Chapter Text
It was half-past midnight on a moonless night and, with the exception of a few dogs barking in the distance, the grounds around Theed Castle were strangely still and silent. Almost too quiet for a fortress facing invasion by an overwhelming force within hours or days.
If they only knew.
Was it arrogance or merely apathy that was behind this apparent lack of preparedness? To the two unseen visitors slipping through the shadows and taking note of the castle’s defenses, it appeared to be both. From what they’d witnessed, the people within these walls believed their emperor’s boasts that their fortress was nigh impenetrable. Their realm was too vast and mighty to succumb to a ragtag coalition of forces from the north.
That was their first mistake. They would know the truth of it … and sooner than they thought.
Having completed their mission, the scouts headed east toward the service gate they had used to gain entry to the grounds earlier that night. The two stayed close to the castle’s massive foundation as they walked to avoid detection by sentries. They were just rounding a corner when the heavy door at the foot of a lonely tower heaved outward.
A half-dozen gold-cloaked guards exited the tower carrying torches that cast long shadows over the surrounding garden. They arrayed themselves in a semi-circle around the marble statue of a woman whose hands lifted toward the heavens in supplication.
Unable to move forward for fear of revealing their presence, the scouts silently retreated into the darkest of the shadows and waited.
A high-pitched cry soon split the night. “Noooooooooooooooo! Grandfather, please! Don’t! I beg you!!”
Two other guards could be seen dragging a young woman out into the garden. She was dressed only in her night clothes. They each held one of her arms in a tight grip as they paused directly in front of the statue and turned expectantly toward the door.
“Quiet girl!” A robed figure stepped out of the door. He was followed by eight guards dressed all in red. “You brought this on yourself!”
“Is that … him?” One of the scouts asked in a low voice.
“Mmhmm,” the tall figure beside him answered. “Stay low.”
“What did I do? What did I DO?!?” The woman cried as the guards tied her hands around the neck of the statue.
“You know what you did, girl!”
“No, please! It’s not my birthday! It’s not Christmas Eve! Why are you doing this?!?”
“Because of this!” Emperor Sheev Palpatine, First of His Name and Protector of the Realm, held aloft a parchment scroll so Rey could see it. “Recognize this? It’s the letter you wrote me today requesting mercy for a boy, the miller’s son, caught stealing bread from my kitchen. Do you not remember?”
“Y-yes, but why am I …?”
“Do you know the penalty for theft in this country?”
“But he … the boy … he is only eight years old!!”
“Ten lashes for first offences!” The emperor continued, ignoring his granddaughter’s pleas. “But I will have you know that I did, indeed, take mercy on the boy. In lieu of the corporal punishment he so rightly deserves, I have instead sentenced him to spend a week in the dungeon … along with his worthless father and uncle.”
“No!”
“I’m not finished, and you will be silent!” The emperor said. “Because you sought to personally intervene in this matter and make me look weak before my small council, YOU will now bear the boy’s rightful punishment as your own.”
“What? No! No, please!”
“Ten lashes! Now, Plutt!” the regent commanded.
In the shadows, the tall scout angrily gripped the hilt of his sword. He briefly considered bursting out of the darkness, striking the emperor down where he stood, and saving the young woman – who he now knew to be Princess Reyna of House Palpatine – from her fate. But, dressed as they were – in dark clothes better suited for spying than fighting and only lightly armed – they would be no match for the 16 guards that stood in their way. It would be a suicide mission and jeopardize the invasion, now just hours away. He gritted his teeth and scowled.
The guard who the emperor ordered to carry out the lashing – Plutt was his name – stepped behind the princess and tore open the back of her light shift, exposing her pale flesh to the cool night air. In terror, she focused her gaze on a dark shadow beyond her on the castle’s wall.
The crack of a whip and her immediate shriek of pain once again shattered the night’s silence. By around the fifth lashing, she began to slump against the statue, wincing in agony with each strike upon her back. But her gaze was held by something no one else could see. Dark eyes that were staring back at her. Eyes that saw too much and not enough.
The tall scout dared not look away from the princess for fear of breaking the spell. He felt it all. Her fear. Her pain. Her loneliness. That was something they shared, he just knew.
“Nine … and 10.” Finally, the lashing ended, and Plutt stepped back so the emperor could better view his handiwork.
“Well done, Plutt. You and your men have earned yourselves some of my best ale for your work here tonight,” the emperor said with a smile. “I shall not forget what you have done.”
‘Nor will I,’ the tall scout silently vowed.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Plutt bowed low. “I remain your most humble and obedient servant.”
“Tell the priest and Lady Rose they may now come and collect their charge,” Emperor Palpatine said, ignoring Plutt’s attempts at flattery.
“Yes, Majesty.” The man turned and swiftly walked toward the tower entrance.
A moment later, an elderly priest the scout knew all too well and a young woman who looked to be about Princess Reyna’s age appeared in the doorway and took in the scene before them. The lady gasped when she saw the princess’s condition and made to run to her aid, but a warning look and a steadying hand from the priest stayed her feet.
Emperor Palpatine approached the two. “You may dress my granddaughter’s wounds but are to provide no food or water to her for three days. Do you hear me? Three. Days. She must do penance for her sins against the crown.”
“Your Majesty, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.’ Thus, sayeth the Lord. Surely the girl has suffered enough. Take pity on her and punish her no more,” the priest boldly admonished the regent.
“Mercy … is for the weak!” The emperor spat on the ground at the priest’s feet. “Six days!”
“Your grace! Please, I beg of you!” Lady Rose cried out.
“Shall I make it 12?”
Lady Rose swallowed the words that had been on her tongue, cast her gaze downward to her feet and shook her head. Beside her, Father Lor narrowed his eyes but said no more.
The emperor sneered as he passed the two, not sparing his granddaughter a backwards glance. The girl was too much like her mother … his traitorous daughter, Miramir, who had paid the ultimate price for her ‘betrayal.’ Reyna would learn to quell her own rebelliousness or suffer the same fate. He would see to it personally.
All but one of the guards followed the emperor back into the tower. As soon as they were out of sight, the lone guard cast off his helmet and unsheathed his knife to cut the ropes that bound Princess Reyna’s wrists to the statue of her late mother. He gently lowered her to the ground and let out a small cry.
“Your Highness … I’m so sorry! There was nothing I could do to stop it. I couldn’t ….”
The princess could only moan in response.
“I’m sorry!”
“She knows,” the priest gently spoke, stooping to place a shawl around Princess Reyna’s shoulders. “What happened tonight was not your doing, Finnigan. Do not blame yourself.”
Crying, Lady Rose cupped Princess Reyna’s face in her hands. “I’m here, Your Highness. I’m here. You’re going to be alright.”
Reyna allowed the priest and guard to help her stand, but her eyes remained locked on the shadow nearest to the wall. On him.
“Can you walk, m’lady?”
The princess numbly nodded her head, indicating that she could manage.
“We’ll help you,” Finnigan said, supporting Reyna’s left arm.
“We should not linger here,” Father Lor said, looking around warily. “There may well be an invasion starting at any time. For your safety, Highness, we must get you inside the tower before any fighting starts. It may afford you some protection … at least for a time.”
Reyna said nothing but continued to stare dead ahead. Her eyes, red and swollen from crying, still could not look away.
“Do you really believe the battle will reach the castle?” Rose asked nervously. “The emperor has said ….”
“The emperor is a braggard and a damn fool!” Father Lor spat out before calming himself and gently taking Reyna’s right arm in his grasp. “If I know Kylo Ren, and I do, he will be here by morning. Nothing can stop him now.”
“Really?” Finnigan asked. “Should I maybe tell someone we need to add more guards on the wall? Do something?”
“You will do nothing of the sort,” Princess Reyna said, drawing a deep breath and looking pointedly at the shadowed figure. “Let him come. Let him end this. All of it.”