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'𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬' ════════════╝
*if this is not your first time reading, please keep the comments spoiler-free*
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐗𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄.
Dawn has long since broken, cresting over the greens hills and running rivulets of sunlight over the clear waters. A smoky rose sunrise has faded into a crisp cerulean sky. The dry grass is soft with relief after a long drought, and the air is filled with the scent of revival mingled with sounds of a world come to life.
If only for a day, she thinks.
She stands on a balcony, a queen uncrowned. Wind tugs at the edges of her dress and pulls gently at strands of lush, dark brown hair. She looks out below her, hazel eyes reflecting the rolling shades of green and tan in the distant cliff sides. With her hands balanced on the marble, she can see all of the gardens spread out below. Once ceremonial, and now with her influence made open to all.
Theed is still in a state of suspended celebration. The New Republic acts under a blissful ignorance, and resistance is still just a whisper of a word. The air is still calm, just as everything else.
This is the time in between. The eye of the storm.
There is one disturbance, however. Shrieking laughter snakes up through the garden paths. Even from where she stands, the woman can see the bushes shade as small feet thunder past, and tiny hands grasp at branches. In an endless chase, the kids run through the sprawling gardens outside of the Senator's Hall. It is lush, and above all else green with possibility and growth.
But even for the sights, the peace, the sun dipping low as another golden day fades into a star-filled night, there is an exhaustion that pries at her. It begs to be seen and heard. No laughter can push it away.
From her vantage point, she can see the blue flash of her daughter's shirt flitting through the maze of plants. It should make her smile, but dread takes the place of any joy. The little girl with an insatiable curiosity will soon see the truth her mother is desperately trying to hide. When those walls break, there will be nothing to save the girl from losing all innocence.
"I thought I'd find you out here."
Automatically, the woman's lips twist into a grin before she can even turn around to face her husband. He's tired too but still smiling.
"Weren't they supposed to come inside?" he asks, a small playing at the corner of his lips.
"Let her go," she says, melancholy in every way she shouldn't be. "She'll be back eventually."
Comfort in each other was one thing that never fades. Together, they watch their daughter have the time of her life. It's almost as if the girl knows she is supposed to be back inside already.
She sighs, finally putting her thoughts into words. "I don't want her to lose this. Not when things are on the verge of falling apart again."
"Don't say that," her husband says vehemently. He wraps a loose arm around her shoulder and holds her to him with conviction. "There will always be days like this, we just have to have hope."
She laughs, a reaction he hadn't expected.
"You sound like a senator," she tells him matter-of-factly.
He scoffs. "That's your job. We both know I don't have that much patience."
The moment was interrupted by the padding of small feet hitting the pavement.
"Dad! Mom!" the girl exclaims. Her face is flushed pink with pure joy, and her once-neat hair is a mess of light brown knots.
She runs into her mother's side and hugs her leg. The woman laughs and pulls her daughter close. Her daughter's quiet moments of pensive thought, those are her father's. The light, rebellious spirit is all her mother's.
The woman's brow furrows as she examines her further.
"Where are your shoes?"
The girl steps back, looking around for an excuse. Her eyes fall on the boy standing close to one of the stone pillars. They are close in age and quick to become best friends with each visit the boy's family makes to Naboo. Unfortunately for him, this usually pulls him into the younger girl's antics.
"He doesn't have his either!"
Sure enough, his feet are also bare and covered in mud. "It was her idea," he mutters, shifting his weight.
The woman tries to hold back her laughter, something her husband is unable to contain. This is just one mark on a long string of similar incidents. "Love, how many pairs of shoes do you need to lose?"
"We know where they are," the boy interjects. His hands are clasped behind his back, and he rocks on his bare heel. "They're by the fountain. I think."
"Right," the girl nods vigorously. Anything to keep her out of trouble.
The woman heaves an over-dramatic sigh. "Well, we better go get them. Your own parents are probably wondering where you are," she tells the boy.
She rolls her eyes at her husband as if to say, I could have told you this would happen. Then she leads the children back down to the gardens on a hunt for two pairs of shoes.
She holds herself regally, the senator within her never finding rest. She sees every possibility and then a little further. Perhaps that is why her husband so often found her sitting up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. Tragedy lives in her.
Her husband stays behind and leans over the railing with nothing but affection in his eyes. The first burst of stars is visible over the horizon line, sparkling against the deep purple. He can hear his daughter shout something about the northern star peaking out in the sky above her. It's become a habit for her to greet them each night as old friends. His wife taught her all of their names.
The man smiles. This is what life is, he thinks.
It's a moment he will visit again for years to come. Always hearing his daughter's peals of laughter drifting toward him. The last time he will smile without feeling the guilt.
The final days, the choices that lead up to an imminent disaster. The destruction of a family. And in the dusk, he could never find where it went wrong.
The thread that is about to be cut.
The precursors of a loss so deep, he will never forgive himself.
