Had to Happen Eventually

[Roella Arwyn]

Eadu
The Sovereign's Palace

Turns out, Eadu was a long ways away from Striga, especially while lugging around the head of a gigantic lizard. But she was here, straight after the events of the jungle world. She had taken the time to gather Thorne and Dawn, but she had left the armor after cutting the head off of the lizard. That meant that in the ride over, she was still in her tank top and pants, with the head of a lizard on a sled behind her.

When she rolled up into [member="Varik Ice"]'s throne room, to present her prize, she was all smiles. She had been cleaned up at the least, no longer covered in cuts and burns. She beamed as she lugged in the head on a sled, standing in the room, tired, sore, and hurting.

"Y-Your Grace, I present to you the head of the Balyeg, the most dangerous creature in the galaxy!"

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Armour​

Location: The Sovereign Palace​

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​

Varik had been talking with one of his advisors, trying to reject the advice as much as he could that they should simply annex Striga rather than deal with the locals as much as they had, especially with what they'd done for them. He knew that wouldn't work - not on these people. Perhaps at times they'd have to employ such means, but it wasn't the right thing to do here. And he certainly wasn't going to become yet another vying warlord.

Varik was still in his armour, the helmet placed on a small table near his throne. As he glanced to the entrance, having been informed of a visitor, he quickly shooed the advisor away. He looked almost a bit confused as he saw Roella dragging a giant lizard's head behind her, and he gave an eyebrow raise at her proclamation. "I see."

The Sovereign stepped closer to her, looking past her at the Balyeg's decapitated visage and let a mildly impressed expression cross his face; it might not have seemed like much for most, but that was more than many ever got from him. "It's certainly very...large." He had read up on Balyegs, though he didn't encounter one himself on Striga. He assumed that she must have, but...

"How did you come into contact with it?" He didn't remember any particular assignment regarding her or her knights for a Balyeg in particular. Did she do it for her own reasons? If there had been knights with her, especially less leaving than had arrived, that might be a slight cause for concern. He hoped he wouldn't have to hear that, though.

[member="Roella Arwyn"]

 

[Roella Arwyn]

The young woman stared at him, eager for approval. Her crystal blue eyes followed him, and she puffed out her chest with pride, a beaming ear-to-ear smile on her face.

"Yes, it is very large! Very dangerous, too!"

Roella of the House Arwyn, heir to the throne of the Talravani Queendom, excitedly launched into her story of how she killed the lizard.

"Well, once I was down on Striga, I sent all of my knights home. I wanted to earn all of this glory by myself! Then, I went deep into the jungles to find the cave, and I found it. Once I found the cave, I went in with just my sword and a torch! Well, my armor got shredded, and my back got really messed up, but I managed to kill it. It was the strangest thing, you'll never believe it, I got so, so angry, and my hands shot lightning!"

She smiled nervously at [member="Varik Ice"].

"Strange, huh? I've never thought people could do that."

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Armour​

Location: The Sovereign Palace​

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​

Varik stared at her, his eyes unmoving from hers as he listened to the story. Only once it was over, did he blink that single time. Well, it hadn't exactly been what he expected. Taking a deep breath, he seemed to think before responding with a question. "You sent the knights home? All of them? To fight a Balyeg yourself? What if you had been killed?" There was more clear concern in his tone; she had done great things for them, and she was clearly someone with a good heart. It would've been a bit tragic for her to die that way.

He let out an audible sigh before he simply nodded along, giving her a more solemn look. "I believe you. You say you shot lightning from your hands?" Varik carefully stepped past her, brushing across her as he examined the Balyeg's severed head more closely. "Have you ever...felt like you knew where things where? Figured things out a second before they happened? Have you ever felt very...connected to someone, and you can't say why?"

He figured the answers he was fishing for were obvious, but if she'd never been educated on the force...well, he'd offered this to others, ti was only right to do the same for her, he supposed. As he looked over the Balyeg's grimacing face, he confirmed it to himself. Yes, the creature had definitely been somewhat fried on the inside. She wasn't lying.

[member="Roella Arwyn"]

 

[Roella Arwyn]

When he brought that point up, her face flushed, and she laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck. She hadn't thought of that, really. She had been so obsessed with the idea of glory, she hadn't exactly considered the other consequences that could have arisen from her adventure into the Balyeg cave. With her face as red as her hair, she managed a nervous response:

"W-Well, I suppose I didn't really think about that? I mean, I'm a princess, you know? Of Talravin, and I was trained in swordplay by the greatest swordswomen my world has to offer, so I was fairly confident I could take on a big lizard." She glanced down at her armorless form, and sucked in air through her teeth. "You may have a point, however. I was not nearly as careful as my tutors would demand I be. I apologize, Your Grace. I shall endeavor to be far more careful in the future."

She cocked her head at him, and scratched her red hair. What a strange set of questions.

"I suppose? Such things are very common in my line. Most of the women of my House report such incidents, but we never pay much attention to it. My mother told me that such fancies are beneath a princess of House Arwyn, and I trust my mother's opinion on most things."

[member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Armour​

Location: The Sovereign Palace​

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​

Varik's eyes narrowed as he heard her answer, still staring at the Balyeg's frozen grimace. It's not as though he could look to it for answers. But he'd suspected this for a while, and he knew he'd sensed some form of power inside her, as he had with Irons, and Ahdaka. It was raw and untrained, but it was there. He supposed this was how he looked when he first left Barab II, even if...it didn't feel so long ago, now.

"Don't apologize. Just..be more careful, next time. I need you around here, not dead." He wasn't sure if that got the point across - that she was important here, at least in his eyes. Not just from a diplomatic standpoint, since she was the reason the Knights of Talravin were here. She was important to the Sovereignty in what she'd done already, and what he was convinced that she was capable of. He mulled over what he was going to say next.

"Your mother may not have told you, and may not want me to tell you this. You're sensitive to the Force, and can use it. You do...know what the force is, don't you?" He assumed someone with one of these 'highborn' educations would - everyone had a different belief about the force. Even the shamans of his world, for as wrong as he saw it to be now, believed in something.

[member="Roella Arwyn"]

 

[Roella Arwyn]

What was this? [member="Varik Ice"] needed her? Her heart raced, and she nodded, not trusting herself to speak. There was no way he meant personally, of course. What had she even done, really? Nothing. She was no admiral, no general. She was simply a warrior, dedicated to finding personal glory, and spreading the ideals of her people to heretics and those unfortunate enough to be born of lower blood. Not like Varik, of course. Varik was the High Sovereign, after all.

Coughing into her fist, she rubbed the back of her neck. She had been brought to heel, a bit. In hindsight, perhaps rushing into battle with a giant lizard that could easily kill her in a moment wasn't the best idea she had ever had? The young princess smiled nervously.

Then completely blanked out at his next statement. Her? Force Sensitive? She blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. What in the name of the Seven Sisters?

She looked away, running a hand through her deep red hair. It made sense, she supposed. Explained a lot. Her line was Force Sensitive? She cringed internally. Did this mean she was a Jedi?

Across the galaxy, on Talravin, someone stirred. A great darkness, sitting on her throne of silver and gold, frowned. Something had awakened, she could feel it. Theodora Arwyn reached out, and felt the Force in her daughter. Interesting.

Back to Roella, she looked back to Varik.

"What does this mean? Am I to be sent away to the Jedi?"

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Armour​

Location: The Sovereign Palace​

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​

Varik had to hold back a scoff as she mentioned the Jedi. The Sovereign turned, giving her a look as he stared, keeping eye contact with her. He'd intended to simply try and gauge her reaction, at first. As he stared, he realized it was the first proper eye contact they'd had where she hadn't been telling a story or he hadn't been talking about how reckless she'd been. There was an awkward silence as he suddenly found it difficult to think of what to say.

"No." He cleared his throat, glancing aside. He wasn't sure what that was even about, quickly shaking it off as best he could and regaining his composure. "I need you here, so you'll be trained here. I can handle it. If you think you can deal with that, of course." He could believe his training was slightly harsher than most others, at least those within the Jedi Order.

Varik continued to just stand there, his hands behind his back as he glances back at the Balyeg head behind him. He stared at it for a moment, his gaze finally returning to Roella. "You did do well. Killing this was no easy feat, I can see that. Only one other person has done it, to my knowledge." And that was someone that he believed had even more battle experience than her, with a significant 'pedigree' to fighting as well, if one chose to believe in that sort of thing.

[member="Roella Arwyn"]

 

[Roella Arwyn]

She was about to speak further, to tell of the legends of the Talravani Jedi who had served in the Republic, of the legend of Bastila Shan, of how proud her people were of that, but her voice died in her throat, for he was looking into her eyes.

Eyes as blue and cold and ice stared into her own crystal sapphires, and Roella could not speak. Her chest tightened, and she found it hard to think. What was wrong with her? She was a princess of House Arwyn, of Talravin, she was not a child to be intimidated by simple eye contact! But was this intimidation? Was that what she was feeling? The young woman did not know what she was feeling, honestly. Everything about this event was confusing, to her.

Then the moment was gone, and she blinked. He was offering to train her? Himself? It was an intriguing idea, learning at the feet of the High Sovereign himself. She decided she would not mind, but what was she thinking? Surely, he had better things to do with his time than to worry about a silly girl from a backwater world out of her element?

She swallowed, then dropped to her knee, a sign of respect to one's superior on Talravin.

"I-I am unworthy of such an honor, Your Highness, but if you will take me, I shall learn under you."

[member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Armour​

Location: The Sovereign Palace​

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​

Varik was a bit surprised by her reaction. She seemed a bit flustered by the concept of training with him, and he wondered if he perhaps was misunderstanding something culturally. Was the force not appropriate? He'd never ben led to believe so previously, at least not by Shaun or anyone else from Talravin that he'd met...or perhaps it was something else?

Training under a man, perhaps. It may have been a scandalous idea for the Princess of Talravin to even consider such an offer, but he couldn't be sure. He was never good at remembering such things, and he wasn't very good at things like that, anyway. He didn't particularly care for it.

"You aren't unworthy. If you were unworthy, I wouldn't ask you." He walked closer to her, enough that he could easily reach down and place his hand on her shoulder, something to show her that he acknowledged what she was doing. He understood the very basic message of what she was doing; she was showing him respect for what he'd offered, and he did appreciate that, at the very least. He paused, holding the hand on her shoulder for what felt like a while before clearing his throat.

"You can stand now."

[member="Roella Arwyn"]

 

[Roella Arwyn]

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she awaited his response to her show of deference. What did all of this mean? Her mother had told her none of this meant anything, it was all useless. Tales for children. Normal. Did she know? Had her mother lied to her? Things niggled at her mind, then. The things she had. . . sensed from her mother. The feelings of dread she got in her presence, sometimes. The feeling of impending and oppressive darkness. But the feelings always passed, and her mother became the same inscrutable queen she had always been. Roella was getting the feeling she was stumbling onto something here she did not want to stumble upon.

Then his hand was on her shoulder, and the tightness in her chest was back. There was an element of exposure without her armor. The princess was without her protection. She was vulnerable, and now that she was aware of things, she was aware that some may consider her state of dress inappropriate for conversation with her monarch. By the Seven Sisters, if mother caught me like this, she would end me.

But she rose when he told her to, and nodded solemnly.

"I shall not disappoint you, Your Grace. Of that, you have my word. I will serve faithfully, however I can."

[member="Varik Ice"]

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Armour​

Location: The Sovereign Palace​

​

​

Varik nodded back at her, a sense of pride welling in him from seeing her respond that way, the same way he'd felt seeing Ahdaka and Shaun. Seeing them training, improving; these were things he wanted more than anything. He paused, trying to think of what he was supposed to say now.

"I know." He stared at her again as she stood up, though he felt almost uncomfortably close to her now, compared to before. He had this problem again, still staring at her eyes and trying to figure out the words. It was very odd, he wasn't sure how to describe it. He had to work on his vocabulary, or something. It was easier dealing with enemy forces.

"Right, well. Is...there anything else?" He cleared his throat again, glancing up and past her towards the rest of the room, trying to figure out if the staring was what made it difficult. He was usually good at doing that, a holdover from how he had been back at home - eye contact and physical prowess were the important things, they were all that had mattered. Everything was so much simpler then.

[member="Roella Arwyn"]

 

[Roella Arwyn]

He was staring at her again. Why? Why was he staring at her? Why was he staring at her, not saying anything? Why was he staring right into her eyes like that? She was raised in the courts of Talravin, where the key was looking between the lines of every little thing anyone said. She prided herself on having a keen sense of people, and being able to judge their character quickly. That meant reading expressions and body language, and the tone of their voice.

[member="Varik Ice"], however, was completely inscrutable and it was very frustrating. She had no clue what he was thinking, at all. Seven Sisters, it was far easier to kill a Balyeg than attempt to understand this man. She made a note to work out her frustrations with life on a practice dummy later.

In the meantime, she cleared her throat, flushing when his gaze moved away.

"Your Grace, I find myself in need of new armor, actually. I would like to request permission to return to Talravin to commission a new set."

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Armour​

Location: The Sovereign Palace​

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​

Usually, sitting in silence and just looking at someone was a good thing in his life. At least, it had been so back on Barab II, as he now knew it - things were a bit more complicated off-world, it seemed. Was this odd for a Talravin, or was this normal? She seemed almost uncomfortable, or frustrated. Perhaps she expected him to speak first.

He paused at her request, his eyes glancing down again; they met hers for a second, as he looked down at the rest for a moment. "I had wondered where it had gone." Varik had intended that to be a joke, though he wondered if it would come across that way. He hadn't exactly been working on his humour, and it wasn't something he was known for. At all, really. Even he knew people assumed he didn't feel joy, somehow.

"You can. Don't be long." He didn't necessarily intend it as an order, but it seemed to come out that way. The firmness in his voice, and the lack of a clear expression on his face made it seem like he was being more authorative than anything, though some did prefer that in him, he'd noticed. At least it would give him time to plan - for her training, and how he was going to keep her and Shaun very far apart.

[member="Roella Arwyn"]

 

[Roella Arwyn]

W-Was that a joke? It was almost impossible to tell, to her. [member="Varik Ice"] was similar to a marble statue; it would take an expert years of study to determine the true meaning behind his static expression. In fact, the man himself reminded her of many statues she had seen back on Talravin. The royal art gallery was filled with them, and the man in front of her was eerily similar to the men immortalized in the statue gardens.

Of course, most of those statues were of men not clothed, and the man in front of her was in fact, clothed. Talravani artists liked to capture the human form in its most natural state, but somehow she doubted her Sovereign shared the same fascination. At any rate, the joke. Maybe? It was very difficult to tell, which was the entire point of the metaphor, and now she was comparing the High Sovereign to marble statues. Great. Thank you, wandering train of thought.

And he gave her permission. She hadn't truly expected him to say no, after all. There was no reason for him too, that she was aware of.

"H-Have you ever visited Talravin, Your Grace? 'tis a beautiful world, unlike any you have ever seen, I guarantee it. Perhaps you would like to come with me? I'm sure your presence would inspire more of my fellow women to flock to your cause."

 

[Varik Ice]

Varik Ice​

Equipment: Lightsaber - Armour​

Location: The Sovereign Palace​

​

​

Varik tilted his head at Roella for a moment; she seemed confused. Or her mind was simply wandering, that was also a possibility. He supposed he could understand that - perhaps she was thinking of home. He began staring again, though this time was for more an inquisitive purpose; it was back to the eyes again, simply because he wanted to figure this out. Why did it seem...different? She reacted differently than most would, but it was also him.

He found it difficult to think about what to say. He felt more...tense, it was odd. He couldn't really remember this feeling, but it was...familiar. Where had it been before? Perhaps she reminded him of someone? As he was trying to go through his mind, think of who it could possibly be, he heard her question.

"The men wouldn't be inspired?" He was prodding her with the question - he wanted to see her reaction. He understood men were not well-treated on Talravin, and he had never hidden his distaste for it; not that he cared whether it was men or women, simply that there was a 'second class' in the first place. He wasn't sure how she felt about it. On one hand, she was the princess, heir apparent. On the other...she showed him respect, treated him fairly.

"I would like to come with you. I'm sure we have capable people that can handle things here."

[member="Roella Arwyn"]