Private The Crown at the Edge of the Sky

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: Veruna Tower, Royal Palace, Theed.
Tags: Cassian Abrantes
X | X

Aurelian stood on Veruna Tower, his shape sharp against the starlit sky. The wind pulled at his dark cloak, sweeping his curly black hair across his face, yet he barely moved. Only a dangerous, knowing smile played on his lips, one that could charm or cut with equal ease. The stone beneath his boots shone pale, as cold as the crown now resting on his head. He was King Veruna II, standing on his namesake's tower, bearing his namesake's burden. The irony wasn't lost on him.

His bright, restless eyes scanned the heavens. Naboo's moons shone like watchful eyes, but it was Rori, the great emerald sphere, that truly captured his gaze. He tilted his chin, as if testing its distance, wondering if it might be far enough to finally silence Cassian Abrantes. For years, this had been the plan: exile, distance, the straightforward idea of banishment. Cassian gone, Aurelian secure, his legacy untarnished.

But that certainty had faded. He, too, had changed. The firmness of his jaw still showed stubborn pride, yet beneath it lay something new: an ache, a crack in his composure where ambition and loyalty clashed. Would simply pushing Cassian away truly diminish him, or had it only left Aurelian feeling more alone, with only the wind for company?

So, he had called him. Tonight. To this very tower, a place steeped in his family's history, to finally decide. Would they remain conquerors, rivals, or become something far more dangerous to each other?

​

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

The climb to Veruna Tower was familiar enough that Cassian could have walked it blind. Still, he took it slowly, step by measured step, feeling the faint shift of marble beneath his boots, the air cooling as he rose into the night. The city's hum thinned with every level he left behind, replaced by the river's murmur and the steady pull of the wind.

When the final door slid open, he didn't rush it. He stood a breath at the threshold and let the cool air meet him first. Then he stepped out. The tower stretched into starlight with its usual severity: pale stone, hard lines, a height that demanded composure over spectacle.

Aurelian was already there, a dark figure etched against the sky, the crown taking a faint sheen from the lanterns far below. Cassian did not answer that intent posture with challenge. Not tonight. His pace remained even, carrying him across the slow-polished border where men before them had stood to pledge, to recant, to decide.

His gaze went outward first. Theed glittered in thoughtful patterns across the valley. The view did not draw words from him. It only clarified the scale of the choices before them, larger than pride, larger than quarrel.

"Your Majesty," he said, at last. No edge, a small bow. An acknowledgment of fact, clean and sufficient.

He didn't press the silence that followed. He let the wind speak, let the stone hold its weight. He stood as if he belonged on that height, yet not to contest the crown. And there he waited, steady, until Aurelian chose to begin.

Aurelian Veruna

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: Veruna Tower, Royal Palace, Theed.
Tags: Cassian Abrantes
X | X

Aurelian didn't turn right away. He let the silence deepen, the wind sweep over stone and crown, and the tower's heavy presence speak before he did. His posture remained deliberate, as if the moons themselves bowed to his command. Cassian could certainly wait.

Finally, Aurelian's head tilted, just enough to acknowledge the man behind him. His eyes caught Cassian with a restless gleam, a dangerous smile curving like a half-drawn blade. The night air sharpened his features: the cut of his cheekbone, the unruly black curls, and the faint glint of iron in his gaze that no crown could soften.

"Cassian," he said, quiet yet unmistakable, the name carrying as if the very stones wished to remember it. "You stand here as though the height means nothing. As though the view is a judgment, not merely a backdrop."

His eyes flicked back to Rori's green glow. For a moment, his voice softened into thought, then returned, harder. "Tell me, then, where do your ambitions lie? Did you ever want the crown, or is that weight solely on your sister to shoulder? Do you intend to be more than the heir of a house content to wither in quiet, comfortable halls?"

The smile sharpened, its charm now edged with challenge. "Or is that all you'll ever be, Cassian Abrantes, an heir who doesn't care?"

​

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Aurelian Veruna​

Cassian did not answer immediately, nor did he rise to the bait in Aurelian's voice. He stood just within the reach of the night, his frame calm against the sharp edges of the tower, cloak swaying softly in the night wind. If Aurelian burned, restless and eager to strike, then Cassian was the tempered steel that had learned the value of restraint.

"You mistake me, Aurelian," Cassian said at last, his tone even, deliberate. "Ambition is not always measured by crowns or titles. It can be found in the duty one shoulders without recognition, in the choices made to preserve rather than to dominate." His eyes did not waver. "I never sought a throne, nor do I begrudge Sibylla's position or yours. But do not mistake my refusal to covet it for weakness, or my silence for indifference."

He took a single step closer, boots striking stone with quiet finality. "The halls of House Abrantes have stood not because we clawed for every crown, but because we endured, when others fell to ruin by chasing power for its own sake." His voice carried more weight now, not loud, but resonant in its calm. It seemed even now, his direction was truly misplaced as it should have been. He was fighting for something beyond his families or anyone else's understanding. That much was evidently clear, and it wasn't something he could explain to anyone.

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: Veruna Tower, Royal Palace, Theed.
Tags: Cassian Abrantes

Aurelian scoffed, a low, sharp sound, laced with amusement that cut deeper than outright anger. He turned at last, his cloak snapping in the night air, the crown catching faint silver from the moons above. His gaze raked over Cassian, restless and assessing, as if he were a complex puzzle rather than just a man.

"Endured?" Aurelian repeated, his dangerous smile curving wider. "No, Cassian. The House of Abrantes didn't endure. They slithered their way into dominion over Dee'ja Peak. They didn't have to crawl up from the mud and stone like the Verunas did, clawing for every breath of power."

"They simply inherited their vantage point and fortified it." His tone sharpened, the charm thinning to steel. "But that's neither here nor there."

He took a step forward, slow and deliberate, the wind pushing his hair back from his brow. "You speak of preservation as though it's a virtue. So tell me," his eyes narrowed, gleaming, "is that what you're doing now, with your demotion? Preserving? Enduring?"

Aurelian's voice lowered, intimate and probing, his smile never quite fading. "Something is off with you, Cassian. I can feel it. You hide behind restraint, behind noble words, but I'll find out sooner or later. You might as well tell me yourself."

The weight of his stare pressed in, a mix of iron and curiosity. "What are you really fighting for?"

​

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian held his ground, Yet his expression remained unshaken, only a flicker in his eyes began to stir beneath the surface, a glint of old wounds and tempered steel. Yet Cassian remembered himself, there were bigger things happening here at work. He spoke of what House Abrantes did, compared to House Veruna and he simply nodded, not in agreement just an acknowledgement of one's own view.

"As you say." Cassian took a deep breath as he looked away for a brief moment, before his gaze returned to Aurelians.

"You see ghosts where there are none, your grace.," Cassian replied, voice low but steady, every syllable carrying the weight of choice rather than reflex. "You mistake reflection for weakness, silence for shame. But I have no need to parade my cause before you, or anyone. What I fight for is not yours to command, nor yours to define."

His gaze sharpened, finally matching the intensity of Aurelian's stare. "Demotion, call it what you will. I have not fallen, only been reminded of the ground beneath me."

Cassian's hands remained still at his sides, but his words struck easy, yet true.. "I fight for those who cannot claw, who cannot even speak. That fight does not need a throne, or a title. Only the resolve to stand when all else falls."

He let the words settle, then added with a quieter edge.
"You say you'll find out sooner or later. Perhaps you will. But do not mistake your crown for entitlement. Some truths are carried in silence because they are heavier than crowns."

Aurelian Veruna

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: Veruna Tower, Royal Palace, Theed.
Tags: Cassian Abrantes

Aurelian's smile grew thin, sharp, and dangerous. He had tolerated Cassian's calm demeanor, his riddles, and his restraint, but now Cassian's words festered in his mind. He spun to face him completely, his cloak flaring, a dangerous light in his dark eyes. The night wind, almost like a drawn blade, seemed to carry the gleam of his crown between them.

"Silence yourself!" Aurelian commanded, each word sharp, almost burning. "We may have known each other before I wore this crown, Cassian, but don't mistake that history for any kind of privilege. You will not speak to me like this."

He took a step closer, and the air between them thickened with tension. His voice rose with the clear weight of command. "Yes, my crown signifies entitlement. It's the entitlement to ensure the safety of Naboo and its people. This is the burden I carry, a legacy I carved out from hardship and expectation. So, when I see someone who pretends to champion noble causes but truly acts only for their own gain, for their house's benefit, I will uncover what they're hiding."

Aurelian's hand clenched at his side, a restless energy barely contained. "So spare me your cryptic lessons and riddles. You're lucky I don't send you halfway across the Mid Rim to steward Geonosis, to bury you beneath dirt and irrelevance. Do not test my patience, Cassian."

His tone hardened further, though beneath the anger lay an unspoken ache, the sting of disappointment. "I brought you here to discover common ground, the very foundation of Naboo itself. But all I see is a man full of secrets, someone fighting only for himself. And frankly, there's only so much goodwill your sister can extend to you."

The crown caught the lantern light once more. "Tell me now, will you stand with Naboo, or will you continue to hide behind shadows?"

​

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Aurelian Veruna

Cassian did not recoil, nor did he raise his voice against the tide of royal fury. Where Aurelian's presence filled the tower with heat and thunder, Cassian's calm was its counterpoint, a steady current refusing to be broken. His cloak stirred with the same night wind that carried the king's command, but his stance held, resolute.

"I do not mistake history for privilege, Majesty," he said, his voice measured, deliberate, as though he weighed every word before it left him. "Nor do I confuse restraint for secrecy. If I speak in riddles, it is only because plain words too often are twisted by those eager to find treachery where none exists."

He took one step closer, though not in challenge, but in clarity, narrowing the gulf without presumption. His eyes never left Aurelian's.

"You say you carry the entitlement of the crown. Then know this, entitlement demands suspicion. To rule is to doubt, to see shadows in every corner. I do not fault you for it. But do not confuse vigilance with truth. You speak of my house's gain. Very well. Let me speak plain."

The faintest edge sharpened his tone now, like tempered steel beneath velvet. "I have no hunger for your throne. I seek no dominion over this world. My fight, mine, has ever been for Naboo's people, whether or not the crown chooses to see it. That will not change, whether I am praised for it or exiled for it."

For a moment, silence hung, Cassian allowed the night air to sweep between them, carrying away the harsher edge of words. When he spoke again, it was quieter, steadier.

"You ask if I will stand with Naboo. I already do. But Naboo is not a single man, nor even a crown. It is its rivers, its fields, its families, its lifeblood. That is where I stand."

Aurelian Veruna

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Location: Veruna Tower, Royal Palace, Theed.
Tags: Cassian Abrantes

Aurelian rolled his eyes skyward, letting out an exasperated breath. For a moment, he looked entirely like a young king, worn down not by battles or burdens, but by the sheer, relentless nobility of the man in front of him. A scoff escaped him instead of a laugh.

"By the stars, Cassian," he muttered, his voice thick with sarcasm, "I swear I'll hurl myself from this tower just to be spared another sermon on your damned honor." His smile was dangerous and mocking. "All I asked, simply, was what you were doing with this so-called demotion. Yet here we are, circling endlessly in riddles, with you cloaking yourself in tales of rivers and families like some poet lost on a battlefield."

Aurelian began bobbing his head with an exaggerated rhythm, his tone turning sing-song. "Yes, yes, honorable Cassian Abrantes. Doesn't seek titles, doesn't crave crowns, blah, blah, blah. The people's champion in a plain cloak with softer words. It's enough to make a man sick."

The mocking smile vanished, replaced by a steely gaze as his eyes narrowed. "I don't trust you. And don't mistake my patience for belief in your cause. I don't believe you're truly in this for Naboo. And I won't have your shadows, your secrets, anywhere near my palace."

He let the words hang, sharp and cold, before finally turning away, his cloak snapping behind him as if to punctuate the dismissal. "At least I can tell Sibylla I tried," he added, his voice low, carrying just enough bite to sting. "When she asks why her brother remains a lowly soldier, I'll tell her he earned it himself."

Then, he turned outward again, toward Rori's distant emerald glow, his posture final and unyielding. "That will be all, Cassian."

​

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Aurelian Veruna​

Cassian did not rise to the barbs, nor did he bristle at the dismissal. If Aurelian’s mockery was meant to crack the mask of restraint, it found no purchase, the soldier’s face remained composed, his voice even.

“Then tell her so,” Cassian replied, quiet but steady, each word carrying enough weight to cut through the night air. “Tell her I earned my station. That I accepted a….lowly soldier title. I would rather stand in the dust with my honor intact than sit in gilded halls at the cost of my soul.”

The wind tugged at his cloak, carrying the words no further than they needed to go. Cassian inclined his head, not a bow of fealty, but a measured gesture of respect, formal and unyielding.

“Majesty…”

For a heartbeat, he let the silence deepen, the tower stones absorbing the tension between them. Then he turned on his heel with lowly soldier’s precision, cloak sweeping close, and began his descent down Veruna Tower.

He did not look back, but he did smile.

“It’s a simple life…”

Thread Exit​