I don't own Star Wars or any of the characters. They belong to George Lucas.
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I Told You So
**
I told you so.
Jaina knew he would say it, and though it would have tasted of bile to say it, she'd have admitted he was right now.
But now I'm beyond admissions.
Jagged Fel had been right. She should have never married Isolder.
How could I have been so stupid?
It had been Ta'a Chume, of course. Jaina had to hand it to the old spider; she really knew how to weave a web. Jaina's stay at the palace, Teneniel's death, Tenel Ka's kidnapping by the NiKorish…
I wonder if she caused Anakin and Jacen's deaths too.
But that was crazy. No use assuming Ta'a Chume had quite that much power. The old woman just knew how to weave a situation to its best advantage.
My rage was my undoing, just as Kyp warned me that it would be.
Right before he died of the poison that had been in his drink. Losing Kyp had been a blow, even more then losing Zekk.
And you probably killed Kyp too, didn't you Ta'a Chume?
Of course she had. Trisdin Gheer had prepared the drinks. It had to have been on Ta'a Chume's orders. But of course, nothing could be proved after Ta'a Chume had discovered Trisdin's connections to one of the Royal family's many enemies.
I believed her. I believed her as she killed off everyone that was getting in her way. Even…
No. That thought would not come. Best not to think about that. Jaina had enough problems without remembering his death. But even as she steeled herself against the memory's resurfacing, it came on anyway. The Yuuzhan Vong had caught the entire shipload of Wookiees.
Ta'a Chume said it was the NiKorish, but what if she gave them away' Did Lowie die because of bad luck, or because he was in the way?
A sob racked Jaina, calling blood into her mouth.
Coughing up blood now… Not good.
Then again, the coughing up of blood was nothing compared to the gut-wound. Now that was a problem. Unfortunately, she knew, none of her attendants would come this time. Not in time to save her anyway.
Reef Fortress was supposed to be safe. But then again, it was supposed to be safe the last time we came here too, and look how that turned out…
The memory resurfaced in Jaina, but the faces of her old friends brought pain that their victory at the time could not erase. Jacen was a prisoner of the Vong, presumed dead. Lowie's ship had been blown up without a whimper. Tenel Ka had been sacrificed to the Yuuzhan Vong, live over the holonet'
And now look at me…
Jaina scanned her body vaguely with the Force, cataloguing the damage and her odds of survival.
Not a chance. Even Anakin couldn't have survived this.
The most painful thing about dying, though, was looking into the eyes of her killer as he pulled the trigger and hearing his last words to her.
You loved me! I know you did!
But perhaps it had been an act, or perhaps the man with the blaster had other reasons then hate for wanting to erase her from the universe. It still didn't dull the pain as he pulled the trigger, whispering almost tenderly. "I told you so".
Yes Jag. You told me so.
Jasper