Prelude to Eternity - Chapter 11

Xicanti learned to read nearly perfectly within two lessons. An amazed Cahra had commented on his ability, earning little more than a shrug from the receiving end. Xicanti had never been one to accept praise with grace.

Back in the Palace, Lowie's Force-free month passed quickly, and before long he was able to help Mara and Luke train Xicanti. The others were quite pleased with this development. It's 'cause they hate me, Xicanti decided with a pang of regret. When he asked Lowie's opinion, the young Wookiee just shrugged. "Mara hates everyone," he had said. "She probably won't be so cranky once she realizes you aren't responsible for her mother's death, and Luke just needs to get used to you."

After two months in the Palace, Xicanti could do nearly everything Lowie could with the Force, read at a speed even Cahra could not match, ride a horse perfectly, and outwit every one of the soldiers. Normally, he would have found none of these things boring, yet Xicanti soon found himself thinking them dull. "I wanna someplace else!" he complained to Xepher and Chewie one day. "It's too calm here. Nothin' ever happens!" He paced about the room restlessly, making a special effort to walk directly in front of the holo Xepher was watching.

"Maybe you need to see another planet," Chewie suggested. "Tatooine's in its cool season right now, and I don't think Malla'd mind your visiting. The two of you could spend a few weeks there." The Wookiee Lord grinned. "Besides, the triplets have all been wanting me to show them Luke's uncle's old moisture farm for the past few weeks. They can come too. Maybe Han'll let us take the Falcon."

Xicanti was instantly fond of the idea. "Great!" he cried, pounding his fist into his hand to accentuate his point. "When can we leave?"

"Probably within the next week or so," Chewie replied. "I'll go talk to Han about it now."

Once the Wookiee had departed, Xicanti plopped down on the couch beside his brother. "We finally get ta go somewhere!" he exclaimed. "Who cares if it's only one damn place? It's still better 'an sittin' 'round .'ere for the rest a our lives!"

Xepher just grunted in reply and leaned closer to the holo.

All the preparations had been made; the Falcon would leave Coruscant the next day. The triplets and Icky had jumped at the chance to see where the whole thing had started; they were all coming. Lowie was going as well, to see his sister and mother. "I'll probably stay on Tat for a few months after," he told Xicanti. "I haven't seen Mom and Sirri for a while, and I really miss them."

The previous week had been spent in making the necessary repairs to the Falcon; 'droids had polished its exterior, cleaned the 'fresher, and made sure the wiring was secure. Chewie had assisted them, all the while complaining about their lack of skill. The work had been finished mere hours ago, and was now ready for the trip. Nothin' I really gotta do on my part, Xicanti reflected. Just tell Cahra.

He didn't see the task as an easy one. I've gotta tell her I lied to her, he decided. It won't make any sense if I don't, me gettin' to go away an' all. This admission did not make the task any easier.

Fear building inside of him, Xicanti hoisted himself up through the window into Cahra's room. She was waiting for him as usual, Odin nowhere to be seen. "He got sick this morning," she explained at Xicanti's query. "Something bad in his food."

The young thief nodded and took his customary seat on the floor beside the bed as he tried to think of the proper way to phrase everything.

Cahra looked at him closely. "Xicanti?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

Xicanti shrugged. "Sorta yes an' sorta no," he replied as Cahra sat down beside him. Taking a deep breath, he sorted out the words in his head "I've gotta tell ya somethin' that ya won't like," he told her. "I don't like it either. But I gotta tell you, else the lie'll get real big, an' the damage it'll do'll be irreversible."

"What lie?" she asked, surprisingly calm.

Xicanti ran a sweaty had through his hair. How in sith am I gonna do this? he asked himself. To Cahra, he replied, "The one I told you. Ones, actually. I could get away with not tellin' ya the truth - bein' a thief's made me an excellent liar - but I don't wanna go off an' lie to ya even more. I don't like lyin' to friends. Enemies I don't have trouble with, but friends... I'm getting' really off track, aren't I?" Cahra nodded. "I guess it's 'cause I'm nervous. I've never confessed to a lie before. But back to the lies. I actually didn't tell ya that many, now that I think about it, but they seem bigger now 'cause I'm gonna tell you what they are."

:Just tell her outright!: came Cora's mind voice. :That's the best way to do something like this.:

:Are you always listening in on some part of my mind?: Xicanti asked the cat crossly. He got an impression of a shrug sent back to him.

I'd better take her advice, the young thief decided. She does give it good, even if she's weird. It's probably just a cat thing. "I guess the best place to start's the first one. That's not really a full lie, but it is a part one, so I guess I should confess to it, too. Plus it's a pretty major half-truth. I'm a thief, but I don't really thieve anymore. Mainly 'cause I found out who my family was. That's another lie that-isn't I told you. I never really said I didn't have a family, but I did say me an' Xeph were all alone for years." Here, he reached a place where he did not know how to phrase his thoughts; he didn't want Cahra to think he was conceited. "This part's pretty hard for me to say," he continued. "Probably 'cause you're gonna think it's just another lie. It isn't, though! You can even go to the Palace an' ask. They'll tell ya that I didn't not tell you this 'cause I'm conceited. The guards all know me, an' they know I don't do too much that's conceited"

"And you're rambling again." Cahra wasn't taking the admission too hard. She looked at him a little differently, but treated him just the same otherwise. She won't after I tell her this, Xicanti thought. No one else did, so why should she?

"I have parents who were pretty prominent people in the old Empire. My father was, at least. He died before I was born, an' my mother ended up getting' dumped on the streets, like I told you before. I got taken in by Rettar, who pretty much raised me and Xeph. Him an' Shar an' Tessa all did it together, I guess.

"A few months ago, somethin' real strange happened. I was goin' to Shar's tavern, The Hero's Conquest, when I saw somebody I recognized goin' in. It was Han Solo. I decided to steal his blaster, so that I could be famous. Thieves think a lot of you for somethin' like that. So I waited outside 'till he came out, then followed him. I thought he was drunk, an' it'd be an easy grab. I was wrong. He stopped just when I was goin' for it, an' I bashed into 'im. He seemed to think I was someone called Mara, an' dragged me back to the Palace with 'im. He'd also brought Xepher in, too, only a lot earlier, an' he was there waiting for me. He stuck us in a blue room, with four other people in it. At first, I didn't know who they were, but I found out soon as the lights got turned on. Two of 'em were woman, and one looked a hell of a lot like us. Another was a man with brown hair, an' the third one was a Wookiee." He stopped to take a breath, then asked, "Ya know where I'm goin' with this yet?"

Cahra nodded slightly. "A little, but not much. Go on."

Xicanti nodded, and continued. "The red haired woman said her name was Mara. The other two humans were Luke an' Leia, and the Wookiee was Chewbacca. They told us they knew who our parents were. That's the part I don't think you'll believe me on. Not that you should, of course, since I lied to you an' all." The boy paused to take another breath, feeling very much alone. "My father was Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, an' my mother was a Jade, who was also Mara Jade's mother. That makes me an' Xeph, two street thieves, half-brothers to two major Rebellion heroes an' a famous former Imperial. Now you can tell me how much you don't believe me."

Cahra most certainly did look at him differently now. She either doesn't believe me or hates me for who my father was, he decided with a pang of regret. The girl surprised him by smiling. "I'd never believe that coming from anyone else," she admitted, "but since it's you, I do." She smiled again. "I guess you'd be Xicanti Skywalker then, wouldn't you? It doesn't sound quite right yet." She shrugged. "It'll probably fit better once you've worn it for a few years. Cahra Wolfspeak didn't feel right at all when I first started to go by it, but I got used to it after the first few months. You will too."

Xicanti didn't bother to conceal his surprise. "Y-you mean you actually believe me?" he asked. "Why? What reason could you possibly have?"

"You taught me how to be a thief, remember? You showed me how to judge my opponent, who was, in this case, you. If you'd been lying to me, you wouldn't have been half as nervous as you were. But you could have faked that. You were also sweating, though, which people can't fake. At least, not as far as I know. That could've been just because you were nervous about whether or not I'd believe your lie, but I don't think you're that sort of person. So, based on that, I believe you." The girl sat back and gave him a stern look. "Now, what about the rest of these lies?"

The young thief thought back over the past few months and realized that he had only one outstanding lie: the illusion. "I don't know how to go about the last one," he told her. "But I guess I'll have to just do it straight out, like with the name thing. I don't really look like this. I've been trainin' to be a Grey Jedi, like my sister, an' this's an illusion I put on myself so you wouldn't judge me."

Once again, Cahra surprised Xicanti. She laughed. "Why in the world would you do that?" she asked him. "Do you think I'd care if you were ugly, or had a bit too much dirt on you? Come on, take it off so I can see what you really look like!"

Xicanti knew this part would be the most uncomfortable. "I just want you to know," he told her, "that I didn't put it on 'cause I was conceited. I just wanted you to be my friend, but not because of who my father was or what I look like, like lots of the numskulls in the Palace do. I wasn't bein' conceited, just observant. Understand?"

Cahra nodded. "Very much. I won't judge you by what you look like. I promise."

"Good." Xicanti took a deep breath, envisioning the illusion flowing off of him as he let the breath flow out. Expectantly, he looked up at Cahra.

"Not bad," the girl commented. "Different from what the illusion looked like, but I shouldn't have too much trouble remembering who you are." As an afterthought, she added, "I'm sorry for assuming you were ugly."

Xicanti laughed. "That's fine! I was gladder to find out you thought I'd be ugly!"

She grinned back at him. "You really are a strange thief," she said. "Now, why did you feel that you had to reveal these lies?"

Xicanti found himself at another awkward point. "It seems stupid now," he mumbled. "But, ya see, I get to leave Coruscant. Not forever, though. Just for a little bit. I won't be comin' to see you for a while. I wanted ya to know why I wouldn't be comin' around, an' I had to tell ya all that stuff so I'd be able to explain it."

"I understand. Where're you going?"

Xicanti shrugged. "Tatooine, probably. Maybe a couple of other places. I've never been off Coruscant before, so this'll be a new thing for me." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "I wish you could come."

Cahra sat in silence for a moment. "So do I," she finally murmured. "And maybe I can."

"Whadaya mean? Ya can't exactly ask your dad if he'll let ya go."

"I won't ask him, then." Cahra's face took on a determined look; Xicanti gritted his teeth. He had learned near the beginning that it was impossible to reason with her when she was like this. "I'll just go. He doesn't talk to me very much lately anyways, so he probably won't even know I've gone until I get back. Besides," she grinned, "I can't let you run off and have all the fun without me, now can I?"

With a sigh, Xicanti gave in. "I guess not," he said. "Chewie an' Lowie'd probably go for it, but we'll have to hide ya from Han till we get far enough away from the planet. Havin' the Chief of State as his wife's done somethin' to his personality, Chewie says."

"I knew you'd see it my way." Cahra sat back, evidently pleased with herself. "Now, how are we going to get out of here? You haven't gotten around to teaching me how to scale walls yet, so the window's out."

The boy thought for a moment. "And there's Odin," he reflected. "He should come too, an' he won't be able to climb the wall." He contemplated the options for a moment, arriving at the most ludicrous one. "We'll have to go out the front door," he decided. "There's no other way that's easy for all three of us." Having established that, the young thief clambered to his feet. "Well?" he asked. "You still wanna go? We'd better get Odin and get out of here fast!"

Cahra nodded in agreement. "He's down in the kitchen," she told him. "Probably sleeping about this time of night. He'll wake up in a hurry if we wave some meat in front of his nose, though. He has a surprisingly large stomach!"

Getting Odin did not take long; before an hour had passed the three were ready to go. Cahra packed only a few things into a sack, proclaiming it to be all she needed. "It doesn't take a lot to run away," she protested when Xicanti asked her if she was sure about the amount. "I don't need to take any of my really important things - they'll still be here when we get back - and I only need a few clothes."

Getting out of the house had proven to be easier than Xicanti anticipated. The place was a thief's dream; large, filled with valuables, and poorly guarded. A few dogs roamed about to keep out unwanted visitors, but none of these creatures gave the party any trouble. :They don't want to get on your bad side,: Odin explained to the boy. :They know you're a Sidi, and that scares them.: He had refused to elaborate.

No one hindered the three as they made their way through the streets. A few small beggar-children, who had no doubt traveled to the higher levels to find better pickings, and perhaps a few pockets to pick, stopped to pat Odin, who submitted patiently to the attention. Cahra, who had never expected him to be so calm around children, was surprised. Xicanti was too busy making sure no small hands 'accidentally' found their way into Cahra's pack or his pockets to be in any way startled.

The turbo lift worked as it had been constructed to - swiftly. Within minutes, they had reached the upper level of Coruscant, and were nearly at the Imperial Palace.

As they walked through the streets, Cahra looked upwards to the ceiling, and expression of awe upon her face. "Why're ya lookin' up like that?" Xicanti queried. He couldn't see a possible reason.

Cahra gave him a strange look. "To see the sky, of course!" she replied. Pointing up to the ceiling, she asked him, "isn't it beautiful?"

Still dubious, Xicanti looked up for the first time in his life... and discovered there was no ceiling! Stretching above the city was a vast layer of darkness, dotted with small beacons of light and a silvery moon.

"It is," the young thief replied, awed. "I never thought there'd be anything up there. I used to, when I was little, but I realized when I was about four that all that was there was ceiling. But this... this's no ceiling!"

:Nay, that it's not!: Odin agreed, cranking his head up as well. And so the three approached the Palace, all with faces to the stars.

"Hi Xicanti!" called Helk, one of the younger guards. "You're back early tonight." He glanced at Cahra. "And with company, too! The princess won't like that too much, but there really isn't anything she can do about it, is there?" He smiled at Cahra as she passed through the entrance, and gave Odin a small pat. The dog cranked his head back and winked at the surprised guard, letting out a howl as he did so.

:I think I rather enjoy scaring people!: he announced. :It's more fun that eating, even!:

As soon as they were inside, Xicanti turned to Cahra and spoke. "I'll take ya to see Lowie now," he said. "He'll help hide ya on the ship."

Lowie was none too pleased at being awakened at such a late hour. "I was just starting to sleep!" he grumbled as he opened the door. "Can it wait for morning?"

Xicanti shook his head. "Nope. It's real important. I've got someone else who's gonna come with us to Tatooine." He gestured at Cahra.

The sleepy look disappeared from the little Wookiee's eyes immediately. "Then maybe you'd better come in."

Cahra found Lowie's chamber every bit as enthralling as Xicanti did. "Where did he get all this stuff?" she whispered to Xicanti.

"His father does a lot of traveling," the young thief replied. "He brings him stuff from all over."

"That's right," Lowie added, taking the opportunity to show off his superb hearing. "Dad's been nearly everywhere there is to go, and everyone always gives him stuff. He's been doing it for a hundred and fifty years now, so we've got a lot of stuff in our family."

As Odin sniffed at the swamp rat cage set carefully on Lowie's messy floor, the little Wookiee plopped down and motioned for the other two to do likewise. "Now," he said, "what's this about her coming with us?"

Carefully, Xicanti explained the happenings of the last two months. "And so," he concluded, "she's decided she wants to come. Her an' Odin both. I figure Chewie won't mind, but we'll 'ave to hide her from Han till we get far enough away from here."

"You got that right!" Lowie announced. "Dad won't mind - he'll probably even think it's fun - but Uncle Han's been spending too much time with Aunt Leia. He won't agree as readily. If we hide her until we get to Tat, though, he shouldn't mind. There won't really be anything he can do about it short of turning right back, after all."

Cahra smiled sweetly. "Good," she said. "I wouldn't go back anyways, but it's better to have someplace like Tatooine to go than just the streets."

The thought of Cahra on the corrupt streets of Coruscant made Xicanti decidedly uncomfortable.

Having worked things out with Lowie, Xicanti said good night to his friend and led Cahra out of the room. "We'd better get some sleep," he told her. "Lowie'll come an' get us early in the morning; we'll hide you in one of the Falcon's smuggling holes. They're pretty comfortable, so you should be okay in there. For now, you've gotta sleep in my room. I'll let ya have the bed."

Cahra nodded in agreement as she followed him into his room. "Nice," she commented as she dumped her pack on the floor and flopped down on the bed.

Xicanti did the same on his couch. "I've always thought so. This was where they brought me when Han first found me an' Xeph. Chewie gave it to me, since I said I liked it. Leia got mad at him for that, since it's supposed to be for lesser government people, but he talked her down. And now it's mine. Leia isn't mad anymore, either, since stuff like this's supposed to get lesser with time. The anger, I mean, not the rest of it. You think that's true?"

He did not receive an answer. Cahra had already fallen asleep. "How's she manage that?" Xicanti grumbled to Odin. "Takes me at least ten minutes, usually."

Odin shrugged. :Women!: he exclaimed. :Who gets them?:

Copyright 1998, Jadis Darkmore