Chapter Sixteen: The Story of Jala and Sealer
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The Imperials renewed their attack on Hapes right in the middle of the Royal Luncheon with the people, when the royals ate with the public. No one had expected the traditional meal to last, and so the chamber was cleared within minutes when the generals and other leaders raced to their stations.
It had only lasted a few hours, but already the battle was a disaster; Tenel Ka could tell from just one glance at the sky. Her grandmother, currently Mother Regent at the request of the people, was too proud to accept "too much" aid from the Rebel pilots. A few of the battered, assorted fighter ships that displayed the old NR symbol were in the air, but most had yet to be untied from the bureaucracy that now choked even the military.
Tenel Ka would not have made that mistake. She knew that, and it pained the royalty that ran, unacknowledged, through her veins. She wanted nothing to do with the throne – with the political games, petty disputes and poorly-planned assassination attempts.
Or did she? Would she give it up, if her people needed her?
They need you now.
Tenel Ka felt a sigh escape her as she watched the sky from her chamber window. Ta'a Chume had, at the request of the people, temporarily taken the crown. She had been a powerful monarch, unhesitating, unflinching; she was exactly what was needed to reassure the people during the war.
But Tenel Ka, if she took the chance, could do that, as well – and more.
Eventually, Ta'a Chume would have to step down from the Regency; she had served her time, had given up the throne. Hapan law was already stretched to its limits to accommodate the people's wishes for a short time. What would happen when that period ended?
Tenel Ka was more convinced than ever that her role as a Jedi was important – both to herself and to the galaxy. But what if the best way she could be a Jedi was by being the queen mother of a consortium of sixty-three star systems? She could deny it, turn her back on her royal heritage, but Prince Isolder and Queen Mother Teneniel Djo had raised their daughter to be honest. Tenel Ka would need to make her choice soon.
It was times like these that she most missed Jacen.
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Jaina wanted nothing more than to be in the air, defending Hapes. As it was, she had been deemed "too weak and traumatized to fight," and shuttled away with the children.
The children. Before her capture, she had spent all her time with them because they couldn't judge her for her association with Zekk, and they loved her unconditionally. But now was really not the time. She had things to do. She was never meant to be a baby-sitter, or worse – an invalid.
"Just breathe, Solo," Garik said in his maddeningly calm, I-know-you-agree-with-me, politician voice. "Some of your curses aren't exactly appropriate for children's ears."
Which, of course, made all of the 'younglings' stop what they were doing to memorize anything went past Jaina's lips.
The Corellian woman stared at their young faces, then sat down next to Garik with a loud, frustrated sigh. "I just hate being so useless. The war could end and we still wouldn't know until dawn, we're so far down."
Garik looked around the underground safe house. "It's not so bad."
"To you it isn't; you willingly spend all your time being stifled by an office or by the Senate. I recently escaped these kinds of places." Jaina scowled, remembering her captivity in the Imperial Palace.
Shaking his head, Garik took out a datapad. "Who wants to hear a story?" he asked the children, ignoring his friend's continued complaints.
The children were familiar with the ginger-haired man, having spent nearly every attack with him, and they quickly crowded around his chair. Even the prospect of learning a Bad Word paled in comparison to stories and distraction from the bombs that fell above them.
Jaina continued to stomp about the room, checking her chrono every few minutes. Garik glanced at her, then down at his datapad. He shrugged, pocketing it. Maybe he could do more than calm agitated nerves with this storytelling session.
"Once upon a time," he began, as he always did, "there were two friends. One of them, Jala, was a princess, but she preferred to spend time with her best friend, Sealer, whom she had met at the public park."
One of the younger ones grabbed Garik's leg. "Was she pretty?"
"Oh, she was alright, I guess." Garik smirked when Jaina paused long enough to raise an eyebrow at him. "But don't think she acted like a princess," he continued. "Jala would rather fly her ship too fast than wear a dress.
"One day, an evil man named Nyx came to Jala's planet. Now, all the royalty in the various lands had special powers – yes, Gini, exactly like Jedi," Garik answered, seeing the boy begin to speak. The Calamarian's mouth snapped shut.
"Nyx wanted to be powerful, too, but he knew that none of the princes or princesses would help him. Fortunately for him, he knew that one prince, from the other side of the planet, had been kidnapped when he was very young, so Nyx searched him."
"Sealer!" Aarylia realized, then frowned and looked up at Jaina. "Wait a minute…"
Well, Aarie had figured it out, unsurprisingly enough. It was nice to see her participating again. Garik smiled at the preteen. "Yes, Sealer was a prince, but he didn't know it. See, he had been very young when he was kidnapped, and he could not remember anything about his home.
"When Nyx found the prince, he told Sealer that everyone else, even Jala, had known about him, and had disowned him."
As one, the children's eyes widened. A scattering of No's echoed in the room. Jaina's gaze remained locked on Garik. "Disowned him" – her friend's choice of words was all too accurate. For a second, her eyes squeezed shut as the guilt overwhelmed her again. If only she had realized earlier…
But, Jaina reminded herself, she was too old for that – she had seen too much to worry about the past. The future was a big enough problem in and of itself.
"Sealer was hurt and confused, and he was swayed into going with Nyx." As if to punctuate Garik's words, a bomb rumbled over their heads. Jaina's eyes latched onto the ceiling in impatient concern, but Garik only spoke louder, regaining the children's attention.
"When Sealer realized that he had been tricked, he tried to escape but it was too late. Nyx put a magic potion in Sealer's drink, making Sealer evil. In fact, Sealer was barely even Sealer anymore. He changed his name to Orif, and all of Sealer's goodness was locked up tight, deep down, where the real Sealer could never escape. It was with Orif that Nyx commanded an army."
"What about Jala?" Liguis whispered.
Garik's eyes saddened, but only Aarie picked up on it; Jaina was too busy waiting for a bomb to rip through the safe house's ceiling. "Jala wouldn't believe that Sealer was gone; she was the only one who insisted that Orif and Sealer were not the same person. Because of that, many people turned their backs on her. You see, Orif and Nyx overthrew Jala's planet's government, and many people were killed. Most people hated Orif, but Jala continued to protest his innocence. People couldn't understand that."
"It's not a very happy story," a young Wookiee said through his translator droid.
"Not really," Garik agreed. "But, see, the years passed and Nyx became the king, and Orif became a prince again. Orif-Sealer remembered Jala, and he captured her and made her a slave."
Righteous denials were shouted, recapturing Jaina's attention. She considered adding an explanation, but decided that "Orif's" lust would only confuse the story that Garik had painstakingly tailored for the younglings.
"Wait until the end to talk," Garik called, gesturing for quiet. After a few more grumbles, the children did so. "When Jala was taken captive, she had all but given up on Sealer. She had seen him destroy many people, and even her love for him – which had been realized after he became Orif – was faltering. She didn't believe Sealer would purposely hurt someone, but Orif was doing just that. She decided, however, to try to release Sealer's goodness one last time."
"But that was all tied up – deep down, where he could never escape," Aarie protested softly. Her gaze was not on Garik, but rather on Jaina, at whom she looked with new, quiet respect.
"Sometimes," Jaina said, speaking for the first time, "the things that are buried the furthest down are really hidden in plain sight."
The audience's gaze shifted to her, then back to Garik. Some made the connection, but most did not. They were still very young, after all. "Did she do it?" an anonymous voice asked.
Garik smiled secretly, giving the impression that he was saying, "Just wait." Jaina knew that look all too well. "There was only one problem: Jala's friend…Ktyr…told her that the only way she could bring Sealer out was if she made him hurt so bad that his grief took over. In other words, Jala would have to die."
Dead silence. Every child, even Aarie, was watching with eyes so wide that entire moons could have been put inside them.
Jaina's expression faltered. Not a single person in the safe house could fully comprehend the prophecy Kyp had made. Not one.
"Jala was upset, and she almost gave up completely. But then she started to notice that Orif was much nicer than before. He helped her, and wasn't killing as much. This rekindled the hope and love Jala had held onto, and she decided that she would do anything to have Sealer back – not because she needed him, but because Sealer deserved it."
The Jedi Knight breathed deeply and bit her lip. She had not expected Garik to grasp that much. That he understood bolstered her more than she could have imagined. Exactly! she wanted to shout. Thank you, thank you, thank you for understanding!
"Her chance came when people from Jala's old government staged an attack on Nyx's palace. Orif sent Jala to a safe place, but when the attack was over, Nyx sent his guards after her. He realized that Jala might be able to free Sealer, so Nyx was going to execute her first."
Jaina wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it for herself, but the younglings' eyes grew even more. A smile began to touch her eyes.
Garik's eyes glowed as his enthusiasm for the story grew. "When Orif-Sealer found out what was going to happen, he raced into the throne room, throwing the doors apart and telling Nyx that he was a dead man if he hurt Jala. Nyx looked at him…and then threw Jala against the wall. 'Do your worst,' the evil man sneered.
"Orif and Nyx fought on and on, but neither could win, because Orif was trying to keep Sealer's goodness from coming up, and so he hadn't the strength to gain the upper hand. Then, Jala did it." Garik paused dramatically. "Jala saw Nyx raise his sword to cut Orif down, and she pushed Orif out of the way…only to be killed herself."
Not exactly smoothing over the edges there, Rik, Jaina thought dryly.
"Sealer was devastated. His grief, just as Ktyr had predicted, overwhelmed Orif, destroying the magic that imprisoned Sealer. Sealer's mourning turned to rage, and he struck Nyx down, ending the evil regime. But Jala was still dead, and nothing could temper that loss.
"When Nyx was dead, Jala's parents – the king and queen of the land – regained their thrones. As for Sealer, he ran away, trying to escape his pain and guilt. On his journey, he met many magicians, holy men and healers, but none could ease his grief. Until…"
Jaina snickered. The younglings were liable to fall over in anticipation, if Garik didn't just spit it out soon.
Garik threw her a glare. "…Until Sealer met a young woman named Zara. When Sealer told her of his woe, she said that there was only one way to stop the grief completely: by bringing Jala back. 'True love,' she told him, 'is very potent in a magic prince such as yourself. Use what Nyx taught you, but make Jala your focus.'
"Sealer immediately thanked her, and he almost flew back to Jala's home. All the way there, he concentrated as he never had before. By the time he reached the palace, he was exhausted, but he knew Jala would be there when he arrived.
"Only, she wasn't." The children, whose eyes had brightened with hope, sighed in disappointment. Just because they were in a war didn't mean that stories could end sadly, "realistically"…did it?
"Sealer searched everywhere, but he could not find her. Finally, he ended up in the park, where he had first met Jala. He was tired, and he cried himself to sleep. In his dream, he saw Jala again, and he told her how much he missed and loved her. Jala smiled and hugged him, then said, 'I'm right here; how can you miss me? Open your eyes, Sealer.'
"When Sealer woke up, he opened one eye, very slowly. Then, he opened the other, but Jala wasn't there. When he turned around…"
"Jala was there," Jaina finished, taking over the narrative. A dozen eyes swung around to watch her, even as peeps of excitement escaped the children. "'You silly boy,' Jala said. 'You tried too hard. Didn't you know that it was your love, and not your strength, that saved me?'"
A warm smile relaxed Jaina's features as the younglings' cheers broke the silence of the room. "And they lived mostly happily ever after," Jaina finished, but no one heard her wish.
No one, that is, except for one. "Until they died," their voice hissed, creating her own ending for the fairy tale.
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Any comments would be appreciated :)
.Tjz