Star Wars - Crystal Star

by The Crystal Star (by Vonda McIntyre)

  Their eyes were filled with tears. Jaina's lower lip trembled. She pressed her lips together to keep from crying. Her front tooth wiggled.

  She made the scream and the hurt go away. From her and from Jacen, before he was all awake.

  She was not supposed to use her Jedi abilities unless Uncle Luke was with them.

  Jacen was not supposed to. Anakin especially was not supposed to. Uncle Luke was teaching them what to do. How to do it right.

  But sometimes it was hard not to do something. Like now.

  Jacen sat up. Bits of grass stuck to his homespun shirt. Some were stuck in his curly dark brown hair. Jaina brushed her hands against her own hair, but she did not find any grass blades. Her light brown hair was very straight, so hardly anything ever got tangled in it. Jacen roughed his fingers through his hair, leaving it rumpled as usual. The grass fell out.

  "Okay now?" she said.

  "Okay now," Jacen said. He looked around.

  "Where are we?" "Remember what happened?" "We were playing with Chewie--" his--and he jumped up--" his--and then he fell down--" his--and then I went to sleep." "Me too." "Skiff!" Anakin said. "Jaya forgot the skiff!" "What skiff?" "I saw it!" Anakin insisted.

  "This isn't a skiff!" Jacen said.

  He was right. The room they were in could hold a whole skiff.

  "Maybe the skiff brought us here." "Where?" Jacen said.

  Jaina shrugged. They might be on a spaceship. They might be in a great big building. They might even still be on Munto Codru, underground. Jaina and Jacen had explored under the castle. They had found halls and caves and tunnels. But they had never found any place that looked like this.

  "Are you okay, wyrwulf?" Jacen bent over Mr. Chamberlain's wyrwulf and stroked its fur. The black undercoat shone beneath the rougher, duller black guard hairs. The wyrwulf's eyelids flickered. It whimpered and sat up, panting.

  "Good woof," Anakin said.

  Jacen looked around. "Maybe Chewie is here someplace, maybe he's still asleep too." He jumped to his feet and walked right off the edge of the grass.

  Nothing happened.

  "See, Jaya?" Anakin said, pleased with himself. "No krakana!" He ran after Jacen.

  The wyrwulf trotted after them.

  Jaina took one step after Jacen and Anakin.

  She stopped. She was sure that if they stayed on the grass, nothing could hurt them. But she did not want her brothers to go off alone. She was the oldest, after all.

  She ran back to the center of the safe patch.

  She stooped and pushed aside fronds of feather grass. She was looking for her multitool. She knew it was here. She had brought it to the field to look at things with. When Chewie fell down, she had jumped up. Then she had fallen asleep. She must have dropped it.

  There!

  Jaina snatched up the tool. She shoved it deep into her pocket to keep it hidden. With her multitool she would be safe.

  She ran after her brothers.

  Her feet clanged on the metal floor.

  She caught up to Jacen. He was looking at the wall. Anakin did not bother to look. He kicked it.

  "Bad wall!" "Don't do that, you'll hurt yourself," Jacen said.

  Anakin glowered and bumped the toe of his shoe against the wall. Not kicking. Not kicking for real.

  "There's got to be a door," Jacen said reasonably. "For us to come in." "Maybe there's a trapdoor," Jaina said.

  "A secret door." She rapped her knuckles against the metal. The knock was very solid. She looked up. "Here's the support," she said.

  Jacen, too, looked up at the ceiling.

  Narrow metal beams curved over them.

  The lights hung from the beams.

  "We have to look for a door between the beams," Jaina said. She walked around the room, knocking on the wall. She found some hollow spots. But she could not find a door. She took out her multitool. She opened the drill part.

  "You aren't supposed to do that," Jacen said.

  "I didn't!" Jaina said. But she touched the drill part to the wall. She was only supposed to use it on something she was making in the workshop. Not on walls or floors or furniture.

  Anyway it would not work on metal, only on wood.

  She tried anyway, wiggling her front tooth with her tongue while she concentrated. But the drill would not do anything. It hid itself back inside the handle.

  When Jaina was seven she could have a multitool that worked on metal. If she was good. If she was responsible.

  She wished she was seven. Seven was a long time away.

  She opened the lens part instead. She used it to look at the wall as close as she could. She thought she found a seam. A crack?

  A door opened.

  Jaina jumped back. She grabbed Anakin's hand and pushed him behind her. At the same time she shoved her multitool back into her pocket.

  She and Jacen stood side by side, defending their little brother.

  The wyrwulf crouched and growled.

  Anakin wailed and tried to burrow his way between Jaina and Jacen, to see what was happening.

  A tall and very beautiful man walked out. He had gold- and copper- and cinnamon-colored striped hair, very pale skin, and very big black eyes. His face was sharp and thin, all corners.

  He wore a long white robe.

  He smiled down at Jaina.

  "You poor children," he said.

  He knelt in front of them.

  "My poor children! I'm so sorry. Come to me, I'll keep you safe from now on." "I want Papaffwas Anakin shouted.

  "Mama!" "I'm very sorry, sir," Jaina said with her best court manners. "We can't go to you." "We aren't allowed," Jacen explained.

  "We don't know you." "Ah, children, don't you remember me? No, how could you, you were only just born. I'm your hold-father Hethrirffwas Jaina stared at him, uncertain. She had never heard of any Hold-father Hethrir. But she and Jacen had lots of hold-fathers and hold-mothers.

  Anakin had lots of hold-fathers and hold-mothers.

  "Candy?" Anakin asked hopefully.

  The beautiful man smiled. "Of course. As soon as we get you cleaned up." Their hold-parents always brought them toys, and treats that were not often allowed otherwise.

  "Do you know the pass^w?" Jaina asked.

  Mama had told her never to go with anyone who did not know the pass^w.

  Hold-father Hethrir sat crosslegged on the floor in front of them.

  The wyrwulf flopped to the deck, leaning its head on its fangs, and stared at Hold-father Hethrir.

  "Children," Hethrir said, "a terrible thing has happened. I came to visit you, to see my sweet friend Leia and my old comrade Han.

  To meet your Uncle Luke. But when I came, I saw a horrible thing! An earthquake!" He cocked his head at Jaina. "Do you know what an earthquake is?" Uneasily, Jaina nodded.

  "I'm sorry, children. The castle--it was so old! It fell down, and..." He stopped, and took a deep breath.

  Jaina's lower lip started to quiver again. Her eyes got all blurry. She blinked. She did not want to hear what Hold-father Hethrir had to say.

  "Your mama was in the castle. And your papa, and your Uncle Luke. You were in the meadow--d you remember?--andthe ground opened up and swallowed friend Chewbacca, and you were about to slide down into the horrible crack in the earth, but I was right there and I swooped down and I saved you. But I couldn't save friend Chewbacca, and..." He glanced down, and wiped a tear from his cheek, and looked up again. "I'm so sorry, children, we could not rescue your mama or your papa or your uncle." Anakin started to wail. "Papa! Mama!

  Uncle Lukeffwas Jaina clutched his hand and pulled him close.

  "Don't cry," she whispered. Anakin stopped wailing, but he still sniffled and sobbed.

  "But Papa and Uncle Luke--" Jacen's voice was trembly, but suspicious.

  Jaina nudged him. He shut up.

  "None of that, now." Hold-father Hethrir smiled.

  Somehow, he knew what she had done. And it made him angry, though he was smiling. Scared
, Jaina pulled back inside herself. She pretended she had never touched Jacen with her mind.

  "If I had landed, if the earthquake had not happened, your mama and papa would have introduced you to me. They would have told me your pass^w. We would have had a party, and we would have been friends!" He stretched both his hands toward Jaina and Jacen.

  "Your dear family is gone, my children. The Republic asked me to take you, to keep you, to protect you and teach you. I am so sorry. that your mama and papa are dead." Jaina huddled together with her brothers. How could it be true? But why would anyone lie about it?

  "We--we're supposed to go with Winter," Jaina said. Her voice trembled. "If anything hap--" "Winter? Who is Winter?" "She's our nanny," Jaina said.

  "She went on a trip," Jacen said.

  "Are you keeping us till she comes home?" "Can we call her?" Jacen said hopefully.

  "She'd come right back," Jaina said.

  "Her services are no longer necessary," Hold-father Hethrir said. "Children, children! You are important! Your abilities are precious!

  You cannot be raised, you cannot be taught, by a servant." "She isn't! She's our friend!" "She has her own life to live, she cannot raise you properly with no one to pay for you." "We wouldn't eat much," Jacen said hopefully.

  Jaina wanted to say Hold-father Hethrir was a liar!--and run away. But she had nowhere to run. And maybe Papa and Uncle Luke had come home, while she and her brothers were in the meadow, and maybe the earthquake had come before Papa came out to greet them, and maybe Hold-father Hethrir really had rescued them.

  And maybe Winter really wouldn't come back.

  Not ever.

  Or maybe Hold-father Hethrir did not know that Papa and Uncle Luke and Mr.

  Threepio had gone on a secret mission. No one was supposed to know about the secret mission, except Chewbacca and Mama--but Jaina did!

  And she had told Jacen, of course, because he was her twin. Maybe no one could tell Hold-father Hethrir because then Papa and Uncle Luke would be in danger. That meant Papa and Uncle Luke might be all right. But she could not say so, because then she would put Papa and Uncle Luke in danger.

  Anakin huddled against her, sniffling. He was trying not to cry, but his tears left a cold wet spot on her shirt. Mr. Chamberlain's wyrwulf had edged closer to Jaina, too, and leaned unhappily against her side.

  Or maybe, Jaina thought, Hold-father Hethrir isn't who he says he is. Maybe he's making it all up, about the earthquake.

  Maybe he stole us.

  Maybe Mama and Papa and Uncle Luke and Chewbacca are all right.

  Jaina looked at Hold-father Hethrir. His huge dark eyes gleamed with tears. He gazed at her, his hands outstretched.

  A second set of eyelids swept across his eyes. Jaina could see through the second eyelids. They looked like smoke. They pushed away the tears. Then they disappeared again.

  Without meaning to, without wanting to, Jaina started to cry.

  Don't cry, she said furiously to herself.

  Don't cry. If you don't cry it means Mama is alive!

  She made herself stop crying.

  "Jacen," Jaina said, "y have to say whether we believe him. Because you're the oldest." "I'm oldest," Jacen said. "I'm oldest, Hold-father Hethrirffwas "I remember," Hold-father Hethrir said.

  "I remember when you both were born, your mama and papa were so happy, they said to me, "Here is Jacen, our fstborn son, and here is Jaina, our beautiful daughter."'" He's a liar! Jaina thought. A liar!

  "We believe you, Hold-father Hethrir," Jacen said.

  For just a second, Jaina thought maybe Jacen really meant it. But then she thought, No, that's stupid. She was afraid to touch him for reassurance, because Hold-father Hethrir would know.

  She started to cry again.

  It's all right to cry now, she thought. Because I'm just pretending, because I have to, and Mama and Papa and Uncle Luke and Chewbacca are all alive!

  She and Jacen and Anakin huddled together, all of them crying, Anakin wailing, "Papa!

  Papaffwas Hold-father Hethrir took Jaina's hand.

  He took Jacen's hand. He squeezed gently. His skin was very cold. He pulled on Jaina's hand. She had to move nearer to him. She wanted to move away from him.

  I don't believe he's really my hold-father! Jaina thought. I'm not going to call him that anymore.

  Hethrir put his arms around her and her brothers. Jaina shivered.

  "Poor children," he said. "Poor little children.

  I'm so sorry your mama and papa are dead." Anakin cried harder.

  Jaina and Jacen cuddled him. He sniffled.

  He started to hiccup. He fell asleep with his cheek pillowed on Jaina's shoulder. He hiccupped again.

  "There, there, poor children," Hethrir said.

  "You've had such a hard day. Come along, it's time for bed." Jaina stood up. She picked up Anakin.

  He was heavy.

  "We always have our supper before we go to bed," she said.

  Hethrir stood up. He was very tall. He smiled down at her.

  "But you live with me now," he said. "And at my house, it's time for bed." He urged them toward the doorway. Jaina saw another person standing in the darkness. Scared, she stopped.

  "Come forward, Tigris," Hethrir said.

  "Don't stand there hiding in the shadows." Tigris took a step forward. He was not scary at all. He was not even grown up, only twelve or thirteen. He wore a brown robe. Jaina thought it was ugly. It needed to be washed, and the hem had come down.

  He had striped hair like Hethrir's, but his was silver and black. It needed to be washed, too.

  And combed. Her mama would never let her go outside looking like that. He had pale skin and big black eyes, also like Hethrir's.

  "Don't make our new sister carry the child," Hethrir said. "Show your manners." Are they brothers? Jaina wondered. How could they be, Hethrir is so old. And Hethrir doesn't act like Tigris's brother. I'd never talk to Anakin in such a mean way.

  Tigris tried to take Anakin from Jaina.

  She stepped back. Jacen jumped in front of her to help protect their little brother. Together, they created the barrier Uncle Luke had taught them to make. No one would be able to get through it. They would not let Tigris take Anakin!

  The barrier shimmered around Jaina.

  And then it fell apart like a sand castle in the tide.

  "Now, now," Hethrir said. "None of that!

  Didn't your uncle ever tell you not to behave like that? You're being very, very bad." He knelt down in front of them again.

  "I'll teach you to use your abilities. The same as your Uncle Luke. But you must only use them under my supervision, until you're grown up." Jaina hugged Anakin tighter.

  "Do you understand?" Jaina knew what was going to happen. She knew she could not stop it.

  "Do you understand?" Hethrir demanded.

  Jacen had backed up right against Anakin. Their brother was protected between them. The wyrwulf growled.

  Suddenly the wyrwulf slid across the deck and crashed against the wall. Jaina cried out. The wyrwulf yelped and lay still.

  "Woof!" Anakin cried.

  Hethrir took Jacen's shoulders and pulled him forward, away from Anakin. He pulled him aside. He did not even bother to move Jacen with the Force powers he had revealed. He did not need to. He was a grown-up. Jacen tried to wriggle free, but Hethrir would not let him go.

  "Do you understand?" Tigris took Anakin from Jaina's arms.

  His eyes were sad and hopeful. Jaina could not stop him. She could not move. She could not extend her mind to her brother's. She did not know what Jacen was thinking. He looked back at her, scared. She did know one thing. He did not know what she was thinking either.

  "Jacen!" she said. "Anakin!" She could talk! But she did not talk to Hethrir.

  "I see that you understand," Hethrir said.

  He grabbed Jaina's hand and Jacen's hand.

  He pulled them along after him.

  "What about Mr. Chamber
lain's wyrwulf?" Jacen shouted.

  "You're too old to keep a pet," Hethrir said.