Hello :)

Sunday is here, the Sun is shining, the birds are singing, my cats are
growing annoyed to be kept inside ;)... and here is more of my Dear Son
story :)

I hope that you will continue to like it :)  Serious abuse is coming in the
next part, I promise :)  This story is just more an AU than an abuse story,
but when it happens... it's hard ;)

Previously:  Luke has spent some time on Coruscant, being introduced to the
court... and his assigned, future consort.  Meanwhile, the Emperor plots
against the teenager and his father. ;)

Characters: Luke, Vader, Mara, the Emperor
Type: drama, friendship

Dear Son
part 5: Mara Jade

Disclaimers: None of those characters belong to me. See my
front page for more details. (http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702)

Note about the story's copyrights: All the rights related to the basic idea
of
Vader finding Luke as a child at his school, protecting him from any bad
things and the Emperor, as well as the Emperor's scheme concerning Luke
belong to
Jessica (MoonArtist7@aol.com). Thanks for your suggestion, my friend ; this
story wouldn't have come to be without it.
Also, special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend,
Adrianne,
for her help with the final editing of my new stories. (Eh, I have no choice
but to mention you, my friend ; your secret is still safe though ;) Thanks
for
giving us some of your precious time, my friend :)
____________________

Since the girl didn't enjoy quiet chit chat, she offered him to visit his
master's palace. Throughout the rest of the day, Mara gave him a guided,
very interesting tour of the palace. He thus discovered the Emperor's
multiple, most beautiful gardens, the different sitting rooms and
entertainment areas of the palace, and he began a tenuous friendship with
his assigned 'concubine', Mara Jade.
He quickly noticed that like him, she was still mastering the vocabulary of
the court, sometimes slipping back into her younger vocabulary and
attitudes.
He didn't really mind, but it surprised him.
He also discovered that she was 'adopted' by the Emperor when she was little
more than three years old, that she was very intelligent for a courtesan,
and... like himself, she didn't have any friend to spend time with.
Unlike him though, she had never been close to anyone before, remaining
wary, never really opening herself to him.
He also noticed that her eyes were never fully opened either, as if she were
always calculating, evaluating.
But what for?, he wondered.
By the end of the afternoon, he knew enough, or rather not enough, about his
new companion to say for sure that her looks were deceptive.
She was slight, blessed with a fragile, ethereal beauty, but he had also
detected signs that she was constantly alert to her surroundings, as if
fearing some kind of attack.
Well, he conceded, perhaps she was. After all, the Emperor's court was not
the safest place in the galaxy.
He turned his eyes away from her to take in the vista of the city at dusk.
"It is beautiful." he commented softly.
For a moment, it looked as if he wouldn't draw any comment from his
companion, then she walked up to the balustrade and stood beside him.
"Yes, it is. I can't really compare it with anything though." she said
seriously, her intonation and vocabulary showing yet again her grooming as a
new courtesan and future dignitary, once she would be wedded to one such man
of course.
It surprised him to realize that he didn't want her to be taken by anybody
that way. She deserved better ; he could feel it.
"I haven't seen that many different landscapes either," he answered, "but
sparkling buildings are nicer to watch than endless sand dunes."
"Sand dunes?" she asked him in sudden interest.
It didn't escape Luke that she hadn't asked him any question this fast ever
since they had met.
"I used to live on Tatooine in a farm." he explained, turning toward her.
"My father's enemy had hidden me there, but Father found me two years ago
now."
"Ah," she nodded, as if putting pieces of a puzzle together. "so that's why
I have never heard before your presentation that Lord Vader had a son."
"Yes, I guess that's why. Although,... The Emperor never mentioned me to you
before?" he asked, himself trying to piece together his own puzzle.
"No. I rarely speak with his Highness." she said seriously. "The only thing
I was told is that I was being given to one of his new servant."
Her words shocked Luke's thoughts to a stop.
"Wait a minute, what do you mean given?" he inquired nervously, resting his
hand on her bare arm to turn her around. "I thought that it was only about
this afternoon."
Mara shook her head, her lips pressed tightly together. "No, he has chosen
me to be yours,... Luke." she said, hesitating yet again on his name.
It had taken him the whole afternoon to convince her to not address him
otherwise.
"But---but-" he stuttered, the truth of the situation crashing down on his
head. "But I'm too young--- you're too young!" he finally exclaimed in
disbelief.
His companion's eyes narrowed minutely. Uh-oh, he had insulted her.
"'I' am not too young. I'm not too young for anything." she reminded him
defiantly, shrugging out of his touch.
He knew now that she had been trained to be a mature woman before her age,
but still.
"As far as I'm concerned," he began seriously, "you are too young. I will
ask the Emperor to keep you ---"
He stopped short as he noticed the blaster bolts that she was suddenly
glaring at him. This wasn't good, he decided.
"If you do that," she warned him, forgoing any respect and curtsey, "I will
never forgive you for what will happen to me." she finished vehemently.
Luke was stricken. He had never heard anyone talk with so much fire in his
or her voice, a fire that was threatening to burn him alive if he said one
more wrong word.
But what could he possibly do?, he asked himself.
What would he do with a frivol courtesan in his life? He wasn't interested
by what she was supposed to do, and she wouldn't fit in his life.
His situation was complex enough without adding a frail girl in the mix, he
thought in annoyance.
He didn't hold her responsible for this though. It was his master's doing,
and like himself, she had to obey him.
But darn it, what would he do with a girl in his custody?? What would she
do? And what had the despot thought when he had given her to him?
There had to be a reason other than a gift to a new servant... something
that was going to help him achieve his goal to take him away from his
father, but... what?..
Finally, he sincerely queried: "Can I free you then?".
"Free?" Mara gaped slightly.
She obviously hadn't expected that.
"Yes, he said that I could do what I wanted with you. Well, I want you to be
free."
For a long moment, Mara stared open-mouthed at him, her eyes glazed slightly
as she seemed to realize what he was offering her, then they hardened again.
"You'd prefer to kill me than to have me?" she asked in returning animosity.
"I've never said anything about killing." he immediately defended. "A
servant can be freed by his master." he pointed out, reciting his lesson
about politics.
"Except if that servant is still registered as the property of the former
master." Mara continued, challenging him to refute her words.
Luke's composure faltered slightly.
Kreth, he had forgotten about that... He had no choice but to take the girl
with him.
He sighed in resignation. "All right, you'll come with me, but... I am not
sleeping with you." he warned her seriously.
He had rebuffed two of her attempts to please him since he had met her, he
didn't want to have to do so every time that he saw her.
"Is this okay with you, my friend?" he inquired, offering his hand to her.
She looked at it, seemed to consider his offer, then bowed her head in
respect.
"As you wish, your Highness." she said, mentally closing herself from
anything but her role in his life.
Well, perhaps with time, Luke thought regretfully. For the moment, he had
upset her one too many times.
He offered her his arm, like a gentleman would, and they silently made their
way out of the Emperor's palace and toward his father's.
To any by stander, it looked like the young concubine had done her job
right.
Luke dimly wondered what his father would say about their new companion.

******

Later that night, after settling the girl in appropriate rooms, Luke sat in
one of the many living rooms of his father's castle and watched an action
holo-movie.
His mind wasn't really on the movie though. First of all, he could do better
stunts with the Force than those guys did with their cables, and second, he
was very uneasy with what had happened during the day.
It was clearer and clearer that the ruler wanted to keep him in custody, to
overcome his will completely.
Throughout the past days, he had had the opportunity to watch over the
imperial court, filing away what kind of individuals were composing it
(mostly greedy, unscrupulous individuals), what they were doing (chatting
about trivial subjects and enjoying any pleasure they saw fit), as well as
how the Emperor reacted to all that (he loved everything, sometimes causing
rifts between two members to witness a fight).
In short, not his kind of favorite entourage at all.
He could only hope that he wouldn't have to deal with that kind of gathering
too often, he thought earnestly.
On the other hand, taking part to their 'celebration' had given him much
hindsight about his master/enemy, and his new friend.
Well, not that she thought of herself as a friend, he conceded, but still,
they were stuck together and would have to learn to know each other sooner
or later.
He himself had no intention to desert her, but at the same time, he wouldn't
give her more than his friendship.
For the moment at least.
He didn't know how he'd react to her mysterious beauty when he'd be older,
but that was in the future anyway. Besides, he knew that her light,
depthless personality wouldn't attract him much.
He preferred girls with character, had always had, even at school on
Tatooine.
One thing was sure though: he could understand why she was acting like she
was ; she had been groomed for this kind of life and----
Suddenly, a black-enshrouded figure jumped him from behind the couch and
proceeded to try and strangle him.
Luke reflexively kicked the other away from himself and jumped to his feet.
The black figure was lithe, about his height, and was now wielding two,
nasty-looking vibro-knives.
Knives that slashed dangerously closed to him.
He jumped backward to avoid them.
"Who are you?" he asked while he slowly stepped back toward the room's
entrance.
The other didn't answer him, but he did move to block his exit route.
"I'm sure that we can discuss whatever it is." he tried again, this time
feeling a trickle of sweat run down his back.
He had a bad feeling about this.
He couldn't feel the intruder in the Force.
The other prowled on him, whirling his knives in a pattern that was designed
to keep him from harmlessly defending himself, but that was without counting
the Force.
Even though he couldn't feel his attacker's intents, Luke could still trust
the Force to guide his blocks.
Forearm met forearm, then again, and again in an intricate, skillful pattern
that kept the blades away from him, then he brought his leg up yet again and
kicked the other in the stomach--- or so he would have if his adversary
hadn't stepped away.
Before he had completely recovered from his shock at his attacker's speed,
the other was pouncing back on him, this time varying the angles of his
attacks.
Luke was hard-pressed to keep the deadly weapons at bay. If only his father
were here, he thought desperately as he blocked yet another blade that would
have slashed his belly open, or else that he hadn't left his lightsaber in
his room, he added while he brought his other arm up and blocked yet another
attack from above.
The other wasn't fazed by his defense ; he swiftly twisted his first hand
out of his grip... and slashed sideways. The blade slid along Luke's left
biceps, cutting through his strength for a dangerous moment.
He was done for, he thought in fear, then pushed his doubt aside and let go
of his emotions.
The Force ran true and clear through him, guiding him into his next move.
He swiftly blocked the other's two arms, then kicked him under the chin with
heel of his bare foot.
His attacker's expressed his pain as he reeled backward, thoroughly dazed.
Luke didn't waste time ; the moment the other was down, he pinned him to the
floor while he forcefully pulled his weapons out of his reach.
As he strained against his resisting prisoner, he realized that:
1) he was dealing with a female, the two bumps under her shirt being
unmistakable, and ;
2) he was stronger than she was.
Using the Force once again, he pulled her cloak from her head to unveil her
features.
The greenest, most furious eyes he had ever gazed upon glared up at him as
the red-head continued to try and free herself from him.
"Mara??" he half-whispered in disbelief.
His shock was such that he slightly released his tight hold on her. She
skillfully drew her arms out of his grip, then swiveled on her right side
and brought her left elbow hard against the side of his head.
He reeled under the impact, then groaned again as he felt the cold floor
impact with his head. He didn't allow himself to pass out though ; he knew
that he couldn't pass out.
He could feel Jade's intent to finish him, then the Force warned him and he
fought past his dizziness to blindly shove her aside from him, then jumped
to his feet and called one of her blades to himself.
Mara also rolled to her feet, having recovered her knife ; she also drew a
pocket blaster from a forearm holster.
Both teenagers faced each other, trying to find a way to overcome the
other--- then they both froze as a mental voice talked to them.
*Enough.* the Emperor ordered.
Luke couldn't help but recoil from the mental contact, even if he knew that
he couldn't do so. In front of him, Mara Jade stilled.
*You have done well, both of you.* the ruler congratulated them.
*Done?* Luke queried, barely on the edge of disrespect.
He wanted to argue that his arm hurt a lot and that he had almost gotten
killed, but he knew that he had to hold his 'tongue' or else pay the price.
*Yes, done, young Vader.* his master continued haughtily. *I had to test
your self-defense skills, and Mara was more than adequate for the task.*
Luke bit down hard on his tongue while he held his thoughts in check. He
didn't like the nature of that latest test. It was too dangerous to his
liking.
*She wouldn't have killed you.* the Emperor chuckled in his mind, *merely
maimed you. Unlike you, Mara Jade is completely devoted to me, young Vader.*
he finished with a barely concealed warning.
Luke cringed when he realized that the Emperor was somehow privy to his
not-quite rebellious thoughts.
*Mara Jade will be your consort, young Vader.* the Emperor ordered. *As you
have seen by yourself, she is a skilled agent, a Force adept, and she also
passes for a fragile young woman.* he pointed out although it wasn't
necessary. With that little demonstration, Luke knew everything he had to
know now.
She was his equal, if not his superior.
*She will be able to do anything you require of her when she won't be
serving me; she is the perfect consort for you.* he finished with an
underlying warning.
She would also inform him if he dared do something foolish, he realized in
horror. She could more than hold her ground against him, and while she would
be under his orders, she would always put the Emperor first, so if he
betrayed the master... or was unfaithful to him...
Luke bowed his head in terrified acceptance, realizing what a fool he had
been in the afternoon when he had let the girl's looks deceive him. He
should have known, he berated himself.
*Mara Jade,* the Emperor continued, addressing the girl, *from now on, you
will stay with young Vader, and you will assist him in whatever way he
wished when you are not in mission for me.* he stated.
*Yes, Master.* she said deferentially, bowing her head even though the
Emperor wasn't in the room with them.
*And as you've seen for yourself, he is as worthy of you as you are worthy
of him.*
Luke noticed the slight blush that appeared on Jade's face ; she too had
thought that she was going to pamper a rich brat?? he gaped. He would never
have thought so.
*Most excellent,* their master smiled mentally. *Now start developing a
relationship.* he ordered them.
It didn't escape Luke that the Emperor was not giving him any choice about
that thing, which could only mean that beside using Mara as a 'controlling'
agent, he had something else in mind.
But what?..
The Emperor's presence disappeared from the room.
He refocused on his companion. She had turned off her knife and was putting
away her blaster.
"You were good, your Highness." she bowed slightly.
Luke sighed heavily as he shut down his own weapon and tightened his hold on
his arm.
"Jade, call me anything but your Highness, okay?"
"As you wish."
"And talk to me, don't defer to me." he added out of irritation.
If he was going to have a relationship with this girl, he wanted it to be
one that came from friendship, not from the Emperor's orders.
The girl seemed taken aback by his request, then she tilted her head
slightly to her right.
"What?" he inquired.
"Well, I would call you something else, if only I could think of something."
she admitted.
"Oh, uh..." he fumbled himself. "Well why not simply call me Luke?" he
suggested.
"It's too personal. I don't know you enough for that." she answered almost
in disgust.
"Then how about Vader?" he suggested again.
She thought about it for a moment. "No, too much like your father." she
finally decided.
Luke had to admit that he didn't have any other ideas.
He shifted his focus from Jade's question to his throbbing arm. He really
needed to take a look at that cut soon, he decided.
At least, he thought wryly, he didn't have to worry about having sand in it.
Even though he hadn't been on Tatooine for two years now, his reflexes to
always look for traces of sand, or even his subconscious thoughts about
having sand in unpleasant places were still in him.
"Tatooine?" Mara asked, taking a step closer.
Luke's eyes darted up at her in shock.
"How do you know what I was thinking?" he asked.
Only his father could do that, at least, he hoped so.
Mara shrugged. "I don't know exactly, it just popped out into my mind. You
used to live on a farm there, didn't you?"
"Yes... why?" he asked warily.
"Then I'll call you Farmboy, my prince." she smirked half-seriously.
He would have preferred 'flyboy', but farmboy would do, he admitted. He
nodded in agreement.
*Okay, Jade.* he sent her in a similarly playful fashion.
"Deal." she stated. "Now let's take a look at that injury. I might have
overdo it." she said seriously.
Luke didn't argue with her ; he followed her out of the room.
As she guided him toward the nearest medbay, he realized that she had
already familiarized herself with her new environment. She was walking as if
she had always lived in his father's palace.
One more proof that she was indeed a good agent for their master, he noted
clinically.
"So," he began half-seriously, "you thought that I wouldn't be worthy of
you?" he inquired.
"I didn't know you, farmboy." she shrugged. "I thought that you were just a
rich brat." she said in contempt.
Luke felt himself blush slightly at her choice of words, but fought past his
unease to answer her.
"Well, hmm," he cleared his throat. "I guess we're even then since I thought
the same thing of you."
Mara gave him a quick, askance glare, but it quickly softened as she noticed
his genuine repentance. "Yes, we're even now." she agreed with a tight
smile.
They entered the medbay where a medical droid would take care of his injury.

******

Three days later, Luke was waiting for his father's shuttle to finish its
landing procedures.
He had put on his regular, every day clothes, the ones he was comfortable to
wear no matter the time of the day or the night.
They were plain black, or darkly colored, and while they were nicely cut,
they weren't fancy.
Nothing to do with the frivolous fabric which he had worn during the
Emperor's celebrations.
The wings of the sleek shuttle finished to fold upward even as the landing
struts began to settle on the landing platform.
A gust of wind ruffled his hair.
Almost like his father's hand in his hair, he reflected happily.
Darn, he had really missed him, he admitted.
His father had been gone for four days... yet he was feeling as if he were
returning for a month-long mission.
It was a wonder, he reflected ruefully, that he had survived during 12 years
without knowing him at all.
The boarding platform slowly lowered to the platform ; his father quickly
made his way down from it, then toward him.
Luke couldn't wait anymore. He walked forward to meet him.
"Father!" he smiled happily.
Once they met, his father returned his greeting with a warm hug, then
invited him off the platform and into the castle.
"Have you managed to tame Xizor?" Luke asked him.
"Yes. Otherwise, I wouldn't be back." his father answered wisely.
"I've missed you, Father." he admitted, almost ashamed that he was feeling
so mushy at his age. "I couldn't wait for you to return."
Instead of scolding him like he expected him to, his father expressed
similar feelings.
"I've sorely missed you too, Son. Each day has felt like a month to me."
"Me too." Luke nodded as he walked beside his father down the corridors.
"So, what has happened to you while I was away?" Vader asked him.
"Well, hmm, other than the regular pressure, not too much," Luke began, "but
the last reception was in fact an orgy."
His father stopped short and whirled toward him, protectively grabbing his
shoulder.
"What?! Have they touched you?" he queried darkly.
Luke hurried to reassure him. "No, they tried though."
"How much did they try?" his father demanded.
Luke blushed slightly as the events of that day came back to him. "Well...
two women tried to kiss me, but I didn't let them do anything." he finished
proudly.
For a moment, his father remained silent, as if pondering his words.
"You're not telling me everything." he finally scolded him.
He lowered his head, relenting on his secret. "The Emperor has put a young
girl of my age under my custody." he admitted, then looked up to meet his
father's eyes.
Even though his father was wearing an helmet and mask, Luke swore that he
saw his jaw hit the floor.
"A girl?" he half-whispered, something that wasn't easy to achieve with his
mask.
"An agent who was introduced to me as a courtesan." Luke nodded. "Her name
is Mara Jade."
"Jade??" his father seemed to frown.
He let go of his shoulder and began to pace back and forth in front of him ;
Luke stood rooted to his spot, bemused by his father's reaction.
"You know her?" he finally asked the dark lord.
His father turned around to face him once more.
"I know that she is a secret to every one but the Emperor and I... and you
now."
He resumed his pacing.
Luke was flabbergasted.
His father had known about the existence of a girl of his age, of someone
who was undergoing an almost similar training to his own, yet hadn't
mentioned her to him before??
"Why didn't you tell me?" he finally pouted.
His father refocused on him, as if startled by his question. He walked
closer once again.
"I couldn't tell you, Luke. Soon, you will learn not to mention any imperial
secret that you are let into. Jade was, before you came along, the Emperor's
protege. She was his every hope for a perfect agent... then you came out of
nowhere and gave him dreams of a new dark lord and agent." his father
explained. She unfortunately can't compete with you since her Force skills
are limited..."
Luke nodded, slowly digesting the information about his new friend.
Had she known that, he wondered.
"What I can't figure out," his father continued, "is why he gave her to you
like this. There has to be a reason." he observed seriously.
"I know," Luke agreed. "I tried to find it, but other than to keep an eye on
me, I can't think of anything."
His father took a moment to think about his words, then shrugged.
"Well, whatever it is, we had better be careful. And you," he added,
pointing his finger at him, "are better to watch your thoughts more closely.
Don't show any dislike of the Emperor in her presence nor while she's closed
by." he advised him.
"I'll be careful." Luke reassured him.
Father and son gazed at each other for a little while longer, then
simultaneously turned back toward their initial destination.
"So, how did you deal with Xizor?" Luke asked him in interest.
His father proceeded to tell him how he taught respect to Xizor by taking
down one of his major secret 'bases'.
Their discussion continued until late into the evening until they had
analyzed all the possible reactions of the dark prince as well as how they
would deal with them.

******

Two days later, they were back aboard his father's flagship.
As Luke watched the receding form of Coruscant, he reflected that it was a
good thing to get away from the jewel-like planet.
And especially from the master of that planet and universe.
Even though the Emperor was his master and he owed him respect and
obedience, he didn't want, couldn't even imagine ever being left alone,
truly alone with him.
The admiral of the flagship snapped to attention behind him.
"What are your orders, sir?" he asked him.
Young Luke Vader refocused on the present.
"Take us to the Momar system, Admiral. Have the green fleet meet us there."
he said in as adult a voice as he could manage.
He felt the other flinch slightly in discomfort at being ordered by a 'kid',
but Admiral Ozzel was faithful to his father and the Emperor, so he obeyed.
He didn't wish to have a private 'meeting' with his father.
While the admiral carried out his orders, Luke took a moment to evaluate the
state of every other men nearby.
Uh-oh... some were downright filled with hatred...
He would have to keep an eye on those men ; he couldn't let them be the
cause of a failure. 'He' would pay for it.
As he slowly walked down the higher bridge, glaring down in the crew's pit,
he resolved that none of those adults would make him fail.
None.

******

Mara finished her hundredth push-up with barely a groan.
She was improving, she thought in satisfaction as she sat up and took a
breather.
Her arms had always been her weakness, but she was determinate to fix this
problem ; she seemed to be getting results, at last.
Of course, she reminded herself, she couldn't do much more than that if she
wanted to be able to pass for a frail courtesan instead of an athletic
woman.
She had to satisfy herself with what she was doing right now and work out
new fighting techniques to get rid of her weakness, she reflected, then set
about finding more ways to develop new techniques.
A now familiar presence suddenly entered her sensing range.
And here was the right opportunity to test her new technique of the day, she
smirked to herself.
She hurried to jump to her feet, exited the training room, then plastered
herself against the wall that was just beside the entrance of the secret
quarters.
Two seconds later, the door swished open and her prey stepped through the
doorframe.
Without wasting time, she swiftly brought her bladed hand upon her
'consort's' neck.
It instantly brought him to his knees, but before she could finish him, so
to speak, he whirled toward her and shoved her back in the wall with the
Force.
Since she was still pretty close to the steel wall, and that the strength of
his push was impressive, she landed flat against it, braining herself for
good.
She slumped to the floor, next to her recovering companion.

Luke was ready to finish whoever had dared attacked him when he realized
that he was dealing with his assigned consort.
He let out a sigh of frustration as the teenage girl slumped down on the
floor.
"What do you think you were doing?" he asked her in frustration, rubbing his
aching neck.
She was in no better shape than he was he noticed as she brought her hand to
the back of her head.
"Training." she said shortly, trying hard to hide her thoroughly dazed
state.
"Training." Luke repeated in a dead-pan voice. "Who? You or me?" he queried
seriously, perhaps even a trifle angrily.
Jade glared at him. "Me of course. Why would I train you?" she asked with a
sneer.
Luke shook his head, then winced as his neck complained against the
movement.
"Never mind." he whispered, slowly getting to his feet.
He had had a tough day, and had an even tougher one waiting for him
tomorrow. He didn't have time to play games with a bored spy.
He headed for his room.
"So?" the girl behind him asked.
He stopped and turned back toward her.
"So what?" he queried.
"Can I practice on you or not?" she asked him as she herself got to her
feet.
He was tempted to tell her that no, she couldn't play with him, but then, he
realized that she would give him very good opportunities to practice his
danger-sensing skills, as well as his self-defense ones.
"Sure," he finally shrugged, "if you're not afraid that I might hurt you."
Her eyes became even smaller slits than they already were.
"I'm not afraid of anything, and certainly not of you, farmboy." she defied
him.
"Good, then it's settled." he nodded. "Now, I really have work to do, Jade."
"I 'was' working." she pointed out hotly.
Luke slightly tilted his head, as if in apology, then turned away from her.
He would never figure out that girl, he thought on his way to his room.
First, she was nice, then she was angry, and then, she was using him as a
practice tool.
Perhaps, he reflected wryly, that was why the Emperor had entrusted her in
his hands.
Because he had been tired of her hectic mood.
And now, enough distraction. He had to plan his next test.

TBC

Well, liked it?  let me know please :)

SJ