Oh, boy, if you think I complicated the story before, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

"Debut" - part 5

Jacen rubbed his temples tiredly.  "Anything?"

Tenel Ka shook her head, grimly looking over the cracked and charred detritus of Mea Velara's apartments.  The air still smelled of smoke.  "No," she answered, "nothing.  I feel nothing more through the Force except the stain of violence and death."

"And the ghost of the anger belonging to whoever did this," he agreed.  He watched her wipe at her face, leaving a dark smudge of ash on her cheek.  "We'd better go now," Jacen said as he took a few steps towards her.  "There'll be snooper droids to go through this soon enough."

"You are correct."  Without a thought, Tenel Ka took Jacen's hand and they carefully picked their way across the floor and exited the room.  They stopped beside Tenel Ka's parents.

"We were unable to discern anything from inside the apartment, Mother."

Teneniel Djo nodded.  "Perhaps in the morning, after you have both rested, you might be able to learn more."

"Good idea, Your Highness," said Jacen.

With a nod to both Teneniel Djo and Isolder, they headed back to the area of the palace where their own quarters were located.  The two young Jedi stopped before the door to Tenel Ka's rooms.  Taking a deep breath, Jacen turned to face her.

"We were… interrupted," he said cautiously, then raised a hand to her face, gently wiping at the smudge.  Jacen let his hand linger.

"Yes," Tenel Ka replied, "we were.  But I am not sure exactly what it was that was interrupted."

"Neither am I."

"Then perhaps we should talk… tomorrow."

"Definitely," he answered, his fingers still lightly brushing her skin.  "I don't want to go," Jacen confessed.

"And I don't want you to stop," Tenel Ka agreed, grasping Jacen's hand with her own.  A few seconds later, she broke the contact, reluctantly.  "Goodnight, Jacen."

"Goodnight, Tenel Ka."

**********

Morning found Tenel Ka physically rested, but more confused than ever.  Her dreams all night had been fitful, changing from the most placid and pleasant of memories of her times with Jacen, to frightful scenes of what might happen if their mysterious would-be assassin were not found.  She walked across the threshold into the large enclosed gardens of the palace.

The warrior girl was suddenly surrounded by the sound of forest birds and the smells of a hundred different kinds of flowers and trees, their vibrant colors an explosion of light all around her.  She paused and knelt beside the small bubbling stream, taking a quick drink of the sweet, clear water.  Standing, Tenel Ka looked around, stretching out her feelings, searching.

Letting her Jedi senses guide her, she walked towards one of the larger trees, one with strong, yellow branches.  "Jacen?" she called softly.

"Yes?"  The bright voice came from just above her.  Suddenly, Jacen came swinging down from a lower branch, his knees hooked onto it solidly.  He held a large purple citrus fruit in one hand.  "Looking for me?"

Tenel Ka only flinched a bit.  "Ah, Jacen.  You startled me."

"Doesn't look it."  He held out the fruit.  "Do you want some?  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Ta'a Chume would find a way to stock this place with ripe Corellian praj'ka at this time of year."

"No thank you," she replied, then playfully wiped at his chin, where a trickle of the purple juice had run down it.  "Let me return the favor."  When she'd finished, she asked him to come down.

"Nah.  Why don't you come up?"

"Very well," she agreed, and crouched down, preparing to leap up.  Instead, she felt herself gently lifted by nothing, gracefully floated beside Jacen, and gingerly seated.  She looked flatly at him.

"Sorry," Jacen said sheepishly.  "I needed the practice.  I guess I should have figured you wouldn't want the help."

"No," Tenel Ka said.  "Thank you, Jacen.  I will try to be more… appreciative of assistance from now on."  She paused.  "When it is warranted," she added slyly.

They sat together in silence a while.

"So," Jacen said finally.  "Are we going to sit here all morning and take in the scenery, or are we going to talk?"

"Where should we begin?"

He sighed.  "How about we start where we left off last night?  What do _you_ think got interrupted last night?"

"We were just about to… that is, we just barely…  What do you think?"

"We were going to kiss."

For another few moments, the two sat quietly, neither looking at the other.  "Something has changed, Jacen," she began.  "Something about the way I feel… when you're near me.  I mean…"

"You mean your heart starts beating so fast, or it feels like it's stopped altogether.  You feel like it's suddenly gotten much warmer, but you can feel yourself shivering.  It's like you wonder how you could have possibly been breathing before the other person walked into the room."

Tenel Ka's eyes were wide with surprise.  "You've felt like this before?"

Jacen raised his head, and looked her in the eye for the first time that morning.  "Only every time I'm with you."  He watched the words sink in.  "But it didn't start recently."

"No?"

"I felt it the first time I met you, and have ever since.  I don't really know how it happened, but… somewhere, sometime, you became the most important thing in my life.  I've never felt like this before.  I've never cared for anyone, never wanted to be with anyone, never felt more connected like I do with you."

He breathed deeply, as if gathering his courage to go on.  "There have been _so_ many times that I've wanted _so_ much to tell you how I feel.  I don't know how I'm doing it now, but I know if I stop, I may never be able to start again.  Tenel Ka, I…"

She placed her finger against his lips.  "Don't say it.  At least not before I get the chance to speak my own heart."

"Jacen, I know you understand that I am… unaccustomed to talking about my feelings, but I also know that having you here will give me the strength to.  I often look back over my life, and I am amazed.  Not so much by the adventures I've experienced, nor the many amazing things that I have seen, but when I think about you…"

"You are the one thing in my life that I know I can rely on.  I know you will be there-- to fight beside me, to listen to me, to help me… to just _be_ there.  I cannot for _one moment_ imagine spending a single second of the rest of my life without you.  You are my strength, and my soul."

Jacen smiled.  "I never thought I'd live to hear you say something like that to me."

Tenel Ka returned it.  "I never thought I'd have a reason to say something like that to anyone."

Jacen leaned closer, without hesitation.  "I love you, Tenel Ka."

"And I you, Jacen, with all my heart."

At last, their lips touched.  Jacen and Tenel Ka felt themselves begin to melt into each other, for the briefest of moments.  Suddenly, they sprang apart.

"Not again," Jacen moaned.

"The disturbance is not the same, Jacen.  It's stronger.  Much stronger."

"And much closer this time."  They both dropped nimbly to the ground.  "Strong and close enough to follow."

The two Jedi sprang for the door, running at full speed towards their quarters.

"Postponed again, eh, Tenel Ka?"

"I want nothing more than to finish, Jacen.  This is a fact."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

**********

With a roar of powerful repulsorlifts, the sleek black ship lowered onto the wide expanse of the palace's courtyard.  Burly armored guards, each hefting a heavy blaster rifle, surrounded the craft.  Prince Isolder stood atop the palace steps, a blaster strapped to his belt, directing the men.

"Be ready, men!  I don't know how they managed to break through our security net, but I do not intend for them to go any further!"

The jet-black ship stood still, its systems still hissing and pinging from the stresses of space travel.  Slowly, a single, wide boarding ramp lowered to the ground.

Clang.  Clang.

A single figure strode down the ramp, heavy boots ringing against the burnished metal.

Clang.   Clang.

The guards, born and bred for courage, faltered just in the slightest.  Long black robes fluttered about the figure, who stood more than two meters tall.  Black armor shone in the morning sun, and the figure's mask shook the nerve of even the staunchest man there.

Jacen and Tenel Ka emerged from the palace, lightsabers at the ready.  Jacen gasped.

"Grandfather…" he whispered.

"Darth Vader…"

TO BE CONTINUED…