Private Not In My Job Description

[Tenn Kalos]

"Oh. Well then, what did you think I was saying?"

"I just didn't realize lady was a legit title. I thought you were just saying you were a girl and leaving it at that," His face reddened slightly as he was forced to explain his stumblings. His face reddened a little more when she described it as 'adorable'.

"Perhaps it is something you should learn more about, if you want to be a good diplomat."

"I guess," Tenn shrugged, "I haven't really been with the Jedi that long. I'm still figuring stuff out. Probably not gonna be a diplomat, anyway," Not more than your typical Jedi would be, at least, "So what does a lady do, then?"

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"I just didn't realize lady was a legit title. I thought you were just saying you were a girl and leaving it at that."

"Oh. Yes. Yes, I am very much a girl." She nodded in confirmation, grinning as his face reddened. These Jedi boys were rather cute. No wonder Corazona had been swept off her feet by one.

"Shouldn't all Jedi be diplomats?" she asked. "Or at least good at keeping the peace. I don't know about you, but we call that diplomacy here."

"So what does a lady do, then?"

"Produce heirs and help with managing the manor. Some are involved in charity work. Others go with their husbands to war." She grew thoughtful. "We're all expected to be good role models, the sort of people everyone can look up to and be inspired by. But despite our breeding and education, not every noble is truly, well, noble. Much like not every prince is charming, and not every Alliance politician in power cares about the people they represent... and not every Jedi is good at keeping the peace."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"Shouldn't all Jedi be diplomats?"

"Well, yes but-- They have like, specialized Jedi diplomats, too. That probably won't be me." Words were hard enough as is. Tenn found much deeper meaning through physical actions and reactions, "Maybe I'll be like a... an investigator, or something. I dunno, I'm still figuring that stuff out, like I said." He cringed a bit, as if he had just suggested something dumb or childish.

"Produce heirs and help with managing the manor..."

"You are supposed to have kids? You're what, a teenager? Like me?" He squinted concernedly, "You don't have kids already, do you?"

"...But despite our breeding and education, not every noble is truly, well, noble. Much like not every prince is charming, and not every Alliance politician in power cares about the people they represent... and not every Jedi is good at keeping the peace."

Tenn raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like you have certain opinions on certain people," He glanced around at some of the other folks who had still lingered after the party was done. Mostly staff cleaning up, but a few nobles who weren't quite done licking boots, "...Do you like being a lady?"

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Maybe I'll be like a... an investigator, or something. I dunno, I'm still figuring that stuff out, like I said."

"A detective? Hm, Jedi powers would be most useful in that profession."

"You are supposed to have kids? You're what, a teenager? Like me?"

"I'm sixteen. I probably will eventually." She shrugged. "I don't mind. Babies are cute, and there are servants to help take care of them."

"You don't have kids already, do you?"

"No. I'm not married yet. Why, do you?" She wrinkled her nose as she grinned. Back to playing. He was so easy to shock. Watching him squirm and clutch his pearls at the notion of getting married positively tickled her. "I know the Jedi already got rid of their no attachment rule, so it's hardly out of the question."

"Sounds like you have certain opinions on certain people."

"Everyone has opinions. Some are just more careful about who they tell them to. You are an adorable young squire, er, Padawan, whom I will likely never see again. So it follows that I should be able to tell you anything I like without consequence."

"...Do you like being a lady?"

"Yes. It's great fun." She clasped her hands in front of her. "But then, I don't know what it's like to be anything else, so I have little to compare it to. I suppose Corazona found that she preferred being a Jedi to being a lady. Or at least, she likes Jedi boys better than Prince Horace, but just about any man would probably be more tolerable than His Highness." While she spoke, she pretended to scratch her nose so that the movement of her lips would be blocked from view by her hand.

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"I don't mind. Babies are cute, and there are servants to help take care of them."

Tenn raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, "You'd just hand off your kid to some servant to take care of for you?" It was a bit of a strawman fallacy, but the intent was deliberate to provoke a response.

"No. I'm not married yet. Why, do you?"

"Obviously not," He shook his head, "I've got other stuff to do with my life first. I'm sixteen... or seventeen. I don't really know," Definitely one of the two. In any case, it wasn't so much the concept of marriage that freaked him out, it was the fact that Cora, Giselle, and seemingly everyone else here considered it the norm to marry off their kids before even hitting adulthood.

Giselle got his attention when she began to speak more on the noble life, specifically with how she talked about a few key figures, "...So you don't like the Prince? Why?" Tenn had a few assumptions, but she seemed to know more than just what had transpired tonight.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"You'd just hand off your kid to some servant to take care of for you?"

"You know what they say: 'It takes a village to raise a child'," Giselle said, utterly unbothered by his jab. "Parents can't always be there for their children. It simply isn't practical, especially if they have many other responsibilities. That's why nanny droids were invented."

"Obviously not. I've got other stuff to do with my life first. I'm sixteen... or seventeen. I don't really know."

"You don't know your own age?" She peered at him, studying his face. "You look sixteen to me. And since you're a boy, no doubt you'll keep growing taller. It would be a shame to stop now." She grinned. "I like the way you wear your hair, by the way."

"...So you don't like the Prince? Why?"

"If you want to talk about him, we'll have to go somewhere more private." Gesturing toward a door, she started to walk toward it, expecting him to follow.

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"You know what they say: 'It takes a village to raise a child',"

Tenn shrugged, "People say that?" It more or less made sense, he supposed. Still, he found it an unsatisfying argument in favor of having kids.

"You don't know your own age?"

"I don't know my birthday," He muttered. The year was one thing. But without knowing a specific date, a definitive age was hard to determine. The padawan touched his hair a she commented on it, "Um, thanks..."

As for the Prince, it seemed there was more to say about him after all. Giselle led Tenn to a separate room, away from prying eyes and ears. Shep, of course, bounded along, circling around a spot on the floor before lying down. Tenn gave the space a brief glance before speaking, "So... What's the deal?"

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"I don't know my birthday."

"A shame. You should pick a day to be your birthday."

Giselle led him into a dimly lit room. The walls were mirrors and the ceiling was elaborately decorated with gold. She spun around, watching her many reflections twirl, the layered skirts of her pink gown flaring out, then turned back to face Tenn.

"Prince Horace is a cowardly cad," she said. "He's living proof that the age of chivalry is dead, yet someday he will be our king. But that is only because his father seized the throne from the rightful ruler."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn rubbed his chin, "…Maybe I will," It had never really been all that important during his life on the streets. Nor were they hardly ever in a comfortable enough position to celebrate much of anything, beyond surviving another day, week, or month.

It was all a far cry from where he stood now. A room so lavish it bordered on obnoxious in his eyes. A single room that probably cost more than most people's whole homes. Tenn watched himself and Giselle through one of the many mirrors, even now the two of them in stark contrast. Her twirling around in a regal gown, and him dressed in modest clothes, staring pensively.

He was brought out of his brooding by Giselle's now straight-forward appraisal of the Prince, "Seized the throne? How? Everyone just let him get away with it?"

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"It was a coup," she replied. "King Rob has his supporters, mostly people who had something to gain from backing his claim to the throne. They helped him overthrow his predecessor. The people who tried to stand up to him were defeated, and the rest cared more about avoiding a bloody and destructive civil war than having a good ruler."

Though the subject matter being discussed was dour, Giselle continued to cavort, holding up her voluminous skirts with one hand. It wasn't that she didn't take the sorry political state of her homeworld seriously. She just couldn't seem to help herself.

Holding out her hand, she asked, "Do you know how to dance?"

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn crossed his arms as he listened, then immediately raised them up and away when Giselle asked him about dancing, "Hell no. I don't."

He tried to refocus with diminishing returns, "So what, everyone's just shit out of luck now? They have to deal with this tool of a prince now and there's nothing you all can do about it? And Cora has to marry him?" He cringed.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Would you like to learn?" Giselle asked, still holding out her hand to Tenn. "It would at least give us an alibi," she added in a whisper, winking at him.

"So what, everyone's just shit out of luck now? They have to deal with this tool of a prince now and there's nothing you all can do about it? And Cora has to marry him?"

"Unless someone else overthrows the king, yes." She danced around him. "But that doesn't seem very likely. So far King Rob isn't that bad a ruler. It's Prince Horace who promises to be a royal pain once he ascends the throne, but that won't be for a few years yet. In the meantime, Corazona does have to marry him. She could refuse, of course, but that would cause quite a scandal. No doubt she has other reasons not to simply run off with her Jedi beau." She set her lips in a thin line. "Uncle Marcel has other daughters. They are younger than Corazona, but I doubt he would hesitate to present them as alternative candidates for betrothal to the prince."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

“A-An alibi?” Tenn asked suspiciously, still closed off from her attempts to make him dance. Instead he remained focused on the political intrigue. Giselle made her point about why Cora might stick to such an arrangement and he winced.

“Sounds like a shitty deal…” He twiddled his thumbs, looking idly around the room, “...And there’s nothing we can do?” There was skepticism in his voice. Perhaps a poorly-placed, optimistic skepticism. But he didn’t want to believe the entire Order and Ascania family were incapable of doing anything.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

“A-An alibi?”

"Yes. So it won't look as suspicious that I went in here to be alone with a boy I just met." Third time's the charm; she presented her hand once more. "And you get to learn a new skill while you're at it."

Was it a flimsy excuse? Yes. But she'd gotten away with flimsier alibis. Besides, dancing was fun.

“...And there’s nothing we can do?”

"If by 'we', you mean you and I, then the answer is no. All of this boils down to Corazona, the king, the prince, and the Galactic Alliance. If your Alliance intervenes, though, they will be setting a dangerous precedent. I don't think they would be willing to do that just for the sake of one Jedi Padawan not having to marry a scoundrel."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn's face reddened, but finally he took the offered hand, if just so she would stop asking, "Uh huh."

Giselle laid out the truth of the matter- The predicament wrought by each possible outcome. Alliance intervention would be controversial at best, strong-arming an incoming client to abide by their demands. All members of the Alliance compromised to some level of course, but such a specific overruling was dangerous to instigate.

A violent response was obviously out of the question.

Meaning the simplest answer was that Cora be forced to go along with this unwanted marriage for everyone else's peace of mind. It hardly sounded fair. Pragmatic, perhaps, but not fair, "Maybe the King will see reason," His optimism diminished. Tenn didn't seem to believe his own words.

"Or maybe Cora's just shit out of luck."

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

Pleased with his acceptance, Giselle placed his hand against her waist and clasped his other in her own. Then, resting her free hand on his shoulder, she began to guide him through the steps. They'd start with a simple waltz, then maybe she'd show him some of the peasant dances. They were livelier and more fun, in her opinion.

"I don't see why he would. He seems to love his son, and thinks the world of him. If Prince Horace wants Corazona, his father will try to ensure that he gets her." What Corazona wanted did not matter to them. "'Shit out of luck'? What an interesting expression. Rather apt, I should say."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn was an unenthusiastic dancer, stiff and conservative in his movements. The circumstances were all just a bit too much for him to be comfortable, especially with Giselle's insistence on teasing him before.

"Figures," He blew a strand of hair out of his face, and finally revealed a wry smirk when she repeated his own turn of phrase back to him, "Don't hear much talk like that from all the fancy nobles, huh?" Excessive cursing was rather uncouth, was it not?

"Have you ever left Ukatis before?"

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

The teasing never stopped.

"Step right, step left, then hop on one foot." She demonstrated, then grinned. "Just kidding. Although you do need to loosen up a little. I feel like I'm dancing with a statue." Maybe she should skip straight to the faster paced, more fun dances.

"Don't hear much talk like that from all the fancy nobles, huh?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised. My father curses like a sailor when he injures himself or makes a mistake. But it's usually a lot more 'blast!' and 'gadzooks!' rather than slang terms for excrement."

"Have you ever left Ukatis before?"

"No." The question seemed to put a bit of a damper on her mood, though she soon recovered. "I'd like to. When I'm eighteen, I'm supposed to go on a tour of the galaxy. It's a tradition from my father's side of the family. The boys who aren't heirs become apprentice navigators, and the girls go on tour."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn just stared stony-faced, refusing to fall for Giselle's attempts to make him slip up or do something obnoxious, "Well, it is my first time," He excused.

"Oh, you'd be surprised. My father curses like a sailor when he injures himself or makes a mistake. But it's usually a lot more 'blast!' and 'gadzooks!' rather than slang terms for excrement."

That finally made him laugh. Tenn lost any focus he had on the dance, breaking down harsher than he expected, and rubbing his eyes, "That is a good one. Whew— Sorry I just, I was not expecting such harsh language," His laughs died down to occasional snickers, and he tried to return to tempo. Still he muttered one of the words back, "Gadzooks… You types are funny."

"I'd like to. When I'm eighteen, I'm supposed to go on a tour of the galaxy. It's a tradition from my father's side of the family. The boys who aren't heirs become apprentice navigators, and the girls go on tour."

Tenn raised a brow, "What, boys don't get to go on tour?" He studied her reaction, and shrugged, "If I had the chance I'd go wherever I want, whenever I want," The padawan seemed to become almost introspective, "There's too much out there just to get stuck in one place your whole life.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

Was he beginning to catch on? Hmph. That was no fun. Although...

His laughter at gadzooks finally loosened him up, although he lost the tempo as a result. Once he stopped laughing and tried to get back into the rhythm, Giselle carried him right along, sweeping him across the floor.

"Very funny," she muttered. "Boys go on tour as apprentices. Girls are chaperoned by their mothers or another older female relative."

"If I had the chance I'd go wherever I want, whenever I want. There's too much out there just to get stuck in one place your whole life."

"Then why are you a Jedi rather than an explorer, or a smuggler, or a pirate?" she practically purred, making each option sound more attractive than the last. "And here I thought Jedi must have so much more freedom than us, for them to be so alluring..."

Tenn Kalos