They were all quiet as one of the King's liegemen showed them to their quarters, the day's events having already taken an emotional toll. Each one of them looked forward to getting a private moment to discuss all that had happened, away from everyone else. Here, the liegeman would overhear them, and so would Rabé and Faren who were being shown to their quarters as well.
The liegeman spoke for the first time. "I think you will find your quarters more than satisfactory. They belonged, in fact, to the late Queen."
All other thoughts were forgotten with that statement. "Did they really?" asked Luke.
The liegeman nodded. "There was damage done all those years ago when the Queen left." The man obviously wished he had never brought the subject up, even without noticing Rabé's wince. "King Jaron uses other quarters, even after the repairs to these were complete. We use them for our most important visitors."
Leia took pity on the man's discomfort and smile graciously. "We appreciate the gesture-" She frowned. "I apologize, but I don't remember your name."
"That's quite all right, Your Highness. As a liegeman, I am an extension of the King." He exchanged a smile with Rabé. "Not being remembered as an individual is part of the job."
And you still didn't tell us who you are, Leia thought. Similar thoughts ran through Han's and Lando's minds. In fact, Han didn't think he could pick this guy out from other liegemen back in the throne room. Lando was shaking his head slightly; he clearly didn't like it either. The kid didn't seem to care, Han noticed. But then, maybe he could tell the difference between this guy and the others, using that hocus pocus of his. And Chewie, well, Chewie could probably sniff the guy out if he had to.
Behind them, Rabé watched their reactions, a force of habit from her days as a handmaiden. Sooner or later, she knew, they'd figure it out. Her own coloring had been darker than Amidala's. Unlike Sabé- she pushed the thought away. She didn't want to think of Sabé and her other friends, or the fact that she was the only one to return to Naboo. For a short while more, she wanted to cling to the thought that they were still out there, that they didn't know the Empire was overthrown, that Amidala's children were alive, and that it was time to come home.
And the hope was possible. For a short while more, she could believe it.
She looked over at her daughter who smiled brightly at her. Faren hadn't said anything regarding the liegemen's deliberate conformity. Good. Her daughter hated games, and believed in being straightforward. Despite it, however, she either kept quiet for her mother's sake, or because she saw the necessity for the King's safety. Rabé doubted the latter. Faren never liked that her mother had, in fact, once drawn fire away from Amidala's escape by disguising her coloring and posing as the pregnant Queen. But Faren had learned to resent much from stories of those last days.
The liegeman, thankfully, was opening the double doors to the Republic party's quarters. Rabé took a steadying breath, ready for the wash of memories. As she followed the others in, she couldn't see anything right away, her view blocked by them. Then, instead of the familiar sitting room, a new one greeted her. The splendid dark wood that once trimmed the room was stripped away, and the walls were now covered in a brighter color. The furniture, the draperies, the artwork itself, were all done in whites and creams, very elegant but sterile, she thought. She grimaced. That was unfair. Just because Amidala preferred darker colors, similar to her childhood home in the mountain village, did not mean this was no longer a lovely room. But she remembered so vividly the Queen ordering it changed from colors just like these. "So I have something warmer," she once confided to the handmaidens. "The whole palace is light and airy. I want something more cozy here, some place where I feel the walls wrapped securely around me."
Rabé suddenly realized the stillness in everyone else. She looked over towards where they all faced. Oh sweet Mother, how was I so blind not to see that?
Above the mantel of the old fashioned fireplace
The fireplace. Where we all curled up in a group, the main heating turned low so we'd enjoy the warmth of the flames, all of us laughing and whispering like schoolgirls. And the evenings when Anakin was here, and Amidala sent us away for the night.
was a tapestry of Amidala herself. Vibrantly alive, the very spark of life smiling in her eyes, her face clear of the royal makeup, and her hair in a coil of curls down her back: she was beautiful. The tapestry hadn't been there before, although Rabé remembered it had once been suggested. "That would be rather conceited of me, wouldn't it?" Amidala had teased in private. "To look at this all the time."
Leia and Luke were motionless in front of it, and Rabé found herself doing what all the others were: watching them, as still as the twins gazing up at the embroidered portrait. For a moment, they did nothing. Then Luke moved forward, and, hesitating, touched his fingers to the tapestry. His eyes closed, and his face was awash with emotions Rabé couldn't identify. Leia once more slipped a hand into her brother's, putting the other hand on his arm, and leaned into him; then her eyes also closed, and her face mirrored his.
Rabé's vision blurred with tears. Here was Luke, the one she only thought of as belonging to Anakin, and with the same expression Amidala had when kneeling at her parents' graves. And Leia, who looked so much like her mother anyway and now
Rabé didn't think she had made any sound, but Faren's arm was suddenly around her, and Calrissian turned her way with a look of concern. He quietly offered her a handkerchief which she gratefully accepted.
She looked at Faren who once more stared at the twins. Conflicting emotions crossed her daughter's face: sympathy, sadness, and, abruptly, pain. Faren squeezed her eyes shut, and turned away from the sight.
First Luke, then Leia, opened their eyes. Luke squeezed her hand and steadied himself.
What could have been an uncomfortable moment was saved by the liegeman clearing his throat. "Let me show you the rest of your quarters." He moved over to the windows, and gestured to the doors on either side of the room. "There's rooms for everyone in your party, the largest being the Queen's." He indicated the door on his left, the same wall where the tapestry hung. "But you'll find all the rooms comfortable." He spoke to Threepio and Artoo. "You'll find power bays for the both of you-"
Artoo darted off, finding the astromech bay behind a door that moved obediently at his command. He made a small, content sound, and then squealed to Threepio.
"Thank you, sir," the protocol droid said. "We seemed to have found them."
"Definitely a hasty memory wipe," Rabé noted.
"What's a Queen doing with droid bays in her quarters?" Han asked. "For that matter, why all the rooms? I mean, how many bedrooms does a Queen need?" Leia glared at him, and he backpedaled a bit. "I don't mean anything by it. Just curious."
The liegeman answered. "Since these droids belonged to Queen Amidala, and - and her party, she had the bays installed for convenience sake. As for the other rooms, they were for the handmaidens."
Leia turned quickly to Rabé. "You lived here?"
She nodded. "Not all of us, but those of us closest to the Queen." She didn't look at the doors covering the hallways that once led to hers, Sabé's, Saché's, Yané's, and Eirtaé's quarters. "I lived here until I married."
Han asked, "You all lived here? Didn't you ever want somethin', you know, private?"
Rabé knew he misunderstood. Behind each door were not small bedrooms, but full apartments, with separate entrances to the main corridor, and hidden passageways to Amidala's rooms. The entire royal quarters, encompassing the entire palace wing, were much larger than the Falcon, as she well knew from seeing it land today. She was sure Solo didn't wonder about his privacy on his ship, but she didn't see the need to correct him. Instead, she tilted her head back so he could see the laughter in her expression. "As I said, I moved out when I married."
Calrissian laughed and Solo gave her a wink. Luke's face broke in a huge grin just as Faren was turning, smirking herself. She and Luke once more locked gazes, and Faren's smile faded. Luke wished she'd stop that. He couldn't believe how much it bothered him.
Leia's lips still twitched with humor as she said to Rabé, "You're welcome to stay in your old quarters. They are yours."
"Yeah," Han began. "And it's not like I'm going to be slee-" He abruptly cut off with a grimace, then shot a look at Leia. Rabe grinned to herself. Solo may not be used to the rules placed on a royal consort, as Anakin never understood the need for discretion either. Leia did, however, and even though the former handmaiden hadn't seen the princess make any moves, she was sure she knew why Solo suddenly stopped talking.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Rabé said, truly appreciating the offer, but the memories here... "However, I will be more comfortable in other rooms."
Leia nodded. "I understand." She hesitated, feeling around the sensitive subject. "I hope we can have some time together during our stay here. There's obviously a great deal you can tell us."
"Yes." Her mother's old friend pulled back her hood. "And there's much I would like to ask you."
"I don't know how much we can answer," said Luke.
"I think you could try," Faren said, a sharp edge to her voice. "You owe her that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Han shot back.
"It means you're not the only ones that this is difficult for."
"Faren!" Rabé warned.
"No one said -" Lando began, but Faren could no longer keep the pain bottled up.
"You think I don't understand," she said. Her voice choked; Leia realized - although she wasn't sure how she knew it; ever since the throneroom, she suddenly seemed so in tune with everything around her - that Faren was fighting against tears.
"So tell us," she said softly and Luke, still feeling that heightened tie to the Force, was nodding even as she said it.
"Everyone was so worried about your mother, about making sure she was safe, about keeping the two of you safe while she carried you! Do you know what that really means? It means my mother, while carrying me, was told to be a decoy, to let Palpatine try to kill her while your mother was taken safely away! And my father couldn't come with us. No, he had to stay behind to cover Amidala's retreat. Vader snapped his neck. It's the last time my mother saw him. And I never got a chance to know him. Never." Her outburst wound down, the fire in her eyes flickered and died. "I have no memories of him."
Rabé put a steadying hand on her daughter's shoulder. Faren swallowed the sorrow, and, again for her mother's peace, stopped the words spilling out with an effort that ached in every line of her body.
Luke felt like he had been hit. It was the same words he had said to Leia on Endor about their mother. He saw Leia remembered the same thing. And here their father destroyed Faren's, and would have destroyed Rabé, pregnant with her, if he had caught them. He feared he'd never heal the agonies his father caused.
Something must have showed on his face. Faren, who had faced Leia through this whole thing, caught his eye and couldn't look away. First shocked from seeing he understood, she now appeared confused. He wondered if she was finally seeing him for himself. He hoped so.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Rabé spoke. "I knew we'd tell you. But not now, not like this."
"She might be right," Luke said. "We owe you-"
"Commander Skywalker," Rabé said sharply, then thought better of it. "Luke, I know you're unaware of much that happened. I can give you what I know. Some of what I tell you, especially the truth about people like my husband, is going to be difficult for all of us to hear. But before you listen to any more, you must know something, something I tried to tell Faren." Her daughter snapped around to stare at her, but Rabé cupped her cheek, wiping away at the pain. "I chose to be in Amidala's service. No one forces you to be a handmaiden. I knew what risks that meant and I still chose to serve. What I did that day when Amidala made her escape, I did for my service, for loyalty to my Queen, and out of love for one of my closest friends. My husband made the same choice."
"You've just been through a war. You know what service means. And yet, for your own reasons, you each chose to serve. So you must understand."
Lando imagined that man, staying behind, duty making him grab a blaster to fight off the Sith, allowing his wife, carrying their unborn daughter, to wear an invisible target for the invading stormtroopers. Could he have done that?
Chewie, his wife and son on his homeworld so far away while he served in his Life Debt to Han, growled softly in agreement.
Leia, living a life where people swore such service to her, thought of Amidala and how she must have felt: pregnant, her husband turned Dark and coming after her, unable to save her world from the new Empire, and having to send those closest to her out in all directions as bait.
But Han, who served the Alliance initially out of loyalty to Luke and Leia, found himself agreeing with Faren. He would die for any one of the people standing by him now, but he would never, not for anyone in the Republic, leave Leia to be someone's target.
Or would he? His Princess, if she thought it necessary, would certainly stand-in as a target for Mon Mothma. And he would definitely die to keep the enemy away from Leia.
Leia looked out the suite's windows at Naboo and saw the liegeman standing patiently outside their circle, blending into the background in an effort to give some privacy. What's it like for him to hear Rabé's story? Does he have a family? "I am an extension of the King," he had said. He must have sworn the same oath, at least silently, that Rabé made to Amidala: to serve, to advise, to protect, to even stand as a decoy-
She suddenly focused clearly on him. "Not being remembered as an individual is part of the job." Decoys they're all decoys. The liegeman straightened, perhaps defensively, and he lost his bland expression. He became an individual, and Leia knew she'd now be able to recognize him from his compatriots.
He nodded slightly, a bow from one in service, and she silently dipped her head in response.
"I'm sorry," Faren broke the silence. "I shouldn't have lashed out like that."
"No, it's okay," Luke replied. "We understand."
"How I feel is understandable, but not how I told you," she replied simply. "It's only all these years, hearing about this place, and finally being able to come here. And seeing the crowd cheering you while my mother had to push her way into her home..."
Rabé smiled at her. "Your mother is uncomfortable with crowds cheering her. I'd much rather come in quietly."
"I promise," Leia swore, "there will be recognition for everyone who has sacrificed. I give my word and the Republic's."
"I ask only for the chance to talk with you," Rabé replied. Then moving to include Luke, "Both of you."
Leia felt a wave of fatigue fall over her, and with it, a feeling that she was losing control of the situation. She had done so well with the crowd, but once she entered the throne room, she lost herself to personal emotions. Understandable, as Faren had said, but she was not here on a personal mission. The Republic needed to know if Jaron was some pawn of the Emperor, if Naboo's King held some threat on Palpatine's homeworld.
Maybe she shouldn't have come; maybe someone else should represent the Republic here. But if she and Luke hadn't come, it'd be a rejection of their mother. And with so many watching them for any possible embracing of Vader as their father, she couldn't have stayed away even if she had wanted to.
Irritated, she pushed aside the turmoil of using her mother's memory for political reasons. This whole mission walked too fine a line between her personal and professional lives. And there was no respite: King Jaron told her tomorrow was scheduled with formal presentations in the morning, followed by a visit to her mother's village. Then the Gungans, Naboo's other native race, were asking for them to visit in a couple of days, both because Amidala meant something to them personally, and their need to know if the Republic recognized both of Naboo's races.
If she hadn't been so aggravated and weary, Councilor Marnin's abrupt entrance wouldn't have bothered her. Without any apologies, he handed her a file. "We've added a media conference tomorrow. Nothing large, but have something prepared."
"I know how to handle a media conference, Councilor," she replied. "Even one on such short notice."
Marnin's reply was snide, dripping with contempt. "Be glad the King said it'd be from the village. Whatever doubletalk you come up with will sound a lot better from there."
"Doubletalk?" Leia repeated, her voice a warning.
"You know they're looking for answers from Vader's twins. I'm sure you'll have a response for them." Marnin moved out the door before they could counter.
Two pairs of eyes, one blue and one brown, showed hurt. One pair forced control and the other pair blazed with fury.
Han's explosive response died in his throat as he caught sight of Rabé. She was staring at the twins with pure fear.
Luke hadn't inherited Vader's anger. Leia had.