Fate, So Beautifully
A Star Wars Romance
Written by: Nehru_Amidala
Inspirations: the myth of Hades and Persephone, Sailor Moon, Edward Scissorhands, The Nutcracker, The Thrawn Trilogy, Neil Gaiman's Stardust, Downton Abbey
Pairings: Thrawn/Jaina (Main!), Luke/Mara, Han/Leia, Jacen/Tenel Ka, Anakin/Tahiri, Ar'alani/Paelleon, Thooraki/Thurfian, Eli/Vah'nya
Author's note: Please do not nitpick with the ideas presented here. I will not change my stories to make you happy. Also, big thanks to Darth Bernael for suggesting the idea for the ops mission.
Tropes used in this story and trigger warnings: time travel, true love conquers all, earning a happy ending, grey vs gray morality, miscarriage, premature birth, abandonment, redemption, rising to meet your fate, to see with eyes unclouded
Timeline: Mix of Legends and Canon
Voice cast list: Thrawn- Benedict Cumberbatch, Jaina- Anne Hathaway, Luke- Mark Hamill, Mara- Karen Gillam, Han- Harrison Ford, Leia- Carrie Fisher, Jacen- Elijah Wood, Tenel Ka- Renee Felice Smith, Ar'alani- Angie Harmon, Paelleon- Joe Spano, Thooraki- Hugh Bonneville, Thurfian- Elizabeth McGovern, Eli- David Tennant, Vah'nya- Stephanie Sheh, Ochi of Bestoon- John DeLancie, Justinian Konstantin (OC)- Peter Capaldi, Theodora Konstantin (OC)- Catherine Tate, Cassandra Konstantin (OC)- Michelle Dockery
Author's note: I claim nothing, except this is probably the VERY FIRST fan fiction is Star Wars fandom history to pair Thrawn with Jaina Solo. Having read all the Legends books, I can say for certainty that everyone will be in character. Any naysayers will be fed to Moro no Kimi.
(Dance of the Swans- Tchaikovsky)
Stave 7: Undercover on Berchest, Part 3
The night was long as the storm raged overhead, dark clouds doing battle with each other. Even though Thrawn was holding his beloved Jaina close, he tossed at turned with every clash between the thunder and lightning. He was breathing hard, and Jaina rolled over and opened her eyes. "Thrawn, are you all right," she whispered. Placing her hands on his face, Jaina kissed him softly. Thrawn broke out of his nightmare and returned to himself. "Jaina, what happened," he whispered. He seemed ashamed of how he acted, but Jaina kissed him and let him know that there was no shame in how he felt.
Turning on one of the lamps, Thrawn pulled her close. Jaina was pressed against his chest and let Thrawn collect his thoughts. It must have been one heck of a nightmare, and the way he had been thrashing, there was some trauma he wasn't keen on talking about. Was there some taboo in Chiss culture with regards to not speaking about mental health issues? She certainly was not going to use the Force to pry into his life prior to being found by the Empire. Thrawn had been dreaming about his early years before being adopted into House Mitth at the age of 4. He had been offered the chance to see a therapist, but had been turned down, not wanting to be perceived as weak. Even as children, Chiss children were quite perceptive of how others saw them, especially adults. How could he explain it to Jaina? Thrawn did not want to burden her with this, she had enough on her plate at the moment. One day, he would tell her, after they were married. It would be safer then.
Thrawn kissed the top of Jaina's head, "Go back to sleep, Jaina. I am quite all right, it was just a nightmare," he told her calmly. Jaina knew he was lying so she would leave him alone, but this really was not worth the argument. Thrawn was a difficult nut to crack, so to speak. That was making in roads with him was saying something, both of them needed more time before Thrawn felt confident enough to discuss the state of his mental health with her. Jaina was soothed back to sleep from the curtains of rain drenching everything outside. Thrawn turned the light off and went back to sleep, dreaming of dancing with her back on Csilla after she had been presented to his mother.
Considering that droids did nearly all of the dirty chores around the Solo household, Jaina had to pretend she was still sleeping when the scullery maid came into the room to get the fireplace going. The girl, managed to get the fire going, and slowly backed out of the room…only to trip over the luggage she and Thrawn had stowed. Bang! Over the suitcase the girl tumbled, spilling ashes all over the place. Flustered, she left and came back with a suction vacuum and cleaned up her mess as quickly as she had entered the room.
Jaina had read quite a few books about families who employed dozens of servants to carry out the myriad tasks that were needed to keep a grand house fully functioning. Leia had thought while being 'in service' did provide jobs, the good pay only went to the upper servants, spending time on Coruscant as a young teenager had revealed that to her. However, the Solo family and the New Jedi Order back on Yavin IV were far more egalitarian. Ergo, Jaina grew up doing chores like anyone else. It had been the same with Thrawn when he had been growing up, but she had not been informed of that yet. Jaina lay on the bed as the door closed, and it was only now she let her eyes open as she lay on the bed. She let her hands smooth the silken duvet, and thought it was an odd shade of red for sheets. What was it? Puce? Burgundy?
Thrawn had waken up and chuckled as he noticed Jaina study the sheets. "The shade of red you are looking for is something you won't see in a hardware or art supplies store," he told her. The maids had put the duvet on the bed upside down so that the tag naming the brand and the store's official shade were listed, along with washing instructions. Sitting up, he turned the lamp on so Jaina could see what he was talking about.
She examined the company, "Respighi and Gottschalk Ltd, Royal Rum Red." The name was less than inspired. It sounded like nail polish you got when you went sightseeing, not something from a mid-range home goods company that catered to the Inner Rim's expanding middle classes. Surely, people had better taste that right? Didn't they?
Thrawn smiled, "To many, the brand sells itself and too many are happy to claim a product based on that alone, not considering anything else. The allure of brand culture and mass consumption by the galactic populace alone is a major economic factor, one businesses are more than happy to cater to. If they can profit from loyalty to the Empire, then that's just an added bonus."
Jaina thought about what Thrawn had said as she began to get ready for the day. Because this was an undercover mission, uniforms were to be put aside in favor of civilian clothes. For Thrawn, it had been years since he was worn civvies, and his choices in clothes were rather old fashioned, but were well cut, given his station within Imperial society. Black frock coats, white trousers, riding boots, dark linen shirts and cravats, he made for a dashing gentleman from genteel society, however you defined that. He was certain he was going to make Jaina blush, and this cheered him.
Jaina had any variety of frocks and day jackets to go over them. A few pendants of simple rose gold and amber had been left, along with some bangles. A quick application of make-up, and her hair in a bun, Jaina met Thrawn in the hallway. When she saw him, she blushed! Heavens! She curtseyed, "Good morning." Thrawn bowed and kissed her hands.
"You look beautiful this morning, Jaina. May I have the honour of escorting you to breakfast," he asked. Jaina affirmed he may, and they walked down the main staircase into the breakfast room just off of the main dining room. Konstantin was wolfing down scones and tea like he had been starving to death. He waved to them, "I had Eli figure out what to do. It's hunting season here, so my uncle will want to take us hunting all day. If there is one thing I can't stand it's going out on a faither to go shooting at wild boar. How do I get us out of this?" He looked to Thrawn, pleading to get out of this. Thrawn responded the better approach would be to take the time to play happy houseguest for Justinian to let his guard down, and if such a proud man let his guard down, he was more apt to boasting. Surely, two weeks of being around family would be worth gathering intel, wouldn't it?
Konstantin agreed and offered everyone scones and tea. Jaina suggested she go into town and see what the locals thought of the landed gentry. Small Force suggestions aside, I am curious about the town. Maybe a good idea to see if anyone could be considered a potential suspect, she thought at Thrawn.
Thrawn agreed, but he cautioned that she needed to be careful. She squeezed his hand under the table, of course she would be careful. Hairpins could be a nasty weapon if utilized correctly. It was now Justinian, Theodora and Cassandra all waltzed into the breakfast room, preening and posing for their guests. Taking seats, Justinian asked Eli (who walked in at the same time) if he would be joining them for the day's hunt. Eli said he would, although he had never been on a hunt before. Thrawn also expressed interest, he wanted to study Justinian closer so he could get a profile going of the man. Cassandra and Theodora were going to spend the day watching soap operas, when Jaina said she was going to explore the nearby town of Bishkek.
Theodora and Cassandra just stared at Jaina, why would she waste time going into town? Jaina replied she was curious and wanted to see the sights. The rain had moved north, and the weather was going to be nice. According to the maps on her data pad, it would be a good 20 minute walk. Why not? Cassandra shrugged, "Suit yourself." Jaina was finding it difficult that Cassandra and Theodora had nothing better to do. Surely there had to be something. What about the household accounts? Writing letters? Calling on friends? Riding around the meadows and estate grounds? Charitable outreach? One thing was for sure, Konstantin's relatives were self-centered, selfish and lazy. Of course, everyone was entitled to be lazy sometimes, but to be like that all the time, neither Jaina nor Thrawn could wrap their heads around that way of life. It would get boring and suited neither of them.
Once breakfast had been eaten, everyone went their separate ways. Thrawn kissed Jaina goodbye as the men were shown to the stables by two footmen and the valet. The lady's maids escorted the ladies of the manor to the sitting room, and Jaina was left on her own. She left the door and told the butler to please expect her back shortly before lunch.
The gravel crunched under Jaina's heels as she walked down the long, circular driveway and onto to the sidewalk which led into a large town of about 20,000 residents. The houses were red brick, with thick glass windows that had been lead treated to act as protection from storm debris. Graceful little trees and streetlamps sat on either side of the road. It was a pleasant sight, and Jaina felt happy. The business district Jaina was exploring was more on the petite bourgeois side, mostly family owned and supported by the locals and maybe the Konstantins when there was a need.
So many things to see, and Jaina delighted in them all. In an electronics store, there was a rerun of the Boonta Eve podrace on Tatooine, and Jaina recognized Grandfather! It was plain to see where Uncle Luke inherited his piloting skills from. Other screens were airing trashy talk shows, along with some convincing propaganda. One of the screens was airing a cooking show, and today's recipe was for puffer pig rolls. She would have watched longer, but more stores were waiting. She ducked into a couple of boutiques and examined the clothes- good quality but the prices were a bit high, she thought. A woman was reading palms, and was quite eager to read Jaina's fortune, but Jaina declined. The antique stores were hit and miss, most of it junk and not a lot better. She would have gone into a garage to watch them fix speeders, but the employees only leered at her, so she left.
She stumbled across an art gallery next to a used bookstore that smelled of old cabbage and gym socks. It was situated in a townhouse atop a flight of stairs, perched thirty feet above the sidewalk. The town was mostly flat, a few gentle hills here and there, but the ground seemed to rise the further she moved away from the estate. It was gently lit, and soft music was playing in the background.
The walls were a warm beige and the shade reminded Jaina of bagels for some reason, a bagel shade of beige? The walls were covered with framed art, and there was a long central table with cardboard boxed filled to bursting with matted minitures. The clerk was an older woman who told Jaina to please take her time, business was slow today.
Jaina perused the miniatures, admiring the detailing and colors when she saw one that caught her eye. It was an old castle, overlooking the indigo and azure ocean, the sky peppered with stars. It was such a lovely piece, Jaina thought Thrawn would like it. Maybe as a Life Day gift? She smiled at this, and purchased the picture, and made her way back to the manor house in high spirits.
Back on the forest path, the men were riding along and engaging light conversation, when a boar crossed their path. The hunt was on!