At a signal from Amidala, we dashed madly down the hall. Just as my hope began to rise, we were again surrounded by battle droids. But this time they were accompanied by droid decas. I was so frustrated at being cornered again, that I considered blasting into the whole lot of them. Very smart I know. But when I'm cornered I think of very stupid things to do. But I kept my blaster raised. I glanced Amidala and she nodded with resolve. "Put down your weapons. They win this round." She said to the soldiers. As we set down our weapons and the battle droids retrieved them, Amidala suddenly fished her commlink out of her pocket. She spoke a few sentences into it, then put it back in her pocket. I looked at her curiously, but she merely shook her head and put her finger on her lips.
"Alright. Hands up! March." The battle droid ordered roughly. Biting my lip, I put my arms over my head and turned, walking in the direction they urged. To my surprise they escorted us to the very place we had been attempting to get to in the first place. The Throne Room! I glanced at Amidala and she rolled her eyes with obvious frustration. Inside the marble room were two ugly alien creatures, the Viceroy I assumed. They glared at Amidala with their large, glittery eyes. "Your little insurrection is at an end your highness." One creature said with triumph"Time for you to sign the treaty now!" He said.
"Viceroy!" I whirled around and saw........Amidala? But no, it wasn't. It was the decoy. I now saw why Amidala had spoken into her comm-link a moment before. I held my breath, hoping that the Viceroy would buy it. The decoy was certainly playing the part. "Your occupation here has ended!" She yelled firmly, shooting the battle droids right and left. For a moment, her composure fell as she managed a half-smile in Amidala's direction before she and the other soldiers dashed off. The Viceroy looked around frantically at the battle droids around him. "After her! This one is a decoy!" He said, pointing angrily towards Amidala. Stupid creatures. Little did they know that it was THEIR insurrection that was ending, not ours.
In the confusion, Amidala managed to run and jump into the throne, pushing a button on the throne arm. A secret panel on the arm opened and Amidala fished into it frantically. When she arose from the chair, she held a blaster triumphantly in each hand. She tossed one to the captain and one to me, taking one for herself and shooting the few remaining battle droids. Between the three of us and a few soldiers, we made short work of the droids and locked the door. Amidala walked over to the creatures, who were now looking at each other in disbelief. "Now Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty!" She said grimly. Holding her blaster up, Amidala edged the aliens into chairs and they proceeded to talk of the future of Naboo.
About an hour later, Amidala and the Viceroy had drawn up a treaty, stating that the Trade Federation resigned power over Naboo. The creatures were held in their chairs by gunpoint as Amidala proceeded around the room, congratulating her men. Everyone there could tell how happy she was. Her face was lit up by a huge smile, the room filled with her gay laughter. She patted her soldiers on the back and flitted back and forth across the throne room, her soft brown eyes filled to the brim with happiness. I stood off to the side, waiting and watching. Finally she noticed me and walked quickly over to me. I smiled as she squeezed me towards her in a fierce embrace. "Thank you for helping me Elaina. Now at last there is peace on Naboo." She whispered. "How could I do any less for my friend?" I asked with a smile, holding up my palm. Amidala looked down at my palm with a small smile, placing her palm against my own. We didn't speak, we already knew the words. The oath had been said with true feeling, there was no need to say it again. Our eyes locked, brown and blue, and for one moment I knew, I knew that we were equal. "Thank you." She whispered before drawing back her palm. I nodded and backed out of the room.
I desired to find the others, the Jedi and Anakin. Anakin would be so excited, and Qui-Gon! He would be so proud of me. But as I walked down the hall, a lone figure caught my eye. There was something familiar about the figure, it's brown cloak billowing around him, but his step was less energetic. Something had gone out of him, but I still knew who it was. "Obi-Wan!" I yelled, running towards him excitedly. But I stopped in my tracks, my boots skidding on the marble. There was something wrong. Obi-Wan's feelings were uncovered, his heart sick, and he was alone. "Obi-Wan, what's wrong? Where is Qui-Gon?" As I said the elder Jedi's name, he flinched, as if he had been struck. It was a few moments before he began, his voice shaky with emotion. "Qui-Gon is dead Elaina. The, the Sith lord killed him." He whispered. Qui-Gon was dead. Dead. I wouldn't be able to tell him what had happened or tell him anything ever again. I would never be able to tell him of my visions, never share my dreams with him. The murderer who killed my brother, my own father, had killed the person I had come to love most. Qui-Gon had been like a second father to me and now he too, like my father, was dead.
I looked at Obi-Wan. His usually bright blue eyes were now dim and filled with tears that he refused to let fall. "Obi-Wan." I choked. I couldn't speak, couldn't express in words what I felt. His face came up and he saw, I let him touch my feelings. He knew without speaking what I felt. I held nothing back. As a tear escaped from my eyes and coursed it's way down my trembling cheek, I lifted my hand, resting it in the Jedi's palm. Tentatively, his fingers closed about mine and he squeezed, holding it for the longest time. For a single moment, our thoughts were one as we remembered Qui-Gon. No walls were put up around our emotions or feelings. We knew, and we understood.
Obi-Wan straightened, his fingers sliding out of my own. "I need some help to get Qui-Gon's body out of there." He said slowly, his head jerking in the direction that he had come. "I'm sure the Queen's soldiers can help." I replied. He nodded slowly and brought his gaze to meet mine. "Thank you." He said quietly as he walked into the throne room. I knew he was not just thanking me for telling him of the help he could receive. He was thanking me for my consolation. A few moments later, Obi-Wan and three soldiers entered the hall walking through a door down the hall.
I decided to follow them. Obi-Wan must have heard me or felt me, for he turned around and put up his hand. "No Elaina. I don't think you should come." I strode up to him and looked deep into his face. "I AM going Obi-Wan." He looked at me a moment more, then turned walked away briskly, his cloak billowing around him. We walked down several corridors and I watched as the colors and textures of the halls changed. The floor changed from a white marble to a dim grey tile. The light that had lit up the halls disappeared as we walked farther down into the bowels of the palace.
We walked on a catwalk leading towards a strange doorway. I looked down from the catwalk at the long drop beneath me and shuddered. The doorway was strange in that there were several doors. It is hard to explain now. They were laser technology, gradually fading in and out as the lasers came on. Systematically the doors would fade away and one could gain passage, but beware should you touch it. The shock would jolt your entire body. We quickly passed through it and I found myself in a small room with round melting pit in the center. On the side of the pit, a few feet back, lay Qui-Gon. I knelt down at his side and touched his hand gently. It was still warm to the touch. I turned my attention to his face, that kind face, now clear and void of any pain that he had suffered. The bloody mark on his brown tunic shot up in my vision, but I shook it away, focusing on his face. It hurt. The fact that I reached instintively for his feelings, expecting to feel the wall around them, but reached for nothing. They were gone. I touched his face gently with my fingers, as he had done to me so many times. Always his touch so gentle, so understanding. But he was gone. He was gone.
I stood and let the soldiers take him away. I watched as they made their way back up to the palace, then turned to Obi-Wan. I took a deep breath, knowing what I had to do. "Obi-Wan, listen and please understand. When the master of a slave dies, the ownership of the slave passes to his kin. Obi-Wan, you are as close to his kin as anyone. I am your slave now. You now own me." I said forcefully, trying to keep my tears back as I watched his face change painfully. He turned away from me to face the melting pit. "I don't think I want to own you Elaina. But I know that you will not change your mind." He sighed then went on. "The Queen has given me permission to use a funeral pyre in the palace. That is where they are taking him." He looked at me. "I must now go see to the preparations. I'll tell you when it is time."
He began to walk away, but stopped as I called out his name. "Obi-Wan, how did he die?" I asked tentatively, my chin still trembling from the strain of holding back unshed tears. I didn't look at Obi-Wan's face, but in my mind I saw it, pale and stressed, his hurt leaking out of him. He stood alone, clenching his fists as I stared at the melting pit. "He was fighting the Sith lord. I was stuck on the other side of the last doorway. He and the Sith were having it out and, and Qui-Gon stumbled." His trembling voice echoed around the room, forcing me to listen how my father had killed my master. "The Sith lord took advantage of that, shoved his, his lightsaber," Obi-Wan could not finish. I winced as the lump in my throat grew bigger and bigger. "I finally got out. I fought with him. I fell, fell into the pit. He tried to knock me down. I jumped up, cut him, cut him in half. I, I'm sorry Elaina." He said finally, his voice breaking. I sobered and turned to him. "What for?" He shrugged helplessly. "He was your father." Obi-Wan whispered. I stared at him, my gaze hard. "My father died thirteen years ago. You did no wrong. You avenged his death, and Qui-Gon's." I said firmly. Obi-Wan nodded, finally walking away, leaving me alone in the bowels of the palace. I stood still a moment, taking advantage of my strength for that one moment before walking over to the place where Qui-Gon had fallen. I stared at it, at the few droplets of blood that remained on the spot, then fell to my knees and began to cry.
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"Alright. Hands up! March." The battle droid ordered roughly. Biting my lip, I put my arms over my head and turned, walking in the direction they urged. To my surprise they escorted us to the very place we had been attempting to get to in the first place. The Throne Room! I glanced at Amidala and she rolled her eyes with obvious frustration. Inside the marble room were two ugly alien creatures, the Viceroy I assumed. They glared at Amidala with their large, glittery eyes. "Your little insurrection is at an end your highness." One creature said with triumph"Time for you to sign the treaty now!" He said.
"Viceroy!" I whirled around and saw........Amidala? But no, it wasn't. It was the decoy. I now saw why Amidala had spoken into her comm-link a moment before. I held my breath, hoping that the Viceroy would buy it. The decoy was certainly playing the part. "Your occupation here has ended!" She yelled firmly, shooting the battle droids right and left. For a moment, her composure fell as she managed a half-smile in Amidala's direction before she and the other soldiers dashed off. The Viceroy looked around frantically at the battle droids around him. "After her! This one is a decoy!" He said, pointing angrily towards Amidala. Stupid creatures. Little did they know that it was THEIR insurrection that was ending, not ours.
In the confusion, Amidala managed to run and jump into the throne, pushing a button on the throne arm. A secret panel on the arm opened and Amidala fished into it frantically. When she arose from the chair, she held a blaster triumphantly in each hand. She tossed one to the captain and one to me, taking one for herself and shooting the few remaining battle droids. Between the three of us and a few soldiers, we made short work of the droids and locked the door. Amidala walked over to the creatures, who were now looking at each other in disbelief. "Now Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty!" She said grimly. Holding her blaster up, Amidala edged the aliens into chairs and they proceeded to talk of the future of Naboo.
About an hour later, Amidala and the Viceroy had drawn up a treaty, stating that the Trade Federation resigned power over Naboo. The creatures were held in their chairs by gunpoint as Amidala proceeded around the room, congratulating her men. Everyone there could tell how happy she was. Her face was lit up by a huge smile, the room filled with her gay laughter. She patted her soldiers on the back and flitted back and forth across the throne room, her soft brown eyes filled to the brim with happiness. I stood off to the side, waiting and watching. Finally she noticed me and walked quickly over to me. I smiled as she squeezed me towards her in a fierce embrace. "Thank you for helping me Elaina. Now at last there is peace on Naboo." She whispered. "How could I do any less for my friend?" I asked with a smile, holding up my palm. Amidala looked down at my palm with a small smile, placing her palm against my own. We didn't speak, we already knew the words. The oath had been said with true feeling, there was no need to say it again. Our eyes locked, brown and blue, and for one moment I knew, I knew that we were equal. "Thank you." She whispered before drawing back her palm. I nodded and backed out of the room.
I desired to find the others, the Jedi and Anakin. Anakin would be so excited, and Qui-Gon! He would be so proud of me. But as I walked down the hall, a lone figure caught my eye. There was something familiar about the figure, it's brown cloak billowing around him, but his step was less energetic. Something had gone out of him, but I still knew who it was. "Obi-Wan!" I yelled, running towards him excitedly. But I stopped in my tracks, my boots skidding on the marble. There was something wrong. Obi-Wan's feelings were uncovered, his heart sick, and he was alone. "Obi-Wan, what's wrong? Where is Qui-Gon?" As I said the elder Jedi's name, he flinched, as if he had been struck. It was a few moments before he began, his voice shaky with emotion. "Qui-Gon is dead Elaina. The, the Sith lord killed him." He whispered. Qui-Gon was dead. Dead. I wouldn't be able to tell him what had happened or tell him anything ever again. I would never be able to tell him of my visions, never share my dreams with him. The murderer who killed my brother, my own father, had killed the person I had come to love most. Qui-Gon had been like a second father to me and now he too, like my father, was dead.
I looked at Obi-Wan. His usually bright blue eyes were now dim and filled with tears that he refused to let fall. "Obi-Wan." I choked. I couldn't speak, couldn't express in words what I felt. His face came up and he saw, I let him touch my feelings. He knew without speaking what I felt. I held nothing back. As a tear escaped from my eyes and coursed it's way down my trembling cheek, I lifted my hand, resting it in the Jedi's palm. Tentatively, his fingers closed about mine and he squeezed, holding it for the longest time. For a single moment, our thoughts were one as we remembered Qui-Gon. No walls were put up around our emotions or feelings. We knew, and we understood.
Obi-Wan straightened, his fingers sliding out of my own. "I need some help to get Qui-Gon's body out of there." He said slowly, his head jerking in the direction that he had come. "I'm sure the Queen's soldiers can help." I replied. He nodded slowly and brought his gaze to meet mine. "Thank you." He said quietly as he walked into the throne room. I knew he was not just thanking me for telling him of the help he could receive. He was thanking me for my consolation. A few moments later, Obi-Wan and three soldiers entered the hall walking through a door down the hall.
I decided to follow them. Obi-Wan must have heard me or felt me, for he turned around and put up his hand. "No Elaina. I don't think you should come." I strode up to him and looked deep into his face. "I AM going Obi-Wan." He looked at me a moment more, then turned walked away briskly, his cloak billowing around him. We walked down several corridors and I watched as the colors and textures of the halls changed. The floor changed from a white marble to a dim grey tile. The light that had lit up the halls disappeared as we walked farther down into the bowels of the palace.
We walked on a catwalk leading towards a strange doorway. I looked down from the catwalk at the long drop beneath me and shuddered. The doorway was strange in that there were several doors. It is hard to explain now. They were laser technology, gradually fading in and out as the lasers came on. Systematically the doors would fade away and one could gain passage, but beware should you touch it. The shock would jolt your entire body. We quickly passed through it and I found myself in a small room with round melting pit in the center. On the side of the pit, a few feet back, lay Qui-Gon. I knelt down at his side and touched his hand gently. It was still warm to the touch. I turned my attention to his face, that kind face, now clear and void of any pain that he had suffered. The bloody mark on his brown tunic shot up in my vision, but I shook it away, focusing on his face. It hurt. The fact that I reached instintively for his feelings, expecting to feel the wall around them, but reached for nothing. They were gone. I touched his face gently with my fingers, as he had done to me so many times. Always his touch so gentle, so understanding. But he was gone. He was gone.
I stood and let the soldiers take him away. I watched as they made their way back up to the palace, then turned to Obi-Wan. I took a deep breath, knowing what I had to do. "Obi-Wan, listen and please understand. When the master of a slave dies, the ownership of the slave passes to his kin. Obi-Wan, you are as close to his kin as anyone. I am your slave now. You now own me." I said forcefully, trying to keep my tears back as I watched his face change painfully. He turned away from me to face the melting pit. "I don't think I want to own you Elaina. But I know that you will not change your mind." He sighed then went on. "The Queen has given me permission to use a funeral pyre in the palace. That is where they are taking him." He looked at me. "I must now go see to the preparations. I'll tell you when it is time."
He began to walk away, but stopped as I called out his name. "Obi-Wan, how did he die?" I asked tentatively, my chin still trembling from the strain of holding back unshed tears. I didn't look at Obi-Wan's face, but in my mind I saw it, pale and stressed, his hurt leaking out of him. He stood alone, clenching his fists as I stared at the melting pit. "He was fighting the Sith lord. I was stuck on the other side of the last doorway. He and the Sith were having it out and, and Qui-Gon stumbled." His trembling voice echoed around the room, forcing me to listen how my father had killed my master. "The Sith lord took advantage of that, shoved his, his lightsaber," Obi-Wan could not finish. I winced as the lump in my throat grew bigger and bigger. "I finally got out. I fought with him. I fell, fell into the pit. He tried to knock me down. I jumped up, cut him, cut him in half. I, I'm sorry Elaina." He said finally, his voice breaking. I sobered and turned to him. "What for?" He shrugged helplessly. "He was your father." Obi-Wan whispered. I stared at him, my gaze hard. "My father died thirteen years ago. You did no wrong. You avenged his death, and Qui-Gon's." I said firmly. Obi-Wan nodded, finally walking away, leaving me alone in the bowels of the palace. I stood still a moment, taking advantage of my strength for that one moment before walking over to the place where Qui-Gon had fallen. I stared at it, at the few droplets of blood that remained on the spot, then fell to my knees and began to cry.
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