Author's Note: Hey there fellow Star-Wars lovers! I'm re-editing this book (and the other one too, don't worry!) so things will hopefully make more sense, there'll be a better flow to the story, and my main OC isn't as Mary-Sueish as she was before...cringe. Anyway, enjoy! Much love, Princess Kanako x

Title: Episode I - A New Beginning

Author: Princess Kanako

Pairing(s): Obi-Wan/OC, Qui-Gon/OC, possible OC/OC

Date Submitted: 20/4/14

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of its affiliates; they belong to George Lucas/Disney...I still can't get used to Disney owning Star Wars

Claimer: I do own my OCs, a few plot ideas, and several other things that pop up along the way.

Genre: Adventure, Romance, Drama, Sci-fi

Summary: A year after the Naboo Blockade, Qui-Gon Jinn is struggling to recover. The Arryian princess proves to be a useful distraction from his thoughts, but the pampered princess is far more observant than Qui-Gon anticipated. Can she help him overcome the pains of the past? Or will he refuse to let her in?


Chapter two

There was a scream, and then the loud roar of fire enveloping silk hangings, then a mounting crescendo of shouts of panic that spread and spread, from one tent to another as the flames ran too, leaping from one silk standard to another, running up ropes and bursting through satin doors. Then the horses were neighing in terror and the men shouting to calm them, but the terror in their own voices made it worse, until the whole plain was alight with a thousand raging blazes, and the night swirled with smoke and rang with shouts and screams. The little girl, starting up out of her bed in her fear, cried out in terror for her mother and screamed.

"Is it the bad men again? Are they coming for us?"

"Dear Nyx, save us, they are firing the camp!" her governess gasped. "They will rape me and spit you on their swords!"

"Mama!" the child cried, struggling from her bed. "Where is my mama?"

She dashed outside, her nightgown flapping at her legs, the hangings of her tent alight and blazing up behind her like an inferno of panic. All the tents in the camp were ablaze, sparks pouring up into the dark night sky like fountains of flame.

"Mama!" she screamed. Out of the flames came two huge, dark horses, moving as one jet-black creature against the brightness of the fire. High up, the child's mother bent down to speak to her daughter who was trembling, her head just above the horse's shoulder.

"Stay here with your governess and be a good girl," her mother commanded, her voice clear and sure. "Your father and I have to ride out and show ourselves to the men."

"Let me come with you! Mama! I shall be burned - please let me come with you! The bad men will get me!" the little girl wailed, reaching her arms up to her mother. The firelight glinted off her mother's breastplate, the embossed greaves of her legs as of she were a metal woman, a woman of gold and steel, as she leaned forwards to command.

"If the men don't see me, they shall desert us," she said sternly. "You don't want that."

"I don't care!" the child shrieked in her panic. "I don't care about anything but you! Let me up!"

"The army comes first," her mother ruled. "I'm sorry my daughter, but I must ride out." She turned the horse's head from her panic-stricken daughter. "I will come back for you," she called over her shoulder. "Wait there. For this must be done."

Helpless, the child watched her parents ride away.

"Mama," she whimpered. "Mama, please!" But her mother did not look behind.

"We'll be burned alive!" Lotuali, her governess, screamed from behind her. "Run! Run and hide!"

It was her younger sister, Moirae, who rounded on her.

"You can be silent!" she snapped, her eyes glinting in the firelight as she draped a cloak over the left-behind child. "If the Princess herself can be left in a burning tent, then we servants can certainly endure it."

The child accepted the cloak gratefully, her eyes watching the two horses go to and fro among the burning tents. Everywhere they went, the screams were silenced, and some semblance of discipline returned to the camp. The ladies formed lines, passing buckets all the way to the river, coming out of terror into orderm as the men who had been fleeing before arranged themselves into a defence formation, in case the enemy rushed to attack and catch the camp in chaos. But no enemy came that night.

The child watched her mother's determination conquer fire, her queenly certainty and poise douse panic, her belief in success overcome the reality of disaster. The little girl perched on one of the chests next to Moirae, tucked her nightgown around her bare toes, and waited for the camp to settle. When the mother rode back to her daughter, she found her dry-eyed and calm.

"Daughter, are you all right?" Queen Aistaraina dismounted and turned to her only child, restraining herself from scooping her up and embracing her tightly. She was all too aware of the audience they had.

"I am well," the daughter replied.

"You were not afraid?"

"Not at all."

The Queen nodded her approval, warmth in her eyes and her voice.

"That is good," she said. "That is what I expect of a Princess of Arryn."


This is me, this young child perched on the edge of a chest with a face like marble and eyes wide with fear, refusing to tremble, biting my lip so I do not cry out again. This is me, conceived in a snatched moment that allowed my parents to wed and the royal line to continue; raised by a kind father and a strong mother.

I am Calassë, Princess of Arryn, daughter of the two greatest monarchs the galaxy has ever known: Aistaraina of Demavio and Arthion of Hylas. Their names are feared by our enemies, blessed by the priestesses and by Nyx herself as the finest kings to protect our world, and I am their beloved daughter, their only child, the Princess Calassë, and one day, Queen.

I have been betrothed in marriage since the very moment of my birth to one of the most respected lords in our society, Lord Rillion, son of Radin, and when it is time, I will sail across the sea in a beautiful ship with my standard flying high at the top of the mast, and we shall wed in the grand temple in Sanctus, the crown jewel of all our cities. I shall be his wife, and then his Queen, and he will be my Consort.

Our world is rich and fertile - filled with fountains and the sound of gentle songbirds, ripe with warm fruits and scented with flowers, and we shall rule it together. This has been arranged for so long, I have always known it will be; although I will be sorry to leave my poor father alone now that my mother is gone. But I was born a princess, destined to be queen, and I know my duty.

I am a woman of absolute convictions. I know I will be Queen because it was Nyx's will and my mother's desire. And I believe, as does everyone, that Nyx and my mother were generally of the same mind; and their will is always done. As far as I am concerned, this flight to Coruscant is merely a brief respite before returning home to take up my mother's mantle and become a wife, a mother, and a Queen.


To be continued...