Hi ! Ooops, I had forgotten that it was today ;) Anyway, better later than never,, huh?

Here is a fic co-written by myself and Sherry (who is also in the group here). In fact, it is her work, but with my collaboration for a certain scene.

Anyway, here it is: address your great comments to her in priority ;)

Finding Lost Love
Written by Sherry Minton
None of this belong to any of us. It belongs to Lucas.
*** Sex scene by SJ 7-11-00 (asked by Sherry)
Special thanks to Skyjade for writing the scene I was not quite ready
to write myself and for her endless encouragement.

******
Myrkr
Luke Skywalker settled back against the fallen tree and did his best to relax. He was finding that very difficult to do with a blaster constantly pointed at him. Even after all this time, she still seemed determined to finish him off. Finally he looked over at his captor and took a deep breath.
"Could you at least stop pointing that at me, Mara, and stop looking at me while you're at it?"
He was mildly amused when she seemed to be offended by his comment.
"I am not looking at you, Jedi. I'm guarding you."
Luke shook his head, " I don't need to be guarded. Why don't you get some rest?"
This time she laughed at him, "Sure, I'll just go to sleep and let you waltz away or maybe even better...I'll just let the wild vornskrs make a light snack of you." Her eyes then harderened as did her voice. "As if I'd really let them take away my pleasure of killing you."
Luke's patience was stretched thin. He absent-mindedly kicked a small stone and grumbled to himself. "Fine, I'm going to sleep."
He couldn't think of a way to convince Mara that he hadn't killed her master. He had told her the truth, the awful truth of what had happened aboard the second death star but she hadn't believed him. Luke took a deep breath and wished that he could draw on the force right now. A good meditation session would do wonders to ease his wariness, perhaps even offer some insight on the redheaded woman who was leaning against a tree a few meters away.
Yes, meditating would be good... but sleep would have to do...
******
Tatooine, years ago
Luke Skywalker kicked a loose rock as he angrily walked toward the parts' shop. Uncle Owen was being so unfair. All he wanted was to go to Deak's 16th birthday party but no...crops had to come first. A surge of anger coursed through him and he kicked the next rock much harder than he intended. He heard an angry voice after that.
"Watch what you're doing, runt"
The voice was angry yet intriguing at the same time. Luke looked up to find himself staring into the greenest eyes he had ever seen. He swallowed, then felt his anger quickly dissipating as the girl pushed her long, wildly red hair out of her face. She seemed to be about his age, maybe even a season younger.
"S....sorry. I hope I didn't hit you with that rock." His voice was unsteady ; the girl looked long and hard at him.
For a moment she considered making him sweat it out but...he seemed so innocent. She found herself replying in a much softer voice.
"No, it just surprised me. No harm done." She wanted to look away but found herself mesmerized by the stranger's eyes. They were as blue as the deep basin rivers on Coruscant. Thinking of Coruscant made her snap out of it. She had work to do on this dustball of a planet. There was no time to stare at some rimworlder. She quickly stepped to the side to allow the boy to pass but he made no move to do so. They stared at each other a few more moments.
Finally Luke spoke again.
"What's your name?"
"My name?"
It was hard to believe that such a simple question would be so hard to answer. What did it matter to him what her name was yet...she wanted him to know.
"Uh...I can't tell you that."
Luke looked questioning at the girl. He knew he did not get away from his uncle's farm much, but he was pretty sure it was still ok to ask someone their name
When he opened his mouth to reply, the girl hurriedly stopped him.
"I just can't tell you. My boss doesn't like anyone knowing my name."
Luke was very impressed that she had a boss. "You're young to have a boss."
The girl chuckled sarcastically. "It's one of those lifetime commitment things."
Luke's eyes widened as he wondered if the beautiful girl meant that she was a slave. She suddenly shifted and her hands rested on her hips. She eyed his old clothes and dusty books.
"It looks like you have a boss to."
Luke laughed softly and the girl found herself grinning back at him.
"Yea, my aunt and uncle have a moisture farm a hour or so from here. I work there."
"Every day?"
Luke nodded and looked at the ground. The girl could still see how unhappy he was about that. For some reason, she didn't want him to be unhappy.
"So you're a farmer...no, you're too young to be a farmer. More like a Farmboy, I suppose."
"What?"
"You heard me Farmboy...that's what I'll call you." She laughed gaily and then stopped suddenly. How easy it was to laugh with this blue eyed, innocent boy. It felt so good to be free of Palpatine for a few hours. Why not have a little fun before starting her mission. It was surely an easy job, so she could afford a little diversion.
"So Farmboy, what do you do for fun on this dirtball planet?"
Luke laughed and the girl found herself smiling at the warm feelings he generated. What was it about this one kid? He was affecting her in ways that no one ever had.
"Well, Red, I usually fly in beggars canyon." He replied sarcastically.
"Red?"
"If you made up a name for me then I think it's only fair that I make one up for you. Besides, I have to call you something."
She glared at him for a moment then shrugged. Besides, she kinda liked the nickname. It could be interesting to be someone else for awhile.
"Is that all there is to do around here?" Red looked around at their surroundings and thought that maybe that was all there was to do on this backwater planet.
"If I have a few extra credits, sometimes I can play a game at the hologame room."
"Just one game?"
Luke again looked at the ground and slipped his hands inside his pockets. He took a few minutes to answer Red. She gazed at him in open curiosity, as sadness seemed to descend upon him.
"They're pretty expensive."
Red felt a pang of anger then remembered all the credits she had aboard her ship. She smiled. Maybe she and this Farmboy could put all those imperial credits to good use.
"Wanna see my ship Farmboy?"
His eyes widened. "You have your own ship?"
She shrugged. "Yea...kinda. It belongs to my boss but I use it all the time. One day thought, I'll have my own ship and it will be spectacular."
Red couldn't understand for the life of her why she was telling this kid all this. This was her dream. She hadn't shared it with anyone. Where she came from, you kept as many things hidden as you possibly could. It was safer that way. Less thing to use against you that way. But Farmboy's smile was so infectious that she found herself wanting to tell him....to tell him anything and everything. He grinned at her even more.
"I'd love to see your ship. Could we now?" Luke stood up straighter ; Red had to laugh at the excitement oozing from him. She nodded and reached out to grab his hand. Without hesitation he grasped her hand and ran along beside her toward the hangar.
******
Luke awoke with a start and blindly sat up. He took a few deep-cleansing breaths to calm his racing heart. He was disoriented from his fitful sleep and for some reason, the memory of that day seemed so faded that he had a hard time recalling his companion. It hurt his head to remember it ; the details were still fuzzy. He gradually cleared his head and, after a few minutes, his eyes settled on the deadly woman who was still sitting only a few meters from him. She was watching him intently with the thought that he might try to escape. Their eyes met ; Mara frowned at the confusion she saw in the Jedi Knights eyes. Whatever he had been dreaming about had spooked him...and that spooked her.
"What's the matter, Jedi? Bad dreams?"
She couldn't resist adding to his obvious discomfort. Luke only stared at her for a moment then laid back down against the fallen log. Mara was more than a little surprised. Usually he encouraged her to talk to him. This time he was ignoring her.
Luke closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. Why had he, all of a sudden, remembered the girl from so long ago? The beautiful woman-child who had taught him so much. It had been years since he'd thought of her. Luke could still see her clearly; the green eyes that seemed so sad yet laughed at all his stupid misconceptions of the world. Her flaming red hair that he loved to hide his face in and pretend that he never had to go back to the moisture farm. Luke's eyes snapped open and he inhaled sharply.
"Skywalker! Now what's wrong?"
Luke slowly sat up and looked at Mara Jade again. Only this time, he really looked at her. Her red hair was tossed about her shoulders wildly and her green eyes seemed to bore through his soul. No, couldn't be.
Mara was becoming uncomfortable with the way Luke was staring at her. It was as if he had seen a ghost.
"Am I going to have to shoot you Skywalker? What's the problem? Did I grow another arm or something?"
Luke smiled in spite of her sarcasm. She looked very much like the girl he had met on Tatooine but it couldn't be her. It was so hard to remember that time, but he knew that this girl did have the same eyes and hair than 'Red' had. But that was where the similarities ended. There was no way that the beautiful creature that had been his first and up to now, only love, could be the same woman who was now hell-bent on killing him.
Luke sighed and decided to leave it alone for now. Every instinct in his body told him to forget it. He slowly stood up and dusted himself off. The sun was just peeking over the mountains.
"Should we go ahead and get started. Neither one of us is getting any sleep."
"Sleep? Duh, I have to watch over you."
"You know, its not like I'm going to run away or anything. There's nowhere to go."
Mara stood up and gathered her knapsack. "I'm not giving you the chance."

For several hours they made their way through the overgrown forest. Mara used the lightsaber to clear a path ; Luke followed behind her. He always paid attention to how she used his saber. She knew what she was doing. Mara had been trained well. Luke sighed when he wondered if his father had trained her. For a brief moment, he was jealous of her as well as of anytime she may have spent with his father.
Occasionally they would have to stop and help Artoo through a small clearing. Mara glared at him each time and Luke hoped Artoo would make it off Myrkr in one piece.
Mara was getting awfully tired of stopping while Skywalker helping his rolling chunk of metal through the tight fits. She sat down in a small clearing and opened a ration bar.
"Skywalker, if I blast him now, we'll make much better time."
Artoo responded with a series of hoots and whistles. Luke folded his arms and stared at her.
"Haven't we been through this before?"
"Yes, and I still haven't decided that I shouldn't just blast him."
"Mara...people don't understand this but Artoo is, well, my friend."
Luke tapped his foot angrily when the expected laughter came.
"Oh Skywalker....and the Rebellion trusted you in battle? Don't they do psychological tests on pilots before turning them loose?"
Mara was still watching him but couldn't stop laughing. She saw his blue eyes darken and realized that he was serious.
"It's a droid!"
It astounded her that the man in front of her was mad because she was making fun of his droid. He had not gotten this mad when she had informed him of her intent to kill him, or any of the times she'd threatened him with it since.
Artoo rolled up to his master ; Luke listened to his beeps.
"Yes Artoo, I do believe that she's always that mean. I think she enjoys it."
Luke sat down on the ground and picked up one of the ration bars even though she had not offered one.
"Sure, help yourself," Mara said in the sarcastic voice that Luke was becoming accustomed to.
He ignored her and began picking leaves and shrubbery off Artoo where it had stuck in crevices. Mara watched him, amazed that he really did care about what happened to his droid. Skywalker was turning out to be a mystery to her. He was suppose to be heartless and only interested in controlling everything and everyone, yet... he seemed content to let her lead them out of the jungle. Sure he didn't appreciate the blaster being held on him all the time, but who would? He wasn't being aggressive or controlling. In fact, he seemed pretty passive, reacting only when the situation required it. She didn't understand what was going on. Where was the man that she needed to kill? Was he manipulating her into believing that he hadn't killed the Emperor?
Luke realized that Mara was staring at him ; he drew his gaze even with hers.
Mara felt herself losing all train of thought when he gazed at her with those eyes. They were the bluest eyes she's seen since...since losing touch with her Tatooine Farmboy.
She quickly looked away. Why was she thinking of him now? She glanced back at her captive. Because Luke Skywalker reminded her of him, she realized. The eyes...and the way he made her doubt the Emperor. Only one other person had ever made her doubt her position with the Emperor. She had been on Tatooine to carry out an assassination when the Farmboy had kicked a rock toward her. Her first instinct had been to throttle him but as soon as he looked at her with those eyes, that thought had disappeared.
She stood up and walked away from him as she remembered that day. They had flown rented skyhoppers in some canyon and played hologames until she had thought that her face would fall off from smiling and laughing. Her Farmboy had shown her what it was like to be a teenager...and to care about someone. As much as she had tried to deny it, she had fallen in love that day. In love with a total stranger whose name she still did not know. Mara wrapped her arms across her chest and sighed. He had asked her to stay. But Mara had known that there would be no escape from the emperor. She hadn't even considered the thought until meeting him. He had made her want to stay. He had made her want her life back. Mara closed her eyes and inhaled. Sometimes that day seemed like yesterday...
******
Mara had taken him to her ship ; he was running wildly down the corridors, looking at every possible thing during his race. Mara laughed until she thought that she would cry at the ahhs and ohhs coming from him.
"Farmboy, its just a ship. Not even a good one at that."
He had skidded to a stop in front of her. "It's a great ship...and it's the only one I've ever been on."
He didn't say it sadly but it made Mara's heart ache. He did not belong on this planet but up in the stars with her.
"One day Farmboy, you'll fly a ship up there," she motioned toward the sky.
He had stepped closer to her. "Will I see you again?"
Mara stared at him, "I don't know. My boss... is pretty particular about what I do."
"Then leave him."
"What?"
Mara had never heard such a ridiculous thing. No one ever left the Emperor...no one. Mara just stared at him. Of course, this simple boy could never understand what it was like to serve someone like the Emperor. She wasn't even sure if he knew who was the Emperor.
"My boss...it's a lifetime thing with him. I couldn't leave even if I wanted to."
"Do you want to?"
Farmboy had taken another step that put him directly in front of her. Mara found herself getting lost in those blue eyes again as he tilted her face up to his.
(SJ)*** "Because I don't want you to go." he told her gently, slowly leaning closer to her face.
The magnetism of his suddenly irresistible eyes, his warm, hot presence near her... he was standing closer than anyone had ever done with her. Even her master had never entered her inner bubble this way...
She should push him away, she knew, she was the Emperor's Hand, a being to respect and fear, not... feel attracted to.
"Red, please stay." Farmboy entreated again, still inching closer and closer to her.
Then, he couldn't inch closer; he could only kiss her, and he did.
His soft lips touched her, startling her with their warmth. For the first few seconds, she remained rooted to her spot, paralyzed by the boy's gentle, clumsy kiss, then she tentatively answered his offer--- and something snapped inside of her.
Her self-control went out the window as she wrapped her arms around the Farmboy's neck and forcefully pulled him closer to herself.
He moaned in surprise as he stumbled closer, then he too let go of his rigid self-control.
Their arms first wrapped around each other's chest and lower back, then their hands began to explore even as their mouth continued to ravenously devour each other.
After the first seconds of superficial exploration, Mara's hands began to undo the boy's clothes and belt.
It shocked him.
"Wait!" he exclaimed, drawing slightly away from her. "Are you sure about this?" he asked her. "That wasn't---"
"Surest thing in my life, Farmboy." she smiled lustfully, feeling a delicious fire suffuse her whole body as she drew him back within reach of her lips.
To her delight, the Farmboy didn't resist ; he pulled her closer even as he also began to undo her clothes.
Having a pretty good idea as to what was going to follow, Mara blindly led the boy toward her cabin where they would be more comfortable for what was to come.
All the while, she roamed her hands all over his naked chest and arms, discovering the surprising existence of taut muscles under his skin. She had never suspected their presence.
He himself finally managed to free her breasts from their support.
Their legs bumped into the low bunk, giving them an unspoken signal that they had reached their destination.
Mara didn't waste time and undid the youth's pants, then her owns. Meanwhile, the boy continued to kiss her, using his two hands to pull her face closer to his.
Finally, they were rid of their trousers... and still kissing.
Aware that he was going to stand there forever if she didn't do something, she lowered herself onto the bunk, drawing him downward with herself.
She found herself arching against him when his engorged manhood brushed against her inner thighs ; he shuddered in reaction, drawing away from her lips.
Not wanting him to go anywhere, she wrapped both her arms and legs around him and swiftly pulled him down against herself, thus sheathing him inside herself.
"Oooh, Red!" he gasped in shock.
"Come on, Farmboy, make love to me." she begged him, something which was far from customary for her tough self.
As if aware of that, the Farmboy didn't leave her hanging for too long. He began to thrust inside her, slowly at first while trying to kiss her anew at the same time.
His attempt was clumsy until she took hold of his head and held him steady, then, she figured that she could create more of that wonderful friction if she matched his thrusts.
They quickly fell into rhythm and sped it up until they needed their breath to do it as fast as they wanted to. Mara closed her eyes as she reveled in the young man's plundering actions, feeling that right now, she had found what she had always wanted to find somewhere.
Luke wished that he could watch the beautiful young woman who was moaning and whimpering thanks to him, but he was in exactly the same kind of state than she was. He could barely continue to hold his weight off of her so as to not choke her.
Then, as if it wasn't enough, the delightful spikes of arousal began to pound with more strength in his body, making him thrust deeper and faster in the young woman.
He was worried to hurt her with the strength of his moves, but when she begged for more, all his doubts left him.
He began to put all his heart in his love-making, then he tried to kiss her again.
She was so beautiful... like the angels he had heard about.
'I love you, Red.' he thought milli-seconds before his orgasm hit him full bore.
Thankfully, his partner seemed to climax at the same time so he wasn't being egotistic about it.
He continued to move in her until he was totally spent, done with his groans and moans.
"I love you, Red." he repeated, this time out loud.
He felt her stiffen minutely and feared that he had said something wrong. He hurried to look at her.
"I'm sorry... Have I said something wrong?" he asked in genuine worry.
The young woman was gaping at him as if he had turned into a dewback or something.
"Red? Are you all right?" he asked her, truly worried now.
"I... Yes, yes... sorry, Farmboy, I'm not used to hearing this word." she explained shortly.
"Oh... well... I know what it means, and I love you, Red. Will you stay with me, please?"
Mara ran her fingertip along his boyish features, wishing that she could indeed stay with him, but she couldn't.
She had already wasted enough time with him as it was. She wasn't interested to displease her master, not even for her Farmboy...
Her Farmboy... who had sent thoughts to her... or had he?
"I'm sorry, Farmboy, but I can't. My life isn't what you think it is and---"
"Then tell me what it is. I can understand if you tell me." he said in his contaminous earnestness.
She sighed, then slowly sat up. Then, she slowly drew her hair off her back to revealed the few long scars that were normally hidden by the red-gold mass.
She heard him gasp in shock.
"I can't, Farmboy." she answered glumly. "I wish that I could, but it isn't my decision..." She turned back toward him, toward his horrified eyes which softened to gaze at her with so much compassion that she felt like crawling in shame under her bed. "The best thing that can happen to us," she said through her suddenly dry throat, "is that someday, I'll be able to come back for you."
"You promise?" he asked her.
"I give you my word." she told him, then kissed him.
While she kissed him as if she would never stop, she realized that if she wanted to leave this world without too much trouble with her master, she would have to erase the boy's memories of her.
"Come on, Farmboy, we unfortunately have to go back to our lives." she told him with a sigh.
"Right... but you promise that we'll see each other again?" he asked her again as she got up from the bunk and began to put on her clothes.
"Yes, I promise we will." 'my love.' she added silently.
She picked up her still weapon-leaded trousers, gathered the rest of her clothes and disappeared inside her fresher to clothe up and cool down.
She had a job to do, she reminded herself.
It took them a good ten minutes to be ready to leave her ship. When they did, she walked alongside the young, silent man for perhaps a 100 meters, then reluctantly knocked him out with a hit to the neck, dragged him in a deserted alley and erased his memories of her.
"I'm sorry, Farmboy, but it's better this way." she apologized in an heartfelt voice. "I wouldn't want the Emperor to seek revenge on you." she told him once she was finished. She kissed him one last time, then left him alone to recover.
Aware that he was vulnerable until he woke up, she kept an eye on him until he did so, then truly left him behind herself and resumed her life as an Imperial assassin.***
******
(sherry)
Mara shook herself out of her reverie as she heard the Artoo unit behind her whistle again. She whirled around with her blaster in hand as Luke approached her. She swallowed hard as she suddenly realized why she was thinking about that time so long ago. Skywalker's eyes were like her Farmboy's. Clear blue eyes that changed according to his mood. Darker when angry and almost opaque when laughing. But it was more than the eyes. The way he was naïve. Mara rubbed the side of her head. It didn't matter. Her Farmboy was probably dead by now and this Jedi could never be as pure as he had been. It was the closest to any person that she had ever been. It was the closest she had ever come to being normal.
Luke held up his hands. "I was calling to you and you didn't answer."
Mara was embarrassed to be caught daydreaming. Especially about that time. No one had ever made her feel like that since then. "What do you want?" she snapped.
"Just your attention. Artoo says that there's a small stream ahead and I thought it might be good to freshen up."
Mara was amazed. "I'm going to kill you... if the imperials don't get you first... and you want to freshen up?"
Luke laughed softly and Mara couldn't help but notice his eyes lighten. She did not like how he made her feel. She had to hate this man and that was becoming harder and harder to do.
Luke shrugged as he realized how ridiculous his suggestion had sounded to her. "Just an idea."
Luke walked back toward Artoo ; Mara slowly holstered her blaster. "Fine, which way, Shorty?"
Mara gave him a swift kick ; Luke laughed at the indignant whistle from his droid.
"Careful Artoo, she might push you into the stream."
Mara suddenly turned toward Luke and raised her eyebrow at him, "Can you swim?"
Now it was Luke's turn to be embarrassed. He had suggested that they freshen up... and she was going to use the opportunity to drown him.
Mara laughed at the look on his face and drew his confiscated lightsaber to clear the path in the direction Artoo was headed. She truly loved putting the self-assured Jedi on edge.
Luke watched them as Mara's laugh sent chills up his spine. It was the first real laugh he'd heard from her and it unsettled him for some reason. He trailed along behind them.

*********************************

Luke was sitting where he could still see the small stream where they had refilled their water bottles. Mara had freshened up a bit while Luke had stayed suspiciously away from the water's edge. There was no sense in tempting the witch any further.
Mara had enjoyed his discomfort tremendously. She tossed a ration bar to him.
Luke ripped open the ration bar then stared at the woman across from him. "What?"
"Where are you from?"
Again he was confused. "What? Why do you want to know?"
Mara shrugged. "Just making conversation. What's the big deal?"
"You intend on killing me." He had certainly heard her say that plenty enough times.
"Yes." Mara fully agreed with him on that.
"So you're trying to get to know me better before you kill me." He would never understand this woman. He would be surprised if anyone ever did.
"No, I do not want to know you better. I just wondered how you came to be the hero of the rebellion and a Jedi Knight. A regular wonder-boy."
"Then why the questions about where I'm from?"
Mara glared at him. He seemed to be able to rattle her better than anyone ever had. "I could just kill you Skywalker."
"Then you wouldn't have anyone to threaten." Luke was not in a very good mood, "And stop glaring at me."
Mara tilted her head back and chuckled at his bad mood just as a vornskr charged headlong toward her. Mara's hand reached for her blaster but the wild animal was faster. She threw her arms up to ward it off ; she was knocked sideways by the impact. The next thing she knew was the vornskr was thrown clear of her. Mara immediately raised her blaster and fired before it got back to its feet. She defensively turned the blaster on Luke as he moved closer to her. He ignored the blaster that was pointed at his heart and picked up her other arm that had three long scratches on it.
"It's not to bad. You were lucky."
This was making Mara extremely uncomfortable. How dare he act as if he could do as he pleased. Mara tried to push Luke farther away but he seemed intent upon checking her wounds.
"I'm a big girl Skywalker. I don't need your help."
"It seems to me that we need each other."
Mara was incredulous. "What did you just say?" The blaster was still pointed at the Jedi.
"We need each other to survive in this forest. Is that so hard for you to understand?" Luke's voice betrayed his frustration.
Mara used the tip of the blaster to ease Luke's face up to meet hers. "The only thing you need to understand is that I can kill you at anytime." Mara's voice was barely above a growl.
Luke looked at her for a moment then slowly lifted his face away from her blaster. Without a word, he dropped her injured arm, slowly stood and walked as far away from her as he could. Mara watched as Luke Skywalker sat down on a tree stump with his back facing her. He rested his head in his hands ; Mara wasn't sure why he was so upset.
Mara watched him for several minutes then lowered her blaster and put it back in its holster. She mentally chastised herself for showing remorse. She just wasn't used to dealing with such a person. He seemed so wholesome, not at all the cold-blooded killer that she knew him to be. Like she was. For the first time in many years, Mara Jade let doubt creep into her mind. This Jedi couldn't be the same person who had killed her master. The way she had seen it through the emperor's eyes, it had been a calculated and vicious attack. This man was upset with her for her attitude and actions. And his eyes had been so sad when she had threatened him the last time. Mara could swear that she had seen disappointment as he had disentangled himself from her weapon. Disappointment and overwhelming exhaustion. Not physical exhaustion but the emotional kind that she was all too familiar with. The kind that came with fighting too many battles, losing too many people. Mara sighed. Yes, Skywalker was no stranger to war. A cry broke the uneasy silence between herself and Luke as two beasts in the night attacked each other. Their battle was being fought far enough away that they were safe but for some reason, it made Mara feel uneasy. She stood and walked closer to where he sat brooding.
"It's time for us to get moving, Jedi."
"I didn't kill him Mara." He whispered.
She took a step or two closer. "Why should I believe you?"
Luke stood and faced her. Mara was surprised at how tired he looked.
"There's no reason for you to believe me. I suppose that you never will but I still didn't do it. He was stronger than I was. I couldn't have defeated him at that time."
Mara shook her head. "I don't want to hear this...you have to be lying."
"Why? Because that would mean that your master lied to you? Mara, he was a monster who used anyone he could to further himself."
Mara drew herself up to full height. "I was not his pawn Skywalker. I was his hand"
Luke whispered again, "We were all his pawns Mara. Even me."
Luke did not know why but he felt that it was so important to make her believe him.
"I'm sorry Mara."
Luke cried out as he stumbled backwards when Mara shoved him as hard as she could. "I do not need your sympathy Skywalker. Do you hear me?"
Luke only stared at her as she continued to vent her frustrations out on him.
"I do not need you to offer support or comfort or anything to me. I do not need anything from you!"
Mara hissed every word but Luke still did not react. That only served to further infuriate the already hysterical Mara. She rushed at Luke and swung her fist as hard as she could at his face. Luke caught her arm easily and twisted it behind her back. With their faces only inches apart, Luke leaned even closer to whisper to his assailant.
"I did not kill him."
Luke abruptly let her go and took several steps back away from Mara. She clenched her fists and seriously considered killing him right then and there. It made her even angrier when she realized that it was not what she wanted. In fact, the need to destroy Luke Skywalker was dissipating all too quickly for her tastes.
Mara faced the Jedi once more and resolved to see this through to the end.
"It does not matter if you killed him or not because I fully intend on killing you."
Mara had threatened him on numerous occasions but somehow it sounded different this time. He watched as Mara drew his lightsaber and started down the path toward Hyllyard City.
Artoo reluctantly followed behind her as Luke stood watching for a few moments. Mara turned around to make sure that he was following ; their eyes met. Luke started down the path before more threats followed, but his mood had changed alrleady. For the first time since this entire ordeal had started, Luke Skywalker wondered if he would ever get out of this forest alive.
TBC? See with Sherry ;)

Can't wait to read all the other stories ; stay tuned for comments on your works people ;)

Till next time
May the Force be With You
SJ