavy credit holder up off the floor as he stood and slid it under the counter before grabbing a broom from the maintenance closet. When he opened the door, a bucket fell from the top shelf, narrowly missing Legolas's head. Legolas muttered something in Twi'Lek as he grabbed a broom and proceeded to help Jamar sweep up the rest of the rooms.
****
"Do you think dinner's ready?" Legolas asked as his stomach growled loudly.
"More than likely." Jamar replied as he put the brooms away.
"Good. Because I'm starving." Legolas groaned. His stomach growled again as if emphasizing the point. Jamar smiled as he picked his brother up.
"We better hurry up, then." He said. They left the theatre and got into the black speeder parked just outside. Legolas strapped in just as his father took off and leaned back, closing his eyes, enjoying the feeling of cool air rushing over him. He thought about the voice, about the dream he had had the previous night. There had been two adults with pointed ears, which he knew to be elves, and elfling, which had looked too much like him for comfort, and two Jedi. They had been speaking, but no words had come out of their mouths. The female elf had been crying, the elfling had been sad, one Jedi had seemed calm, the other uncertain, and the other adult elf had seemed pained, guilty. He didn't understand it, really. Maybe he wasn't meant to. Or perhaps he would. In time. Legolas hoped he would have the dream again that night had actually be able to hear what everyone was saying.
It seemed to bother him a lot more now that he thought about it. He wanted to know what had been happening. Maybe it would explain the voice in his head. It had to be a Jedi that had been speaking, since they had told him they gave their solemn vow as a Jedi. Legolas did not despise Jedi, but he was always wary around them. And to have a Jedi giving him their solemn vow as a Jedi was a little unnerving. What had he done? And what had they meant about getting him home. Coruscant was his home. He had been told that his birthparents could not raise him, so they had left him on the streets of Coruscant at a very young age. Jamar had found him and brought him home, to Brenn and Ketira. Yes, these people were his family. Jamar, Brenn, Ketira, and Valanna.
"Legolas? Legolas, come on." Legolas sat up and opened his eyes. They were home. Legolas allowed Brenn to lift him out of the speeder and up the stairs into the apartment. A hooded and cloaked figure watched as the door closed behind them, then turned away. They headed down the walkway, towards the Jedi Temple.
****
"Mother! We're home! Mom?! Valanna?! Arrrghhh!!!" A red-haired female laughed as Legolas relaxed in her arms.
"Did I scare you?" Valanna laughed cheerfully as she tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. Legolas shrugged.
"If it makes you feel triumphant." He replied. Valanna laughed, then, upon seeing Jamar, gave a small gasp of joy and pulled him into a hug, which Legolas found himself squished in the middle of.
They were all seated around the kitchen table a few minutes later, eating hotcakes and nerf sausages.
"So, how was school, Legolas?" Ketira, Brenn's wife, asked. Legolas shrugged as he wiped his hands off on a napkin.
"Okay, I guess." He muttered. Jamar raised an eyebrow.
"Did it?" He asked. Legolas looked away at the cabinets.
"Legolas, was school okay?" Brenn asked sternly.
"No. I... I picked a fight with Branell." Legolas sighed before taking a bite of hotcake. "But it wasn't my fault!" Everyone regarded him sternly and Legolas averted his gaze.
"He made me do it." He muttered.
"So, what happened?" Valanna asked.
"I accidently bumped into him, so he called me a sith and I told him to shut up." Legolas said.
"So you hit him?" Jamar asked incredously.
"No, after that he tried to make me apologize, and I said no." Legolas retorted.
"Then you hit him?" Valanna asked.
"No, after I told him I wasn't going to apologize, he grabbed me by the hair and called be a little Gullipud. That's when I hit him." Legolas told her. No one looked pleased, so Legolas grabbed the rest of his hotcake and headed towards his room.
"Tell me when I can come back out, please." He called over his shoulder.
He pressed the button to open his door before entering the relatively neat room. The window, which was practically a wall itself, gave him a rather impressive view of Coruscant, the shelves held data pads, trinkets, models, and various other things one might consider junk, and a few pictures decorated the stark white walls. The light tan foam carpet covering his floor was mostly clean, except for a data pad or unfinished model here and there. His bed, which sat parallel to the wall across from the window was neatly made and added the final touch to the place he so often called a sanctuary. There was a SB-20 Security Breach Droid he had salvaged and fixed about two years back sitting in the corner between the wall and the window, flawed but not completely imperfect. He still had to work a lot on it.
Legolas sat down on the bed and quietly finished his hotcake as he watched the air traffic zoom by. All was quiet, all seemed perfectly peaceful. Until the sound of the front door being blasted open reached his ears. Legolas scrambled to his door when he heard screams and shouts, but he did not leave the room. He heard blaster fire, his mother scream, his father and siblings cry out, gruff, cruel laughter. Legolas hurried over to his closet and opened it. He quickly climbed up to the topmost shelf and fumbled around for something. Just as more blaster fire erupted, his hand found some thing cold, hared, and small. It was his FWG-5 flechette pistol. He smiled, grabbed it, and hurried back to the door. More screams and blaster fire could be heard as Legolas quietly slipped out of his room and into the shadowy front hall.
Careful of the creaky parts of the durasteel floor, Legolas made sure he had enough ammunition. Satisfied that he did, he looked up and made his way to the living area. He could hear voices and quiet sobbing as he crept towards the living area, but could make out nothing of what the people were saying. The voices were unmistakably male and the quiet sobbing was his sister's. As he reached the archway leading into the living area, the voices became clear.
"Where is it?"
"I don't know w-what you're t-talking about. Please. I don't want to die." Legolas waited quietly, pressed against the durasteel wall. He peered around the corner and aimed the pistol. The laser beam landed on the taller intruder, the one with the blaster to his sister's head, and he waited a few seconds before firing. The intruder cried out in pain and alarm, and before the other intruder or Legolas could fire either of their weapons, the entire apartment building was torn apart.