| Magic Carpet By Jemmiah ******* "Tell me a story!" Two earnest blue eyes regarded Jemmiah, pleading with her from a face that radiated innocence and hopefulness. Sweet, angelic, untainted by the rigors and worries of life�sometimes Jemmiah wished she could turn back the chrono in her own life and experience those carefree days again. But, she thought as she looked down at little Nadine, in a way she was reliving that time- through her own daughter. A child she had never expected to have. A child she had surprised herself to admit that she had wanted more than anything. And after everything she had experienced and gone through, this little girl was the one thing in the galaxy that made sense of her existence. "Well�" Jemmiah began, opening her mouth uncertainly, looking round to Rela for support. "I dunno�it's a bit early for stories, isn't it? It's nowhere near bedtime�" "Don't be such a spoilsport." Rela retorted over her shoulder from where she stood chopping the vegetables with an extremely sharp looking knife. "I thought you wanted help with those string-tailed beans?" Retorted Jemmiah. "You've been at 'em for what seems like years!" Rela grinned, shook her head and rolled the last of the beans into the pan of boiling water. "Nope! Finished! No getting out of it now!" Jemmiah cursed inwardly and turned her attention back to her eager-eyed daughter, who had plopped herself expectantly down on the floor and crossed her legs, folding her hands in her lap. Nadine met her frown with a suddenly devious grin, all vestiges of childish innocence seemingly swept away. She was, in every imaginable way, her mother's daughter. The same elfin chin, the same wavy chestnut curls she'd so detested in herself yet found so appealing in her own child. A regular chip off the old Corellian block. Except for the cool, sea-blue eyes. There was none of the same fiery indignation within those sparkling sapphires that Jemmiah saw every time she looked at her own image reflected in the mirror. Maybe that was a good thing. "Shouldn't we wait for your two?" Jemmiah asked Rela carefully. "I wouldn't want to leave them out�" "Simon's playing with the Vampki out in the yard." The redhead responded, wiping down the chopping board, "and Angel's taking a nap. I think you're quite safe. Anyhow," Rela winked deviously at her friend, "I want to hear this story too. So quit stalling and do what Nadine asked you to do!" "Great. Terrific." Jemmy found herself running an exasperated hand through her hair. She'd never regretted asking Rela and her family to stay with her at her estate on Corellia. It had been an ideal arrangement that had given the Cates family new and better opportunities for a better quality of life, and in return had given Jemmy the chance to be a part of a family unit the way she had always wanted to be. Being Auntie Jem was lots of fun, and she suspected that Rela felt much the same way. Being a mother, on the other hand, was definitely much more hard work. "A story." She chewed thoughtfully at her lip. "I'm not good at stories." "Liar." Rela responded. "I'm not good at making them interesting!" Jemmiah sighed, seating herself on the chair not far away from Nadine. "Okay�she wants a story. Hmmm�what about one with�a wizard and a tough-talking princess?" "Okay." Nadine nodded her agreement. "A wizard and a princess�and a magic carpet!" Jemmiah paused. "You're determined to make this difficult for me, aren't you?" She regarded Nadine ruefully, receiving a blatant and unashamed nod in reply. "Right then. You want a magic carpet? I'll give you a story with a magic carpet!" "This I've GOT to hear." Rela smirked, idly stacking the dishwashing unit with the chopping board and used cutlery. Great. Even Rela didn't believe she could do it! Well, Jemmiah thought with renewed determination, she'd show her! "Once upon a time, not so very long ago in a galaxy not so very far away," Jemmy cleared her throat pointedly to let Rela know that she had better listen, "There lived a princess. She was very smart and clever and was very good with maths and figures and stuff that most normal people don't like, but hey - nobody's perfect! Anyhow, this princess had some really good friends. One of them was this young wizard�" "He can't be a young wizard!" Nadine protested crossly. "Wizards are old, and have long white beards!" "Says who?" Challenged Jemmiah. "Everyone knows that, mama! I've never seen a picture book with a young wizard�" "Who's telling this story, me or you?" Jemmiah reminded her wayward daughter with equal impudence. "Okay�her friend was an apprentice wizard. Still learning to be an old, bearded wizard. Is that better?" Nadine nodded once again, happy that her own ideas were being incorporated into the story. "And this young wizard and the princess had a mutual friend who was a�" Jemmiah wetted her lips for a moment as she considered what to say, "a slave girl who the apprentice wizard had rescued and fallen madly in love with�" "Was she pretty?" Nadine wondered outloud. "I'll bet she was! Slave girls are always pretty. You never hear of ugly slave girls." "As a matter of fact she was stunningly beautiful." Jemmiah grinned, listening to Rela pretending to gag through in the kitchen. "And this gloriously attractive slave girl and the apprentice wizard had to sneak around in order to see each other, because�" "Because there was a giant ogre who kept the slave girl chained up in his house and wouldn't let her out, because she was so pretty that he was afraid that everyone would fall in love with her!" Nadine said in an excited rush. "I'm right, aren't I?" Jemmiah blew out an exasperated breath. Where did she come up with all this stuff? Too many hours watching fantasy holos with Draigons and knights and oppressed maidens, or reading allegorical stories of princes and chivalry. Ten or so years ago these would have been the real life tales of the Jedi knights but now, since the purges had so devastated their ranks and scattered their numbers throughout the galaxy, one hardly dared to say the word Jedi lest Imperial ears catch wind of it. And so the 'Jedi' had been swapped for 'wizards', resigned to the history books as creatures of the past. "I wouldn't have described Qui-Gon as an ogre." Jemmiah murmured under her breath. "Well, maybe occasionally, but still�" "Hey!" Rela scolded her. "So," Jemmiah continued hastily, "the princess felt sorry for the slave girl and the�" "...Frustrated." Rela cut in. "�Apprentice wizard." Finished Jemmiah with a roll of her eyes. "And she invited them to her palace to�er�er�help me out here, Rel." The Corellian found herself blushing. "To meet in secret." Rela suggested with a leer. "Yes! To meet in secret�thanks, Rel! And she moved out of her palace and left them alone for a while." "Why?" Nadine asked innocently. "Eh?" "Why did she leave them alone? Palaces are big! Wasn't there enough room?" The child questioned, struggling to picture the situation in her mind. "Three's a crowd and all that." Jemmy shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyhow, when the princess came back the next day she discovered there'd been a bit of a�a�party�the night before and the place was a mess!" "Doughnuts." Rela was heard to comment. "�And that the apprentice wizard and the slave girl had left everything in a real mess." "Understatement of the millennia!" Rela agreed, her voice muffled from bending down. "Worst of all was a small hole in her carpet�" "SMALL??? It was huuuuuuge!!!" Rela stood up suddenly. Jemmiah stared impassively back at her. "Okay, scratch that, kid. There was this huuuuuuge hole in the carpet. And for years and years the princess kept whining and complaining about it, and nagging the apprentice wizard to magic up a replacement or else she'd set her Wookiee bodyguard to pull his arms out from the sockets�" "Slight exaggeration there." Rela sniffed. "But it does convey the gist of the matter in an adequate manner." Nadine looked from her mother to her Auntie Rela and then back again. "So what happened to the wizard and the princess?" She asked, confused. Jemmiah pursed her lips. "What happened?" She repeated, copying her daughter's gesture and folding her arms on her lap. "Well, I believe it went something like this�" ********* "Anakin�you can't possibly eat all that. Just choose a couple of items from the menu." Obi-Wan said over his right shoulder, looking back at the ten-year-old padawan intently devouring the names of the different breakfast dishes on the flimsy list. Anakin's eyes had lit up with ill-concealed glee the moment his master had told him he could choose what he wanted from the varied food stuffs and in truth, Obi-Wan hadn't the heart to condemn him for it. They had both worked hard on this mission, and were in need of some decent rest and relaxation. Not to mention food. And when compared to the refectory's typical menu of porridge and rough-wheat bread cakes just about anything would seem like a banquet! This actually wasn't terribly far from the truth. In coming to the rescue of the kidnapped young princeling of Telenos, Obi-Wan and Anakin had been accorded the status of heroes and promptly sent to recuperate from their various scrapes and bruises at the most luxurious hotel Telenos had to offer: not being of sufficient noble birth to merit a stay in the palace itself, but good enough to relax in the best guest sweet on the planet. Not that Anakin or Obi-Wan had cared especially at the mild snub. Anakin was getting what he wanted - as much food as he could eat. And Obi-Wan was getting what he wanted - a chance to finally give Rela her long-overdue replacement carpet� "But there's so much to choose from!" Anakin replied in wonderment. "I've never seen so much food! Or so many different types of food!" The young padawan's eyes nearly bugged as he tried to make out what appeared to be an incredibly long and incomprehensible word. "I can't even say some of them!" "Then choose something that you can, young Anakin." Obi-Wan smiled fondly. "Otherwise it will be lunchtime before you get to eat breakfast!" An audible rumble from Anakin's stomach managed to focus the boy's mind on the task at hand. There was just so much! Where did he start? Drizzle cakes? Dough bread? Kesari nut cereal? "Master! They've got Chocolate muffins!" Anakin's voice soared delightedly. "What, for breakfast? Anakin, really! Show a little restraint. If you eat such things now you won't be able to eat anything more�extravagant later in the day." Reproved Obi-Wan, suddenly finding himself rather hungry. Anakin returned his downcast face back to the menu. "I bet I could." He murmured, intent once more on his choice. Obi-Wan thumbed his communicator and turned away from the otherwise distracted padawan. There were other matters to discuss outwith Anakin's dietary requirements. Such as putting right the little matter of Rela Quinn's long held carpet-related grievance! It wasn't as if he didn't understand Rela's point of view, he had after all promised that he would buy a replacement for her - and with Rela he considered his word to be binding. The young woman in question however was constantly, if justifiably, reminding him that after several years his promise remained as yet unfulfilled. "Carpets are expensive." Obi-Wan had reminded her on one occasion when she'd sought to bring the matter to light once again. "I know." She'd agreed. "That's why YOU are paying for it, not me. That and the fact that YOU were the one who wrecked MY carpet�" Jedi knights generally lacked the funds to buy replacement household luxuries and furnishings, but after a good many years of saving (not to mention good luck) he had just about managed to put aside enough to contribute towards Rela's present. Jemmiah had been making subtle enquiries as to what colours she liked, and what might go with Rela's furnishings. And then just when he'd been investigating the options - another miracle! A gift from the gods! Or, more likely, the will of the force� "Yes, hello. This is Master Kenobi." Obi-Wan tried his best to sound more distinguished and pompous than he actually felt, knowing that everybody on the planet seemed to regard the Jedi as god-like heroes. "His Royal Majesty said that I should call you to arrange for the transport of the�yes, that's right: the carpet. I need to have it shipped to Coruscant, can that be arranged?" He paused, listening intently to the reply over the faint hiss of static. "I left the address with one of His Majesty's stewards, I was just checking to see if my instructions had been precise enough�yes, I know. A rather odd choice of a thank-you present." Obi-Wan smiled ruefully at the floor. "But I saw it in His Majesty's reception room and rather liked it, and he said he would arrange for a duplicate to be sent. How much?" Obi-Wan's brow furrowed. He hadn't even asked Jemmiah to measure Rela's hallway! There was nothing for it: he would simply have to hazard a guess. "I would have thought�" "Master!" Anakin raised his voice in delight. "They've got Alderaani current rolls! I'm gonna order five of them!" "Five!" Obi-Wan replied, greatly alarmed. "Anakin, no! Not five! That is just being plain greedy. Two rolls will be quite sufficient." "Awwww." Anakin's shoulder's dropped; defeated, knowing Obi-Wan would be immovable on the subject. "Okay. I still think I could eat five�" Obi-Wan took a deep breath, counted to ten, then turned away from Anakin once again. "I'm sorry about that. What was I saying�the static is rather bad, I'm afraid. You heard my instructions?" Obi-Wan blinked, much surprised. "Yes, well�if you are sure that everything has been explained to your satisfaction then�no, not at all. Tell His Royal Majesty that it was an honour." He flinched, hating to be so obsequious and grovelling in front of his padawan. "Thank you. Good day to you also." The communication ceased, leaving Obi-Wan deeply puzzled. He didn't so much have a bad feeling�just a wariness that for no reason he could think of had suddenly crept up on him. What could go wrong? Rela would love the carpet - he just knew it. Jemmiah had done her homework and had informed her exactly what Rela was looking for by way of a replacement, and this fitted the bill exactly. So why was he suddenly so apprehensive? "Is that room service?" He heard Anakin say into the hotel com unit. "I'd like to order breakfast. Yeah, I'd like a great big slice of chocolate cake with cream and dillarberry sauce. And LOTS of chocolate sprinkles�" Obi-Wan had never really questioned the sort of things he'd put Qui-Gon through as a padawan. Now he understood exactly what the poor man had suffered. ******* "But what happened to the princess and the wizard?" Nadine repeated impatiently, anxious to try and make sense of the story. "Was she happy with her present?" Jemmiah made a strange sort of cynical/strangulated coughing noise at the back of her throat. "Oh, come on!" Rela stepped forward, fists bunched tightly at the side of her body. "If you'd have come back home after a hard day's work to find�THAT�sticking out of your open window�and your hallway�and your door�and the outside corridor�would you have been happy?" Rela's chin jutted defiantly forwards. "As you might have gathered," Jemmy leaned over to her daughter and tapped conspiratorially at the side of her nose, "the princess was not happy with her present. Because the order had gotten mixed up, and when Obi�that is to say, the young wizard had made the call to the King's minions, the instructions of the young wizard's own apprentice had been heard and taken for the amount of carpet that was required to fit the princess' room!" "Two rolls of carpet! Two factory-packaged rolls of carpet the circumferance of a Hutt on a binging session that could have fitted the entire senate!" Rela groaned, experiencing the same dreaded-sinking feeling she had first felt on witnessing the horrendous sight. "I came home to find my door wide open, thinking I'd been burgled! I was so shocked that it took a whole half minute to realise that burgulars generally speaking steal things, not leave gifts! When I'd gotten over the initial surprise it suddenly struck me that I couldn't get in to my place without having to crawl combat-style over the useless things! I mean, what in the name of Obi-Wan's socks was I supposed to do with two entire rolls of carpet??? They FILLED my entire apartment! Even when I DID finally get in there was no room to sit down! And then," Rela finally paused for breath, "HE had the nerve to return home to Coruscant and casually pop his head round the open door to ask me if everything is all right?!? He dared to ask me that - when it was perfectly obvious that everything was NOT all right!" Nadine sat watching Rela, now baffled beyond all comprehension. "I'm not sure I like that story." The girl said eventually. "It had a wizard and a princess in it, but what was so magic about the carpet?" Jemmiah's grin became decidedly crooked. "Because, it made the wizard disappear." She looked across at Rela, finding her friend suddenly joining in with her laughter. "Very, VERY quickly! In fact, when the princess confronted the wizard, I don't believe I've ever seen anyone vanish so quickly in all my life!" |