Her Secret

-One-

In an enormous and luxurious house a girl was walking through the big halls daydreaming like she always did. In her mind, there was always the same conflict. Was she good enough, like her father, at following the ways of the Sith? Is she really convinced of becoming a Sith? Is she going to make her father proud? Obviously she couldn't share her worries with anyone, in that mansion the only two residents were her and her father. What's more, her father was Chancellor Palpatine, so his absence was quite frequent.

The girl was named Iris Elisabeth Palpatine, her second name was chosen in honour of her mother who sadly passed away when Iris was only a toddler. Nobody knew what had happened and when Iris tried to ask her father he would always dismiss her, telling her that he was busy and didn't have time to talk about that. But don't get me wrong, Iris loved her dad, maybe he wasn't the most attentive parent, but she really appreciated all that Palpatine did for her.

Iris never frequented new planets, mainly because since she was a child, she trained to become the Sith that her father wanted her to be. At the age of 19 Iris was a wonderful force user and had a remarkable skill with her lightsaber. Unfortunately, she didn't have a lot of friends because being the daughter of the well-known Chancellor Palpatine she had to maintain her good reputation. The only close friends she still had were Padmé and Kira Amidala, who she met a long time ago when they were still kids.

Meanwhile, with all those thoughts in mind she heard a loud sound come from the main door and Iris quickly turned her head in that direction. As she got closer to the main stairs that led to the front of the big mansion, she saw her father standing there. She rapidly positioned herself at the top of the stairs and said.

"Good afternoon, father! I wasn't expecting you that early."

"Indeed, Iris, the meeting I had to attend this morning finished earlier, and I had no more work to do, so I decided to come back" - said Palpatine in a calm voice as he went up the stairs.

"That's very good father, I just wanted to give you a few updates from my training when you weren't here. In short, with the passing of each day the force lightning is improving, and I think I will control it in a few weeks" - Iris said happily while walking along the immense corridors with her father.

"I'm so proud of you, Iris, every day I see you're a step closer to becoming a powerful Sith." Palpatine answered, giving his daughter a small smile and a look full of pride.

Father and daughter walked in those dark corridors that made their house so haunting with beautiful windows whose height wasn't something you could measure. They continued walking and talking about their day until they stopped in front of the massive doors of Palpatine's office and he said: "Iris, I need to tell you something very important". Then both entered the room. The high walls of the room were covered in dark red wallpaper, there also stood various dark-wood bookshelves full of ancient Sith codes and information that every new Sith inherited from their previous master. In the middle of the room there was a big desk with neatly organised the working papers of the chancellor. Palpatine indicated to Iris to sit in one of the two chairs in front of the desk and on the other side he sat.

"Well, my beloved daughter, as I said, there's something I have to tell you" - began Palpatine. "I know I haven't been much at home, but you must understand that this is for your own good. The war is starting, and I don't want you to get involved, you're too young, and your training hasn't finished, so I won't let you risk your life". Palpatine continued in a stern voice, while Iris looked at him and nodded. "So I have decided to put your Sith training on stand-by and transfer you for an unknown period of time to Naboo. You'll be staying in the Amidala palace, where Senator Amidala and princess Kira live. I know that this can be quite a shock for you, but don't worry, we will keep in touch, my dear."

At that moment, looking at the melancholic face of her father, Iris felt as if her world had stopped for a second. She knew the reason behind that face; Iris never went alone to another planet without her father, mainly because he wouldn't even let her roam the busy streets of her home planet Coruscant. Maybe it was the need of Palpatine to protect her, but to be honest, she was loving the idea of travelling to a planet she hadn't been on for years and reunite with her only childhood friends.

Iris broke from the trance when her father spoke. " I know that I can trust you, but you will have to follow the rules that I'm now going to explain. Firstly, it's strictly forbidden to tell anyone about your training, always block your mind, you don't know who wants to read your thoughts. Secondly, try to be as "Jedi" as you can, don't fuel the force with anger or strong emotions. I know it can be hard, but I strongly believe that you will succeed" - said Palpatine while he leaned back in his dark leather chair. "Lastly, don't let the name Palpatine have a bad reputation, you know that my role in politics is too important to be ruined by a silly action."

"Yes, father, of course, I will act with prudence, but I have a question, what will happen to my lightsaber? Because the kyber crystal is red, and that's something you cannot hide" – Iris said while she played with her fingers to try to relieve the stress.

"My dear daughter" - Palpatine chuckled, amused. " I obviously worked on that, I've acquired some new lighter clothes and a new lightsaber with a blue kyber crystal, don't worry about anything, Iris." After Palpatine said that, he got up from his chair, instructed Iris to go into the corridor and gently added: "I'm terribly sorry, Iris, for not telling you this before."

"Don't worry father, I understand perfectly the reason and the rules I have to follow, it will also be nice to see the Amidala sisters again" - responded Iris, trying to lighten her father's mood.

"That's nice to hear my daughter, you will leave the first thing tomorrow, now just pack your bags and relax" - Palpatine said and embraced his daughter before she went into her room.

When Iris was left alone in her dark slate-blue walls, the perfect colour combination for her, she started to look around her childhood room and remember all the happy and sad moments she spent there. She had a feeling this could be one of the last times she was going to be in that room. Brushing off those thoughts, Iris decided to open the various bags that were scattered around her big bed, they were all full of beautiful and expensive clothes she always dreamed of when she was younger. After inspecting every piece and finishing packing, she decided to have a warm shower in her dark-tiled bathroom.

She had undressed and took some time to look at herself in the mirror. What she saw was the light blonde hair which fell perfectly on her exposed back, her ocean blue eyes that everyone loved so much and her pale skin that showed she didn't expose herself to the sun that often. Everyone said she had the eyes of her father and the hair of her deceased mother, that she got her looks from both of them, but her father often told her she was the exact copy of her mother, the only difference being her piercing blue eyes instead of the beautiful hazel brown eyes her mother had.

After the shower she realised that it was already late, so to prevent being exhausted in the morning she decided to go to bed and forget all her worries just for several hours. 

Author's note:

Hi! I know many people don't read this, but I just hope you liked this first chapter ;)

Word count: 1395