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Chapter Sixty Five The
sun bearing down upon his body, Jae-Lee Reklaw sits atop the edge of a stone
balcony, overlooking the expansive valley below. Looking up from time to time,
his eyes can see the great The
tiny satchel still tightly grasped with his hand, he stares off in the direction
of the crevasses below him. Still not having dared to look upon the coin held
within its delicate folds of satin. In his other hand, the medallion. The
medallion worn by his mother, and carrying the image of his father in his youth.
The sum total of his parent’s lives is now on his person at this very moment;
their trinkets, their sabers, their lessons, and their blood. They sacrificed
everything for him…
How can I live up to that? “By
never forgetting all they have given you.” The tender voice from behind the
curtain reaches into Jae’s heart, just as she draws the heavy curtain from the
portico to cautiously step out onto the balcony. “I hope you don’t mind, but
Meesahran told me where I might find you.” Xana lowers her face with her
question. Jae
turns his face back towards the mountains as he gathers up the medallion into
his fist before speaking, “I don’t mind, I’m just not very good company
right now.” Xana
timidly steps toward Jae, and as she reaches him, she places her hand gingerly
upon his knee, “Then perhaps it is my turn to do the listening, Jae?” He
does not move, but she can sense his relief in the waves of emotion that comes
rolling off of him with her words and her touch. Catching
a glimpse of the medallion in his grasp, she touches her hand to his, “I have
read of those in my studies. The Corellian mystics would cast them for close
family members when their men would reach their mark of adulthood. The man would
wear his medallion as a sign of his maturity until he had found a mate. He would
then give the medallion freely to his mate as a symbol of his undying bond with
her, for it was said that the medallion bore more than his image, but also a
piece of his lifeforce. He was, in a sense, giving his life to his mate.” Her
words, meant to bring him comfort, seem to have aggravated him further, and she
draws back her hand. Just
as she is about to turn and leave, he jumps down from his perch and places a
hand upon her shoulder to stop her, “Don’t go… It’s just-…” She
turns back to face him, his head hung low and his eyes never meeting hers, “I
understand… It is a lot to deal with right now. A lifetime of questions
revealed in a single afternoon.” She lifts up his chin with her fingers, “I
understand all too well…” Looking into his eyes, she can see that the tears
are there, begging to be released, but his stony resolve is firm. So, she wraps
her arms around him and draws him into a calming embrace. Soon, she is sending
waves of calming energy over his troubled mind and his body slowly begins to
lose some of its tension. “Thank
you, Xana… If anyone could relate right now, I guess it would have to be you,
huh?” And he starts to return her embrace, giving in to her comforting manner. She
chuckles a bit, “I do have some recent experience in this area.” This time
they both release a small laugh. He
pulls away, holding her back for him to see with his hands upon her shoulders
before leaning down to place a gentle kiss upon her forehead, “Thanks, Xana…
This means a lot to me.” Holding
his gaze a moment longer before she speaks, “Well, I suppose you should thank
Meesahran… She is the one who sent me here.” And again they both laugh,
knowing that their friend is responsible for a great many things between them. Releasing
his grip on Xana, he takes the satchel from the pocket he had stashed in upon
reaching out to her, “So, how about you help me look at this little whelp of a
kid?” He dangles the satchel between them. “I just haven’t had the nerve
to look at it yet… I’m not sure I even remember my father having it
pressed.” Grasping
his arm in reassurance, “If that is what you want…” She looks up into his
eyes, “I will.” Closing
his eyes, he nods his head, “I was afraid to do it alone, and didn’t want to
make my grandfather part of it either.” She
strokes his arm for further comfort before speaking, “Then now is a good
time.” He takes her right hand into his, and places the satchel into her
upturned palm with his left hand. Holding
his left hand over the satchel for a moment longer, “Please, I don’t think I
can do it myself.” She
nods her head and as he lifts his hand from the satchel she pauses for a few
moments, allowing Jae to steady himself before she begins to lift the delicate
folds of satin away from the weighted coin held within. Carefully removing
another fold, she catches a glint of light from the precious metal of the coin
and pauses, as Jae regains his breath once more. “Are you ready?” He
takes another deep, cleansing breath and then nods his head, “Yeah, I think
I’m ready.” And so she lifts one final fold of material away from the
shining coin within, and the sunlight hits it in such a way as to blind them
both for just a moment. Reeling from the sudden blast of light, they both throw
back their heads from the glare, but as their vision quickly returns, a
glimmering piece of metal is left sitting atop her palm. Jae
is still holding her palm on his own hand, and he tries to turn it away from the
light, but still the coin shimmers in the dancing light. They both look at each
other in amazement, and then Jae reaches into her palm to retrieve the coin
himself. As
soon as his finger touches the coin, he can feel the warmth of the metal
radiating outward. Again he is shocked, but his time he will not be deterred and
picks the coin up between his thumb and his index finger, holding it up to his
eyes for a better look. With a dazzling brilliance, Jae can see the blazing
image of the sun Corel upon its surface. Jae could almost swear that the sun
itself was shining through this coin. Then, closing his eyes and taking yet
another very deep breath, he turns the coin over with a flip of his wrist.
Opening his eyes very slowly, they begin to focus upon the image of a being. As
the image begins to take shape, Jae can see a face that has not been a part of
his life for many, many years. He is staring into the face of his childhood. Xana,
not wanting to interrupt or disturb Jae’s experience in any way, tries
desperately to not let any of her own anxiousness filter into his consciousness.
However, he places his free hand around her shoulders and draws her into him,
“Can you believe I ever looked that goofy?” And as he lowers the coin to a
place where she can gaze upon the image held there, Xana is unable to control
her emotions. She is quickly filled with the most giddy feelings of joy in her
life. This man, a man she very powerful feeling toward, is sharing a pivotal
moment in his life with her, and she is feeling such a tremendous bond with this
man that the thought of being made witness to his past is nearly too much for
her, but the act of sharing this moment with him truly is too much and the tears
begin to flow from her shimmering eyes. Jae,
sensing the unbridled emotions crashing in waves from the delicate creature in
his arms is almost shocked by the strength and depth of her feeling for him, but
instead of shying away from this breathtaking show of affection, he simply holds
her closer to him, relishing in the sheer joy of the moment. Not
taking an eye off of the image of that young, idealistic Corellian boy upon that
coin, Xana lays her head against Jae’s shoulder and says, “Well, I do not
think he is goofy looking, but he definitely looks cocky.” All the while, she
is thinking of a million other things at once, and of things yet to come, and a
great many things she hopes will come to pass.
Creator: PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
*SPECIAL NOTE: Due to circumstances beyond our control, the rest of the story will be written by PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
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