The sun and stars

[Joslae]

The night was much like any other. The bright moon of Alderaan shone brightly upon the dense forests and mountain ranges, and a host of nocturnal animals sang their songs in the twilight. The halls of house Aneirin were dark and filled with silence, safe for the dimly lit area that was the arrivals hall. Several noises echoed throughout the area: Footsteps, whizzing and distinct sounds of metal-on-metal contact. A man was engaging in a duel with a woman, who was several inches shorter than him. Lying in a pile of rubble near them was another man who looked almost indistinguishable from the first. All of them were wearing robes with the same insignia: A black and gold manka cat. The man seemed to position himself between the woman and the presumably unconscious man.

‘’Natellia…’’ said the man, breaking through the otherwise silent engagement.

The woman was facing him, but it almost appeared as if she wasn’t looking directly at him but through him. A drug-like trance drove her sword as it clashed with the male’s. Her eyes were a dark, copper colour that seemed to bear the fury of a krayt dragon, ready to consume a helpless prey

‘’Your brother… Why?’’ would the man ask, quite obviously referring to the man that was lying motionless behind him.

‘’He means nothing to me…’’ she responded ‘’... you mean nothing to me’’. Her voice was full of rage, but a hint of sadness was quite evident as well.

‘’...Your family’’ exclaimed the man, who would press the offensive and take two quick steps towards the woman in an attempt to get inside her guard. He would try to aim a small diagonal slash at the woman’s thorax, but she was quick to position her blade in a parry position.

‘’My family? MY FAMILY?! What family would send me away against my choice?! WHAT FAMILY WOULD CAST ME OUT LIKE AN ANIMAL?!’’ the woman screamed, the sound of her voice echoing in the halls and reverberating off of the pillars surrounding them. She pushed back hard against the male in a display of strength that could only be considered super-human. The man was as surprised by this as the woman.

‘’I cannot let you leave…’’ the man said, though not as defiant as before ‘’...Father would never-’’

Something snapped inside the woman at that moment. Hearing her father mentioned seemed to drive her into a frenzy. With extreme speed, she dashed at the man. Her strikes were quick and precise, the man barely being able to keep up with her. With a heavy handed strike, the woman was able to disarm the man.

‘’Natellia, please…’’ begged the man, but the woman remained unresponsive. Another whizzing sound could be heard inside the halls, and then silence ensued. The man looked at the woman before him, terror quite clearly visible in his eyes. He brought his hand to his torso and found it to be bloodied. His entire upper chest soon turned red and he sunk to his knees. The woman, for the first time since the start of the engagement, seemed to gain a moment of clarity. The copper taint left her eyes and the natural blue colour returned. She threw her blade down immediately and ran over to the male, reaching him just in time before his body hit the ground. She cradled his head, tears rolling down her face

‘’N-Natellia…’’ the man muttered, coughing up a bit of blood as he does. He brought up his trembling right hand and caressed the woman’s cheek ‘’...We had so much fun, you, me and Jhûn. We were going to rule together after father’s passing’’

The woman would cast a bittersweet smile at him, running her hand through his blonde hair. Tears were now rolling down her face in ‘’I’d give anything… anything to return to the time when I was still ignorant, Sundi, you know that’’ her voice was bordering incoherency at this point.

The man would lightly turn his head and look at the pile of rubble his twin brother was lying in. His breathing was heavily laboured at this point and the moment of his passing seemed to come ever closer ‘’W-What… happened to us, Nate?’’

The woman looked at the man, her brother, her best friend for the final time. As he took his final breath, she’d respond in an even, collected tone ‘’I grew up’’. She’d bring her hand over the man’s eyes and closed them, before laying him down gently on the tiled floor.

As she got up, the sound of many footsteps were approaching the arrivals hall. Around the corner came a detachment of a dozen guards and a man in official-looking attire, with grey hair and a beard. They stopped dead in their tracks as soon as they saw the two motionless men and the woman with a bloodied robe. Out of instinct, the guards aimed their rifles at the woman but older gentleman who was with them quickly told them to stand down. He alone would take a few steps towards the woman.

‘’Natellia, my daughter…’’ he’d say ‘’...Natellia, what have you done? What have you done to your brothers, to your family? I beg of you, come with me. We can work this out’’

‘’I am not your daughter’’ she’d respond. She then quickly turned on her heel and ran towards the hangar. There, she’d subdue one of the attending guards and commandeer one of the small vessels alongside one of its astromechs. As she got in the cockpit and started the engine, the congregation of guards led by her father entered the hangar as well. Natellia and her father would exchange one final look, before she boosted the engines and sped out. Destination: Outer rim territories.