I woke up slowly, under a warm blanket, and just thought about my life. Things that lead up to this moment. It was never something I had expected to ever happen. The crown and how my father had taken it. The room full of nobles, while father calmly changed the future right, not just of this world but of the Galaxy itself. I stared up at the ceiling for a while without moving. The fact that I was a princess now. That we had saved Skywalker's mom, I had fully changed the story path.
A bird chirped outside my window, then another answered from farther off. I rolled onto my side and buried half my face in the pillow for a moment. This had not been part of the plan. Not that I'd ever had some sort of plan from the start. "Step one, reincarnate into Star Wars. Step two, not die." Yeah, that was as far as I had thought of, for all these years. Most of what I had done was just a random thought that came to mind. My father was king, and Shmi was safe. I'd never planned to keep it the same as what was supposed to happen, but I just never expected this.
A thin line of sunlight had crawled up the far wall by the time I finally pushed the blanket down and sat up. The floor was cool against my feet when I stood. Someone had already laid out clothes for me across the low bench at the end of the bed: a pale morning dress in soft cream with dark green stitching at the cuffs. I honestly hated dresses, but I knew it was my aunt who wanted me to wear them the most, and I didnt have the heart to turn her down. I walked over and touched the sleeve. The fabric was smooth, but the little raised threads at the edge caught against my fingertip.
A knock came at the door. "Enter," I called. The door slid open, and one of the morning servants stepped inside carrying a small tray with water and a cup that smelled faintly of sweet herbs. She bowed lower than usual. "Good morning, Princess," she said. I kept my face neutral. "Good morning." She crossed the room and set the tray down near the mirror. "Lady Jenza asked that I let you know today is to be a day of rest. No formal lessons have been scheduled."
That, at least, was nice if unexpected. "Thank you."
"She is waiting for you in the east garden for breakfast when you are ready, Princess." I gave a small nod and watched her leave. The door shut behind her with a soft seal, and the room felt quiet again. I don't think I would get used to being called princess. I sighed as I walked to the mirror and looked at myself. I drank the herb tea in three slow swallows. It left a faint honey taste at the back of my tongue. A rest day, huh. While I dressed, I kept thinking about the ball. I fastened the last clasp on my sleeve and stepped back from the mirror. The dress fit well. Of course it did, it was never wise to underestimate Aunt Jenza. I brushed my hair out and put a comb in.
I could not afford to grow into my life passively anymore. Now I was a royal, and I needed to make my moves. Changed the game by becoming a player myself. I left my room and stepped into the corridor where two guards stood. One looked forward while the other looked at me and then bowed. "Princess."
I nodded back while giving them a small wave and started walking. The palace felt different this morning, even though nothing obvious had changed. Servants stepped aside faster as I walked by. As I passed one open archway, I caught sight of two junior staff whispering over a tablet. They stopped the instant they noticed me and bowed so fast one nearly dropped the thing. I had moved to make sure he didnt drop it and told them to just treat me as before, though they looked to argue with me. But thought better of it and simply said they could never. I sighed and kept walking.
The polished floor reflected the windows in long pale strips. As I walked, I looked outside at the early morning. Was I doing the right thing? My sandals made almost no sound as my steps touched the floor. I'd take flowers and food over politics and tutors any day, even if I knew with absolute certainty that Aunt Jenza was going to turn at least part of this into a lesson. Somewhere nearby, a fountain was running as I reached the garden. The sound came in soft bursts through the archways ahead. A younger servant waited just before the garden doors. He couldn't have been much older than fifteen. He bowed low when I approached.
"Good morning, Princess. Lady Jenza is already seated."
"Good morning." I offered him a smile as he opened the door for me, and as I passed, he risked a quick glance upward, which made me smile even more. Such a silly boy. The garden outside was bright. Morning light fell in clean gold across the stone path. The trimmed hedges and flowering vines made the place feel otherworldly. Drops of water still clung to the leaves nearest the fountain. Aunt Jenza was waiting beneath the shade of a pale canopy that was set near the center path. The breakfast table had already been laid with more care than was probably necessary for two people eating in private. Fruits, Fresh bread, Soft white cheese, Sliced melon, and something egg-based that smelled savory. Tea steaming in a polished pot.
And there was Aunt Jenza herself, when she saw me, her face softened. "There you are."
"Im sorry, Aunty," I said, going back to my childish act. " Had I heard sooner, I wouldn't have made you wait." That got a real smile out of her, quick and amused. "You say that as though I were in a hurry." I came around the table and let her kiss my forehead before taking my seat. The chair cushion was cool on one side and already warm where the sun had touched it.
"I got called Princess three times before breakfast," I said, slightly annoyed. "Only three?" She teased, "Auntie." I couldn't help but pout. "Well, dear, you are now royal, so it is expected." I looked at her flatly. She lifted her teacup with all the innocence of a woman who had absolutely chosen to enjoy my suffering. "Don't hold it against them," she said. "Half the household is still adjusting. The other half is trying very hard not to mess up."
I reached for a slice of bread and tore it in half. It was still warm inside. "I just wish they would still treat me the same as before."
"They can't anymore." She added while I took a bite of my bread and chewed, as she poured tea for both of us. The wind shifted, and the steam carried something floral and a little minty. For a minute, neither of us said anything. We just started eating. Which, honestly, was nice. I liked that about her. Aunt Jenza could allow me to just breathe and relax without overthinking or worrying. I put a small spoonful of fruit jam on my bread and glanced out past the fountain. Two gardeners were working near the wall, speaking quietly to each other while pretending not to notice us.
"It just feels different," I said after a while. Jenza added a little cream to her tea, watching the pale swirl spread. "It is different," she smiled as she sipped her tea. "I know." I picked at the edge of my plate with my fingertip. "I just mean… the house. The way everyone looks at me." She glanced up. "And how are they looking at you?"
I thought about that. "Like I might shatter if they talk to me normally." Her expression shifted, not quite sadness. "You are in a new position of power and matter deeply to the household, not just to me and your father. And as such, they are expected to act and treat you in a way that brings you no harm or discomfort."
"Yeah, I know. I just liked it better when they didnt treat me like that." She gave a soft hum and leaned back slightly. "It is something you will get used to, dear." I snorted into my tea before I could stop myself, and she smiled again. I ate a little more before speaking again. "Did you know?"
"About your father taking the crown?" she asked. I nodded. The edge of her plate caught the light. "I knew, it was for the best that he took the crown." Her voice gentled. "Would you have wanted a warning?" Part of me wanted to say yes immediately. Of course, warn me before my life gets thrown sideways, thanks. "Maybe," I admitted. "Or maybe I would've just worried more."
"Likely, you're not a normal young lady," I looked up at her. "You say that like that's a bad thing."
"It's not bad at all, you're a special young lady." She took a small bite of egg and dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "You think too far ahead for your own peace. Sometimes I worry, you're not living your life like the child you are supposed to be." I decided not to give her the satisfaction of agreement and reached for the melon instead. The fruit was cold and sweet. Somewhere above us, something metallic clicked softly in the canopy frame as the breeze shifted.
For a while, we talked about smaller things. Food. A funny argument one of the cooks had apparently gotten into with a supplier before dawn. A vase broken by a cleaning droid. Normal things. Sitting there with juice on my fingers while the galaxy had quietly become more dangerous around us. Then Aunt Jenza set her cup down and looked at me with that particular expression that meant she was about to move the conversation somewhere important, whether I liked it or not.
"There are practical matters we need to discuss." She stated, I sat up a little straighter. "That sounds ominous."
"It isn't." She paused. "Well. Not entirely." I narrowed my eyes at her. She ignored that. "You are going to receive an allowance." I blinked cause that was not where I expected this to go. "My own?"
"Yes, darling, generally that is what an allowance is." She chuckled. I tried not to grin and failed. "How much?" Her mouth twitched. "Enough that you won't likely need to worry, but not so much that I'm turning you loose to buy a few moons." My grin widens. "So one moon is still on the table."
"No." She sighed. "One very small moon?" I asked smugly.
"Liora." She said strictly. And I laughed, and that got one of those tired, fond looks out of her. Allowance, my own credits, that changed a lot of things. "Oh," I said, more quietly. Aunt Jenza caught the shift at once because, of course, she did. "Yes," she said.
I leaned back in my chair and looked at the table, just thinking, Money opened many doors. Tools. Materials. Gifts. Quiet favors.. A reason to start building pieces of my life that didn't depend entirely on waiting until I got older. There were people out in the galaxy I needed alive. People I needed to reach before they were owned, broken, manipulated, enslaved, trained wrong, or ended up dead. I wasn't going to burst out of the palace tomorrow and fix the future with a heroic montage. That was unrealistic, but I could make my own moves. Aunt Jenza let me think. She buttered another piece of bread and didn't rush me. The butter knife made a soft scrape against the crust.
"What are the rules?" I asked finally. "Reasonable ones." She lifted one elegant shoulder. "You may spend it as you like within reason. Larger purchases will still be reviewed, mostly because you are young and because this is still a royal household. But small requests, hobbies, books, personal items, gifts, little indulgences, those are yours to manage and won't be reviewed."
I looked at her over the rim of my teacup. "You trust me that much?" She gave me a very level look. "Yes and No. I trust you enough to understand this is a gift that can be revoked at will."
I glanced down at my plate again, then up at the flowering vines climbing one of the garden arches. Purple blossoms this morning. "Can I save it?" I asked.
"Of course, it's a monthly cycle." She stated. "Can I use it for projects?" I asked. Jenza's eyes sharpened with interest. "What sort of projects?" I broke off another piece of bread and didn't eat it right away. "for a hobby."
"That's not a proper answer." She rested her chin lightly on one hand. "Try again." I thought for a moment. For a better approach to this. She already knew I was smart. She already knew I liked asking questions. That meant the safest way to get what I wanted was probably also the most honest one. "I want to learn how to make droids."
Her brows lifted in surprise. "Droids," she repeated. "Yes." I agreed. She set her cup down more carefully this time. "That not what I had expected."
"I'm just a little odd," I said sheepishly. "I can see that." She said with a smile. Aunt Jenza didn't answer right away; no, she took her time to think it over. She studied me over the table in that quiet way she always had when I did something unexpected. The fountain behind her sent up a soft spray that caught morning light in little flashes. "Why?" she asked.
Because they could go places I couldn't, they could carry messages, gather information, move supplies, create cover, build networks, and make me less helpless while I still had a child's body and a princess's leash. Plus, the galaxy was full of people I needed to reach, and I couldn't exactly ask Aunt Jenza to help me build a network. Instead, I said, "Because they're useful."
She looked unimpressed, as if she had expected more from me. I added, "And interesting and practical." She sighed as I sat back and folded my hands in my lap. "Droids are everywhere," I said. "People use them daily, and I want to make my own. They can translate, calculate, fix engines, run shops, and process records. No one looks twice unless one malfunctions or shoots someone. That seems like a skill worth having."
The corner of her mouth moved. "That is an unusually cold way for a child to explain an interest." Whoops. I reached for my tea to buy half a second. I set the cup down carefully. "I like knowing how useful things work." That, at least, was true, and I knew she knew that. Her fingers tapped once against the tablecloth. "Do you want to build them as a pastime, or do you want to understand mechanics more generally?"
Both, obviously, but saying that probably wasn't smart, but it was best to be honest with her. "Both," I said anyway. "If I'm going to learn, I'd rather learn properly." Aunt Jenza leaned back a little. The chair made a faint wicker sound beneath her. "You already have formal studies. Languages. History. Court etiquette. Economics. Cultural work. Mathematics. Your father's training. You are asking me to add engineering."
"When you say it like that, it sounds unfair," I added, not really having thought of it. I let the spoon rest and looked at her straight on. "I don't want to spend all my time doing something that I know I'll finish soon enough." Aunt Jenza's expression changed a bit, it was common knowledge that I was more advance then kids my age. And if things kept up as it was going Id be done soon enough with my studies. "You think I don't know that?" she asked. The breeze shifted and carried the smell of cut rosemary from somewhere near the garden wall. Jenza's gaze stayed on me.
"And droids," she said, "will answer to just you?"
"yes."
She waited again. I looked down for a second, then back up. "If I know it's probably a lot to ask for, but I promise what I will do with them is for the good of others, I promise." She took that in without interrupting. I kept going because I needed this as a step to the future I was going to make. "I know what people expect from girls like me," I said. "Especially now, but if im going to be a princess, I have to make sure I take steps for my people and for their safety, so I can't just sit and wait." The only sound for a moment was the fountain and a spoon lightly tapping porcelain when Aunt Jenza set it down.
"Your father has been teaching you to use a lightsaber," she said. "And the Force, and you want this as well."
"Yes." Her eyes moved over my face. "You do realize most children would've used this conversation to ask for jewelry, sweets, a pet, or one of the absurd little speeders."
"I can ask for sweets too if that helps me seem normal." That finally got a laugh out of her. A real one, low and brief. "The Force preserve me," she murmured. I smiled despite myself. Then her expression settled again into something more thoughtful. "What sort of droids?" That was a better question. I considered it seriously. "At first? Small ones. Utility droids. Maintenance droids. Probably a few repair units. Maybe something that can carry tools or sort parts."
"Not battle droids." I gave her a flat look. "I'm Six, not a warlord." She let that pass with suspicious ease. "I'd like to understand how different classes work," I continued. "Not just assemble kits. Properly understand them. Power systems. memory. programming. repair. how they fail. how to improve them."
Aunt Jenza lifted one brow. "That sounds less like a child wanting a tutor and more like a noble applying for an engineering division."
"I can dream."
"You certainly can." I took another bite of bread, so I wouldn't talk so much. It had cooled a little by then, and the crust flaked onto my plate. There were places I could not go, but with droids, that could be taken care of. I looked at Aunt Jenza very carefully. "If I'm going to be part of all this now—" I gestured vaguely at the palace, the garden, and motioned to the world. "Then I need more than just a noble education."
Her gaze was steady as she looked me in the eyes. "There it is," she said softly. "There, what is?" I asked a bit confused. "The drive you don't even use for your classes beyond what you have with your father's lessons." Aunt Jenza stared at me, then very slowly, her mouth curved. "That," she said, "is the first truly alarming thing you've said this morning."
I grinned before I could help it. She looked off toward the fountain for a moment, thinking. I let her. This wasn't a small ask, even if it sounded like one. Tutors cost money, yes, but that wasn't the real issue. The real issue was what kind of person would be invited into this house to teach me. What kind of access that gave them? What my father would think of me adding engineering to an already loaded education. He might approve. He might not. "Your father will want to know why," Aunt Jenza said at last.
"I just told you why," I said defensively. "Yes. You told me why." She hinted with her voice. I leaned back and folded my arms. "You're terrible." The breeze lifted the edge of the tablecloth for a second before letting it fall again. Aunt Jenza reached for a piece of fruit, then changed her mind halfway and picked up her tea instead. "He may agree, you do know he wants the best for you, right?"
I breathed out. "Yeah, I know, Im just worried he will say no..." She gave me a patient look. "Have more faith in him. He may not understand it, but if it's something you enjoy, He will do his best to make it happen." I took a sip of tea and let myself think it through. Because the future was not going to wait for me to become powerful. People were still becoming who they were going to become, for good or for bad. I couldn't stop all of it. But I could start preparing for when the galaxy's larger pieces came within reach.
Aunt Jenza must have seen something shift in my face, because she studied me over the rim of her cup and said, "You look like you're plotting."
"I'm always plotting, I have to with my new title." I reached for one of the little honey pastries, and the glaze stuck lightly to my fingers. She shook her head in that long-suffering way adults do when amused. For a little while after that, we let the subject drift. She told me about the actual amount of the allowance once I promised not to attempt moon ownership with it. It was enough to make my brain immediately freeze. Savings, books, tools. and materials. Maybe private commissions, and it would barely make a dent.
I asked where it would be kept, how I would access it, whether I'd have records, and whether I'd be expected to ask before using it for anything considered unusual. She answered all of it with more patience than I probably deserved. Yes, I'd have records. Yes, oversight for larger purchases needed to be reviewed, as she said before. No, I was not expected to ask permission to buy small things. She sounded a bit annoyed and even asked if I had paid attention earlier or not.
We ate most of breakfast while talking through it. By the end, I'd finished the bread, half the fruit, some eggs, and one of the pastries. The fountain kept running. The gardeners had moved farther down the path. Somewhere above us, a transport crossed the sky. I found myself relaxing despite everything. That, too, felt strange after the last few days. Aunt Jenza set her napkin down and looked at me with renewed focus. "There is one more thing."
"There's always one more thing." I sighed.
"Spoken like a true member of this family."
I sighed dramatically. "Go on."
"You will have a little more freedom in your schedule," she said. "Not less structure. But more room inside it. Rest periods, Chosen activities. Guests, in time." That made me sit up. "Guests?" She nodded. "Selected ones." My mind jumped at once to possibilities and problems. Interesting. "What kind of selection?" I asked carefully.
"Don't worry, just leave that to your father and me." I tried not to look too interested too fast. "So no way for me to know...?" Jenza's smile turned knowing. "Not for now, but one your older, perhaps. I trust you will try to bring some suiters home then."
"Ewww gross." I gagged, and that made her laugh. I rolled my eyes and reached for another grape. I looked down at my hands resting in my lap beneath the table.