The Red Crown of Eshan
Jutrand had not always been home. What had been home was Srina. The woman was the anchor in the young Echani's life, pushing her, teaching her the skills necessary for what was to come. Quinn could feel it, the galaxy shifting, powers flowing differently than before. The Sith had always been powerful, even in times where they clung to their last breath… they always returned.
The Darkness never fully receded.
That itself was a lesson. While Sith didn't always mean evil, it had the connotation of light-siding rivals. Where the two entities often needed each other for balance, Quinn found herself questioning that lesson. She wondered if her affections were being drawn as they were first to Reina and now to Bastila… if that was part of the balancing act of the Force.
Too many complicated emotions swirled in her chest as she sought the comfort of her mother. Though Quinn wondered if she could be of aid to the woman as well. Her mind flickered to the brief interaction back at the club on Coruscant. She hated not being able to be there for her, to be reminded that her tantrum had only made things difficult. Quinn hadn't thought of Srina in the moment she had lost her…
Instead, she let the grief consume her and threatened to make the forsaken planet pay for it.
Why hadn't she stopped? Why didn't she try to find Srina not just through the Force but with her own eyes?
Perhaps she was nothing more than a child… perhaps that's why she remained just the Princess behind the Blackwall, not the Empress.
Exhaling softly, she pushed through the wide doors of the palace hallway.
Here she followed the pathway through the private areas to her mother's location. She fondly remembered running, her feet slapping against the ground as she cried out for her mother… cried out for the person who always had time for her.
Srina was the only one who never forgot Quinn.
"Mama?" Quinn called out to the woman; today, she made sure she was fully clothed and appropriate… her mother's eyes, and the way her face softened with worry for just a moment when she was found in the club.
Never again would she let Srina see her like that, never again would she see what she had seen in that club.
Brushing her short hair back behind her ears, she cleared her throat, coming upon where the woman seemed to be waiting.
"I'm home…" She cheerfully called out, but too often she was away from the palace, especially now being part of the council. She stepped closer, her arms moving — wanting an embrace, but she paused.
She bowed her head carefully, giving respect to her mother, her Empress…
Her entire life.
"I've missed you… I…" She stopped and lifted her eyes for a moment to look upon her.
"We have a lot to catch up on… but I'm worry about you…" She shifted her stance, moving closer, becoming a child trying to forget the mortality of their mother.
"Are you well…? I sense… I feel something different."
I'm scared.