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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga - OT The Greatest Gift (OC Minerva Hektor and Thrawn) - Fic-Gift for Nehru_Amidala

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by divapilot, Dec 26, 2018.

  1. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    Title: The Greatest Gift
    Author: Divapilot
    Genre: Romance
    Era: OT
    Characters: OC Minerva Hektor, Grand Admiral Thrawn

    Summary: On the anniversary of their marriage, Minerva Hektor and Grand Admiral Thrawn reflect on the great gift of love that they share.

    Notes: Written for the 2018 Holiday Fic Exchange. A fic-gift for @Nehru_Amidala!

    Nehru_Amidala wanted the following:
    a story in the OT with The Nutcracker Suite (the music); Thrawn and Minerva getting married; and the characters of Thrawn, Minerva, and Eli Vanto.
    Nehru_Amidala did not want Kanan in this story.

    I hope that this is acceptable. I did my best! You had already written such a superlative description of the wedding of Thrawn and Minerva that I decided to include it as a memory rather than rewrite what you had already done, and I added Eli in as a secondary character who appears off screen.

    ******


    The lights of Imperial City on Coruscant glittered like scattered jewels as the young couple looked out from their balcony. Only two days into a well-deserved vacation, Minerva Hektor and her husband, Grand Admiral Thrawn, smiled at each other as they enjoyed the view.

    “I can’t believe it was just one year ago that we married,” Minerva said, slipping her elegant, small hand into his.

    He raised her hand to his lips, kissing it. “It was the most magical day ever,” he said. He pulled his bride closer. The light breeze danced across the balcony, catching her gossamer pale green gown so that it seemed to float around her. He placed his arm around her slender waist and held her hand in his other hand. “Remember our first dance?”

    “Of course!” She smiled widely, her dark curls framing her sweet face. “So many happy memories.” Minerva sighed and pulled her husband close to her again, resting her head against his broad shoulders. She shivered as she thought about their many close calls, and how she had almost not made it to the altar at all due to treachery, but all worked out and their wedding in the Moff Chamber had been the talk of Coruscant society for weeks afterward. Nearly every holonews society column carried images of her in her lace-covered gown, her blushing face beaming with happiness from behind her white veil, or of she and Thrawn walking proudly beneath the shining bayonet gauntlet that had been raised in their honor. Honestly, she thought, it was a bit of a relief when the news had died down. She was eager to begin life with Thrawn.

    “Are you cold, my darling?” he asked. He looked at her with care and concern.

    “No,” she whispered. “Just thinking about how much I love you.” A mischievous smile crept on her face. “And once dinner is done, I have a surprise for you.”

    “Oh really?” he asked, laughing. He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

    Minerva’s mouth dropped into a delightedly shocked surprise. She swatted his arm. “No! Honestly, darling. Don’t be rude.”

    She broke away and went back into the hotel suite, where a cart of food had been wheeled in by a serving droid. The scents of delicious baked bread and heartily seasoned meat filled the air. In a side container, a bottle of champagne lay chilling, a white cloth wrapped around the bottle. The serving droid began to place plates covered in golden cloches on the table.

    Thrawn went to the table and pulled out a chair, and Minerva gathered up the folds of the delicate dress and sat down. He gallantly pushed her chair in for her, then walked around to the other side of the table. He stopped and pulled the champagne bottle out of the bucket, then examined the label and nodded approvingly.

    “Are you going to read the label all night, or are we going to enjoy that?” Minerva asked, laughing.

    Thrawn smiled at her, then opened the bottle with a pop. Minerva let out a surprised squeal at the sudden noise. With a graceful gesture, Thrawn lifted up the crystal glasses and filled them with the bubbly golden drink, then handed one to Minerva. “To our first year as a married couple. To many, many more to come!” he said.

    Minerva raised her glass, then sipped. The serving droid lifted the cloches from the plates, and Minerva clapped her hands in anticipation. “Please, let’s eat. This looks all so wonderful!”

    The dinner was top-notch. The first course was a fresh salad, with winter greens from the verdant fields of the nearby planet Salliche. Then came a delicious bisque made with seafood from Marfa, flavored with delicate spices. The main course was roasted forla beast, a delicacy all the way from Chandrilla, simmered in a golden sauce with creshberries and linga beans.

    Thrawn closed his eyes as he swallowed the last delicious bite of his meal, and Minerva delicately tapped her napkin against her lips. She smiled at him, her dark eyes sparkling. “Would you like your anniversary gift now, or after dessert?” she asked.

    “What would you like to do?” he replied.

    She thought for a moment. “I think I would like to give my gift to you first.” She got up and walked into the next room of the suite. She returned bearing a long, narrow box wrapped in silver foil paper. “Here,” she said. “I hope you like this.”

    Thrawn pushed back his chair to give himself room to hold the large rectangular box. He pulled the paper aside to reveal a wooden box, with inlaid wood and carvings on the side. He ran his fingers along the inscription. “Why, it’s in Chiss!” he exclaimed. He looked at her. “Did you have this carved for me?”

    “Yes! Read it!” she said as she sat back down. Her eyes glittered excitedly.

    “ ‘To my darling love, and my hero.’” Thrawn’s eyes grew moist at the sweet sentiment. Then he composed himself. He thumbed the latch on the box and opened the cover. He gasped as he saw the beautiful sword displayed on the bright red velvet lining. With one hand he grasped the hilt and lifted it out of the case. The scabbard was hand-tooled leather, and the hilt was delicately formed silver. Thrawn pulled the sword from the scabbard and admired the shining blade.

    “It’s something I came across while researching the ancient cartography of Naboo,” Minerva explained. “I was doing research on the ancient shoreline boundaries near Theed, and there was a beautiful antiquities shop near the city market. They had this sword displayed in the window. It was dear, but I knew you should have it. Only someone who truly earned this sword should wear it, and I cannot think of anyone more worthy than you.”

    Thrawn replaced the sword in the scabbard, then lay it back in the velvet setting. He closed the wooden presentation box with care and placed it on the table. “It’s amazing, Minerva. Thank you so very much! Now I don’t know if my gift is adequate,” he said, his voice tinged with dismay.

    Minerva shooed him with a flutter of her hand. “As long as I have your love, then I have everything,” she said, smiling at him.

    “Wait there,” Thrawn said. He rose and went into the bedroom of the suite and came back with a present wrapped in sunny yellow, with a brilliant blue ribbon tied around it. With care, he placed it in her lap.

    Minerva untied the ribbon and it slid to the floor. She carefully pulled the paper away from the box. Then she opened the box and gasped.

    “Eli found it in one of his parents’ shipping holds,” Thrawn explained. “After nobody had claimed it, the artifact was placed on open market bidding. He did some research and it appears it came from your home world. When he told me that, I knew I had to acquire it for you.”

    Minerva lifted a wooden doll from the box. It was a figure of a man, with a bushy white beard and a military costume. The doll had a lever in the back that controlled the lower jaw, opening and closing its mouth.

    “It’s a nutcracker,” she said. Minerva’s expression acquired a faraway look. “I remember Christmases in England,” she said. “I would sneak into the ballet and watch the dancers as they rehearsed.”

    “Is it from Earth, then?” Thrawn asked.

    “Yes, and you could not have found a more beautiful memento to share with me. Oh, I wish you could have seen them. The grace of the dancers, the excitement of the stage -- it was such a highlight in my dreary life!” Minerva clutched the doll to her. “Thank you, my love. You gave me the best gift I could have ever received.”

    “Thank Eli when he comes to visit us. He’s the one who alerted me to the artifact, and he’s the one who located the auction event so that I could purchase it for you.”

    They smiled at each other, then Thrawn reached his hand across the table to her. Minerva took his hand in hers and clutched it tightly. They were interrupted by the serving droid, who announced that dessert was ready.

    Thrawn and Minerva put their respective gifts on the sideboard, then returned to their seats as just as the serving droid completed clearing the table. Then two plates of cake were presented. “For your anniversary, compliments of the establishment,” the droid announced.

    After the dessert, the couple talked for a while over steaming mugs of hot cocoa. They decided to visit the Imperial Museum of Contemporary Art, as there was an exhibit of Outer Rim impressionists that Thrawn was very curious to examine. They would follow up their visit with a picnic in the park, and at night they had tickets to the Opera House, in seats right beside the Emperor’s own private seats (a gift from Lord Vader himself to Grand Admiral and Lady Thrawn). They decided to go to bed early as it would be a very full day tomorrow.

    A short while later, Thrawn lay in the bed as Minerva emerged from the ‘fresher. She wore a beautiful soft pink negligee, and her natural beauty was made even more lovely by the look of love and admiration she wore. She came to the bed and slid in beside her husband.

    “I was thinking of the gift you gave me,” she said. “Do you know the story of the Nutcracker?”

    He turned to her. “Not really. I haven’t studied Earth art and culture that much.”

    She fussed with the sheets, smoothing them out with her hands as she spoke. “A young girl is swept away into a magical world, where she meets a dashing nutcracker general. He fights valiantly against the evil Mouse King and his army. The girl saves his life, and the Mouse King is defeated. Then, after a great feast, they travel to wondrous places and have amazing adventures together.” Minerva reached over and put her arms around Thrawn, who wrapped his arms around her. “She falls in love with the handsome soldier from the faraway land, and she leaves her world to be with him in the realms beyond her wildest imagination.”

    “Thank you for my wonderful gift, too,” Thrawn said. “You have no idea how much that means to me.” He pulled his wife to him, and she lay her head on his shoulder. “But we would still have the greatest gift of all, even if there were no packages or bows. We have each other.”

    Minerva could not argue with that sentiment. She raised her face toward his as he kissed her tenderly.

    Thrawn smiled as they broke their kiss at last. “And this beautiful girl and her heroic soldier -- do they live happily ever after?” he asked.

    Minerva returned his smile. “Of course they do, my love. Of course they do.”
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2018
  2. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! This just ... confirms my feeling that this year's round of fic-gifts is the best EVER! =D= I've melted! You write romantic ambience so deliciously! Each gift they give is so unique and gorgeous, and their love is indeed the grandest of all they've received. [:D] ^:)^
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2018
    Kahara and Nehru_Amidala like this.
  3. Nehru_Amidala

    Nehru_Amidala Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Awwwwww! This was waiting for me this morning, and this was perfect! I was squeeing and cooing over how sweet this was! I love how you incorporated the story of the Nutcracker into the main story. I love this story so much!! Thank you, this was well worth the wait.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    Kahara and WarmNyota_SweetAyesha like this.