Zealit- Thanks!

Calli1- Hehe. Glad you want more!

Sorry for the wait everybody but school started back up again last week and I've been a little busy!

Chapter 4

Wiping at the blood coming out of his busted lip, Valin watched Wyn go. Although he wasn't expecting his first kiss to be anything amazing, he never could have imagined it ending with the lucky girl punching him in the face and running off as if he had the plague. What did I do wrong? he thought to himself. From the tales he had heard, his father, the infamous Corran Horn, had never had any problems with women. But at only fifteen Valin was already off to a bad start.

Climbing up off the ground, he began to walk in the direction that his blonde companion had run, although he wasn't completely sure that following her was the best idea after her reaction to something as simple as an innocent little kiss.

After Wyn hit Valin, she got up and ran, not completely sure of where she was going or what she was fleeing from. Yes, in the past she had been hurt, but not by Valin. And now she was the one hurting him. It couldn't have been easy for him to tell her that he had never kissed a girl, and then he gave her the honor of being that first. And she punched him.

It didn't make sense. In fact, nothing had made much sense for Wyn in the past year. Every time a guy would so much as look at her wrong, a chill would run down her spine. She trusted hardly anyone, and now one of the few whom she did trust probably hated her.

But still, Wyn would probably never be able to look at Valin the same way. She had thought he was different, but it turns out that he was just like every other guy. He only wanted one thing and would do anything to get it. Picking up her pace, Wyn ran straight to the apartment she shared with her brother Cem in the large complex just outside of the Theed palace where many of the diplomats and high-ranking officials were now staying. Sprinting through the door, Wyn quickly locked it behind her, hoping to shut out the pain and fear she had garnered over time.

Only a few minutes after Wyn entered her apartment, she could hear a key turning in the lock. Opening the door, Cem walked in and said, "Hey Wyn, Valin is here to see you."

Turning her back towards the door, she walked into the kitchen and said, "Tell him I don't want to see him right now."

But Valin didn't need to be told anything. Grabbing onto Cem's arm, the younger man pleaded, "Please, just let me talk to her. I just want to know if she's alright; find out what I did wrong."

Cem glanced back into the room where his little sister had disappeared, now pretty sure he knew what this was about. "Wyn, maybe you should talk to him. Explained what happened. It's the only way you'll ever be able to move on; let go."

Wyn was sitting at the kitchen table, listening to her brother's words. Maybe he was right. Standing up, she walked into the living room, and with a deep sigh, she murmured, "All right."

After days of hyperspace travel, Jacen and Tenel Ka were coming up on Naboo. They quickly and easily received clearance to land, and Jacen then reached out towards his sister's Force presence to let her know that he was there. He could sense a strange amount of animosity coming from her though, and it worried Jacen a bit. Was something wrong?

As they set down on a landing pad just outside of the city of Theed, Jacen could see his sister and her husband walking up to meet them. Taking Tenel Ka by the hand, the two casually walked down the entry ramp to greet Jaina and Jag.

"Jacen, are you insane!"

Jacen wasn't really sure of what type of greeting he should have expected from his twin sister, but that definitely wasn't it. With a worried grin, he asked, "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

"Did you kidnap Tenel Ka and bring her here?" asked Jag, but even to him the question sounded a bit odd.

"What? Of course I didn't kidnap her!"

Jaina went up beside her brother and linked her arm with his. "Well that's too bad because there just happens to be a warrant out for your arrest at the moment under the charge of kidnapping the Queen Mother of Hapes."

As if she was finally hearing what was being said around her, Tenel Ka spoke up, "Jaina, where have these charges come from?"

"Supposedly there is a security tape showing Jacen taking you by force from Hapes."

"I am afraid my grandmother may have something to do with this. She will stop at nothing to regain control of the throne."

Jag stepped forward again and said in a hushed voice, "Not to rain on this parade, but I think we should move this conversation back onto your ship before anyone sees you two. There is no telling what might happen if someone realizes you are here."

The four quickly made their way back up the landing ramp and into the main living area of the ship. Sitting back down, Jacen glanced up at his sister. "Now what?"

"I don't know, Jace. Every bounty hunter around is going to be after you as soon as they hear about the reward being offered for your capture. You're a wanted man: dead or alive."

This brought a bone chilling silence amongst the group. "We go back to Hapes then; try to explain."

"No," Tenel Ka quickly cried, "not yet. They would still have grounds to arrest you for attempted kidnapping. But if we are able to give a reason for our speedy departure, then maybe everything will work out."

Jacen's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the red haired beauty. "What are you suggesting?"

Tenel Ka turned her cool gray eyes on him. "What you have been wanting all along. We should marry."

"Wow, wait a minute! Marry?" Jaina quickly questioned, sounding slightly less than ecstatic. "Are you sure about that? I mean, first of all how are you going to justify leaving the planet to get married? And second, marriage isn't something you should just jump into because you think there is no other escape. Married life is harder than you think without having to rule an entire system together."

"I have to agree with Jaina," Jag said. "I don't think they will buy a story about the Queen running off to get eloped."

"I do not think that we have many other options. Besides, Jacen and I have been discussing the prospect of marriage, and I think I am finally coming around to the idea. They can not arrest the Crown Prince of Hapes just because he agreed to marry me in a private, off-world ceremony."

Jaina could feel the waves of happiness rolling off of Jacen through their Force bond. Maybe they were ready for this.

"Are you sure, Tenel Ka?" Jacen questioned nervously. "I mean, we've been back and forth on the issue so many times lately, and I don't want you to marry me just because you feel trapped."

Tenel Ka placed her hand against his cheek and murmured, "Jacen, my love, the only reason I had not yet consented to marry you was because I did not want you to feel trapped. I am more than willing to become your wife if it means not only saving your life, but also getting the chance to spend the rest of mine with you."

The two leaned over and kissed softly as Jaina clapped her hands in glee. "Oh, Mom will be so excited!"

This caused Jacen to break the royal lip-lock. "No, Jaina. Mom and Dad can't know that we were here."

"Why not?"

"Because mom is a government official. She is legally bound to turning me in. We can't put her in that sort of situation. Besides, we have to keep all of this a secret for it to work. Got it?"

"Yeah," she said with a sigh. "I got it."

I hope it was worth the wait. Please, drop me a review and tell me what you thought. Also, for any lurkers out there, I'll give you cookies if you say hello. ;)