'I wouldn't let you go alone,' Drenna said gently. 'You need care.'
'I'd better contact your father,' Qui-Gon told Leed. 'There's no time to lose.' Quickly, he accessed the comm unit and contacted King Frane. He told him that they were on their way to Rutan.
'I'll believe it when I face him on his own royal land,' King Frane said, brusquely cutting the connection.
'So much for thank-yous,' Obi-Wan muttered.
'He is still worried about his son,' Qui-Gon said gently. 'He hides his fear well.'
'He hides his manners better,' Obi-Wan replied.
They landed the craft on the palace grounds and made their way to see the king. He was pacing anxiously outside the Great Hall. When he saw Leed, his forbidding expression gave way to one of delight.
'Ha! I was afraid something would go wrong!
My son, my son!' King Frane hurried forward and hugged Leed. He let him go and mopped at his streaming eyes with the edge of his tunic. 'How I missed you. Thank the stars you have come home.'
'I came home to talk to you, Father,' Leed said. 'Not to stay.'
Instantly, King Frane's face grew red. 'Not to stay?' he shouted. 'That's impossible! You are here. You will stay!'
'Father, can we talk without shouting?' Leed asked.
'I am not shouting!' King Frane bellowed. Then he lowered his voice. 'It's just that I must speak up, because apparently nobody listens to me.'
'I have listened to everything you and Taroon have said,' Leed responded steadily. 'I have tried to find a way to do my duty. But Father, I know that if I return it will break my heart. I can't rule this world — I don't know it. I don't love it the way I love Senali. You sent me there and made sure I was taken care of. You succeeded. I made a new family there. I belong there. But I assure you I don't mean to be a stranger to my blood family or to Rutan. Senali is close —'
'It's close, but who wants to go there?' King Frane said furiously. 'Obviously, you have been swayed by forces on Senali. I'm sure if you spend time on Rutan you will forget these foolish ideas.'
'I will not forget them,' Leed said, exasperated. 'They are part of me.'
King Frane visibly calmed himself, dropping his hands to his sides and taking a breath. 'Leed, I must speak to you as a king as well as a father,' he said in a voice that struggled to be steady. 'I do not want to bully you into doing your duty. That is an option that is open to me as king. But as your father I prefer a more reasoned way. You will break my heart if you do this. You will kill my love for you.'
'This is your way of reason?' Leed asked in astonishment.
'Hear me,' King Frane said, holding up a hand. 'Our family line has ruled for a hundred years. The firstborn child of the king or queen has taken his or her place without fail. Do you realize what you do when you break that chain? Do you take your responsibility to your family and your world so lightly? How can you decide at this young age what is right for the rest of your life?'
King Frane's words struck Obi-Wan as none had before. When he'd left the Jedi, he had not fully realized that he'd not only broken a bond between himself and Qui-Gon, but had violated a deep tradition between all Masters and Padawans. He had come to see how important his place in that tradition was.
Should Leed return to Senali and turn his back on generations who had prepared the way for him? Suddenly, Obi-Wan wasn't sure.
'You expect me to rule a year from now,' Leed countered. 'I will have to make such important decisions for all Rutanians. If you trust me to do that, you should trust my own mind now.'
King Frane's temper grew, no matter how he tried to suppress it. 'You turn your back on those Rutanians you speak of so lightly.'
'No,' Leed said firmly. 'I cannot be a good ruler. This I know. So I turn the honor aside to one more worthy.'
'Your brother?' King Frane asked in disbelief. 'Taroon is soft. He has no head for leadership. Who would follow him? As soon as he was picked up from that awful planet, I sent him back to school, where he belongs.'
'You do not give him a chance,' Leed said.
'I don't have to!' King Frane said, his voice rising again. 'I am king! I choose! And I choose my firstborn, as my mother chose me, as my grandfather chose her!'
Leed did not answer. His mouth set stubbornly.
King Frane did not speak for a moment. Father and son faced each other. Neither flinched.
Obi-Wan glanced at Qui-Gon, but as usual the Jedi gave no clue as to what he was thinking. He was merely waiting for the situation to resolve itself as it would. He was so calm! Obi-Wan could feel the tension coiling inside him. He sought for the Jedi composure and could not find it. He could only find confusion.
At last King Frane spoke. 'This discussion is over,' he said stiffly. 'I will not accept disloyalty and betrayal. You must take up your legacy. My son must rule after me. I am doing what is right for you.'
'You can't make me do this,' Leed said firmly.
King Frane's laughter had a harsh sound. Obi-Wan tried to listen as Qui-Gon would. He realized that the laughter was fueled by bewilderment and hurt, not contempt. 'Of course I can! I am king!'
'What about Yaana?' Qui-Gon spoke up. 'We have brought Leed to you. Now you must deliver your part of the bargain and free her.'
