#handmaiden sabe | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chaoticchickadee · 1 year

Text

Padmé and the Wonderful, Fantastic, Excellent, Very Good Hair Day

So I either never posted this or it got lost to the void, but now that I’m re-vamping my masterlist and fixing the links I figured I’d rectify that.

"Sabé shared her observations with the other handmaidens, and they decided they would try to ease Padmé’s discomfort, at least as much as they could. Eager to find a solution, they put their heads together and did what they do best-- scheme."

Show your support-- reblog!

Read it here on AO3

Padmé hadn’t expected how exhausting wearing the Queen’s headdresses all day could be. Sure, she’d known during her candidacy that they were heavy and hard to balance, but knowing and experiencing were two different things. Rabé did her best to make them as comfortable as possible, but even with the braids and the styling gel her hair was a mess by evening. It was unimportant, really, but Padmé missed the feeling of her long, tightly-curled locks flowing freely all day, not just in the evenings before bed. Still, Padmé would gladly suffer frizzy and unkempt hair for the rest of her life if it meant she could make a difference as Naboo’s Queen.

Sabé had noticed Padmé staring at her, and it hadn’t taken long to figure out why. It wasn’t her that Padmé was staring at, but her hair . Padmé had lamented what the royal headdresses had done to her beautiful hair many times, and while it was said in a light-hearted, joking manner, there was a little bit of truth to it. Padmé had gotten very good at hiding her tells and insecurities, but Sabé would always be able to read her. She shared her observations with the other handmaidens, and they decided they would try to ease Padmé’s discomfort, at least as much as they could. Eager to find a solution, they put their heads together and did what they do best-- scheme.

It was a long day in the court, and all Padmé wanted to do was flop onto her bed and not move for at least three days. Her handmaidens were suspiciously quiet on the walk from the throne room to the royal apartments, but Padmé was secretly grateful for it. She didn’t think she had enough energy to walk in the elaborate wardrobe of the Queen and hold a conversation at the same time. Soon, they arrived at the apartments, and Eirtaé quietly opened the door. Once inside, the handmaidens quickly stripped her of the gown. As soon as it was off, Padmé sat on the stool in the center of the common room, and they began working on her paint while Rabé took her place behind her to work on her hair. Padmé sighed when she felt the headdress being lifted off of her, relaxing further when Rabé’s gentle fingers began undoing her braids. Instead of putting her hair into a loose braid for the night, Rabé accepted a bowl from Saché and began working some sort of goop into her hair. Padmé sent a questioning glance towards Saché but didn’t press any further when she didn’t get an answer. She closed her eyes as Rabé massaged her scalp, relishing in the simple pleasure of being cared for by her friends.

When she was done, Rabé twisted Padmé’s hair up and secured it with a clip. After quietly instructing Padmé to rinse it out after ten minutes, the girls settled down to read and unwind, as was their nightly routine. They talked about a variety of subjects, from the latest palace gossip to speculating how many heart attacks they’d given Captain Panaka that day. It was Padmé’s favorite part of her day, relaxing with her friends and chatting about nothing and everything, enjoying being in each other's company. Padmé dutifully excused herself after ten minutes to rinse her hair and clean up. She lingered a little longer than strictly necessary, tension bleeding from her body under the warm spray.

Shutting off the water, Padmé stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. She ran a brush through her hair once more, surprised by the lack of any difficult tangles. Her hair felt uncharacteristically smooth and soft when she went to braid it. Whatever Rabé had put into her hair, it had worked wonders. Padmé spent a minute staring at herself in the mirror, petting her hair in awe. She shook her head and started to braid, but she was still unable to wipe the goofy grin off of her face.

As much as she loved her work as Queen, Padmé was grateful for the quiet day. For once, there were no meetings she needed to attend or appearances Amidala needed to make, so she didn’t bother to put on the Queen’s regalia. Officially, Queen Amidala would be spending the day in her quarters reviewing documents while her handmaidens were out running errands in the city. If, perhaps, there was so much that needed to be done that it required all of the girls, including the young page Padmé, well, who were they to shirk their duties? Surprisingly, it hadn’t taken much to convince Captain Panaka to allow the excursion. He seemed a little more at ease with their adventures now that they kept him in the loop for some of their schemes.

They’d opted against hoods for the day, as they were less likely to be recognized when they weren’t near the Queen. The central market of Theed was already bustling by the time the girls arrived at about noon. They’d meant to get there earlier, but decided to indulge themselves in their morning routine, taking time to do their hair in fun, elaborate hairstyles and go a little crazy with their makeup. Their morning was full of giggles and goofing off. It was a rare opportunity for them to be just teenage girls, not a head of state and her terrifyingly competent handmaidens. For the first time since her election, Padmé was out in public without the royal wardrobe. She hadn’t realized she missed the common, everyday activities of normal life until now. Being able to effortlessly move through the crowd without so much as a second glance was now foreign, but Padmé was grateful for it.

The girls wandered from stall to stall, eyeing the merchandise and occasionally making a purchase. Yané snagged a beautiful pair of night pearl earrings from an up and coming artisan, using most of her allowance for the day. They all teased her about using her money on one thing, but they really were a beautiful pair of earrings, well worth the price. None of the items for sale had really interested Padmé, so she used her share to buy them all a modest but tasty lunch after a few hours of meandering around the market.

Almost every time the girls approached a stall, patrons and vendors complimented Padmé’s hair, peppering her with questions about her hair care routine or tricks for styling it. Padmé deferred most of the questions to Rabé, reeling at the attention she drew. She’d gotten used to being in the public’s eye when she began her candidacy, but that had been as Amidala. It was new to draw the attention of passersby as just Padmé, but she enjoyed it much more. It felt more authentic, which in turn made her feel even more connected to the public and her people, even if they weren’t aware they were speaking to the Queen.

Once the entire market had been combed through, the girls headed back to the palace. The sun had started to set, and the girls could feel the excitement of the day catching up to them. When they’d gotten far enough away from the market that the streets were practically deserted, Padmé finally asked the question that had been on her mind all day. “So, how long were you planning my unusually good hair day?” The handmaidens stopped and looked at each other, silently discussing the best way to answer. When an explanation and a speaker was chosen, they turned back to Padmé with easy grins on their faces. “Not long. A few weeks ago I noticed you staring wistfully at me.” A couple of giggles interrupted, but quickly settled. “Once I realized you were staring at my hair , I told the others and we concocted a plan. Once we had the supplies, we just had to wait for a time we could get you out without being Amidala,” Sabé finished. Her rundown was clinical and professional, but Padmé could hear the affection in her voice. Saché piped up next, “You have a lot on your plate , we just wanted to do something nice for you.” Padmé’s heart melted at their words and the care in their eyes. She drew them into a hug, not caring how sappy and public it was. “I didn’t expect to get close to you all, but I’m so glad I did. You’re the best friends I could ever ask for, thank you.” She said. Though her words were a bit muffled, they all heard her loud and clear. “We’re glad to have you too,” Eirtaé responded. “Even if it means I won’t be the youngest accomplished engineer of Naboo.” She added. They laughed at her quip as they broke away from the hug. “It’s getting late, we should get back to the palace soon or Panaka will send out a search patrol,” Yané sighed. They all hummed their agreement and turned to start walking again. Padmé cautiously linked her arm with Rabé, and the rest of the group enthusiastically followed suit. With their arms linked and smiles on their faces, they continued their trek back to the palace.

2 notes · View notes

twinterrors29 · 5 months

Text

the specific Naboo religious sect that Padme belonged to believed very strongly in reincarnation

so the first time Darth Vader is introduced to Princess Leia of Alderaan once her father finally relents and allows her to take over his position in the Senate, when he takes note of her resemblance and looks up her birth date, his first thought is not "Padme's daughter survived"

it's "Padme reincarnated as the Princess of Alderaan"

he finds this conclusion fitting, and of course immediately pledges his loyalty to her

Leia doesn't know what this menace to society's deal is, and honestly doesn't care, and decides to use this to her advantage by telling her father

Bail, of course, is biting his nails thinking that Vader has figured them out, but thankfully no

this is about the time that Sabe and her fellow handmaidens show up, so Vader introduces them to Leia and they all naturally reach the same conclusion

when Ben distantly senses the disturbance in the Force and drags the whole Lars family off to come investigate, Darth "Anakin Is Dead" Vader takes one look at young Luke and doesn't even try to ask about his birth date (or, conveniently, his last name) before assigning him as "Anakin Skywalker Reincarnated"

Ben, hidden in the next room with Bail, is face-palming as hard as possible to try to distract himself from that particular shit show

and now that 'Padme' and 'Anakin' are in the same room, Vader of course tries to ship them, with Sabe's passive support

Bail, sweating: maybe,,, we should not encourage that,,,

Vader: Why.

Bail, full of hypocritical shit: uh,,, he's not suitable, for the future Queen of Alderaan

which only serves to offend Vader, because what, Baby Me isn't good enough for Baby My Wife now?

so Bail throws in a faked relationship with a certain spice freighter captain he hired on the spot to fill the role of his daughter's secret boyfriend

before Vader can get upset about Baby Padme dating someone who isn't Baby Anakin, Sabe eyeballs this dude with no official birth records and asks, what DID happen to Kenobi? or maybe that Captain Rex fellow from the war?

causing Bail to nearly stroke out, as he KNOWS that neither of those men are even dead, and in fact one of them is choking on his spit in the other room as he listens in!

(this fake-dating effort additionally backfires, not that anyone realizes it yet, because both twins start actually dating this scruffy-looking nerf-herder)

of course Vader immediately questions why Sabe suggested that Captain Solo might be Kenobi, and got hit with Sabe's "well, Skywalker was always psychosexually fixate on Kenobi, and all of us knew he was the hot one even if Padme settled for Skywalker"

Vader: ...What. Was that thing you said. About Skywalker.

Sabe: yeah, Skywalker literally couldn't shut up about the guy, even while he was having sex with his wife, luckily she was into that if you know what I mean

Vader: ...

Vader: no, that is the perfectly normal level of interest to have in Kenobi

Sabe, remembering the way Darksiders always seemed to fixate on Kenobi: ...uh-huh, riiiight

Vader decides he's Not Dealing With That, and pours that energy into his fixation on Finding Kenobi in order to kill him about it

Ben, one too-thin wall away, is seriously considering letting that happen so he doesn't have to hear any more of this

but, of course, eventually Sidious notices Vader's interest in the young Senator Organa

and Sheev Palpatine was, interestingly enough, from the same sect as Padme

which means that he quickly puts together what Vader has concluded about Leia as a reincarnation of Padme Amidala

but unlike Sabe (and Vader, who has seriously deluded himself), he is keenly aware that Anakin Skywalker can't have actually reincarnated into that farm boy who's spending all his time with the Senator now

so he's able to (correctly, for once) conclude that Luke must be Anakin and Padme's kid, who somehow survived all these years

and since the child survived...

well, he starts to eye Sabe a little more closely, and wonder how he can fit this into his plans for the galaxy...

#star wars #reincarnation #padme amidala #leia organa #darth vader #anakin skywalker #sabe #handmaidens #luke skywalker #obi wan kenobi #owen lars #beru whitesun #han solo #darth sidious #chancellor palpatine

386 notes · View notes