I always loved all the Prequel Trilogy's Queens of Naboo, but there is a special place in my heart for Apailana. It started off that I thought it was incredibly cool that she was only 12 when elected, even younger than Padmé had been, and also that she was played by Keisha Castle-Hughes (who I knew from Whale Rider)... which also made her a rare character of color in Star Wars as well.

The first time I heard about Apailana's full story, how the EU expanded on her character, it just destroyed me. It's heartbreaking and so emotionally gripping. I mourned for this minor, minor character, and I thought she was incredibly brave and noble, and I refused to believe that her sacrifice was for nothing. Her life mattered, her death mattered, and it meant something that for the sharp knife of a short life she had been given, she did her best to make sure she tried to bring some good into the galaxy.

Much like how Padmé was of course Queen Amidala's personal name, I decided to come up with a personal name for Apailana since it was never stated: my headcanon is her name is Kassiani.

I hope you find this fic good reading.


It's been two weeks.

Two weeks since Chancellor Palpatine declared himself the Emperor, putting Moffs he selected in charge of planetary systems, over legitimate rulers. The Senate still stands, but anything the Senate passes that the Emperor doesn't like, he can strike down. He has absolute authority over the Imperial Senate—both Republic loyalists and Separatists are being crushed, everything is the Empire now.

Two weeks since war has been declared over, and the price has only been the Republic, democracy, sentient rights, and almost all the Jedi (rumors say even the younglings) killed, declared traitors, alongside the mandate that anyone who finds Jedi and doesn't report them to the authorities, or harbors such fugitives, is also a traitor.

The Jedi had come to their aid and helped save Naboo during the Trade Federation's invasion, and now the Jedi are being killed.

Two weeks since the Jedi were slaughtered en masse, and now any survivors are being targeted as well.

The Empire can lie all they want about how the Jedi deserved it for being traitors and freaks and power-hungry warmongers and arrogant, and an alarmingly high amount of people can believe it, but Apailana knows better. She knows her lessons.

This isn't justice, this is genocide.

Senator Amidala has always been a big supporter of the Jedi. Apailana still believes what Senator Amidala told her, that the Jedi are our friends.

Two weeks since Senator Amidala—Padmé stopped answering her comms, stopped answering anyone's comms, since anyone has seen her or had any idea where she could be.

Apailana has checked in with Padmé's Senatorial aides and handmaidens again, Padmé's security team, but nothing.

Apailana had also contacted former Queen Jamillia. She isn't as close with Jamillia as she is with her mentor Senator Amidala, but she considers her a role model as well, and they had spoken before; she knew that Queen Jamillia had requested Amidala to become Senator of the Chommel Sector. So, while knowing it was unlikely, Apailana had still hoped Lady Jamillia might know something of what Padmé was doing, her whereabouts. Unfortunately Jamillia had said the last she had heard from Senator Amidala was two months ago, then offered her condolences, apologized for not being able to be more helpful. Apailana had thanked her anyway.

(She has even tried asking Padmé Naberrie's immediate relatives, Jobal, Ruwee, Sola, Darred Naberrie, but they could only say they hadn't heard anything either, were just as in the dark as everyone else, then pleaded with Apailana to let them know of any information if that changed. It was against protocol, but precedent had already been thrown out the window in so many ways, and when she looked at their faces, saw the sleeplessness and fear in their red-rimmed eyes, the worry for their sister, their daughter, what could she do except to promise Yes?)

The closest they came to finding anything was Captain Gregar Typho guiltily saying that the Senator had told him of her intentions to go to the Mustafar system, and he hadn't been able to convince her to let him come. But her ship wasn't there, Captain Typho had checked. He doesn't know if she had even arrived at her destination at all, but if she had, she must have left elsewhere, and he had no idea where she could have gone instead. Or even if she had left of her own power.

And it's been one week since Palpatine—she refuses to call him the Emperor—released that horrible announcement video that every citizen was mandated to watch, supposedly for educating the public, about how the new Empire is ending the corruption of the old, but was clearly propaganda, meant to keep people in line, through either awe or fear.

Apailana remembers how in the holovid, Palpatine was standing beside a general named Skywalker, who he claimed was the one trustworthy once-Jedi, that the man had informed Palpatine of the Jedi's plot on his life and bravely defended him, subdued the attempted assassins, and is being rewarded for his loyalty by being entrusted to be Palpatine's right-hand man. What exactly entailed being his right-hand man was unclear, but Apailana knew enough to see that meant this man was dangerous.

Towards the end of the holovid, it was mentioned that of the Delegation of 2000 in the Senate, a few dozen of those collaborators had been found guilty of treason and arrested, and they were still investigating charges for others.

Apailana still doesn't know if it speaks to a fate worse for Padmé or not that Senator Amidala's name was not mentioned among them.

Has yet to be mentioned in any capacity by this new Empire.

Senator Amidala was, no, is one of the better known public figures from the Senate, and it has been two weeks since the Empire has officially formed, since Padmé has stopped communicating with anyone, since anyone has had any sightings of Senator Amidala either, and this new government has nothing to say about any of it.

Apailana fears for many things now. The future of the Galaxy with this new Empire, the dissolution of democracy and if there even is any hope, the future of the Jedi, if there even are any left, the safety of Naboo. But now Kassiani also deeply fears for Padmé's life.


I love receiving reviews and hearing what people think, if you can leave one I would greatly appreciate it.

This was partially inspired by the work

uneasy lies the head that wears the crown

written by nadiavandyne on archive of our own.

This is a completed one-shot, it is Part 1 of Mustafar AU.

Part 2 of Mustafar AU has been published.

It is titled applying my war paint: our house is a battlefield.