{{ absolved - chapter 11
-- ESTATE OF THE ABSOLVED – GRAND HALL / DANTOOINE
“Does it all fit okay?” Trexler asked through a mouthful of fruit as he stared Jacen up and down.
Aurelio and Verdot were doing the same from a sofa nearby, both tilting their heads and debating on whether or not the outfit looked right.
“Yeah, the clothes fit fine.” Jacen peered down at himself. The dark pants Trexler had let him borrow were a little snug, as was the brown shirt Aurelio had given him. The blue jacket Verdot lent him though fit just right, the hem falling to his thighs. “Thanks a lot guys. This is a lot better than jumpsuit after jumpsuit.”
“It smells a lot better too.” Drops of juice were wiped from Trexler’s mouth as he said this, his mouth still full.
“Would you quit chewing and swallow your food before you speak?” Verdot snapped his gaze from Jacen and let his narrowed eyes land on Pirr.
“No,” the man answered sternly, with another bite of the fruit.
The four of them had spent the morning in the Grand Hall watching bad holodramas and talk shows. It was relaxing and a nice break for Jacen, who was used to every day consisting of meetings and training and other forms of work. He knew being a Jedi and upholding peace was basically his way of life, and he enjoyed it, for the most part. But he would definitely admit this was like a much needed vacation.
At least he hoped it was.
He had asked where the girls were earlier. Verdot had told him that Harahjah and Alavia had taken the Queen Mother to town. Jacen had taken a few moments to seek out Tenel Ka through the Force, and finding her in fairly bright spirits, albeit her feeling a little awkward, he felt safe knowing she wasn’t in any danger. It even felt like she was slightly enjoying herself with whatever she was doing.
At this point late in the day, he was relieved to feel that she and the others were close, most likely returning home from their day out. He was still shifting around the Grand Hall getting used to the clothing he was wearing when the front door opened and the girls entered. Harahjah and Alavia had their hands full of bags while Tenel Ka, who was clad in her jumpsuit from the day before, was holding the door for them.
“What the kriff? Did you buy the whole town?”
Jacen looked over to Verdot as he asked the question, found the man sneering, and then looked back to the ladies to wait for a response.
“As a matter of fact, yes.” Alavia dropped her bags in the middle of the foyer and stretched, before gathering them back up and herding the other two to the stairs. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ll see you for dinner.”
Jacen couldn’t help but watch Tenel Ka follow Alavia and Harahjah up the stairs. The others were too busy arguing about what to watch next. When he turned back towards them, they had settled on a holodocumentary on the Clone Wars.
-- ESTATE OF THE ABSOLVED – ALAVIA’S QUARTERS / DANTOOINE
“So is Solo your boyfriend?” Alavia asked, as she pressed a code into a keypad and once a bell sounded, slid a frosted glass door back in the wall to reveal a closet full of clothes.
Tenel Ka forced a chuckle, mildly surprised at how fluid and calm it sounded. “Oh no. I do not mix business and pleasure. He is just a good friend who is acting as a bodyguard.”
“Aw, come on, Your Majesty…” She began hanging up all the new clothing she had purchased in town and then turned towards her and Harahjah when she finished. “He’s absolutely darling. And his eyes are gorgeous. You should go out with him.”
Opening her mouth to respond, Tenel Ka was cut off when Alavia spun around and guided her into a chair near the closet. “There’s no reason why you can’t make your business pleasure, right?” Her eyebrows seemed to wiggle suggestively at the last few words.
“Right,” she answered in an absent sort of fashion. Tenel Ka briefly wondered why she was letting them do this, but the feeling quickly passed as she remembered what both Aurelio and Jacen had said – she needed to relax and she was in the hands of friends. Although, she wasn’t quite sure this was a very relaxing activity.
“I think she should wear that one.” Harahjah pointed to something in Alavia’s closet.
“Ew, no. Are you crazy? That color would clash with her hair. We want her to impress Solo, not drive him away.”
“What about the purple one back there?”
“The dark purple?”
“Yeah.”
Alavia reached back into the dense row of clothes and pulled out the item, holding it up to her and spinning around to face Tenel Ka. “How about this?”
The Queen Mother opened her mouth to respond, but she didn’t even get a chance to say anything before Alavia began moving towards her. “Yes, you’ll look perfect in it, I’m sure.”
Dragging her out of the chair, Alavia and Harahjah began undoing the complicated clasps of her jumpsuit, Tenel Ka not having the heart to protest at the moment. They peeled it off of her and tossed it aside, both girls pointing at the shower Harahjah had started in the nearby refresher.
“Go on now,” she smiled. “While you’re in there we’ll pick out shoes and makeup.”
Alavia was nodding in agreement and in an excited sort of fashion.
Great, Tenel Ka mused inwardly. Shoes and makeup.
With a forced grin, she padded past the two of them and entered the refresher, slipping out of her undergarments and into the shower. She could hear the two women arguing outside about shoes and accessories, the words getting louder as the two of them entered the refresher with her to begin rummaging through drawers along the vanity.
“So how long have you known Jacen?” Alavia asked.
Tensing slightly, Tenel Ka briefly wondered how much information she should let slip here. She didn’t want to seem like she was hiding too much from them, but she didn’t want to spill their whole history. “We both went to the Jedi Academy when we were children.”
“Awww, did he have a crush on you when you guys were kids?”
“Yes,” she stated this quickly, wondering if she should’ve given something like that away. Tenel Ka scolded herself though, telling herself that it was a silly childhood crush and there was no reason to hide it from their hosts. She just knew she obviously had to keep what grew from that childhood crush a secret. “But nothing ever came of it.”
“I bet he’s jealous of all those suitors you have,” Harahjah let Alavia continue to scavenge through the makeup drawers as she spoke, the small of her back leaning on the vanity as her eyes shifted over to the frosted door of the shower.
There is nothing to be jealous of when it comes to them though, she thought to herself. “He might be,” she mused outwardly. “I have never asked.”
“I’ll find out!” Alavia exclaimed as she dropped a few cosmetics from the drawers onto the top of the vanity.
The shower was turned off and Tenel Ka moved over to the door, opening it a bit. Harahjah handed a towel to her and both her and Alavia retreated back into the closet to put their finishing touches on the outfit before they put Tenel Ka into it.
-- ESTATE OF THE ABSOLVED – MAIN HALL / DANTOOINE
Jacen shared a laugh with them, his right hand clutched at his stomach. Trexler had been telling a few jokes that he had heard years ago, some a bit off-color, but the others didn’t seem to mind. He and Aurelio and Verdot and Jacen were standing in the main hall, planning to shift into the dining room for dinner, Corellian ales resting in each of their grasps. Trexler waited for the laughs to die down and bowed slightly before shifting over to the winding staircase and taking a deep breath and yelling up to the next level.
“Hey! We ordered some Toydarian takeout. I hope that’s okay with you three.”
“Sounds good as long as your remembered the noodles!” Alavia called from upstairs.
“Come on!” Trexler called back up, his palms rhythmically and absently beating a tune on the banisters. “I would never forget the sourfry noodles!”
Verdot went to set his drink in the dining room and clapped his brother on the back when he passed them to head to the kitchen. “I’m gonna get the dishes.”
Aurelio followed his brother, his own drink still in his hand.
Back in the main hall, Harahjah appeared at the top of the stairs in a black top and a full skirt of dark blue. She bounded down the stairs and delivered a quick hug to Trexler. “Thank you so much for ordering the food. It’ll be nice to have a break from cooking for one night.”
“Anytime, Raj.” He smiled in return and motioned to the dining room. “I put drinks out on the table. I didn’t know what you all wanted so there’s a whole bunch of stuff out there.”
Alavia was coming down the stairs behind her and looked at home in a green dress that didn’t leave any curve of hers hidden. She stopped beside Trexler and Harahjah and held her hand up, palm out, for Trexler to slap with his own. They both had huge grins on their face and Jacen watched their eyes light up. “Sourfry noodles!” They both exclaimed happily.
Harahjah rolled her eyes and laughed before turning away from them and heading towards the dining room, giving a quick grin to Jacen on the way. Trexler moved to follow her in and Alavia shifted to Jacen, her hands latching onto his upper arm.
“The Queen Mother will be down in a moment,” Alavia cooed in his ear.
He nodded in response, trying to keep his eyes from locking onto the top of the stairs. He was sure they fancied her up somehow and he was sure she wouldn’t look very amused about it. In fact, she would probably have a smirk—
“There we go,” Alavia almost whispered as Tenel Ka clasped the banister with her right hand and began to descend the staircase.
Jacen Solo tried not to let his slight shock show and he tried not to tense up at the sight of her, especially with Alavia in such close proximity to him. He was pleasantly surprised at the collected and confident expression on her face. He figured she would have a permanent smirk marring her features in the outfit she was wearing. It was a violet dress with thin straps and it almost reached the ground. There was a slit up the left front and as she moved down the stairs he could see that she was in what looked to be like an almost dangerous pair of high heels. Her longs bangs were pulled back from her eyes with a few small, loose clips and the rest of her hair fell down her back in waves. The makeup they had gotten her to wear wasn’t too drastic, but it was definitely visible – her eyes were ringed with smoke and her lips were a bit darker than usual.
It really wasn’t her, but she was wearing it beautifully.
We need to talk later, he quickly dared to send through their bond. He knew she heard it, but he also knew she couldn’t make any physical move to respond.
Alavia began to herd Jacen into the dining room at that point (he tried not to continue to stare at Tenel Ka on the way), with Aurelio on their tail, his hands full of dishes. Tenel Ka was about to follow them when Verdot emerged from the kitchen behind her. He had utensils in his right hand and they clattered in his grasp for a moment, which caused Tenel Ka to stop and turn back towards him.
“Your Majesty.” Verdot slipped up beside her and brought his free hand to the small of her back, where it sat against the dark purple fabric of her dress. “You’re looking absolutely radiant tonight.”
Tenel Ka was used to hearing things like that, but it was usually from suitors just buttering her up or her extended family sucking up to her. Verdot actually sounded like he meant it. She could feel his fingertips through the fabric and it caused her to straighten her posture a little. She briefly tried to remember why he left Hapes in the first place, but the thoughts left her mind when he guided her into the dining room and pulled out a chair for her at the big round table. She was seated between Aurelio and Verdot and across from Jacen, who she could tell was trying very hard not to stare at her. Tenel Ka tried to push the flush from her cheeks.
Verdot passed out the utensils and they all sat around the table for a few minutes, passing the time until the food arrived with their drinks.
Trexler took a long gulp of his ale and set the glass down, peering around to the others at the table. “You girls are looking fancy tonight.”
“Are you complaining?” Aurelio inquired, absently spinning his fork around on the tabletop.
A comforting series of tones rang out from some hidden corner of the foyer, signifying that someone was at the front door and Verdot stood and exited back into the main hall to retrieve the food -- the conversation continuing around the table as if nothing happened.
“No, I just want to know what the occasion is.”
Alavia, from her place between Aurelio and Jacen spoke up, “Well we never get to dress up for anything else.” There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. “I get all these amazing clothes and then I sit around here all the time while they rot in my closet.”
A chuckle passed over the table and then Verdot returned; three bags in his hands. He set them down on the table and began rifling through them, pulling out disposable container after disposable container. “Looks like they forgot the sourfry noodles,” he murmured absently.
“What?!” Alavia squealed.
“Oh, son of a hu--!” Trexler started.
Verdot cut him off, “Kidding.” He pulled a big container out and set it in the middle of the table. “They’re right here.”
“Better be.” Trexler reached straight for the noodles, slapping Alavia’s hand away from them. “I call dibs! I paid!”
“You just better not eat them all. I’m watching you.”
Trexler responded to her by shoving a heaping spoonful of the sourfry noodles into his mouth. “Watch me all you want, sister!”
Tenel Ka felt herself smiling slightly at the exchange, her eyes drifting back and forth between Trexler and Alavia before something to her right caught her attention. Verdot was placing food on her plate and she watched his eyes move from the food to her face. She absently found herself leaning towards him when she saw that he was about to say something and knew that in order to hear him over the chatter of the others that she would need to move closer to him.
“Sorry we don’t have an overabundance of people here to serve like at the palace, Tenel Ka.”
She felt a slight shudder up her spine when he said her name. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the inviting way he seemed to say it or the feeling that could almost be mistaken for envy coming from where Jacen sat. She pulled away from Verdot and watched him quickly lick excess Toydarian sauce from his fingertips. The action was fast and only spanned a few seconds, but Tenel Ka found herself looking down to the plate in front of him rather than at him when he did it.
People never flustered her. The only one to occasionally do so was Jacen. For some reason though, Verdot almost drove her insane. She couldn’t remember why he left Hapes and everything he did seemed to somehow quicken her pulse and make her mind whirl. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hit him or give him an uncharacteristic hug.
“Oh, no worries. I grew sick of being served like that long ago.” She managed to say this even after he caused her heart to start beating wildly. It did that when he planted the kiss on her hand at their arrival, it did that when he had his fingertips on the small of her back and it did it when he licked his fingers. She watched as Verdot pushed the plate of food he had prepared to her and she nodded her thanks, trying to avoid his deep blue eyes.
Across the table, Jacen Solo was in between Alavia and Harahjah, both of whom were talking across him. They were including him in the conversation but luckily it was only at times when he had to say things like, “Yes” or “No” – which was good since he was paying more attention to Tenel Ka and Verdot. He was trying not to, he was trying his hardest to keep his eyes shifting between the girls on either side of him or on his food, but he felt himself continue to glance up to the Hapans across the table.
Once he set his fork down and wiped his mouth with his napkin, he felt a set of hands on his right arm. Jacen looked over into the wide eyes of Alavia, who pulled her closer to him and leaned up to speak to him. “So, I hear you had a crush on Tenel Ka when you were a kid.”
“Huh?”
“When Rajah and I were dolling her up, we were being nosy and asking about you. She told us you had a crush on her when you two were little.”
He felt a pang of panic for a split second wondering how much Tenel Ka told them and how much he should tell them – he was hoping their stories would match. But he knew how Tenel Ka thought and he figured that was probably as much as she told them. He was sure she didn’t bother to mention that she had a bit of a crush on him when they were younger too.
“Oh. Yeah. A little.” He nodded, smiling lopsidedly to the two of them. “I mean, she was a princess. And she was athletic. And pretty, of course. What more could a guy like me want?”
“Her to like you back, maybe?” Alavia arched an eyebrow.
“Well, yeah. There was that.”
The sound of a fork on a glass halted the conversation and the eating around the table and everyone’s eyes fell on Verdot, the source of the sound.
“A toast. To new friends and new adventures – and to staying safe.” He lifted his glass a little higher and prepared to take a sip.
“Brief and beautiful, man.” Trexler took a few long swigs of his fourth glass of ale and set the glass down, preparing for another plate of sourfry noodles.
“Maybe after dinner we can take our guests to the underground.” Verdot mentioned at some point while they were eating.
There was a chorus of affirmatives from around the table and then the eating and jovial banter continued.
| 