Red Agana

Silence filled the chamber of the High Council as the Grand Masters surrounded Koth-Kuwaan. The light was dim, only being supplied by lit braziers.

“If what you say is true, Master Koth-Kuwaan, then this child must be contacted at once.” spoke Grand Master Yelwen, breaking the silence. Yelwen was an old and wise Lannick, his short stature made him seem unintimidating but those who have had the misfortune to get on his bad side have seen otherwise. “I see no reason to delay your departure to Alderaan to collect this child.” Koth-Kuwaan nodded respectfully but he was not dismissed, Yelwen’s eyes had turned to a sour face in the council. Mah Loraeno, Coruscant born Jedi Master, was known for his judgmentality and strict ideals.

“You know my thoughts on this subject matter, Grand Master.” He replied with his deep voice. Yelwen stroked his chin in thought.

“Indeed, we have seen this once before… Still, such power without proper guidance could lead to disaster. Something must be done.”

“You are correct, Grand Master, something must be done. Another one cannot be allowed to-”

“Silence, Master Loraeno!” Yelwen snapped. “Watch your tongue, lest your judgement corrupts you. Indeed something must be done but in the way of raising and cultivating this child’s potential. Perhaps they can become a bridge between us and him…” A murmur swept the council with Yelwen’s last comment. Soon all the Masters, barring Loraeno and his companions, agreed to the collection of the alleged child.

“The matter is settled then, Master Koth-Kuwaan, you may leave at once for Alderaan in search of this alleged child so that they may be trained along with the other younglings. You are dismissed.” Yelwen closed the council, dismissing Koth-Kuwaan who bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

“Grand Master Yelwen, this is a mistake!” Loraeno exclaimed as he followed Yelwen down the hall. The Grand Master simply clicked his tongue.

“I do not make mistakes, Master Loraeno.” 

“Do not let your age cloud your mind, Yelwen, you are not perfect.” Mah Loraeno said firmly, quickening his pace and stopping in front of Yelwen in a confrontation.

“And you, Mah Loraeno, do not think that your judgments are infallible either. What you spoke of today in the council chamber is heresy, it is not the Jedi way.” Yelwen argued with a hard voice. “Now, go. I am going to meditate over this supposed child, and you are going to respect your elders.” Yelwen stepped around Loraeno and walked away, leaving the sour-faced man frustrated.

A passenger ship headed for Alderaan carried Master Koth-Kuwaan who sat silently in peace. A child seated across from him gazed in awe at the sight of a Jedi, he paid the child no mind except for a polite smile before looking out the window. 

Before long the ship had entered the Alderaan system and an announcement came over the ship intercom instructing the passengers that they would be arriving within the hour and that the blue planet could be seen from their windows. As the ship descended, Koth-Kuwaan gazed upon the natural beauty of Alderaan with its rolling fields and high peaks. Somewhere within it laid a powerful swelling of the force, the scent only grew stronger as the vessel landed at one of the space ports. As the Jedi Master stepped onto the platform he felt a tug on his robes, the child from before looked up at him.

“You’re a Jedi?” They asked curiously.

“Yes.” Koth-Kuwaan replied without a smile. The child beamed regardless.

“Can I see your lightsaber?!”

“No.” Koth-Kuwaan answered bluntly before walking away from a disappointed child. The Jedi Master was not known to be a people person, let alone a people pleaser. He was someone who stood on business and was serious in everything they did, sometimes at a fault. 

As Koth-Kuwaan walked through the city of Aldera, the swelling of the force grew only stronger. He figured he could see it if it was any thicker. Soon enough he came upon a home on the edge of the city. It was unassuming and modest in structure, a nice backyard garden could be seen walking up to the door. Koth-Kuwaan knocked and stood waiting patiently. The door was unlocked and cracked open, a shadowy eye peered through before opening the door fully to reveal a woman looking surprised. 

“...A Jedi?” She said quietly to herself. Koth-Kuwaan had hoped for a more verbose greeting.

“Yes. May I come in, ma’am?” He asked politely, he sensed that he had arrived in the right place, not only by the woman’s exaggeration but by the strength of the force that had gathered here. A moment passed before the woman gathered herself and nodded but before she could say anything a man, presumably the husband of the woman, peered from around the corner inside.

“Who’s there, Margaret?” But the question answered itself when he saw a man in Jedi robes standing in his doorway. The woman named Margaret beckoned Koth-Kuwaan inside. When the door was shut she spoke softly. 

“This is about our child, is it not?” She asked, earnestly. The Jedi nodded.

“So, then, you know?” The couple exchanged glances and the husband nodded at his wife.

“Please, the living room, have a seat.” They insisted and the three of them walked further into the home. 

In the living room was a boy, no more than six or seven years old on the floor playing with toys. When Koth-Kuwaan laid eyes on the child the truth became clear. This child was special, and the one he was looking for. His mother quickly ushered him away into a separate room. Koth-Kuwaan took a seat across from the boy's father.

“My name is Koth-Kuwaan. I am a Jedi Master, as you have no doubt guessed.” The father of the boy seemed displeased.

“How did you learn about my boy?” He asked firmly.

“I sensed him, through the force. Your child, your family, have no doubt experienced unexplainable phenomena-”

“Spare me the speech, Jedi. I do not want you to take my boy.” The father crossed his arms, his wife stood behind him and placed hands on his shoulders. Koth-Kuwaan leaned forward and sighed.

“Under normal circumstances, this would be the end of this conversation and I would leave you and your family in peace, as is the Jedi way, but these are not normal circumstances. A large presence of the force has gathered around the boy. The likes of which is rarely seen. If the boy is not properly guided, trained to manage his abilities, it could be dangerous and attract unwanted attention.” He explained clearly and carefully, as to not step on any toes.

“It has attracted unwanted attention, you Jedi!” The man snapped.

“William!” Margaret scolded.

“I will not apologize! I will not have my son taken away from his mother and father to be taken care of by a bunch of magic men wearing robes!”

“I urge you-” Koth-Kuwaan started.

“And I urge you to leave! You are not welcome in this house!” The matter was settled. Koth-Kuwaan stood up to leave but a door creaked and out came the boy, his eyes widened at the sight of a Jedi in his living room.

“Everiss! I thought I asked you to stay in your room!” Margaret scolded and went over to him.

“Is he a Jedi?” The boy asked curiously, pointing to Koth-Kuwaan, who had not moved since he stood to leave. William sat staring holes into him whilst his wife tried to coax their boy into returning to his room.

“He’s a guest, Everiss, he’ll be leaving soon so please stay in your room.”

Another knock came to the door, taking everyone’s attention. William stood up to go answer it.

“If it’s one of your Jedi friends I swear I will have the police involved in this!” He exclaimed as he reached for the doorknob and twisted his wrist. “I will not have you Jedi take my boy away from me! Mark my-” As William opened the door he was met with blaster fire, leaving him dead in the doorway. Margaret screamed and pushed Everiss away into the other room as three masked men entered the home, wielding blasters of varying sizes, upon laying eyes on Koth-Kuwaan they opened fire, but not before the Jedi Master instinctively equipped the lightsaber strapped to his hip and released its ocean blue blade. He skillfully deflected the blaster shots, two bounced back hitting the perpetrators in the chest causing them to fall motionless to the ground. Before Koth-Kuwaan could do anything about the final invader, Margaret screamed and charged forward.

“You bastards!!” She leapt towards the last of the men but was met with blaster fire. She fell to the ground face down. In a swift motion, Koth-Kuwaan stepped forward with his lightsaber in hand and with a fluid motion sliced the man's shooting hand clean off. He turned off his lightsaber and grabbed the masked man by the collar of his shirt.

“Who sent you?!” He demanded answers but before a word could escape from his mouth, a blaster fired off into his back. One of his fallen comrades silenced him with their last breath. Koth-Kuwaan let go of the man, letting his body fall to the floor. He looked around at the aftermath of the conflict, it seemed a breath of life still remained in the boy’s mother. He knelt down and rolled her over. She breathed in sharply and looked at him.

“Take… my boy…” Her last words were quiet and when her breathing stopped her eyes closed. Koth-Kuwaan sighed and stood up, this was not the worst case scenario he had planned for. The boy, named Everiss, stood at the corner looking up at Koth-Kuwaan.

“You are a Jedi…” He said softly in amazement. Koth-Kuwaan was not sure if the boy understood the events that had just transpired, or if he was simply in shock but he knelt down and placed a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A year and three months had passed in good health, the club thrived and Mr. George Robertson kept on his part of the deal, and so long as he didn’t cause trouble, so did Martha. Though things were not the same anymore, alcohol was purchased and distributed in secret and only to those trusted enough by Martha, so in all things official, the Second Circle club had gone dry in everything but their performances. Ruby still drew in crowds of men, and the dancers ushered in thunderous applause night after night.

Tonight was no different either, the dancers scurried off stage as the lights dimmed and the spotlight landed on Ruby Baudelaire, alone on stage as the band began to play. Ruby swayed to the music and opened her eyes to sing.

“Blackbird, blackbird, why do you sit and say, there’s no sunshine in store?” The club was practically silent as all eyes watched Ruby take the microphone and step around the stage.

“All through the winter, you hung around, and now I feel… homeward bound.” Ruby stepped over the electric bulbs on the stage and sat on the edge, flattening out her dress and looking at the men around her.

“Blackbird, blackbird, I must be on my way…” She winked at a table of men before standing up and returning to the center of the stage.

“To where there’s sunshine galore… Gonna pack up all my cares and woe, here I go singing low, bye bye blackbird.” 

When the song was over and the dancers returned to the stage, Ruby hurried away and hastily made passing conversation as she ran backstage and out onto the floor. She had somewhere to be and she didn’t want to be late.

“Where do you think you’re going, dear?” Martha asked, waiting by the door as if she knew Ruby was going to leave. Ruby stood up straight and cleared her throat.

“Mother, you know perfectly well where I’m going.” She answered firmly. Martha smiled and patted Ruby’s head affectionately.

“Go see him, dear. Tell him I said congratulations on his first performance. Oh! And mind the rain, Ruby, I don’t want you to slip and fall.” She added as she walked away.

Ruby hurriedly left the club and out onto the sidewalk as she moved as fast as she could in the dress. She only hoped she would make it in time to catch his performance. The night sky was covered in dark clouds and rain began to pour on the city below, luckily Ruby made it to her destination before she got soaked. Thanks to Martha, Henry was finally able to get his singing career off the ground and landed a job at a fancy dinner restaurant called “Alfredo’s.” Ruby pushed the door open and entered to see Henry in the far side of the restaurant holding the microphone. Her eyes widened in admiration as he sang.

“Where somebody waits for me… Sugar’s sweet and so is she.” Ruby took a step further in as Henry took notice of her and winked at her. She blushed slightly.

“Bye bye, blackbird…” Unlike Ruby’s stage, Henry didn’t have a lot of space to move around, but that was alright by him. He wasn’t quite as good of an entertainer as Ruby.

“No one here can love and understand me… Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me.” Ruby watched with admiration and hardly noticed the host addressing her.

“Miss? Miss?” The host snapped his fingers to get her attention. “May I seat you?”

“Oh!” Ruby laughed a little and shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m just here to see him.” She explained, the host frowned and gestured for her to step aside then.

“Make my bed and light the light… I’ll arrive late tonight. Blackbird… Bye bye…”

When Henry had finished his piece, he met her by the door. Ruby held her hands together and smiled up at him.

“You were amazing, Henry, I’m so proud of you.” She said quietly, trying not to disturb the restaurant. Henry smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

“Ah, thank you Ruby, I couldn’t have gotten here without your and Martha’s help.” Ruby waved a dismissive hand, and smiled lightly

“All we did was put in a good word, you have the talent, mister. And Martha told me to give you her congratulations.” 

“Ah, well then I’ll have to ask you to give her my thanks.” He replied charmingly. “But hopefully not too soon, I would like to show you something, if you have the time?” He asked, gesturing to the door. He smiled at her and both of them began to laugh lightly. Ruby covered her mouth and eyed him affectionately.

“I always have time, Henry.”

“Good. Let’s go then!” He said quickly as he took her hand and began taking her back towards the door.

“Wait- Wait Henry it’s raining outside!” She cried as they reached the door.

“No worries then-” He said. “I’ve got an umbrella.” He said taking an umbrella from the stand by the door. It definitely didn’t belong to him.

When they were outside, they walked side by side. The umbrella wasn’t large so she had to walk close to him, which she didn’t mind whatsoever. He was warm, and it was cold out.

“So. I got an advance on my paycheck, and… I managed to get a new apartment. Much nicer than the last one.” He commented, Ruby covered her mouth to laugh, she remembered his old apartment. She’d seen it briefly many times over the past year, it was small to say the least and even that was giving it too much credit.

“Oh? I hope it’s not too far, the weather is dreadful, Henry.” She said looking at her soaked shoes.

“Not much farther, don’t worry.

“And… here we are!” Henry said, opening the door of his new apartment. Ruby walked in and looked around her, spinning in a little circle. The walls had cream and yellow floral wallpaper, the floors were wood and a maroon rug lay in the center of the room. Directly across from the door were two more doors that opened to a very small balcony. Inside the room, however, was a couch and a chair, a table with an empty vase. A small clock on the wall and a stovetop in the corner. On the ceiling was a small light fixture, as well as a lamp in the far corner of the room. Ruby smiled as Henry followed her in, letting the door close behind them.

“I’d show you the balcony but…” He gestured to the rain-dotted window panes. “It’s still raining.” Ruby shook her head and smiled.

“It’s quite alright, it’s very lovely Henry. I love the wallpaper. Oh! And the couch!” She added as she half threw herself down on the couch. It sprung her back up lightly.

“Just wait until you feel the bed, the most comfortable bed I’ve ever laid on.” He said looking down at her on the couch. Ruby sat up and raised her hand so he could help her up to her feet.

“Show me the bedroom, Henry.” She said very plainly, looking him in the eyes.

“As you wish.” He replied with a charming smile, leading her to the left of the entrance. The bedroom wasn’t much. It contained the same wallpaper and the same floors. There was another window on the outside wall. In the center of the room was a four post bed. On each side, a small bedside table with an oil lamp. Because of the cloudy sky, the room was rather dim so Henry went to light the lamps. Ruby looked around, behind her in the corner was a mirror that she observed herself in.

“Oh, it’s very lovely in here, Henry. Things are finally looking up for you.” She said calmly looking around with an impressed smile. “Why, you’ve got everything you could ask for!” She turned to face him, she smiled at him and he gently lifted her chin.

“Almost everything.” Henry said softly, looking into her eyes. Ruby’s heart started to pound in her chest and butterflies filled her stomach. “There’s just one thing missing, Ruby.” He continued, stepping closer to her.

“And… and what might that be, Mr. Warwick?”

“You, Ruby. I’m missing you.” Those few words made Ruby blush, and yet they were what she feared the most. For years she hated the thought of being a housewife, a trophy, a decoration. And here she was being flustered by the entire situation, was this how it was supposed to be? She thought to herself.

She stepped away from Henry and into the living room, she held her arms and looked out the balcony doors, at the raindrops falling down the glass panes. Henry stepped slowly into the room, a calming smile on his face.

“I promise you, Ruby. I don’t mean to make you sit in this dull apartment day in and day out like any housewife. You know I would never force that on you. You’ll be your own person, you’ll be able to do the things you want to do, and I would never ever keep you from the Second Circle.” He came over to her and Ruby turned to face him with her back against the door. “Not that Martha would let me.” He laughed lightly, and so did she. “You’d never have to do anything you didn’t want to, in fact you don’t even have to agree to this.” He finished, looking at her with the same affectionate smile he always gave her. Suddenly everything was alright, she was alright.

“Oh, but Henry, I do agree.” She embraced him and pressed her lips against his. Their eyes closed while their bodies pressed together, she could feel the cold glass panes on the door touch her back, sending chills down her spine. Just as well, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, undoubtedly, Henry could too as they locked lips with her arms around his neck, and his around her waist. She lifted her leg slightly, grazing Henry’s and almost by instruction he grabbed her thigh to lift it further.

As they kissed, the butterflies in Ruby’s stomach only multiplied and she giggled in between kisses.

“Oh, you’re wonderful, Henry.” She said, moving her leg back to the floor and looking at him, their faces mere inches apart.

“You really think so?” He asked, looking at her with adoration in his eyes. She covered her mouth to laugh.

“Of course, Henry. You’re amazing and you did so well today. Let’s celebrate.” She said looking at him, biting her lip. He looked a little lost and looked around.

“Well… I don’t have any champagne I’d have to go to-”

“No, silly.” She said, gently cupping his cheek and turning his face back to hers. “I don’t want any silly drinks, I want you.” Henry looked at her and she could see his cheeks redden a little. Ruby laughed lightly and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Don’t make me say it again, Mr. Warwick.” She teased, before she could get a giggle out, he pressed his lips against hers and she melted almost instantly into his arms.

Ruby already knew that she loved Henry, but it was now that she knew that this was a love that would last. Things were getting better and better, as her heart beated faster and faster.

The next morning came by quickly and Ruby woke up with a headache. She looked around and did not find herself in the bedroom of the club. Instead she saw her own clothes on the floor and beside her a sleeping Henry Warwick. Last night’s memories came flooding back to her mind and her face softened into a smile. She looked at Henry and leaned down to kiss his cheek. She got out of bed and picked up her clothes from the floor and began dressing herself in the mirror. She noticed behind her that Henry was awake and watching her.

“Good morning Henry.” She said, pulling her garments back onto herself.

“Leaving already?” He asked in a teasingly whiny voice. She laughed quietly and turned to look at him face to face.

“Yes, Martha will be worried sick, you know that.” She said quickly walking over to him to briefly kiss his lips.

“Mmm. I’ll take you, just one moment-”

“No, Henry, it’s fine, get some sleep, my love.” She stopped him, gently running a hand through his hair.

“Are you sure?” He asked, sitting up.