𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐓, 𝖺𝗇𝖺𝗄𝗂𝗇 𝗌𝗄𝗒𝗐𝖺𝗅𝗄𝖾𝗋

⁰³ 𝚃𝚁𝙰𝚅𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶

˗ˏˋ𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭ˊˎ˗
𝚒𝚒𝚒. 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐

𝑳𝑰𝑨 was sitting on a makeshift throne with the handmaidens and Padmé behind her. Captain Panaka stood in front of the decoy queen and her handmaidens as he addressed the little R2 unit.

"An extremely well-put-together little droid, Your Highness. Without a doubt, it saved the ship, as well as our lives." Panaka said

Lia nodded at the captain's words. During the escape, their ship had been hit and the R2 unit had managed to repair the damage.

"It is to be commended. What is its number?" Lia asked

The little blue droid let out a series of beeps, while Captain Panaka leaned over and scraped some dirt off the side of the droid so he could read its number.

"R2-D2, Your Highness." Panaka informed

"Thank you, R2-D2." Lia thanked

The droid let out some happy beeps.

"Padmé." Lia called

The real queen made her way to the front of the room, placing herself straight in the vision of her decoy.

"Clean this droid up the best as you can. It deserves our gratitude." Lia said

She smiles slightly, teasing her younger sister. The droid chirps happily and Lia turns back to Captain Panaka.

"Continue, Captain." Lia instructed

Captain Panaka looked nervously at the two Jedi. He nervously glanced at them, urging them forward to present their plan of stopping at Tatooine.

"Your Highness." Qui-Gon started

He stopped forward.

"With your permission, we're heading for a remote place called Tatooine. It's in a system far beyond the reach of the Trade Federation." Qui-Gon explained

"I do not agree with the Jedi on this." Panaka interrupted

"You must trust my judgement, Your Highness." Qui-Gon said

Lia and Padmé exchanged a look before Padmé went to stand next to R2-D2.

❤️

Later, the ship landed on Tatooine. Padmé decided to go explore the planet with Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, and R2-D2. Lia was currently watching, terrified, as the flickering image of Sio Bibble, governor of Naboo, reported.

"The death toll is catastrophic... we must bow to their wishes... you must contact me..." Bibble stuttered

The transmission quickly shut off, courtesy of Obi-Wan, who stood up from his seat to face the decoy queen. Millions of thoughts raced through Lia's head.

"It's a trick. Send no reply. Send no transmission of any kind." Obi-Wan ordered

And just like that, the young Padawan learner moved to make his way into the cockpit of the transport, mumbling under his breath as he went. As soon as he left, Lia slumped down in her throne, exhausted. She sat and waited, horrible thoughts of Naboo floating through her mind.

❤️

They had finally reached Coruscant. The ship pulled into the awaiting loading dock, a plethora of important officials waiting. The ramp was slowly lowered and dropped down with a heavy thud. Obi-Wan, Jar Jar, Qui-Gon, Anakin, and Artoo exited the ship first. Lia led the group of handmaidens and Padmé down the ramp, and stopped before a group, consisting of Supreme Chancellor Valorum, several guards, and Senator Palpatine.

"It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty. With the communications breakdown, we've become very concerned. I'm anxious to hear your report on the situation. May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum." Palpatine introduced

"Welcome, Your Highness. It's an honor to finally meet you in person." Valorum said

"Thank you, Supreme Chancellor." Lia replied

The group began walking on the platform.

"I must relay to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation. I've called for a special session of the Senate to hear your position." Valorum informed

Lia stopped walking and faced the Supreme Chancellor.

"I'm grateful for your concern, Chancellor." Lia replied

Valorum nodded his head to confirm his understanding towards Lia. He walked behind the group to address his ambassadors for the first time since they had been sent in the first place. Senator Palpatine, on the other hand, took to leading the decoy and the rest of the group towards an awaiting taxi at the end of the lit walkway.

"There is a question of procedure, but I'm confident we can overcome it." Palpatine said

Anakin turned to look back at Qui-Gon, who was looking back at him with Valorum doing the same. Anakin lifted up an eyebrow at Qui-Gon, and Qui-Gon nodded reassuringly, but Anakin still didn't seem very convinced.

"Ani, come on." Padmé called

Anakin swallowed thickly before turning towards Qui-Gon once more, who simply nodded once and smiled softly at the cautious blonde. Anakin eventually nodded once after some deliberation, and slid in taxi. The taxi took off, drifting higher and higher into the sky, towards the apartment of Senator Sheev Palpatine to discuss the strategy for the Senate session.