DREAMS ↠ A. SKYWALKER

ONE

     Liana Amidala was a dream made of rich silk and glossy lips. Her naïve eyes were as blue as the clearest waters and full of pure wonder. She's spent every single day of her life constantly stargazing and dreaming of what the galaxy is like outside of her little slice of heaven in Naboo.

At last, at the age of eighteen, Liana is eagerly seated on a simple transport cruiser, her seatbelt firmly fastened and her gaze glued to the window as it takes off. The lush vegetation and pristine buildings of her home grow smaller and smaller until suddenly, she's eye-level with the puffy candy floss clouds that she's always dreamed of touching.

Butterflies flutter inside her excited stomach as the cruiser speeds through the clouds, breaking through the atmosphere of the planet. For the very first time, Liana is in the surreal darkness of true space. She easily identifies the moons of Naboo in all of their tranquil, ghostly beauty, as well as the glowing stars that she would gaze at from hundreds of miles away, that are now rapidly growing larger as they speed past them.

"You're going to be staring out that window for a long time, Ms. Amidala," remarks the Naboo guard seated across from her. He's dressed head to toe in his dark uniform, yet she can still make out his tan skin. "We won't arrive at Coruscant for a while, and we'll be jumping to lightspeed soon."

"I don't mind," she replies. "Although, I still don't understand why we have to be going to Coruscant of all places."

"It is for your safety, Miss," he reminds her before folding his arms and closing his eyes. "Senator Amidala is deeply concerned for your safety and believes you'd be safest there."

Liana sighs before turning back to the window as the ship jumps to lightspeed. She certainly did not require a reminder of the looming responsibilities expected of her.

No, Liana much preferred leaving the responsibility to her cousin Padmè, who was clearly a natural born leader and politician. Liana had no interest whatsoever in politics, despite her charming personality and thorough education. She would much rather spend her days reading by the lakes of Naboo or strolling the vineyards than argue over money and war.

Liana was raised by her Uncle Ruwee and Aunt Jobal since she was born. The two lovingly accepted her into the family, and treated her as a daughter of their own. When Padmé became Queen of Naboo at the young age of fourteen, she even adopted Liana's last name instead of keeping her own.

"We're descending to Coruscant," announces the pilot of the cruiser, his voice echoing from the front of the ship.

Liana's eyes widen as they drop out of lightspeed to find the ship rocketing towards the planet. Within seconds, they breach the atmosphere and her lips part in surprise to see the urban skyscrapers and cruisers dotting the city for as far as her eye could see. A thick hazy cloud cover makes it difficult to view each individual building, but Liana is immediately in awe.

Moments later, they touch down onto a small landing platform, and Liana hesitantly takes her first steps off of the cruiser, onto a much crueler planet than Naboo. The air has a strange stench to it that makes her scrunch her nose up in slight disgust as Liana smoothes out her blue silk dress.

"Hurry, Ms. Amidala, we're in danger here," urges the guard, holding his gun at the ready as he rushes her away from the ship.

Liana glances over her shoulder at the ship, only for her to let out a scream as it suddenly explodes. Great plumes of fire and debris shoot into the sky right where the ship had just been. The world that she had so desperately wanted to see, has shown its true colors all too soon. The boom from the explosion is deafening, and her ears are ringing as she is dragged inside the building before her.