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