"We are glad you have been able to see reason, Governer Perlett. Your planet's surrender will benefit your people and our great empire as a whole. I am sure your daughter and I will have a happy, successful marriage." Grand Admiral Thrawn then turned in your direction and after looking you up and down said, "you will be permitted to say your goodbyes to your family. The Chimaera will be departing in approximately four hours. You have until then to finish your farewells."
And that, it seemed, was that. You fought back tears as an ensign escorted you away. Away from your father, away from your family, away from your life. You knew that your father had made the best decision, if marrying you off to Grand Admiral Thrawn would save your people, you would gladly marry the strange blue-skinned imperial. It didn't mean you were going to like it.
You knew you could have ended up married to someone a lot worse. Thrawn was only in his twenties, making him several years older than your seventeen years. You know from your hasty research on the man that he advanced through the military ranks of the empire exceedingly fast, most other men of his rank would be in their fifties, if not older.
That still didn't mean you were happy with the situation. Luckily, you wouldn't be married to Thrawn until you were eighteen and of legal marrying age. Until your eighteenth birthday, you would be living with Thrawn as your guardian on whatever ship he was currently commanding. At the moment, that ship was the Chimaera. At the moment you were still on your home planet of Vion, but in a few hours, you would leave. Possibly forever.
You followed your father out the door to say farewells to your family, still stunned. You remained in a state of shock as you hugged your mother and your younger brother, you had other family members, but they were too far away to arrive before you left. You hugged your tearful best friend Julie and listened blankly as your father told you how proud he was, how you were doing your planet such a great service. Then, you were being escorted away from your family and aboard the Chimaera. It had all been a blur. And then you were alone.
You slowly took in your new surroundings. The space was simple, but comfortable nonetheless. There was a bed on one side of the room set into the wall on the far side of the room with a shelf above it. A couch was pushed against one wall, and there's a table with two chairs in the middle of the room. There were also drawers set into one wall. Upon further inspection, you found them to be empty and assumed that they were intended for you to store clothes in. There was more than enough space for the few sets of clothes you had brought with you. There was also a doorway leading to a small bathroom. There was a single window in your room, for which you were grateful.
The quarters weren't cramped, but you dearly hoped that you would have access to more spaces than just these chambers. You knew you would be bored out of your mind if you were forced to remain in here all day every day.
You move over to the window and watch as the star destroyer takes off, then moves farther and farther away from your home. At first, your former house is in clear view, then only your city, then only your continent, and then you can see the entire planet moving steadily away. You slowly crumple to the floor, hugging your arms around your knees.
You're still sitting on the floor with your back against the wall when there is a quick knock at your door and, after a pause, a young woman moves into the room. She appears to be in her early twenties, not much older than you. She is dressed in what appears to be a servant's uniform of some sort and is carrying a tray of food. When she sees you on the floor, she moves over to you quickly. And crouches down beside you.
"Are you alright?" the servant asks insistently.
You look up and give her a weak nod. "I'm fine," you say tiredly.
"Are you sure?" the girl asks. "I can get you something if you're not feeling well."
You attempt a weak smile in return. "I'm ok, really. I just... it was all a little fast. I was at home, then I was saying goodbye to my family, and now I'm here and I don't know anyone. And I don't even know what I'm supposed to do. And it was all so fast." You stop suddenly, realizing you're rambling.
The servant gives you a sympathetic look. "It can be hard to move away from home when you're so young, especially when you don't know anyone. I'm Mira by the way." The servant, Mira, smiles.
You give her a smile in return, and tell her your name. Mira nods and then says,
"I brought dinner for you. I'm also supposed to get you up to speed on what's expected of you as Thrawn's future wife."
You wince as she says 'future wife'.
"What's he like?" you ask quietly.
"Thrawn?" asks Mira. And when you nod in return she sits back on her heels and seems to think for a moment.
"Well, he's brilliant. Though I suppose that's common knowledge. He's very fair and even-handed with everyone. He doesn't let politics get in the way of what needs to be done. All and all he's an excellent Grand Admiral."
You nod your head and then ask, "but what's his personality like, what does he like to do, things like that."
Again Mira pauses to think. "Well, he likes art. Some people say he studies it and is able to know what someone will do by the art they created. As for personality, I don't really know. He never gets angry, never raises his voice. He's hard to read." She shrugs her shoulders. "Servants don't really spend much time around the Grand Admiral, as you can probably guess."
As you nod again Mira says in a conspiratorial tone of voice, "but he is very handsome, isn't he?"
As you look at her, startled she gives you a sly wink, then starts giggling.
"I hadn't noticed," you say. And you hadn't. You had been to busy thinking about what Thrawn taking you away from your home meant rather than focusing on the man himself. As you think back to the few minutes you had seen Thrawn for, you recall that he was rather handsome. He had noble features.
"He has blue skin," you say. Then you blush. "Sorry, I didn't mean that to sound so discriminatory it's just..."
Mira holds up a hand. "I know what you mean," she says. "We, human girls, tend to picture ourselves ending up with human boys. It's just the way of things. But I'm sure that under that uniform of his Thrawn's anatomy is just like that of a human male, only with a color difference."
You feel your cheeks flush in embarrassment and try to squawk out an indignant reply, but Mira has already gotten to her feet. She smiles mischievously at you as she holds out her hand to help you up.
"Sorry, sorry," Mira says between giggles. "I know it's a little early to think about that, the wedding isn't for almost a year, correct?"
You mutter an affirmative response, still blushing furiously. Then you follow Mira over to the table where she sits you down then presents you with your dinner.
"Normally Grand Admiral Thrawn will be eating with you, but today he is rather busy what with the Chimaera taking off and communicating the new planet joining the empire," Mira explains.
"When will I meet him?" you ask nervously.
Mira squeezes your hand reassuringly. "You'll meet him tomorrow," she says. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll treat you kindly."
Mira then takes a step back from the table and gives a slight bow. "Good night, Miss. Simply press the button beside the door when you are ready for your dishes to be taken away or if you need anything." Mira then walks out of the room, the door sliding shut with a soft his.
Your conversation with Mira helped calm your nerves, but you're still apprehensive about the whole situation.
You finish your dinner, press the button for a servant to take your dishes, and, seeing that it was about the time you normally retired for the night, dressed in your nightclothes and laid down in the unfamiliar bed. On an unfamiliar ship. Sleep comes slowly.
