Beyond - Legends Ta'dala Rambles - "A Handmaid's Tale, Part 6 of 6" (Sabé) <-- New Content 5/18/15 (Completed Tale!)

Thread: Ta'dala Rambles
Author: taramidala
Disclaimer: Lucasfilm and the Haus of Mouse own everything.

• Notes: Welcome to my storehouse of random pieces, inspired by the Writer's Block Challenge thread in Resource. My muse isn't so much fleeting as it is time-constrained, but anything that helps keep the blood flowing is a good idea.
• Notes 2: I have a lot of feels and AU headcanon's about a lot of characters, including OCs, so this thread will likely be all over the place. I've marked it Beyond because that's where most of my nonsense lives.
• Notes 3: If there's something I've written that doesn't make sense, just go with it. Like I said, most of my headspace is occupied by AU anyway.

Writer's Block Challenge Week 2 Prompts Used:
Idea: Write a letter to an absent loved one; Phrase: "Back to square one"


Title: A Letter from A Naboo Handmaiden to her Daughter

My Dearest Daughter:
I write this letter to you here in my diary, knowing that were I to send it formally you would never receive it. You know why. I write this letter to you so that you can know my honest truth: how much I love you, what I wish for your life, and what I desire your future to be.

You have always been so much your father’s child. All duty, ever duty. You put others before yourself. You put causes before yourself. Dearest, that was noble and true in our rebellious days, but now? Now, I wish for you to have an independent life of happiness, not one of indentured service to a set of ideals that died out long ago.

Simply, darling, you deserve more. You deserve better.

Your father changed, so I know you can, too. A life of duty without love is the precise opposite of what your father and I ever wanted for you. We only wanted you strong, and free.

You are, and have been, stronger than I could ever imagine. Yet you are no freer than we were under the Empire.

Without the one you love, and yes, I know you love him, you are a shadow of the woman I raised. I know you say that you don’t know what love is, but dearest, I have seen it in your eyes and I have heard what’s in your heart. It’s what my heart once held for the man I loved.

If I could go back to the beginning, to square one, I would fight to stay with your father despite the danger. I would shower you with more love than any Master could ever undo. I would fight for you, since you did not wish to fight for yourself. Perhaps you would understand so much more if I had.

Your Boy came to me, blaming himself for loving you, and I had to tell him the fault was not his. He blames his heritage for the way you both learned things – the truth, for one – and how to be young and strong and in love. When the day comes, and I feel that it will, absolve yourselves of blame.

Please, darling, break free of what holds you, and return to us. Return to me. Return to your love.

Is’braylem tué, eena. With all my heart.
-Your mother

 

Thanks! The language is phonetically modified/butchered Gaelic, courtesy of Google Translate. I've started to use it as a mother tongue for some of my Naboo characters. It vaguely means "I love you, daughter,"

 

Wonderful use of the block-breakers! I too am intrigued by the family and individual details. I will be watching this!!

 

This is so good taramidala. Beautifully written, and I love the mother's lyrical style, but the heartbreaking thought that the daughter will never receive it....

Since I have an idea of who the participants are and some of the events referred to all I can say is...get writing, woman!!

 

Beautiful!

But it makes me so sad to think that her daughter will never see it, but I understand why the mother wouldn't send it. It must be so hard to let your children do something you wish they wouldn't but not be able to stop them.

Wonderful use of the prompts! Thank you for participating!

 

Thanks! There may be more to come, one way or another.

I can guarantee that you are at least 50% correct! And...yes, ma'am. I'm trying!!

Thanks for the prompts, and for stopping by!

 

eeeeeeeek, I'm so behind in reviewing again!! But I'm nipping in to say that this is lovely, as always. And that I love it. The love pours through the letter, and the concern. Wonderfully done. I also have to say that I know!too!much! so I have to keep my lips zipped. heeee. Seriously, I love it.

And other fics that I've yet to review: I'm coming for you next.

 

Thank you, friend!

 

This...isn't in response to a prompt of any kind. Just the randomness that pops into my head while proctoring exams...

Notes: Inspired (somewhat) by those tone poems that peppered the TPM promotions, but...a bit longer. I have no concept of poetic structure, so as I said in my initial post, "Just go with it."



Sabé, during the war.


Title: Someday When This is Over

Someday when this is over, I will tell you everything.
How it began
How it ended
And what happened in between.
Who started what,
And when,
Between a little boy and his young queen.

Someday when this is over, I will tell you all.
Why the secrets,
Why the lies,
And who was responsible.
For the hurt,
The pain,
That made love between them so impossible.

Someday when this is over, I will confess the truth.
Where he fell,
Where she fell,
And who was in the room.
Who took you,
Where they took you,
Your droid has all the proof.

Someday when this is over, I will come clean.
I'll emerge
And find you,
When victory bells chime and sing.
For we'll all be free
To breathe, to live,
To love.
There will be no more hiding.

 

Beautiful sentiments, Taramidala. You can feel her resolve and the desire to "come clean". LOL on the droid having the proof. R2 knows all! Definitely lots of secrets and conflicts of interest and strange rules about attachment.

 

This was lovely! I love the depth you've given to Sabe with your fics, and I loved the tone of this.

 

A voiceover of Keira Knightley reading this over a montage of Sabé watching Leia grow up, intercut with prequel flashbacks, would be awesome.

(I know, pipe dream, but I'm just sayin'. Time for Tumblr GIFs and quotes, then!)

 

Thanks! It's my opinion that she knew everything. Just because she was off on Naboo after TPM, and just because we never "saw" her on Alderaan at all, doesn't mean she wasn't still close to Padme or that the Organas didn't let her in on the details.

D'aww, thank you!

There's not much out there, but yes.

And thanks!

 

I finally caught up with this thread -- I felt an affinity because of the title

About the Letter from a Naboo Handmaiden to her Daughter -- this is beautiful, poignant writing and I can feel that it's the beginning of something more. That's a set of characters I'd definitely like to know more about, so get to work and write!

About Someday When This Is Over -- this is a lovely poem and one more example of your talent at writing Sabé. It made me think that a rewrite of the PT from Sabé's point of view is something that I'd definitely read if it were written by you

I watched the thread and I hope I won't be several months late in reviewing next time!

 

Chyntuck, see my reply under the cut:

Spoiler

my apologies, I never saw this response of yours. Thank you so much for your reading and thoughtful comments! While I won't re-write the PT from Sabé's POV (frankly, I don't like the PT enough to do that, even though I love this darling handmaiden ), I do have more Sabé thoughts for you, and anyone else reading.

New! Fic! Time!
This has already been posted, in stages, on my Tumblr, but now that I'm finished with it I figured I'd bring it on over here as well.

This is my own set of ideas about Sabé's background and her life. Most of it is my own creation, though some of it it is inspired by her "Legends" information on the Wook. Depending on your own point of view it can be considered canon compliant, slightly AU, or dramatically AU. If/when I get around to posting some other works-in-progress, you may see some of this referenced, but that's for another day.

I have divided this up into six parts, each between 200 and 400 words. I'll post them one at a time.

So without further ado, here is my headcanon-meta-fic about my favorite handmaiden.

Title: A Handmaid's Tale: On a Handmaid's Origins (Sabé, Part the First)

Spoiler

She’s born Sabéa, to Kohlen and Taryah Veyana, and joins her sister Rioona in their modest home in the lush farmlands of Naboo’s southern hemisphere. Her mother, the village elder. Her father, the village teacher.

When she’s identified as a candidate for a newly-formed elite Theed security force at 16, she changes her name to fit in with the capital and becomes Sabé Veyanarrie. It’s not long after that when she’s chosen as the leader of the squad, and Princess Amidala’s personal security detail. She’s the best, and while the other girls have their strengths, she is the one to whom Amidala – Padmé – and her security chief Panaka, give their utmost trust.

That honor has its benefits, not just for Sabé herself, but sister, too. Rioona, now Roo’na Vey, joins her in Theed and will become a renowned educator like their father.

She bonds with Padawan Kenobi on those long troublesome days (and nights) on Tatooine, over headstrong superiors with impulsivity complexes and misguided senses of righteousness. Once their mutual annoyance with each other fades (somewhat, not completely; she still has a role to play after all), they stay up all night waiting for word. From Naboo, from Master Jinn. Sometimes they play sabacc. Sometimes they exchange childhood stories. From the Temple on Coruscant, from the green fields of her parents’ farm.

Before their ordeal is over, she nearly confesses everything. That she is not Amidala but Sabéa, not a girl of 14 but a woman of 18.

When he smiles at her during the victory parade, she sees, through his sadness, that he’s known all along.

 

You know I loved this! The backstory and depth you've given to Sabé are wonderful, as if "filling in the blanks" on what she and Obi-Wan were up to on the ship during TPM, the agnonising wait and desperation to share her secret, and then finally realising that he knew the whole time. It speaks to a strength of character on Obi-Wan's part that he never tried to press her to reveal or confide that in him, but simply kept her company.

Well done, lady!

 

Excellent. You feel a depth of history and warmth in your words about Sabe and her family & the times spent with Obi-Wan, forging ... something close. A tacit understanding, a friendship, more?

 

This is more than just "filling out the blanks". You give new sparkling life to a character that I always liked. Thank you!

 

Thank you! I tend to think, that even though he's a bit arrogant and brash in TPM, the part of his personality that 'doesn't ask and doesn't tell' about Anakin and Padme's relationship is a constant trait. Other people's business is their own until and only until it becomes a threat. (and he didn't always do that well with that, LOL) Anyway, I don't think he'd narc on Sabé unless it was absolutely necessary, and since she was so clearly in control, he didn't think it was necessary.

Thanks very much! As to your question...I suppose that's left up to varying interpretations, no?

You're welcome! Sabé's rather like an OC in a lot of ways since we know so little about her, but I'm glad that you enjoyed my inventions. Thank you for reading!

 

A Handmaid's Tale: After the Throne (Sabé, Part the Second)

Spoiler

When Padmé moves on to the Senate, Sabé moves on as well. The pilot program that flourished during Amidala’s reign will continue, with Sabé at the head. Calls go out planetwide for girls with the same strength and cunning that Sabé and her compatriots once possessed. She mourns the departure of each one whether to service (Dormé, Moteé, Ellé) or to death (Cordé, Versé). With no aspirations for a child of her own, she cherishes each girl who walks through her door.

Her bond with Padmé never wavers. On the (rare) occasions the Senator comes home, they hole up in her room in Roo’na’s flat for hours. And when she brings a new batch of staff to Coruscant, Padmé’s lavish apartment is her own.

It’s through these visits and this connection that she first meets Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, and from that meeting comes an independent contract to train security staff for Queen Breha. With his new role in the Senate, he cannot oversee her safety as much as he’d like, and their planet’s political positions put her at risk.

As for the Jedi, she crosses paths with Master Obi-Wan Kenobi only once. She’s called to give Senator Organa an update to find the Master Jedi arriving for tea. He’s polite as ever, and though there’s little time for deep conversation, he asks after her family. She teases him about his exploits and they make tentative arrangements for a tea of their own the next time she’s on planet, pending his assignments.

She ignores the smirk in Padmé’s voice the next time they speak. The Senator’s a right hypocrite to be teasing her about romantic entanglements when she herself has none.

She and Kenobi never do have that tea, however. Not on Coruscant.

 

Wonderfully descriptive of Sabe's role Sad she and Obi-Wan never had that tea, etc. Enjoyed the mention of meeting Bail and the security needed for Breha.

 

Have I said that I really love the sparseness of this? You say so much with so little, especially with that last line. Even just iatalicizing the "Master" gives such insight into Sabé's thoughts about that, but ambiguous enough for the reader to decide exactly what they are.

I love this, have I mentioned?

 

Thank you! Yes, sad indeed. And thanks: I figure all queens need a good security detail.

Yes, many, thankfully, and thank you. I'm glad you found it ambiguous. It's open to interpretation, like I said to Nyota's Heart previously.

 

A Handmaid's Tale: During the War (Sabé, Part the Third)

Spoiler

Padmé’s breathless announcement of marriage (“You must tell no one!”) is more surprising than hearing she’d been selected to serve, all those years ago. While her true reaction is somewhere between “Are you crazy?” and “Let’s step back and reconsider, Milady,” she puts on her best smile and asks Padmé to tell her everything.

Of Padmé’s new husband, the boy turned man, Anakin, Sabé simply observes. Intense and dark, looking at his wife with possession, so contrary to the boy she met once and to the man she knows as his master.

Their happiness is short-lived, as they’re off to war, while Sabé stays behind, but with a new mission. Queen Neeyutnee asks her to oversee matters concerning Senate intelligence. Saying goodbye to dearest Roo’na, Sabé packs off for Coruscant, to a newly apportioned apartment adjacent to Senator Amidala’s penthouse.

In between meetings and introductions, by the grace of Padmé and Senator Organa, among other new acquaintances, she manages to carve out a life for herself. The ballet and the symphony are beautiful comforts (and the Senator’s private box affords a measure of privacy when collecting information for Her Royal Highness), and the public gardens near the Senate bring color and beauty to her days in a city of metal and gray.

She still never manages to meet Master Kenobi for tea, but her heart stills at the mention of his name. She prays for his, and Skywalker’s, safety every day.

She prays even harder the day that Padmé tells her, tearfully, that she carries Skywalker’s child.