Chapter 6
Two days later Vader summoned the strength to face the princess again. He had already spoken to her father, but his reaction was as surprising as his daughters.
Vader decided not to expect things too much next time. The king had said all that was expected of a king whose daughter had been kidnapped. But Vader sensed something in his thoughts that profoundly worried him. Although the man had made quite a scandal, summoning, petitioning, warning, and at a point his eyes got teary, Vader somehow felt that those feelings were untruthful.
It seemed as if the king was playing a part of some sort. In the back of his mind, which Vader had scanned during their conversation over the holonet, there were no traces of real fatherly pain for his only child. There was no real worry about his position. There was no fear. The man begged his daughter were not harmed, but he felt nothing in his interior. Nothing, that is, other than what Vader assumed was a plot of some kind. That could not be good.
Vader had decided that for their second meeting, he and the princess should be at a more public place. So when they took Frissa out for the first time she had been there, they took her to the upper bridge of the Obliterator. Vader was standing there, leaning over the rail, his back turned to her and the stormtroopers that escorted her. He was staring down at the hundreds of imperial officers of all ranks going to and fro, busy with their work, mingling with the armed stormtroopers and technicians.
The stormtroopers took Frissa to Vader, and then left as he dismissed them with a slight wave of his hand. He didn't take his eyes of the movement below, and he didn't say anything for a while. Frissa stood there regarding him, marveling at his height and his broad shoulders. She hoped he would say something, just to see if the voice was indeed as marvelous as she remembered it.
"I esteem you must not understand the reason for your stay here." He said at last. The voice was as strong and melodious as before, now softer and a little less determined.
Vader prepared himself mentally for her answer. He was quite angry at her father already, and close to bursting. The king was playing some sort of game, he was sure of that, and it revolted him. His retaliation would be at the height of his disgusting reputation.
Vader had been sure, that afternoon, that the princess was in line with that game too, and he hated her for that. Her bizarre behavior could only be explained as a deliberate attempt to confuse him. Well, though luck, he thought. He was not a person to be confused. Someone was going to suffer soon enough.
That evening, however, standing on the upper deck next to her, he was close to changing his mind. She looked sweet, a little tired and a bit dazed by the light, much brighter than the one in her cell. Her eyes blinked in it.
They were brown, large, curious and merry. She looked at him fearlessly, but not defiantly. The royal gown she wore was quite crashed, since she had to sleep in it, and it was not designed for that. Her long curly black hair was loose now, swaying as she moved her head. He tried not to look directly at her, she seemed too soft somehow, and he hated soft.
"No, I have no idea what this is all about." She confessed.
Good, Vader thought, the answer was fine.
"You will be held here until your father meets our demands" Vader told her.
She stared at him for a moment, stunned.
Oh, there we go...Vader thought.
"My father?" She said, making it sound pretty dumb.
"Yes" Vader answered "If your father obliges to our demands, and accepts the authority of the empire, you will be let free."
"My father?" she said, now even more stunned "Well, I'm sure daddy has nothing against your authority" She put in, confused "I mean he has never had any problems with anyone, let alone the authorities... No one in our family has. I mean, except for cousin Ricco, when he assaulted his neighbor, but I am sure this is not about that, I mean, is it? Oh, and I got a parking ticket once, although I don't drive a lot, that is, I am really bad at it." She said.
Vader closed his eyes for a second, sighting softly, a gentle hissing sound. He concentrated on the force, and reached with it within her. To his great surprise, there was no trace of deceit or second intentions in the girls thoughts, as there had been in the kings.
"Do you realize why you are here?" He asked, turning toward her. Now she sighted.
"No." She said softly.
"Do you know who I am?"
"No."
"Do you know who the emperor is?"
"Sure. The ruler of the Empire."
"I am his servant. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith."
"Who?"
"Lord Vader"
"Ah."
"Darth Vader?" (Vader figured she, as a member of the high aristocracy of an important system must have heard of him.)
"Who is that?"
"Me! I am Darth Vader"
"Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Darth Vader." She smiled.
"That is Lord Vader to you" He warned, in a low voice. She passed straight over the underlined menace
"Well, than, nice to meet you, Lord Vader."
"Yes, I am sure it is" he said, in an ironic tone. She passed over that too.
"Well, you told me your name, I guess I can tell you mine."
"I know who you are, your majesty" Vader retorted.
"I am Frissa"
"What!?"
"Frissa. Frissa Ferret."
"What?"
"That is my name. You can call me Frissa. Or just Friss. I mean that is for friends. Even Fri. Why? What'' wrong. Didn't like it? Too ugly? That' my name."
"No, it isn't. You are the princess Evertia." Vader said, stunned.
"Oh!!! Oh, oh, oh, oh. I get it! Now I get it! Why, honey see, now that is your entire mistake, see! I am not Evertia!" Frissa said, obviously relieved.
She liked this guy, he was big, and the grouchy voice was fantastic, and the shoulders were something else, and the way he leaned over, a little bent, when he talked to people, and those large handsome hands in the soft black gloves. But he was making her a little nervous. He seemed upset that day, and in no mood for jokes, and there were dangerous designs behind his actions. Also, she sensed a great power within him, something she could not explain. She was happy she was not who he was looking for.
"Of course you are." He insisted, leaning over some more. His chest plate with the red lights almost touched her. She looked up into the black mask, and the soft glimmer that reflected of the eye spaces.
"No, I'm not, honey." She said softly. He didn't seem to like mistakes.
"I am sorry, sweetie, but I am not. See, I went to visit the princess. I am a make up salesgirl for Jitt Gloss Arts, and I came to sell her some. We were in a middle of a make up session, when one of her guards, or escorts, or I don't know what they were, asked her come with him for a second. I was left there, waiting. Than, all of a sudden your people came crashing in, and before I knew it, I was out." she explained, snapping her fingers to emphasize the "out".
Vader did not believe it.
"If you are not the princess, why were you wearing the crown?" he asked, leaning even closer now. She backed of a step.
"I admit that I put it on."
"But you are not the princess?"
"I was not stealing it, if that is what you imply!" She said, now angry. "I just tried it on!"
"Tried it on?" He growled, scanning her emotions.
"Yes. I mean it was right there, and looking so beautiful, and I just put it on, and your men, who are incredibly dumb, may I say, knocked me out before I could put it back."
She was telling the truth. Vader stopped himself from panicking. Calm down. Concentrate on the force. Oh, I am going to kill those incompetent idiots! No, wait first things first. I am going to kill the girl!
"You are not the princess?"
"Do I look like one?"
"Well, yes.." Just a swift strike right along the neck... Smooth as butter...Vader took his lightsaber in his hand.
" Oh, honey!" She said so loudly that it stopped him for a moment.
"That is the nicest thing anyone ever said to me!" She smiled so genuinely at him, that he put his hand down.
"What?" he was stunned at her happiness. He couldn't have done that?
" Well you are so cute! You said you thought I looked like a princess!"
He was completely bewildered
"Well, there is the gown.." he said.
"You think I look good in this gown?" She asked, even happier.
"No. I mean yes. I mean, I don't know. What does it matter?"
"Well, no one ever told me anything quite so nice!" she put in enthusiastically.
"That was not my intention." He assured her, now more sober.
"I know. You weren't even trying to flatter me. That is what makes it so nice!"
"Not what I wanted to do, though.' He said
"I know. There you are acting all though...."
"I am not acting!"
"..I am sure you are not, menacing me...."
"That menace is real!"
".....growling at me all over the place...."
"I would choose my words more carefully if I were in your position!"
".....trying to scare me...."
"Oh, you will be afraid!"
".......leaning over me like that......."
"What is the point!"
"......but you still end up being charming!"
"That was not my intention!!!"
"I know, but you just can't help it!"
Vader desisted from killing her. On the other hand I might need her, he thought. How do I explain this to the emperor? Oh, what an idiot mistake! They just assumed she was the princess. Of course this was not an option. Who would have assumed she could not be the princess? Now what do I do? Hmmm. Maybe I just go along with it. I can't have the emperor thinking I am an incompetent moron. It is not my fault, but the emperor doesn't care about that. The force knows what he will do to me if he finds out. And that cheating bastard of the king probably stashed the real princess somewhere safe by now. The element of surprise is not on our side any more. We'll never find her now, I can see. How could have I been so blind! Oh well, no problem, I can handle this (or anything as a matter of fact!) I'll just go along with the sharade. The end results will be the same anyway. Oh I can't wait to torture that idiot king! And I will kill those incompetent cretins that work for me! And if anything comes out, I will make it look as a deliberate attempt of the king to fool us and use it as a pretext to blow his little dirty planet into debris! (What a nice explosion that would make!).
A little tranquilized, Vader turned to Frissa.
"So you are not Evertia?"
"No!"
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am!"
"Because, you see, if you are not Evertia, than you are someone else, and I have no need for you. And as I do not have any desire to make it known there was a mistake, I will just kill you right now, right here."
"Oh..."
"So, lady, are you Evertia?"
"Sure. If you say so, Darth Vader, than I guess I am....."
"Lord Vader. And of course you are."
Two days later Vader summoned the strength to face the princess again. He had already spoken to her father, but his reaction was as surprising as his daughters.
Vader decided not to expect things too much next time. The king had said all that was expected of a king whose daughter had been kidnapped. But Vader sensed something in his thoughts that profoundly worried him. Although the man had made quite a scandal, summoning, petitioning, warning, and at a point his eyes got teary, Vader somehow felt that those feelings were untruthful.
It seemed as if the king was playing a part of some sort. In the back of his mind, which Vader had scanned during their conversation over the holonet, there were no traces of real fatherly pain for his only child. There was no real worry about his position. There was no fear. The man begged his daughter were not harmed, but he felt nothing in his interior. Nothing, that is, other than what Vader assumed was a plot of some kind. That could not be good.
Vader had decided that for their second meeting, he and the princess should be at a more public place. So when they took Frissa out for the first time she had been there, they took her to the upper bridge of the Obliterator. Vader was standing there, leaning over the rail, his back turned to her and the stormtroopers that escorted her. He was staring down at the hundreds of imperial officers of all ranks going to and fro, busy with their work, mingling with the armed stormtroopers and technicians.
The stormtroopers took Frissa to Vader, and then left as he dismissed them with a slight wave of his hand. He didn't take his eyes of the movement below, and he didn't say anything for a while. Frissa stood there regarding him, marveling at his height and his broad shoulders. She hoped he would say something, just to see if the voice was indeed as marvelous as she remembered it.
"I esteem you must not understand the reason for your stay here." He said at last. The voice was as strong and melodious as before, now softer and a little less determined.
Vader prepared himself mentally for her answer. He was quite angry at her father already, and close to bursting. The king was playing some sort of game, he was sure of that, and it revolted him. His retaliation would be at the height of his disgusting reputation.
Vader had been sure, that afternoon, that the princess was in line with that game too, and he hated her for that. Her bizarre behavior could only be explained as a deliberate attempt to confuse him. Well, though luck, he thought. He was not a person to be confused. Someone was going to suffer soon enough.
That evening, however, standing on the upper deck next to her, he was close to changing his mind. She looked sweet, a little tired and a bit dazed by the light, much brighter than the one in her cell. Her eyes blinked in it.
They were brown, large, curious and merry. She looked at him fearlessly, but not defiantly. The royal gown she wore was quite crashed, since she had to sleep in it, and it was not designed for that. Her long curly black hair was loose now, swaying as she moved her head. He tried not to look directly at her, she seemed too soft somehow, and he hated soft.
"No, I have no idea what this is all about." She confessed.
Good, Vader thought, the answer was fine.
"You will be held here until your father meets our demands" Vader told her.
She stared at him for a moment, stunned.
Oh, there we go...Vader thought.
"My father?" She said, making it sound pretty dumb.
"Yes" Vader answered "If your father obliges to our demands, and accepts the authority of the empire, you will be let free."
"My father?" she said, now even more stunned "Well, I'm sure daddy has nothing against your authority" She put in, confused "I mean he has never had any problems with anyone, let alone the authorities... No one in our family has. I mean, except for cousin Ricco, when he assaulted his neighbor, but I am sure this is not about that, I mean, is it? Oh, and I got a parking ticket once, although I don't drive a lot, that is, I am really bad at it." She said.
Vader closed his eyes for a second, sighting softly, a gentle hissing sound. He concentrated on the force, and reached with it within her. To his great surprise, there was no trace of deceit or second intentions in the girls thoughts, as there had been in the kings.
"Do you realize why you are here?" He asked, turning toward her. Now she sighted.
"No." She said softly.
"Do you know who I am?"
"No."
"Do you know who the emperor is?"
"Sure. The ruler of the Empire."
"I am his servant. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith."
"Who?"
"Lord Vader"
"Ah."
"Darth Vader?" (Vader figured she, as a member of the high aristocracy of an important system must have heard of him.)
"Who is that?"
"Me! I am Darth Vader"
"Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Darth Vader." She smiled.
"That is Lord Vader to you" He warned, in a low voice. She passed straight over the underlined menace
"Well, than, nice to meet you, Lord Vader."
"Yes, I am sure it is" he said, in an ironic tone. She passed over that too.
"Well, you told me your name, I guess I can tell you mine."
"I know who you are, your majesty" Vader retorted.
"I am Frissa"
"What!?"
"Frissa. Frissa Ferret."
"What?"
"That is my name. You can call me Frissa. Or just Friss. I mean that is for friends. Even Fri. Why? What'' wrong. Didn't like it? Too ugly? That' my name."
"No, it isn't. You are the princess Evertia." Vader said, stunned.
"Oh!!! Oh, oh, oh, oh. I get it! Now I get it! Why, honey see, now that is your entire mistake, see! I am not Evertia!" Frissa said, obviously relieved.
She liked this guy, he was big, and the grouchy voice was fantastic, and the shoulders were something else, and the way he leaned over, a little bent, when he talked to people, and those large handsome hands in the soft black gloves. But he was making her a little nervous. He seemed upset that day, and in no mood for jokes, and there were dangerous designs behind his actions. Also, she sensed a great power within him, something she could not explain. She was happy she was not who he was looking for.
"Of course you are." He insisted, leaning over some more. His chest plate with the red lights almost touched her. She looked up into the black mask, and the soft glimmer that reflected of the eye spaces.
"No, I'm not, honey." She said softly. He didn't seem to like mistakes.
"I am sorry, sweetie, but I am not. See, I went to visit the princess. I am a make up salesgirl for Jitt Gloss Arts, and I came to sell her some. We were in a middle of a make up session, when one of her guards, or escorts, or I don't know what they were, asked her come with him for a second. I was left there, waiting. Than, all of a sudden your people came crashing in, and before I knew it, I was out." she explained, snapping her fingers to emphasize the "out".
Vader did not believe it.
"If you are not the princess, why were you wearing the crown?" he asked, leaning even closer now. She backed of a step.
"I admit that I put it on."
"But you are not the princess?"
"I was not stealing it, if that is what you imply!" She said, now angry. "I just tried it on!"
"Tried it on?" He growled, scanning her emotions.
"Yes. I mean it was right there, and looking so beautiful, and I just put it on, and your men, who are incredibly dumb, may I say, knocked me out before I could put it back."
She was telling the truth. Vader stopped himself from panicking. Calm down. Concentrate on the force. Oh, I am going to kill those incompetent idiots! No, wait first things first. I am going to kill the girl!
"You are not the princess?"
"Do I look like one?"
"Well, yes.." Just a swift strike right along the neck... Smooth as butter...Vader took his lightsaber in his hand.
" Oh, honey!" She said so loudly that it stopped him for a moment.
"That is the nicest thing anyone ever said to me!" She smiled so genuinely at him, that he put his hand down.
"What?" he was stunned at her happiness. He couldn't have done that?
" Well you are so cute! You said you thought I looked like a princess!"
He was completely bewildered
"Well, there is the gown.." he said.
"You think I look good in this gown?" She asked, even happier.
"No. I mean yes. I mean, I don't know. What does it matter?"
"Well, no one ever told me anything quite so nice!" she put in enthusiastically.
"That was not my intention." He assured her, now more sober.
"I know. You weren't even trying to flatter me. That is what makes it so nice!"
"Not what I wanted to do, though.' He said
"I know. There you are acting all though...."
"I am not acting!"
"..I am sure you are not, menacing me...."
"That menace is real!"
".....growling at me all over the place...."
"I would choose my words more carefully if I were in your position!"
".....trying to scare me...."
"Oh, you will be afraid!"
".......leaning over me like that......."
"What is the point!"
"......but you still end up being charming!"
"That was not my intention!!!"
"I know, but you just can't help it!"
Vader desisted from killing her. On the other hand I might need her, he thought. How do I explain this to the emperor? Oh, what an idiot mistake! They just assumed she was the princess. Of course this was not an option. Who would have assumed she could not be the princess? Now what do I do? Hmmm. Maybe I just go along with it. I can't have the emperor thinking I am an incompetent moron. It is not my fault, but the emperor doesn't care about that. The force knows what he will do to me if he finds out. And that cheating bastard of the king probably stashed the real princess somewhere safe by now. The element of surprise is not on our side any more. We'll never find her now, I can see. How could have I been so blind! Oh well, no problem, I can handle this (or anything as a matter of fact!) I'll just go along with the sharade. The end results will be the same anyway. Oh I can't wait to torture that idiot king! And I will kill those incompetent cretins that work for me! And if anything comes out, I will make it look as a deliberate attempt of the king to fool us and use it as a pretext to blow his little dirty planet into debris! (What a nice explosion that would make!).
A little tranquilized, Vader turned to Frissa.
"So you are not Evertia?"
"No!"
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am!"
"Because, you see, if you are not Evertia, than you are someone else, and I have no need for you. And as I do not have any desire to make it known there was a mistake, I will just kill you right now, right here."
"Oh..."
"So, lady, are you Evertia?"
"Sure. If you say so, Darth Vader, than I guess I am....."
"Lord Vader. And of course you are."