"Sabé McBeal"
STANDARD DISCLAIMER/CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: The Star Wars characters belong to George Lucas. This fanfic was inspired by the television show "Ally McBeal", which belongs to David E. Kelly. Vonda Shepard belongs to herself, and the songs "Searchin' My Soul" and "Baby, Don't You Break My Heart Slow" belong to her. "The End of the World" was written by Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee, "Walk Away Renee" (which I changed to "Walk Away Sabé") was written by Bob Calilli, Michael Lookofsky and Tony Sansone, and "Ask the Lonely" was written by William Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. All of these songs were performed by Vonda Shepard for "Ally McBeal". Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse belong to Walt Disney.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story takes place several months
after the events depicted in my fanfics Sex and the City of Coruscant
and Don't Bug Me. Oh yeah, and if you've never seen the show "Ally
McBeal", you might be a bit confused by the things Sabé sees/does.
I have to admit that this is kind of like a songfic, but my use of song
lyrics was inspired by the way Vonda Shepard's music is used to add to
the atmosphere on "Ally McBeal". It's rather tough to duplicate the
effect on "paper" - I hope I did half as well as they do it on the show.
I've been down this road walkin' the line
That's painted by pride
And I have made mistakes in my life
That I just can't hide.
Oh I believe I am ready for what love has to bring
Got myself together, now I'm ready to sing.
I've been searchin' my soul tonight
I know there's so much more to life
Now I know I can shine a light
To find my way back home.
Robed and crowned as the Queen
of the Naboo, Sabé hurried down the corridor towards the throne
room, followed by her retinue of handmaidens. One handmaiden walked directly
beside Sabé, ignoring royal protocol that demanded all commoners
walk a step behind their Queen.
"Are you excited?" Padmé
asked "the Queen".
"I do not know. I have not seen
or spoken with him since we… since our time on Coruscant."
"Surely he will be here. This
is the biggest Court event of the year," Padmé reminded her. "Even
Anakin and Obi-Wan will be here."
"You must be very happy," Sabé
said shortly as they reached the throne room. The Royal Guards who stood
ready at the doors came to attention as Sabé and her retinue hurried
past them. Sabé sat on the throne, arranging the skirt of her elaborate
gown so that it hung in neat folds around her legs. "Please begin presenting
our guests," she told a footman, who bowed. "I really hate this," she told
Padmé quietly. "It's boring."
"Don't I know it!" Padmé
agreed. "If it's any consolation, know that I must endure it along with
you, and standing up the whole time to boot! At least you get to sit."
Sabé snorted.
"Your Majesty's honorable guests
from Alderaan," the footman announced, and the afternoon began.
Two hours later, guests were still
being presented to the Queen of the Naboo. Sabé found that she was
hard pressed to keep her mind from wandering.
"Your Majesty's honorable guests
from Rodentia," the footman announced. Two large aliens who resembled large
mice standing on their hind legs raced forward to bow to the Queen, squeaking
and chittering in their native language.
"It is our honor to greet you
in the name of…" Sabé's voice trailed off in astonishment.
The two rodents had morphed
into cartoon rodents. One wore shorts and suspenders, the other a polka-dotted
dress and a bow on the side of her head. The male mouse laughed.
"Golly, it's such an honor
to be here," he said cheerfully. The female mouse giggled squeakily.
Sabé shook her head to
clear it. "As we were saying, it is our honor to greet you in the
name of the sovereign world of Naboo. Thank you so much for honoring us
with your presence today and tonight at our Royal Ball." The two rodents
bowed to her and hurried out of the throne room, still squeaking and chittering
to themselves. Sabé sighed.
"Your Majesty's honorable guests
from…" Sabé missed the rest of the footman's words as she stared
in fascination at the approaching aliens. They were two beings of indeterminate
gender, dressed in black robes and equipped with large, bulbous heads that
waved slowly back and forth on their very long, stalk-like necks.
Sabé watched as their long necks wove together, around and around one another until both beings turned blue and fell down choking and gasping for air.
"Oh my!" she said, standing. She
looked around and saw that everyone was staring at her. The long-necked
beings waited patiently in front of the throne to be greeted. "Ah," Sabé
said, blushing furiously under her white make-up. She hastily mumbled the
formal greeting and watched, embarrassed, as they aliens walked away, whispering
to one another.
"The Supreme Chancellor of the
Republic," the footman announced, and Sabé sat down hard, drew herself
up regally and squared her shoulders. Palpatine approached the throne,
followed by a beautiful green-eyed young woman with thick red hair that
hung in ringlets around her perfect, porcelain-skinned face.
"Your Majesty," the Chancellor
greeted Sabé. If he recognized her, he gave no indication of it
as he bowed deeply to her, arms held stiffly at his sides in the Nubian
fashion.
"Chancellor, it is so good to
have you," she replied dreamily. He raised his eyebrows. "Home!" Sabé
blurted. "Here! It is good to have you home here. That is…" He smiled faintly.
"Indeed," he murmured. He ushered
the red-haired woman forward. "This is Sara, my personal assistant. She
has never been away from Coruscant, and so I offered to bring her to the
ball with me tonight."
Five ignited lightsabers flew from the back of the room to impale Sabé's chest, leaving a smoking hole where her heart used to be.
"Welcome to Naboo, Sara," Sabé
finally managed. "We hope you enjoy the ball this evening." The girl curtsied.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. It
is so exciting to be here…"
" I'm beautiful!" Sara said, fluffing her hair. "Don't you LOVE my naturally curly red hair? Yours is so limp and straight and mousy. I live on Coruscant, the capitol of the Republic, and you live out here in the middle of nowhere on this little hick planet no one's ever even heard of. I'm cultured and sophisticated and I wear normal clothes, not like you. No wonder he's taking ME to the ball and not YOU!"
"…and I'm just so thrilled to
be here!" Sara was saying. Sabé leaned forward on the throne.
"Yes, well, we are thrilled to
have you here, Sara. Do enjoy your visit with us." She glanced over at
Padmé, who gave her a sympathetic smile.
"There are no more guests to
greet, Your Majesty," the footman told her. She sighed. It was probably
just as well.
"Thank you," she told him, rising
from the throne. As she began walking forward, she tripped over her skirts
and fell flat on her face. As her handmaidens bent to help her up, she
saw Palpatine and Sara staring at her. She blushed, feeling every inch
the bumpkin that she believed she appeared to be in comparison with the
beautiful, worldly Sara.
********************
"So he's taking someone else,
big deal." Padmé told Sabé as they strolled up the hall together.
"You heard what he said. She's his personal assistant."
"I bet," Sabé replied
bitterly. Padmé stopped and turned to face her.
"Come on, you know Palpatine
better than that. He would not have a relationship with someone who works
for him. It wouldn't be proper." Sabé shook her head.
"He's taking her to the ball.
Not me." Padmé put a hand on her shoulder.
"It is not the end of the world."
Behind Padmé, Sabé saw Anakin approaching up the corridor,
a wide smile of anticipation on his face. She smiled bitterly at Padmé.
"That is easy for you to say,"
she said. She turned and walked out the door to the Palace gardens.
Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world
'Cause you don't love me any more?
Sabé walked alone through the Palace gardens, neither seeing the beautiful, colorful blossoms of the carefully cultivated indigenous plants, nor smelling their glorious scents. She didn't see the birds that twittered and flitted between the trees, and she completely failed to miss the soft cooling breeze that blew through the garden.
Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when I lost your love.
********************
The Palace Ballroom was filled to capacity with beings from all over the Galaxy. They laughed and danced and ate as the music swirled around them. Sabé stood on the edge of the festivities, watching as Padmé and Anakin danced together, her face flushed and her eyes shining with happiness. Even Obi-Wan, who had been coerced into dancing with Eirtaé, seemed to be enjoying himself.
Just ask the lonely
They know the hurting pain
Of losing the love
You can never regain
Just ask the lonely.
"Are you OK, Sabé?" Rabé
asked her quietly. She hadn't even noticed when the young handmaiden had
come over to stand beside her.
"Sure," she replied. "I am fine."
"FIRE!" Sabé yelled suddenly. She watched with satisfaction as everyone in the crowded ballroom panicked, running in all directions, trying desperately to escape. Tables of food were overturned, punch bowls crashed to the floor. Dignitaries from all over the Galaxy slipped and slid on the now treacherous marble floor, colliding with one another and going down in heaps of flailing limbs, appendages, and tentacles. Sara's foot came down on a pastry, and she slid across the dance floor like a one-footed skater on an ice rink, shrieking, her arms frantically windmilling. She crashed into the wall next to Sabé, sliding down the wall to lie in a heap on the floor.
"I am fine," Sabé repeated. She looked down at her beautiful dress of lavender silk. Amethysts set in silver twinkled at her throat. Still, she felt plain and backward, alone and forgotten.
They'll tell you a story of sadness
A story too hard to believe
They'll tell you
The loneliest one is me.
There was a scattering of applause
as the music ended. The blonde singer leaned forward on her piano bench
to speak into the microphone.
"Thank you," Vonda said in her
throaty singer's voice. She stood, grabbed an acoustic guitar, and walked
over to a tall stool. She settled herself on the stool and began playing
the guitar and singing. Obi-Wan walked over with Eirtaé. Sabé
watched as Palpatine led Sara out onto the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance, Sabé?"
Obi-Wan asked her quietly. Her eyes filled with tears. She nodded, wiping
her eyes.
From deep inside the tears I'm forced to cry
From deep inside the tears I'm forced to hide.
She wrapped her arms around Obi-Wan
and rested her cheek on his chest. She could see Palpatine and Sara, dancing
slowly. Palpatine laughed at something Sara said to him, and she giggled,
putting a hand over her mouth.
Sabé broke away from Obi-Wan
and gathered the skirts of her dress in both of her hands so she wouldn't
trip and fall. The guests turned to stare as Lady Sabé, first among
the Queen's ladies, raced through the ballroom with unseemly haste, her
make-up smeared and tears running down her cheeks.
Just walk away Sabé
You won't see me follow you back home
The empty sidewalks on my block are not the same
You're not to blame.
********************
Sabé sat at her dressing
table, gazing into the mirror at her tear-stained face. You made quite
a spectacle of yourself this evening, Lady. Sighing, she began removing
the remnants of her make-up. The door chime sounded, and she put down her
sponges and rose to answer it.
"Oh," said in surprise when the
door slid open. Palpatine stood there, holding a bottle of champagne in
one hand and two glasses in the other.
"I felt I should apologize for
neglecting you this evening," he said quietly. She sighed.
"I suppose you'd better come
in, then."
I like the way you'd hold me
Every night for so long, baby
And I like the way you'd say my name
In the middle of the night
While you were sleeping.
"Would you like some champagne?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he deftly removed the foil from around the cork, twisted the metal housing holding it in place, and eased it gently from the neck of the bottle with a soft pop. He poured the frothy liquid into the delicate glasses. "Here you are, darling," he said, offering her one. He lifted his glass to her. "What shall we toast?" he asked.
Sabé saw Palpatine holding a champagne glass high in the air. The beautiful, sophisticated Sara, now dressed in an expensive designer wedding gown, stood beside him. They laughed as they toasted each other and their wedding guests called out for them to kiss, while Sabé stood on the sidelines, dressed in a flannel shirt and bib overalls, a hayseed jammed between her teeth.
She shook her head, biting her
lip.
"I don't know, Palpatine," she
said quietly. He frowned and walked over to her. "I suppose I don't really
feel much like celebrating," she finally said quietly.
I was believing in you
Was I mistaken, do you say
Do you say what you mean?
I want our love to last forever.
He put his arms around her.
"Is this because of Sara?" he
asked. She shook her head.
"It is because of everything."
"Everything?" he asked. "I'm
afraid that's a bit too vague for me. Perhaps you could narrow it down
a bit," he joked, hoping for a smile. It was a long while before she replied.
"I have loved you for so long,"
she said slowly. "And then… that night on Coruscant. Well, I know it didn't
really mean anything to you… did it?" she asked hopefully.
But I'd rather you be mean than love and lie
I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye
I'd rather take a blow, at least then I would know
But baby don't you break my heart slow.
"Well," he said finally, "It wasn't
really my idea, as you know. Anakin used the Mind Trick on me."
"Yes," she said, unable to meet
his eye. "That was very wrong, and I'm sorry I asked him to do it." He
brought her chin up to look into her eyes.
"I'm not," he said, kissing her
for a long moment. "Would you like to go to bed?" he asked her quietly.
She smiled up at him.
"I haven't had any champagne
yet!"
"How about," he said, picking
up his glass and walking across the room to retrieve the bottle, "we take
it with us?"
FINIS.