Balance

And the future has passed

without even a last desperate warning

A perfect balance, each step graceful and accurate, though never measured, the green blade being a living creature on its own, and in perfect harmony with him – that is Master Dooku, practising. Jocasta watches him, admiring the ensnaring dance, feeling Yan’s perfect balance in the Force, which gives confidence to his feet and hands.

And then there is a cry, an echo sending a shock through the Force, like a pebble thrown into a lake, and waves rise around, waves of anger and of pain, but where the pebble was, there is silence. Jocasta sees Yan waver and fall onto his knees, his balance shattered, his ‘saber landing on the floor with a loud clatter, but not loud enough to drown out the painful echo. The echo, and the name, for that pebble had a name, and a one well, oh, so well-known to Yan…

She wants to rush to him, to do something, but triples over the hem of her robe and staggers, trying not to fall, her balance disturbed. But when she watches him, still on the floor, face hidden in his hands and his silhouette shivering with silent, violent sobs, Jocasta understands she cannot do anything, she cannot, and she never will be able to. Because Yan’s balance is shattered, and Jocasta has a terrible feeling he will never regain it.

The quote is from the song The Last Unicorn, by the band America, from The Last Unicorn soundtrack.