"After I entered the Republic, my planet almost immediately saw the benefits of the cooperation between, -" Some of the senators droned on, holding some speech about their experiences with the Republic. Even after everything, they were still trying to convince me to enter, to make Valeria a part of their most beloved Republic. I didn't blame them, for my planet held one of the most valuable materials they could use in their war.
I sighed, looking at the other end of the table and over the countless different dishes that were placed upon it. The different smells of foreign food fogged my mind, together with the amount of alcohol they had so kindly provided. I longed for the feasts we always held in Valeria, for the loud and crowded parties we held almost every week.
My eyes soon met Padme's, and she saw the tiredness in my eyes. She smiled softly, nodding curtly as if to reassure me. If it hadn't been for her calming, yet at the same time most interesting presence I would've leapt out of the window by now.
Glancing to the other side, my eyes met Stefan's. He was positioned right next to the entrance of the room, watching us silently with his hand tightly wound around his sword. He'd insisted that he'd accompany me after what happened with Ventress earlier, especially now that the jedi had loosened their guard after 3 days of no threats. Windu himself had decided to stay outside and leave us to our 'politics', claiming he had a briefing he wanted to attend in a different room.
As one of the maids placed a new plate in front of me loaded with desserts, I tried to refocus on the story the senator was telling but found myself zoning out the moment I had tried to do so. It was helpless, and I knew it. Even if I succeeded, I knew there was no way that they could convince me to join them. Not after everything that had happened, not with what was about to happen soon. There was a continuous itch at the back of my head telling me to speed back home and to help Aidan find out what was really happening.
"You want some more, your majesty?" A high voice asked to my right. I glanced to the side and saw one of Padmé's handmaidens holding a flask of the wine from Naboo. She had the same big, brown doe eyes as the senator did and I soon felt my heart warming for her. I nodded, yet when I focused back on the conversation something etched into my mind. A lurking presence, hiding in the shadows.
Immediately straightening up, perched on the etch of my seat, my fingers wrapped tightly around a table knife. I narrowed my eyes, focussing on the threatening presence, trying to find out what it was. It was like a chill before the storm, a warning. I felt it clawing up my spine like frost, making goosebumps appear all over my skin. It was creeping closer each second until suddenly it was running at us full speed.
"Stefan, -" After I'd stood up on my feet, throwing my chair to the ground, a shot sounded through the room, glass shattered and a loud thud soon followed after. In the shock, I felt liquid streaming down my arms. The room filled with terrified screams as they all scattered, diving behind the furniture.
Something warm dripped down my arms, wettening the red dress I was wearing. As I glanced I discovered it was blood, trickling down my skin and dripping onto the floor. But it wasn't mine.
"What in the hell, -" Stefan sprinted towards the window, hid himself behind the wall and peeked outside to see where the shot had originated from.
"Queen Fireheart, what are you doing?! Get down!" One of the senators, who was now lurking behind his chair, reached out to me from his position. Yet I, as I looked down and saw the now limp body of the handmaiden, felt my body fill with rage.
At first I had this instinct to help her but I soon found out that even my healing skills would be of no use. There was a hole in her head, and as I looked through the now broken window I saw the shooter quickly standing up from his hiding spot. Our gazes met, and for a moment we both froze in our position.
"Stay here." I narrowed my eyes in determination, tearing the bottom halves off my dress and walking backwards from the windows. "Stefan, stay with them!"
"No, Lyanna, don't!" Padmé's voice rang through my ears as I darted for the window but paid her no mind. Before I knew it, I was soaring through the sky, having jumped from one of the higher buildings and towards the one opposite of it where I had seen the culprit. The wind blew through my hair as I saw the rooftop coming nearer with each second.
For any human the landing would've killed them and broken their bones. Luckily, my bones were made of tougher material. As I landed on the top of the building, I quickly regained my balance and began to run after the figure, who was just a few storeys above my own on the building next to me. We walked side by side, glancing at each other, trying to keep up with the other.
My dress waved behind me, my hair flying before my eyes but I continued relentlessly, jumping from building to building in pursuit. Somehow, besides the anger, I felt freedom. Freedom as I leapt from roof to roof, breathing in the air without having someone watching me closely each moment.
He was using some kind of jetpack, I discovered, as he crossed one of the main roads that was too wide for me to jump across. "Whoa!" Just in time did I halt in my tracks, almost falling off the edge and off the gigantic tower. He landed on the opposite side of the street and glanced back, making me able to see his face. He was blue skinned, hiding his red eyes and bald head with a brown hat, large blaster grasped tightly in his hands as a satisfied grin decorating his face.
That smile, it only infuriated me further. I growled, bowing my knees and then jumped to one of the speeders as it passed by, using it to make it to another and so on. I heard the distraught complaints of its drivers but ignored them all. It was like jumping between trees, risking almost a thousand feet fall but feeling as free as ever.
Soon I jumped across the gap and just in time caught the edge of the roof, using all my strength to pull myself up and follow the man even further. Somewhere along the way I'd lost my heels but paid in no mind. I didn't care I was running bare feet; all I saw was him and the handmaiden he'd shot.
As I rounded another corner I was standing on an abandoned rooftop in the middle of nowhere. His speeder was parked in a dark corner with him nowhere in sight. "I know you're here!" I looked around, chest heaving up and down, before I walked towards the speeder, hoping to be able to disable it so he wouldn't escape me again. "I'm the one you want, aren't I? Come to claim your bounty?!"
As I walked further I triggered some kind of trap. Electricity suddenly blinded my vision and I felt metal strings wrap around my wrists and ankles, pulling them to either side till I was strung between two walls. I pulled on them, but it was of no use.
"Exactly as I planned." The man appeared on the roof just above me, huddled in shadows. His limbs were thin, covered with leather clothes and his voice was raspy.
"Who are you supposed to be?" I hissed as I looked at him. The grin spread again, now leaping down to my level. "Cad Bane, your majesty." He took his hat in his hand and bowed mockingly. "I'm here to collect my bounty, I'm sure you won't mind."
"Well, I'm here to kick your ass, I'm sure you wouldn't mind, either." I hissed through gritted teeth, watching him stalk closer. My strength alone wouldn't be enough to pull me out of this, but as I now studied the mechanism blowing it up would break those bonds without a doubt.
Yet... I would have to use the seidr and break the promise I made to the council. They'd fear me even more than they did now and I would only dig the grave they made for me even deeper.
"Don't take this personal." He was almost face to face with me as he set his weapon to the appropriate setting, making sparks of electricity play around its end. "It's only business."
I had but a few moments to decide on what to do. I would be captured by him, and whatever master he was serving, or the jedi council.
"It sure does feel personal!" The moment he'd lifted his blaster, I blew up his little devices by closing my fists, jumped into the sky and unwrapped my wings, knocking him off his feet. He was thrown back and collided with the wall, slumping down in a heap on the floor and watching me with widened eyes.
I hung there for a moment, breathing in deeply, enjoying the sudden freedom I was experiencing and letting my wings get engulfed by the flames I had missed so dearly. Next, I dove down towards him. Bane quickly dodged to the side and grasped his blaster, firing into my direction. Blocking the shots with my wing, I stalked closer, shielding myself from the rain of fire while cornering him against the walls.
When I was close enough I swung my wing back, making him fall back against the stone by the current it created. "You just killed an innocent girl." Growling, I wrapped my hand around his neck and lifted him up against the wall as fire played all around me.
"Now, tell me, bounty hunter." I hissed, enraging the fires even further to try and scare him into talking. "Who sent you to take me?"
Bane only laughed in response, hands grasping around my own as he tried to catch his breath. "You can't run from him, your majesty."
"WHO SEND YOU?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, spreading my wings threatingly.
"I'm more afraid of him than I am of you." He smiled back, not even in the least faced by my attempts. "You'll have to kill me."
With a growl, I had grasped my sword in my hand and felt it extend to its full size. "That can be arranged." As I moved it towards Bane it was suddenly ripped right out of my grasp. I groaned in frustration and turned around to face the newcomer, only to be thrown to the side and against the wall.
"Who the hell..." I strained to gather myself from the floor, and glanced up only to meet those brown, stern eyes that were staring back at me. From the corner of my vision, I saw Bane darting for his speeder in a haste. I quickly stood back to my feet to go after him but felt the same force holding me back from doing so.
"Windu!" Yelling at him, I strained against the force to try and reach Bane as he ignited the engine of his speeder, giving me one last glance before pressing on the peddle. It felt like I had sunk into a puddle of mud, unable to move. I diverted my eyes towards Windu, only to watch him realise what had happened and drop me from his hold.
"Trooper 91123, suspect is going north, intercept him!" He spoke to his commlink quickly and watched as Bane sped away, already too far to hold him back with the force. Mace jumped down to my level, using the force to soften the fall. From behind him other troopers emerged with their blasters in their hands, following Bane with the scopes on their weapons.
"Bloody hell, are you a complete idiot?!" I yelled at the jedi before I darted after Bane again, unwrapping my wings and ready to join the pursuit. Before I could, Windu's stern and decisive voice filled the air.
"Stay here!" He ordered, igniting his lightsaber and raising his arm. With his eyes locked on me as I stilled, he pushed the button on his commlink again. "I have the queen. Get ready to take her into custody."
"Custody?!" I yelled. "The only one you'll be taking into custody is that bloody bounty hunter when I've captured him!" Wasting no time to see his reaction, I attempted to lift into the air again. As I had ascended a few feet I felt something grasp around my angles and slam me down to the ground again. I landed face first, only evoking the flames more.
"I told you to stay here." Windu walked closer with his buzzing lightsaber by his side. From the ground, I lifted my head to glare at him, eyes narrowing to slits as fire started to play around my wrists. There were so many things I wanted to do to him then that I would've done, had it not been for another figure jumping right on him from the back.
"Stefan!" My anger was quickly replaced by worry as he pinned the jedi master to the ground.
"That is the last time you'll be disrespecting my queen!" Stefan yelled, standing on his chest with his sword pointed right at Windu's throat. His golden wings were stretched far behind him, his hair blown in all directions by the wind. Behind him all the troopers immediately directed their blasters in his direction, yelling all kinds of warnings. "Next time I see you harming even a hair on her head, or speaking in a slightly diminishing tone I will end your, -"
"COMMANDER!" I yelled, standing on my feet and quickly igniting my wings to get his attention. For a moment he froze, before he turned towards me slowly. His title was something I rarely used, and the moment I spoke the word made him realize I wasn't playing anymore. "Kindly step off the jedi Master, will you?" I continued on a much softer note.
"My queen." He quickly did as he was told, glaring at master Windu as he sheathed his sword and folded his grand wings behind his back. Slowly, he stalked towards me, keeping a close eye on the vigilant troopers and the jedi who now got back on his feet.
He halted before me, keeping a protective arm before me to try and shield me from their range. Slightly pushing his muscled arm down so I could look Windu in the eye, I sighed. "Windu, I think we need to talk."
This chapter is dedicated to @Renog4rd because you're always super supportive and I love you :)) Stay tuned for more badass queen moments!