Star Wars: Swords of the Force

[HookerBoots]

Irina felt the floor drop from under her feet, and come up to meet her again. This wasn't possible. Her Ramza . . . a Jedi? It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. Her outer composure unshaken, her mind was reeling. It explained so very much, even as she tried to deny it. He had known, that first day together, when she'd used the Dark Side. Never told her where he'd gotten his training, oh, gods, this was a disaster.

Suddenly, a sibilant voice seemed to whisper in her ear. She had to finish her mission, and he stood in her way. Irina Farlander, Darth Xeres, would not be stopped by something as flimsy, as pitifully noble, as love. The smile crept across her face again, hard and cruel. She was better than he was, that was a fact. And he'd lied to her. Harmless, he'd said. No expert on Jedi. She wrapped that knowledge around her like a shield. And reached up to unfasten the neck of her cloak.

"I'm afraid I have no choice, Ramza." She threw the cloak off her shoulders, her eyes traveling to the Guildmaster and Master Jedi. "My ladies, I offer a bargain. My orders are to terminate you, Master Jedi Jakara Shahazdra. If Lord Orlandau can defeat me - if he is man enough - I shall not trouble you again, I'm certain." Irina gave a reckless smile, and lit her lightsaber, the gold beam humming as she gestured. "In the far more likely event that I defeat him, I shall meet you in a duel, to determine which of us shall see the end of this day."

Her gaze turned once again to Ramza, and she felt a stab of pain in her chest, quickly pushed aside. "I do not want to kill you either, lover. But I will if I must. You can leave now, and . . . and we will part forever." With a mocking little curtsy, she grinned again, and stepped into a easy stance. "Well, Master Jedi? Would you like to see me take the three of you at once? Or give my lover a chance to take my life, instead?"

 

[Armphid]

"No," he whispered at that first sound of her voice. Her voice. His love's voice. The cloak fell away, showing for all what he'd known as soon as she spoke. His sword arm dipped an eighth of an inch, and though his face was impassive, his eyes were stricken with agonized sorrow. He felt like he'd been run through with ice. The stabbing feeling in his chest was so cold it burned. She'd lied to him, tricked him. She was one of his greatest enemies. The woman he loved.

She'd been the one in the park that day. She'd lead him to think it was nothing. So carefully avoided talking about her past or her beliefs on the Force. She'd used him. Used him to get close to the Guildmaster, who was close Master Shahazdra. The Sith were liars and manipulators, and she'd played him like a master. But he'd thought...he was so sure it was real.

Anger blazed up in him, fighting off the cold hurt and despair in his chest. Then he closed his eyes, forcing all of it away. No emotion. Peace. He could not reach it. The hurt of her betrayal was just...he almost felt like he couldn't stand. But he had to. His love wasn't important. His duty was. What a fool he'd been to forget that! To think that he could have had...no, don't even think about it.

"There's always a choice, Irina...if that's your real name." Ramza's eyes opened, again set and sure. There was only a flicker of the deep despairing ache that gnawed at him in those blue orbs. "Saying you don't is just another cheap Sith lie. An excuse," he spat. "You're familiar with excuses and justifications, aren't you, sweetling?"

"Ramza." Master Shahazdra's voice was clear and commanding, "I will not make this choice for you, you are no longer my student. But as one who cares for you, let us do this together."

"...No, Master. I need to do this alone." The older woman nodded, stepping back away from the edge of the dias, the Guildmaster moving with her. Jakara's heart ached, she could feel the turmoil and hurt inside her former student. She knew he could not banish it, and with it there...the outcome was not likely to be in his favor.

Ramza assumed a side stance, holding the saber in both hands next to his head, the still unlit blade pointing skyward. "You will fight me, Xeres. And even if you kill me, I will win." She might beat him, but it wouldn't be easy. She'd be tired, possibly injured. Easy for Master Shahazdra after that. The blade ignited with the familiar snap-hiss he loved so much. Green light flooded his tensed and ready form. "You already have my love. After that, my life is a small thing. Come and risk taking it, if you dare!"

 

[HookerBoots]

She laughed, a bitter sound. "A choice that is no choice, my love. If I lose to you, I die. If I win, but fail to kill your Master, I die. If I had taken your offer last night, my Master would have killed me." Her hands gripped the light saber's hilt more tightly. "Perhaps I should have told you I'd go with you. At least then, I'd die happy." With a tight smile, she added, "And yes, no matter what, you win. If I kill you, my heart, I don't know that I'll live much longer anyway."

Irina steeled herself, swinging the saber easily, as though her wrist had ball bearings in it. "A shame, though. I've never fought two Jedi before, it would have been something to experience." On light feet, she ran towards him - not directly, that would have been foolish. Slightly to his right - he would pivot and try to flank her if she came at him head on, and he'd probably think she was, this way. But since she'd be to one side, all she'd have to do was twist her wrist slightly and parry his swing with her own.

 

[Armphid]

"More justifications." Ramza watched her, knowing the moment of the fight was seconds away. "Stop hiding behind them, you're better than that. Make your own choice for your own reasons." Could he do this? Fight her? If he had to hurt her...could he? If he had to kill her...

She moved, and he pushed the thoughts away. He saw what she was doing, the slight angle of her approach, and the corners of his mouth turned upward in the hint of a smile. He did not wait for her charge to strike, he leaped forward and to the right to meet her, an unusually aggressive move for a Jedi. He slashed at her head, bringing the blade back to a downward vertical position to block her counter, then flicking it up in an outward arc to press her back.

The common assumption was that Jedi fighting styles were primarily defensive, and there was some truth to it. However, there were offensive forms as well, and Ramza had studied more mundane swordplay well before his Force Sensitivity had been detected. "You say yourself you can't win," he commented as his blade cut and danced with hers, "your Master knew this and sent you here anyway. Why serve someone who would discard you so readily? What do you owe him?" Even if she killed him, he would not stop trying to help her. To save her. "Your life is worth more than this!" The blades crackled as they came together in a brief corps-a-corps. "Don't throw it away!"

 

[HookerBoots]

"I'm following orders, Ramza." Their faces were close together over their blades, the green and gold light casting mysterious shadows over their faces. "Nothing more. And I owe him a great deal." They pushed apart, and she danced back. The most dangerous thing for her in this fight was his greater reach and size. "After my planet was destroyed, he took me in and taught me, trained me."

Her blade flicked out, trying to get past his defenses, first high, then low. "And what life? Why should I pick a man who didn't have enough honor to tell me he was a Jedi over someone who showed me how to embrace my own power?" Irina gripped her saber in one hand, and shot the other out and up, embracing and unleashing the darkness inside of her heart as lightning. It struck the ceiling, sending the massive chandelier that had been hanging there crashing down. With a twist of her hand, she shot another bolt of lightning at the falling monstrosity, and shattered it into a million, white-hot pieces of metal and crystal, raining over the room.

As the pieces fell around her and Ramza, she shook her head. "You can't win, love. We both know I'm better." She leveled her light saber at him, locking her heart away. "Last chance to leave, or playtime's over."

 

[Armphid]

"Don't you dare impugn my honor," he snapped. "You didn't tell me you were a Sith, or that you were the one using the Force in the park, or a half dozen other things I could mention! You're not the scorned woman, Irina, and you damn well know it!" He did not make another move, letting this lull last a while longer. "Everything I told you was true! Can you look me in the eye and say you did the same?"

The shards of the chandelier continued to ran down around them. Dark Siders seemed drawn to ostentatious displays of power that really accomplished nothing. He was a little disappointed. He'd thought Irina a better tactician than to waste energy in such a way.

"...You know my answer, my love." He actually smiled. "I can beat you. I don't know that I will, but I can. And I will not stand aside so you can hurt my mentor and my friend." The smile became grim, his tone like a knife's edge. "You'll have to kill me." He was drenched in the Force as he spoke, and the raining crystal shards began to whirl about, caught in a 'wind' of telekinetic origin. He changed his grip, his lightsabre now in only one hand, his right. "There is no death; there is the Force. I am prepared!"

He lunged forward, his saber slashing in a circular arc that started low and went high. His left hand made quick cutting moves, and two arcs of the burning crystal shards slashed in on either side of Irina, pressing her furiously.

 

[HookerBoots]

Even as she responded to his attack, her saber countering his while her free hand used the Force to block the shards of crystal on either side, Irina scoffed. "I said nothing that wasn't true, Ramza." She backed up, seeming to give ground, until she sensed the wall a few feet behind her. With a small stutter in her step, that could have been seen as a mistake, she leaped up and back, her feet touching the wall momentarily before she launched herself over his head.

Imitating his actions, she used the Force to pick up rubble from the exploded ceiling, surrounding herself in a cloud of plaster and stone as she landed lightly behind him. "Are you such an unskilled Knight that you couldn't tell I was being honest? No wonder your Master wanted to help you kill me."

Her non-light saber hand flung out, sending a barrage of rock flying at him. Ramza avoided most of them, but one hit his left arm with bruising force. The crystals he had been controlling fell to the floor with a sad tinkle, and she heard one of the women behind her draw in a hissing breath. In that instant, when he was flinching from the blow, she lunged, her saber flicking out, going around his, and if she was lucky . . . .

The hilt of his light saber flew across the room and clattered to the floor. Her chest was heaving slightly, her eyes blazing, and she thought fleetingly that it was a shame he probably hated her now, since she'd never wanted him more. Her light saber hovered an inch from his neck, and Irina stepped closer, looking up at him. "Last words, my love?"

 

[Armphid]

Ramza stared at her, truly shocked that he'd lost. If he'd beaten Irina, he could have saved her. He closed his eyes a moment, absorbing the shame of it. He wasn't sorry for himself, but for Irina, and Master Shahazdra.

Jakara Shahazdra bowed her head, two tears running down her care lined face. He chose this, and she would not intervene. He would never forgive her if she did. This was what he wanted. She hated it, and was furious at him for doing this. Poor love blinded Ramza. "There is no death; there is the Force," she whispered. Every time she touched the energy field, he would be there. But she would still lament.

Phacia had long ago dropped her blaster, his hands up over her mouth, her eyes wide and fearful. How terrible a fate! For the boy, certainly, but even more for Irina. To kill one you loved...how awful.

Ramza re-opened his eyes. "I'm not afraid, and I don't hate you. Good-bye, my love. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you, that you'll die. I wanted to live with you more than I can say." He took a breath, lifting his chin slightly. "Do it."

 

[HookerBoots]

Her hand clenched, trembling slightly. How dare he not hate her? How could he tell her he still loved her after they both tried to kill each other? What was wrong with him? The trembling in her hand became more pronounced, and the light in the blade began to flicker. Gods, what was wrong with her? She could end it now, and move on with her life, and yet she hesitated. Why?

The answer crashed in on her with an almost painful impact. Did she love him? She must, and she . . . oh god. She couldn't do this. The light saber flickered again, and then went out, and slid nervelessly from her fingers. Irina let out a cry, and sank to the floor, her face in her hands. "I can't. I can't kill you, my love."

She looked up at him, her face wet with tears. "Please, Ramza. Please, kill me. My Master will make me wish I'd died if he finds me." Irina began to weep, and wrapped her arms around herself. "Please. I can't live without you, and my Master will destroy me when he finds out that I failed."

 

[Armphid]

Ramza had been ready for death. To feel his true self become free of corporeality, to join with the Force, power and knowledge beyond imagining. But as he watched, he saw the fighting impulses in her tortured eyes. Her hand shook, then let go of her weapon. As she fell to her knees, he could only stare, again stunned by her actions, and horrified by her words.

Her discarded lightsaber rolled across the floor, then floated up to the two women on the stage. Master Shahadzra plucked it from the air, studying it for a moment. "This may give us some clues." Her heart was singing that Ramza was alive, and she wanted nothing more that to celebrate, but this was not the time. There was much to be done. "Phacia, signal the commander that it's time for him to sweep the building."

The Guildmaster had collapsed into a chair, crying. She wasn't really sure if she was crying because she was happy or at the profound sorrow that seemed to well out from the doomed lovers. "Jakara, how can you be...all right." Her old friend and sometimes lover was many things, in many times. But she was always Jedi. She knew Jakara was feeling the same things she did, she just had that iron denial and control. The Guildmaster raised a hand to her comm link, "Commander, this is Guildmaster Phacia. The guests have escaped and are safe, you and your men may now take the enemy down."

"Yes, ma'am." The voice buzzed through, "Are you secure?"

"Yes, Commander. Sweep everywhere but the central ballroom."

"Understood."

Ramza sank to his knees before the weeping woman, reaching out to her. He pulled her into him, hugging her shaking form to him. He pressed his forehead to the top of her head, speaking for the moment with his body, not with words. "No dying today, Irina, for either of us. Today, we start to live." His arms tightened about her, holding her close. Even if she didn't want to accept it, his love was no less strong. Hells, stronger now. "Your Master won't hurt you. If he comes after us, we'll end him. Together."

"I know you have the courage to die, love." He tried to raise her face to look into her eyes. "It's easy to find something to die for. I know I'm asking a lot, but please, Irina. There's something between us worth living for. Living is harder than dying...but we've both done what's hard before."

 

[HookerBoots]

The tears in her eyes made everything swim, shimmering as though through a curtain. Irina wondered, feeling his arms around her, if she were just imagining all this. After all that had happened today, perhaps she'd hit her head, and this was a hallucination. The deep, tearing pain that still lingered in her heart, however, told her that this was real. Even in her most vivid dreams and imaginings, there was nothing even remotely like this pain. She'd tried to kill Ramza, and wound up betraying her Master . . . and he still loved her.

The wonder of it filled her, and Irina's arms hesitantly encircled Ramza's waist. After a second, they tightened, and she clung to him desperately, as though he were the only thing keeping her from falling off the planet. "I'll try, Ramza." She looked into his eyes, and for the first time wasn't scared of what she saw there. "For you, I'll try." With an effort, she turned her eyes to the women on the stage. "Master Jedi, I . . . if you will accept my help, I will aid you in any way possible." Irina eyed the lightsaber in the woman's hand, and added, "And, if possible, I'd like my weapon back eventually."

 

[Armphid]

There were fresh sounds of fighting in the building, but Ramza paid them no attention. He held her close, saying nothing for now. He let his arms, the beat of her heart, all of the subtle cues of his body speak for him.

Master Shahazdra nodded at Irina's words, her expression cool. "I will accept your aid, Irina...or would you still prefer Darth Xeres?" She was approaching the two of them, the Guildmaster a few steps behind her. The faint tracks of tears were visible on her cheeks, but beyond that there was no hint of any emotion in her whatsoever. Her control was fully back in place. "We will see if you can do enough to earn back your weapon. I am not in love with you, after all, so it will take a bit more than teary promises to earn MY trust."

Ramza looked up at his master, his eyes a bit flinty. But then he nodded, seeing the wisdom in her course. He could not, would not be objective here. Someone needed to be. "Irina, can you call off the Emperor's Children? Or get them to surrender?"

"That would be best." Jakara absently smoothed the front of her robes with one hand, "The Republic Commandos I had on call in case this came up can handle them, but it will likely mean the death of them all. And I'd rather avoid that, if possible."

Guildmaster Phacia cleared her throat, "Jakara, what will you do then? Things will not be safe here for any of you, from what Ms Farlander said about her...ah, superior."

"Then?" The aging woman pursed her lips a moment, "The three of us will go somewhere to lay low...perhaps fake a death, mine or Irina's, leak some false information. After that..."

"We find the one who threatened my Irina," Ramza interjected, "and we see that he is...no longer a danger to others."

"Well put, my former apprentice."

 

[HookerBoots]

Irina nodded, and gave the Master Jedi the most imperturbable stare she could muster. "You may call me as you wish, Lady. And I assure you, I will do my utmost to get my weapon back. It's been my only companion for quite some time, and I dislike being parted from it." She pulled out her communicator and glanced back at the woman. "Would you like me to bring some of them here to be questioned? I doubt all of them will surrender." A faint smile curved her lips, and she added, "I hadn't quite enough time to make them fear me sufficiently."

Looking at Ramza, she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I'll tell you all I can about him, love, so that we can take care of him together."

 

[Armphid]

"Master Shahazdra," the older woman corrected firmly. "Don't bring them here, girl, seeing you may be enough to encourage them to try and 'save' you from us, and I don't want to deal with that. Order them to surrender. Those that will will, and those that don't have chosen their end." That last statement was troublesome. Irina had chosen not to continue her mission, and to turn against her master, but her devotion to the Dark Side remained unswayed. This was dangerous. Particularly since she had such a firm grip on Ramza.

The Jedi Knight hugged his love tightly to him, "If it comes to that, my heart. We'll see. It may be wiser for others to deal with him, when the time comes." There was no telling how powerful her master was. He might be more than a treacherous Sith and a young knight could handle.

The comm link in Jakara's hand beeped, "Master Jedi, we have secured the rear of the hall."

Master Shahazdra looked at the two lovers, "Understood commander. I"m sending two last escapees out that way, do not fire on them."

"Roger."

She and Ramza exchanged a steady look, "The two of you should make your exit now. Take her back to the safehouse, Ramza. Clearing all this up will take some time, I expect you will have to wait at least three hours for me to return."

Ramza nodded, "I see. Thank you, Master. We'll see you there." He rose, lifting Irina to her feet as well. The two moved through the back passages of the enormous meeting hall, their presence barely acknowledged by the well armed Republic commandos who had taken up positions there.

Once outside, he led her to his air speeder. "When we first got here, the Master and I set up a safehouse in another part of the city from where we were staying. Just in case something bad happened." They lifted off, skimming through the air and away. "...I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But you know why I didn't."

 

[HookerBoots]

Her smile was a little bleak as she looked out of the window of the speeder. "And something bad did happen. Me." Irina tipped her head back and sighed. She wondered if it was wrong that she didn't feel much remorse over the deaths of the people that the Emperor's Children had killed. Probably. Maybe after a while, she'd feel differently. Her hands worked at undoing her braid, and she sighed. "I've caused you trouble, love. A great deal of trouble."

Glancing at Ramza, she tucked her hair behind her ears and added, "I'm sorry for that. But I'm not sorry that I met you." One hand reached out to touch his leg, more hesitant than anything she could remember doing since she was a child. "You showed me there's more to life than death, Ramza. Thank you."

 

[Armphid]

Ramza glanced over at her as she undid her braid. It was so simple a thing, yet it was so moving, so...well, arousing. "I've had trouble in my life before. the life of a Jedi Knight is full of trouble. Rarely has it been so lovely or so good to me as you have."

She was right, of course. This was a big mess. He didn't know what the count was, but there were more than a few dead people at the hall. Killed on her orders. How many more had she killed herself? How many innocents had lost their loves to his love? It was a sobering thought.

At her touch, he smiled and sighed. He looped an arm around her slender shoulders, pulling her to him. "There's a lot more in life than death. And death in the end, is just an illusion. But, all those other things, I want to share with you. For as long as I've got left."

 

[HookerBoots]

Well, that was something, at least. If he truly didn't hate her, and wanted to be with her, that was more than she'd expected. But, Irina knew with certainty, that he didn't trust her now. Not as he had. Irina leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder, thinking. Did this mean she was no longer Sith? She could still use the Dark Side, she was sure of that; it was lurking at the edge of her consciousness like a monster-filled shadow. But she had forsaken her Master, which meant . . . what for her?

Irina wasn't sure she could be a Jedi, or even if they would allow her to join. Even if they did, she thought bleakly, they'd never trust her. So what would she be, now? A rogue, unaccepted by all she met? Ramza's doxie, an accessory to her love, but not taken seriously? Or the Jedi who almost-but-not-quite fit in?

Glancing up at his face, she sighed. She'd worry about it later. All that was important at the moment was that they were together, and things would work out, somehow. "So where are we going, anyway? And what happens when we get there?"

 

[Armphid]

Ramza's face didn't register any change, but inwardly he felt a sudden concern. She'd heard both he and Master Shahazdra speak about their destination. That she'd forgotten meant that she was in a bad mental state. Which he could understand. She had to be thinking about the consequences of her actions now. "We're going to the safehouse." He wasn't going to tell her where it was. He loved her, but...he couldn't trust her fully anymore. This still could be a trick. He didn't want it to be, and he hoped with all his being that it wasn't. But it could be. "Master Shahazdra is going to clean up back there, and after that's done, she'll come to the safehouse and meet us. Meaning we'll have probably most of a day to ourselves there."

"After that? You and I will go somewhere to keep our heads down, possibly back to Yavin 4. We'll train, talk, recuperate, and when we're given the go ahead, we'll see if we have to settle things with your master."

 

[HookerBoots]

She nodded against his shoulder, not having really expected more of an answer than that. It would take a long time, she was sure, before he trusted her enough. "And during that time, we're going to have a long talk, aren't we?" Her voice didn't reflect distaste or eagerness, merely resignation. It was a talk they needed to have, but Irina wasn't sure what would come of it at all. It seemed impossible that he'd trust her again after just talking, and she couldn't imagine there'd be a major tectonic shift in their relationship that would take them back to where they had been.

Her hand on his leg started to rub idly, and she added, "Among other things, naturally." Biting her lower lip, she looked up at him, aware that he was tense and that it was probably because of her. "What do you think will happen when we get to Yavin 4?"

 

[Armphid]

Ramza sighed, "We'll have to have that talk at some point, but...I don't think I care for it right now. We'll get there and we'll talk about who we really are, share some stories we wanted to tell each other before, but couldn't. And at some point, very soon, I hope, we'll make tender, passionate love to show each other exactly how we feel." He smiled a little, some of that roguish gleam in his eyes again. "I don't think I've ever wanted you as badly as I did when we were fighting back there."

The air speeder had come to a more run down section of the sprawling city. It wasn't exactly a bad neighborhood, but it was a far cry from the area in which their diplomatic quarters had been. He tapped a button on the speeder's console, and one of the roof garages opened, yawning wide as he set the craft down inside. A few lights came on as the roof overhead shut, a series of thick bars sliding into place and locking it shut.

"You know, for some reason, I feel more comfortable here than I did in that big suite," he mused. Then he turned to embrace Irina and kiss her. The kiss was a thing of reassurance, confirmation of all he had said. When it broke, he kept his lips almost touching hers as he spoke, "On Yavin, what happens will be up to the Masters, and to you, love. More than one of us has started out as an acolyte of the Dark Side in some way. The choice of what you do, whether you leave it behind, or sink into it, all that will be your choice. As will be the consequences of that decision." He leaned back a little. "You won't be imprisoned, and you won't be tortured or even necessarily lectured. We'll try to show you that our way of doing things is better, but that's not something we can force you into accepting. And if we could, we wouldn't."

 

[HookerBoots]

Irina rested her head on his chest. "Then I'll try and be open to what they have to say." A small smile curved her lips. "Your Master seems like she might have some sort of lecture for me. But that's not important right now, I suppose." Her arms wrapped around him, holding their bodies close together, looking up at him. "Especially since I don't think I've ever wanted you more, love."

Kissing him again, she let herself get lost in the sensation for a moment, then pulled away. "Ramza, can we skip the talking, and get straight to the love making?" Her eyes were slightly glazed with hunger, and she started to stroke his back softly. "And then something to eat?" Irina let her hands wander over his body, letting them grip his ass before moving back up to the back of his neck. "Take me to bed, love. Please."

 

[Armphid]

Ramza knew that they should talk. He knew that after this, it would be good for both of them to get everything they could out in the open. He also knew that doing anything else could allow for her to deceive him, if she was being dishonest about all this. But as her kiss became fierce and hungry, all that knowledge was as nothing. He let out a low moan as she gripped his ass, half closing his eyes. He loved it when she did that. "Irina, I..."

In the end, he was doomed. If it were anything and anyone else, it would have ended differently. But he had no defense against her. Not like this. "Yes," he whispered. "I want you so much, Irina, I need to feel you, to feel how alive you make me." He took her hands, pulling her along through the somewhat cluttered safehouse to one of the smaller rooms off to the side. It wasn't much of a bed, more of a bunk, but it was what he had to use here.

Once inside, he shut the door, then turned and pushed her against it. He pressed their bodies together, kissing her smiling lips with a ferocious need and zeal. His hands moved up her body, caressing, grasping, making their way to the clasp of her cloak, undoing it. "Bare yourself for me, love," he half begged, half demanded. He stepped back, slipping the long coat he wore off his shoulders. "I don't want anything in our way."

 

[HookerBoots]

She smiled at him, feeling more hesitant than ever before in their time together. Before this, it had been just her body, and she had, in a strange, guilty way, felt comfortable and secure knowing he didn't know the reality of who she was. Irina was sure that she loved him, and had been sure before this, but it was different, somehow, with him knowing what she was. Would Ramza look at her body differently, just as he was her mind and personality? It was the body of a Sith, and the scars there reflected that.

But her hands moved to the fastenings of her tunic, shucking it quickly and pulling the snug undershirt she wore off as well. Kicking off her boots, Irina undid her trousers and slid them down her legs, throwing them on top of her other clothes. Before she looked at him, she glanced at the pile of clothes. "Love, do you think we could find something else for me to wear? And burn those? I . . . don't think I want to wear those anymore."

 

[Armphid]

Ramza glanced at the pile of clothes. It was a powerful symbol to cast them aside and burn them. A significant movement towards cutting away that part of the past. Or a clever ruse to make him think she was. No. He wouldn't think that way about her. It wasn't becoming of him, and it was far from worthy of her. "Of course, Irina. You might have to wear some things of mine for today, but we'll get you something more...to your liking as soon as possible."

She would chose it. That was an important thing for him. Let the change in clothing as symbol continue. She'd talked before about having no choice. It was a great priority that she that there was always a choice, and it was hers to make.

Then his eyes went back to her, and he let them drift over her body. By the Force, she was so gorgeous, so sexy, so perfectly alluring and tempting. "I could live for a millennium and never tire of seeing you naked, lover. You are magnificent." He pulled her into his arms for a fierce kiss, his hands cupping her ass cheeks, then traveling up her back to explore and tease skin and muscle.

 

[HookerBoots]

Her arms wrapped around him, holding their bodies close together and caressing his back. The hunger in his kiss, the fierce lust in it, made her legs feel weak. Irina could feel his muscles through the shirt he still wore, and wasn't sure if she found the teasing warmth without actual contact to be arousing or annoying. Breaking the kiss and leaning back just far enough to look into his eyes, she said softly but fiercely, "Ramza, if you don't remove your clothes quickly, I'll go mad."

This would be strange for them, almost like their first time together, all over again. Things were so different now, so altered from how they had thought things would be, that it was almost surreal to imagine themselves as the people from before. Irina knew that they needed to talk, and she was probably hurting her chances to have him believe her again because of her desire, her need, to be with him physically. But she would deal with that later. Right now what mattered was getting her lover undressed so that they could join.