[ ➳ @defeatedscreams ]
There was so much going on in the Fountain Palace that specific day that Jacen found himself easily able to pull his hood farther over his head and fall in line with a gaggle of new suitors on their way to the gardens to meet the recently appointed Queen Mother. They had been talking amongst themselves ( talking themselves up to each other was a more fitting description ) and he slipped away from them, rounding hedges and peering under branches until he spotted a head of red-gold hair, the sun giving it a familiar, rich copper glint.
He had a few more scars than the last time he had seen her ( maybe more than a few ), both inside and out, and his eyes were probably noticeably more hollow, but he inhaled deeply, hoping he was still enough of the Jacen Solo she remembered.
Jacen wanted to be there for her since he knew all of this was never something she wanted. The title of Queen Mother was something that struck dread in her, it seemed. It was easy for any friend of hers to see why.
“Congratulations are in order, I hear?” He shifted around a perfectly groomed wall of vines to come into view, a lopsided grin forced across his lips. “Your Majesty?”
Making light of it was a risk, but one he was willing to take. It’s what Jacen would have done ( before the war started ).