The Mandalorian Chronicles

Duchess Satine: Ad'ika

I picked up the datapad, turning it on. It was Elodie's, I was sure of it. But I wasn't sure why she ran after.... oh. 

"Oh no. This is all my fault!" I murmured, seeing all the letters she'd written to me. They were as old as probably about six years ago. Maybe seven. I'd left her at the mercy of the people who'd adopted her, which was not a smart idea, seeing the first letter. 

"Ad'ika, I'm so sorry." I whispered, knowing she'd missed me all her life. I was a terrible mother, giving her away. How would you feel if your mother had given you away, Satine? You'd feel like your daughter feels now, I thought bitterly. I stood up, looking out the window to my quarters. How am I going to get her back? How can I get her back? Just another thing I've messed up, but this time I can't go back and try to fix it. 

You can't fix a broken childhood. 

I have to find my daughter and save her. She's going to do something incredibly stupid sometime and I'm not going to be there to save her. I fear that the time is going to be sooner than later. In one of the letters, she'd attached a picture of herself. She was about eight years old, and was by a huge lake. Elodie beamed at the camera, face lit up with happiness. The entry said that she couldn't wait to find me and show me how she could do a front flip into the lake. I laughed at her innocence, watching the vid of her doing the front flip. I read for hours, following the timeline of Elodie's life. As she got older, her letters got longer and longer. More details worked their way in and so did more pain. I looked up from the letters to see two-no, three-girls spring out of the building. The tallest had short hair, wearing dirty pants and a baggy shirt. The second looked to be albino, wearing shorts and a blouse. The third was my daughter, dress swishing as she lead the others. They stopped, Elodie saying something. The others nodded and they ran on. I stood up, running to the window to watch them. 

"Be safe, Elodie." I whispered, touching the glass. As much as I wanted to go after her, I had another job to do. And this one was just as important. I had to save my planet.