{{ simply being loved - chapter 21
Tenel Ka mumbled nonsense to herself as she stumbled down the hallway, clutching her lightsaber, switched off, in her tan right hand and steadying herself along the wall with her mechanical left arm. Gadell had bolted out of her quarters, and she had left Jacen in them, just minutes ago. Without the Force, she had no idea where Gadell had gone, but she would find him.
She would find him if it was the last thing she ever did.
The empty hallways shocked her, as she thought about how incompetent her guards were. She didn't remember that she had given the Palace guards these last couple weeks off. Her memory was clouded. Her vision was blurry. Her mind, a veritable mess; but that didn't stop the Queen Mother from lethargically snaking her way around the Palace corridors.
Stopping at a three-way intersection, Tenel Ka took a few deep breaths. The huge vaulted ceilings drew out the noise of the air, making her sound worse than she was. She glanced up at the high windows of the corridors, at the moonlight spilling onto the opposite wall. The bottom ledges of the windows were high above her, making it obvious that no one could see out of them. They were there for decoration mostly and to let light into the dark halls. Up near the ceiling, where the windows were, it was bathed in light but down below where people would move, was almost pitch black. The only light came from the moonlight that bounced around the walls, down to the floor, which wasn't much.
Her heavy breathing slowed and the hallway fell silent.
"Dear..."
Tenel Ka snapped to attention, but hesistated and didn't turn her lightsaber on. She couldn't hear the humming of another, so she knew his wasn't on. Slowly turning her head, she followed through by spinning on her heel, to face the voice.
"Come on. You need to try to catch me to make this game fun."
Tenel Ka just scowled.
Gadell, reveling in her scowl, let a thin smile part his lips as he ran his tongue across them, before blowing her a kiss and starting backwards down the hall.
The Queen Mother watched him run off, and gathering as much composure as she could, dashed off after him.
"I love you."
Jacen stood at the hallway containing his sister's quarters, whispering to her closed door. He knew she was sleeping and he knew she couldn't hear him, but it made him feel better to pretend she could.
He had a good feeling about the fight that he thought was coming up, always thinking positive. But he told his sister he loved her just in case things took a horribly wrong turn.
He had already been beside his parents room, lingering there for a few moments, muttering to himself about things you don't admit to your parents that you did until you're older.
"...and the time the food fight broke out between Anakin and Jaina and I on the Falcon, it was my fault... and the time Dad's hyperdrive was acting funny, alright, one of the times it was acting funny was because one of my animals had gotten loose around the components... Oh, what am I doing? I need to go."
Jacen could feel the bigger void heading straight towards the center of Palace, and he could sense the smaller void, Tenel Ka, most likely, stopping at every intersection of each hallway, debating on which way Gadell had gone. He mapped out in his head where Tenel Ka was located and traipsed to that point, lightsaber in hand. The green light illuminated the dark hallways, until he flipped it off, when he knew he was closing in on Tenel Ka. And peeking around a corner, there she was, stalking down the black hallway, turquoise blade in hand.
Jacen could hear her rambling incoherently to herself, just loud enough to be heard over the humming of her lightsaber.
The fourth quarter of the night's cycle had begun when Tenel Ka had finally found her way to the throne room. The inside of room was a long chamber, with two huge wooden doors that opened outwards from the grand foyer. Tenel Ka was standing in front of those doors, when she heard a shuffling behind her.
"I know what's in there."
Tenel Ka turned her head back as she switched her lightsaber off tucking it into her belt, and looked at the disheveled General who had just spoken to her. His brown eyes looked tired, his hair messier than usual and his casual brown flightsuit was wrinkled in many places. His boots were clasped tightly around his feet and calves, the cuffs of his pants sticking halfway in and halfway out of the rims of the boots. The top of his flightsuit was undone, revealing a snug-fitting white shirt, which was marred with a smattering of blood, where Tenel Ka had spit on him in the grove.
"Tenel Ka, you can go get some guards now and save yourself a lot of trouble."
"For what? It is only Gadell."
With those words, her mechanical hand and it's fleshy opposite took the handles of the doors and with all of her weight she pushed forward, the doors opening, slowly but surely. Jacen ran up behind her and stopped as Tenel Ka stood there, her mouth hanging open.
Jacen whispered, a low sound, mostly to himself, "I told you."
Gadell was in the room. And sure, Tenel Ka could've taken care of him. But when she saw Gadell with two big brutes and their big hefty T-21 repeating blasters, her breath caught in her throat. Her breath escaped her completely when she saw who was up on the raised dais, situating herself in Tenel Ka's throne.
Stepping into the room, she instantly grabbed up her lightsaber, turning it back on.
"Hi dear. I like you to meet some friends of mine." Gadell motioned to the men beside him, "Exna, Jeauno. And that over there sitting on your throne is Tee Cee --- oh but wait, you two know each other, right?"
Tenel Ka began to shake her head, slowly.
"Boys, leave them be."
Ta'a Chume.
They obviously knew something that Jacen and Tenel Ka knew nothing about, because the three men retreated back beside the throne and hung over it, waiting.
Jacen spoke quietly, trying to make it so that he would only be heard by the person closest to him, "Tenel Ka..."
Tenel Ka heard Jacen, but she didn't acknowledge him. She just stared at her grandmother, as a sickly sweet smile spread across the old woman's face. It was the smile of someone who had a secret.
And that was the exact moment when Tenel Ka began shaking her head and twitching.
"Tenel Ka..."
Her head slammed to the left, as she slumped forward, her hair hanging over her face and her angry silver eyes glaring directly at Jacen. His expression was one of complete concern, which in Tenel Ka's mind, twisted into a look of disgust.
The exact moment the poison dished out a vision she would never forget for the rest of her life.
"Tenel Ka. You know something? I hate you." Jacen crossed his arms over his undone flightsuit, "Always have. I wish I had never met you. You're snobby, dense and come on, you have one arm. Thanks to me of course. But that's because I wanted to deal you some pain. You deserved it for all those snide remarks and times you ignored me. And that's why I didn't talk to you at the knighting ceremony. I was a hero and I had more important people to talk to, you know? Guess what else? Gadell asked me to be his best man for your wedding. I said sure, why not! It'll be great. Then you'll be married and you won't have to lust after and pine over me anymore, ever again... or whatever it is you did."
Screaming obscenities, Tenel Ka threw her lightsaber up in front of her and dove into him, knocking him onto the ground. His face had suddenly twisted from the phantom look of repulsion, to a look of shock and horror.
She was sitting on his stomach, her teal lightsaber raised high above his head, ready to come crashing down on him at any moment. He sensed it was coming and stopped her hands with the Force, tearing it away from her grasp and throwing it across the chamber. Without the Force, he knew she had no way of retrieving it without clambering over to get it herself.
Jacen reached for his own lightsaber that was knocked out of his hands when she tackled him; and he sneered when Gadell slid his crimson-bladed weapon to the Queen Mother across the smooth floor. Tenel Ka jumped off of Jacen and picked up the lightsaber, instantly switching it on; and when she turned around to face Jacen, he was on his feet with his own blade, ready for action.
Solo knew that the state Tenel Ka was in and the fact that her Force powers were virtually nothing, gave him an incredible advantage. But he was afraid he would be too strong for her, easily take her down and ultimately hurt her, without even meaning to. He was surprised when she took the first swing, a wild arc of scarlet flying towards him. Jacen jumped out of it's way and that's when it begun.
Moonlight flooded the room through the large picture windows that covered both side walls of the long chamber. There were dusty curtains draped over the tops, but they were pulled back to the sides of the windows. The throne room was on the second story of the Palace and the Hapan Court and the people of the Palace weren't really worried about assassins or other various scum spying on an empty throne room in the middle of the night, so the heavy drapes were always left open. The white light landed across their faces at random intervals as they growled and spun and swung at each other.
"Oh come on, Tenel Ka," Ta'a Chume stood from her seat on the throne and stepped forward on the dais, watching the fight. "He is a Solo! He means nothing!"
Tenel Ka had blocked out all noise, all that sounded in her ears was the loud beating of her heart and her labored breathing. The crackling of the lightsabers hitting each other didn't phase her one bit.
Jacen on the other hand, cringed at every hiss of the joining blades, fearing that one slip would lead him to slicing Tenel Ka down. He surrounded himself in the Force and learned where each clumsy slash would take her. Around his left side, around his right, he was always on the defensive. But after unmeasureable minutes of dueling, Jacen knew what had to be done.
There was no way he could slice the arm off with his lightsaber, she had Gadell's at an angle blocking the metallic arm anytime Jacen had the chance at it. The General had to take a chance...
What if it turns out like the vision? She'll die. ...no. It has to be done.
Jacen recalled the vision he had early in the morning; the day they left for Hapes. Tenel Ka collapsing to the ground, blood gushing from the stump of her left arm. The vision had them clothed differently, but that didn't matter now. He thought of the vision he had on the Falcon, Tenel Ka and Jacen fighting. Viridian and scarlet. The visions were coming together in a blur in his mind as Jacen threw his lightsaber across the room, the emerald blade spinning in a circle as it halted on the ground.
Tenel Ka looked at him like he was insane.
"Go ahead." Jacen let a serene look cross his face, as Ta'a Chume, Exna, Jeauno and Gadell collectively gasped. "Strike me down."
Tenel Ka drew in a deep breath.
"If it'll make you feel better, do it. I just want you to be happy."
The Queen Mother took her lightsaber in her right hand, her sweaty fingers curling around the silver handle. She drew her arm back, ready to take a swing. Her left arm was out in front of her, balancing out the way her arms were spread. She was paying no attention to it.
Everything moved slow.
So very slow.
Jacen shifted to the right, grabbing her left wrist in his right hand and lifted his left leg, shoving his foot into Tenel Ka's gut. And at the same time he pulled the arm, he kicked her backwards, using the Force to help with his momentum.
They both were driven back from each other, and while they fell to the ground, Gadell's lightsaber, still clutched in Tenel Ka's right hand, slid across the small of Jacen's back because of the angle his body was in.
A mixture of crimson and onyx fluid flew from the disconnected arm as it crashed to the ground between Jacen and Tenel Ka. The life from it sucked away as it was pulled and detached from it's fleshy socket. The fingers became limp, lifeless and useless. Drops of blood seemed to freeze in the air, in an arc from Tenel Ka's descent to the ground.
The galaxy froze.
What have I done?
Jacen instantly began pushing his Force flow to the small of his back, as he saw thin trails of smoke drifting up from under him. The smell of charred flesh crept into his nose as he slowly pulled his head upwards and sideways to look at Tenel Ka.
Sprawled out on the ground, in a spreading pool of blood and poison, was the Queen Mother. Her soft purple dress, now almost all a sickly shade of brown. A steady stream of black and red liquid spilled from the end of her left arm, the visible muscles inside twitching where the mechanical abomination was pulled out. She sputtered a cough and the same mixture of fluids were hacked out of her crimson stained lips, landing on her tan cheeks.
Sithspawn, what have I done? What have I done? whathaveidonewhathaveidonewhathavei---
Jacen heard clapping. One person, a slow, monotonous clap.
"Good job, Solo." Ta'a Chume then looked to Gadell. "Go on, finish her off."
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