Private The Picture of a Lady

[Efret Farr]

It was a gift too, being able to look at the flower that stood alone in a simple crystal vase on the table as morning sunshine filtered through the sheer muslin curtains.

To enjoy a warm, sweet cup of caf, which was difficult considering the kind of warmth and sweetness she desired most was gone from the galaxy.

...No. Wait.

Efret pushed against the velvety back cushions of the sofa with one elbow, making herself sit up straighter. She took one of her hands from the mug and wiped the tears forming on her waterline. Her peripheral vision got just a little less blurry.

Since the Netherworld rift had sutured a few days ago, the archeologist had been living in a state of functional freeze in her rented Theed apartment. It was as if her mind had gotten stuck in the last stage of a survival sequence—first she had fought, and then she had fled, and now she was frozen—but her body was still capable of taking care of its needs. And it did; feeding itself, drinking water, getting sleep; but thinking clearly wasn't possible.

Not until now.

Her sigh was ragged, heavy, and long like the cracking of icicles off the edge of a roof on the first warming day of spring. Trapped adrenaline thawed from her body part by part, starting with her mind and dripping along her anatomy. She sat forward further until she could set her mug on a coaster, then reached to grab the slender neck of the vase. When she walked into the kitchen, her legs felt lighter than they had since Elias had pushed her to safety. She plucked the long-stemmed flower out of the container before pouring the water into the brass sink basin.

The Picture of a Lady didn't drink water, at least not in this stage of its life. Instead, it preserved itself, somehow, off of love. One of the tomes that she had helped Jonyna Si digitize at the Cathar Jedi Temple had mentioned how it bonded with the individual who picked it, and would live as long as their love did.

Which meant it was time for an experiment.

She slid the stem back into the vase and set it in direct sunlight on the window sill behind the sink. If the flower survived an hour or so in this heat, then Elias was still alive somewhere beyond the veil; if it shriveled, well, she liked dried flowers as much as fresh ones.

Stepping into the entryway, she reached into her hanging robe to retrieve her holopad communicator. She returned to the caf table and set it out on the glass top, then sat back down and reached out to make a call.

As it rung in softly changing shades of blue, she hoped that Val wouldn't be too busy to pick up.

Valery Noble
FYI: Rook Merriex​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

The soft hum of the holopad ringing pulled Valery's attention from the worn, leather-bound book resting on her lap. She shifted slightly on the couch, careful not to disturb the tiny bundle nestled against her chest. Yvaine, curled up in a light blanket, slept peacefully, her tiny fingers curled into a fist as she breathed in a soft, rhythmic cadence.

Valery reached for the holopad, her free hand brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. With a quick tap, the call connected, and Efret's image flickered into view.

A warm, familiar smile spread across Valery's face. "Efret," she greeted softly, her tone calm and soothing to match the tranquility of the moment. "It's good to see you."

She adjusted the holopad slightly, ensuring Efret could see her clearly, even as Yvaine remained cradled in her lap. The baby stirred faintly but didn't wake, her serene presence adding a quiet warmth to the scene.

But as Valery's gaze settled on Efret, her sharp, fiery eyes caught the subtle tension in her friend's expression. The slight puffiness around her eyes, the way her shoulders sat heavier than usual — it was enough to stir concern.

"Is everything alright?" Valery asked gently, her voice tinged with both affection and a growing sense of worry. She set the book aside and leaned forward slightly, giving Efret her full attention. "You look like something's on your mind."

She waited patiently, offering Efret the space to sign or speak.

Efret Farr ​

 

[Efret Farr]

She rose her hands from her lap to sign.

"No."

Nothing was alright—Efret had no desire to beat around that bush, neither with Val nor with herself.

"He's gone. Elias. Not just from Bogano this time." She paused, unsure if she should share news of a second Cataclysm with the grandmaster, but then decided to. Of all the Jedi the archeologist knew, Val would handle the revelation with care. "A rift to the Netherworld opened here in Theed. He saved me at the cost of getting stuck there. I owe it to him and his family to try to get him back."

Even if all there was to recover was a body.

Stop.

Efret glanced over at The Picture of a Lady. That it had survived for as long as it had so far, for days since it had been gifted, was probably evidence enough that Elias yet lived, but she needed to be sure. A small, bittersweet smile played on her lips when the blurry sight of the flower imparted the sharp mental image of Elias' warm face. She glanced back to the hologram of Val. "And I will. Nirrah's with him, so I don't know how I will but I will." It would take time, not just for her but for anyone. The course of action she was now set on seemed the stuff of miracles.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's fiery gaze softened with empathy as she watched Efret sign her response. The weight of her words, though silent in sound, was deafening in meaning. Valery shifted slightly, cradling Yvaine closer to her chest as the baby stirred faintly, as if sensing the gravity of the moment.

"I'm so sorry, Efret," Valery said gently, her voice steady but filled with heartfelt sincerity. "I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you, but knowing Elias, I'm not surprised he would make a sacrifice like that. It's who he is. Who he's always been."

She paused, letting the warmth in her gaze offer Efret what comfort it could through the hologram. But she also knew that comfort alone wouldn't be enough.

"I would do the same if I were in your position," Valery continued, her voice carrying the calm certainty of someone who understood the depths of loyalty and love. "If I had to cross into the Netherworld to bring back someone I care about, I wouldn't hesitate."

She let those words settle, her fiery gaze searching Efret's expression for any flicker of doubt or hesitation.

"That said," Valery added, her tone softening further, "If there's anything I can do to help, you only need to ask. I understand this might be your journey, something you need to face on your own, but... if you need resources, information, or even someone to watch your back, I'll make sure you have it. Whatever you need."

She reached up, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and offered a small, encouraging smile. "I care about you and Elias, so my heart is with you, and so is my help if you ever have need of it."

Efret Farr ​

 

[Efret Farr]

Valery wouldn't find a hint of doubt or hesitation on Efret's face.

This was happening. There had to be a way.

"All I need—all we need is time," the archeologist replied to Val's offer of aid. "I suggest Sodus for interim Chief Curator." Efret trusted that each member of her team would do well if they were selected to substitute for her temporarily, but he was best suited for the kind of leadership needed to sit on the Council. "I...don't know anyone who could fill in for Elias." Erewhon's name tingled through Efret's hands but she did not fingerspell it, assuming that he'd not appreciate the nomination. He seemed content on Bogano. Plus, Efret wanted Fenn to have at least one friendly face at the Enclave.

She hoped to be able to see him again someday too.

"I imagine he'd defer to your judgement."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsabers

Valery's gaze remained steady as Efret signed her response, her determination radiating through the hologram. She could see the unwavering resolve in Efret's expression, and it brought a small, encouraging smile to Valery's lips.

"Sodus is a great choice," Valery said, her tone calm but supportive. "The Council will adjust, and I'll make sure everything runs smoothly in your absence. What matters right now is that you focus on what needs to be done to bring Elias back."

She paused, her gaze softening as she adjusted Yvaine in her arms. The baby let out a small coo, her tiny fingers clutching at Valery's clothes. "The people here — the Council, your team — they’ll manage. And I'll check in on the Jedi on Bogano."

"Just... I hope you can bring him back."

Efret Farr ​

 

[Efret Farr]

"Force willing," she replied. Efret tried to return her friend's smile but the curves in her own lips were hollow—not of resolve but of but of her typical radiance. She gave a grateful nod instead once the expression felt wrong on her face and she let it fall away. "Thank you, Val. You can tell the others what you know."

After a deep breath, Efret added, "Good luck, and goodbye for now."

She leaned forward to end the call.

Bruises and scrapes were healing on the palace's marble façade: scrubbed soot stains and unfinished repair to superficial debris damage. Naboo's sun had risen in the sky by the number of degrees that equated the hour and a half since she had first set the Picture of a Lady in the windowsill. She now carried it in the bag slung diagonally across her body. Her shortening shadow followed her at her side up the palace steps.

Far back on the landing underneath the shade cast by the overhang above, two guards stood near the great doors. The sound of footfalls and the rounded tip of her white cane tapping on stone had called their attention to Efret moments ago. One of the guards moved to meet her, his brow knitting with concern. He knew of her, but who in Theed hadn't? The news of two masters of the New Jedi Order coming to visit the capital had captured a good deal of the populace's interest and caused some controversy given the Galactic Alliance's political treatment of Naboo after the Dark Empire's invasion of the former, but that had largely been tabled after what had occurred.

The masters had been quick to join the Order of Shiraya in the Netherworld to defend Theed, and had suffered the most for it.

Anyone who had heard the story and didn't feel any sympathy at all for the woman left screaming in the agora by a tragedy that could have easily been as bad or worse for countless others didn't have much of a heart.

"Master Farr," he began once she had looked at him. "Can we do anything for you?"

"Yes. You can direct me to the Voidwalker's suite," she answered. He glanced over at his colleague but Efret continued to sign, her interpretation unit speaking for her. "I have evidence Master Edo is alive.

"Now I need to know if rescue is possible."

Rook Merriex
FYI: Valery Noble​

 

[Rook Merriex]

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Location: Theed, Naboo
Tags: Efret Farr

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Rook swore that the four walls of her room inched closer every time she closed her eyes. It'd been a few days at least, maybe a week since she'd come back to Theed, only for the Shirayan Jedi to lock her up in the palace like some sort of rabid mutt. 'From one prison to another', she thought bitterly to herself. She paced for a moment, thinking it all over, when she stopped abruptly and glared at the door. Another second and she would have pounded her fist against it, demanding to be let out for the hundredth time, but there was a knock on the other side that kept her glued in place.

"What?" Rook spat bitterly.

"You've a visitor," the palace guard answered.

A visitor? That sounded much more ominous than the word itself implied. Rook had no friends, no family. Who could be here to see her? The Queen? Fat chance. Brandyn? Or Briana? Fatter chances. "Fine," Rook said, stifling any excitement that might have been heard in her voice.

The door opened to reveal who Rook considered a rather feeble looking woman, though she was not much older than Rook herself. She walked with a cane and wore some kind of translator; 'deaf and blind,' Rook marveled. She suddenly felt a pang of guilt strike her chest, which was only worsened when she began to piece together who this woman was.

"Jedi," Rook said, almost hissing the word. It was hard not to look down upon the religious order who'd been keeping her caged here while they "investigated" the Second Cataclysm. It was for her own safety, they assured, but Rook felt anything but protected in the palace. "What do you want that I haven't already given you? I don't know anything more than I've already told the others."

 

[Efret Farr]

"You've been mistreated," she observed, her head turned to look off to Rook's right but watching her out of her own upper peripheral vision. Her smile was small but spacious enough for some sorrow. "I'm sorry." Anxiety to get an answer to her intended question simmered deep inside, threatening to boil over, but Efret refused to forgo kindness. "I'm a guest in Theed, but I will do anything I can to make your stay more comfortable. All you must do is ask, and all I request is that you allow me a question in return."

Perhaps Efret's approach would not make her any friends in the Order of Shiraya, but that possibility wasn't important to her in that moment.

All that mattered was knowing if a chance of going back into the Netherworld was even within reach.

Rook Merriex​

 

[Rook Merriex]

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Location: Theed, Naboo
Tags: Efret Farr

​

Rook’s response was a forbearance of words that came out as a scoff. “Mistreated?” she echoed angrily. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I followed the Jedi into hell to help them stop the invasion. I told them how to close the rift. I’m not an enemy, yet here I am, imprisoned.”

She swallowed hard.

“I wasn’t mistreated, I was used.”

Efret’s next words did not land well. Rook shook her head and began to pace. “Just ask it,” she demanded. There was no use relying on Efret to help. Rook had no leverage, and she wasn’t going to make the first request without knowing what sort of deal she was entering.

 

[Efret Farr]

Efret didn't need to be told twice. At least she tried to be hospitable in a place that wasn't home.

"A Jedi got stranded in the Netherworld," she explained, her motions even despite the pressure growing in the pit of her stomach. It threatened to overtake her body given enough time. She couldn't allow that to happen but the emotion dwelling within and growing ever-so-slowly refused to shrink, resistant to the multi-cultural emotional regulation techniques that Efret had learned over the years.

She clung to the distraction of conversation and continued, "Elias Edo. I want to know if I can get him back."

Rook Merriex​

 

[Rook Merriex]

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Location: Theed, Naboo
Tags: Efret Farr

​

Rook slipped a loud “hah!” before she could stop herself. It wasn’t intentional, especially now that she could sense a more… personal aspect to the Jedi’s request. The purple-eyed woman blinked slowly, then shook her head. “‘Get him back?’ From the Netherworld?” Rook echoed. Despite her effort to avoid as much, it most certainly came off as mockery.

“People don’t just come back. And even if they do… they’re not the same.” As she said it, her eyes seemed to shimmer, almost pulsating with traces of corruption from her time spent trapped on the other side. “The Force is dampened there. And with the death of the Archdemon who opened those rifts, there’s certainly a power vacuum. Demons are ravenous and impatient. If I know anything, it’s that scores of lesser devils are swarming to stake claims and subjugate one another.”

Rook swallowed hard, as if she could see it all unfolding in real time.

“Your friend’s probably dead,” she said bitterly. “Even if he survived somehow, I wouldn’t know how to guide him out. It took me four years to escape, and that was an accident made possible by the Archdemon’s greed.”

Besides all of that, Rook wasn’t keen on entangling herself with the other side again. She fought hard to survive, only for her homecoming to be another imprisonment. If her own experience was anything to go by, this Elias Edo would be better off dead.

 

[Efret Farr]

Efret watched Rook with all the patience and grace in the Mid Rim. As she did, she felt the very beginnings of tears begin to grip the base of her esophagus. This pressure barely tickled but with unquestionable ill intent. After a short pause after Rook's response, time enough to think her own over, Efret began.

"Maybe you don't know, but we could figure it out together. I think we'd both benefit." She wanted Rook to know that she wasn't planning to take a passive role in a partnership if they decided to enter into one. In fact, Efret was prepared to sacrifice anything and everything that was hers to give to see Elias again. Was it or wasn't it becoming of a Jedi under the New Jedi Code to be willing to die for an attachment? It could be either in the right or wrong circumstances and, in Efret's, she believed it was. If you asked her, the Light in his eyes outshined that in her whole body. Yes, she was also sure now that she loved him in return and that she'd give her life for his based upon that fact alone, but her selflessness was not just for him.

It was for the galaxy.

He had much more good yet to do in it. Hopefully, they could continue on to fulfill both of their destinies together, but if it was either one or the other?

Elias would be Efret's unhesitant choice, just as his had been her.

"I feel great grief," she continued, her mouth twitching into a frown. "Survivor's guilt. I think you might know what that's like." The emotion likewise might be buried under the hostility that Efret felt in Rook both with and without the aid of Empathy, but the master didn't dig. It was just a feeling. Intuition. She opened herself to noticing what she could in Rook's body language, attempting to gauge if she was right even if Rook's words would contradict kinetic communication. "The circumstances that allowed Elias to save me from getting stuck as well was not quite accident but chance. I normally let things like this be, but I refuse to let chance impede me now and be the only reason I don't try. You can make that choice too."

If she was communicating with someone with more patience, she would have paused there to let her words hang on their own for a moment. However, not wanting to be interrupted, Efret added immediately, "If your accident forced you to leave people behind, we can try to get them out too. We can help each other."

Rook Merriex​

 

[Rook Merriex]

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Location: Theed, Naboo
Tags: Efret Farr

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A supercut of her early days in the Netherworld flashed behind Rook’s eyes like a mental documentary of what she endured. She saw the face of her friend, Jayce, who wasn’t much of a friend before the incident in all honesty. It was only after being dropped into a craggy, alien world together that they forged anything reminiscent of friendship. It grew fast and steady, until one day it didn’t, and then it slipped away. Then, Jayce was gone. There was no getting him back.

Efret should count herself lucky not to see that unfold before her; Elias withering away was a fate best left unseen.

Rook’s jaw tightened involuntarily as the sour emotions intensified. “The people I left behind were here, not there. I was pulled in alone,” she half-lied. There wasn’t much point in mentioning Jayce now.

“I was just a girl when I fell in. I was ten. It was only four years ago, but look at me now.” Her speech was becoming frustrated, its pace gaining speed. It was obvious that Rook was a woman, not a 14-year-old kid. “The Netherworld feeds on life. It takes, sometimes bargains, but it always wins. If you lost it there...” memories of Jayce flashed in her mind, “…you’re not likely to get it back.”

She glared at Efret, her gaze intense and relentless. “Even if he was alive, even if I was free to do as I pleased, I have no idea how to go back. And if you think for a second that the Shirayans are going to just let me rip open a new portal, you may as well get comfy and enjoy this prison with me.”

 

[Efret Farr]

Need see Elias. Nirrah.

Anxiety clawed up her veins.

Calm-down.

It let up again and fell into the chasm of her body, spent for now.

"I see," Efret replied with a small, solemn nod. Her her chin righted, her brow was slightly knitted. "I'm sorry." Various responses that Efret could add to what she had already said flooded her mind. Some were more helpful, others were not. None had a very good chance of getting through to Rook, by Efret's judgement, but she had to try—to say something. To let this conversation fizzle out would be to let her own hope do the same.

"What if there's another child next time?" she asked. "There's no guarantee that a rifting event won't happen again. Four years ago, Naboo didn't know how to help you. Now, it has a chance to learn."

She straightened up, her brow smoothing as she did. "I'm not asking for you to help a child. I'm asking you to help a grown man. But I know that the next time someone gets stuck there, it might well be a child, or a pregnant woman, or an old man. I hope there are none after Elias, but if there are we'll have a procedure to help them too."

Efret took a deep breath. "It's unfair what I'm asking, I know. You don't owe anyone anything, especially after all you've survived. I came because I know you helped the Shirayans close the rift, so I don't think you've lost all your love for Naboo."

Rook Merriex​

 

[Rook Merriex]

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Location: Theed, Naboo
Tags: Efret Farr

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By now, Rook had chewed a small hole on the inside of her cheek. Whether this was for herself, or for Efret, or for Elias, or for all the people who could be taken in the future, it didn't matter unless she was a free woman. Rook's gaze was penetrating. There was a coldness in her eyes that could be felt under your skin. But beneath even that, surely a small part of her humanity was intact. Maybe it was that small part that forced her hand and sent her back into the Netherworld with the Shirayans to end the Second Cataclysm.

"Get me out of here, then we'll talk. I can't promise anything - I don't know how the rifts work and I don't know how to open them. But I can't figure it out if I'm locked in here." Rook wasn't sure how much weight Efret carried on Naboo, but she hoped it was enough to get her out. Rook hated cheating people, but she figured that the best case scenario was helping to solve this dilemma and being set free... and the worst case was fleeing far and fast should she fail to open a new portal.

Either way, she could pull down a win, and that would have to do for now.

 

[Efret Farr]

That coldness hit Efret where Rook's gaze bore into her in a concentrated beam, yes, but when its energy spread, the sensation ebbed away. The warmth of hope easily overtook it. The Jedi Master silently, slowly, let out the breath she was only cursorily aware that she had been holding. "Thank you," she said. The chance to continue this conversation was all she was asking for and was more than what she had expected, which had been nothing.

Excitement swelled in her heart. She could almost smell Elias.

A thin column of air drew into her nose, a controlled intake as she tried to temper her enthusiasm. She found only limited success and likely would continue to, but maybe that was for the best. Completely squashing her emotion rooted in attachment and in passion would do no one any good: not her, certainly not Elias, and maybe not all of Naboo either. They needed this too, even more than she did. Rescuing Elias wouldn't just amount to a grand act of love but would certainly be a matter of national security interest for the royal republic.

So, Efret added, "I'll petition the Council and let you know what they tell me."

As she watched Rook's reply, she began thinking how she would deliver on her promise. Perhaps she could find Kahne Porte next and ask him for an audience.

Rook Merriex
Exit thread​

 

[Rook Merriex]

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Location: Theed, Naboo
Tags: Efret Farr

​

“You do that,” Rook returned. It wasn’t inflected as bitterly as the phrase usually was; instead of sounding like a sarcastic dare to do the impossible, Rook was telling Efret to get it done. Were most of her social skills not weathered from being trapped, it would almost have been a ‘thank you.’

Efret took the oxygen from the room with her when she left, leaving Rook in a vacuum of thoughts. Should she have told the Jedi who–what–Jayce became? A casualty. A victim. A monster? A puppet. Jayce was a shell of the boy she fell in with, just an echo of the bravest lad she’d ever known. If Elias was even alive, the chance of him being himself was slim.

A pang stung Rook’s chest as she made a bitter decision in the interest of her own self-preservation; if Efret lost hope in finding Elias, Rook would lose her shot at escape.