Chapter 2: Bonded in Marriage by the Force
Cal breathed a sigh of relief as the Stinger Mantis re-emerged safely on the other side of the atmospheric storm protecting Tanalorr. Another mission successfully completed – and yet he was starting to wonder why he was still taking risks like this on behalf of Saw Gurrera. It wasn't that he still didn't believe in the mission of bringing down the Empire. It was more like Tanalorr was starting to feel much more like home. Isolated and mostly inaccessible as the system was, there was a peaceful paradise feeling to it almost that made one want to shut himself off from the galaxy completely, if not even the Force itself.
Cal glanced over to the beautiful woman standing next to him. Merrin's gray lips, full and inherently kissable, were pursed in that grim line again. Only in her sparkling brown eyes could he see any brightness and relief. He could sense that his lover was just as anxious to get home to Kata as much as he was. Taking the Stinger Mantis out on these espionage missions was always risky, especially without Greez at the controls, but they had no other ship, and someone had to stay behind to watch Kata. Given that BD-1 almost always refused to part with his master and Zee was a part of the ship, that left Greez.
Cal thought of the first time they had successfully navigated this atmospheric storm. He and Merrin had actually embraced and kissed with joy; he chuckled as he recalled her lightly shoving Greez to get him to stop screaming, even as she deepened the kiss. Cal chuckled even harder as he considered how Greez didn't even to notice them making out.
He could sense Merrin's aura brushing up against his, and she smiled brightly at the memory. "Greez can be a fool sometimes."
Cal smirked. "A crazy son of a gundark, that's for sure!" He took the Mantis down into Tanalorr's atmosphere, leaving a free hand to lace his fingers through those of his girlfriend. "Let's go see our girl."
Merrin just about beamed at this, and Cal felt a flutter in his heart. The palpitations grew all the worse as he thought back to the improvisations they had needed to resort to in order to complete this mission…..
As they walked through the woods towards town, Cal noticed Merrin trailing behind and looking up at the trees.
"Are they different from Dathomir?" Cal asked her and looked up at the trees too. "I didn't think they looked that different. They've got red leaves."
"Yes but the flowers are different." Merrin said.
Cal looked up at a tree and notices a flower hanging off one of the branches. He reached out with his hand and used the Force to gently pluck it from the branch and carry it into his hand. Then he offered it to Merrin.
"Here, now you can see it more closely." Cal said as Merrin took it from him and smiled.
"It's beautiful." Merrin said and twirled the plant in her fingers before looking at her surroundings. "I have never seen so many beautiful things like this before."
"Yeah..." Cal said while staring at her. "I know what you mean."
BD-1 gave him a light tap on the cheek with one of his s-comp links and then beeped something to Cal that made him blush.
"What is he saying?" Merrin asked.
"Nothing important." Cal assured her before glaring at the little droid on his shoulder.
BD-1 hopped off and scampered ahead of them, happily scanning plants and animals while Merrin gently tucked the flower Cal gave her behind her ear.
She enjoyed the woods immensely. But the town itself was a different story. There were so many people. Even when her sisters were alive Merrin had never been in a crowd like this before.
She kept bumping into people, and brushing against them. And even though the touches were accidental, it made her a bit uncomfortable. But there was one person's touch that comforted her. And that's how she found herself clinging to Cal's arm and pressed firmly against his side.
"Mer, are you okay?" Cal asked her, noticing her discomfort.
"Yes. It's just..." she started but Cal finished for her.
"So many people." He said and Merrin nodded her head.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Cal asked.
"Just let me stay close to you?" Merrin requested.
Cal smiled and blushed and gently took her hand in his.
"Of course." He told her and BD-1 beeped something to him that made him blush again and scold his droid.
Merrin couldn't help but laugh at their conversation, even though she could only understand things from Cal's end.
Meanwhile Cal was thankful that Merrin couldn't understand what BD-1 was saying. Since he was teasing him endlessly on his feelings for the Nightsister.
They reached a market place and Cal told Merrin that they were supposed to use some of the credits that Greez gave them to buy things so they looked less suspicious.
And they did need that cover, because there were a lot of Stormtroopers patrolling the streets.
One booth that was of interest to Cal was one that was selling ponchos and droid parts. Of course. But the one next to it was selling some herbs that Merrin found interesting because she could use them in her potions.
"You don't look like you're from around here." The seller, a kind old lady, observed.
Merrin felt her heart sink. Perhaps she and Cal didn't blend in as well as Saw had hoped? Or perhaps it was just her who stuck out like a sore thumb because of her appearance.
"No I am visiting." Merrin stated and noticed some pressed flowers that looked similar to the one in her hair.
"Ah then I see why you would take interest in the local plants." The seller said. "Would you like to purchase these? When ground up they make a pain relieving lotion."
"Yes! I would like to purchase them to make a potion-I mean lotion." Merrin quickly corrected herself.
Cal, who was checking out some droid parts at the booth next to hers, smirked and chuckled a bit at Merrin's slip up.
Merrin would be annoyed, if his smirk wasn't so damn hot.
"Alright that'll be five credits." The seller said.
Merrin handed her the money. Thankfully Cal had taught her about currency before this mission.
"Great." The seller said and pulled out a sales book to mark the sale. "What was your name?"
"Merrin." She replied, unsure if she should come up with a name or not. She probably didn't need to change her name. It's not like the Empire knew it.
"And last name?" The seller asked.
"Last name?" Merrin echoed, confused.
"Yes dear, what's your family name?" The seller asked.
Family name...Merrin didn't have one of those. What was a family name? She had to think of something quick. But coming up with a name is hard! Why do people outside of Dathomir have two names? Wait a minute...two names! Someone she knew with two names was standing nearby!
"Kestis!" She blurted out as soon as the thought popped into her head.
Upon hearing Merrin give his last name to the seller, claiming it was hers, Cal nearly dropped the droid part he purchased and BD-1 let out a series of surprised beeps.
"So your name is Merrin Kestis?" The seller asked.
"Y-yes." Merrin said and looked at Cal whose face was turning nearly as red as his hair.
"Kestis?" The seller at Cal's booth said. "Hey Marge, this guy's last name is Kestis! And they walked up here together so he must be her husband!"
"Husband?" Merrin asked softly, not recognizing the word but Cal quickly pulled her into his arms to distract the sellers.
"Yes! I'm her husband." Cal said quickly. "And she's my wife..." Cal looked down at Merrin lovingly. "My beautiful wife that I love so much."
Merrin felt herself blush as Cal discreetly explained to her what these sellers assumed they were. Married!
"Yes!" Merrin agreed and moved out of his arms to stand behind him and wrap her own around him, one over his shoulder and one by his waist. "This is my husband whom I love very much." She said and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Upon feeling her lips against him Cal blushed.
"Aw how adorable, they're married and they still get so flustered around each other." Marge, the seller said. "But wait a minute, if you two are married how come your husband isn't wearing a ring?"
"Oh uh where we come from you don't need to wear wedding rings." Cal explained.
"Is that so?" Marge asked, not convinced.
"Yes." Cal said and waved his hand discreetly. "It is."
"Oh, well I suppose it is then." Marge said and Cal smiled knowing his mind trick was effective. "Well you young love birds will enjoy the festival tonight. Enjoy!"
"Thank you, we will." Cal said and quickly led Merrin away down the street.
"I am so sorry, Cal Kestis, I did not know using your last name would have marital connotations-" Merrin began to apologize before Cal stopped her.
"Mer it's fine." Cal said and smiled at her.
Instantly Merrin felt relieved. It was amazing how Cal could manage to clear her mind of any and all worries with just a smile and those beautiful green eyes of his.
"I just wasn't expecting it is all." Cal explained and ran his hand through his hair.
"Cal," Merrin start. "I figured out that a husband and wife are a romantic couple but we did not have those on Dathomir. What are they?"
"Uh…" Cal starts then blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, in most parts of the galaxy, when two people fall in love and want to spend their lives with someone, they enter into a contract known as marriage. It means that they pledge themselves to each other to love until they die. And sometimes when that contract is made, one of them will take the last name of their partner and exchange rings to show that they're bound to each other."
"Oh...so it is like what my sisters would do on Dathomir sometimes. What I thought I would do with Ilyana someday. Spend our lives together, devoted to one another in a bond of love." Merrin said.
"Yeah pretty much like that but with paperwork." Cal explained.
Merrin glanced away from him and shyly brushed her bangs behind her ear.
"Then I see why you reacted the way you did when I used your last name. I'm sorry, if I had known-"
"It's okay, really." Cal assured her with a kind smile. "Looking around, it seems like there's a lot of couples out and about in town."
Merrin looked at the people around them and noticed that many of them were in pairs. Hugging, holding hands, and in some cases kissing.
"So maybe pretending to be married wouldn't be such a bad idea?" Cal shyly suggested.
To his delight Merrin smiled at the idea.
"No it would not. I would be very happy to be your wife Cal Kestis." Merrin said "I-I mean pretend to be!" She quickly added when she saw his eyes go wide from her statement. "Not that I wouldn't want to be your wife- You're a wonderful lover and anyone would be lucky to have you, I just-"
"Mer, it's okay I understand what you meant." Cal assured the flustered Nightsister once again.
"Sorry. I have only just learned what marriage is today. You probably know much more about it than I do." Merrin assumed.
"Well actually uh, I don't know much. People didn't get married very often on Bracca. And Jedi in the Order weren't allowed to get married because we weren't supposed to form personal attachments." Cal explained.
"Oh." Merrin said as her heart sank.
As Cal had explained marriage to her, it sounded like something she might like to do with him someday. Be together with him like she once thought she would with Ilyana. But now those hopes had been squashed.
Cal could sense her disappointment, and he felt his own heart drop, remembering his Order's old rules, and what his Master would think of him for developing feelings for anyone, much less a Nightsister.
But when some Stormtroopers passed by, he was pulled back to reality. They were here for a mission.
"Let's go check into our hotel room and wait for our contact to let us know they're here." Cal suggested.
"Okay." Merrin agreed.
She cautiously slid her hand back into his and the two of them smiled at each other as Merrin stepped in a bit closer to him while they continued to walk down the street.
Cal only looked away from her to glare at BD-1 after some teasing beeps he made. But for the rest of their walk to the hotel, all they could think about was each other. Without a care in the world for any villagers or Imperials they passed on their way.
When they entered their hotel room they felt a sense of relief wash over them. There were no Imperials watching their every move in here so they could let their guard down.
The room had one refresher and only one bed but it wasn't a problem because they wouldn't be spending the night there anyway.
Cal decided to go into the refresher.
While he was showering, Merrin thought about something Marge said:
"But wait a minute, if you two are married how come your husband isn't wearing a ring?"
Merrin wore rings, not for marriage but as tokens to remember her sisters by. While they were walking, Cal mentioned that cultures regarding marriage differ from each other. And that not every couple chose to wear rings as a sign of their bond, but some did so that's why Marge was surprised to see Merrin wearing a ring but not Cal since she thought they were married. Not every culture used rings, but every culture did have something for married couples to show that they were married. So if she and Cal were going to pretend to be married, then they would need something too, lest they seem more suspicious to the Empire and not just regular tourists.
She fiddled with her necklace as she tried to think of something. And that's when she got an idea.
When Cal came out of the refresher Merrin was standing at the foot of the bed, holding something and smiling.
"What'cha got there?" Cal asked.
"A little something I made to help us pass as husband and wife." Merrin said.
Cal's eyes widened when he saw her holding up a necklace. It was a simple chain with a triangle pendant on the end of it.
"A marriage necklace." Cal said and stepped forward to look at it. "Good call, Mer. But where did you find the materials to-"
That's when he noticed the center triangle in her necklace was missing.
"Oh, Mer, you didn't have to-"
"It's alright Cal Kestis. I don't mind. I wanted to do it. Put on the rest of your clothes and I will give it to you." Merrin instructed and Cal obeyed.
By the time he got his rigger's vest on Merrin couldn't wait anymore. She was too excited. She offered to put the necklace on him and Cal couldn't help but blush as she fastened the chain around his neck.
"There." Merrin whispered and gently fingered the triangle pendant on his chest. "Now we match."
"Yeah, we do." Cal agreed.
They stared at each other for a few moments before a ping on Cal's comm interrupted them.
"That's our contact. It's time to go." Cal says.
They both reluctantly put their ponchos back on before heading out the door.
That night, after meeting their contact and receiving the intel, , Cal climbed into his cot on the Mantis as BD-1 powered down to charge for the night.
Cal was about to go to sleep before he felt the necklace Merrin gave him brush against his hand. He reached out with the Force and sensed Merrin was still up.
"Mer, are you there?" He asked.
The Nightsister appeared in a cloud of green mist.
"I'm right here, do you need something Cal?"
"Yeah." Cal said and sat up. "I can give this back to you." He started to take off the necklace she gave him. "Now that we've finished the mission and we don't need to pretend to be married anymore, you can fix your necklace so it's just like it was before."
"I don't want to fix my necklace." Merrin explained. "I like it the way it is. And I like that you have a piece of it because it makes me feel like you have me with you wherever you go, like how I feel now when I look at my necklace and feel like you are with me. I want you to keep it. But if you do not want it anymore I understand-"
"No I love it!" Cal said. "I'll proudly wear it every day. So I'll have you with me wherever I go."
Merrin blushed and brushed her bangs behind her ear.
"And it'll come in handy in case we ever have to pretend to be married again on the fly." Cal added.
"Yes I agree." Merrin said. "Who knows when that situation could arise again?"
Cal looked at his cot, and bites his lip briefly as he gets a bold idea.
"Maybe you should spend the night here in my cot with me then." Cal said. "For practice, in case we have to pretend to be married again."
Merrin smirked. "We do that anyway. But, that sounds like a wise idea." She climbed into his cot and laid on her side facing him. "You make a very clever and handsome husband Cal Kestis."
"And you're an even smarter and more beautiful wife Merrin Kestis." Cal replied.
Merrin felt butterflies in her stomach upon hearing his compliment. And the fact that he said her name with his.
"Merrin Kestis..." She tried it out softly. "I like how it sounds."
"So do I." Cal agreed and Merrin's heart beat even faster.
"Too bad Jedi are not supposed to get married."
"Well... Jedi could get married. But if they did that meant they would have to leave the Order. And the way I see it, I'm not part of the Order anymore because it no longer exists. So I'm free to make you my wife, for real someday, if you would want that." Cal explained.
Merrin could feel herself tearing up in joy.
"Yes. I would want that." Merrin said. "Would you want it?"
"Yes." Cal admitted.
"So let's do it." At Cal's dumb blinking, Merrin sat up and gazed down at him, suddenly quite serious. "When we get back to Tanalorr, let's get married." She blushed. "I love you, Cal."
Cal smiled and they both leaned in and kissed softly, coming to a silent agreement.
Their lips parted after a minute or so and they rested their foreheads together, relaxed in each other's company as sleep overtook them.
"Goodnight, Cal Kestis." Merrin murmured.
"Goodnight, Merrin Kestis." Cal replied.
And so they fell asleep in each other's loving arms and dreamt of the life they would have together.
The tiny group of inhabitants occupying Tanalorr was now gathered on the plateau overlooking the cliffs stretching into the distance beyond. The plateau where the charred remains of three Jedi funeral pyres now rested. They were mostly just burnt, half-collapsed logs now, though each of them featured a lightstaber hilt placed in reverence on the ground before it.
In front of the pyres stood two Force Ghosts. Master Eno Cordova was quiet but thoughtful. If Cere Junda was surprised at the thought of her second Jedi apprentice taking a wife – and a Nightsister as his bride, no less! – she didn't show it. In truth, Cal believed his final Master would be happy for him and Merrin. He and Cere had held many conversations in which they both agreed that the Order had been wrong on some matters.
Merrin walked with solemn purpose towards her future, and Cal took her hands in his, lifting their clasped palms between them. The Nightsister smiled shyly.
Cere raised her hands. There was no protocol for marrying a Jedi, or a Nightsister – two people who were acolytes of orders that had either never believed in marriage or silently permitted unions which were vastly more understated than the kind of solemnity a marriage called for. For this wedding ceremony, Cere would have to make it up as she went along to bless the couple.
"Cal and Merrin, do you take each as life partners, as spouses, as equals in all things? To have each other, for richer or for poorer, for as long as the Maker wills it."
Cal nodded firmly. "Yes. I do."
Merrin nodded back, her eyes only for the man who was to be her husband. "Yes. I do." A slight pause, and then she added for all to hear: "I love my husband."
"Then by the might of the Council, by the Will of the Force, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You are now bonded for life. You may kiss."
Merrin tilted her head solemnly, leaned in and permitted her handsome Jedi Knight to kiss her. Watching the newlyweds embrace, Cere smiled with approval.
The moment their lips touched, the Force exulted with joy at the newlyweds' union, and a green inferno of Merrin's Magick enveloped both her and Cal. Arms winding about each other until they were clutching each other close, their embrace tightened, their wedding kiss deepened. Merrin's brown eyes fluttered shut and she smiled into Cal's lips.
And as Cal and Merrin Kestis embraced and kiss, there was a piercing shriek as green fireworks of her Magick whizzed and exploded into the sunset sky above Tanalorr.