Public I Dream of a Girl With Sunshine in Her Hair

[Scherezade deWinter]

Some planet in the corner of nowhere.

In her dreams, she was always someone else. It was but part of the reason she so loved to sleep, and to dream. The deeper, the better. A small datapad had been hidden beneath her pillow, and she woke up several times at night to write feverishly in it, write down all the details that she could remember from her dreams, and then went right back to sleep.

When dawn came, her dreams would vanish, melting away like fragments of snow until nothing of them remained. When she worked day in and day out at the farm, milking the banthas, churning the cheese, mending the clothes, and helping old Mrs. Callaw with her three dozen grandchildren, she remembered nothing of them. It was hard to remember fantastical dreams, epic as they may have been, when you had all these children running between your legs.

Once, she had suggested to Mrs. Callaw that she might sell a few of them off. It would certainly help to have less mouths to feed, and give them an extra layer of security when winter came. Mrs. Callaw had beaten her bloody for such a suggestion, and told her that the next time she even thought about it, she would go days without food or water. Despite that moment, the girl could hardly say her life on the farm was bad.

They were close enough to the nearest village, which she visited almost every weekend. The animals were all kind to her; she was better at herding and collecting large volumes of milk, better than anyone else who worked there. Her bed was warm, her room was private, and when the leak began, it had also been taken care of.

Not bad at all for a nobody who held no memories from before a few years ago.

In the evenings, after all the children had gone to sleep and the adults left for their own private times, she'd take her datapad to the common room and sit in front of the fires, reading every word that she had written during the night, gobbling it up as it felt like the very first time she'd ever come across it. Some stories, she read over and over again, committing each and every syllable to memory. Her life was not bad, but her stories were what dreams were made of. Well… They were what dreams were made of. Her dreams.

"Esther?" came a little girl's voice from behind her. The woman turned around, and gave the little child a tired smile. She knew Esther wasn't her real name. What her real name was though… She didn't know. It seemed as good a name as any.

"Hettie, why aren't you sleeping?" she asked gently.

"I woke up and my guardian monster wasn't there."

Esther smiled and motioned for Hettie to come to her.

"Now what did I tell you about your guardian monster, Hettie?" she asked.

"That sometimes he needs to go to work so that he can enjoy his free time when he's not guarding me, and that if he's gone, it's okay, and I don't need to worry about it until it's been three nights, because that's what busy guardian monsters do and maybe he has a family of his own he needs to take care of."

Esther smiled and reached out, gently pulling the smaller girl onto her lap and giving her a warm hug.

"Exactly kiddo," she nodded, "So why aren't you sleeping?"

Now the girl gave her a small devious smile.

"Tell me one of your stories, Esther!" she asked her, "The ones you never tell during the bonfires! About the warrior princess!"

Esther smiled. She should've guessed it would head this way. Hettie always loved to hear the stories about her dreams, and it was hardly the first time the child had managed to sneak towards her to get a story all alone.

Picking up the datapad with her free hand, she scrolled through the hundreds of pages that were there, looking for a good one. One that she hadn't told the little girl yet.

"This is a good one!" she whispered excitedly, "This is the story about the time the princess outsmarted pirates… But not with weapons, and not with hiding, but with-"

And so the story began.

________________________________________

Apparently there was a 6 year time update while I was gone Scherezade (and the rest of my characters) have been missing IC in that entire time.

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Some planet in the corner of nowhere.
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

Six years, that’s been the time since she last met Scherezade before the woman just disappeared. That was pretty much the point where Ingrid could get the title of “Aspect of Desire” as well. It was as if there had been more lives earlier. Ever since she disappeared, Ingrid has been looking for her ever since, and that has now yielded results. Ever since they last met, Ingrid became the second man in the Eternal Empire, had been a double agent in the Sith Empire, and then became the Empress regent, falling in love with another man besides her husband, whom she also married.

Became an Empress and a widow, and mother of two children. Even though they were conceived and developed under artificial conditions, they were biologically hers, conceived from the patterns of her and the two beloved men. Test-tube babies. Oh! And she forgot to mention the part that she was no longer human, and even died temporarily and tore her soul apart to be with AMCO . Those have been cruelly long years.

However, they didn’t really leave a mark on the woman on the outside. Ingrid has always looked younger than her real age, but hasn’t aged a minute in recent years. Lately, all of this has been due to the fact that she was now a shape-shifter and had to feed on life-force. Not surprisingly, doesn’t grow old. Expected to live for a thousand years, if she doesn’t die in some way by then, will probably go much further.

In recent years, everyone has disappeared by her side or died, but now she has finally found, alongside Telis Taharin-Zambrano , her other best friend and former mentor. Arrived on a yacht inherited from her husband and disembarked not far from where she received the report that Scherezade was there. As always, wore her military uniform, along with her coat; without insignia. Her posture, rigid, military, as usual. Her radiance had been different, it had always been definite - except in the matter of Force -, but now it seemed even more definite than years ago.

Because hid her presence in the Force and the amulet also helped with this, Scherezade couldn’t feel her approaching. That will be a surprise. When got close, she starts to speak, using not the cold, military voice between the two of them, but the more direct one.

"Do you know how damn hard it was to find you? Even with my assets and expertise?" asked.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Her hands felt like they were frozen solid. It wasn't that cold outside, but inside the scullery, it seemed the temperatures were dropping by the moment. It didn't help that the work she needed to do that day included no protective wear for her hands, which wasn't so bad at first, but after a few hours, everything just felt numb. The woman touched the tip of her nose to her bare shoulder, but wasn't sure whether it was the nose or the shoulder that were colder. Either way, both were freezing.

Shaking her head, she put away the last of the buckets before straightening up, her mind already fantasizing about a good fire and a warm stew. The village was a poor one, but they still had enough food and firewood most of the time, which should've been ample enough to make up for today's chores.

But when she walked into the house, expecting to see everyone getting ready to wind down after a day's hard work, another sight greeted her entirely; the children were running around screaming again, and it seemed the adults were… Part of it as well?

"Did someone announce a ball or something?" she laughed as she sat herself down by the fire, holding her fingers as close to it as she dared. The heat was not soothing; as per normal, it would hurt first as the warmth undid the frost, bringing sharp needle-like pain to her nerves. It was a mild annoyance, but not one that would have her wincing in pain. Not today, anyway; but in a few weeks, when the temperatures dropped even further? Probably.

"Esther, Esther!" screamed one of the smaller girls.

"What is it, Gida?" the woman asked and laughed again, trying to move her fingers, feeling the blood flow back. "Do you have plans on swooning your prince at the party?"

"There's a ship! A ship! We saw it in the sky!"

Now, "Esther" paused. A ship? Then why were they all… The last time there'd been a ship, many of the younger and more abled bodied people had been recruited into this or other military. They were never seen and heard from again. So the mere thought of anyone being happy to see a ship… It made absolutely no sense.

"Where, Gida?" she asked, standing up now.

"Between us and the woods!" the girl screamed.

"Esther" could still not make any sense of it. But this time, since there was no fear of a bantha kicking over and destroying a cloak, she grabbed the first one that was near her and threw it around her shoulders, decking herself in the same soft browns as most of the village, and headed out. She wanted to see for herself, what had everyone so excited.

It was between the house and the forest that she stopped, seeing the other woman, Ingrid L'lerim , approach. "Esther"s eyes, a muted green, not the glowing embers that she had been so known by in a previous life, looked at her, studying her. She recognized the uniform for being military, though she had no idea which military. That, was not a surprise - Esther wasn't very versed in the ways of the galaxy at large, and with her memories from before a few years prior gone, most of what she knew was the village and her stories.

But she understood the body language well enough. This was a person who was either important, or believed themselves to be as such. Judging by the wealthy display, she had no issues believing it was the former. What would an important person be doing in their village? It was truly… By any measure, a nowhere village on a nowhere planet that wasn't important.

She was just about to turn around and head back to the house, when she realized the woman was marching straight towards her.

This caused her feet to freeze in place, though it was not the cold weather that was responsible for it now.

"Do you know how damn hard it was to find you? Even with my assets and expertise?"

Find… Find her? Esther blinked. "Assets and expertise" confirmed her earlier suspicion, that this woman was someone important, but the rest of it? Part of her wanted to turn around and run away. But she wasn't someone to run away. Even when the house was attacked by wild beasts not half a year ago, it had been Esther, lacking in any training, that had organized the people within it for a defense. She was a simple woman, but not a coward. Even as one of her toes inched within her boots to turn around and run, she willed herself to remain firmly in place. Not that it would do her much good. Perhaps the others could see them from the house and use the precious few gained moments to run to safety? Did they even have to run to safety? There were no weapons and turrets pointed at them (that she could see), but still every hair in her body stood on edge.

"I am very sorry you have had to work so hard," she said, her speech slow as she considered her every word. How could she not make a bad situation from going worse? "Ma'am…" she added. Was that the right way to refer to the woman? She had no idea.

But what now? Esther bounced momentarily in her place. Think, damnit, think!

"Today's bounty will not be ready for another few days…" was the woman here to buy produce? Cheese? Salted meats? "But I am certain that if you do not wish to wait, a woman of your stature could gain such things in better places? We pride ourselves on the food we create, but we hardly make anything suited for special tastes... Miss?"

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Some planet in the corner of nowhere.
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

From the first moment, Ingrid saw and felt that something was wrong. It was as if something was missing from her friend. The look as Scherezade looked at her, she didn't recognize the red-haired woman. The sithling has never been such a good actor that she can play that; Ingrid was. It was for this reason that she realized immediately the other woman did not recognize her. That gave a pretty good explanation for why she hadn’t found her friend in recent years.

Saw the other's hesitation to escape or run away, but in the end she didn't. Did not explicitly feel fear from the other direction. After how much loss Ingrid had suffered recently, it wasn’t pleasant to see that. Hoped the process could be reversed. Luckily, she also learned enough things from Adrian about the mind to be able to do “things”. The other issue is that it will not necessarily be pleasant for the other woman. And since she considered Scherezade her friend, it won't have her either.

Was it because she still hadn’t gotten her anger back? It was a great question; Ingrid was able to perform telepathy not only through the Force, but also as a racial ability, so she reached out to the woman's mind to see how much damage Scherezade's mind had suffered, what could cause amnesia.

" Ingrid, Ingrid will be enough. No thanks, I don't need anything like that. I'd rather talk to you. It might sound incredible, I’ve been looking for you for almost six years since you disappeared overnight. Your name is Scherezade deWinter and I am your friend, you were once my mentor…"

Felt as if it had been a thousand years, she knew almost nothing in the Force except one or two telekinetic tricks and stealing the emotions of others when they last met. Since then, she has developed a lot and learned a lot from her late husband, AMCO . Waited for a few moments, then spoke again.

"Do you have any memories of that before you got here? Since you were here… have you felt anger or hatred? I know it may be a strange question, but it can be important."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Ingrid. Esther searched her mind for that name, but she couldn't find anything. She didn't know the name, didn't recognize it, and it didn't tell her who the woman was. But before she could ask something like why is a high ranking woman letting me call her by her first name or anything of the kind, the woman continued to speak.

Scherezade deWinter? Esther blinked. That… Did not sound right. It was a name. A big name. A name belonging to someone else, not to a village girl with amnesia who was good with making cheese and drying meat. And the woman just continued, saying that they were… Friends? Esther couldn't imagine being friends with someone that high ranking. And what more… A mentor?!

She took a step back, closing her eyes. None of this made any sort of sense.

"I'm sorry, but you have the wrong person," she finally said after a long pause, opening her eyes again, looking at that woman, "You say we were friends… You say I was your mentor… But I am no one. I make food. I certainly don't have the skills to…"

Didn't she?

Esther closed her eyes again. Fear, anger… Yes, she felt those things since coming here. They didn't rule her. Most of the time she was quite serene. When she had those emotions, she was usually great at quickly dispatching them. Be nice to others. Be useful to others.

"Either way," she continued, "It's true. I don't have memories from before a few years ago. But that doesn't mean I'm the person you're looking for. I'm sorry to have wasted your time, but I have to go help prepare supper."

It was then that Githa, one of the children, ran outside.

"Esther, Esther!" the girl almost screamed, "You're talking to the visitor! Is she going to be your patron? Will you sell her stories about the princess?" and then the girl turned to Ingrid L'lerim and gave what she thought was a curtsy, but looked more like a wobble, "Are you going to have supper with us?"

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Eternal Empress of the Eternal Empire, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud
The Red Witch, The Night Queen, Lady Stuztala, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium, Archon of the Primyn Group​

Location: Some planet in the corner of nowhere.
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland
Tag: Scherezade deWinter

As she said the words, the names, only saw the surprise and incomprehension on the other woman. Words proved insufficient to accomplish anything with them. The woman's memories were not brought back. So, however, the possibilities for what she can do to Scherezade become herself again are running out. Shook her head, unfortunately now the other woman couldn't smell the smell of her blood, considering that Ingrid no longer had real blood. So couldn't base it on that anymore.

"You recognize others when you can already smell their blood, right? You connect to the blood. You may not have memories, but your aura is the same as before. I would recognize it anytime, anywhere."

She didn’t get smarter about anger, though she seemed to be more sensitive to the issue. Although didn't know why. Much of the other woman's essence was there in Ingrid's pocket, locked in an alchemized crystal. Felt her friend’s anger for getting to know her original owner, even after so many years and again she wanted to be a part of her. Soon, it didn't take long. She used to be scared of anything to do with the Force, now she was a master. Summoned demons, created sithspawns, produced relics and artefacts. And most important, she was able to bring back her friend’s memories.

It may have been the life she always wanted, but the Galaxy needed her, and so did she. It may have been selfish, but that was the truth. Was about to speak when a little girl ran out of the building. Feth! Ingrid didn’t like when the kids got into something they shouldn’t. Looked at the little girl and then smiled, it always went easier with the kids than with the adults. Especially in her current state.

"A tale about a princess? No, I’m not going to be her patron, I’m one of her friends from a time when hse wasn’t called Esther. I don't know about dinner yet, but would you do it for me to go back to the house? We'll be after you soon."

Wasn't sure, but a little lie didn't hurt anyone. If the little girl did that, she looked at Scherezade again. Took the red-and-black crystal out of her pocket, which began to pulsate even harder.

"I’m sorry for what I’m about to do, I hope you’ll forgive me one day for taking the quiet life away from you."

The crystal began to float above her palm, Ingrid clenched her fist under the crystal, after which the crystal shattered. The black-red smoke now circled around the woman's fist. Made an elegant gesture with her hand in the direction of Eshter, the woman's anger rushing back to her owner like a dog who had long not seen her owner and then tried to merge into one with her again. To prevent the woman from resisting this, Ingrid reached out to the Force and tried to tear the “barrier” in Eshter's mind with the Memory Walk ability so maybe the woman's worst memory would erase the amnesia and the anger would be part of her again…