Chapter Text
Nobody knew exactly how important you’d become to the fate of the Republic. Not Yoda. Not Mace Windu. And most definitely not the man who sought you out on Mon Cala, Qui Gon Jinn. Maybe his padawan did, the young man whose face kept a firm lip and had sharp blue eyes. He looked at you like an alien and had yet to determine if he’d show any cordial affection to you or not.
As the young handmaidens of Haden’s high royal court dressed you, your heart pumped in an unrhythmic style. The smallest handmaiden, named Corella, had halted on placing the bright shiny necklace on your neck. Perhaps she had sensed your nerves.
“Are you alright?” she questioned in a soft elevated accent. Your fingers rubbed at the baby blue silk gown and you sighed at the choice impending upon you. You had only been on Coruscant for 20 days when the Queen of Haden and all her planets had declared their stance in joining the Republic if and only if, you’d marry her son. An easy choice, this shall be. Yoda had said. To be wed, she will!
You didn’t have much of a choice, but you’d hope you were given one anyway. If you were so important according to the Master Jedi, Qui Gon Jinn, then why couldn’t you become a Jedi? Train with the smooth faced padawan and become better than him?
His demeanor was getting to you. It frustrated you thinking of how he so easily wrote you off. Why do we keep picking up so many pathetic life forms? He had quizzed his Master. It took all your might to not punch him in the gut, but that wouldn’t be the Jedi way, and so you swallowed your hurt and chose to carefully listen to what his Master had to say.
She is strong in the force, Obi-Wan. I believe she is the chosen one.
You smoothed the first layer of your gown and sighed again. I guess the fate of the Republic is in your hands. It wouldn’t be such a bad life to live as a princess, but you’d wish to have chosen it. At least spoken to the prince beforehand to understand what kind of man he even was. A gentleman, you hoped, one who looked at you like a worthy life-form and not some kind of scum.
That padawan was getting to you. How could your mind be so preoccupied with his stupid face when you were going to be wed! It definitely was the escort moment that made your heart jump and that was the only reason you were thinking of him. He acted like a proper human then. Carefully guiding you through the palace with his arm around yours. He didn’t talk at all, but his presence was enough to give you warmth and peace. It was like he as telepathically sending it to you. Oh great, you thought, I’m thinking of another man during my wedding.
You looked at Corella and offered a small smile.
“Yes, I’m alright. Just nervous that’s all.”
“Don’t be.” she passed you the white lacey gloves that were embordered with small faces and bodies of people you did not recognize. The white lacey gloves were a gift from the Queen of Haden herself. She told you it was an heirloom passed down from generations and how she was so lucky to give it to a proper young lady. After letting out your third and final sigh, you pulled the gloves over your hands and held them together.
“The prince is a good man,” Corella continued, “You’d never have to worry about anything and he’d devote himself to caring more for you than his own being. He would do anything in his power to truly treat you right.” She spoke in such confidence that it eased your own mind.
“I don’t doubt he wouldn’t treat me right. I just simply…” What? Can’t stop thinking about your future as a Princess and rather be a Jedi? Or even that stupid young padawan whose blue eyes were as fierce as the sea you grew next to. Like home…
“I’m just simply scared for a future I can’t see.” You turned around to locate the crown fit for the future princess of Haden. The diamonds in the crest sparkled like the sun gleaming down on the morning sea. It was such a striking reminder of how far away from your home planet you were now from. Master Qui-Gon had informed you of the most basic facts of the main Haden planet. It was an ice terrain that had see-through mountains and glittering waterfalls. The whole place was meant to shine like one big jewel and had represented the wealth of the people of Haden. An excellent way of doing so, if you may say yourself.
Tonight would be the first night of your marriage, as well as the first night of your celebration. In Hadien tradition, weddings last anywhere from 7 to 21 days. Depending on the riches of the family and the deep love of the couple. In the depths of your heart, you were hoping this didn’t last for more than an hour.
“Miss,” another handmaiden had called. She was tall and beautiful and resembled a roaring wave in all its might, “Your presence is requested to begin the ceremony.”
“Of course, please lead the way.”
The handmaiden had stepped in front of your view and slowly opened the main door. She peeked once to the right and then to the left and when she concluded that the hallway was safe to enter through, she walked out in one giant step. You followed her and it took one foot out the door for your whole world to turn black.
Great. What now?
You heard a loud scream, not recognizing it as your own, and a thud came after. A sharp object came into contact with your head and sent you reeling down. Pain erupted in your forehead and the pitch black darkness somehow became more profound. The whole scenario was enough to further darken the space around you and to completely knock you out.
You aren’t sure how much time has passed when you wake up. You slightly began to push yourself upward when a wave of pain in your head knocks you back down again. You still couldn’t see anything around you and you were beginning to panic. Were you kidnapped? And why? By whom?
There was no way in this vast galaxy that you were that important to be dragged away from your soon-to-be husband and thrown in some random cell.
Okay. Focus.
You took a deep breath and listened to the dark space around you. There were droplets of water to your right, falling from what you assumed was a ceiling. There was the sound of scurrying feet on the floor to your front. The air itself was thick with despair and the more you focused on it, the more you felt suffocated.
Okay enough focusing.
Your heart wanted to try something. Something you’ve never attempted to achieve on your own, but had overheard it happen with the Jedi around you. A force bond. Or a force call? Whatever it was, maybe you could call out to Qui Gon Jinn to locate you. You closed your eyes and took another deep breath.
Qui Gon Jinn. Master Jinn. Can you hear me?
This is not Master Jinn.
A voice, not your own, and certainly not Master Qui Gon’s, had responded. Stars, who did you just summon?
You backed away from any force calling or bonding and was now afraid of whoever had been there in your mind. Not knowing of your future, nor even being sure of your present, you decided to lay on the cold ground and sleep.
A bad idea, that was. You dreamt of your short days at the Jedi Temple and how Padawan Kenobi had just finished a study session with you at the library. He was quiet, as expected, as he read over the history of your people. At the time it would’ve been more useful for him to ask you directly of your customs and traditions, but he didn’t seem to actually care about you in general. You rolled your eyes, just like you did on that day so many nights ago and got yourself ready to leave him alone. It was then that the memory changed and became a dream of his.
“Where are you, princess?” He had muttered under his breath. He looked around the library, and then landed his sharp blue eyes on you.
“Tell me, please, where have you gone? Is there any way we can find you?”
You shook your head and began to speak, but nothing came out of your mouth. It was as if your voice was lost, lost as you were in that very moment. Padawan Kenobi did something unexpected in the dream, he laid his hands over yours and gently squeezed them.
“Princess, the whole Republic is searching for you. We will find you, but you need to help us and tell us what you know.”
You only shook your head again and just like that, the dream disappeared.
You woke up with your hands feeling warmer than the rest of your body and decided to try and feel your surroundings for any clues of where you could be. You slowly stood up, made your way to the furthest point of the cell and was met with a stone. Gliding your fingers along you tried to sense another being. You weren’t too knowledgeable with the force, yet the small lessons you would overhear from Master Qui Gon came in handy for any person in tune with the force. Your fingers began to pick up grief, and anger, and pride. A sense of doom loomed over you and you quickly put your hands down.
Light footsteps were heard from your far left and you froze in place. The steps became louder and clearer as the being stomped across the area. You felt that odd sense of doom even more now and you wondered if that person was responsible for it.
The steps were so loud and clear that you swore the person was right in front of you.
In a thick voice they spoke, “Come with me, darling princess. We will see if the Jedi truly care for one of their own.”
You silently nodded and obeyed. Their words not giving you a chance of making a choice.
As you followed this being along, you noticed small cracks of light bleeding through the ceiling. Those small bursts of light would shine on the red and black striped head of the being in front of you. Definitely not a human. And definitely not a Jedi.
The further down the cell you both went, the more light poured in. You reached what you assumed was the top of the place and the being abruptly turned around.
“Your force signature is weak. I shall train you to be strong, stronger than any Jedi you’ve seen, and together we will get our revenge.”
His voice was deeper now, and his eyes, a pale yellow color, peered into your very soul. He was looking through you, finding any ounce of doubt, anger, and fear. He pulled them out of you like a song and you were sent reeling down to the ground again.
There was a new dream, perhaps a vision as you still couldn’t speak, where Master Qui Gon was pacing the Jedi temple with his padawan behind him.
“No, Master. She couldn’t talk. I think she was in a trance or a spell of sorts. It was like she was being held back.”
Qui Gon shook his head. The dream fell apart faster than you could imagine it.
The second time you woke up, you felt cold. There was light now, but the atmosphere still felt dark and muddled with fear. There was no sign of the being that had brought you here. No way of explaining his look to Master Jinn or Padawan Kenobi.
A loud scream came from behind you and a cold feeling arched up your spine.
“Darling Princess, would you mind telling this handmaiden why she cannot return home with you?”
Your feet glued to the floor with the revelation of your handmaiden being here with you. She was being tortured by the being that kept you hostage. You swallowed the thick liquid in your throat and closed your eyes to feel her presence in the force. Instead, you were met back with pain, suffering, and immense anger.
Another scream from your handmaiden and your eyes snapped open to look at her, only there was no one there except a tall red and black striped man who smirked down at you.
“Darling princess, you need to learn how to differentiate between the lies and the truth,” he glided across the room until he was peering over you, “lesson one, the Jedi truths are fictional tales rooted in our demise. I believe you to be stronger than them. More willed and more capable most definitely.”
He fluttered his fingers over your arms, sending a new shock of fear over your body. His hands rested on your chin and he grasped it with such ferocity that your jaw dropped opened. He chucked.
“I am your new Master, darling Princess, call me Darth Maul.”