The snow crunches under your boots; your lungs burn with fire. You inhale the icy air so greedily it feels as if you're about to cough it back up. But stopping is not an option; she is already close.

Shi'n doesn't stumble or glance around, as if she were a machine programmed for a single task: to catch you. Branches snap under the blows of her sword, and snow dust rises behind her in an orange-red trail from the blade. You haven't forgotten: she smashed training droids while Bay-lan praised her, not you. And it was your soft pecks on her cheeks, under the blanket, that the Master never noticed.

Two lonely girls who lost themselves.

Your foot sinks into a hidden hole. You fall, and snow slips into your collar, biting into your skin with its chill. Your lungs are squeezed by the hot air from the long run, and the heart skips a beat before breaking into a frantic rhythm. You turn onto your back just as she jumps off the cliff—and for a split second, the world freezes, as if holding its breath along with you.

The young woman lands next to you, and the snow explodes into a cloud, raining drops onto your face. Her hand grabs your cheeks, but she doesn't squeeze—just pins you to the ground. She leans down, and the tips of her snow-white hair tickle your face. Her lips are blue from the cold, her eyelashes frosted, and her eyes… Oh, Force, her eyes burn like a hyperspace jump.

"Did you really think I'd let you escape twice?" she asks, deathly calm.

Once, you giggled that she was too sweet for the dark side. Now, her silence is scarier than any scream.

You wait to experience her full fury firsthand, but her sword drops and lands almost silently in the snow. Instead, her hood slips, and her white hair spills over your shoulders, mingling with yours. Her nose bumps against your cheek.

"Bloody hell," Her hands reach for your shoulders, and she buries her face in your hair. "Silly girl."

Shi'n smells of smoke and metal: the same scent that was in the cabin where you first kissed each other while hiding from Bay-lan.