Rough Awakenings

[dark_lady_sariss]

A moment will find a black-robed woman standing in a narrow lane, appearing in a swirl of dark smoke. Dark something, certainly, and don't expect her to tell you anything - she would know even less than you. For a second she is completely still, then her head jerks up, the hood falling back to reveal a head of blond hair, half of it escaping from tight control. She staggers, briefly, a gloved hand against a wall, gasping for breath.

She stays that way, breathing heavily, for just a moment. Then it is as if she snaps to her senses, entire body straightening up as if a scarecrow was suddenly filled up with straw.

Inside her head, it is a moment of starlight. A perfect, beautiful moment. For a second, there was nothingness - a sense of self, perhaps, writhing in confusion. And then there was light, life, as the Force flooded back into her. It was different, somehow, but it was still the Force - the life of all living things.

Deeper still, she felt the cold fury that had motivated her all her life stir again. It took only a moment, but inside it was an eternity - an engine roaring back to life from a cold start. Then, suddenly, her demeanor changed. The confusion, the jerkiness all disappeared as the cloak folded around her. She reached up, putting her hair back into order, not one strand missing.

Then she turned, slowly, boots crunching quietly on the ground. Whatever this was, wherever this was, she had to know, and soon. She felt for her lightsaber and found it, a certain relief rushing through her for a moment before she crushed that feeling under the icy weight of resolve. But the larger fact still lurked at the back of her mind, and she knew it would gnaw at her unceasingly.

And so, quietly to herself, she whispered aloud: "How am I alive?"