Chapter 2
Coruscant (62 ABY, same time as Fel wedding)
She stared down her opponent with intense sapphire colored eyes, similarly colored blade held in high guard, her stance at the ready, coiled as she circled again. She knew her opponent well; this wasn't the first lightsaber duel they have had and she was sure it wouldn't be the last, he didn't like to lose. She easily parried the lunge and now her blade was pointed down. She smiled; he had played into her hands, surly he was smarter than that. As she had predicted he assumed her blade position was a weakness and he came into for the kill. She only smiled as she twisted and spun completely around her long black hair flying, surprising her attacker with her speed and agility, then as she landed she brought the saber up in a backhanded move that completely overwhelmed him, coming in under his defenses.
She smiled a predator's smile and cocked a delicate black brow that nearly matched the expression on the smug face staring back at her. Her lightsaber pointed under his chin. "I do believe I've just killed you," she said sweetly, her blue eyes flashing triumphantly.
Her opponent snickered as he deactivated his purple blade, "It was about time. I was beginning to think you had met your match today."
She also deactivated her blade, "No, so far that's been Ben. But it won't be long before I beat even him." She turned and picked up a towel from the bench that sat against the wall of the Jedi Temple's training room and threw it to the man she just beaten. Then she straightened and said, "So, what is that now? Like the fifth time I've beaten you." When he began to open his mouth to reply she held up a long fingered manicured hand and scoffed, "And don't you even say it is because you are old, Dad. Because neither Zeth nor Meri can beat you."
He laughed as he used the towel to dry his still handsome sculpted face and shook out his curly silver long hair. "Well, you do have a point there. But I need to find some solace to soothe my wounds at being bested by my own daughter."
Anakah Durron joined her father's laugh and after taking a sip of water from a water bottle said, "So, what do you and Mom have planned tonight?"
Kyp who had turned away from his eldest daughter to pick up his outer robe stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. Then he grinned and raised an eyebrow, "And why should that interest you?"
"Oh, just that ever since I was little I remember you and Mom celebrating on this date and I know it isn't your wedding anniversary or a lifeday." She let her smile grow as she watched the trapped expression pass over his normally unflappable features. But then out of the four Durron children she was the only one outspoken enough and stubborn enough to be able to do that to Jedi Master Kyp Durron.
He chuckled and shook his head, "Doesn't anything ever pass by you or remain sacred?"
"Of course not, Dad, you know that. I'm too much like you." She sat on the edge of the bench and looked up at him, cocking her head questionably, "So? Aren't you going to tell me?"
He sighed defeated and replied, "Today marks the day your mother admitted to me for the first time that she loved me and I asked her to marry me."
Anakah just stared at the man who used to tell her bedtime stories about mortal knights saving distressed goddesses by killing fire breathing star dragons. Of course, over the years she learned the Mortal Knight was her father and the Goddess was always her mother and the Star Dragon was any number of challenges from the Dark Side of the Force to the Yuuzhan Vong to the Killiks to their own hard headedness. She only hoped that someday she could find a man who would loved her as devotedly as her father loved her mother and could over look her faults as much as he over looked Jaina Solo-Durron's.
She could only say, "Oh."
She loved her father and in many ways Anakah knew she had inherited a great deal of his personality but not all of it, just as she inherited his curly black hair but her blue eyes were completely her own. Her father insisted she looked just like his mother. She often wondered if that also was why out of anyone in her family she related to and got along with her father the most.
Suddenly, Kyp said as he stretched his back, "Well, I have a Council meeting to go to first." Then he looked down at her and smiled. She knew he was about to attempt to change the subject from him to her. "You know Master Quee and Marko are due back today?"
Anakah looked away, she knew everyone assumed she and the son of Zekk and Danni Quee would someday live happily ever after, but she didn't see it that way. She and Marko had a unique relationship but love wasn't part of it, instead it was based primarily on an undeniable mutual attraction, acceptance of each other, friendship and great sex. And for Anakah the last was often the most significant. "Yes, I know they are back from their mission today. But since when do you approve of my relationship with Marko?"
Kyp grinned, "And since when do you ever consider what I approve of or don't approve of?" He shook his head and became serious, "But I will admit I wish you would settle down and find someone, Ana. I know you're not happy."
This was headed into territory Anakah was ready to admit to and especially not to her father. Instead, she looked up at her father and smiled slyly, "You know, I wonder if Master Quee celebrates today also. After all, you did save him from a lifelong misery of being married to Mom."
Kyp glared at her and suddenly she realized she may have been just a tad bit to crude. He straightened and in a tone she knew well said, "Young lady, that will be enough. I will not have you bashing your mother. I understand you and she do not get along and that you feel she somehow cheated you but she loves you and is still your mother."
Anakah stood, meeting her father's angry green eyes, she said in a low voice, "Oh, yes, she loves us and I'm sure she tells you that she loves you. And maybe she does. But then Mother always did have a strange way of showing her love. Stringing you along while she see-sawed between two other men before she finally decided it was you she really loved."
"Anakah," he hissed between gritted teeth.
She knew she was treading on dangerous ground but suddenly she didn't care. It was about time her father knew the awful truth. "Maybe tonight you should ask the Goddess what she was doing kissing Zekk Quee."
X
Kyp stared at her; he had never been as angry at one of his children as he was at that moment. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was a memory he had long since buried and hoped it would stay as such. But now he realized it had reared its ugly head and now he needed to deal with it.
"She wasn't kissing him," he said softly, letting his anger flow away from him. "He kissed her."
She peered shocked at him and then said, "You know about it?"
The event his eldest daughter, his first born was dredging up happened nearly seven years ago. Jaina and Zekk had gone on a mission together and Anakah was Jaina's Apprentice while Marko had been Zekk's. Zekk apparently confronted Jaina with left-over feelings that he still harbored for her after he had been drinking. Jaina had told Kyp after returning that she guessed being in such close quarters for nearly a month brought everything Zekk ever felt for her to the surface. Jaina had reminded Zekk that she loved Kyp and that he was married to Danni but Zekk still wouldn't hear reason. He admitted that he had always loved her and that although, he had feelings for Danni he never loved her as much as he did Jaina. Jaina said she suspected him and Danni were having problems but never guessed it was because of her. Finally, after what Jaina described as a tearful exchange of self doubt and painful what ifs, Zekk asked her if he could kiss her, that he never really had the chance to even kiss her goodbye when she had left him. Jaina insisted that she didn't really even have time to react and Kyp never doubted her. She related that Zekk had pulled her to him and passionately kissed her. Jaina, when she described the incident to Kyp, said she had never been so scared of him in her life and that she felt that if Anakah hadn't entered the room when she did, something terrible may have happened. Jaina never really trusted Zekk since.
Kyp nodded and said as he heavily sat down on the bench. He patted the seat beside him and said, "Sit." After she obeyed the simple command he went on, "Your mother told me everything."
She straightened some and huffed, "And you believed her story?"
"Yes, Ana, I did." He reached over and took her hand, "I know without a doubt that your mother loves only me. When you truly love someone you also have to trust them. Besides, we have a bond that runs so deep she can hardly keep my lifeday gifts hidden from me, let alone an affair," he smiled. "I often wondered if it was because she was a Killik Joiner and when we built on our bond if I didn't somehow become joined to her." He shook his head and sighed, "No, Anakah, your mother was actually glad that you walked in on that." He smiled at her surprised expression, "Yeah, I even know what you saw and what you probably overheard. Your mother only wished you would have given her enough respect and benefit of the doubt to have stopped and listened to her side of the story before you jumped to conclusions of your own and ran out."
As if to say the conversation was over, Kyp stood and leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then he smiled, straightened and said, "I have a meeting to get to. I will see you soon." And with that he left his most troubled child, but the one he could relate to the most, sitting to ponder what he had just told her, hoping that sometime, somewhere she and Jaina could heal their broken relationship and that Anakah could find what she truly was searching for—love.
X
She paced the immaculate and somewhat outlandishly decorated living room wondering again how her sister could be so callus. Did she honestly think she would get a way with it? When he had told her about what had happened she almost walked out on him. After nearly four years of being together, over a year of being engaged and living together, Meri Durron almost let her sister's insatiable lust and jealousy destroy the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Finally, she stopped and turned as she felt Anakah's presence. She swallowed hard hoping she had the courage to stand up to her older and more beautiful sister. Meri Durron was petit in build, nearly four to six centimeters shorter then her lither sister. She had also inherited her mother's coloring, chocolate brown hair and boring brown eyes. Although many said she looked exactly like her mother, Meri never quite thought so; she felt her nose too large for her face and her chin to sculpted, square. No, there weren't many who were as beautiful as Anakah. The problem was that Anakah knew that as well and always used it to get exactly what she wanted even if it was someone else's first.
The door slid open and she took a deep calming breath. This time she was going to let her know just what she thought of her.
Anakah looked up after putting down her bag and smiled quizzically, "Meri, what do I owe this honor?"
Meri straightened and glared, "Oh, I think you know why I'm here."
The older sister stepped into her living room and moved past the younger. She went into the kitchenette, after retrieving a bottle of Lomin Ale, she turned back and said, "Emmm…I wouldn't have any idea." Then sweetly she offered, "You do look like you could use a drink though. Would you like an ale or maybe some brandy?"
"This isn't a social call, Anakah," Meri watched as her sister moved back across the room to sit on the red faux leather repulser couch.
Anakah took a long drawl on the ale bottle and then gave her a conniving smile accompanied by a raised eye brow, "Kriff, I was so hoping we could catch up on old times and…emmm…compare notes."
That was enough to break Meri and she nearly screamed, "You kriffin' whore! How could you? How could you even try it, Anakah? He's my fiancé!"
Anakah simply uncoiled like one of the glass snakes their Uncle Jacen used to show them as children. She stood and stepped close and said, her voice much too smug, "So, he told you. You should be actually thanking me, Meri. At least now you know he will be faithful."
Meri struck out, but Anakah was too fast. Anakah grabbed her wrist before it had a chance to connect with her sister's precious face. Her eyes flashed dangerously, "Don't you even dare."
"You tried to seduce Terrik," she knew she was on the verge of tears but she couldn't let them fall. That would be what her sister wanted, probably as much as she had wanted Terrik Horn in the first place. "Why?" She pulled her wrist free from her sister's strong grip. "I want to know why? I know that you don't harbor any real feelings for him."
Anakah stepped away and laughed; when she turned back there was a gleam in her blue eyes that caused a shudder to run down Meri's spine. "Because, I wanted to see if I could. Besides, I wanted to give him a taste of what he's been missing if he settled for you."
Meri stared at her, and although her last comment hurt Meri, it was her admission as to why Anakah wanted Terrik that stunned her. "I don't believe you. You tried to get Terrik to sleep with you just because you wanted to see if you could?"
Anakah huffed and turned away from her, she drained the ale bottle and after depositing it in the trash compactor, she said nonchalantly, "Yes." She then headed toward her bedroom, "You should hang on to him, dearest sister. He obviously loves you. Men like that are few and far between, trust me I should know. More than one married man has found me irresistible." At the door she turned and with a predatory smile she added almost as if it were a second thought, "Though, he does give one hell of a kiss I can't help but wonder…" She let her voice trail then she finished by saying, "Oh, and please let Marko in if he arrives. We have a date tonight." With that she entered the room before Meri even had time to respond.
Meri stared at the closed door for a long moment. Her tears wetting her cheeks as she thought about how much she hated her sister, despised her. But she hadn't always done so. There was a time when they had been close. She silently wondered what happened to Anakah. What had made her so spiteful, arrogant and vain? She quickly wiped at the tears, mad at the weakness that made them fall, mad that she didn't have the courage to follow Anakah into her bedroom and finish this. But then she knew that was what Anakah wanted. She wanted Meri to fight her. Anakah had always been jealous of Meri although she could never understand why, Anakah, after all, had everything she ever wanted. What did Meri have that she didn't?
She turned to go after swallowing her pride and wiping her tears away. She opened the door and wasn't at all surprised by the handsome, tall, broad shouldered, green-eyed blond who was about to ring the bell.
"Meri, what a surprise. Is Anakah here?"
Meri gazed up at him and simply said, "Hello, Marko, she is all yours." Then she rushed away before more tears fell.
X
Marko Quee moved though the apartment and smiled when he felt Anakah's nudge of raw desire. He headed into her bedroom and then he heard the shower. His smile only grew larger. He hadn't seen her in nearly two months and he had missed her. She easily was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen let alone been intimate with. As he quickly slipped out of his Jedi robe and the simple trousers and tunic he wore, he thought about her perfect body and what he wanted do with it. Excitement filled him as he entered the refresher and palmed the shower door to slip in with the angel of his dreams.
Marko smiled as he slid his hands around her narrow waist and leaned in to kiss the juncture between her neck and shoulder as the hot water from the shower pelted his bare back, serving to heighten his lust. He didn't love Anakah, but she was his best friend and he nearly told her everything; she was the closest thing he had to a steady girlfriend, even if he never really thought of her as such. He had always expected that she was more secretive about her most intimate wants and desires for herself and for the future, but she was open enough with him that he knew she felt the same about him. They had been each others first sexual encounter; and although they both were quite promiscuous, they always seemed to find themselves together.
She shivered as he lightly caressed her, finally stopping at the rosy points of her perfectly formed breasts. In her ear he whispered, "Ahh…Angel, I've missed you."
She twisted within his arms and put hers round his neck, leaning into him he instantly responded to her as she kissed him. He immediately deepened the kiss, their tongues tangling and dueling. He felt her burning desire and his exploded. He pushed her up against the wall of the shower and as the water beat down on them, she cocked her leg around his hip. He hissed at he feel of her wet, smooth, naked body so intimately close to his. But it was her husky words that drove him wild.
"So, what you waiting for, Lover Boy. I'm as horny as you, if you haven't noticed."
He grinned against her neck and slid his hands down her sides until he could grip her buttocks. Lifting her to meet his height, she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist. Marko needed no further prompting; his thrust buried his manhood to the hilt and earned a throaty moan from Anakah.
Marko never needed to be overly gentle with Anakah and tonight was no exception. His thrusts were fast and hard; his lust nearly consuming him. His mission had been a stressful one and he knew he was taking it out on his friend. But then he noticed she was meeting his greedy rutting with as much passion. He felt the bite of her nails on his back and the sting of her teeth as she bit into his shoulder. He mused as to who it had been she wanted but hadn't given in to her. And before the heat of the moment took over all conscious thought, he wondered if Meri's visit had anything to do with it. Surely, Anakah wouldn't dare try to go after Terrik Horn.
"Ahh…!" she screamed as her orgasm shook her to the core. Marko couldn't hold out any longer and as he buried his face into her neck again, he let his silently wash over him.
After a moment he let her slide down to shakily stand on her own feet. He brushed her silky dark hair from her face and smiled sheepishly as the warm water flowed over them, "So, you really did miss me, huh?"
She raised a brow and said, "Yeah, I did. But I think you missed me just as much."
He leaned down and kissed her, after pulling back he said, "Let's get out of here and I'll show you really just how much."
She grinned, "Deal."
He then reached up and tweaked her chin, grinning mischievously he asked, "So, who did you try to conquer this time?"
As she used a sponge to lather his bare muscular chest she shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Terrik."
Marko laughed and poured a blob of shampoo into his hand. As he began to gently caress and lather her long wavy hair, he looked into her blue eyes and said, "You know, you're lucky Meri didn't throttle you. I was wondering when she began making social calls to you since you two barely speak." He watched her face and wondered as she dropped her eyes from his. He could remember a time when the sisters were close but that was a long time ago. They just were too different to be friends, he supposed. Then he added, "Actually, I'm surprised Terrik didn't throttle you. You should know he would never give in to you. Just look how his dad is still grieving over Master Tahiri and she has been dead for over a year."
Anakah swallowed and met his eyes again, with a wry amusement she said as she continued to caress his abdomen and chest with the sponge, "Yeah, well, since Terrik is as rock solid as his dad, he never budged. I guess, I should have known better."
He finished rinsing her hair and leaned over and kissed her forehead, "I'm actually surprised that you never were able to sway him, I remember you quite openly flirting with him before he and Meri started getting serious."
She stopped her ministrations with the sponge and countered, "Well, I seem to remember you making some less than subtle moves in on my little sister as well."
"Oh, that was a long time ago. And better left forgotten. Unlike you, Angel, I learned a long time ago to stop trying to get too involved with my fellow female Jedi. Just makes for bad vibes when you may need them." He then reached behind him and turned off the water, grinning impishly he went on to add, "Of course, that is true except for you."
She matched his grin, "Oh, of course." Then she slid her arms round his neck again and purred, "Now, Quee, what do you have planned for me next, since obviously my shower is over?"
He lifted her up and before he kissed her, he groaned, "Ahh—you will see."
X
Jaina Solo-Durron had left the Temple after the Council meeting and went directly home to the apartment she shared with her husband and her youngest son when he was on Coruscant. She thought about her nineteen year old baby and hoped he was doing well. Liam was the Apprentice of her cousin Ben Skywalker, who was doing a good job of guiding Liam, which was what the boy needed. He was very much like Ben had been as a child, fearful of the Force and its power. Liam wasn't believed to be as strong as her other children but then she often wondered how much of that was fear and how much was actually inability. For, Liam was fine until he began to blame himself for his grandfather's death. Liam Han, who had been named for his grandfathers, had always been close to the old smuggler, turned hero, turned general, turned honorary Jedi. And Jaina expected that was why it was Liam who had the vision that Han would be killed in an attack. Han had scoffed at the dream saying that since Leia had become a Master, they were content with staying on either Coruscant or Ossus where she sat on the Council. He had laughed and said he was getting too damned old to be running all over the Galaxy saving it time and time again.
Jaina still could hear him laugh at a young thirteen year old boy's "crazy" dreams. The problem, her father had neglected to remember, Liam Han Durron was still had Skywalker blood coursing through his veins, which meant he should have never taken the boy's dreams at face value. She often wondered if her father ever thought of Liam's vision during the attack on the popular cantina he had entered to get a drink that day.
Apparently, the owner had failed to do right by his business partner and the partner wanted revenge. So, during the busiest part of the day when the popular Corellian Watering Hole Pub was full, the crazed human who felt he had been cheated out of what was his, entered the pub with three thermal detonators strapped to his person. Seventy-five people lost their lives that day, her beloved father among them.
Liam had never trusted the Force since.
Jaina shook the painful memories from her mind and tried to focus instead on her plans for tonight. She and Kyp over the years had celebrated this day as a kind of unofficial anniversary. Even their kids didn't know why, but if they were together during this date they always found time for each other. Twenty-six years ago tonight she had left Zekk for Kyp and she never looked back.
She felt Kyp close by and she smiled as she lit the last of the candles she had placed throughout the apartment. Then she went back into their large gourmet kitchen and finished with the shell-less Mon Calamari clams she was sautéing in blue butter sauce. She remembered the first time Kyp had prepared this dish for her their second night together. She still never could make the dish as well as he, but then Kyp had always been a much better cook than she was. She smiled as she dished out the steamed vegetables and clams remembering the years it took him to finally convince her cooking could be an enjoyable pastime. Now it had become one more thing they could do together and just one more thing her former master had taught her.
She carried the plates over to the table and sat them down. And as she placed the utensils above the plate she couldn't help the member the first time she had ever seen a table set in such a manner. Kyp had told her that it was how he had been taught by his mother when he was a young boy on Deyer. The odd place setting had been used in their home ever since.
She reached out with the Force and felt Kyp coming up the main turbolift from the garage, as she did so she fingered the lightsaber necklace that he had given her as an engagement gift. She wore the necklace just as many of her friends wore their engagement rings. But she also wore a diamond and amethyst wedding ring that he had given her when they married which had been a custom from Chanderla, the planet his mother had originally been from. She remembered the night he had given the necklace to her and smiled. That had been one of the most romantic nights of her life, and she learned early on that Kyp Durron, despite his hard exterior and occasional callousness, was the most romantic man she had ever known. The silver chain to the necklace had been replaced twice but she always made sure it was the same interlinked style. And once when she thought she had lost it on a mission she had cried for a week until her oldest son, Zeth found it underneath a piece of furniture. Her fingers instinctively rubbed over the charm and she looked down at the worn amethyst crossed blades with a diamond in the middle and on the silver hilts their engraved "J" and "K" barely visible from where they had been worn.
The door opened and she looked up and smiled as the man who had made her life complete entered. He looked at her and his own features broke into a smile. She watched as he moved over to her. She noticed he had changed at the Temple into a dark green shirt that almost matched his eyes and black trousers. As she looked him over she grinned.
"Ahh—Goddess," he said as he equally admired her red dress. Then he took her into his arms and kissed her with a passion that never failed to take her breath away. He broke the kiss and rained kisses to her ear. His hot breath caused her to shudder and then he whispered the words he had been whispering to her for twenty-six years, "I love you, Goddess; I always have and I always will."
She looked into his eyes as she pulled away and she smiled, "And I love you, Mortal Knight, always and forever."