Chapter Forty-Six

As Aalea stood next to Obi-Wan along the wall, watching as the Tarkasians and the Sylvonnans filed into the banquet room, she wondered for the umpteenth time what it was about her Obi-Wan disapproved of so much. She knew she wasn't the perfect Jedi, but since she'd been on this mission with him, she had been rebuked, chastised and lectured more times than in all her years with her master.

She glanced over at him and noted how serious he was trying to look with his arms folded within his robe, his brow slightly furrowed and his mouth set. He thinks he's Master Qui-Gon, she thought irritably.

Then, Aalea thought about their sparring in the gym earlier. She knew she should have yielded to him the first time he disarmed her, for she had no illusions about her skills in comparison to his. He was far superior to her. But having to give ground to him was the bitterest pill. He was already so terribly full of himself. And the way he had spouted that horrible dialogue from that awful Old Republic holovid. His prize! She snorted softly, then glanced over at Obi-Wan to see if he had heard, but he continued to gaze stoically at the guests as they came into the banquet hall.

Then Aalea frowned, for something else had happened that had disturbed her even more than his calling her his prize. When he had grabbed her to prevent her from jumping away from him, something had surged through her. Not anger, not humiliation, not embarrassment. Something else. Something that had felt strangely and frighteningly pleasant. For she had been conscious of him in a way she'd never had before; of his strong warm hands on her shoulders, the way his blue-gray eyes had held hers, and the way his voice had begged her to give herself to him.

No, Aalea thought quickly, that wasn't what he'd said. He had asked her to yield, not give herself to him. What had made her think he'd said that?

She shook her head and focused her attention back on the banquet hall. Two long tables faced each other. At the end of the tables another had been placed at which sat King Tahal and Queen Samar. To their right King Lucan and Queen Cassia were being seated. Next to Queen Cassia a tall, broad-shouldered man with russet-colored eyes and braided black hair slipped into his chair.

Glancing about the room, the man spotted Obi-Wan. He waved.

Obi-Wan nodded. Then the man's eyes shifted to Aalea and widened. A large grin spread across his handsome face. He winked at her. Aalea, not wanting to be rude, gave him a small smile.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Obi-Wan's frown deepen.

Aalea sighed. She'd probably be lectured later about how she had once again violated Jedi propriety by smiling at a stranger. She was about to ask Obi-Wan who the man was, but noting the disapproving expression on Obi-Wan's face, thought better of it. She looked back to the entrances as the rest of the guests funneled in.

Once the guests had all been seated, it was Obi-Wan and Aalea's signal, as Honorary Bodyguards, to escort Ishan and Nadira into the hall for their formal introduction. Obi-Wan went to the left and Aalea to the right.

As she entered the tiny anteroom where Nadira and Badalah waited, she glanced back at the man with the long braided hair. He was still grinning at her.

"Have they all finally sat down?" Badalah asked crossly.

"Yes," Aalea answered.

She looked over at Nadira. The princess was swathed in a glittering array of brightly-colored gowns. Her face was veiled and only her large green eyes were visible.

"Oh, Jedi Aalea," she whispered. "I am so afraid."

Aalea quickly took Nadira's hand. It was cold and shaking.

"Don't worry, your highness. I am here."

Badalah was peering out the door.

"Something's going on, Aalea."

Aalea squeezed Nadira's hand, then walked over to Badalah.

She looked out into the hall. Badalah was right. The guests were in a stir and Aalea could see a man with a long black mustache whispering something into King Lucan's ear and, whatever it was, Lucan didn't like what he was hearing. Aalea saw no signs of either Obi-Wan or Ishan. She looked over at Badalah who only shrugged her shoulders.

Then King Tahal's chief eunuch, Marni, ran into the hall and rushed over to Tahal. He leaned towards the king's ear and whispered.

Tahal leapt up, his face a thundercloud, his black eyes burning.

"What treachery is this?" he roared.

Aalea turned back to Nadira.

"I'll be right back, your highness."

Nadira only nodded, her eyes bright with fear. She had heard her father's cry of outrage.

Aalea ran into the hall and over to the head table. She went up to King Tahal.

"What is wrong, your majesty?"

Tahal turned toward her. He thrust his hand towards Lucan.

"Their son has decided he does not wish to marry my daughter. He has run off. To become a Jedi!"

"What?" Aalea cried, looking over at Lucan.

King Lucan's hazel eyes were frosty as he looked at her.

"Yes, it appears my son has been corrupted by you Jedi and has decided to forgo his filial duty. I blame Master Kenobi for this."

"Don't try to place the blame on someone else, Lucan," Tahal shouted. "You had this planned from the start. How dare you barbarians come to my world and dishonor my daughter!"

"Barbarians?" Lucan cried. "How dare you call us barbarians, Tahal. What do you perfumed degenerates know of civilization? We should have you destroyed you when we had the chance."

"Destroy us?" Tahal bellowed. "You were the ones who sued for peace because you knew we were winning, Lucan."

Aalea watched in horror as the guests, Sylvonnans and Tarkasians, began to rise from their chairs, eyeing each other from across the tables. She glanced around the tension-filled hall. The situation was becoming a powder keg. And where was Obi-Wan?

"We sued for peace because we were close to wiping your kind out forever!" Lucan cried, his bald head glistening with sweat. Queen Cassia reached over and tried to grab her husband's arm, but Lucan angrily shook her off. He then pulled a dagger from the belt on his black uniform and brandished it at Tahal.

Tahal reached over to one of his guards and pulled a knife out of his shoulder holster. He moved toward Lucan. Suddenly, the tall man with the braids who had winked at Aalea jumped in front of Lucan, his own blade drawn.

"Stand back, Tahal, or I'll cut your heart out where you stand."

"Move aside, Prince Markus. This is between your father and me."

"It may be between you and father, but you'll have to go through me to get to him."

"So be it," Tahal sneered.

Aalea was about to draw her lightsaber when a scream from behind distracted her. It was Nadira. She had come out of the anteroom and was standing in the door, her hands raised up in horror.

"Nadira," Aalea shouted. "Go back inside."

Nadira only stood, her eyes wide as she looked about her.

Tahal leapt onto Markus and the two men struggled. Pandemonium broke out in the hall. Guests either screamed and ran for the doors or shouted and drew weapons. Aalea was nearly knocked to the floor when a Sylvonnan guardsman and a Tarkasian noble broke into a fight near her.

As Aalea tried to make her way through the melee to where Tahal and Markus were fighting, out of the corner of her eye she saw Nadira running through the crowd to her parents. Aalea switched direction and ran towards her.

Before Aalea could get to her, however, the fleeing guests pushed Nadira to the floor. Aalea's stomach tightened. The princess was sure to be trampled.

To be continued....