Carmine was the jumpier one of the late Qui-Gon Jinn's twins. An interesting thing about identical twins: they may have the same face, but they are still two completely different people with different personalities. And where bravery was concerned, Carmine and his twin brother Anakin were total opposites.
Anakin didn't have any trouble talking to even tough people when he was younger. He had to be able to speak up growing up on Tatooine with a bossy master like Watto. Carmine, on the other hand, for someone with such a loud and powerful voice whenever he was on stage, he was not as brave as his brother as a child. In fact, he actually had social anxiety growing up.
When you're a kid living with your widowed grandmother in the lower levels of Coruscant and barely to afford the necessities, it doesn't exactly equal popularity in school. Even though he didn't have a master enslaving him, he felt like a prisoner in school because all the other kids used to exclude him and make fun of him, especially for his glasses. Carmine was a pretty shy kid, but was also afraid of a lot of things.
Spiders, the dark, snakes, shadows in the dark, heights, and horror movies.
That last one was proven last Halloween when the twins and the other grownups weren't tired after taking the kids to a Halloween party and the children had gone to sleep. Anakin decided it would be a good idea to get Carmine watching a scary movie with him and Obi-Wan. But the oldest Jedi was the only one to notice Carmine's teeth chattering.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Anakin." Obi-Wan had said. "Carmine seems anxious."
But Anakin rolled his eyes and said, "He's a grownup, Obi-Wan. And he's related to me. It's not gonna hurt him."
And then he realized how wrong he was when Carmine was screaming almost non-stop and hugging Anakin or Obi-Wan tightly, and even his face in a trick or treat basket until Anakin told him it was over. Carmine did not sleep well that night either. He still slept with Fluffy, his stuffed rabbit that he'd had since he was a baby, in his arms on nights that Caroline wasn't with him, which was a little more often now that he sometimes was at the Temple.
That rabbit was the one thing that could calm Carmine down no matter what. Rabbits were pretty hard to be scared of. Who could fear a sweet little critter with cute button eyes and a twitchy little nose that hopped around and munched on carrots? But that wasn't the only reason Carmine treasured it. His grandmother had made that rabbit for him herself as his very first birthday gift, much like how Anakin Gabby her teddy bear for her very first birthday.
I guess you could say Anakin now knew where he inherited his sewing abilities from.
Anakin didn't have a security plushie like his brother, but he did have the blanket he'd been wrapped in as a newborn that his mother kept for him. And he kept it as a security item, but he didn't let anyone know about that.
Though the twins grew up in separate worlds, neither of them knowing about each other, the twins did have a particular day in common besides their birthday: the day they learned their father Qui-Gon Jinn was murdered. Both of them were devastated. Anakin had only known Qui-Gon for a few days, but he'd already bonded with him like a father and son should, but Carmine always knew about his father and got to see him one day a year on his birthday (two when he was five and he snuck into the Temple once). Though the twins only got a short time with their father, they were equally devastated to lose him.
Qui-Gon Jinn was a truly wonderful man. A perfect mix of wisdom, determination, and a great fatherly figure even to children who weren't his. Any child would kill to be his son or daughter, or at least have him as their mentor. Anakin knew from his time with Qui-Gon that he was a gentle giant type of man with great fighting skills and a deep compassion for his friends and the people he protected. And Carmine, from his experience with his father, knew he had a playful side too after all the times Qui-Gon danced with him, introduced a new game, or tickled him to tire him out when he tried to delay bedtime so his father would stay longer when he came to visit.
Only recently did the twins learn the truth of their family history after Qui-Gon's ghost came to Anakin's daughter Gabriella on Mortis and told her that she wasn't the only one of her kind. Initially, Anakin and his wife thought Gabby was the only magical creature in the family because no one in Padme's family had magic, and Anakin couldn't cast spells either. Or so he thought. It wasn't until a mission to rescue kidnapped Togruta colonists from Zygerrian slavers that Anakin found out he had chloropathy. And then, he found out he had a twin brother who had musical magic.
It was all a lot for everyone to process, not just the twins. The Jedi Council was in total shock that Qui-Gon Jinn had somehow managed to hide that he had a lover, got her pregnant, and then raised at least one child in secret.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was especially shocked; Qui-Gon was his master, and they'd never kept secrets from each other. So finding out such an event like this: it shook him greatly. But then he found out why Qui-Gon kept it secret: he worried that the Jedi would do the same thing with his children that they'd done with Anakin and Gabby before they changed the rules, or worse that someone would harm his children and future grandchildren because they were descendants of a kingdom called Solaris thought to be long gone.
At this time, the EHC (Enchantra High Commission) was debating on this matter with what they knew of what remained of Solaris' royal family, and the magic that remained in the kingdom itself. As far as they knew at the time, Gabby was the only one with any official royal training, as she was also the princess of Naboo. They couldn't even find Anakin and/or Carmine's birth certificates anywhere to find out which one was the older twin (Qui-Gon and his other made sure those documents were well hidden from anyone Enchanted or ordinary in order to prevent anyone who may be a threat from connecting them to the late King Reginald and Queen Serafina, the last rulers of Solaris). Even if they did know which one was older, neither of them knew anything about being a king or about their family's kingdom.
They did know, however, that they had to be alert, as forces that wanted to rid the galaxy of Solaran magic, and descendants of those who attempted to terminate the royal family a century ago may be out to finish the job. So, in the meantime, they had to blend in as ordinary citizens, which did not come easily given that both twins were high profile in one way or another.
Anakin was the most famous Jedi in the Order, Carmine's alter ego Count Crescendo was always all over the news, and Padme was a renowned Republic senator. They didn't need to reveal to the rest of the galaxy that Gabby was secretly not the only royal in the family to make themselves paparazzi bait. But even Boba wasn't safe from these people targeting Solaris' royal family. They wouldn't care that he was adopted. In fact, they would more than likely find his lack of powers to be an advantage to capture him and hold him hostage to lure the biological heirs to them to terminate once they arrived.
Anyway, you know Carmine is jumpier than Anakin, so it was no surprise that he freaked out when he heard their father's voice and then saw things floating in his room like in a haunted house from one of the Halloween films Anakin put on. He got so scared, he didn't even bother to pick up his glasses when he tripped while running away from what he thought was probably a scary movie come to life or hopefully just a bad dream he needed to wake up from.
Naturally, Anakin was concerned when his twin rammed right into him, in part because he couldn't see very well without his glasses. He too was curious about MAster Yoda's claims that Qui-Gon Jinn had come to him as well, but right then and there his brother's health came first. Carmine did just finish teaching an exhausting dance class, and he always took a shower and then a nap afterwards to be energized for the rest of the day. And Anakin figured Carmine was just freaking out due to sleep deprivation, so he brought him back to bed to rest.
And for a while, Carmine did sleep peacefully with his rabbit by his side.
Meanwhile, that same day, the children grew curious about what was happening as well.
Lamenta figured since they were dealing with a ghost...
Who could they call?
"Ghostbusters! Let's hunt." Lamenta said, all dressed in a ghost buster costume, along with her cousins.
The kids scoured the halls with their ghost buster equipment. Initially, all they had were props from a chest of Halloween costumes, but thanks to Gabby's ability to pull characters and various objects from books (including comic books), they managed to get real ghost hunting equipment, including an ectoplasm scanner.
"Anything, Boba?" Gabby asked.
Boba checked the scanner ten times. Nothing.
"There doesn't seem to be any ghostly activity going on around here." Boba said.
"Maybe Force ghosts don't have ectoplasm like regular ghosts?" Lamenta guessed.
"Or it means that the ghost isn't here," said Gabby. "We may be dealing with something totally different than even the Jedi Council knows about."
While her brother and cousin continued their ghost hunting, Gabby decided to do a little research in some of her books.
Part of her studies as an Enchanted was getting to know everything she could about various magical creatures. Her favorite so far were a lot of the magical creatures you typically saw in folklore or children's fairy tale storybooks. Dragons, unicorns, fairies, the usual. But today, she was studying one of the lesser featured creatures of myth and legend: nymphs, ghosts, spirits.
Spirits were a complicated case. Gabby was told she wouldn't be required to learn all that kind of stuff until she was older. But Gabby, being the curious girl she was, she didn't want to wait to find out what she could, especially now that such knowledge could prove useful.
According to what she could find out, everyone eventually did become a spirit, as according to certain religions. Her family wasn't crazy religious, but she knew enough from the few times she'd gone to a service or read a book she came across at other libraries, that many believed there was the afterlife after which people came to their time, they went either to a world of never-ending paradise or eternal punishment, depending on who they were in life. But religious beliefs set aside, Gabby knew there were different kinds of spirits.
There were spirit guides who, as the name implied, offered guidance to the living, the ghosts who haunted various places like in scary movies (though not all folks believed in them until they saw them with their own eyes), and then there were nymphs like Gabby's friend Princess Wysteria. Nymphs were unlike other spirits, as they shared a strong connection namely with elements of nature, most famously the forest.
But Gabby was shocked to find more notes on various moments where spirits of the dead could visit the realm of the living. The only thing was, no one could actually see them. Not unless they had the power to see ghosts, or they were an animal or a spirit themselves. Nymphs like Wysteria, they could see ghosts easily. So could animals. Most people believed dogs and cats especially could see the other side. So, Gabby wondered if horses could too.
"Sure we can," said Crescent. "But I haven't seen any spirits around here."
"Neither have I," said Carousella. "All I've seen are a lot of nervous Jedi claiming to have heard voices."
Remix gave pretty much the same answers. So, Gabby went back to her research.
According to Gabby's books and what she could find online, no one really knew for sure how being a spirit or the very existence of them worked. Scientists tried for years to find a scientific explanation for it, but that was like dropping a single strand of hay into a haystack and then trying to find the same strand again. Not even spirits themselves could explain it. Some call it the will of the Force or the gods, others simply call it fate. And those who don't believe in any of that stuff... they either find themselves unable to think of a way to create a simple answer, or they just don't get involved.
"Now I see why they hoped for me to learn this stuff after I grew up." Gabby said, closing another book. She held her head as it was aching. "My brain is getting fried from all this."
Gabby sighed and decided to take a break for a snack. But while she went to the commissary for some crackers and juice, one of the books she had yet to read fell off her desk and landed on the floor wide open.
Then, Gabby came back, when she saw the book on the floor. Setting her juice box down, Gabby went to pick up the book, when she saw the chapter the pages were open on.
Curious, Gabby took a quick peek at the cover of the book. Enchanted Methods of Connecting to Spirits.
Gabby knew that the root of this issue was from her dead grandfather attempting to communicate with the Jedi, and potentially trying to warn them about something.
"Grandpa Qui-Gon?" Gabby called out. "Are you there? Uncle Yoda says he keeps hearing your voice. Are you trying to tell us something?"
Gabby listened for a moment to see if Qui-Gon would speak to her. Silence.
"Hmm. Either he's giving me the silent treatment, or there's something else I need to do."
Gabby decided to look up how people usually contacted the dead. But to do a seance or use a oujia board? Gabby was too smart to do either of those things: they more often than not led to evil spirits and demons being awoken, and that was the last thing the Jedi needed right now. They already had demons of their own to deal with in the forms of the Sith and the Separatists. So, Gabby just needed to find another way. Thus, she looked into the chapter the book showed her, and was surprised to find a spell. But it was no ordinary spell.
This was a really rare spell called Amorevo, named solely because it ran on the most powerful magic of all. A magic so strong yet so simple, even ordinas with no enchantment casting powers of their own could channel it: true love. And what did this spell do? Believe it or not, this was a spell that could bring the dead to life!
Gabby couldn't believe what she was reading. She'd heard stories of such a miracle happening before, but she didn't think it was possible for an Enchanted to cast. According to the history of this spell, some sorceress created this spell many centuries ago when her sister was brutally murdered. She put together her half of a locket they shared, a piece of parchment on which they'd written a poem of how much they loved each other, and a candle they lit every night before they went to sleep, and it worked. But it came at a small cost.
When the sorceress completed the spell, it drained a bit of life force from her as well as some of the plants surrounding them. Because of that, the sorceress died a little sooner than she might have from old age. But then, over the years, the spell was experimented with, and new discoveries were made for it to be safer. The ones brave enough to cast it discovered that the younger a caster was, the less life force it took. And when many young helpers joined in, it made the connection to the spell stronger and took less life force out of their combined efforts. The items that connected to the person they attempted to revive had some effect, but it as strongest if that item happened to be a gift of love from the lost one. But, even with these precautions to help protect future casters of this spell, it still had dangers that could not be eliminated no matter what was done.
This spell was rarely done not just because it took a very powerful source of magic and a great amount of mental and physical strength to cast and survive, but because if too many of the dead were revived, it would upset the balance of life and death not just in the universe of the caster(s), but others as well.
Gabby did some serious thinking, and did a little more reading on some other creatures, lifespans, and connections of love used in spells. And then, she got out her phone and called some of her friends.
"Can you guys meet me at the Temple tomorrow afternoon? I've got a spell to cast that may determine the fate of the galaxy as we know it, and I need your help."
Gabby also went to her brother and Lamenta at breakfast the next day.
"I need you guys to meet me at the Temple Courtyard in a few hours. I'll explain when the others arrive."
"Others?" Boba said. "Gabby, what's going on?"
"I'll tell you later. Right now, I gotta get Daddy and Uncle Carmine to meet us too."
And then she found Carousella and told her she needed to convince Obi-Wan to bring anything connected to Qui-Gon Jinn. And urn with his ashes after cremation, his old lightsaber, anything that belonged to him that was available.
"What's this all about?" Carousella asked.
"I'll tell you later. I gotta make sure everything is just right."
No one had any idea what Gabby was up to. The twins were confused on why Gabby asked them to meet her in the courtyard, and Obi-Wan was even more perplexed when Carousella pulled him out of a Council meeting and told him Gabby was requesting he bring Qui-Gon's lightsaber and ashes. And then began the chanting and the magical portal, and the flash of light that faded when the grownups pulled Qui-Gon's spirit out from the portal.
Initially, Obi-Wan and the twins thought Gabby was casting a spell that would make Qui-Gon's spirit visible to all of them, but they were flabbergasted when they saw Qui-Gon Jinn... with a living, breathing body again!
No one could believe this was even possible, much less that a five-year-old girl would be the main caster of such a spell.
Perhaps the ones who were most shocked by all this were Anakin and Carmine. Their father was resurrected, they had him back in their lives. Though he was under a deep sleep at the moment, and they couldn't predict how he would react once he woke up. They'd missed so much time since his initial passing, and they weren't sure how anything would be now that Qui-Gon Jinn had returned.