Private Of Hearts & Spades

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:
//: Attire //:

Champagne, with her, had become something else. A memory Quinn held close, sweetened by the woman who made it more than just a drink. She had always enjoyed the sparkling alcohol, but after Mauve, it lingered differently.

The stem of the glass rolled between her fingers as her hazel eyes lingered on the bubbles, then shifted to the window. New Vertica stretched before them, alive and bustling. Quinn had seen the city from her own apartment, but from Mauve's vantage, it looked different. Clearer. As if she were being shown a world only the Zeltron truly commanded.

This was Mauve's world, and somehow Quinn had been invited into it.

She took a sip of the champagne, finishing what was left in the glass. The bottle stood nearby, and she prompted herself to pour another glass. Looking at Mauve, she offered the bottle to refill her glass.

She drained her glass and reached for the bottle, topping her own before offering it across with a faint smile.

"You've been busy," Quinn said, her voice measured, teasing but softened by something warmer. She sipped, watching Mauve over the rim of her glass. Both of them had been buried in their own affairs, and Quinn wanted this rare pause to last.

Mauve had become more than an indulgence, one Quinn could no longer deny herself. She wanted more — not just the beauty and the charm, but the layers beneath. She wanted all of it, even if saying it aloud felt dangerous.

So instead, she left the words unsaid. It was safer that way.

"The Galactic Empire has been making moves," she paused, the Alliance between Black Sun was still in the works with the Sith Order, which meant several things — things that worried Quinn. Her teeth caught her lip, hesitation betraying her poise before she gave in and asked the question.

"Are you going to be okay?"

The words were simple, but the way Quinn said them carried more. It wasn't the Princess of the Sith speaking, but the woman who wanted to keep Mauve safe, even if she could never say it outright.

 

[Mauve du Vain]

Mauve nodded for another glass, holding her hand out to accept it from where she sat on the sofa. Busy. Yes, Mauve supposed she had been busy. Her eyes went to the Jedi master in carbonite hanging on the wall in the middle of the living room. Her coat hung from one of his hands. The Zeltron's lips quirked in a smile, thinking back to the night she brought it home. Despite some tension from her cousin, it had been a rare moment of simple stupid fun with some of the Black Sun's most wanted.

But Quinn's words brought her back to the present.

The Empire.

Would she be ok?

Would they be ok?

Mauve snorted softly.

"Empire seems like a big word for a state that's existed for less than a month, but they have been busy too. Making moves," she repeated, a little frown creasing her magenta brow. "Quinn... there's..." she looked away, violet eyes studying the wall for a moment. "There's something you should know."

Selling out the Solipsists for what... for friendship?

Seemed as good a reason as any, she supposed. Maybe even as good as credits. And the Solipsists had been lacking lately in that regard.

"We made a deal with them. Sold them some isotope-5 a while back. My sources are telling me it's for something big. Really big. And the Alliance isn't the only target. They're coming after the Sith Order too. The Kainates, the Eternalists. All of you."

Quinn Varanin

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:

Quinn was silent as Mauve spoke. She had been aware of the relationship between Black Sun and the Galactic Empire. The Isotope-5 had been weighed in her direction, but it ultimately went to Solipsis. She had already known of the previous agreements, but the Princess had hoped the foolish banker had ruined their chances. A ridiculous thought of a schoolgirl, Quinn scolded herself.

Her eyes flickered towards the Zeltron. She could see that the information made her uncomfortable, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

Was it because it would be treason to the Underlord? To Solipsis? Was it because there was something more unspoken between them? They had danced this back and forth, one moment Quinn leading, the next Mauve.

Was this friendship or something more complicated?

She sipped her champagne and let the woman sit in the silence. Slowly, Quinn placed her glass on the table near the bottle. She moved carefully, almost as if she'd scare the Zeltron if she moved too quickly. The Princess trailed her fingers slowly down the other woman's forearm. Up and down in a gentle rhythm, comforting.

Quinn hated that Mauve had been in the middle of this.

"Thank you," she nearly whispered. "After listening to the Banker, they had sent, stumble in front of Velzari — I thought I'd have enough time to secure it." She smiled softly at her failures.

"It seems Solipsis is more cunning and prepared than we had thought." The man who had been a father figure for most of her life was clever, but after everything, was his condition catching up to him?

Her caress stilled, her hand sliding down to catch Mauve's fingers and lift them to her lips. Quinn kissed each knuckle reverently, hazel eyes never leaving the woman's face.

"No one will know you told me this." Her gaze traveled up the smooth line of Mauve's arm, meeting those violet eyes.

"In return… I'll give you something of equal weight."

She stepped close, lips hovering just shy of the Zeltron's ear, her breath warm against the shell.

"My Father has grown quiet... I have already made my claim — heir apparent in all but the crown itself." She tilted her head, letting her lips graze the tender skin just below Mauve's ear.

"That secret is yours to keep… and your shield if you ever need it."

When she drew back, her hand still cradled Mauve's, gentle yet unyielding.

"My Empire is your safe haven, if ever you choose it… my Veluthiel."

 

[Mauve du Vain]

The touch on her arm, the kiss on her fingers. Gestures of affection, or of ownership?

Mauve shivered at the words in her ear, a seductive invitation to a world that Quinn might call safe, but Mauve knew was even more dangerous than the underworld. The Sith played politics with knives and poison just as much as the Syndicate, if not more so.

And now Quinn might be the heir apparent, the new Empress. Mauve’s mind raced with the possibilities. The doors this could open for her. The dangers it could unleash.

“Empress Varanin…” she raised an eyebrow, “The Second?”

Ashin Varanin had been an empress of the Sith once, if the histories were true.

Mauve didn’t pull back from the hand holding hers. She squeezed back, reassuring.

“The Kainates, the Solipsists, the Eternalists. You’re going to have your hands full. I’m not sure what use I am to an Empress, surely you’ll have spymasters a plenty,” she teased.

Quinn Varanin