PROLOGUE

❝ From which stars have we fallen to meet each other here?  ❞

12 ABY

GATALENTA

WORD IN THE GALAXY was that the most beautiful planet after Alderaan was Gatalenta, with its multiple suns rising in a sky of cerulean blues and silky lilacs and the fresh, soft scent of spring tumbling from the leaves of almond and cherry trees in bloom. But Cali'pso Navu, with only nine years of life and with eyes as big and as innocent as those of any other child, knew the truth. Like all beautiful things, Gatalenta hid its deceits and treacheries behind a mask of grace and splendor, the same way the sky covers its darkness with the stars.

Cali'pso could have lived her whole life oblivious to these hideous truths entrenched in beautiful lies, had she not been one of the unfavored people that was forced to be confronted with them.

Sure, Gatalenta had a fair government under the rule of the Council of Mothers, which, among many other great things, had managed to ban slavery from the planet, but there were still inequalities and injustices happening there like in any other place of the galaxy, despite the democracy the New Republic had so arduously installed and fought for.

Cali'pso's family was among those that teetered on the wrong side of the balance; while she watched the castle from afar, its magnificent walls shimmering with the honeyed beams of the rising suns, her parents struggled to put even the simplest of breads on the table. That's why she had, at such a tender age, taken upon herself to make their lives easier and start hunting for food herself.

And that meant infiltrating herself in the most guarded place in the planet, Gatalenta's palace itself. That's where she was now, using the long shadows of the halls as a cover for her presence. Sneaking inside the castle hadn't proven to be as difficult as she had thought, given she had hidden herself in one of the large crates that carried goods to the castle. No, what would be difficult was to leave. But like always, Cali'pso's young, impetuous spirit shoved that thought into the back of her mind, deciding she would deal with such thing later. Always later.

So, as soon as she saw she was alone, she jumped out of the crate and ran into the nearest pantry, unaware of how she knew exactly which direction to take. Sometimes she was just dragged into things without much thinking, and Cali'pso had gotten used to go with it instead of questioning it. Her parents called it a strong instinct, but sometimes, in the rare moments her mind was free enough to ponder, she wondered if it wasn't something more.

There was a man outside the pantry, dressed in an imposing armor that screamed 'you better not dare come inside or even speak to me', which of course made Cali'pso do just that.

"Hello, sir," she greeted happily, dark brown eyes glimmering with innocent mischief. The guard looked down, his nose scrunching up when he noticed her clothes, a pale, simple grey attire underneath a scarlet cloak. Gatalenta's people were known for their austerity, and the palace seemed to be no exception, even if Cali'pso was sure there were colorful, expensive fabrics and jewelry hidden in there somewhere. But it was the dirt and rips in her outfit that made the guard realize she wasn't a child from the palace, but rather a peasant that had somehow broken inside.

"What are you doing here, young lady?" The guard asked, less brutally than expected for such a robust man.

"I'm treasure hunting," Cali'pso answered with a big, confident smile, "you see, the princess and I were playing, and she dared me to talk to one of the guards, thinking I wouldn't because I'm afraid. But I'm here. And I'm not afraid."

"And where is the princess?" He asked, wondering if princess Nysa had made a new friend he didn't know of. This girl in front of him seemed so confident, so sure. Almost like someone who had lived in the castle all her life.

"She stayed behind, because she's the one who's afraid," Cali'pso chuckled, "but she asked me to bring something from the pantry as proof."

"Did she now?" The guard raised an eyebrow, impressed at the audacity of the young girl. "She should know I can't let you in."

"Why not? I'm sure there's enough food in there to feed the entire planet, surely the royal family and the Council won't mind if I take something."

"Still, I can't, I have orders I need to follow. When you're older you'll understand."

"Ah yes, orders," Cali'pso was quick to dismiss his words with a flippant gesture of hand, "I don't like them. I feel like the people that give them are never the ones who have to obey to them. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I... yes, I would," the guard said, slightly startled. There was a fondness growing in his heart over this little irreverent girl, one he could not explain.

"So, for once, you could bend the rules. For me," she grinned and the guard felt something in his mind, a shift towards another direction, the wrong one, he was sure, "and you could let me pass."

And to both the guard and her surprise, he did. Cali'pso didn't know how it happened. But sometimes she asked for things, and they happened. And she liked it.

The starved girl wasted no time getting inside the pantry, stopping at the entrance for just a second to marvel at all those pastries she had never seen before getting to work. She had collected a considerable amount of goods when she turned around and found a little girl around her age staring at her, the delicate lines of her face wrinkling in curiosity. She had beautiful long brown hair and green eyes, her gown a soft color of peach, and though she had never seen her, Cali'pso knew it was the princess. There was something about the way she carried herself, how her chin was slightly tilted up and yet there was interest, and even kindness, in her eyes.

"What are you doing?" The princess asked, and Cali'pso considered running away and never looking back. But as far as she knew there could be an army outside that door waiting to throw her in the dungeons, and then her family would never get the food they needed.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Cali'pso retorted, a slight pinch of insolence laced in her tone. "I'm stealing from those who have too much to give to those who have too little."

Unlike what she expected, the girl's eyes stopped narrowing and she gave Cali'pso a calm smile, one too wise and mature for her age. Suddenly Cali'pso felt the weight on the other girl's shoulders, the pressure of a burden she had not chosen to carry. She was the princess, after all, and would one day rule over the Council and the whole planet. Despite her own situation, Cali'pso would never want to trade places with her.

"You're taking food to help your family, aren't you?"

"I..." Cali'pso hesitated, for the first time that day slightly speechless. "Yes."

"Alright, then. You can take it. As much as you want," the princess brought her hands together, a mischievous smile dancing on her lips, "I will even help you leave the palace unnoticed. If you promise me one thing."

"What?" Cali'pso frowned, suspicious of such a good nature. People didn't usually give without taking in return.

"That you'll come back. To play with me. To... be my friend."

"Why would you want such a thing?" Cali'pso couldn't understand such request. They were from different worlds that were never supposed to meet, let alone merge.

"Because inside this palace it's lonely. And I don't have any friends to play with."

"I..." Cali'pso's stare dropped to the floor, her heart suddenly aching. She might not have a lot but she had friends back home, kids to play with when she was feeling sad. And the princess, who had so much, didn't have that. But Cali'pso could change that. "Alright, it's a promise. I will be your friend."

"Really?" The princess asked, eyes like two emeralds bathing in the sun.

"Really," Cali'pso nodded with a bright smile. "You'll never have to feel alone again."

It was true, Cali'pso later found out. People didn't give without taking in return; that day and for the rest of her days, Nysa took her darkness away from her.

***

15 ABY

GATALENTA'S PALACE

The friendship between Cali'pso Navu and Nysa Lu'a had blossomed into the best thing in both of the girls' lives, and it had become such an important part of Nysa that she hadn't been able to stand to be quiet about it. To treat her friendship with Cali'pso as a secret was to perpetuate the idea that it was something wrong, which couldn't be further from the truth. So Nysa had asked Cali'pso and together they had told both their families, which had pleasantly ended in Cali'pso and her family being openly welcomed into the palace and moving in to a better area of the planet, one where there was plenty of food to eat and things to do. They didn't forget about old friends and neighbors, however, and continued to help them as they could.

But now, such situation meant Cali'pso and Nysa were free to play hide and seek within the walls of the castle without fearing that instead of Nysa it would be the guards finding Cali'pso.

"What is your favorite thing about Gatalenta?" Cali'pso asked her that day, when the palace was seething with activity in preparation for the arrival of some very important guests neither of the girls had bothered learning the names of.

"Oh, there's so many! The poetry, the warm weather, the meditative retreats... the tea! But if I had to choose, I'd go with the tranquility. There are so many things happening throughout all the galaxy but here one can feel such peace, one that I'm sure can't be felt anywhere else. Gatalenta is like the galaxy's safest haven."

"And you're the center of it," Cali'pso said, turning her head from the window to her friend, "to me the best part of Gatalenta is you."

"Cali'pso!" Nysa exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. "I'm going to cry—"

"Princess," a maid called from the bedroom door. "It's time for the meeting."

Nysa rolled her eyes and faked a sigh of boredom. "Like I said, I'm going to cry."

The reunion of the Council of Mothers was soon to begin, and the princess's presence was expected. Apparently, the visitors wanted to meet her, and it would be good for Nysa to start familiarizing herself with the reunions of the Council.

"I'll be right there," she told the maid, who politely bowed her head before leaving. As soon as she disappeared, Nysa turned to Cali'pso, a gleam of desperation flooding her eyes.

"Cali, help me, I don't want to go. They might kill me of boredom."

Cali'pso, as always, was quick to come up with a solution. Her parents had warned her against deviating Nysa from the path she was supposed to be on, but she only saw this as a friend helping a friend. The consequences, if there were to be any, she'd think of later. Always later.

"Then let's play hide and seek. If they can't find you, they can't force you to go."

"You always have the best ideas! Let's go!" Nysa exclaimed. "How about, this time, we both hide for the duration of the meeting, and then when it's over, I'll come looking for you?"

"Perfect," Cali'pso nodded, and she set off into adventure after Nysa, unaware that adventure would soon come for her in the most unexpected of ways.

***

Cali'pso wasn't sure how she had gotten herself into such situation, but she also didn't have time to worry about it. The truth was, the room she had chosen to hide was the exact room the visitors were waiting in for Nysa and the Council.

She was hiding behind a folding screen at the back of the room, from where she could see Nysa's parents entertaining the guests. They were the queen and king and yet treated the visitors as their equals. There was a woman dressed in all white, her brown hair beautifully pulled into two side buns. With an arm around her stood a tall man in a casual, relaxed attire that made Cali'pso immediately take a liking to him, and beside him a small boy around her age with hair as black as a raven's and restless, enigmatic eyes.

"It is our most absolute pleasure to have you here, Leia, Han, and to have the chance to meet the wonderful Ben," Nysa's mother greeted. "We apologize for our daughter's delay, she's probably somewhere off dreading this very moment."

The two adults laughed softly, in unison, in the mystical way couples in love sometimes did.

"It's no problem, we understand," Leia raised the teacup she was holding to her lips. Cali'pso was sure she had heard her name before but couldn't say from where. She rarely paid attention in class. "Besides, it gives me some time to savor more of this delicious tea."

"And it gives me time to think of an excuse not to," Han added, an insolent grin plastered on his playful lips.

"Han!" The woman reprimanded, at the same time Nysa's parents chuckled.

"Tell us, how is young Ben?"

Cali'pso rolled her eyes. Adults and their annoying habit of speaking about children as if they were not there.

"I'm here, you know. You can ask me," to her surprise, the boy seemed to voice her own thoughts, and Cali'pso found herself drawn closer to the screen, to listen better. There was a dry tone to his voice that she found somewhat appealing, given as how everyone was supposed to be extra polite when talking to royalty.

"Ben here is just about to start his Jedi training with his uncle," Leia explained in a proud voice, her caring hand ruffling Ben's already messy hair, "as you know, Luke's been trying to restore the Jedi order, and we have hope that Ben can help with that."

Cali'pso wrinkled her forehead upon those strange words. Due to the time she spent on the palace she had caught bits of words like that in the past, terms such as 'Force' or 'Sith' and so on, but she didn't know the meaning behind them and thus gave it little importance. She thought they were political words made and used solely by adults, and yet there they were, being applied to such a young boy.

"Ah, yes. You can always train him here if you wish," Nysa's mother offered. "Our planet has a strong Jedi tradition, and it would be a pleasure to have Ben amongst us."

"We'd love to," Leia said, a small, almost sad smile on her soft face, "but it's far from home."

How can it be far from home, Cali'pso thought, when Gatalenta's the only home I've ever known? She had never left the planet, never been to other worlds or seen other people. She was indifferent to the immensity of the galaxy. And she couldn't help but wonder if one day she would no longer be, that she would even crave to leave. She couldn't imagine a reason or a day where that happened.

"How about you? Any luck here?" Leia questioned, her tone cryptic.

"No... there hasn't been Jedi power on this planet for far too long," Nysa's father admitted. "There's Force-sensitive people but no Force users so far."

Cali'pso wanted to say something, question them about the meaning of all that, because those words seemed to particularly resonate with her in a way she could not explain, as if they came from her very bones. But she couldn't risk getting caught, for Nysa's sake, so she stood absolutely quiet.

She was sure no one would notice her, so it was with the utmost surprise that she saw the young boy suddenly moving his head around the room, his stare sweeping off every inch of it, every corner, as if sensing something, as if looking for something.

And when his intrigued eyes met hers, Cali'pso realized he had been looking for her. One way or another, he had sensed her. And now he was going to expose her, to his parents, to the guards, to everyone. Except he didn't. Instead, his eyes were quick to flicker back to the group he was inserted in so as to not cause any suspicions, and then Cali'pso heard him speak.

"Mom, dad... can we go outside for a little bit? I'd like some fresh air. Besides, I'm sure princess Nysa would be more inclined to meet us if the meeting happened outside."

To Cali'pso's surprise, all the adults acquiesced to his request and abandoned the room, and without thinking she followed them to the luxurious gardens, sneaking off into a safe distance and sitting by a fountain's bench. She could no longer hear them, but at least now she wouldn't be accused of spying on them. Cali'pso closed her eyes for a brief moment, relishing on the warm rays of sun that left orange brushstrokes on her skin, but then she opened them abruptly when she heard someone quietly sliding down the bench to sit next to her, and there he was, the raven-haired boy with the hazel eyes, staring at her behind a veil of mystery she couldn't help but want to decipher.

"You helped me," Cali'pso said simply, feeling as if both of them didn't care much about the formalities of the grown-up world. "Why?"

Ben shrugged, and even in that simple gesture there was a streak of rebellion that told Cali'pso this boy didn't like to play by the rules either. "I don't know. I guess I needed a reason to get out of that tedious room as well."

Cali'pso chuckled. "Well, I appreciate it. I just... don't know how you found me. I was well hidden."

"Not well enough," the tips of his lips curled into a cunning smile. "I tend to look for things where others don't, in the darkness."

"Darkness," Cali'pso repeated. Such a strange concept to her ears, and yet familiar to her heart. Sometimes she felt it too, that pull to the shadows. That's why she was so good at hiding and stealth. There was something about the darkness that she liked, that protected her. Maybe the fact that everyone was equal in it. It was clarity that brought to light the differences between people, after all. "It sounds nice."

"Everyone hates it," the boy murmured, almost shyly, "but I've never been afraid of it."

"No," Cali'pso turned to him with a smile, and Ben couldn't help but notice how the sun seemed to get trapped in her chocolate eyes. "Neither have I."

"Seriously?" He asked, a little skeptical. "You've never been afraid of the dark?"

"What's there to fear?" Cali'pso shrugged. "It's light that... oh...", she said, as a cherry blossom fell from the tree above them and landed softly between them. Both reached for the flower at the same time, their hands touching abruptly, and then everything vanished around them, the trees, the fountain, the sun. Everything was black and opaque and Cali'pso couldn't see.

She couldn't see anything but Ben, who was staring at her just as lost.

"Where are we?" She whispered, but before he could answer white lines started to form around them, first diffuse and hazy and then gradually clearer, until they were no longer forms but distinct shapes, ghosts of people that were once living. She didn't recognize any of the faces, and by the look on Ben's face, neither did he. But his eyes were immediately drawn to a good-looking man with curly caramel hair and a brown and black attire, the expression on his eyes indecipherable. A mist of longing, pain, regret, guilt and love. So much love. So much Cali'pso had to look away.

"Ben," the man called, and the voice was soft, impossibly soft for someone that looked so strong and menacing. Ben jumped slightly at the sound of his name coming from the lips of a ghost.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"I..." the ghost trailed off and turned around, to the bearded man beside him dressed in white robes and a brown cloak. Suddenly he seemed just as much of a boy as Ben, looking out to his father. "How is this happening? How are we here?"

The older man narrowed his eyes, inspecting the two children with inscrutable eyes. "I don't know. But Anakin, it's your..."

"I know," he replied, the solemnity in his tone making Cali'pso's tongue burn with doubts. There was so much she wanted to ask but she couldn't, her voice gone as she observed the peculiar figures gathering around them.

"Oh, never something like this, I've seen. A dyad in the Force," suddenly there was a jovial voice in their ears and a small, green being appeared in front of them. Cali'pso had never seen a creature like him. He seemed as sentient as he seemed ancient. "Strong alone, you are. But together..."

"A dyad? In the Force?" Someone else chimed in, a bald man carrying a purple lightsaber. The small, spirited being nodded with his head, jumping from nowhere to nowhere just to stop right in front of Cali'pso and Ben and stare at them through atemporal eyes.

"Where are we?" Cali'pso questioned again, in a whisper.

"The Force," everyone answered, in one single voice.

"The Force?" Ben and Cali'pso asked in unison, flabbergasted.

"What's that?" The girl added.

"The reason for all things," the bearded man stated calmly. "The power of life itself, flowing through all things and all beings. You two can feel it more than most."

"Isn't it too early? To tell them?" Anakin replied, a hint of concern in his voice as he eyed Ben with those unfathomable eyes.

"Like a dream to them, it will seem," the lively creature jumped around them, his golden green eyes scrutinizing them. "Now tell me, what do you see?"

"Light," Ben said, and Cali'pso could have sworn she heard Anakin sigh of relief.

"Darkness," she replied at the same time, and the creature's eyes, along with all others, narrowed, and she felt a weight within herself she thought she'd never stop feeling from then on. As if that's not what she should be seeing.

"My child," the being called, placing a small, tender hand on her cheek. "Resist it, you must."

Then he turned to Ben and leaned to him, whispering something in his ear that Cali'pso couldn't hear.

"You will fall, but then rise. She will rise. Don't let her fall."

***

When Ben came back to himself, the girl with the chocolate eyes was nowhere to be seen. And everything in his mind was fuzzy and confused and he didn't know. Who would rise and who would fall. But he had no time to speculate about that now, for his parents were searching for him in the garden, and he had to go. He'd figure out what it meant later.

Always later.

author's note.

I'm so sorry for the time it took me to put the prologue out, but finally it's here! I'm quite happy with how it turned out so I hope you are too. Please leave your votes and comments so I can know what you thought of it, it helps a lot with motivation :)

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to ask! See you guys next chapter <3

sign-off gif made by -evieskenobi