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

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:

She didn't pull away. It was a good sign, but Quinn already knew the way Mauve's mind worked. The wheels turned, hopefully, in the Empress's favor in the future. As much as she had wanted to keep it strictly business between them, it would be a lie to deny her affections for the Zeltron. Quinn wasn't known to take a bullet for anyone, Mauve had been the exception — but she had been the exception to many rules for the Echani.

"Yes, the second — but also no," she started as her thumb caressed gently across the Zeltron's hand. "Two different iterations of Empire, same Sith sadly." Quinn wanted to be different; she had valued the teachings she had gained from the current Empress. Still, at the end of the day, she was Sith — no matter how many times she tried to prove otherwise.

Her ambition made her strong, but it also scared her. The closer it all got, the more she needed those around her.

"The Solipsists do not worry me, like their 'born again' leader — they'll be here today, but gone tomorrow." She mused that the Core Emperor was too much a leaf in the wind for her to care.

"The Kainites have had their fangs and claws blunted, and the Eternalist would be as loyal as can be to me. While my hands may seemingly be full — they'll always be open to you." Quinn squeezed Mauve's hand to reassure and to add weight to her words.

"Sure, I'll have spy masters and people vying for my attention and the like. I don't care for them." Her soft features hardened for just a moment, "I have no desire to entertain sycophants. I don't care what they have to offer."

She brought the hand she held to her face, letting it rest against her cheek as the Princess found comfort in it. A part of her worried that Mauve only saw their interactions and exchanges as being useful. While it may have started as such, it was no longer that. Unlike others, Quinn couldn't hide anything from the Zeltron. She valued it, almost treasured it.

"Why are you concerned with what you offer?" Her voice softened, as she let her eyes search the woman's face. Quinn let herself go in the moment, as much as she would be viewed as something more — all she wanted, especially from the woman in front of her, was to see her as just Quinn.

"None of that matters to me."

 

[Mauve du Vain]

A nervous chuckle escaped her lips and Mauve shook her head, strands of dark purple hair swaying.

“I know but… that’s not what I meant.”

She sighed, shifting in the couch restlessly.

“It’s not you I’m worried about. Or maybe it is. I mean, you seem so sure you have all these splinter groups handled. It makes me worried.”

Mauve looked at the princess, meeting her eyes, then looked away, jutting out her lower lip in a pout.

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit… I don’t know. Overconfident?”

The Zeltron leaned her head back on the couch and stared up, eyes following the lines of the intricately carved bronzium tiles adorning the ceiling.

“Getting everything you’ve ever wanted can make people sloppy… Have you? Gotten everything you wanted, I mean?”

Quinn Varanin

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:

Quinn leaned away slightly as she let her gaze drift from the Zeltron. It was easy to let herself live the confidence she figured people wanted to see in her. It was easy to follow someone who showed no fear and who said things were handled because they said so.

She stayed quiet, thinking over the words of the woman beside her. It was hard to hide things from Mauve. The woman read her emotions as if she were openly displaying them. Their eyes met for a moment, and then, as usual, Mauve turned her attention away. Only to pout, something that Quinn found herself finding… cute.

"Overconfident? No," she shook her head, almost exasperated. "I'm not Srina Talon. That woman would command peace, and it would bend to her will."

It was true: the Kainites and the Eternalists' constant war had stopped because she willed it. Men dropped to their knees in her presence. Something that Quinn could only dream of.

"My confidence is something I was taught to have, a mask if you will. It's easier to deal with things behind that mask — if anyone realized I was a scared little girl…" her voice trailed as she feigned a smile.

"You know how Sith are."

The big question was what came after everything. Quinn pressed her lips together tightly. As much as she was someone who could have everything, she didn't.

Best to answer honestly…

"Mmm... No." Her eyes flickered back to the woman beside her. She watched the curve of her neck and the way her attention was on the ceiling. The Princess wished she would look at her, but she would never say it aloud.

"I don't have everything I want. One thing has always been out of my reach, no matter how hard I try." She laughed at herself; it was a foolish thing to want, particularly for someone in her station.

"I'd honestly give everything up for it… If it was real and that person only saw me for me."

Her eyes never left the Zeltron as she answered, hoping for just a brief glimpse of how she felt and what she thought about the Princess's answer.

"What about you? Do you have everything you've wanted?"

 

[Mauve du Vain]

"No," Mauve gave a world-ending sigh, head lolling back even further on the couch, neck arching. She could feel Quinn's stare. Her heartbeat quickened.

"Every time I think I get it all I find myself... wanting more."

She finally turned to the side, pulling up her legs onto the couch. Violet eyes watched the lines of Quinn's face, like an artist examining another's work.

"So," she let the syllable drag out and float on the air, "you wear a mask around me."

The Zeltron gave an impudent hmph, then moved to scoop up her drink from the living room table with a sort of languid grace that sent those bounty hunters fawning. She took another sip, then swirled the liquid around in the glass, eyeing it.

"Should I even ask who this person you'd give up an empire is, or is that hidden behind a mask too?"

Quinn Varanin

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:

Mauve's sigh stung the Princess more than she would have liked to admit. Quinn didn't comment; she just listened. It seemed both she and Mauve had that tendency, to want more than what had been given to them. Both needed to take, to gain, and never stop — nothing was ever enough.

Though they were still different. She could tell there had been more of a fight for Mauve to gain what she had — Quinn was born into it. A part of her hated that, but there was no changing the circumstance.

She tried not to think less of herself for it.

"A mask?" she repeated curiously. "No," Quinn stood from where they were, and she forced her way onto the woman's lap. As much as Mauve probably didn't look at her, Quinn could only go so long without the woman's attention.

Slender fingers caressed the line of the Zeltron's jaw, till she could simply guide her face to look at her. Her amber gaze took in all that the Vigo was, trying to understand her thought process and why she'd assumed a mask was in play.

They both knew Quinn couldn't hide much from Mauve.

"You're allowed to ask," Quinn murmured, her voice lowering as she drew closer.

"Though I doubt you'd believe my answer."

 

[Mauve du Vain]

A little gasp parted Mauve's lips as the princess settled onto her lap, followed by a tremor of need as a fingertip caressed the side of her jaw. Mauve licked her lips.

"Am I?" Mauve whispered back, eyes wide.

The aura hovering around Quinn was one of hunger. Desire. Quinn didn't really want to talk.

Mauve's lips twitched into a smirk.

Too bad.

"Don't say me," the Zeltron's laughter was breathy, dismissive, "Didn't you have a handmaiden. What happened to her? The one you couldn't even kiss me for."

Her nails raked across Quinn's thighs before settling on her hips as she stared up into the woman's eyes.

"Or is there someone else," her eyes narrowed, "Someone new."

Quinn Varanin

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:

The tone Mauve took almost hurt Quinn, but she expected the Zeltron to not assume she was the one. Why couldn't the Princess have what she wanted? Why couldn't she throw away the unimportant for the important? The thought frustrated her, but this was a situation she had orchestrated herself. She had kept herself from indulging in what she wanted for the benefit of someone who didn't honestly want her in the end.

A frustrating revelation that ripped her heart to pieces.

Quinn bit her lip, more so out of annoyance than desire. Mauve brought up the one topic she didn't want to talk about.

She should have known. There was no hiding anything from the Zeltron.

"She wanted her freedom and her safety," Quinn responded, doing her best to hide the hurt in her voice. The wound was still fresh, and she didn't want to indulge further on the matter. Kirie was gone; she was out of the picture and free to do as she wished in this galaxy.

Quinn had given her the means, and with that, she ran.

Their eyes met once more, Quinn swimming in the depth of Mauve's gaze. Easily, she could lose herself as she had more often than she would like to admit. Her brow furrowed as Mauve questioned if there was someone new.

Was that a hint of jealousy? Or did she truly require the Princess's reassurance that she was who she chased?

The hand that had gently caressed the delicate curve of the Zeltron's jaw now found itself firmly grasping the woman's chin. Quinn sat a bit taller in the woman's lap as she looked down at her, through lidded eyes.

"Someone new?" she questioned, her voice low. "No, there's no one new… how could there be Mauve?"

The Princess tilted her head, watching that beautiful face for any reaction.

"I'm too busy chasing you, wanting you…" Her legs straddled and tightened around the Zeltron's hips.

"Yes, I'd give it up for you — if that's what you asked of me, but I would also conquer the galaxy if you wanted that."

Quinn drew closer, her lips a breath from Mauve's. She held her chin firmly, a thumb gently pulling at the bottom of her lip.

"Do you believe me now?"

 

[Mauve du Vain]

Teeth grazed the woman's thumb in answer, lightly scraping against pad and nail. Mauve's lips curved into a smile.

"Maybe..." her voice came out in a husky, sultry whisper that lingered in the air.

Mauve couldn't help but feel a little thrill of triumph at the news at the end of her own personal rivalry. Not that the handmaiden had ever really known it was such. And why shouldn't she be just a bit smug about it? Should she cry for the handmaiden? Boo hoo. They both got what they wanted. The handmaiden got to be free - whatever the fuck that meant - and Mauve got Quinn. Got to sink her claws in a little tighter.

And Quinn? Quinn got to tighten her thighs around Mauve.

Winners all around.

Mauve didn't address it though, she could feel Quinn's discomfort. She didn't even bother with a consolation. It was clear Quinn had other things in mind tonight than a hug and a cry.

"I don't know if I believe you," Mauve's fingernails pressed into Quinn's hips, slow and deliberate, until the pressure of bordered on pain. "No other dalliances?"

Her tongue flicked out, tasting the thumb Quinn so boldly placed within biting range, then withdrew. Mauve leaned her head back onto the couch further, neck tilting, back arching languidly.

"Tell me if you have," she murmured, words dripping coyly from her lips like sweet venom, "I promise I won't get mad." A pause, needling. Teasing. "Am I the best you've had?"

Quinn Varanin

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:

Mauve dug her claws in, and instead of pulling back, Quinn leaned into her grip. The tight hold was what she wanted, the pain a deterrent for what she was feeling. She watched as her breath hitched slightly as that pair of plum lips parted, and she toyed with the Princess's thumb.

As Mauve spoke, Quinn's eyes flickered back to meet her gaze. The question was one she should have expected. The handmaiden thing was jealousy, and her curiosity about other affairs only fed into it. Quinn didn't answer right away, too busy enjoying the attention to her hips and her thumb. The final question and the physicalness that came with it colored the Echani's porcelain face with a slight rosy tint.

This was what she wanted, what she needed. She wanted to forget the heartache, bury it into something else — someone else. It was easy with Mauve; she already cared. It was something dangerous and something she would never admit.

"I can't lie to you," Quinn whispered between them. It was the truth, and she leaned into the Zeltron. Her hand trailing from her chin, a single finger brushing along the woman's neck, and further down.

"Only one." Quinn answered as her brow wrinkled. She figured Mauve had her own affairs outside of this one, but Quinn didn't care to ask. She didn't want to know; she didn't know if her ego could handle it.

"But yes," she answered again as her breath heated against the tenderness of the other woman's neck. Lips caressing gently at its curve as she finished.

"You are the best…" the Princess pressed her body further, hips rolling into the Zeltron's grip.

"It's why I keep coming back… I keep chasing… there's no one as good or better than you, my Veluthiel."

 

[Mauve du Vain]

The trailing whisper of the princess’ finger made Mauve arch further. A smug, self-satisfied smile curled her lips at the words and the touch and the rolling of the Echani’s hips.

The lips against her neck brought forth a sigh and Mauve closed her eyes for a moment, simply feeling.

She could feel the woman’s want, an insatiable need that hung around her in hues of aubergine and indigo, nearly overwhelming a deeper and darker cobalt of fear and sadness and… was that pain? Mauve’s nails clenched even harder, pulling the woman further down against her. The only distance between them the black satin fabric of Mauve’s night shorts and shirt. She could feel the heat of the Echani’s body.

The smell of jasmine hung in the air, thick and cloying. Quinn’s susceptibility to the scent was not something Mauve had exploited intentionally before, except once… But she knew she could soothe away the Princess’ fear and sadness and replace them with an overwhelming euphoria. They’d never tried.

“You’re still sad. I could make it go away,” Violet eyes fluttered open and she whispered “…Do you want me to?”

Quinn Varanin

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:

Quinn buried herself in the curve of Mauve's neck, her body pulled as she melted into the woman. This was what she wanted. She wanted everything to feel better. Not to think of the future, the possibilities that she was to one day command a nation, or that someone she thought would always be there was no longer there. To know she wasn't chosen, to see that she couldn't do the one thing she promised… all of it was too much.

But, as far as she knew, with Mauve, she was chosen, she was picked.

The bouquet of jasmine filled her senses. It was like a drug, one that Quinn felt her mind grasp at. She wanted it, she loved it. Maybe that's the reason for it, for the Zeltron to have these pheromones. If it were possible, Quinn would press herself further, feeling the heat of their bodies, craving what this closeness brought.

Her eyes opened, but she didn't pull away. What Mauve was asking about was a slippery slope — one that gave the woman control of a weapon. That's all she was, a weapon, a being created with a horror device for a heart.

Quinn didn't hesitate.

"Yes." She leaned up as she whispered, with no fear in her voice, only want, desire — something more hidden, laced under it all.

"Make it go away, please."

Leaning in, Quinn pressed her lips against Mauve's, searching for that reprieve she promised.

 

[Mauve du Vain]

Their lips molded to one another, the pressure soft and fierce all at once. Mauve trailed up a hand along Quinn’s body, until she gripped the Echani’s thick golden necklace. The metal warm in Mauve’s hand from where it had rested against Quinn’s throat. She tugged on it, pulling Quinn closer.

“Ok,” Mauve murmured against those lips.

The smell of jasmine grew stronger, then a tidal wave of emotion crashed into Quinn. Pure, unadulterated bliss swept over her, stronger and sweeter than any rush of glitterstim or hit of spice. The roaring euphoric tide washed away everything else before it: sadness, loneliness, despair, anger. It left nothing but a drowning ocean of earth-shattering, cloud-breaking rapture. The kind that left hardened warriors sinking to their knees with tears of joy streaming down their face, overwhelmed. So strong. Maybe too strong. Mauve worried she might send Quinn into a paralytic state.

So, she threaded the euphoria with a craving. A need for more that preyed on the desire Quinn already felt, drawing it out and enhancing it until between the euphoric shock and the ravening riptide of feral, primal want, Quinn might not even recognize herself anymore.

Mauve gripped the gold chain tightly, watching to see the effects take hold, heartbeat racing.

Quinn Varanin

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Mauve du Vain //:

Jasmine was always a comforting bouquet to the Princess. It was always followed by rain — the fresh, crisp scent of the cloudbursts common on Eshan, where she had been born. It was the aroma that led her back to the living, that pulled her soul from the Nether and bound it back to her body — because her mother willed it.

The rain always came after the jasmine…

Sheer bliss bombarded the young Echani, her mind opening to the new experience — high off whatever threaded through the pheromones. This was different from the first time she had felt them. Back then, her loyalty and trust in the Zeltron had been at the forefront; the need to protect had drawn her weapon.

Now, happiness — or something deeper — surged through her. It blended into every part of her mind, and the empathy she had learned to snuff out suddenly awakened, guiding the flood of emotions through her so they would not shatter her psyche. She could feel more between them — something she had always wanted, but had never dared to let herself experience so freely.

Quinn's breath hitched as the emotions pulsed through her; the desire already building began to dominate her mind. She wanted Mauve. She needed Mauve…

She—

"Mauve…" Her voice slipped out, soft but heavy with every ounce of longing the Zeltron's pheromones amplified. The Princess felt the tightness from Mauve's hold on the necklace, her face flushing as she reveled in being pulled close.

Quinn leaned in, her hands wandering, tugging at silks as she did. She was aware of what was happening, but time seemed to slow, her movements driven by pure instinct. Kisses trailed along the curve of the Zeltron's neck as her words brushed against amethyst skin.

"Thank you," she breathed, squeezing her legs tighter. "This… you feel so good."

 

[Mauve du Vain]

The smirk curled up the Zeltron's lips once more as she felt the Echani woman collapse in on herself and welcome in the oblivion of ecstasy brought in by Mauve, her very own personal pharmacological suite. Could Quinn even comprehend the rush of adrenaline Mauve felt at knowing she could bring the princess to her knees with just a look? If it was just the pheromones, Quinn would have been stronger and resisted. This wasn't about that. It was about them. About the hold Mauve had over the platinum haired Sith.

And Mauve reveled in every second of it.

She could feel the ectsasy radiating from Quinn and the second hand wave of emotions from the aura made Mauve feel weak, her stomach spinning, the kisses from Quinn's lips searing against her skin. Every touch ignited something in her belly and she wanted more. She needed more.

Those pale, lithe legs compressed around Mauve and she let out a throaty chuckle, broken off by a gasp as another kiss crackled against her skin. Mauve didn't let go of the necklace, the metal heating up between her fingers, feeling the movements of Quinn's head as she trailed her lips lower.

"Anything... for you," Mauve sighed weakly.

And then she hit a button on her datapad and all the lights in the living room went dark. And the rest transpired on the couch and on the countertop and against the window, beyond which gleamed the city lights of Nar Shaddaa far below - the Smuggler's Moon.

Quinn Varanin