{{ urbania's void - chapter 02
...the hunter and the hunted (day negative thirty-six / -36)
A cold sweat stood out on Gadell Vessau's brow as he slipped around the corner of one of the hedges. The Gardens seemed to overpower him and he always thought about them with a sense of childish awe. Many tall hedges were planted a month earlier, around and throughout the Memorial Gardens, multiplying the size of the Gardens threefold and creating a maze-like atmosphere.
At the moment, Gadell and Tenel Ka were caught up in an activity that Tenel Ka claimed would help his Force powers strengthen. She was silently avoiding him in the many twisting pathways of the garden maze and he had to use his powers to find her and catch her. He could currently sense her faint signature a few sections over, swiftly dodging him anytime he tried to pinpoint her location.
When her signature stopped moving, he got a bit worried. And when he found her, his worry grew. She was doubled over in front of the entrance to the strike team grove, her right hand clutching at her forehead.
"Tenna?"
Her eyes shot upwards and she just stared ahead vacantly, to some invisible object that only she saw.
"What's wrong?"
"Gadell... I..."
He rushed to her side and helped her to a standing position as her wandering eyes locked onto his, "I cannot feel Jacen anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"He is still alive. But his presence has weakened."
A grin crossed Gadell's pale face as he threw his left arm around her shoulders. "I'm sure he's fine. It's probably for this top secret mission he's on, you know? Big, bad Solo has to lay low. If he receives any pain, he doesn't want his lover feeling it too."
Tenel Ka turned her head to look at him, with a visible snicker showing, "His lover?"
"Yeah, you know." Giggles erupted from his system as he playfully shoved her away, "You, Tenna. Who did you think I was talking about?"
"Gadell, He..."
"Don't start this with me again, young lady. You told me yourself that he said he loved you before he left. Kriff, you told me he was on the verge of tears. And any man who cries in front of a woman is totally in love with her. So don't argue with me, because you will lose," Gadell growled.
"I will?" Tenel Ka started walking towards the Palace, Gadell falling in step beside her, "Ah. Aha. And how many times have you won anything against me before?"
Gadell stopped pacing after her and put his hand to his chin, obviously deep in thought about it. The Queen Mother stopped her ascent up the stairs and turned to look at Gadell. Her eyebrow arched and she smiled inwardly as she watched strands of black hair fall over his pensive expression from the light breeze. After a few silent moments passed, Tenel Ka spoke up.
"That is what I thought." She let the smile cross her face as she traipsed up the steps to the Palace, Anhaje greeting them at the doors.
"How was the training today, your highness?"
"Exceptionally well. Gadell is growing stronger by the day. It frightens me sometimes."
"I frighten you all the time, Majesty." Gadell chased her up the stairs and threw his arms around Anhaje and Tenel Ka's shoulders, the Queen Mother on his right side and her handmaiden on his left. The large sleeves on his cerulean tunic spread over their backs, as he pulled Anhaje closer to him. "Tenna felt Jacen's presence weaken and she's going all paranoid now."
Anhaje looked around the Commander to her Queen as a concerned look showed itself, "Is he alright?"
"I believe so. But I am still worried about him."
Anhaje nodded and Tenel Ka stopped, causing the other two to stop beside her.
"I... I'm going to go meditate. Maybe I can scrounge around and come up with some answers." Tenel Ka's eyes became distant as she spoke, turning away from Gadell and Anhaje seconds later. She rushed away from them and vanished off into the hallways of the Fountain Palace.
Gadell sighed as he turned to look at Anhaje, "I'm worried about her. She seems to be breaking off into these trances more frequently."
"Love will do that to you."
Tenel Ka stood out on the balcony of her quarters, stretching her right arm up behind her head. She found herself in a long nightgown of white, the bottom sweeping the stone floor as she turned away from the rising sun and stepped back into her dim room. The sunlight hadn't reached high enough to creep into her room yet but she could still make out shapes and movements. And she saw a stirring movement in her bed.
As she crept over to the tangled heap of sheets, her muscles tensed, but when she heard the voice... the world became calm.
"Mmm... good morning." The voice was laced with contentment and a sense of lingering sleep. But she knew exactly whose voice it was. "What are you doing up so early, love?"
"I could not sleep."
"Any reason?"
She couldn't sleep because her mind kept drawing itself back to the events of the previous night. Tenel Ka could remember every little detail, every feeling, every sound. Their passion had ultimately consumed them and everything that they had felt towards each other for the past decade was shared in those intense moments that Tenel Ka could not seem to get her mind off of.
"No reason..."
Jacen Solo sluggishly pulled himself out of the comfortable sheets and slid off of the bed, stepping up behind the Queen Mother. She could feel his bare chest pressed against her back as his arms clasped around her waist. A sigh escaped her pursed lips and she rested her head back on his shoulder.
The General planted a light kiss on her neck and slowly trailed his lips up to her ear, whispering through a light curtain of copper hair. "You're thinking about last night, aren't you?"
"How could I not be?"
Jacen laughed, a sound that lifted Tenel Ka off of her feet. She knew he laughed a lot, but everything he did, no matter how trivial it was, she reveled in it. Jacen was the only person who could break through her emotional shields and that was something she respected him for.
And loved him for.
His chuckles faded away as he leaned down, nuzzling his face into her neck. Tenel Ka felt his arms tighten around her waist as he pulled her down onto the tangled silk sheets. Then the two began laughing and wrestling playfully as the world faded from view...
And the Queen Mother woke up, the afternoon sun high in the sky and a sound scratching at her door.
"Tenna?" It was Gadell. "Can I come in? I thought you were meditating. It's been hours. You okay?"
A scowl at the dream that gave Tenel Ka rays of hope for Jacen's safety was ripped away by the absence of his Force presence.
And at the moment she slid out of bed to open the door for Gadell, she knew she had to go find Jacen and see if he was alright. She didn't know how.
But she would certainly find a way.
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