Beyond - Legends HERE--[Jacen, Tahiri]--Post FOTJ-Drama-One Shot

Title: Here
Characters: Jacen,Tahiri
Time: The Future
Place: The Netherworld
Note: As usual I am just playing around with my favorite blonde Jedi's future...this is a scene from a story I am working on that deals with Tahiri in the afterlife...after her execution.
Enjoy!


She wraps the blue cloak tightly around her shoulders, as she stares out to a diamond set sea. The chill grows, and she stiffens, as she realizes it isn't merely the breeze nor the lateness of the day causing it.

?Jacen.? The name slips from her lips like a soft curse and she turns, unsurprised to see him standing in the shadows of the courtyard wall.

?Hello, Tahiri.?

She wants nothing more than to wipe the smirk off his twisted mouth with the palm of her hand, but she stands her ground as he strides forward, refusing to let him know how much his presence unsettles her.

?What do you want??

He laughs and stretches out his hands to her. ?Want? Is it not possible I am merely here to offer my congratulations? Welcome you to the family so to speak? I hear my little brother has finally made his move.?

She scoffs dismissively. ?You never wanted this. You made that quite clear in the weeks after Fondor.?

The smirk disappears, and his face softens slightly as he lifts a finger and traces it down the side of her cheek. ?Was it really so terrible??

She turns her head in revulsion.

He stares down at her for a moment his expression unreadable before stepping away to look out at the suns starting their slow descent over the water.

?I am sorry to hear that.?

The regret in his voice surprises her, and she gapes in disbelief as she studies his profile. But the shadows from the trees play across his face making it difficult to read him. A moment later he breaks the silence, his tone deceitfully light.

?So tell me who brought you back from the edge? It?s obvious someone did, or you wouldn?t be here would you?? He cocks his brow at her in question before returning his gaze back to the shore. ?Was it my dear uncle? Or perhaps my sister had more compassion for you than she did her own twin??

The underlying bitterness in his question makes her cringe, and she fists her hands at her sides as she fights to control her anger. He has always been a master of manipulation, but she is done being his toy. It had already cost her, her life, and she isn't about to let him turn eternity into a hell as well.

Bracing herself for the mockery she is sure he?ll make of her answer she speaks. ?It was Ben.?

She watches him carefully as she says his cousin?s name and is more than satisfied when a slight hitch in his shoulders betrays his shock.

She waits, but when only silence meets her disclosure she continues, her words dripping with sarcasm. ?Please don?t tell me you?re surprised? After all, you managed to find your way back. Another Skywalker brought to his knees by nothing more than the impending murder of his own child. Curious how history repeats itself, is it not??

Finally he turns, and steps towards her, his brown eyes dark with what she can only think to call remorse. Confused by the change she drops her gaze to the ground ashamed she has allowed him to incite her to such severity.

He lifts her chin forcing her to look at him. ?I?m sorry Tahiri. I didn?t set out to hurt you... for whatever it is worth, I am glad you are finally getting what you've always wanted.?

She lowers her eyes discomforted by the intimacy of his touch, but nods her head in acceptance of the unexpected apology.

As he walks away she calls out?

?Jacen??

He pauses mid-step, his face once more a mask of supercilious boredom.

?Do you think we will ever stop hurting each other??

He frowns for a moment, before shrugging carelessly. ?Like you said?we?re both here, aren?t we??

And she exhales unhappily, as he disappears behind the thick stone wall.

fini...for now

 

This is very interesting.

I liked seeing Jacen apologizing to Tahiri.

I would really like to see Anakin and Tahiri have their happy ending.

 

Very intriguing.

 

It's like cybernetic ESP!

I stumble in out of sheer boredom... because I've raked through all the Katniss and Peeetah fic there is to read and you've written something?

Woohoo!

Merry Gentile Holiday to me!!

The only thing that could make me happier than Tahiri fic by you is maybe her surviving the current pro fic series.

Or maybe this being the first installment in a series as opposed to a one shot.

But, on to this one: Beautiful. Her pain and confliction (did I just make up a word?) is palpable. Jacen's sort of remorse, spot on. He knows knows that what he did is wrong, but still believes that why he did it was right. And the allusion to their 'time together'... something that was just barely hinted at, but I have always suspected was intended to be explored by certain writers and the PTB shied away from because they thought the readers rebel against - yeah. I think Jacen would totally have done her, a further means of manipulation. A way to sully her, a way to own what was Anakin's. And, to control her, to tarnish her and own her. It just makes so much sense. And then there's Stockholm Syndrome... What would we call that In-verse? Kuat Syndrome? Tatooine Syndrome? Both planets had slaves. Kuati woman had male slaves who seemed to feel honored to be kept.

Anyway, you get the point I'm trying to make.

Or, ignore me... I'm rambling.

And Darth Preteen is moaning about food so I'd better act like a caring mother and go make dinner number three.

Happy Holidays to you and the hubby and the boy who is what? 18 months now? Sheesh... times flies when they aren't yours!

Elle

 

This was a really good speculative vig. I am only 2 books into LotJ so I only have what I've gathered from the boards to go off of, but I can very much see the mix of anger and...friendliness? between Tahiri and Jacen here. I like that it isn't simple or easily happy. I liked it and I can't say I'm looking forward to finding out what happens to Tahiri...

 

Hazel - Glad you liked it! I too hope Tahiri gets a happy ending someday!

FelsGoddess - Thank You!

Elle - It's like cybernetic ESP!
Yes it is LOL!

I stumble in out of sheer boredom... because I've raked through all the Katniss and Peeetah fic there is to read and you've written something?

Woohoo!

Merry Gentile Holiday to me!!
LOL!

The only thing that could make me happier than Tahiri fic by you is maybe her surviving the current pro fic series.
I am not sure I want her to survive or not...I am scared what they'll do to her character in the next series if she does survive...

Or maybe this being the first installment in a series as opposed to a one shot.
Ummmmm....there is an outline completed from start to finish....not posting the whole thing til I finish typing though and love it...so maybe you'll get your wish...or maybe not. I am done trying to post stories that aren't finished ahead of time.

But, on to this one: Beautiful. Her pain and confliction (did I just make up a word?) is palpable. Jacen's sort of remorse, spot on. He knows knows that what he did is wrong, but still believes that why he did it was right. And the allusion to their 'time together'... something that was just barely hinted at, but I have always suspected was intended to be explored by certain writers and the PTB shied away from because they thought the readers rebel against - yeah. I think Jacen would totally have done her, a further means of manipulation. A way to sully her, a way to own what was Anakin's. And, to control her, to tarnish her and own her. It just makes so much sense. And then there's Stockholm Syndrome... What would we call that In-verse? Kuat Syndrome? Tatooine Syndrome? Both planets had slaves. Kuati woman had male slaves who seemed to feel honored to be kept.

Ohhhh! I am so glad you got this and that it came through, I left a lot unsaid or just hinted at it and you knew exactly what I was trying to get at...as always! You know me and how I am always trying to give A/T their happy ending...but when I thought about how I would do it now from a canon POV I realized I would have to go beyond the grave and deal with Jacen...and OMG...It's so intense writing the two of them. Jacen and Tahiri spark and clash right off the page. I almost find myself bored with the A/T parts at times. Tahiri and Jacen have ties now...deep ties that neither of them can ignore. It is almost like Stockholm syndrome...I think a part of Tahiri even as screwed up as she knows the whole thing is... wants to be close to Jacen...or at least have him acknowledge that she meant something to him...what they did would hurt her less I think.

And you're right Jacen is still trying to justify what he did even though deep down he knows it was wrong. And I think every time he looks at Tahiri and especially Tahiri with Anakin that he can't hide from that fact, and eventually the truth of it will force him to change; more so perhaps than even Mara's presence.


Anyway, you get the point I'm trying to make.
I do!

Or, ignore me... I'm rambling.
Me too!

And Darth Preteen is moaning about food so I'd better act like a caring mother and go make dinner number three.

Happy Holidays to you and the hubby and the boy who is what? 18 months now? Sheesh... times flies when they aren't yours!

Yes it does! Glad to see you on the boards again!

Elle


Luna Nightshade - Glad you enjoyed it and yes you're right it is a very complex mixed up unhappy relationship they have and I am loving every second of writing about it. Glad you enjoyed reading it too!

 

YES!

Like the more important it was to Jacen, the more validation she gets from Jacen, the less she feels she betrayed Anakin.

Or, maybe, the more important she was to Jacen, the less dirty she feels.

Does that make sense?

I mean, she's always going to feel dirty, and ashamed of what she did with Jacen, but as she works through processing the whole thing, I think it's all so multi-faceted, that there are so many layers of guilt and shame that she is dealing with, so there are an equal number of layers of justification and rationalization to go along with it. So she's got all these layers that she is dealing with for both brothers, the obvious ones for Anakin, but then there's Jacen.

I think that for Jacen she'd feel anger, for the obvious reasons; that he manipulated her, although she's the first to admit that she allowed him to. Then she'd feel shame for wanting the things that she wanted - to see Anakin in flashbacks and for wanting to bring Anakin back.

But, also, I've thought for a long time, that Tahiri was attracted to Jacen and that the idea of a physical relationship between them was not that far fetched, therefore, Jacen using her physically, and her allowing him to, was more of a 'as long as no one else is talking to us and we're all alone here... we might as well...' situation. Then, remember when Jacen wondered if Tahiri had figured out that Allana was his daughter? And then he thinks 'did I talk in my sleep?' ...c'mon... was that not the writers alluding to an intimate relationship between Jacen and Tahiri?

Finally, the only thing Tahiri has ever wanted in her life, since she was 9 years old, is to be with Anakin, and Jacen was offering her that. Even though logically she knew that he was full of it, her heart and her head were at war and Jacen was so passionate she allowed her heart to rule her judgement. So if she was already letting passion rule her in this situation, how hard would it be to allow passion to take over the rest of her decision making during this time in her life? Even if she wasn't consciously thinking about Anakin all the time, she was still working on high emotion and Jacen was feeding that, and he was incredibly charismatic. Not hard to see how he'd have little trouble seducing her. Especially if he felt it would help him control her. Then, add in, him telling her that she's special because she's the only one that understands him...

Wham, bam, thank you, Mam. You've got one very obedient Tahiri Veila on your hands, wearing military boots and firing on Fondor and everything.

But... then Tahiri wakes up, as she always does, and realizes she's kriffed up, and that the piper has to be paid. And now she's repulsed, and here is where it really matters to her that it mattered to Jacen. Because if she mattered to Jacen then maybe she can forgive herself a little bit. And here, also, is where your piece resonates, and why I love your writing; Jacen is still caught up in the ways and means. What he was trying to do was noble, how he went about it was not. But he still doesn't get it. And where he and Tahiri will go around and around forever in the Force is that he isn't getting that. He may be sorry that she was hurt by his manipulation of her, but he isn't sorry that he manipulated her, because the reason he manipulated her was to save the galaxy.


Elle

 

Maggy - I am so glad you liked this. I am glad you got the diamond set sea description, I grew up by the water and I always thought at sunset when the light was reflecting off of it it look like it was made of millions of sparkly diamonds, I was trying to describe that simply, but I wasn't sure it worked, glad it did. As for Anakin making his move...yep you can get married in the after life....who knew? LOL!!! I hope to see this story someday too! It's what is keeping me sane during the winter months...I hate winter LOL! Thanks for reading!


Preggers - Jaw Drops! Absolutely YES!!!! TO everything you just wrote! Thank you! ....now go update your lovely J/T story and make me a happy girl LOL!