~*Crown*~ (Jacen, Tenel Ka, Destiny's Way) Changes made

(NOTE: this is supposed to take place in between the first Jedi Council Meeting and the knighting ceremony in chapter 20)

Crown

Jacen Solo meditated.

There was a knock at the door.

He snaked out tendrils of the Force to discern his visitor's identity.

Familiar, yet distant.

The door opened.

Tenel Ka Chume Ta'a Djo.




She wasn't dressed her usual brief leather uniform; her formal suit screamed regal business. Her hair, once in rows of braids, instead fell around her shoulders, cut short and held back by a thin coronet of rainbow gems. Her countenance was steely, her eyes were moist, her presence burned brightly in the Force.

She stared up at him in a state of disbelief. Once she had been the taller one, now their heights were reversed. Everything was the inverse of before; everything a parallel and a paradox.

Tenel Ka?s eyebrows drew together. Hesitant. She lifted her hand and rested it on his shoulder for a second before quickly pulling away.

They stood at the doorway for a long moment.

?You should come in,? Jacen said finally. Awkwardly. He took a step back in deference.

Tenel Ka nodded and walked into the Skywalker apartment. They sat down in opposite fluffy sofas across the small table in the living room.

There always used to be something to say. He never used to be at a loss for words when he was around her. Jacen tried to remember to before his captivity, on the worldship at Myrkyr. He vaguely recollected Tenel Ka stepping up to kiss him, Vergere intercepting and sweeping him away to a separate destiny.

?I??

They both spoke at the same time.

?You first,? Jacen said, the vaguest of smiles spreading across his face.

?You?ve changed,? Tenel Ka said. ?Of course. What I mean to say?? She looked away, stopped abruptly.

?Go on,? Jacen said gently.

?Leaving you at Myrkyr was the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. And feeling you die?losing my mother soon after...?

?Your mother,? Jacen said numbly, recalling Teneniel Djo. ?I?I?m sorry.?

?There is no death, there is the Force.? Her voice was without bitterness.

Jacen cleared his throat. ?The crown you?re wearing. You?re Queen Mother.?

?I never wanted to be. But who else? My grandmother, Ta?a Chume? My Grandaunt Alyssia? One of my cousins? Certainly not your mother or sister. I was the only one in position to bring any good to Hapes.?

?You said my sister??

?Perhaps you shouldn?t have asked. My grandmother wanted my father to marry Jaina.?

He let out a sharp laugh. ?That?s ridiculous.?

Tenel Ka smiled. ?Maybe my grandmother is becoming senile in her old age.?

Jacen composed himself again, reached out to her mind in the Force. ?You don?t seem to believe your joke.?

?There is question that she was involved in my mother?s death. No evidence, of course. Ta?a Chume is very careful and very experienced at murder.?

There was bitterness now, and it was well warranted. But no thirst for vengeance, no hate?only calm acceptance.

?What has brought me to the crown is past. Irrelevant. I wear it now in hopes I never fail the Consortium. Sometimes destiny will take you down the strangest of roads.?

?I think I?m in a position to agree. We should drink to it. Excuse me.? He scrambled out of the guest area and into the kitchen gulping for air. Why was speaking to her again so difficult? He wasn?t nervous, just uncomfortable. After some digging, he found a jug of blue milk in the refrigeration unit and two mugs in the dishwasher.

?They aren?t chalices,? he said, returning with the drinks.

?They?re fine,? Tenel Ka said.

At least something is, Jacen thought.

?To friendship,? Tenel Ka?s mug met his with a clink.

He?d forgotten the taste of blue milk. Jacen finished his drink at once.

?You look?different.?

?Oh. Yeah.? He held out his muscled arms and scrutinized them. ?I?m almost as fit as you are.?

?Maybe it?s the beard,? Tenel Ka s

 

oh
my
gosh.
that was sooooooooooooooooooo good.
a)you captured the characters perfectly
b) (this might be a repeat of a) i can so see tenel ka and jacen doing that
c) it was just plain amazing

but poor tenel ka...she really does love jacen and he loved her but because of TRAITOR he's all different now and they're not the same and...and...
POOR TENEL KA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i so feel for her.
up!

 

Wow! That was really good! Is there going to be anymore?

 

Wow, that was awesome!

It was meaningful and thoughtful without being mushy, and it worked well into Destiny's Way.

 

Should there be more?

I think having there be more would sort of detract from the story. I mean, it's kind of obvious in DW (he doens't even talk to her!) that Jacen got over TK.

Which totally sucks.

But yeah, after being tortured for months...I suppose romance wouldn't be on top of your list of priorities. =P

 

cant get enought of these. They totally butchered their relationship now. Great story though.

 

up. Your going to finish this, right? or is this one of those one posters.

 

i think their destiny's lie on different paths...


for now



=)

 

that was so beautiful! i could feel Tenel Ka and Jacen's pain and i really hope that they get together....


please continue this!

 

That was pretty darn fantastic!

I haven't read Destiny's Way completely, (I skipped through it to read the conversations between Luke and Vergere) but I'm pretty it would fit into it just fine. Except maybe for the burbing contest, that really threw it for a loop.

 

just upping this cuz i made some changes

 

I like the way that it leaves things open, but it doesn't insist on a "happy ending" because life isn't always like that. It's more realistic that way.

This just about made me cry in a way that Jaina/Jag vignettes where one of them dies never do. Probably because seeing the person you love alive, but not loving you back is more sad than losing them knowing they loved you back.

Anyway, it was great.

 

This was good...I liked this very much. Totally realistic of the two of them.

~Rogue

 

I like the flip side JediSmurf! I prefer a 'happy ending' myself (hence -my- fic) but yours fits very well into the storyline.

Good job

 

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Everyone wants happy endings. (Even I do!) But it wouldn't happen in this case, I don't think. I mean, it didn't happen in DW. That doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. Sometimes things just don't work out they way we readers would like.

I'm surprised how accepting the J/TK fans are. I'm not a shipper of any single couple (sometimes I joke about it) but I like the potential that the J/TK pairing holds. It has political intrigue, personality conflict, duty versus love--all that Ani/Padme stuff from the prequel trilogy mixed with a little Han/Leia eccentrism. If the official authors made Danni Jacen's main squeeze they would sooo be taking the easy way out. There is so much conflict from internal and external forces in the J/TK relationship--it'd be a shame if they bought the cow but never milked it.

I was expecting some people to be like, "This fan fic is evil! J and TK forever!"

Forever is a really long time.

=P

 

That was wonderful. I really was disappointed to not see the reunion between Jacen and Tenel Ka in Destiny's Way. I think you wrote it well.

~*~Bria

 

Permission requested to strangle NJO.

They've TOTALLY screwed it all up!!!!


Other wise........... great job!!!!