Paneau: capital city of Dalon
Dalon Medical Center
5.5 APC

Though Rech wasn't sure how much more exhausted he could feel, he had refused to leave his wife's side. Healing efforts had gone on throughout the night, and though Mand was no longer in critical condition, Rech was far from relieved. Master Kanomin had returned from the Rys'tihn Retreat only a few hours prior, and after a brief meditation, she took over for Rech, allowing him the chance to rest. He didn't take it, of course, but instead he looked Mand over, studying her appearance as he hadn't since the disturbing events of the previous night.

Mid-morning sunlight filtering into the room from a window beside Mand's bed cast a warm, gentle glow across her still body. After her treatment team repeatedly encountered difficulty ridding her lungs of the fluid backup from her stressed heart, her bed had been angled to position her more upright and ease her breathing. Though she had been laying in that manner for several hours through the night, Rech was only just beginning to notice how much more pronounced her swollen stomach seemed to be, and his reaction caught him by surprise. Suddenly overcome with emotion, he briefly wavered in place, bringing a hand to his forehead as all his cares and worries weighed heavily on his chest. He had so earnestly focused on repairing the damage that had been done during the confrontation with Koril that he hadn't truly allowed himself to process his feelings, and the returning fear and betrayal was almost incapacitating. Finally able to, he drew in a trembling breath that caught Master Kanomin's attention as she stood opposite him at Mand's side.

"Rech," she began with gentle sympathy, "you need to sleep. I know you haven't."

He determinedly shook his head, running his hand through his hair to futilely quell his trembling and his breathing that quickened with his anxiety. No, he couldn't leave her. He needed to stay with her; his fatigue was a small price to pay for his failure to protect her. If he hadn't stepped outside the room the night before, he could have stopped Koril's attack and none of this would have happened...

Rech...

Feeling his anger returning, he shook his head once more. "No, Master. I am not going anywhere..."

But as he looked up at the Jedi Master and met her confused and somewhat alarmed gaze, he realized...she wasn't the one who had spoken, and it hadn't even spoken been aloud.

As they both returned their attention to Mand, her eyes slowly began to flutter open, much to Rech's dismay.

"Mand?" he breathed in disbelief, glancing up at her monitors over her head. "Mand, what are you doing? You need to stay under the trance. You're not fully recovered yet..."

With the aid of a breath mask over her face, her breathing remained slow and even as it had for hours, and though she was fully alert, her heart rate didn't change. How was she remaining conscious, then? Knowing that she couldn't keep it up for long, he began lending her what little energy he had left himself, leaning closer to hear her as she began to speak slowly and very softly.

"Please...don't be mad at Koril."

As he heard her words, he struggled to swallow as his mouth went dry. He felt his heart changing, hardening with pain and anger once more, and it would be another full minute before he could formulate a calm response in his shock.

"...after what he did to you? After what could've happened to the twins?"

Though her eyelids fell heavily at lengthy intervals, her gaze remained sharp and almost pleading. "I protected them...from any harm... And I knew you...you and the Masters would...be able to save me..."

"Mand..." he whispered, shaking his head as his voice broke with anguish. "He almost killed you. How can you ignore that? How can you expect me to?"

"He just wanted...answers."

Was she even hearing anything he was saying? "So that gives him the right to...interrogate you and hurt you, like you had been involved in it? Nevermind your delicate state, there's no excuse for him to do that to anyone."

She finally took in a longer, deeper breath, but the effort seemed to have cost her more energy than she had anticipated. Her eyes closed drowsily for a lengthy moment, and she struggled to reopen them once more. "He's...scared...and upset..."

Though he knew she would feel his trembling, he gently lifted her hand into his, folding her frigid fingers with his. His voice hardly worked. "So am I." He held her hand so delicately, sweeping his thumb over her skin so carefully, yet he still feared he'd harm her somehow, as if the slightest pressure would bruise her. With so much of her body shut down to give the twins everything they need to develop, he knew she had to be so fragile... He couldn't bear to see what Koril's grip on her arm had done to it.

"Mand," he began quietly again, his remaining strength dwindling. "I can't lose you...or these girls. I'm supposed to protect you, and I didn't..." His voice caught in his throat again, forcing him to shakily expel the rest of his breath before he could continue. The next breath was just as difficult. "I promised you that I would do...whatever it took to save our twins. I never thought that I'd have to save them from...from our friend." Nearly furious once more, he couldn't blink for fear of shedding hot tears that had built up in his eyes. "I can't...I can't forgive him for this. Not right now."

As if his words had just sunken in, her eyes deepened with understanding he hadn't yet seen. Even though she was wholly focused on regulating her own systems with the Force, there was no way she could ignore the anger and betrayal freely radiating from him. He wasn't holding anything back since it seemed to be the only way to get through to her, and her response worried him even more. For the first time since she had put herself into her hybrid hibernation trance...he felt her fingers slowly tightening around his.

"This...is not the time for division... The children -"

"The children," he interrupted curtly, "were in danger because of Koril's actions!"

He could hardly hear her response. "But you were the one...who chose to leave them alone in here."

Unable to hold them back any longer, he brought his free hand to his face to hide his shame as the tears finally fell down his burning cheeks. As much as he didn't want to admit it, she was right; he shared the fault in his own anxiety, he realized, though he had only sought to blame Koril for it. Wracked with silent sobs, he began to loosen his grip from Mand's hand...but she only held more tightly to him. He couldn't bring himself to look at her in such a state, but she continued to speak anyway.

"The children are safe now," she whispered with a faint hint of hope, "and the twins...will suffer no lasting effects. The only thing that needs to be salvaged...is a friendship."

He should have expected such graceful wisdom from his wife in a moment so rife with despair. She understood well the heavy burden of responsibility for his family he carried alone; she was fighting for two new lives at the same time. He knew he needed to forgive Koril for his uncharacteristic behavior...but it had never been so difficult before. Had the outcome been different, he wouldn't even have considered it, but for Mand's sake, he at least owed her an attempt.

He swallowed hard as he gently wrapped both of his hands around hers, and with a shaky breath, he nodded. "I'll try. But I need you to just focus on you and the twins right now, okay? Let me worry about everything else."

Though her eyes were only just barely open, he could still see her disappointment; she could sense his struggle, he knew, but so emotionally exhausted from the exchange and the previous night's events, he couldn't hide it. What surprised him, though, was even more compassion from her. She slowly squeezed his hand once more, comforting him the way he should have been tending to her instead...

"Don't forget...your promise..."

His voice caught in his throat. How could he? "I won't."

After a long, silent moment, the faintest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as her eyes slowly closed, and once again, she was deathly motionless. He couldn't help but watch the monitors over her head for anything that would betray her tranquil state...but miraculously, they remained quiet. If Master Kanomin hadn't stepped up behind him and gently gripped his shoulder, he wouldn't have had any cue to break him out of his own trance as he monitored her condition.

"Rech..."

Did he really have to repeat himself? "I am not leaving her, Master. Not again. Not until this is all over."

As he turned to look at the elder Jedi, he met nothing but sympathy in her expression and in her voice as she released him. "I know, and I'm not asking you to. You do need to keep up your strength, though; you can't help her if you've no energy left to give." He began to look away, unwilling to hear the reprimand that he felt coming, and it seemed to irritate her. She raised her voice just slightly, suddenly sounding more stern in response to his stubbornness. "I can't stand to see you like this, Rech, especially when I know just how much you are capable of when you are at your best. If you carry on like this for much longer without a proper recovery...I'm afraid that Master Rylka and I won't be able to make up the difference."

The shock on his face must've been more evident than he had intended. Master Kanomin had never been one to speak so severely to him, and it was very nearly a threat. He knew she was only interested in helping Mand as much as possible, and if he was honest with himself, Master Kanomin's demands were exactly what he needed to hear from someone whose mind was far more clear than his. Though still in a bit of a stupor, he nodded to appease her, and her expression softened once more.

"She is much more stable right now than I would have expected her to be after what happened. Whatever she's doing, and however we're helping her...it seems to be working. This should serve as a reminder to you that we just have to take things as they come. If you spend every moment of every day at her side, waiting for something to happen...she will far outlast you, I've no doubt." She quieted her voice even still, gently gripping Rech's arm to further emphasize her words. "You trusted her skills, her strength enough to begin this process in the first place. Have faith in her. She will let us know when something's wrong."

Though he was too drained to argue any further, he was also unable to respond with much more than a weak nod. He couldn't muster the will to move from where he stood, either, until he felt the faintest, lightest touch on his cheek... Mand's touch through the Force.

"Okay," he whispered, carefully bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss it. She wanted him to rest, too, and even as subtle as it was, she had to have used valuable energy to share her feelings in such a way. For that, he owed her his compliance.

As gently as he could, he placed her hand delicately atop her stomach and covered it with his for a tender moment, looking on her with weary eyes before he withdrew and managed to lay down on a nearby cot without collapsing. Whether it was Mand's doing or Master Kanomin's, he didn't much care; sleep hadn't come so easily to him in almost a month.

Paneau: remote Naeron Mountains
Rys'tihn Retreat

Rubbing fatigue from her eyes after an all-night meeting with a number of Ghost Heirs, almost all except for the one she wanted to speak to the most, Elena was hardly surprised to encounter a number of Retreat staff awaiting her return in the hallway. It was as if they had been told to expect her exiting the hidden, restricted tunnel at that very spot, and they all collectively held their breath as they so graciously allowed her to speak first.

"Quiet night?"

"Yes, m'lady," Witt Larkan answered eagerly. "Nothing out of the ordinary. The children even slept well."

Gauging just how well her staff was informed, she glanced between them and watched their reactions closely. "Any news on the hunt for the Kel Dor?"

Most of the servants, including Larkan, looked as clueless or regretful as she expected, save for one young man at the back of the crowd who opened his mouth to respond, but only just stopped himself before he formed his first word. Their gazes met, and instantly, he knew he had been made as Milowi Jax's replacement, a Rys'tihn covert agent on staff for the family's protection. He would have been kept well-appraised of any developments by Cade, and with the Master Ghost Heir nowhere to be found, he was the best chance she had at getting any intel.

The agent seemed to cringe slightly, fearing public backlash from her, as if her reputation among the covert agents indicated such a reaction. But surprising even herself, she said nothing, more interested in what he knew. Milowi had been such a vital asset to her family's safety recently after a string of near-disasters, and discovering that a replacement had been embedded where he could quickly take action was a comfort she never thought she'd appreciate. It was a comfort she never thought she'd need, either, but a foiled kidnapping attempt was definitely going to keep her on guard for months, maybe even years to come.

Before she had the chance to request to see the agent privately, Larkan spoke up with urgency he hadn't exhibited before. "M'lady...the king has requested to see you."

With all that had been going on the past few days, a meeting with King Verojec wasn't altogether unexpected, but she wasn't sure how mentally prepared she could be for it without a chance to sleep, much less even meditate since the disaster at the Academy...

"I'll go as soon as I...freshen up a bit. It was a long night."

She began to step towards the main staircase to visit her bedroom for the first time since arriving at the Retreat the previous day, but Larkan stopped her, albeit reluctantly.

"But m'lady...he's here. In the main banquet hall."

Momentarily stunned, she blinked. "Here," she repeated blankly, studying Larkan's hesitant expression. Though they hadn't exactly rushed her to the banquet hall as soon as she arrived, she was becoming increasingly worried that such a sudden, private meeting with the king meant that something urgently needed her attention. Coming to her senses, she nodded, absentmindedly patting wrinkles from her tunic as she began walking toward the hall.

The Retreat staff followed her most of the way, stopping just outside the doors and offering their silent support for her as she prepared to go inside. Despite her anxiety that was increasing by the moment, she was able to give them a small, wan smile in return as she pressed the door's panel to open it. She took in a deep breath to steel her nerves, stepping inside with haste but keeping her expression free of the alarm she felt in the back of her mind.

Though she had anticipated meeting Jec alone, he stood beside his counterpart Seyiri Ordeel at a sculpture against the far wall. They were engaged in a solemn, quiet conversation with each other, but it was Seyiri who spotted Elena first, shifting Jec's attention to her, as well.

"Your Highness, Seyiri," Elena addressed them as they approached each other in the middle of the grand room. She had begun to ask them about their presence at the Retreat, but it soon left her mind as she looked on the young woman, the first time she had seen Seyiri in two years. The quiet, reserved Ordeel girl had, like Jec, matured so much in Elena's absence, and as she stood in front of Paneau's likely future queen, she suddenly found herself struck by Seyiri's subtle beauty. The blond-haired, green-eyed girl easily outshone Jec as they stood together, and Elena couldn't help but notice just how perfect of a pair they seemed to be...

"Elena," Seyiri began with concern, "we heard what happened to the children at the medical center yesterday. Are they alright?"

Brought back to recent events, Elena struggled to speak with a dry throat. "They were a bit...rattled, but yes, they're fine. We have your sister to thank for that, Jec. She saved them."

Jec nodded in agreement, though he and Seyiri still exchanged worried glances. "We'll find him, Elena," he pledged. "The children will be safe."

She gave him an appreciative smile, but it soon faded with a lengthening silence between them. Both Jec and Seyiri seemed anxious yet also reluctant to continue, but gently taking Seyiri's hand at his side, Jec eventually mustered the courage to speak up once more.

"We're sorry to have disturbed you here. We know it's your private family retreat...but we wanted to talk to you in person."

Even more worried, Elena hardly breathed. "It's no trouble... What's wrong, Jec?"

With another concerned glance at Seyiri, Jec released a cautious sigh before he returned to Elena. "Were you here on Paneau when...my father and Tascit married?"

Completely unprepared for the question, she struggled to think, much less answer him. Jec's father King Veon had married his most trusted advisor Tascit Arosc in a secret ceremony during the Huxnel Invasion nearly twelve years ago, surprising most who had been close to the monarch. They had been able to keep their relationship exceptionally quiet, Elena learned, only releasing the news of their marriage amid concerns for the Royal Family's safety. It was discovered soon after their announcement that Tascit was pregnant with Ri, which fueled rumors a young Jedi Academy student had no intention of believing. She had only known the king and new queen for a few days at most, and all she had seen from them was their steadfast resolve to protect their people and each other. Finally able to rummage through her rough memories of that disastrous first mission, she could remember the exact moment she had been informed of the marriage...as both Elena and Veon sat in the same cell aboard a Huxnel cruiser, prisoners of the ruthless pirates.

"I was on Paneau, yes, but...I wasn't there at the actual ceremony. I learned about it later, along with everyone else."

Jec nodded after a moment, looking somewhat disappointed, as if he had been expecting a different response. Confused, Elena held her breath, waiting for an explanation behind his question...

"Seyiri and I have discussed this at length," he continued carefully, gazing down at her as he held even more tightly to her hand between both of his. When he looked back up at Elena, his expression had become more resolute. "We want to do the same thing."

Reading the unsure reaction Elena had, Seyiri continued. "We want to marry in a private ceremony now, then have a more formal, public celebration later, once things have...settled down."

Jec explained further, as well. "I want to be able to extend to Seyiri the same security and protection that I have. If we're married, then my Scepter Guard will do anything to protect her, too."

Feeling as though she could collapse in relief at any moment, Elena somehow managed to keep her legs under her as she briefly closed her eyes. "I understand," she answered with a noticeably shaky voice. "You know that whatever you two decide to do, I will fully support you."

Jec had only discussed his intent to propose to Seyiri a few weeks ago, but with all that had been going on, Elena had never learned if Seyiri had ever been asked or if she had accepted. The answer to both seemed to be yes, and even amid the pain and chaos and uncertainty they'd all encountered recently, Elena finally felt a lightness in her heart she had almost forgotten.

With a small nod, Jec's face lit up with a small smile. "We know. That's why we want you to be our witness."

His request hadn't fully sunken in before a smile spread across her face, as well, and her eyes filled with emotional tears. She brought a trembling hand to her mouth as an excited laugh escaped, and once she could take in a breath again, she nodded. "It would be...an unbelievable honor."

Happy with her response, Jec and Seyiri both smiled broadly, looking as blissful as a young couple should.

"We'll send a shuttle for you at sundown."

Blinking in surprise, Elena's expression fell. "Tonight?"

Seyiri looked sympathetic. "We know it takes you away from your family..."

But Elena shook her head after a moment, considering her situation. She could spend the entire day with her children, and they wouldn't know of her absence once they were asleep. "It's alright. They'll be safe here." The thought returned a smile to her face, putting Jec and Seyiri at ease once more.

"We'll see you tonight, then," Jec concluded with muted enthusiasm, wrapping an arm tightly around Seyiri's shoulders as they left quietly together. Elena remained in place in the banquet hall for a few minutes, though, sorting through the whirlwind of feelings she had just experienced. At least there was something pure and innocent to come out of this tumultuous time, and being part of it was just the kind of emotional lift she needed.