The Darkening: Chapter Three

..Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.

Jysella just finished dinner with her mother and grandfather, and was starting to feel uncomfortable. The older two were engrossed in their conversation, sharing memories and stories. She shifts in her seat, glancing around the stateroom her grandfather had assigned them upon their arrival.

"Mom?"

As Jysella speaks, Mirax turns toward her with a smile on her face. "Yes dear?"

"Do you mind if I go to the bazaar?"

Mirax hesitates for a moment, and then nods her head. "Sure, but don't wear your robes, go in a flight suit or some other civilian type clothes."

Jysella hesitates for a second, and looks down at the plate. Then she shrugs and looks back up at her mom. "Thanks, I'll go change now."

Getting up from the table, she goes to her assigned room and strips out of the Jedi robes that she had on. Catching sight of herself in the mirror she sighs, and quickly dresses in one of the jumpsuits that she brought with her. Once again, she glances in the mirror noting the boring, drab brown color of the jumpsuit. She frowns as the memory of the last time she wore it flows unbidden into her head. It was at a school function, and Kai had said that the drab brown of the jumpsuit matched her hair perfectly, boring brown for boring brown. She wipes away a tear as she pulls her hair up into a pony tail. With one last disgusted glance in the mirror, she leaves the room and goes back to the table where her mother and grandfather are still talking. She kisses them both on the cheek, and starts to leave the room.

As she keys open the door, she can hear her mother speaking, "Be back in two hours or so, we'll be returning to Ossus tonight."

Jysella quickly nods her head. "Okay mom, I will." Then she escapes into the hall, and away from the prying eyes and questions of her elders.

A short turbolift ride later and she's standing among the crowds of people who always seem to be on the Venture. She smiles as she gets lost in the crowd, happy at the anonymity the jumpsuit and crowds provide. She walks randomly, knowing that this market place extends nearly the entire width and breadth of this particular deck of the star destroyer as well as some of the decks above and below it, all in all it covers somewhere around three and a half square kilometers. She opens herself to the Force; letting it guide her steps, take her where she needs to go.

She bypasses the bits of darkness, indicative of petty thieves, or worse forms of criminals. She bypasses those shops that cater to the basest of appetites. She finds herself standing in front of a curiosity shop, and the Force prompts her to enter. Curious she steps towards the door, and then with a frown on her face, she stares at it for a second when it does not open automatically. Finally recognizing the manual door knob, she reaches out and grasps it, pressing down on the latch and pushing the door in. She jumps as the sound of bells greets her.

Pausing a second to slow her heart beat; she looks around the shop and then enters fully. The door behind her closes with the tinkling of the many bells that are positioned in the door's way. She looks around the shop, noticing the various curios and artifacts. Inhaling deeply, she lets a flicker of a smile cross her lips as the incense tickles her nose.

She stops at a long bladed staff type weapon. Reaching out she grasps it, and feels a connection to it in the Force, a dark connection, one which promises vengeance and pain. With a gasp she releases the weapon and looks at it once again.

"It is a Sith Glaive."

The voice that speaks causes her to shriek and jump. As she lands she spins to face an elderly human. He is dressed in floor-length robes with strange sigils running down two strips of cloth on the front of robe. He has a long scraggly beard, the same dark grey as his long scraggly hair. He smiles at her, a smile that appears kind, but still sends cold shivers still run up Jysella's back. "I'm sorry child; I did not mean to frighten you."

"That's okay, I just wasn't expecting anyone."

The old man nods his head a few times. "So child, how can I help you?"

Jysella shakes her head. "I'm really just looking around to see what I can find."

"Ahh, so did you like the glaive?"

Jysella quickly shakes her head no. "It gave me the creeps."

She watches as the old man strokes his beard, his lids half-closing. Then his eyelids suddenly pop all the way open and a smile flickers into existence on the man's face. "Wait here! I have the perfect thing for you!"

He rushes off into the dimmer portions of the store, and brings out a small box and holds it out to Jysella. Jysella looks at the box, noticing that it fits snuggly in one of the man's hands, and that the sides are covered in strange symbols. She almost jumps once again as the old man speaks. "Here you are. How do you like this?"

Jysella takes the box from the old man, her eyes and hands tracing the intricate designs on the sides. As she holds it, a sense of well-being flows into her, and she grins at the box. Finally she lifts her head up to the old man. "I love it! How much?"

"Fifty-five credits."

Jysella cocks her head, and looks at the box once more. "Forty."

"Fifty."

"Forty-five."

The old man smiles at her. "Deal."

Jysella hands over her credit chit, as the man finishes the transaction. A few moments later, Jysella is walking out the door, heedless of the sound of the tinkling bells. Looking around, she gets her bearings and finds the nearest turbolift. After a few steps, she turns back around to look at the curio-shop and sees nothing but a blank bulkhead. Frowning she shakes her head as she realizes that she must have lost track of time while walking away from the shop. After staring at the bulkhead for a moment more she once again heads towards the turbolift.

A little while later, she walks into the stateroom she is sharing with her mother, and sees her mom and grandfather now sitting on the couches still talking. She walks into that room, and plops down onto a chair. Mirax looks over at her with a smile. "I see you bought yourself something, what is it?"

Jysella holds up the box for the other two to see. "It's some type of puzzle box. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I will."

"Well have fun with it."

"I will."

Then Jysella once more takes to tracing the designs on the side of the box with her fingers, shutting out the conversation between her mom and grandfather. She lets the Force flow through her, and notices that as she traces along the box, her finger leaves a glowing trail on its surface. She smiles once more, happy to have figured out another aspect of her new find.

Before long, Mirax stands up from the couch. "Time to go Jys."

Startled, Jysella looks up from her box at her mother. "Oh, okay." She then jumps up and wraps her grandfather in a giant hug, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye grandpa."

The older man squeezes her tightly and kisses the top of her head. "Bye sweetie."

Then she rushes to her room and grabs her bags. After a moment Mirax joins her and the two head towards the Pulsar Skate. As she is slowly backing the Skate out of the Venture's hanger, Mirax turns towards her daughter, who is sitting in the copilot's seat. "So, did you have fun?"

Jysella looks up from her puzzle box for a second to glance at her mom. "Yeah, it was a great trip."

Mirax smiles and turns once more back towards the forward viewport as they pass the magfield and enter space. Giving power to the sublight engines, she quickly builds the necessary speed for a hyperspace jump. As soon as the navicomputer pings, she grabs the levers and they make the jump back to Ossus.