Ashes

Chapter 8: Royal Blood

AHSOKA TANO

Ahsoka's fist collided with the bag in front of her again and again, her punches carrying all of the anger she felt inside her. It had only been a few hours since she was allowed to leave the hospital, and she'd already found her way to a punching bag. Her knuckles were raw and her body was sore, but she didn't care. Feeling pain was better than feeling nothing.

She wiped sweat from her forehead and sat down on the floor to catch her breath. 

"Hey there," Lux said, standing in the doorway. 

"Hey," she said softly, looking up at him. She could tell from his perplexed expression that something was off. 

"What are you doing in here? You shouldn't be able to get in here."  

"Oh. Sorry." She glanced around the room. It took a considerable amount of exploring and breaking into rooms to find it. The room was relatively small, with only a couple pieces of exercise equipment. If she pushed everything against the walls, it would be a great place to teach Alema to defend herself. 

"No, it's okay. It's just part of my private wing, that's all."

That would explain the locked doors. She stood up. "I'll be on my way, then."

He blocked the doorway as she tried to leave. "Ahsoka, we need to talk," he said. "It's important."

She hid her hands behind her body so he wouldn't see how beat up they were. The last thing she wanted was another lecture about taking care of herself. "What's going on?"

"Do you remember anything from your life before the Jedi?"

Of all the things he could've said, she expected that the least.  "No, not really. I was too young."

"I just got off the phone with Governor Sotik from Shili."

"What did he want?"

He sighed heavily. "He wants you to come back home."

She resisted the urge to laugh. Shili? Home? How did the governor even know who she was? Maybe it was some sort of trap set by the Imperials. They found out about her past, and they were on to her. 

Her heartbeat sped up. "No. I can't leave Onderon. It's a trap, Lux. The governor is probably an Imperial. If I go there, I'll die, and Alema will have no one to look after her. I can't go. I can't leave!"

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Ahsoka. Just breathe. There's no Imperial presence on Shili. This has nothing to do with the Empire or the Jedi."

"What is it, then?"

"I became the king of Onderon because Dendup doesn't have anyone to continue his bloodline, and I'm the closest thing he has to a son. He named me as his successor. When he died, my blood became royal blood, and everyone that comes after me will ascend to the throne."

"Yeah, that's how a monarchy works, Lux." She crossed her arms in front of her. "What does that have to do with anything?" 

"Bonteri blood is royal blood, just like Tano blood is royal blood."

Her breath caught in her throat. "I'm sorry, what?" She wasn't royalty. She's been a slave her whole life; first to the Jedi, then to the Empire. If she had even a drop of significance in her blood, somebody would've come for her. Someone would've saved her. 

"You're Princess Ahsoka Ra'tano, heir to the Shilian throne."

"Okay, that's ridiculous." She tried to move past Lux to leave, but he stopped her. "Let me leave, Lux. I don't have the patience for this right now." There was no way he was telling the truth. Besides, his lying is part of what broke their friendship in the first place. 

"I'm serious. You have a family there. You have people and purpose there!" 

"I have Alema. She's my family, my people, and my purpose. I don't need some messed up royal family drama in my life. I have all I need inside the walls of this castle." 

But what if it was true, and she did have a family? As a youngling, her family has been her clan. When she joined the war effort, the 501st became her family. She lost them all in the purge, so all she had was Alema. If there were people out there with her blood, she wanted to meet them. 

She softened her resolve. "I'm not princess material. Don't I have another sibling that wants the throne?"

He shook his head. "You're the eldest female of the Ra'tano line. It has to be you."

She had forgotten that Shili's monarchy was matriarchal rather than patriarchal. Did that mean she had an older brother? She had Anakin, of course, but a blood-related brother seemed too good to be true. 

 "You know I'm not a politician. I'll suck at it. The only thing I was ever good at was war, anyway. Shili doesn't even have an active military. Plus, what happens when the Empire figures out who I am? I'm sure the bucket head won't be pleased with a former Jedi ruling a planet."

"The purge was a long time ago. You weren't even a Jedi then, so it shouldn't matter." He reached out and took her hand. "I know you have a lot of things to sort through after everything that you've been through, but I really think you should do this. Go back to Shili and build a new life for yourself. Leave everything in the past behind and start over. I'm not going to force you to do it, but you won't be on your own. You think I run Onderon by myself? I have so many advisors and assistants that help me learn and grow as a leader. You'll have those resources, too. You have nothing to be afraid of."

She was silent, thinking through her options. She could stay on Onderon in hiding with Alema where she knew she would be safe and well cared for, or she could go to a planet that was foreign to her and risk losing everything for a chance at turning her life around. 

In her mind's eye, she pictured Anakin Skywalker. He winked at her, and she knew what he would've said to her if he were still alive. 

You got this, Snips. Move forward. 

"Okay," she said, letting out a sigh. "I'll go."

He smiled. "That's the spirit! I'll call Governor Sotik and let him know we're coming."

"We?"

"You really think I'm going to let you go alone? Besides, Alema's going to need someone to look after her while you're busy with whatever customs Shili has for royalty."

"Thank you," she said. Before she could talk herself out of it, she threw her arms around him in a hug. The gesture took him by surprise, but he held her close until she was ready to let go. 

"Anything for you, Princess Ra'tano," he winked. 

She rolled her eyes. "If you call me princess one more time, I'm leaving you here. Besides, saying Princess Ra'tano is just redundant. Adding the 'Ra' in front of a last name designates it as the name of the royal bloodline in Togruta culture. Ra'tano is the quivlent of saying Lord Bonteri. Regardless, Commander Tano has a much nicer ring to it than Ra'tano, don't you think? That name has a whole lot more meaning for me than any royal name, anyway."

He laughed. "Sir yes sir, Commander," he said with a playful salute. "I'll rally the troops and talk to Sotik while you fill in Alema and get ready to go."

As he turned and left with a cheeky grin, she reached for the delicate golden choker around her neck. It had been a gift from Anakin to celebrate their one year anniversary as master and apprentice, and it was the only physical remnant she had from her service in the Clone Wars. 

"What am I doing, Skyguy?" she wondered aloud. Am I making a mistake?