Sabé twitched uncomfortably in the heavy gown and heavier headdress. As Yané applied the thick white makeup to her face, her pleading eyes met Amidala's. "I can't do this," she protested.
"Hold still," Yané told her crossly. Rabé, brushing Sabé's hair up into the headdress, smiled slightly. When Yané went to wash her hands free of the paint, Amidala moved in to paint Sabé's face with the red. The Scar of Remembrance was carefully drawn on Sabé's lower lip, preventing her from speaking. Once Amidala was finished, she looked up at Sabé.
"You have to get used to it," she reminded her handmaiden. "And you may as well start now."
"But in this dress?" Sabé demanded. Amidala's lips twitched as if she was trying not to laugh. "You chose today on purpose, didn't you!"
"Of course she didn't," Eirtaé sailed in smoothly. "But she's right; you have to get used to being a decoy at some point or another, why not now?"
Sabé's shoulders slumped. Amidala rapped them sharply. "Stand tall," she told the girl. "Keep you chin held high. Look down to no one." Sabé did as she was told, looking as much like Amidala as the Queen did herself.
"What do I say?" Sabé inquired of her queen. "I mean…I'm not a queen."
"You are today," Saché told her in passing. Sabé looked at her, chagrined. Amidala hid a smile. "You won't have to say much," she told her handmaiden. "But remember how I coached you, okay?"
Sabé nodded, and then a thought struck her. "What am I supposed to call you?" she demanded. "I can't exactly call you Amidala or your highness." Amidala hesitated for a moment. "Call me Padmé," she replied softly. "It's my given name."
Their eyes connected, and Sabé could see the amount of trust Amidala had given her. She nodded, not breaking eye contact. "Padmé," she repeated. She looked up as Yané reappeared.
"It's time, your highness," she curtseyed to Sabé, a twinkle in her eyes. Sabé exchanged one more look with Padmé, then held her head high and moved out of the Queen's quarters.
She was met by Panaka, who knew of the switch, and he smiled at her. She nodded gravely, and then he escorted her out to the transport. The group travelled to the new museum, which Queen Amidala was supposed to be opening today.
As they walked off the transport, Sabé could feel everyone's eyes on her, each demanding something different of their queen. She smiled at everyone, and moved to meet the head of the museums of Theed, Elios Potique, her skirts trailing behind her.
Her greeting with Potique went fine, and she managed to open the museum without tripping up, but then she caught sight of someone in the crowd. Underneath the white makeup she turned pale. She followed the woman's gaze, and saw a man moving around the back of the museum.
She turned slightly to see Padmé, her eyes trying to convey the urgency of the situation. Padmé half-narrowed her eyes, and nodded. She fell back slightly, and touched Panaka's arm, whispering to him. Panaka raised his head, glancing at Sabé, who was walking serenely ahead of him, and at the museum. He nodded to Padmé, and moved to speak with the guards surrounding them.
Saché, walking just behind Sabé, glanced up as she saw a movement in the crowd. For a split second she met a woman's eyes, and saw as the woman drew a blaster. Then she threw herself in front of Sabé.
She was too late. Screams went up as Sabé's tiny form crumpled from a blaster bolt. Padmé was at her side in a moment, making sure she was alright, and guards were moving through the crowd, chasing after the fleeing woman.
"Get a med. team here!" Padmé snapped to Eirtaé, who pulled out her comm. unit to comply. "Sabé, are you alright?" she demanded. Sabé's eyes met hers, and she smiled weakly. "Right as rain," she managed. She moved her hand slightly, and Padmé saw with horror the dark red patch on the cream dress before Sabé's hand covered it again, pressing down.
The medical team hurried past Padmé, moving her aside to get to their 'queen'. Padmé moved to Panaka. "Who did it?" she demanded urgently. Panaka looked down at her, worry evident in his eyes. "Your highness, get to cover," he urged her. "Yané, Eirtaé!" The two handmaidens pulled Padmé into a transport, followed by Saché and Rabé, and they returned to the Palace.
********************************************************************************************
Sabé opened her eyes to be greeted with a painful bright light and very loud noises. "Ow!" she whimpered, in a voice hoarse from not speaking. "Bright, loud!"
The sounds instantly ceased, and only the low murmur of someone's voice now echoed in her ears. After a moment, that too ceased, and the lights dimmed. Sabé opened her eyes again carefully.
Three Queens swam into her vision, and Sabé frowned slightly. She blinked several times, willing herself to focus, and the Padmé's turned into one Padmé, very concerned. Saché, Rabé, Yané and Eirtaé were all crowded around the end of her bed, and Sabé saw that she was in the Palace medical centre.
"What…" she cleared her throat. "What happened?" Padmé's worried eyes met her own. "You were shot," she gently told her handmaiden. Sabé closed her eyes again, recalling in her mind the face she had seen in the crowd.
"It was a warning," she managed. "A warning to me." She opened her eyes again. "It's not safe to be around me, your highness," she said softly. "I should probably leave."
"You're not going anywhere," Padmé told her firmly. "Let alone in your condition. We can worry about why it happened later. For now, just get better."
The door opened, and Panaka came in. Sabé winced at his loud voice as he spoke to the Queen. She tuned out what was being said, leaning back in her bed and relaxing as pain shot through her from the wound in her stomach.
Panaka came up to her, looking down. "Sabé," he began softly. Sabé's eyes opened, and she stared dully up at him. "I need to know who shot you."
"It's not something that will harm the Queen," Sabé rasped. "Just me." Panaka's eyes showed for an instant the hurt he felt at that. Sabé was surprised. "It's you I'm worried about," he told her gently. Sabé managed a laugh before the pain hit her. "Who shot you, Sabé?"
Sabé was silent for a moment, then she spoke. "Mara Belacque," she said at last. Panaka's head shot up, then he looked back down at her sharply. "We caught most of them in the raid the other day," he told her. "Mara was among the few who escaped."
"She knew that it was I who betrayed them," Sabé managed. "It's the Belacque way - to take revenge. She shot the Queen as a warning to me – she didn't know it was me, not Padmé."
"Your own mother?" Panaka demanded. The five at the end of the bed looked sharply at Sabé, who nodded, before shutting her eyes again. "Loud," she murmured. Padmé moved to stand next to Panaka.
"Captain, enough," she commanded. "When Sabé is well enough, she will tell us more." Uneasily, Panaka nodded, and followed his queen from the room. All the other handmaidens except Yané moved from the room too. Sabé reopened her eyes to stare at the handmaiden who seemed to dislike her the most. Yané was watching her, a queer expression on her face.
"What?" Sabé managed. Yané shook her head. "I never realised what your life has been," she whispered. Sabé closed her eyes, leaning back on the soft pillows that urged her to sleep. "You never will," she replied softly.
*********************************************
Sabé lay in the medical centre for another day before she decided she'd had enough. Ignoring Yané and Saché's exclamations, she pulled herself off the bed, touched her wound gently, winced, and slipped her feet into her slippers.
"I hate doctors," she said firmly. "I'm not staying here another minute." She hesitated. "Besides, there are some things I need to do," she added softly. Yané and Saché exchanged glances.
"Padmé wants you to stay here," Yané said in her soft voice. "You were shot in the gut, Sabé. You can't just brush it off." Sabé fixed her with a look. "I have before," she said quietly. She pulled on a robe over her nightgown, and walked firmly out of the med. centre. Yané and Saché hurried after her.
Padmé, Eirtaé, and Rabé were in the throne room, 'on duty', so Sabé easily slipped through the palace to the shared apartment. Yané and Saché urged her into a comfy chair, and Sabé agreed to that, drawing the computer console closer to her. Her hands flew over the keyboard, her eyes flickered from side to side, reading the lines of text.
"What are you doing?" Saché demanded after a moment. Sabé paused, glancing up at the handmaiden. "Looking," she said, her voice hard.
"What for?" Yané asked. Sabé hesitated. "My mother," she replied after a moment. Her eyes hardened as her fingers again flew over the keys. Finally there was a beeping noise, and Sabé nodded in grim satisfaction.
She touched her wound again, and then stood, making Saché and Yané look up. Whilst Sabé had been searching, they'd been playing a card game. Now they stood anxiously, following Sabé into her room, watching as the older girl pulled out some of her own clothes to get changed into.
Sabé buttoned up her top, and pulled on her boots. Rummaging under her bed, she withdrew two blasters, highly illegal and extremely delicate. She attached them to her waist, and slid a knife into her boot.
The door to the main area slid open, and Padmé swept through, concern and anger on her face. Rabé and Eirtaé trailed her, both looking frustrated. As Sabé walked out of her room, checking her blasters one more time, Padmé halted.
"Sabé, you should be in bed," she told the older girl sharply. Sabé glanced up. "Your Highness, unfortunately I have to inform you that I can no longer work for you," she said simply. Padmé looked taken aback. "I have some personal business to take care of. If I survive…" she shrugged. "We'll see what happens."
"What do you mean, if you survive?" Rabé demanded. Her eyes dropped to the blasters holstered at Sabé's waist. "Oh no, Sabé, no."
"It's what has to be done," Sabé told them all simply. "I may no longer be a thief, but I'm still bound by the family code. She shot me. It was a warning and a challenge. If I don't take it up, she'll come after all those I care about." Her eyes rested lightly on Padmé. "Unfortunately, that would leave Naboo without a ruler." Her eyes drifted to take in all the other handmaidens. "And even if she doesn't get Padmé, the queen would be left without protection." She pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head. She curtseyed to Padmé. "I hope I'll see you again, Padmé."
Then she was gone. Padmé sat limply down on a chair, not quite believing what her handmaiden and friend had just told her. Then she looked up at Eirtaé, her eyes hard. "Eirtaé, follow her," she commanded. Eirtaé nodded once, and paused only to feel for the blaster hidden in her robes.
Sabé moved silently through the palace, inconspicuous enough that no one noticed her until she ran into Panaka.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, trying to move past him before he realised it was her. But he grasped her arm in a tight grip, his sharp eyes taking in everything about her appearance, from her blasters to her cloaked head.
"Sabé, what are you doing?" he demanded. Sabé met his eyes boldly. "What I have to do, Captain," she replied coldly. "If I don't, she'll come after those I care about, and I know you don't want Naboo to be monarch-less."
"She wouldn't be able to get in, Sabé," he reminded her. She shook her head. "She can get anywhere," she murmured. She wrenched her arm from Panaka's grip, and re-settled her cloak. "I'm going, Captain, you can't stop me."
"At least take guards with you," Panaka tried to reason with her. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Eirtaé whisk herself behind a column; he knew Sabé hadn't seen her. Sabé shook her head. "This is personal," she told him. With that, she disappeared down the hall, her boots make sharp noises on the marble floor.
"Captain," Eirtaé hurried up to him. "The Queen has commanded me to follow her." Panaka looked down at the handmaiden, his face painted with worry. "You'd just get caught in the crossfire," he told her. "Tell her highness that I said it wasn't safe for you."
"And how safe is it for Sabé?" Eirtaé cried, her blue eyes alive with worry. Panaka sighed. "She's the best with a blaster I've seen in a long time," he told her. "She'll survive if anyone can." He glanced up to where Sabé had gone, the back down at the handmaiden. "Never the less," he sighed. "I'll get a security team to follow her. Get Rabé to come; she's the best shot out of you all so far."
Eirtaé nodded, and hurried to fetch Rabé. Panaka sighed again. "Be careful, Sabé," he murmured.
*********************************************
It took Sabé just under two hours to reach the Belacque sanctuary, ten miles or so from Theed. It was an old deserted farmhouse; the yard, which under normal circumstances would have been crowded with the family, was almost deserted. Only a few men and women were gathered in groups; a couple of tiny children ran around the yard, playing with a ball.
None of them saw her, which Sabé counted as an advantage. She had to do this right, otherwise Mara would go after Padmé regardless. She crept through the bushes towards the edge of the yard, pulled one of her blasters from her belt, and fired three shots into the middle of the yard, well away from any of the family.
There was uproar as the family scattered, grabbing children as they moved swiftly to the protection the wall of the farmhouse offered. Sabé moved out of the bushes, and raised her chin as they stared.
"I accept your challenge, Mara Belacque," she shouted, her clear tones ringing throughout the yard and house. Mara separated herself from the group, and moved to stand before her daughter. Her short black hair was scraped back into a ponytail, and her blaster glittered at her waist.
"Choose your weapon, Sabé," Mara told Sabé harshly. Sabé threw down her blasters, indicating that she would not fight with them. After a moment, Mara's blaster joined them.
"Hand to hand," Sabé chose coolly. "All rules apply." Mara nodded slightly. "They always do," she reminded her daughter, before bowing and assuming an defensive position. Sabé bowed, then did the same.
For a time, all they did was circle each other. It wasn't Sabé's way to attack first, but Mara was the one who had taught her to wait, and so it was a matter of whose patience would wear out first.
In the end, Mara's anger at her daughter decided who would strike first. Mara lashed out with a round-house kick, catching Sabé full in the jaw, and Sabé stumbled back a pace before attacking Mara with all she had. The fight was almost too fast for anyone to see; kicks and punches were thrown from both people; first Mara stumbled, then Sabé, then Sabé threw Mara over her shoulder, pounding her to the floor but not getting out of range fast enough. Mara managed a kick to Sabé's stomach, and the girl stumbled backwards several paces, gasping as pain wrenched through her from pulled stitches. She touched her hand to the dark top and pulled it away to see blood on her fingers. She looked up at Mara, pure and cold anger in her eyes.
Silence filled the yard still; silence but for the sounds of the fight. Sabé almost wished the family would make some noise. But she knew they wouldn't – she'd seen enough fights like this to know exactly what would happen. This was a fight to the death, and no one would interfere.
She attacked with a ferocity that almost improved her moves. Punches connected every time, kicks rarely missed. Mara was getting tired by this point, and Sabé knew she had the advantage, both because Mara wasn't used to this level of fighting and because Mara was older.
Mara managed to land a blow on Sabé, and Sabé fell to the ground, winded. Mara held off for a moment, but a moment was all Sabé needed to flip onto her hands and back onto her feet, connecting a blow to Mara's jaw as she did so.
The fight continued for minutes; Sabé continued to have the advantage, but both she and Mara knew that her advantage was extremely tenuous. By the time they both broke apart and started circling each other again, both were sweating and breathing heavily.
Then they were fighting once more, and Mara fought more clumsily now. Sabé knew that soon she would be able to make a killing blow, but part of her hung back, prolonging the fight, not wanting to kill her own mother, even though she knew that if Mara was in her position she would kill Sabé in an instant.
Finally she knew she couldn't hold off any longer. After a few quick blows to Mara's stomach, jaw and legs, Sabé swung herself into a round-house kick. Her boot connected solidly with the side of Mara's head, and Sabé could see the bitterness and horror in Mara's eyes as her head saw pushed to one side, breaking her neck.
The body dropped to the floor, and Sabé stared down at her dead mother. There was a rushing sound in her ears, and once she realised that it was her own heartbeat, she was able to hear other sounds.
Slowly she limped to retrieve her blasters from where she had discarded them earlier, and replaced them in their holsters in her belt. She looked up as her uncle Enyos moved to stop her from leaving.
"I have fulfilled the challenge," she told him, her voice sounding dull in her ears. "Stop me leaving and I'll have to challenge you too. Remember, I got caught."
"And yet you came to fight," he reminded her harshly. She looked up at him, a sort of wonder in her eyes. "Yes, I did," she murmured. "She would have killed my friends if I hadn't."
"Sabé!" came another voice, and Sabé turned slightly to see her elder brother Hick. "You sold us out," he accused. She nodded, a slight smile curling her lips. "And I'll tell them where everyone else is if you do anything else to harm me or my friends," she warned.
A young girl came up to her, and Sabé nodded to her sister Mica. "Sabé, you were shot," Mica said, a queer expression on her face. "You're bleeding." Sabé looked down at the blood that was growing on her top. "Yes," she nodded. "I was acting as a decoy for the queen. Mother shot me, not her." Then she moved past the three who had talked to her, and limped out of the yard.
Most of the family had remained in absolute silence for the half hour in which the fight had taken place, Sabé recollected as she limped along the road. She knew she would never make it back to Theed like this, but she had no other option.
Then she looked up as the sound of a transport met her ears. Fighting a wave of vertigo, she dimly recognised a Royal Transport before she dropped to her knees and keeled over, unconscious.
Rabé and Sache rushed out of the transport almost before it had stopped, and lifted Sabé carefully onto the transport. They ordered the driver to turn around and get them back to the palace, and then Sache, who had medical training, carefully slit Sabé's shirt to get a look at the wound.
"She's pulled the stitches," she muttered. "Looks like she got kicked in the stomach." Rabé took a look at the wound and wished she hadn't. "What about her other injuries?" she managed to ask. Saché gave the bruises and cuts on Sabé's face a cursory glance. "Not as bad as this," she said grimly, pulling a length of bandage from a compartment and wrapping it tightly around the wound. She winced as her fingers brushed over Sabé's chest. "I think she broke a couple of ribs," she murmured.
Rabé moved to hurry the driver as Saché did as much as she could with the rough equipment and limited training she had. It took them less than twenty minutes to reach the palace, and Eirtaé was waiting for them with a med. team.
Sabé's eyes flickered open as she was rushed through the halls to the medical centre. She could only dimly make up the worried face of Saché hovering above her, but she managed to smile weakly before she lapsed back into unconsciousness.
********************************************************************************************
