Private Judith

[Ben Khal]

Cora opted to head straight for the cave. Oukranos also dismounted, ready to follow her into the unknown.

“Master, wait!” Ben called. “Let Cora go alone. Judith won’t want to see another man.”

Oukranos paused and looked back at his apprentice. “Very well,” he said. “I will go to the edge of the clearing. You stay here.”

Ben was left holding both their reins, stuck with the duchess and her weepy, pinched little face. Watching her pull out a handkerchief and blot at her nose, he found himself growing annoyed. Memory altered or not, in his eyes she was no victim. “You don’t care about Judith at all, do you? You locked her up and had her judged insane because all you care about is her child.”

Her eyes widened in shock. Probably no one had ever spoken to her this way in her whole life. “You already raised your son wrong, clearly,” he continued, giving her a piece of his mind. “Why should you have another child in your care?”

---

As Cora drew nearer to the entrance to the cave, voices spilled out. One was a coarse, feminine shriek and the other a smooth, masculine brogue.

“We made a deal,” the man said, in a tone reminiscent of a parent coaxing an unruly child. “You get your freedom, I get the baby.”

“Feth you!” spat the woman. From the angle Cora was approaching, she could glimpse a dirty, ragged figure squatting in one corner of the cavern, green eyes glaring out from beneath a matted mop of red ringlets. This, it would seem, was Judith Shepherd—which meant the man standing over her must be Blaise, the so-called Magus.

“Don’t tell me you’ve had a change of heart,” Blaise growled, before his tone became cajoling once more. “My poor, dear Judith. I’ll even make it painless, as a bonus. You’d like me to take away the pain, wouldn’t you?”

"Judith."

Judith’s panting breaths and groans abruptly ceased. Her gaze darted toward the cave mouth, eyes wide.

"Are you alright? My name is Cora. I'm a Jedi, and I'm here to help you and your baby."

Judith didn’t take the news as well as hoped. “Get away from me!” she screamed. A thrust of her hand was accompanied by a blast of raw telekinetic force aimed straight at Cora’s center of mass.

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Oof-!"

The telekinetic push shoved Cora back into the dirt. Really, you should've expected that, she thought to herself as she climbed from the ground and dusted the muck from her legs as best she could.

At the very least, this had given her a few moments to absorb the conversation. She'd been startled to find that Judith was not alone, and troubled by the conversation they were having. Disgusted by it, really.

Cora patted herself down, searching for something. After the third or fourth pocket, she retrieved a glowrod from her person. With more wariness to her movement, she crept forward again. This time, she held out the glowrod, her other hand raised in defense. She elected to ignore the man for now.

"Judi," she tried again, voice softer, hoping that the name her aunt had used would help convince the poor girl of her decent intentions. "I spoke with your aunt, Miss Shepherd. She asked us to come here and help you. I promise, I’m not going to harm you or your baby.”

She gave the proffered glowrod a slight wave, bidding her to take it. “You're having a baby, Judi. Take this. You'll need the light to see what you're doing."

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

The duchess was initially stunned by Ben’s bold honesty, but she soon rallied. “I’m not responsible for what Henrik did to her,” she said with an indignant sniff. “I didn’t raise him to act that way. I don’t even blame her for killing him—” She broke off, the sincerity of what she’d just said undercut by the tears welling in her eyes.

“Yeah, well, you still can’t have her baby.” Ben saw Cora get knocked off her feet and turned away from the duchess, his gaze fixed on the Jedi Knight as she staggered to her feet.

“Who else should have it?” the duchess muttered. “The girl is ruined; no man will want her. Her family is poor as church mice. That child has nothing but poverty and hatred to look forward to with them. At least I could give it a good life.”

Ben reluctantly tore his eyes from Cora, glancing back at the duchess. Did being born poor make life not worth living? He couldn’t say, because he’d only ever known wealth and privilege. The boy could see the logic in her argument, the good intentions. He had been conditioned all his life to defer to the will of highborn women. They knew best. Men like him knew nothing. But his gut was telling him this wasn't the way.

---

"Judi, I spoke with your aunt, Miss Shepherd. She asked us to come here and help you. I promise, I’m not going to harm you or your baby.”

Judith didn’t respond, though she heard what was said. She didn’t trust Cora as far as she could throw her—which evidently wasn’t very far. But between her and Blaise, she might be better off taking her chances with the Jedi.

“You're having a baby, Judi. Take this. You'll need the light to see what you're doing."

Blaise also turned his attention to the Knight. In contrast to the small and filthy shepherdess, he was tall and rakishly handsome, dressed like a stylish and well-groomed noble with a magnificent cloak draped across his broad shoulders. Yet there was something off about him, a subtle hint that he wasn’t quite human, unlike the majority of Ukatis' populace.

“What do we have here?” he purred, moving to block the Jedi’s path.

His black cloak billowed as he spread his arms, the darkness of it surrounding Cora in an all-consuming embrace. Blaise sunk talons into her mind, digging for her insecurities, her flaws, her secret desires...

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

The fact that Judith didn't react violently was counted as a cautious victory.

Cora's expression, gentle and pleading, firmed as the man turned toward her, blocking her path to the shepherdess.

The knight did not back away, but she did draw herself up to her full height - which was still rather lacking compared to the nobleman in front of her. Her shoulders smoothed back, and she lifted her chin. There was a sharp contrast between him and the younger girl, and before Cora could address him, she was enveloped in a dizzyingly familiar sensation.

His touch was not refined as Isar's - the dark Jedi who'd invaded her memories and twisted them up - but he'd caught her off guard. The darkness enveloped her, and Blaise's claws would scrape a damning snippet of a memory from her flurried thoughts.

"Oh."

Cora murmured before the words hit her. Before she understood.

Early fetal development. No heartbeat

A glimpse of a younger Cora, terrified and shocked, reclined on the exam table. A hand rested atop her abdomen as the words on the monitor flashed in both her mind, as well as that of the Magus.

The Jedi grimaced, her jaw tightly set. She wrenched his talons from her mind, akin to slapping someone's hand away before slamming the door in their face

"You are most unwelcome, Blaise the Magus," she spat. "What is it you’ve done to this poor girl?"

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

"I'm not sure if… if I want to be a mother. I-I mean, I certainly want to be. Someday. Just not…now. And not with…but I still feel…relieved.”

"Is…is that bad? Children are a blessing but I… I didn’t want this."

“I see you.” Blaise’s voice was a whisper, a splinter in the mind’s eye. A satisfied smile faintly curled the corners of his mouth even as Cora wrenched his claws away. He almost couldn’t believe his luck. The Jedi sent to stop him was yet another woman who was glad to be rid of her child. She would have been a perfect candidate, better than the stubborn spitfire Judith, if only he had gotten to her first.

"You are most unwelcome, Blaise the Magus. What is it you’ve done to this poor girl?"

“What have I done?” Blaise held up his hands in innocence. “I helped her escape the duchess' clutches. I taught her to use the mystic. I gave her hope where she had none."

“Don’t—“ Behind him, Judith broke off in a whimper as she was hit by a particularly brutal contraction. She grit her teeth and slapped the palm of her hand against the cave wall, the tide of her rage breaking helplessly against the rock.

Blaise shook his head, tutting in sympathy. “Women are such tragic figures. There are so many duties and burdens they must shoulder, all while suffering the abuses and predations of men. Even the highest ranking woman in all the land isn’t safe.” He eyed Cora significantly. “I only want to help. You know the witches in fairytales and stories? What woman wouldn’t want to be like them. Strong, powerful, in control of their destiny. I can make any woman like that. Untouchable. All I ask in return is that you give me your unwanted child."

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

The sympathy that dripped from Blaise's lips felt less like a soothing balm and more like a sweet poison. Cora's attention flicked only for a second towards Judith as she grimaced in pain, then back to the magus.

It took only a fraction of a moment for her eyes to flare wide. Even if he wasn't as skilled in the Force as a well-trained Jedi or Sith, Blaise wove his words carefully around the truth of Cora's past. The shock was forced away, her expression then arranging itself into something firm and harsh.

"And what good care you've been taking of her."

He stank of the Dark, and it was her duty to dispatch him. Cora's focus narrowed on Blaise until another wail from Judith stole her attention, reminding her of what she'd come here for.

The Jedi stepped forward, disgusted, yet ultimately undeterred, but what he'd seen and said. She waved her free hand toward the young woman as she hunched over in labor.

"I have seen the sort of help that men like you offer girls like Judith. If you truly cared for what she's been through, you will meddle no further."

Cora took another step forward, attempting to push her way past Blaise to get to the shepherdess.

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

Oukranos stood behind a tree, observing the scene from a short distance away. He could hear what they were saying, and even winced when he sensed Blaise's invasion of Cora's mind—yet he did not intervene.

Master Jai had told him to ensure balance was achieved. He had also implied that Cora might let the abuses of Ukatis slide. That she might not do what needed to be done. Oukranos wanted to believe in her, wanted to help her do the right thing. But Master Jai was wise. He knew she needed to do this on her own, without being told or guided. He would ensure that all was well even if she failed.

"I have seen the sort of help that men like you offer girls like Judith. If you truly cared for what she's been through, you will meddle no further."

She tried to push past him. Blaise didn’t budge. "Rich words coming from the princess who abandoned her kingdom, ashamed of her own people. Judith is Ukatis! She is the cry for help you have ignored, partying with your friends and rutting with your lover while the rest of us suffer. At least I haven’t turned my back on these women and girls, the ones you were meant to protect." He stood in her way, leaning down, all confrontational. "You think I'm disgusting? Take a look in the mirror. Not at your face, you vain little girl, but your soul. You always have a convenient excuse for your inaction. If you can stop running from yourself long enough to see—"

He broke off at the sound of wailing. It wasn't from Judith. The cry was too high, too tiny, unhindered. While Blaise confronted her, the baby had been born unnoticed until he took his first breath and screamed. Though he had begun to lash out at the princess, Blaise ultimately had only one goal: taking the kid. He tried to knock Cora back with a sweep of his arm, swatting her away as if she were a bothersome insect.

The baby's cry had reached the duchess and her men. "The child!" she exclaimed, raising an arm in signal. "Go! You must retrieve the child!"

"Hey, wait!" Ben exclaimed. He released his hold on the reins, causing the two horses to run amok, sending the duchess' mounts into disarray. It was a temporary distraction, as a few managed to escape the pandemonium and galloped toward the cave.

They had run out of time. Oukranos struck, seizing the Magus with telekinesis and dragging him away from the cave. "Cora!" he shouted. "Get them out of there!"

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

When sympathy didn't work, Blaise resorted to anger. Cora regarded him with wide-eyed shock and a silent, steadily building rage. Some of his jabs were oddly specific – she'd been certain that his claws had only skimmed the surface of a single memory, so perhaps the magus was making some pointed guesses...or he'd somehow been keeping tabs on her.

Creepy.

What stunned her into silence was not only his audacity, but how startlingly accurate some of his statements were. By the time Cora had opened her mouth to interject, a brand-new interloper cut Blaise off. A small, pitched shriek commanded the instant attention of everyone both in and outside of the cave.

Cora ducked beneath Blaise's swipe and delivered a swift uppercut to his jaw. Shortly after her fist crashed against bone, the magus was yanked from the cave by an invisible hand. Oukranos' voice echoed, bidding her to act, and she turned to Judith.

"Here," she tried to make her voice soft while hurrying to remove her cloak and hastily swaddle the newborn. They didn't have time to cut the cord, not when the sound of rapidly approaching hoof beats descended upon the cave. "It's alright," she said to Judith as she gently handed over the bundle. "I won't let them take your baby. Not unless that's what you want."

Cora straightened and turned to the mouth of the cavern. A pair of the duchess' riders trotted in.

"Let us pass unhindered," she demanded.

And if they would not, the princess would extend her hands outward and bid the Force to restrain their movements long enough for the her and Judith – and her baby – to leave the cave.

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

The cave reeked of blood and other bodily fluids. Judith remained squatting, her hands reaching down toward the screaming newborn between her legs, when Cora came running over.

"I won't let them take your baby. Not unless that's what you want."

Judith didn’t answer, but as Cora swaddled the child with her cloak, the shepherdess snatched the bundle from her arms. There was no time to chat, as the riders were soon upon them.

It was eerie, witnessing the effects of Force stasis. Time seemed to stop even as the wind blew through the trees and the grass and the clouds drifted across the sky. The duchess’ men were frozen like ice statues, their horses in mid-gallop. One stallion was rearing back, its front hooves in the air, its rider clinging to the saddle.

The duchess stared at the scene in utter horror. It was like a scene out of a fairytale: the sorcerers used their magic to turn the valiant knights to stone. As Cora and Judith emerged from the cave, baby in tow, she focused on them. Yet her eyes were wide and crazed, and all the color had drained from her face. She turned her mare around and fled.

“Your Grace…!” Ben started to call out to her, but it was too late. He watched her disappear into the woods, then he dismounted (it was even more difficult than mounting had been) and jogged over to where his master had dragged Blaise.

The Magus lay on his back, struggling to prop himself up on his elbows. He had blood around his mouth from Cora’s uppercut. Oukranos stood over him, lightsaber out, the blue blade humming dangerously. “In the name of the Galactic Alliance, I place you under arrest,” Oukranos said.

“You,” Blaise spat. “I see you.”

Oukranos winced as he felt Blaise’s claws scrape over his mind. As with Cora the penetration wasn’t especially deep, but it was enough.

“Were you like Judith's baby?” Blaise asked mockingly. “Your mother wasn’t one of your father's brides. She must not have meant enough to him, a mere concubine. Did she abandon you at the spaceport because she wanted to save you, or because she couldn’t stand to look at you?”

Ben had reached them. He hesitated, looking between the magus and his master. “Get the stun cuffs out of my pack,” Oukranos ordered him, keeping his eyes on Blaise.

Blaise kept taunting. “You were afraid to share your story earlier. The Hapan would tell you that it’s impossible for a woman to force a man, and the Ukatian would see you as weak and womanly. They are two sides of the same miserable coin, aren’t they?”

A wide-eyed Ben started to hand the cuffs to his master. “You’ll have to cuff him,” Oukranos said sharply. Then, more softly, “Don’t worry, I won't let him hurt you.” He warned Blaise: “If you try anything, you’ll lose an arm. Then the other. And if you still try to run then, you’ll start losing legs.”

The magus scowled, but didn't try to resist as Ben snapped the cuffs around his wrists.

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora shepherded Judith past the stunned riders and out from under the cave's darkness. Past Oukranos, she watched as the duchess fled into the woods.

The princess' gaze lingered on her retreating figure for a long moment. Blaise's mocking words, though they were not for her, caught Cora's attention and boiled her blood. Yet, as the specifics started to come out – embellished or not – that anger turned to surprise.

There was a lot that she did not know about Pylantian culture. Oukranos' father must have been someone important, if he had concubines. That, or perhaps they practiced some sort of polygamy. Neither sat well with her, but that was the least distressing part of the Jedi's past that Blaise alluded to.

"He does not have to share anything he does not wish to," she said quietly. Cora found that she could not look at the magus, even as Ben cuffed him. "No one does."

The tiny, pitched cries emanating from the bundle in Judith's arms struck her like arrows into the heart. A brief wave of sorrow – for Judith or what could have been for herself, she did not know – passed over her.

Cora took in a sharp breath and faced Oukranos. "Master Cthylla, Judith needs medical attention. There are some Alliance-backed clinics in this region, but I'll need to look at a map. Should take her back to the village for now?"

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

Judith’s eyes sparked like green fire, glaring out at the world through the smudges of dirt on her face. She was watchful, paying attention to her surroundings, ready to run if need be. The Jedi were helping her now, but she was just waiting for the hammer to drop.

When Cora mentioned Alliance-backed clinics, it seemed to set her off. “Oh no,” the shepherdess protested, her accent thick. “You’re not taking me to one of those godforsaken places, to be poked and prodded by machines and judged by foreign colonizers.”

Oukranos took her refusal in stride. “To the village, then.” He hauled Blaise to his feet. “I will take care of the magus. Ben, you’re with me.”

The Padawan had been staring at his master for several moments now. When Oukranos met his gaze, he quickly looked away. “Yes master,” he mumbled. Turning to Blaise, he muttered under his breath, “Do you have anything vile to say about me?”

The magus snorted. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“And Cora,” Oukranos’ turned to her, voice a little lower, “It’s not that I don’t want to talk.”

Further discussion would have to wait until later. Oukranos threw Blaise over the back of his horse—and stunned him with the Force for good measure—then mounted and rode off, Ben following. Judith, her baby, and Cora were left alone in a garden of frozen statues.

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Judith's refusal went uncontested for now. Cora imagined that, after giving birth in a cave under duress, the girl just wanted to go home. She couldn't blame her.

Oukranos' words caught her off guard. Cora glanced away, toward the cavern where the riders sat frozen in time. Her stomach churned in discomfort, a fresh wave of shame washing over her. She didn’t know him well, and the magus had been quick to weaponize the bitter parts of their respective lives.

As the Jedi rode off with Blaise, Cora helped Judith atop her mount. The subtle aid of the Force helped to lift the new mother.

The horse was brought into a careful trot on their way back to the village. The stunned men would regain control of their limbs within a few minutes, and hopefully go after their duchess.

Cora was quiet. She couldn't think of anything to say, if there was anything to say. Eventually, her brain settled on something Judith had said earlier.

"You know, quite a few of the nurses at those medical centers are Ukatian," she said gently. "They might've been trained by the Alliance, but they're from here."

Cora glanced behind her, catching a red ringlet from the corner of her eyes.

"Have you chosen a name for him yet?"

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

Judith took one look at the horse Cora proffered, thought of the effects the jostling ride would have on her sore body, and shook her head. "I'll walk.”

Not long after they set off, she stopped and squatted down, producing a small electronic knife. The blade heated up, allowing her to cut through the umbilical cord and cauterize the wound. "I've not passed the afterbirth yet, but I can feel it coming."

"You know, quite a few of the nurses at those medical centers are Ukatian," she said gently. "They might've been trained by the Alliance, but they're from here."

“Oh yeah,” Judith’s tone was sardonic. “Those highborn city folk with their college educations must know so much better than a common wench like me. I've delivered enough lambs to know how this goes.” There may have been more to her reluctance, but she didn't talk about it, too busy expelling the placenta and swatting at flies.

"Have you chosen a name for him yet?"

“What do you care?” Judith’s prickliness might be seen as understandable, given the circumstances. But there was something else underlining her hostility. "I've seen you looking at my child the same way the duchess and the magus did. With covetous eyes. Everyone has wanted a piece of him from the moment he was conceived. But I won't even let you have his name."

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

While Judith squatted to pass the afterbirth, Cora guided the mare to stand across the path behind them. She stood with her back to the shepherdwas, trying to give the young woman some semblance of privacy.

Her attempt at making conversation had fallen flat. Given all that Judith had been through - repeated assault, murder, imprisonment, and coercion - she didn't take her prickly demeanor personally.

"They're not all from the city. Many of the women trained to run the clinics are from the countryside, like you."

Her lips downturned into a thoughtful frown.

"He reminded me of…"

She shook her head, dispelling that thought.

"I don't want your baby, Judith. He’s cute, but he is yours, not mine. And he's staying with you - if that's what you want."

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

"They're not all from the city. Many of the women trained to run the clinics are from the countryside, like you."

"I don't believe you, miss. Country folk don't have the education to run a goddamn clinic, and we don't have the money to get an education either. 'Sides, if anyone gets to be a doctor, it'll be a man..." There was a lengthy pause in Judith's speech, a distracted sort of silence accompanied by the soft mewling of her newborn son. Then, she sighed and made an attempt at cleaning herself up. "You may be Ukatian, but you're a Jedi. And a princess, if Blaise wasn't telling lies, so I suppose you don't understand what it's really like around here. The Alliance sure as shit doesn't—they think all they need to do to solve the problems of a shitty little province like ours is set up a few clinics."

"I don't want your baby, Judith. He’s cute, but he is yours, not mine. And he's staying with you - if that's what you want."

"You keep saying that," Judith muttered. As if it had anything to do with what she wanted anymore. She rose to her full height again, having finished with the second part of giving birth. "The duchess told you things about me, didn't she? About how I wanted to kill him before he was born, and then myself." The question was almost posed in that same angry, accusatory tone she'd been using almost from the moment Cora rescued her, though it was too subdued to be truly confrontational. She looked down at the baby boy, asleep in her arms. "Aye, I nearly did him in even after he was born. Blaise would have killed him too, you know. My baby was to be a sacrificial offering, a soul for his god to devour. I didn't know that when I made the deal with him, though I suspected it was nothing good. I just didn't care. Now I see him and I wonder, what kind of monster wishes her own child dead?"

Even in anguish and self-hatred, her expression was ferocious as a lioness. Her gaze remained fixed on the tiny, peaceful face nestled in the folds of Cora's cloak. "But if I give him up now, it'll be because I can't care for him, not because I don't want him. Poverty will make the choice for me, and motherly love will be my undoing." Finally she shook her head. "I'm done. Let's go."

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"They don't," Cora admitted. "Not at first. They train under Alliance personnel, then spend a few years working at Alliance-sponsored medical facilities. It does take some time. The midwives are mostly women."

Facing away from Judith, it took a moment for Cora to parse out the grunts and quiet whispers of fabric. She glanced over her shoulder, hands hesitating for a moment before she shed her tunic and offered it to Judith to clean herself with.

Now in her undershirt, she pursed her lips in thought - how long had it been since the clinics were established? Five years, maybe six. The first recruits were just replacing some of the offworld staff, so Judith's point wasn't entirely without merit.

It was one of the few things Cora had been allowed to do during her brief tenure with the crown. Aid work - especially when the king did not have to dip into his coffers - was seen as a relatively benign act. A pacifying one. Still, offworld help was sometimes regarded with suspicion.

"You're right. Perhaps I don't really understand."

How could she? For all of her trips to the provinces, Cora had been raised with a vastly different lifestyle. One where, despite her lack of freedoms, she did not have to worry about the necessities of survival. No wondering if she would eat if the harvests were poor, no worrying about the roving hands of young lords.

She finally turned a half step toward Judith when she mentioned she'd thought of killing her unborn child and herself. A look of quiet horror slowly drew across her face at the unfurling idea of Blaise using the newborn for a ritual. Cora visibly swallowed her discomfort, pushing it deep into her stomach out of habit. Whoever he was and whatever he was after, he was left to Oukranos for now.

She bit the inside of her cheek, weighing her words.

"I was made pregnant once, by force," she admitted. "I didn't realize that I was with child until I'd lost it. I was confused, but I was also relieved. And I felt ashamed to be relieved."

Her gaze slid back over to the infant, peacefully asleep and blissfully unaware of his mother's struggles and the world he'd been born into. As they started to move back towards the village, Cora gave the horse's reins a tug.

"I cannot say that I understand all that you went through," she murmured, "but it makes sense to me that you were scared."

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

Judith attempted to return the soiled tunic to Cora after she had finished with it. "Hmph. Sounds like you got a convenient way out," she muttered. She clearly didn't believe their stories were truly comparable, and not just because Cora was born into wealth and privilege. "If the child had been alive when you learned of it, would you have wanted it dead then?"

"I cannot say that I understand all that you went through, but it makes sense to me that you were scared."

"I wasn't scared of the baby. I hated it. I was scared of the lord, and of the duchess his mother, and the magus with all his powers. But a baby is just, well, a baby. A helpless little thing at his mother's mercy." The shepherdess shook her head. "I was scared of myself, too."

---

Ben didn’t talk to Oukranos on the way back to the ship. There was work to be done which kept him preoccupied. But once Blaise was secured within their vessel and they turned the horses back toward the village, he felt the prickle of morbid curiosity. “Master,” he began haltingly. “What Blaise said earlier—Is any of it true?”

"The truth is more complex than he made it sound," Oukranos replied. "He was just trying to distract us and sow division."

"I figured that. But..." Ben’s brow furrowed. “It is impossible, isn't it? For a woman to force a man. It's biologically, or-or anatomically impossible. Men are the ones with the forceful... object, not women."

“Oh, Ben," Oukranos murmured, his deep voice soft and sad. "Do you really believe that? Just as I feared you would?" Just as Blaise had said.

"I-It's what I was taught," Ben squeaked. He looked away, cheeks burning. "It's what everyone else says—"

"It's a lie," Oukranos interrupted him with sudden vehemence. "Worse than that, it's evil and dangerous. They teach that line of thinking on Hapes because it makes it easier to control and take advantage of men."

"Well, maybe it's different for Pylantians," Ben snapped back, growing defensive. "But human males are little more than..."

He trailed off, seeing the village up ahead. Despite their detour, they had arrived at Laparoh at around the same time as Cora and Judith.

"We will continue this conversation later," Oukranos said, back to being his usual stern and reserved self. "After the mission is completed."

Ben was reminded of the original reason they came here: to investigate a rogue Force User. Now that they had found Judith, what were they going to do with her? He supposed he would soon find out, as he led his horse toward the village entrance.

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora suppressed a grimace as she pinched her thumb and forefinger on the least soiled part of the tunic. She held it out to the side, as far away from her as she could, before depositing it on the horse's back for now. She'd dispose of it properly later, perhaps if the villagers had a bonfire going at night.

"I suppose it was the easy way out," she agreed after a moment of thought. It had been yet another decision that was made for her, but there simply hadn't been the months of buildup that Judith experienced.

The sound of hoofbeats hitting the dirt behind them punctuated the silence after Judith's question.

"I have no idea what I would've done then," she sighed. "Maybe I would've wanted it gone. Maybe I would've gotten used to the idea enough to keep it."

Cora tilted her head towards Judith as she spoke next, but her eyes searched the ground. What a complicated tangle the girl had been forced into, at the mercy and whim of the aristocracy and a magus.

"Scared of yourself?" Cora finally shifted her focus to the shepherdess. "Of your…abilities, you mean?"

With the village looming in the near distance, she wasn't certain how long this conversation would last for. The Jedi imagined that after her ordeal, Judith might want to rest in the familiar company of her aunt.

Ben Khal

 

[Ben Khal]

Judith recalled the looks Cora had given her baby and laughed at her ambiguous, indecisive answer. It wasn’t a mean-spirited cackle, though it was loud and hearty. “I think in your heart of hearts you do know the answer to my question, Princess. You’re just not willing to reveal it to an ignorant shepherd girl. Or maybe admitting the truth to yourself would be too painful—at the very least, it would hurt your pride.” Regardless, Cora didn’t have to make the choice and probably never would.

The conversation turned to the matter of Judith’s abilities. “I did kill a man,” she remarked solemnly. “Choked the life right out of him without laying a finger on him. I didn’t think about what I’d done until afterward, when he lay dead at my feet. So I wonder—what happens if I get angry with someone else? Do I lose control? This mystic power saved me, but it also got me into a lot of trouble.”

There was, for now, no answer to be had on the subject. They had reached the village, where Miss Shepherd was waiting for her niece. No exchange of words was had between them; her aunt simply held out her arms and Judith flung herself into her embrace.

---

The Jedi hung around the Shepherds’ home for a while longer, waiting for the inevitable discussion that must be had. In the meantime, Judith and her baby had hot baths and hot food, smoke billowing from the chimney of their little hovel as her aunt worked the fire. Miss Shepherd insisted on washing Cora’s cloak and tunic. It was unfathomable to her that she would want to burn such fine cloth. And if Cora didn’t want it, well, they could always find another use for it.

Ben stayed apart from the others, sitting on a stone ledge overlooking the fields where the flocks grazed. The boy found all this quaint pastoralism intolerable rather than charming, though of course he wouldn’t say as much. He found solace in the one piece of advanced tech to be found for miles: his datapad. No Holonet connection, of course.

Oukranos sought Cora out during this peaceful interval. “There you are. I found this in Blaise’s pocket,” he said, opening his hand to show her. At the center of his palm was an old coin, round and made of solid gold. The edge of the token was engraved in an ancient script, and featured an image of a minotaur-like being with a humanoid body and the head of a bull. “I didn’t have much luck translating the text, but the figure at the center is an ancient deity called Tophet. Not much is known about his cult, only that his worshipers engaged in child sacrifice. It certainly sheds some light on what Blaise wanted with Judith's baby.” The token's aura was faint, but its Darkness was black as the space between stars.

Corazona von Ascania​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

As Judith laughed, Cora pursed her lips. At least she was no longer hissing and spitting.

She'd always wanted children. Not Horace's, but she could admit to herself that she might've grown used to the idea. Maybe she would've found solace from her poor marriage in doting on their kids, or perhaps she'd become the pale, distant shell of a woman that her own mother had become. Though her miscarriage had been early, it had still left her feeling rather empty.

Cora parted her lips, perhaps to respond to Judith's remarks about her newfound deadly abilities. In the end, she thought better of what she might have said, and opted to remain quiet.

When Judith and her aunt embraced, her pout turned into a little smile.

---

Cora frowned at the token Oukranos produced, and at his adjoining explanation.

"She knew," the blonde murmured. "She knew, and yet she-"

A beat passed where she drew in a shaking breath through her nose, then exhaled slowly. Cora shook her head. "I can't blame her. She was raped, captured – who knows what else – and she panicked. She probably just wanted to go back home."

She looked away from the token, away from Oukranos and into the treeline in the distance. "If we leave things as they are, the duchess and her men would probably come back and take the baby by force. Even if they don't, it'll be hard on Judith. They're poor. Beyond poor – it sounds harsh, but it's true. Judith herself knows."

Cora rubbed at her temple, feeling a headache brewing. "Ashla, what a mess."

Ben Khal