Legend of the Jedi Princess 3: Return of the Doresho

Cheer Up & Speak Up

Carmine lay face-down in his bed and cried into his pillow. To make it worse, not being able to hear the sadness in his now absent voice as he cried only made him cry more. Not even Fluffy could cheer him up in this scenario.

The fact that his voice was gone, it was impossible for Carmine to grasp. Words couldn't begin to describe how he was feeling right now. He looked at himself in the mirror and tried to speak again, only for no sound to come out of his mouth.

Tears welled up in his eyes and quickly fell as he saw yet another reminder that he literally had no voice.

Carmine sat on his bed again, covered his face, and cried. The mere of thought of never being able to talk or sing again... he couldn't bear it!

"Carmine?" said a familiar voice.

Carmine looked up only for a moment to see that Susy had come to see him. She looked concerned Having been separated from her son for six years, she probably worried even more about Carmine now than she did before. He'd been forced to grow up sooner than he should have, even at the point where he didn't even have a parental figure left to guide him, and he, aside from his wife, had to figure out everything else on his own. But in this case, it was not going to be a moment he could handle on his own.

Susy sat by Carmine's side and hugged him.

Carmine did nothing and just continued crying. Susy then got Carmine to look at her and wiped his tears away.

"Baby, it's going to be okay." Susy said, kissing her son's head. "I know it hurts now, but you're not going through this alone. You've been through tough times before, and yet you pulled through. I've seen you do amazing things since the moment I met you, including things you didn't need to use your voice for."

Carmine's face clearly said, "Like what?"

"Well, you make beautiful music on so many instruments. Do you remember what you told me your neighbor Mrs. Hanshaw always used to say?"

Carmine looked unamused this time, as he couldn't speak to say that he remembered what his neighbor used to say.

"Oh, sorry. Now I'm forgetting you can't speak. Well, remember... your neighbor always used to say this: 'each instrument has a voice, and like people, every voice is different. And each unique voice can bring many feelings and stories to life. And you play more instruments than any student I've ever seen in my entire teaching career."

Carmine still looked down and started crying again.

"Oh, Carmine. Don't cry." Susy said, hugging him again.

Susy could tell she was going to need some help cheering Carmine up. So, she decided to get some help.

Both of Carmine's biological parents came and hugged him as he cried. It didn't do much, but Carmine welcomed the hugging anyway.

"Don't worry, Carmine. We will find a way to get your voice back." Qui-Gon said. "I don't know how, but we will not stop until we do."

"We are all here for you, Carmine." Shmi said.

"All of us," said Caroline, giving her husband a kiss.

Anakin and Kara couldn't stand to see their little brother so upset. They had to figure out a way to cheer him up before they could do anything else. Anakin had an idea.

Anakin dug through the pantry to find some powdered sugar while Kara put the ready made cookies into the oven. When Carmine was little, Grandma Miranda spent a lot of time making things by hand. When she took Carmine in, she knew money had to be a strict priority, seeing as taking care of a baby required supplies. Fortunately for her, Qui-Gon had purchased most everything she would need when he brought Carmine to her, knowing she didn't have much money. He'd initially offered to help her in that area any way he could, but she rejected on account that the Jedi might find out and Qui-Gon would get in trouble.