All was still at the palace, in the early morning of Alderaan. It's inhabitants, mostly servants, were already up and about their business. The head cook was yelling at one of the bakers, because the baker had burned the muffins again. The night guard was changing places with the day guard, and both groups were exchanging stories. And the gardener was preparing to continue his war on those blasted weeds.
And Princess Leia Organa was sleeping through her alarm clock. Again.
The clock beeped on, but it's owner took no notice. Currently, she was in the middle of a dream where she gunned down her father's advisors in a bright pink hover-craft. At the moment, the hover-craft was starting to malfunction. It began to sway back and forth, making a really annoying beeping noise. Leia clamped her hands over her ears, but that only made it worse.
Her eyes popped open, as she was jolted back into the real world. For a moment, she lay there, trying to shake off the daze that always seemed to come after she had woken up.
Then suddenly, she remembered.
Sitting bolt upright, Leia flung off her covers. She swung out of bed, brown hair flying, and darted for her wardrobe. Not again Not again. Oh man, her father was going to kill her!
She changed in a hurry, dressing in the simplest outfit she could manage, without seeming out of place. There wasn't time to call her maids, and she didn't really want to wear something fancy anyways. As she raced out the door, she glanced at the clock.
The blue letters projected on her bedside tabled read: 9:17.
"Calm down, honey. I'm sure she'll be here soon."
Across the room, King Bail Organa barely acknowledged his wife's words. He paced back and forth, hands clasped behind his back. He checked the clock: 9:17. Leia was 3 minutes late. To her own meeting. Stars, why could she be on time?
He turned back to the men and women sitting around the table, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry for the wait." He forced a chuckle. "Teenagers. You know how they are." A few of the people cracked smiles, and one even laughed, but most were silent. Bail couldn't really blame them. He checked the clock again. If Leia didn't get here in two minutes, he'd have to start without her.
Come on, Leia. Come on...
A few yards away, the object of his annoyance stood in a cramped elevator, sandwiched between a Tintinna and a man in a business suit. Around her, many different humans and aliens stood around, all squeezed into the tiny elevator. Leia shifted, trying to get closer to the doors. Just her luck to be caught in rush-hour traffic. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her heart pounded.
The elevator speakers played French Suite #2 in C-.
With a soft ding, the elevator doors slide smoothly open. Leia, seeing her chance, burst forward. Ignoring the annoyed yells of those behind her, she stumbled out into the hall-way, and tore down the passage. Skidding around a corner, she narrowly missed colliding with a Bimm carrying a tray of breakable objects. The Bimm chattered angrily, but Leia ignored it. She was almost there. Just a bit farther...
With a sigh, Bail turned from the door. That was it. 9:19. The limit to how late his daughter could be. He smiled as warmly as he could at the people behind him. "Well then, I think we've waited long enough. If everyone's comfortable, we'll start the-."
Behind him, the door slid open, and Princess Leia practically hurled herself through it. She skidded to a halt, panting, and shook her hair out of her brown eyes. "Dad, wait! I'm here!" She stopped, noticing the others. "Oh. Uh, sorry."
Her father sighed, and gestured toward an open seat, next to his wife, Queen Breha. "Sit down, Leia." He waited until his daughter had seated herself, and then continued. "As I was saying, we'll start with reminding everyone why we're here - to plan my daughter's 16th birthday."
At the mention of her birthday, Leia sat up eagerly. This was the first time she'd been invited to her birthday meeting, because she figured she was old enough to know. And anyways, it was her 16th birthday! In just two weeks! Even her parents, who were very paranoid people, had to do something fun with this! It had to be different this year.
"As you all know, turning 16 is a big thing on Alderaan. Everyone will know about it." Bail had resumed pacing. "So of course, we must make sure that, above all other things..." Leia leaned forward eagerly. Here it comes!
"...that we have extra security this year. More then any other year."
Oh. Security. Leia slumped back down again. Of course. That was all her parents cared about. Her safety. Honestly, just for once, she wanted her birthday - or any other celebration, actually - to be free of legions of guards. But no. Apparently, that was only going to get worse.
Stars. Leia gaze down at her lap, suddenly wishing she was still back in bed. Her dreams, at least, were interesting. Unlike her life. The way things seemed to be heading, it seemed she would get no excitement until she was 20.
But Leia had no idea the way things were heading...
