I narrowed my eyes at the Jedi before me. She was telling me half truths and veiled futures. I asked, "Then what do you want from me?"
Soleil stopped walking, rooted in place as she pursed her lips. Her body tensed as she chose her next words carefully. "The Force has gifted me with the ability to see certain futures, based on the choices of those that influence them. In my lifetime, I have seen thousands of ways the galaxy prevails or dies."
She lifted her eyes to mine as she turned to face me. Her expression was somber and sorrowful. But lying underneath it all, there was a glimmer of hope.
"Whether by the hand of tyrants or kings, empires or republics," She continued, "The fate of the galaxy falls into the hands of the one who will kill it in every future except one."
The realization of her words felt like a huge punch in the chest. I staggered back as the air was ripped from my lungs, my head spinning with the meaning of what she just told me.
"As I said," Soleil repeated, "You are destined for a much higher purpose than the one at the end of the path you are on now."
I can't- No. This can't be.
"Why me?" I whispered as I placed my hands on my knees, trying not to hyperventilate and pass out.
"Because you-" Her words stopped abruptly as a feline smile spread across her lips. The sight was deeply unsettling.
She said softly, "I think we have company."
My eyes snapped to a nearby tree, where the sun peaking through the leaves glinted off the silver beskar of Din's armor. He had his blaster aimed at Soleil as he walked forward carefully, making his way towards me.
"Din," I breathed, my eyes widening, "What are you doing here?"
"I suggest lowering your blaster, Mandalorian," Soleil purred calmly.
He stopped in front of me, like he was protecting me from her. "I don't think so-"
I reached around him, putting both of my hands on his outstretched forearm. "Put it away, Din," I said to him, not taking my eyes off of the Jedi before us.
He looked down at my hands on his arm, then to my face. He hesitated before slowly lowering his blaster, still keeping it in his hand with his finger rested lightly on the trigger. "Who is she?" He asked me quietly.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Soleil's voice echoed around us. "My name is Soleil," She said, "And I am the forgotten Jedi."
Din tensed beside me. "Jedi?"
"Yes," She purred, "The Jedi use their ability to harness the Force to guard peace and justice in the galaxy." After a beat of silence, Soleil flicked her eyes to me as realization dawned on her. She finally said, "He is oblivious to your secret, isn't he?"
He whipped his head to me. "Secret? Jeyna, what is she talking about?"
I stared at her while I lightly pushed Din away from Soleil in the direction of the village. "Come on, we're leaving," I snapped quietly.
But the loud bang of a blaster going off made my body jump into action. Every nerve ending fired in tandem as my senses sharpened. Time halted as my instincts kicked in, flinging my hand out to save Din from the blaster bolt barreling straight for his unprotected ribs.
As soon as time stopped, it sped back up again. My breaths came in heavy pants when I realized that I just stopped the blaster bolt Soleil fired mid-flight. It sizzled and cracked less than a foot from where Din was standing.
He flinched away and tripped over a raised tree root, falling straight to the ground. He stared straight up at the blaster bolt that was held in place by me. His chest was heaving up and down, his body frozen in place by the impossible sight before him. He should have been dead.
The Force that surrounded the bolt was growing more chaotic and uncontrollable, begging to be released from my hold. "Din!" I shouted, focusing all my energy into keeping the bolt in place. "Move!"
Just as I lost control of the bolt, Din rolled to the side. It exploded in the dirt right next to him, and he stared at the hole in the ground right where he was laying just a few moments ago.
"How?..." Din breathed, trailing off.
Before I knew what was happening, I turned and launched myself at Soleil. Crossing an impossible distance in less than a second, I grabbed her tunic and threw her into a tree, a cry escaping her lips when she crumpled to the ground.
Anger burned red hot in my veins as I screamed, "You almost killed him!"
"No," She groaned, slowly lifting her head to meet my gaze, "I didn't."
More words tried to force their way out of my throat. I wanted to scream and yell and... God, I wanted to kill her. I clenched and unclenched my fists to try and soothe the killing rage that was flowing through me.
Soleil slowly made her way to her feet. She said through clenched teeth, "You are more powerful than every Jedi that has ever lived, Jeyna. Only you can bring balance to the Force forever."
"No, I don't want this!" I screamed. "I don't want-"
"It's not your choice!" Soleil's voice boomed throughout the trees, and every bird within a mile radius of us took flight. Then she said in finality, as if my future was written in the stars above, "It is your purpose."
The killing rage within me was chilled to ice, and my chest cleaved in two. I fell to my knees as hot tears threatened to spill down my face.
Soleil gracefully walked towards me like I hadn't just thrown her fifteen feet into a nearby tree. Her brown boots came into my line of vision and when they stopped, I didn't have the strength to look up at her.
She said softly, "Complete your mission here." She set my blaster she stole on the ground before me. "When you and the Mandalorian are ready, I will accompany you to Ilum. That is where you will forge your saber."
Then she took a step back, and another, then another, but when I finally lifted my head to look at her she was gone.
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"So let me get this straight," Din said for at least the fourth time while we walked back to the village, "You use this... Force... thingy... to stop blaster bolts mid-air?"
I groaned, rolling my eyes again. "No, the Force... You know what," I said, exhausted from explaining the very simple yet very complicated concept of the Force to him, "Yes, that is exactly what I use it for."
"I'm just trying to figure out why you would hide this from everyone your whole life." I took the lead as we broke through the tree line. He continued, "I mean, you can stop blaster bolts with your mind! Don't you think that's a valuable skill in battle?"
"Din, you don't understand." I whirled on him and he didn't stop soon enough, smacking me right in the chest. I staggered back a step, but regained my balance just as quick. "I've never done that before. All I know is that I heard the blaster go off and... I just reacted out of pure instinct." I shuddered, forcing myself to forget what would have happened had I not stopped that bolt.
"Well," He breathed, looking away from me, "I'm really glad your pure instincts include saving my life."
I stared at him, forehead creased, before a little laugh bubbled out of my throat. "Well yeah," I giggled, "That was my full time job when we were kids."
Din looked back up at me again before his own laugh escaped. "Yeah," He laughed, shaking his head, "I know."
I rolled my eyes at him and laughed again before turning around. I noticed Cara rushing towards us through the maze of krill ponds, nearly falling in one of them as a part of the muddy bridge slipped away, causing her to lose her balance.
"What else can you do?" Din asked, a hint of admiration and even jealousy is his voice.
"Are you jealous, Mando?" I chimed, glancing over my shoulder at him with a smirk I knew was going to make him mad.
I couldn't understand the words he mumbled to himself, but it made me giggle again as Cara finally reached us.
"Where have you two been?!" She stormed. "I've been searching for you guys for an over an hour!"
She glanced over me, then Din as he came to a stop by my side. Cara raised a suspicious brow. "Fun afternoon stroll in the woods, huh?" She pondered pointedly, still slightly angry as she shook her head. "Unbelievable."
When the underlying meaning of what she meant finally dawned on me, my heart jumped out of my chest as I stammered, "Wait, no- that's not... That definitely did not happen!"
She widened her eyes at me as she doubled over with laughter. "Jeez, Mando," She laughed with her hands on her knees, "I'm just kidding. Although if you did, I won't judge." She tossed a wink at Din, who in turn only laughed quietly, probably for my own benefit.
"Shut up." I snapped at both of them. "Let's just discuss the plan for tomorrow."
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By the time we ironed out the wrinkles in Cara's overall solid plan, the sun was almost touching the horizon. As darkness began to fall, Din left to go pick up the child from the woman's house, who's name Din told me was Omera.
He came back to the hut rather quickly, the child nearly asleep in his arms. I yawned, "He looks exhausted."
Din hummed, laying the kid down on a blanket that was folded up on the floor. "I think him and the other kids all wore each other out," He said softly. "Winta was already asleep when I arrived."
After he made sure the kid was comfortable, using another blanket to cover him up, Din made his way to the bed, sitting next to me. He exhaled a long breath, removing his gloves.
There was a heavy silence between us, one that I knew one of us was going to have to break soon.
It was Din that spoke first. "I still don't understand why you hid it for so long."
I let out a shaky breath, folding my hands in my lap and remaining silent.
Changing the subject slightly, he asked again, "Your powers... What else can you do?"
My brows creased. I don't know," I said truthfully, "I've never allowed myself to learn the extent of what I can do. But I've heard stories about the other Jedi and the powers they possessed."
Din nudged my leg with his own. "Tell me." He paused. "Please?"
I smiled, lifting my head to look him in the visor. "I'm not sure how it all works," I started, "But I've heard some Jedi can leak their powers into the minds of others. Sometimes they can control their minds, forcing them to say and do things against their will. Others can enter a person's conscious, flipping through their memories like an open book."
Din shuddered. "That's very concerning," He said apprehensively, looking away. "You can't do that, right?"
I laughed outright, tilting my head back as I did so. I shook my head.
Din started to laugh as well, albeit a bit nervously. "Well that's good," He said. "I don't know how I feel about you reading my mind."
I arched a brow at him jokingly. "Why?" I jibbed. "Is there something up here-" I tapped my fingers on his helmet for emphasis, "-that I won't like?"
"No," He snapped playfully, lightly smacking my hand away, "There are just certain things a man likes to keep to himself."
My jaw dropped as I wiggled my eyebrows. "Like what?" I prodded, poking him in the ribs.
Din grabbed my wrist firmly to keep me from poking him again. "Can we drop it?" He snapped again, less playfully this time.
"You are so easy to rile up, you know." I still smiled at him as I snatched my hand back.
I felt his glare from behind his visor. He countered, "Only you can do that."
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Word count: 2081
Ahhhhhh, chapter seven!! Here's the first glimpse of Jeyna and Din being friendly (cue me wiggling my eyebrows lol)!!!
I'm soooo not ready for school to start tomorrow. I just wanna stay home and write all day :(
Make sure to like, comment, and share!!
Stay safe out there!
Ch 7 published: January 3rd, 2021