Public Homecoming King | Parade on Alderaan

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Sibylla Abrantes

Her knack for wedging logic into his thick skull was nothing short of legendary. She had a way of dismantling his rigid perspectives, forcing him to see the gray areas he preferred to ignore. This confusing interrogation had been a trial, a lesson in empathy he hadn't asked for but clearly needed. Standing in the shoes of those he judged was uncomfortable, yet he finally understood. If Sibylla were the one lost to the dark, he wouldn't just mourn her or let her be; he would be the one holding the torch while she burned the galaxy down. He would do far worse than Cora ever could with her brother just to stay by her side.

Everything made sense now, filtered through her stubbornness and impossible questions. He grasped the weight of her loyalty, though he still maintained a healthy, specific spite for Acier Moonbound . Feth that dude. Some things were non-negotiable.

As her hand settled against his chest, the warmth of her palm anchored him. The vulnerability he usually masked with a dangerous smile began to seep through. She was choosing the wreckage and the repair alike, promising to walk any path as long as he gave her the truth.

Honesty had never been a native tongue for a man raised on political theater and shadow plays. It felt heavy and clumsy in his mouth. "I have tried," he finally admitted. "I have really tried to be better, ever since we found each other. You know that."

Memories of his darker impulses threatened to surface, the ones he kept locked beneath the floorboards of his mind. He wasn't a man of half-measures, and his past was littered with the consequences of that intensity. Being with her was the first time he had ever felt a reason to check his own blade.

"But there are things I have done that are unforgivable, Sibylla," he said, his gaze dropping to hers. The air between them felt thin, charged with the gravity of his confession. "I have already crossed that line you're looking for. I crossed it a long time ago. But you... you are the only one pulling me back from it."

Gently, he moved a stray strand of hair from her face, his fingers lingering against her skin. The admission felt like shedding a layer of armor, leaving him exposed in the middle of a foreign fething garden. He didn't have a plan for this level of sincerity, but for her, he would learn to speak without the script.

"If the truth is what you want, then that is it," he whispered. "I am a man of many sins, and I suspect I will collect more before we reach that yacht. But as long as you are the one holding the line, I will keep trying to find my way back to you. Always."

​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Open​

Braze settled a hand on to a stone balcony and a vision of the past washed over his awareness...

The small Nezumi skittered along the balconies and buttresses overlooking the main parade route, taking care not to attract too much attention from the 'too bigs' that had come in their multitudes to see the return of their king. Few would ever truly pay attention to a creature as small as the Nezumi, and this one called Latchghost had spent several weeks in Aldera City alongside a colony of fellow Nezumi operatives. Up until now, Latchghost had busied themselves with planting covert listening and surveillance devices across the city in walls, pipes, and anywhere the Nezumi could reach.

A memory clung to the balcony like oil to a waxy surface: small claws over carved railings, quick little bodies slipping through places larger hands would never think to search, the soft scrape of a panel lifted and set back into place. Braze's gaze followed the path the vision left behind, up along the banner brackets, across the buttresses, down toward the pipes tucked beneath the garden's decorative spillways.

Braze reached out and found what had been left behind... a tiny device snapped free from beneath the lip of a stone planter and sailed into his palm, no larger than a beetle's shell, its casing painted to match the masonry.

His expression went very still... Braze had spotted the hidden device exactly where the vision of the past had shown it to be. With careful fingers he turned it over in his hand, studying it with exacting attention. Then he sank into the tiny machine through the Force, pressing into its circuitry until he understood the carrier signal, the relay path, and the hidden network to which it belonged.

A devious little smirk spread across his features at the realization of what he had stumbled upon.

Rather than simply destroying the bug outright, he chose something crueler. He forced it to remain live while twisting its own feed back through the chain, making every stolen whisper, burst of crowd noise, and strand of comm static repeat, sharpen, and poured energy in to the network, amplifying the surveillance system sharply and suddenly as the entire network threatened to collapse into a shrieking, squealing loop of useless, ear-piercing sound.

Anyone actively listening would have to cut the feed, mute their receiver, or abandon the channel altogether… or endure the punishing feedback as the hidden devices betrayed themselves with their own noise. Decisively, he pressed outward through the Force, feeling for the other bugs linked to this one, and began spreading that screaming static rippling outwards from one concealed listener to the next until the whole spy-web was poisoned turning in upon it's self.

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Tags: Gram Arranda Amani Serys Mercy Varin Mortifer Lysander von Ascania Connel Vanagor​

"Well, it's too late for etiquette now." His head tilted. "But now that you're here.. what did you take, or who did you cross to get it?"

"That," answered Lily slowly, wondering how the hell he knew "Is neither here nor there."

Her eyes moved to the mountain as he spoke, his head tilted like her words were difficult to process. Was he all meat and no brain? "Is it blinders, or is it simply a chance to enjoy life for a day without the overwhelming fear that every day in the light might be your last?"

Movement behind both of them drew her eye. How Lily had missed her she wasn't sure, because when woman peeled away from where she'd blended into the background, she was just as immense in stature with the one with the freaky eye.

And Lily knew exactly who she was.

Star-Arm.

Empress in the Core.

Memories flickered behind her eyes, bodies broken beneath rubble, fires burning in the wake of a storm and the unmistakable buzz of thousands of voices echoing in her mind. Golden eyes settled upon her, Lily's hands closed quietly into fists, stilling the tremor that had risen in them.

Fuck.

This was going to get ugly fast.

As if one cue, the Queen herself slid into the interaction and for the briefest of moments Lily was relieved. Maybe there was hope, maybe now the four of them could have a civilised conversation without threats hanging over them.

"So is this arrogance I see, or stupidity?" She looked around at the assembled guards and Jedi, "You seem to be operating under the assumption that you are prancing around Naboo. Unfortunately, that is not the case. When it comes to Sith, Alderaan does not take half-measures. We learned that the hard way about… 900 years ago." Amani smiled politely. "How about you give me a good reason why I should let you stay? As opposed to flattening this whole block with a turbolaser?"

Lily blinked. Her hopes dashed across the cobblestone they were stood upon.

"Wait…what?"

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

Gardens
Aurelian Veruna

"I know," Sibylla replied quietly, empathically, as her thumb brushed lightly against the fabric of his coat in an attempt at a small grounding motion to reassure him, ignoring for the moment that they were shadowed in the flower hedges of Alderaan's royal gardens.

"I know you have been trying hard." She repeated, shining him a soft smile of encouragement that was equally edged with steady certainty.

"I have seen it, Aurelian, every moment of it," she continued, taking a step closer so she had to tip her head back up to meet the amber of his eyes. It was there in how he did his best to rein in his temper, to take the moment to listen and really consider another's opinion or circumstance, to try and open himself up to be more than just what others had expected of him and more what he wanted to be.

"And I am very proud of you." and while the words were gentle, they carried a truth she did not offer lightly. Her hand gave a soft, affectionate rub against his chest, the gesture simple and almost teasing in its familiarity but filled with quiet reassurance.

"...everyone has done things they regret," she continued at last, her tone shifting into a more thoughtful muse. "Things that others might call unforgivable."

Sibylla's gaze drifted briefly, distant with the weight of history, as she thought back to what Cassian had revealed about Thessaly and how they had once been in love. How choices had set in motion a series of events that led to bitterness and anger.

They were still trying to locate him, and even now, Sibylla wasn't sure if his disappearance had something to do with Thessaly, with the Republic, or as an attack against House Abrantes itself.

"And perhaps more so for those of us born into Royal Houses. We know too well how bloody our histories have been… what it took to bring fractured worlds under a single crown."

She returned her attention to him, something gently knowing in her expression.

"I am not so naive as to believe you have never lied to me," she added, the faintest hint of dry amusement touching her voice. "Or that you did not embellish a tale or two when we first met, acting in the only way you knew how."

Certainly, they had both watched each other not only with wary eyes but also with a facade of composed cordiality and inciting banter. Yet look at them now.

"But I also know this." Sibylla's hand shifted slightly, her fingers curling over the quickening thump of his heart.

"You took my offer of counsel seriously on Foundation Day. You make the effort to keep me involved. And when it is only the two of us…you let me in." she murmured in a quieter breath. "Please do not mistake this as having to relay everything to me; I do not expect to know everything. That would be neither reasonable nor wise. But what is important, truly important, I seek to be involved in."

"So will our lives be perfect?" Sibylla asked, her tone lighter though no less sincere. "Will every decision be neatly arranged so that no one is harmed?"

She shook her head slightly, the delicate jewels of her headdress lightly tickling the shell of her ear.

"No, I think we both know the galaxy is not so accommodating...and while things may very well not be settled in neat rows or lines, at least we may endeavor to do our best within it."

Now as for his claim that he had done unforgivable things... Sibylla's attention drifted back over the garden even as she considered why Aurelian would be so concerned over what he had done in the past. She thought back to what Aurelian had revealed to her on that secret cove along the coast of Parrlay, to the stories of his family, his childhood, his father, and his sister, and what it was like to live within those unforgiving stone walls.

He was a product of his upbringing, and he had no one to support him then. No one, until Tona, and even then, he stared stubbornly at the trials of his youth with a grit and determination to survive that she knew most would not be able to stomach. If she lived a sheltered life, Aurelian's was a gladiator's arena where he had to prove himself over and over again against the expectations of his father and family.

So her gaze softened again, and she swallowed hard, taking a deep breath before adding.

"I know growing up in your father's home was not easy," she said gently. "You did what you had to do to survive, Aurelian. I will not fault you for that."

The need to touch him rose within her as much as the desire to reassure, her thumb brushing lightly once more over the fine fabric of his jacket.

"You had no one then. No one to stand beside you while you faced a man the galaxy already knew for what he was." She drew another quiet breath, then added, "The past is the past. And it led you here."

To this moment. To me.

"It is different now," she said with a bit of wry sincerity, "You are older, with a bit more experience, and although you are utterly, incredulously, maddening at times, you are wiser in your role as a man, as a Patriarch, as a King."

Then, with a soft draw of breath, she told him empathically:

"And you are no longer alone." and there was no hesitation when she added, "You will never be alone again."

By then her gaze fully lifted to his once more, and there was no denying the way that unwavering determination settled into place.

"So hear me well, Aurelian Marcus Veruna," she said, her voice soft but certain. Her hand pressed just slightly more firmly against his chest.

"You are, whether you like it or not, quite thoroughly tethered to me." she told him in absolution with the faintest, fondest curve of her lips.

"And I do not intend to let you go."

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Sibylla Abrantes

Silence was a rare state for a man like Aurelian, yet he remained quiet as her words washed over him. The weight of his father's legacy and the cold expectations of House Veruna had always been a cage, but Sibylla's voice felt like the key. He listened intently, finding a strange, healing warmth in her certainty. If the path to this moment required every scar and every long, lonely night in the stone halls of his youth, he would endure it all again in every lifetime just to stand in this garden with her.

Tenderness surged through him as she declared them tethered. It was a foreign, almost terrifying concept to be truly believed in, yet she did it with such effortless grace. She was propping up the parts of him that had been crumbling for years.

"You are entirely too good for me," he murmured, leaning down to press a soft kiss against her forehead. It wasn't a statement of self-loathing, but a genuine appreciation for the miracle of her support. Being Aurelian Veruna was a burden, but loving him was a labor he knew few could handle.

Fingers interlaced with hers, he resumed their stroll, his eyes lingering on the golden rose tucked into her chestnut hair. The sight grounded him. "I hope I help you as much as you do for me," he admitted, the self-consciousness of the thought making his voice low.

He knew her mind might drift to his care after Corellia, to the weeks he spent watching over her recovery, but he meant something deeper. She had fundamentally shifted his orbit, pulling him out of a selfish, cynical existence.

Aurelian had more friends now simply because she refused to let him hide behind his own arrogance. Without her steady hand, his impulses and his recent escapades with the Mandalorians likely would have sparked a diplomatic nightmare. She was the one who smoothed the edges of his chaos, acting as the anchor that kept his ship from crashing into the rocks.

He couldn't help but wonder if he provided her with anything of equal value, or if he was merely a storm she was tired of weathering.

"Do I make you better?" he questioned, the sincerity in his eyes stripping away the last of his royal mask. He needed to know if this partnership was a mutual ascent or if he was simply dragging her down into the dirt with his... personality. He had been told all his life that he was a disappointment; believing otherwise was the hardest battle he had ever fought.

​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

Gardens
Aurelian Veruna

You are entirely too good for me.

The thought struck Sibylla, and for once, no clever retort rose to meet it. Instead, her expression softened in recognition of the exposed vulnerability he was showing her.

"Aurelian…" she began quietly, but the rest of it never quite formed because she then felt the warm brush of his lips against her brow. Her breath caught, and Sibylla couldn't help but close her eyes for the briefest of seconds as she melted into the tender display of affection. Aurelian rarely dared reveal such emotions outside of the Rainspire, or when they were truly alone, so she treasured this. Whatever protest she might have offered dissolved into that simple, tender gesture.

This was Alderaan, not Naboo. The galaxy's attention was fixed elsewhere, caught up in thrones and futures and matters far larger than the quiet indulgence of two people stealing a moment.

So she allowed herself this. Allowed herself him.

When her eyes opened again to let her gaze caress the lines of his beloved face, Sibylla's mouth curved into a warm, grateful smile. Her arm slipped easily through the crook of his elbow thereafter, and as they resumed their walk, her fingers rested lightly against his forearm.

The smile only broadened as she admitted:

"You do," she admitted without hesitation, thinking about how in the past year, his presence in her life had impacted her in so many different ways.

"You make me better, Aurelian. A version of myself that is not forever drowning in duty, nor quite so concerned with the opinions of others," she revealed, taking a quiet breath as her gaze drifted ahead, as her mind flickered over the memories.

"No… more than that." Her lips curved faintly, giving a faint nod of amused concession as they slowly ambled forward, completely unaware of the chaos going on that very moment within the Palace between the representatives of the Covenant and the Royal House of Organa. "You have taught me that it is all right to enjoy my own life. That it need not revolve entirely around expectation or obligation."

It was in the reckless moments that he pulled her in without apology or warning. The way he tossed challenge after challenge at her feet, goading her to meet him stride for stride in whatever adventure he devised next. Guarlara riding beyond the palace grounds with his laughter carried on the wind, those wild curls flying free. The shock of cool water when she followed him into a pond fully clothed. Even the stolen nights at Parrlay where they had snuck around and used their middle names to play pretend for a little while, felt wonderfully far away.

No, Aurelian had not simply changed her path; he had widened it, allowed her to explore trails and paths that she would have normally steered away from.

Look at me now, she thought to herself, only to glance up at him then with an expression edged faintly with exasperation that could not quite hide its affection.

"So yes," she said, with a touch of wry surrender, "I shall admit it -- once, and only once, as I am quite certain you will never permit me to forget it…"

She paused, ever so slightly, just long enough to borrow a touch of his own theatrical timing.

"That your maddening, brazen charm does, on occasion, possess its advantages."

The chestnut waves of her hair tickled her cheek as her head gave a slight cant up towards him, the delicate chime of her headdress stirring faintly in the breeze -- but it was the affectionate and beloved expression on her face that truly emphasized what she told him next.

"You have given me something I did not realize I was missing," she said more quietly but sincerely with all her heart.

"An adventurous life… one well worth living."

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Sibylla Abrantes

"So that is what I am good for," Aurelian mused, a slow smile spreading as he looked down at her. "Teaching an Abrantes how to actually enjoy herself. Who would have thought? I really am quite generous."

The realization warmed him more than the Alderaanian sun. While she acted as his steadying force and moral compass, he provided the color and the escape. It was a balance he hadn't realized they had struck until now. He could be the one to lift the weight of responsibility from her shoulders, even if only for a few stolen hours at a time. It gave him a sense of purpose that had nothing to do with lineage or politics. He wasn't just a King or a Patriarch to her; he was the breath of air she took when the galaxy became too suffocating.

Mischief flared in his eyes as he leaned closer, his voice dropping to a playful hum. "I suspect you would have found your rebellious streak sooner or later, with or without my help. If we hadn't been forced together by treaties and boring diplomatic sessions, I like to think we would have met at one of my grand parties. You would have arrived looking entirely too proper, and I would have made it my mission to ruin your composure before the night was over."

The thought of their intersecting paths often occupied his mind. They were the culmination of an old feud between Houses Veruna and Abrantes, a collision of blood and history that should have ended in disaster. Instead, they had built something that defied the expectations of Naboo's elite. He truly believed they were an inevitability. Whether in a senate hall or a crowded ballroom, he would have found her. He would have chased that spark in her eyes until she had no choice but to fall for him.

"Maybe we should be rebellious together right now," he joked as they reached the edge of the formal gardens. "Alderaan certainly doesn't need us. Dominique has everything handled, and the King is back. Surely they can manage a few hours without the Naboo delegation hovering over them."

Aurelian paused, his gaze drifting toward the palace spires. Movement along the high balconies caught his eye; guards were shifting in tight, hurried formations, their usual ceremonial grace replaced by a frantic urgency.

A shadow of a frown touched his face, but he didn't let go of her arm. Whatever chaos was erupting behind those stone walls felt secondary to the warmth of her against him. If the galaxy was choosing this moment to break, he was content to let it wait for a few more seconds.

"Then again," he whispered, his eyes narrowing as he tracked a squad of soldiers double-timing it. "It seems the galaxy might have other plans for our afternoon..."

​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

Aurelian Veruna

Sibylla rolled her eyes at Aurelian's remark about teaching an Abrantes how to enjoy herself.

"How very magnanimous of you," she replied, her tone edged with light, knowing sarcasm though the corner of her mouth betrayed her with a reluctant smile. He was in better spirits now, at least. For a moment, he had seemed almost… apprehensive of her answer.

It was curious, really -- how the strangest circumstances led them into conversations she never would have imagined having with him. Certainly not here, of all places, in the Royal Gardens of Alderaan. Was this a normal thing or just something that happened with them? The year they'd been together had certainly revealed to them both the nuances and newness of what it was to be in a relationship -- well as much of one while keeping it decidedly hidden from the rest of the galaxy.

"You are quite aware you are good for more than that," she added, exhaling with mock indignation before a quiet chuckle escaped her. One brow arched, this time with impish delight.

"Oh? And what precisely would this rebellion entail?" she challenged, lifting her chin just slightly. "No,no -- do not trouble yourself, I believe I can guess. It will in all likelihood involve you discovering yet another body of water to fall into, and me being tasked with fishing you out."

Sibylla's lips curved as she cast him a sidelong glance, recalling all too vividly the pond, the Guarlara ride, and Dominique's inauguration where he had managed, quite impressively, to end the evening thoroughly soaked.

"Let me remind you, I cannot simply sneak you out of --" Her words trailed off as she noticed the slight furrow of his brow, followed by the narrowing of his eyes. At once, Sibylla turned her head, catching sight of a squad of soldiers rushing across the balconies. More quickly joined them, and murmurs began to rise as attendants moved with growing agitation. An icy chill ran down her spine and her smile faded into quiet concern as her own brows drew together.

Something was wrong. Wrong enough to prompt the rushed movement of security teams.

"…we need to reach Dominique along with the rest of the delegation," she said quietly, her grip tightening around Aurelian's arm. Worry aroused as much as curiosity, but honestly, she wasn't curious enough to risk Aurelian's life.

"Come, the last thing we need is for you to remain in the open while Alderaan's soldiers are in such a state....particularly with that rather excessive bounty still attached to your name."