The Princess of the Winds

[Keter]

The sun had set over an hour ago, amidst the howling glaes of Immeria. The stairs sometimes appeared between gaps in the windswept clouds, twinkling merrily before hiding once more. On the planet below, Dis glittered back. Keter shut the window, the howling wind offering no comfort. He latched it shut before turning away, smiling at his daughter. Felicity was already in bed, looking at him with the sweetest smile she could muster. She wanted something. A parent could tell. Celeste was in the other room with Feena, the younger girl still requiring her mother's constant attention. K could have helped take care of her, but Feena had been insitent on going through the rigors of motherhood. She had missed too much of Celeste's life already. Even more of Felicity's. But that was then, this was now.

"Go on, off to sleep with you," Keter said, walking over to his daughter and kissing the top of her head.
@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Smile big and bat your eyelashes a lot. That was a lesson Felicity had learned a long time ago. The little girl watched her daddy move about the room, refusing to look tired in the least. She was going to hold off this bed time thing for as long as she could.

Her father gave her a kiss on the top of her head, ready to leave her to her dreams. That was a problem.

"But... I'm not sleepy, Daddy," she pouted, sitting up in bed, crossing her arms, "and the wind is loud. You can't just leave."


@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Is that right?" he said. Normally Slevin or Barnabus took care of Felicity. The blond was a tad out of his depth. He knew he was nowhere near as harsh as Feena could be. She had a way of enforcing discipline - no, good behaviour. "Then what should I do?" he asked with a slight smile, wondering what Felicity was up to. This could have easily been the beginning of her rebellious phase. Even though that wasn't due for another eight years at least. Keter dreaded that phase. Force only knew what would happen. "It's too late to sing or see one of your favourite holos, you know that. Besides, your mother would kick me out if I kept you up past your bedtime!" Keter added, shaking his head, still smiling.

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

She knew exactly what she wanted. And the fact that her Father was so out of his depth here, only made her idea sound all the more convincing.

"Well... Uncle Barnabus always reads me a story before bed," she suggested, smiling at batting her eyelashes, "You could read me one too!"

But then she thought about that. If he did read her a story, he could pick out one of the really short books and finish it in no time. She had to be smart here.

"Oh, but he's already read all of them to me," she added, pretending to have to think really hard about the next suggestion. Her Daddy was smart. He would get the hint.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Uncle Barnabus does that for you, huh?" he asked, glancing at the little girl. SHe was manipualting him, he just knew it. Probelem was...she was his daughter, and she would succeed. Dammit. Keter let his gaze wander over Felicity's bookcase, filled with books that she had undoubtedly heard a hundred times before. "ANd he has? What's your favourite then?" the blond asked, actually curious. This was information he really should know.

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Felicity had to resist the urge to roll her large blue eyes. How could he not know this? It didn't matter anyway. The girl nodded, pleased that he had at least agreed to tell her a story.

"It's right there," she pointed to a book sitting all the way on top of her bookshelf, "The red one up top!"

Honestly, she had picked a book that was much too advanced for her, but it would take a very long time to read. If she was being honest, she had actually pointed to a book about history. Not a proper story at all. He would realize that when he started reading. Anything she could do to drag bed time out as long as possible.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Ah that one?" he asked, checking with the girl before going over and grabbing it off the shelf. It was bound in red leather, and somewhat old. "ANd Barnabus reads this to you does he?" asked Keter with a smile, flicking through the tome. Somehow he doubted it. "What's it about?"

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Felicity shrugged and snuggled down into her bed again.

"Well, if you don't want to read that one," she replied slyly, "You could... make one up for me?"

The little girl smiled her widest smile, pulling the pretty white blankets up to her chin. She waited, expectantly watching to see what her Father would do.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter stared at his daughter in silence before sighing. "How about I read you a story I know you haven't heard yet instead?" the blond countered. He wasn't exactly the best when it came ot coming up with children's stories. That's why Barnabus and Slevin had so often tekn up the bedtime duty. "I'll fetch it from my room, and I can read some of it to you tonight, how about that?" It seemed a fair compromise in the blond's mind.

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

A new story! That was all she wanted. The girl grinned, clapping her hands together excitedly.

"New story!" The child squealed, "New story! Hurry Daddy! Get the book and come back quick!"

She was worried that if he left, Mommy might convince him to skip the story, but it was worth the risk now. She was too excited to let this time with her Father slip away. She was going to grasp at every moment she could.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter shook his head. Such an energetic little lass. He sometimes wondered where she got all her energy from. Youth, probably. "Alright, give me a moment then," he said as he left the room. His and Feena's room was practically across the hall. Normally Keter would have been sleeping in his tower, but Feena had convinced him to be closer to the girls. That way they could easily get to him if something was wrong. Keter knew a thing or two about nightmares, and had conceded the point to his wife. He idly looked over the books on their bookcase (Feena was quite an avid reader as well. He himself preferred dataslates for his evening reading), before picking out a faded and worn leather book that creaked when he opened it. Perfect. The writing was almost faded, but that didn't matter. It would do as a focus. Feena wasn't in the room. Probably in the canteen preparing some bottles for Celeste in case she got hungry in the night. Raising children was hard.

The blond shook his head as he returned to Felicity's room. "Alright, here we go. This was a story that my own parents used to read to me when I was a child. It isn't the same copy sadly, but it will do," he explained with a smile, partially out of fondness for the memory. His father had done his best, despite not being able to actually read. He pulled up an armchair by the bed and settled in. "This story is very special my dear," he said, easing the book open. "The pages and the words are quite magical."

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

The little girl sat straight up in bed when her father returned book in hand. She turned her head this way and that to get a better look at it, but no matter how she looked, it still just looked like an old book. Not magical at all like her Father promised. Still, her Daddy was the most magical person she knew! If he said there was magic in the pages, then Felciity was going to believe him!

"Wow," she breathed, pulling her blanket covered knees to her chest as she waited for it to begin.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"The story was written by a powerful Jedi, long ago," he started, warming to the tale. Just like his own father had said. "It reacts to those around it, providing a story that changes with each telling," the blond continued, smiling at his daughter as he spoke. "So, let's see what story you will recieve....hmmm....The Princess of the Winds...fitting, wouldn't you agree my dear?" he asked, looking down at the page as he began to tell the story.

"Inara was not a princess. She was born in the great plains of the planet of Guilder, and not the mighty cities where the nobility lived. Still, it was evident to all who saqw her that there was a majesty to her. THe wives of the village exchanged pitying words. Had she been born in the cities, Inara would have become a great woman. But being born in the villages meant she would never amount to more than a pretty face which would age in time. As time went on, INara grew, and with each passing year became more and more beautiful. By her fifteenth birthday, she was ranked twelfth amongst the beauties of Guilder. Her grand looks masked an even grnader intellect, one which she put to great use. She would always come up with a new idea or trick to make life in the village more bearable."

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Felicity listened as if her Fathers words were the key to life itself. She watched him with wide, excited eyes, drinking in the magic of it, imagination painting the landscape. In her head, she tried to imagine Inara. Who did she know that was so beautiful that they could be ranked as high as twelfth amongst the beauties on a whole planet? Who did she know that was smart enough to make things better for people?
Only one person really. Felicity didn't know many people...

So in her head, her Mother came to mind as the pretty Inara.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"By the time her eighteenth summer came, she had moved into the top five of the world's beauties. And of course, by that time the word of her brains and beauty had spread far and wide. Often would men and women come to the village to see Inara. Some asked for her hand. Those she always rejected. Others would seek her advice. Those she welcomed into her home and helped as best she could. In exchange she learned of far flung planets and other wonders that awaited her in the stars. One day, a man of twenty winters came to the village. He was poor, but kind, and he had made his way to the planet through whatever means he could achieve. He had sought out the wise Inara to see if she could aid him in his quest - to no longer be alonee," Keter continued to read, turning the page. THat's how the good stories always began, with a happy and likeable protagonist, someone who was meant for more, and would have to find that meaning themselves.

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

The child played with her light blond braid as her Father spoke. The more he said, the more her imagination flew. Until it came to the young man in the story.

"He was lonely? That's silly," she interrupted, "'A quest to not be alone'? What kind of quest is that?"

The young man still didn't have a face in the story yet. She wasn't sure where this was going to go now, but she was wary. She was too young still to find the very idea of romance to be anything but icky. Boys were gross. Most of them, anyway. There was one boy she knew that she didn't find gross, but he was far, far away right now.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

The blond paused his reading and glanced at his daughter. "You'd be surprised how many people feel lonely in the galaxy," he said lightly. There was a reason dating sites on the holonet existed after all. "And what lengths they would go to to change that," Keter added. "Now, unless there are any further interruptions...

At first Inara thought the man had come to ask for her hand as well. But he surprised her by instead asking for her aid in learning how to solve his own problem. He had not come to her for answers, he had come to her for advice so he could find answers on his own. Inara was intrigued, but agreed to help the man. Thankful, he introduced himself as Jonas, and began to study underneath Inara. He stayed in a tavern in the village, and did small odd jobs around the settlement in between his lessons with Inara. And with every lesson Inara taught him, he revealed something of the greater galaxy to her," Keter contiued, losing himself in the words. A simple opening, but a fitting setup for what was to come.

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Felicity took her fathers answer with a shrug. She still had so much to learn. She knew this, and she was willing to stay silent (for the time being) and listen. She could hear someone walking around outside her room. Probably Mother, rocking Celeste to sleep. Felicity never knew how hard babies could be, until Celeste came along. That baby girl had a healthy set of lungs on her, that was for sure. She knew how to scream.

@[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"There galaxy was so much bigger, and so much more wondorous, than Inara had ever dreamed. She began to long for a chance to wander the stars, stricken with the tales Jonas told her. During that time, Jonas learned of culture, of discussion and philosophy. He learned of music and dance and dining. Inara grew fond of him, as a teacher did of a student. In time however, she knew she could teach him no more, and told him as such. The man was stricken. He had enjoyed his time as her pupil, and wished to learn more, to learn anything else Inara could teach him. But there was nothing. Inara knew the man was falling in love with her, and made sure to cut off that snaking vine before it could grow over his soul. Though his heart was broken, he accepted her judgement, and left.

Another three winters passed, and Inara found herself having amassed enough of a fortune to go wandering the stars. Many nobles who had come to be tutored by her had paid lavishly for the privelege. When the village learned of her intent to leave, they despaired. Who will bring us visitors? they cried. Who will guide us through the summer and the twilight? And though knowing she would miss them terribly, Inara left with a few parting words. She could feel the stars calling to her. ANd everyone loved her, so despite their sorrow, they bade her fare well, and gifted her with many things to ease her journey," Keter read on, turning another page, his gaze flickering to the door. Feena was still up it seemed, coming back whilst feeding Celeste. Such a greedy child, he thought to himself with a smile.

@[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Felicity sighed. Down the hall, baby Celeste started crying. Pat her back, Felciity wanted to say, she needs to pat her back to calm her down. Didn't mommy know this? The girl found herself feeling a little irritated, both by the crying down the hall, and the direction the story was taking.

"Wait, so she just left?" she asked, "And why even introduce Jonus if he was just going to leave too?"

@[member="Keter"]