The darkness recedes just a little, enabling Anara to hear voices, though she can't make out what they're saying. The pain in her chest is still intense, but every time she breaks through the darkness, she's able to control it a little more. However, there are times when the voice talking of war and battles triggers flashbacks to her own battles: the war with the New Empire and fighting her sister; and the pain washes over her, drowning her in blackness. Even so, she's started putting the pieces together during her times of lucidity. The pain and thoughts of her sister are linked, but the reason is illusive. Trying to push through the darkness, Anara notices the voices have stopped, but she can still sense a presence in the room. Unable to make her eyes open, she tries to reach out with the Force, but cannot, stopped by the pain and by a barrier she can't see. Suddenly the barrier is gone, and the impact of the being in the room with her causes her to retreat back into the darkness. She tries to control the sense of despair that's rising. She's felt a presence like this before – dark, brooding, chaotic – so like the Sith who took her and her sister captive all those years ago.
"By all the Jedi who've gone before me, NO!" she screams in her mind. "Please, not again…" Suddenly her sense of the presence in the room changes, it becomes gentle, more peaceful. She becomes even more fearful, but she can't escape. The darkness is there, lingering at the edge of her mind, but now she can't get to it.
"Don't be afraid. I am a friend. I rescued you from your ship." she hears a soft male voice say. She doesn't recognize this voice; it's not the same one who tells her of battles and women, or the commanding one telling her to wake up. She stays silent, sure this is a trick of the Sith.
"I know you're in there. I can sense you, feel your fear. Talk to me. Tell me who you are," the voice pleads with her. Carefully, Anara reaches out with the Force, trying to get a sense of who this being is. A picture of a human figure, male, surrounded by green lines of energy fills her mind's eye. Curious, for these are not the energy patterns of a Sith or even a Dark Jedi, she reaches out further, trying to get a better picture, and decides to ask her own question.
"Who are you?" she asks into the darkness of her mind.
"I am Loki, Prince of Asgard," the voice replies.
Asgard? She's never heard of this planet. Before she can ask another question, she feels another wave of pain building. "Oh please, make it stop," she begs the voice in her mind, just as the wave crashes over her, dragging her back into the darkness. For once, she doesn't scream, only whimpers, and falls silent.
Loki pushes back into the chair at the Maiden's bedside, wiping a bead of sweat from his temple. He did it! He got through to her, at least for a little bit. His elation however turns quickly to frustration. Why was she so afraid of him? He's done nothing to her, yet she shrank back from him as if he'd tortured her. "No, not me," he whispers to himself. She thought of someone or something called Sith. They must be a formidable foe indeed for someone with such a strong force of will to fear them. His elation at his success restored, he leans over the Maiden, gently smoothing her hair from her temple, before reaching for the switch to reengage the stasis field.
Eyes, piercing green eyes, fill Anara's mind's eye, pulling her from the darkness.
"They call you the Maiden you know," says the voice in her mind.
Eyes…suddenly Anara makes the connection.
"You carried me from my ship," she says. "Loki?"
"Yes, that's right." The voice responds. "Open your eyes and tell me your name." The voice - Loki, pleads.
"I - I can't open my eyes. I can't control my body." Anara whispers in her mind.
"Then just tell me your name," Loki says, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.
"Prove to me you're no Sith first," replies Anara.
"How am I to do that if you cannot see me?" Loki asks.
"Open your mind to me, let me see your thoughts as you see mine," Anara gasps around a sharp throb of pain. She must figure out a way to stop this pain! Suddenly, concern floods her mind, followed by frustration, and fear for her. Surprised, Anara realizes that Loki has opened his mind to her, distracting her from her own pain. Cautiously she searches for any hint of Sith energy or deception. Deception she finds in droves, as well as darkness and cunning, but she finds no knowledge of the Force and nothing of the Sith. Probing deeper, she senses a deep vulnerability and a need for acceptance.
"Enough!" Loki says, and suddenly Anara finds herself alone in her mind again.
Anara finds it easier to breach the waves of darkness, though she still isn't able to get her body to obey her. The songs sung by the woman who calls herself Frigga remind her of her mother's lullabies. Though they make her sad, the songs help her keep the pain at bay long enough to give her time to think, and the other man, Thor, has ceased his stories of war, and mostly tells her of the planets in a place he calls the Nine Realms. Loki has not returned in what seems like many days, judging by the visits of Frigga and Thor. Though she finds him dark and unnerving, he's the only one she's able to actually communicate with, and she misses him.
Green eyes bring Anara out of the darkness once again. Relief washes over her – she's not alone.
"Please forgive me Loki. I know I trespassed too far, but I had to be sure you weren't a Sith," Anara speaks in her mind.
"I will forgive you if you tell me your name," Loki replies, his frustration evident, though about what, she does not know.
"Anara, Crown Princess of Alderan II" she replies, keeping her Jedi status to herself for now.
"Finally! Now my overstuffed brother can quit calling you the "fair maiden"" Loki says with a sigh of exasperation.
"Loki, where am I? You said I was in Asgard, and Thor, the other man who comes to talk to me tells me of planets in some place called the Nine Realms. What sector is that in? "Anara asks, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Sector?" Loki replies, puzzled. She sounds somewhat like the humans on Midgard, but the technology of her ship doesn't match. His curiosity as to her origins deepens. "I don't understand. What is a sector? "
Anara, also confused, replies, "A sector is a section of the galaxy, usually defined by its planetary systems or coordinates in space."
"I see," says Loki. "How do I explain this? Asgard and the Nine Realms we have dominion over lie throughout our galaxy. The realms are connected by the roots of the tree, Yggdrasil and once, by the Bifrost that my brother Thor destroyed. "
Anara struggles to keep her confusion hidden from Loki, but is unsuccessful.
"You really don't know where you are, do you?" Loki asks, confusion evident in his voice.
"No," Anara replies, unable to hide her despair from Loki. Overwhelmed by her despair, Loki tries to change the subject.
"It is of no matter. You are here in Asgard, and that will not change until we can get you on your feet. Now, try to open your eyes. The healers say there is nothing wrong with your body."
Anara tries, as she has every time she's clear headed enough to think, with the same result...nothing. It's like someone, or some THING is blocking her from her own body.
"I'm sorry L-" At that moment, Anara is wracked by another spasm of pain, and she drifts back down into the darkness.
That night in the Meade Hall, Loki could be found actually enjoying himself, soaking up the attention and accolades from his brother and friends for finally getting through to the Maiden.
"A princess you say?" ponders Fandral. "Maybe I should go kiss her, as in those old Midgardian tales, and see if she wakes!" he continues, earning himself a feral glare from Loki.
Thor, fearing the gathering could turn ugly, punches Fandral in the shoulder and says, "If my silver-tongued brother cannot wake her, I'm afraid even your abundant charms have no chance, Fandral."
Volstagg and Sif attempt to hide their mirth behind their cups and fail miserably. A potential fight averted, the evening continues on, ending as it usually does, with Thor and his companions passed out around the hearth, and Loki sitting silently, thinking of the sleeping princess.
Anara's thoughts rise once again above the darkness to see Loki's aura in her mind's eye. Pieces of their last conversation float through her mind and she latches onto one.
"Loki?" Anara asks, reaching out with the Force to touch his mind.
"Yes Princess?" Loki replies, his voice soft in her mind.
"Please, just Anara." She responds. "You said the last time we spoke that we were in a place called Asgard. I have never heard of this world. Which leads me to question if you have knowledge of a planet called Coruscant or the Outer Rim, or even of the New Empire?"
"I'm sorry Anara, I have never heard of those worlds, nor of a New Empire." Loki replies.
"Then I am truly lost," sighs Anara.
"Do not despair," Loki tries to assure her. "I will make certain you are welcomed by all of Asgard when you have fully recovered."
"Thank you. I am in your debt. You and your family have been so kind to me." Anara says.
Just then, a twinge of pain makes her gasp. Loki, taking her hand in his, tries to soothe her.
"Squeeze my hand, channel the pain into me."
Unable to block the pain, Anara lets the pain flow through the Force, and tries to channel it through the hand that Loki is holding. Anara's hand flexes, and Loki gasps, struggling to keep his link with Anara. The spasm passes, and Loki sits back in the bedside chair, shaken. He's never felt such pain, such loss before. He breaks his link with Anara to try to regain his composure. He doesn't want her know how badly he's shaken.
Anara, elated that she was able to move her hand, but worried that she's hurt Loki somehow, feels out towards his aura with the Force, but finds his mind blocked. Curious, she tries again to grasp Loki's hand, pushing with the Force. She can feel her fingers move, just slightly. Loki responds by once again opening his mind to her.
"Let's not do that again, shall we?" Loki tells her.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you, but you did tell me to," Anara replies just a little pleased with her accomplishment. She can feel through her link that Loki, though still shaken, is pleased too.
"Anara, your pain, it did not feel physical, it felt emotional. What have you lost that causes you such pain?" Loki asks. Anara can feel his concern through their link.
"Not physical?" she wonders to herself. "What have I lost?" It's then that it hits her- her sister-she cannot feel the link she's shared with her twin since their first glimmers of awareness in the womb. But why would that loss cause so much pain? A memory suddenly fills her mind eye, she and her sister, Darth Daeva, in a mortal fight against each other. Having disarmed one another, they were fighting hand-to-hand. Darth Daeva had her pinned against the wall with the Force and was attempting to rip her heart from her chest. Just as Daeva's fingers began to penetrate her chest, a blast of pain threw them apart. Both twins felt it. It didn't take either of them long to realize that killing one would be the death of the other.
"Son of a Sith!" she swears, finally making sense of it all. Coming back from the memory and revelation, Anara can sense Loki's confusion and realizes she's closed her mind to him.
Reaching out, she says, "Thank you Loki. Your questions have led me to the answer I sought."
"I am glad. But since you closed your mind to me, I am unaware of what that answer is." Loki responds, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Forgive me, Loki, I did not mean to shut you out. The answer is complicated, and I will tell you soon, but I'd like to be alone for a while to sort a few things out."
Sensing Loki's anger at her seeming dismissal, she quickly adds, "Please stay and hold my hand. I just need to close down our link and meditate. Your presence does help keep the pain at bay."
Sensing Loki's acquiescence, she closes off her mind and begins to meditate, focusing on the hole in her aura that she can now see and beginning the long process of trying to patch it.
Loki sits at Anara's bedside, holding her hand, his mind lost in tumbling thoughts. Elation that Anara's making some progress towards waking, confusion and frustration at her reticence in telling him the source of her pain, and worry, that when she does wake, she will find some flaw in him and reject him as others have done. Angry at the turn of his thoughts, Loki gently releases Anara's hand, and leaves her room.
Deep in meditation, Anara is only vaguely aware of Loki's departure. Focusing her will and the Force, she begins weaving together the broken lines of her aura, slowing filling the hole torn by the loss of the link with her sister. Still unsure why the link was broken, she wonders if her sister's going through the same experience, or if she's even still alive, though her own continued existence would seem to lend hope that her sister still lives.
Days pass. Anara is so deep in meditation that she's unaware of those that come to visit her. Even Loki is unable to gain her attention. The healers note that she no longer screams, and the monitors show that her pain levels are dropping dramatically, but she still does not wake.
As she knits the last piece of her aura together, Anara sighs with relief as the pain drops to a tolerable level. "Finally," she sighs to herself. She doubts the pain will fully disappear until she's reunited with her twin, but this she can live with. Exhausted, she scans the room with the Force, and finding no one near, gratefully slips off to sleep.