KIERA KNIGHTLEY // have you met SABÉ yet? SHE is a 29 year old CIS WOMAN. they’re originally from NABOO and now show loyalty to THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC & REBELLION. they are best known for being a HANDMAIDEN, and i hear they’re pretty LOYAL yet TO A FAULT at times; i hope they survive the galactic civil war. (MYFANWY, 26, EST, SHE/HER)
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cw: death mention; minors in dangerous situations
FULL NAME / Sabé of Naboo
BIRTH NAME / Tsabin Drysta of Theed
BIRTHDATE / 46 BBY
OCCUPATION / Royal Bodyguard & Decoy; Handmaiden to Padmé Amidala; Rebel Fighter
GENDER & PRONOUNS / Cis Woman; She & Her
ROMANTIC IDENTITY / Biromantic
SEXUAL IDENTITY / Bisexual
FAMILY / Carmiya Dystra (mother); Vidar Dystra (father); Lestra Dystra (brother); DeonorDystra (brother); Valsi Dystra (brother)
SPECIAL SKILLS / Hallikset Player; Imitation/Mimicry; Deception; Self-Defense; Skilled Markswoman; Gymnast
LANGUAGES / Basic; Gunganese; Huttese; Twi'leki; Shyriiwook (can understand)
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓
Tsabin was born on Naboo around 46 BBY, into a family of hallikset players. As per family tradition, she was sent to study music at the Theed Conservatory, a school known for training traditional musicians, as her older brothers had studied there, although she strongly disliked it. In 32 BBY, the year she turned fourteen and was expected to take up an apprenticeship, Tsabin was approached by Captain Quarsh Panaka of the Royal Naboo Security Forces, who asked her to hold off on accepting an apprenticeship until after the upcoming election, although he provided no details. Tsabin, looking up the candidates running for queen, discovered that she had a strong resemblance to one of the candidates, Padmé Amidala, and suspected what Panaka might have in mind. After Amidala won the election, Tsabin accepted Panaka’s offer to become her body double, being introduced to Amidala and becoming the Queen’s first handmaiden.
Two weeks after Amidala’s election, Panaka presented four other girls, Rabene Tonsort, Eirtama Ballory, Suyan Higin and Sashah Adova, to her as potential handmaidens as well, and the Queen took them to her apartments in the Theed Royal Palace to discuss things. There, the girls decided what roles each would have in Amidala’s service and, at Tonsort’s suggestion, changed their names to match Amidala’s given one for privacy, some prestige, and so that Amidala going undercover as one of her own handmaidens would be less noticeable. The last to pick her new name, Tsabin became Sabé.
Sabé was one of five handmaidens that served Queen Amidala during the Trade Federation’s blockade and subsequent invasion of Naboo. When Federation forces captured the Theed Royal Palace, Sabé switched roles with the queen, who posed as a simple handmaiden. Sabé, pretending to be the queen, rejected efforts to make the invasion legal. She and the rest of the royal retinue were then escorted by battle droids to a separate holding facility. On the way, they were rescued by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. Proceeding to a nearby hangar, Jinn insisted that the queen be taken to Coruscant to plead her case to the Galactic Senate. After conferring with her handmaiden Padmé, the real queen, Sabé agreed. She subsequently left Naboo aboard the Royal Starship with the Jedi, taking Padmé, Panaka, as well as Eirtaé and Rabé, with her. They eventually managed to get through the Federation blockade and leave the Naboo system.
Sabé once again switched places with Amidala when they sought help from Gungan forces, and began negotiations with their leader, Boss Nass. However, Padmé quickly revealed the deception as a confidence-building measure, and the two parties finally agreed to work together in order to free their planet from the Trade Federation. Despite being exposed, Sabé remained disguised as Queen Amidala during the mission to reclaim the palace. When Padmé was captured, she played an instrumental role in deceiving Viceroy Gunray. Showing up suddenly at the door to the throne room, Sabe proclaimed the Viceroy’s occupation over and blasted two of his droids before fleeing with her group. Gunray ordered his troops to follow Sabé, believing she was the real queen. This provided Padmé the opportunity to retrieve her blaster and take the Neimoidian into custody, liberating the planet.
Sabé was later present when the queen welcomed Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council to Naboo, and at the parade celebrating the freedom of Naboo and the reconciliation of its human and Gungan populations. After Amidala left the throne, Sabé was the only handmaiden to remain in her service. Among other tasks, Amidala sent Sabé back to Tatooine in an effort to free slaves. Although Amidala had specifically requested that Sabé locate Shmi Skywalker, the handmaiden could not find her. She brought the slaves she did free to a new life on the planet Karlinus.
In truth, Sabé no longer was sure where her path was. For so many years — it had been clear and carved out. Her path was wherever Padmé needed it, and she went willingly and without hesitation. Their relationship was complicated, but it had been her whole world for more than half of her life. It felt strange trying to explain that to others — they didn’t understand how defined her purpose had been; what being in that close circle was like. She sounded overly dependent or controlled to others — but her life had been molded to serve a Queen, Senator and Planet as a child. After she could no longer do that; she had fought to restore a way of life that Padmé had given her life to serve. It was only now that she realised the cold truth about herself. She was not a girl, but a shadow. An echo of a person who was brilliant and mesmerizing - an imitation, a tool for her to wield. A role Saé played willingly and with utmost devotion, but a role that left her pointless in a world without her person. Loyal to a fault. Only now did she truly understand what that meant. Her loyalty had left her soul to Padmé Amidala at the cost of herself, perhaps she should be furious that her youth was spent this way — but she couldn’t. The honor of loving the former Queen, of being her closest friend and confidant, to be in her starlight was worth the cold void that losing her left behind. In 19 BBY, the Clone Wars came to an end after Sheev Palpatine transitioned the Republic into the First Galactic Empire. As a result of her husband Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side, Amidala lost the will to live and died after giving birth to her children, Luke and Leia. The Funeral of Padmé Amidala took place in Theed shortly after, which was attended by Sabé and Padmé’s other surviving handmaidens. Every handmaiden, including Sabé, barely spoke during the procession, as their grief was profound and difficult for outsiders to understand.Following Amidala’s funeral, Sabé went home to be alone with her thoughts.
The only question she was now left with, as a result was: who was Sabé, and where did she go from here ? Had Sabé ever truly existed — or was that who the shadow was ? Tsabin of Theed had been left abandoned so many years ago — did she still exist ? Was that who was left ? Could she still be Tsabin after everything she had been through — did she want to be ? For, even though she was a shadow - Sabé had been her most fulfilling purpose. The Queen’s Shadow, a mastered art shared only by a handful… many of whom no longer were with her.
Perhaps the truth lay somewhere betwixt… but she would never find it sitting here and losing herself in her thoughts. She had cried in anguish for so long that she now felt cold and exhausted with no tears left to cry. Padmé was gone, only a few of her sisters remained. The world was about to be more dangerous than before — if Padmé could not do it, than she would take on The Queen’s Shadow once more and do what she knew Padmé would do — what their sisterhood would all unanimously agree upon to do. They would fight for the truth, fight for justice — and perhaps Sabé would find her new role in that. At the very least, perhaps it would allow her to grow strong enough to finally say goodbye to the other half of her.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓
It was disheartening, she supposed, to know that the suffering caused by the Empire would stretch out all those years. Sabé remembered the early days; the first three years after the democratic ways of the republic fell to the hands of Sheev Palpatine had been rough and chaotic. Entire systems upended as authoritative dictatorship gripped tightly with its claws around them. Stable systems became thrown into shambles, and vulnerable ones became lost to ruin.
Still, if there was any assurance for the future — it rest in how strong the rebellion was. In her time, it had been a mere idea in the back of minds and whispered in dark rooms. She had dedicated herself to the cause, along with a few of her sisters in the name of one they loved back then — so, it only made sense that her vow remained despite her displacement (and despite the fact the one she lost may not be as gone as she originally believed). Waking up years in the future, but not having aged a day herself had come with a serious of complex emotions that she wasn’t sure she had really worked yet.
Although, her situation was not without issues. Sabé had been learning more about who she was on her own day by day before the displacement — and in the darkness of war, she wasn’t sure how much of what she discovered about herself she liked. She felt colder, and aimless. Like she was hollow. Like she was nothing but the shadow of a girl. Yet maybe, with a bit of luck, she may find her purpose and light within the hearts and guidance of friends old and new…
𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘
Sabé was loyal to a fault. She had an immense loyalty to Padmé despite knowing that she could not return the same care. She is determined and will stop at nothing to accomplish her tasks; but her attachments could make her shortsighted and blind beyond what was in her immediate ability to control. Padmé’s duties required her to examine the bigger picture for everyone, which left the more personal and narrowed duties up to her.
Espionage has always been a skill of hers, perfected in the Amidala Regency as her duty as royal bodyguard made it essential for her to masquerade as both an innocuous handmaiden and Amidala was the occasion arose. However, as time went on she was able to expand her abilities to mimic certain voices with a bit of practice and became skilled with deception. Yet Padmé would always remain her most perfected role.
Sharp and calculating, Sabé has always been quick thinking and resourceful. After spending so much time learning and perfecting the mannerisms of Amidala, it left Sabé with a skilled ability to read and monitor body language and tone. As well as develop clever signals, codes and methods that would remain less noticed by those around them based on recurring patterns of awareness.
