𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙇'𝙎 𝘼𝘿𝙑𝙊𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙀 • 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙫𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

THIRTEEN*

        

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Courage and Terror

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"She was stubborn. Always got her own way. Never settled for anything else."

A smile grew on my lips. "Do I remind you of her?"

Sev's head tilted. "Why, of course! I see new things in you every day that resemble the different parts of Zaree's personality."

My heart warmed at his words, though I couldn't help but feel saddened. "I miss her, Sev."

"I miss her, too," He replied, making my chest ache. "Your mother was a wonderful woman."

"Of course she was; she built you, after all," I told him with a grin. "Now, tell me about her taste in men."

"Her taste in men?" Sev repeated with a questioning tone, taking a pause before continuing. "Before she met your father, Zaree had many suitors."

I sat on the edge of my bed while Sev remained stood by the wardrobe. Living on such a large, unfamiliar space station made it all the more relaxing to speak about smaller, familiar things. "She did?"

"Many," He confirmed. "She preferred the strong ones. The ones who could handle her jokes, and the ones who persisted even when she was closed off to them."

"Hmm," I mused, laying on my back. As much as I wished I could have heard all of this from her own mouth, hearing about her as thought she was a legendary story filled me with pride. "Did she ever have her heart broken?"

Sev took a few moments before answering my question. "Once. It was the first time she had ever been the one chasing a man rather than the other way around. He never stopped running, even when she begged him to stay."

I frowned, sitting up again. His words surprised me, and made me feel bad for my mother. "Oh. That sounds tragic."

"He put his job first, refusing to give it up even for her. It took a toll on Zaree," He added.

"She deserved better than a man who chose a career over love, anyway," I insisted with a frown, angry at whoever had the gall to hurt my mother.

"She was never quite the same after him, not even when she married your father. 'Til the end, I suspect she often thought of him," He said. "She always wore the necklace he gifted her. Even on her deathbed."

"That is tragic," I muttered, looking down to the necklace which now hung around my neck. "Well, it was that man's loss."

Sev nodded, "Absolutely. Master Jinn lost out on an enigma of a woman."

We spent the next hour going over happier memories, as I didn't want to remember my mother as a woman who spent a decade pining after a man who wanted nothing to do with her. Instead, we spoke of her engineering talent, the trouble she'd get into, and the promise Sev had made to her minutes before her death to always protect her daughters.

A knock at my door broke us out of our nostalgia.

"Yes?" I asked the guard who stood on the other side. 

"General Damri," She began with a bowed head. "Lord Vader has requested your presence in his office, at once."

I nodded and she swiftly left again. Picking up a folder of pages from my bedside table, I bid Sev farewell before making my way to Vader's office. Before I could knock, the door slid open, and I timidly walked inside.