Hey. Butterflies! This is the third and final story in my Star Wars series. I have had a good time writing, and I hope you have enjoyed them! Note, this story is set about one year after the final chapter of Caught in the Moment.
Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to Disney.
Fabric swishes against the cool marble floor as she walks. Suddenly, she stops, her cloak swishing to a stop too. She sinks into a deep curtsy before rising smoothly.
"My lady, it has been a pleasure and an honor to serve you during my training."
"It was a pleasure to have you serve during your training, Handmaiden Desirée." Then she shakes hands with the Queen before stepping aside, for the first time as a full-fledged handmaiden. Desara looks across the room to where Ré stands with a serious expression but eyes bright with excitement. Over the past few years since they met, Ré has begun to see Desara as a little sister of sorts. But Desara sees more than just Ré; she also sees Padmé, who Desara has since concluded is her grandmother, this time Padmé is in a rose gown with silver embroidery and a long silver necklace and her hair pulled back in a high bun with two looped braids hanging down and a rose colored hair comb. Padmé smiles at Desara as she stands next to Ré. Over a year has passed since the attack that left Desara's midichlorians and Moi'ra Tade dead, but most of Desara's midichlorians have since been replaced, giving her the ability to see her grandmother again.
After the graduation ceremony, Ré and Desara go for a walk around the Naboo palace grounds. Desara has been given three months off before her first assignment as a handmaiden; the current queen of Naboo has been having health problems, and she believes that Desara, known to the queen as Desirée, will be the best substitute for her at official events.
"Ré, I know the oldest a girl can be to be queen is 19, but are handmaidens allowed to run for queen? That was never addressed in my classes." Ré thinks for a moment; this is a rare question.
"I don't believe there are any rules against it, Desirée. It's rare since handmaidens promise to serve their mistress with absolute loyalty, but I don't think it's not allowed. Why?"
"I was just wondering. I'm 17 now, believe it or not, and with the queen's term in her second year, I was wondering if could run in two years since my birthday falls after the election." Ré pauses, not sure how to respond.
"Going from handmaiden to queen is difficult, but not impossible, and I am of the belief that handmaidens make the best queens." The two continue talking for a good while, letting time pass them by. Suddenly a guard comes running towards the two.
"Handmaidens Mohv and Tade, Her Majesty requests your presence immediately." Both Ré and Desara rise from the bench where they were seated and race with the guard to the queen's chambers.
Inside the queen's chambers, Ré and Desara are alone with the queen, who is lying in bed with her eyes closed. The two handmaidens curtsy to the queen, who only motions for them to come closer. When they reach her bedside, the queen starts to say something, but she is too quiet, so Desara kneels to hear her.
"I know I promised you three months before your assignment, Desirée, but I need you much sooner than that."
"Of course, Your Majesty. How may your handmaiden be of service?"
"The new Treaty, I was supposed to attend an event with our potential representative in three days, but I can't not like this. Please go in my place."
"Yes, Majesty." Desara stands after a quick bow of her head. The two handmaidens then leave the queen in the capable hands of the medical droids.
"Ré, do they know what's wrong with the Queen?" There is no one else around, in part because this is the handmaidens' private section of the palace, but the isolation makes the conversation much easier to have.
"Desirée, that is something that only the Queen, her doctors, and her personal handmaidens know. They are forbidden to tell us unless Her Majesty gives them permission to do so."
"Will she live?" Ré sighs; Desara does know after all that this was a serious illness the Queen has.
"Force knows, Desirée."
Hours later, the Queen summons Desara to her private chambers, where she informs Desara of everything she needs to know about pretending to be her for the meeting with the representatives. That night, Desara returns to her quarters in silence. She spends a few minutes meditating before eventually giving up and deciding to go to bed. Suddenly, Padmé appears in a gold robe.
"Grandmother?" Desara asks.
"What is it, love? The Force sent me to help you."
"I'm nervous. I have to appear before a hearing with the Naboo representatives for the Galactic Treaty, but I have to pretend to be the Queen." Padmé and Desara sit down on Desara's bed, and Padmé gives Desara a sideways hug. "One of the representatives is my mother."
"I know, love, but your mother will think nothing less of you. When I was Queen, I pretended to be my handmaiden a lot while she took my place, and it was hard sometimes to keep us straight. Trust the Force, Des, but trust your gut too. My decoy Sabé later told me that the reason she was able to lead so well in my place was that she trusted herself to serve as best as she could." Desara nods, processing everything Padmé has said.
"Grandmother, one last thing." Padmé smiles gently. "Everything I can find on you says that you died while you were pregnant, but that's obviously not the case since I'm here. So what did happen?"
Padmé sighs, and she sinks a little further into the bed. "I gave birth, but as I brought two children into this world, I knew my life was being taken away to save someone else: your grandfather Anakin Skywalker. Luke and Leia were born, and I remember a peacefulness. It felt like I was floating in water and completely deprived of my sense. I felt numb and at peace. They made me look pregnant at my funeral to protect my children." Desara takes her grandmother's hand and gives it a comforting squeeze. "My grandfather was behind this all too. He was the Emperor and the one keeping Anakin alive as Darth Vader." The two young women sit for a moment longer before Padmé offers to tuck Desara in. Then Padmé vanishes while Desara stares blankly at the ceiling. Trust her gut and do what she believes is best for Naboo? Is that not what the Queen does anyway?
That's the end of Chapter 1! I've had fun with this series, but I'm also glad to be finishing it. I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll have Chapter 2 up soon.
