{{ simply being loved - chapter 14
The obfuscated image of Ta'a Chume glared down to the two males, her sharp eyes piercing through the transmission, sending a shudder up Exna's spine.
"Who was that?!" Ta'a Chume sneered.
Exna glanced to Jeauno, who shrugged with a passive smirk on his face. "I'm not sure, Tee Cee," Exna exclaimed, looking back up to the screen.
"Well you brutes had better find out or I will put out a hefty bounty on both of your heads."
A nod racked Exna.
"Now tell Gadell I need to speak with him when he gets a chance."
Another nod. Exna then motioned to Jeauno to get up. The bigger male pulled himself out of his chair, reached forward to flip the holo-screen off and followed Exna out of the darkened room.
"Did you see someone come out of this room while we were in there?"
The guard looked at Exna, a slight expression of confusion on her face, "No sir."
Exna growled and looked to Jeauno.
Jeauno smirked and spoke, something he didn't do often, "A Jedi."
Exna nodded in agreement, "It had to be."
They ran past the baffled guard and sped off towards the Queen Mother's quarters.
The table was full of people. It was a table in one of the command rooms of the Palace, usually used during times of war. Since it wasn't being used, Isolder gave permission to Luke for use of it. Luke said it was "Jedi business" and Isolder didn't question past that. He knew questioning Jedi proved pretty much useless, learning that from his daughter.
Master Luke Skywalker sat at the head of the table, Mara to his right, with five-year-old Ben toddling around their chairs. To Luke's left sat Kyp Durron, arms crossed, eyes glued to the edge of the table. Jaina Solo stood against the wall behind him, kicking the back of Kyp's chair whenever he strayed too far into his own thoughts. Jag Fel sat beside Kyp. Being one of the only two non-Jedi in the room didn't phase him at all. He had gotten used to it. There was an empty seat beside him where Jaina was sitting, until she stood up to play with her cousin Ben, as well as to torment Kyp. Han and Leia Organa Solo sat beside Jaina's empty chair, with Tahiri Veila and Alema Rar on their left. Zekk and Lowie sat across from Jag and Jaina's empty seat, with Ben's empty chair beside them, rounding the table out. Danni Quee and Tekli were standing along the wall behind the Solos.
"Where is Jacen?" Luke spoke up, causing the random chatter to die down.
"He said he was going to try to talk to Tenel Ka again. But that was this morning. And we haven't heard from him since then." Zekk motioned to Lowbacca and himself, his green eyes glinting in the rooms low light.
It was currently dinner time in the Fountain Palace, the guests would all convene in the main dining hall where they would enjoy a feast every night. The Queen Mother was always there. Just about everyone in the Palace was there every night. And they thought tonight would be no different.
"Has anyone seen him since then?" Mara inquired, as Ben ran back around the table to her. Everyone shook their heads.
"I'm sure he'll be at dinner, right?" Han leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. He thought that this was all a bit silly. He knew Tenel Ka well enough to know that she wouldn't take a practically forced marriage lightly. And he definitely knew his son well enough. Han knew that Jacen wouldn't take kindly to another man marrying the woman he loved. Han had gotten out of that situation well off and he was hoping his son would too.
"We should go to the dining hall and look," Jag said abruptly. He had been with Jaina all day and he had seen her worrying. He knew that they had to find Jacen.
Leia nodded, "Maybe a couple of us should go."
Luke looked to his sister, "Who wants to go? A few of us can go and maybe split up. A couple to the dining hall, a couple to his quarters and so on."
Tahiri piped up, "Alema and I can go check his quarters." Luke nodded, causing Tahiri and Alema to stand up. Luke knew Tahiri cared about Jacen like a big brother and he could tell she was worried about him. She hid it well; but Luke could sense her wariness. Motioning Alema out behind her, they both filed out of the room.
The silence hung in the air.
"Jag," Han called out across the table. "You and me. Dining hall." Han nodded his head towards the door. "We can see if Jacen is there, or maybe Tenel Ka."
Jag pushed his chair away from the table and stood up, giving Jaina a quick squeeze on the upper arm, before following her father out of the dim room.
The younger female twin spoke up after her father and Jag had left the room, "We can't wait this long! Have any of you even tried to feel him through the Force?!"
Jaina's question was returned with dead air.
"Well go on already!"
The room lapsed into an even deeper, eerie type of silence as each Jedi focused their energy on finding Jacen.
And they each found him.
They felt his presence, in the Palace, bruised, torn, angry, emotionally drained. They all drew back.
Jaina added quietly, almost choking on her words, "He's much worse than he was before."
Her heavy breathing broke the muteness of the command room. A few moments of it caused Kyp to spin around in his chair and stand up, grabbing Jaina's arms and leading her to Jag's currently unoccupied seat. "I'm sure he's fine, Jay." Kyp added, letting his hand rest on her shoulder. "Jacen's not a weakling." A few years before, those words wouldn't have even entered Kyp's mind. But after the war, he actually saw Jacen. Instead of looking at Jacen in Anakin Solo's shadow, he had taken a good look at Jacen Solo and realized that he had become a strong man, powerful in the Force and steady in his beliefs and emotions.
Jaina was still incredibly worried about him and pulled her chair towards Kyp's, burying her head in his neck. Slowly, he let his arms rest around her back and he let his lips place a small kiss on the top of her head, "He'll be fine."
It pained Leia to see her daughter in this state. And it pained her to feel her son in the state he was in. She watched as Kyp kissed the top of her daughter's head and then look up to Leia with a slight plea in his eyes. Leia quickly moved over to the seat beside Jaina and began to pat her on the back.
"Luke, what should we do?" Leia looked up to her brother.
Ben, crawling up in Zekk's lap broke the silence as Leia waited for an answer to her question, "Zekky!"
Zekk smiled and whispered, "Hey kid. Do you know where your cousin Jacen is?"
"He ish hurt." Ben replied, shaking his head in reply to Zekk's question.
A nod from Zekk, "That's why we have to find him."
Looking over to her husband, Mara reached behind her and rubbed her son's back. Zekk was currently holding Ben in a standing position on his lap, with Lowie reaching over to ruffle his hair.
"All we can do is wait. Jacen has to help himself... and try to help Tenel Ka as much as he can." He steepled his fingers, "She's in pretty deep. I don't know if anyone can get her out."
Jaina, worried about her brother and one of her best friends, pulled away from Kyp's shoulder and turned towards the table. Her movement caused everyone's eyes to fall on her. "What's wrong with Tenel Ka? Growing up with her showed me that she was an independent person... very strong when it came to keeping her emotions in check. Why is she all of the sudden lashing out... and falling towards the dark side?"
Danni Quee spoke up, after watching the meeting in silence, "I might have an explanation for that." She stepped forward, taking Han's vacant seat. "It has to be the arm."
Mara retracted her hand from Ben's back and rested both hands on the table. "What makes you say that? How can a machine turn someone to the dark side?"
Danni began to unravel her logic, leaving the room in a stunned silence afterwards.
Afternoon was passing as Jacen Solo finally worked up the confidence to go to Tenel Ka's quarters. He wanted to give time for Gadell to wake up, get dressed, mope around and leave. He wanted to make sure Gadell wasn't there when he was.
Running through scenarios in his mind, he stepped up to the Queen Mother's closed door and brought his fist up to knock.
His knuckles stopped an inch away from the metal.
The camera.
Ta'a Chume and her two henchmen would definitely know it was the revered Jacen Solo in there; if he just waltzed on in spouting off accusations. But he had to find a way in.
Standing silently in the corridor for a moment, he could hear her voice muffled behind the door. Opening himself up to the Force, he could feel that she was the only person in the room. He magnified his hearing and focused on her voice so he could hear what she was saying.
"---not going to attend dinner tonight. When the time rolls around, please bring up whatever is being cooked."
He couldn't hear the reply from the comlink.
"Thank you." He heard her slam the comlink down onto a surface, most likely a table. He quickly pulled himself away from the Force. He couldn't let her know he was outside of her room.
Especially now that he had a plan.
Jacen looked down at himself. He was in the tan pants from his flightsuit and a tight shirt, a few shades lighter. The fabric of the sleeves spread across his shoulders and stopped, leaving his arms bare. His boots were of a brown shade but covered mostly by his pants, which weren't tucked into the boots like they usually were.
It'll work.
He casually turned around and leaned back against the corner of the wall, waiting.
No less than ten minutes later, he heard footsteps around the corner. And when the person appeared he grabbed them. One arm around their waist and the other hand over their mouth.
Thank the Force.
Jacen was exhilarated to see that he caught Anhaje. Pulling her into a corner of the hallway that was crawling with greenery, he spun her around towards him and took his hands away from her body, placing his right pointer finger to his lips.
"General..."
"How many times have I told you to call me Jacen?"
They both smiled.
Anhaje had known Jacen Solo ever since that fated lightsaber accident. They met when Tenel Ka was brought back to Hapes. Anhaje had been Tenel Ka's handmaiden since they were both young and Anhaje enjoyed her job immensely and had grown to love Tenel Ka like a sister. Tenel Ka returned that love over the years, letting Anhaje be one of the only people to see the real emotion behind her stoic facade. When Anhaje had first met Jacen all those years ago, she felt a bit hostile towards him, for what he did to Tenel Ka. But after she observed the way Tenel Ka looked at him and spoke to him, she realized that there was no need to feel violent towards Solo.
Anhaje could see that Tenel Ka was in love with him.
"I have a really big favor to ask of you, Anhaje."
The woman, who, like Tenel Ka, was a couple of years older than Jacen, crossed her arms. "I am afraid to ask what that is Jacen Solo," she exclaimed, incredulously.
"Can I borrow your robes?"
Anhaje's eyes widened, "I knew I should not have asked."
Jacen let a chuckle escape his lips, "It's important. I'll explain later."
She continued to stare at him, her lips flattening into a line.
"And let me handle her dinner," he motioned back to the cart that was hovering alone in the immense hallway.
"I had better recieve an explanation later, Jacen Solo." Anhaje pulled the robe off over her head, leaving her in a simple black jumpsuit and she handed it over to him.
"You'll get one. I promise." Jacen leaned over an planted a friendly kiss on her forehead. He began to pull the rich, thick, silk robe down over his sinewy form. "Let's just say I'm trying to save Hapes from a natural disaster," he declared, as he tugged the cloth around and over his head.
"Trying to save all 63 planets, Solo?"
Jacen nodded as the forest green robe finally gave way and let his head poke through the top. Anhaje saw a familiar lopsided grin that she knew made the Queen Mother melt everytime she saw it.
"That is just like you Jacen. Always the peacekeeper." Anhaje reached up and squeezed his shoulder. After helping him straighten out the robe, she peeked out from the corner full of vines. Seeing the empty corridor, she gave one last nod to Jacen and scampered off. Anhaje knew Jacen was trying to bring Gadell and whatever his plans were down. And she would back him up all the way, after she saw the manner he treated the Queen Mother and herself in.
Back in the plant-filled corner, Jacen tried to pull the bottom hem down over his boots. Luckily, Anhaje was a tall, slim Hapan woman, therefore rising to about Jacen's height. The hem swept the carpeted floor as he stood up straight, pulling the silk hood of the robe over his head. The handmaidens usually never wore their hoods around the palace. They were mostly on the robe for decoration and they were to be worn when a handmaiden would go out in public.
Jacen had no time to make up an excuse for the hood now. But he couldn't take it off, he needed it.
He emerged out of the greenery, swaying towards the cart, walking as femininely as he possibly could. He thought he looked pretty convincing. As he placed his hands on the handle of the repulsor-cart, he scowled at them. They looked too strong, like they'd been through too much, too corded... too manly. Jacen threw his arms out in front of him and shook them, until the robes sleeves fully covered his hands. Grasping the cart again he walked a few more paces towards the door. Then he stopped. Yanking the lid off of the main course's plate, he studied each item.
Some Hapan speciality, no doubt. As he looked at the contents of the plate, his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten all day. All that was sloshing around inside of him was numerous cups of caf. He had no time to think about that now though. Searching for anything that would pass...
Ah ha!
Sticking his finger into a thin red sauce pooled at the side of the plate, Jacen smeared it across his mouth, leaving a thin layer of red all over his lips. He licked the rest of it off of his finger then gently placed the lid back over the plate, marveling in his improvisational makeup effect. He took a few more steps towards the door.
He stopped again.
Closing his eyes, he shut himself off from the Force. Entering the room fully open to it would surely be a huge mistake. Tenel Ka would know it was him right away. He put his robed hands on the handle of the cart and pushed it up to the door.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked.
The Queen Mother reclined on the lush sofa that usually sat at the foot of her bed. She had pulled it to the balcony and set it on the inside edge of the double doors, which were open towards the setting sun. She had called Anhaje a few minutes earlier and told her to send dinner up. She would not be joining her guests that night beacuse of her illness. Which was gone at this point in time.
But she was reveling in the solitude.
Gadell had gone to some meeting which left her to sit alone. She enjoyed doing random useless things around her room. She would pace for a few minutes, change her clothes a couple of times and toy with her hair in front of the big mirror. She had sat down in front of the reflective surface and opened the untouched makeup that set decoratively on the vanity table. Tenel Ka found that she was exceptionally good about lining her eyes and she sat for countless minutes, tracing her eyes in different shades and colors. First black, then she would wash that off and try red... blue... purple, she went through every color she could find. Finally she settled on black, and when she got bored with that she pulled the sofa from the foot of her bed to the open balcony doors and plopped down to watch the sunset.
Realizing that the comlink she had used a few moments before was still buzzing in the on position, she leaned forward slightly, sticking her left arm out. A quick splash of lightning danced across the room and knocked the comlink to the ground, leaving the chamber with the small echo of a frying sound. Tenel Ka rested her head back on the arm of the sofa and breathed a sigh.
A tapping sounded at the door.
Reaching her hand over the back of the couch, she used the Force to press the open button. The door slid open to reveal a hooded handmaiden. Tenel Ka peered at her over the top of the couch, wondering why she was wearing her hood. She briefly tried to read her emotions through the Force but ran into a wall. Giving up, Tenel Ka motioned the handmaiden across the sunset lit room. The handmaiden pushed the cart over to the sofa and stopped as she came around to look at the Queen Mother.
"Hold on a moment," Tenel Ka stood up, starting over to the large dressing room in the back of her chamber. "I should change. We do not want to make a mess out of Gadell's robe. He might get angry." With a resounding cackle, Tenel Ka entered the dressing room.
The door soundlessly recessed into the wall and Jacen gulped. For some reason, the room seemed more ominous in the setting sun's light. Sharply contrasting reds, purples and blues landed across the furniture and the vines along the walls, lending a brooding tone to the atmosphere. The only sound penetrating Jacen's ears was the faint buzzing of something electronic and the loud beating of his own heart. He didn't have time to figure out what the electronic sound was before the Queen Mother popped her head up from behind the top of the sofa, which looked out of place in front of the balcony doors.
Jacen quickly looked towards the ground, letting the hood fall over his face. His eyes caught sight of her motioning him towards the sofa and he started pushing the cart. Still focusing on moving as womanly as possible, he didn't catch Tenel Ka eyeing him up and down in a questioning stare. He got to the sofa without incident and letting his shadowed eyes fall upon her, his stomach was instantly filled with fluttering shadowmoths.
There she was, languidly spilled out across the sofa. A cerulean silk robe tied at the waist, her black-lined eyes closed, her hair spread out across the arm of the sofa and her legs up on the other arm, crossed at the shins. The bottom hem of the robe was riding dangerously high above her knees and it took almost all of Jacen's willpower to tear his eyes away from her inviting curves.
He might've been one of the more thoughtful, peaceful and silent types...
...But he was still a man.
Her silver eyes slowly opened and she glared at the tray for a moment before throwing her legs off of the sofa and letting her bare feet land on the carpet. "Hold on a moment. I should change. We do not want to make a mess out of Gadell's robe. He might get angry." An insane giggle escaped her as she stood up and paced towards the dressing room.
Jacen watched from under the veil of the hood. He knew the camera was programmed for the Queen Mother's bedroom, but were the brutes smart enough to program it for the dressing room too? Jacen watched Tenel Ka enter a room in the back of her chambers, the walls lined with clothes, dresses and outfits. A long mirror stood in one corner of the space. Jacen couldn't see Tenel Ka, since she shut the curtain halfway but he could see her back, waist up, in the mirror. He watched her shuffle around a bit.
He debated on whether or not to run in there and shut the curtain, to tell her about Ta'a Chume. He sat there and wrestled with himself in his mind...
If I went now I--- I--- i...
Jacen watched the robe slide off of Tenel Ka's shoulders. The mirror allowed him to see her bare back. Clothes that were hanging up were blocking the rest of his view down. Jacen could trace the curves of her shoulderblades, he could see her upper arms, the unscathed right and the organic-meets-metallic left. He watched her toss her hair over her shoulder, the copper falling onto her tan skin.
I'm a handmaiden. I'm a handmaiden. Jacen. GET A GRIP. YOU'RE A HANDMAIDEN.
Jacen found himself absently licking the makeshift lipstick off of his lips as he obliviously watched her. He quickly shook his head.
No no NO. This is wrong! I have to tell her about Ta'a Chume.
Practically tripping over the cart, he scrambled to the dressing room. And when he got there, Tenel Ka was clutching the robe around herself and she was ready for him.
Throwing him onto the floor of the dressing room and sliding the curtain shut, she spun around. Her right hand grasping at the robe and her left hand jabbing a black, metal finger towards him.
"I know who you are."
The hood was still covering his face, as he laid, breathing heavily on the ground. She found this time as an advantage to herself as she put the robe back on and tied it at the waist. Then she dropped to her knees in front of him and yanked the hood off, his cheeks a bright red color, with traces of a darker red smeared across his lips. She leaned down and quickly ran her tongue across his lips, drawing him up towards her.
"Lasarla sauce. Nice lipstick, Jacen Solo." Her silver eyes blinked as she pulled herself away from him. "I did not know you became one of my handmaidens."
Jacen pushed himself off of the ground and yanked the handmaiden robe off over his head. Throwing it on the ground he glared to the giddy Tenel Ka, "There's something I have to tell you."
A hungry growl escaped her lips as she shoved Jacen against the dressing rooms back wall, causing the mirror to rattle. She ran her hands up and down his chest, drawing the fingernails of her right hand over his tight khaki-colored shirt, "You always have something to tell me."
Jacen could feel his mind reacting to her and her suggestive actions. His breathing became heavier. "Ta'a... Ta'a Chume. She's here. She's trying to take the throne back."
A scowl crossed Tenel Ka's visage as she slammed Jacen back and spun around, throwing her hands up in the air, "That old hag?! She is long gone, Solo."
"No... she's not."
Tenel Ka was fed up with his lies. She held her metallic left hand out and spun around, lashing it straight into Jacen's face with all the strength she could muster.
Drops of blood drifted out from his nose and mouth.
And he collapsed, crumpled up into the corner of the dressing room, amidst a bed of Hapan silk dresses.
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