The day the Heartwoods arrived...

Anakin contacted the Jedi Council to let them know that his family's new teacher had just arrived.

"This new teacher," said Mace. "What can you tell us about them?"

"Garrett Heartwood. That's his name." Anakin said. "He's a highly respected professor in the E.H.C's education board with at least twenty years of experience with students of all ages. He's a travelling teacher, highly skilled in wizardry, and extremely intelligent. The kids seem to like him too. He has a little girl Gabby's age."

"I'm sensing you're a little on edge about something, however." Obi-Wan said.

"That's because I am. My family found out a little something... interesting about Garrett's wife, Mariposa."

"Is she on witness protection or an undercover bounty hunter?" Comedia asked.

"No. At least... not that I'm aware of. But, I'm not sure anyone will feel too secure hearing what we do know she is."

"What do you mean?" Mace asked.

"Well..." Anakin scratched the back of his head. "It's been revealed to us that our teacher is married to a... well... Doresho Gypsy."

"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed at once.

"You mean as in, like Lady Morpha?" Obi-Wan said.

"Yes." Anakin said. "Not only that. Lady Morpha and Mariverde are both Mariposa's older sisters. She told us so herself."

"This is concerning news." said Eeth.

"Are we sure we can trust this woman?" said Hydrangea.

"We're still running a background check on her," said Anakin. "So far, she seems okay, and the kids and Goldie are still getting along."

"There's been no reports of any mariclava activity as of late." said Zipp.

"That's not necessarily a good thing." Ki-Adi said.

"He's right. If there's one thing I learned about some of the most devious pranksters, it's that their most dastardly method is leading their victims into a false sense of security by randomly pausing between pranks, and then... WHAM!"

Comedia jumped out, confetti bursting seemingly from out of nowhere.

"Easy prey." Comedia lifted her hoof. "And now I know where I left my confetti cannons."

"Comedia, I thought I told you to put that stuff away."

"Sorry, Daddy." Comedia's ears drooped.

The Jedi Council did come to an agreement on one thing though. For now, they had to keep a close eye on the Heartwood girls until they knew more about them.

"Lamenta truth scanned Garrett. We've all checked him. He's not hypnotized in any way. So, that's one sign." Anakin said. "And we already know doresho gypsies are stuck with their wings, so we also know he's not one in disguise. But, I agree we gotta be wary until we know more."

A few days later...

Mariposa and Garrett held hands with his wife as they were escorted to the Jedi Council Chambers by Qui-Gon. With more than half his current class being Jedi as well as Enchanteds, the Jedi Council naturally took an interest in overseeing the royal family's progress as well, especially since three of them were still learning to use the Force. Now that they had a new teacher, they were eager to meet him, but also... they wanted to see his Doresho Gypsy wife for themselves.

Mariposa, of course, wore her cloak as she entered, not wanting to alarm any of the Jedi children or folks who didn't yet know she was a Doresho Gypsy. She looked around and saw Temple Guards looking highly alert, particularly towards her.

Garrett gently squeezed his wife's hand to reassure her everything would be okay.

"Once they get to know you, they'll love you as much as Goldie and I do." Garrett said.

"I hope you're correct." Mariposa sighed.

Mariposa spent the whole time in the elevator braiding and unbraiding her brown and blue hair, which she tended to do when she was stressed. And soon, they came to the door to enter the Council chambers.

"In, you may come." Master Yoda said.

Qui-Gon entered first, and then in came the Heartwoods.

"Professor Heartwood, I presume." Mace said.

"Garrett," said the man himself. "Pleased and honored to be in the presence of many esteemed Jedi masters."

Each member of the Council told the Heartwoods their names, and so did the horses. But, Comedia seemed especially curious, and started sniffing Garrett's hair.

"Comedia!" Master Mundi scolded.

"It's alright, Master Mundi." Garrett said. "This is normal for Enchanted equines when they meet someone new, as they are curious by nature."

Achoo!

Comedia sneezed a big sneeze, which made confetti burst from her horn, and the slight gust of wind from her sneeze messed up Garrett's hair slightly.

"And full of surprises." Garrett said, fixing his hair.

"Sorry." Comedia sniffed. "You look and smell familiar though."

"Perhaps I taught at one of your classes or performed at a party you attended." Garrett said, reaching behind Comedia's ear and pulling out some sugar cubes, to everyone, especially Comedia's surprise. Despite Garrett being a wizard, that was an impressive trick. "Magician was another career I considered as a child."

"The younglings might enjoy that at their birthday parties." Obi-Wan chuckled.

"Maybe, but I believe the main reason we were summoned here was because the Council wishes to meet my wife?"

"Indeed, we did, Professor. Mrs. Heartwood?"

Mariposa let go of Garrett's hand and stepped forth. She looked worried at first, but she gathered her courage and spoke.

"Hello, everyone. I'm sure most of you have heard stories about terrible things Doresho Gypsies have done, and you've seen both my sisters in action. Unfortunately, much of those stories are true. Namely the ones about my sisters. I can't say I was surprised when I learned everyone had become suspicious the moment my species was revealed. But, I'm here now and would like to set the record straight. First of all, my species original and proper name is Maricamba, whereas 'Doresho Gypsy' is a derogatory term that has stuck with my kind for centuries when we had to go into hiding to avoid genocide. Allow me to explain how it all began."

Mariposa told the Council the whole story about how a past king of Solaris destroyed a maricamba village after his son married one of them, in an effort to get rid of the wife, and he framed them for attacking the human citizens purely to have an excuse to send his armies after them. And when the prince remarried and refused to help his late wife's people, they were forced to flee to other kingdoms, only to be attacked there as well. For year, many innocent maricambas young and old were captured, slaughtered, and hunted. No matter where the maricambas went, they were treated as monsters, and thus, many of them retaliated in anger.

For centuries, maricambas began hunting Solarans, targeting the royal family, and attempting to overthrow them and take the kingdom for themselves the way their home was taken from them. However, over the years, as the maricambas were dubbed Doresho Gypsies, they eventually came up with ways to pass for humans in order to protect their families, in the hopes that one day they could walk the streets safely again without fear.

Mariposa once was a very happy child. She had a mother and a father, and two older sisters. Except, Mariposa never fit in with her sisters. One was very full of herself, the other extremely terrifying. Mariposa never even saw the other's face because she hid it behind a veil.

"I only know from my father that an attack on our family long before I was born left Marianna's face permanently disfigured, but she used to be quite beautiful. The accident didn't stop Papa from loving her, but it wasn't enough to stop her or the other women in my family from turning dark." Mariposa continued. "It was just my father and I until I was eight. We were innocently having father-daughter time together when Doresho hunters came after us. I didn't have wings yet, so I suppose they thought I was a human girl in danger. My father gave his life so I could escape. I was on my own for a long time and didn't trust anyone, and because I was still in my caterpillar stage, I had to figure out everything my father hadn't yet taught me on my own. I wasn't even surprised when my own husband freaked out the first time we met."

"It's true." Garrett said. "It was Mariposa who saved my life during one of my more dangerous adventures. Some of my students were climbing in the mountains, and a rock slide hit. The others made it out, but I was knocked unconscious. Next thing I know, I wake up in a cave with a girl with butterfly wings. Like many, I was taught to believe doresho gypsies were nothing but trouble, so I was flabbergasted that this one saved me and did nothing to harm me in any way."

"But after he went to sleep that night, I knew I had to move again. I feared the chance that Garrett would tell other humans my location, and I couldn't risk it. My father had told me about a safe haven he discovered before he died and that he had a good friend who lived there. We'd been on our way there before we were attacked, and I knew Papa would want me to finish what we started. So, I spent my childhood teaching myself to navigate, forage, and survive, and eventually I did. Almost, anyway. In that time, I fully expected never to see Garrett again, but I was captured by more doresho hunters. As fate would have it, Garrett found me and saved my life, all because he wanted to thank me for saving his."

"It took months to find her again, but it was well worth it." Garrett said. "Over time, we fell in love and got married. Mariposa showed me that there are so many things even all the greatest teachers and I combined don't know about, so much to learn. That was when I learned she was the one for me."

The Council couldn't help but find that to be a very touching story. However, they were curious too about the long cape Mariposa had wrapped around her backside.

"That cloak you are wearing, Mrs. Heartwood?" said Master Fisto. "It is to hide your butterfly wings?"

"Yes. It is." Mariposa answered. "Hiding them is the most effective method for survival of my kind. And I hardly get to use them."

"May we see them?"

Except, Mariposa saw that all of them had lightsabers and was worried they might attack her.

"I will remove my cloak if every single Jedi in this room puts their lightsaber on the floor." Mariposa said

The other Jedi looked at Qui-Gon and Anakin. Both of them nodded. Just like Mariposa needed to earn their trust, she needed them to earn hers. So, the Jedi all put their weapons down on the floor. That calmed Mariposa some, and she slowly removed her cloak and spread out her beautiful blue monarch wings. No one could believe their eyes with how lovely they were and how they caught the light.

"Those wings look nothing like Lady Morpha's did." Peppermint said. "From what I remember, hers were more... moth-like."

"That is another way to tell which of us have gone bad." Mariposa said. "You see, our wings are more than a coming of age piece. They are a symbol of change. When the change is good, our wings are beautiful, colorful, and can bring joy when eyes gaze upon them. But when a maricamba goes bad, their wings change to resemble those of a moth, the butterfly's pesky cousin. Some do have moth wings naturally, but maricambas gone bad, no matter which kind of butterfly their wings are, they will always flap a lot faster, and are no longer they be silent when they fly. That's just two side of the effects of maricambas going dark."

Mariposa folded her wings in.

"We all used to be able to use our wings to attract a spouse, the way a peacock does with his feathers. Sadly, they also attract a lot of attention from other creatures and make us an easy target for hunters."

"What else can your wings do?" Zipp said.

"Similar to regular butterflies, my wings can be used as a defense mechanism as well. If I flash them quickly enough, they can make a predator very dizzy or confused for a while. It isn't fatal, but it does leave one with a big headache."

"I learned that the hard way." Garrett said, embarrassed.

None of the Council got a bad sense from Mariposa. It appeared she was as innocent as the insect, some of whose characteristics she shared. And their curiosity started to grow, as they knew very little about doresho gypsies, or rather, maricambas.

"Are wings the only butterfly thing maricambas have?" asked Ki-Adi.

"No." Mariposa said. "We also have a straw-like tongue we used to drink juice from fruit. But, we can also eat the way ordinary humans do, and using a straw to drink anything in public places is helpful too. The mere fact that a majority of our body resembles that of a human gives us an advantage in creating the illusion that we are just humans. No offense intended to any humans."

"How many of your kind remain?" Mace said.

"I don't know. I haven't been in contact with too many of my own kind since losing my father. A few lived in the village where Garrett and I lived before moving to Naboo. The only one we know of for sure besides them is our Goldie. She doesn't have her wings yet, and given that she's only half maricamba, we can't be sure when she'll get them. Being half human, she could get them at the same time normal human females start puberty, but since we haven't exactly had a lot of half-maricambas to observe for research, we cannot be sure. I'm a nurse, and that is one of few kinds of creatures I don't know everything about how to treat, which is part of why we are both very protective of our daughter."

"What can you tell us about your own abilities. Are they anything like Mariverde's?" Master Tiin asked.

"Sort of. All maricambas' powers have to do with change. While my sisters used theirs to practice enslavement and exploitation of the innocent, my specialty is healing the sick and injured. I can also grant powers through butterflies. But, I prefer to turn mine into jewels that can be activated in case of an emergency."

Mariposa removed a necklace she had around her neck. On it was a beautiful blue butterfly charm.

"This is a crystal of the Blue Morpho." Mariposa said. "It's the hardest jewel to create because the butterfly itself is such a rare sight."

"What does it do?" Anakin asked.

"This particular gem can grant any wish. No rules to the wish, except... you must be very careful what you wish for, because once you wish, it cannot be reversed."

"Why don't you just use it to wish for maricambas to be at peace with the kingdoms again? Or to end all war in the galaxy? Even to free all slaves and end all slavery for good?"

"I wish it were that simple. But with every wish, we often have to give something up in return. It's been said in legends that this kind of power is trickier than genie magic. And an emergency that only this one wish could fix can come at any time. Very few maricambas ever learned how to make them. My father was the one to show me how to crystalize butterflies without harming them so their power could be used for good. The night before we were attacked, we caught a blue morpho and we made this necklace. Papa warned me that in the wrong hands, it could be catastrophic. That is why I keep this blue morpho protected. I am the only other maricamba who knows how to make them, and Mariverde must never get her hands on this jewel, or those of the royal family of Solaris."

Mariposa seemed very sincere in her fear towards her sister. From what she said, she lost everything at a very young age. Her family, her home, her childhood. She had to grow up and raise herself when she was only eight because no orphanage would take a doresho gypsy; they more than likely would've killed her the moment she got her wings. Even if she did get adopted before getting wings, had she gone to an orphanage, she was sure any adoptive parents would've chosen to eliminate her too. She was on her own, and thought she would continue such a path forever the whole journey she took to find a safe haven. It sounded pretty unbelievable, but no one could make up being so afraid for so long.

"Now that my husband is teaching the current royal family of Solaris, I want to do my part in stopping my sister from whatever she has planned."

"Anything, is there, that you do know that help us, might?" Yoda said.

"I can tell you the something has always been off about Marianna. I didn't want to see it when I was small, and I haven't seen her since our parents divorced. But, from what I remember, Marianna always seemed to enjoy taunting her enemies for random amounts of time before the big show. Her planning often appeared random in an effort to make her enemies question their own sanity, becoming paranoid, and thus nore vulnerable, seeing as a clear mindset is essential to fight back. In short, she gaslights her opponents. There's hardly a pattern to her work, and she won't stop until she gets what she wants."

"Why did you never fight her yourself?" Anakin asked.

"Because to my knowledge, maricambas cannot use magic on each other. I've never thought of even trying, but there are many things about my kind that even I don't know about, seeing as I was left on my own and every book and holo-net article about 'Doresho Gypsies' only contains lies and hateful words. I want nothing more than to help my species be safe and free to walk the streets again, and for my daughter to have the future she wants without her species limiting her possibilities. And if the royal family now can help mend the wrongdoing that has lived on for a millenium, I believe that will be possible."

The Jedi Council decided to think again about what Mariposa was saying. She sounded like she'd been through a whirlwind of traumatic events from a very young age. Being forced to hide her very species, struggling to survive, and living on the run just to stay alive? And all because one king was so closed-minded he was willing to eliminate an entire species just to keep his son from being married to one? Despite revenge being something frowned upon in the Jedi, they honestly couldn't say they blame md the Maricambas for being angry at the Solarans, as well as the other kingdoms who chose to believe one lie before getting the whole story.

But, the Jedi had been deceived before by the late Chancellor Palpatine, who turned out to be Sith Lord Darth Sidious in disguise, planning to eliminate all of them. How could they be sure Mariposa wouldn't turn on them?

"If it would earn your trust, I am willing to make a Peretual Promise to prove that I want to help you, and won't turn out to be anything like either of my so-called sisters."

"Would the two of you please step outside the room so we may discuss?" Master Plo asked.

"Of course." Mariposa said. She took Garrett's hand and waited outside while the Jedi discussed what to do.

"Master Qui-Gon? Anakin?" Obi-Wan said. "Can either of you explain this Perpetual Promise?"

"It's an Enchanted promise you make that if you break it, there's an awful punishment." Grassi said.

"What kind of punishment?"

"It depends on the individual." Comedia said. "But let's just say, the most common punishment is losing something important to you forever. I heard one sorceress at a music school made a perpetual promise to write a new song for a big concert, and instead all she did was steal someone else's and change one word, breaking her promise, and she was punished with losing all her musical talent forever."

"My cousin broke a Perpetual Promise once," said Citrus. "And his mother ended up paying the price with her very life."

Everyone was flabbergasted by that last story. Breaking a Perpetual Promise really was severe! Mariposa was either awfully brave or as crazy as her sisters to be willing to take such a promise just to prove she was being sincere. But, they needed to see just how sincere she really was.

The Council called Mariposa back in and told her they needed her to take the Perpetual Promise right here, right now. To their great surprise, she agreed.

"King Qui-Gon, as the current ruler of Solaris and a Jedi Master," Mariposa said. "I believe it would be most appropriate if I made the promise to you."

"Perhaps." Qui-Gon said. "But I believe at least one other should receive the promise on behalf of the Council. Is anyone willing?"

Anakin was first to step up. He was both a royal and a member of the Council now. So, it seemed fitting. Then, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, Plo Koon, and basically every member of the Council slowly stepped up, willing to have the promise made to them.

Mariposa placed her hand out, and one by one, everyone placed their hands in. And then, Mariposa said the sacred oath of the Perpetual Promise.

"I, Mariposa Morphina-Heartwood, with the right of my hand, hereby give my sacred promise to remain loyal to my friends and family. To aid in the fight against darkness, and to never turn to the side of the enemy, especially not my sister Mariverde. If I should break this promise, I accept any and all punishment. I so swear. I so swear. I so swear."

Suddenly, a magical blue light appeared on Mariposa's hand, and a ribbon of light wrapped around her forearm, and then more ribbons of light wrapped around each Jedi's arm as well, and together the lights all glowed to seal the promise.

Everyone felt strange at first, but then the glowing and tingling stopped.

"Now that you've proven your sincerity," said Mace. "What can you tell us about the particular power Mariverde has?"

"I can tell you it is similar to that of my father's. Light or dark, transmission change magic works the same way. An object has to be enchanted and held by an individual to grant them a power. But, destroy the object, it frees the butterfly and the temporary vessel loses whatever power he or she was given."

"We figured that part out. Anything else?"

"Well, as luck would have it, mariclavas, or powerflies, they can be captured like regular butterflies. So, nets and jars should be effective in capturing any. And each kind is attracted to positive or negative emotions or intent, and Marianna is very manipulative."

"I learned that the hard way," said Comedia, turning red with guilt.

"To my best memory, our mother also knew how to work magic mirrors, which she often used to spy on enemies and plan her next moves."

"That better not include the bathroom." Anakin said.

"I wouldn't worry. Mariverde is a lot of things, but even she wouldn't invade privacy that much. I hope."

No one here knew what exactly to expect from Mariverde next or when, but they did know that at least they had two new allies willing and able to help them. And seeing Mariposa when she was allowed to meet some of the younglings, when they saw how good she was with them and with all the plants in the gardens, they figured... how bad could she be?