{{ simply being loved - chapter 16
Sunlight drenched the room, through the open doors as Jacen lethargically let his eyes adjust. Focusing, he instantly pulled them to the bed. It was empty.
Turning his head, he heard a series of pops and cracks, from leaving his neck in the same position all night. He was sure that many of his other joints would do the same thing when he got the chance to move. He could feel dried blood caked on his chin, from where it had dribbled out of his mouth and landed on his chest.
He was alone in the room. It was quiet. Solo gauged that it was mid-morning, from where the sun streamed in. He didn't know if his sister was awake yet, nor did he care if he disturbed her slumber.
But he called to her.
And she responded, panic-striken and quickly, letting Jacen know that she'd be there soon.
Jaina Solo was seated alone at a table in the auxiliary dining hall, silently sipping a cup of caf when she got the plea from her brother through their twin bond. She was worried before because he hadn't been open to the Force that much the previous night and what worried her even more, was the urgency of his emotions. The loss of them. The drained feeling that radiated off of him. It frightened Jaina, who was now stalking away from her emtpy table, leaving her cup on top of it. A small part of her debated on going to get Uncle Luke or Kyp, or Lowie and Zekk, or maybe Jag or her parents... but she decided against it. She had to get to him fast.
Following his Force signature, she ended up in front of the Queen Mother's chambers. She could still sense the animosity she felt the other night when Tenel Ka had shut the door in their faces. She also found it quite odd that there were no guards posted outside like there usually were. Heightening her senses, she tried the button that would open the door and to her surprise, it recessed into the wall.
The sunlight spilled onto her as she stepped into the quarters, shutting the door behind her. There may not have been any guards posted at the door, but Jaina was well aware that they could come around the corner at any moment. And she didn't want to be caught in the Queen Mother's private chambers if she didn't have to be.
Jaina could hear groaning, which is what led her eyes to the silhouette of a figure, seated in a chair, head tilted lazily to the side. She dashed across the room and rounded the chair, standing in front of her supine brother. He growled a warning as Jaina stopped and he motioned with his eyes to Jaina's feet. They were inches away from where the gort shell necklace was; still there from the previous night. A melancholy expression crossed his twin sister's face as she began to undo the cords and ropes that were wrapped around him. After undoing the stuncuffs and untying the piece of cloth from his mouth, Jaina placed her hands under his arms and began to attempt to pull him out of the chair.
Jacen shifted out of her grasp and leaned forward, hanging his head between his shoulders with numerous loud snaps and cracks. His sister knew to step back and give him room. She knew it was just like him, having to finish what he started himself. Collapsing forward, out of the chair and onto the carpeted floor, Jacen reached out for smooth feel of the eggshells attached to the string. He slowly pulled the necklace in close to his chest and Jaina watched in subdued shock as her brother turned onto his side and curled into a ball. His back was towards her and she could see markings from where the chair dug into his skin. Stepping around his body, she got down on her hands and knees, staring into his catatonic, glazed eyes, "Jasa... come on. We have to get out of here."
"I..." Jacen's voice was a whisper, low, raspy, "I... I lost her, Jaya..."
Jaina shook her head as she reached down rubbing Jacen's cheek. Blood flaked off of his skin. "You didn't, Jacen. You didn't. Come on. We need to go."
Like he was ripping himself from a trance, Jacen slammed himself onto his back, staring up to his sister. The glassy look had drained away from his eyes. "Ta'a Chume."
"What?"
"No time. We have to go," Jacen slowly pulled himself to his feet, wincing at every subtle movement. He had many small injuries, but all together, they added up. It hurt his chest when he breathed. It hurt his arms when he walked. It hurt his mouth when he spoke.
Mumbling, Jaina watched him gently set the necklace in the folds of his pants pocket. "What have I said about having to go..."
Her brother was stumbling aimlessly towards the door before Jaina cleared her throat, obviously warning Jacen of something. He looked back at his sister. Her eyes landed on his lashed chest as she crossed her arms, arched an eyebrow and tapped her foot.
That's right. What am I thinking?
He couldn't go out into the hallways of the royal Fountain Palace in the state he was in. And he didn't know where Tenel Ka had put his shirt. Glancing around the room, an idea popped into his head. He moved to the dressing room as swiftly as he could without causing himself too much pain and let his eyes roam around the masses of clothes. The robe was left right where he had thrown it. Picking it up and stretching it back down over his head, he threw the hood on and exited the dressing room. Jaina's arms dropped to her sides as she stared at her brother, who was clad in a female handmaiden's robe.
"I'm not going to ask. As long as you're covered up."
Jacen nodded, "Let's go."
His sister shuffled out of the room behind him, into the eerily empty hallway.
"Jacen," she whispered, as she followed closely behind him, "What happened?"
Sensing someone coming around the corner, Jacen let himself fall back to the left of Jaina, as if he, as a handmaiden, were flanking the female Solo. Jaina caught on and quieted down as the person rounded the corner and passed them, with no second glance. She was just some random member of the Hapan Court, rushing off to a meeting or something. Jaina jumped back into step with her brother as the female turned out of sight.
"Jacen..."
"Tenel Ka. She... she... I tried to tell her about Ta'a Chume. But she didn't believe me. She knocked me out, tied me up... and then Gadell... he..."
Jaina listened as her brother windlessly stuttered out the story from under his hood. She walked beside him, leaning sideways a little when his voice got too quiet for her to hear.
"He's in this with Ta'a Chume. She's trying to get the throne back and get rid of Tenel Ka in the process... I think Gadell... he crawled in bed with her last night. I had to stare at them all night... cuddling..."
Jaina grabbed her twin's upper arm, causing him to stop and look at her, "They didn't..."
He knew exactly what act she was speaking of and he shook his head quickly. "No." A glance to the ground before looking back up to her sister's wide eyes.
I would've died if they did.
"Why didn't you break out of the bonds yourself?"
"I knew I would have hurt them..." Jacen's arms fell to his sides, the fabric sounding off slight shuffling noises throughout the silent hallway. "And this morning I was too weak."
Drawing in a deep breath, Jaina grabbed Jacen's left wrist and began to jog down the hallway, with him in tow. They were headed back to his quarters. She would let him get cleaned up and changed, then they would go to lunch. Where they would be able to tell their friends what had happened.
The twins barged into Zekk's room, expecting to see him sprawled out on his bed, black hair tangled over his face, his chest slowly moving up and down with his breathing.
Instead, they found him on the ground, a steady stream of blood trickling from a slice in his neck. He was sputtering red out of his mouth as Jacen and Jaina looked down upon him, red dripping through his coal colored hair. Scanning his body, they also found a perfect circular hole in his stomach, no blood. Smoke was wafting upwards from it.
Light.
Lowie's room. Lying dishevled upon the bed in a heap of fur, eyes closed. Crimson matted into his fur around a big gash in his chest. A similar sizzling hole in the wookiee's gut.
Light.
Tesar Sebatyne, a permanent sneering hiss on his visage as he clutched at his stomach, smoke seeping through his scaly fingers. And blood rushing from somewhere on his back.
Light.
Tekli's small form crumpled up on an operating table, blood pooling around the chadra-fan's chest. A glassy look in her big black eyes as smoke drifted towards the ceiling.
Light.
Alema Rar's lekku were laying out behind her body as she rolled onto her back, a bleeding hole right in the middle of her torso, above the round shape of bloodless gore. Red pooled under her body, forming a rough circle of red where she lay, alone in a hallway.
Light.
Tahiri Veila's eyes were closed, she had gone without even knowing it, a small trail of gray snaking upwards into the air. Beside Anakin Solo's portrait in the Strike Team Memorial, her hand running down through the holo of his face as she collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap.
Light.
Jaina Solo got the brunt of a hit, blood rushing out of a cut in her head as well as a slice in her chest, far above the circle of burned skin. Her body was laid out on a table in one of the forward command rooms. She had been in her orange flightsuit which was quickly fading into a shade of brown as blood seeped into the fibers.
Light.
In slow motion, Jacen Solo, a cross sliced into his chest over his heart. Blood flew forward from the gash as Jacen flew backwards, his back slamming to the ground. Something stabbed into his stomach, instantly cauterizing the wound.
The view changed.
And on the delivering end of the final blow, a hedonistic Tenel Ka, who then collapsed sideways into her large throne, dropping her new blood red lightsaber on the ground and throwing her legs over the arm of the ornate chair. The lightsaber fell to the stone beside a seated person who was licking blood from his fingers. Gadell Vessau sat on the ground in front of the Queen Mother's throne, a vibroblade in his left hand as his right moved onto Tenel Ka's stomach.
Smiles dawned on both faces as light engulfed the scene.
Slow. It was all so slow.
The setting was replaced by a view of a secluded corner of the gardens. Quiet until an unkempt Gadell battered a crying and bruised Tenel Ka to the ground. He dropped to his knees beside her and held a vibroblade to her throat.
"No secrets sweetheart..." His head turned back to throw one look at the Palace, through the vines and foliage, "...or the General gets it."
A voice, cracked, hoarse from crying, screamed out, "I hate you!" Hissing and struggling. "I hate you, Gadell!" Hesitantly, choking back sobs, she released another scream, a plea, "Jacen! Jacen, please!"
"JACEN!!"
His brandy-brown eyes shot open as he reflexively snapped his head up and looked around, water assaulting him as he did.
He was in the shower. He had slumped over, and had fallen asleep.
"I'm fine, Jay." Jacen answered groggily, raising his voice over the running water. Jaina had been screaming to him through the door for who knows how long. And they were supposed to be at lunch soon.
"Hurry up or Kyp is going to eat all the food!"
Pushing his body back off of the wall, he stood motionlessly under the stream of water. It scalded the cuts in his chest. And the little scratches near his mouth. And the pounding of the water hurt his head. But he didn't care anymore. His head was filled with so many thoughts, ideas and nightmarish visions that he felt like it was going to explode.
A sigh sounded as he exited the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He pulled himself up to a seating position atop the sink.
None of these visions so far have come fully true. Hopefully it'll stay that way.
The visions he had just had of the remaining members of the strike team being brutally murdered by the tag team duo of Tenel Ka and Gadell didn't sit well with him at all. But the one of the abused Tenel Ka screaming out his name did worse to his head as he replayed it over and over in his mind's eye.
Getting dressed, he exited the refresher and glanced to his sister, who was seated patiently on his bed. "What'd you do?" She arched a slender brown eyebrow, "Fall in?"
Jacen breathed another sigh, "Let's go. Wouldn't want to miss lunch."
"I can sense your excitement," Jaina said bitterly and sarcastically as she followed her brother out of his quarters, shutting the door behind them.
Arriving at the dining hall, Jacen's heart stopped. Royalty was making an appearance. Queen Mother Tenel Ka Chume Djo and Commander Gadell Vessau, seated at the head of the table.
I have a bad feeling about this.
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