Chapter Text
35 BBY, Ai-jed, Jedha
In the shadows, a little girl waits, ear to the durasteel wall. Madam’s talking to a man whose voice she doesn’t know, and eavesdropping means lashes and no meals, but in the shadows, it’s safe. In the shadows, no one can find her. Head down, eyes open.
“...have detected a remarkable midichlorian count in one of your wards.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Madam, this girl should be trained. In the Jedi Temple, on Coruscant.”
“A Jedi?”
That’s the same question in the little girl’s mind, too. Heroes like from the stories, shining swords in pretty colors. She wonders if they make orange ones. Maybe if it’s one of the girls she hasn’t hit or kicked or bit, she’ll get a chance to see it, one day.
No, that’s a silly thought. The kids who get to leave never, ever come back.
She really can’t blame them.
“She has the potential, yes. With proper training in the ways of the Force, she could join the ranks of the galaxy’s most dedicated peacekeepers.”
A snort, in response. “Right, peacekeepers. I suppose we get a certificate thanking us for our willingness to give up a kid for the sake of the greater good?”
“Payment in exchange for a youngling is… not customary. But she’ll live a better life there than in an orphanage.”
“Do you have any idea how many slavers come here with that line? Get lost.”
“I can prove it, if you wish.”
Another snort. And then a humming sound the girl’s never heard before, and a gasp.
“You… you could have easily stolen that. They make them here, after all.”
“Not easily, I assure you. But no common thief can wield a lightsaber, nor can they do this.”
There’s a silence for a bit, and then a thunk that the girl recognizes immediately as Madam’s desk hitting the floor, like it does when she accidentally makes noise sneaking in to look for her records. She’s almost surprised not to hear him clamber up into the vent, but she supposes he’s a grown-up, so he wouldn’t fit.
“...You are one of them after all, aren’t you?”
The man chuckles. “As I’ve been saying, yes. Not all Weequay are underworlders.”
“M-my apologies, Master Jedi. It’s… which one? Which of the girls has those midi…things?”
“Well, the one listening in on us, of course.”
The girl’s breath catches, and she scrambles away. She knows what comes next. Run, run, run, run until it’s safe and then keep your head down, eyes open .
She turns the corner and slides into one of her favorite hiding spots, encased entirely in darkness. She’s small enough to disappear entirely in the nook, and she’s done this enough times to still her breathing when Madam’s heavy, angry steps echo. She storms down the hallway, and past the hidey hole.
The girl breathes a sigh of relief, and then yelps when she sees a man’s hand reaching toward her. The Weequay’s face is somehow soft, wearing a kinder smile than the girl’s ever known.
“Hello there, little miss. It’s alright, you can come with me. If we go fast, we can make it out before she notices. Does that sound fun?”
The girl hesitates for a moment, eyes mistrusting, before she crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
The man’s smile turns wry. “That’s very smart. But you heard us talking, didn’t you?”
The girl pauses, and then nods.
“So, you know you’re a very special girl. But I think you already knew that.”
The girl remains silent, but looks away.
“You can jump higher than the other younglings, even the ones much older than you. You run faster, too. You can always tell when someone’s chasing after you, and you know exactly where to go so they don’t find you. Sometimes you can convince people to do what you want, and sometimes , you can close your eyes and… and feel a connection. To something bigger than yourself. This moon helps, it’s strong with the Force, but most of that is you.”
She looks back up at him. “How do you know?”
The Weequay smiles. “Because I was the same way when I was a little orphan boy, myself. Come on, let’s go.”
She hesitates. And then, she takes his hand and steps out of the shadows.
“So, can I see the sword?” The girl asks eagerly around a mouthful of meiloorun.
The Jedi laughs and wipes the corner of her mouth with the sleeve of his robe as they walk, keeping his pace slow to match the child’s. “It’s probably best not to show it off in public. But once we get to the ship, I’ll let you have a look.”
“Is it orange? That’s my favorite color. Like when the sun goes down.”
“It’s green, I’m sorry to say.”
The girl thinks on that. “I guess green is okay too. I want orange, though.”
“All in due time, little one.”
She smiles, taking another bite. “I’m excited. It’s like an aven- adventure. I like to read stories about Jedis. Everybody on Jedha hears about ‘em.”
The Weequay cocks his head. “Is that so? I’m impressed, that’s rather advanced for your age.”
The girl scoffs. “I’m not a baby, I’m almost six.”
“Of course, my apologies.” He raises his hands in acquiescence. The girl regards him for a moment, before waving her hand imperiously.
“Okay, I forgive you. But I want to read a lot on the ship, got it?”
He chuckles. “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of depriving-”
There’s a loud clattering sound, and both of them startle. The Jedi quickly positions one arm in front of the child, his other hand moving to the lightsaber on his hip.
A tooka jumps from the dumpster in the alleyway onto the ground, stretching out lazily. The Jedi breathes a sigh of relief, but the girl’s eyes light up.
“Kitty!”
She runs over, still gripping the fruit tight in one hand as she chases after the tooka. The feral animal lets out a startled yowl and bounds away.
“Now, now, we need to get back to the ship,” the Jedi calls, jogging after the child.
“But I want to pet him!” She doesn’t even look back to talk to him, focus unwavering.
“We really should-”
BANG.
The girl stumbles and falls backwards as she tries to turn around to see.
“Don’t just stand there! We’ll get a heavy price off his head!”
“But sir, his head’s-”
“It’s a phrase, you idiot! Just grab the body!”
She feels meiloorun flavored bile in her throat, looking at the smoldering blaster wound where the nice smile was before.
Three figures climb down from the rooftop, and the girl rapidly crawls to hide in the darkness. Just like she’s used to, she calms her rapid breathing to a slow, silent pace.
“Oh ho, yes! The Hutts’ll have us swimming in credits for this one!”
“What about the girl?”
She freezes.
“What are you on about?”
“The girl he was with! You think she’s a Jedi, too?”
“Doesn’t matter, she wasn’t on the puck.”
“We’re seeing the Hutts anyway, might as well make a few extra credits on a slave, eh?”
The leader hums thoughtfully. “Find her, then. The rest of you, pack up the corpse.”
The girl scrambles to her feet and runs. The meiloorun rolls to the side, forgotten, and the Zeltron man’s eyes dart to it.
She doesn’t need to look to know he’s hot on her trail. She scales a wall, little hands clawing at the cold stone, and hauls herself onto a balcony of one of the buildings lining the alleyway.
“Come on, kiddo, you don’t really think you can play with the grown-ups, do you?” The man’s rough voice laughs.
“Go away!” She demands, not looking back. Quickly locating a pipe snaking up the wall, she grabs on and uses that to reach the rooftop.
She makes it nearly to the edge before a gloved hand grabs at her arm.
“Not so fast.”
He spins her around. He’s grinning, too, but it’s not the Jedi’s gentle kindness on his face.
“Ooh, I can already tell you’ll be worth the trouble.” His other hand reaches to grab at her chin. “Cute little thing, you are. Feisty, but they’ll break that right out of you.” He leans in, breath hot on her face, and his hand moves to run through coarse black hair. “Bet you’ll grow up real pretty. A dancer, maybe. I’ll pay you a visit then, sweetheart.”
The girl looks up at him, tearful. And then, without quite knowing why, she raises up her hand and closes her eyes.
An awful choking noise escapes him, and the girl’s eyes fly back open. She should stop, she knows that. Fighting gets you lashes.
But she doesn’t want to.
The Zeltron grabs at his throat, trying to pry away hands that aren’t there. He struggles, panic in his blue eyes, and the girl returns the grin she just wiped off his face.
She watches as the panic fades to emptiness, as his hands fall to his sides. But just to be sure, she keeps the hold on him for a minute more before letting him drop.
She doesn't have time to realize what she’s done before she bolts away, getting a running start to hop onto another rooftop. She’ll head back down once she’s made it a few blocks away, probably. Find an alleyway away from the bounty hunters, for sure. She’s too easy to see, this high up.
But down on the ground level, or even below that, there are shadows. And in the shadows, no one can find her.
Head down, eyes open.