______Aeon came to slowly. Her eyes opened, and she stared at the characteristic pattern of the temples' stone ceiling. It was a familiar enough sight, one that she awoke to most mornings.
______What had happened to her? She couldn't recall at first, and then it began to slowly filter itself into her consciousness. The details came back to her slowly. She remembered the crystal, and a strange warm feeling. She remembered becoming disoriented. She must have passed out.
______It appeared that someone brought her back to her room. Wonderful. That meant her father knew that they had sneaked into the temple. Oh well, she would deal with that later. Besides, that was definitely worth it.
______She moved to sit up, but found it difficult. She felt heavy, as if her muscles weren't capable of lifting her. She reasoned that her body was still recovering from being unconscious. She had never blacked out before, and didn't really know what to expect. She went a bit easier, not wanting to pass out again.
______She put in a more concerted effort, and carefully sat up. Everything felt strange. Even her bed seemed smaller. She chalked it up to her blackout. Aeon looked around the room, and her heart fluttered momentarily.
______This wasn't her room. Where am I? she thought to herself. The furnishings in this room were all made of dark woods, as opposed to the polymers and metals that outfitted the Rebel headquarters. They were beautiful pieces, accented with plush red velvet. She loved them. The décor was sparse, just a desk, chair, a bench, and a tapestry on the wall. But who would have furniture like that here?
______Aeon began noticing details. There was a mirror on top of the desk. An old-fashion metal sword and scabbard leaned casually against where the desk and wall met. The sword was also seen elsewhere in the room. The central image on the tapestry was that of a handsome young man with dark hair. He was wearing a sword, the same sword that lay casually against the desk. Was this his room?
______It was very confusing, and more than a little troubling. Had she been brought here?
______Maybe her father didn't know where she was. Maybe she should get out of there as soon as she could.
______Slowly, she rose to her feet. Again she felt the same felt the same sensation with weight, as if she was to heavy too lift herself. It was reminiscent of when she tried on the heavy pilot's uniform with all the gear. That's how she felt now. She actually fell back to the bed, and had to use her hands to propel herself into a standing position.
______Standing upright didn't help. She was struck by the size of the room. It was a large space, clearly larger than her own chambers, and yet everything was scaled down. The ceiling was lower than in her chamber, but the floor seemed farther away. It was as if she was standing on something.
______Aeon looked down-another bad idea-and her head began to spin. She was standing too high, and her disorientation worsened. Her legs weakened beneath her, and she didn't fight it.
______She bent down to one knee, and steadied herself on the floor with her hand. She closed her eyes to try and calm her reeling perception.
______A knock fell lightly upon the door. She looked up, somewhat in alarm. Was it the room's owner? Aeon hesitated for a moment, hoping they might go away.
______Another thing struck her as odd: none of the rooms in the temples had wooden doors. She wondered again: where was she?
______Aeon had little time to ponder this, because the door creaked open. Terror came over her, and she looked around in panic.
______The sword! She tried to get to her feet, but the reeling in her head brought her crashing down, the hard stone floor cracking on the surface of her knee cap painfully. She put a hand to her head in an effort to steady herself.
______"Are you awake, my prince?" a voice said. Aeon looked up, and saw a gentle looking young man with short blonde hair and beautiful green eyes looking at her. Seeing her on the floor, his expression changed immediately to one of concern. "Are you all right?"
______He came rushing over to her. When he got close to her, she could see that she was taller than he was, and he was dressed very strangely. He wore a purple tunic tied at the waist with a gold chain.
______"Ah, my prince," he began, "this bravado is going to be the death of you." Why did he keep calling her that? And why, even when using an honorific term, did it sound like he was lecturing to her? But the young man went on: "Why didn't you tell me you were injured?"
______Why would she tell him? She wasn't injured-at least as far as she knew. Maybe she had hurt herself when she passed out. Her knee hurt when it hit the stone floor, it couldn't have been too good for her head.
______She suddenly realized that the stone of the temple floor was warm to the touch, and she regarded this curiously.
______Aeon was confused. This person was addressing her like they knew each other, and yet she was sure they had never met.
______A horrible thought came over her: what if she had amnesia? What if she had received a blow to the head, and had suffered amnesia? She did a quick rundown of everyone she could think of: her father, Tam, Cammie, Gates, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker.
______Luke Skywalker. She smiled a bit.
______She could rule out amnesia. So who was this guy?
______"Let's get you back into bed." He was trying to lift her. He couldn't have been very strong, because he was having a rather difficult time of it. "A little help, your Highness."
______"Why do you keep calling me that?" she asked, but her voice sounded strange to her. It sounded muddled, but she couldn't put a finger on why.
______"Because that's your title," the young man answered, "and it's no longer proper for me to address you as Vail. It was all right when we were children, but there is etiquette to be followed now." Children? What was he talking about? She had never seen him before in her life.
______Between the two of them, Aeon got to her feet. She had to lean on him for support. She happened to turn her head toward the desk, and caught her reflection in the mirror. It wasn't quite what she expected to see.
______"Oh boy," she stammered, oblivious to the pun. She stared agape at the face in the mirror.
______Staring back at her was a man's reflection...
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