DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
"I'm dead."
"Padawan, calm down."
"I feel like a man who's just been informed that his last meal was cancelled."
Obi-Wan was pacing across the long room, raking his fingers over his short brown hair. His blue eyes had a slightly wild look to them, as if his brand-new engagement were searing away his sanity.
Qui-Gon rubbed his forehead, wishing he could get rid of the feeling of impending doom. "There must be a way out of this engagement."
"What way?" Obi-Wan asked pitifully, sinking into a chair opposite his master.
Qui-Gon mulled over it for a moment, then sighed dejectedly. "I really don't know, Obi-Wan. But I'm sure some opportunity will present itself."
Obi-Wan started to nod, then stiffened. The same hunted-animal expression crossed his face. "Calian!"
"What?"
Obi-Wan launched himself out of his chair and over to the window. "He's going to kill me! When he finds out I'm engaged to the princess, he'll have my insides as my outsides!"
Qui-Gon sighed deeply and leaned his head on his hand. "He's a prince, Obi-Wan."
"Under the silks, he has the heart of a serial killer!"
"True, but how would it look if he gutted a Jedi Knight?" Qui-Gon swiftly parried.
Obi-Wan's face spasmed. "It would look like he had gutted a Jedi Knight who had been fooling around with his fiancee and then got engaged to her."
"Obi-Wan..." Qui-Gon could feel his patience stretching to the breaking point. He plucked a mint from a small ceramic bowl and popped it into his mouth. I need the soothing, he thought mournfully. "I'm going to visit the king, to see if we can't straighten out this mess."
"Suppose I feigned illness and pretended to die," Obi-Wan rambled in an odd voice. "I suppose we'd need a dead body then..."
Qui-Gon left quickly, before his padawan could speak to him further.
The king was sitting atop his huge golden throne, looking like a man precariously perched on a cliffside. His lined face looked tired, as he watched the servants hanging up white banners and bunches of gold-tinted flowers, in preparation for the wedding.
Qui-Gon glanced around the gleaming throne room, where the ceremony would take place. Then he slowly approached the king and bowed deeply. "Sire."
The king's weary face broke into a smile. "Master Jedi, I can't tell you how grateful I am!"
"For what?"
The old man nodded his crowned head. "I've had time to consider my daughter's engagement, and I'm convinced that it's all for the best."
"Oh?" Qui-Gon had the sudden impression that spiders were dancing along his spine.
King Ajuka pursed his lips thoughtfully. He took the golden crown from his white head and polished it absently with his sleeve. "Your apprentice seems to be a steady, reliable sort of boy. Good outlook, that's what I respect. Is it being a Jedi that makes you like that?"
"No, there are some very reckless Jedi," Qui-Gon said faintly.
"Depends on the person, eh?"
"Yes..."
"Splendid." The king beamed, plopping his crown back onto his head and sending locks of pale hair sticking out in all directions like a bizarre-looking flower. "Needs it deep-rooted, not just lessons."
"But what about Prince Calian?" Qui-Gon interjected. "What about the peace accords?"
King Ajuka frowned. "Peace accords are a problem. We'll have to work something else out--perhaps a territory exchange, colonies and all that?"
"Marriage seems like a better alternative, Sire."
"Ah, well. Some things can't be helped." The king glanced around, then leaned closer and spoke in a whisper. "I like your apprentice better than that Calian. Oh, the boy's royalty, but he has the temper of a fire-snake."
"I can't deny it," Qui-Gon admitted.
"Well, I want my daughter with someone who'll take good care of her." The king plucked off his crown and began polishing it again. Qui-Gon saw that there was a worn spot on his robe, where he had evidently indulged his habit before. "Not a firebrand--just a nice, steady boy. Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
Qui-Gon's plans lay in shambles on the floor. He had intended to appeal to the king's apparent discomfort about his daughter marrying a Jedi. Now... now he seemed to view Obi-Wan as the lesser of two evils.
"It's no longer relevent, Sire," he said quietly. King Ajuka frowned a little, dropped his crown back onto his head, and waved the Jedi away. Qui-Gon bowed again and left the room.
I need time to think, he thought as he left.
Now that the ultimate horror had grasped Obi-Wan by the throat, he saw no reason to confine himself to his room. He wandered cautiously around the passages, reassuring himself that it was a big palace and his chances of running into Calian were slim, if he was careful.
But when a tall, gray, gaunt figure appeared like a ghost in one of the sunny passages, he saw no way to escape.
"Queen Alkri," he said with a forced smile. "How are you?"
The queen looked down her pointed nose, beady black eyes narrowing. "I am well, young Jedi."
She didn't call me by my name, Obi-Wan thought. That can't be good. He forced a chipper attitude, despite the growing sense of dread he felt through the Force. "You were heading to the gardens?" he asked.
"No," Queen Alkri said. She began to circle Obi-Wan like a shark, her stiff gown sweeping the floor. "I came to see you, Jedi Kenobi."
What a fool I was, Obi-Wan thought. I thought it couldn't get worse.
"For what?" he asked in a strained voice.
"It's about my daughter," she rasped in her grating voice. "As you undoubtedly know, my daughter is a highly sensitive and caring young woman."
Obi-Wan tried not to choke. "Yes," he gurgled. "Yes... very sensitive... very very caring!"
"Be quiet!" Queen Alkri snapped, halting for a moment, then starting to circle again. "I simply wanted to make it clear that if there are any attempts to offend her... any at all... you shall regret it, Jedi or no Jedi. Understood?"
Obi-Wan felt a sudden stab of misery as the queen's gimlet eyes bored into his skull. "Yes, ma'am," he wheezed, feeling as if someone had jammed a ball down his throat.
Her thin lip curled a little in disdain. "Good," she growled, then swept away down the corridor, leaving a terrified Jedi apprentice in her wake.
Qui-Gon jerked in his seat as Obi-Wan burst into his room with a clatter of boots and wooden doors, his eyes and clothing wild. "Master, we have another problem," he said faintly.