Background: This story is set to take place after Heroes on Both Sides. The events of season five finale never happened.

As always, I don't own any portion of the vast Star Wars franchise and Extended Universe. With the heavy stuff out of the way, I invite you to enjoy this and review to let me know if it was worth reading.

PADAWAN ROYALTY 1

Facing Reality

AHSOKA POV

I just got back from my little rendezvous with Senator Amidala on Raxus. I was her illegal escort. I met a boy. Not just any boy, a Separatist boy, but not that allegiances' truly mattered. Our time was spent asking questions and providing incites into life under our opposing causes. In that brief period of time, he proved himself to be just like the other boys in his underhanded flirting, though I must admit he proved to be more open minded like others. He wasn't like the other Separatists. He, like any other, had his initial misgivings about the Republic and the Jedi Order, but he wasn't fixated on the past injustices. For example, he told me about his father who was a casualty of the Republic's campaign against the Separatist, and he didn't hold any of these past infractions against me or the present Republic. By sharing his perspectives on the warring parties, he allowed me to see that there were good people, as well as heroes on both sides of this galactic conflict.

"You okay Ahsoka?"

Initially, I thought the voice was my imagination. So, I blinked, and brought myself back from my mind to reality. It was Senator Amidala. I had almost forgotten that she was here the entire time. I guess I was just so enthralled in my thoughts that I neglected her.

"I'm sorry. It's been a long week...Just..."

She took the opportunity to finish my sentence.

"Tired?"

That was true, but I also couldn't wait to see Skyguy. He was the only other person who knew I was going on this lost mission to Raxus with the Senator. I don't even think Obi Wan knew about it. I think Padme left the Senate in the closet about the little diplomatic tryst. Besides, what would the Chancellor think of a Republican Senator willingly sending herself to a Separatist lore? It was time to focus on the now. Home.

She let out a light chuckle as we soared ever closer to the Jedi Temple. She spoke with a strained voice over the buffeting Coruscanti winds.

"Well, I assumed you would be. I mean you were up all night most of the week."

Yes. I was up all night. I wasn't thinking about boys, well not particularly. I wasn't thinking about escape routes, if I needed to escort the senator from the Bonteri residence. Truth be told, I actually was. I scoped out every ventilation shaft, every door, every lock, every balcony, and every vehicle since day one. I was thinking about both sides, and about Lux's perceptions. I realized that I didn't know the two conflicting sides of the Separatist conviction: traditional belief and propaganda versus rational thought and evidence. I realized that I really didn't know my enemy, the same enemy that I had been fighting for over ten years of my life. And so, the plot thickens.

"Yeah. "

Padme gave me a sidelong glance, as if she wasn't entirely satisfied with my answer.

"So…"

She trailed, as if waiting for me to initiate conversation. I just played along, not knowing what she was implying for me to say. What did she want to talk about? Hopefully, she wasn't going to ask about Lux, because I don't have anything interesting to recount.

"So…?

She nudged me, as if I was supposed to answer on cue.

"So… How was the trip?"

What could I say; it was nice? Since when is a friendly tryst with the enemy nice? Or should I tell her about the time I spent with Lux in the courtyard? No way. She would hold that against me. How about the conversation we had? I mean, there's nothing incriminating there. Besides, Padme might enjoy hearing his perspective, because it proves her point.

"Honestly, the trip was ...Enlightening."

I paused for a moment, but then she turned her gaze to me.

"I'm listening."

Oh, she wants to hear more.

"Mina was nice."

She was going to ask about Lux. What was I going to say about him? That he was an atypical Separatist, and a hopeless flirt? That he was a gentleman? That being with him made me feel like a teenage girl? That he made me question the Separatist identity as a whole.

"What about Lux?"

"Oh, him. We talked in the courtyard. At the end of the day, I kinda felt bad for blowing him off on the first day"

She raised an eyebrow. I know what she's looking for. She is looking for evidence that I like him and for evidence that he made an impression on me. She'll find that he did make an impression on me, just not that kind of impression.

"The courtyard?"

"He was one of the most atypical Separatists, I've met."

"Ahsoka, the courtyard?"

"While you and Mina were catching up, Lux and I went for a walk in the courtyard-"

"What'd you guys do?"

"We talked about the war, and how there are blurred lines between good and bad. Lux admitted to me that he harbored some animosities towards the Republic for the killing of his Separatist aligned father, and that led us into a conversation about how a person's allegiances' don't define them. That led into a discussion about the heroes on both sides."

"So, you didn't find him cute or anything?"

I shrugged. How could I find a Separatist boy cute?

"Define cute."

Apparently our conversation had dragged on for longer than expected, because when I looked up, we were at the Jedi Temple. I thanked Padme, and looked at Anakin, who had my luggage under his arm. He wore a toothless grin. Yes, I was happy to see him too.

He was leaning on the side of the air speeder in no time flat.

"Hey Padme. Hey Snips."

"Hey Skyguy. "

"Master Skywalker."

The introductions were brief.

"Ahsoka, did you miss me?"

"Maybe a little. It was weird not having you around. It didn't feel like home."

"Glad to know I was missed. Senator, how was the trip?"

"She hadn't changed a bit. She's still as determined for the just cause as ever. I think Ahsoka had a good time. She got a peek at the Separatist perspective."

I was facing Padme and Anakin.

"It was different."

"I guess we can catch up about that later, Ahsoka. Did you receive the transmission, Master Yoda sent to you. He asked to see you personally, once you returned."

Personally? What was so clandestine that he couldn't notify me over hologram or over my communicuff? Did he not approve of me escorting Padme to Raxus without his permission?

"Why couldn't he communicate with me over The Holo?"

"I don't know. Perhaps, he didn't want to risk that signal being traced. I mean you were on a Separatist lore"

I hadn't checked my communicator since we landed on Raxus, because we were trying to keep it on the down low. The last thing we needed was for our signal to be traced to the Bonteri household, and for them to be discovered harboring enemies.

"Okay. I guess I should go put these in my quarters, and go see Master Yoda."

Anakin put his hands over mine as I tried to take my luggage. I looked up at his face.

"I'll handle those. Go see Master Yoda."

This was just another attempt to send me off to do something, so that he could talk to the Senator. I had no problem with that. Besides, I was dying to know what Master Yoda needed to tell me. So, I nodded and thanked Padme again.

"Okay. I guess I'll talk to you later, or maybe Senator Amidala can fill you in on what happened in Raxus."

"Will do, Ahsoka."

With that I turned and walked into the Temple, through the hallways, past my quarters and directly to the Council Room.

AHSOKA POV: THE COUNCIL ROOM

Before I opened the doors, I reached out into the force and seeked out the Grand Master's presence. He was there. But, the Force would not give me a reason for leading me here. It kept telling me that I knew already. That the answer I seeked was right in front of me. Like, it was in a memory. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be directing me to a certain memory. I didn't have time to recount that memory, as the doors swung open and I was left standing idly in the door way, as if waiting for an invitation to enter.

"Enter young Tano."

"Master Skywalker said you asked for me. Here I am, Master."

It was Master Yoda. I bowed and sat down, next to the shrewd Jedi Master.

"Confused you are. Explain, I will."

He walked around me with his walking stick for a moment.

"Passed into the void, King Zaros has. Gone to join your mother he has."

First, my mother and now my father. I lost my mother when I was six. They excused me from class to tell me of her passing. I remember I was so distraught that they wouldn't tell me how she died; I remember that I stayed in my room until I stopped crying. When I came out, I was void of any expression. I was withdrawn. I began to focus on my training, rather than associate with other initiates, because I was afraid of growing too attached and losing them too. Worst of all, I blamed myself for years for her death, because I thought she died as a result of me, her only child, leaving her.

"No…Master that can't be true."

I was closest to my father. Although, we didn't spend a whole lot of time as father and daughter, I knew he loved me. And I knew that he would've preferred to give up his kingship to spend more time with his family. I also knew he and his brother Roku didn't get along when it came to me. Could my uncle have wanted the throne so badly that he killed my father? But, this was a time of mourning not speculation.

"Heard the news from your Uncle Roku myself I did and felt it in the Force I did. "

Uncle couldn't lie to me. He wouldn't lie to me. So, it had to be true. I reached out into the Force for further confirmation, and found what I wasn't looking for, closure. It was truth. But, tears could come later. Besides, I needed to know how he died, and what I could for them. I needed to be strong; I couldn't be that little girl anymore. I blinked away imperceptible tears, swallowing to settle myself.

"My father…How did he die?"

"Violently ill for months he has been. Though getting well he had been. Investigating the cause of his illness Roku is. But, suspect he was poisoned already they do"

He turned his compassionate stare at me. He was upset by this sudden change in events as well. He knew how deeply I was wounded by this plot twist.

"Did he...leave anything behind for me?"

"Left behind a will he did. See it you now can. Come of age you have"

He left behind inheritance for his lost daughter, the same daughter who left him behind. It brought a smile to my face to think that he hadn't forgotten about me, when I had forgotten so brazenly about him and my mother.

Yoda pressed a button on the holo-projector and an image of Zaros Tano appeared. My attention was on the image of my deceased father. It was only then that I saw the painting in the background of my mother, that I saw the uncanny resemblance between me and my mother. My dad was as dashing as the day I left him, but in all truth he looked tortured.

THE WILL OF KING ZAROS: THIRD POV

"If you're watching this I'm probably dead or dying, although I am alive and healthy now"

He focused his gentle evergreen eyes on her and it seemed as if time stopped. It was as if she never left. He had a gentle smile. But, there was something in his eyes, a sneaking suspicion..

"Ahsoka, as you know, when your mother passed I fell into a depression. It took Roku to bring me out of it. I still can't believe I invited him back into the kingdom after that stunt he pulled with you. I've forgiven, but I will never forget the danger and the harm he put you into and also the harm he could've done to you. Sometimes I think about if I was too late, what would've happened to you."

He shook his head and cleared his throat dropping his smile.

"But, that's not why I made this recording. I made this recording to inform you of the will I made with the help of your mother shortly before your passing. In the event of my death, I want you to have something of me, something of home. I know I'm going to die soon, and I can feel it in my bones."

His evergreen eyes focused on mine intensely.

"Ahsoka, in my death, I grant you the reins of this neutral kingdom, all of the kingdom's territory to do as you please, all of our servants, and the freedom to marry any man you wish. You are my kin. You are my immediate successor. If you accept this offer, please promise me that you will use your power for the greater good to honor our memory, that you will pick a suitable heir who will love you and keep you, promise me that you will watch your back, and lastly that you will do what is best for the people. In addition, any alliances' you make with galactic super powers such as the Republic or the Separatist must not put the kingdom in jeopardy, or enslave your people. However in the unlikely even that you are unable to meet these requests, or if you decline this offer or die, then the kingdom goes to the only family I have left, my brother Roku. Roku has been thirsting after the kingdom since we were born. If it were to ever end up in his hands, I don't even want to think about the damage that could be done-"

There was knocking on the door to his chambers.

"I must go, my darling 'Soka. My last wish is that you be wary of your Uncle. All is not what it seems. And remember I will be watching from the great beyond."

The hologram fizzled out, leaving Ahsoka to face a new reality. She was a princess, and she had come of age. It was a new reality.

"Thank you, Master Yoda."

She bowed quickly, desiring only to get her room and let all of these new realities sink in away from prying eyes. He bowed in kind.

"Padawan Tano. Know it is a lot to take in I do."

"I just need a little time to meditate on this."

"As much time as you need must you take. In the balance alongside your fate your people hang."

With that piece of advice, Yoda let Ahsoka go. She found herself ducking through the hallways, at a rapid pace towards her room. And right outside her quarter door was the person she wanted to talk to, but also didn't even expect to see.