Private The Noble in the Tower

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise felt much better after Amani healed her. It was a nice moment, maybe the most lighthearted one they’d had together up until that point. The pleasantness faded as the mission took top priority.

"You wouldn't. You need him alive, don't you?"

The lawyer’s expression tightened as Amani called his bluff. Seeing an opportunity, Eloise joined in. “Yeah—you still need him to confess!”

“What do you know of our laws?” the lawyer shot back.

“I heard you say so before you left us with Myrddin,” she replied. “By the way, I'm pretty sure raising the dead is illegal in the Alliance.”

His eyes widened. “What? But—” He broke off, pressing his lips together tightly. This was a case which he knew he couldn't win. Taking a deep breath, he changed tactics. “I serve the king. He wants to rid himself of this boy. I must obey his wishes. If you free him, His Majesty will know it is the Jedi who thwarted justice. You are not policemen or judges. This isn’t your world or your fight.”

“He’s one of us,” Eloise said adamantly. “Isn’t that right, Albrecht?”

“Yes,” Albrecht managed to reply, his voice raspy. “I am a Jedi.”

The lawyer ignored the hotheaded Eloise, instead focusing his attention on the older and wiser Amani. “What you have done already is enough to bring charges against you. Are you willing to suffer the legal consequences?”

"What, are you threatening to sue us?" Eloise muttered, her anger flaring once again. She was tired of these people and their bullshit. "Ugh, for feth's sake—"

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

The lawyer tried to switch things up, but Amani and Eloise were on his case now. He tried to use their Jedi code against them, but if anything, it provided them the justification they needed. Albrecht confirmed his own status as a Jedi. "You're illegally imprisoning a member of the Order without due process. I'd say this is very much our fight."

The Master kept her saber gripped tightly, but lowered it, choosing to play the lawyers game, "You want to bring this to a court of law? I'm sure the Alliance would love to get a thorough look at what you and your employer have been up to. Can't make a case without some proper investigation after all. The Jedi will gladly play along. We pride ourselves on upholding the tenets of law and order. Something an attorney like yourself could no doubt commiserate with, right?"

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

"You want to bring this to a court of law? I'm sure the Alliance would love to get a thorough look at what you and your employer have been up to. Can't make a case without some proper investigation after all. The Jedi will gladly play along. We pride ourselves on upholding the tenets of law and order. Something an attorney like yourself could no doubt commiserate with, right?"

Well, so much for that. The lawyer kept his lips pursed as all of his options were stripped away. "If I fail to fulfill his orders, His Majesty will have my head," he muttered. "If you want Albrecht freed, promise me safe passage off of Ukatis and protection from the king's wrath."

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

The lawyer caved rather easily. Amani blinked, and contemplated his conditions for surrender. "Very well. We can escort you out of Ukatis along with Albrecht. The Alliance can shield you against any retribution on the king's part." There was a pause, then she shrugged, "I suggest you hurry to get your things, if any, in order. We likely won't have long."

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Was the lawyer a coward for changing loyalties so easily, or a ruthless survivor? Eloise wasn’t sure. Nor did she care, so long as she got the most desirable outcome from this clusterfuck of a mission.

As soon as he and his men were gone, she deactivated the containment field. Released from its hold, Albrecht collapsed on his knees. Though it was clear he was much weakened, he still had some fight left in him. Eloise could sense him drawing upon the Force for strength, hauling himself to his feet. "Thank the gods," he rasped. “I thought I was done for…”

"Uh-huh. Are you hurt?” Eloise asked.

“All over. But I think I’ll live.”

---

“How the hell did you end up in prison?" Eloise asked once they were back aboard their ship, sitting across from each other at the lounge table. Amani had tended to the wounds Albrecht had suffered while being tortured, and the turncoat lawyer was safely stowed away in the brig.

Albrecht sighed. "I went to rescue Lady von Ascania from captivity aboard the Vonnuvi—”

“Corazona?”

“No, her cousin. Corazona is a Princess, not a Lady.” When Eloise still looked confused, he rolled his eyes. “Her first name is Giselle. The king told me she had been kidnapped by the Jedi, and because she and I were betrothed, it fell on me to rescue her."

“Did you seriously believe the Jedi would kidnap some random chick?”

“I didn’t know what to think. I wanted the truth.” Albrecht clenched his jaw. "Giselle told me she left Ukatis of her own free will, in defiance of His Majesty’s orders. He had plans to… marry her and make her his new queen. The Jedi were helping her hide. The king was just trying to trick me into delivering her back into his hands."

Gross. "Did you bring her back?"

“No. But I returned to Ukatis to confront the king with his lies, which was rather foolish of me.” He rubbed his dislocated shoulder. “I was branded a traitor and thrown in prison. They tried to force a confession through torture. And then you showed up. Thank you for rescuing me, by the way.”

He sounded so earnest, bordering on sweet. Eloise looked away, suddenly uncomfortable. “So… What are you going to do now?”

“Go back to the Jedi and finish my training. After I am knighted, I’ll return to Ukatis and lead an uprising against the tyrant.” His brow furrowed. “Perhaps I was too hard on Princess Corazona. If the son was anything like his father, she may have been right to leave after his death.”

Eloise thought back to her experience with the king in the dining hall. How he had nearly cut off her hand for spilling food. Well, for clapping back at the angry nobleman she’d spilled the food on, but still. Not worth losing a limb over. “I guess,” she said with a shrug. “Well, as long as you don’t make a habit of getting into trouble that I have to save your ass from…”

“I have a feeling we won’t be seeing much of each other in the coming days,” Albrecht said. “What with you being on the Vonnuvi and me on Fondor.”

“Won’t you want to visit your betrothed?” she teased.

“If she’ll have me,” he said. Then, out of the blue, he added, “You look good with red hair, Eloise. It suits you.”

Now he was looking at her without a trace of sarcasm or cynical contempt, which was worse. Force, had he changed? Was the bitter bastard wallowing in self-pity gone forever? She knew intellectually she should have felt happy for him, and that this was a good thing. But she just felt... weird about it. There was a tension in her chest, a tightness in her throat. This wasn't the same person she knew. This wasn't her Albrecht, the boy she'd found some shred of kinship with at the Jedi Academy, bonding over their mutual loathing. He was free from all that now; she wasn't. She supposed that made her the problem, not him—but then what else was new?

“I’m beat,” she announced suddenly, getting up from her chair. “Heading to bed. I suggest you get some sleep, too.” She left before he could get another word or a soft glance in.

Amani Serys​