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ladyofleithianIn which we meet Mara (as well as getting a bit of a cameo from Luke), and we see how she's been doing growing up on Tatooine.
Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and Disney. I don't own a thing.
Author's Notes: Thought that I'd start posting early at the very least because...well, last time I posted my NaNo story was last December. That and checking around in terms of seeing when NaNoEdMo was...there were differing instances. Some did it in December, some in January, etc. I thought I'd do it in December because...well, why not?
Also, I really hope I got Mara in character (she's always been really difficult to write for me, personally. It doesn't help that we're pretty much polar opposites on the personality spectrum) here. Yeah, different circumstances and whatnot (and a lot of her canon personality was formed via growing up under Palpatine's influence), but I definitely hope I managed to get the essence of her character intact, if that makes any sense. Also decided to do some polishing before posting.
And yes, the chapter title is a reference to Halloween 4. Let's say I kind of got a bit into the Halloween films this year.
It was a nightmare that Mara Lars had had too many times before, really. It was a sort of nightmare that, really, had plagued her so many times, although in all honesty, she couldn’t even say why. The smoking Jedi Temple, something that she had mostly seen in her lessons, in her classes, but if nothing else, she couldn’t even say, really, where it came from, showing up in her nightmares. The man in black, the man dressed in robes that concealed his face, marching on the Temple, attacking it, killing everything in his path. And a woman screaming in agony even as she lay on a birthing table, as another woman stood above her, trying to reassure her.
“Sabe. It’s going to be all right. Just hold on. It’s going to be all right. Trust me on this.”
And the woman kept on screaming, horrible screams that seemed to all but tear through the night throughout the whole process. And when Mara woke, still in a cold sweat, she could still see it in her mind. It felt too clear, she thought, almost like it had happened right in front of her – but it didn’t even make sense. Why was she dreaming about it right now? Nothing about it even made sense.
Mara Lars got out of bed now and walked outside. Outside, the night was cold, and almost peaceful. It was rare, she thought, for nights on Tatooine to actually have some degree of coolness to them. She took a deep breath, trying if only in vain to stabilize herself after the effects of those dreams. It’s okay, Mara. You’re okay.
And yet she wasn’t. What was the meaning of all these dreams? It didn’t even make sense, really – all these people, all these people that she had barely even known. Why was she dreaming about them? What was the point, really? Why them?
She supposed there wasn’t really anything about it that was going to make sense. Then again, since when did nightmares make any sense?
Mara ran a hand through her hair if only in frustration. Nothing about this made sense. And somehow, that was the worst part about this.
“Hey.” A familiar sort of voice. A very gentle sort of voice. Luke walked out of the night now. He was a very handsome man, with sort of pale hair and wide blue eyes. There was something about his face, Mara thought, that was always sort of childlike, in a way. Very gentle. Very innocent. It had been something about him, really, that she had found almost charming. His sort of optimism, his innocence, no matter how bad things got. Granted, he wasn’t perfect about it – she could still remember all the frustrations that he had had in regards to his foster parents refusing to let him go to the Academy like they had with his foster-brother, Biggs Darklighter, and she could sympathize with him a bit too well. It wasn’t easy being cooped up here on this planet. Especially when it was a planet as boring as this one. A planet where nothing happened, where it was the same routine every day, where it seemed like every day was wake up, go to school, listen to the teacher lecture, then come back home if only to work on the farm. It wasn’t as if Mara didn’t understand that her family didn’t need help, but at the same time…there had to be something else out there. There had to be something more – but at least something about how he tried to stay optimistic was enough to help Mara through the worst of it. When the stretches of time seemed to all but go on forever. When the stretches seemed almost interminable, and almost as bad as the Tatooine desert itself that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles.
Mara smiled if only slightly. “Hey.” Silence. “What are you doing up?”
Luke only gave her a quizzical look in response. “What are you doing up?”
Good point. “I just had another nightmare. Nothing big.”
“I’m sorry.” Luke moved towards her now, placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “What was it about?”
“It was about…him again.” Even trying to vocalize it was difficult. All these people, dying or dead. All these people that he had murdered if only for no reason at all. “He was inside the Temple, killing all these people – I don’t think that he even saw a difference between them. It didn’t really matter if they were kids or whatnot; they were just in his way.” She took a deep breath, trying once again to keep herself from shaking. It’s okay, Mara. It’s just a bad dream. You’re okay. And yet even that was a small comfort, all things considered. Because she could swear that she could see the man’s golden eyes gleaming from underneath the hood, almost as if seeing right through her. She sighed. “I guess I should have seen it coming – I mean, it was after the Festival of the Dead and all, but…” She ran a hand through her hair. “It feels like he’s been popping up in my dreams a lot, really.”
Luke placed a hand on her shoulder. “Has he?”
Mara nodded.
“He’s been popping up in my dreams too. Well, not quite.” Luke rubbed his head, almost as if trying to get whatever he had seen, whatever horrible thing he had seen, out of his mind. All things considered, Mara thought, she couldn’t say that she blamed him. Not quite. After all, things like that…they were probably best left forgotten. And yet it was almost difficult. Tatooine was perhaps one of the furthest removed planets from the center of the Empire, but it didn’t really mean that they didn’t get the reports that flowed in in regards to whatever the Empire had done this time. Whatever “traitor” they had punished this time, and considering Terminus, Vader, Ventress and Palpatine, Mara knew more than anything that it was usually some sort of horrific, disproportionate punishment. She knew that somehow, it was horrible.
It had been something that she and Luke had spoken about at times. Her, trying to make sense out of everything that had happened, and Luke, also trying to make sense out of all of it before saying, finally, that the Empire were, simply, monsters.
Not that Mara could disagree. After just hearing about some of the things that the Empire had done, sometimes the matter of “they’re monsters” was really the only explanation. And the worst part about monsters, she thought, or one of the worst parts, was the fact that they always found some way to justify their actions, no matter what it was. When one was younger, they feared the monsters under the bed. And now that one was older…
Mara took a deep breath. “Tell me more about these dreams.”
And as Luke told her more about what he had seen, all the horrors that had come to life in his nightmares, Mara couldn’t help but listen, almost bizarrely curious, even sort of enthralled by what she was hearing. It was horrible and yet, somehow, she wanted to know more about it. Whatever was plaguing the both of them.
Whatever was happening to them both.
Why would they both have the same dreams? Not quite the same, but similar nonetheless.
“…and sometimes when I wake up, I can still see his…eyes. Just staring at me.” Luke seemed to almost shiver. “These gold sort of eyes. Sort of like a krayt dragon’s.”
“Same here.” Mara swallowed. “Well, not quite the same, but…similar.” A beat. “Do you think it’s possible for people to have the same dreams?”
“Who knows?” Luke shrugged. “I mean, it might just be a bunch of old wizard’s tales. For all we know, maybe it’s a reason to not take things so seriously at the Festival.”
Mara laughed if only a bit. There was something about that, at the very least, that made her feel better. Just a little bit.
“Do you want to go racing or something?” she said. “I mean…it’s not like I can get back to sleep anyway.”
“Won’t Owen and Beru – ’’
“To the Corellian hells with that. I,” Mara said, “Want to go racing.” She grinned. “Seriously, how about we do that for a bit? Just forget about everything that we had bad dreams about? Forget about it all, and just go racing?”
Luke laughed. “You are very persuasive, Miss Lars.”
Even getting the bikes, Mara glanced back at the house. She could only hope that she wasn’t being too conspicuous, lest she all but alert her foster parents to the fact that she was out racing before dawn again. Except they seemed to be sleeping pretty heavily that night. The Festival must have gotten to them enough. Thank the suns.
“You ready?” she said to Luke.
Luke grinned. “How could I not be?”
And they took off into the early dawn, the wind blowing through their hair. And at least for a moment, flying alongside the sunrise, flying alongside the brilliant Tatooine morning sky, Mara Lars felt, at least for a moment, alive. Even laughing along with Luke, all but challenging him, even racing alongside the canyons and outrunning some enraged Sand People, there was something about that, at the very least, where Mara felt at least somewhat like she was outrunning everything that was happening at the moment. She was, for all intents and purposes, flying.
She had always dreamed of flying. Things like working on the moisture farm – it wasn’t as if she didn’t understand why she had to do them, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel almost discontent. A life like this – it wasn’t made for her. It never could be, really.
And racing along the dunes – it felt, at least for a moment, like for all intents and purposes, she was free. Flying along the desert sky as she was meant to.
Eventually, they parked back at the house and Mara, laughing even in spite of herself, got off the speeder. “I’m going to be in so much trouble,” she said, “And it was worth every second.” She took a deep breath. “Thanks, Luke. I feel better now.”
Luke grinned. “You don’t need to thank me,” he said, “I’m just doing what I can to help.”
A light came on in the Lars residence. Mara sighed. “I’d best go in,” she said. “I mean, Mom and Dad are going to be furious if I’m late. See you later.”
Luke grinned. “See you later.”
And Mara headed inside now. It was on her way in that she glanced if only quickly behind her. Because, unless it was her mind still rattled from the matter of the Festival, she could have sworn that she saw a pair of dark brown eyes watching her.
Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and Disney. I don't own a thing.
Author's Notes: Thought that I'd start posting early at the very least because...well, last time I posted my NaNo story was last December. That and checking around in terms of seeing when NaNoEdMo was...there were differing instances. Some did it in December, some in January, etc. I thought I'd do it in December because...well, why not?
Also, I really hope I got Mara in character (she's always been really difficult to write for me, personally. It doesn't help that we're pretty much polar opposites on the personality spectrum) here. Yeah, different circumstances and whatnot (and a lot of her canon personality was formed via growing up under Palpatine's influence), but I definitely hope I managed to get the essence of her character intact, if that makes any sense. Also decided to do some polishing before posting.
And yes, the chapter title is a reference to Halloween 4. Let's say I kind of got a bit into the Halloween films this year.
It was a nightmare that Mara Lars had had too many times before, really. It was a sort of nightmare that, really, had plagued her so many times, although in all honesty, she couldn’t even say why. The smoking Jedi Temple, something that she had mostly seen in her lessons, in her classes, but if nothing else, she couldn’t even say, really, where it came from, showing up in her nightmares. The man in black, the man dressed in robes that concealed his face, marching on the Temple, attacking it, killing everything in his path. And a woman screaming in agony even as she lay on a birthing table, as another woman stood above her, trying to reassure her.
“Sabe. It’s going to be all right. Just hold on. It’s going to be all right. Trust me on this.”
And the woman kept on screaming, horrible screams that seemed to all but tear through the night throughout the whole process. And when Mara woke, still in a cold sweat, she could still see it in her mind. It felt too clear, she thought, almost like it had happened right in front of her – but it didn’t even make sense. Why was she dreaming about it right now? Nothing about it even made sense.
Mara Lars got out of bed now and walked outside. Outside, the night was cold, and almost peaceful. It was rare, she thought, for nights on Tatooine to actually have some degree of coolness to them. She took a deep breath, trying if only in vain to stabilize herself after the effects of those dreams. It’s okay, Mara. You’re okay.
And yet she wasn’t. What was the meaning of all these dreams? It didn’t even make sense, really – all these people, all these people that she had barely even known. Why was she dreaming about them? What was the point, really? Why them?
She supposed there wasn’t really anything about it that was going to make sense. Then again, since when did nightmares make any sense?
Mara ran a hand through her hair if only in frustration. Nothing about this made sense. And somehow, that was the worst part about this.
“Hey.” A familiar sort of voice. A very gentle sort of voice. Luke walked out of the night now. He was a very handsome man, with sort of pale hair and wide blue eyes. There was something about his face, Mara thought, that was always sort of childlike, in a way. Very gentle. Very innocent. It had been something about him, really, that she had found almost charming. His sort of optimism, his innocence, no matter how bad things got. Granted, he wasn’t perfect about it – she could still remember all the frustrations that he had had in regards to his foster parents refusing to let him go to the Academy like they had with his foster-brother, Biggs Darklighter, and she could sympathize with him a bit too well. It wasn’t easy being cooped up here on this planet. Especially when it was a planet as boring as this one. A planet where nothing happened, where it was the same routine every day, where it seemed like every day was wake up, go to school, listen to the teacher lecture, then come back home if only to work on the farm. It wasn’t as if Mara didn’t understand that her family didn’t need help, but at the same time…there had to be something else out there. There had to be something more – but at least something about how he tried to stay optimistic was enough to help Mara through the worst of it. When the stretches of time seemed to all but go on forever. When the stretches seemed almost interminable, and almost as bad as the Tatooine desert itself that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles.
Mara smiled if only slightly. “Hey.” Silence. “What are you doing up?”
Luke only gave her a quizzical look in response. “What are you doing up?”
Good point. “I just had another nightmare. Nothing big.”
“I’m sorry.” Luke moved towards her now, placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “What was it about?”
“It was about…him again.” Even trying to vocalize it was difficult. All these people, dying or dead. All these people that he had murdered if only for no reason at all. “He was inside the Temple, killing all these people – I don’t think that he even saw a difference between them. It didn’t really matter if they were kids or whatnot; they were just in his way.” She took a deep breath, trying once again to keep herself from shaking. It’s okay, Mara. It’s just a bad dream. You’re okay. And yet even that was a small comfort, all things considered. Because she could swear that she could see the man’s golden eyes gleaming from underneath the hood, almost as if seeing right through her. She sighed. “I guess I should have seen it coming – I mean, it was after the Festival of the Dead and all, but…” She ran a hand through her hair. “It feels like he’s been popping up in my dreams a lot, really.”
Luke placed a hand on her shoulder. “Has he?”
Mara nodded.
“He’s been popping up in my dreams too. Well, not quite.” Luke rubbed his head, almost as if trying to get whatever he had seen, whatever horrible thing he had seen, out of his mind. All things considered, Mara thought, she couldn’t say that she blamed him. Not quite. After all, things like that…they were probably best left forgotten. And yet it was almost difficult. Tatooine was perhaps one of the furthest removed planets from the center of the Empire, but it didn’t really mean that they didn’t get the reports that flowed in in regards to whatever the Empire had done this time. Whatever “traitor” they had punished this time, and considering Terminus, Vader, Ventress and Palpatine, Mara knew more than anything that it was usually some sort of horrific, disproportionate punishment. She knew that somehow, it was horrible.
It had been something that she and Luke had spoken about at times. Her, trying to make sense out of everything that had happened, and Luke, also trying to make sense out of all of it before saying, finally, that the Empire were, simply, monsters.
Not that Mara could disagree. After just hearing about some of the things that the Empire had done, sometimes the matter of “they’re monsters” was really the only explanation. And the worst part about monsters, she thought, or one of the worst parts, was the fact that they always found some way to justify their actions, no matter what it was. When one was younger, they feared the monsters under the bed. And now that one was older…
Mara took a deep breath. “Tell me more about these dreams.”
And as Luke told her more about what he had seen, all the horrors that had come to life in his nightmares, Mara couldn’t help but listen, almost bizarrely curious, even sort of enthralled by what she was hearing. It was horrible and yet, somehow, she wanted to know more about it. Whatever was plaguing the both of them.
Whatever was happening to them both.
Why would they both have the same dreams? Not quite the same, but similar nonetheless.
“…and sometimes when I wake up, I can still see his…eyes. Just staring at me.” Luke seemed to almost shiver. “These gold sort of eyes. Sort of like a krayt dragon’s.”
“Same here.” Mara swallowed. “Well, not quite the same, but…similar.” A beat. “Do you think it’s possible for people to have the same dreams?”
“Who knows?” Luke shrugged. “I mean, it might just be a bunch of old wizard’s tales. For all we know, maybe it’s a reason to not take things so seriously at the Festival.”
Mara laughed if only a bit. There was something about that, at the very least, that made her feel better. Just a little bit.
“Do you want to go racing or something?” she said. “I mean…it’s not like I can get back to sleep anyway.”
“Won’t Owen and Beru – ’’
“To the Corellian hells with that. I,” Mara said, “Want to go racing.” She grinned. “Seriously, how about we do that for a bit? Just forget about everything that we had bad dreams about? Forget about it all, and just go racing?”
Luke laughed. “You are very persuasive, Miss Lars.”
Even getting the bikes, Mara glanced back at the house. She could only hope that she wasn’t being too conspicuous, lest she all but alert her foster parents to the fact that she was out racing before dawn again. Except they seemed to be sleeping pretty heavily that night. The Festival must have gotten to them enough. Thank the suns.
“You ready?” she said to Luke.
Luke grinned. “How could I not be?”
And they took off into the early dawn, the wind blowing through their hair. And at least for a moment, flying alongside the sunrise, flying alongside the brilliant Tatooine morning sky, Mara Lars felt, at least for a moment, alive. Even laughing along with Luke, all but challenging him, even racing alongside the canyons and outrunning some enraged Sand People, there was something about that, at the very least, where Mara felt at least somewhat like she was outrunning everything that was happening at the moment. She was, for all intents and purposes, flying.
She had always dreamed of flying. Things like working on the moisture farm – it wasn’t as if she didn’t understand why she had to do them, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel almost discontent. A life like this – it wasn’t made for her. It never could be, really.
And racing along the dunes – it felt, at least for a moment, like for all intents and purposes, she was free. Flying along the desert sky as she was meant to.
Eventually, they parked back at the house and Mara, laughing even in spite of herself, got off the speeder. “I’m going to be in so much trouble,” she said, “And it was worth every second.” She took a deep breath. “Thanks, Luke. I feel better now.”
Luke grinned. “You don’t need to thank me,” he said, “I’m just doing what I can to help.”
A light came on in the Lars residence. Mara sighed. “I’d best go in,” she said. “I mean, Mom and Dad are going to be furious if I’m late. See you later.”
Luke grinned. “See you later.”
And Mara headed inside now. It was on her way in that she glanced if only quickly behind her. Because, unless it was her mind still rattled from the matter of the Festival, she could have sworn that she saw a pair of dark brown eyes watching her.
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Date: 2013-12-02 03:26 am (UTC)