Late
at night on the same day, a cool breeze blew through the overhanging balcony of
the Fountain Palace. The balcony
overlooked one of the Palace's many elaborate and secret gardens, which
was Tenal Ka's favourite place to go when she needed to be alone. And Tenal Ka needed solitude right now. Nevertheless, a familiar presence soon
joined her out on the balcony, ending any hopes that she had of being alone to
sort out her confused and jumbled thoughts.
"I forgot how much of a spectacular view it was from up
here," came the voice of Jacen Solo from behind her. Tenal Ka did not turn around. She had sensed him long before he had even set foot on the balcony. Jacen was the last person she wanted to see
right now but she could not bring herself to tell him to go away. Somehow his presence managed to both unnerve
her and comfort her at the same time.
She could hear his footsteps getting louder as he
approached her. He didn't stop until he
was standing beside her. He put both
his elbows on the balcony railing and placed his chin in his hands, staring out
at the gardens. Glow lamps helped to
illuminate pathways through the different patches of flowers and trees. The various flowers and plants were well
taken care of. Of course, Jacen
expected no less from the Royal Family of Hapes. At the moment though, the garden was deserted, with no one to
appreciate its beauty besides the two onlookers.
Tenal Ka spoke up after a few moments of uncomfortable
silence. "You are up late."
Jacen
turned locked gaze on Tenal Ka. "I
could say the same about you," he remarked.
She shrugged. "I
could not sleep,"
"Neither could I,"
"What is keeping you awake, Jacen?" She asked.
He ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. "I couldn't stop thinking about some stuff,"
he said, "what about you?"
"My thoughts were keeping me awake as well," Tenal Ka
answered honestly.
Jacen took a deep breath. "You were thinking about your wedding, right?"
She nodded slowly and noticed how tense Jacen became at
the mention of her wedding. He opened
his mouth to speak, but then thought better of it and clamped his mouth
shut. Tenal Ka could tell that there
was something troubling her friend and she wanted him to be able to talk to her
about whatever was bothering him. What
were friends for anyways?
She laid a hand gently on his arm and was momentarily
startled by the sudden warmth and strength that flooded through her body. "What is troubling you, Jacen?" She asked.
He turned to face her and hesitated. How could he tell his best friend that he
thought she was making the biggest mistake of her life? He finally decided the best approach would
be to be honest with her. She deserved
the truth and would do the same if their situations were reversed.
He
took a deep breath. "I think you're
making a huge mistake by getting married." There. He had finally told her
how he had felt about this whole marriage idea since she had first announced
her engagement.
Tenal Ka stood motionless at first. Her face a complete mask and Jacen was
unable to get any reading on what she was feeling through the force, as if she
was purposely blocking his mind from hers.
"Why is it so difficult for you to accept my engagement?"
Jacen could hear the anger edging into her voice and wished that he hadn't
upset her. "Everyone else has, why
can't you?"
"Because," he stammered, trying to come up with an
excuse, "you barely even know this Lord Zeille. A few months ago you didn't even know he existed."
"I know him well enough," she stated evenly.
"Do you love him?"
"I find him satisfactory," she responded.
Jacen shook his head. "That's not what I asked,"
Tenal Ka turned her gaze away from him and stared down at
the serene and peaceful garden. "It
does not matter," she said finally.
Jacen's eyes widened. "Doesn't matter?" He was practically shouting now, "this is the guy
you're going to be spending the rest of your life with and you say 'it doesn't
matter'? Of course it matters."
"Love is not important. The marriage will provide equal benefits for both of us. I will grow accustomed to my situation. This is a fact," said Tenal Ka.
"No, this is not a fact," Jacen said grabbing both her
arms. "You deserve better than to end
up in some loveless political marriage,"
Tenal Ka pulled away from his grip. He was strong but she was still
stronger. "This was my choice," she
said gruffly, "and nothing you or anyone else can say will change that. The marriage will go on as planned."
"Was that new bio-synthetic arm your decision too, or did
Zeille make you get it?" It was a cheap
shot and he knew it.
"It was my decision. You know better than anyone that I do not let others make my
decisions for me,"
He could tell his comment had made her angry for even
making such a suggestion and the tone of her voice suggested that she was
through talking with him, but Jacen couldn't leave things the way they were
between them. He had to make her see
reason. "Tenal Ka – "
"Jacen please," she said cutting him off, "do not make
this any harder than it already is," she looked up into his brandy brown eyes,
searching for understanding and acceptance. "You are my best friend, and I want
you more than anyone else to be happy for me."
"And I want nothing more than for you to be happy," he
began, "and if Zeille makes you happy," he swallowed, "then I wish you two all
the best," those had been the hardest words he had ever had to say in his
entire life, but he meant them. If she
was happy, then that was all that mattered to him.
Tenal Ka reached for his hand and he took it. "Thank you,
friend Jacen. You have no idea how much
that means to me."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want you to think your best
friend's a jerk," he said, absently scratching the back of his head.
"I have never thought you to be a jerk,"
"Well, that's good to know," then he turned and grinned
at her, "not even after all those jokes I told you that you never laughed at?"
"Never. I found
your sense of humour to be most… interesting," she could never tell him that
secretly she had always loved his jokes. Though usually humourless, she loved how hard he had always tried to
make her smile or laugh. She found it
to be an attractive quality in him. His
easygoing, good-natured side was what made him so easy to talk to and she had
always appreciated his attempts to lighten a tense situation.
An awkward silence followed as the two stood together on
the balcony overlooking the luscious and serene garden. Jacen cleared his throat, ending the awkward
silence. "It's, uh, getting late, I
should get going. My parents are coming
tomorrow and I want to be wide-awake to greet them," it was a lame excuse, but
he was growing uncomfortable being alone out here with Tenal Ka. She had said that there was nothing anyone
could do to change her mind about Zeille, so Jacen didn't know what there was
left to say. Being honest with her now
about how he felt would not change anything. It was too late for confessions.
Tenal Ka didn't seem inclined to argue with his
excuse. She just nodded her head as he
turned and walked away.
But when he got to the doorway, Tenal Ka's voice stopped
him.
"Jacen?"
"Yeah?" He asked turning around to face her.
Through the shadows that the moonlight cast on her face,
Jacen could see the conflicting emotions there. She seemed hesitant and uncertain about what to say, but she
quickly composed herself and said, "sleep well, Jacen my friend,"
He was expecting her to say something else but he didn't
let his disappoint show. "Goodnight,
Tenal Ka,"
"Goodnight, Jacen,"