Title: Pride and Perception
Author: Ticklesivory
Rating: T
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama, etc.
Summary: Mistakes of the past sometimes cloud judgment of the future.
Disclaimer: It's way too late for that…..
1]
"Stay put, Katané, your mother will be back in a minute. I'm just going to make sure your luggage is being handled correctly."
"It's Kat, Aunt Dormé!" the young girl yelled at her back. How many times was she going to have to tell them that?
"You know your mom doesn't like that name!" the older woman hollered back.
Kat rolled her eyes, once she was sure her aunt was too far away to see her. She didn't understand what the big deal was! If she wanted to go by Kat instead of Katané, what did it matter? Dormé wasn't her real aunt anyway! As a matter of fact, neither were the other five handmaidens back home.
She tried not think of them: Yané, Eritaé, Rabé, and Saché. She missed them, even more than she missed Naboo, though not enough to go back. She belonged with her Mom and didn't want to be away from her. Which is what made this so hard!
A Handmaiden is brave. Her bravery was tested however, when her mom approached, her own eyes wet with tears.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll be back from the conference before you know it and then I'll come get you. Besides, you know how much Grandma and Grandpa are looking forward to seeing you. They love you so much and they miss you terribly! They tell me so all the time."
Her mom was so pretty, even when her eye makeup was running down her cheeks. It made Kat wonder sometimes where she got her looks. Her hair was light with a touch of copper, while her mom's was dark. The only thing they shared really was eye color; a rich, dark brown.
"I've got your ticket and I've spoken with the attendant. If you'll read your datapad I packed in your carry-on or take a nap, you'll be in Theed before you know it. Don't forget to brush your teeth."
"I won't, Mom." Kat could read her mother's thoughts, and knew exactly what she was going to say. It was the same routine almost every night.
"Put away your clothes, and don't forget to say your prayers."
At least she wasn't kissing her head over and over like the last time she had to go away. For the moment, she was just hugging her.
"I promise, Mom. I'll be on my best behavior while you're gone," Kat assured her while being held tight.
"Senator, they're boarding."
Aunt Dormé had returned with the news, forcing the long embrace to end.
She wasn't going to cry! She wasn't! She was eleven now! She was too old to cry!
"I love you," her mom said, swiping away the black smears from underneath her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I love you, Mom. And you too Aunt Dormé."
"Listen kiddo," Dormé hugged her quick. "You're going to have so much fun! It's going to go by so fast!"
"Take good care of my Mom," Kat whispered in her ear before she let her go.
"I will. Don't you worry."
A Handmaiden is brave. Kat repeated this to herself as she stepped forward onto the transport loading ramp with a couple dozen other beings headed for the Chommel Sector.
A Transport Attendant, a kindly human female with curly blonde hair showed her a seat next to a portal as she had requested. Kat smiled and told her she didn't need anything at the moment.
"I promised Senator Amidala I'd watch over you. You're my number one passenger!" The woman told her in a bubbly voice and a big, toothy grin.
"Thanks," Kat replied, looking out the portal. This was going to be tricky, but she had it everything planned out.
First, she had to make sure her mom and aunt knew she was okay. Kat waved out the portal at the two women standing on the deck, who smiled and then blew a couple of kisses toward her. Eventually, they walked away. Kat waited a few seconds while the other passengers settled, and then reached over and pressed the Help button on the console next to her seat.
The same yellow-haired attendant appeared. "What may I do for you, young lady?"
"I'm afraid I forgot to visit the 'fresher. Is there one on board?"
"Yes, of course. It's directly across from passenger entrance. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Nope," Kat replied, bounding up from her seat. She had hoped her urgency would make the attendant go away, but it didn't work. The overly-happy woman followed her to the 'fresher!
"I know how to pee all by myself. I've been doing it for years," she informed the lady.
"Oh." The perky woman's smile lessened a bit. "Be quick and get back to your seat. We'll be departing soon."
"Not a problem," Kat replied. She slid the door shut and waited a second or two before opening it again. Thankfully, the attendant had returned to her other most-important passengers, which gave Kat the opportunity she'd been looking for.
She bounded across the transport and hurtled out the ramp just as the warning chime sounded the door was closing.
A Handmaiden is smart. Kat plucked the credit chip from her pocket; the one Dormé had slipped her to buy sweet treats during the flight – something her mother would never do. She wasn't sure how much was on it, but was hoping it was enough.
She walked quickly through the space port and toward its entrance, searching the variety of waiting transports and their eager drivers looking for a day's wage, while she was looking for a friendly face. She chose an older Tagorian female. There was something she liked about her feline features.
"How much to take me to the GC Archives?"
The driver's pierced lip twitched, causing her whiskers to move comically. "For you, young one? Two creds."
Kat handed her the chip, which she swiped through the door reader. Once the light went green, the door slid open and Kat stepped inside.
The trip to the Archives was short and she was soon climbing the steps leading to the great doors. Once inside, Kat pulled the hood of her travel overcloak over her head. She'd been here several times before and didn't want to be noticed.
Stealing up to one of the available comm systems, she swiped her credit chip to send a text-only message to Theed and leaned forward to quietly to record her message.
"Hi Grandma and Grandpa! I hope you get this message before my transport is supposed to arrive. I'm so excited! Mom decided she was going to let me go with her to her conference after all! She didn't have time to tell you herself and asked me to. Tell the cousins and Aunt Sola hi, and I hope to see you all soon. Love, Kat."
Satisfied with the way everything looked, she entered the recipient information and sent the communication to the relay station.
A Handmaiden is cunning.
There was only one thing left to do. One more transport to take. Hopefully, the cost to travel to the Jedi Temple wasn't that much, but distances in Galactic City were deceiving. She had tried to walk there once and the further she went, the further away the great, spired building seemed to be. She'd been forced to turn around and go back home.
But that was two years ago, the day after she'd found the journal. She was older now, and much wiser than back then.
Kat would hire a driver this time, and when she got to the Temple, she was going to find her father: A Jedi by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi.