Well here it is - the final part in my little trilogy. I'm trying to make these stories fit in with what we learn in Epsiodes 4,5 and 6. I've really enjoyed writing them and this part is my favourite. Please review and tell me what you thought of the ending. Thanks for reading!
[See Part I for information and disclaimers]
* * * * *
"Miss, miss, can you hear me? Miss, wake up… please…"
A voice pierced the thick darkness and she followed it out of the pain, until she found herself blinking in the bright sunlight that was streaming in through a window.
"Leia", she called, but her voice crackled as the pain shot through her small frame.
"It's all right, just lie still. Leia - is that your daughter? It's all right, I've got her here."
A woman adorned in what looked like a servant's uniform placed the tiny girl beside her mother, who stroked the baby's cheek with the tips of her fingers.
"Please, where am I…" Amidala asked the woman. The last thing she remembered was collapsing outside and finding herself in a soft warm bed was the last thing she had expected.
"You are in the palace, miss. I found you outside and the King insisted I bring you inside."
"Bail?"
The servant tilted her head in surprise at the young woman's familiarity, but thinking the young woman was still delusional, as she had been for the past two days, didn't think much of it.
"Yes my dear. He's always had a soft spot for children, as he has none of his own. He asked me to get your name, and to ask where you were going when you fell."
"My name is..." Amidala stopped herself short. The most important thing Obi-Wan had taught her was that trust is a powerful ally, and must not be carelessly invested in someone.
"… Zahra." She finished. "And I was running from someone who wanted to take my daughter away from me. I don't have anywhere to go."
"Well on behalf of the His Majesty I extend an invitation to join us here in the service of our planet's great leaders."
"I…"
She thought briefly of Obi-Wan. She wanted to take off from this planet immediately and find him. She was to meet him at Owen Lars' farm on Tatooine… Tatooine, her brain processed. The place where she had first layed eyes on the boy who was to become the cause of her greatest happiness and her greatest suffering…
She closed her eyes gently, which forced the welling tears to spill down the sides of her face and onto the pillow.
"Miss? You don't have to decide now."
Obi-Wan would not want her gallivanting all over the galaxy just when the war was turning full scale. Knowing what he would want made the decision easier.
"Thank you I am forever indebted to you for your kindness. Please relay my gratitude to the king. I hope to serve him honourably."
"Very well, Zahra. I can promise that you and Leia will be safe here."
Amidala smiled sadly and pulled the child against her, before opening her eyes and staring straight into the eyes of her rescuer.
"Never make promises that you have no way of keeping."
She turned her head to the innocent child beside her in order to avoid seeing the puzzled look that would invariably cross the woman's face, and drifted easily into the first real sleep she'd had in days.
* * * * *
In the two years that passed no one suspected the softly spoken servant girl and her fatherless child were anything more than what they appeared to be. Despite the close relationship she had developed with the King, she seemed unusually plain.
'It's lucky', she thought to herself, 'that I spent enough time as Padme to know what a servant's role encompasses', but she still grimaced just a little when others ordered her about or treated her harshly.
Each night she would collapse on the bed in her quarters and excuse the nurse that had been attending her daughter. Then she would proceed to tell the little one all about the people that she knew and about life on other worlds. Somehow though the conversation always centred around one person.
"Leia", she whispered on one of these occasions, "remember how I told you about Obi-Wan? He is the greatest man in the entire galaxy and he saved us from the war. He is the only person I trust, my darling. He is the only person you can trust."
She took a breath and gazed into the smiling face that seemed unaware of what she was being told. "At least remember his name. Obi-Wan Kenobi. And when you hear it, feel safe. When you need help, he will come to you. He has never failed me. And he will not fail you."
She kissed the tiny forehead and a smile spread across the child's face. And that was what Amidala remembered when she needed to be strong throughout the terrifying days to come.
* * * * *
The moment she saw the shuttles land, she knew it was time. If she didn't act now they would ransack the palace until they found what they had come for.
She whispered a brief goodbye to her tiny daughter. "I love you, my little Leia, though I know you will be safer if you do not remember that. I want you to be whatever you are called to be. But I have another wish for you. A simpler wish. That one day you will find your brother and when you do, something in your heart will tell you it is him, and that when you learn the truth - it doesn't hurt too much."
She held the child tightly against her and walked as quickly as she dared through the vast rooms, until she saw Bail Organa walking toward the main entrance.
"Bail, Bail! Please wait!"
Amidala ran up to him with a crying Leia on her hip.
"Please Bail, take her. Raise her as your own."
"But Amidala…" He looked carefully around before using her true name.
"It's just like I told you they have come for me and they must not get her. They don't know I have a child. Raise her as your own and she will be safe."
She thrust the child into his arms, kissed his cheek and the top of her daughter's head.
"You have known her all her life. In every way but one you are her father. There's no need for her to know anything about me. It's better that she doesn't know."
Not wanting to cause the people who had protected her from harm the past two years, she walked calmly to the front of the palace and opened the heavy door.
In her old authoritative voice she announced, "Do not hurt these people. They do not know who I am."
Troops rushed forward and grabbed her, pushing her down the stairs and towards a waiting shuttle.
"I wouldn't have thought you'd put your own safety before that of your people, Queen Amidala. Did you actually think you could hide from us? You are far too involved in this war to be left wandering the galaxy."
The crowd that had gathered seemed shocked at the revelation that the timid servant girl was queen of a distant society. He turned to face them.
"One day this world will pay for its crimes against the Empire. And when that day comes, remember the wanton Queen of Naboo who abandoned her people at their time of greatest need to save her own life - and failed to do so anyway."
The crowd from the peaceful planet stood in disbelief at the harshness of the general's words. As Amidala she turned away she caught a glimpse of Leia in the arms of Bail in an upstairs window, and hoped that he could convince his people she'd only done it because she loved her children.
The King peered carefully out of the window in time to see the Imperial troops push the pretty young woman into the ship. Tears began tumbling down his face. She was young - too young to face this kind of tragedy. He looked down into the child's face, the face he had watched grow from a baby to an independent toddler. He had often gone to their quarters to watch her play, and talk with the young woman about her situation. He couldn't believe it when a servant found her collapsed outside with one of the babies he'd held minutes after her birth. They'd left her behind. He had been her confidant - she'd often discussed the inevitability of them finding her and forcing her to return. But she'd never mentioned not taking Leia with her.
He held her up to the window and whispered in her ear, "That is your mommy, Leia. You will never know what she gave up for you. One day, princess, when you're older and this war is over - though she doesn't think it's right - deep down she would want me to tell you."
* * * * *
Years later, in the seconds before the Empire destroyed his Alderaan, he would regret that moment. His final thought was of the dark-eyed woman and the bright-eyed child she had given him, and he knew he'd waited too long. Leia should have grown up knowing how much her mother loved her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPYRIGHT © November 2000 KATE DAVIS
Well that's the final part. What did you think of the ending? I tried to make this fic fit in with what we discover when Leia is older. Did I succeed?
If you review my fic I guarantee to review of yours as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!
[See Part I for information and disclaimers]
* * * * *
"Miss, miss, can you hear me? Miss, wake up… please…"
A voice pierced the thick darkness and she followed it out of the pain, until she found herself blinking in the bright sunlight that was streaming in through a window.
"Leia", she called, but her voice crackled as the pain shot through her small frame.
"It's all right, just lie still. Leia - is that your daughter? It's all right, I've got her here."
A woman adorned in what looked like a servant's uniform placed the tiny girl beside her mother, who stroked the baby's cheek with the tips of her fingers.
"Please, where am I…" Amidala asked the woman. The last thing she remembered was collapsing outside and finding herself in a soft warm bed was the last thing she had expected.
"You are in the palace, miss. I found you outside and the King insisted I bring you inside."
"Bail?"
The servant tilted her head in surprise at the young woman's familiarity, but thinking the young woman was still delusional, as she had been for the past two days, didn't think much of it.
"Yes my dear. He's always had a soft spot for children, as he has none of his own. He asked me to get your name, and to ask where you were going when you fell."
"My name is..." Amidala stopped herself short. The most important thing Obi-Wan had taught her was that trust is a powerful ally, and must not be carelessly invested in someone.
"… Zahra." She finished. "And I was running from someone who wanted to take my daughter away from me. I don't have anywhere to go."
"Well on behalf of the His Majesty I extend an invitation to join us here in the service of our planet's great leaders."
"I…"
She thought briefly of Obi-Wan. She wanted to take off from this planet immediately and find him. She was to meet him at Owen Lars' farm on Tatooine… Tatooine, her brain processed. The place where she had first layed eyes on the boy who was to become the cause of her greatest happiness and her greatest suffering…
She closed her eyes gently, which forced the welling tears to spill down the sides of her face and onto the pillow.
"Miss? You don't have to decide now."
Obi-Wan would not want her gallivanting all over the galaxy just when the war was turning full scale. Knowing what he would want made the decision easier.
"Thank you I am forever indebted to you for your kindness. Please relay my gratitude to the king. I hope to serve him honourably."
"Very well, Zahra. I can promise that you and Leia will be safe here."
Amidala smiled sadly and pulled the child against her, before opening her eyes and staring straight into the eyes of her rescuer.
"Never make promises that you have no way of keeping."
She turned her head to the innocent child beside her in order to avoid seeing the puzzled look that would invariably cross the woman's face, and drifted easily into the first real sleep she'd had in days.
* * * * *
In the two years that passed no one suspected the softly spoken servant girl and her fatherless child were anything more than what they appeared to be. Despite the close relationship she had developed with the King, she seemed unusually plain.
'It's lucky', she thought to herself, 'that I spent enough time as Padme to know what a servant's role encompasses', but she still grimaced just a little when others ordered her about or treated her harshly.
Each night she would collapse on the bed in her quarters and excuse the nurse that had been attending her daughter. Then she would proceed to tell the little one all about the people that she knew and about life on other worlds. Somehow though the conversation always centred around one person.
"Leia", she whispered on one of these occasions, "remember how I told you about Obi-Wan? He is the greatest man in the entire galaxy and he saved us from the war. He is the only person I trust, my darling. He is the only person you can trust."
She took a breath and gazed into the smiling face that seemed unaware of what she was being told. "At least remember his name. Obi-Wan Kenobi. And when you hear it, feel safe. When you need help, he will come to you. He has never failed me. And he will not fail you."
She kissed the tiny forehead and a smile spread across the child's face. And that was what Amidala remembered when she needed to be strong throughout the terrifying days to come.
* * * * *
The moment she saw the shuttles land, she knew it was time. If she didn't act now they would ransack the palace until they found what they had come for.
She whispered a brief goodbye to her tiny daughter. "I love you, my little Leia, though I know you will be safer if you do not remember that. I want you to be whatever you are called to be. But I have another wish for you. A simpler wish. That one day you will find your brother and when you do, something in your heart will tell you it is him, and that when you learn the truth - it doesn't hurt too much."
She held the child tightly against her and walked as quickly as she dared through the vast rooms, until she saw Bail Organa walking toward the main entrance.
"Bail, Bail! Please wait!"
Amidala ran up to him with a crying Leia on her hip.
"Please Bail, take her. Raise her as your own."
"But Amidala…" He looked carefully around before using her true name.
"It's just like I told you they have come for me and they must not get her. They don't know I have a child. Raise her as your own and she will be safe."
She thrust the child into his arms, kissed his cheek and the top of her daughter's head.
"You have known her all her life. In every way but one you are her father. There's no need for her to know anything about me. It's better that she doesn't know."
Not wanting to cause the people who had protected her from harm the past two years, she walked calmly to the front of the palace and opened the heavy door.
In her old authoritative voice she announced, "Do not hurt these people. They do not know who I am."
Troops rushed forward and grabbed her, pushing her down the stairs and towards a waiting shuttle.
"I wouldn't have thought you'd put your own safety before that of your people, Queen Amidala. Did you actually think you could hide from us? You are far too involved in this war to be left wandering the galaxy."
The crowd that had gathered seemed shocked at the revelation that the timid servant girl was queen of a distant society. He turned to face them.
"One day this world will pay for its crimes against the Empire. And when that day comes, remember the wanton Queen of Naboo who abandoned her people at their time of greatest need to save her own life - and failed to do so anyway."
The crowd from the peaceful planet stood in disbelief at the harshness of the general's words. As Amidala she turned away she caught a glimpse of Leia in the arms of Bail in an upstairs window, and hoped that he could convince his people she'd only done it because she loved her children.
The King peered carefully out of the window in time to see the Imperial troops push the pretty young woman into the ship. Tears began tumbling down his face. She was young - too young to face this kind of tragedy. He looked down into the child's face, the face he had watched grow from a baby to an independent toddler. He had often gone to their quarters to watch her play, and talk with the young woman about her situation. He couldn't believe it when a servant found her collapsed outside with one of the babies he'd held minutes after her birth. They'd left her behind. He had been her confidant - she'd often discussed the inevitability of them finding her and forcing her to return. But she'd never mentioned not taking Leia with her.
He held her up to the window and whispered in her ear, "That is your mommy, Leia. You will never know what she gave up for you. One day, princess, when you're older and this war is over - though she doesn't think it's right - deep down she would want me to tell you."
* * * * *
Years later, in the seconds before the Empire destroyed his Alderaan, he would regret that moment. His final thought was of the dark-eyed woman and the bright-eyed child she had given him, and he knew he'd waited too long. Leia should have grown up knowing how much her mother loved her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COPYRIGHT © November 2000 KATE DAVIS
Well that's the final part. What did you think of the ending? I tried to make this fic fit in with what we discover when Leia is older. Did I succeed?
If you review my fic I guarantee to review of yours as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!
