"Everyone, please meet my dear friend Rey Skywalker," Alik said, sweeping his hand toward her as if he hoped they'd find her as impressive as he evidently did. He introduced his parents first, and they each behaved as if they couldn't be gladder to make her acquaintance.
Alik's mother and father were much as she had imagined them. His mother, who introduced herself as Mara, wore her governor's uniform, evidently having just come from the office. It was a crisp white skirtsuit with gleaming gold buttons. Her hair was pinned up on top of her head, unadorned but a stunning color of dark gold, and her eyes were a pleasant brown flecked with amber. She was by far the least flamboyantly dressed; her uniform made Rey uneasy, though she fought to remind herself that Leia herself had been instrumental in the growth of the New Republic.
His father, Jafan, was as tall as his wife, with blond hair gone white and a tightly groomed patch of beard on his chin and sideburns that reached his jaw. He wore a long robe of shimmering black that hung from his shoulders to the floor. It was open in front, with elegantly embroidered bands running vertically beside the silver buttons. He had on a very dark grey shirt and matching trousers, but these were hidden by the top layer, aside from the puff of shirtsleeve at each wrist. A long silver chain overlaid it all, a wonderous piece of fine jewelry that made him look perfectly assembled.
"My brother, Drake, and his wife Puja," Alik said, introducing the attractive couple. She would have picked Drake out of a crowd as Alik's brother, the resemblance was so clear. Blond and blue-eyed, with the same air of self-assurance. He was smartly dressed in a burgundy jerkin over a shirt the color of cream. Burgundy velvet trousers were tucked into his very fine leather boots, the sort that were styled to look like what one would wear riding some beast of burden but were much too expensive to actually do so. He was clean-shaven and handsome, with an easy smile that made Rey feel at home despite herself. Drake gave a little bow to the guest, and to Alik he said, "You've got a little something on your chin there, baby brother," and he gave Alik's short whiskers a playful tug. Alik beamed back at him like any adoring younger brother.
Puja was stunning. Her hair was a beautiful, shiny copper red, as thick and heavy as cloth, and it fell in soft natural curls all around her face and down her back. It had been decorated with emerald hairpins and combs that matched her eyes. Her skin was the color of milk, the fairest human complexion Rey had ever seen. A lifetime of care and no need to labor in the sun had kept it as soft and white as a child's. Soft brown makeup highlighted her eyes and her lips were lightly painted a glossy russet. But what really struck Rey was her figure: Puja was all curves, her breasts and hips round and full, her waist narrow but perfectly balanced. She'd never gone to bed with her stomach aching with hunger and knowing she'd have to get up before dawn to work for enough food to stay alive. She'd never had to fight off a being twice her size, reduce him to a bloodied and bruised mess on the sand at her feet, in order to avoid being assaulted in a worse way. No: Puja's green velvet gown was cut to show off her chest, the neckline dipping lower than seemed wise to Rey. The skirt of her gown was split to reveal a second layer beneath it, in ivory satin, and to her shoulders was attached a cape to match. She looked as elegant as an image on the holonet, and she wore her gown as easily as Leia had worn hers, as if she'd never known any other way to dress. She'd always known beauty and kindness and warmth.
This is what Rey could have been, she realized. Should have been. A senator's granddaughter, surrounded by beauty and elegance, accustomed to comfort and deference, well fed and well cared for. Perhaps – and Rey tried not to think about it as much as she could – married to a senator's son, a prince who'd made her his princess.
It took Rey a moment to realize that Puja had extended her hand to her and wore a welcoming smile. Rey took her hand and shook it, unsure if there were more to the greeting ritual that she just didn't know. "It's so wonderful to meet you, Rey Skywalker," Puja said, her voice as liquid and melodious as Rey would have imagined. Her many bracelets jangled on her bare arms. Despite the utter foreignness of it all, Puja seemed kind and genuine. Rey felt small and drab compared to these elegant people. She had almost entirely forgotten where Alik had come from, no matter how quickly she'd appraised him when she'd first met him. She knew he was very kind, if haughty at times, and a good friend; she would try to assume the same of his family as well.
"Won't you come in?" Mara asked, and the party started toward the stairs leading upward into the house, Rey assumed.
Behind her, she heard Jafan ask Alik, "Where did you find that thing?"
"I bought it, Dad," Alik replied, with a laugh in his voice, adding, "Anyway, it's hers now." She didn't hear what if any reply Jafan made to that. All of this seemed a bit overwhelming and she tried to focus on making her way up the stairs without tripping over the inches-thick carpeting on them.
The house itself was warm and clean, with high ceilings and beautiful, shiny walls and many rooms. Some areas had polished stone floors, while others, mostly the private rooms reserved for the family only, had that same squishy carpet. Droids of many types wandered around the house performing various tasks, and Rey looked with wonder around her. Naboo already seemed like the most civilized and elegant place in all the galaxy, and she'd only ever been in this one home.
Puja let herself lag back to walk with Rey. "Skywalker's not a common name," she observed. "Are you related to the general from the old wars?"
"No," Rey said quickly. Then she caught herself and said, "Not exactly."
"Hmm," the other woman said. "That's a shame. What an exciting legacy that would be." Her eyes glittered warmly, and Rey could feel that she was trying to be kind. "Where are you from?"
She thought for a moment, and decided to say, "I grew up in the Outer Rim."
"Ah, I've never had the pleasure. Never left the Mid, actually," Puja said. From her tone, Rey imagined that Puja felt a bit sorry about that. A taste for adventure seemed to be a common trait among Alik's family. Well, it usually is for lots of people, right up until they get a taste of it.
Just then, Alik caught up to them and unintentionally put an end to the conversation. Rey was grateful. "Puja, since Rey's never been to Naboo, I'd really love to show her Theed."
"How lovely," Puja said, smiling. "You're going to love it. Chandrila and Coruscant get all the renown, but there's nothing like Naboo at night."
Alik nodded. "Would you be willing to lend Rey a dress or something? There isn't really time to go shopping before dinner."
Puja's polite smile broke into a grin of genuine happiness. "What a lovely idea! I have just the thing."
~/~/~
A shining chrome protocol droid led Rey to her room and left her to wait for Puja. The room was airy, with the same high ceilings as the rest of the house. There was, not a sonic refresher, but a real marble bathtub right in the room, which the droid switched on before he left. As it filled, Rey pulled back the curtains which revealed a tiny balcony on the central garden of the home. The bed in the center of the room was wider than any she'd ever seen before, bit enough for at least two separate people, and it was spread with a soft coverlet and pillows that practically called Rey to curl up on them. She set her bag on one of the chairs at the small table, and patted it, just to reassure herself that both her books and her lightsaber were still inside.
It was good she wasn't tempted to actually examine the saber, because just then Puja arrived with a human female servant, a pretty girl a few years younger than Rey, dressed in a deceptively simple dress that went from her shoulders to her feet in one single, smooth piece. The girl carried a pile of fabric which Rey guessed was a few dresses for her to try on. She laid the fabric on the bed and waited for Puja to tell her what to do.
"Since you've never been here, I want you to have the full experience," Puja said, exuberantly. "Yanté will help you with your bath and your hair; she does mine and she does such a lovely job. I'll get your gown ready."
"Just one?" Rey asked, feeling silly again.
Puja nodded, cheerily. The whole pile of fabric was not multiple gowns for Rey to choose from, but a single ensemble. She met Yanté's eyes and the girl moved to help her undress. Rey was certainly not accustomed to that – neither to being undressed by a servant nor to being undressed with other people around, but Yanté was polite and her hands were very gentle. When she realized that Rey was uncomfortable, she disappeared around a corner and returned with a screen, which she set up around the tub to shield Rey's modesty. When Rey was fully immersed in the warm, scented water, Yanté came back to her with a bottle in one hand and a comb in the other, ready to work on Rey's hair.
Scrubbed clean and her hair washed and combed, Rey did indeed feel better. Yanté brought her a silky, white blouse to put on. It covered her to the tops of her thighs, and she felt more comfortable emerging from behind the screen to meet Puja. The dress was all laid out over the bed, with its several parts. First, Yanté helped her step into the skirt that matched the blouse; this was the under layer, meant to be felt by the wearer but not seen, even though it was as soft as a kiss and so beautifully assembled that it must have been made of some fabric Rey had never known. Then Yanté held out the second layer, an ivory robe which Rey initially tried to put on backwards. It turned out that it wrapped around her front and closed with a sash which Yanté tied tight enough to press against Rey's middle and lift her small breasts from below. The top layer was a cerulean blue gown that was all one piece, a long woven rectangle that reminded her vaguely of the Wookiee tapestries in its richness and detail. Puja helped lay it over her, settling the open neckline over her head and adjusting it so that the top of her cleavage was exposed alluringly. Rey didn't know how a gown made for Puja's womanly curves could possibly fit her, but Puja tied the laces around her waist and into elegant bows in the back, and the gown seemed to adjust itself to perfection.
Yanté styled Rey's hair into a high coiffure. She worked quickly and efficiently so that it took much less time than Rey would have thought possible given the extraordinarily complicated finished design. It was hung with ribbons and jewels that matched the ivory middle layer of Rey's outfit, contrasting with her dark brown hair. The final touch was the makeup. Rey had never in her life painted her face, and she didn't allow Yanté to use foundation but only to line her eyes and color her eyelids the same cerulean as her gown, and a peach-colored gloss for her lips. They hung sparkling jewelry around her neck and wrists. Glittering slippers went on her feet; they were stiff and uncomfortable compared with Lump's well-broken boots, but so very pretty.
When Puja and her maid were finished, Rey looked at herself in the wall mirror, and there she saw at last the image of a daughter of Naboo: highly crafted, carefully designed, and flawless. Rey at once hated and loved it, and hated that she loved it.
Puja's smile was infectious, however, and her glee at Rey's transformation forced Rey to smile too. Nothing felt quite as good as when she arrived in the house's foyer to meet Alik and he seemed unable to take his eyes off her. His esteem for her had never been a secret, but tonight his gaze made her blush. He'd cleaned up well, too, with his beard trimmed into a flamboyant goatee and his hair combed back. He wore a violet suit in a very different style from the clothes he'd been stuck in since she'd meet him, but which flattered him. In fact, he looked downright handsome, his face all the more pleasing because its comforting familiarity.
"There now," Puja said, proud of her creation and its match. "Now you look like you're ready to see Theed."