Legend of the Jedi Princess 3: Return of the Doresho

A New Enemy

Sometime after Obi-Wan and Satine's wedding, Gabby and her family were curious about the green butterfly that allowed Prime Minister Almec to disguise himself as Obi-Wan.

"You said in your vision you saw someone with green eyes?" Gabby asked her cousin.

"Yes. I couldn't see a full face, but I could tell it was a woman." Lamenta said. "She called herself Mariverde, and apparently, when one of her butterflies, called mariclavas, lands on an object someone is holding, she can turn it into something else. And I'm gonna take a wild guess she's a Doresho gypsy like Lady Morpha was."

"Well, then all we have to do is spray the butterfly with water and it'll lose its power, right?" Boba said, and he opened the jar and spritzed the butterfly, but it only flew around in irritation. Luckily, Gabby managed to quickly catch it again in the jar.

Boba and the others were shocked.

"What just happened?" Boba asked.

"The butterfly didn't react the same way as before." said Omega.

"It appears we may be dealing either with a whole other creature," said Kara. "Or this is a Doresho gypsy with a different ability than Lady Morpha."

Gabby looked at Lamenta and asked her if she could dig deeper into who Mariverde was and what she was after.

"I can try to do a stronger truth scanning spell, but it could take some time." Lamenta said. "I'll have to check one of my magic books to figure it out."

So, that night, Lamenta began working on an origin searching spell she discovered in one of her books.

The spell was more challenging than most other spells she'd cast before. It required immense concentration, a strong mind, and great physical strength as well. But Lamenta was ready to do it. It didn't seem to different from what she had to do when she and her cousins cast the Amorevo spell.

Lamenta placed a series of candles in a circle, as well as some daffodils she had her uncle grow and some petals spread around, and an emerald tiara Gabby loaned her to enhance the spell. She placed the jar with the butterfly in the middle of the circle, then she sat in a crisscrossed position as though she was about to meditate.

"Okay, little butterfly, time to find the origins behind you and your mistress." said the night princess. She took a breath and shut her eyes. "I call upon the spirits of truth, origins, and clearest memories. With this chant, the truth I seek, allow me to see."

And then she began the chant.

Verum quamerius,

Fabula postonsa,

totarem et nihilsi

Veritatis

She repeated this chant seven more times before she began to experience a new vision.

Lamenta could see visions of Lady Morpha creating more of her marivlavas. Apparently, the incident with Almec wasn't the first time she'd done such things. It turned out she was actually another descendant of Red Morpho, the same one who attempted to wipe out the entire Solaris royal family all those years ago. She was Gray Morpha's younger sister!

And apparently, they didn't get along very well.

"Mom always liked you best!" a teenage Grayolonda shouted at her sister Mariana Verdina, a.k.a. Mariverde.

"And with good reason too." said young Mariverde. "I'm the one with all the smart ideas."

"Ooh! I can't stand you! I'll show you! One day I will be queen of Solaris, and then we'll see who has the last laugh!"

Lamenta also learned that apparently the two sisters had different abilities.

Gray Morpha had the power to put people into a trance with her moths, whereas Mariverde had the power to create things with her butterflies. All she had to do was make the butterfly land on an object someone was carrying, or enchant an object and either bring it to life or wait for someone to pick it up. That was when she created monsters of various abilities to do her dirty work. She could communicate with her slaves through her mind from any distance, and to Lamenta's horror, she also had a plan to overthrow the royal family.

According to Enchanted history, the crowns and jewelry of the royal family of Solaris were said to be magical. When in contact with the royal family long enough (as in worn enough times), sometimes bits of magic would rub off on them and allow whoever wore it to cast spells with whatever type of magic was placed on it. Say, if she'd used Anakin's crown, she would be able to control plants. But if she used Gabby's or maybe her necklace, she would be able to cast spells of all kinds with all of her powers.

She'd tried to overthrow a bunch of other kingdoms for years, but failed each time because the royal families always somehow managed to protect their jewels and defeat her mariclavas. But she wanted Solaris most of all.

Thankfully, like Morpha's moths, Mariverde's mariclavas had weaknesses too. All they had to do was blast the butterfly with a spell of light. And the mariclavas were powerless in butterfly nets or jars.

But, there was no telling where or when Mariverde would strike next.

When Lamenta finally awoke from her vision, she knew exactly what to do.

Kara helped the kids speed read through a book on building enchanted tools, and together they created a special bracelet that doubled as a mariclava detector. Each bracelet was made of gold and had a diamond butterfly that could change color. If a mariclava or someone or something enchanted with one of them was near, the diamond would turn green. The closer it got, the greener it got. That, they tested with the mariclava they captured.

And then, they did one more test, starting with Omega's power.

"Okay, Omega." said Kara. "You got the magic words down?"

"I do. Luminesk." Omega replied.

"That's right. Now remember. Aim for the butterfly."

Crosshair and Maybelle helped Omega practice her aim. Maybelle used her magic to float up a leaf to act as a practice butterfly and moved it around really quickly.

Omega made her hand glow as she got ready to cast.

"Steady now, kid." Crosshair said. "Steady... steady... focus."

Omega focused on the leaf and nothing but.

"Okay... now!" Crosshair signaled.

"Luminesk!" Omega shot her spell and hit the leaf with one shot.

"Yeehaw!" Maybelle whinnied. "Mighty great shot, girl!"

"Thanks." Omega blushed.

"Now let's go for the real thing." Gabby said, getting the jar. "Ready? On three."

Omega prepared to cast the spell again. Gabby got ready to open the jar and counted, one... two...

"Three!"

Gabby popped open the jar, and out flew the mariclava.

"Luminesk!" Omega shouted again, shooting her spell.

"Muy bien, Omega!" Estrella said, licking her rider's cheek.

"Now that we know how to defeat them," said Anakin. He held up his wrist with his new wristlet on. "We gotta keep these things on at all times."

"Agreed." Kara said. "We have no way of telling when or where Mariverde will strike next. But this time, we're going to be ready for her and whatever threat she tries to hit us with."

"Based on how she went after Almec," said Lamenta. "Maybe she'll mainly target criminals."

"That's a good hypothesis, Lamenta." Qui-Gon said. "It is possible that she may also target those who simply seek revenge. In other words, anyone hungry for power, revenge, or perhaps holding a great deal of untreated negative emotions is vulnerable."

"If light defeats these mariclavas," said Gabby, thinking of another idea. "Maybe lightsabers can stop them too. They're made of light."

"Perhaps. I shall notify the Jedi Council of this matter."

Now all they could was wait and be ready for the next time Mariverde would attack.