Despite all the apprehensions of Tola and the other initiates, the dinner far exceeded their expectations, at the height of their gruelling training session.

  Only Komari did not really participate in the feast. Her stomach, still too fragile to support such rich food, forced her to content herself with nibbling on its foul medicinal roots under the mocking but tender gaze of Tola.

  Around them, the insiders observed the dining room with overflowing curiosity. None of them had ever set foot outside the Temple. Of course, they weren't ignorant of the outside world, the holos, the history lessons, the 3D projections. But to experience such an outing was something else entirely.

  Bail, all smiles, had insisted on paying for dinner for everybody. For the heir to Alderaan, it was only a financial detail. He himself was delighted to spend time with other initiates and get to know them better.

  Unlike Komari, the others were more talkative when it came to talking about life in the Temple. They were happy to tell the rules they knew, the history of the place, the old masters, the training, the little anecdotes. Komari, on the other hand, listened in silence, her gaze sometimes lost. It wasn't that she didn't care, but other memories often occupied her thoughts.

  Tola, intrigued, ended up asking him the question that had been burning on her lips since takeoff:

  "Was that how it was, Nar Shaddaa?"

  Komari raised his head, a smirk, tinged with bitterness.

  "Yes and no." She slowly chewed on a piece of root before continuing. "The majority of Nar Shaddaa are much poorer neighborhoods than this one. I was born and raised in the lower levels. Nothing to do with that. Even if, on the surface, you have areas that look a little bit like here. ?

  She paused, then glanced at Tola, almost hesitantly.

  "If you really want to know the planet you grew up on..." I'll take you there one day. I'll show you the underworld. ?

  Tola, caught off guard, was speechless for a moment. Through the Force, Komari felt a hint of apprehension, perhaps even fear. Then she added in a softer tone:

  "Not right away. Don't worry. When you're a little stronger. A little bigger. ?

  Tola gave him a cold look.

  "I'm old enough to know what I want!"

  But Komari did not respond to his displeasure. Experience had taught him that certain truths were only discovered with time.

  After dinner, they went to some lively neighborhoods on the upper levels. Once again, his comrades were watching everything around them attentively, as if they wanted to hold everything back at once. Which, in their case, seemed unlikely, only Komari had this ability.

  At Bail's insistence, they stopped at several stalls to buy sweets or souvenirs, which delighted the others.

  Tola insisted on sharing with Komari some fried and sweet vegetables that his stomach could handle in small quantities.

  They sighed in wonder as they saw the alignment of the Temple and the Senate on the horizon silhouetted against the evening light.

  As she watched Komari, Tola noticed that she blended in perfectly with the crowd. Sometimes she would disappear for a moment, before magically reappearing, without Tola being able to follow her movements.

  Suddenly, she felt a nearby presence, and jumped when Komari whispered in her ear, "It's not very complicated."

  Tola hadn't even sensed his approach.

  "Feel the movement of people. Feel their uniform mass... and melt into their bosom.

  With slow, calm gestures, Komari guided her through the crowd, walking alongside her.

  "You must be one with them. Feel the flow... and follow him. Ignore everything else. ?

  With one hand on his shoulder, the other holding his arm, Komari guided Tola through the crowd. She only made a few light presses here and there to direct her steps, as if she read the flow of passers-by better than anyone.

  They passed Tobias, who was watching them. His eyes widened as he saw them disappear in the human tide. Tola shuddered.

  She felt Komari close to her, and for the first time, it wasn't just a friendly presence. She felt... One more thing. Something older, more raw. The predator. A beast of survival, born from the urban jungle, forged by necessity.

  Komari was no longer just her clanmate, she was a creature made for this world, a shadow among shadows, a silent hunter.

  Tola felt a slight tension when Komari reached out, not to her, but to the well-rounded purse of a wealthy official who was passing by. The initiate of the Temple gently patted her comrade's hand, as if to call her to order.

  Komari gave him a smirk, almost guilty... but above all amused.

  It seemed that after all this time in the Temple, some old habits had a thick skin.

  After a little while, Komari released her, leaving her to navigate the shifting flows of the crowd alone. Tola hesitated, disoriented, then closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating. Little by little, she felt, through the Force, the invisible currents formed by the comings and goings of the people.

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  She let herself be carried, gliding between the passers-by, fluid, almost invisible. A strange sensation ran through her, that of melting, of disappearing, of being part of a whole.

  But she also felt Komari's gaze behind her, like a familiar and burning presence. Several times, she tried to spot her in the crowd. Without success. Komari was too good at that game. She made herself invisible at will, like a shadow gliding between worlds.

  It was Komari's hand, placed gently on his shoulder, that reminded Tola of his presence.

  "I hope you haven't robbed anyone in the meantime," Tola joked, arching an eyebrow, half amused, half serious.

  A wise smile stretched Komari's lips, the one you never knew if he was hiding a joke... or a confession.

  She approached, lowering her voice slightly, almost complicit, "Do you really want to know?"

  Tola raised an eyebrow, intrigued. For all answer, Komari nonchalantly waved his fingers... and rings appeared in his hands. Rings that, Tola was certain, had not been there a few seconds earlier.

  A new gesture, as vivid as an illusion, and the jewels disappeared as quickly as they had come.

  Tola crossed her arms, half amazed, half annoyed.

  "You're going to end up being expelled from the Temple."

  Komari shrugged, looking deceptively innocent.

  "If I fall, you will fall with me," she said, patting him on the shoulder. Then, in a light tone, she added:

  "By the way, pretty ring you have there."

  Tola looked down... and froze. On one of his fingers shone a thin ring, discreet but clearly foreign.

  How had Komari pulled off her move? She had no idea.

  And even at the age of eight, she knew that it would be illusory to find Komari's victims in this moving crowd.

  Still, good things must come to an end. Bail had to bring the initiates back to the Temple, on pain of also suffering the wrath of his mother.

  On the way back, the small group of outcasts kept discussing everything they had seen during their brief escape into the outside world. Even Tola, though reserved, could not hide her excitement. She kept the ring stolen by Komari, hidden in the sleeve of her tunic.

  Meanwhile, Komari had settled into the cockpit alongside Bail, and the two were quietly discussing their next bad move.

  "You're going to get yelled at, do you know that?" remarked Bail, glancing at Komari, who was counting his loot on his lap.

  He knew that, despite appearances, she had stolen nothing really valuable: trinkets, junk jewelry, trinkets stolen from distracted passers-by. Nothing too bad. But he suspected that they would have crossed paths with a richer population, it might not have been as ... moral.

  If he had insisted on attending the SerpentClan training and then taking them to dinner, it was not only out of curiosity or a taste for adventure. He obeyed a concern — that of his mother. He didn't know all the details of the arrangement between her and Komari, but he knew that his mother's queen was worried. A discreet, but real, concern for the balance of this girl who had been taken out of Nar Shaddaa.

  He himself had trouble understanding what he saw in Komari. Not that she was acting perfectly, no. But there were so many layers, so many barriers between what she felt and what she was showing, that he didn't really know where to start deciphering.

  And yet... in contact with the other initiates, he had seen it open up. Maybe without even realizing it. She had taken their training to heart. He had sensed his dissatisfaction, even his frustration, with the classical training of the Temple.

  Maybe expectations too high. Or simply those of a survivor who knew that the world does not bend to well-learned katas.

  Although he knew that his comrade had a special talent, Bail didn't understand why. With the consent of his mother, the queen, Komari took classes on subjects rarely discussed by the Jedi. In addition to galactic politics, he had surprised her by documenting herself with an almost obsessive rigor on military strategies, whether terrestrial or space.

  She read everything. She retained everything.

  And he, who had always been considered a brilliant student, ended up joking,

  "Are you preparing for a war, or what?"

  Komari had not answered. Not a word. Just a little smile.

  Another in his place would have been annoyed, perhaps jealous to see a girl much younger than him assimilate in a few days what it had taken him months to understand.

  But Bail was starting to worry. Not of his intelligence, nor of his ambition.

  But speed.

  Of the almost silent haste she put into learning everything.

  She's running, he thought, watching her out of the corner of his eye, but to what exactly?

  He was pulled out of his thoughts by the soft alarm of the autopilot, signaling the final approach. Bail winked at Komari, then gave a discreet bow to the group before leaving. The initiates, on the other hand, left the Temple's spatioport with a light heart, a full stomach, and a mind still filled with memories of the city.

  But the satisfaction came to an abrupt end when they saw who was waiting for them, motionless, at the top of the steps of the Temple.

  Mr. Windu.

  Idly. Dark gaze.

  And his famous little throbbing vein at the top of his bald head.

  "Ouuuuuuh... We're in trouble," Lilou grimaced, panic painted on her face.

  The rest of the group shared his expression, with the notable exception of Komari and Tola, who could not hide his annoyance.

  Tola kicked Komari in the calf.

  "Don't you have a great plan to avoid us getting argued?"

  Komari tilted her head, falsely thoughtful.

  "Hmmmmm... No. Absolutely none. As Lilou said, we're in shit.

  She turned to her with a beaming smile.

  "But you know what? We're all in shit together, and that's what's beautiful. ?

  Tola sincerely hesitated to hit Komari. Hesitated. And changed his mind. She knew very well that Komari would dodge anyway.

  Taking the lead, Komari calmly approached Master Windu. She bowed casually.

  "Good evening, Master."

  Windu didn't blink.

  "Do you really think tonight is a good night for you?"

  Komari looked perfectly innocent.

  "I don't know if you're going to believe me, but..." when it was time to accompany Bail Organa to his shuttle, he offered us to get on board to admire a top-of-the-range model. A luxury shuttle. And then... terrible surprise... It was in fact an attempted kidnapping. ?

  Tola slapped his face with his hand.

  Zang groaned as he saw Windu's vein beating like a war drum.

  What for. What for.

  Komari's smile grew dangerously. She took a few steps forward, slowly, then leaned into Master Windu's ear to whisper, in a low and conspiratorial tone:

  ? … Or, you may see this little unauthorized excursion as an attempt at appeasement. ?

  She paused, just long enough to pique her curiosity.

  "Tell yourself that it was a discreet step... to strengthen the bonds between the Jedi Order and the Organa family. A gesture... diplomatic. ?

  She took a step back, raising her head, her fluorescent green eyes shining provocatively, almost satisfied.

  "You're all assigned to your rooms, now run," the Jedi Master growled, before restraining Komari. "We'll discuss what just happened another time."