Melarà peeked out the doorway of her quarters and looked down the corridor.
People were running around everywhere, ready to defend the palace from the
approaching droid attack. She quickly shut her door and turned around,
seeing two of her most trusted servants, Larà and Farà. They both
strikingly resembled her, but at the moment, they looked very frightened
and angry.
"Milady! You cannot put yourself in even the slightest danger! The droid
army is approaching the palace rapidly." Farà exclaimed and ran over to the
bed, where luggage was filled with Melarà's belongings. "We must get you
out of here.Carà, Larà, and myself are to accompany you.Varà is already
taking your place in the throne room. Let us make haste!" she motioned for
them to go.
One of the guards entered the room through the secret entrance in the
closet. His name was Keevan. His face was stern with worry. "Milady, the
transport is ready." he handed her a cloak to put over her handmaiden
uniform and grabbed the bags. Melarà hugged Sarà, her third handmaiden, and
mouthed a goodbye, telling them to be strong.
They ran into the stairwell and down the steep stone steps, occasionally
glancing back at where Sarà stood. Their boots clicked on the stairs and
they soon reached the landing platform where the transport waited. They ran
up the ramp and the door slammed behind them.
Melarà felt the engines hum as the door of the hanger started opening. The
shield generator reached full power, just as a platoon of droids came
pouring out of the stairwell. Melarà's heart leapt as the hanger doors
started to close. The pilot looked back at her, obviously waiting for
orders.
She looked out the window of the cockpit, down at the droids. She spotted
an officer at the control center and grabbed the blaster cannon trigger.
Before the pilot could stop her, she aimed the cannon at the officer. She
pulled the trigger and moments later, hit the officer in the back. He
slumped over and the hangers doors started opening again.
She motioned for the pilot to hurry. The transport sped out the doors,
while the droids continuously fired at them. The transport sped away from
the palace, towards a space port. They flew over the clear blue waterfalls
and lakes, and if the situation had been different, Melarà would have
admired the beautiful blue water against the emerald green of the trees and
grass. Cerulean was a beautiful planet. Some could say it was the most
beautiful planet in the galaxy.
Melarà stood up from her chair and walked to the front of the transport.
They were about to receive a transmission from the spaceport at Anah
Yeelah. "Milady, it would be in your best interest if you headed strait for
your final destination. The port is being invaded and bounty hunters are
crawling all over. A Sith, called Darth Muldoon has informed them that you
are of great importance to him.if you come here, you'll be dead for sure."
the messenger bowed. "I understand.thanks you." she replied. The
transmission flickered and disappeared.
Melarà bit her lip. As the future sovereign of her planet, she had to prove
herself to her people. She turned to the pilot. "Set our course for Naboo.
I will visit my cousin and family. We will be safe there." The pilot shook
his head. "I'm sorry, milady, but transports are not designed for deep
space travel. We wouldn't make it anywhere after a quarter of a parsec."
"Very well.we'll stop at the Zenith V space station. We can move to a ship
there." The pilot, whose name was Turk by the way, punched in coordinates
for the space station.
Melarà beckoned for her handmaidens to follow her as she opened the door to
another room in the vehicle. In the next room, Melarà gestured to another
hologram. It was from Jedi Master Mace Windu. "Milady, the situation has
become too dangerous. We are sending Master Obi Wan Kenobi's padwan
learner, Anakin Skywalker, to escort you. Where are you heading to?" Melarà
shook her head. "We are heading for Naboo.I am going to visit my cousin, I,
however, do not believe the situation has become serious enough for a Jedi,
padwan or not, to intervene. We will be safe on Naboo." Before Master Windu
could answer, she turned off the communicator.
"Milady.I think in this case, it would be wise to take the council's
advice." murmured Larà. "I know.knowing the council, they will send a Jedi
anyways." Melarà turned to face Farà. "Are you willing to act as my decoy?"
Farà bowed. "Of course, milady, I would do anything for you or our planet."
Melarà pulled her into a tight embrace and then did the same to Carà, then
to Larà as well.
"I don't know what I would do without you.all of you. I do hope Varà and
Sarà are alright." A single tear fell down her cheek. She quickly pulled
herself together and walked to the end of the couch. Melarà opened the
trunk and pulled out a gown of deep blue-green and gold. She walked back
over to Farà and held it up to her. "This'll do nicely.we'll do the usual
make-up to match this. Hopefully this works."
The three helped Farà into the gown and stepped back to admire it. Carà
pulled some face paints out of the trunk as well and they proceeded to
paint her face traditionally. They colored her face white, put gold on her
lips and eyes, and made blue and red streaks across her face, starting at
her eyes. The blue symbolized the color of the planet and the red
symbolized all the blood shed the planet had gone through in order to
become what it was.
When they were done, it was almost impossible to tell the difference
between Farà and a hologram of Melarà in the same ensemble. Turk opened the
door and spoke to Farà, thinking she was the princess. "Milady, we're
nearing the Zenith V space station. Please ready yourself. We will arrive
momentarily." Farà nodded, assuming the role of the princess, as he turned
around and exited the room. As soon as the door had closed behind him, the
four of them burst into laughter. They exchanged relieved glances and
proceeded to gather all the luggage.
