Chapter XX
Upon his return to the palace, Jamie hesitated for a moment in front of the doors separating his room from Deanna's. She was hiding her ability with the Force again: he could have sworn that the woman in the neighboring room was a regular human with no Force sensitivity whatsoever.
He could sense she was awake though, and could picture her in front of her vanity combing that beautiful hair the way she always did before going to bed. She was definitely alone. If Darth Kai had been there, he had left in the meantime.
So she had decided to keep up the act. Jamie not so much.
He bit his lip and pushed the doors open without bothering to knock. The view in front of him managed to shock him despite the evening's events. It all made sense when he saw the charred room which, despite the handmaidens' efforts, had not been completely restored. The princess herself sat at her vanity, but instead of brushing her hair she was lost in thought, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. She blinked in surprise when she saw him enter the room. She stood and faced him, uncertainty flashing over her features. She was wearing a white nightgown trimmed with lace and silk robes on top, and her hair hung neatly braided to her tiny waist. Jamie thought she looked so innocent that no one would have guessed what hid behind those delicate features.
He looked around the room and shook his head in amusement.
"Now I understand why you were so mad with him earlier this evening, princess," he finally said.
Deanna tightened her robes around her and gave him a studied look of confusion.
"Not sure what you are talking about, master Kenobi," she replied.
"I would be mad, too," Jamie continued, undisturbed. "In fact, I would have had his head sooner if I were you…well, provided that you could actually handle a lightsaber."
He closed the distance between them, and Deanna recoiled on instinct. Somehow he'd still figured out her identity tonight. Unless Plagueis sensed she was in danger, she was on her own and Jamie was no easy opponent.
"He has tried to ruin your cover so many times, but I've been blind to it. Tonight, the only time he actually aimed at protecting you, he blew up the entire plan. Poor guy," he said derisively.
Deanna crossed her arms, trying to keep her calm.
"Have you had a little too much drink, master Kenobi? I would say so," she said, giving him a disapproving once-over.
"Not enough, unfortunately," Jamie replied, grabbing her arms and pulling her close to him. "Let's cut off this act, princess. I'm here to get some answers."
"It would be easier if I knew what you meant," she said, trying to push him away.
Jamie smiled grimly at her, annoyed by her repeated endeavors at sticking to her plan. He grabbed her wounded shoulder roughly. A few drops of blood stained her robes almost immediately.
"You should get a proper medidroid, princess. This one did not do a great job," he whispered, glaring at her.
Deanna winced and wrung herself free from his vicious grip. She took a step away from him, and he could spot a trace a fear in her eyes.
"When did you figure out who I was?" she asked, emotion clear in her voice.
Jamie gave her the same grim smirk, and tilted his head, studying her expression. "Well, that's the issue – you see, I still have no idea who you really are. But tonight when Darth Kai decided to suddenly jump to your rescue, despite the confrontation between the two of you that I had witnessed earlier, I realized that the Sith woman could only be you."
A shadow passed on Deanna's face, but she remained quiet.
"Try to be reasonable, princess. Tell me what is happening and I might spare your life. After all, you did go through tremendous efforts to get your plans to work. You almost had me wrapped around your finger. A few more days and perhaps you would have succeeded in making a complete fool out of me," Jamie added bitterly.
He smiled again when he saw Deanna's eyes throwing daggers at him. That was more like it. He had had enough of the innocent little princess.
"I made a complete fool out of you?!" she shot back, anger cursing through her words. It was not the first time Jamie had accused her leading him into temptation, when today she had discovered he was anything but a stoic Jedi. "Why should I be the one to blame for your feelings, master Kenobi? When are you going to take responsibility for yourself?"
That struck a nerve with Jamie. It was true, there was no one to blame for his feelings. He'd been stupid enough to fall into her trap. He'd prided himself over not getting attached to anyone, not even his family, or friends back at the Academy. He'd prided himself for enjoying the physical love of many girls and remaining clear-headed throughout the years. All to be ruined in a few days, by someone who likely did not even return his feelings. Most likely she felt something for Darth Kai, otherwise every encounter between them would not have been so fervent and confrontational at the same time.
Jamie's eyes flashed with irritation, and with a wave of his hand, he immobilized Deanna, who looked at him with unbridled fury in turn. He closed the distance, observing the endearing blush coloring her cheeks as he invaded her personal space again.
"I thought about this a little bit on the way here, princess, and by the looks of it, you, Kylo Ren and Darth Kai are dancing to the tune of someone else. Someone powerful. Someone with a plan to destroy the New Republic and the Jedi Order. I have a suspicion as to whom this person may be."
"Then it was not so smart of you to come back here, master Kenobi," she whispered, feeling, to her despair, her heart speeding up in his proximity.
"Tell me, princess, what is your father up to, and perhaps I will let you live," Jamie demanded, drawing his saber. Deanna eyed it anxiously. She'd dropped her own saber back at the industrial site where they had first fought.
Jamie switched on his lightsaber and watched indecision paint her face. The same uncertainty he read on her features was reflected in his own mind. He considered his options for a moment. If she resisted, he couldn't just kill her, in spite of the fact that she had turned out to be a Sith, and his worst enemy, who had set a trap for him.
It was outrageous, really. It was exactly what Luke had advised him against so many times. He had grown attached to her, and he could not simply, cold bloodedly, kill her right now.
On the other hand, he could not just leave without getting answers either. He wasn't even sure he would have time to get away before the Prince had his men on his trail.
He decided that the only way to deal with the situation at hand was to bring Deanna with him and let Luke deal with the complications. Luke was wise enough, and neutral enough to know what to do.
He advanced on the immobilized princess; he grabbed her arm, and pulled her close. "Since you're not prepared to give me any answers, I'm afraid you'll have to come with me." Deanna's eyes widened in disbelief at his words, but before she could reply, they heard someone else's recognizable voice behind them.
"And I'm afraid that is not possible, Kenobi. You see, she cannot go anywhere with you, since she has an appointment with me," Kylo Ren said. His statement was followed by the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber being ignited.
Jamie let go of the frozen princess and whirled around only to find Ren smirking at him, red lightsaber in hand. He was not wearing his usual mask.
"I decided to let myself in, princess, seeing as the door was open," Ren continued, nodding slowly in Deanna's direction, who was watching him incredulously, but obviously relieved by his intrusion.
Jamie stepped away from the princess and frowned.
"I wondered when you'd make an appearance again, Ren," he said, pointing his lightsaber at the Sith apprentice. "But your appointment seems most inopportune."
Kylo smirked. "I've waited for this for a long time, Jamie, or should I call you master Kenobi now that you have earned the title? You were incredibly lucky that night, to be away. But I will finish the job now. This time I do not need a mandate to kill you."
Jamie did not seem impressed by Kylo Ren's words.
"You think I was lucky?" he asked coldly. "I would say our poor colleagues were extremely unlucky, because I was away that night and because you were coward enough to kill a bunch of younglings. Now let's make this quick, I'm kind of in a hurry."
A shadow passed on Kylo Ren's face and he advanced on Jamie decided to finish with him once and for all. Every time they met, Jamie's arrogant assertiveness somehow managed to get to him. Luke had always preferred Jamie over his own nephew, and even though he was a few years younger than him, Jamie's skill had been remarkable even at that young age.
"What did I tell you the last time we met, Jamie? Arrogance is blinding you and it will lead to your demise," Kylo said, pouncing on his enemy.
Their blades clashed, sparks flying around the room. Deanna retreated as far as possible from the commotion, focusing on becoming once more one with the Force. As she did so, she felt a familiar presence approaching.
"He's kind of a slow learner, as far as I can tell," Kai's voice came a few moments later from the doorway. "What are you doing here, Ren? I told you he's mine to kill."
Kylo Ren couldn't help rolling his eyes at the interference.
"No, he's not, Kai. I've waited a long time for this opportunity," he replied, not turning around, his attention still on Jamie, who looked from one Sith apprentice to the other with obvious displeasure.
Kai's saber sprang to life and he attacked Jamie enough to make him take distance from Deanna. The apprentice moved into his place, switched off his saber, and leaned towards the princess. "You alright?" he asked quietly. She nodded, surprised by his gentle tone.
"Your wound is bleeding," he said, touching her shoulder gently. Deanna instinctively recoiled, but a moment later she felt the pain leave her shoulder. Her eyes shot in surprise to Kai's face.
"I knew I should not have left you alone," he said, looking over at Kylo Ren and Jamie who had resumed their angry duel. "Stay here."
He pressed the button on the hilt of his saber and the weapon sprung back to life.
"Don't be so selfish, Ren," he smirked at the other apprentice, engaging Jamie as well.
Deanna watched the fight with concern. The space of her room was limited and despite his superior speed of movement, Jamie was finding himself increasingly cornered by his opponents. It really was a pity, she reckoned, that Jamie had not fled when he still had the chance. As things stood, she could not help him without disclosing her weakness for him to Plagueis.
Jamie was not as worried as she was. Although he was outnumbered, he was sure he would eventually come victorious. Kylo Ren's skill with the saber was pretty impressive, but Jamie was still faster and more ingenious at using the Force to his advantage than the Sith apprentice. On the other hand, Jamie understood very quickly that he had to avoid engaging Kai at close range.
At some point he whirled his saber so fast that he managed to superficially wound Ren in the right arm. However, that gave Kai an opening to pounce on him and lock their sabers close to Jamie's torso. Kai put all his strength in pushing the luminous blade into his chest, and Jamie eventually had to use the Force to disengage. However, that did not prevent the Sith apprentice from grazing Jamie's arm with his saber. Up close, Kai's brute strength was downright frightening, Jamie thought.
On the defensive now, the Jedi knight took a few steps away from his opponents. It was highly unlikely that he'd be able to defeat them both at the same time, and in such a small space. He needed to make his escape. Jamie retreated towards the door, as the two Sith regrouped, both Kai and Kylo preparing to attack again. The wheels in Jamie's head turned quickly as he watched the men in front of him. Kylo Ren swirled his saber the way he always did when he planned to imminently attack. The man had not changed at all, Jamie reckoned. Kai's eyes were blazing, his jaw set, his saber at the ready. He looked determined to claim his life.
However, both Sith apprentices froze into place when they felt Plagueis' Force presence intensifying and quiet steps approaching. The Supreme Leader, dressed in interior blue velvet robes, entered the room and eyed the scene before him with discontent. On cue, Kylo and Kai lowered their sabers and bowed.
"How can one sleep with all the rattle you three are making in here?" he asked, crossly, but there was a pleased undertone to his voice that Jamie did not miss. He turned to look at the master puppeteer, his guard still up.
"You are Snoke," Jamie acquiesced.
"If you so wish, Jamie. I suppose you could also call me by that title. But between us, Force users, I go by another name, far more famous. Darth Plagueis, at your service," he said, bowing his head in mock courtesy.
The Jedi knight almost dropped his saber at the older man's words.
"It cannot be," he murmured.
Plagueis cackled, amused at seeing Jamie at a loss.
"This was not part of my plan, young man," he gestured to the general mess in front of him.
Jamie straightened, looking at the Supreme Leader without a trace of fear. "What was your plan then?" he asked. "Because so far it does not seem to be working particularly well."
"Oh, but it does, young man. You just can't understand yet, that's all."
Jamie's heart sped up in alarm. Had something happened to Luke and the others? He had not felt any particular disturbance in the Force as of late, and still, here he was, surrounded by the Sith.
"There is still time to join us," Plagueis, a smile playing on his thin lips.
"I would expect that by now you would know my character well enough, to tell that such thing is not even remotely possible, your Highness," Jamie coolly replied, gripping the handle of his saber harder in his fist.
Darth Plagueis sighed in mock surrender. "I guess that's true. Well, he's all yours to kill now," he said, looking past Jamie, at Deanna. Jamie turned to face the apprentices once more.
For a moment, he expected the two Sith apprentices to resume their attack. But they just stood there expectantly. Kai looked slightly worried, while Kylo Ren turned to stare at Deanna with mild interest.
Slowly, but very distinctively, the room was filled with Deanna's now very familiar Force presence. She stood unmovingly, watching Plagueis through narrowed eyes. Jamie could feel a wave of profound dislike washing over her.
Plagueis' smile was still there. He extracted a double-bladed saber from the pocket of his robes and showed it to her invitingly. "For that purpose, I thought you might like this little present," he said, throwing it to her. Deanna caught it, but did not take any steps in Jamie's direction.
Jamie resumed his guard, completely unsure of what she would do. Earlier in the evening she had refused to confront him at all costs, but would she do the same now, after he had badly wounded her? He noticed that above her shoulder blood continued to stain her white silk gown, and a feeling of regret welled up inside him, despite the circumstances.
Kai suddenly closed the distance to Plagueis: "Master, the Jedi is dangerous. Let me kill him instead," he whispered.
"No, this is Deanna's revenge," Plagueis said, waving him off.
Kai stepped away, his worried gaze returning to Deanna.
"What did I do to you, Princess, that you would want vengeance against me? As I recall it, I even saved your life once. Is this how the Sith repay a good deed?" Jamie suddenly interjected, a feeling of anger washing over him, as he glared at the hesitant princess.
Plagueis chuckled behind them, terribly amused and thrilled at having the princess thus humiliated. His revenge was finally beginning to taste sweet enough.
Darth Maul's saber trembled for a moment in Deanna's hand. She knew she could not hurt Jamie, and she had no means to save his life either. If only she could create some sort of diversion, so he'd be able to get away safe and sound. However, such possibility seemed very remote, with the three Sith facing her expectantly.
"This game is over," she said, gesturing in Plagueis' direction.
"I told you before, Deanna. It will be over when I say it is over," Plagueis replied, and this time all the amusement in his tone was gone. "You have played your part terribly in this game. I must declare myself very disappointed."
"You got what you wanted in the end, didn't you?" she sneered, regaining some of her nerve as her Force powers returned.
Plagueis seethed, seeing his authority once again put into question before his apprentices by Sidious' insolent daughter. He suddenly turned to Kai and Kylo.
"Take him to the basement until I decide what to do with him."
Jamie raised his saber ready to strike at the two apprentices, but he cried out a moment later when Plagueis sent a Force field at him, making him drop his weapon. Kylo summoned Jamie's saber to him and the two of them surrounded the knight. Kai bowed at Jamie's ear, while he roughly pulled him out of the room.
"Please, please, give me one tiny reason to kill you, Jedi scum," he whispered in his ear. "You have no clue how much I've dreamt of it over the last few days."
Plagueis watched them walk out into the corridor with interest, then turned to Deanna.
"Well Princess," he said, "It seems that I finally have something you care about. I had suspected you had feelings for the young Jedi for a while, but this evening you have confirmed my suspicions. Now you'd better follow my demands to the letter, or I will kill him."
"I have no feelings for him. Like he said, I felt in debt to him, and that is all. Moreover, in the end, he was not the one who killed Darth Maul," Deanna said.
This time, the Supreme Leader gave a whole hearted laugh.
"Are you really trying to fool me, or yourself, Princess?" he asked sweetly, closing the distance between him and his former apprentice's daughter.
"You will learn to do what I tell you, or else Jamie will suffer hell," he continued, caressing her hair, while Deanna watched him with disgust. "When you arrived here you had nothing to gain and nothing to lose, and it was a pain to try and control you. Now, you will have an incentive to submit to me. Finally."
His bony hand traced down the princess' neck, enjoying her discomfort.
"I apologize, master. May I have a word with the Princess?" Kylo Ren suddenly interjected, entering the room.
Deanna closed her eyes, relieved, then looked at him gratefully when Plagueis unwillingly stepped away from her.
"By all means," the old man replied, leaving the room. He wondered what could be so urgent at that hour. Whatever it was, since it involved Ren, it could not be good.
Kylo paused, watching Deanna with his inscrutable dark eyes.
"Shall we take a walk, milady?" he finally asked.
Deanna nodded and grabbed her ruined cloak, wrapping it around her.
"Let's go."
A/N: Thanks for reading and great thanks to our beta BlackRoseRaven. Sorry for the long wait, next chapter is on its way. Stay up for Rey's arrival in the capital...