episode five — GODS SAVE THE QUEEN
attack of the clones
warnings: threats

              To be royalty in a crime driven galaxy is not easy. You are always put between two decisions, your life or your people's lives. But to be a mother in a crime driven galaxy is another. Especially a mother whose child is devoted to her planet. Soteria Val'eaon sat in the empty temple, candles lit at the altar in front of her, and her handmaidens quiet a few rows back. Soteria sat in utter silence.

She felt numb, it had only been a day since her daughter was kidnapped, but a part of her had been ripped out of her body. Surely, the Jedi have helped, but Lillia was not home, not yet. Soteria cried softly, whispering prayers to the Goddess Sirena, (goddess of youth & protection) that her daughter may return home safely. "I plead." She cupped her hands, head bowing low in honor.

Desperate people find faith in times of need. The doors to the temple opened, Soteria looked back, trying to get a glimpse of who it was. One of the Jedi walked in, holding his hands together in respect, Soteria believed it to be Anakin, but the Temple was vast, and the setting sun of Valérian barely helped to light the way. He eventually made his way closer to where the queen mother knelt.

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but may I join you?" His voice was soft, but trembling and coated with worry. "Of course." Soteria whispered, a veil over her face.

"I'm sorry that this has happened, I never expected it to, if I had sensed it, I could've stopped it-" Soteria put her hand on top of the boys. "It is alright, If you had done anything, her life could've been taken." She cut the boy off, but still Anakin Skywalker felt guilty — he could've stopped it. "We will find her, I assure you." He looked to her in the flickering candlelight. Soteria looked down, then to the candles and food offerings littering the altar. "I have faith in you, Jedi." The worried mother smiled.

"As long as my daughter comes home, that is the greatest victory you could have." Soteria Val'eaon was not only a mother, but she was a mother who would do anything for her children, anything at all. "I promise." Anakin whispered, watching as the queen mother got up swiftly and left the temple. Anakin himself also took a moment to pray upon the goddess Sirena — he never really believed in gods and monsters, but every conversation that he had with Lillia Val'eaon helped him find faith.
⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　　　　　　　　　.　　　ﾟ .　　　　　　　　　　　　　. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　✦ 　　　　　,　　　　　　　.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀　　　　　　*　　　　　　　　　　　..　　　　　　　　　　　　　. 　　⋆✴︎　   　　　,　　　　　　　　　*　　　　　⠀　　　　⠀　　,⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀.　　　　　 　　⠀　　　⠀.　 　　˚　　　⠀　⠀  　　,

Anakin walked through the halls of the palace, him and Obi-Wan could not leave Valérian until the Queen had returned safely. He made his way for the drawing room, where the former King and Queen sat among a holo-table with Obi-Wan. Lillia's kidnapping was now a Republic matter, since the Jedi were in attendance, they would now find Valérian's Queen.

"Any ideas of the kidnappers? Hmm?" Yoda's voice was sort of distorted on the Holo-table. The other Jedi listened in as well. "No suspects as of right now, but we believe it to be a separatist scheme," Obi-Wan started, watching as Anakin walked in, "he said something.. out of sorts as he took away the Queen." Obi-Wan confessed, putting a hand on his beard.

"It was what? Hrrm." The alien hummed. "We are only doing what our master told us to." Obi-Wan quoted. The more Anakin thought of it, the weirder it became. They looked like space pirates — and pirates serve no master, Anakin would know, they used to come through Mos Eisley all the time, demanding drinks and being horrendously loud during the night.

"Do you think this could have anything to do with Count Dooku?" He asked once again, Kier and Soteria looked confused. "Possible, yes." Another voice spoke from the holo-table. "He is not one for respecting royalty, especially those with higher power than him." Plo Koon explained.

Obi-Wan looked to Kier, "have you ever had any business with Count Dooku?" He asked, Kier looked agitated, his daughter was missing, and could possibly be in the hands of some man he'd never met. "No, no, I've never even met the man." He shook his head, folding his arms over eachother. Obi-Wan hummed.

"This is going to be difficult, we have no leads, no evidence." Anakin looked down, his arms hidden within his robes. "We shall meditate on this." Obi-Wan lowered his voice — but the Royal family wanted answers, at least some sort of lead to help them find their daughter, anything at all.

"I will leave for Courscant tomorrow, I can work out an arrangement with the council," Obi-Wan looked to Kier and Soteria, who held eachother close, the moonlight hitting their glassy eyes ever so slightly. "You must protect the family if anything were to happen." He whispered. Anakin nodded. "Yes master." Anakin nodded.

Anakin went to sleep that night, staring up at the stars from the balcony — he was lucky enough that the family provided him and Obi-Wan a place to stay while they were here. He was very thankful, and thought of this place as a home. As he stared up the twin moons, he couldn't help but think of his own home — his own mother. Surely she missed him greatly, but he had duties to fulfill, he was a Jedi now.

Valérian was warm, and the sheer curtains blew softly in the nights wind, Anakin could smell the scent of bonfires that the people had laid out, he loved it. He loved everything about Valérian — but even now on this night, it felt extremely empty.
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It was now two days since the vanishing of Lillia Dione Val'eaon. No whereabouts, no leads, no suspects. Obi-Wan was on Courscant, discussing the matter with the Council, and potentially trying to find some help. Anakin was left on Valérian, watching the family closely in case of an emergency.

He strolled through the gardens of the palace, it reminded him of when he was ten and strolling through them with Lillia. Suddenly, he remembered something. Utena was surely still around — and hopefully much bigger from when he last saw her.

He made his way to Skaltari ( the dragon pit ) hoping that he could remember the saying to open it. Anakin did not speak Valéri, Lillia had tried to get him to learn multiple times when they chatted over the years, but it was extremely difficult. He still tried his best for her, he knew that she enjoyed teaching others about her home. He remembers only a few words. "Duinkeri" He spoke, he barely rolled the r's, but still, the dragon pit opened as he lowered into the floor.

Anakin smiled, even to this day — the amount of green he sees on Valérian shocks him. It remained the same since he last saw it, the same lucious waterfalls, and softly flowing water that trickled from the streams. There was a whole new world under Valérian. He spotted Utena as he got off the elevated floor. Anakin approached carefully, trying not to scare the dragon. As he neared her, he began to speak some of the old Valéri words he remembered.

"Cãllat, cãllat, venres, Utena." (Quiet, quiet, remember, Utena) He spoke, stepping closer and closer to the now large dragon. Utena had grown, her pearly white skin remained the same, her ocean filled eyes looking at him with total wonder. Utena backed away just a bit — Anakin did not blame her, she hadn't seen him in years, but he was willing to be patient. "Venres, eohe ruta zediti." (Remember, I am your friend.) Utena looked less scared as Anakin stood still. He watched she drew closer to him, getting a sniff of his scent and then carefully bumping into him with her snout. "Atle, atle, zediti." (Yes, yes, friend.)

Although he couldn't really tell, Utena looked like she was smiling as he pet her scales. Utena was a wild creature — yes, but still, her master held so much kindness, it was only right that she did too. He wondered if Utena missed Lillia, her dragon was all she ever talked about — they were practically mother and daughter at this point. "Anakin?" A woman's voice startled the Jedi as he turned around, Talia looked at him. "What are you doing down here?" She asked. "Just checking up on Utena, It's been a while since i've seen her." He confessed as Lillia's sister walked over.

She pet Utena's snout, smiling slightly. "She misses Lillia, usually she's taken out everyday for a ride — but you know." Her voice trailed off, almost as if she was about to cry. Anakin was silent, only looking at the dragon in front of him.

"I was only going for a ride, to clear my mind." Talia blinked, shaking her head. She was a strong woman of course, the first born daughter to the royal family, the first one to bear children and make her own family. She was a role model to Lillia, both Talia and Helaena were. "We will find her soon, she's strong you know." Anakin smiled, offering a sign of remorse and gratitude. "She definitely is." Talia laughed through tears. "Obi-Wan said that he would report back to us when he has found something, I don't doubt that it'll be soon." He smiled.

Talia appreciated the man for his kindness, even now in this desperate hour.
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Lillia Val'eaon's eyes shifted, she blinked slowly, barely regaining her blurred vision. Her head spun, she seemed sickly almost. Lillia had almost forgotten what happened, but thankfully as she looked down to see her coronation dress, she finally remembered. The room she was in was dirty, a dirt floor and sandy walls that had seemed to be falling apart. Her heart thumped as she gripped onto the wall to help herself up. The door in front of her was iron and closed.

With the strength she had, she got up, limping toward the bars. They were cold as she gripped onto them and looked outside the cell. A guard stood out. "Please help me." She whispered, barely hanging on, especially since her vision did not help. The guard looked to her. "Back away from the cell." He warned. "Or what?" Even though Lillia was now a woman with good manners, she did not tolerate disrespect.

"Or I'll have you killed, and you may never return to your planet." He threatened. Lillia scoffed. "If someone else doesn't murder me, I'm sure your horrendous attitude will." She back away, going back to her place on the floor and awaiting her fate. "The Quarri will be with you soon." The guard spoke, before leaving the Queen unsupervised.

"The Quarri?" Lillia had asked herself, what an unusual name, she had never heard it before. The Queen was somewhat worried now, she wondered if anybody was coming for her, and if they didn't, she would have to save herself and find a way out of here. She wished that she could send a message, to anybody — Anakin, Helaena, Talia. She wanted somebody to hear her pleads.

In the middle of her prayers, the key to her cell jangled, and two guards walked in, then a man following behind. He was tall, a scar painted the bottom left of his jaw, it looked like fire if Lillia had to guess. He was frightening, eyes as dark as the bottom of the sea. Lillia stepped back as he walked in, holding onto the wall. "No need to be afraid, Your Majesty." The man laughed. "I am just here to discuss some..." he trailed off, "business, with you." The man finished the previous sentance.

"I do not want to discuss business, I want to go home." Lillia murmured, unaware of the man's next move — and she regretted what she had said. "That's the thing, you can't go home until I get what I want." He walked closer to her, staring at her terrified expression. "That was quite the brave act you pulled in the throne room, the whole stepping in to save your friends life, i'll give you that." He crossed his arms.

"Now. Here's the deal, we are going to send your little family the price of your return." He smiled, tilting his chin up. "If they don't accept our offer in between the time we tell them to, then it's your public execution." He imitated a stick figure walking off a mountain, and blowing his lips together to make the sound.

"You cannot threaten us, my family will come for you." She seethed. The man shook his head, "I don't know about that, Your Highness." He then walked out of the cell, leaving the Queen locked up. Lillia wanted to cry, to go home and hug her mother. She wondered about the worry they must have, the regret of not being able to save her while they were in that room with her.

Lillia looked up to the ceiling, tears lightly streaming down her face as she folded her knees up to her chest. She would do anything to return to Valérian.

authors note. CHAPTER TWOOOOO OF ACT 1 AHHHHH! I hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter with Anakin bonding with Utena and Talia, along with Soteria. He's really making himself fit perfectly for their son/brother in law 😭😭😭 Also credits to miss taylor swift for the "Desperate people find faith too" lyric, it's one of my favorites 🥹 but anways, I absolutely love writing his relationship with Lillia's family, cause that is basically his family now 🥹🤍 I hope you all enjoyed :) Love you!