When Serpents Sit Upon the Throne. Vignette (Complete)

[Guest]

Title: When Serpents Sit Upon the Throne

Author: Zonoma

Timeframe: post Legacy of the Force: Betrayal

Style: Response to a first sentence challenge on another site.

Author's Notes: I wrote this just after reading Betrayal. It is due to be extended in the near future. You can thank McEwok, among others, for that devil of a plot extension.

 

 

Nobody was really surprised when it happened, not really, not on the subconscious level where savage things grow.* That didn't keep the pain of the betrayal from jarring them, though.

 

Jacen used to have a crystal snake when we were children. I think it was his favorite pet, if you could compel him to admit to having favorites. Sometimes, he reminds me of it. He is very adept at hiding in plain sight, basking in the glowing affections of his family and soothing their worries into peace slumbers.

 

I think it was the worst for Master Skywalker. I remember him smiling fondly and encouraging Jacen to never stop asking questions, eagerly asking about his long treks and taking an active interest in every obscure branch of learning that Jacen would talk about. If Jacen remained silent about many of them, then it was because Jacen was a thinker and so wished to meditate on what he learned before sharing.

 

Master Skywalker, I believe, saw in Jacen what Anakin Skywalker could have been. He saw the destiny heralded by his father's birth finally realized. Balance made flesh.

 

It was Kyp that first distrusted Jacen, finding him unpredictable and cavalier. Risking losing the favor of the Council, the Skywalkers and the Solos, Kyp confronted Luke about his indulgence of Jacen. He left the Council after the ensuing shouting match with Luke where he insisted Jacen was dangerous.

 

Too powerful, he said.

 

Most people secretly believed Kyp was jealous. Jaina remained, quite out of character, thoughtful and quiet during the exchange. She left shortly after Kyp, refusing to speak to anyone.

 

Jaina and Zekk, who were inseparable by then, were the next to bring their worries to someone. I don't know why they chose me, but I'm glad that they did. They worried that Jacen was too hasty, too casual with his power.

 

By this time, I already knew what they did not, could not, know. I defended him. I pointed out that he prevented a war. What were a few lies compared with that? They nodded and kept their silence.

 

Mara grew uneasy. Luke told her they would notice changes in Ben if anything was truly wrong. She countered; reminding him of Ben's erased memories and Jacen's increasingly ”˜reasonable' explanations. Luke worried that if they took Ben away from Jacen, he would shut down - again becoming the half-soul they dreaded having for a son.

 

”œBetter to shut down than go Dark,”

[Amidala Skywalker]

Wow...very interesting. It took me until you revealed it to figure out who the narrator was, and you used the challenge sentence very nicely.

 

I like the narration in this. You handled her character well, although some of the details like Han and Leia's reactions are not something she could know, being as shut away from the galaxy as she is. But that's forgiveable...it added more to the story, I think, even if it was a touch unbelievable.

 

My own epiphany came heralded on the iridescent wings of sapphire assassins

 

I think that sentence was really interesting. Very good imagery.

 

Nice work!!! I really am enjoying the Legacy books, so this was a nice little AU/what-if segment.

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Nice use of the challenge, although I have to admit that I liked "Set Forth Good Wine" much better. You kept me on my toes trying to determine who it could be the entire time, when you ruled out person after person by mentioning their name I even started to wonder if it was Jacen talking in the third person about himself, having moved on to become a "different" person.

 

Nice stuff.

[Guest]

Ami: *headdesk* You are right! I had assumed that her spies in the Temple would inform her, so the Han part works but Leia weeping? How could they know? *headdesk* I'll have to fix that when I expand it. The important part is that this vig spawns one heck of a bunny!

 

I'm really glad you enjoyed it and you managed to pull my favorite line out, too!

 

gimpy: Jacen, huh? *thinks* I can see that. Personally, I enjoyed Set Forth better, too, but this was a challenge that was written in twenty minutes, max, and I worked on the other for (including all the seperate betas) weeks. This is a bunny spawner! Go, bunnies, go! I actually wrote this right after reading Betrayal.

 

Thank you, again, for reading!

[Anakin T Skywalker]

It was very well written; I didn't catch who's viewpoint it was, but I haven't read the later novels.

 

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