P.S I swear I didn't mean for it to get so angsty.
Risa watched Giac eat silently, his eyes fixed on his food, refusing to look up at anyone else in the room. Risa was sat opposite him, Tessa next to her and Obi-Wan sat opposite Tessa, next to Giac. Risa's parents sat at either ends of the table, likewise with food in front of them, though her father wasn't eating, instead staring at Giac, watching the boy's every move. Giac was either oblivious to her father's gaze or was ignoring it, eating his food and not speaking a word. Obi-Wan was also silent, choosing to look down at his food too, though he did look up every so often to send his older brother a worried frown. Risa caught Obi-Wan's gaze once, sending him a reassuring smile, one which he returned, if not a little shakily. It seemed even he could sense the tension in the air, even at his young age.
Risa hated silence. She always had. Silence, to her, was louder than any words that could be spoken out loud. It had so many different meanings and many were rarely positive, choking the air in an iron grip. This time was no different and it was practically killing her.
"The food is delicious, Mrs. Rackhoff. Thank you for your hospitality, me and Obi-Wan highly appreciate it." Giac complimented, finally breaking the silence. He looked up when he addressed Risa's mother, who smiled warmly at him.
"No need to be so formal, your highness. We are farmers, not lords and ladies." She replied, her eyes gentle and amused as she watched Giac tuck back into his meal. When he returned her smile, it was clearly forced, just as shaky as Obi-Wan's had been. Risa's mother noticed this, and when Giac returned to observing his food, she sent her husband a concerned look across the table. Risa's father returned his wife's gaze, understanding the look instantly, and sending a worried look of his own towards Giac and Obi-Wan, who were both, yet again, silent as they ate, heads bowed.
Eventually, Risa saw her father's patience finally fade, and just as she predicted, her father cleared his throat. Obi-Wan looked up, though Giac didn't, refusing to tear his gaze away from the assortment of vegetables that he was now rolling around his plate. This only made her father frown, his eyes turning hard as he stared at Giac with a passion, as if to make the boy feel his hot gaze on him.
Again, Giac didn't look up.
"Prince Giac." Her father ground out, his jaw tight and clenched as he tried to ignore the frustration that was building up. Everyone was looking at Giac now, so everyone saw how he froze, placing his fork down before looking up, meeting her father's hard gaze with his annoyed one.
"WHAT?" Giac snapped, making everyone's eyes widen at the outburst. When Giac realized what he had done, his eyes softened, his anger receding almost instantly. "Sorry, sir… I shouldn't have done that." Giac leaned back, head bowed yet again.
"It's alright. You don't need to apologize." Her father quietly comforted him after a few seconds, his gaze softening too. Giac didn't say anything, one arm hugging his side instead, his wound probably aggravating him. Risa's father just observed Giac for a few seconds, eyes now full of kindness. Her father had always been wise and he looked like he'd realized that pushing Giac wasn't going to work, which was why, when he next spoke his voice was calmer and much more gentle.
"What happened, son? It was your brother's Life Day four days ago. There was supposed to be celebrations, parties – the Life Ball. Then, that night, everything went down; communications, power, the Selencian net, the whole lot. Something bad happened didn't it?" Her father gently asked. Giac tensed, eyes staring blankly at the tabletop. He looked so broken and damaged, his eyes flaring with such pain that Risa nearly gasped. She no longer saw the person in front of her as a Prince, the heir to the Selencian throne, but just a boy - a lost, broken boy.
No one noticed how Obi-Wan was tensed too; his eyes squeezed shut in pain.
"Why were there Zygerrians after you, son?" Her father gently asked this time, though Giac didn't answer. Her father took that as a prompt to continue. "What happened that night? Why are you so far away from the capitol? What about the King, your father-"
"SHUT UP!" Obi-Wan screamed, tears streaming down his face. Everyone had been too focused on Giac to notice Obi-Wan's resolve shatter like fragile glass, the pain being too much to bear. Risa found herself staring shocked at the young boy, along with the rest of her family, as he was reduced to tears. "Just shut up!" Obi-Wan screamed at her father, before pushing his chair back and leaving the table. Giac's eyes widened at the outburst, face creasing with worry.
"Obi!" Giac called as he tried to stand, though Obi-Wan had already ran off, away from everyone and everything. Giac tried to go after him but he barely got two steps before he cried out in pain, his arm shooting out to hold the table to steady himself, the wound sending jars of pain through his body.
"I'll go after him." Tessa declared, standing up when her father moved to Giac's side to help him.
"Don't." Giac ground out, his voice low. Tessa stopped in her tracks, just about to leave the dining room. When she turned around to face Giac, he was staring at her with an expression that was pleading for her to listen. "It won't help. You won't help."
"Maybe if you tell us what happened, then we can help. What the kriff happened?" Tessa yelled at him, angry that he was stopping her from going to help Obi-Wan.
"Theresa Rackhoff!" Risa's mother exclaimed, scandalized. "Language!"
"No, I want to know why he's not telling us why they're miles away from the capitol and why Obi just burst into tears!" Tessa yelled back at her mother before her gaze turned to Giac. "Well, your highness, care to enlighten us?"
"What happened?" Giac repeated bitterly, his eyes downcast. Then Risa watched as Giac's resolve finally cracked too, tears falling down his own face when he looked up to look Tessa squarely in the eye. It made Risa's heart clench at the sheer volume of sorrow painted in his young eyes. "Our father's dead – that's what happened." He finished, letting the tears flow.
Risa's mother gasped, her hands coming up to her mouth as her eyes widened in shock and horror. Her father's eyes bore a similar expression, as did Risa's, though Tessa looked more shocked than anyone, guilt creeping up into her body.
"The King is dead?" Risa whispered, partly to herself and partly to Giac, as if she wanted him to confirm it, her mind not truly believing it the first time. Giac only closed his eyes, grief surrounding him in the force.
"Y-Yes."
It was only one word - one short answer – but it made Risa's heart break nonetheless. The King is dead.
"What about the Queen?" Her mother asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Giac didn't answer, instead not meeting anyone's gaze, fresh tears falling down his face. His silence was enough of an answer. "Oh, force, you poor thing. Sweetheart, it's ok. Everything will be alright." Risa's mother wrapped Giac in a hug, bringing him close to her chest as she stroked his hair. Risa watched as Giac finally let the built up grief out, sobbing into her mother's shoulder.
"It was all his fault, he killed him! He slaughtered them all like animals!" Giac cried, hanging onto Risa's mother like a lifeline. Risa realized this was probably the first time Giac had faced his emotions, his dire situation meaning there had been no time to mourn, to grieve. Risa's heart broke even more at the sight.
"Who killed him, son?" Her father asked gently, coming up to Giac, who turned around to face her father.
"Our Uncle." Giac spat, though tears still fell down his cheeks. Everyone in the room froze in shock for the third time that night, Giac's sobs the only sound. After her father had recovered, he pulled Giac into a bone-crushing hug, trying to console the young teen.
"I'll go after Obi-Wan." Risa finally stated in a daze, her mother sending her a nod of understanding.
"Do you want me to-" Tessa started, though her sister interrupted her.
"No. You've done enough." Tessa flinched like she had been slapped at her sister's words, backing away instantly. Risa didn't mean to be so harsh, but it just slipped out and she couldn't help herself.
Risa left the room intent on leaving before she said anything worse. She had to find Obi-Wan.
It was quiet sobbing that brought Risa near the old barn; it's large wooden structure towering above her. She slipped inside, carefully shutting the heavy door behind her. Once inside, she scoured the large space, passing the stables where a few fayals stood who leaned towards her in greeting. She stroked each one of them in turn, though her focus was somewhere else as she made her way deeper into the barn. The sobbing had reduced to sniffles now, the fairly loud noise made by the door of the barn having warned Obi-Wan that she was here.
Risa followed the sound of the sniffles, ignoring the pungent odor of animals and hay. She eventually rounded a corner, revealing a large area of piled up hay, Obi-Wan sat on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest. When he saw her, he furiously wiped the last tears away, glaring at her as she slowly made her way forward.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, defiantly trying to hide the moment of weakness she had found him in.
"Looking for you." Risa answered, sitting down next to him. She didn't say anything for a while, choosing to stare at the wooden wall in front of her rather than at Obi-Wan. "Your brother told us…told us what happened. I'm sorry." She turned to Obi-Wan then, her gaze just as sad as his. It was silent for a little longer, an awkward silence digging its claws in until she finally managed to speak again. "Do you…do you want to talk about it?"
Risa mentally kicked herself. Did she really just ask that? Yes, Obi-Wan will definitely want to talk about how his parents died. What the force was wrong with her?
"It was all his fault." Obi-Wan growled out, showing a lot of anger for a little boy. Risa knew whom he was talking about as she'd heard the same words come off Giac's lips not ten minutes before.
"Yes, it was. He betrayed us all." Risa agreed, staring at Obi-Wan with soft, kind eyes. "Are you afraid of him?" She eventually asked, prepared for how Obi-Wan's expression completely changed, staring back at her in shock. Then he lowered his gaze again, refusing to look at her yet again. His shoulders slumped in defeat, while he drew his knees closer to his chest in an effort to curl into a ball.
"Yes." Obi-Wan whispered, head bowed.
"Good." Risa stated, nodding her head.
"Why is that good?" Obi-Wan asked, head jolting up to look at her, confusion written in his features. "I can't be afraid of him. I need to beat him." Obi-Wan finished, his tone suggesting it was more of a promise rather than a statement.
"It's okay to be scared. Being scared means you're about to do something really, really brave. Have hope Obi-Wan, you will survive this. We all will." Risa wrapped an arm around Obi-Wan's shoulder, drawing him closer to her side. He wasn't much smaller than her since their age gap wasn't that big, but he did sit nicely at her side. Maybe it was her sisterly instincts kicking in, but she had the sudden urge to protect him, if not for Obi-Wan then for Giac. Risa couldn't bear the thought of Giac bearing every single burden on his own.
"Will we though? People say time heals everything. I don't think that's true. It hurts too much." Obi-Wan questioned, his voice small and so very that of a child. That was the problem really - they were still children, still too young for such a cruel world.
"You're right, it's not." Risa agreed, looking at the floor. "Me and Tessa, we lost our grandmother a few years back and it hurt, a lot. It still does. Time doesn't heal anything, it just teaches us how to live with the pain." Risa paused, looking up, her eyes distant as she remembered the time. "Tessa used to say to me that sometimes, you just have to put up a smile and wear the pain like a grandest of diamonds around your neck. Of course, since you're a boy, I guess it's not exactly the same." She finished, smiling this time. Obi-Wan actually smiled back, even if it was a small one. It made Risa grin wider, overjoyed that she'd managed to get through to him. "That's it, Obi-Wan. Stay strong. Make them wonder how you're still smiling. I swear, their faces will be priceless." She added, watching how Obi-Wan's smile grew. She was good at this, good at keeping people happy. Tessa always said she was made of sugar, full of energy and pure sweetness.
"Thanks, Risa." Obi-Wan smiled up at her, leaning closer for warmth. The barn was actually quite cold, especially since there were so many holes in the roof and walls. Risa knew her and Tessa would have to repair those at some point.
"Your welcome." Risa replied, hugging Obi-Wan a little while she sent him a smile.
"Is Giac ok?" Obi-Wan asked after a while.
"As ok as you are. My dad was with him when I left-" Risa was cut off when a loud yell interrupted her.
"RISA!" Tessa's voice came through the walls of the barn, her strong voice carrying from far away. Knowing her sister was probably looking for them, Risa stood up, helping Obi-Wan up with her.
"Over here, Tessa!" She called back, helping Obi-Wan brush the hay of their clothes. The bang of the barn doors as they slammed shut alerted the two to when Tessa had found them, the sound of her footsteps quick as she ran up to them.
"Risa, Obi-Wan, you have to come back to the house." Tessa panted, her eyes flickering between Risa and Obi-Wan.
"Why?" Risa asked, rather confused. Was Giac ok? She hoped so, she'd only just cheered Obi-Wan up.
"The network's back up. There's going to be a royal address to the public in five minutes." Tessa paused, turning to Obi-Wan. "Your Uncle is going to make a public announcement."
Oh no, this was much worse.