![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darth_stitchAnd my Star Wars insanity continues...
Part II - A Lullabye for the Dreaming
A christening, this day. A christening, a celebration of new life and the promise of the future in a child born to the Prince of Alderaan, an heir to his family line.
The Minstrel made her way through the cheering crowds, until she found herself a good view where she could witness, along with thousands of Alderaanians, the Prince and Princess emerging from the balcony of their Palace, to present their tiny, precious newborn daughter.
The Prince held his daughter up so that the people could see her. With pride, he gave them her name.
Leia.
Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan.
The child newly named Princess of the House Organa looked up with brown eyes filled with wonder and curiosity at the steady stream of visitors who came to look at her in her cradle. They came and sang praises at the promise of her beauty, of the hints of a quick and lively mind in her bright eyes, eyes that were not quite the same shade as either of her parents'. The visitors came and cooed over her, leaving presents and little tokens as tribute gladly given.
One of these was the Minstrel.
It was all too easy for her to slip in and out of palaces and royal courts. Easy for a teller of tales and a singer of songs, who could offer a pretty lullaby as her present to the infant Princess.
And unremarked, unnoticed, she slipped close to the cradle, bending down to whisper ever so softly into the child's ear, giving her own gift. The child's true name.
Leia.
Leia Skywalker, daughter of a boy who once danced to the song of the stars and a Queen with the beauty and grace of an Angel.
***
And somewhere in the Palace of Alderaan’s Prince, hidden away from prying eyes, another child celebrated his Name Day. There were no guests bearing gifts to wish this child well, no father to beam with pride and give a name for this infant boy. A visitor would come, very soon, but not to celebrate the occasion. Rather, he would come to take the boy away, to separate him from his mother and sister, all in the name of his safety.
The baby, innocent of his fate, smiled and cooed as his mother lifted him from his cradle and walked to stand by the window, warmed by the far gentler Alderaanian sun. The sunlight was kind to a child who was so obviously one of its own, with his wispy hair a bright gold and his eyes a light blue – the color of the morning sky, the color of his father’s eyes.
The baby’s mother, who was once a Queen, looked down at her little boy and thought it fitting that the name she would give him would suit him so well. Her heart had broken when she heard the crowd cheer, when she had heard the Prince of Alderaan lay claim to her other child, giving her his name and taking her into his family. A sacrifice made all in the name of her children’s safety, that they be hidden from those who would kill them for who their parents were, for who they might become or from those who would use them cruelly.
The woman who was once a Queen held her son close, treasuring every moment she still had with him. Tomorrow, Obi-Wan Kenobi would come to take him away and she could not go with him, not when there were still so many interested in the whereabouts of Padme Naberrie Skywalker, once Queen Amidala of the Naboo.
Padme closed her eyes and allowed herself to picture, for just one moment, how things would be if fate had been kinder. She would be on Naboo, with both her son and daughter on their Name Day. Obi-Wan Kenobi would not be a dreaded visitor but a welcome guest, a proud uncle holding his nephew in his arms. And the twins’ father…
Oh, gods…Ani.
A soft coo from her son startled her from her reverie. A tear had fallen on his soft cheek and she brushed it away. She could not Name his sister, but at least she could do that for him now. Softly, she whispered her son’s name.
Luke.
Luke Skywalker, named for the Light that his father had forsaken, leaving wife and children behind as well.
The soft strains of music reached them, a sweet haunting melody, sung by a young girl - no, a child's clear bell-like voice. A lullabye, perhaps being sung right now by an Alderaani child as a gift to the infant Princess. Padme allowed herself to picture her secret daughter, drowsing in her cradle, lulled to sleep by that song. Just as her brother now dozed in her arms, too, smiling in his sleep, his bright spirit still unmarred by the dark truths he was too young to comprehend.
Padme settled in a soft chair, deciding not to relinquish Luke to his bed. She had until tomorrow. She would hold him until then.
Soon enough, Padme joined her son in sleep.
And in the Hall of Alderaan's Prince, the Minstrel sang her lullabye-gift in her child's clear voice, spinning her own kind of enchantment. The christening guests clapped in delight when she was done and the Prince promised her a generous reward. And as always, she made her bow and retreated to the shadows again.
Her spell was cast to her satisfaction. While her audience was pleased, the infant Princess slept blissfully.
And somewhere in the Palace, the Princess' secret mother and brother slept as well.
The Minstrel smiled. The Ways were Open. And this time, unseen and unheard by the others, she played again. Her song crept into the dreams of the sleeping children, protecting them.
Her song was what Padme heard, guiding her, as she slipped into the Dreaming.
- end part II - (tbc)
Part II - A Lullabye for the Dreaming
A christening, this day. A christening, a celebration of new life and the promise of the future in a child born to the Prince of Alderaan, an heir to his family line.
The Minstrel made her way through the cheering crowds, until she found herself a good view where she could witness, along with thousands of Alderaanians, the Prince and Princess emerging from the balcony of their Palace, to present their tiny, precious newborn daughter.
The Prince held his daughter up so that the people could see her. With pride, he gave them her name.
Leia.
Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan.
The child newly named Princess of the House Organa looked up with brown eyes filled with wonder and curiosity at the steady stream of visitors who came to look at her in her cradle. They came and sang praises at the promise of her beauty, of the hints of a quick and lively mind in her bright eyes, eyes that were not quite the same shade as either of her parents'. The visitors came and cooed over her, leaving presents and little tokens as tribute gladly given.
One of these was the Minstrel.
It was all too easy for her to slip in and out of palaces and royal courts. Easy for a teller of tales and a singer of songs, who could offer a pretty lullaby as her present to the infant Princess.
And unremarked, unnoticed, she slipped close to the cradle, bending down to whisper ever so softly into the child's ear, giving her own gift. The child's true name.
Leia.
Leia Skywalker, daughter of a boy who once danced to the song of the stars and a Queen with the beauty and grace of an Angel.
***
And somewhere in the Palace of Alderaan’s Prince, hidden away from prying eyes, another child celebrated his Name Day. There were no guests bearing gifts to wish this child well, no father to beam with pride and give a name for this infant boy. A visitor would come, very soon, but not to celebrate the occasion. Rather, he would come to take the boy away, to separate him from his mother and sister, all in the name of his safety.
The baby, innocent of his fate, smiled and cooed as his mother lifted him from his cradle and walked to stand by the window, warmed by the far gentler Alderaanian sun. The sunlight was kind to a child who was so obviously one of its own, with his wispy hair a bright gold and his eyes a light blue – the color of the morning sky, the color of his father’s eyes.
The baby’s mother, who was once a Queen, looked down at her little boy and thought it fitting that the name she would give him would suit him so well. Her heart had broken when she heard the crowd cheer, when she had heard the Prince of Alderaan lay claim to her other child, giving her his name and taking her into his family. A sacrifice made all in the name of her children’s safety, that they be hidden from those who would kill them for who their parents were, for who they might become or from those who would use them cruelly.
The woman who was once a Queen held her son close, treasuring every moment she still had with him. Tomorrow, Obi-Wan Kenobi would come to take him away and she could not go with him, not when there were still so many interested in the whereabouts of Padme Naberrie Skywalker, once Queen Amidala of the Naboo.
Padme closed her eyes and allowed herself to picture, for just one moment, how things would be if fate had been kinder. She would be on Naboo, with both her son and daughter on their Name Day. Obi-Wan Kenobi would not be a dreaded visitor but a welcome guest, a proud uncle holding his nephew in his arms. And the twins’ father…
Oh, gods…Ani.
A soft coo from her son startled her from her reverie. A tear had fallen on his soft cheek and she brushed it away. She could not Name his sister, but at least she could do that for him now. Softly, she whispered her son’s name.
Luke.
Luke Skywalker, named for the Light that his father had forsaken, leaving wife and children behind as well.
The soft strains of music reached them, a sweet haunting melody, sung by a young girl - no, a child's clear bell-like voice. A lullabye, perhaps being sung right now by an Alderaani child as a gift to the infant Princess. Padme allowed herself to picture her secret daughter, drowsing in her cradle, lulled to sleep by that song. Just as her brother now dozed in her arms, too, smiling in his sleep, his bright spirit still unmarred by the dark truths he was too young to comprehend.
Padme settled in a soft chair, deciding not to relinquish Luke to his bed. She had until tomorrow. She would hold him until then.
Soon enough, Padme joined her son in sleep.
And in the Hall of Alderaan's Prince, the Minstrel sang her lullabye-gift in her child's clear voice, spinning her own kind of enchantment. The christening guests clapped in delight when she was done and the Prince promised her a generous reward. And as always, she made her bow and retreated to the shadows again.
Her spell was cast to her satisfaction. While her audience was pleased, the infant Princess slept blissfully.
And somewhere in the Palace, the Princess' secret mother and brother slept as well.
The Minstrel smiled. The Ways were Open. And this time, unseen and unheard by the others, she played again. Her song crept into the dreams of the sleeping children, protecting them.
Her song was what Padme heard, guiding her, as she slipped into the Dreaming.
- end part II - (tbc)
