When Darkness Falls (Part Two) ✔️

Chapter 5

Meanwhile—as Emperor Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Queen Apailana were having their meal in the main banquet hall—little Leia was left to explore a smaller banquet hall, adjoining the main one, while under the watchful eyes of the queen's handmaidens.

This was all quite fine and exciting for Leia since this small banquet hall had just about all the wonders of a palace that a little girl could imagine. There were the great tapestries—or as Leia fondly referred to them as, "the big, biiiig, colorful blanket things"—that covered the walls; there was a long, marble table, with chairs sitting peacefully around it, running up the center of the room; some large windows looking down into a beautiful courtyard; and a couple of elegant blast doors that which appeared to be made of fine crafted metal-wood: one door leading to a long hallway and the other to the main banquet hall.

"Miss Rabé! You're putting the dishes out in the wrong order!" exclaimed Leia. She had insisted with the handmaidens on playing house. "The guests need their plates before their bowls!"

"Of course, how could I have been so silly as to out the bowls out first? My deepest apologies Miss Leia." Rabé said, chuckling at the young girl's playfulness.

"It's okay this time Rabé, but next I won't be so forgivingful! And that goes for you three as well!" Leia shouted at the other handmaidens, her little face wrinkling with play anger.

"Of course Miss Leia." said Saché, with a soft smile.

"We'll be more careful next time, M'lady." Yané said with a small curtsy.

"We wouldn't dream of upsetting you a second time." Eirtaé added, hiding her grin.

"I know you won't, I'm too cute for you to do that to me." Leia stated, flicking her hair and giving her most adorable looking face.

Leia's comment and then her hair flip, made all the handmaidens laugh, which only encouraged the little girl more. She began to strut around the room hitting pose after pose, pretending to be a runway model. Eventually, though, Leia got tired of doing it all by herself and forced the handmaidens to join her in the fashion show as well. They took turns being judges, because Leia insisted on it, "You can't have a fashion show without judges!" And of course, Leia was the harshest judge of them all. She didn't like any of the handmaidens poses—except for Saché's—at all.

"Rabé, Yané, and Eirtaé! You aren't posing right at all!! You have to pose like me and Saché!"

"Of course M'lady." Eirtaé said, bowing her head.

"Our deepest apologies, Miss Leia." said Yané, looking embarrassed, all while trying to hide a grin.

"We just aren't at your level of fashionable posing yet, but we are learning." Rabé said with a slight chuckle.

"Of course you're not," Leia said matter of factly. "But we can't focus on that now. We have to figure out who's the real winner between me and Saché."

"And how will we decide that?" asked Saché.

"The queen will decide!" Leia shouted.

And then before any of the handmaidens could react, Leia sprinted to the door leading to the main banqueting hall—the one where Queen Apailana, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Emperor Vader were currently occupying—flung it open, well more like slowly heaved it open since the door is so heavy and Leia is so small, and marched in, immediately talking. "Miss queen! We need a final judge to decide who the real model star is!"

The four handmaidens were close behind the little girl, a look of horror on their faces for they had just interrupted a highly classified dinner meeting between the queen of Naboo, a highly respected Jedi Master, and the Emperor of the galaxy. They said nothing, only acknowledging their mistake as they watched both Queen Apailana and Obi-Wan Kenobi—whose face had grown a shade lighter—look towards Leia and then to Vader with great anticipation.

"What is the meaning of this interruption?! And who is this child?!" demanded Vader.

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A/N: I would like to thank all of you for being so patient and supportive of me. And thank you so much for all your ideas, it meant a lot to me seeing how much you guys care about this story! I did take all your ideas into consideration and then meshed some of them together. Please feel free to continue leaving suggestions, I would love to hear them all.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed your early Christmas present!!!

Merry (early) Christmas!!! And God bless you this holiday season (And all other seasons too!)!!! :D

~ Sara Wingfeather ♡