As she made for the lunch lines Rikst let out a low whistle. The list of things Tessa learned and taught herself was long enough to give her a spontaneous inferiority complex. She’d thought that she was good with languages, but her own exploits mostly amounted to five useless Mongolian words...
For a moment Adelaide stood before the door to the Cassius’ chambers, silently listening to the voices within. There was the king, of course, but someone else too. The sound was indistinct and she couldn’t understand what the voices were saying, but she still didn’t recognize the second one from...
At the mention of Tessa’s grandmother Rikst was silent for a moment. It was a long time ago, but she felt like she should say something. “I’m sorry,” she said, a little uncertain about what Tessa had meant by ‘haunting me’. She was afraid to ask. However, she perked up at the mention of...
After being dismissed from the throne room, Adelaide decided to head to her office. Although she had been able to give a short preliminary report, it would be better to find more precise numbers of soldiers in service of the king. In the small room next to her personal chambers, she sat down at...
Rikst sat up a little straighter in her chair, feeling slightly self-conscious about her own slouch in comparison to Tessa’s prim posture. While she was still fidgeting with her hands in an attempt to forget her previous unease, her eyebrows shot up at the list of instruments Tessa mentioned...
For a few seconds, Dessa stood blinking glazed-over eyes at the Jedi, and then at the door through which they had left. Soon she felt her mind return to her control, but it took another moment until it dawned on her what had just happened. Then, slowly becoming horribly aware of what she had...
Stepping outside took some mental effort. For a moment Rikst felt the rising anxiety in her stomach, but she made her best effort to suppress it in front of Tessa and anyone else who was around. She took a deep breath in an attempt to clear her head of images of what could happen – loose stones...
Adelaide nodded at the king’s request. She thought back to when she had been flying over the surrounding area, only a few minutes ago, replaying the journey in her head. The town itself was defended mostly by its position on a hillside, making it particularly difficult to reach by an organized...
“Well, I may look okay now,” Rikst laughed a little, “but me and my parents stayed in a hotel for a night so I managed to get some sleep. In a few hours I’ll probably turn into a zombie again.” She walked to the door and glanced into the hallway. Looking back at Tessa, she could tell her...
When the Jedi stood up to leave, Dessa felt almost relieved. She hadn’t been sure if they would have left it at that, but she gratefully nodded at Manx’s final advice and started to move towards the door. Before she could take a step, Dawn caught her gaze and something in it made her stop. She...
“No, no, no worries,” Rikst assured Tessa. “Happens to me all the time. Saying more than I mean to, that is. But I’m sure it won’t be so bad – although, this is high school,” she added, making a face. And case in point, she thought guiltily, because as much as she was trying to be comforting to...
Dessa was silent for a moment, a little intimidated by Dawn’s intent gaze. Everything the woman was saying made her even more so, especially the mention of the Sith. In no way did she know a lot about them, but what she did know was bad, and Dawn’s tone when she said it provided enough context...
As it turned out, Adelaide was not the only one headed for the throne room. As she walked through the corridor to the large doors behind which the king would be waiting, she came up behind her fellow knights. All of them, she noticed pointedly, as Tamamo seemed to be away from her station...
Miles and miles away, up between the stony peaks of the young kingdom of Tasogare, a large shadow passed over the rocks and slopes of the land. The way it flashed across the ground was clearly too swift to be a cloud, and if one were to look up and squint against the brilliant light of the early...
At the back of her mind Dessa felt like she should at least consider, but right now she could not care less about a ‘gift’. Or why these people thought they had any business asking this of her.
On top of that, Dawn’s reaction to Manx’s argument did nothing to further her trust. “She will have...