Time Won't Tear Us Apart

Ruby-Flame Jedi Queen

The wind howled in the hallway as Amidala tip-toed past the marble walls and ancient statues that had been so familiar to her before.  Years had passed since the last time she had taken steps within the palace, and normally she would have thought it to be a happy feeling.  But now there was a chill in the air, almost from a slight icy breeze.  But that was impossible, for there were never drafts within the palace as it was constantly regulated.  Even during the colder seasons that fell upon Naboo, a hearty warmth was supposed to be maintained.

What am I doing here again? Amidala thought to herself, suddenly very unsure of her purpose.  She felt naked without a purpose, for her life revolved around purpose, around duty, and here she was searching her mind and coming out empty-handed.  Maybe if I retrace my steps... Amidala reasoned, and so she turned and began to step the other way, only to realize that she was standing in a completely different room.  Am I losing my mind? Amidala wondered, and shook her head while almost laughing, for if she was jumping from room to room now than she must be more stressed than she thought.  Amidala silenced her thoughts by returning her mind to the present surroundings, and by doing so, she slowly began to recognize the structure of the room.  Finally, Amidala realized that this was the room that had once belonged to her handmaidens even though now the paint was peeling and the room was bare, leaving it filled with a dismal air.  Although Amidala would have expected to return to what had for a time been her home and a place of many memories, she found that the atmosphere depressed her, and almost spooked her.  What had happened to the Nubian Palace that she once had resided in?

"Hello?" Amidala called out, not really expecting to hear anything and feeling a bit silly for speaking aloud to nothing.  Of course, there was no answer, only a slight shift in the atmosphere of the room.  To Amidala, it felt as if something had brushed past her, yet the room was empty and�ancient.  Not old, like the palace had been, but ancient, as if centuries had passed since Amidala had last set foot in the room.  A mark that stood aside from the peeling paint on the wall caught Amidala's eye, and she moved towards it curiously.

TWTUA

Amidala frowned.  What in the world did TWTUA mean? Could her handmaidens have written this? Suddenly, as silent as the empty room had been, it was replaced with loud chatter and laughter.  The voices seemed very familiar.

"Sabe?"

No such luck.  However, Amidala did find herself in a different room when she opened her eyes, but she was still in the palace.  This time she was in the room that--oh my! It was the room that had once been her personal garden, but now all that glass windows were shattered and vines had entwined themselves around through the gaping holes.  Fearing what she would behold, but not able to stop her inquisitiveness, Amidala took slow, uncertain steps towards the shards of glass and the broken windows to look out.

What Amidala saw nearly made her vomit, but instead she let out an angry cry.  The valley and hills of Naboo that had once been a grand presence and amazing view from the garden were charred and covered with a layer of ash.  The village buildings below looked as if they had been the center of a battle scene, bricks and old furniture lay scattered and torn among the ashes, some were even half burned themselves.  What happened here? Amidala�s mind repeated over and over again as she gaped in disbelief.  Her home city; her town; why would someone do such a thing?

Suddenly all her thoughts slowed to a stop, and a panic struck Amidala's heart.  Her family.  Amidala wanted to run, run as quickly as her feet could take her, but she had lost all feeling in her body.  Even though she could feel the pungent smoke, or ghost thereof, blow past her, Amidala seemed cemented, frozen in time, and could only let things unravel around her.

Unravel things did, for suddenly time seemed to be set on rewind.  Vines slunk downwards, shards of glass flew upwards, smoke was pulled backwards towards the fire that suddenly re-kindled and grew and then dissipated from where it began.  Then, Amidala saw the ones who caused all this.  An army of soldiers, much like the clone-troopers slaughtering the people.  A man in a black, mechanical suit led them.  Led them as they slaughtered the people.  Of course, for Amidala, the slaughtering happened first, then the attack, then the city was back to normal and the negative atmosphere began to lift.  But as it did, Amidala watched her handmaidens, older and Yane and Sache not among them, creeping past the garden windows.  Her vision followed them backwards into their old room, where she watched them smile and embrace tightly, and then carve TWTUA into the wall, and then speak in hushed and worried tones, and then begin to sneak over to the Palace.  Then the whole thing stopped, and Amidala's vision was returned to the broken-windowed, vine-infested former garden room, where her body suddenly responded and began to run towards the scene of disaster, her voice calling for her mother, father, sister...

Before she could reach the broken windows, the image of Sabe appeared before her, a middle-aged Sabe wearing a torn and bloody dress.  The color was impossible to tell and the texture could not be made out�for Amidala could see the broken windows right through Sabe. Sabe had a broken expression on her face, and whispered, "Time won't tear us apart."

Sabe? Amidala thought, but she saw that the handmaiden was not looking at her but past her.  Amidala whirled around, and watched Eirtae, Rabe, and Yane drag Sache's limp body away from Sabe.  From their anguish, Amidala knew.  She was dead.  Amidala watched Sabe back away from them, as everything was still being rewound, and suddenly they all vanished.

The Palace was ancient.  The ruins of the city were as well.  And Amidala looked down to see that she could see the floor right through her own feet.  She was merely a ghost as well.  TWTUA. Time Won't Tear Us Apart.  The Handmaidens may have suffered through the tragedy that occurred on Naboo, but they remained together in spirit even now, centuries later.  Time passed on, even without them there, but they had each other no matter what.  Amidala gazed beyond the broken windows and wondered who she was supposed to have.  Sache's high-pitched laughter followed by idle chatter echoed behind her and Amidala moved away from it towards the windows.  Behind her the memory of their happiness was playing, and Amidala did not want it to ever fade.  She lifted her face and looked towards the ashes, and she disappeared.