"Concentrate more on your achievements than your failures. Learn to take the failures as opportunities to rectify your errors."
∫
6 Years Later...
The crowd had a life of it's own. The vibrant clothes of the citizens shine in the morning light and the people move like enduring and joyful children. There is chatter between sellers and buyers, old friends catching up, new friends made. It's busy for sure, but the hustle brings a life to Naboo that no other planet had. Market day was the best day, Elara could be anyone she wanted or perhaps, no one at all. Her navy cloak shields her face as she picks up a dark red apple and studies it. The sun reflects off the glossy peel and she discovers no scratches or bruises so she pays for it.
"Don't stray too far behind." Elara uttered out as she paid the correct amount and hid the apple in her bag, wandering further into the river of people. As they began to walk, the heat of the sun was getting to her so she took off the hood of her cloak and let her long brown hair flow down her back as she came to the end of the market. She took a seat on a rock near the palace river and made sure she had purchased everything her parents and Amar wanted, double checking just to be sure.
The passing people made it easy for her to blend in, although, it hadn't always been like that. She used many mind tricks for the first few years of settling in on Naboo, including using one on Queen Pandora. The commending rage of the First Order to find the one of the only four known Jedi left alive finally stopped a year back and the voices in her head slowly disappeared. The longing never died though.
The small adolescent following her began to tug on her cloak. "Can we go back now?"
A gentle hum escaped her lips, far more careful than anything she had ever used with anyone. "I suppose."
Another small hand grabbed onto hers. "Do you think Amar made more biscuits? I'm starving."
Her smile suddenly drifted away and her instincts kicked in when she felt a disturbance. She dared to look up, squinting her eyes until she finally saw them. "Put your hoods on, just like we practiced."
The two children put their orange and yellow hoods over their freckled faces and clung onto their mother's hand as they swiftly untangled themselves from the large group of people at the market. Elara didn't look back as she knew it would give herself away. The faster they walked, the faster the antagonist switched directions trying to cut her off.
Her sudden impact to the hard sandstone ground caused her to ignite the one thing she didn't hide away. Her vision blurred when her head smashed against the stone and she used the shock of her fall to kick off the person who jumped her. The purple blade reflected off her eyes and she hauled herself in front of the children. Regaining her footing and vision.
"Elara!" The familiar pilot yelled. "Put the weapon down!"
"Don't come near me." She yelled. "I don't want anything to do with your stupid resistance."
"Mama." The little boy hid behind her, cowering away from the new face. "I'm scared."
Poe Dameron's face dropped and he lowered his blaster. He dropped himself onto one knee and opened his pouch, pulling out a slightly crushed flower. He extended his hand towards the little girl whom looked petrified. "This is for you."
Clearly not stupid, the little girl looked up at Elara for permission. Elara's response was cold but she shook her head slightly, watching her daughter take the flower from Poe. "Thank you."
"Why are you here Poe?" Elara put her lightsaber away, staring at him vulgarly.
"It's not safe to talk here." He looked around, ready to fight if something jumped out. "Do you have somewhere we can go?"
"I do." She bit her lip, looking down at her children. "But I'm not interested in anything you have to say."
"I see that six years hasn't changed your attitude." Poe grinned, admiring the two children before them. "What are their names El?"
"Bellamy and Jude." She searched Poe's mind, angered to see his name floating around as if it meant something. "They aren't his so don't even think about getting Leia and Han worked up."
"We don't know what happened to Han..." His voice drifted.
"Mama can we go now please?" Jude wined, his dark brown eyes pleading for a response.
Flustered, Elara shoved the bag of groceries into Poe's chest and began walking towards the speeder she had parked a few blocks away from the market. Her facial expression was grim and dark, Elara even thought about dropping Poe off at the nearest dump and leaving him there but her emotions wouldn't blind her into doing what's wrong. Bellamy and Jude held onto her freely while Poe rode in the back. The silence was deafening.
∫
The gungan territory was filled with multiple swamps and small ponds. With each few steps, a new scenery was created. The small shack belonging to Amar Gemini had been thoroughly redone with brown paint and the dusty, cobwebbed windows had been cleaned. Livestock moved around freely as Elara helped her children down from the speeder, careful not to drop them in a pile of mud.
"Welcome to my humble abode." Elara babbled, taking the bag of groceries from Poe and carrying them towards the small shack.
Poe watched, intrigued by Elara's lifestyle. "You live here?"
"All six of us." Elara commented, watching Bellamy and Jude run towards the swingset.
"Six?" Poe questioned. "Your married?"
Elara snorted. "The only thing I've ever been married to was my job, then we got a divorce." She opened the front door. "My parents, Amar Gemini, my children and I live here."
Poe's face twisted. "The madman bounty hunter?"
"Not all bounty hunters are awful Dameron." Elara shrugged, placing the groceries on the kitchen table.
In all seriousness, Poe began. "It's been six years Elara, what happened?"
Her shoulders slumped and she faltered in her speech. "Want some tea?"
"Tea would be nice." Poe crossed his arms, leaning against the table. "And the truth."
"Oh hush, I'm getting to it." Elara fumbled with the kettle, dropping it at least twice before finally getting it to boil. "What do you want to know?"
"Why did you run?"
"Imagine this." Elara implied, balling her hands into fists. "I saw the bodies of hundreds of people, most of them weren't even adults. As I kneel, holding the bodies of my best friends, the love of my life is trying to kill me because I won't join him." She choked out. "Why do you think I ran?"
Poe became silent, taking note of the aggression in her voice. "I'm so sorry."
"You aren't the first to apologize." She ranted, looking towards the window of the kitchen. "Look at them Poe, they are children. They are almost at the age of the Jedi youngling initiative...they don't have a father and they are blinded by good."
"Elara you don't know how terrible I feel, you've been through so much..." He reached out to her.
"Cut the crap, what does Leia want from me?" She retorted.
"For one thing, she want's to make sure you haven't become some lonely hermit living in the shadows of her past." He voiced. "The other thing is that the Resistance needs a Jedi Elara, we need someone who can track down the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker. We only have a small clue and-"
"Luke Skywalker?" Elara raised an eyebrow. "Most people say he was just a myth nowadays."
"But he isn't and that's why we, the Resistance needs you. Please Elara, what do you say?"
Elara looked between Poe Dameron and her two children playing peacefully outside. A wail escaped her lips and she put a hand through her hair frustratedly. She couldn't deny the longing she had to find out what happened to fourteen-year-old Rey and Kali or why the famous Han Solo went missing. Her hand swept over the cool metal of her lightsaber, the one piece of her old self she had decided to keep.
An all too familiar voice replayed in her head. "But come the time in which you are needed, you must return..."