Home Fiction Adult Fiction Art Mail List Staff Links

Title: Unraveling a Tangled Skein
Rating: NC-17
Author: Alena (alena.of.riol@gmail.com)
Categories: AU, romance

Disclaimer: Lucas is my Master; I shall not want money. He maketh me buy endless items of Vader on ebay, and lusteth after men in black. The Force compells me to create this AU and thus I will obey. ^_^

Summary: A young girl comes of age on her homeworld of Riol as she becomes an Oracle for her people, and in her adult years is later elected to become Senator of her homeworld in the Galactic Republic. Since her childhood, she has been both puzzled and intrigued by intense dreams about a Jedi whom she has never met. When she finally encounters him on Coruscant, his presence in her life has consequences that even an Oracle couldn't have predicted.

Author's note: Contains major spoilers to RotS. This story takes place before the events of RotS.

Chapter 1

"A terrible beauty"

Both suns were bright and visible in the azure skies above. The windows let in the fresh air, and Alena could tell that it was going to be a nice day to be outside. Her mother was in the kitchen, cleaning. She was trying to help her mother with the dishes but she really wanted to be outside playing, perhaps in the garden where the flowers were everywhere in splashes of beautiful color. And the roses, she loved the roses. When they were in bloom she would go up to them and smell them, smell every single rose, for every one of them smelled wonderful and they were velvety soft and pretty to look at.

She loved the roses.

"Mama, I'm coming," she answered when her mother had called her indoors to help clean the kitchen. She ran inside, albeit reluctantly, and dried dishes while her mom washed them. Half-heartedly she answered questions about school. Yes, classes were fine. She excelled in her courses. The teachers always called on her, and she always had the answers. She did well and she liked what she was learning. History bored her while science moved her. They were covering astronomy. She loved astronomy.

Alena stood at the window and looked out longingly at the brightly colored flowers gently swaying in the mild summer breeze. She wanted to be outside instead of doing chores, and did her best to hurry. She turned back to her mother, who continued to hand her dishes to dry. Alena looked at the plate. It was a beautiful ceramic plate, reddish-brown with a dark, burgundy striping along the rim. The heat from the suns streaming in from the window felt warm on her face.

Mama was talking, and Alena was half listening. Study your history, Mama was saying. History is important. It may be boring, but it is important. Yes, Mama, of course. History is important. I'll be good, Mama, I'll do well in history. Someday I may even be a professor like Papa.

Her face was warm from the suns, and her hands dried the plate carefully.

Eventually her mind wandered, and she began to daydream. She thought it was just daydreams at first, but like some of her "daydreams", it took a strange and sharp turn towards something else. Although they had started out not too different from her usual daydreams of space exploration, spaceships, stars and suns, the scene in her mind grew wildly out of control. Images kept popping into her head despite her attempts to think of other things. Alena saw fire, and sand. She heard a strange humming sound and saw blazing lights. They were blue. Hot blue, blazing sticks that clashed together. The two men that bore them looked oddly familiar but she couldn't quite see their faces. Not yet.

Alena blinked. Her face felt warmer. She shook her head in order to try to clear it, and willed herself to listen to her mother. Her mother was talking to her about how important it was to study. She was a bright girl, Alena. She was doing well in school. This would prepare her for her future. Think of your future, Alena.

The future. The room went black, and the view of the kitchen around her faded to reveal blazing fire and two men with swords clashing. Alena stared in shock, for they looked like Jedi.

'They can't be fighting, Jedi wouldn't fight each other,' she tried reassured herself. But the robes they wore and the glowing swords they fought with clearly indicated they were Jedi. How could this be?

Everything felt hot. She felt an intense heat from the place around her where the Jedi were. She could almost feel the sweat on their faces as their sabers clashed. Fires spew everywhere. What was going on? Where were they?

"Alena, have you been listening to me?"

Did one of the two men say this to Alena? No, it was a woman's voice. Who was talking to her? She struggled to bring herself back to the world around her. It was her mother, whom she could no longer see, who had asked the question.

"Mama," she heard herself say, "I don't feel so good."

Her hands reached out for the counter. She had to put down the dish somewhere, but she couldn't see. She could hear the two men yelling at each other. You underestimate my power, one of them yelled to the other.

A cool hand pressed itself to her forehead. She could feel the gentle, worrying touch of her mother.

"Alena, you're burning up. I'll handle the rest of the dishes. Go to your room and go lie down." Her mother grabbed the plate out of her hand and gently pushed her to the stairs. "Go, go now. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Alena barely knew what she said in response. "Mama, I cannot see, I just see fire," was what she had remembered saying later.

Liquid fire everywhere, two pairs of blue eyes blazed as two bright blue sabers clashed.

Somehow, she had assistance. She felt herself taking each step up the stairs; her body knew what to do, having run up and down a million times up those stairs since she was little. Her room was at the top of the stairs. Her last image at this point is of herself lying in bed with the rays of the suns blazing through the open windows. Winds blew through, helping her to cool a little bit but not enough. She couldn't speak anymore; she was too hot. She lost her physical vision again and this time, she almost felt herself actually standing on the hot rocks and sand. The man in front of her looked wild and angry, like an animal unleashed. He was fire incarnate; his eyes were hotter than the fire that she stood on. And her face burned, Alena burned. She felt her world spinning terribly fast in the sky, and her stomach spun with the world. She watched as the man in front of her split into two parts, and in one part he is on fire—is fire. In the other, she sensed a cold darkness and black metal.

The room around her went black, and she saw the wild-eyed man face down, crawling with one arm on black sand. She looked on in horror. His legs were gone, and he had but the one mechanical arm that had replaced his other, lost to him in some prior battle. His skin was burning, his clothes were burning—and she was burning too.

Suddenly his body went up in flames, and her world was ablaze.

Her next vision was no less strange than the last. She was in a darkened room with a bright artificial light overhead. The man was there, badly burned and in obvious pain. She could feel the burns, she was burning, and he was screaming. There were droids moving about the room but she couldn't see what they were doing. She didn't know what was happening nor how she got in the room, only that she was there.

She touched him, and visions of many disturbing, horrible scenes filled her mind. People dead. Slaughtered Jedi on the ground, robes and bodies everywhere. Men, women, and children all dead. She saw the man whom he had fought, the one who had cut off his legs and arm off with his glowing blue saber. A beautiful woman held her throat. She was choking. Alena viewed all of this with the calm and certain understanding that he was responsible for all of it.

He was sprawled out on the table, scarred with horrible burns, and she knew that he was accountable for the entire catastrophe around him.

She sensed his pain and his torment from his skin cracking and burning, and from the fires all around him. His agony at the burns, his desire for the woman whom he choked, the bitter regret at having what he felt to be the duty to remove the Jedi, remove them all—all of his emotions poured into her. She knew he was thinking of the children as tears came down his cheek. He thought that he did this for love and to protect those whom he loves. He believed he deserved better than he got. Anger, hatred, and frustration ran through his mind and tormented him—but he also experienced sorrow and pain. He hated himself and what he had done. Another vision filled her mind: a group of people in a room all dead, cut down by his saber. She knew he relished in the killing, in the ability to take a life, and in the power he got from its taking. With that knowledge came the realization that he hated this power as much as he loved possessing that very strength and what he was capable of doing with it. There was a great conflict within him, two separate people continuing the saber duel among fire and lava in his mind, leaving himself split into two. He had kissed the pretty woman while his dark half had choked her.

The fires raged on inside his mind, and Alena sensed that he felt trapped inside of them, that he would never be free. He was caged now, trapped in the fires of his mind, his flesh, and he was still burning.

Something inside of him touched something inside of her, and she couldn't stand it anymore. 'Gods forgive me, Mama forgive me,' she thought desperately.

Her heart reached out to him. She hated what she saw, but she couldn't help herself—compassion overwhelms the young girl who couldn't bring herself to hate him for what he did. She then experienced something else, a warmth. This warmth both comforted and calmed her. It flowed through Alena, through him, the room, the droids, and upon touching it, she could touch everything. This strange gift bestowed upon her by some sympathetic god intensified her struggle, and the light above her grew brighter and more intense. Sounds became loud colors in her head.

'What sweet cacao have I to give you, oh unknown god, come the next harvest?'

She was dizzy and hot. Would she ever feel coolness again? She wanted desperately to stop the burning—couldn't some god help to stop the burning?

'What god are you? Who does this to me?'

Alena glowed. It was a quiet glow, not blazing like the blue sabers the two men fought with, not hot like the suns nor the lava that surrounded the two fighting Jedi. Of course she knows about what Jedi were in spite of her not paying attention in history class—who wouldn't know of the Jedi? She was a good girl who did well in her history class in spite of her disliking history--hating it even. It was a boring subject, after all. She excelled in history because she is a good girl. She enjoyed making her Mama proud. She comprehends that she needs to grow up someday, be a good woman, and excel in her studies that she might find herself a good profession, and be strong and smart like her Papa.

The glow flowed through her to the man on the table, the table itself, and the droids. Something else flowed through her, too, and it surprised her with its intensity: hatred. She hates what this man has done. To the beautiful woman he loved. To the people whom he killed. The children! He had killed children. Children her age, and even younger than her. She viewed it all in all of its starkness, its cold and violent reality, and she hated it.

But she hated his suffering more, and the glow poured out of her hands into his body. The hatred in her turned into sorrow, then compassion. Alena realized that she possesses an instinct that she doesn't understand, but knew it for what it is. She recognizes that instinct and has felt it before. She has touched her bruises and cuts, and knew how to make them and the pain go away. Kids during playtime break got hurt, and she made their pain go away. She was a good girl, a smart girl, who wanted to do well in school, had made regular offerings at the shrines and during the festivals to the gods, and desired to please her Mama and Papa.

Alena gazed sorrowfully at the man on the table, feeling an inexplicable desire to help him. She wanted to understand why he did what he did, and to comprehend what he went through. A moment of lucidity dawned on her, and she asked herself why it was that she was here. Why was she not able to help her Mama wash dishes? Why couldn't she be outside on this wonderful day? Why does she see these things?

His skin grew cooler to the touch, and it shone with an eerie radiance. She could see the skin forming and reforming itself, and almost see through him where his internal organs were healing. She saw all of this, the excitement and fear almost overpowering her in her realization that he was being healed because of her and that glow which surrounds her, him, the table, the droids, and the room itself. His skin was cool, but hers burned. It burned hotter than the suns streaming through the window, the lava and black sand which burned this man's body and continued to burn at his mind, she burned.

Her hands and body shook with a force stronger than her, gripping her and keeping her standing at the table. It filled her with an intense, blazing energy she could barely keep from exploding out of her and around the room. An instinct stemming from an unnatural calmness in the center of her belly was all she had to hang onto.

Everything glowed, everything blazed.

'Gods, please help me.'

And then, there was calm. She felt peace. Serenity was granted to her, and it took the form of a glowing light swirling inside of her and out of her fingertips. Strength coursed within Alena and brought her the strength to move one of her hands. Her head turned with it to look at the man on the table. His face was almost healed. One scar, now old, went through his right eyebrow and eye, and there was another on his chin. Skin was forming around a new scar just below his left cheekbone.

He was still screaming.

Alena touched him gently, trying to will all of that glowing light around him. 'Please, don't hurt anymore. Please.' Her outstretched hand held his face. She saw all that he had done in its terribleness, but this light had her now, had the both of them glued to this table. But she wanted his pain to go away.

I am sorry, I am so sorry. She didn't know if she had said this aloud, or in her head. She didn't even know if he could hear her. I am sorry that this happened to you. I am sorry that I cannot do more.

Her thoughts broke off as she felt him wincing beneath her palm. Her hand moved towards his forehead. At once she sensed what he was thinking. Hate, so much hate, directed at the man who nearly killed him and left him for dead, burning alive on black sand. If he could make this hate a fire it would destroy this man too—destroy him as surely as this man was now destroyed. Alena watched, almost numb, as the droids attached mechanical legs to him. His body spasmed, and all she could feel from him was hate.

I am sorry for what he did to you. You did not deserve it, no matter what you did. I wish I could help you more. I can heal your body, but I cannot heal your soul.

His wide, blue eyes looked right into hers, terrified. They were filled with a terrible beauty, a frightening wonder that reminded her of clouds, lightning, and storms. Another mechanical arm has been attached to his shoulder. Two mechanical arms, two mechanical legs. Alena knew he could see her. She doesn't know how he could—perhaps some strange moment of lucidity. Maybe he heard her thoughts as she was able to hear his; she does not know.

His mouth opened and a word formed from his lips, a single prayer as he gazed blindly into her eyes. "Padme?"

Alena tried to respond, but suddenly her hand went ice cold, and the cold sensation poured from her hands into her whole body. She shook as the shock of the temperature change hit her system.

A mask, black like the armor she saw before her, slowly lowered onto the man's face as he gazed above in sheer terror. The burns were very nearly gone from him, but a mark was still slowly healing on his face, a wound that would not heal. The mask lowered and she heard a slow, but very audible breath as if a heavy and dark wind came down a long tunnel. It reached Alena, who gasped. Something inside of her felt colder than the ice in the tub, and she began to pass out.

Before she lost consciousness, she saw the surrounding room being torn and ripped apart by the very glow she used to heal him. That healing glow became thunder which ripped through the droids and shattered the place as if shaken by an earthquake. She watched as part of the ceiling fell onto a man, a terrible looking man in black robes. His horrible, distorted face and his disturbing, wide grin in the face of the destruction and chaos was the last image to greet her eyes before all of her vision felt her. And in that moment, she was both thankful and afraid—thankful she can no longer see, but afraid of that awful face that laughed as the ceiling and sky came down….

She felt a cool hand on her arm. "Alena? Alena, it's time to wake up."

She opened her eyes. The sunlight streamed through her window, and she was lying in bed, clutching her covers.

"Mama, Mama, I had an awful, awful dream, I was doing dishes with you and then there was fire and I was burning up-"

"Shh, it's ok," her mother soothed. "It was just a dream." Isabel stroked her daughter's forehead gently.

"It's time for you to get up. The Oracles are waiting for you."

Oh, yes. Alena remembered. The kind women whom she had met a week ago had agreed to take her on as their new apprentice Oracle. They had heard of her gifts and had decided to train her as one of their own. She smiled. It was an honor and she was eager to start her first day with them.

"Yes, Mama."

Chapter 2

"You're growing up too fast"

It was nearly two years after she had first begun her lessons with the other two Oracles that she began her advanced placement at school. Based on her performance and academic record, her teachers had unanimously decided to allow her to graduate a year early by doubling up on her courses. They knew that it would give her more time to train as an Oracle, and could not deny that serving the gods was important. The laws of Riol were determined by a group of priests, and religion was very much inseparable from government. In fact, a teacher had suggested that Alena may one day serve in public office due to her experience as an Oracle. Upon hearing this, the young girl had brushed off the idea with a laugh. Her, become involved in politics? The idea seemed absurd.

The swordsparring class that she was taking once a week was going well and Teacher Karak met with her after class to give her advice and pointers about her technique. It was a new teacher who had taught the class from the previous year. She was improving in spite taking classes less frequently, and he was pleased that she had decided to continue taking them in spite of her busy schedule.

"I like to keep physically active," she explained. "Nyara and Erna—the other two Oracles, I mean—they told me to make sure that I get exercise as well as my studies."

He grinned at her. "Wise women!" he exclaimed. "And wise decision. You're coming along nicely."

"Thank you, Teacher Karak."

"How are your lessons with the Oracles?" he asked. He then added hurriedly, "If you don't mind my asking, that is?"

She considered her words carefully before responding. Much of her discipline relied upon caution in revealing the content of her lessons to others, as she was oathbound against doing such. "They are going well. I enjoy them and I feel that I am learning a lot."

"Good, good." He leaned against the nearby wall. Alena noted that while his features were nondescript, he had an accent that she couldn't quite place when he spoke to her, and she often wondered if he was born on Riol or had come here from a neighboring planet. Riol didn't have many outsiders that stayed for more than a visit, but it had its fair share of tourists during the summer season.

"I've always wondered how people learn that stuff—seeing the future, I mean. Do you use it often, like outside of your lessons?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It comes and goes. I learn how to be more receptive to it, but it's not something that I can always control. I either see or I don't."

Karak nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting, interesting." He smiled down at her. "I hope that you're not using it to cheat on your tests." He made a funny face and wagged his finger at her, clearly speaking in jest.

Alena made a face in return. The kids in school often accused her of such—which angered her to no end--but Teacher Karak had a knack of joking about it in a way that didn't offend her. "Like seeing the future will help me in History class, right? Because history's…history. Unlike the future, which isn't history."

"But it will be! That's the beauty of it."

She laughed at him. Strange, but funny man. She made some noncommittal remark about needing to get to her next meeting with the Oracles, and he waved her along. Alena smiled as she left. At least the teachers were nice to her, and didn't treat her as if she were some bizarre creature on display.

***

"Greetings, Lord Sidious. I bring you some news."

The hologram in front of Karak shimmered a bit. It was badly in need of repair and he had been lucky to get a hold of it, let alone smuggle it into his apartment. If it had been discovered he would've had much explaining to do, as it was clearly outsider and not Riolian technology.

"Yes, what is it, Sinistrous?"

Karak smiled inwardly at the use of his Sith name. "The young girl you sent me to observe is still training, and is definitely strong in the Force. She uses it when she practices with her sword, and I suspect uses it in her classes as well."

"Fascinating," was the sole remark. Karak noted that Sidious' tone was slightly sarcastic, and he winced, wishing fervently that he had more information with which to bring him. "Is there any other indication of her abilities, or that she is training them in any other way besides seeing the future?"

"None so far, but her skill in the swordsparring class is almost Jedi-like. In time she could prove to either be a threat or a useful ally—I would obviously prefer the latter. I wonder why the teachers haven't picked up on her talent," he mused absentmindedly.

"Good, good. Thank you, Sinistrous. That will be all. Please send me more as soon as possible. I want to know what specifically those women are instructing her in, and if any of it could be used to our benefit."

"Yes, Lord Sidious. I will keep you informed."

The hologram flicked out, and he sat for a while in thought. He had no idea why the Sith was so interested in this young girl, nor why they didn't just kill her outright, or attempt to seduce her to the Dark Side. But he also knew of Lord Sidious' cunning, and hence trusted his Master's decisions. Still, he felt a little uneasy. Who was this girl and why was Lord Sidious so interested in her?

Of course, he wondered how he could turn this situation to his advantage. Darth Sidious was promising him much in return for his services, but maybe he should bargain with him a bit more to sweeten the deal.

He smiled to himself, and began work practicing his saber forms.

***

Summer came before Alena could grasp the idea of spring, and with it came more time for Oracle training as well as the opportunity to take additional courses and catch up on her swordsparring lessons. Her final year was approaching. The last year before she would graduate, and enter her apprenticeship with the Two Oracles full time.

She could hardly wait.

Excitement and potential filled the air that summer. The roses in her mother's garden were in bloom. Light pink, red, and yellow. They were everywhere. Alena would walk past them and smile. She had always loved roses ever since she was a child.

Her fifteen year was also approaching, and she reflected on that too. How much longer would it be before she was an adult? The idea both thrilled and frightened her. As much as she trained with the First and Second Oracles, a sense of the future filled her, and past a certain time things got shadowy and scary. And yet, a thrill filled her as if something lay just past the void that would find her in a wonderful place in spite of it all. The calm in the center of the storm.

Alena didn't want to think about, let alone touch that storm—not just yet. She knew that it was there, and all that she could do in the meantime was enjoy herself, study, and prepare as much as she could.

These were the days that she would remember for a long time.

She had gotten to become almost friends with Teacher Karak, never exceeding the teacher-student boundary, but was a more informal relationship than with her other teachers. She appreciated his odd humor, and he seemed to enjoy listening to her ideas on how meditating affected her swordsparring. The only other one whom she really liked was her astronomy and physics teacher, Teacher Moreska, who loved her enthusiasm for his classes and chatted with her often on the constellations that were in the sky at that period, and any other occurring astronomical events. Alena was thrilled to find out that there would be a meteor storm occurring sometime near the mark of her fifteenth year, and Moreska was amused and delighted with her reaction to the news.

With that news followed other news. Her father had received a promotion and would be Master Professor at the University of Riol. This meant longer hours away from home, but he would be working down in central near the temple where Alena would be training. He assured her many times that he would stop by and visit her, and perhaps they could walk home together. The thought thrilled her. She was very happy for her father, and liked the idea of walking home with him after her training was through.

She hardly saw her parents these days, so it seemed, and her mother took great pains to arrange for family gatherings on weekends, and make mealtimes together more of a priority.

"You're growing up too fast," Isabel often said to her, worriedly, "and I don't want your youth to slide by without us spending more time together as a family. You'll have plenty of time to be an adult before you know it."

Isabel was especially worried because she saw much of her husband in Alena. Torin was a brilliant man, but also a perfectionist and frequently overextended himself in his work and various projects. She knew that one day her daughter would be very successful no matter what she did, and she found herself looking forward to Alena graduating from school—if nothing else to be able to see her daughter more often. However, Alena was growing up fast, way too fast, and Isabel felt like if she didn't put on the brakes soon, her daughter would slip away from her.

But Alena, as always, had many ideas about what she wanted to do with herself, and it was obvious to Isabel on more than one occasion that her daughter was a dreamer and an idealist. She felt that as long as she stuck to practical goals, she could perhaps do something good with herself, and have a wonderful career. 'Perhaps with her interest in astronomy, Alena'll become an astrophysicist,' mused Isabel. She pictured her daughter working in the university along side her father, and smiled. Like father, like daughter.

However, there was the apprenticeship to consider. Alena's mother didn't exactly disapprove of her daughter being an Oracle—although she figured that whatever Alena decided to do with her life as long as she was both happy and successful would be fine. But she also felt somehow that her daughter would not be an Oracle for long, and hoped that it would be in order to pursue a professional career.

Career planning however would have to wait, as Alena needed to focus on the here and now, and get through her schoolwork.

Alena's fifteen year came and passed, as did the start of her final year of school. As Isabel waved goodbye to her on her way out the door on that first day of the schoolyear, she felt a sudden sense of longing for this year to stretch out as long as it possibly could. She shook her head, smiled, and disappeared back into the house. The roses needed to be tended to, but she could do that later.

***

When she went back to school at the beginning of the week, Alena was filled with hope. She had her swordsparring class that day and was looking forward to talking with her teacher.

The class went well, but she was struggling with some new forms. Teacher Karak was trying to teach her a few new ones which she hadn't seen before, nor read about. He had told the class that it was from another tradition and may serve as a basis for comparison for what they had already been learning. It was fascinating, but very different from what she was used to.

At the end of the class, Alena was drenched with sweat and desperate for a drink of water. She grabbed her water jug and a towel in the same grip and headed over to a bench to cool down.

Teacher Karak sat down next to her and began his usual survey of questions. What did she think of the forms, the class, how are things coming along? Did she find this class harder than the others, and if so, did it at least feel like it was helping her? She answered them all breathlessly, still recovering from the arduous lessons.

"You know, you're the only one in this class who managed to even grasp those forms," he suddenly told her, looking at her intently for her reaction. "I know that you've been studying for quite a while, but you're a natural. Honest. I wouldn't hold the fact that you got out of breath against yourself. Just keep practicing and you'll do fine."

She smiled at him. "Thanks," she replied. "But I didn't feel like I got it at all. I'll keep working on it, though."

He frowned at her. "You're further along than you think, really. Don't knock yourself." Then he brightened. "I know, I have an idea."

Alena looked at him curiously. "What?"

"Why don't you tell me what sorts of meditations that you've been doing with the Oracles? I may be able to give you some pointers that would help you master these forms. I know that you've told me in the past that your lessons have really helped you here. And they have," he added with a grin, "you're doing quite well."

With a shrug, she responded, "Honestly, most of the meditations I do are all on the Tapestry and being receptive to the future. I'm not sure how that would possibly help with swordsparring." That was all she would reveal to her teacher; as much as she trusted him, she couldn't break her vows.

"Ah, but it would."

Alena leaned forward, intrigued. "How so?" she asked.

"Simple. Think of it…being able to be so in tune with the, how do you call it? Tapestry, that you can see the opponent's moves before they move."

Her eyes widened.

"Think of it, Alena. You do it already—you're just not conscious of it. I bet if you master it even further, you could become a better swordsparrer."

 The thought had never occurred to her before, but it sounded brilliant to her ears. She had no idea such things were even possible, and it put so much of her life and what she could do in complete perspective.

He continued, noting her speechlessness with an odd laugh. "With that kind of training you could be…I dunno, almost like a Jedi." He gave her a pointed look.

Something flickered in her brown eyes. Karak took note.

"Anyhow…think on it. I'll let you get on your way. Good class today, Alena."

Alena finally found her voice. "Thank you, Teacher Karak."

"You're welcome." She didn't see the terrible grin that he had on his face after she left, or the glint of yellow in his eyes that followed.

***

In her dreams, Alena stood on a balcony, gazing out into an endless sea of what seemed like impossibly tall buildings, lights and flying cars everywhere. It was an ocean of metal, colors, and structures. It was night and all she could see were blue, many shades of deep, dark blue and lights that reflected off of buildings, from windows—everything was blue.

As the wind swept through her long, dark red hair, she knew that she was sleeping and that this was yet another terribly vivid dream.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She heard a somewhat familiar male voice say.

Alena turned to her left to see a tall, handsome man standing next to her. In that moment she knew she was dreaming, for his features were striking and vivid. His dark blond hair was swept back from his face, and piercing blue eyes had turned to look into hers. She caught a scar over his right eye, and that was all she caught before she felt her core being struck by the lightning of his gaze. At once she realized that it was the same man from the dream she had, the man who was fighting the other Jedi with fire all around him—only he was clearly unburned with no scars, save for the one over his right eye.

They stood by the ledge of the balcony in silence. Then he turned to look at the buildings. His arms were folded over his chest, and she could see the single black glove that covered his right arm, and the black Jedi robes that he wore. 'A Jedi,' she thought with wonder. Yes, the two men had been Jedi. This man was a Jedi. She glanced again at the glove, remembering the mechanical arm she had seen in her dream years ago. Was he wearing the glove in order to hide it? His other hand was bare, and her curiosity—and suspicions—were piqued.

"It's Coruscant," he stated. Receiving no reply from her as she simply stared at him, he went on, "I bet you've never visited here, have you?"

Alena shook her head. She wanted to speak, but something in her kept her silent. Instead she turned towards the spectacular, urban beauty that lay before her.

A few moments went by before she felt something around her. An arm. She gazed down to see his arm—the one that did not have the black glove on it—holding her around her waist. At once she went still. Her head spun, and her cheeks felt warm. She considered stepping away, getting her thoughts and head back together, as she felt them now slipping away from her.

But his arm felt good around her waist, and she leaned her head back into his chest, and gazed at the night over Coruscant. Everything she was, everything she felt, and all that she saw felt good at that moment, wonderfully and delightfully good. Alena felt as if she were floating on a warm cloud.

His other arm came around her, and he placed his black gloved hand on her chest. Thoughts swam in her head, memories of what some of the girls had giggled over in her classes when they spoke of boys came rushing back to her. Things that they imagined boys doing to them with their hands.

Alena tried to banish the thoughts from her mind. She knew that she was too young to be having such ideas in her head, and too old to be giggling over him the way that her schoolmates did over boys. But it was very difficult not to imagine his hand at that moment, slipping further down from the front of her chest onto her-

No. She would not think of it.

As she continued to struggle, she felt his head lean towards hers, and his lips brush the back of her now suddenly exposed neck.

I know everything, she heard him say, but it was a deeper, more resonant voice that she couldn't place.

Chapter 3

"When the gods call, we follow"

After she awoke, she sighed, and quickly went about her morning routine.

She didn't let herself think about such things. She didn't even want to think about such things. She was on her second to last year of schooling, and rapidly finishing up her classes. It was with great pleasure that she was given recognition for her high scores and made the top students' list. The list was posted on the electronic boards at school. Her emotions turned into glee, remembering. "Alena Doron, 94%". She was number four on the list, and twenty students were on it.

And her oracular training was coming along nicely. Nyara was teaching her how to shield against an energy flame directed at her, flame caused by the Second Oracle's mysterious ability to generate fire from her hands. Her ability to meditate was helping her to see into the present and future so much more clearly than before, and she was able to predict particular events with great accuracy. Of course, this would disturb her mother on various occasions, but at least her training was going well for her.

Alena had no time to dwell too much on a certain pair of intense, beautiful blue eyes. Nor could she afford to act on her desire to stare into them for a while, see what he was thinking and feeling.

See if he was indeed real, and not just a product of her subconscious.

As Erna often said, one of the things that she had to face in the world was to focus on the present, what she had, and to make the most of it. And there was no room for things—and people—who were not in her life. Not for friends who had cast her out of their lives when she had become too "different" for them, not for social activities which she didn't have the time for, and certainly not for blue eyed handsome men whom she saw only in dreams and visions.

***

When final exams came and went, she was nothing if not relieved. As much as she loved school and felt that she would miss some of her peers and her teachers, she wanted very much to enter into her oracular training full time. That was where she wanted to spend her days, she felt, and where she thought that she could be of the most good.

These abilities, she reasoned, were gifts sent to her by the gods. They therefore had to be good and come from a good source. But what made them really, truly good, was what she did with them. And Alena wanted to do many good things with them. As many as she could possibly do and conceive of doing. She just needed someplace to start—hopefully with an outlet where she could be herself and be useful.

The temple where the Oracles gave their prophecies was the best place for her, as far as she was concerned.

Alena graduated with high honors—tied in second place with another student. They both accepted their awards together, and shook hands. It was another girl in her class, someone who had transferred to the school from another planet. She was brilliant and Alena admired her, and felt no competition or hard feelings whatsoever. In her eyes, she was genuinely a good person and deserved the award.

More uncertain, however, she was of the person who graduated first—Jeret. He was the one who had bullied her in her swordsparring class, and although as time passed he eased off of her, he never seemed to stop bothering her in her classes or try to argue with her when she presented her ideas to the class. Alena had no idea what his problem was, nor why he had a small following of girls who would babble frequently about how wonderful he was, and how grand his swordsparring was.

Hence why she got the shock of her life when he came up to her after the announcements of the honors were made, and asked her if she wished to become a couple with him.

But no, it didn't go quite like that. First there were the congratulations, and the none-too-subtle jabs at her for coming into second place behind him. She endured this with a set jaw and a calm face, while internally she wanted to either leave or deck him with her fist, or perhaps her bag of books.

She found it strange, however, how he suddenly became tongue-tied with her, and talked about how much he enjoyed fighting with her during class, and she "really didn't take it personally when he teased her, right?"

Alena had smiled sweetly and said, no, not at all. She barely remembered him even troubling her to begin with, and him knocking her off of her feet? When did that happen? It was ages ago, really. They were children then. She did her best to be kind, and smooth things over. Maybe he simply wished to bury the hatchet before they went their separate ways.

The next words out of his mouth, however, stunned her to the core.

"You know that I've always liked you, right? I'm sorry that I was so bad at showing that. I mean, I was a stupid kid and all, and I really liked you. Heck, admire you even. Anyhow, I, uh, wanted to know if you would want to go with me sometime to the dance hall or maybe catch a bite to eat together. I think that it would be great if we were to become a couple. You know? I mean, we have a lot in common and all…."

She barely caught the rest of his rambling. Suddenly the contrast between his innocent but honest, teenaged fumbling around for words as he attempted to win her over and the intense dreams she had been having lately about a pair of dark blue, stormy eyes and the bursts of ecstasy that they gave her seemed to her to be absurd. This boy could hardly compare. And he had given her such a hard time that she never would've known that he had felt anything for her other than contempt and hatred.

At that moment onward, she decided that she did not comprehend the male sex in the least.

Many emotions came to her. Frustration, pity, anger, but also-

Sadness. Depression. Solitude.

Alena remembered mumbling something to the effect of, "Yes, sometime after my lessons with the Oracles, stop on by," et cetera, then she ran. It seemed like the insensible and most bizarre thing to do—not to mention the most cowardly.

But she didn't know what else to do, nor how to handle this youth who so awkwardly was trying to court her affections.

When she got home, she recalled kicking at the wall, attempting a practice or two with her swordsparring forms with her practice sword-

Then breaking down into tears.

She didn't know how to tell him no and let him down easy, nor did she know how to handle him or boys in general. No one before this point had the courage to approach her on any level. He was the first.

"When the gods call," she remembered Erna telling her once, "we follow." And Alena followed.

How could she possibly explain this to other people? People who were supposed to be the closest to in her life? How could she begin to describe the obligation she felt, the love that she felt for the guiding influences in her life, and the almost desperate need and desire to give them something back in return?

She couldn't. She barely had the words for it herself, especially given how seldom she tried to vocalize it. The young girl settled for ranting about it in her journal, about how bad she felt that she couldn't communicate to Jeret, and how even worse she felt about being so terribly, terribly isolated.

Alena cried some more on her bed before falling asleep. Later she would tell her parents that she had been so excited that she spent most of the day elsewhere. She didn't want to worry them. She didn't tell them of Jeret's interest in her, nor in her feelings about it. For how could she?

She was totally alone.

***

After a year of intensive training which began shortly after her graduation, Alena was instated as an Oracle, with the full duties, titles, and responsibilities thereof. The ceremony was beautiful, intense, and in Alena's mind, almost like a wedding. She was clothed in her white gown and wore an ivy wreath on her head. As required, she wore no jewelry, but later would wear a special necklace which would bear the insignia of her office, a special charm made of amber encased in silver and carved to resemble a star.

She wore it in a choker around her neck that stayed on even while bathing, and she never took it off.

Her introduction to fulfilling her duties as an Oracle was gradual. At first she officiated over the Oracles for special holidays and weekends, but in time she was present along with the other two women, and would assist others who came for advice. Most of them were from Riol, but some came from neighboring planets. The reputation for the Oracles of Riol rather preceded themselves, and so they would receive an influx of tourists looking for advice on matters ranging from financial to personal.

Nyara was especially good, she noticed, at giving advice regarding people's pasts and how that led them to their present day. Erna was always very good at reading the future, and not as good at determining past trends' influences into current day as Nyara.

Alena, on the other hand, seemed to be especially tied into the present, which meant that she not only had footing in the past, but in the future as well. She could tell people what they were thinking and how they felt on matters, and also help guide them in making decision based on what was best for them based on both what they desired and what they needed. Sometimes she would receive blinding flashes of their future, other times their past—and could connect it with their present in ways in which left people feeling as if she had been their next door neighbor. She also found her connection to past events enabled her to gain an appreciation for her history classes in a way she hadn't before. At long last, she truly realized that the present could not exist without that which preceded it. The insight was humbling.

Rapidly she grew a strong reputation for assisting people in great spiritual conflict, and in personal matters. She found herself giving council in the matters of love and family more than once, and did so in such a way that left people wondering if she really were sixteen years of age.

Her parents came once to see her giving oracles. They watched as she sat in the egg-shaped seat that she grew to love so much, and give people advice on many issues. Her mother was proud to witness her daughter be so compassionate towards others, and her father was thrilled to see his daughter have such a sensible head on her shoulders, with the ability to see into situations the little details that would ordinarily be overlooked.

They had hugged her afterwards, and told her as much. They were proud of her, and her mother kept repeating over and over again that no matter what Alena wanted to do with herself from here on end, she would support it. She had grown up into a fine woman.

A woman. Alena was now sixteen, which was the legal age in Riol for adulthood. She would not be able to own property until she was eighteen, and she had no desire to run for office. Besides, she had to be impartial as an Oracle and wouldn't be able to anyhow. She was content with what she had, and figured that she didn't need the additional responsibility.

She only knew that some days after that, she had passed by Teacher Karak in central, and he saw her, nodded hurriedly, and practically ran in the other direction. She had no logical explanation for his reaction to her, and figured that perhaps he was sensitive to the weavings of the Tapestry. Was he upset with her for some reason? Had she done something wrong?

'Or maybe, perhaps,' she thought, 'people are afraid of me now that I am an Oracle, and am afraid that I can see things in them that they don't want to see.'

The thought had occurred to her more than once, and it seemed like a simple, satisfactory conclusion to his reaction to her.

But something in her, for some reason incomprehensible, knew better. And she didn't want to know a thing more about it. The less she knew, she figured, the better. Alena had enough to worry about.

She was now the Third Oracle of Riol.

Hence when she began approaching the age of seventeen and her dreams of a man with blue eyes began to grow more intense and have lasting impressions that affected her waking day, she didn't think much of it. At this point in time, she had herself almost convinced that her dreams were just dreams. But she recognized her emotions, and knew that deep inside of her, she was beginning to feel stirrings of something very deep, dark, and incredibly intense.

Alena prayed that she was neither obsessed, nor falling in love. She could be able to handle neither. This man in her dreams didn't exist. How could he?

Her seventeenth year came and went with a splash and a sparkle—she had much to be grateful for, more than any other year, and looked forward to the mark of her eighteenth year with bright eyes.

She was alive. Truly alive, doing what she felt that she needed to be doing. What else could she possibly ask for?

The Third Oracle did not look to her future; she was too busy dealing with everyone else's.

***

It started one day with two people. Two people who were clearly outsiders, and from nowhere near Riol. But they spoke Basic, and demanded to see an Oracle immediately. It was relatively early in the morning, and they had just opened their gates to the public.

Nyara and Erna looked at each other, and figured that Alena could use the exercise. She needed at least one, perhaps two difficult petitioners. It would prepare her for the years ahead, and give her a chance to grow in her ability to give oracles as well as deal with the unexpected.

These two were unexpected, all right. They practically prostrated themselves before Alena's protesting feet.

"Please, no, do not do that," cried Alena, embarrassed. "I'm just an Oracle. I'm only here to advise others. If you want to worship, we have altars to the gods for that."

"Forgive us, but we have traveled a long way," spoke the man, almost stuttering. "You can call me Morn. This woman beside me is Lorna."

"We come from the Core Worlds," she explained.

Something inside Alena began to go off. Bells. She nodded slowly.

"Go on," she requested. "What is it that you wish to know of the gods?"

"We're actually not here to inquire of the gods. Instead, we're here to talk to you. To talk to you about the Galactic Republic."

"Yes, that's why we came here," Lorna spoke up eagerly. "We have heard about your abilities, and your interactions with other worlds. In fact-"

"Lorna, please," Morn admonished. "Let me finish." He turned back to Alena and began to explain. They were sent by the Galactic Republic, as Riol needed a representative to serve on the Senate. There were various diplomatic negotiations under way, not all of which Alena understood, but they had spoken with the clergy-run government of Riol, and they had recommended that they ask the Oracles who would be best to serve.

"We have watched and spoken with the men and women who have left these halls," Morn explained, "and heard of your skill with words, with prophecy, and with talking with others from other worlds. We have heard all about your oracles, and figured that you would be the perfect candidate to serve on the Senate."

Lorna added apologetically, "We know that this may be an overwhelming proposition to you, but think of the good that you could do for your people, and for the Republic. We feel that the Force is with you, with you very strongly, and that you would make a wise choice to represent your people."

"We believe in the Force," Morn stated, and quickly grinned at Alena, who thankfully at this point had enough experience to not appear as if she were staring at them agape, for she was on the inside. Externally, in their presence, she nodded calmly that they may continue. On the inside, she was screaming. She didn't know what to do with these people. Oracles had to be neutral in all matters of politics and government. She could only tell them what the gods wished them to hear, and what the tapestry would let her tell them.

"The Force?" she inquired.

Her mind was reeling. Over and over again, she could hear Erna's voice saying to her during the oracle given to her on her thirteen birthday, There is a war, but it is not your war, Alena. Stay out of it.

"Yes, the Force. I believe those on Riol, especially your Oracles, refer to it as 'the Tapestry'." He grinned and clapped his hands like a child. "I like your phrase better! But it has always been 'the Force' to me, ever since I was a young boy."

Alena didn't know what to do, nor did she know what the Oracles or her family—let alone herself—thought of this idea. Serve on the Senate? Be involved in galactic politics? Aloud she could hear herself answering the woman clearly and distinctly, "I will look into this matter and ask the gods what answer they have for your question. I will ask them directly and I will tell you if I am to serve in the Galactic Senate."

Absently she remembered herself not long ago after she had been given permission to graduate early, and how she had laughed at the teacher who suggested she might go into politics as a result of her becoming an Oracle. Alena was definitely not laughing now. Perhaps the teacher was unusually insightful, and saw something she hadn't. Who knows? But the best way she knew to find out was to connect with the Tapestry and see what the gods had to say to her.

Composing herself, she sat in the Oracle's seat and went into a deep trance. She was meditating for approximately five minutes before she suddenly opened her eyes, and looked directly at them.

"Yes," she responded clearly. "I accept the nomination to the Galactic Senate."

Chapter 4

"A blue rose"

Her parents were proud, but trembling when she delivered to them the news. Isabel seemed to be somewhat relieved; she had had high hopes for her daughter's intelligence and this seemed to be an opportunity for her to both use her gifts and enter into an honorable profession of which she approved. Torin, however, had gone into a long lecture on politics, personal safety, and what it would mean for Alena to become a Senator. She would have to move to Coruscant to live. Things she needed would most likely be provided for, but most of the Senators were wealthy businessmen and she was an outworlder from the Outer Rim—and young at that. She would have to keep on her toes, learn to not be so trusting, learn about what it meant to be a politician, learn a great many things.

Alena nodded and smiled calmly at all of this. She had been fully installed as the Third Oracle and had served as such for over two years, not to mention had turned eighteen five months ago. Already she was fully a grown woman, with the right to hold office and own property. Although her father was right to be worried about her, but she was not entering this without her eyes wide open. Plus, her meditation with the gods had told her quite clearly and bluntly that she needed to do this. She could still hear the loud, clear voice in her head: You will go to Coruscant and serve the Republic. It had jolted her out of her communion with the gods, and forced her to give the answer that she had given Lorna and Morn.

It was not that she was not afraid. Deep inside of her being, she trembled at the thought of leaving her family, her home, Riol, the Outer Rim—everything she had known and was used to for so long. And she knew in her heart of hearts that she would miss Erna and Nyara. However, the two women had fairly shoved her out the door, stating that they had foreseen this event years ago and it was her destiny. It reinforced the calm, certain feeling within her that told her that what she was doing was the right thing to do. The Tapestry was weaving away, and its in patterns she saw herself at Coruscant.

In those patterns she saw many things, and in those things she felt glimpses of the potential good she could cause. The rest was hazy and undefined--just beyond her grasp. Her struggle to see conjured other images instead, images of the dream she had of the balcony and the handsome Jedi trickled into her mind. They were quickly banished. It would play no part in her decision to join the Galactic Senate, nor her role within it.

"Just promise me, Alena, that you will contact us whenever you can," implored Isabel. "We will miss you dreadfully, but know this: we are very proud of you, and in spite of our misgivings and concerns, we support you in every way possible."

Her father held his arms out, walking towards her to give her a hug. "Conquer a few worlds for us, kid." They embraced, and after they pulled away Alena could've sworn that she had seen Papa blink back a few tears.

Alena smiled at him, and her mother. "Don't worry, I'll let everyone know what's happening in my life—and I'll visit when I can."

Her next few days were a whirlwind of packing and arrangements. A shuttle would be arriving at the planet to escort her to Coruscant, and it would be a good 12-14 hours before they arrived, she was warned. There were quarters on the ship that would allow her to nap if she so desired, as well as a complimentary container of water and light snacks.

Alena packed a few books along with her personal journal, and a framed white rose that she had dyed blue years ago when she was a young girl. She figured that it would make a wonderful piece to hang on the wall in her apartment on Coruscant. As she held it in her hands, she smiled. When she was a young girl, she had always wanted a blue rose, and had cried when her mother told her that they did not exist. In defiance, she had taken a white rose and dyed it blue. When it began to wilt, she pressed it and put it into a frame. Since she owned no other decorative pieces, she decided that it held the most sentimental value to her, and therefore should not be left behind.

Before leaving her room, she saw her practice sword hanging from its sack in the corner, and decided to bring it with her. Surely practicing her swordsparring forms would help her to relax, and unwind…? She grabbed it before leaving her room. There was one last look at the dwelling she had occupied for nearly her entire life, and she was gone.

When she met the shuttle transport, she arrived wearing her Oracle's robes, a suitcase with all of her clothing, a personal satchel containing a few books and her journal, and the practice sword slung over one shoulder.

Alena was ready.

***

Her arrival in Coruscant was nothing like she had expected. The planet was nothing like she had expected; the entire place was an urban sprawl, covered with tall buildings and transport flying everywhere. It stood out in her mind in clear contrast to the simple stone buildings of her homeworld that were covered in ivy, surrounded by trees, and the garden that she helped her mother tend to from the time she was a young girl until the present. Alena wondered briefly if she would ever see a rose in bloom while on this strange planet as she drowsily made her way off of the shuttle, and was escorted towards the Galactic Senate Building.

Her two escorts left her off abruptly at its entrance, giving her various papers written in Aurabesh and gave her some brief but inelegant directions to a particular room in the building. Alena blinked, and thanked them before wandering around the Senate Building.

All too soon she was lost, wandering around in various corridors until she got to the end of a hallway. An elderly, distinguished looking man was standing just outside of what appeared to be an office, deeply engrossed in a conversation with what appeared to be another official—perhaps one of the Senators? The woman talking to him was a blue skinned woman, dressed in strange robes and a headdress which Alena didn't recognize, and appeared to be in earnest conversation with the older man. As Alena grew closer, she noted that his visage looked faintly familiar to her, and then realized with a start that it was the Supreme Chancellor. Her oracular studies on Riol had left her with very little time to pay attention to the HoloNet, and last she had heard, Palpatine of Naboo had been made Supreme Chancellor some years ago and the Clone Wars were ongoing. Being from the Outer Rim, she felt very far removed from everything, and knew that she would have to catch up to the latest if she were to succeed as a Senator from her homeworld.

Palpatine glanced around, and with a slight, startled movement noticed Alena. He smiled warmly at her, and she couldn't help but smile awkwardly in return.

"Pardon me, would you happen to be the new Senator from Riol? Senator Alena Doron?"

Alena nodded. "Yes, yes I am." In spite of her nervousness, she felt the amber stone weighing down on her neck, and her sense of protocol took over. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency," she stated, inclining her head slightly.

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you," he replied. Gesturing towards Alena's bags, he inquired, "I assume that you are looking for access to your apartment? I can be of assistance with that, if you like. You will be staying in the Senatorial Apartments during your time here." He glanced to his left where the blue-skinned woman stood, and chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh dear, where are my manners? My apologies. Senator Doron, this is Senator Chi Eekway of Wroona."

Chi Eekway turned towards Alena, and she was immediately struck by the kindness in their depths and sensed a spirit akin to Erna's in the other Senator. Something told her that she would like Eekway.

Senator Eekway greeted her with a smile. "Welcome to Coruscant."

Smiling in return, she replied, "Thank you. I hope to make the most of my time here while serving on the Senate."

Palpatine nodded vigorously. "Oh, you will like it here, I assure you. In the meantime, you must be exhausted from your travel from the Outer Rim, not to mention you probably want to dispense of your belongings! I can help you reach your quarters, if you wish."

"Yes, that would be most kind of you," Alena responded graciously.

The Supreme Chancellor turned towards Senator Eekway with an apologetic smile. "If you will pardon me for a moment, I have to help our new Senator with her arrival. We will have to continue this discussion another time."

The blue-skinned woman nodded somberly. "Certainly, Your Excellency. Senator Doron, welcome again to Coruscant. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me."

"Thank you." Alena replied. "I appreciate that."

Palpatine gestured towards the other end of the hallway. "Follow me. I will take you to the apartments. Would you like me to carry anything?"

Alena shook her head. "No, thank you, this is fine." She demonstrated the lightness of her suitcase with a smile. "I like to travel light."

"An excellent and rare trait in a woman." He smiled at her as they walked down the corridor and through various sets of doors. "You must find this place awfully confusing in comparison with your homeworld. I can't say that I have ever been to Riol, but would love to hear from you your impressions and stories of your homeworld." He went on, gesturing with his hands, "Everyone here comes from all over the galaxy, from so many types of worlds, and all gathered here on this planet." He added in almost embarrassed tones, "As someone who grew up as a young boy from the Mid Rim, this place was awfully big to me when I first got here. It must seem that way to you, too."

She laughed. "Yes, it's certainly much more urban and crowded than what I'm used to. I don't exactly live on the countryside, but where I live, ivy and gardens cover everything. It's much more…" She struggled for the right word, and finally came up with it, "organic."

"Organic, yes." He chuckled. "Sounds to me that you like being surrounded by nature, and flowers, and trees. I think that you would love Naboo. You should visit there if you have a chance, perhaps on a holiday or during recess."

"Thanks for the suggestion; I think I would like that." She wondered to herself if she had heard of Naboo before, and realized that aside from passing references to it in school, she barely remembered it. Like many times, she wondered why she managed to graduate with high honors and do well in history class with the amount of attention she paid to current events.

When they arrived at the Senatorial Apartments, Alena had to fight to keep her jaw from dropping open. The place was huge and grand, and reminded her of an urban palace. She wondered how her quarters would look, and if they were different from anyone else's.

Palpatine worked the security pad to get her apartment open, and showed her how to rekey her own passcode to enter her place. Afterwards, she wandered into the place and was amazed to find an apartment the size of the house she had grown up in, except it was all on one level. The living room was furnished—as she supposed all of the rooms were—in burgundy with gold trim, very tastefully done. The couch in the living room was a beautiful piece of furniture shaped in a half circle with a small table in front of it.

"This place is beautiful," she commented, awestruck. She didn't bother to hide the admiration from her voice, as she did not expect such accommodations from the Republic.

She deposited her belongings on the couch, and glanced past it to see that there was a set of glass doors that led onto a balcony that overlooked Coruscant.

"Please, take a look around," urged the Supreme Chancellor. "I hope that these quarters will prove to your liking. I made sure to it that you would be comfortable here, especially since you are so far from home." He smiled amicably.

Alena smiled back, and opened the doors to step onto the balcony. With a start, she realized that she was overlooking the same view and was in the same place that she had seen in her dreams when she talked with the black clothed, blue eyed Jedi. It made her shiver slightly. She then realized that Palpatine had followed her outside and was looking at her with a concerned gaze.

"Are you cold?" he asked sympathetically. "You must be exhausted from your journey. I do not wish to overstay my welcome if you wish to get some rest."

"I'm all right," she replied with a quick grin. "I think I'm too excited at this point to sleep. The buildings, the sky—this place is amazing. I've never seen anything like it," she enthusiastically stated, but in her head she added, 'except in my dreams.'

He laughed. "Good, good. I am glad that you feel comfortable here. If there is anything that you need, please, let me know. I will be at your service. I want all of the Senators here to feel at home, and you should not be exempt from that."

Alena's eyes shone. "I thank you very much for your hospitality. This is wonderful, and I'm very glad to be here."

"Why don't we sit for a while inside? Surely you can spare an old man a few moments of your time so that I can get to know you better. I would love to know more about you, your homeworld—practically everything was new to me when I first came here, and I am sure it must be the same for you as well."

The young woman nodded eagerly, and the two went inside and sat on the couch. She gestured towards the eating area off to their right, and stated, "I am sorry that I have nothing to offer you in regards to food or drink, I don't even know where to get such things-"

"Oh, never mind about that," he dismissed the concept with a wave of his hand. "You just got here. There's plenty of time for that later, and I expect nothing from you, given that you just arrived on this planet's surface—what, two hours ago?"

She shook her head. "It just hardly seems fair, given how hospitable you've been to me. Besides, it's customary to provide drink to those whom you welcome into your home where I come from."

He nodded. "Yes, yes, a wonderful custom, very gracious and thoughtful indeed. Were other cultures so welcoming!"

About an hour or so passed in which Palpatine had asked Alena many questions, and she did her best to answer them. She found him to be surprisingly charming, friendly, and down to earth—completely not what she had expected from a renowned politician. It made her feel at ease with her new position, and gave her hope that she had indeed made the right decision. 'The gods are gracious,' she thought happily.

"Unfortunately, my dear, I must get going," he announced with a hint of regret in his voice. "I need to get to an important meeting with a good friend of mine. Perhaps we can talk more at a later time?"

"Certainly, Your Excellency, and thank you. I've really enjoyed talking with you."

"Same here, my young Senator, same here." As he stood up, he noticed the sack on the floor. "Before I leave, I must ask, I've never seen such a sack before. What exactly does it contain?"

Alena grinned. "My practice sword. I do swordsparring in my spare time. I brought it with me in the hopes of practicing my forms. It's very relaxing, sort of meditative, in a way," she explained.

He slowly nodded his head. "Swordsparring, you say? How interesting. You'll have to show me a thing or two sometime."

"If you wish it, most certainly I will."

"Be well, Senator Doron. I will be seeing you later."

"Be well, Your Excellency."

After he left, she looked around the place until she found the door that led to her bedroom. It was surprisingly big—bigger than her room at home—and had a window that overlooked the same view as her balcony. She opened her bag to get her rose, and hung the frame on the wall over her bed. Taking a few steps back, she surveyed the place with a smile. It almost looked like home.

Surprisingly, she felt restless after her journey, energized by her talk with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and decided to head out of the apartments to take a walk. She found herself, oddly enough, heading in the direction of the Galactic Senate Building.

'Perhaps I should walk around and familiarize myself with it before I have my first meeting,' she thought to herself. It certainly wasn't a bad idea, and inside the building she went. Alena made her way down various corridors until she found herself around the same one where she had run into Senator Eekway and the Supreme Chancellor earlier.

A door nearby opened, and from it exited the Supreme Chancellor. He noticed Alena with a start.

"Oh, it's you again! So glad to see you, Senator Doron. What timing you have."

He gestured to the man standing next to him. "May I introduce you to my good friend Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight."

Alena turned to look at him, and was struck dumb by a familiar pair of intense looking blue-grey eyes in the center of a sturdy, handsome face framed by dark blonde hair. In a moment, her world spun around her, and within her was a small, still core that was the eye of the storm. The only thought within that core and surrounded by the chaos was, 'So, he exists.'

Chapter 5

"I guess I was in the right place at the right time."

Alena found herself thankful for the calm, assured voice that poured from her lips. "Pleased to meet you, Anakin Skywalker. I am Senator Alena Doron."

He smiled at her, and in that moment as he gazed upon her, her heart stopped. She could see oceans and worlds in those blue-grey eyes. "Senator Doron, it is a pleasure to meet you also. Did you just arrive here or have you been here long?" His head tilted slightly as he asked the question.

"Yes, just arrived here. A few hours ago, in fact."

At that moment, the Chancellor touched Anakin on the arm and stated, "We must be going. Good bumping into you again, Senator Doron, and looking forward to seeing you soon."

Alena nodded. "Same here as well. You both take care."

As fast as they were introduced, they were parted, the Supreme Chancellor and the Jedi walking briskly past her. She continued walking in the direction she was headed in until she was certain that they could not see her, and turned to watch their backs as they left.

'Anakin,' she thought to herself wistfully. 'Anakin Skywalker. That's his name. Anakin.' A part of her was desperately rooted in place, fixing the event in her memory. Anakin. His name was Anakin. He was real, he existed—there he was, brought to her from her visions and dreams.

Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight.

***

"Senator Doron, I feel, will be an asset to the Senate," Palpatine was saying to Anakin as they continued to walk down the corridor. "She is from a planet in the Outer Rim. There are rumors, as you know, of Separatist activity out there. Perhaps she can put in a word for us back on her home world, or," he paused momentarily before continuing with a gentle smile on his face, "dare I say it, giving us an oracle or two."

Anakin gave him a quizzical look. Palpatine laughed gently. "She is an Oracle from her homeworld, newly appointed as a representative in the Senate. I don't think she is much more than eighteen years of age. But," he went on, his tone taking on an almost grandfatherly admiration, "it is said that her precognitive skills are quite excellent. People have been traveling from as far as the Core Worlds to hear her prophecy."

"With all due respect, Chancellor, with skills like that, I am surprised that the Jedi Council never found her," Anakin replied cautiously. He was wondering why the Supreme Chancellor seemed to be somewhat taken with the girl, and he couldn't help but have a nagging feeling about her upon first meeting that he didn't quite know how to place. It made him feel uncomfortable. He would have to meditate on it later.

"Ah, Anakin," the Supreme Chancellor replied, amusement tinting his voice, "not everyone who uses the Force are Jedi, and the Jedi are not…omniscient." He smiled again, amicably.

The Jedi simply nodded politely. "Yes, that is certainly true." After a span or two of silence, he added, "And those Separatists…where are these reports coming from that they are in the Outer Rim? If they are out there, perhaps some Jedi need to be dispatched in order to handle the problem."

"Yes, yes," Palpatine nodded somewhat impatiently, "they will need to be dispatched. As for the sources, I have a number of contacts who have been involved in various acts of, shall I say, espionage. It's only a matter of time before we close in on their location. But perhaps," he stated with some reflection, "some Jedi would be needed."

Anakin's face grew solemn. The possibility that it would be him to be sent away once more was not far from his thoughts, and once again be separated from his love—he fought to keep his discontent from showing in his eyes and on his face. It was an unbearable thought, but he knew that he had his duty to perform, especially if he were to earn the trust of his fellow Jedi. His time with Padme would have to wait. His eyes closed briefly at the thought of her shining face. "I will notify the Council, then."

"Excellent. I knew that I could count on you, Anakin."

"Thank you, Chancellor. Your confidence in me is appreciated." In his head but not out loud, he thought to himself, 'At least some one in a position of authority does….'

As if he heard his thoughts, the Chancellor replied, 'Those who would disregard your talents do not give you enough credit, young Skywalker. I see many good things for you, especially in your future." He smiled kindly at the young man, who kept his face composed only to blink nonchalantly. Anakin was glad for his friendship with Palpatine, as it allowed him a chance to see himself as worthy of the Jedi.

It was not uncommon that he sometimes wondered what they truly thought of them. At times he thought that perhaps they felt uncomfortable with him. Other times he sensed that they were either nervous or disapproving. Some had wondered aloud to him about what it was like to be a Jedi who had known his mother, and he had bristled internally at having been asked such a question—not to mention be reminded of how he had been unable to save his mother from an untimely death. He had always found it difficult to relate to those who had never known their family, nor had known a life outside of the Jedi Temple.

Apparently, that feeling was mutual.

The conversation turned to lighter topics, and Anakin was relieved. He did not relish having to tell Padme that he would be taken from her once more, nor did he like the idea of going back to the Outer Rim on any mission. And he knew, deep inside, that he would be sent away for the mission once he told them the news of the Separatists. It was this quiet feeling inside of him. He knew. He always knew.

He couldn't help but know.

***

Alena sat on her Senate platform, outwardly composed and calm but internally feeling nervous and terribly young. She was on one platform in a sea of many platforms, incalculable, within the Senate walls. The place was immense, and she had been awestruck from the moment she first entered. The peace she had gained from being in the sea of Senators was shattered, however, upon hearing the news of the Separatists in the Outer Rim, and of two Jedi who were being dispatched to handle them—Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Alena's heart sank. She had only just met the man, and now he was being sent away from her, for who knows how long. She wondered when she would have the chance to meet him again.

Upon entering her apartment later after the Senatorial meeting, she decided that her energy was best spent doing swordsparring forms. They would help calm and distract her, she reasoned. There was no sense getting depressed and worked up over some man whom she just met.

Even if she had been dreaming of his eyes for many years.

Hours seemed to pass before there was a chirp that she heard, very clearly. Alena blinked. Realizing it was a signal that someone was at her door, she put down the sword and opened it.

The Supreme Chancellor stood calmly outside her door while she stood, dazed and covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

"Senator Doron!" he greeted her warmly. "I hope that I am not interrupting…anything. I was hoping to have a chance to talk with you. I can come by another time if now is inappropriate?"

"I—no, now's a good time. I was just practicing my forms. Please, Chancellor, feel free to come in." Her sense of good manners forced her to add, "I have food and drink available, this time, if you would like anything."

"Just a glass of water would be fine, thank you." She walked briskly to the dining area as he walked inside of her apartment and gazed at the surroundings. "You live very simply, and yet you have made this place yours. I like what you have done with it."

She smiled as she poured the water. "Thank you," she replied, entering the living room with two glasses, one for herself and one for the Chancellor. Briefly she wondered if seeing him would be a common occurrence, and if he was this interested in everyone who was here, or just those who were new to the Galactic Senate.

Still, she was thankful for the camaraderie. She was far from home, without any friends or family, and this man was the only person with whom she felt comfortable talking. Senator Eekway, as much as she had promised to be within reach, was woefully busy and preoccupied, and hadn't been able to return any of her messages thus far. The rest of the Senators thus far were innumerable by her standards and hence she had not been able to make many contacts since her arrival.

Palpatine, however, seemed very curious about her as well as genuinely friendly. It seemed that he sensed that she was feeling awkward and out of place on Coruscant, and perhaps he was thinking of his own boyfriend on the Mid Rim when he spoke with her. "I was wondering if you could tell me, if it would not be too impertinent to ask, about your apprenticeship with the Oracles."

She almost inhaled her water.

He smiled gently. "Again, if I am being too overly inquisitive, please do not hesitate to be honest with me."

Alena put down her glass of water on the table—carefully—before responding. "I—I'm not sure what to tell you, Your Excellence. I studied with the two other Oracles, Nyara and Erna. They were very good to me, and I think of them as my older sisters." She folded her hands in her lap. "They took me in at a much younger age than most, and worked my training schedule around my schooling. I'm…very thankful for that."

"What inspired them, do you think, to train you? How does one get chosen on your homeworld to become an Oracle?" He leaned forward, his eyes bright with interest. "I would imagine that such an appointment would be an honor. How many Oracles were there on your homeworld?"

"Serving my homeworld itself? Only three, and I was—and am—the Third Oracle. There are smaller apprenticeships in various towns, but they work locally. We work for all of Riol, and for anyone in the system or from elsewhere who desires to know their future, or to obtain advice in general." Alena at that point felt incredibly thirsty, and quickly took another sip of her water before placing it back on the table before continuing.

"As for why they chose me…I guess I was in the right place at the right time. I always had dreams since I was a child, and they came true. One day I was able to help someone, not knowing that they were a priest-governor. Afterwards, he went to the Oracles and urged them to take me on as their apprentice. Of course," she went on, "they didn't refuse him.

He nodded thoughtfully at her. "How very, very interesting. How old were you?"

"I was twelve," she replied.

"Wow, how young! But then again," he added, "the Jedi start training their Padawans from infancy." He paused briefly before continuing, "Have you ever wondered what it would've been like for you to have been a Jedi, young Senator?"

She looked at him, studying his features. "No, Chancellor, I haven't." She stared off into space for a while before adding, "On my homeworld, I was very close to my parents—still am, in fact," she added with a small smile. "I couldn't have imagined being taken away from them any sooner than I was."

He smiled back at her gently. "No, of course not. A Jedi's life is not for everyone, regardless of how…romanticized it often is." Something seemed to float across his features, but Alena barely caught it before he pressed on, "So…my young Senator, what made you decide as an Oracle to get into swordsparring?"

Swallowing, she responded, "It—it seemed like fun to me, and practical, too." Alena struggled to get the right words out. "Swordsparring isn't just a physical discipline. There's a lot of mental training involved, and I find it to be very…calming, very meditative. Rather like the walking meditations in the garden that I would do with Nyara and Erna, except more—athletic."

"Yes, that makes sense to me." He nodded slowly. Suddenly she felt awkward, and felt inclined to explain further. "I—I guess you could say--so many whom I knew took the classes because, I think, they were interested in the Jedi and had heard of their fighting skills. I was more interested in the mental and physical exercise, I suppose."

He laughed. Suddenly she felt a little better, and a little less scrutinized. "Do you suppose, Senator Doron, that the Jedi might take up the lightsaber for similar reasons?"

She blinked. "Well, um, I guess I haven't thought about it in that way—or thought about it much, for that matter. I suppose so, maybe. Aside from…Anakin Skywalker, I haven't met any other Jedi and couldn't really speak about such matters."

"Ah, yes, Anakin." His tone suddenly changed and grew lighter, more vibrant. "He is an amazing Jedi. It would do you good, I think, to converse with him more when he returns from the Outer Rim. Never before have I met a finer young man. And," he added in a kind, sympathetic tone, "I suspect it would do you good as a young woman here to have companions. He could be a good friend to you." He paused, and sighed. "He has always been a good friend to me. And I trust him. I can't speak for the rest of the people here, but he may be able to talk to you about—oh I don't know," he waved his hands around, looking slightly lost, "swordsparring."

 Talk to Anakin…. She brightened at the suggestion. "Yes," she replied with calm, even tones. "I suppose I would like that. I would like to talk with him."

"Good, good. Those Separatists-" he sighed again, "-I don't know what we're going to do about them." He suddenly looked very old and weary. "The Republic needs good leaders, strong leaders, to ensure our safety. I am sure that good Jedi like Anakin Skywalker can provide, but we will need good Senators too."

"Of course we do," Alena reassured him. "I think that the Republic is in good hands with you at its helm, and with the people we have serving the Galactic Senate. I'm sure that the Separatists can be stopped."

"Thank you, good Senator," he replied in grateful tones. "I'm glad to hear such optimistic words at a time like this, and I hope for the Republic's sake that we do indeed, have such good people."

At that moment, he stood up. "I thank you as always for your time, and for humoring an old man who wishes to talk." She smiled in response. "Ah, Your Excellency, it is no trouble. I enjoy our talks, really I do."

"That is good." He smiled again, and made his way to the door. "Have a good evening, Senator Doron, and I look forward to talking with you again."

"And you as well, Chancellor."

***

After he left, she continued to practice her swordsparring forms. It was an exercise she relied upon, and as she did so, she thought about the conversation she had had with the Chancellor. He seemed very interested in her, and very interested in the idea of her talking with Anakin. Or perhaps that was her projecting, as she herself was very interested in talking with him.

Alena kept trying to distract herself from thinking about him, but every time her body moved with her sword, she could see intense blue eyes in her vision as if they were watching her practice. After many hours she was exhausted, both from the forms and from fighting the part of her that wished to spend any time thinking of him. She collapsed on the couch in front of the balcony, and under the glow of lights from buildings and flying vehicles, she dreamed.

Alena dreamt that she stood in the Oracle temple's gardens, wearing a light blue, almost sheer nightgown that seemed to have been woven by the sky itself. Everything was covered in moonlight and surrounded by the ivy-covered stone labyrinthine walls that fenced in the area. She stared ahead, gazing into a pool of water that shimmered in front of her.

And suddenly, she was lucid. Alena knew that she was dreaming, could feel the sofa beneath her, but was fully immersed in the dream. In front of her stood a tall man dressed in black. His blue eyes stared right into hers, and it was as if lightning struck her and went right through the center of her body. Alena was held there, in that moment, and at once she knew who he was, but she was confused. It was him, yet unlike him, but she was certain who it was-

Anakin?

He seemed not to hear her, or perhaps he did. She felt an intense rush of energy, a furious storm that focused and pounded its way towards her from all four directions. His eyes became like stormy skies, and one moment he was in front of her, some distance ahead, and in another, his leather glove clad hand held the back of her head in its grip. She looked once more into his eyes, and then remembered the dream she had had, years ago.

Hot sand, lava. Blue blazing sabers clashing. Black metal. Burning.

Her eyes widened. She remembered, remembered everything. This was Anakin Skywalker. She could feel the energy coursing through him, the energy of the tapestry that she was still learning to interact, but filled with a sharp and brilliant darkness unlike anything she had felt before. The current was coursing through him and around him and resonating like thunder in her head. Before she could react, Alena found herself up against one of the stone walls, with Anakin's hand still holding the back of her head.

What are you-

The words were cut off by the sensation of one of his fingers lightly brushing the back of her neck. She had no idea that her neck was so sensitive; she could feel every tiny movement that his finger slowly made across her skin, and every millimeter that his finger moved sent electricity running down her spine. It ran down her back and deep into parts of herself that stirred with every small touch, and awakened with sensations that threatened to pull her down into their dark waters and drown her. All with the tracing of one finger across the back of her neck he managed to invoke such intense feelings from her. Alena opened her mouth to speak, but the words stopped themselves in her throat as if drained of their power, and her of the ability to speak.

Then she felt his lips on hers, and everything else, both sight and sound, were drowned out the feeling. Lightning had struck her before when she had gazed into his eyes, but that was only the initial warning shot before the storm. She had felt ecstasy before on many occasions: winning swordsparring competitions, the glow she got from experiencing the gods during meditation and select moments of her life, and the feeling of being immersed in the tapestry and experiencing all of creation, but this was something else. This was something both physical and mental, and yet something which transcended each experience of both being in the body and being in the mind. Alena stood in the ocean as the waves kept pounding forth, each one bigger and stronger than the last. She felt herself wrapping her arms around him, a hand behind his head, one around his waist. There was no control, no thought, just feeling. None of the discipline that had been pounded into her being, day in and day out in her training as an Oracle and as a representative of Riol in the Senate, was here. It was gone, washed away by deep, dark waters.

Alena never felt so alive.

The hand that held her neck tightened, and the fingers stopped lightly tracing their way across her neck. Another sensation made its way towards the center of her being, a tightening in her stomach as she felt another hand thrust itself between her legs. A finger made its way inside of her, then another.

Alena's world exploded into an array of colors, lights, and sensations, the last remaining thoughts evaporated into a blinding abyss of feeling. Her body was still shaking from the impact when she awoke into dazzling sunlight, sprawled out on the sofa of the room.

Chapter 6

"She seems to be very…spirited."

It was still painfully early in the morning when Alena received the message from one of Chancellor Palpatine's assistants: Senator Doron, the Supreme Chancellor wishes to speak to you about a matter of the utmost urgency. Please meet him in his office at once.

She had nodded and thanked the messenger droid, who had scurried away rather abruptly, leaving her to stare down the hallway after it before making her way back into her domicile. Alena continued to stare blankly, blinking. She had very little time to get ready and be at the Chancellor's office, as she had the distinct impression that "at once" meant five minutes ago.

Clothing. Her more formal attire would be appropriate, but her Oracle's robes would be a tad too much. She glanced at a light blue pants suit, and was instantly reminded of her dream the night before. Her cheeks warming, she decided that her burgundy and gold tunic with matching slacks would go much better. Formal, yet comfortable. She had worn it during many a Senate meeting and had noted that in comparison with others present, she was appropriately attired. It would do.

A short while later, she made it to the Galactic Senate Building and towards the Supreme Chancellor's office.

"Good morning, Chancellor," she called out from the doorway. Then she saw the two men dressed in Jedi robes. One of the men looked to be in his thirties and had short, medium brown hair and a beard. The young man standing next to him she knew all too well, and she fought down her heart from leaping at the sight of his serious grey-blue eyes.

Before she could offer to introduce herself, the Supreme Chancellor gestured towards the doorway where Alena stood. "Good morning, Senator Doron. This man is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I believe you've already met Master Skywalker," he added offhandedly.

She smiled at the Jedi. "Pleased to meet you, Master Kenobi. I am Alena Doron."

"Good to meet you, Senator." Without further preamble, he continued. "The Chancellor informs us that you are an Oracle on your homeworld of Riol."

Alena nodded cautiously.

 'What was this about?' she mused. 'Why would two Jedi want to see me?'

 "Yes, I am," she spoke aloud, looking back and forth between Kenobi and Skywalker. "May I ask why I have been summoned here?"

Kenobi smiled, but his tone was all business. "Senator Doron, intelligence reports have indicated that there may be Separatist activity on your homeworld. And perhaps the Sith as well."

"Sith?" she repeated, disbelieving. The separatists being present she could perhaps envision, but gods above and below, what would Sith want with her homeworld? "On Riol?"

"Yes, we are hoping that we can track them down and see if they will lead us to Count Dooku and Sidious."

She frowned as the feelings of anxiety starting to well within her. Her parents, Nyara, Erna….

"I can see why you would be concerned," she stated slowly. "I just have difficulty seeing what the Separatists, let alone the Sith, could possibly want with my homeworld. It certainly is not an advantageous location for them."

"To hide, most likely," offered Anakin. "In any case, we need to be able to investigate the situation more fully, but in order to do that we need to get past Riol's planetary security."

"They will not let us land on the planet's surface without at least one citizen of Riol on board the ship," Kenobi stated flatly.

Alena looked at him and blinked. "The governing priests must be equally aware of your concern, Master Kenobi," she replied cautiously, "and if this security measure is in place, then how would the Separatists, let alone the Sith, have been able to reach my homeworld?"

Kenobi and Skywalker looked at each other for a moment. Then Palpatine spoke. "That's what makes this all the more troublesome, Senator Doron." He added gently, "There may be Riolian citizens supporting the Separatists and possibly the Sith."

There was a quick intake of breath, and Alena realized a few seconds later that it was her own. "I see. So, you need someone from Riol to accompany you. Preferably someone…official."

"Yes," Anakin answered her.

"Then I will do it. Chancellor, I thank you for bringing this matter to my attention."

Palpatine brushed the air with his hand, and laughed. "My dear Senator, I thank you for your efforts to continue to support the Republic. You will be in good hands with these Jedi, I am sure."

"Pack your things, and expect a long journey," Obi-Wa