𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕕 | 𝔸. 𝕊𝕂𝕐𝕎𝔸𝕃𝕂𝔼ℝ ₁

» 8

"They're jamming the signal."

Venus and Olek sat in the hull of her ship, an eerie silence surrounding them. Neither of the two knew what their next move should be, hell, they weren't even sure if their message had successfully been transmitted to the Jedi council.

Zae was asleep in the small bedroom onboard. Venus had been able to put her to sleep a few hours ago. Now, they were all sitting ducks. She had refused to leave Chrysós without her mother and sister and shortly after their arrest, all ships were grounded. No one in, no one out. Attempting to get off world would probably result in her ship being shot down and that was not a risk she wanted to take.

"Let's get moving." Olek cleared his throat, grabbing her attention. "If we leave now we should reach the Grotto in a days time." He didn't bother looking in her direction.

Venus watched as he went to grab the packed bags full of necessities. There was an obvious tension between the two, but she chose to stay quiet about it. The least she could do was be grateful for Paz's assistance. "I'll grab Zae." She quietly spoke before disappearing down the small hall.

They had a long journey ahead of them and she was going to dread every second of it.

»—»«—«

"The aide didn't see anything." Feera reported to Aerol's office. "She was there as per Senator Aurum's request. He wanted her to have a drink with him but she was against it. He stepped outside and no more than two minutes later, he was shot. The trail remains cold."

  Aerol shook his head, attempting to contain his anger. "Regardless whether or not she saw it, evidence points towards the Queen and her daughters. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Senator Aurum had laid hands on Venus that evening. Aelia and Aurelia got into a huge argument with him and because I did not defend her, Venus decided to try and kill me. That is the truth, detective."

Feera quietly huffed, turning away from the liar. "I will take into consideration your point of view, but I need physical evidence that the royal family had the Senator assassinated."

"And what about Venus?" His hands clenched into fists. "She drugged me and attacked me. Her sudden disappearance made it obvious."

"While her actions point towards guilt, I can't be too sure—"

"You listen here, Jade." Aerol stepped closer to her. "If you don't know how to do your job, I will find someone who can. Find Venus and question her so you can see I'm telling the truth."

Feera held her ground, smugly shrugging her shoulders. "Perhaps I should be asking you some more detailed questions. Get a feel of your point of view?"

This would be easy for Aerol. He had a way with twisting words to create the perfect story. "I'm be more than happy to answer anything you throw at me."

"Very well." She grabbed her holo-pad and the recording device from the prince's desk, and pressed a button. "This is Detective Jade Feera, interviewing..."

He leaned back in his chair and spoke his name. "Prince Aerol Aurum."

After the detective listed a few more details, the interrogation begun. "Where were you when Senator Aurum was assassinated?"

"I was visiting the doctor in my home." He answered.

"And why is that?"

"Well, I was assaulted." He pointed to the bandage on his head. "By my very own, unfortunately troubled wife."

"And what did your wife do to you?"

Eyelids fluttering at the question, Aerol moved forward. "She drugged me. Venus slipped some sleeping medication— which was confirmed by the doctor— into my evening tea. When it was apparent I caught on, I—"

"Explain what you mean by apparent."

Aerol took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. "She went to hide in our restroom. I suddenly felt tired and the tea did have a sour taste. I knocked on the door and ask her if she had put anything in my beverage. When she didn't answer, I went to her nightstand and found the medicine prescribed to her. Before I could go and tell anyone of my discovery, my legs gave out. I fell and hit my head on the corner of the nightstand. Venus must've thought I was unconscious because she came from the restroom to take the pills. I asked her to help me, but she panicked, smashed a vase over my head. The next thing I remember, the guards were asking me what had happened."

Feera wrote some notes down before going to her next question. "What makes you think that Venus is behind the assissnation of her own father, Senator Aurum?"

He sighed in disappointment, rubbing at his temple. "Venus and her father never got along. She would tell me how he was barely a part of her life and when he was, he would physically punish her. It happened that very evening. We'd been over at Senator Aurum's home for dinner. She got upset over an arranged for her sister and he slapped her for speaking out... I should've done something about it but I couldn't bring myself to cross that line, detective." Tears brimmed in the corners of his eyes. He was good. "I suppose that is part of the reason why she tried to kill me.... because I didn't defend her."

Feera ended the recording, tucking her holo-pad into her satchel. "I'll follow up with your supposed witnesses. I'll keep in touch, sir."

Wiping away his tears, he stood, "Thank you, detective. Just please, please get my daughter back. Her mother is out of control. I fear for her life."

Not another word was said. She left the office, shaking her head once outside. What a load of bullshit.