Empire: The Rise (Anakin x Reader)

The Queen of Coruscant

The queen sat quietly, staring in the mirror as her lady-in-waiting brushed through her hair. A cool breeze sifted through the glass panes of her window, causing goosebumps to raise on her skin. The room was silent, so much so that a pin drop could be heard, with the exception of the wind ruffling the curtains.

(Y/N) wasn't sure that the sound would have traveled through the tension-heavy air, anyways. It was thick with the weight of her impending decisions. 

(Y/N) (L/N), the young Queen of Coruscant. The title lingered on her tongue, and she swallowed, desperately hoping to keep it inside. The truth was that she wasn't sure how much longer her position would exist.

Coruscant was a kingdom - it was smaller than its neighbors, the Empire and the Sith,  but (Y/N) took pride in the fact that it was economically stable, and predicted to grow in size and fortune four-fold over the next decade. That is, if it weren't for the war. The economic stability that she had encouraged since the beginning of her reign had cost them their homeland security, and the kingdom was under constant threat of being conquered by the Sith. She hadn't the same amount of money to filter into a military that the Empire did, and her soldiers were barely maintaining the borders with the funding they did have. The lack of available trade routes was making it difficult for them to bring in crops, textiles, and other resources that were used to sustain the people. The citizens traveled in groups to the palace gates, begging the queen to do something. 

Yet, (Y/N) wasn't an aggressive leader - she should have been a conquerer, she thought, like the rulers around her. She should have attempted to encroach upon neighboring territories, making enemies, but also making money. She should have attempted to expand her kingdom into an empire of its own right, but as someone who had only had her coronation three years ago, she had no idea how to rule as her father had before her. And now, though her intelligence and compassion had created a utopia within the kingdom walls, her people were beginning to suffer at the hands of outside oppressors. 

"You shan't blame yourself, your majesty." Her lady-in-waiting, Padme, said firmly. "This was inevitable. The war between His Imperial Highness, Anakin, and the Sith was destined to condemn all civilizations between them. You couldn't have changed this outcome."

(Y/N) sighed at the broken silence. 

"You may be right, but I have a duty to protect my people nonetheless." She answered plainly. "It's time for us to create a better plan."

The queen turned her head to the right to observe the window, framing an ink black night sky. Below the sill, stories down, were warm yellow lanterns. They lit a stone pathway to the door, meant to be inviting to a foreign convoy that was expected to arrive any minute. 

Many months ago, (Y/N) had sent a formal request to the consulate of the Empire to inquire about a potential alliance. She weighed her options carefully between the two warring sides. Whichever empire she appealed to would likely want to absorb her kingdom in exchange for their military protection, and this was a trade she did not know that she could make. 

The emperor, Anakin, was known to be particularly brutal in battle. Rumors said that he was never at home, but rather consistently at the warfront. A skilled warrior, and an inventor no less, he rarely stayed in one place. He led his army to victory in many battles for territory, creating the supermassive conglomerate he ruled today. However, because of this, his personality was said to be cold, distant; perhaps even devoid of emotion.

The alternative was the Sith, ruled by Sheev Palpatine. A master tactician, Palpatine was known not to be physically brutal, but rather manipulatively cruel. His careful planning had given him an edge over many opponents, but his people suffered greatly from his underhanded tactics. Once again, he was a conquerer, and staked claim over new lands by the month.