The next morning Tenel Ka had barely sat down at her desk to begin the day when her doors flew open. She looked up slowly knowing exactly what to expect.
In through the door strode Tenel Ka's private affairs assistant, Aubra, or as Tenel Ka liked to think of her, evil incarnate. Aubra, while not much older than Tenel Ka herself, had been chosen by Ta'a Chume to help guide Tenel Ka in her private, personal matters. And since her mother, grandmother and virtually her father were gone, Aubra felt her roles as guide to the Queen Mother was more important than ever.
Aubra didn't see fit to close the door behind her and proceeded to stride right up to Tenel Ka' desk. She put both hands on the large desk and loomed over Tenel Ka, willing the Queen Mother to look up at her. Tenel Ka used the Force to slam the door shut hard, a gesture of impatience that seemed lost on Aubra. Finally Tenel Ka finished her writing and looked up at Aubra with annoyance in her eyes.
Feigning a smile, Aubra started without preamble. "What is this I hear about you entertaining a Colonel yesterday afternoon without my knowing?"
"Colonel Fel is a close friend of mine from the war and Major Jaina Solo's fiancée. He was here for a tactical meeting, nothing more," Tenel Ka responded, her voice flat in tone.
"You were seen giving him a personal tour, arm in arm. This sort of behavior could spark rumors. There already is talk about your inability to find a husband and produce an heir.
Your people are questioning your dedication to Hapes."
"Because I cannot produce an heir in time to suit them?"
"They feel you are not trying hard enough to secure Hapes' future."
If Tenel Ka bad been a bit less serious she would have fallen down laughing at this. Not working hard enough to secure the future of Hapes? Were the meetings, treaties, trade agreements and allies she had made not enough? Was the rebuilding of the army, infrastructure and economy not enough? Did she now have to take precious time away from these duties for courtship?
It took a few minutes for Tenel Ka to realize Aubra had continued speaking.
"… so it is my recommendation, as your private affairs assistant, that we begin a search for your husband immediately."
Tenel Ka shook her head slowly, more to clear her head thoughts than anything else.
"Two weeks. Give me two weeks, Aubra. There is a gala being held by the New Republic then. Afterward I will begin to look harder for a husband. I promise. Until then I want to hear nothing else about it."
"A gala? Again, why wasn't I informed? I should have had to ok such a thing if an official invitation had been sent. I received no such thing."
Tenel Ka decided to stop Aubra before got into a tirade. "I did not receive a formal invitation from the New Republic. I received two personal invitations from friends to attend. How could I say no?"
Aubra took a few deep breaths to calm herself, her eyes closed. When they reopened you could hardly tell Aubra was upset. "Very well them. I take it Alana has all the details?" Aubra said Alana's name with such venom it left little as to her feelings for her. It was wide spread knowledge, Aubra hated Alana for her close relationship to Tenel Ka.
Figuring the meeting was over, Tenel Ka returned to her work, her eyes leaving Aubra. Aubra narrowed her eyes at the Queen Mother and pursed her lips but didn't say anything more. She turned quickly and stormed out of the office. Tenel Ka watched her go without raising her face and shook her head as Aubra slammed the door. That woman was bad news and Tenel Ka had to get rid of her as soon as possible.
Two weeks flew by and in no time Tenel Ka found herself standing in her large wardrobe, watching with a slight sneer as Alana picked through Tenel Ka's extra formal dresses trying to find one to take to Mon Calamari. A pile of rejected choices laid at Tenel Ka's feet as her impatience grew. She knew she had to look presentable but all this glitz and glamour just made her overly conscious and very uncomfortable. As it was she was standing there in her Dathomirian armor, having just finished her morning workout.
"How about I just pick a handful and take them with us and we can make a choice once we're there. I've never been to Mon Calamari so I don't know how humid it will be when we get there so we have to see how the different fabrics will react. Do we want something sheer and floaty, like the ocean, or something a bit heavier to try and ground you on the watery planet? I just don't know. I wish Aubra was here to help. She is so much better at this than I am."
"I would rather have you help me, Alana. I do not trust Aubra and besides she is busy with other plans at the moment."
"Yes, she's been very busy these past few days. You must have some idea what she is up to."
"I have a guess and only that, Alana." The tone of Tenel Ka's voice led Alana to drop the subject. There was more going on than Tenel Ka let on and Alana felt a bit hurt that the Queen Mother didn't let her in on the great secret. She guessed she should be grateful that she got to help her pick out her ball gown but still she was a bit hurt.
As Alana continued to sort through the dresses, Tenel Ka found her thoughts beginning to wander to a few days from now. Yes, Jacen said he wanted to see her but would he be surprised to see the new her? In a gown, the crown jewels and all made up like the Queen she is. He had never seen that side of her before and she didn't want it to scare him off. She was till the same Tenel Ka wasn't she? Her eyes grew wide when she realized the answer to that question. No, she wasn't the same Tenel Ka as before the attack of Mykrr. She had been through so much, changed so much in the past couple of years. Things that used to bother her, get under her skin didn't bother her anymore. They had been replaced by new annoyances, cared and concerns. And while she hasn't renounced her Jedi Knight title, she didn't have the time to practice anymore.
Yes, things had changed, were changing, in her life. She only hoped Jacen could accept the new woman she'd become.
Jag returned to Mon Calamari a week after his meeting with Tenel Ka. Upon arrival, his seeing his fiancée and reporting the news to her was delayed as he found Jaina training new recruits. Instead he worked his way to their apartment they shared with her brother, Jacen, and Tahiri Veila.
When he entered the apartment, he found it in a disheveled mess. Immediately he went on alert, thinking someone had broken in. He crept toward the living room, where he could hear the holonet on, repeating news stories. He drew his blaster as the mess got worse, ready for anything. Except what he found.
Jacen Solo was sitting on the couch in his boxers and nothing else. It looked like he hadn't shaved, or showered, since Jag left over two weeks ago. He was surrounded by tons of empty and half empty food and beverage containers. There was a glazed over look to his eyes as he looked to the holonet without understanding what was going on. Jag slowly lowered his blaster and watched Jacen. Jag wasn't even sure Jacen knew he was there so when Jacen spoke Jag was a bit startled.
"Is she coming?" he asked with no feeling in his tone.
"Tenel Ka?"
"Yeah. Is she coming?"
"She said she is."
Jacen didn't react. He shifted a bit and a food container fell from the couch to the floor, unnoticed by its owner.
Tahiri entered then and a smile crossed her face when she saw Jag. He grabbed her by the arm before she could say anything and steered her out of the room.
"Well, welcome back to you to," she said as Jag stopped in the kitchen, far out of earshot of Jacen.
"What is up with him? How long has he been like that?"
"Who Jacen? About a week I think. Don't really know what happened though. He wouldn't answer me or Jaina when we asked. Actually, he threw stuff at us the first couple of times, yelling at us to leave him alone. He's running up quiet a tab at the House of Hutt with all that food he's been ordering."
Jag looked in the direction of the living room. If Jaina couldn't get him to talk, there was little hope Jag could. But at the same time he had to try. The girl he loved was coming to see him in a few days and he had to look the part of Jedi hero.
Jag turned back to Tahiri, "Thanks for the welcome. I'm going to get to the bottom of this."
Tahiri snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Good luck. But if Jaina can't do it, no one can."
"Maybe it's a guy thing and he needs to talk to a guy."
"And you're that guy?" Tahiri replied in a jokingly mocking tone.
"Shut up, Tahiri. Tenel Ka is coming in a few days and she will want to see Jacen. We can't have him looking like that now can we?"
Tahiri shook her head as Jag turned to find Jacen again. He hadn't left the couch, but the channel had changed to some horrid children's show. It was loud and very flashy. Jag reached over to turn the volume down so he could talk to Jacen, who didn't seem to notice the change. Jag shoved a few of the containers off the couch next to his future brother-in-law, reminding himself to pick them up later for Jaina. He sat down next to Jacen and leaned back into the couch. Just two friends watching a children's show together, without the presence of children.
"So, what's up with you?" Jag asked after a few moments of watching these colorful blobs of goo bounce up and down.
"What do you mean?" Jacen asked never taking him eyes off the screen.
"The sudden lack of hygiene. The large tab at the House of Hutt."
"You've been talking to Tahiri. All this food has been paid for."
"Ok but still. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Jacen dug around a bit for the remote and turned the volume back up a bit, trying to drown out Jag.
"Jacen, you can tell me. It's alright."
"Tenel Ka is coming right?" Jacen asked again.
"Yes."
Jacen didn't say anything but turned the volume up even more so no one could speak. Frustrated, Jag stood and went to find Tahiri.
She was still in the kitchen, chewing on something with an amused look on her face. "What did you get thrown at you?" she asked when Jag reappeared.
"Nothing. But I think this has something to do with Tenel Ka. Has she contacted Jacen in anyway?"
"Not that I know of. All I remember is Jacen was watching the evening holonews right before he stopped talking to us. Maybe there was something on there that upset him."
Jag pondered for a bit before figuring out a way to find out what was wrong. "Have you thrown out the old holonews cards yet?"
"No why? Jaina told me to keep them for you incase you wanted to read them when you got home. They should be in your room somewhere."
"Great. Keep an eye on Jacen. No more House of Hutt for him. If he's hungry give him a salad and some water. A sandwich with meat at the most. I'm going to go sort through the holonews cards and see what happened with Tenel Ka. Tell Jaina where I am when she gets in."
"Sure, whatever. But I was planning on going somewhere soon so I can't really baby-sit Jacen."
"Ok fine. Tell me when you're leaving and I'll come out and do it if Jaina isn't home yet."
"Fine," Tahiri said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Jag turned and headed for his room, but not before passing through the living room to check on Jacen again. He was still watching the goo show, with the same expression on his face. Jag continued on to his room he shared with Jaina and easily located the past holonews cards. He started with the card form a week and a half ago and inserted it into his player by the bed. He quickly scanned through the headlines and found no mention of Tenel Ka.
This continued until Jag came upon the card from a week ago exactly, the day after he'd left Hapes. There on the first page was the stock holo of the Queen Mother all the news outlets had under a shocking headline. Queen Mother of Hapes Now Actively Seeking Husband.Jag didn't bother to read the rest of the article. So that's why Jacen was so upset. Tenel Ka was planning on getting married. But to who? And why would Jacen care.
The answer dawned on him just as Jaina walked in, her flight suit unzipped to her waist. She looked at Jag and smiled.
"Heard you were in here doing a bit of detective work. Find anything?" she asked sitting down next to Jag, giving him a peck on his cheek.
"Yeah, this has to be it." He turned the screen so Jaina could see the headline and sat back a bit.
Jaina quickly scanned the article, which wasn't that long to start with, and smiled a bit as she rested her head on Jag's shoulder. "Figures. I hadn't seen that day's news yet but it figures. Did Tenel Ka say anything to you about this?"
"No. In fact this came out the day after I left Hapes so I wonder if she knew about it at that time."
"Good point. Well now we know what's wrong. How do we fix it?"
Jag sighed and put the reader down on the bedside table. He turned around to properly hug his fiancée and kissed her forehead.
"Tenel Ka said she would come to the ball. Maybe if we could get she and Jacen alone together they could talk this out. She didn't make any mention of him when I saw her but that doesn't mean anything where Tenel Ka is concerned."
"Yeah you're right. Ok, we have to find some way to get Tenel Ka and Jacen to talk to each other privately. But first we have to get Jacen off the couch, showered and shaved. Or at least showered."
"Don't look at me, he's your brother."
"Thanks." Jaina punched Jag on the shoulder and stood up from the bed, taking her flight suit all the way off. She looked back over her shoulder and Jag and smiled. "I'm going to take a shower myself. You'd better still be here when I come out."
Jag smiled at Jaina and leaned back on the bed. "I won't move an inch, darling."
Jaina returned the smile and left Jag alone to plan for the upcoming event.