[Fic] A Rose in the Daisies

[stingerhs]

A Rose in the Daisies

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It was a gift to her. It was the one gift that he had never been able to give her before, but now, it was just about the only thing that he could give her at all. As she layed there, he reached over and placed it softly under her hand. There were no tears, and there were no regrets of what happened. Even so, his heart ached at the thought that this would be the last time he would ever see her. So, in one final act, he reached over and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

 

Moving over to his seat at the chapel, he finally sat down to watch what would happen. So far, few people had bothered to show. He recognized few people in the Chapel except for the priest that stood vigil over her. He guessed that some of them were probably just the curious, but as it was with him, there were no tears being shed. However, there were differing circumstances between him and those that had come. He wanted to shed tears so badly; he knew that if their roles were reversed, she would've shed tears for him. Then again, there would be many, many more people attending his funeral when compared to the dismal amount of people that had shown up for hers.

 

As he sat there alone in the silence of the chapel, the man remembered seeing her just recently before she was murdered. They had been up at their new house telling the droids where to place the furniture and arranging decorations. He remembered her saddened reaction to the pictures of their children.

 

"Its ok, dear. We'll see them again someday," he had told her. Placing his arm around her shoulders, he looked at the picture for himself over her shoulder. Inside, he could feel himself aching a bit, but he knew that he had to be strong. Peering around to look at her in those bright green eyes, he saw the tears coming down her face as she stared intently at the picture. Reaching up, he used his finger to wipe the tears from her face. Then, she looked over at him right in the eyes, and he could see the pain in her expression. Without saying anything, they embraced each other tightly.

 

He then remembered that despite the tears she had shed, she was was back to being her normal, vibrant self not long afterwards. He smiled as he thought about how hard she had pushed him to get the unpacking done. "Come on, you're picking up that container like a woman," she would say. "Put your back into it, you big bantha."

 

And then, he remembered seeing her bright smile that always had the ability to brighten his day. Even if it was just a hologram as he had seen her many times in the past, that smile was something that he treasured greatly. On the longest of campaigns in the recent war, every chance he had to communicate with her through by hologram was a special moment that he treasured time and again. Unlike other men of his rank, he had no qualms about bragging to his fellow officers about how good of a wife that she was, and he always shook his head when he heard the stories about the other officer's wives. To him, those wives didn't have anything on his wife.

 

Even while think all of these things, the man just sat there expressionless. Oh how he longed to break out in mourning as his wife deserved, but there was a time and place for that. He just couldn't be seen shedding tears while those news droids were circling over him like buzzards over a carcass. Just thinking about those droids, the media, and the commoners suddenly inflamed in his heart. He despised them for putting their spin on him and his wife. He had told both her and himself time and again that she had done the right thing, but the media had their own spin on things.

 

She was a traitor that deserved nothing short of the gallows. She had turned over the security codes so that the Mandalorians could attack the capital and force the government to surrender. The war wasn't going well to begin with, despite her husband's leadership. They just didn't have the supplies and manpower to keep up with the Mandalorians. There had to be a scape goat for the takeover, and there was no doubt that she was the one to blame. Gloating in their victory, the Mandalorians had been quick to expose her treachery to the rest of the system. Brought up on a stage and forced to give a speech, the man could do nothing except to listen on in his frustrations as they demeaned and ridiculed her in front of everyone. She had never deserved the treatment she recieved, and it the cost would eventually become too high when the mob stormed their house after the latest series of food rationings from the Mandalorian leaders.

 

Meanwhile, the Priest standing near the woman's coffin stood there waiting for the time to pass. At the same time, even he was deep in thought. This chapel had served as the man and woman's church for quite sometime, and he knew the family very well. The man, in particular, he had know and ministered to since the man was just a young boy. He remembered the day the couple had married, and he too remembered how radiant her smile had been that day. If there was such a thing as true love amongst mortals, they had been the shining example.

 

After a couple of minutes, the priest motioned for the doors to the Chapel be closed. Moving to the lectern to speak, the Priest could see few people in the audience which was something that he had expected to happen. There were few people that would want to give any respects to the traitor, but that wouldn't stop the news droids from filming the ceremony for the media.

 

"Friends and family, we are gathered here today in a solemn remembrance of a life well spent. Although her most infamous act was an act of treachery, there were many redeeming qualities to her life. To many, she was a lively and well spirited woman that refused to falter in face of great struggles. She was a woman that overcame many odds to achieve great things. However, what was most important in her life was her family.

 

She lost much in the war; she lost her son and her two daughters that served diligently under their father's guidance. She also lost her home during the Bombing Strikes last year. She had lost the home that she had built while her husband was away leading the war effort. To him and his family, we know that her loss is a great loss that can never be undone. It is a tragedy of the greatest sort to be left a widower with no other family to turn to, and our deepest condolences go out to our General.

 

Many would argue that her good qualities could never undo her one treacherous act, but I am here to say otherwise. If it had not been for her, the war would still be raging over our skies and within our system. Although her act lost the war for us, her act saved countless innocent lives from a defeat that was sure to come. Surely, it would not be a stretch to understand that it was her desire to see the war end so that other mothers and wives that live on our world will not have to undergo the pain and agony that she went through. Yes, it was an act of treachery, but for the sake of others was it made. Such was the selflessness of this woman, and may there be no one on this day to say otherwise."

 

As the priest continued with all of the rituals and blessings that accompany a funeral, the man just sat there with his head bowed in thought. She had been a thing of humble beauty when he first met her. They had met each other in the Military Academy for the Officers Corp. Unlike him, however, she wasn't there for training; she was serving as a simple secretary for the Base Captain. He had been enthralled by her despite her initial shyness, but as she began to open up to him, he knew that she was the one he wanted for marriage. Sure, he had been a "ladies man" as a teenager, but she was so different from the others that it made her akin to a blue diamond in the midst of lesser stones. To him, however, the analogy was different. To him, she was a red rose in the midst of daisies.

 

He smiled as he remembered the analogy. The first time he had tried to give her a rose, she had refused. "Its too beautiful for me. You keep it," she had said so long ago. And later, throughout their marriage, she would always refuse the roses that he tried to buy for her. She would always tell him that she was too plain for such a thing, but it always made him more persistant. Finally, she told him that if was going to get her flowers, then he needed to make them daisies. She liked the daisies, and she always thought that they suited her best.

 

Finally, the Priest had the congregation stand for the final prayer. Looking into the casket during the prayer, the man, a General of the Army, looked at the red rose that he had placed under her hand and smiled. After the prayer was over, he turned around to leave. There would be no procession as the planet's tradition was to cremate a person's body and the ashes spread over the tops of the lone mountain range.

 

As he approached the doors, he could feel the heaviness in his heart begin to swell. Turning around, he just had to have one last look. Although her face was expressionless there in the casket, the man couldn't help but to see nothing but her radiant smile. As the red rose layed there under her cold hands, a drop of water hit the floor by the man. The levies had been overwhelmed at last, and the rose glistened there in the dim chapel light.

[Emperor Devon]

And this is from the guy who says "I'm not normally one for love stories"?

 

There's a couple things I definitely like about this one. While the emotions and subtle nuances of the characters were pulled off near-perfectly and the woman being hanged seemed quite sad, more detail about it would've been nice. Knowing more about who the characters are, their names, when they were alive and more details about the Mandalorian attack on Coruscant would've been a nice addition.

 

What time period does this take place, btw? The Mandalorians only attacked Coruscant during the Great Sith War, and that was only a quick raid - not quite long enough for them to worry about ration distribution.

 

Some specific facts would've been a nice inclusion, but a capital job all the same!

[stingerhs]

its interesting that you want to think that this story took place on Coruscant. in reality, i designed the story to be a bit on the generic side as to what planet this actually took place on. i did it purposefully so that the story isn't drowned in details about the planet it took place on. i guess i could've given the planet a name, but i never thought that it was too terribly important.

 

as for not naming the characters, i thought it was rather fitting to have nameless characters so that the attention is squarely focused on the moment and the emotion at hand. again, it was another method of keeping things simple without having to insert explanations that would throw off the pacing.

 

in the end, the story is perhaps a bit too generic, but considering that i only spent 2 hours on it, i think it turned out rather nicely.

[JasraLantill]

I like the anonymity of your characters in this one. I think you're right--there isn't any need to define the planet they're on as the story is more about feelings rather than causal events.

 

And I like the way you demonstrate two types of love here. One, the love and respect that the General has for his wife, and, two, the love that his wife had for her children and her community as a whole. Nice job!

 

And now that you've disclosed you wrote this in two hours, all I can say is, "Wow!"

[Jae Onasi]

I loved the rose among the daisies analogy--that he thought she was a rose among other women, and that her courage made her a rose among a more plebeian daisy society.

Even though the people are nameless, I think you could have fleshed their characters out a little more--I didn't mind they were without names, it's just they were a little 2-D instead of 3-D, if that makes any sense.

 

It's interesting Dev thought it was Coruscant for the setting--I got the impression it was one of the backwater Outer rim planets, actually.

 

The emotions were quite powerful and I felt caught up in the moment and enjoyed the piece quite a bit.

[Emperor Devon]

It's interesting Dev thought it was Coruscant for the setting--I got the impression it was one of the backwater Outer rim planets, actually.

 

I do that whenever the name of the world isn't mentioned. It's used casually enough in fics and EU stories that it's almost always used when the planet the story takes place on doesn't have much relevance to the plot.