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Obi-Wan went through the rest of the day in a daze. Qui-Gon hadn't spoken to anyone but the Sovereign, and that was in a whisper. Most of the time, he simply stood next to the Sovereign's throne and listened.
The Sovereign herself was almost a figure of awe for Obi-Wan. He was used to royals and nobles, but she radiated an odd sense of comfort and almost godlike distance. She seemed to smile often when looking at him, warming her cold features. He wondered how she knew Qui-Gon, and why he had never heard of her.
Risoin had been livid. Obi-Wan couldn't repress a small smile of satisfaction as he remembered the reddening of Risoin's handsome face when he had seen Qui-Gon. He had sent Obi-Wan to their guest suite for the time being.
Only I took a little detour.
He knocked on the ornate door that lead to Qui-Gon's suite, and heard a faint, "Come in." As he shoved the door open, he saw Qui-Gon by the high windows, running his hands over a holographic red ball that shifted color. His face was intent, focused on the puzzle.
"Hello, Master," Obi-Wan said awkwardly.
Qui-Gon looked up without surprise. There was a deep sadness in his blue eyes as he looked at his former apprentice. "Do not call me 'Master.' I'm not your master any longer."
"Master," Obi-Wan said deliberately, stressing the word as he sat down on a slouchy, overstuffed chair, made more for comfort than looks. "Why are you here? You never spoke of the Sovereign to me, but..."
Qui-Gon smiled a little and pressed a button on the panel, making the puzzle vanish. "I've known the Sovereign for almost forty years," he said quietly, not reprimanding Obi-Wan again for using the title of "Master." He looked almost happy for a moment. "I accidently destroyed a plant in her garden, and got caught trying to piece it back together."
Obi-Wan smiled in spite of himself.
He looked down at his calloused hands. "There's something you should know, Obi-Wan. Years ago, Sovereign Saleil lost her husband and her two children. I met her not long after the death of her husband and daughter, and perhaps my presence... filled a gap for her. Gave her something to focus on. She's been like a mother to me for almost as long as I can remember."
The younger man digested this for a moment, frowning a little. "What did she mean when she spoke of you before?" Obi-Wan asked.
Qui-Gon groaned a little and sank in his chair. "Years ago, when I was a little older than you, I helped stem a rebellion on Aladell. A noble by the name of Talinos tried to assassinate Saleil and eventually took over the capitol. I helped Saleil reclaim her status... and I killed Talinos." Deep regret touched the older man's voice.
Obi-Wan frowned. It was something of a shock to hear of the Sovereign having a first name, and hearing Qui-Gon call her that. "Did the Council know?"
"Yes, they did. They didn't like it, but Saleil intervened for me. I never got in trouble for it." Qui-Gon interlaced his fingers behind his head and leaned back. "Now you answer a question for me. What are you doing here?"
Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes. "A bomb was recently found in the palace, in the manner of Talinos's assassination attempts, and the Sovereign requested a Jedi to discover who planted it, and if Talinos's cohorts are trying to kill her now."
Qui-Gon frowned to himself, as if considering it. "What does your master think about it?"
"I have no idea—he won't talk to me," Obi-Wan replied brusquely, irritated both by the reference to Risoin as his master and the fact that the older Jedi was being so quiet to him about affairs. "He's angry at me, I think. He thinks that he has something to prove, against you and your accomplishments."
Qui-Gon's brows quirked upward. "I'm almost flattered," he said with a small smile.
Risoin was pacing when Obi-Wan returned to their suite, his cloak flaring behind him as he walked. "So you're back," he said briskly.
Obi-Wan sat down beside the pacing Knight and tried to look inconspicuous. Risoin glanced at him with the hint of a sneer. "He's here to try and regain his status with the Council," Risoin fumed. "He's trying to find the assassin-"
"Qui-Gon came here before you were given this assignment," Obi-Wan stated coldly. "He's a personal friend of the Sovereign."
Risoin snorted, stopping to stare at Obi-Wan. "What would a queen have to do with someone like Qui-Gon Jinn?"
Obi-Wan let a hint of a smirk touch his face, eyes half-closed. "I understand that she used to be something of a maverick herself..."
Risoin's jaw worked for a moment, but he appeared to shrug it off. "He's only going to make everything harder," he said heavily, slumping onto a divan. For a moment, shame seemed to fill his rugged face, sweeping across his green eyes. Then the same arrogance returned, and the illusion was broken.
Obi-Wan stared at Risoin for a moment, then rose and wended past the many articles of stone furniture to his bedroom, dark and cooling with the setting of the desert sun. As the door slipped shut, he shivered a little.
Qui-Gon was standing on a balcony, looking down on the array of desert plants, curled inward in the starlight. A spill of warm light fell from the arched doorway, where a sedate banquet was taking place. Above him, the thirteen moons of Aladell glowed like an array of round lamps. He would miss it, miss the sunny beauty of it. Miss Saleil...
Miss Obi-Wan.
His heart twisted a little as he remembered Obi-Wan, squirming at the side of a different Jedi, a young man named Risoin. Obi-Wan was barely civil to Risoin, hardly spoke to him. Several times during the dinner, Qui-Gon had tried to contact Obi-Wan through the Force, tell him not to treat Risoin in such a cold manner. But his pleas were ignored.
"Qui-Gon?" Saleil's husky, cool voice. "Are you all right?"
He turned to look at her, smiled without emotion. "I'm fine... just thinking."
"About Obi-Wan," she said quietly.
"Yes..."
"You're worried about him." Saleil's dark eyes narrowed a little, as her slim hand rested on Qui-Gon's shoulder.
Qui-Gon nodded, with the tiniest hint of a smile. Although the Sovereign was not Force-sensitive, she had a faint empathy that the Aladell possessed. And the wisdom and sorrow that a hundred and twelve years had brought. "I am worried. Obi-Wan... he's been almost like a son to me, and he's reacting to this change in the worst possible way..."
"Like you would," Saleil added, her eyes narrowing even further with her amusement. Qui-Gon smiled and started to reply... when a bomb went off inside the palace...