That night when the dolls were getting ready for bed, Lea decided to take a quick nap and get some sleep in before her trip. She ended up sleeping for a bit longer then she expected. Lea woke up and couldn’t see a thing. It was long past midnight, but she had to leave. She felt her way throughout the room in the dark, gathering her messenger bag and lightsaber. Lea pulled on her boots, and fastened her Jedi robe. In the dark she pulled her hair into a ponytail, leaving several hairs behind, dangling around her face. It would have to do.  Then, as quietly as she could, she snuck out of her room and down the hall to the front door, her lightsaber leading the way. Oh please, let them all be asleep, she prayed as she stepped past the dolls’ trundle bed.

She glanced at the dolls, sleeping peacefully under the covers, with a sigh of relief. Lea reached out for the doorknob. The cool metal hit her palm and she turned it, slowly as not to make a sound. Lea slipped out the door and towards the front door of the dolls’ home. She reached out her hand to the doorknob.

“Lea?”
Lea jumped and whirled around, spotting Grace in her pajamas standing right behind her.

“Lea? What are you doing?” Grace whispered in bewilderment, “Is that a lightsaber?”
“Yes,” Lea whispered back, “How did you know?”

“I know a little about that stuff,” Grace said with a shrug. “But why do you have one? What are you doing?”
Lea sighed, embarrassed and a little annoyed that she’d been caught. “Why are you up?”
Grace looked hurt by Lea’s sharp tone. “I couldn’t sleep.” She looked down at the floor and Lea instantly regretted what she’d just said.
Lea whispered, “I have a lightsaber because…well, I’m a Jedi. A real one. And I have a really important mission. But you can’t tell anyone. Promise?”

Grace nodded, her eyes sparkling in the blue light of the saber. “I promise. You’re so brave, Lea.”

Lea wished she felt the same way about herself. She turned back to the door, and rotated the doorknob. A gust of wind blew inside just as Lea opened the door, causing her robe to billow out. Lea had just stepped over the threshold when Grace said,

“Lea?”

Lea paused again and looked over her shoulder. “Yes?”

“May the Force be with you.”

“And also with you,” Lea whispered, her voice thick with tears. It had been too long since she’d heard the saying. When she had left her Jedi school, she didn’t know if she’d ever hear the saying again. Now that she’d heard it, Lea realized, this was her home. She belonged with her new sisters. It made her want to protect them even more.

And she disappeared into the night.

Stay tuned for Part 11!

(Wow, this is getting long.)