The following story is an adaptation of the Russian fairy tale "Tsarevna Frog", which user Anna Vorarlberg recently sent me - thank you again for that - and "Vasilisa the Wise".

It is also an AU story for the book series "New Jedi Order", starting from volume 11 "Rebel Dreams" by Aaron Allston (2002) to volume 19 "The Unifying Force" by James Luceno (2003). That's a two-year period, shortened here to a period of about two months, and takes place in the year 29 after the Battle of Yavin.

The Shaper and the Shamed One

1. The Courtship Competition

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away...

There lived at the court of the Overlord the Yuuzhan Vong on Coruscant, which the conquerors had called Yuuzhan'tar since the capture of the capital planet, a young shaper* named Nen Yim who was not only extremely clever and skilled, but also extremely beautiful.

One day the Overlord Shimrra Jamaane said to her: "What should I do without you, my dear, dear Nen Yim. It would be good if you looked for a companion among the shapers and get a child with him, so that your unique talent as a shaper can be passed on to our people."

"But my adept Qelah Kwaad is at least as skilled as I am," Nen Yim objected modestly. "Even if something were to happen to me, she could replace me immediately."

"There are truly few of your guild as noble, selfless and humble as you, Nen Yim," said Shimrra, touched. "Your adept Qelah Kwaad can never become someone like that, no matter how clever and cunning she may otherwise be. So I'm going to host a courtship party where you'll throw a bouquet blindfolded into the crowd of suitors. And whoever catches it will be your companion and the father of your children."

And so it happened and the celebration was held. The applicants stood in a circle around Nen Yim and, blindfolded, she threw the bouquet into the air. As soon as the bouquet flew up, an ugly argument and tussle arose among the candidates, and when Nen Yim removed the blindfold from her face and looked around, she saw the two shapers, Ch'Gang of the Domain Hool and Ghithra of the Domain Dal with half of her bouquet in her eight-fingered shaper hand. Both men were quite old and very ugly. And, as if things couldn't get any worse, an extremely repulsive-looking Shamed One* came up, carrying a bouquet in his hands that was completely intact and looked like the one that Nen Yim had thrown.

"He's not a shaper at all, but a disgusting, Shamed One!" Ch'Gang Hool shouted indignantly.

"And he's a betrayer, too!" added Ghithra Dal angrily. "Because he didn't catch any part of Nen Yim's bouquet, but brought in a completely new one."

"Fraud!" someone shouted even louder from behind, and the crowd of other suitors prepared to pounce on the daring, Shamed One to snatch the bouquet from him.

"Stop and keep quiet, everyone!" the Overlord's deep, full voice rang out in the hall. "That one," his dagger-clawed index finger pointed at the Shamed One, "was at least brave enough to at least try his luck with that trick. And if Nen Yim chooses him, it will only be a well-deserved expression of the favor of Yun-Harla*, who watches over this one."

He turned to Nen Yim. "And now choose one of the three."

Nen Yim approached the Shamed One. "I would like to have a word with you in private."

The Shamed One looked at the Overlord for approval and he said. "So be it, go outside for a moment and have a consultation."

Then Nen Yim went outside with the Shamed One and asked him: "Who are you, for I see that you are wearing an ooglith mask?"

"Despite my faithful service as a shaper, I fell from grace because Ch'Gang Hool failed to persuade the world brain on Yuuzhan'tar to do its work as it should be. He blamed me for his misfortune, and to avoid the death penalty, all I could do was escape."

"And now you think you can clear yourself of that blame by connecting with me?" asked Nen Yim suspiciously.

"I just want to help you," he replied, unmoved by your suspicions. "You yourself know about the caprioles of the world brain, which, for example, gave us that itch."

Nen Yim nodded sympathetically. "Yes, I know the big itch, but I have developed an ointment that will stop it at least for a few days."

"Until the world brain concocts a new prank against our people, instead of transforming the enemy's former capital into a beautiful and useful world for our people, as it is actually intended to be. But together we could defeat it."

"Get to the point, who are you?" Nen Yim asked impatiently.

"My name is Amorrn, and you will gain much but lose nothing if you choose me," he said. "Not only am I skilled at shaping, but I don't desire what other men desire in a woman, especially one as beautiful and clever as you. So you can pursue your craft in peace and quiet and we will only help each other if necessary."

"So what do you want from me?" Nen Yim asked, still suspicious.

"No big things," Amorrn said. "My companions and I live in a cave down in the lower levels of this planet, and occasionally we need the basics of muur mash and mushroom cultures so that we have enough to eat, and a few amphistaffs to defend ourselves against the scum of that underworld. "

Nen Yim raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Does that mean you don't live under the orders of our Overlord?"

Amorrn nodded. "And that's exactly why I'm going to bother you as little as possible."

"Then I will choose you," Nen Yim promised.

They went back into the hall and Nen Yim announced her decision, but the two shapers Ch'Gang Hool and Ghithra Dal objected loudly. "This one isn't even a shaper! He should first give us proof of his skills before he is allowed to lie down with Nen Yim at night!

"True again," Shimrra agreed. "So all three candidates should first undergo a test. The one who brings me the best lunch the next day – a real feast, mind you – will be Nen Yim's companion."

"What kind of decent food can such a shameful person manage?" sneered Ch'Gang Hool.

"It should be just enough for the Chazrach servants outside the citadel," Ghithra Dal echoed his colleague's mockery.

Author's note:

*Shaper: A kind of scientist, a bio-engineer of the Yuuzhan Vong. The shapers do create all the biotic helpers for daily life and of course the ships and weaponry of that people.

*Shamed Ones: People, whose bodies do reject body implants, the Yuuzhan Vong's higher castes are so proud to wear usually.

*Yun-Harla: The Yuuzhan Vong goddess of trickster and ruse.