Waking up with Mari still holding her tightly, the Wanderer opened her eye, almost forgetting that the night before wasn't a dream. Being the first to wake, the Wanderer found herself lost in thought, having conflicted feelings over their last conversation.
She found herself longing for Mari, a feeling that had been creeping up on her, though she kept it repressed until the prior night. As she looked at Mari's peaceful, precious sleeping face, she wanted to caress it once more, but she knew she could not.
With a gentle hand, the Wanderer shook Mari's shoulder, waking her up. "Hey, wake up." she whispered. As Mari's eyes opened, she too was surprised to find that the night before was not a dream. Mari looked up at the Wanderer and the two of them could both feel their hearts flutter.
There was a sort of awkward tension in the air around them. Neither knew what to say or do at that very moment. Mari wanted to climb away to the other side of the speeder, but at the same time, she didn't want to let go.
"We're still a day away from the Fletsnows... Did you want me to take you back? Or did you want to keep going." the Wanderer couldn't help but feel guilt stirring inside her, so she wanted to give Mari a choice. Though part of the reason she was reminding Mari that she still had a choice was because of her own selfishness.
She didn't want her to marry anyone else.
"You don't have to marry the prince if you don't want to." she added, hoping her mind would suddenly be swayed.
Mari shook her head, exhaling from her nose. "I do have to marry him. It's for my village. And I want to make everyone happy." she told her.
"But what about you? You can find someone who makes you happy." the Wanderer told her, hoping she'd just forget about the prince.
"I already did." Mari told her before getting up and crawling to the other side of the speeder. Hearing her say this, the Wanderer could feel her heart ache. There was so much she wanted to say, but she knew she couldn't.
"We should get going, right?"
The Wanderer looked at Mari with a solemn eye, watching as she leaned her body away from her. Mari wasn't mad at the Wanderer and she understood her choice, however, she couldn't help but still feel hurt over the entire ordeal.
"Mari... I'm sorry." the Wanderer told her.
"I know. I'm sorry too."
The Wanderer looked at her with a regretful eye before activating the ignition on the landspeeder. She took one last look at the waves beside them, which were no longer glowing beneath the sun shining through the dim clouds and light rain, before taking off toward their destination.
It was a long, painful eight-hour commute before the two of them ended up in the final town they'd step foot in before reaching the Fletsnow estate. The city itself was fairly wealthy, having sprawling skyscrapers and massive dome-like structures as far as the eye can see.
The streets were made of bricked sand, bordered by tropical trees on each side, gently fluttering in the wind. People dressed in high-quality robes and jewelry were walking beneath the trees, many of them glaring at the two outsiders in their barely put together speeder.
"So is everyone filthy rich here?" Mari asked, looking out at all of the wealthy people walking outside.
"Somethin' like that. The weather is supposed to be nice here, for Inskako standards at least." the Wanderer told her as she began parking the speeder inside of a lot next to other much more expensive and high-class speeders. "We're gonna stop here for a bit, get something to eat, and rest up. The Fletsnow estate is about a five-hour drive from here. I can get you there by tonight."
The Wanderer then flipped the switch to the roof of the speeder, causing it to slowly retract and open. As she hopped out of the speeder, she looked back to see Mari still sitting, rubbing her arm shyly as she looked the other way. "What's wrong?" the Wanderer asked.
Mari shook her head. "It's not worth saying... It's foolish." she whispered, feeling ashamed of her own thoughts. The Wanderer walked around the speeder and placed her hand next to Mari, looking down at her with a kind eye. "You can tell me, I won't think it's that foolish." she told her, bringing a slight smile to her face.
"I want to spend one more day with you. Just as friends. If that's okay." Mari felt embarrassed asking the Wanderer this. She had a strong feeling she'd decline, but she decided to ask regardless.
"Okay." the Wanderer told her, extending her hand out to her. "Let's eat first, I'm starving."
To Mari's surprise, the Wanderer accepted her invitation. However, as she looked up at the Wanderer, seeing her feint smile and solemn eye, she knew she wanted this as well. They both wanted one last day together, delaying their inevitable and permanent departure from one another.
And so, the two of them walked the streets together, side by side under an umbrella in a manner that was a little closer than friends to most people. Before long, they ended up walking inside a cantina, one with loud jazzy music coming from a live band. Immediately, the two of them stood out in comparison to the wealthy ones inside the establishment, even the servers looked at them differently.
The inside of the restaurant was a far cry from any place they'd ever stepped foot in on their home planet. The floors were made of glossy, glass-like material, reflecting the golden lighting coming from the metallic ceilings. By each table, there was a window that could either look outside or project a false image of either a garden, the ocean, or space.
It was incredibly high-end, one that the Wanderer knew would hurt her wallet. However, for Mari, anything was worth the price in her mind.
Despite their more rural appearance, one of the servers led them to a table, and the two of them sat across from each other at a booth. The Wanderer, wasting no time, started looking through the menu with a reluctant look on her face. "These prices are ridiculous..." she muttered, glancing up at Mari was pressing a panel beneath the window, selecting the false image of outer space.
Mari looked at the fake window with a soft smile before asking the Wanderer, "You've been to space, right? How was it?"
"Well..." the Wanderer didn't know how to answer. Traveling space was the same as any other sort of travel to her, the only difference being the fact that there was nothing much to crash into. "It's cold. Unending. You can see the stars a little closer, but they're still so far away."
"I wanna go... Just to see it." Mari told her.
"I'm sure you'll love it." The Wanderer told her, smiling softly at the future princess. However, deep inside, she wished that she would be the one to take her.
Before long, the Wanderer and Mari ordered their food and had their lunch. The two of them were seen walking the beach together, side by side under an umbrella once again. The sun was starting to set, reflecting off of the ocean while generating beautiful hues of orange, blue, and purple.
As they walked, bare feet in the sand, Mari looked up at the Wanderer with an admiring, yet, curious look in her eyes and a soft smile. Noticing it, the Wanderer looked over at her with a smile of her own. "What?"
Seeing Mari staring at her in such a way, with such eyes of admiration, made her a little giddy and nervous inside.
"Nothing. Just enjoying the view is all." Mari told her before looking down at the sand beneath their feet. "But also, I wanted to know something. What village are you from?"
"It was called Narosaka. Way out in the countryside. There's nothin' left of it." The Wanderer had a solemn look in her eye, but maintained a bitter smile to hide her heartache. "We were all farmers. That's where I got the accent."
"I'm sorry to hear that…" Mari whispered, regretting bringing it up. However, the Wanderer wouldn't let the past affect her mood this time around. "It's alright. I have fond memories of it. I still remember my parents' faces after all this time. What made you ask?"
"I was just thinking that maybe… I don't know." Mari was hesitant in saying what she had to say. Again, she thought it was foolish.
"That maybe what? You and I could've met if things were different? Maybe." The Wanderer told her, predicting her question. "I think about that a lot actually. How different things could have been if I was never forced to leave home. Maybe I would've run into you at Kyotara. We used to sell our goods there." The Wanderer paused for a second, looking down at Mari with a soft grin. "Maybe I would've been the one to marry you on the spot."
Mari blushed, looking down at her feet to hide it from the Wanderer. The Wanderer then bent over, getting down to Mari's eye level before teasing her. "Sir! This is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my twenty-four years of livin'! Please, let me marry her!" she said, acting as if she were the prince on the day Mari met him.
"Stop it." Mari lightly pushed the Wanderer and laughed. The Wanderer's way of asking was almost spot on with how the Fletsnow prince first approached Mari and her father.
"Would you accept my proposal?" The Wanderer asked her, smiling confidently.
"Of course, I would. My father wouldn't though. He doesn't even know I only like girls and he wouldn't like that very much. He wants me to have kids." Mari confessed, showing a small fraction of her father's true colors.
The Wanderer, finding their way of thinking odd, raised a brow. "You don't need to have a man and a woman to have children though. There are many ways of creatin' life within a person without a man."
Being from a place that didn't have such technology, Mari was dumbfounded to hear that such a thing was possible. The Wanderer was speaking the truth, a truth she learned during he travels and studying as a Jedi. Couples of any kind could have children, either through artificial means or through the Force. Both Jedi and Sith knew well of the chosen one's prophecy, stating that 'A Chosen One shall come, born of no father, and through him will ultimate balance in the Force be restored.'
Unbeknownst to the two girls, far in the future, this prophecy would come true.
"Yeah, one of the masters at the temple had a son with her wife. I guess they don't teach these things where we're from, huh?"
Mari shook her head. "No, they don't."
"I guess we'd have no way of knowing had I stayed here." The Wanderer added. "I'd just take your hand and run then."
"We can still do that... can't we?" Mari told her with her hand extended, wanting more than anything to be pulled away by the Wanderer to start a new life on a new planet with her. However, despite her wishes, she knew that this would be nothing more than a dream. "We can't..."
The Wanderer grabbed her hand, rubbing it with her thumb as she gave her a somber smile. "How about I take your hand and we walk? Let's go get a room so we can rest up for tomorrow, alright?"
"Okay. Let's go." Mari replied. And so, the two of them, with fingers interlocked, made their way to an inn, getting a room for the two of them. Before long, they both showered and found themselves lying in bed wearing nothing but their undergarments as their clothes dried in the dryer.
As the two lay side by side, Mari's eyes remained locked on the Wanderer's face. She knew that this very moment would be the last time she'd ever be able to admire her. If she could have one wish, outside of being able to be with her, she'd wish that she could pause the universe just so she could stay like this, viewing her to her heart's content.
Seeing a few strands of the Wanderer's jet-black hair blocking her face, Mari slowly started to reach over to move them out of the way. With gentle hands, Mari moved those few strands to the side, her soft touch prompting the Wanderer to open her eye.
The Wanderer said nothing, looking at Mari as she stared at her wantingly. Mari's hand started to retract, though the Wanderer was quick to grab it and hold it in place. Using her thumb, the Wanderer gently rubbed Mari's hand, all the while she stared silently at her.
"What are we doing?" Mari whispered, feeling her heart fluttering over and over inside her chest. She wanted more than anything to taste the Wanderer's lips once more, but she stopped herself.
"What 𝘢𝘳𝘦 we doing?" the Wanderer parroted back to her, feeling the exact same way as she. Though she was the one with the strict rules, she was prepared to break them.
"I don't want to go to sleep yet." Mari told her, insinuating what she wanted without saying it directly.
"Me neither." the Wanderer agreed, feeling the exact same way.
"Then let's never sleep." Mari told her as she scooted closer to the Wanderer, leaning in close to her.
"Okay. Let's stay up." the Wanderer leaned forward as well, her lips finding themselves within inches of Mari's. The two then looked at each other's gazes up close, their hearts pounding passionately within them.
"Do friends kiss?" Mari asked, her hand still rubbing the Wanderer's face.
"Depends what kinda friends they are." the Wanderer answered, still caressing Mari's hand with her thumb.
"Are we those type of friends?" Mari asked, inching closer with her lips.
"Maybe. Some friends do more than just kiss." the Wanderer whispered.
"Let's try it and see how we feel after. Like friends or something else." Mari told her, feeling the Wanderer's soft breaths gracing her lips due to their closeness.
"Let's do it." the Wanderer whispered.
"Okay. Before then... Whose name should I be calling?" Mari asked, refraining from kissing her just yet.
"Tomie." said the Wanderer.
"Tomie..." Mari told her, smiling upon letting her name grace her lips for the first time. "I love that name."
No longer able to take the tension, the two girls locked lips passionately as they did the night before. However, this time, neither of them planned on stopping.