Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who continues to be interested in this story! If you have any tips writing tips, please feel free to comment.

As always, I continue to hope that I am doing justice to the spirit of Star Wars as well the respective authors and characters from which I borrow. Again, I gratefully accept constructive criticism as a means to help me develop my skills further as a writer.

Mandalorian (Mando'a) words

Di'kut (DEE-koot): idiot, useless individual, waste of space (lit. someone who forgets to put their pants on)

Ika (EE-kah): diminutive suffix written as 'ika - also added to a name as a very familiar or childhood form, e.g, Ord'ika - Little Ordo

Vode (VOH-day): brother, sisters, comrades

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Chapter 42

Any member of the royal family that is within consensual age to wed is forbidden to marry a consort born out of the ranks of royalty. There may be only one exception to this law and that is in the rank of a knight. The loyal protector is required to take the sacred vow of duty and honor and must have a definitive understanding of the proceedings during royal court. Before the marriage can be finalized, however, the knight must forfeit active duty in the military establishment in lieu of personal duty to the royal family.

Early Tochin law pertaining to a royal marriage, adopted towards the end of the Ancient Era

Tochin Moon II, 787 Days ABG

Crimson moved about the hallways towards the hangar in unusual silence. Normally, Dusty would have made a dozen comments and Mouse would have threatened him with bodily harm by this point. Jas would have laughed and smiled the entire way, adding his remarks to both parties, just to keep from taking sides, and Gath would have had to intercede to keep them from actually doing something stupid.

Jas' silence, however, had bled into the rest of Crimson, and they all realized that he was reshuffling his emotions and mentally restacking his deck of priorities. They each knew that by the time they would be on their way to the next mission, Jas would have pushed Tochin and Les'ika behind him. The longer they lingered on this world, the harder it was for Jas to let go of his emotions for the princess, and now that the time had come for them to begin their deployment, Jas could begin the process of getting on with the reality that his life was nothing more than being an enslaved soldier in the GAR.

The doorway to the hangar loomed before them, and Jas turned his focus to the place where he last saw Les'ika. It seemed a lifetime ago now that she was pulled from his hand and lost in the confusion of that moment. He barely had a glimpse of her wrapped in the king's arms before the duchess beckoned them elsewhere, and all Jas could remember of Les'ika with her father was how a father and daughter's bond could be so extraordinary.

Stepping through the doorway to the hangar, Jas' eyes caught sight of the small Republic transport that was to take Crimson off Tochin and onto whatever clandestine mission they were assigned next. The ship was only slightly larger than a LAAT/i, but it was equipped with a hyperdrive, making it distance-worthy.

Jas felt his thoughts linger away from the ship, knowing that he had done everything he could to ensure Les'ika's safety now that he had received his endex. He had no choice but to follow his next set of orders, and he was certain that Tarj was the best man for the job of protecting Les'ika. He could feel it in his gut that Tarj would ensure no harm would come to her again.

Jas had also decided that he would not make a request of Tarj for further information about Les'ika's life, but he was confident that if he ever wanted to be updated on how she was doing, he had no doubt that Tarj would indulge him with everything from who she married and how many younglings she had. However, Jas didn't want to know any of that. He didn't want or need that kind of distraction. Once the transport was going to lift off Tochin's soil, Jas was going to send this mission into the black abyss of his memories and never think of it again. He would only use his memories of Les'ika's kindness as his means to continue fighting, to know that he was going to save her and others like her. He should be grateful for the moments that she had given him, the moments of something the civilians called romance. However, he knew it would be safest for him to never entertain the idea that he would see her again.

Movement suddenly caught Jas' attention and he pulled his eyes away from the Republic transport only to be struck by the sight of Les'ika trying to maneuver around pallets of supply crates. He watched for a bare moment as her long curls bounced around her shoulders, the tight spirals tamed once again to frame her face rather than look like an unruly tangle. The indigo dress she wore was bordered with a long, sheer overcoat made from a thin material that was fitted to her body, and the light blue color gave a sparkle to her eyes.

Jas realized he was staring when he had to force a breath into his chest. He glanced at his brothers long enough to comprehend that they had turned away from the transport, wanting to take the opportunity to say goodbye to the princess.

Jas swallowed hard, wondering how he could possibly leave Tochin, especially now that everything he had tried to realign with his emotions had exploded out of his mental box, and the thought of trying to start over again with picking up and packing those pieces was just too large of a task to take on right now.

Suddenly an unfamiliar male voice broke out in the hangar, the words more of an annoyed reprimand than a concern. "Highness, this is no place for you."

Jas pulled his attention away from himself and looked over to Les'ika, watching as she had stopped short in her movements. Near her ankles, the bottom hem of her dark blue dress had caught on the corner of one of the crates, and she gave the impression of being in a hurry, as she started to tug the fabric gently trying to pull it free.

The older guard, the one who had chastised the princess, moved towards Les'ika and put a hand out to stop her from pulling on her skirt. Jas noted that this guard's dark green uniform was tight around his midsection and his lack of action was obvious in the pristine appearance of the clothing he wore. His short, dark hair framed his serious face, and he gave the impression that he didn't have time to be bothered looking after some inquisitive royal who decided to make an adventure in the hangar.

Arlesse briefly looked to the guard, but her attention quickly returned to Crimson, as she realized that they were no longer progressing towards the transport ship but was moving towards her. Ignoring the guard's hand, she pulled once again on the skirt and heard the sound of it tear, but she wasn't concerned with the small gash in the fabric. Glad to be free, she started again towards Crimson, only to be stopped by another of the guards.

"Please, Highness," a middle-aged woman said, gently trying to restrain Arlesse by grasping her upper arm. This guard was dressed the same as her older counterpart, again the uniform showing little to no use other than a means of rank. The woman's straight brown hair was tucked neatly into a bun on the back of her head, and her blue eyes bore into Arlesse like some kind of scolding mother. "You've damaged your clothing. You father would not approve of you wandering here."

Arlesse tried to pull her arm free, growing increasingly frustrated. "My father knows I'm here. Please, I have to..."

"Let's get you somewhere safe," the woman smiled patronizingly, ignoring the princess' protest.

"You don't understand..." Arlesse tried again, feeling that everything was crumbling around her, and she couldn't grasp the pieces without dropping more of them.

Jas felt like he was stuck in some kind of thick fog as couldn't move fast enough, and his fists instinctively clenched at how they treated Les'ika like she was nothing more than a child who needed to be herded back to within the enclosure that they used to keep her safe. He opened his mouth to tell them all to stop and back away from her when Dusty suddenly stepped ahead of him.

"With all due respect, Ma'am," Dusty said, smiling like some kind of military propaganda poster boy as he walked confidently up to the guard. Charismatic charm exuded off the cloned soldier as he spoke, his words accompanied by an innocent grin and a twinkle in his eye. It was a tactic that Jas knew he had no ability to pull off, yet he watched in surprised awe as Dusty nailed it flawlessly. "We'd like the opportunity to wish your princess a fond farewell before we embark on our next mission. We would be honored if you could spare us just a few minutes to graciously thank this fine noble woman for the opportunity we had to rescue her."

The guard eyed Crimson, seeming to decide if it was something she should allow, and after a moment, she smiled with a strange blush as Dusty winked at her. Relaxing her grasp on Arlesse, the guard decided to let the princess continue on her way towards the Republic soldiers.

Dusty looked down at Les'ika and gave the top of her head a little ruffle with his fingers. "That's better. I didn't recognize you all cleaned up and royal. At least with the gash in your dress and your hair unkempt, you're the girl I'm used to rescuing."

Arlesse smiled with an embarrassed blush and touched a hand to her hair, trying to move some of the curls back to where they belonged but gave up when she realized she couldn't do so without a reflective panel. "Do you really have to go? Is there any way to..."

"Not our choice," Mouse interrupted quietly with a shrug. "Orders."

Gath smiled, allowing regret to show in his eyes because they couldn't stay on Tochin, and he was glad that Jas had recommended Tarj remain here in their place. He could see that the princess would need the support of someone like Tarj who wouldn't treat her like a helpless child. "There's a war that needs us."

"I wish there wasn't," Arlesse said softly.

"Well, I wouldn't want to be here much longer anyway," Dusty said, ruffling Les'ika's hair again and giving a glare at the guards as he dropped his voice for a moment. "I'd be too inclined to shoot everyone."

Arlesse tried not to laugh as she followed Dusty's eyes. "They don't mean any real harm. They just know no other way..."

"Tarj will teach them other ways," Mouse interrupted with that mischievous but playful glint in his eyes when Les'ika's words didn't really finish.

Gath nodded his head to his brothers, silently advising them that it was time to go, and he decided that it would be best to give Jas some privacy with Les'ika before it was too late. "Come on, vode, we need to check in with the pilot."

Putting a hand on Jas' shoulder and making his words nearly inaudible, Gath told him in Mando'a that he couldn't stall their departure forever, but he would do what he could to give Jas a few extra minutes.

Jas didn't waste the opportunity Gath was offering, and he began to close the gap between Les'ika and himself, pausing once to look back at his brothers. He saw that they had already caught up with the clone pilot in the hangar and were conversing with him. Turning his attention back to Les'ika, Jas had a million questions and a thousands words he wanted to say all at once. His emotions begged for him to pull Les'ika into his arms and hold her, and all he could think about was pressing his lips on hers.

"My father said we can be together," Arlesse said quickly, making herself say what needed to be said before there was no more time to do so. "There's an ancient law no one uses anymore because there has been no need in centuries, but the law is still valid."

Jas felt like someone had just kicked him in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs. He was still trying to comprehend that Les'ika was actually standing before him again, and now he was entirely confused at the concept of being able to legally prolong his time with her.

Arlesse took a couple more steps towards Jas and stopped when she was within arms' length of him. She shook her head, thinking that maybe Jas didn't understand what she was trying to say so she began explaining it again in a calmer tone. "My father spoke with me this morning. He said if you vow to be my knight, we can be together."

Holding the braid her father had cut off her head, Arlesse looked at it and tried to explain the law the way her father had told it to her just before she ran out of the garden. "Nobles are restricted as to who they can marry, but Papa said that centuries ago, a duchess had challenged that law when she chose a knight for her companion. In her time, she used the argument that knights were exposed regularly to the etiquette and knowledge that occurs in royal court. Because of this, knights were not only protectors back then but were believed to have an understanding of the functions of a monarchy."

Taking another daring step closer and smiling with hope, she finished, "No one ever removed the law from our doctrine so it's still valid. For us to be together, all you have to do is vow to be my knight."

Jas felt his blood suddenly run cold as it seemed to have stopped pumping through his body, causing a sickening chill in him, and it pained him to have to reject Les'ika. He didn't want to leave her, and the thought of her offering him her companionship wasn't something he ever expected he would have in his predestined life. Unfortunately, he was a clone, a being cursed to a shortened existence, either because he'd die in war or because his body's accelerated aging would just force him to die too quickly.

Feeling his voice break, he told her sadly, "I can't. I'm obligated in duty to the Republic, and it would be considered desertion and betrayal to the Republic if I stayed here when I am ordered elsewhere."

Arlesse risked another step towards Jas, closing the gap between them, and she raised her hand to his arm. She could see in his eyes how his own words stung him, and she remembered the stories of her childhood, the tales of valiant guardians and noble heroes. A wild thought occurred to her, and she dared to offer him such a bold idea. "Knights are known to go on long quests. Think of your duty to the Republic as a quest you need to fulfill, and when the war is over, we can then be together."

Jas glanced at her small hand upon his armor, her touch not an invasion but a comfort and a need. He briefly wondered if the war would end in enough time for him to ever be with her before he's too old. "What if the war takes years?"

"I'd wait for you," she told him softly. "But, I can't force you to do this, Jas. It has to be your choice, your decision."

Jas took a deep breath and brought one of his hands to the one she had placed on his armor. He gently took hold of her fingers, absorbed in the petite size of them, still amazed by their vast differences. As he looked into her eyes, he felt lost at the concept that she offered her companionship to him and was allowing him to make a choice. He wondered if he would ever meet any other woman who would dare to be so fond of him, and the more he thought about it, the more he was certain that he would be a di'kut to walk away from the life Les'ika wanted to share with him.

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