She would find him. If she had to walk to the ends of the galaxy, explore planets she had never known about prior, she would.
It was the dead of night, and the large home was silent. It was quiet most days, but as the girl packed a small bag she realized the quiet was amplified by her mission: to leave Naboo soundlessly without a trace or a hint of where she would go.
Her plan of escape had taken almost six months to plan, with some funds stolen here and a few there, and objects that wouldn't be missed were gathered for her escape. She had gathered all of her savings and what she had stolen in order to get safe passage from the planet aboard a trading vessel.
She shivered at the thought of hiding among crates on a large vessel – something she had done many times before as a young child. The risk of those journeys were much, much higher — not to mention she would never find herself in that predicament again.
She hid in the shadows of the hall outside her room. Although she knew her parents were asleep and unlikely to wake up, she needed to be cautious. One wrong move and her plan would fall apart.
Living on Naboo had never made her heart accelerate and adrenaline rush the way it did in that dim hallway. Naboo was full of luxurious living, plenty of food and dresses made from the finest fabrics. But it was never truly a fit for the girl. It was a lie. It had always been a lie, and a life she hadn't asked for.
She would find her friend, her father, her brother, her . . . mentor. She wasn't sure how, or when, or where, but she would find him and she wasn't sure what she would do when she did. Would she hug him? Would she hurt him, the way he'd hurt her? Would she kill him?
She quickly shook the last thought away as she moved silently through the hallway with quick steps. A sense of nostalgia came over her as she utilized the techniques she had gathered from a previous life – the sneaking, the stealing – and she felt like something of her old self was coming back. Something that her parents tried to help her forget.
It wasn't her parents that had driven her to sneak down the hallway, down the stairs and into the kitchens. It wasn't the beautiful gowns or the abundant meals that caused her search for their family droid charging in a corner. No.
She was running because it was what she was used to. She was always running, town to town, planet to planet.
She reached the family droid – affectionately named Ruby – and took a deep breath as she woke the droid.
She knew her mentor had always hated droids, and there was a sense of pride as she watched the droid's eyes come to life.
"Master Lilith, what are you doing awake at this hour? May I alert—"
"Be quiet." She pulled the gray travel coat closer over her body and felt a small tremble in her shoulders. The nerves from her journey were beginning to set in. It had, after all, been two years since she had left Naboo, and left the couple that adopted her.
"I need you to record a message for mom and dad." Ruby looked down at her with a head tilt.
"Master Lilith, your heart rate has accelerated."
"I told you not to call me that." The girl began to poke and prod at the droid, trying to find the correct button to push. The chest hatch opened and a mess of wires was revealed. She sighed.
"If I may suggest . . ." She looked up at the droid, who was pointing towards the middle of her chest towards a barely noticeable black button. The girl clicked it.
"Is it recording?" She looked up at the droid, who offered a sigh nod. "Thank you, Ruby."
She took a deep breath and stared into Ruby's glass eyes, calculating each word just as she had the week prior.
"This hasn't been an easy decision for me. I apologize for any stress I cause tomorrow morning." For a moment, she began to hesitate. She wondered if this was truly the correct thing to do: to leave a safe home to return to a life of danger. "These past two years have been . . . difficult. I never want either of you to think it was your fault – you gave me everything and I feel guilty knowing—"
The guilt began to settle in the pit of her stomach, something that had never truly left the moment she planned to run away. She knew just how much her departure was going to hurt her adopted mother and father. But, she continued.
"I love you both. I do. You took me in, gave me a real education and things were normal. But . . . But it wasn't me."
She began to think of him, of the day her mentor had told her a name and a promise.
"I know he's still out there somewhere. I hope he is, at least. I can't pretend to be happy anymore, when all I want is to return to the stars. I promise I'll come and visit. I'll send holograms whenever I can. But I have to go. It's—It's better this way. It's how it's always been."
Her shoulders tightened as she looked down at her feet.
"Mom, dad . . . I'm so sorry I'm doing this to you. I don't want to leave but I have to follow my heart. Something's calling me out there and I have to find out why."
Her gaze drifted back up.
"If he does come back, someday . . ." She shook the thought away as her heart clenched in her chest. It felt like all the air had been knocked out of her. ". . . No. I don't think he will."
Tears came to her eyes.
"I'm sorry, mom and dad. I love you both."
Lilith reached forward and tapped the black button again, tears falling down her cheeks. She took a few calming breaths as she pulled her coat tighter.
"Master Lilith, my protocol insists that I alert Mr. and Mrs. Gardinale at once of your intentions."
"I know." Lilith reached forward and unplugged several wires from the droid's chest, and didn't stop until Ruby's eyes had gone dark. For a moment, she stood staring at the nanny droid, wondering if she should take the first step out the front door.
He abandoned you. He won't come back. You know this isn't your true home – there's something out there calling out to you. It's time you find it.
She gulped as she filled her canteen at the sink, watching the clean water fill it up. She knew it was likely the last time she'd see water that clean in the coming months.
Go back to your roots. Start new. Run away and stop living in a life you never asked for.
She glanced back at Ruby one last time and departed for the front door. The transport ship would be leaving within the next few hours, and if she didn't leave now then it would be too late to go.
She glanced at the home one last time, walked out the front door, and sighed in relief as the armed systems failed to alert her parents of her escape. The smile only grew as she left the house with little to no effort at all, holding her satchel tighter and feeling the outline of her old tools from an old life.
I didn't completely forget. The streets were as quiet as the home, but the suffocation wasn't as great. She started down the road, off in the same direction that he had two years ago.
There were two things the girl knew as she walked along the darkened street.
One: she was completely alone, once again.
Two: she was going to find Din Djarin.