#jaerio

Upon entering the bedroom, Jaesa noticed her husband’s expression immediately change the second he sighted her. He then got up and crammed his tall figure on the sofa to sleep. It was both amusing and exasperating for her–the grown man looked like a child throwing a silent tantrum. Or a sulk. 

Even his son wasn’t as dramatic.

“You should take the bed. It fits your size better.” Jaesa commanded with a teasing, Empire accented sing-song voice. It yielded the desired result from Rionnic. An intense frown, almost in disbelief that she would talk to him like that.

“I’m taking this couch or I’ll sleep in the bathroom.”

Her amusement level kept mounting. She badly wanted to take it further, emboldened by his reactions earlier that day, but chose not to. If he indeed slept in the bathroom out of spite, that was his loss, she thought. It became one of those rare nights where she slept like a queen, happy and cozy. Reclaiming her throne in an Emperor’s heart however, was another story.

The couple was on the opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. His heartbeat pumped the adrenaline when he was just starting to drift away. He tossed and turned, stealing glances at his sleeping wife in the dark. Why was he so weak against her? Was defeat on the horizon? 

But it was his turn to dream. Enemies were dropping like flies by his lightsabers, and he was aided by a spinning double-bladed saber, guarding his flank and vice versa. But then he heard a yelp, the voice unmistakeable. He turned around to see her lifted up by the Force, then a saber through her torso. Witnessing it felt like death, while his scream sonically cratered the ground around him, flinging a few enemies away. 

And transcended planes of reality, apparently. Sweat was soaking part of the sofa, his mouth felt parched and heart was overworked. The cause of his dreamy death wasn’t even on the bed anymore. The door opened a few seconds later to his son, visually concerned.

“Father? What happened?”

Being seen by his son in that state was another weakness, according to him. A long exhale and a stretch later, he walked towards Rian calmly. 

“Sorry, did I scream?”

“Yes. I ran here as fast as I could.”

“It was just a bad dream. I can’t really remember what it was about, now.” Which was a lie, the dream was still vivid in his mind. Rian could only scratch his neck to that, eyebrow raised. He then fetched Rionnic a glass of water.

“Thank you, good Sir!” Rionnic drank while glancing over to the decorative clock on the wall. “Oh, I woke up late again. Have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet, I’m about to ask you to join me.”

He noticed Rian’s sheepish eyes, full of guilt and unease. Before agreeing to his request, he tried to gently pry the emotion out of his son. “Is there something you want to talk about?” To which the boy’s gaze fell. He could sense the padawan’s fear.

“I’m… I’m sorry for my words yesterday, father. I didn’t mean to threaten you… or, or make you sad…”

Rionnic’s mouth was hanging before words came out of it. His hands worked first, applying comforting rubs on Rian’s shoulders. “You have nothing to apologize for. May I ask why you are feeling this way? Has something happened?”

“Nothing. I… I just thought about it again after I said it. I think it was mean.”

“Rian… you did nothing wrong. You followed your heart and desire to protect. I truly admire your bravery. Please keep that in mind," said the father while stroking Rian’s hair. “And I promise to heed your words. I’m the one who should apologize to you and your mother. Even then, I still have so much to do to improve my role as a father. Again, you were not mean and wrong at all.”

Rian meekly nodded, but Rionnic wasn’t assured about his son’s feelings just yet. “Fist bump, then?”

It carved Rian’s approving smile as they proceeded to the dining room, where Jaesa was waiting. She could sense that something happened between the two, but decided to query about the more apparent matter first. 

“Had a bad dream?”

“Yes. I apologize for startling you both.”

“All good. Here, your breakfast.”

The small family ate their meals in silence, awkward as usual. Jaesa tried to open conversation by; “We’re going to rest a little after this, before going to your grandparent’s house.”

“Okay, mother! You said they live on a farm?”

“You’re going to love it, I know. It’ll be like Ossus again!”

“Except it’s not all sand,” Rian quipped. Both parents snickered to that, breaking the ice. They discussed more topics with the boy–hobbies, training, the food they were eating, even. But they both know that they haven’t talked to each other at all. Rionnic just wanted to get the visit over with, as he’d be treading in unknown territory.

The thriving farms of the Willsaams stood before their eyes, with windmills and silos imposing yet tranquil in the sunlight. Not far from the barn was Gregor, who seemed pre-occupied with re-arranging the gardening tools to notice his visitors. 

“Grandfather?”

Rian’s voice snapped the old man’s eyes to meet his. Gregor flashed his teeth and opened his arms to catch his approaching grandson.

“Come on in! Parvin! They’re here!” as Gregor ushered the small family towards the main building nearby. 

“Is that Rian? My goodness!” Parvin exclaimed, with a stilted posh inflection. After hugging and kissing her grandson, she did the same to her daughter, but bowed ever so gracefully to Rionnic. It was a slightly embarrassing moment for him. 

The family sat by the living room set, with drinks and cakes served. Rian led the conversation with school, aspirations, and interests–almost to an endless degree. It did abruptly stop however, when nature called for him. Jaesa immediately went along. The air was undoubtedly tense around the elderly couple and Rionnic. 

“How’s work treating you, Your Majesty?" Gregor asked meekly.

“I sometimes wish it could be easier, but… please, just call me… Red, like everyone else.”

“Of course, of course. Please be at ease, we… we don’t have much time before she-”

Parvin’s foot kicked her husband’s leg, stealthily expressing her disapproval about his intention. A little too late, though. 

“Before she what?”

“Before she returns here. Do you want to talk about the years of absence? About… why?”

Rionnic took a moment to think; his eyes downcast. What was there to talk about? “You were just trying to protect your daughter. I thought that part was clear.”

“I want to make it clearer. I will-”

“Greg!” As Parvin finally interjected. “Apologies, my husband is out of line. Please don’t mind him!”

“I think you should be the one at ease here. I’d like to hear what your husband has to say.”

Gregor whipped his head towards the direction of the hall, anticipating his daughter. When it felt like the coast was still clear, and Parvin subdued by his posture barricading her front, he resumed his brave words. “Let me be frank. We’ve always envisioned a quiet life for her growing up. Being a Jedi, fighting a war, and then… your involvement, those were things we accepted as her life choices. But our time’s running short, and she’s… she’s all I have. I want to protect her…”

Rionnic nodded solemnly, eyes closed and mouth pursed. “From me, you mean.”

“No-no, that’s not-” Parvin panicked.

“Let me be frank. I know I’m not your pick for her life partner, and what happened from the past decade… I can understand why she did it. You saw our current situation as a chance to maintain the status quo during her absence. Perhaps you are correct.” And then Rionnic leaned forward, with fingers crossed and elbows resting on his thighs. “I value your insight. Since she’ll be here soon, say what you truly mean. I won’t object.”

“Greg… don’t do this.”

Gregor let out a loud sigh. While Parvin was fearful of losing her status and riches, Gregor was at an impasse. The old man just wanted more time with his daughter as his health couldn’t keep up with his age, but they both wanted to respect their daughter’s choices. Whatever he was about to say wouldn’t matter though, as Jaesa arrived with Rian in tow. She could sense the air pressure from the faces of her loved ones.

“Well now! Time for a tour of the farm?” Gregor attempted to disarm the situation.

“Yay! Tell me about your plants!”

And off they went not just around the farm, but the ranch and garden as well. The nerfs were so docile and welcoming, Rian thought. For the most of it, Rionnic was quiet and awkward, only audible when talked to. When they were nearing the end of the tour, Gregor propositioned them staying over for a few nights. It wasn’t an easily viable request, as Rionnic stated: “You know how Alderaan is with her nobles. But I’ll see to it.”

Rionnic actually was not looking forward to staying in an unfamiliar place, reinforced by the difficult conversation they had earlier. Between those insufferable galas and the in-law’s estate, his options weren’t peachy. His excuse for heading home was to sort out their belongings first before making any decisions.

But the small family were in for a surprise, or more specifically, Jaesa.

“Talsin? Is that you?”

“Jaesa!”

A young nobleman with tanned skin, light brown eyes, and auburn hair greeted her. Once he spotted Rian, his face changed, and then grimaced upon sighting Rionnic. “G-Grand Duke! Welcome back! It’s good to see you here!”

“Is it though? You are… of house Cortess, aren't you?”

Talsin nodded–despite not wearing his house’s symbol, he was both flattered and intimidated that the Grand Duke guessed his lineage correctly. Perhaps it was one of those gifts that the Force equipped them with. After greeting Rian and stating his errand of handing over formal invitation to the Willsaams, he excused himself to meet her parents. 

The sudden turn Jaesa did alarmed her husband. She looked like she had something to say to Talsin, but decided against it. “Go on ahead. It might be something important.” Rionnic quietly sneered, which was met with her short glare. “No, really. Don’t you want to talk privately with your parents? I can wait. Can we, good Sir?”

“Yessir!”

How overly presumptuous and hypocritical of him, she thought. The retort of banning the use of their son against each other almost escaped her tongue, but her Jedi restraint proved to be an effective barrier. She knew Rionnic wasn’t the jealous type, but she could be wrong. Still, she would want to put him in his place. 

“The conversations we had during the tour sufficed. Besides, I probably could do more with them had we taken up on their offer of staying. Let’s just go.”

Even Rian could feel the venom dripping from her words. Rionnic’s response was to smile at Rian, politely guiding his little family to the shuttle. On their way back, the padawan couldn’t help but to inquire about the man they just met. 

“It’s my friend from childhood, Rian. He used to mingle with the children of the servants.”

Unlike Aevrel, the Crown Prince’s adopted son.

“Oooh. Did you play with them too when you were small, father?”

Jaesa could only roll her eyes in secret, assuming that Rionnic’s only company in Alderaan were the aristocratic kind. She didn’t see him often, but the times she did, he never left the late Crown Prince’s side. 

“I didn’t have many friends growing up. It was mostly studying with my late father,” To be groomed as the secret backup heir, but Crown Prince Gaul only titled it as school, as a way to protect little Rionnic. “That was… before I went to the Sith Academy.” 

Fortunately, he didn’t have to tell his son about Gaul’s assasination and his brutal acolyte days when the boy’s attention was stolen by the Fury-class starship on their chateau’s landing pad. Exclamations of eagerness were heard from Rian’s mouth, wanting to immediately pilot the ship. As usual, Jaesa had to kill the fun by being the stricter parent.

“Not right away, Rian. Take a shower first and rest a little.”

“Yes, mother…”

Rionnic subconsciously decided to throw a curveball, forgetting the discussion they had just last night. 

“We can lounge around and do all of that inside the ship.”

Once those words left his mouth, he immediately recalled their parenting talk. If only he could swallow his words back! Both his wife and son were quiet in different moods–one was hopeful, the other was discontent. The next thing he heard was the seatbelts unbuckling, and Jaesa getting up to an open shuttle door.

“You go with Rian. I’ll go get his clothes.”

Relief washed over Rionnic, despite his inner resistance. The way Jaesa was acting began to unnerve Rian, even though she had been even stricter before during their years in Ossus. His father flashed a sheepish smile, helping him undo the seatbelts and then grasping his hand on their way to Fury. Rionnic’s tension found a little alleviation once he saw the person exiting his ship.

“Red! Hey Rian!”

“Vette. Are you here by yourself?”

“Yeah. I can’t stay though, gotta fetch some uh, funky materials for Dr. Oggurobb. I’m heading to the King’s Pass and then shuttle from there back to base.” Vette had to turn down her pops’ offer to take her there himself, while requesting a hug from Rian. The padawan happily did so. 

Once he entered his ship, memories of his younger days flashed in places they occured. Including his trysts when the ship was empty. Faint sounds of a conversation between Vette and Jaesa were heard just outside the ship, blanketed by Rian’s loud joy as he skittered to the cockpit.

“Woahhh. The controls of an imperial ship are quite different, huh. Why’d they put the pod lock button here? What if the pilot accidentally pressed it? What’s this button?”

“That’s the magnetic field lock.”

Jaesa entered the ship after her banter with Vette. She immediately handed Rian his clothes, then guided the boy to the refresher room. Not wanting to be in Rionnic’s vicinity, she chose to sit on the curved bench by the holoterminal. 

Rionnic however, kept internally repeating his blunder just then, wanting to correct his mistake. He took a deep breath as he stood up from the pilot’s seat. His steps were quiet with hesitation, somehow afraid of his own wife. 

Not really feeling the background idk

She tried calling his holoreceiver, leaving a message when her attempts failed. Just as she was about to call her parents, the door opened to a calm and expressionless Rionnic. Immediately her head conjured a fantasy where she ran to him, arms circling his waist and inhaling his exposed chest. Instead, it was their son instead who ran to him for a hug. “Father! Where were you? You’re out so early.”

“Uh… just some work. But I’m confident I’m free of it until our trip’s over, this time. Have you had breakfast?”

Rian nodded, then returned the question to him. “Not yet. I’ll just have it on the way to our destination. Let’s get ready, we’re going spelunking!”

Which was met with Rian’s joyful exclamation. The little padawan skittered to his bag of equipment, while the parents did their best to avoid eye contact. She wordlessly served him breakfast, then changed to a more suitable outfit and gear for their activity; with her trusty double-bladed lightsaber holstered. When she arrived at the shuttle pad attached to their chateau, Rian was eagerly standing near the vehicle until he remembered something. 

“Oh! My special datapad! Let me get it quickly!” as the padawan ran back inside.

Rionnic soon joined her, face turned away while stating; “Stay alert for Killiks.”

She sighed. Her hand cautiously reached out to his arms, tentatively grasping his sleeve. He coldly took his arm back, proceeding to take his place in the pilot’s seat. Unbeknownst to them, their son watched the less than friendly interaction, killing the smile on his face and his enthusiasm. Once again, the silence was heavy on their journey to the mountains. Both parents noticed the change in Rian’s mood.

“You got everything sorted out, good Sir?”

“Yeah… I got my notes written on this datapad.”

Rian’s volume was subdued and somber. His mind kept collaging the moments from earlier with the question his mother asked of him on Ossus, and the way Rionnic hesitated each time he was asked about Jaesa. His parents however, were unnerved but quickly put the pieces together. They both admonished themselves, searching for ways to undo the damage.

“We’re almost there! Alright, Rian, there’s something that I need to emphasize here,” said Jaesa with a faux upbeat tone, grasping her son’s shoulders. “You’ve read about the Killiks, yes? If you’ve seen or stumbled upon one, do not engage them. Run to us. Inform us. Okay?”

“Y-yes, mother.”

“We’ll have to stay close to each other. Don’t worry, I picked the safest one, it should be clear enough.” Rionnic chimed in.

And thus the little family entered a cave in the Glarus region. It was damp and colder than the wintery landscape outside, and as they went further inside, traces of Killik hive mounds could be seen along the walls. Rian grimaced at the gooey texture, almost retching at the sight of carcasses trapped inside the structures. Jaesa tried her best to comfort him.

“Do you want to turn around? It seems like-”

“No, no. I’ve, uh, seen creatures in caves before! It’s just…” as the boy rubbed his face to try refreshing his thoughts. “You said you grew up here, mother?”

The former handmaiden chuckled quietly. “Yes, but not in the caves, of course. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Rionnic was strangely silent. His sight was focused on a crevice, sensing movement from the other side of the cave. But he had been told that this cave was already cleared of Killiks, as he grumbled inside. The Killiks were mostly driven back to the caves and out of the surface from the combined efforts of the Noble Houses and Galactic Solution Industries. Though, a small part of Alderaanians–particularly the scientists and historians, weren’t keen on the Order of Extermination. Not wanting to alarm his wife and child, he gently suggested that they either change course or find another cave. Rian chose the former.

“What’s wrong, father?”

Smiling, the father responded in a hushed tone. “They’re home. We might be intruding if we proceeded with that route-” 

But not a second later, two Killiks burst out from a hive mound, swinging their staffs towards the family. The father’s lightning reflexes had him flying to body-slam one while grabbing the other then throwing the Killik away. He confiscated the staff of the Killik he was pinning, bashing its head to unconsciousness. 

“Run out!” he exclaimed to his loved ones, while more Killiks appeared from a distance, disrupted by the noise.

Rian hesitated, but his mother dragged him away with her lightsaber in hand. He wanted to help, to finally fight alongside his father and put the sparring lessons to use. Rionnic’s lightsaber deflected the flurry of blaster bolts from the flanking Killiks, doing his best to avoid casualties, while fighting off the melee ones with the staff. When he felt that his family was far enough, he resorted to one of his more powerful but rarely utilized Force power.

Simultaneously, all of the Killiks began levitating off the ground, by their necks. 

The next Force power he used was to speed away, with the plan to release the Killiks once he was out of the cave. He didn’t have time to catch his breath upon seeing Rian sobbing in Jaesa’s cradle. “Rian?”

“Father!” As the boy jumped to his arms. “Did we… did we intrude? Was that wrong of us?”

The devoted father lifted him up in his embrace, stroking and soothing while walking away from the vicinity of the cave. “I have to be honest with you, I thought the cave was uninhabited. I’m so sorry. But I can assure you that everyone in the cave escaped with their lives.”

Rian’s response was to tighten his grasp, and his guilty sobs dried after hearing Rionnic’s suggestion. “How about we go to the Elysium now? The air is amazing there. We can go thranta riding too!”

Jaesa became the third wheel once again, a position that she wouldn’t protest. Hearing Rionnic’s tone and the way he embraced fatherhood made her fall even deeper. A private banter with Vette via holocom yesterday had her state her hopes of winning his heart back, something her twi’lek friend was fully on board with. This time, there would be no changing her mind anymore. 

She silently handed him a tumbler, which he took to replenish his mouth. The shuttle arrived at the Elysium, making Rian momentarily forget about his parent’s indifference towards each other earlier. Stepping out to the cool breeze and then seeing the ground below both excited and intimidated the young padawan, ready for a new experience. An unexpected sight was the group of Jedi in a tent, doing research on the ancient artifacts. Both mother and son introduced themselves while the father kept his distance. 

The sight of the Jedi being wise and knowledgeable, with some even sharing their research with him, inspired Rian.

Rionnic approached them, stating that a thranta was ready for a trip. Rian exclaimed his joy, skittering towards his father. However, the thranta can only fit two people at once, lest the third might lose balance due to the lack of space. Jaesa chose to stay behind with the Jedi, reminding her son to be careful and situationally aware.

“Wow! We’re flying! I mean–it’s different from riding a shuttle but–wow! Hahaha!”

Rian spread his arms out, mimicking the thranta’s wings. His father was glad–yet another one of his distraction tactics worked, but he wondered how much of it he had left and how often was it necessary. He knew that he was also hurting Rian by hurting his mother. Was he prepared to bare his heart again to her? What’s the importance of his wounded heart compared to his son’s?

The first thing he needed to do was to stop the disdain he felt whenever she was near. It was disrespectful, and even if she were to break his heart a thousand times more, he should at least remain dignified and composed for his son.

As soon as the thranta finished its lap, Rian immediately wanted to ride it again. Rionnic appealed to him; “The thranta needed rest and food, just like we do. We should do that too while we wait.”

“Okay… I’m kinda thirsty actually.”

Little did the former Wrath knew that he’d be eating lunch with the Jedi. He stood there like a frozen twig in winter, the thoughts in his mind crashing into each other like a trainwreck. Had he been a droid, he would have repeatedly uttered an error in the protocols. The only solace he took was how not one of them mentioned who he was. Yet. “Father? What are you doing? Come sit here.”

Rionnic’s awkwardness was almost comical to Jaesa. He couldn’t eat much–apparently listening to his son ramble on about archeology was fulfilling enough for him. The rest of the Jedi there didn’t talk much to him except for one. Kie’nir’tivvi, a Chiss Jedi made quite the change of atmosphere when she acknowledged Rionnic by “Lord Wrath”. She went even further by asking him if he would be interested in becoming a Jedi. 

“I’d love to see that!” Rian snickered.

A little jealousy in Jaesa thought that her colleague was making a move on her husband, while the husband was embarrassed, more than anything. Taking a short and sharp inhale, Rionnic wrestled the stoicism back to him, calmly replying; “Seems like a long shot.”

Kirvi chuckled. “I can give pointers. First hand experience here.”

The revelation was quite a shock to the couple. Rionnic declined to comment further, while Jaesa’s face slowly morphed into that of contempt. She knew of Rionnic’s character, making it not hurt as much, but she disliked the way other women were so easily cordial towards him. Rian noticed the tension, thus being reminded of the situation earlier that day. 

Children his age began to blossom in creativity and devious ideas. Once the meal was done, he was so insistent on riding the thranta again, to which Jaesa appealed for him to let the food digest to avoid air sickness. Just as they were about to board the thranta, he made a last minute change of mind by pretending to have a stomach ache. 

“It’s fine, it’s fiiiineeee, please go on ahead without me! I just need to go to the uh… refreshers!”

As if there were any of it on top of the Elysium. He made a show of running away, leaving the parents stunned. But not far from there, he turned around while comically pouting and placing his hands on his hips–metaphorically ushering his parents. If it were a children’s show, the parents would have been shown with visible sweating water drops, confused with Rian’s shenanigans. They had no choice but to get on the ride, awkwardly shuffling then colliding, adding to Rian’s amusement. 

“Wh-where are you taking seat-”

“The back–uh, backseat. Can’t have you hugging me from behind all the time, now, can’t we?” Jaesa teased, making Rionnic frown and sulkily hopped on the saddle. 

She fastened her arms around his abdomen, causing him to freeze for a second. It was the happiest Jaesa had been the entire day. As they began flying, she laid her head on his back, inhaling his scent, feeling safe and fluttery. He was trying his hardest to calm his heartbeat, not wanting to be flustered by the physical intimacy. The way her hands slithered around his body made the temperature rise, irregardless of how breezy flying with the thranta was. 

But he must make good of the promise he just made to himself. No more resentment, even in the absence of Rian.  

“Red…”

How badly he wanted to land quickly, but the thranta was just following the usual route it was trained for. 

“I understand your pain. I’ll always be here as your friend if you need me. I cannot help how I feel about you, though. If you’re not comfortable with that, I’ll try… try to…” Jaesa paused, unsure on how to continue. She tightened her embrace instead. “You deserve so much better. I won’t hold anything against you. But I want to help. Whatever you wish of me…”

Somehow, her words gave him comfort. She received no reply, but having him hear what she had to say was enough. They were silent for the rest of the ride. Once they safely disembarked, Rian was still with the Jedi group, having so much fun learning about archeology. He greeted his parents earnestly, immediately babbling about the new knowledge. 

“Soooo… what about your tummy? All good now?” asked Jaesa teasingly. “Hehe…. Yeah! Haha…” Rian swiftly realized that his parents were onto him. He lowered his gaze, watching his right feet sweep around the floor all guilty. Rionnic smirked and ruffled his son’s hair.

“Clever little boy, aren’t you? But don’t do it too often, lying can get you in trouble!”

“Yes, father…”

After Rian’s last thranta ride with Jaesa, the little family returned to their manor in a better mood than before, hopeful that the rest of the week would improve. But one question would change the atmosphere once again.

CHAPTERS

Odessen Sunset

Tea Time

Family Plan

Reminiscence

An Hour's Worth

Zakuul's Cool Ships

Vacation

Nature Boy

Hard Truths

Subjective Visuals

Musical Forms

Finalize

Morning Mist

Flying Underground

Grown Up

Grandparent's Farm

Starry Stories & Sorries