InsaneJediGirl- Thanks!

chimpo- Yep, things aren't looking so good for J/J at the moment.

Chapter 17

Jacen sat in a cold, hard chair alongside the luxurious bed that he and Tenel Ka shared in their royal chambers in the Fountain Palace. He had tears in his eyes as he gripped the hand of the woman he loved, the woman who was now lying in that bed in a deep coma. Despite being looked over by all of the best doctors in all of Hapes, Tenel Ka had been in this fragile state for weeks and no one was able to figure out why. But Jacen had his suspicions.

Placing one last delicate kiss on the palm of his wife, Jacen rose from his seat. He knew what he had to do.

Jacen walked from his bedroom without looking at any of the medics or bodyguards stationed there by the queen's side. Turning down the east wing, he headed in the direction of Ta'a Chume's personal chambers. Somehow he knew she had something to do with this.

Not even bothering to knock, Jacen used the Force to break the door open. He walked straight in and back to the bedroom where he could feel the old winch's presence. She was there, with her courtesan Min'tan. This confirmed Jacen's suspicions. He was the servant who brought Tenel Ka and himself their morning meal on the day she fell ill.

"What are you doing here, Jedi? I did not give you permission to enter," the former queen snarled.

"Did I ask for it," he spoke, the hatred dripping in his voice.

The tall blonde man rose from his position above Ta'a Chume. "You must leave now, Jedi."

"No," Jacen said. "You poisoned her. I know you did. Just like you killed her mother two years ago. You tried to poison myself as well but I did not eat your food."

"And what exactly would I gain by murdering my daughter-in-law or my granddaughter?"

"Power. Once Teneniel was out of the way you convinced my sister to marry your son in hope that you would be able to controller her, rule through her. But that didn't work out the way you had planned. Tenel Ka never wanted to be queen and you never wanted her to either. And when we started to become to close for your comfort, you attempted to have me arrested. Once again, your plan failed. So you decided to do away with us, both of us."

This caused the old woman to laugh. "Do you think if I was to kill the Queen Mother of Hapes I would do it in a way that could be so easily traced back to myself. You are worthless, Jedi. You have no proof. In fact, everything you just said could be just as easily swayed to show that you poisoned my granddaughter. The people of Hapes do not take well to your kind. They could easily be convinced that you married her simply to kill her and inherit a fortune."

This statement made the anger inside of Jacen grow even more. "That is absurd! I would never so much as touch Tenel Ka in the wrong way." Drawling his lightsaber, he said, "No. You killed Teneniel and you have tried to kill my wife. Now, I'm going to kill you." Flicking his finger over the switch, his green blade ignited.

Pulling on a pair of pants that was strewn across the floor, Min'tan stepped forward and said in a pathetic attempt at being threatening, "If you don't put your laser sword away, I will have to hurt you Jedi."

"Go ahead and try."

The blonde man stepped forward. He was very muscular, and had this been a hand to hand fight he may have won. But Jacen knew that with his anger he could tare this sorry excuse for a man apart.

It took less than five minutes for Jacen to do away with the two murderers. The old woman now laid naked in her bed, with the appearance of sleep except she had a burning hole through her chest. Deactivating his lightsaber, Jacen reattached it to his belt and walked out of Ta'a Chume's rooms.

He marched straight to General Vansala, the head of Hapan security. "I discovered the identities of the murderers of the late Queen Mother Teneniel and the attempted murder of my wife," he said, his voice steady and calm.

The tall brunette woman just looked at him for a moment. Nodding her head, she asked in slightly accented basic, "Who are they and where can I find them?"

"I took care of them."

Repeating her question, the woman asked more forcefully, "Who were they?"

"Ta'a Chume and her courtesan." He was expecting the woman to react differently than she did: be angry, or surprised, something. Instead she just nodded, accepting that what he said was correct. He was the angry one; he could feel the darkness consuming him. He had killed them both in cold blood, but that wouldn't save Tenel Ka. He had murdered them, but he didn't care.

Jaina was standing in front of her parent's apartment, knocking softly on the door. After Jag left her that morning, she had spent the rest of the afternoon alone and in tears. Now as night approached she needed a place to settle down. She couldn't go home- he would be there. And she couldn't go stay with Kyp like Jag had told her to. Jaina hadn't seen or spoken to the Jedi Master since their drunken encounter the night before.

After a moment or two her mother answered the door. "Jaina?" she questioned. "What are you doing here?"

Tears began to stream down her face again. Throwing herself in her mother's arms in a way she hadn't done in years, Jaina asked, "Can I please stay here tonight?"

Brushing her hands through her daughter's hair, Leia didn't ask why. She didn't have to. A new marriage was always a difficult thing. Everyone had fights now and then; her and Han had definitely not been an exception. "Of course sweetheart, of course."

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