Diary of a Handmaiden 4–Following Protocol–Eirtaé's Diary--Entry 9

*****

<–...> Well, it's over. Padmé won the battle, with some help from the rest of us. It was her plan, though, and her courage, that earned our victory. Boy, that sure sounds anti-climactic for some reason. I guess battles aren't really my thing. Not physical battles, that is, with blasters and stuff. Word battles or mind battles–now those interest me. Comes from being trained as a statesperson, I suppose.

However, I have just witnessed history, and I suppose for posterity's sake, I had better record my memories of the battle before I start to forget. So, here goes:

When we landed in the forest, Jar-Jar was sent to enlist the help of the Gungans. Their underwater city was abandoned, but he knew where to find them. We ended up deep in the swamps, surrounded by armed Gungans, standing before Boss Nass, their leader. Sabé tried to convince him of the need for us to ally ourselves, just as Padmé and I had coached her. It didn't work, though. When it became clear to Padmé that Sabé as Queen was not going to convince Boss Nass to help us, she stepped forward, revealed the deception and negotiated a treaty between the Gungans and humans! I get chills just thinking about it. Something so historical happened, not just in my lifetime, but in my presence. I actually got to see it!

I saw plenty more, too. Padmé, Boss Nass and the other Gungan leaders, Master Jinn, and Panaka came up with a plan. Well, mostly it was Padmé's, but she needed the support and help of the others to make it work.

The Gungans fought a battle-droid army out on the plains as a distraction while the rest of us, including some of the Naboo security forces that we managed to contact, snuck into Theed. We freed some pilots who headed up to the droid control ship to take it out. The two Jedi ending up fighting a mysterious and hideous creature that showed up.

The rest of us headed into the Palace; Padmé needed to capture the Neimoidian Viceroy.

How did things work out? Well, somehow, Anakin ended up flying the spaceship he was hiding in up to the control ship, and he took it out, saving the Gungans, who had been beaten by the droid armies, just in time. Padmé, with a little help from Sabé, who showed up and confused the Neimoidians at just the right time, captured the Viceroy. Master Jinn was killed by that horrible creature, and Jedi Kenobi killed it in return. There were many casualties, but somehow that one strikes me as the most tragic. I suppose because I knew Master Jinn, and believed him to be invincible. I guess it's natural to think of the Jedi that way. And I've seen the pain in the eyes of Jedi Kenobi and young Anakin.

I suppose no victory is without pain. Look at what happened with the Senate. We had a victory in that Senator Palpatine was elected Chancellor; our world now has a strong supporter in the most important position within the Republic. But that victory came with pain–mostly to ex-Chancellor Valorum, whose life, or at least his political life, has ended. The victory of the Battle for Naboo is the same. We won, but at such a great cost!

But it's over now.

Right now, several Jedi Masters are on their way here, along with Chancellor Palpatine. He's already making wide and sweeping promises that I wonder if he'll keep–actually he started that back on Coruscant, even before he was elected–but as I said before, he does seem to accomplish a lot. It will be exciting to have the Supreme Chancellor visit our planet, as well as the most prominent of the Jedi. It will be exciting to have a Supreme Chancellor who's from Naboo, for that matter.

Saché has been very quiet, which worries me. She won't answer questions beyond the most basic debriefing and Yané insists she has no idea what could be bothering her. I don't have time now to dig for answers, but as soon as things quiet down, I'll find out what's going on.

Rabé is on pins and needles while she waits until she can find out whether or not her family is okay. I'm trying to work things out so she can go check on them as soon as possible.

Anyway, it looks like we'll have peace now, at least for awhile. I've certainly learned a lot. I think what I've experienced will help me be a better leader if I ever get the chance. Watching Padmé taught me that the qualities of a good leader–courage, selflessness, wisdom–are what win battles, not so much knowing the proper way to approach the Chancellor, or how to correctly phrase a request of the Senate.

I hope that someday I can put these lessons to good use. Don't get me wrong–I love being a Handmaiden–but before I was chosen for this, I actually hoped to be the Queen myself someday. I haven't given up on those dreams yet, nor do I intend to.

Right now though, I need to oversee Padmé's dressing. If I'm not there, Yané is liable to have her looking like a Chorassian clown. I'm a leader all right. I'm just not always sure what I'm a leader of.<...–>

*****

Reviews are welcome!