IT'S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE
The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
Take what you have gathered from coincidence.
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets.
The sky, too, is folding under you
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.
That's enough Bob Dylan for now. We left Dalla on the steps of the palace, stunned, and in Sanjay Rash's arms. We return to her in the same awful position. - LS
...
Dono's scarf lies crumpled on the palace steps, a colorful shock against the drab brick. When she's conscious enough to realize what it is, Dalla's only groggy thought is wait, why isn't it on my head?
Sanjay Rash deftly unwinds the scarf from her head and casts it to the ground after making the comment about her veil, and then leans Dalla against him. His arms are the only thing keeping her upright, and he's wicked strong.
Instead of the scarf there's something else weighing on her neck, something very red. Blood. It's blood. Did I do it? Did I cut my own throat? If I did then why am I still alive?
The blood doesn't trickle so Dalla experimentally goes to touch it, even though her arm feels more like a flipper.
"Don't knock the necklace askew," Rash whispers and pushes her arm back down to her side. He awkwardly juggles her in one arm while fiddling around his shoulders with the other. A second later he composes himself, straightens the bloodred necklace, and settles a heavy cloak around her shoulders.
A bride's cloak, she realizes with sudden clarity. If it's a bride's cloak, then this must be the necklace he gave Aunt Shara, and that means - her eyes go huge - oh no no no.
She tries to pull away and shove the cloak off her shoulders, but even trying to hold her own weight sends her spiralling back to darkness. Rash wraps his other arm around her, holding her close and clamping the cloak in place.
"Hush, you're alright," he whispers to her, and then to the crowd in a loud and jovial voice: "It seems even ladies fall prey to bride jitters."
Dalla shuffles her feet trying to gain purchase on the ground and ignores the black spots poking at her vision. Rash's grip is like a vise, and there's no way she's breaking it until the stun pulse wears off more. Scream Dalla, scream! Don't let him pass off this bride jitters story!
Her voice only comes in harsh hiccups and Rash rubs a soothing circle on her back in response. "Shh. Everything is going to be fine, just relax and let me take care of you."
She tries again and this time he kisses her forehead. His beard itches. For some reason that repulses her more than the kiss itself.
There's a recording playing, of an old sour-faced woman. It's so loud Dalla has no idea how she didn't notice it before.
"I will not be alive to see it," the woman in the recording says. "But I, Lady Sanda Rash, give my permission and my blessing for my son, His Highness King Sanjay Rash, to marry Lady Dalla Blackwell."
Oh salt gods, now? He's doing it right now? She has to get out of here, but her legs don't work. She needs to scream, but her voice doesn't work. Rash nestles her head against his chest when the recording cuts out and holds it in place with his hand over her exposed ear. With her ears covered she can't hear what exactly he's saying, but it sounds like he's reading. What in the salt gods' names could he be reading? She squirms as best she can and tries to claw off the necklace. A murmur goes up from the crowd.
Rash uncovers her ear and fiddles with her left hand before taking it in his own. "It's not too tight," he whispers, nodding to the necklace. "I'll take it off once we get inside. You'd agree to that, wouldn't you? Speak up, now."
"Why, you - Dalla, don't say anything!" Lux bellows from behind her.
Lux. Dalla cranes her head over her shoulder to get a better look. In the split second before her vision blurs out and Rash spins her around to block her line of sight, she sees them: the rebels held back by droids, a MagnaGuard threatening a furious Lux with its electrostaff for his outburst, Steela and Saw fixing Rash with identical glares, poor Dono dead on the steps, Thias spitting and swearing, Kason's mouth frozen open in a silent scream. King Dendup's head back in the guillotine.
Rash lets go of her hand with a final squeeze and tips her chin up to meet his eyes, eyes he doesn't have a right in the galaxy to share with Miranda.
"Yes?" It's not a question.
Dalla tries to scream.
Luckily Rash takes it that she's physically unable to say anything, be it the vows he wants or the curses she needs. "We'll try again in a minute," he whispers, ducks for a second and scoops her off her feet, wrapping the cloak around her and immobilizing her like so much a swaddled baby.
"The wedding will be held inside," he says to the crowd. "I wish you all could witness it, but we all must make concessions -" he squeezes Dalla on concessions - "In life. Until then, watch as these traitors all endure the same punishment."
The droids force the rebels into a line after Dendup. Lux first (best to kill the heir the second he rises), then Saw (he really must have said something to make Rash mad), followed by Steela (it wouldn't do for the rebellion's leader to go on living), and Hutch and lastly, Thias.
Thias! Dalla thrashes as hard as she can, ignoring the pounding in her head and her spinning vision. I'm coming Thias, I'm coming! I won't let them take your head. I'm going to get to you. Just hold on!
Rash pins her arms. "Hold still. What could possibly have upset you so much? They're traitors, my lady wife."
Dalla pitches herself forward, stun pulse be damned. She'll crawl to her brother if she has to.
"That kid's not one of us," Steela says and jerks her head to Thias. "He's just some idiot who was running along for fun."
"He is," Lux agrees. "He didn't do anything wrong. Let him go! He doesn't deserve this!"
But Thias, ever the philosopher, doesn't agree. Red-faced, he screams "Get your hands off my sister, you frakking kark!"
Rash freezes for a second at being called a "frakking kark" before it hits him. "Bring the boy back with Kason," he orders and then smiles down at Dalla. "Hush. The crisis is over; your brother is fine."
The crisis might be diminished, but it most certainly isn't over. Dalla gulps a lungful of air and finally accomplishes a high, thready screech. And from the crowd's reaction, it looks like the people in the front heard it.
"It's the stun pulse," Rash tries to explain, but it's not working. The murmur grows. The people of Onderon are not idiots, and Rash knows he needs to reassert his strength to keep this kettle from boiling over. He nods to the MagnaGuards. "Ready weapons and open the palace door. The lady and I are going inside as soon as Dendup is dead."
Oh no you don't! Dalla kicks against the cloak hoping to unwrap it somehow, but the MagnaGuards are already poised to deliver the pulse to the electroguillotine. She only has one arm even working at all, and a shadow of her voice. It may be in vain, she may be dragged into the palace but there's no way she's going in without a fight.
Thias turns to the crowd and screams "Do something!" Dalla works her one functioning arm out of the cloak and makes a fist.
"You know what?" Saw speaks up from the guillotine line. "Melaana would be disgusted if she could see this!"
Rash drops Dalla like a hot potato and doesn't even notice her missed swing at him. She hits the ground with a dull thump.
"You," he growls and points at Saw, "Are not even worthy to mention her name!"
Dalla scrambles to a sitting position. Willing the spots to fade from her vision, she pushes the cloak off her shoulders.
"Oh yeah? I'm not the one spitting on her memory!"
"Don't speak of things you know nothing about!" Rash shouts. He bends at the waist and goes to grab Dalla under the arms. She swings again with her elbow and this time the blow hits home, but his doublet is thick like armor and Rash is too furious to feel it. While he lifts her she kicks, beating his feet and shins. No reaction. He's like a monster, impervious to pain.
"No," she gasps and then screams at the top of her lungs: "Nooooo!"
Rash jerks with shock and the crowd boos.
"Dalla!" He whispers. "Dalla, calm down. I've got you."
"Let go of me!"
"You've been stunned; you're not thinking straight," he says. "You need some time to get your bearings, out of the sun. Let me take you inside." He pins her arms behind her back and yanks her back a step. "Come along, we're leaving now. Guards, ready weapons."
The MagnaGuards light their electrostaves and shift into a strike position.
"No!" Dalla screeches. Even she's not certain if that's to Rash or the MagnaGuards.
The crowd erupts into protests.
"They're innocent! Let them go!"
"Release the girl!"
"Kingslayer!"
But Rash ignores all of them and lifts his chin to give the signal for the MagnaGuards to execute Dendup. "This snake will not strike again!"
"STOP!" A familiar voice shatters the chaos, leaving a ringing silence in its place.
"What?" Rash hisses and turns around, spinning Dalla with him. From somewhere behind them, Thias cheers.
General Tandin charges out of the palace doors with the entire strength of the royal militia behind him. And he looks furious.
"The only snake I see, sire," he spits. "Is you!"
The militiamen surround the droids, laser lances held to their enemies.
"It's over, Rash," Dalla grunts and wrestles against his grip. "Let go of me!"
Rash shakes his head frantically as he watches his own men turn on him. Tandin doesn't waste time with the droids. Instead he advances directly on Rash.
"Traitor," Rash snarls.
"I was. Not anymore," Tandin corrects him. And with that he looks over to Saw and nods. Saw nods back, a tiny smile on his face.
He hasn't been a traitor for a long time, Dalla thinks. He stopped being one ever since he didn't kidnap me.
"Give me the girl, sire." Tandin demands.
Rash tightens his grip on Dalla. "I won't. You can't take my wife from me."
"She is not your wife. All this time, you said you would be good to her and now's the time for you to keep your word. Look at her; she's terrified. Now do right by her and let her go."
"General, don't do this," he pleads so quietly only Tandin and Dalla can hear. "She's my last chance!"
"Give me the girl or you're a dead man!"
Rash backs away and pulls Dalla closer, inadvertently bringing her legs straight under her instead of cantilevered in front. Finally, she has some leverage. Dalla kicks him in the knees with all her might.
He cries out and instinctively grabs his knee, and Dalla bolts. Tandin gets between the two of them with the speed of light and puts his lance to Rash's neck.
Dalla closes her fist around the ruby necklace and frantically pulls. She's too wired to unclasp it - she doesn't even know how to unclasp it - and she doesn't have time to figure it out. A few almighty tugs later and the clasp breaks with a tiny snap. The bloodred gems fall away from her neck, finally ending the illusion that her throat's been cut.
The droids release the rebels and Lux gently guides Dendup out of the guillotine The crowd cheers.
Thias and Kason swarm to Dalla's side, followed by Saw.
"Can you walk?" Saw demands.
"I think so." The broken necklace slides through her fingers like the many snakes it depicts. Not wanting to touch or even look at the thing any longer, she hurls it as far away as she can.
"Thias, grab one of those vibroblades and cut me loose," Saw orders and holds up his bound wrists. Thias snaps to obey and grabs a blade. "You take one arm and I'll take the other. If her legs quit on her completely, we're carrying her."
On the steps, Tandin grabs Rash and puts him into a headlock when the rebels get closer.
"What are you doing, general?" Rash shouts and struggles in Tandin's hold, but it's no use.
Tandin ignores him and instead looks to King Dendup. "Go," he orders.
He doesn't need to tell Steela twice. She and Lux each grab one of Dendup's arms and rush him down the steps and into the crowd. Saw and Dalla follow them with Thias and Kason bringing up the rear. The people part when they descend the steps.
"Let them through!" Someone shouts. "Make way! Make way for the king!"
The royal militia catches up to them when they reach the back of the crowd. "The general's still holding Rash," one of them tells Steela and Dendup after jockeying to the head of the group. "He ordered us to go with you."
"We're glad to have you," Steela says. "Everyone, split up! We can't have Rash track us to base on the security feeds."
"Then don't stay on the security feeds," someone pipes up.
Their heads snap to the alley they're about to pass and a small figure emerges from the shadows. It's Werda, the girl who told Dono and Dalla about the royal carriage.
"The people are holding back the droids to give you a head start but you still don't have much time," she says. "There's an entrance to the tunnels close by; I can take you back to base. You know I know my way around them better than anyone."
"Why should we trust you?" Steela demands.
Werda's lip wobbles. "They killed my friend."
Dono. Dalla remembers what she said while they waited for the royal carriage: I'm the closest thing she has to a friend.
"Werda hasn't ratted on us in the past. She's got no reason to do it now," Saw says.
"And she's good at disappearing, which we need to do," Lux adds.
Steela nods. "Werda, you'd better know where you're going. Everyone, into the tunnels! Let's go!"
...
Sanjay Rash stumbles up the palace stairs, each step stinging. Gods, what did Dalla Blackwell have in her boots, duracrete? For such a tiny girl, she sure can kick.
He takes a second to massage his knees at the top of the stairs and then limps toward the comm room. He shouldn't be headed there. He should be carrying Dalla into his quarters and reassuring her that everything was going to be fine, that she was his queen now.
But he doesn't have Dalla. He watched her run away with her terrorist husband, leaving Sanjay nothing but sore knees. And now here he is, running to the comm room to give Dooku his side of the story before he can see it on the net.
Sanjay runs into the comm room and enters Dooku's frequency. There's still a chance. Dooku's a busy man. He has other concerns than Onderon, maybe he was attending to one of those during the execution. He might not have seen -
Count Dooku's scowling face materializes above the holotable.
"Sanjay Rash. How are your knees?"
Yep, he saw it.
"My lord," he quickly pulls himself together. "We've had a minor setback."
"A minor setback?" Dooku repeats. "If memory serves the rebels escaped with Dendup, your best general, your 'stepson', and the bride you supposedly had well in hand."
Sanjay tries to backpedal. "We're already scouring the security feeds. It's only a matter of time before we locate them and their base of operations, and we can stamp them out."
"Or will that transpire just like this botched execution?" Dooku demands. "The people are turning against you. They watched your child bride make you look like a fool. How am I to believe you can control a planet if you can't control a teenage girl?"
"It was General Tandin." Thank the gods he can find a scapegoat for this. "His loyalty seemed absolute. He played us all for fools."
"Let this be a lesson that droids are superior to organic commanders." Dooku's snakelike eyes bore into Sanjay's own. "And this will be the last lesson. You'll rein in this planet, or I will install someone who can. Do you understand?"
Sanjay hangs his head. "Yes, my lord."
Dooku signs off without another word and Sanjay stalks off to his chambers to nurse his aching knees.
I can't believe this, he sulks and settles onto his couch. She was right there. I had her, and Kason and her brother, and Dendup too. All of them! I was so close...
I should have taken her into the palace before she woke up. Then I'd at least have her. She's so small, I thought I could keep hold of her.
If things had gone right today he'd still be on this couch, but he'd have Dalla with him. He would sit her down next to him, take her hand, and tell her she had very pretty eyes. Girls liked to hear they had pretty eyes.
He'd had the entire speech prepared, and none of it came from his mother. It was all his idea, to introduce himself and calm his wife down after their marriage. Even right before he walked out to the execution he ran the main points over in his head: you have pretty eyes. You can call me Sanjay. I understand you're nervous, but you have nothing to fear from me. You are my queen. I'm going to take care of you. I'm going to give you a child.
And I meant all of it! He mentally kicks himself. Bride jitters wear off. All I had to do was bring her up here and she would have been fine!
Well that's isn't strictly true, he admits when his eye catches a bottle of wine sitting beside one of his chairs. It's a fine vintage, and a very potent one, from his late mother's collection. She drank it on days that her medications didn't quite knock out her pain, and a glass was all it took. If it's strong enough to dull the pain from Fartrad's disease, then it would take the edge off a teenager's nerves.
Had everything gone right he would have poured a glass, taken a single sip to put Dalla at ease, and then had her drink the rest. And when the wine had flushed her face and dulled her senses, then he would take her into his arms to fulfill his last promise.
Sanjay's mind snaps off the scene before it can go any further. Gods, why does he feel like he needs a bath just thinking about consummating his marriage? Sure, Dalla's young and he didn't realize how small she was until he held her on the palace steps, but none of that bothers him. At least it didn't bother him this morning. Shara was petite at seventeen too, and he likes that in a woman.
Is that it, the fact Dalla isn't Shara? He'll admit it's a disappointment, but it doesn't affect his ability to perform. He can do it to consummate the marriage. He can do it for a child. So what is it that's bothering him?
She was afraid, he realizes. He never wanted his wife to be afraid of him, and he felt her trembling in his arms despite his holding and soothing. That must be it, but wine is an easy antidote for that. Ghosts of Dxun, if Melaana hadn't married Bremon Kira first, Mother planned to give her the same advice for her wedding night with the Lieutenant!
Melaana.
"You know what? Melaana would be disgusted if she could see this!"
"I can't marry Dane because I'm already married to Bremon Kira. I love him and I'm going to have his child."
"Get your hands off my sister, you frakking kark!"
"No! No! Let go of me!"
Sanjay's stomach sinks like a stone and then rises back into his throat with sickening speed, but that's the least of what makes him nauseous. He knows with absolute certainty this is what's bothering him.
Melaana was a little thing too. She had a few inches on Dalla, but still. And she had an issue with a betrothal too; Sanjay remembers her distress at her betrothal party as she frantically wrote to Bremon Kira while he stood by to escort her to Dane Bonteri in the ballroom below. He knew that if Dane didn't break the betrothal, or their parents kept pushing, that Mel would call in her Bremon for a rescue quick as anything. If she couldn't get away, then she'd have fought and kicked as hard as she could. And Sanjay would have helped her. Melaana was everything light and good in the galaxy, she didn't deserve to be bartered away to someone she didn't love. She was a person, not some piece of furniture!
The realization hits Sanjay like a bolt of lightning: and so is Dalla.
It's like Melaana whispered it in his ear and the revelation soon takes on a life of its own. Before what happened today he'd run his explanation over and over in his head a hundred times and it never seemed complete. Now he knows what it's missing: Dalla's responses.
Hello, Dalla. You have very pretty eyes. What, is that supposed to make me like you? You think I'm going to melt into your arms because you said something you don't mean?
No, I really do think you have pretty eyes. I would like for us to be friendly, and that starts with shedding these formalities. Please call me Sanjay. Not now, not tomorrow, not in the salt gods' halls.
My little wife - Don't you dare call me that! Get away from me!
"Oh gods." Sanjay clasps his hands over his stomach to numb the sick feeling, then throws in the towel and massages his temples instead. "Oh gods."
He's made a mistake. This is the biggest mistake he's made since he called Shara a whore seventeen years ago, and maybe not even then. Back then he still knew about Shara what he's conveniently forgotten now.
Dalla Blackwell is not a pawn or a vessel or a doll to be played with. She is a girl.
Sanjay doubles over on the couch. If someone treated Melaana the way he treated Dalla, he'd kill them. He'd tear them apart with his bare hands. And yet he did the same to someone else's sister without batting an eye. No wonder she was so scared. I would be scared too, if someone picked me up and said wedding vows over my stunned body. Especially the same man I thought killed my best friend…
Oh gods.
He can feel his sister's disapproving glare from beyond the grave. Her eyes, and the poor lost Harkon girl's, and Shara's and Dalla's. For a second Sanjay thinks he's going to throw up.
He swallows.
Oh gods.
I need to do something.
…
No regicide! No execution! Sanjay's conscience is giving him a swift kick in the pants! There's a much better wedding on the way for the next chapter! And Dalla is still single! If you're happy (or disappointed) about any of this, please let us know in the comments section. We would love to hear your thoughts!