Obi-Wan's mind was clear. It was not clouded with hate or bitterness. He needed to stop Beju. He struck again, trying to loosen Beju's grip on his sword.
But the Prince rallied. Anger drove him, and anger backed by skill can be a powerful ally. Beju launched an offensive at Obi-Wan. He struck again and again as Obi-Wan repelled the attacks, feeling the power of Beju's blows move up his arm. His shoulder began to ache.
Sweat rolled down Obi-Wan's face. Beju lost his footing and staggered. They had been fighting for some time now. Prince Beju's face was red with exertion.
Obi-Wan could feel his opponent's exhaustion. He hoped it would cause Beju to make a mistake.
He launched himself at Beju again. Obi-Wan drove him toward the corner. Now Beju was at bay, unable to evade him. With a downward blow, Obi-Wan dislodged the sword from Beju's grasp. The Prince dived for it, his hands closing around the hilt as Obi-Wan leaped over a chair to prevent him.
A voice behind them cracked the silence. "Enough!"
A hooded figure moved within their vision. He wore the silver robes of a Council Minister. Obi-Wan recognized the elder whom he'd seen mysteriously appear and disappear in the gardens. "You will lose, my Prince. Anyone can see that."
"I will not lose!" the Prince howled, just as Obi-Wan's foot came down on his wrist, preventing him from grasping his sword. "Besides, Viso," the Prince snarled, "how can you tell if I will lose? You're blind! You can't even see your own hand before you."
Obi-Wan studied the elder more closely. He realized for the first time that his milky blue eyes were sightless. With a swift movement, Obi-Wan reached down and snatched Prince Beju's sword from the floor.
"I saw you were losing some time ago," Viso said quietly. "This battle is not the point. You have denied the truth for too long. When a man does this, he loses."
"Stop talking in riddles, old man," Prince Beju said, rolling over and rising shakily to his feet. "Your stories have always bored me."
"Queen Veda has not lied to you, my Prince," Viso replied, serene in the face of Beju's rudeness. "But your father did. Giba did. The men you worshipped lied to you. The mother who bore you did not."
"Get out!" the Prince screamed. "I will have the guards throw you in jail for your lies!"
"Then you will have to prove that I lie. Don't you want to see my proof first?
Are you brave enough to face it?" Viso asked in the same calm tone.
Obi-Wan looked at Beju. He saw that the Prince could not back down. Viso had maneuvered him into a corner as surely as Obi-Wan had in battle.
"Fine, old man," the Prince sneered. "Show me what you call proof. And then I will have the great satisfaction of throwing you in the tower jail."
Viso bowed. He gestured for them to follow him. He led them out of the chamber, through another grand meeting room. He led them into a small antechamber beyond.
The room was completely empty. The walls and floor were of pale blue stone. On the floor an intricate design of interlocking squares had been traced in silver imbedded in the stone.
"Stand in the small square in the center, please, Prince Beju," Viso said.
Prince Beju looked suddenly nervous. "The square within the square," he said.
"My father spoke of this. He never explained it. He said… he said when I was strong enough to face what it meant, I would be ready."
"And are you strong enough?" Viso asked.
Prince Beju positioned himself in the center square. As soon as his feet hit the square, the walls began to glow. Obi-Wan watched in amazement as slender beams of golden light suddenly washed over Prince Beju in a flurry of shifting patterns. He could not identify where they came from. They seemed to arise from the air.
Then Obi-Wan noted that although the glittering beams cast shadows on the floor and walls, there was no shadow or mark on Beju.
"You see," Viso said quietly. "There is no Mark of the Crown on you, my Prince.
That is for another. You are not the heir."
The Prince stepped off the square. The beams of light disappeared immediately.
Obi-Wan expected the Prince to bluster, to say it meant nothing. He expected him to rail at Viso, call the elder a fool or a liar. But the Prince did none of those things. He slowly sank to his knees. His head dropped into his hands.
Obi-Wan saw his shoulders shake.
Viso drifted closer to stand at Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Everything he knew has been taken from him," he murmured quietly. "You must help him, Obi-Wan."
Then Viso glided out, leaving Obi-Wan alone with the weeping Prince.
Help Prince Beju? Obi-Wan didn't even like him. Just moments ago, Beju would have cheerfully stabbed him through the heart. But Viso was right. Beju had lost everything he knew, everyone he worshipped. His father was his hero. Giba had replaced him. He had nothing to believe in anymore.
Obi-Wan crouched a short distance away from Beju. "Your father acted honorably at the end of his life, Prince Beju," he said quietly. "He revealed his deception. Your mother forgave him because he regretted what he had done.
Sometimes regret is all we can give to those we wound."
Beju wrapped his arms around his knees. He kept his head down.
"My Jedi training tells me that to absorb a blow is to begin to recover from it," Obi-Wan continued softly. "Now you must decide what is best for you to do.
Do you want to rule Gala as Prince?"
He didn't expect the Prince to answer. But Beju raised his head. He fixed his reddened eyes on Obi-Wan. The trace of tears was still on his face.
"I don't know what I want anymore," he whispered. "I don't know anything."
"You are still Prince," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Elan does not want to rule. Until the elections, you are the Queen's rightful heir. So you have an opportunity.
You can act like a Prince — you can rescue your mother and imprison Giba. If you are voted down by the people, you can leave a government that is still functioning and strong."
"Giba told me that the people would vote for me in the end," Prince Beju said numbly. "He told me that there was great affection for me. But when I walked through the city I saw the truth in my people's eyes and I could not face it.