Note: Stupid virus ate a good chunk of this chapter and the next one, so I had to do a rewrite. Unfortunately, I lost some very witty and interesting exchanges, so this is not as good as it should be.
Chapter 5
Was I right to let my sister do it? Murra wondered as her convoy traveled through hyperspace. The princess examined the cool scepter in her hands before lifting her gaze. Nah. She thought as she scanned her family holos. He deserves worse than being frozen in carbonite. I had him watch Tia and he left her home alone so she could step out that window. She would have been much better off with the twins in the Jedi Academy. He'd be dead if Van didn't tie me up.
"My princess, you lean dangerously close to the dark side." Van admonished. He was propped against his left elbow at the entrance to the bedchamber.
"You're right. You know, I shouldn't be thinking about him at all." Murra admitted. Few Jedi knew of the horrific struggles with the dark side that hid behind the angelic face of an apparently immaculate Jedi Master.
"Even for a princess, you have interesting siblings." Van noted.
"Sure, it's in the blood. Let's see here, a former Chief of State and the leader of the Jedi were twins, as were General Solo and the Jedi Master who lived through being one with the Force…"
"Princess, that's not what I'm getting at. I'm here to talk about you and your sister." The dark-haired man seated himself beside his wife.
"Oh, what about us?" Murra inquired, confused despite the bond she and Van shared as husband and wife.
"The way you dealt with your brother's lady, you seemed to let your hatred drive you." Van lowered his gaze and forced himself to speak. Having been raised in a matriarchal culture, the man could not easily bring himself to speak of women, especially women in his family, in a critical manner.
"She was shooting at us. I couldn't let her torture my people anymore! Not after what happened to Dagger." Murra digested the information from her husband before finally speaking. She was not sure what happened exactly, but somehow, at least three of the deflected shots had hit her sister-in-law in the heart and Lavant, as a result, became one with the Force. The princess then added shakily, "What could I do? Ben asked us to come here to find out who's behind Crestal's death, and we saw Lavant usurping all this power and killing thousands of innocent people in addition to Crest. Sithspit! I'm a princess here!"
"And I'm your consort. I guess never mind that one." One of Van's sand-colored hands landed gently on the woman's shoulders.
"There's something else?"
"This'll be difficult for you to hear, but something is horribly wrong about your sister. I don't know what it is, but I sensed something really dark in her. Dark and greedy. She's not the wonderful girl you always talked about." Van blurted, struggling to find the right words.
"Yeah right! My sister could never be evil. I think you got the wrong person." Murra denied as she pounded her fist on her lap.
"I know this is hard for you to hear, and even harder for me to say, but search your feelings." Van requested.
"Go, arrange the transport. I think I need time alone, as much as I hate it."
"Sure, my love." The man muttered as he strode off, leaving his wife to ponder on his words.
Search your feelings… The voice echoed in Murra Djo's head. She felt the texture of her nearly flawless skin as her fingers ran through her short, silky bangs. Like all Hapans, Murra easily defied the aging process that dominated many women of her age and species.
As much as Murra Djo hated to admit, there was much truth in her husband's words. Why had she not seen it all before?
Flashback
"There is no death, there is the Force." Murra listened proudly as her eighteen-year-old sister recited the Jedi code. Then, to everyone's surprise, Sil added, "Jedi Masters, if you don't mind, I would like to leave the order."
"But why? You have just been knighted." One Jedi voiced the question many had wished to ask.
"Exactly. My training's complete, so I'm finally ready to serve my people."
"But you will be serving your people as Jedi Knight."
"I am Hapan. Being Jedi Knight would require more than that, so I, because of my duties as princess, politely refuse."
"Your mother was Queen and Jedi at the same time." Argued the Councilor.
"Times change and time is short, so please, excuse me." Before the Masters could use any further arguments to dissuade Sil, the ex-Jedi disappeared, leaving behind not even a speck of dust for the others to follow. Enraged and surprised, Murra followed after her sister's Force presence, eventually catching the older girl in the hangar.
"Sis, what are you doing?" Asked Murra as she attempted to block her older sister's path.
"What we were born to do." Replied Sil.
"Just what do you mean by that?" Asked the fifteen-year-old. Then her eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. You're not going to Hapes, are you?"
"I am, and I ask that you get a pardon from your Master and come with me for a while. You'll be serving our people." Sil half-grinned.
End of Flashback
Anger sizzled in Murra's veins as she realized the truth of her sister's intentions. I was a fool all these years. How could she betray us all like that? Blood rose to Murra's face as drop after drop of rare, warrior's tears slid down her flawless cheeks.
"Set a course back for Hapes." Murra commed her husband and the pilot, both of whom sat in the cockpit.
"But we have orders from the Queen Mother…" Protested the pilot.
"Do what she says. You don't want to be on my wife's bad side." Admonished the wary husband.