Inside the old house was a large living room with holo screens and marble floors with exits to a balcony outside. Dozens of relatives sat around on the couches and chairs and floors, reading, talking, or simply meditating. In the center of it all was an elderly woman dressed in all gold, with her chestnut-streaked silver hair in a high ponytail flowing like a waterfall down her back.
The old woman stood. "They have arrived! Our family, at last!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing, and rose to meet their cousins. The elderly woman rose last of all, and approached Nellith and Maré. She extended her ring-covered hand to Nellith.
"You are Nellith Luka Solo, no?" the old woman asked.
"I am," Nellith said. "What's your name?"
"Ryoo Naberrie," the old woman said. "You look so much like my Aunt Padmé. The resemblance is striking."
"Thank you," Nellith said. "I'm happy to finally meet you, Lady Ryoo."
"Simply Ryoo will do," she said, a smile melting onto her face. "Where are your parents."
"Lagging behind, talking with Kieré, I suppose," Nellith said.
Ryoo laughed. "Of course, Kieré is quite the social butterfly. They're in good hands. I'll introduce you to everyone."
She then chattered off, leaving Nellith desperate to try and remember the names and faces. The most memorable of them was her cousin Sabé, who was running for the next queen after Queen Dieciembré, Valorum, who was currently dating an Antilles of Alderaan, and Dagné, an assistant to the current Senator of Naboo, and the grandfather of them all, Justin Starkiller, who was kidnapped by the First Order to help create the infamous Starkiller Base.
Despite being in the room full of people who were her kin, Nellith felt mostly alone. They were all politicians of some sort. None of them, excepting Maré, quite had that in-the-field spirit, and maybe none of them had the chance to exhibit it yet. But it echoed in the separation of generations in their families. The Naberries were politicians- the Solos were Jedi.
Perhaps that made all the difference.
Nellith straightened her black tunic and skirt nervously. She was about to meet the Queen of Naboo! Palace guards in brown and blue greeted them at the door, checked them over for weaponry- Kira and Ben were allowed to keep their lightsabers- and now led them to the throne room.
Nellith rarely paid attention to how she looked- she wasn't really interested in flirting or anything, and the Jedi lifestyle required more comfort in clothing than style. But now that she would be face-to-face with an actual queen, surrounded by well-dressed and fashionable people, she was suddenly aware of her appearance.
The doors of the throne room swung open, and a woman in the throne rose to greet them, surrounded by several handmaidens that looked quite alike. The young woman wore a face full of white makeup with a red scar on her bottom lip. Nellith rather liked that fashion. She remembered Maré telling her it had historical significance, but she couldn't quite remember what. She dressed all in crimson, with a headdress with tiny lanterns dangling off of it and embedded in her dress.
Everyone got on their knees, and Nellith followed, not wanting to be disrespectful.
"Rise, Lady Solo," Queen Dieciembré said, her pale blue eyes looking straight to Nellith. Hesitantly looking around her, and seeing Kira nod at her, Nellith rose to her feet.
"Thank you for inviting us, Your Majesty," Nellith said.
One of the blonde handmaidens giggled. The Queen glanced at her authoritatively, then back to Nellith. "You resemble Queen Amidala greatly. You speak like she did, as well."
"Um, thank you," Nellith said. "I never really thought myself to be all that queenly."
The blonde handmaiden giggled again.
"Nonetheless, the palace is honored to be graced with your presence," Queen Dieciembre said. "The Naboo remember Amidala well. All may rise. I suppose we could begin here."
The others got to their feet around her, and began down the hallways. The blonde handmaiden who giggled stayed beside Nellith.
"I'm Micaela," she said. "I think the resemblance is sort of funny. How many generations are between you and the Queen again?"
"I'm the third since Amidala," Nellith said.
"It's surprising how much we resemble our ancestors sometimes," Micaela said. "Mother says I resemble my second cousin pretty well."
"It is," Nellith said politely, although she felt uncomfortable talking about her ancestors. She was not Anakin, or Padmé, or Leia, or any of them. She was Nellith, whoever that was.
"But I'm guessing you hear stuff like that a lot," Micaela said, picking up on Nellith's discomfort. "Must be hard, being from the Skywalker family."
Nellith shrugged. "I don't mind."
"This is the hallway in which Nute Gunray was shot to retake Theed from the Trade Federation," Queen Dieciembré announced. Kira seemed quite excited at seeing this.
Just as they were about to turn the corner, Nellith felt a cold presence. She turned and exited down the opposite hallway. It felt like the boy at the spaceport. She followed the presence down several corridors and stairwells, intent on finding out who the boy was, and why the Force was so cold around him.
It reminded her of Korriban, of the dark Jedi Tenelle and Nellith had met there.
She stopped. She was hopelessly lost. She heard a scream- "NOOOO!" and turned around to find the source of it. She heard a lightsaber sound and reached for her belt- only to remember that her saber-staff wasn't with her.
She felt a tap on the shoulder, and jumped, turning around to see a girl her age. She had dark hair pulled back in a four-winged bun, a mole on her right cheek like Nellith did, and wore a maroon velvet action suit.
"I don't think you're supposed to be here," she said. She sounded kind. . . But sad. "Why are you down here?"
"I was following this presence in the Force," Nellith explained. "It was so cold, and I thought that it was someone. . . That I met."
The girl's expression darkened. "I knew there was someone here who wasn't supposed to be. I'll take you back to the tour group."
"Thank you," Nellith said relievedly. She followed the girl's quick strides.
"You shouldn't run off like that," the girl scolded. "You could get into serious trouble."
Nellith frowned. "You're exactly my age- what gives you the right to tell me off?"
The girl smiled gently. "I'm a bit older than I look. Think of me as a guide."
Nellith nodded. She could sense a wisdom and sweetness in the girl. There was something off about her, though.
"May I give you some advice?" the girl asked as they turned another corner and began ascending a stairwell.
"Sure," Nellith said with a shrug. "Shoot."
The girl's face became serious. "Stand firm. You are meant to do great things, Nellith. But only if you follow what's in your heart and stick to it. Do you understand?"
Nellith nodded.
"And guard your heart," the girl continued, her sadness taking over. "I didn't guard mine, and I've regretted it for several years."
"Who hurt you?" Nellith asked, genuinely concerned for the girl.
The girl smiled sadly. "Just somebody that I used to know."
She entered another hallway, just as Micaela ran down it.
"Nellith, there you are!" she cried.
Nellith turned around. "Thanks-"
The girl was gone. Nellith looked back to Micaela. "Who was that?"
"Who was who?" Micaela asked, confused.
"The girl who led me back here," Nellith said. She glanced behind her again. "She was so sad."
"No one was with you, Nellith," Micaela said, clearly unnerved.
"But I-" Nellith dropped it. "Sorry, I thought I felt something back there a while ago, and I wanted to see what it was."
"There's no harm done," Micaela said. "Your mother and father were quite worried, though."
"I don't blame them," Nellith said, glancing at her robotic hand.
"Is that a cybernetic?" Micaela asked, nodding towards Nellith's hand.
"It is," Nellith admitted.
"How did you get it?" Micaela asked, pale blue eyes intent on Nellith's brown ones.
"I accidentally cut it off," Nellith admitted. "It's kinda funny, if you think about it. I'm such a terrible Jedi, I cut my own hand off."
Micaela bit her lip. But a smile appeared nonetheless. "You seem to have taken it well."
Nellith shrugged. "The past is the past. There's only so long you can reflect on it before you have to move on."
"Wise," Micaela commented. Her cheeks turned pink. "I wanted to ask before we rejoined the group- would you like my commlink frequency? I'd like to call you sometime, maybe meet up somewhere-"
"Sure!" Nellith said. She thought Micaela was very pretty.
"Here it is," Micaela said, handing Nellith a slip of flimsi. Nellith tucked it into her pocket, and the two girls rejoined the group.