Chapter 21
Having returned the boat to the bored shopkeeper, the trio made their way back into Theed. They made the journey in a tense silence, all three firmly aware that they were taking an unnecessary risk. But Luke had been insistent.
"Do you want to pretend that she wasn't our mother?" he had accused Leia the previous night.
"No, of course not – "
"Then what is the problem?"
Leia had dropped the issue then, not wanting to get into an argument while the Naberries were still home. She had tried to talk some sense into him on the dock, but once again had gotten nowhere. The harsh reality was that Luke did not understand politics like she did. Sourna had indeed flipped her allegiance towards the Rebellion towards the end of the war, but this did not relieve Leia of her suspicions towards the monarch. After all, she had been crowned under the guise of the emperor, who had always held an especial interest in Naboo given that it was his home planet.
Coming to a stop in the city center, Luke hopped out of the speeder gracefully, no doubt using the Force to elevate himself higher than what otherwise would have been possible. Not one to be outdone, Leia tried to do the same, but she caught her foot on the side of the speeder, causing her to tumble inelegantly to the ground. Han couldn't help but snigger, as he exited the speeder by opening the side door like a normal person. Standing up and brushing herself off, Leia gave Han a sour look. Luke, for his part, had seemed not to have noticed Leia's blunder and was instead looking around at the towering buildings around them.
"Where am I supposed to go?" he asked to nobody in particular.
Han snorted. "You drove us here, we thought you knew where you were going."
"I figured finding a palace wouldn't be terribly difficult," he responded with a shrug.
Leia sighed. "Come on," she said, taking Luke by the arm and dragging him in the direction of the main road. "I thought pilots were supposed to have a good sense of direction."
"And I thought princesses were supposed to be graceful," Luke retorted with a grin. Leia rolled her eyes. So he had seen that she thought to herself morosely.
Yes, yes I did Luke responded.
Get out of my head, Luke!
Han gave Luke a funny look when the younger man started laughing at nothing in particular. Noticing Han's confusion, Luke cleared his throat and looked away. Once they reached the main road, the made their way down towards the Royal Palace, which loomed impressively at the end of the wide street.
"Wow," Luke said as he took in the majestic building. Ignoring Luke's awe, Leia's eyes darted around at the crowd of people flowing past them, a hand instinctively resting on her lightsaber under her robes.
"Come on," she muttered to Luke. "We need to keep moving." Pushing through the crowds, they made their way towards the Palace which seemed to grow exponentially in size as they approached. Reaching the front steps, they were stopped by a broad-shouldered security guard.
"Stop right there," he said in a deep voice. "What is your business here?"
Luke stepped forward, his hand held out to stop Leia from following him. "I am here to request an audience with the Queen," he said confidently.
The guard raised his eyebrows. "Do you have an appointment?" he asked.
"No, but –"
"No appointment, no audience," the guard interrupted, clearly annoyed. "You have to schedule these things months in advance. Move along."
"Wait, you don't understand –"
"Sir, I will forcibly remove you if you don't leave now."
Luke slouched his shoulders. In his typical haste, he hadn't given much thought into how he was actually going to get an audience with the Queen. He could try using a mind trick, but he wasn't sure it would work on the guard who was steadfastly determined to remove Luke from the premises. Fortunately for Luke, however, Leia had foreseen this problem and acted accordingly.
"You will let us through," she said authoritatively, taking a step forward. The guard turned to look at Leia and furrowed his brow at her. "We're with the New Republic."
"You must be Princess Leia," the guard said. "Why didn't the Republic inform us that you would be arriving?"
"That is none of your business," she replied haughtily. "You will bring this man to the Queen, or we will inform the Republic that Queen Soruna is being uncooperative."
The guard opened his mouth to reply, but paused. His eyes were strangely glassy. Disturbed by the look on his face, Leia looked to Luke who was grinning back at her. Nice work he said silently with a wink.
What do you mean? Leia asked.
Ignoring her, Luke turned back to the guard who was still staring at Leia with a dumb expression. "You will bring me to the Queen now," Luke said forcefully.
"I – I will bring you to the Queen now," he repeated shakily.
"You will forget that you saw Princess Leia here," Luke demanded. The guard nodded his head slowly. Blinking a few times, the guard looked back up at Luke.
"Right this way, sir," he said in a faint voice. Grinning, Luke followed the guard into the Palace, leaving a bewildered Han and a concerned Leia behind him.
Be careful she told Luke silently as she walked him climb the marble steps and disappear into the Palace. She received no reply.
The guard led Luke through a series of opulent, marble hallways into the epicenter of the Palace. As they approached what Luke assumed to be the Throne Room, he couldn't help but notice the dozen or so armed guards watching him suspiciously. Ignoring his colleagues, the dazed guard Luke had been following led him through a set of broad oak doors into the main chamber.
Entering the room, Luke saw the Queen sitting on a throne, half a dozen young girls standing attentively by her side. Opposite the Queen were two processions, one made of Gungans and the other of some elderly men in flowing black robes. As the oak doors swung open, everyone looked around towards Luke and the guard.
"What is the meaning of this?" Queen Soruna asked in a loud, clear voice.
"Your majesty, I present to you…" the guard trailed off, realizing he didn't know the name of the young man he had been escorting. He turned to Luke with a look of utter bewilderment on his face.
"My name is Luke Skywalker, your majesty," Luke said, saving the guard. "I apologize for the abruptness of my arrival."
Queen Soruna stared at Luke intently for a few moments, her eyes narrowed. After a few tense moments, she looked away towards a middle-aged woman standing next to her. After whispering something to her subordinate, Soruna looked up at Luke once more.
"Welcome, Luke Skywalker," she said, surprising Luke immensely. "Gentlemen, I apologize for this interruption. If you would please follow my chancellor, we shall resume these talks at a later date." The two processions looked at each other with disgruntled expressions, but they complied with the Queen's demand and followed the middle-aged woman out of the Throne Room, passing Luke as they left.
The guard, for his part, was looking around the Throne Room anxiously. "W-what am I doing here? Who are you?" he asked Luke in a panicked voice. Choosing to ignore the bewildered man, Luke stepped forward when the Queen beckoned him to do so. Reaching the center of the Throne Room, Luke bowed before the Queen.
"Skywalker," Soruna said slowly, enunciating every syllable with emphasis. "A descendant of Anakin's, I presume?"
Standing up straight, Luke nodded. "He was my father," he replied.
The Queen raised her eyebrows, her suspicions of the young man growing. "Are you a Jedi as well?" she asked.
Luke nodded again. To Luke's surprise, Soruna narrowed her eyes menacingly for a brief instant at Luke's affirmative response before recovering, maintaining a neutral countenance. Looking away from Luke, she raised her right hand and beckoned the two guards standing at the door forward.
"You must forgive me, but I cannot allow you to be armed in my chamber," she said placidly. "Even if you are a Jedi."
Luke put his hand around his lightsaber. While it was no doubt a reasonable request, Leia's warnings rang in his mind.
"Your weapon, sir," a guard to his left said. Hesitating only briefly, Luke produced his weapon from his belt. Twirling it once so that the inactivated blade faced himself rather than the guard, Luke offered his prized possession to the guard.
"Good," Soruna said. "I assure you, you will have your weapon back after we are finished." Luke said nothing, waiting for the Queen to continue. "So," she said eventually, "What brings you to Theed, Master Jedi?"
Luke couldn't help but detect a faint bitterness in her voice when she called him a Jedi, causing Luke to tense up. Perhaps Leia was right he thought to himself. Forcing himself to ignore his concerns, Luke stood up straighter and absentmindedly clutched at the locket dangling over his chest.
"Your majesty, I have come to Naboo because I have recently learned the identity of my birth mother who hailed from this world."
Somewhat surprised, Soruna sat back a bit in her throne. "Is that so? Forgive me, but what does this have to do me?" she asked.
Luke smiled faintly. Taking his hand off the locket, he placed both his hands in front of him in an attempt to convey that he was not a threat. "Because, your majesty, I am the son of Queen Amidala."