What is it Good for ⎜ The Clone Wars

2

Alia had always had a strong will. Even her parents could hardly control her when she was younger and her tongue often got her into quite a bit of trouble. As she grew she learned to pick her battles and to fight for what truly matters, a quality that many of her people came to respect. It was one of the reasons that Governor Roshti had made her an unofficial advisor of sorts when he learned she would be joining the colony.

She supposed that was why she had been delivered to the queen. Based on her reaction at the announcement that Alia was a gift from D'Nar she could figure that their relationship was a less than favorable one. D'Nar had seen Alia's strength, her determination and decided to give the queen hell by letting her try to break the Togruta.

The queen had spared no expense in her efforts. Alia had been whipped more times than she could count, her muscles still sore and spasming from the electricity the whip had sent through her. Alia's first strategy had been to fight fire with fire. She tried being violent and disobedient, showing her strength and her unwillingness to even bend to their attempts to break her. She had even managed to wrestle a whip from one of the Zygerrians handling her and turned it on him, making him feel her pain. Though Alia quite enjoyed that part she quickly discovered that fighting back would only hurt her as well as her people. After a particularly bad beating that wracked her bones Alia decided to change course and gain the queen's trust, to submit and prove her loyalty. Then she would make her move and try to find her people and save anyone she could along the way. 

That was why Alia found herself standing at the queen's side supporting a platter of fruits and nuts she had never seen before when a man wearing Zygerrian armor entered with a slave at his side. A blue and white astro-mech trailed behind them. The slave was concealed by a large piece of clothing that trailed down to the floor and left only a slit for her to peek through. Alia noticed they distinctive shape of montrals beneath the fabric and her breath caught in her throat.

Was it one of the colonists?

The prime minister, Atai Molec, bowed before the queen. "My queen, I present Lars Quell."

Alia kept her head bowed and raised her eyes just enough to take in the scene below. Even from the distance she could tell the man beneath the armor was a handsome one, she could understand why the queen audibly gasped at his appearance.

"So, you are the man who claims to be acquainted with Bruno Denturri?" 

"Yes, your Highness." Quell removed his helmet, revealing brown hair and a strong jaw that paired well with his blue eyes. "However, when I spoke with him, he failed to describe your beauty."

Alia could have sworn that the slave next to him rolled her eyes at his words.

"Really?" If the queen's tone indicated anything it was that Quell had made a mistake. "And did Bruno speak of my intense hatred of him? Or did that escape his memory as well?"

Molec was quick to draw his blaster and hold Quell at the end of it with a look in his eyes that was far too gleeful.

"He needed not speak of it, your Majesty," Alia wanted to snort when Quell smoothly pushed down the tip of Molec's blaster, "in fact, Bruno Denturri will not be speaking ever again."

"What do you mean?" He had piqued the queen's interest as well as Alia's.

"Bruno Denturri's dead by my hand. Here's a slave from his palace compensation for my efforts."

Quell ripped the grey fabric away and revealed the young Togruta underneath. She was clothed in a light blue fabric, still rather risqué but far more conservative than Alia's own outfit that left practically nothing to the imagination. Gold jewelry embellished with green stones littered her body, a large piece even resting on her montrals perfectly.