A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all! Thank you for your patience. Real life kind of beat me up this week from all sides, lol.

Hope you enjoy!

…~oOo~…

Chapter Six: Choices

The next two weeks proved the most hectic, intense, emotional, and impactful in my young life—to that point, at least. Various candidates for manservants shadowed me around and tried their hands (no pun intended) at various positions. Each had their strengths and weakness. Each cared deeply. In the end, I could only pick nine, a number which had once seemed large. By the conclusion of the two weeks, I must confess that it seemed far too small.

The truth was, most of these boys were great. It was humbling to realize how much these special, talented young men desired to serve my government. How much they believed in me. In my message. In my goals. In what I wanted to do for Naboo. How they were willing to dedicate two—hopefully four—years of their lives to that service of me.

Some of the boys truly didn't fit the bill, point blank. For example, one, Siran, put on the Marks of Rememance backwards on me one morning. Automatic out. Then, another, Vall Ilv, experienced a nervous breakdown after watching me battle advisors for the better part of an hour. He admitted he wasn't cut out for this, and left. (Though I was shocked, I at least admired the honesty.) But most did fit. After all, two years of training had hardly been futile, and they'd all been fielded by Panaka himself. In the end, though, the selection was mine, and I had narrowed it down to eleven candidates before the day of final choices.

For the past two weeks, Panaka had been varyingly attempting to horn in on my decisions. Each time I'd brought my will to bear, he had backed off. It had been a test for us both, one he had passed so far. However, Panaka and I had managed to come to an agreement on a way to make the final choices.

I was looking forward to it.

…

"Alright, candidates! Gather around!" Mariek Panaka called. Married to Captain Panaka, she served in palace security, though not as a member of the royal guard. She'd been offered the position, but had declined it, and I didn't know why.

Along with the rest of the boys, I shuffled into line. After three weeks of full Amidalo characterization every moment outside my room, being without the paint or the regalia or the voice felt entirely foreign. I felt twitchy, on edge. Or maybe that was just worry I'd be recognized before this could work out. No one yet knew that Vall had left, and since the boy bore a resemblance to me almost as remarkable as Tsaben's, I had been able to sub in for him.

But these boys weren't fools, either. Soon, they would notice the difference. Hopefully just not soon enough.

"Alright," said Commander Mariek Panaka, giving a nod. "Congratulations to the eleven of you. Eight of you will be staying today. Three won't." The declaration caused a great hush to fall over the rambunctious and beaming boys. "Four will be Inner-Circle manservants. Four will be Outer-Circle manservants. The outcomes of who will fill each of these slots depends on this exercise this morning.

"The course is simple, put together by Captain Panaka and myself. Various threats face the hologram King. You must defend him against them. If you fail to do so, you're automatically out. Those who succeed will be assessed by King Amidalo himself and then chosen.

"Understood?"

Varying sounds of agreement rippled across the group, which seemed a mixture of nervous and determined; I understood, feeling so myself. Mariek smiled, though it was more the smile of a subterranean predator before the kill. "Excellent. Begin in five… four… three… two… begin!"

Well, it made sense why she and Panaka loved each other. He would've pulled the same darn move. I dashed off with the other candidates, blaster in hand, heart in my throat. I'll confess: I hadn't lived for eight years with the hopes of being king and willing to do whatever it took to get there without learning to wield a blaster. So, that wasn't the concern. The sheer difficulty of my task was: I had to pay attention to assessing the other candidates while also making sure I didn't get taken out too early—preferably, at all.

Soon enough, though, my lips compressed to a set line. Eyes narrowed, I worked alongside a few others to defend the hologram Amidalo from various Mandalorian attackers. (Why Mandalorians were attacking the King of Naboo, I still can't say.) We had formed a small group of six, whereas the other five candidates had varyingly scattered, fending for themselves rather than working as a team. I made a mental note of this fact, even as I leapt to the side to avoid a "spear," and Eirtam Anidalle blasted the Mandalorian in the belly.

"Come on!" Rab Vili urged. "Let's go!"

We dashed toward our goal point, shooting and battling as we went. It required intense focus to both defend the King and pay attention to how the other candidates behaved in the situation, but I managed it. At the end of the day, I began truly enjoying myself: there was an exhilaration in exertion, and in the adrenaline of the moment, and in working together with these boys. We almost made it to the end, too—only to be stopped by a new Amidalo hologram.

It happened in slow motion. A droid wielding a large-scale laser rifle approached the King's back and clicked on the trigger—

And then it all happened at once. As if in choreographed agreement, Rab, Eirtam, Sashan, and Yan Saverrrie dove in front of the droid, taking all the shots instead of the hologram King, who turned around and was ushered away by guards. The boys were dead. Officially, at any rate.

Game over.

I helped them up, unable to conceal my frown. "You shouldn't have done that. Now you're out."

"But the King isn't," Yan retorted. His voice rang as resonant as Amidalo's ever had.

"We would die for him," Sashan agreed. Though young and small, his eyes held a world of fire within them.

"Even if it does disqualify us, or it is just a game," Rab concluded. Eirtam didn't even speak, just gave his firm nod of agreement. "It means something. No—it means everything. If you wouldn't do the same… you don't deserve to serve him."

I allowed my frown to turn to a smile. "That's great wisdom, Mr. Vili. I'd be honored to work with you—each of you—as members of my Inner Circle every day," I said, falling into the King's voice.

Jaws dropped, Sashan squeaked, and there was much explaining to do after the fact.

…~oOo~…

In the end, my five Inner-Circle manservants became Tsaben (of course), Rab, Eirtam, Sashan, and Yan. My four Outer-Circle manservants became Felan, Adan Thule, Holl, and Kilk Dareed. I knew that I could trust these people, each of whom had separately or in my sight sacrificed their chances of completing the game in order to save the life of the hologram King. I knew that if the time ever came, I could count on them for real.

I didn't believe I could ever fully trust anyone except my family, but these boys could come as close as anyone. My counselors. My bodyguards. My spies.

Maybe, even, my friends. I hadn't ever had many of those in my life. It might be an unconventional kind of friendship, like I had with Tsaben so far—where we ignored in private that I was his King—but it… it might be something.

And together, I knew nothing could stand in our way. In my way. In the way of the force that was Amidalo. Watch out, Naboo. Watch out, corrupt policies of Rélàta. Watch out, backdoor dealing.

I was coming.

…~oOo~…

A/N: Challenge question 1. Favorite part and/ or line? 2. What did you think about how Amidalo made his final picks for his manservants? 3. How soon is the Trade Federation invasion coming, do you think?

Until next time,

Rivkah