Disclaimer: Same thing as the disclaimer in the first chapter.
AN: I guess you readers are smart enough to know that in my title the Empress is Leia, the Jedi is Luke, and the Sith is Vader. But Luke won't be a Jedi yet, not in this beginning series. Oops! I just told you guys that this would be a series! Wouldn't that make you happy? I can imagine you guys smiling until you thought your face is gonna to crack. Enough of my ramblings and charge into my story!
Slashes mean somebody's thoughts.
Summary of Leia's Coronation: Leia is now officially known as Empress Organa. Her coronation went off with a blast, but she spotted a familiar stranger, who turns out to be the most notorious man in the whole galaxy, Darth Vader. She has no idea why would he be there, but that thought is set aside. Leia wants to sneak out with her two best friends and handmaiden, Nadia and Winter, for a bite that night. Soo..read on to find out more.
Chapter 3: Sneaking OutWhen Leia got home, she retreated to her private quarters and began to change into an outfit that would blend in with the ordinary crowd. No velvet, jewelries, crystals, or flashy things that will attract unwanted attention. Her outfit is composed of a heavy black cloak with hood that covered her plain white dress.
Finally, 7:00 P.M. came. She had made sure that the guards posted out her door think she's asleep by saying good night to them and left a fluffy pink "Do Not Disturb" sign on her doorknob. Pretty cute.
Unlike those holovids where a girl have to sneak out of her room by using a rope tied to a balcony, Leia has a secret door that leads to the palace grounds outside. Nobody except Nadia, Winter, and she know about the secret door. It all happened when Leia accidentally overturned a marble bust that has been there since anybody can remember. It turned out to be a lever, and the secret door just opened like that. After that, it became useful for Leia's little nightly escapade. Nobody had caught her…yet.
She flipped the marble bust firmly until the door was open. Upon entering it, the door closed behind her, and Leia strode down the stairs until she reached the exit to outside.
Nadia and Winter was waiting outside of her secret door, looking excited and impatient. This is their third time sneaking out with Leia.
"Ok, thanks for waiting me. How do I look? Adequate? Can you recognize me?" greeted Leia.
"Absolutely great! Anybody will mistake you for a Gammorean, " teased Nadia.
"Hey! Stop making fun of me! At least I don't look like a little red riding hood. Let's go, I'm hungry!" shouted Leia.
"Wait. Remember that we should lower our voices. There are more guards patrolling the grounds since the death of your parents. And we should eat somewhere less inconspicuous, such as a bar, not some fancy restaurant we used to eat out, " cautioned Winter.
"You're right, Winter. Good old Winter, the one who thinks of everything," sighed Leia.
"A bar? Isn't all bars seedy, full of drunk men who would grope any women passing them?" said Nadia.
"Not all bars, in fact, I do know one that is not as that bad. It's called The House, and it's a great place to eat, but they serve a lot of alcohol there. You'll not find much drunk men there because it's a "respectable" place where people mostly exchange goods or meet on…some business affairs." Winter paused and pressed her lips a little to show that the "business affairs" are actually where people do business related to smuggling or in nefarious dealings.
"Umm…ok, let's go there. Stars, I hope you are right this time, because this bar still doesn't sounds great. What if we knocked up with a wrong guy accidentally?" Nadia looked anxious, because she is concerned for Leia's safety and felt a little guilty for sneaking out again.
" At least, we won't be recognized there, not like in some high class restaurant. Again, the food is fabulous! Don't worry, Nadia. I'll look over both of you. Remember my superb blaster skills." Winter exclaimed at first, and then her voice became gentler when she looked at both of her younger best friends (Winter is 16, Nadia is 14, and Leia is 12).
To further reassure Nadia, she flipped her cloak aside and revealed a blaster tucked in her belt and another one strapped on her leg.
Leia nodded her head. " Thank you, Winter. You are an asset to us. I'm getting hungry. Can we please go now? "
"Without further ado, let's get a transport down to the Lower Downtown."
So the girls found a transport far away from the palace grounds and hopped on it.
About twenty minutes later, they stopped in front of The House. The sun had set where an eerie shadow had been cast on its front door. The building is usually white, just like any other buildings in Alderaan. A large neon sign was slapped neatly over its door, proclaiming its name. Curtains were drawn over the windows. Men smoking cigarettes and weed were slouching next to the doors, and they looked thuggish and sinister.
"Don't worry, I can handle them, " reassured Winter.
Nadia gulped her throat anyway. As for Leia, she isn't scared, because she has a supreme confidence in her friend's blaster skills and her ability to make anybody do what she wants them to do. Also, Leia knows a few self-defense tactics recently taught to her by her Weapons Master, Giles Durane.
Winter lead the girls to the bar with Leia following her with an air of confidence. Nadia just, well, clung to Winter. Her brown eyes darted back and forth. She can be such as scaredy cat.
"Hey babes, wanna join me for a fun?" hooted one of the men slouching near the door.
"No thanks and shut up." After replying to him, Winter revealed her hidden blaster to warn him that you don't want to mess with her.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy down, babe. 'No' would suffice and I'll be on my way."
She smiled maliciously at him, "Good and stay the hell out of our way."
The man quickly lumbered away because he doesn't want to get shot by a teenager girl. Imagine that if he would shot by a girl years younger than him, how would he explain to his companions? They would certainly laugh at him and cause him an ever-lasting embarrassment. It's only matter of a male pride.
Nadia whispered, " You showed him! Wow! How do you do that?"
"Practice, Nadia."
"Good job, Winter." Leia congratulated her companion.
After the brief interlude, the girls entered the bar confidently. Nadia is no longer nervous like a scaredy-cat, because she has Winter and Leia with her.