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Chapter 5 It didn’t take long for Madame Zinkrey to hear of the incident at the wash station, and by the point it was so twisted that Katrina appeared the bully. Her attempts to defend herself fell on deaf ears and proved futile. Immediately after breakfast Katrina was locked back in her sleeping chamber until the evening meal. Katrina was sorry for it. She had wanted to see Tabi and spend the day with her. Though she knew that she could pick the door lock or find an alternate means of escape, she feared little good would come of it. The chances of being caught and punished further were too great for her to risk it, especially when she risked getting Tabi in trouble at the same time. Katrina removed her three valued possessions from her life before arriving at the school from the hidden pocket she had sewn into her uniform. She looked briefly at the holo of herself as a baby before replacing it in her pocket; it brought back too many memories of her life growing up as a slave to her father’s empire. The polished stone felt smooth and warm under her fingers, somehow reassuring. It too slipped back into her pocket as she looked down at the gold and wood trinket Cassidy had given her. She had fought herself many times and very hard not to think of her older sister, but it had never completely worked. Had Cassidy died in the fire at the compound, Katrina wondered. She held tightly to the ornament and closed her eyes, sitting back on the bed. It didn’t take long for Katrina to push herself between the threads woven together to make the fabric of time. With her spirit separated from her body it could bend and stretch in any way necessary to fit through the gaps and take her to places and times most beings couldn’t even imagine. It was easy for her to find the exact thread of events that she sought, it had all too recently been woven with her own past. Cassidy had studying with her special teacher when news of Palpatine’s death had reached the compound. Cassidy and the other older children, all sequestered with their own tutors in private rooms separate from the general population of the compound were the last to hear of it. The fire had already begun before the news of the events of Endor reached them, but because they were in one of the upper most levels of the underground structure they were the first to be evacuated when the fire alarms began. Katrina fell back on the soft mattress. She lay looking up at the ceiling for long minutes, thankful for her sister’s life and sorry for those that had not made it out alive. At some future point she would go back and watch it all, tally how many had escaped and how many had perished, and grieve for those that had not made it out, but for the moment her energy was spent. “You must be careful how you use your powers,” a familiar yet strange and distant voice whispered directly into Katrina’s mind. “You can be tracked and found through them.” “I had to know if my sister lives,” Katrina sent her thoughts back to him, not entirely sure which of two persons she spoke to. “I am Xenritha, Katrina,” the voice chuckled. “Cha-Lee would be far more harsh with his admonishment.” “How long must I stay here?” “Until the danger passes and you have grown.” “What does that mean,” Katrina demanded. “It means, that you will stay until we come for you,” a different voice answered, just as harshly as Katrina’s thoughts had been. “You have much to learn still, and much of it does not in anyway involve your Force-powers.” “They hate me!” “You have little reason to care about the opinions of others,” Cha-Lee responded, no softness sounding in his voice. “Easy for you to say, you don’t have to live with them,” Katrina’s mind muttered. “Considered your difficulties part of your lessons,” Xenritha responded gently. Katrina closed her eyes and sighed. She had no choice but to as they told her, but she had no reason to like it. Tabi made the place bearable, Katrina thought and wished that she could see the Weequay right then and there, somehow she knew that would make her feel better. “Can you at least give me an idea of how long?” Katrina’s thoughts asked. “There are some answers even Cha-Lee, Zanespot of the future, cannot give, Katrina,” Xenritha answered. “You must simply trust us when we say that you are not ready to come here and we are not ready for you to be here.” “I thought Zanespots were to stay together in their groups of three for their own protection,” Katrina argued. “You must trust us,” Cha-Lee answered sternly. “I do,” Katrina conceded. “I just wish you had chosen to leave me somewhere with creatures a bit more friendly than these.” Katrina sighed and closed her eyes again as she felt the connection break. She was not happy but she was not surprised by their answers. She had hoped that they had or would change their minds about leaving her there, but she had not honestly deluded herself into believing such a change had been made. She was glad, though, that the two older Zanespots were able to make contact with her so very easily, it made her feel as though she had allies nearby. |
