It was night time, Seela had fallen asleep in her bed, comfy with Althea next to her. It had taken her longer than usual to fall asleep tonight, but the last several…no few weeks had been especially rough on the young twi’lek woman. So many things had happen, so many arguments with her friends. Former friends, even her lover. It left her both restless and exhausted and many things would stir memories long forgotten in her sleep, even if she would not remember them when she’d awake.
It was a rare evening on Ryloth, the skies were clear, the weather was manageable that one could travel to the surface for longer than the time needed to leave the planet. Many twi’leks had ventured to the surface to watch the sun, caught forever in twilight.
“The sun is so beautiful mama.” said a tiny Seela, her gaze shifting between the colorful sky caught in the various colours of twilight and her mother.
“The sun is always beautiful, my little dancer. It is one of the many joys of life.” she would respond to her daughter, reaching out to pull Seela into a warm embrace.
The young girl responded with a giggle, as her lekku crossed at the tip several times, her mother’s doing the same in return. “It is important to remember moments like this, little one…Take them, engrave them in your heart.” the woman continued.
“Whyfor mama?” Seela asked innocently as she looked up at her mother, her blue eyes filled with confusion.
“Because my little dancer, you never know when life will sweep you away in its current. But that is the joy of life, it is something to be celebrated and cherished,” she says warmly to her daughter, watching her with a kind smile.
Seela would look from her mother to the suns, then back again, “Mama is prettier than the sun.” she says finally.
Her mother would laugh softly, still watching her daughter. “No Seela, you are prettier.” she’d reach out for Seela’s lekku and gently take a hold of each one, position them to fall over the little girl’s shoulder, “You have such beautiful lekku, like your father. You should always keep them in front of you so others can see your radiance, and so you can make sure only the most special of people touch them.”
Seela gave her mother another confused look, her head tilting a bit as her lekku twitched, “Mama you’re silly.” she says with a giggle, as she then hugs her tightly.
“No my little dancer, you are the silly one. Now come, let us head home to eat and then prepare for evening meditation.” Seela’s mother responded, rising up to her feet and lifting her daughter with her as her lekku crossed at the tips several times again.
“But I want to watch the sun some more!” She whined as she followed her mother.
“The heat storms will return through this area soon, my little dancer. We must get back to the safety of her our home, besides your father will have missed us,” she responded in a kind voice.
“Alright Seela, it’s time for bed.” Said a male’s voice this time. It was stern, almost sharp. “No arguments tonight.” He said, knowing his daughter would complain.
“But it’s so early papa!” Seela protested anyways, looking up from her little pile of taken apart droids as her father approached her.
“That’s too bad.” He said firmly, picking her up and hugging her in his arms, smiling as Seela’s own wrapped around him.
She’d pout a little as she was set in her bed and gradually tucked in, her lekku twitching as her father kissed her on the forehead, “Ayy will be in to see to you shortly.” he said in a soft tone, his lekku crossing at the tips twice and Seela’s doing the same in response.
She watched as her papa left her room, unlike her, he was had blue toned skin, was quite taller than her mama but with shorter lekku. He had a wiry frame, something normal for those who don’t eat much daily.
Quickly after, Seela’s mother walked in and gave her daughter a kind smile. It was then however replaced with a regretful one.
“Nothing, my little dance,” she said painfully as she approached Seela and sat at the edge of her bed. Her mother began to stroke Seela’s cheek as tears came down her own, her lekku crossing at the tips several times.
Seela looked at her mother with a confused gaze, before reaching up and putting her little hand to her mother’s cheek and struggling to push the tears away, “Mama is crying though.” she said in a sad voice.
“Because I love you so very much, Seela.” she leans down to kiss Seela’s forehead, “You are my gift from the force. You are my sun. So warm and bright, able to wipe away all my fears with your smile.”
Seela giggled at her mother’s affection, “I want to be the sun mama! So I am glad I am yours!” and smiled brightly at her.
“And you will be someday if you remember everything I told you. Find joy in life, even the simplest of things. Celebrate what you can do and cherish it…But for now my little dancer, you must sleep. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow.”
Seela tilted her head and then smiled as she laid back in her bed, her small lekku wrapping around themselves and the tips just barely crossing twice. “Goodnight mama.”
–
There was a knock at the door, loud and forceful. Then a second, this time an impatient pound. “I’m coming, keep it down please!” Retorted Seela’s father as he opened the door.
The moment it opened, a large Gamorian forced its way in with an intimidating huff, “Rol.” He grumped loudly, “Money.Now.” the gamorian lumbered above the twi’lek.
“Look, I don’t have it right now…Just give me a few more days, I’ll have assembled some droids to sell and I will pay him then. Getting parts have been hard because of the war.” Rol responded in a hushed voice.
“Then we take your child as discussed.” The Gamorian started to trudge through the house, only to be stopped by Seela’s father as he falls to his knees and bows low.
“Please no, I beg you, don’t tak-” and the sound of blaster fire filled the air, the smell of sizzling flesh quickly setting in.
–
Seela let out a scream as she heard the blaster fire, she sat up and looked at her mother in a panic, “Mama w-”
“Shh…sleep, my little dancer.” Her mother waved her hand in front of her daughter and gently lay her down as the Gamorian slammed the door open with his blaster trained to the twi’lek woman.
“The girl, count of three.” the Gamorian yelled in a gravely voice.
The twi’lek woman stood up calmly, facing the Gamorian and eyeing his blaster, “No.”
“One.” He said responded.
There was no response from Seela’s mother, she just held out her arm.
“Two.” he said again as his finger pulled the trigger.
The woman tugged and a silver cylinder came flying from a shelf in the room, landing in her hand and igniting into a brilliant blue blade. She moved with guided instinct and repelled the blaster fire off her lightsaber, into the wall with a sizzling snap.
“It’s rude to not finish your count you know…Now leave, you cannot have my daughter.” She stands in the way of the sleeping Seela and the Gamorian.
“Oh ho…a Jedi…a proper Jedi? Well that is unexpected.” he grunts as he reaches for another blaster, training it on her, “To bad…I’ve dealt with your kind before.” and he then moves the second blaster to be trained on Seela.
“You killed Rol…You will not take my little one from me.” Ayy took a step forward and began to swing her lightsaber as the boar-like alien began to shoot blaster fire towards her and the child.
“Ha…” The Gamorian would quickly reach down and pull a grenade off his belt, throwing it towards Seela.
Ayy stopped in frozen horror and shot her arm out towards the grenade, pushing it out of the room suddenly with the force. A loud explosion coming from outside the room. The house shook and the shelves rattled a bit, before calming down.
At that moment, time seemed to actually stand still for Ayy as she heard the tiny voice of Seela call out behind her. She turned around and held out her hand, “Sleep Seela.”
The Gamorian grunted and took his shot, his blaster fire ringing loudly and moments later, the sound of a lightsaber turning off and a body falling to the ground. He’d then burst into laughter and trudged over to the fallen Jedi, picking up the lightsaber, “A trophy…” it said with an overabundance of pride.
“And the prize,” he said as he walked over to the sleeping Seela, picking her up roughly and taking her away. He would stop as he left and pulled out another grenade, throwing it into the house and walking off as the explosion resounded through the air. The inside of the small house would shudder under the weight of the explosion and then smoke would seep into the air to feel the cave-like passage the house was built within as a fire raged inside.