5 | Hope Isn't Lost

Chapter 5 ༄ Gone

Kay woke up to find herself on her bed, in clean clothes and with her arm wrapped in a bandage. She tried to put pressure on it, but a stinging pain shot up her arm as soon as she did so.

"Ahh." She muttered under her breath and got up out of her bed, making sure to use her left arm for support. Walking out of her room see saw the painting Sabine was working on left in a rush, and a few small paint footprints of her brother's feet running across the tarp. What's going on? Kay though, with question and then it all came back to her. Ezra, the alley, the fence, falling, the strange stranger. She began to break into a run to the kitchen, where apparently all the voices where coming from.

"Mom..." She whispered, a little surprised that her voice came out all raspy and shocked.

"Kay you're up." Sabine looked so relieved, she ran over and gave her daughter a soft hug. "You're ok."

Kay nodded. "I'm fine..." She trailed off, noticing that Hera, Chopper, and two guys she had never met before were looking her way, one of the guys looked familiar, Eights she guessed it was. There was also a boy a little bit older than her, sitting at the bar area, he was wearing tattered clothes and had multiple scars across his face. Hera had Amber in her lap and Freedom was sitting on top of Chopper, they all looked worried.

"Do you mind telling us what happened?" Sabine asked, gently. Kay rarely heard Sabine use this tone of voice, she only used it when one of the little ones started to cry. She wasn't crying, was she. She felt her cheek and they were dry, to her relief.

"No not at all." She replied. "Do you know how long I was out?"

"Two days." Sabine stated, and the whole world stopped. Two days in bed, two days of lost time looking for Ezra, two days of panic and worry from her family and friends.

"Wait so you guys found, Ezra? Right?" She asked, hoping and praying to the force that her dad would just walk around the corner and laugh at her for being so panicked, but slowly each one of them shook their heads.

She looked at them all with wide eyes. "You looked right?"

"We looked everywhere, where Kelli found you with the boy." The boy at the bar looked up, and nodded. "When we couldn't comm Ezra, I was the first one out there, I then contacted Hera and left the kids alone with Kelli, until she arrived. We reached though to Eights and him and his boyfriend were happy to help search. As you know we found nothing." She finished with despair.

"Name's Myrtle Castlin, by the way." The boy sitting at her kitchen bar, answered and Sabine rolled her eyes.

"Now you tell us your name." She huffed and looked back at her daughter. "Is there anything you know that might help us?"

"I don't think I can, all that happened was Ezra saw a figure, I didn't get a good look at it and told me to wait there and walked off down that alley. Ten minutes later when he didn't come out, I looked down the alley and they were gone. I tried to climb the fence, but I messed up and slipped. Then everything went black." She retold the situation, not wanted to talk about it anymore she looked away.

Sabine looked at Kay and walked out of the room.

"Did I do something wrong?" Kay asked, worried.

"No." Hera said, getting up to her a hug. "You did good and beyond."

"Why is he still here?" Kay gestured to the boy on the chair.

"He just wanted to make sure you were ok." Hera explained and Myrtle nodded.

"Oh." Kay said. "I'm going to go rest, and I'm fine Myrtle, you can go." Kay left the room, relived not to have all eyes on her for a moment.

༄

The next few weeks few by in a blur, Eights and his boyfriend looked everyday for Ezra, finding not a clue. Hera had to go back to work at the New Republic, so she had left halfway into the second week. Myrtle went back to wherever he had come from, but did come by a lot of time to check on Kay and help Sabine out a bit. Kay and Myrtle's friendship had really grown and she was happy to have someone who would protect her, and her not having to worry about his wellbeing. Freedom was depressed not having his dad around, he kept to himself and drew in his room. Amber continued to ask where dad had gone, not understanding completely what had happened. Sabine was in and out most of the time, and in all this mess today was Kay's ten birthday, but no one seemed to remember it, except for Luke Skywalker.

"Kay holo for you." Myrtle yelled from the kitchen from where he was making lunch for everyone.

"Ok." She yelled back, from studying Jedi techniques on the holonet. (She wanted her dad, if....when-she corrected- when he got back she could show him more moves she had learned.) She ran out to the kitchen and picked up their transmitter. "Hello?"

"Is this Kay?" A kind gruff male voice answered.

"Yes," she answered, a little nervous.

"This is Luke Skywalker." He explained. "I heard what happened to your Dad, I hope you find him soon."

"Me too." She responded, and looked down. Now why was Luke Skywalker, calling her? She thought to herself.

"Your father was originally going to talk to you about this, but I just learned of his vanish recently and him and I had talked about this earlier." He stopped, taking a pause.

"Ok..." She responded and let him continue.

"We talked about me taking you on as one of the padawan's at the Jedi academy, I am currently running. He is so protective of you he wanted to wait until he was sure you were ready, and ten was the age we both thought best."

Kay bit her lip, excited but nervous of all that came with this new opportunity.

"I'll let you talk it over with your Mom, family and friends and I'll get back to you tomorrow for your decision." Luke ended his story.

"Ok I'll do that, but isn't tomorrow a little soon?" Kay replied, with worry.

"You are late getting to the academy as it is... just think it over. Happy Birthday, Kay." Luke said and cut the connection, leaving Kay with the transmitter in hand and a million questions .

Myrtle looked at her with smile, wondering who was on the other end of the call. After seeing her shocked face, he drew her into a hug. "Who was that?" He asked, after letting her go.

"That was Luke Skywalker. He wants me to join the Jedi Academy."