118

Sing

"I heard you can sing, Your Grace," said someone he was trying not to pay attention to at first, but the false, dubious tone he heard in her voice drew his attention anyway.

"Yes," he answered flatly, unamused by her game. "I can."

"I don't believe you. A Jedi, singing?" He sensed the coy, slyness in her words. She was stoking the fire beneath his ego just like she was stoking the fire in the hearth of the manor room. The sounds of the other dignitaries faded into the background as they both became the center of the universe.

"Jedi can sing," he simply said back, his brown eyes meeting brilliant blue briefly before he turned away to avoid becoming lost in them again.

"Then sing for me."

"No."

"Afraid you might be heard?" He heard the bait and allowed himself to become hooked to her line. She had come up behind him and placed a gentle hand on his arm. He stiffened under the contact. "Sing for me, like you use to on the Temple roof."

He let her reel him in by turning to face her again. "What do I get in return if I do?"

"I believe you," she coyly answered and he shook his head lightly. "Simple belief not enough for His Grace?"

"A kiss," he demanded, an alluring smile graced his face. He lightly touched his lips to explain what he wanted. "Here."

"Then it should be a well sung song to be deserving such a gift, Your Grace." Her fingers played a tune along his arm, one he recognized and understood what she wanted to hear to grant him his reward. It was her favorite.

"Oh I could think of something." He played along, a sly, mischievous look in his eyes. "But not here."

"Then where?"

"Come." He took her arm gently in his own and guided her out of the drawing room, past the Republic and Confederate representatives who gave them curious looks as they went. He took her through the expansive hall of the manor the peace talks were taking place in, until he led her to a stairwell access.

He graced her with a boyish grin that seemed more mature and regal with the graying beard. The trust he saw in her eyes awakened a long forgotten emotion and he forced himself to not think of the future. This was only a game she wanted to play, to remember him by once the talks were over.

They climbed the stairs together and she spoke, choosing to play the naive companion even though she perfectly knew well the answer, "Where are we going?"

"To someplace where I can indulge you," he simply replied and gave her another mischievous look. The stairs wound upward into a spiral and he stopped at a locked door almost three quarters the way up. The lock gave in to his command of the Force and the door slid open to reveal a roof parapet haloed by a cloudless, starlit night.

He led her out onto it and once they were half way across, he met her azure gaze again, the mischievous glint still in his eye. "Although this is no Temple, it will have to suffice. Yes?"

She smiled warmly at him, amused at his choice of stage. "It will do nicely, Your Grace."

"Then a song for a kiss, Madame Jedi."

And he sang, his smooth baritone voice echoing off the battlements and into the star-filled sky. The power behind the words were moving to any who could hear. Ancient words of an ancient time and place where the Force had been magic and the trees were alive. He knew she loved the song he sang and smiled affectionately as the notes left him, lifting both his own waning spirit and hers despite the remorseful tune.

The song spoke of memory and he carried it along with his own memories, of a time when he would often indulge her atop the roof of the Jedi Temple. He would only sing for her and no one else. She would treasure his voice as a sacred gift he bestowed upon her. And as he sang and remembered, the long forgotten feeling surfaced again and pushed past the cold dark that had frozen his heart for the last nine years since he had left so long ago.

It thawed him just long enough to finish his song and accept his reward.

"Can I sing?" he asked proudly.

"Yes," she answered and stepped up to him so that only inches separated them. "You sing wonderfully." She placed a hand on his chest and reached up with her other to tenderly stroke his bearded cheek. He leaned in to her touch involuntarily and allowed his dark eyes to close.

"My reward?"

She reached up on her tip toes to bestow upon him his reward, a tender and chaste kiss gracefully ghosting his lips. A soft moan escaped him at the brief touch of her warm lips against his own and before she could pull away, he captured her mouth and burned the chaste kiss away with his passion.

They stood atop the parapets with what felt like an eternity, he holding her in his embrace and she cupping his face in both of her hands as they allowed their passions to rule his reward. It had been far too long since they had indulged in each other, so many years having built up inside the cage that had been the Jedi Code, that there was no surprise at the strength of their unleashed passion.

He was the first to slowly draw away, the taste of her lips still lingering on his own and the part of him that wanted more, pulled on the leash that was his Jedi restraint. His dark eyes met her bright ones, a promise of further mischief twinkling in his gaze if she was willing.

"How was your reward?" she asked once more in that coy, sly tone she had used on him earlier.

"Hmm I need something to compare it to. Just one is simply not enough." She laughed softly at his reply. The sound was warm and full of mirth. A sound he deeply missed.

"Another will require an encore, Your Grace." He still held on to her and drew her closer. She rested her head against his shoulder and sighed contentedly when he kissed her temple softly.

"I will sing all night for you, love," he declared and willed for this moment to last forever.