It was beautiful in the Palace of Theed. Neva had been looking forward to this Gala for days.

The last few weeks had been nothing but hard work and sadness. There was so much still to do to recover from the aftermath of the Invasion. What time wasn't taken up by committees and councils was taken up by funerals.

But today was intended for joy. Joy and peace. The parade had been spectacular. It had been a perfect day. The sun had been shining almost blindingly bright, and there hadn't been a sad face to be found. And now, as the brilliant sun was setting and the moons beginning to rise, it was time for the Gala. Neva smiled. She had missed smiling. There had been very little in the way of smiling for a long time.

Even before the Invasion, things had been grimly tense in the Capitol. The blockade had been making life on Naboo very difficult indeed. Food had been growing scarce and the people had been growing ever more tense and fearful. And then the Trade Federation had begun landing their troops. Naboo had no military, only their security force, and it had all happened too quickly for any sort of defense to be mounted. No one had seen it coming. The blockade had been understood to be posturing only on the part of the Trade Federation. No one had conceived that they would escalate to outright invasion. Theed had been one of the first cities to fall. Starting in Naboo's Capitol, the people had been rounded up and locked away in camps so the Federation could ensure the total control over the Nabooian population.

Neva would be happy if she never had to think about those camps again. Her stomach still clenched with dread at the thought of them and at night she still woke in a cold sweat at the memories. Week after long week of not knowing anything: her family had been in Fara, and her aunt, being out in the city, had been sent to a different camp than those in the Palace.

And on top of that the Queen and some of her inner circle had disappeared. No matter that she tried to convince herself that the Trade Federation wouldn't dare, she couldn't ignore the terror that the worst had happened. And neither could those around her. Whispers had spread like wildfire that the Queen had been the first casualty of the Invasion, followed closely by her closest advisors. The princesses and the rest of the Council were bound to be next, those whispers threatened.

It had been awful beyond anything Neva could have imagined. It was only after some of Amidala's closest advisors had rejoined the rest of them that Neva and others from the Palace learned that the Queen had escaped the planet with two Jedi to protect her.

Not long after that, the Federation started taking top officials within the Nabooian government away for one reason or another with no warning, including the princesses. The whispers had started up again, then. When the spindly battle droids had come for her, Neva had been sure she was about to die.

Though one of the older princesses, Neva had also been the newest, though the Trade Federation officials hadn't known that. They had persuaded and cajoled her to record a message pleading for the Queen to make contact with them or to come home. Ultimately, it was more like she'd been forcefully bribed, confronted with the promise of better rations for some of her fellow prisoners, an offer Neva hadn't been able to refuse. Many of them had barely eaten in days if they'd received any food at all. But Neva had known as soon as they told her what to say that whatever she recorded would be nothing more than bait in a trap for Amidala. She had hoped that the Queen would be clever enough to see through the attempt...no matter the truth to Neva's scripted words. She heard later that day, when she was finally returned to the camp, that she hadn't been the only one made to record a similar transmission. One of the other, younger princesses and Governor Bibble had also given into the same deal she had. That evening had been the first time many of them within the camp, Neva included, had a true meal in days.

It had still made her feel dirty.

She shook her head, shaking the memory free. It was over now, and Naboo was on a secure path to healing. The funerals granted closure and the resolve to rebuild and move forward from the horrible last few weeks gave everyone, not just those in government, a purpose to cling to as they figured out how to move forward. Naboo was strong, Neva assured herself with conviction, and Naboo would recover with grace.

Behind her, Neva's handmaiden put the last few finishing touches on her elaborate hairdo—a twisted and coiled coif at the back of her head with some of her hair left loose to fall in curls down her back and over her shoulders—before moving off to prepare the bottle-green gown she was going to wear. Neva restrained herself from pulling at the elaborate pins keeping her hair in place; she hated having her hair done up like this. She loved serving as a Princess of Theed, far more than she'd anticipated when she had been nominated then elected to the position. But she hated the way her scalp felt like it was being pulled and tugged in a thousand different directions. Whimsically, she imagined that were she ever to be elected Queen the requirement that Royals have elaborate hairstyles would be the first thing to go; an utter nonsense resolution, but it made her feel better.

Not long after, she was dressed in her formal gown—an Adyé creation she reminded herself with pride, smoothing the green skirt and pale blue surcoat and adjusting her fitted sleeves—and was descending from her apartments in the wing of the Palace reserved for public officials to the ballroom where the Gala Event was centered.

She couldn't help but gasp as she was admitted into the already lively party.

It was so beautiful. The grand ballroom of the Palace was lit with thousands of lights; veritable stars strewn in wondrous profusion around windows and up columns. Banners were draped everywhere, their colours vibrantly elegant and lively. Music wove and cascaded through the air. It was perfect to the mood; celebratory, but still bittersweet with a trace of melancholy. No one was yet quite prepared to forget the circumstances that had led to this moment. The Great Peace had been broken, albeit in a sideways manner as the aggressors had been from off-world.

It wasn't long after she entered the Gala, winding her way through the gathered guests, that she found herself gathering a following of the younger princesses. No matter that she was the newest princess by some months, being older than the others meant that the younger girls gravitated to her, often circling around her like little ships in orbit that periodically flew off elsewhere but always found their way back to her side. Especially the youngest ones.

In fact, as the evening drew on, the littlest ones weren't even leaving her side anymore. The second youngest, Kina Vatalia, was all but leaning against her as Neva spoke with the Nabooian minister of Culture, Kyu Tane, and one of the visiting members of Chancellor Palpatine's entourage, a Senator from Ganthel. The youngest at nine standard years old, Dynae Rylline, kept periodically slipping her hand into Neva's before tugging her fingers free, as though reminding herself that, as a princess, she shouldn't be doing that. With a smile and a handful of scripted, polite words, Neva managed to extricate herself from the conversation, guiding her little satellite princesses off toward the buffet. By the time they made it, she had acquired another, Kaeli Terina, whom Neva had to keep reminding to stop fiddling with her elaborate hairdo. It was a hypocritical admonishment, as Neva had been guilty of the same surreptitious fiddling herself all evening. She was nearly ready to attempt an escape when she caught sight of a fourth young princess, Lilane Marlena, making her way through the crowd toward her. But before she could manage to plot out a means to make her attempt, the cheerful voice of their Queen sounded behind her.

After listing names the collective of princesses gathered with apparent convenience—Neva nearly threw the Queen a skeptical look at that amused observation, quickly growing to suspect that the other princesses had, in fact, been seeking her out on purpose—to get their attention, Amidala gestured to the two guests of honour standing at her side.

They didn't need introduction, even though the Queen provided it anyway. Nearly everyone knew who Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were in the days since Naboo's liberation. The Heroes of Naboo, they'd been dubbed. Neva couldn't help the excited warmth rising to her cheeks standing in the presence of two of their planet's saviours.

Anakin stood next to Amidala, sneaking adoring looks at the young Queen even as he was being introduced to the Nabooian princesses. His vibrant blue eyes were wide and his face open and friendly, though Neva could see in the way he was fighting to keep his eyes wide that he was beginning to feel the strain of the evening just as some of Neva's fellow princesses were. As if to prove her theory, as yawn escaped from little Rylline, a matching one tried to break out of the young Jedi apprentice's mouth. Neva tried very hard not to smile, though it proved a futile attempt, especially when she caught Amidala's twinkling eye.

And then she caught a glimpse of Obi-wan Kenobi fighting back an indulgent smile of his own. Neva had heard that Anakin had only been Kenobi's apprentice for a handful of days, but it was already possible to see a growing affection in the older Jedi for his charge.

It was then that Neva's attention turned to the older Jedi. Though, she supposed he really wasn't that old at all. In fact, she had to fight against way her cheeks wanted to flush as she realized how young and handsome he was. It was embarrassing, really. He was a Jedi, after all. How undignified, Neva scolded herself, to be thinking in such a childish and irreverent way about a Jedi, especially one who had helped their Queen save their planet. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice, greeting each princess, Neva included, with a polite greeting and a friendly smile.

And that was that. With a shallow bow the Jedi excused himself, his new apprentice mimicking the gesture. But Neva couldn't help but watch as the Jedi moved away, still dazzled by not only meeting about the hero Jedi everyone was speaking of but by how pleasant he was to look at. Almost immediately she was scolding herself again, this time for being so shallow. With an impatient gesture, she motioned for the other princesses to disperse, the older ones to mingle as they were supposed to, the younger to get themselves a snack from the refreshment table to bolster their waning energy. It left her thankfully free of the hovering younger girls for a moment, at least. Beside her Amidala was fighting back a grin before shooting Neva a commiserating look. It was a look that Neva returned, realizing that when Amidala had been a princess she'd been an older one as well, though her fourteen still seemed a little young compared to Neva's sixteen, nearly seventeen years. But with a conspiratorial look on her painted face, Amidala stepped closer, her glimmering petal-like gown whispering across the marble floor to brush against Neva's own green skirts as she leaned in.

"Now would be as good a time as any to escape from the princesses," she whispered mischievously, a knowing look in her dark eyes. Neva couldn't help the giggle that escaped her, agreeing with a cheeky nod as Amidala slipped her hand into Neva's while the younger princesses were distracted by their snack gathering. Immediately the young Queen was tugging the oldest princess along with her as they snuck past the buffet table and out through one of the open glass doors onto the ballroom balcony.

There was the faintest chill in the air, which meant the balcony was mostly deserted. Thankfully for the two royal ladies—girls, really, Neva had to admit—the many layers of each their gowns served well enough against the cool evening air, making it pleasant outside, especially after being inside where the temperature seemed only to be rising.

"Sometimes it just gets to be a little too much," Amidala breathed after a moment, her fingers reaching up to prod gently at her perfectly arranged hair as she leaned against the stone railing. With a giggle Neva nodded, her own fingers rising to try and massage a little feeling back into her scalp as she settled herself beside the younger girl.

"Definitely," she nearly whispered back, not that there were many people to over hear, "especially when there are three and four of the littler princesses all but hanging off you. Escaping them for a few moments is nice." Amidala winced in sympathy.

"Sorry about that. I always noticed they would pair off with the ones closest their own age, but having an older princess to rally around changed that, I suppose. They never did that when I was still a princess." Neva wrinkled her nose with jealousy, though there was no malice to the expression. She liked the littler princesses...it just wore on her to have them following her around all the time. The two girls exchanged a smile, then. It was nice, Neva thought, just talking like this with a girl near her own age. It didn't happen often.

A soft voice called for the Queen then, one of her handmaidens slipping outside to retrieve Amidala from her moment of refuge. Instinctively, both royal girls straightened, pulling a giggle from both of them as they caught each other's eye. Nodding in understanding, her hands brushing over her gown to ensure it was hanging properly as she prepared to reenter the Gala, the Queen spared a glance back at Neva. "Are you coming back in?" Peering around the Queen back into the mingling crowd, Neva shook her head after a moment.

"No, thank you. I think I'm going to recover out here for just a moment more." Her eyes sparkling with understanding, Amidala nodded before floating back inside, two of her handmaidens falling in silently behind her. Sagging back against the railing again Neva sighed heavily. She liked events like these well enough, but just in this moment, she wished she were elsewhere, somewhere quiet. Wincing as the evening breeze tugged at her hair, further irritating her already abused scalp, she once again eased her fingers among the carefully sculpted coils. A small sigh escaped her as her fingertips massaged at a particularly sore spot, easing the ache just a little.

But a small, tinkling sound instantly had her tensing. Recognizing the sound of one of her elaborate hairpins falling to the stone floor, a mild oath escaped her lips as she straightened, eyes anxiously scanning the ground to locate the fugitive accessory.

A metallic glint caught her eye, turning her head sharply as she glimpsed the elusive pin...darting through the air? She let loose a soft but startled 'Oh' as her hairpin flew with delicate grace into the waiting palm of Obi-wan Kenobi. Her eyes latched on him, wide with surprise as he held out his hand, offering her hairpin back to her.

She couldn't help but stare, taking in every detail of him as he stood before her. His face was kind as he looked down at her, his lips curled into a soft, almost sheepish smile. Neva couldn't help but trust that face. His dark blue-grey eyes watched her back, though Neva couldn't help but notice the reserve in them or the tension playing about the corners of his lids. He looked...sad, she realized with a start. It was only then that she guiltily remembered being told that his Master, Qui-gon Jinn, had been a casualty of the Battle to liberate Naboo. Of course he would look sad, she realized, after losing someone who had been like a father to him. Her cheeks heating with embarrassment, she reached out to retrieve her hairpin from his patiently waiting hand, somehow managed to stutter out a thank you as she did, her careful manners seeming to flee.

As her fingers closed around the slender piece of jewellery, they grazed against the palm of his hand. A strange, unexpected flutter quivered deep in her chest at the contact, a faint, tingling warmth spreading up her fingers. Startled, her eyes darted to his before dropping to latch onto the pin in her hand in embarrassment. A flicker of matching surprise had been looking out at her from that blue-grey gaze. Fighting to keep from nibbling nervously on her lip, she carefully replaced the hairpin where it belonged among her carefully styled curls.

"I should return inside," she somehow managed to say, breaking the tense silence growing between them. "Thank you, again," she offered quietly as she began to ease toward the glass door she'd passed through to get outside in the first place. His smile widening ever so slightly, he nodded his head.

"It was no trouble. Enjoy the rest of the Gala, My Lady—" he looked to her with polite expectation. It took her a split-second longer than it should have to realize what he was waiting for. Her cheeks flushed again.

"Neva—oh," a small, embarrassed gasp escaped as she immediately realized her blunder, "forgive me, Amalia. Princess Amalia." His eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement at her slip, a faint chuckle catching in his throat. Neva couldn't help but smile in response.

"A pleasure to meet you, My Lady Neva," he said softly, a trace of teasing in his voice as he gave her a shallow bow. Dipping in a small requisite curtsy, Neva shot him one last delighted glance before all but dashing back inside, her cheeks feeling like they should be on fire. The sound of her real name on his tongue echoed in her ears, sending a strangely pleasant shiver through her.

Almost immediately Princesses Vatalia and Rylline had gravitated to her side. Fighting back an exasperated sigh even as she tried to calm her suddenly racing pulse, Neva couldn't help but glance back toward the balcony. Though some light did spill through the high glass windows to light the night outside, it was still too dark beyond the glass doors to see if he was still standing where she'd left him.

But almost as soon as she allowed herself to wonder such a thing her cheeks were threatening to flush again. Admonishing herself for being silly, she shook her head minutely, trying to loosen the suddenly persistent thoughts about the young Jedi from her mind. It was not as if she was ever likely to see him again after tonight anyway.

But even as her fingers still seemed to tingle from when they'd brushed against his palm, she couldn't help but foster a tiny hope in the small, secret place where she held her dreams that she might see him again.

Indeed, she got the faint but exciting sensation that she very well might.

A/N: Thanks for reading! 

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