The next morning Luke arrived his usual cold, distant self. He was
determined not to let either woman affect him. After eating a less than
adequate breakfast he started to get up to go outside when Dariel rushed
ahead of him to block his way out.
    "You're not going outside today Luke. Not until you talk to me."
   "I don't have to say anyting to anybody" Luke said in cold tone "and you
can't make me."
   "Maybe not Luke but you need to talk to somebody. You've barely spoken
to anyone since you got here and you hardly eaten anything!! Mara and I
didn't save you just to see you die though there are moments when both of
us would want to -"
   "-THAN DO IT!!KILL ME" Luke exploded slapping Dariel hard and throwing
her across the room in a rage. "Kill me you damned Manipulative selfish
unthinking Bitches you! Destroy me! I Don't Care! I don't care! I don't
Care! I don't want to live this life anymore! I don't want to live it! I
DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!!" He screamed and threw a vase across the room with
savage force, knocking the dishes off the shelves. Finally sinking to the
floor and wept quietly . Mara and Dariel watched Luke rant and rave as
calmly as they could, avoiding the objects he'd thrown at them until he
sank to the floor.
   Inside through his tears, dazed and confused feelings rushed through
him...What in the Heck just happenned? Had he really lost that infamous
temper of his? Would  the darkside creep up on him? How would it show
itself? What had he  done?
    Both Dariel and Mara came up slowly to Luke as he sobbed quietly.
Talking to him like that had been the wrong thing to do. She hadn't meant
it like that, but Luke was in a lot of pain after his failed relationship.
She and Mara had to prove they were different.
    Dariel crept  carefully next to the sobbing fallen warrior.Gently she
began stroking his back and his hair. Feeling her touch, Luke flinched back
and began to move away .
   "No...No  Don't !!Don't touch me!!"
    "I would never hurt you Luke,  believe me" Dariel kept her voice
gentle. As she advanced towards him. "Don't be afraid"
    "No...Don't... I can't...."he pleaded
    "Luke please, Mara and I want to help you. We care.."
    "No you don't!" Luke cried, standing up and rushing to the door before
either woman could stop him "You don't care for me! you can't care! It
isn't safe to care!" and saying this he rushed out.
*************************************************************************
    "Damn" Mara thought to herself. "So much for talking things through."
all she succeeded in doing was pushing Luke further away from them. And
just when he needed her the most. She had to get him to trust her but how?
    Dariels thoughts were running along these same lines also but was
silent about it. Suddenly, she spoke up.
   "Mara you said Luke is from this planet? I want to know where."
   "Why?"
   " Just tell me and be quick!"
   Mara shrugged "He comes from a farm in the western end of town. It was
destroyed  twenty years ago by stormtroopers."
    Dariel was up on her feet and heading out the same door Luke just ran
out of "Great .Thanks!" She was about to go through, when Mara's voice
stopped her "Wait .Why in the heck are you going there? There isn't
anything there worth looking at!"
    "Maybe not to you. But I have a hunch about something that might help us !"
  ************************************************************************
   Dariel hopped in the landspeeder and headed  for the Lars Farm. She
wanted to know more about him in more detail and she knew how.
   Coming to the dome of the front door she gazed sadly at the place where
Luke once called home. Walking respectfully around the graves of Luke's
guardians she  picked  her way through what was left of the structure. The
smell of the smoke was gone, but every family on Tatooine kept their
valuables stored in a fire proof box hidden away. If she could find it
maybe she could find something to help heal Luke's wounds.
    The walls and garage were all very badly burned and damaged beyond
repair but when she arrived in the sleeping quarters of his guardians
something stopped her. Looking around, she began to search, tossing aside
burnt pillows, broken pieces of equipment , opening a badly charred drawer
chest then came to the bed stand...
   ...and stopped. It was hollow underneath! After moving the stand with a
lot of effort to the side, she found a small panel underneath. "Bingo!"
Pulling it open, she found a fairly well sized box inside. It too, was
heavy. Grunting, she lifted it with both hands to her speeder outside.
where she tried to open it....
    ... and stopped again. This was Luke's family property and she had no
right opening it.  She would go to get her business done in town, and then
take the box to Luke.
***************************************************************************
  Watching the sands swirl across the landscape, Luke gazed at the suns of
his home planet  remembering the last time he looked at them so young and
restless as a teenager.
      His reminicing stopped when Mara came up to him and leaned casually
against the speeder.
   "May I join you?' she asked softly. He shrugged
   "Sure."  they sat on the speeders hood and looked out . For a while,
nothing was said. Then Luke broke the silence.
   "So are you enjoying it here?"
   "What do you mean?" Mara asked, her eyes were locked on him watching his
reactions, as he continued to stare out at the desert and the swirling
sands ahead. He grabbed a rock and threw it at a nearby dune.
   "I mean, do you find your accommodations satisfactory?Dariel probably
went to great lengths to please you. Knowing how you are!" His face and
voice held a note of mockery to it as he tossed another rock at the sand
dune again.
    "What do you know about me Luke?" she asked him quietly "Do you think I
saved you just to make myself look good or gain some kind of profit from
Dariel?"
    "Isn't it? " Luke asked "I thought you would want me dead after all you
seemed to think I did to you. I never meant-" he let the sentence hang for
a moment, then continued " I'm so tired of everything here. My spirit is
dying. It doesn't matter if I'm with the New Republic or here It's still
dying and I can't-" he put his hands around his waist and shuddered as if
he'd gotten terrible cramps "...Can't..." he began to sob again" She was
about to reach for him, but Luke had gotten up and walked around the
speeder and pull out a small canister of water. Not paying any attention to
the way Mara was looking at him "Why have you done all this for me Mara."
Luke's brows drew together in a troubled expression. He didn't understand.
Mara walked up to him and took his hands before he could object. He stared
at their interlocked fingers in surprise as she held them in a firm grasp.
    "Mara what're you-" he began but she placed her hand on his lips. She
couldn't hide what she was feeling anymore.
    "Hush farmboy" she whispered.
   Bringing one hand up she gently placed it on the side of his face and
she brought his eyes to look at her. For a long moment she gazed frankly
and tenderly into his tortured  face. Memorizing it, and piercing  his soul
with the intensity of her stare. . He wasn't sure what he was feeling , yet
something inside him was happening. Slowly Mara stepped closer to him and
moved her lips forwards  to kiss him-
    - and was interrupted as the sound of a speeder approaching . Releasing
their hands and stepping away, Luke turned to the speeder,as Mara kicked
the sand in disgust behind him.
    A smiling Dariel hopped out, she hoped to find them here.
   "What is it Dariel, why are you here?"
   "Come on you two were going out tonight."
***********************************************************************
   That night, after spending a fabulous night dancing, laughing and eating
with Mara and Dariel .Luke prepared for bed and looked up at his view of
the stars. His ears caught the sound of Dariel softly singing a familiar
lullaby on a sand harp. The song brought back memories, memories he
couldn't completely grasp. Memories buried under years of war, trauma, lies
and pain. Normally the sound would give him pain, but this song gave him a
soothing feeling and relaxed him. With Dariels pretty voice guiding him, he
felt himself entering the threshold of a dream.
*************************************************************************
   Two more days passed without incident as Luke's burden seemed to lift
and his face smiled a little more with every passing day. Both Dariel and
Mara were amazed at how quickly Luke was recovering. His skin was a healthy
tan again and his energy level was higher. He ate well and socialized with
the farm hands when he got the chance. The effects of the poison had almost
completely worn off. Mara was relieved to see Luke's health returning. The
first phase of her plan was complete. But she'd rushed the second part a
bit too soon. She'd have to be patient as the teacher in him  drilled that
lesson into her.
    But how could she be patient when he would be going back to the
scaffold in less than two months time?
   Mara asked Dariel to arrange things for both her and Luke at certain
nights on their stay. She arranged  private dinners for the two of them and
even times for her and Luke to go out to Beggars Canyon together. Mara
silently blamed herself for throwing herself too soon at the jedi. She had
to take it slower and figure out how exactly she was going to express her
feelings to him and make him accept her.
   In the meantime, Luke  was having his own private conflict. He wondered
what made Mara throw herself at him the way she did. Was it out of Boredom?
Curiosity? or just mock teasing? Whatever it was, it confused and scared
the hell out of him. He cared for her, more than he wanted to. And he
admired her so much it frightened him. In his dreams he was kissing
someone with a deep intense love and all the passion he could give. It used
to be Callista in the dream but now it was changing to Mara. Mara Jade was
in his dreams! When that happened, he would always wake abruptly from the
passionate dreams with a feeling of absolute terror. Even if the dream
never developed into a nightmare. It came more steadily and clearly at
night and he wasn't sure if he could do anything to stop it.
   " I must stop this!" Luke thought to himself. "Love isn't enough for
me.There is always a pattern. Always. I must keep away from her. I musn't
fall for her no matter what."
   "But it isn't always like that!"another part of him was saying. " She's
not hurt you before. she's always been there for you and you can't keep
away from her. Admit it farmboy, you're attracted to her!"
   "No I'm not!"
   "It doesn't matter. The same thing will happen before. It always does.
You spill out your guts and when you do the woman who claims to love you
will either leave you or hurt you with a deception of some kind. She isn't
worth the risk!"
   "Yes she is. I trust her. I always trusted her!"
  "I can't!"
  He jumped as he felt a small smooth hand grasp his shoulder. With a gasp
of surprise he looked up at Mara who was watching him with a very concerned
expression.
   "Are you all right Luke!"
   "Great, here you are arguing with yourself and the woman you love comes
up to you and asks what's wrong. Very suave farmboy!"
  "Shut up!"
  Luke stood up and gave Mara a small smile."I'm fine Mara" he lied.Then
glancing at the window  he headed for the garage."If you don't mind , I
have to go out and check on the western fields. Dariel asked me to give a
report on them this morning."
   "I'll come with you."
   "NO!" Luke  shouted then calmed himself and gave an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry that was rude. What I mean is, I would like to make this trip
alone. I'll be back tonight for dinner."
   "All right I'll be here."
   He smiled and entered the garage as Dariel came out .After a brief
exchange of greeting Luke went out and Dariel adressed Mara.
   "We've got trouble" she said with an ominous voice.
   Mara glanced back to make sure they were alone. They couldn't afford to
have a problem now, not with Luke getting better .
    Dariel kept her voice low as she spoke. "I had to talk to you about
this Mara. We're in danger."
  "We?"
  "Yes. I didn't want to tell you because I was hoping this could be
avoided but, My farm here was in jeopardy when I took you in. "
   "Oh great." Mara muttered, irked.
   "Apparently,my father, before he died, promised this farm to somebody
but fate kept the original owner away. It's always belonged to my father
but the person he promised it to has been raising the taxes more and more
each year and making threats if I don't pay them."
   "And  you can't pay them? Dariel if that's a problem-"
  "No ,there's no time for that now. It's worse than I  thought. I just
received word that the farm I own on Beheeboth was taken over. All the land
I owned there was taken back to the farmers yesterday and some of the
buildings  destroyed. Now, a raid is due to come."
   Mara's shook her head. "Do all farmers have a knack for getting into
this much trouble..." she thought to herself.Walking to a nearby closet she
got out some of her firearms. Dariel took out a simple blaster and loaded
it  but put her hand on Mara's arm.
   "You won't need those. I have a place you can hide until it's safe to
come back."
  "Where?"
  "I'll show you but don't reveal it to anyone besides Luke."
**************************************************************************
Deadly Laws Chapter Ten-The Raid.
     Things were abnormally quiet at dinner when Luke returned from his
check of the western fields. He'd given Dariel his report and sat down to
eat his dinner but nothing was said throughout the entire meal. Mara was
calm as she sat  and ate but there was a tight and brittle silence that
electrified Luke's nerves and made his anxiety rise as the meal wore on.
   Finally Luke couldn't stand it anymore. He slammed his fork down on the
table.
  "All right what's going on around here that I don't know about!"
  Dariel near the window looking outside  jumped  and gave a knowing glance
to Mara. They had to tell him. He knew all too well the look of deception.
    "What is it you two?  Does It have something to do with me?"His eyes
swung between Dariel and Mara in frustration.Wondering idly what Mara and
Dariel had talked about while he'd been gone. Could Dariel be planning
something for him?After Callista's betrayal and Mara's secrecy he wasn't
sure about the reliability of women anymore, not even his own sister
sometimes.
   Dariel gave a sigh and sat down at the chair in front of Luke, giving
him a frank and sincere look. She couldn't help but admire him. He had
every right to be suspicious of them but she also had to be honest with him
and give him his edge before anything else happened. He deserved her trust.
     "Luke, I'm sorry. Mara and I wanted to protect you but now I realize
you're not the kind of person who needs protection. I guess I'd better tell
you now before they come."
  "They?"
   "Yes. Some people are coming to claim my rent out here. I owe them a lot
of money and I haven't been able to pay it. Mara and I worked out a plan
while you were out and she knows what to do."
   "Dariel can't you tell me-" Luke started but was interrupted by the
sound of several speeders approaching the house. Luke Dariel and Mara rose
and went to the windows.
   "They're here" Mara gasped. As several farmhands came out, armed and
ready to shoot. They had no place to hide and Luke for a split second found
his mind running to the past when the Imperials came to his family Farm and
his Uncle coming out to meet them...and his death.
   Luke shoved the memory away, he couldn't dwell on the past, not now.
Dariel grabbed her blaster and pulled Luke by the arm towards the lower
levels of the house.
   "Come on you two! You've got to get out of here." She grabbed a
flashlight and hustled the two warriors towards the basement.
   "Wait a minute! What's happening here? What do these people want?"
  "Nothing of great importance to you Luke .But you and Mara must hide
from these people. They'll kill you if they don't!"
   "Then let me fight with you-"
  "No it's not your fight Luke " Dariel reached under a sofa to pull out a
metal box and shoved  it in Luke's arms. He stared at it in confusion.
   "What's this Dariel?"
   "Take it with you Luke and hurry!!there isn't much time.  Mara will take
it from here. She knows the way."
   "Wait !Dariel what are you-" but she was gone before he could finish the
sentence. Clamping his mouth shut, he let Mara  pull him towards a hidden
passageway  behind a bookshelf. Without hesitation she swung it open and
pulled a key from a pocket.
   "What? Where did you-"Luke began but Mara shoved him through and
followed him inside. Pulling the door shut and locking it behind them.
   "Shh Luke." she held her hand up silencing him and she put her ear next
to the door, listening hard. Hearing the sound of angry shouts, breaking
furniture and dishes and even one or two blaster shots. Luke could feel his
guilt rise again and Mara put her hand to her mouth. But through the Force
she felt his guilt and grief echoed in a single coherent thought.
  "It's my fault"
Mara knew their assailants wouldn't be able to find them and even if they
did manage to get to the hidden passageway, they wouldn't find a key hole.
it was locked from the inside only. But she and Luke had to get away from
this area quickly.
   With a glance at Luke's confused face, his hands still holding the metal
box Dariel retrieved for him. She raised herself to her feet.
  "Come on Luke. We have to get moving. "
"Why? Why can't we talk here? What's going on out there?"
" Because they might hear us if we talk here .Come on, I'll explain
everything when we reach our destination."