The writing is still happening! Wild.
Just wanted to give full credit and say that I've borrowed heavily from Nigerian culture to name the characters from Santifar, and will probably continue to do so when creating elements of their culture such as dress and food.
This chapter's shout-outs go to the following lovely people: VenaHope, Concrete63, LoveFiction2021 and MacGustah. Thank you all so much for reviewing!
Also I have an AO3 account now and was thinking of possibly posting this whole story there (my username is lucycourageous there - I haven't written any Star Wars fics there but if you'd like to, please do feel free to check it out!). I would probably keep updating on here but I thought it would be fun to bring Alice to a wider audience.
Anyway, on to Chapter 39!
The first thing that Alice noticed about Santifar was that it was hot and bright and very, very humid. The only thing she could think to be grateful for was that these guys hadn't snatched her from Hoth – it didn't bear thinking about how sweaty she would be if she had to walk through air this muggy in her thermals and fluffy coat.
There were several people waiting for them in the speeder, all dressed in smart, military uniforms – but no stormtroopers, which was a relief at least. The one in the lead was a woman with a shrewd, weather-beaten look to her face, her thick, dark hair clipped close to her skull. Alice had met enough soldiers by now to recognise a commanding officer when she saw one, and a tough one at that. For a moment, their eyes met and the woman frowned at her, her full lips pressing together into a firm line. Unsure what to do, Alice dropped her gaze to the ground; it felt like an eternity before her attention moved on.
"I am Ibilola Chizindu, the captain of Lady Oluwa's security team." The woman's voice was pleasantly rich and low, painting a strong contrast with her clipped, matter of fact tone, "And I want it to be perfectly clear that I advised the senator against hiring you in the first place. I don't trust bounty hunter scum like you and if any of this-" she gestured emphatically at Alice, "is part of a plot to harm her, you will answer for it to me. Is that understood?"
Sen's forked tongue flicked out to taste the air, his reptilian eyes glittering dangerously, but he nodded curtly, "Understood."
"Very well. Two of you may come aboard with the girl, the third will stay here with two of my men."
Sen let out a sharp hissing breath, "Fine."
Three million credits must be a lot of money.
Sen had turned to his companions, "Pax?"
The droid's eyes flickered and he nodded stiffly, "I will remain with the ship."
"Good. Then you may board." Sen took a step towards the speeder, but Chizindu turned her head, fixing her gaze squarely on Alice again, "The girl first."
Deciding it was best to stay silent for now, Alice obediently climbed aboard the speeder, trying her best not to look intimidated as she stepped past the captain.
Behind her, Chel and Sen followed suit, while two of the captain's guards hopped off to join Pax, eyeing the tall droid warily. Then, without ceremony, the speeder pushed off and they were flying, skimming over the ground away from the airfield and towards the trees. If nothing else, at least she could be grateful for the breeze.
About five minutes into the jungle, they came across a river, broad and shining, and changed course to follow its path. Racing downstream above the water, watching the trees fly by, Alice could almost pretend that she was back on earth on some fabulous holiday, travelling down the Amazon by boat. But she couldn't get lost in the fantasy for long; before she knew it, the river was opening up wider, the trees were falling away, and all she could do was stare as the city came into view.
It spanned the river, with intricate bridges carved from yellow stone crisscrossing the waters at regular intervals, the buildings fanning outwards over the flat plains of either bank like a flower unfolding. There were plants everywhere, running riot in people's gardens, climbing up the walls of houses, hanging in woven wicker baskets over doors – and the jewel-like tones of the flowers were echoed in the clothes worn by the people who filled the streets, laughing, chatting, stopping at open air markets to shop. When you added in the late afternoon sun glinting off the river, the only word for it was dazzling.
Alice had never seen anything quite like it, but the closest comparison she could come up with was a cross between Venice and some Moroccan city, Marrakesh, perhaps: colourful, bustling, alive.
The contrast between this place and the other planets she'd seen – Yavin Four, Tatooine, Hoth – couldn't be greater. Even Cloud City hadn't been as vibrant as this.
So this is the Inner Rim. This is what it looks like to accept the Empire's rule.
She clutched the railing in front of her as the speeder turned again, this time veering away from the river and up a broad street, joining a steady trail of air-traffic heading deeper into the city. Alice might be new here, but she could already tell that they were entering the nice part of town: the buildings were still bedecked with flowers, but now they had an ordered look to them that suggested cultivation and care, compared to the wild displays on the lower banks of the river. There were more gates and fences too, and men and women in uniforms standing outside them, obviously guards or soldiers.
It was at one of these mansions that they finally stopped, pulling up by a guard post. Captain Chizindu leaned forward to talk in a low voice with the man who sat in the little kiosk. Alice couldn't speak for her companions, but she personally couldn't understand a word of whatever language Chizindu was speaking now, which made her deliberate attempts to keep the conversation hushed rather redundant. It probably wouldn't be clever to point that out though, not if it was supposed to be Alice's native tongue.
The man at the gate post nodded and lifted a comm link to his mouth. The metal gate in front of them swung open and they floated forward. As they passed the security guard's hut, Alice caught the man's gaze briefly, and thought she saw his brows draw together – though whether in anger, surprise or confusion, she couldn't tell.
It took a moment for the house to come into view, as the path that led to it was winding and lined with trees; but when it finally did appear, Alice found she couldn't even look at it. All her attention was focused on the woman waiting on its steps.
It was probably just the distance or the light, but for a moment the senator – Lady Oluwa, or whatever she was called – did look an awful lot like her mum.
But then as they got closer, she saw that the physical resemblance between this woman and her mother was superficial at best. They did share the same deep brown skin and thick coiled curls, but unlike Alice's mum, Lady Oluwa wore her hair clipped short, and her eyes were a noticeably lighter shade of brown, almost amber.
No, it wasn't that they actually looked the same: rather, there was a certain something in the way Lady Oluwa stood, confident, tall, her chin tipped up, that reminded Alice powerfully of her mother. There was a young woman hovering at her elbow with a datapad in her hands, obviously some kind of personal assistant.
The speeder came to a halt and Captain Chizindu jumped out first. To Alice's surprise, Chizindu reached out to her once the others had hopped off, offering her a hand to help her down. Alice lifted her eyes to the captain's as her feet touched the ground, meaning to thank her, but the look she received in return was cool enough to frighten her back into silence, and she swallowed the words before they could reach her tongue.
"Lady Oluwa," Chizindu called out formally as they approached, "I have brought you the bounty hunter Sen Hasp and his crew, as you requested."
"You have brought me more than that," Lady Oluwa said. Her voice was clear and carrying – evidently the voice of a trained orator – but there was a tremble of emotion to it. Alice swallowed. She could feel the senator's eyes on her, searching her face, skimming over her dirty, sweat-stained clothes, and felt the irrational urge to tidy herself up.
Slowly, the senator stepped towards Alice, holding out her arms, "My daughter."
Alice hesitated, but before she could do or say anything, the woman had closed the distance and enveloped her in a tight embrace, cradling her close.
She didn't know what to do with her hands. While hugging her back felt like a lie, not hugging her felt like deliberate cruelty.
"I'm sorry." It felt like the only right thing to say, "I don't…I don't know you."
Alice heard Sen hiss softly behind her and braced herself as the senator pulled back, her shoulders tensing automatically as she waited for Lady Oluwa's reaction.
It wasn't what she expected.
Oluwa frowned, but she didn't look angry, or at least, not at Alice. Cupping Alice's face in her hands, she studied her closely, as though looking for signs of injury, "Alleya, my darling, what have they done to you?"
Uh…
"What's the furthest back you can remember? Do you remember the day you were taken?"
Ohhh… She thinks I have amnesia.
She should have expected this – after all, that's what Luke had thought, way back when he first found her passed out in the sands of Tatooine. Well, time to maintain her policy of being as vague as possible about her backstory. After all, it had worked for her so far.
"I was found on Tatooine just over a year ago. Before that I was…somewhere else. But I'm not who you think I am."
"My lady…" Captain Chizindu ship stepped forward, a faint frown on her face, and Alice's stomach twisted with unease. For once though, she wasn't sure it was her own emotion. Somehow, she thought…maybe it was the captain's.
Well, that's new.
"Perhaps it would be best if I were to take the girl-"
"The 'girl' is my daughter, and I would appreciate it if you would refer to her with all the respect you would afford me, Captain." Her voice was calm but firm and Chizindu surrendered to her at once.
"My apologies, my lady. I thought perhaps it might be prudent for Miss Alleya to be seen by a medic."
"I agree. Alleya has obviously been through a terrible ordeal and needs urgent care. Tallanah," Lady Oluwa's aide sprang to attention, "please ask Doctor Terac to come here as soon as she is finished with her normal rounds; I believe she has experience in the treatment of memory loss. Captain Chizindu, you will see these two-" she gestured at Sen and Chel, "back to their ship and pay them for their services. I want them off this planet by sundown."
Chizindu bowed low, and though her respect for Oluwa was unmistakable, she was obviously still less than pleased with this whole situation.
Alice turned to watch as the bounty hunters left. She knew it made no difference to her situation, but at least Chel had the decency to linger just a little, her helmet turned towards Alice for just a moment longer than it needed to be.
Then she too turned away and Alice was left alone with Lady Oluwa, who was watching her with a strange mixture of pain and joy. "I know this all must seem very strange," she said, speaking with deliberate gentleness, "and you may have trouble believing me right now, but you must trust me when I say that I only have your best interests at heart, and I've had you brought here to look after you."
In different circumstances, Alice probably would have found that sentiment comforting. But now all she could think about was Luke and Leia, Han and Chewie, and felt the faint stirrings of resentment.
I was being looked after, thank you very much.
"Follow me, my dear."
Reluctantly, she followed Lady Oluwa up the path towards the waiting house. Its façade was even grander than the others they'd passed earlier: a short flight of stairs ahead of them led to a covered porch of graceful arches and slender columns, and there was a balcony running around the second floor. All the windows, upstairs and down, were flung open to let in the sunshine and the delicate gauze curtains fluttered gently in the slight breeze.
Wow.
It definitely looked like a politician's residence, the kind of place that would be used to throw parties and hold conferences, and Alice felt very small and very out of place as they passed through the door and into the entrance hall.
They were met by a sensible-looking young woman who stood with her hands clasped in front of her, her thick dark braids almost glowing under the warm lights of the chandelier above her.
"Lady Oluwa, Miss Alleya."
To Alice's extreme embarrassment, she dipped into a gesture that was half a bow, half a curtsey. Had anyone ever bowed to her? She'd been saluted a couple of times, but bowed to?
"Alleya," Oluwa said, her voice turning very warm as she smiled at the woman, "this is Teyo Adelani. She'll be acting as your attendant."
Alice's mouth dropped open, her discomfort only growing, "Uh-"
If this was what it was to be a senator's daughter, she didn't think she was cut out for it.
Seeing her discomfort, Oluwa laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, "She'll be able to help you find your way around until you begin to remember."
"Right," Alice said, warily. Just how attentive would Teyo be? It would be difficult to find time to practice with Ben or attempt an escape if she was going to be watched constantly by one of Oluwa's people.
"Teyo, may I speak with you for a moment?"
She watched as Oluwa took Teyo aside. They were talking too low for her to hear, but Alice got the gist: from the slightly alarmed look on Teyo's face, the senator was obviously letting her know about Alice's 'memory issues'.
"Doctor Terac will be coming to see Alleya a little later," Oluwa said, raising her voice to include Alice in the conversation once more, "Teyo, would you please take her through to her bedroom and help her get settled, perhaps with some new clothes? I'll join you in due course."
"Of course, my lady."
Oluwa squeezed Alice's shoulder lightly, gave her a small smile, and disappeared deeper into the house.
"Follow me, Miss Alleya."
Alice gritted her teeth – being repeatedly called the wrong name was already beginning to wear and she'd only been here five minutes – but did as she was told. Teyo led her up the ornate staircase to the second floor with an efficient grace that put Alice in mind of a hummingbird, explaining the layout of the house to her as she went.
"Downstairs you will find the dining room, with the kitchen just beyond. There is also Lady Oluwa's study, a small room for receiving guests, and of course, the ballroom at the back of the house, opening up to the gardens."
"Of course," Alice muttered under her breath, "what house would be complete without a ballroom."
If Teyo heard her, she gave no sign.
"Here is Lady Oluwa's bedroom," she gestured to a door they were passing on the left, tightly shut, "it has a private sitting room adjoining it." She waved her hand casually towards two more doors but kept walking, passing them by, "Guest bedrooms. And finally, your room."
As Teyo swung the door at the end of the corridor open, Alice held her breath without realising it, her shoulders tightening with sudden fear.
Oh god, please don't let it be creepy…
At first glance, it wasn't that bad. The room smelled fresh, and its furniture and décor were in keeping with what she'd seen of the house so far, all dark, gleaming wood and elegantly patterned fabrics rather than the bright colours a child might choose – but despite that, something about it still set her teeth on edge.
Her eyes fell upon a small collection of books sitting out on the writing desk in the corner. There were at least ten of them, as neatly stacked and organised as a set of encyclopaedias in a library; but Alice could see even from here that these weren't academic texts, but rather the kind of action-packed fantasy book a teenager might enjoy. She'd had a similar selection herself at home, once upon a time. Judging from their long-broken spines and tired, dog-eared look, she wouldn't be surprised if these were some of Alleya's favourites.
There was a jewellery box too, sitting out on the little end table beside the luxurious double bed. It was lavishly decorated, and had a large A inlaid on its lid in gold filigree. With an unpleasant sinking feeling, Alice realised that Oluwa must have retrieved some of Alleya's belongings and dotted them around the room ahead of her arrival, probably with the intention of making her feel more at home, not realising that she wasn't getting her daughter back, but an imposter instead.
Oh no.
There was a stuffed animal sitting on the bed, propped neatly against the pillows. It was some kind of big cat like a panther or a jaguar, and it looked old and well-loved, its dark blue fur worn and faded with constant handling.
There was something so sad and so lonely about the little toy, lying there against the neatly made sheets that she had to look away, a shiver running down her spine.
"Would you like to use the refresher before you see the doctor, Miss Alleya?"
Grateful for the distraction, she refocused on Teyo. "Uh, sure. But um, listen, can you…would you mind not calling me that?"
Teyo paused in the act of pulling a towel out of one of the cupboards to level her with a gaze that was so remarkably incurious it couldn't possibly be genuine, "What name would you prefer?"
"Alice, please." Teyo seemed to consider her and Alice, hoping she hadn't alienated a potential ally, went on quickly, "You don't have to call me that in front of Lady Oluwa. But if it's just the two of us, I'd be really grateful if you would call me Alice – no 'miss', either, just Alice."
After a moment longer, something in Teyo's eyes softened, and she gave a tiny little nod, "As you wish." She held out the towel and Alice took it with a grateful smile, "Take your time. I'll be here, and should the doctor arrive before you're finished, I'll knock on the door for you."
"Thank you," Alice said, though her excitement about getting to shower for the first time in several days was a little dampened as she remembered that she was going to have to submit to a doctor's examination and probably have to answer more difficult questions in the process, "Teyo."
She pulled the bathroom door closed behind her and turned on the shower, letting it warm up as she tugged off her clothes and undid the braids that Leia had put in her hair back before they left for Endor. If she was going to end up imprisoned for not being Oluwa's daughter in a few hours' time, she at least wanted to have clean hair.
Under the water, she went to work, scrubbing off what she remembered now was the accumulated grime of two raucous teddy bear parties, several dramatic falls, one climactic battle and a kidnapping. No wonder Lady Oluwa thought she was some kind of tragic waif who had been horribly mistreated.
It would have been nice to just stand in the shower for hours on end, but she didn't really want to be naked when this doctor turned up. So reluctantly, she got out, starting the long business of patting her hair dry.
There was a light tap on the door and she froze, "Yes?"
"Just me, Miss Alice. I have some clothes for you here."
"Oh." Tentatively, she propped the door open and took the proffered bundle, "Thank you."
"Let me know if there's anything you don't like or which doesn't fit."
Alice thought the latter was far more likely than the former: the clothes Teyo had given her – a pair of breezy, culotte-style trousers that would have looked casual if not for the richness of the deep blue fabric, and a simple sleeveless top in white, along with some basic underwear – were beautiful. And once she got them on, she found that the only problem with the fit was that the top was slightly too tight under her arms and around her back.
"Did they figure out what size I am just by watching that video of me from Cloud City over and over again?" She asked herself aloud, forgetting for a moment that Teyo was outside the door.
"More or less," she said, startling Alice into a little gasp, "is everything alright?"
"Yeah, it's fine." She tucked her top into the waistband of her trousers and started wrapping a towel around her still damp hair.
"I'll take some measurements later and we can have anything that isn't quite right altered. It is very important to Lady Oluwa that you be as comfortable as possible while you're here."
Alice snorted to herself. If Oluwa thought that tailored clothes would be enough to make her feel 'comfortable' here, she was sadly mistaken. Then again, as soon as she realised that Alice wasn't really her daughter, she suspected that all concern for her comfort would go out the window.
"Could I ask you something, miss- Alice?"
The deliberate way she forced herself to use Alice's name made her smile, in spite of herself, "Sure, I guess."
"What was it like, fighting with the Rebellion?"
Alice blinked, taken aback by Teyo's suddenly hushed, furtive tone, "Sorry?"
Teyo didn't answer.
"Teyo?" Curious and wary, Alice poked her head out of the bathroom, and saw that she was across the room by the door, opening it to admit someone.
"Doctor Terac," Teyo said, bowing low, "please come in."
Alice tried not to stare, but it was difficult. The woman who stepped through the door was eye-catching, to say the least: she had to be at least six feet tall, with warm red skin, striking facial markings and two strange appendages that framed her face, falling down almost to her waist, while also rising to graceful, curved points above her head.
Oh. Okay.
"Thank you, Teyo. And you must be Alleya."
Alice swallowed, "Um…not exactly…"
Thanks for reading and please review!
