Chapter Seven: Stripped

They walked slowly up the beach together, hands clasped tightly, shoulders rubbing against each other and Tenel Ka smiling more than she ever had in her life.

Yet her smile kept disappearing as they neared the house, but an unimaginable guilt settled upon her spirit. She and Tahiri had developed a bond, a deep friendship brought about by similar circumstances and situations. They had both lost the dearest person to them in the universe and had chosen to keep on fighting. Now, she had Jacen back, really had him back, not a rumour or a holograph, but truly, overwhelmingly Jacen.

Which left Tahiri alone again. The understanding she'd found in Tenel Ka would be gone, or so Tenel Ka thought.

Nesaliquas came into view and Tenel Ka took deep breaths to brace herself. Jacen glanced at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Tahiri," Tenel Ka answered simply, "How will she feel now?"

Jacen sighed remorsefully. "Everything has a consequence, doesn't it? There's always a drawback.

"Yes," Tenel Ka agreed sadly.

He sighed again, then grinned for her benefit. "It will be okay, you'll see."

Tahiri sat on the front step of the mansion, her legs curled up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees. As Tenel Ka and Jacen came into view, her eyes went wide suddenly in disbelief. She got unsteadily to her feet, shaking visibly, as if she'd seen a ghost.

Jacen kept walking towards her and they met halfway. His expression remained calm, but sadness radiated off him through the Force. Tahiri held out her arms and Jacen reached out to hug her tightly, as she began to cry. He rocked her carefully back and forth on her feet.

"I miss him too Tahiri," Tenel Ka heard Jacen whisper, "I miss him too."

He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, then let her go.

Tenel Ka felt the guilt welling up inside of her, more strongly than before, and her heart went out to the broken little girl before her. She stepped forward and embraced Tahiri too.

"Before memory of my pain fades, so much that I forget what it was like, and what you feel, let me say this, because I know it is what you fear," Tenel Ka said hoarsely, her voice nearly breaking with emotion, "You are not alone. You will never be alone. My friendship will always remain."

Tahiri cried harder, but a smile broke through the tears. She nodded and Tenel Ka broke away.

When the three Jedi had pulled themselves together somewhat, Jacen spoke up, his voice quiet but strong.

"Vergere is here."

Tenel Ka stiffened and Tahiri gasped, but Jacen held up his hands to ward off any outbursts.

"She is here as my teacher and, I suppose, my friend. We escaped the Yuuzhan Vong together."

Tenel Ka wasn't quite ready to accept Vergere without suspicion, despite Jacen's explanation, but she didn't say anything. Neither did Tahiri, they instead began walking towards the house, their stomachs alerting them it was dinnertime.

* * *

Gallond, the butler and chief care-taker of Nesaliquas was in a panic over lunch. As if the Queen Mother and her close friend weren't enough to manage for, now there was another Jedi Knight, and the strange little alien creature to cater for. Still, he loved to entertain, to organize, and there had been quite a lull in that area over the past while. He was secretly glad for the company.

He parked the platters of rich, steaming Hapan food, products from all over the sixty-three planets, on the large banquet table in the dining room. There was an air of relief and joy to the room's occupants that made him linger for a moment.

He regarded the white feathered alien over his shoulder as he sauntered back towards the door. A memory stirred, deep in the subconscious of his head, a story or a legend, told to him as a child and long since forgotten.

He shook his head and pushed open the door to the kitchen, thinking himself crazy.

But he had seen or heard of such a creature before, he was sure of it.

* * *

Night shrouded the planet of Dreena, wrapping the crystal oceans in its dark cloak. On the Sandy Isle, in the house called Nesaliquas, all inhabitants were asleep, lulled into dreams by the rhythmic waves against the shore.

All inhabitants that is, except for Jacen and Tenel Ka.

They sat on a comfortable couch in the observatory, nestled closely together, with Jacen's arm around Tenel Ka's shoulder as they looked up through the enormous ceiling window.

Tenel Ka's eyes were on the stars, watching them in quiet contemplation, meanwhile, Jacen kept turning his head to observe her. His brandy brown eyes pored over every detail, taking in all the developments he had missed.

"You've changed," he whispered in her ear, brushing his lips across her hair.

She met his assessing stare in question.

"It's in your face. There's something there that wasn't before."

An eyebrow raised skeptically, she commented dryly, "My face has not thus far been described as readable."

He grinned slightly, "Maybe it's my new insight. Everything has become so much… clearer."

"Such as?"

Jacen grinned more, "Granted, you're right in front of me, but it's a nice clear view. A very nice view."

He scanned her eyes for a reaction, then probed her with the Force and that she was embarrassed, which puzzled him.

"What?" he asked bluntly, giving a sly smile, "I can't admire a beautiful view?"

Tenel Ka's cheeks showed the barest trace of a blush. "There are more productive things to do than merely look."

Jacen's looked at her in shock. Her face remained impenetrable as always, but he thought her eyes twinkled.

"Tenel Ka," he said, "Was that a joke?"

The corner of her mouth rose the slightest bit.

"Perhaps."

His surprise dissipated into mischief.

"What do you mean by 'more productive things'?" he asked suspiciously, "What kinds of things?"

Her gray eyes regarded him expressionlessly, daring him.

He leaned forward so that their lips were only centimeters apart, "This kind of thing?"

Teasingly, he kissed her lips, but found he couldn't stop with that simple gesture. He pressed harder, reveling in the warmth he discovered waiting there and wrapped one arm around her neck, bring the other to grasp her hip. Her hand came up, possessively and brushed his cheek tenderly before ruffling his hair and pulling him closer to her. Jacen's heart raced, his blood thundered in his ears, making him dizzy with elation as he kissed her in a frenzy, more and more deeply. She gasped as he ran his hands up her rib cage then under her arm and up her back so that he could support her head in his hand as her head tilted back under his mouth.

"Tenel," he whispered as he kissed her, "We…"
His words, though soft, seemed to have an anchoring effect on her and she stopped abruptly, pulling away.

"We should stop," she said regretfully, her eyes like grey storm clouds, dizzy and turbulent.

"Yes," Jacen affirmed, trying to get himself under control, "I'll see you in the morning."

He laid a lingering kiss on her cheek, inwardly checking himself, and hurriedly got himself out the door before he tried anything else. Leaning against a wall outside the room, he took some calming breaths, regaining normalcy.

He whistled lowly, running his tongue across his lips where he could still taste her kiss.

"Whoa."

He shook his head, and walked back to his room.

* * *

"Tenel Ka?"

The sound of Jacen's questioning voice pulled her from her sleep.

"Mmm?" she mumbled sleepily.

"There's a call coming in for you. Gallond said it was your grandmother," Jacen replied, sounding worried. His hand rested protectively on her shoulder.

At his last words, Tenel Ka became instantly awake and her eyes snapped open.

"Ta'a Chume?" she repeated in question, rolling off the couch and jumping to her feet, cursing mentally, "Can you get me the crown and some formal clothes from my room? Something vaguely comfortable?"

Jacen smiled, lighting up devilish brown eyes, and hastened from the room.

Tenel Ka hurriedly brushed her long red hair and splashed some water on her face. By the time she'd finished, Jacen had returned with a bundle of clothes, which he deposited into her arms.

"Thank-you," Tenel Ka said distractedly and ducked behind the elaborate paneled screen. She shucked off her pyjamas and threw them over the top, then picked up the articles Jacen had fetched.

She slipped on the pants, sky-blue like her military uniform and turned to the shirt. She held it out and squinted in a perturbed fashion, then put it on with a suspicious look. It was white silk, sleeveless, with a loose, revealing neckline. The fabric had been designed to hang just barely covering her breasts and was trimmed with gold thread on all edges. She attached the matching gold cloak with diamond clips at the shoulders, set a gold tiara with blue gems on her head, and stepped dubiously out from behind the screen.

Jacen lounged on the couch, facing the screen, with one hand behind his head, a spectator of a grand performance. Tenel Ka raised and an eyebrow and put her hand on her hip firmly.

"This," she asked pointedly, "Is your definition of 'comfortable'?"

Jacen grinned confidently. "It's comfortable for me looking at you."

Tenel Ka took a threatening step forward.

Jacen laughed and gave her a lopsided smile.

"Come on, you can kill me later. Her Highness is waiting."

With a face of barely controlled emotions, Tenel Ka followed him from the room.