The Slave's Gain, Part 2: Throne of Hearts
"Oh happy kings, whose thrones are raised on their subjects' hearts."
~John Ford
"You change your life by changing your heart."
~?
Chapter 1
I sat in my office, my gaze riveted on the holoprojector. Beside me, Obi-Wan stood, his expression becoming more serious by the second.
The figure that dominated the projection was in the midst of a press conference. He was tall and powerfully built and though the blue holo didn't show it, he was clothed all in black, from black gauntlets and chest armor to a long, flowing cloak. But what truly drew the eye was the mask that covered his face: made from shiny black plastisteel, it was molded in the shape of a horrific, skull-like face. It was recognizable, but today it seemed even more fearsome, especially accompanied by the words its owner had just pronounced. His deep, mechanical voice echoed effortlessly from the holograph into every corner of the room.
"As your new Emperor, my first act is to present my daughter, Lady Vader. Let all worlds know that she is my Heir, my strong right hand." Another figure walked into the holo. She was small, even for a young girl. Like her father, she was wrapped in a dark cloak, but she had the hood up. The holo was obviously being taken from a distance, for her face was blurry. Then the holo zoomed in, and I couldn't help but gasp: a mask obscured the top half of her face, a mask both beautiful in its swirling patterns of colored beads and horrific. Lighter beads that had to be red outlined her eyes, giving them a demonic cast. Or maybe it was just her eyes. They were dark and were eyes of a much older person. They were the eyes of a person who had seen far too much. Seeing those eyes in the face of a girl no older than my Luke was terrifying.
Caught up in my own worries, I hadn't even noticed Obi-Wan. He was half-kneeling on the floor, as pale as I had ever seen him. "Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan!" I exclaimed. "What's wrong?" His eyes were glazed over with a sheen that came from a deep, heart-renching pain. He was seeing nothing but the two figures on the screen, one tall and powerfully built and the other small and slim, but both cloaked in the same black robes.
"Force…" he murmured. "Oh Force, he found her."
"Who? Who did he find?" I asked, sudden fear gripping my heart: Obi-Wan was never like this.
Obi-Wan looked up at me bleakly. "He found Leia."
VVV
Greetings, faithful readers! I regret to say that I completely underestimated just how much time and energy school would be requiring of me this year. I've written Part 2, but the ending chapters of Part 3 are eluding me. In other words, I'm at a stalemate with this story. I'm going to try to set aside more time to write, but nothing is for sure, this year especially.
I might as well throw out the rest of the bad news while I'm at it: Princess of Darkness, the next in my Lady of Shadows series, is waaaaaaaaay behind schedule. I have no clue when it's going to be ready for publication :(
*creepy zombie voice* Reviews...Reviews...Must have reviews...