𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙠𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨

• where she belongs •

"My darling daughter," King Amedius smiled widely as you got to the bottom stair of the huge hall, his hand outstretched towards you. "You look beautiful."

You smiled shyly, looking down to the navy blue silk gown that adorned your body before meeting his eyes. "Thank you, Father."

He took your hand before turning to the crowd, a proud look on his face. "And finally, fashionably late as always, the stunning Princess of Alderaan!"

Your people looked at you with awe and wonder, making you blush slightly.

As the music resumed, your father turned back to you, his eyes falling to the necklace you were wearing. "That was your mother's, wasn't it? It suits you."

You nodded, "It was." The necklace had  a sapphire gem surrounded by silver crystals; the one your mother always used to wear. When she died, it was the one thing you wanted to keep the most, as it was the only thing she wore on her own accord rather than it being forced onto her by her stylists.

"She would be proud to see the young woman you're growing into," He said, before leading you over to a group of senators.

You spent the next few hours exchanging pleasantries with the most important people in the galaxy, making your father proud with your formality and knowledge on current political issues.

But once night fell, the palace was suddenly attacked. Each exit was swarmed by masked bandits, causing a wave of chaos to befall the attendees. You were immediately pulled up the stairs by your guards, along with the King.

"Take them to the briefing room!" The King's advisor instructed the guards, who pulled you and your father through the halls and to the west wing.

"Wait!" You exclaimed, causing them to stop in their tracks. "The briefing room holds all our plans and blueprints; it's likely the target of their attack. We should go to the conservatory instead; it's higher up and less likely to be ransacked by them."

One of the guards nodded, "The Princess is right."

With that, you changed course, rushing up the stairs to the third floor.

A few of the bandits were on the stairs and wielded guns, but they were easily fought off by your highly trained guards. Once you had made it to the conservatory, two of the guards remained in the room with you while the other two left.

"Go," You ordered the two guards who frowned at you. "We don't need you in here. We're safe. The knights need all the help they can get. Go!"

They shared a look before nodding at you and leaving, locking you and your father in and turning back to kill the rest of the infiltrators.

Your father rubbed his forehead, shaking his head. "How was this possible? We have guards appointed outside the palace. They should have eliminated the threat before they got anywhere near the building!"

"Calm down, Father, I'm sure Captain Culbrome and the rest of the knights will take care of it," You assured him, itching to get outside and see what was going on as you heard shooting and yells.

Just then, the window smashed open, the glass exploding all over you and your father. He immediately wrapped his arm around you, his hand struggling to open the locked door. "Guards!" He yelled, but alas, nobody heard him through the chaos.

Three of the masked bandits swooped into the window, making your father pull you backwards.

"Stay back!" The King warned them, his eyes wide. "Leave now, and you may still have your freedom!"

"It's not my freedom that I want," One of them replied, his mask muffling his voice. "I want the Princess."

The King's arm tightened around you. "Absolutely not!"