Chapter 13: Fights and Recovery
Fights and Recovery:
Krownest
When Ezra and Sabine walked off the ramp of the Gauntlet, they found her father waiting for them at the base of the stairs that led into the back of the stronghold, a lean figure in silvery grey, highlighted by black and gold.
It seemed wrong to her that her mother wasn't standing at his side in a matched set; his formal wear to her armor.
As Sabine walked closer, she could see his expression of patient welcome, mixed with a hint of relief.
"Father," she said, her voice full of respect and love.
"Daughter." His tone reflected hers and he smiled warmly at her. Alrich flicked his eyes to Ezra and he bestowed upon him a similar smile. "Son."
Ezra's chest swelled a little with pride at the name, to be acknowledged as worthy of this stately man's daughter. "Sir."
"Alrich. Or Father."
"Yes, Sir."
Alrich chuckled, his slanted eyes crinkling with humor. "You'll get it one day."
"Perhaps," Ezra replied noncommittally. He wasn't so sure. The man seemed like an authority figure to him. He doubted he would ever see him as a surrogate father since Kanan already held that position. And calling him by his given name just seemed… weird.
Ezra had no idea why considering he had no problem calling other older people by their given names. Like Rex.
Sabine squeezed Ezra's hand once before she untwined her fingers from his. Raising a brow at her father, she asked, "Is everything ready, then?"
Alrich nodded as he turned and started ascending the solid stone staircase. "It is. Everyone is gathered in the great hall and those on duty elsewhere around the planet are watching via holo-cam. Those members were asked specifically if they needed to be at the Challenge ceremony. None said yes."
"That's good," Sabine said, following her father, Ezra one step behind. The door slid open at their approach after they crested the top of the stairs and walked across the vast stone deck covered in a snow blocking overhang and scattered with tables and benches for when the weather was nice enough to eat outside and enjoy the view of the mountains in the not so far distance.
Inside, staircases led up and down; up to living quarters for the members of the clan who didn't have their own houses nearby, and down to the massive training gym that featured a track, gymnastic equipment, sparring mats, a target practice area, and a pool.
On the main floor, the hallway they walked down had a vast assortment of rooms such as offices, kitchens, more sparring rooms for private practice, a library, a state-of-the-art medical center, and of course the Great Hall, which was their destination.
The all-purpose room was made almost entirely of Trans-paristeel and offered a phenomenal view of the frozen lake, the forest beyond it, and the encircling mountain range. There were no other buildings insight from within the room on purpose.
At the moment, the Great Hall was filled with people and tables laden with food. And the clan had gone a bit nuts with the decorating. The two-story ceiling was dripping with streamers in the clan colors. The windows were framed in greenery. Even the tables had greenery on them wrapped in silver and gold ribbons. The whole place smelled like a pine forest mixed with delicious-smelling food. She'd never seen the hall this opulent before. Not even for weddings.
Sabine almost teared up again as she paused in the doorway to take it all in. "It's too much."
"Nonsense," Alrich said, stopping and giving her a one-armed hug. "It looked just like this for your mother's coronation ceremony. You deserve nothing less."
"Oh." Sabine had been too young to remember that day, being only a year old when her grandfather died during a mission for Death Watch. The Clone Wars were still in full swing back then.
She took in a deep breath and squared her shoulders as the room gradually hushed once the first person spotted the newcomers to the hall. "Time to break the news," she muttered to herself, and then put on a confident smile.
Ezra and Alrich glanced at each other, exchanged hopeful smiles, and fell into step behind her as she walked up to the tiered dais.
She felt like a bug under a magnifying glass as her silent clan watched her walk up the steps, everyone standing and following so they gathered in front of the dais. Her mother's portrait that hung above it, staring out at the room, wasn't helping either, making her feel all the more guilty. Sabine came to a stop in front of the two-person marble throne and turned to face the assembled. She clutched her helmet a little tighter to her side as Ezra stood on her left and her father stood on her right, both half a step further back but supporting her with their presence.
It was all she could do not to look back at Ezra and silently beg him to take her out of here.
Why did her mother have to die?
Another deep breath. Another reminder to herself that she could do this. (To honor the memory of her mother and brother if nothing else.) And one more reminder to her limbs to hold her up or else. And then a sudden low-level warning cramp in her lower belly that had absolutely nothing to do with nerves had her almost laughing.
No wonder she'd been feeling so weepy lately.
The days must have gotten away from her to forget that little monthly annoyance. Ezra was not going to be happy to have to put their honeymoon on hold for a few days starting in the morning.
Mood restored to something resembling confidence (because that was the joy of hormonal mood swings), Sabine smiled tightly at her patiently waiting clan for her to say something. Her eyes caught on Junie, who'd made her way to the front of the pack of about forty people ranging in age from toddler to greying with age and was looking up at her almost worshipfully, and Sabine felt her confidence increase.
And then Ezra touched her back with a supportive hand, and Sabine was ready.
"As you all undoubtedly know, I lost my mother and brother a few days ago in the mission to rescue my father by a weapon that I created." The crowd more or less nodded as one. Sabine made sure to look at all of them, and the hovering holo-cam, as she continued. "I'm sure you've also heard that I destroyed that weapon and that I assisted the new Mand'alor, Bo-Katan Kryze, in removing the rest of the Imperial presence from Mandalore." More nodding, and a few smiles of encouragement.
"What you probably don't know is that I had no intention of ever becoming the Countess of our clan. I was going to step down so that Tristan could lead when Mother was ready to retire." She pushed on, ignoring the quiet gasps from the crowd and from her father. "I had a life that I loved with my other family, fighting with the Rebellion. I had a purpose that suited me perfectly. I had a place where I belonged." Ezra's hand stroked her back slightly in approval even as the crowd shifted restlessly.
Sabine so badly wanted to turn her head and smile at him in gratitude, but she couldn't take her eyes off the clan. Not now.
"I also had a soul mate right under my nose that I didn't know I had until the events of a few days ago opened my eyes." This brought a few chuckles. Sabine held her left hand out to the side, indicating for Ezra to take it and step forward. As he did so, she said, "You also have undoubtedly heard that Ezra won a challenge for me and we're now married. Most happily, I might add." Louder chuckles and a few grins sent Ezra's way was the response to that.
Ezra smirked, not understanding the vast majority of what Sabine was saying in Mando'a, but he caught the gist of the meaning from the thoughts she was broadcasting and the reactions of the crowd. He laced his fingers with Sabine's and kissed the back of her gloved hand, just to show the room that he was quite happy to prove his claim on her.
"Save it for later, lover boy!" someone yelled in Basic from the middle of the crowd, much to everyone's amusement.
"Don't need to!" Ezra called back smugly. "I have nothing left to prove to my Cyar'ika." He winked at Sabine. The crowd roared with laughter.
Sabine actually blushed a little. She fought past that and took control of the situation again. "I know Mother would have disapproved of my marriage to Ezra because he is a Jedi and she was firmly raised to hate them, just like most of us were, including myself. But I learned to see beyond the old prejudices and so can you. Ezra is my choice and I will not give him up for anything. Not even you." Her clan was silent again, the majority of them with nearly identical brown eyes studying her as they tried to figure out where she was going with this. "He's loyal and honorable and dependable and fights with everything he has for what he believes in. In short, he's very much like the best of what a Mandalorian should be, so I don't ever want to hear that I married Jedi scum or anything like that because I will very much hurt the one who said it." She gave the crowd her mother's patented glare just to emphasize her point.
"I approve the match, as well," Alrich added, earning a grateful glance from Sabine.
"I've seen firsthand that Sabine's Jedi is a worthy match for her," Shubin added. "I also support her choice."
"Thank you, Cousin." Sabine smiled at the older man warmly. She raised a brow at the crowd. "Does anyone have anything negative to say about my choice of mate?"
The people glanced at each other. One or two may have thought about speaking against Ezra, but they changed their minds to find that they were vastly outnumbered. Most shook their heads at Sabine.
"Good." She gave her clan a beaming smile. "Now here's the conundrum I find myself in. Ezra's world is currently occupied by the Empire and they are stripping it bare to make weapons and TIE fighters in the factories of Lothal. I promised him long ago that we would free his world. Without thinking it through well enough, I came up with a plan that would win Ezra's world back. It involves the help of the Rebellion and the Mand'alor, which is fine. But it also involves moving Clan Wren to Lothal permanently so that we can protect the planet once we expel the Empire from it. The Protectors would take over guarding Krownest and the diamond mines. Some of you could stay behind and join them if you wish."
There was an immediate rumble from the crowd, as Sabine expected. She let go of Ezra's hand to raise hers, gaining their attention back. "Hear me out, please." They quieted, but she could see the frowns on many of their faces. "Technically, I am currently your Countess by right of blood, but it's not a done deal yet. I have every intention of keeping my word to my husband and doing whatever is necessary to help him in his mission. If that means that I step down now and leave you to fight amongst yourselves for a new leader, then that's what I'll do, but that's not what I want to happen. I want us to work together to fight for a worthy cause. I want to lead you, even though it took me a while to talk myself into accepting that fact. I want to be a worthy Countess for you."
She stopped, taking another deep breath. "So this is what I've decided we are going to start with. We are going to vote…"
"What!?"
She raised a disapproving brow at the teenage male who'd interrupted her. He had the grace to look ashamed. Sabine continued. "We are going to vote on whether or not you are willing to move the Clan to a dangerous location and follow my orders, keeping in mind that some of you may stay here permanently and that all the children and at least one parent will also stay here until it is safe to move to them to Lothal. And then, if the majority vote yes, we will continue with the proceedings as normal wherein any of you may challenge me for the right to lead the clan. If the majority vote no, then I'll step down right now. Understood?"
They nodded.
Alrich almost asked her if she was sure about this, but then changed his mind when he saw the determined tilt of her jaw and remembered that questioning a Countess's decisions was a bad idea. (Ursa did have him well trained, after all.)
Sabine gazed at her clan and the hovering holo-bot, giving them a moment to process their options before saying, "If you're voting yes, please raise your hand." And then she held her breath as one hand (Shubin's) and then another (Junie's) and then another and another and so on went up until all but three hands were raised. (She wasn't counting the children too young to understand what was going on.)
She exhaled in relief, not realizing she'd been holding her breath. Beside her, Ezra and Alrich did the same. She smiled a little weakly at her clan. "Thank you for your faith in me. I believe that in the long run, you'll like our new home. It's warm, for one thing."
That generated a return of the chuckles.
Sabine smiled wider. "Now for the most interesting part. Do any of you wish to challenge for the right to lead the Clan?" She gave the two men and one woman who hadn't raised their hands a particularly pointed look. The men shook their heads and shifted back a fraction after thinking it through. (Sabine smirked internally because they were both people that she'd beaten in sparring sessions over the last month.)
The woman, though, wife to the blond warrior who'd backed down stepped forward. "I do. I challenge you, Sabine Wren, for the leadership of Clan Wren."
Sabine practically felt Ezra and her father tense beside her. And the group kind of gasped again.
Sabine inclined her head at the brown-haired woman who was also a distant cousin, being that she is her grandfather's youngest sister's daughter. In all honesty, she had almost as much a claim on the title as Sabine did. "As you wish, Loral Wren. Shall we go downstairs and get this over with?"
"Yes, but I think outside would be more appropriate." Loral swept out of the Great Hall with her head held high and Sabine had no choice but to follow the older woman.
One of them might be about to die.
Ezra was on the verge of freaking out as he pieced together what was happening.
There was a mad dash of warriors for the balcony overlooking the lake, while a few followed Sabine and that other woman out of the hall, including the blond male Ezra sensed was attached to the challenging female. Ezra and Sabine's father were at the front of that group.
"This is what I think it is, isn't it?" Ezra asked Alrich quietly as he kept his eyes firmly fixed to Sabine's back. Her emotions were calming with every step as she found the well-trained and confident warrior within herself once more.
"It is." Alrich sounded as unhappy about it as Ezra felt.
They stepped outside onto the front deck, also made of stone, and walked most of the way down the stairs. Sabine and her challenger were eyeballing each other at the base of the steps.
Ezra's stomach churned unpleasantly and he had to clench his fists to keep himself from stepping between them and giving the older woman a piece of his mind. (It would involve a lot of swearing and name-calling.)
Alrich must have noticed Ezra's agitated state because he put a hand on Ezra's arm. "We can't interfere," he murmured quietly so only Ezra could hear.
"I know." The words were ground out through Ezra's clenched teeth.
He fisted his hands tighter as all his Jedi calm went flying out the airlock.
Sabine starred her older and bigger cousin in the eyes steadily. "How do you want to do this?" Because, as the Challenger, Loral had the choice of weapons, location, and how much armor they wore.
Loral narrowed her eyes at Sabine, giving her skimpy armor a sneer. "No helmets or jetpacks. No blasters or explosives. Blades and your own limbs only."
"Fine," Sabine said as she put her helmet down on the bottom step, then stripped off her belts and jetpack. Those went on the step as well. As she pulled her favorite knife out of its sheath on her utility belt, she kept an eye on the other woman who was also stripping off her belts. They both had the same idea then; giving the other less to grab on to.
Loral was wearing full armor, much like her mother's, just heavier on the silver and black and not so much gold. (As was appropriate.) She would be better protected and harder to hurt, but Sabine would be more agile in light armor. It was a fair trade-off.
Their eyes were still glued to each other as they stepped away from the stairs and further out into the packed snowy landscape between the stronghold and the frozen lake that only thawed for two months of the year. "First blood, unconscious but healable, or to the death?" Sabine asked as they stalked around each other because it was an important thing to clarify.
In hostile takeovers, to the death, was common. But Sabine had always gotten along with Loral, if not exactly friendly since there was a seventeen-year age gap between them. But the fact that Loral had chosen blades indicated that there was some resentment there that she wasn't afraid to demonstrate.
Loral took almost half a minute to answer, her mind obviously working over the pros and cons of each option. Eventually, she smiled tightly at Sabine. "I think unconscious and hurting is enough to make my point. I might not like your choices, little cousin, but you're still my family."
Sabine inclined her head slightly, griping her knife in her right hand with the blade pointed towards her forearm so she could still use that fist to punch. "As you wish." She continued her deliberate circle in the snow, waiting for Loral to make the first move, and ignored the holo-bot that hovered nearby, recording everything so that even the clan members who were on duty elsewhere could watch.
"Not to the death," Alrich breathed in relief.
"What?" Ezra said, not taking his eyes off of his wife and her opponent. Along with the others who'd come outside, they'd moved off the stairs and were now lined up against the wall of the building. He didn't feel the cold air that seeped into his clothes.
Alrich repeated himself in Basic. "Not to the death. They're not fighting to the death."
Ezra relaxed a fraction. "But…?" Because he could sense a but in that sentence.
"But they're still going to do their best to hurt each other badly."
"Great." It was anything but great, but Ezra would take it. Cuts and bruises could be healed, after all. The stars knew that both he and Sabine had their fair share of scars from years of dangerous missions.
Now he just had to watch as his warrior goddess did her thing and try to remember to breathe every once in a while.
After ten minutes of punching, kicking, flying elbows, and the occasional slash with a knife, the opponents got serious.
Sabine scored a hit to Loral's upper arm, slashing through the thick bodysuit and leaving a line of red on the skin.
Loral hissed in pain and lunged at Sabine, taking the smaller female down to the snow where they proceeded to roll around with fists flying, both trying to pin the other.
Loral managed to straddle Sabine with her superior weight. Sabine's head snapped back as Loral landed a lucky strike to the jaw, but she shook it off and punched back, smirking in satisfaction when the other woman's nose broke with the impact. Blood splattered everywhere but it didn't knock her out. While Loral was momentarily dazed, Sabine aimed her open palm at Loral's jaw, but she moved her head to the side at the last millisecond, making Sabine's hand skim off the side of her face.
Snarling, Loral raised her knife hand and brought it down, aiming for a stab at Sabine's right shoulder. Sabine blocked her at the last second with her right vambrace. While they were locked in a power struggle, she rotated her left wrist, triggering the hidden blade in her left vambrace.
Sabine slashed at Loral's side, drawing another line of red to the surface.
Loral looked down at her side in surprise, giving Sabine the opportunity to throw her off. Loral rolled through the snow and came upon her feet with another knife that she drew from her boot.
Sabine copied her. They circled again, eyes glaring proverbial daggers to go along with the real ones.
"You're going to regret that," Loral growled.
Sabine curled her lip in a semblance of a smile, taunting. "I don't think so. You're bleeding in three places and I'm not."
Loral flew at her, blades slashing.
Sabine blocked and dodged as needed and slashed back.
Their arms were a flurry of movement that was barely followable with the naked eye. Their feet danced in the snow. Sweat plastered their hair to their heads. And drops of red fell from Loral.
And then Loral somehow got through her defenses, sinking a knife into Sabine's side before Sabine moved away. While Sabine gasped in pain, Loral moved again, slashing Sabine's arm and drawing another line of red hot pain. Sabine barely moved in time to avoid the elbow aimed at her nose, taking it to the cheek instead. It still hurt enough as the bone fractured to send fireworks through her brain, but she kept her feet out of sheer determination.
Now they were both dripping red on the white snow.
And Sabine was bleeding faster than Loral. She could feel the liquid seeping down her side and into her leggings.
She had to end this before she grew faint from blood loss.
Sabine went on the offensive more so than before, advancing on the taller woman with narrowed eyes and a determined jaw. She was not losing. No way, no how. Not now that she'd decided that being the Countess of her Clan was something that she wanted. Something that she needed to do to honor her mother's memory.
After a minute of feinting and blocking, she landed another slash to Loral, opening up a gash just below her cheekbone. As Loral turned her head to go with the blow, Sabine spun like lightning and kicked her hard in the stomach, sending the other woman flying. Sabine pounced on her, landing with her knees on the woman's chest, forcing the air out of her lungs. Then she dropped her knives and applied pressure to the sides of Loral's neck, cutting off the supply of blood to her brain until she went limp in the snow. "I win," she growled at the unconscious woman, holding the pose for a few seconds longer than necessary as primal triumph flooded her.
Sabine picked her blades up from the red-tinged and much-trampled snow, wiping one on her pant leg before putting it back in her boot. The other was cleaned as well, but she kept it clutched in her hand as she pushed off Loral's body and forced herself to her feet, every ache and pain making itself known to a nearly excruciating degree. Her sock squished with the blood from her side that had run down her leg, her bodysuit meant to repel moisture, not absorb it as a lighter fabric would have.
She'd only taken two steps when Ezra was by her side, wrapping an arm around her to help hold her up. Loral's husband went flying past, only pausing to give Sabine a brief nod of respect before he was kneeling in the snow and gathering his wife up in his arms to take her to the medical center.
Sabine just barely registered that there was a roar of cheering for her from the people on the balcony before she looked up at Ezra. "Catch me," she whispered as her knees crumpled and her eyes closed against her will.
He did.
She felt herself being picked up in his arms as her last hold on consciousness fled.
Sabine fluttered back to consciousness only to find herself immersed in a tank of warm and thick Bacta. She closed her eyes again.
The next time she opened her eyes, she was lying on the bed in her room, naked except for a Bacta bandage on her side, on her cheekbone, and another around her arm, and covered by a silk sheet and thick blanket.
Ezra was lying on his side facing her in just his t-shirt and trousers, on top of the blankets, his eyes closed and his hand clutching hers loosely.
"Hey."
Ezra's eyes snapped open and he beamed at her. "Sabine. You're awake."
Obviously. And so was he, now. But Sabine didn't bother to point that out. "How long was I out?"
"A few hours. You lost a lot of blood, but otherwise, you're not too bad off. You'll have another sexy scar on your side for me to kiss. Your arm and cheekbone should heal without any complications. The med droid says you can take those bandages off in the morning and that you need to get the one on your side replaced at the same time." Ezra leaned over her, caressing her hair off to the side, his gem blue eyes looking worried despite the confident words.
Sabine raised her good arm and caressed his jaw in return, feeling the hint of stubble that was attempting to make itself known. She smiled at him. "Wonderful. I'd hate to have bandages mar the look of my dress."
Ezra laughed at the sarcasm that pervaded her tone. "Your father's postponed the rest of the ceremonies until lunchtime tomorrow for just that reason."
Sabine laughed before cutting herself off as her side twinged in protest. "He probably wants to paint my portrait as he did for Mother's Coronation ceremony. Bandages would not be the thing at all."
Ezra smiled at her dry tone, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the mouth. "That would be the end of the world, wouldn't it?"
"For an artist of my father's caliber, yes," Sabine said as she pushed the blankets aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
"Where are you going?" Ezra sprang up and off the end of the bed in an instant to help her, a frown of concern lining his brow.
"To the refresher. Aside from needing the loo, I have to take care of some girl things."
Ezra's eyes opened wider as a look of comprehension crossed his face. He stayed by her side and let her lean on his arm as she walked carefully to the attached refresher in her suite. "Ah. I was waiting for that."
Sabine paused, looking up at him in surprise. "You were?"
Ezra smirked and blushed crimson at the same time, an interesting look, to say the least. "I happen to keep track of your moody days in the interest of self-preservation. All of us guys on the Ghost did. Knowing that you're on regulators makes so much sense now because you were moody every thirty days like clockwork."
Sabine opened her mouth but no sound came out. She was honestly speechless. And kind of embarrassed. She closed her mouth with a snap and sniffed before walking on via her own steam. "Right. Well, since you know anyway, I might as well tell you now, there won't be any sex for three days."
Ezra snorted as he followed her, leaning on the doorway with casually crossed arms. He drank in the sight of her naked form as she stopped in front of the mirror and poked at the bandage on her cheek before running a brush through her hair to make it fall the way she wanted it, managing to almost cover that side of her face. "I was expecting that as well. But… how do you feel about shower sex? There's no mess and orgasms are supposed to be good for easing cramps."
Sabine gawked at him, meeting his twinkling eyes via the mirror. "Who are you and what have you done with the immature boy I first met?"
Ezra shrugged and grinned. "I grew up."
Sabine felt a smile grow on her face as she turned around and walked back to him. She pulled him down for a brief but thorough kiss by fisting the front of his shirt. When she pulled away, she said, "Yes, you did."
And then she closed the door in his face.
"Was that a yes, then?" Ezra yelled hopefully through the door that had almost taken off his nose as it slid by.
Sabine just laughed. Once. She'd tell him her answer later when her side didn't hurt so much.
He put his hands against the pale blue surface and strained to hear an answer, but all he heard was a single choked-off laugh. Resting his forehead against the door, he closed his eyes and snuck into her feelings via their bond, finding her amused but not repulsed. Smirking a little at what he was going to assume was the yes he was looking for, the teenage, sort of adult, male relaxed as he was, letting his shoulders sag a little as he clung to his bond with Sabine.
Listening to the faint sounds of her doing normal things and the steady hum of her thoughts that he didn't try to catch for the sake of privacy was enough to finish grounding him into the understanding that Sabine was still alive and breathing.
Even though she hadn't been in any real danger of dying, having to watch his wife and soul mate fight for her life against a bigger clan mate was not something he ever wanted to do again.
He'd barely taken a breath during the fight. He'd almost had a heart attack when she fainted. He'd essentially paced a path into the med bay floor while he waited for the med droids to stabilize her and then plunk her into a Bacta tank. And finally, those long hours of waiting for her to return to consciousness while he bathed her limp form of Bacta gel, carried her towel wrapped form upstairs, and then watched her anxiously while lying beside her had definitely added a least a year to his life.
Her father hadn't been much better off, but at least he'd allowed Ezra to care for his daughter without too many protestations. Ezra thought it very fortunate that he'd already married Sabine, so he could be there for her in such a way.
Ezra had been upset enough to catch the attention of Kanan, his worry making its way down their bond, even though they were millions of kilometers apart. Talking to his Master and Hera, his surrogate parents had helped a lot, even if the holo call had been kind of awkward considering they were still in their pajamas (aka, they shared one set of Kanan's with him in the bottoms and her in the top). And he was propped up against the mountain of pillows that nearly overwhelmed Sabine's very big and very comfy bed while she was lying naked under the covers beside him. Not that he told them she wasn't wearing anything, but he knew, and that was enough. (By the time he'd thought about finding her a loose shirt or something to sleep in, he'd already had her tucked into the blankets and hadn't wanted to move her again, so he'd left her that way.)
Not for the first time, he wished it were possible to encase her in bubble wrap and convince her that being just an artist was more than fulfilling enough as a life's work. But he wasn't stupid enough to even suggest it, because he knew Sabine would never go for it and probably behead him for saying something so ridiculous. She was a warrior first and an artist second, and it would always be that way. Ezra figured she'd still be fighting for something or other even when they were wrinkled and grey, even if it was just for the principle of the thing.
Sighing at his own thoughts, a woeful smile grew on his face as his stomach put in its two credits, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything substantial since last night's supper and it was way, way, way too many hours later.
His only claim to food during that time was during a break in the bedroom activities when Sabine dragged him to the small med-bay on the Gauntlet to find some Bacta cream for his black eye. (Now healed thanks to her determination.) On the way back to their room, amidst much giggling, since they were parading around his ship butt naked and feeling very naughty, Ezra had made a side trip into the galley and grabbed a couple of protein bars. That had led to some very fun counter sex since a quick kiss had somehow escalated exponentially.
Now grinning stupidly, he forced the images from his mind before they caused any more excitement down south, and then pushed away from the refresher door. He padded out of Sabine's luxurious and very colorful suite of rooms in his socking feet, in search of food.
He found it downstairs, in the Great Hall, where the vast majority of the Clan were still celebrating and/or mourning in the only way they knew how; by drinking, snarking at each other, and eating the plentiful food that had been put out earlier. Ezra figured that they didn't mind having an extra day to carouse, and would welcome having a second feast tomorrow. He just hoped their food stores could take the hit.
Despite the fact that it was almost midnight, Krownest time, even the children were still up and running about. Ezra smiled at two young boys who were fencing with toy swords on the sidelines of the room, obviously too hyped on adrenaline and sweets to fall asleep anytime soon. He was almost tempted to go over and give them a few pointers but refrained because he wanted to get back to Sabine as quickly as possible.
His entrance didn't go unnoticed, but most returned to their conversations without acknowledging his presence, which he was used to. (During his previous visits to Sabine's childhood home, the Clan had learned to accept him and Kanan being in their space, but they'd made it quite clear they didn't have to actually like the intruding Jedi.) He understood it would probably take years to break through the old prejudices and wouldn't let surly attitudes dissuade him from trying to win them over to his side, for Sabine's sake at the very least.
Two people did wave, though, and he couldn't help but notice it was the same two warriors who had come back from Mandalore with Lord Wren. Maybe they liked him now because they had seen him in action on the battlefield. If that was the case, then all he had to do was survive the coming war with the Empire and the rest of them would firmly be on his side too.
Ezra chuckled at the fanciful thought.
Then he paused for half a fraction as he contemplated Alrich Wren, surrounded by his Clan but somehow looking lonely at the same time. If Alrich was known as Lord Wren after taking a Countess' family name, did that mean that Ezra was also now known as Lord Wren?
Galloping nerf-herders, that was hard to believe. He, a street rat, suddenly being promoted to a Lord? The galaxy must be spinning on its head. The bullies who tormented him as a child would choke on their own spit if they heard. Those that were alive, that is. The rest were probably doing pissed-off cartwheels in their graves.
He smirked to himself and walked on towards the buffet tables.
"What's funny?" a bright female voice said to his left.
Ezra turned his head to look at the black-haired teenage girl that bore a passing resemblance to Sabine and the deceased Countess Wren. He blinked at her once while he dredged her name up out of his memory, knowing he'd been introduced to her once, months ago. "Junie, right?"
She nodded quickly, smiling at him prettily. "So what's funny? And is Sabie okay?"
Ezra kept his forward momentum towards his destination, but only because his stomach was controlling his feet. "Sabie?"
The girl gave him a wide-eyed look as she kept up. "What, you don't call her Sabie?"
Ezra snorted. "She'd eat me alive if I did. You must be special. And yes, she's okay. She's awake again and primping or whatever girls do after having a Bacta dip."
"Ah. Yep. Primping. Showering. Whatever. Bacta always makes me feel dirty even though it's good for you. And yes, I'm special. I'm her little cousin. That comes with privileges, you know."
Ezra chuckled at her enthusiastic chatter as he picked up two plates and started filling them with whatever looked edible in the remains of a much-picked-over feast.
"You still haven't said what was funny."
Ezra somehow refrained from rolling his eyes at her tenacity. "It was just a stray thought of no real importance." He gave the girl a sideways look when he felt her disappointment in his answer. "Maybe you can answer me a question that I just thought of?"
"Sure. Probably."
"Am I a Lord now? Like Alrich Wren? Is he no longer a Lord? Have I usurped him?"
Junie nibbled on her bottom lip for a few seconds as she thought. "I think you're both Lords now. I'm pretty sure Uncle Alrich keeps his title. But he might be a Lord in his own right, being of the Kryze family line. Not sure, though."
"Hunh. Thanks." Ezra grabbed some silverware, napkins, and two empty cups from a stack of them at the end of a table and then juggled everything into his hands.
"Do you need help?" the girl offered, looking concerned as a full plate tipped sideways slightly.
"No. No. I got it." Ezra glared at the plate, silently commanding it to behave itself. The girl was nice and all, but he had no desire to listen to her chat with Sabine if she got in the same room as her. It might have been a little selfish of him, but he wanted his wife all to himself right now. Smiling as genuinely as he could manage, he nodded to the girl. "Thanks, though. I'm going to get this up to Sabine before she misses me."
The girl nodded knowingly. "Ah. Sabie did mention that being married was pretty nice."
Ezra paused as he was turning to leave, intrigued. "She did?"
Junie smirked. "Yep. Not in so many words maybe. In fact, she said 'Not Terrible', which I interpreted to mean abso-kriffin-fantastic in Sabine speak."
Ezra laughed. "That's pretty much accurate." Smiling widely, and feeling absurdly proud of himself, he said. "We'll see you tomorrow, all right?"
"Have a good night." And then she winked at him, the cheeky thing.
Shaking his head at her audacity, Ezra moved to escape the noisy room.
He didn't quite make it to the doorway when he was waylaid by his new father-in-law.
"Ezra."
"Sir."
"Alrich."
Ezra hid a sigh. "Alrich."
"How's my daughter?"
"She's good, Sir. Up and back to her old self."
"Good. And it's Alrich."
Ezra didn't bother repeating it again. He nodded slightly at his burdened hands. "We're just going to have some dinner and then catch up on some sleep. We'll be down in the morning, promise."
Alrich raised a single brow as He smirked ever so slightly.
Ezra flushed as realized that he may have inadvertently implied that he and Sabine had been doing things that would make them miss a significant amount of slumber time. "I mean… Um."
Alrich laughed, shaking his head. "Go on with you and feed my daughter. She can get cranky when she's hungry."
And when she's PMSing, Ezra added mentally. Then he tacked on a few additions that he could say aloud. "And when an op doesn't go to plan. And when she runs out of paint or explosives. And when the Empire does something to gain her ire. And when I or Zeb or Chopper get in her way. And so on and so forth." He snorted as he started walking again, turning to walk backwards so he could still move and talk to the older man. "You don't need to tell me. I know. Lived with her on a relatively small ship for four years. I know all about the cranky."
That made Alrich laugh robustly, shaking his head as he turned back into the Great Hall. "Just like her mother," floated through the air as Ezra walked the other way.
The young Jedi was still smiling when he made it up to Sabine's suite via the closer staircase. When he arrived at the closed door he frowned at it for a moment before turning sideways and carefully pushing the button to open the door with his elbow.
With a quiet 'Ha!' of success, he entered the sitting area and passed through to the bedroom. There, he found his beloved back in bed, wearing a loose-fitting grey tank top that did a poor job of hiding her shapely breasts (much to his pleasure), who knew what on her bottom half due to the blankets covering it, and propped up against the mound of pillows as she frowned at a datapad.
"I brought dinner," Ezra said cheerfully to get her attention.
Sabine glanced up for a moment, gave her helpful husband a fleeting smile, and then returned to the report of the Clan assets. (Which included armaments, ships, credits, people, droids, food stores, and so on.)
Ezra set the plates on the bed beside her, glanced at the screen of her datapad, and wrinkled up his nose. "Please tell me you're not working?"
Sabine shot him a cheeky grin as she added a plate of food to her lap, then picked up a fork with her free hand. "Then I won't."
He shook his head at her as he leaned over to kiss her non-bandaged cheek. "You're going to turn into Hera if you're not careful," he warned teasingly.
She scoffed. "Not likely."
"Good," he said as he wandered over to the refresher to fill up the glasses with water from the tap. "Not that there's anything wrong with Hera's incessant need to keep lists of everything and work herself and everyone around her to exhaustion on a regular basis, but one Hera in my life is enough."
Sabine huffed lightly, not chancing a real laugh yet, and forked in a bite of slightly wilted salad covered in a berry dressing that made the state of the lettuce worth it.
Ezra put a cup of water beside her on the nightstand and then went around the bed, put down his cup on a matching nightstand, and picked up his plate before joining her against the pile of colorful pillows, but on top of the dark blue blanket and cross-legged. As he started chewing, he leaned over just far enough to see her datapad without intruding in her space too much. She didn't mind him looking, since there was no need to keep secrets from him. As her husband and confidant, Sabine was sure he'd know everything there was to know about Clan affairs in no time anyway.
"What am I looking at?" he asked between shovels of food from both of their plates. (He'd put different things on each plate, knowing she wouldn't mind sharing since they'd been stealing food from each other for years. It made for a more comfy atmosphere, anyway.)
"Everything the clan owns as a collective. It's now my job to make sure we stay financially stable so I can continue to provide our warriors with the necessities."
"And by necessities you mean…?"
"Weapons, fuel, food, ships, shelter, spending money, explosives, paint. That kind of thing."
"Hunh. So none of the members are independently wealthy or even well off enough to take off on their own?"
Sabine didn't blame the incredulity in his voice. "Not the ones that live directly with the Clan, no. But if someone wanted to make their own way in the galaxy, they'd be provided with enough of a nest egg to do so. Unless they're kicked out and called Dar'manda, that is." She couldn't help the bitter edge to her tone at the end.
Hearing it, Ezra scooted a fraction closer and leaned his shoulder against hers in a show of support.
Sabine gave him a grateful look before returning to her perusal of the datapad and her concentration on their shared dinner plates.
Ezra whistled when he saw the page that detailed the clan's credit balance. "Kriff, I knew your clan was rich, but that's a LOT of credits. Where do they all come from?"
Sabine grinned at his awed look. "Split that between a hundred plus people, it's not so much."
"I guess," Ezra said doubtfully. Even divided, that was still more credits per person than he'd ever seen.
"As far as where it comes from, the clan hires out as bodyguards quite frequently, and the rest is our share of the profits from the diamond mines in exchange for protecting them and the planet."
Ezra narrowed his eyes as something Bo-Katan had said about needing the income from the mines came back to him. "Wait. Clan Wren doesn't own this planet or the mines?"
"No. Clan Kryze does. They own or control a significant portion of the Mandalore systems since they have been the ruling clan in power for more than a thousand years give or take a decade here or there for wars and such. That being said, Clan Wren has lived here for the last two hundred years or so and the average person believes that my great-great-something-or-other-grandfather won a useless winter planet in a card game from the Kryze who owned it at the time."
"Sneaky. So the mines really are a well-kept secret?"
"Yep."
"Who mines the diamonds? Wouldn't they talk?"
"Droids. And they're not allowed off-planet without a memory wipe if for some reason we actually get rid of one."
"Wow."
"Yep."
"So… If you move the Clan to Lothal, you lose the income from your share of the mines?" Ezra didn't like the sound of that. It sounded too risky by far.
"Some of it," Sabine admitted. "But with a good chunk of the clan staying behind to join Fenn's Protectors, they'll continue to work guard duty and we'll be paid for it. That should keep us going until Lothal stabilizes again and I can find new ventures for our clan to profit on."
Ezra gave her a relieved and proud smile. "I'm sure you'll have your hand in everything in no time. If your genius brain doesn't make you credits just by existing, you can always start selling your gorgeous paintings like a normal artist instead of decorating walls for free," he teased, eyes twinkling.
Sabine shook her head at him, wanting to laugh, but wisely settling for a wide smirk. "Suck up."
He kissed her cheek again with a lightning-fast dart of his head. "Yep."
They ate in companionable silence for a while after that as she scrolled down the very long list.
As Sabine came to a list of current clan members, she stopped eating abruptly with a mournful, "Oh."
Ezra paused with a forkful of creamy pasta halfway to its destination. "What?"
"I know why Loral challenged me." Her voice was small and weary and her shoulders had drooped significantly.
Feeling a sense of dread, Ezra put his fork down and waited for her to continue.
Sighing, eyes watery as she looked at Ezra, Sabine said, "I didn't know. I never saw who Mother chose to bring with her as her personal guard. But Loral's older sister was one of the ones killed by the Duchess. The same sister that raised her when their parents died when Loral was just five years old in a freak hyperdrive accident that left no survivors." Her lip trembled ever so slightly as she said, "I would have challenged me too."
"Oh, Sabine. I'm sorry," Ezra said, not really sure what else to say. He put his mostly finished plate of food down on the side table, and then tugged her plate and the datapad out of her hands and disposed of them as well. Then he shifted his position and opened his arms. Sabine was quick to accept the offer, leaning her head against his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist as he enfolded her in his warm embrace. The blankets shifted enough to give him a glimpse of grey shorts that matched her tank top, answering that question.
Sabine absorbed the comfort for a minute before working up the energy to continue the confession of her new discoveries. "The other man who didn't vote for me, Raulph Wren, his best friend was disintegrated the other day as well. They were more like brothers than anything, being the same age and growing up together," she said into Ezra's soft t-shirt, refusing to let more tears fall out of her eyes. "Looking at that list, aside from Mother and Tristan, we lost a total of ten people, all with multiple connections within the clan. I don't understand how any of them could so much as look at me, not to mention to actually vote for me to be Countess."
Ezra ran his hands up and down her back soothingly. "Because they know that you're the smartest, strongest, most stubborn, most honorable Wren there ever was. Because you proved that you belong. That's why."
Sabine looked up, blinking back tears determinedly, and gave him a wan but real smile. "Flattery will get you everywhere today, Ez'ika."
He returned her smile as his head lowered to hers while he murmured, "Force, I hope so." He kissed her gently, hand coming up to cup the back of her head.
Her arms tightened around his neck as she got lost in the sweet kiss for a while until he drew back with a kiss to her forehead. "Don't stop," she begged, wanting to stay lost in the mindless comfort and passion.
"I'll be right back," he promised. "I'm just going to put the plates in the other room for the droids to take away and use the refresher."
"Okay." Sighing, Sabine leaned back on the pillows and watched her handsome husband move around the rooms. He went into the refresher for a number of minutes. Came back out freshly shaved (Probably used her razor. And if he was smart, her toothbrush too.) and pulling his t-shirt off over his head. That was tossed onto a chair along with his trousers and socks, then he climbed under the covers with her on his side of the bed in only his undershorts, looking like a leanly muscled underwear advertisement model. Sabine silently cursed her sore side and the bad timing with her cycle. But that didn't mean they couldn't make out for a while before going to sleep for the night.
From the bed, Ezra waved a hand at the light switch and the room dimmed immediately, lit only by the snow reflected moonlight that came in through the big glass doors that led to her own personal balcony. He snuggled close to his wife, pulling her into his arms again and nuzzling his long nose against her much more delicate one. "Now, where were we?" he rumbled sexily.
Sabine smiled into his minty fresh kiss before getting serious with the making out, prompting him to push her back into the pillows and let his usually hidden dominant side free a little.
She all but purred as her nails laid claim to his head and muscled back.
This is the final original chapter from The Lone Rebel's Stories. He/she is an absolute genius where Sabrizra is concerned, go check the other stories he/she has published you won't be disappointed! I am considering adding to it so we can see the Coronation of the New Countess Wren but while I have a great imagination, my writing isn't a strong point...
