Inheritance

Chapter 3: First Flight

Twenty-six years earlier

I stare down at my hands, scrubbing the tiles of the kitchen, two other little girls nearby. I dip my rag into the soapy water of the bucket near me, ring out the rag, and sit back a little. I sigh, wiping my forehead, wiping my hands on my simple, beige, canvas tunic.
It's always so hot and sticky back here in the kitchen, but it does smell good. You just need to avoid the bigger people, who actually cook the food, from kicking or stepping on you.
"22!" The cook barks at me, "back to work! Do you want no dinner again?!"
I jump, and go back to scrubbing the ground, "No sir..." I mutter, scrubbing the tile.
After a moment or so, someone else approaches, and quickly slips something into the pocket of my ragged pants. "Happy birthday, Jule..." my mother whispers to me, quickly kissing my head, "...meet me at our spot after dinner. You can open your present then,"
I smile and nod, my heart lifted by my mother. I continue to scrub the floor, and continue onto my other chores for the day.

---

That night, I'm curled up in my mother's lap in our special spot, a cleared out shelf in the back of the pantry, hidden by a loose panel we pried from the wall.
I rest my forehead on her chest, my eyes closed, breathing in her scent. I cling to her tunic, imagining that we're in a comfortable bedroom in a house we own, far away from Mos Eisley.
She gently strokes my hair. "Ready to open your present, Jule?" She asks me, softly.
I nod, leaning back a little. I reach into my pocket and grab the small, fabric bundle, tied with twine. I gasp, turning it over in my hands. "The fabric is pretty!" I say, looking up at her.
She smiles. She has tired, dark green eyes, and longer, dark copper hair, braided and tied up in a bun. "Open it," she says.
I nod, and pull on the twine, unwrapping the present.
Out of the fabric tumbles a little figurine of polished stone.
I gasp again, grabbing the little figure. "It's a thing with wings!" I cheer.
She chuckles. "It is!" She says, kissing my head, "I saw it at the market, and knew you had to have it. Let it remind you that this is not all there is. You can fly free of this cage, you just need to find the opportunity,"
I nod a little, turning the figurine over in my hands. "But...what about you?" I ask, looking up at her.
She shakes her head. "Don't worry about me," she says, "I just want you free, and safe, understand? If you see the opportunity, and I'm not there, promise to take it,"
I pause, looking down at the winged thing.
"Promise me, Jule," she says, more sternly.
I nod. "I promise, Mommy," I say, "And then, when I'm big and tough, I'll come back and free you! You and everyone else here,"
She smiles softly, and rubs her forehead on mine. "My little warrior..." she mutters, holding me close.
I smile back, rubbing her forehead back, when we hear movement in the pantry.
We look up, and she holds me closer.
She looks at me, and shushes slightly.
I nod, holding the flying thing to my chest, holding my other hand over my mouth. I take a deep breath, shaking from fear.
There's a heavy sigh from the pantry. "I know you're in here," the foreman's voice rumbles from beyond the panel hiding us, "Come out willingly and your punishment will be...minimal,"
I look at Mother, who is looking at the panel.
She gently pushes me off of her lap, and moves toward it.
I try to stop her, but she pushes me toward the back of the hiding place.
"Stay hidden..." she whispers to me, and she moves the panel. She ducks through the opening, and stands up.
"17..." the foreman grumbles, "where's that brat of yours, girl?"
There's silence.
He sighs. "22?!" He barks, making me jump, "Come out here, join your mother,"
I grip onto my tunic, but I stay still. My breath is shaking, staring at my mother's feet standing in the pantry through the gap in the wall.
The foreman sigh angrily again, and I see him step forward. "I've had enough of this..." he grumbles, and I see Mom wince, and start to struggle against him.
"Let me go..." she whimpers, "...please, you're hurting me!"
I gasp, still looking out at the pair's feet. Without a second thought, I dash out of the hole, and try to tackle the foreman's legs. "LET HER GO!" I scream, "LET MOMMY GO!"
The foreman laughs, and swats me away, a harsh hit making contact with the right side of my head. "There you are, you little brat!" He laughs.
I yelp, being knocked back by the strike. I fall against the shelf behind me, and to the floor. Tears filling my eyes, I rub the side of my face that he hit, and look up as he grabs my mother and starts to drag her out of the pantry.
She's kicking, screaming, fighting against him, and I know she's saying my name, but my ears are ringing so much that I can't hear it.
The door to the pantry closes, and I'm left alone, shaking.
Eventually the ringing wears off, and the room is silent.
"M-...Mommy?" I mutter, slowly getting to my feet, clutching the figure of the winged thing to my chest. I slowly walk to the door of the pantry, and open it, peeking into the kitchen.
One of the older girls is looking around, and sees me. She sighs. "Jule..." she mutters, coming toward me.
The Foreman will call her 05, but I know her as Lizbet.
She grabs me in a gentle hug, and picks me up. "Let's go to bed, okay?" She says, quietly.
"Where's mommy?" I ask.
She pauses, walking us toward the workers quarters. "Kayllei is..." she mutters, then sighs, "...she'll be alright. She's a strong woman...stronger than most of us..."
"I tried to help her..." I mutter, burying my face into Lizbet's shoulder, "but...I couldn't...he hit me, knocked me down..." I start to sob a little.
"Oh, honey..." she mutters, rubbing the back of my head. She descends the stairs to the worker's quarters, and goes to the corner where Mommy and I sleep. "Get some rest, okay..." she mutters, setting me down, "...long day tomorrow. Mos Eisley is having a festival, so we're sure to be busy..."
I nod a little, snuggling into the blankets of Mommy and my little bed. I clutch the winged thing to my chest, and start to softly sob until I drift off to sleep.

---

The next day, like Lizbet had said, the kitchen is very busy with bigger people making food for all of the customers.
Lively music drifts in from the front of the club and from the streets around.
I'm in the back of the kitchen stacking plates with another girl of my age, Reessus, or 20. She has dark hair, braided back by her mother, and is wearing the same, rough pants and tunic as me and the other workers here.
"I'm going to get out of here someday, Reesse," I say,"
She scoffs. "Yeah, right," she says, "and do what?"
I pause, thinking. "I'm going to get big, and strong," I say, "and when I'm ready, I'll come back and free everyone here,"
She looks at me, unsure. She scoffs again. "In your dreams, Jule," she mutters.
"Just you wait, Reesse," I say, "I'm gonna do what mommy says, and the first moment I get, I'm gonna fly,"
"You're crazy, Jule!" She says, "if you...run, Boss is gonna be angry, and we're all going to get in trouble!"
"It's better than working here for my entire life!" I say.
She sighs, and continues stacking plates.
I glance around as I continue to work, not seeing Mommy anywhere. "Maybe they have her up front today..." I mutter. I then see something.
Something that catches my breath in my throat.
A door to the outside, in the back of the kitchen, propped open, letting dusty, golden light.
"One of the big people must be outside taking a break..." I mutter. I grip the little pocket of my tunic where the figure of the winged thing is.
"Huh?" Reessus says.
"The door..." I say, starting to slowly move away from our work station, "It's open..."
"Jule!" Reessus hisses, grabbing at my tunic, "get back here! You're going to get us both in trouble!"
I grab both of her hands, and look her in the eyes. "I promise I'm coming back," I say, "when I'm big, and strong. I'm going to free everyone here, okay, Reesse?"
She pauses, tears filling her eyes, and nods. "Okay," she says.
I nod and turn toward the door again. I press myself against the wall of the kitchen, waiting for it to open more.
After a few minutes, it starts to open again, the bigger person stepping in, flicking something out of the door.
When the door is as open as it will get, I take a deep breath, grit my teeth, and sprint to the door. I push past the big person, and tear down the alleyway outside of the kitchen.
"22!" The Foreman roars from behind me, "22, GET BACK HERE!"
But, under his yelling, I can hear other workers cheering.
"FLY, JULE, FLY!"
I run as fast as my little feet can take me, running down the Main Street of Mos Eisley, through market stalls and past Bantha and other large creatures.
Pedestrians and market stall owners call out to me in both Huttese and common, and I can hear the Foreman's men far behind me, yelling for me, chasing me.
'Fly, Jule, fly'
I repeat the words in my head as I push through the aching in my legs and the burning in my lungs and feet as I leave the streets of Mos Eisley and run into the Dune Sea.
The sunbaked sand burns my feet as I run, but I don't stop.
I continue running until both of the suns are at their peak, and I can't run any more. I slow to a stop, breathing heavily.
The hot wind whips across the sand, stifling my breathing.
The twin suns above me beat down with excruciating heat and light.
My knees shake, and give out from under me as I collapse into the sand.
The world tilts and blurs to black around me as I fall unconscious from exhaustion and heat.