WARNING: SOLO SPOILERS!
Author's note: Woah, it's been a long time since actually uploading something. I just got back from seeing Solo, and this fan theory is burning up inside me. If you haven't seen it yet, turn away. And without further ado, A Mother's Goodbye.
The silence was broken by a child's simple question. "Mummy, where are we going?"
"To see a friend. You're going to stay with him for a while, until things quiet down with mummy's work. Okay, darling?" Qi'ra swallowed a lump in her throat. She couldn't bear to even look at her daughter, lest she let tears betray her.
The ship shuttered as they came out of hyperdrive.
"Mummy! It's so bright and yellow, it looks like a sun!" the child shouted in wonder, pressed against the glass.
"Yes, I suppose it does, Rey," Qi'ra said, still looking forward.
The ship descended slowly, taking care to land smoothly in the sand. The hatch opened to the junk trader waiting for them. Qi'ra held a case in one hand, and Rey's hand in the other as wind pelted them with burning sand.
Letting go of her hand, Qi'ra knelt down before her daughter, coming to eye level. She wanted to turn back, to run from this life, and to keep her little girl, but it was impossible. There was no other way that she wouldn't be put in danger every day.
'You know what needs to be done,' Maul's voice repeated in her head.
"When will you be back, mummy?"
"I don't know, dear."
"I don't want to stay here. It's hot, and the sand, it hurts."
Qi'ra desperately wanted to kiss her forehead and hug her, tell her everything was going to be alright, but if she did, she might not be able to go through with it.. "Be a good girl, and do whatever Unkar Plutt tells you. You will be safe that way."
Rey protested, but Qi'ra ignored her cries. "Here you are, Unkar Plutt. Your payment as we agreed upon." She handed the Crolute the case.
"Mummy, please don't go! Please don't leave me!" Unkar Plutt took the child's arm to prevent her from running away.
"Take care of her, please." Before waiting for a response, the crime lord turned back to her ship, while Rey's cries and protests rang out behind her, bringing forth tears Qi'ra could no longer control, nor show.
"Come back!"