Epilogue

It was the moment that the entire city had been waiting for and Crest was nothing short of delighted to be in the thick of it all. He and his brothers – along with the queen's new guards – were escorting Sita to the market, where the main event was to take place. All around them, throngs of people had gathered to celebrate the coming of spring.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Crest shouted to Weave.

His brother looked at him in confusion, his hand held up to his ear. "What?"

Without our gear, we may as well be deaf, Crest thought as he grinned and shook his head. Indeed, he and the other clones had been given simple Arunai tunics and pants to wear in place of their armor and Crest again marveled at how different everyone seemed to regard the clones. Though it's not the absence of our armor...it's something else. Something better. He grinned again. This is going to be amazing.

Many of the festival-goers had drums, whistles and various other instruments with which they were creating a eccentric harmony to accompany the chanting and singing that rose from the throats of the Arunai themselves. Food vendors pushed their carts through the crowd, letting the scent of their wares call the hungry people towards them as no amount of shouting could carry over the din. Another glance around allowed him to take in the sight of the massive press of people and he noted the fact that everyone was carrying handfuls of strange packets and pouches that were filled with bright, colored powder.

"What's the powder for?" he called to the young queen, who was on his other side.

She beamed up at him. "It shows that we are all equals," she said, her voice somehow carrying over the cacophony. Before he could ask what she meant, she continued. "At the same moment, everyone is to toss theirs into the air."

"What for?" Milo shouted.

Weave sighed, though Crest only realized it because he could see the motion of his brother's chest. "Didn't you read any of that intel?"

The younger clone gave him a mock glare. "It didn't go into the minutiae of the local celebrations."

"We don't all have so much time on our hands," Traxis added, though his tone was light.

Before Weave could reply, General Halcyon and Captain Stonewall appeared in the midst of the group, their faces flushed. Sita gave the Jedi a knowing look. "You are just in time...it's about to start, once the sun reaches that spire." Her hand lifted as she indicated a tendril of coiled metal that was placed at the top of the main temple. Presently, the sun appeared to be inches away.

Stonewall shielded his eyes and nodded. "It's imminent, then." He looked down at the Jedi and smiled at her though his voice was chiding. "We almost missed it."

"Almost." She gave him a grin as she pressed something into his palm before turning to Crest, handing him several of the small packets as well; soon everyone was so equipped. "You'll know," she said as Milo opened his mouth. "Trust me."

All around them, the crowd seemed to undulate even as it thickened. Their anticipation was palpable as the harmony of the celebration seemed to coalesce and mold itself to fill not only the spaces between those who had gathered, but also the space above their heads, reaching into the sky as if it would touch the sun that even now was sidling next to the spire at the temple's zenith.

It was in that moment that the entire world changed.

Color exploded into the air: shots of turquoise, saffron, violet, magenta and dozens more sprang up, carried across the square by both the breeze and the joyful ululations of the audience members. Crest watched a young couple to his right shriek as they drenched each other with purple powder, their skin and hair already covered in bright red from their neighbors' enthusiasm. Beyond them he could make out a family, each of them dumping packets of color at one another, grinning and laughing.

Suddenly his vision was awash in azure and he turned to see Sita giggling and tossing the remains of her packets onto his head, her face already covered in rose and vermilion. As he laughed and sprinkled one of his own pouches of teal upon her, he glanced over at Stonewall and Kalinda – she was no general at the moment – who were each coated with a rainbow of colors even as they embraced like they were the only people in existence.

They were streaked with crimson and yellow, indigo, purple and bright green; when they leaned forward to kiss it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

The End

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read and review this story. Your comments, thoughts and questions have made it the very best it could be and I am forever in your debt.

This scene was inspired by the Holi Festival in India, which is an actual spring festival. If you get a chance, do a google search and check out some of the pics and videos from this event...it's incredible! (I hope to experience it firsthand one day.)

So, we have one last little loose end to tie up; it doesn't really *fit* with the rest of the tale, but it was an story that needed to be told...