Title: The Emperor's Hand
Summary: Sometimes dreams show us a reality in which we wanted to live. But not everyone has these dreams. The Emperor's Hand is one of them.
Genre: Angst
Timeframe: OT
Notes: Never posted this one before, but I have it written since two years ago. xD
Disclaimer: Mara Jade belongs to Tim Zahn and I am not doing any money with this.
The Emperor's Hand
I didn't use to dream before. Now, I dream everyday. They are not pleasant dreams, they are nightmares. They seem to pursue me, to torment me. I'd rather not have them.
But I think I know why I have them.
It is because of what I do. I kill people. Errands, like Emperor Palpatine calls them. Those people come back from death to torment me in my dreams. In my dreams, they repeat the same line that I tell all of them, before I kill them.
"Don't worry. Death is not that bad!"
They whisper it in the same way, the same dark way I whispered it to them. The same way that makes someone shiver. After that line, they know what's next.
Death.
That is what always happens.
I'd rather not have these nightmares; I'd rather dream with nicer things. When I was a child, I used to dream about such nice things...
But I am not a child anymore. I am a young woman and I have a certain job to do, for the good of the galaxy. For the good of the Empire...
Do the dreams torment me? Of course they do. But that won't affect my job, I won't let it... Let the dreams continue... I don't care.
Because I am Mara Jade.
An assassin.
The Emperor's Hand.