***
"Come and see for yourself, Rabé." He led me away from the crowd, and I heard Atanté Verana daring anyone to try to follow us.
We ended up at my aunt Cela's house, which was intact save for a huge gap in the west wall which had been covered with a large plasteel board. We stepped inside, and father led me toward the back bedroom. He opened the door and said, "Risellé," which is my mother's name and then stepped back to let me enter. I'm not sure what I was expecting–maybe that she had been horribly injured in the battle and was dying. Whatever it was, it wasn't what I saw before me.
My mother was standing in front of a rocking chair by the window, and when she saw me, she fell back into it, looking like I had felt earlier, when my legs just gave out. Only she was reacting from joy. She held her arms out to me and I crossed the room and knelt to hug her, burying my face in her lap like I used to when I was really little. At least this time I didn't cry. I just was so happy that she as alive and my father was alive that I didn't want to cry anymore. I finally looked up at her, and commented on what I had noticed in that first moment, before she sat back down.
"You didn't tell me," I accused.
"We didn't tell anyone, Rabé. We weren't sure if the baby would be okay. I wasn't supposed to be able to have more children after you, and I asked your father to keep it a secret until the baby was born. That way, if I lost her, I wouldn't have to deal with telling everyone. I'm sorry, though. We should have told you that you might become a big sister."
My father had crossed the room and knelt down on her other side. He took her hand and then took one of my mine and smiled at me. "We were going to make it up to you by letting you name her."
"You were? Are you still? And it's a girl?"
"Yes, yes, and your mother thinks so," my father said with a grin. "Just pick wisely, Rabé. No Clotindé's in this family, if you please."
I laughed. And it felt so good. I hadn't really laughed since the Federation first set up its blockade weeks ago.
"This is like a really bad holodrama," I said, and my parents both smiled.
"As I remember, you've always liked bad holodramas, Rabé," my father answered.
"I wasn't complaining. At least most bad holos have happy endings."
My father sobered and nodded. "If not for your mother's pregnancy, we likely wouldn't be here. The only reason we left our home when we did was because of her condition. Had everything been as usual, we probably would have stayed and fought...and died."
I felt a lump in my throat. Until a few moments ago, that was what I had believed had happened. And it hurt just a little to think that my parents had sought safety for this new child, but not for me. I need you, too. I would have missed you, too. I forced those thoughts out of my head, though. I knew my parents cared, and I understood the difference between myself and this unborn child. And this was a time for rejoicing.
I heard a soft sound at the door and looked up to see my aunt. After a new batch of hugs and "I'm so happy to see you's," she told me that my group was waiting outside. They were suggesting that Del and I stay behind so he could collect the information they needed and I could visit with my friends and family, and they would do the other villages and come back for us. I agreed, of course, and that's what happened. Del got the information, with some help from me and my father, who always knows everything about everyone in the village, and I got to spend time with my mother and father, and the rest of my family and friends. It was dark when Carré, Harris, and Hayden returned, and I hated to leave. It felt so good to be at home, to see all the familiar faces that I had left so unwillingly months before.
But my father, as usual, gave me back my strength. He had explained why our farm was the worst. He had been chosen to lead our village in its stand against the droids, and when the droid commander learned of it, and probably passed that information on to his Neimoidian superior, he ordered our farm burned to a crisp to try to convince my father to change his mind. It didn't work, of course, and fortunatley, my parents were already long gone. The villagers and nearby farmers chose to make their stand, with my father's direction, at the village, which is at least in a defendable position. Still, it's defenses are no match for an army like the Neimoidians battle-droids, and the village would likely have been utterly destroyed and the people killed or captured, had the attacknot happened on the day of the final battle. Just as the droids trained their blasters on the village and began to open fire, Anakin was taking down the control ship. Only a few blasts rained on the village before the droids were deactivated.
The villagers were thrilled when I explained how that happened. And I had to tell the whole story of Tatooine and Coruscant and the Battle for Naboo and Anakin and the Jedi and Padmé and the other handmaidens and everything I knew that they didn't.
It was exhausting, but wonderful. I had a chance to tell my father privately what Chrissé had said to me about how I should have saved the village and he hugged me and said, "Rabé, you did something much better–you put aside your own personal feelings and fears and helped save the whole planet." When I protested that any of the handmaidens could have done what I did, he shook his head and shushed me. "Who knows what part you may have played in making things work out the way you did. You can't know if something you said to Padmé or Anakin or someone else helped them make a decision they wouldn't otherwise have made. Maybe one of the droids you shot would have shot Padmé ten minutes later if you hadn't done so. Maybe when you befriended young Anakin on the ship, or invited him to the Senate, you helped give him the courage that led him to destroy the control ship. You will never know. But know this, Rabé, I am proud of you. And remember, too, that we didn't lose a single person in our village–not one. We have injuries, yes, but nothing that some bacta and Verana's remedies and time won't heal."
"What about all the homes, though, Father?"
"Homes can be rebuilt, Rabé, and fields can be replanted–you know that. The important thing is that we are all safe. And Rabé, would it have been right for our village to get special protection just because you are from here? Wouldn't that have been showing unfair and preferential treatment? Chrissé always says whatever she thinks and she's too busy talking to think very clearly. Don't let her thoughtless words deprive you of the joy you deserve. I would be less proud of you now had you had an army sent here than I am knowing you kept focused on the task set before you. And, as your mother always says, All's well that ends well."
As I unwillingly began heading for the landspeeder, my father took me in his arms again and whispered, "Be strong, Rabé. Your mother and I are so proud of you, and we always will be. And don't forget to let us know what name you choose. We'll expect you to have one picked out when we come to Theed next month."
"You're coming to Theed?" I asked, suddenly feeling much better. A month wasn't such a very long time.
"Yes, Theed Medical Center has the best prenatal and birthing center on Naboo, and your mother will spend her last months of pregnancy there. So, you'll get to see us very soon, and for at least a couple months, too. Now, go on and get back to your duties. It sounds to me like Padmé couldn't do without you."
"Now you sound like a biased father."
"I am a biased father. Now scoot."
I scooted. Our ride back to the city was quiet, and I had a chance to go back over the day's events in my mind. The greatest sorrow and the deepest joy. My home was gone, but it would be rebuilt–perhaps in time for my new baby sister (or brother, should my mother be wrong) to come home to.
***
TBC...