*********************************************
"I have already said, Vader, I will not tell you where Padmé is." Wearily, Sabé leant back in the chair that she had been provided with and gazed up at the masked man that stood in front of her. "Even if I knew, I would not tell, as you know."
He nodded silently, and glanced at Dormé and Yané, who stood just behind Sabé's chair, their hands bound. Their eyes were downcast; unlike Sabé, they would not look at him.
"I can give you control of Naboo, within reason," Vader said suddenly. Sabé looked up at him sharply. "Why would you do that?" she demanded sarcastically. "We're against everything that you stand for."
"It's the best way to keep you out of trouble," he argued. "And besides, Padmé may return here." Yané couldn't stifle a dry chuckle then. "And you think we would tell you, just so that Sabé can remain an iconic queen of our people?" she demanded. "How disloyal do you think we are?"
"Three of you are already dead at my hand," he reminded her sharply. "Don't push me to make it four." She glared at him, but subsided. "And no, I have had enough experience with your loyalty to know that you will not reveal her location even under duress."
"Then why?" Sabé demanded wearily. "Why would you let me remain as queen?" He considered her for a moment. "Because Naboo will follow no one else," he admitted. "And the Naboo can be a powerful people if they have the right leaders, which they do in the three women sitting in this room. However, if Sabé is the official leader, they will follow her, and thus the Emperor."
"I will not serve him," Sabé warned. He nodded. "I know. It doesn't matter. Either you follow his laws and orders, or you die. I trust you will make the right decision." Sabé shook her head. "I have no choice," she remarked. "I will rule Naboo. Now let us leave."
He nodded, and opened the door for them. Then, as they were passing through, he caught her arm. "Do not go against him, Sabé," he warned her. "You will find that we can be powerful allies."
She shot him a dirty look, then Dormé and Yané hurried her out before she could say anything she would come to regret.
For the next twenty four years Naboo remained peaceful enough. Stormtroopers became a regular sight, and Vader visited at least once every six months to check up on Sabé, but otherwise Naboo was left to its own devices. There were a few shoot-outs with rebelling Naboo over the years, but Sabé always managed to calm them.
And then, twenty-three and a half years after Luke and Leia had been separated at birth, the news came that the Emperor and Vader were dead, and that the Empire was defeated by the rebellion.
Six months later, Sabé was in the throne room quietly talking with Yané, Dormé, and Callé, when the news came that a New Republic delegation had arrived to talk to the leaders of Naboo.
"Why in the Force?" Sabé demanded quietly of the messenger. "Did they give a reason – and who are they?"
"They said that they had to come because Palpatine came from here, your highness." the messenger replied, a little apologetically. Sabé exchanged glances with Yané and Dormé. The head-dress she wore moved softly with her. The white makeup she wore to honour her dead friends suddenly felt thick and heavy on her face.
"And who are they?" she inquired. The messenger checked the datapad he held. "General Han Solo, Chewbacca of Kashykk, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and Commander Luke Skywalker." He hesitated. "And two droids."
Sabé froze. She couldn't speak, was even having trouble breathing. Yané, seeing her discomfort, nodded at the messenger. "Thank you," she told him. "Please have them escorted up."
"Luke and Leia," Sabé managed finally. "Gods, Yané, Luke and Leia – together, here!" Yané nodded, moving to hold Sabé's hand soothingly. "Don't worry," she grinned, her face seeming younger. "We'll be fine."
Dormé glanced at Callé. "Callé," she started, "could you -," Callé interrupted her with a smile. "I know the drill," she nodded. "I'll see you all later." She sauntered out of the throne room, passing the New Republic delegate as she did so.
Sabé straightened on her throne, and Yané returned to her seat opposite Dormé, on Sabé's left. All of them knew at once who Padmé's children were, because of the similarities in their appearance to their parents.
But Sabé ignored the fact that they were the twins for whom so many of her friends had died. She nodded regally at them. "I am Queen Sabé of the Naboo," she greeted formally. "Welcome."
"Thank you," Leia curtseyed. "We appreciate you seeing us at such short notice." Sabé inclined her head slightly. "I am Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan."
"I know who you are, Princess," Sabé returned, a little cooler than she had intended. Leia looked a little taken aback, but nodded. "This is General Solo," she introduced the slightly scruffy-looking man just behind her. Sabé tried her best to ignore the waves of love emanating off both of them. "Chewbacca of Kashykk." Sabé nodded gravely at the large Wookie, who gave a short bark in return. "Commander Skywalker." Sabé's sharp eyes met Luke's familiar blue ones. "And our droids, C-3PO and R2-D2." Sabé felt like laughing at the old droids.
Dormé and Yané exchanged glances behind Sabé's throne. "Welcome to Naboo," Sabé remarked finally. "I hope you don't mind if I ask why you are here?"
"Of course," Leia smiled diplomatically. "The New Republic is sending out delegations to all Middle Rim planets, to formally greet them and welcome them into the New Republic, if they so choose." She hesitated. "Of course, the fact that Emperor Palpatine came from this planet is a major factor in the reason why we came here so speedily."
"Of course," Yané felt compelled to say dryly. "Judge a whole planet on one man's actions." "Yané!" Sabé snapped. "Please, control yourself!" Yané looked a little abashed. "My apologies, your highness," she murmured. Sabé looked back at Leia.
"I apologise for Yané, your highness," she said. "I'm afraid we all feel rather strongly about Palpatine." Leia nodded reassuringly. "It's to be expected," she replied, more for her companions' benefit than for Sabé's.
Sabé glanced over the six again, then her gaze rested lightly on Luke. "Jedi are not common these days," she remarked. She saw Han stiffen slightly. She waved a hand in his direction. "I am not a Sith or a Dark Jedi, General, please do not treat me as such." She looked again at Luke, but decided against saying anything more.
"Let me show you to your rooms," she said at last. Leia opened her mouth to protest, but Sabé fixed her with a stare. "Please, your highness," the older woman smiled warmly. "It is my pleasure." She rose from the throne, and Yané and Dormé were instantly by her side.
She walked slowly through the palace, exchanging diplomatic pleasantries with Leia, aware of Luke and Han's gazes on her back. When they reach the rooms that Sabé had decided the visitors would use, Dormé sucked in a breath.
Sabé keyed open the door and walked into the large quarters that had at one time been Padmé's, and after that, her own. They had been re-decorated after the near-massacre of twenty-four years earlier into creams and whites totally unlike Padmé's original deep reds, blue and purples.
Once everyone was in the room, she gestured at the doors leading off into the separate bedrooms. "There are bedrooms through each of those doors," she explained. "Computer access from in here, and power outlets for the droids."
But she realised that none of them were really listening to her; they were staring up at a huge portrait that Sabé hadn't known was hung in here.
She gasped, and gripped the back of a chair for support. Instantly all eyes turned towards her, and with a lot of effort she controlled herself again. "I apologise," she managed. "I had no idea that picture was in here."
"Who are they?" Luke asked quietly. She barely glanced at him, her eyes on the portrait of six young women, all laughing together merrily. "Is that you?"
"Yes," Sabé replied quietly. "One of them is me. One is Yané." Yané nodded gravely when Leia glanced at her. "The others are all dead."
"Who killed them?" Leia pressed, somehow sensing that this was possibly the key to negotiations with Naboo. Sabé glanced at her, her eyes revealing a little of her bitterness.
"One of them was killed in an accident," she replied. "The others were killed by your father, Darth Vader." Dormé made a sound. She inclined her head apologetically towards her friend. "You're right, Dormé, one was killed by Palpatine."
Luke and Leia's faces were pale. Han was watching all of them in confusion, and Chewbacca wasn't following any of it. Dormé and Yané sighed, and Sabé turned abruptly away from all of them.
"I hope to see you all at dinner this evening," she told them curtly. "I'll answer your questions then. Dormé, come with me." With that, she and Dormé swept out of the room. Yané, knowing why Sabé had allowed her to stay, looked one more time at the portrait then turned back to the three humans who were staring at her, waiting for answers.
"You'd better sit down," she suggested kindly. "This may all come as a bit of a shock." Luke, Leia and Han did as she suggested, and Yané took a seat on a couch opposite them, facing away from that painful portrait.
"How does she know about our father?" Luke demanded instantly. Yané glanced at him. "Because she was one of his best friends," she told him gently. "As was I, and all but one of the other women in that portrait."
"Who was the one?" Leia asked quietly. Yané smiled a sad smile. "Padmé Naberrie." There, she thought, she'd said the name that hadn't been spoken in the palace for so many years. "She was Queen Amidala for eight years before Sabé was voted in. She was also Anakin Skywalker's wife, and your mother."
Utter silence filled the room. Yané gave a sigh, and leant back on the couch. Then Han broke the silence. "How does Queen Sabé fit into all of this?" he demanded roughly. "I mean, other than knowing Luke and Leia's parents."
"She was Obi-Wan Kenobi's Promised – his fiancée," she explained. "She lost his child in her last fight with Anakin – or Vader as he was by then. We lost our best friends in that fight – he killed three of us handmaidens then." Tears filled her eyes, but she resolutely brushed them away. "But you had better ask her about that. She prefers telling her own story – and she has a greater story even than Padmé's. She'll tell you that one too – they were the best of friends."
"Is she a Jedi?" Luke questioned then. Yané nodded. "But that's a sore point with her," she warned. "Don't push for answers to any of these questions if she doesn't want to give them to you at first. She hasn't spoken of any of it for over twenty years, and that's a lot of pain to be carrying alone."
She rose, and was about to leave when Leia called out to her. "Did you know Palpatine too?" the temperature of the room suddenly seemed to drop several degrees. Yané slowly turned around to face her. "Yes," she replied softly, bitterly. "I knew Palpatine. We all did. Padmé even called for the vote of no confidence that got him voted in. But save your questions for Sabé. She's the politician around here – I'm just the cynic."
She didn't wait to hear their reactions, she just moved swiftly out of the room and into the corridor, where she pressed herself against the cool wall in an attempt to control herself again.
*********************************************
Several hours later, Dormé came to escort the New Republic people to dinner. Her handmaiden hood covered her eyes, and she didn't attempt to look at any of them, merely leading them through to the small dining-room that Sabé used for most of her meals.
Callé and Yané were already seated there, and when Callé saw Luke and Leia, she stilled. Then she gave a smile.
"I'm Callé Belacque," she introduced. Yané gave a small cough. "Oh, alright, Yané – Princess Callé. Sabé is my mother."
Han frowned slightly. "I thought you said she lost her child?" he demanded of Yané. Callé looked down slightly. "She did," she replied curtly for Yané. "I was born before she met Obi-Wan."
Dormé gestured for the four to take a seat, which they did, then Dormé sat down opposite Yané. "Where is she?" she mouthed. Yané gave a small shrug.
After a moment, Yané turned to Callé. "Callé, do you know where she went?" she inquired, Callé met her eyes then look down. "Yes," she admitted quietly. "She went down to the crypt."
"What?" Yané almost shrieked. Luke look up sharply at her. "And you let her, Callé?" "I couldn't exactly stop her," Callé snapped. "No one can when she gets like that."
"Gets like what?" Leia ventured. Dormé looked at her, then shook her head. "You wouldn't understand," she said in a hard voice. "Just because you are the children of our friends doesn't mean that you understand anything."
"Dormé, that isn't important right now," Yané told her sharply, standing. "We have to get down to the crypt before she tries anything stupid again."
"She left over an hour ago," Callé confessed. Dormé turned pale, and joined Yané as they hurried from the room. Callé looked at Han, Luke, Leia and Chewbacca, then shook her head. "You two may come," she told the twins. "I'm afraid General Solo and Chewbacca must remain here. I'll get the food brought up so you can start eating."
Then she moved gracefully from the room, followed by Luke and Leia. The princess led them down through the palace to the darker under-levels, lighting torches as she went.
Finally they caught up with Yané and Dormé, who stood uncertainly outside a crypt. Callé, a little breathlessly, demanded what they were waiting for.
"Listen," Yané ordered, shaking her head. The hall fell silent, and the quiet sobs from the crypt could be heard.
Inside the crypt, Sabé knew they were there, but she couldn't stop her tears. It was always that way, she reflected. She would go for months without crying, and then it would start and she wouldn't be able to stop.
She leant against the cold stone, her fingers resting against the carved words. She knew them by heart, yet still she moved back slightly to read them through her tears.
"Saché Michak," she read softly. "She found the peace we seek." Spurred on by those words, she read the next one, aware that the door had opened and that Yané, Dormé, Callé, Luke and Leia were watching her silently. "Cordé Marsé. Fortune favours the brave. Versé Singe. She found the confidence to help us all. Rabé Ticla. She sought a peace in death. Eirtaé Mazioné. The Gods blessed her, and she blessed us with her love." Then her voice grew choked. "Padmé Naberrie. We loved her like a sister. Obi-Wan Kenobi. The greatest Knight the Force has seen, although he never knew it."
She rose, and turned around to face the group. Her white makeup was streaked by her hot tears, and her eyes seemed larger from the red rims around them. "He killed all but Saché, in one way or another," she told the twins. "He killed them so that you and your mother could get to safety. Obi-Wan died so that you could escape."
Leia started to speak. "You can't blame -," But Sabé held up a hand to stop her. "Do you know what the most ironic thing is?" she demanded. "I would do it again, for her. She gave me back my life, so I gave her a life – her life."
Yané and Dormé moved to help her when she stumbled against
the wall, but she waved them away with a sad smile. "Don't worry about me," she told them quietly. "I'll be fine."
She felt the waves of confusion flowing off Luke and Leia, and looked up at them. "I don't blame you" she told them gently. "I'm just thankful you have ended up together, safe and knowing your family."
"We don't know them yet," Leia spoke up softly. "Will you tell us?" Sabé considered her for a moment, then nodded. "Not here," she said decidedly. "The sacred sanctuary. That's the right place for it."
Yané nodded in agreement, and took the lead, exiting the lower levels by a side door and moving through the gardens to the sanctuary where so many of her friends had been burned. The others followed her, but Sabé slipped up to her room to change first, cleansing her face of the makeup and changing to a dark blue gown that reflected her sobriety.
Then she joined them, slipping in the door and gazing around. Luke and Leia sat together on the bottom step; Yané sat against a wall, and Dormé stood by the door. Callé was sitting opposite Luke and Leia, watching all of them.
Sabé stepped up to the funeral pyre and raked her fingers through the years-old ash that had collected in the bottom. She lifted some of it and allowed it to drain through her fingers, reminiscent of her actions some thirty-seven years before, when she had been told she was Force-sensitive. The five already sitting allowed her the moment in silence, then when Sabé sighed, the moment ended.
"Tell us," Luke urged quietly. Sabé looked at him with a smile, then moved to sit on a cold step. "I can't tell you the beginning of Padmé's story," she started, "because I don't know it. But I can tell you the beginning of my story, at least where it concerns Padmé, Obi-Wan, and Anakin. Because we four have had entwined destinies from the moment we met each other, I think."
She took a breath, gathered her thoughts. "It was three days after Queen Amidala had been crowned. The whole planet was still in a state of celebration. In Theed Palace, dressmakers fluttered around the new queen, who bore their chatter with patience. In the Palace Armoury, four girls were having their introduction to blaster pistols…"
********************************************************************************************
