Our siblings push buttons that cast us in roles we felt sure we had let go of long ago –
the baby, the peacekeeper, the caretaker, the avoider....
It doesn't seem to matter how much time has elapsed or how far we've traveled. ~Jane Mersky Leder

The 7th Hymn of Tiresias

Chapter 24

They will recover, all of them, Kay'leb thought to himself as he reached for his staff. A little more time is all they need.

The coterie of officials had left, taking with them the sense of security and self containment that the Healing center had enjoyed for so long. The only light that had come out of the situation was that his father, Schurke, had not been among them.

Kay'leb picked mournfully at the small meal Toa had sent to him, and then pushed the plate away uneaten.

The brightly colored bloom of the Nursery flower shivered and turned its head to him, as if chasing an unseen light. Kay'leb absently stretched out his hand, caressing the air before it. Through the Force, he could almost hear it crooning to him. Normally he could be soothed by its responsiveness to him, but today he could only take minimal comfort.

Reluctantly, and with more care than usual, Kay'leb made his way to a small, disused corner of his office. On the shelf, buried in a myriad of similar items, a crystal statuette glowed dimly, yet all the brighter in the darkened room. With a heavy sigh Kay'leb gently picked the piece, regarding it through the Force.

How quickly people are willing to turn against you, he thought, hefting the weighty prism in his hand. In one breath, they will elevate you to the stars, reveling in your successes as if they were their own; in the next, they'll tear you down to build themselves up again on the ashes of your folly…

The sound of the prism shattering against the wall was deafening, and as the crystal shards scattered down like rain Kay'leb slumped down onto his desk and wept.

"Hello, Idell," Kampher called as she entered the anti-chamber to Schurke's office. "I've come to see my old pirate. He didn't come home for midday meal," she lied glibly, unsure whether Idell had been aware of the frantic com call earlier.

"Good afternoon, Kam," Idell called back pleasantly from behind her desk. "As usual, you're just in time. I was about to com you at home."

Kampher hesitated in the doorway. With short silver hair and grey eyes, Idell had been Schurke's effective 'woman at arms' since Schurke had taken office. She was only a little older than the two of them and was considered a part of the family. "Idell, is something wrong?"

Idell shook her head. "Nothing to be too worried about. His leg was bothering him terribly though. I told him to go lie down and when he didn't ask me to join him, I knew he wasn't feeling well."

Kam laughed, and then her tone grew serious, contemplative. "How is your grandson, Amashe? You said the Healers were coming."

"They did," Idell replied as she held the door to Schurke's office open. "Two of them in fact. One stayed with us and asked all sorts of questions, the other went right to Amashe." Her voice became a whisper. "It was terrifying, Kam. We thought – I mean… it looked just like – you know… we put him into the bath as soon as his fever spiked."

"What did the Healer say?" Kampher asked, keeping her voice level, her face mask-like. To her surprise, Idell laughed. It was a nervous, brittle sound.

"He said it was only a seasonal fever," Idell said softly. "My son burst into tears at the news… he remembers what it was like before. We all do."

"Yes," Kampher replied hesitantly. "Thank the Gods …"

Perhaps lost in relief, Idell didn't seem to notice. "Either way, my dear, the Old Pirate awaits…"

**

Luke absently checked the Coruscant news feed as Aubé went to check on Pem. The headlines screamed over the upcoming grand State Wedding of Leia Organa and General Solo. Who had been invited – who had been snubbed – it was the grandest event since the toppling of the Empire.

He wondered about Leia's reaction to the announcement. She had fought the idea of a grand public wedding like a Rancor over a particularly lean piece of prey, and yet the bureaucrats had won in the end. It didn't matter to the Senate Elite that Han and Leia had actually been bonded as husband and wife many years before back on Endor. They felt that a public spectacle on such an eventful scale would detract from the rumblings on the holo-net that perhaps something was wrong, and so far, they had been right.

There was only a brief mention of an 'illness that hospitalized a few prominent Senators.' Perhaps the fear that 'Tarkin's' had reached the core had been nothing more than hysterical thinking on the part of the Healing staff?

He found his eyes drawn to the story about Leia. Even after so many years, it was hard to see her as anything but the tough, no-nonsense Princess who ever refused to be a mere damsel in distress. Accompanying the article was a side bar with illustrative artistic renditions of 'possible' wedding dresses. Everything from a garment that looked as if it would bankrupt the entire treasury of a small planet, to a diaphanous gown that left very little – if anything – to the imagination, was depicted in those images..

He laughed a little, trying to imagine the fiery Princess of Alderaan, blaster in hand, attempting to maintain her composure in such an outfit.

Now Aubé, perhaps…

"Something funny, Luke?" Aubé murmured softly, wrapping her arms unobtrusively around his waist.

"Just things," he replied, turning to take her into a full embrace. "How would you like a Hutt-sized wedding? A hundred guests! A thousand! All of Coruscant society in attendance!"

Aubé wrinkled her nose and Luke kissed it playfully.

"I take that as a 'no!' then?"

"Maybe for Pem," Aubé sighed, settling into his arms, familiarly comfortable. "If we're going to do this, I'd rather it be just… just family. Someplace quiet."

Luke laughed again, a low rumble in his chest. "Your parents, your brothers… our daughter..."

"…Your sister, General Solo, Chewbacca, your droids." Aubé finished with another sigh, more resigned this time. "We might as well invite the whole Rogue Squadron while we're at it."

"Or we could just run away, Bé," Luke said softly in her ear. "On Naboo, there's an old monastery…

Another sigh, more contented this time. "No," she said at last. "I think family will be enough. At least for that." She pulled back a little and regarded him for a moment. "I mean, who will watch our Pem… after?"

"Threepio," Luke replied, deadpan.

Aubé arched an eyebrow. "Your sister's protocol droid? She'd run him ragged! How about asking Kay and Toa instead? Or even my parents."

"Han, then," Luke said firmly, pulling her close once again. "I think that Pemberian Skywalker will be a great introduction to what the future holds. A few hours with her, and he'll wonder why he and Leia waited so long…"