{{ absolved - chapter 09
-- ESTATE OF THE ABSOLVED – TESSICK’S QUARTERS / DANTOOINE
The ceilings were high in the bedrooms as well, carrying over from the monolithic hallway outside the door, and Tenel Ka was busy peering upwards at them as she wandered in and dropped her luggage on the bed. The curtains over the windows were a deep shade of burgundy, as were the linens covering the bed. The walls were stone and the floor was a cold, gray marble, small rugs here and there around the room in a shade of dark red. She finally let her eyes move downwards from the ceiling, and they swept over the chamber.
Pacing around in a surprisingly curious manner, Tenel Ka was inwardly scolding herself for being the slightest bit nosy. But they gave her this room, and it was where she would be sleeping. She wanted to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary; no bugs or trips, no devices. The Queen Mother was used to checking for those things by now. Being a Hapan with a high position made a task like that as normal and clockwork as breathing.
She removed her cloak once she got to the foot of the bed, throwing it over the decorative metal bars that lined it and she continued to move, her eyes still drifting over everything. The nightstand on the opposite side of the bed caught her eye. There was a faint light coming from it – holoimages of some sort, sitting on the smooth surface of the stand and slightly facing the bed. Her feet carried her over there before she had even begun to think of looking at them and once she peered down to the frames, her mind caught up with her feet and her breath caught in her throat.
“Hey, you ready for dinner?”
Her head snapped towards the door and she found herself staring at Jacen Solo across Tessick’s bed. His hair looked damp near his forehead and she figured he had washed his face. He hadn’t changed clothes; he was still in the jumpsuit he had worn during their planet-hopping trip from Hapes. She figured she didn’t have any time or reason to change as well. They hadn’t brought much in the way of clothing anyways, and what they did bring was nondescript and bland – which Tenel Ka didn’t mind at all.
Her mouth was hanging open slightly, her eyes narrowed towards him and her hand hovering in the air between her and the holoimages.
“What is it?” Jacen asked, moving into the room and crossing it, shifting around the bed to stand beside her.
Tenel Ka motioned down to the nightstand and waited as Jacen leaned down to study the holos littered on top, their frames worn and old and the images faded and flickering slightly. The soft glow from them fell over his face, his lips pursed and his eyes slightly wider than normal.
There were three holos. And all three were of Tessick and Harahjah. One was marred by falling snow, both of them laughing against a blanket of white behind them, their noses red and their necks and heads bundled up. The next looked like it was taken in one of those automatic holo-booths in the busy city streets. Their eyes were crossed and their cheeks were puffed out. Harahjah was making gundark ears with her fingers at the back of Tessick’s head. The third and final holo on the stand was the one that made Jacen’s heart jump a little. They looked a little younger than they did in the other two and it was in front of the very estate they stood in now – the marble outer wall was easily recognizable. Tessick’s arm was around her shoulders protectively and a smile was pasted on both of their faces. They could see the side of Kaidin’s face in the picture, and Alavia’s hair in the bottom corner, half of Trexler’s grin on the other side of them – and the top of Verdot’s head in the bottom. “Must’ve been when they all got here.” Jacen mumbled, more to himself than to Tenel Ka.
Pulling his face back from the nightstand, he turned his head to the left to look at the Queen Mother. Her eyes were glazed over and her mind was racing – he could sense it. He caught flashes of images in her stream of thought; Zekk putting on the Tessick mindmap, Zekk and the rest of them seeing Tessick in the lake. She was thinking of the Urbania again.
“Stop,” Jacen grabbed her hand and tugged at her slightly, her eyes snapping out of their trance and shifting quickly to him. “Come on, let’s go eat.”
-- ESTATE OF THE ABSOLVED – DINING HALL / DANTOOINE
Verdot was already seated at the large circular table when arrived at the dimly lit chamber, his face glowing from the setting sun. He looked calm and relaxed, standing when they entered and guiding them to two chairs on his right. Tenel Ka sat beside him and Jacen was about to sit on the other side of her when he peered over to Verdot and motioned towards the kitchen. “Do they need help in there?”
“Oh no. Please, sit down.” Verdot waved a dismissive hand at him and waited till the Jedi sat down before he continued. “We all have our jobs here. One of mine is to set the table. Aurelio mixes drinks, Trexler straightens up the kitchen while Harahjah usually cooks – she’s amazing with food, by the way. Alavia does the dishes.”
Jacen felt himself smile slightly. They seemed to have a pleasant little way of life here living in the Dantooine countryside. He wasn’t sure why he still felt a timid nagging in his mind. He figured it was still aftermath from that ship they had seen earlier that day, when they had arrived. Pushing the thought out of his mind, he watched as Aurelio emerged from the kitchen into the dining hall, four thin glasses in his hands. He set them in the middle of the table and vanished for a moment, returning with three more and setting them beside the first four. The glasses were tinted red the slightest bit, but it wasn’t difficult to note the dark blue liquid that sloshed around inside of them.
“What did you make tonight?” Verdot stared at the drinks, his azure orbs narrowing as he studied them.
“It’s called Hoth Hotsauce.”
“Clever. What’s in it?”
Aurelio stared pointedly at his brother before turning his head towards Jacen and Tenel Ka. “Ever since I started making drinks, Verdot always questions me about everything.”
“He got me sick the first time he mixed our drinks. He thought he was the Force’s gift to alcoholics everywhere and this fool gets me nauseous for three days straight.”
“Hey, that was the first time I ever tried it.” Shooting an eyeroll in Jacen and Tenel Ka’s direction, Aurelio crossed his arms and stared down to his brother who was still studying the glasses.
Jacen had taken one, trusting Aurelio, and took a small sip of it, eyebrows raising and head nodding slightly. “It’s good.”
“What’s in it?” Verdot repeated, stubbornly.
“Pick up your arms everyone.” Harahjah was emerging from the kitchen, two plates in her hands and two more resting across her forearms. She lowered them slightly as she got to the Tahva’s, and they took the ones off of her arms, then she moved swiftly over to Jacen and Tenel Ka and set the two in her hands down in front of them. With a quick smile to them, she vanished back towards the kitchen to retrieve the other three plates.
Alavia and Trexler had sat themselves at the table at the point, and Harahjah was handing them their plates while Jacen studied his own. He saw a pile of noodles at the end of the ovular plate, next to a dark brown slab of meat, already cut into tiny bite-size squares. The meat was nestled beside a colorfully spruced up pile of greens and it appeared to be a salad with garnish from the plains of Dantooine. Jacen recognized the tiny blue and red blooms on his plate from their ride to the manor. They were peeking out amongst a bed of greens and covered in a thin dressing that seeped to other portions of the plate. It smelled delicious and once the aroma hit his nose, Jacen was surprised at how loud his stomach grumbled.
“Well?” Verdot peered around the table, a calm grin spreading across his lips. “Let’s eat.”
The quiet clings and chirps of utensils hitting plates and people reaching for spices set out in the middle of the table gave way to different sounds. Positive noises of satisfaction as everyone had their first bite of food.
“This is amazing, Harahjah,” Jacen said, after finishing a mouthful of meat and noodles. There had been just the right mix of flavor, a smoky kick with a tangy aftertaste that lingered on his tongue. He tried the salad next, the dressing mixing perfectly with the taste the meat had left. What Verdot had said about Harahjah’s cooking was very true.
“Thank you,” she beamed back to him and took a sip of her drink, waiting till the taste left her mouth before speaking up again. “How was your trip here?”
“Slightly relaxing,” Tenel Ka spoke up. “I mean, it was definitely less stressful than what is going on at the Fountain Palace right now.”
“I’ll bet,” Verdot said. “Admiral Vessau’s probably running around like a madman right now.”
“Doesn’t he always?” Aurelio poked at his steak, a grin forcing itself onto his lips at the thought of his friend.
There was a chuckle around the table, Tenel Ka even feeling a smile cross her face.
“So, what exactly happened?” Trexler was rolling some of the spicy noodles around a knife and gnawing at them.
Swallowing a bite of greens, Tenel Ka tilted her head slightly, quickly trying to figure out the best way to relay the story without saying too little or too much. She was about to speak, when Jacen did it for her.
“Blaster shot. It hit her side. It was during some big meeting she was having. I have no idea what the meeting was for though, I don’t follow Hapan politics.”
“That’s a good thing. They’re not fun to follow.” Verdot leaned back in his chair, throwing his glass back and finishing the contents.
“Agreed,” Jacen smiled.
The conversation continued as Verdot stared to his right, to Tenel Ka, who was nodding at his last words and silently taking small bites of food, then peering up to whoever was speaking at that moment, her eyes darting alertly around the table. She glanced over to him momentarily, a slight upturn of her lips appearing when she noticed he was looking at her. Verdot slipped a pleasant smile in return. He took a morbid pleasure in the fact that she was looking right into the eyes of the man who tried to shoot her, the man they were all talking about at the dinner table.
Once he pulled his eyes from her, he let them trail to Jacen and back to Tenel Ka before speaking up once more. “You two didn’t seem to bring much luggage. And those flightsuits are looking a little worn.”
“Oh, we should be fine. We just brought a few simple outfits.” Jacen took a bite of noodles and finished them before continuing. “Very nondescript. We figured we should draw the least amount of attention to ourselves while we’re here as possible.”
Verdot chuckled. “But that’s no fun while you’re here with us.”
“Yeah,” Alavia smiled slyly, eyeing Tenel Ka in particular. “I think the Queen Mother needs to let Harahjah and I at her wardrobe and style choices while she’s here.”
There was a gentle ripple of laughter around the table as Tenel Ka peered over to Alavia, caught off-guard, her eyes wide.
“Come on, Your Majesty, it could be fun.” Alavia’s dark eyes sparkled with a childish excitement.
Tenel Ka could feel Jacen nudging her under the table with his foot. He sent one thing to her through their bond.
Relax.
Tenel Ka began to nod slowly. “Uh, alright.”
“You won’t regret it, I promise.” Alavia was beaming now, and then began picking at her food once more.
“Jacen,” Trexler motioned to Solo with his silver knife and then moved the point up towards the upper floors. “I’m sure between Tessick and Kaidin’s wardrobe, along with ours--” The knife went from Aurelio to Verdot and back to himself, “—you can find a couple things to wear too. None of this tan, brown, gray drab stuff. It brings me down, man.”
“Sounds good to me.” Jacen could feel a grin on his face and that was when he realized he was actually feeling sort of relaxed. The food was good, the drinks were good, the company seemed pleasant and friendly enough and the surroundings were beautiful.
“We’ll wash those nasty flightsuits while we’re at it,” Alavia’s lips thinned as she said this, peering to the wrinkled garments they were wearing.
“Yeah, no stinking up the Estate.” Trexler finished his drink and slammed his glass down to a chorus and giggles.
Dinner continued with talks about Hoth, Fondor’s politics, clubs on Coruscant, the Jedi Academy (much to Trexler’s excitement) – among a long list of other things that seemed to run together. Dinner lasted longer than any political function or military meeting, but it was enjoyable and the sun had set completely by the time they had cleared out the dining area and cleaned the kitchen, their guests insisting on helping.
-- ESTATE OF THE ABSOLVED – GRAND HALL / DANTOOINE
“No, no. You have to flick your wrist back and throw it like this.” Trexler demonstrated to Jacen what he was trying to say, a small red ball bouncing from the ground to the wall of the Grand Hall and back to Trexler’s hand. He did it again, the ball effortlessly shifting to the ground, the wall and back to his hand three more times before he handed it to Jacen for him to attempt once more.
Tenel Ka watched him across the room as she lounged in one of the oversized chairs, her legs tucked under her and her right arm draped over her lap. Alavia and Verdot were sitting on the ground, in the middle of some holo-game, vehemently taunting each other as they each took their turns and Harahjah seemed to be napping lightly in her own chair near them. Her gaze shifted from Jacen’s back to Aurelio as he entered the chamber and wandered to her, seating himself on the arm of her chair.
“Hey there, Your Majesty.”
“Evening, Aurelio.”
“Are you okay?” He had no idea why he was asking her this. He figured, if Alavia and Trexler and Verdot had anything to do with it, she would be dead within days. But he couldn’t help himself.
The Queen Mother just nodded, her eyes locked on some unseen object past Aurelio, glazed over and narrowed slightly.
“That’s not good enough,” Aurelio said.
“I am fine.” She finally looked up to him, her eyes sharp again. She could see the lines of worry etched in his face, the way his body always seemed at least a little tense. This wasn’t exactly the Aurelio she remembered. She remembered a boy who would laugh at the slightest thing and wouldn’t hesitate to run around playing pranks on anyone he could manage to get close to. This man was afraid of something. “And you?”
“Me?” He looked surprised at her question, a shrug racking his shoulders. “Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?” He let his bright blue eyes trail away from her with his last words, letting them shift slowly around the chamber. But he definitely caught the way she seemed to freeze up again out of the corner of his eyes. Turning his head to look back at her, he reached out and brushed her shoulder, causing their eyes to lock again. “You can relax here. You’re in the hands of friends.” Each of those words had turned into a vibroblade and as he spoke them, stabbing him one by one.
The words weren’t very comforting, but they settled something inside of her and she breathed a small sigh. Maybe Aurelio was right.
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