Chapter Text
Ashla tried not to gawk as the limo she was riding in pulled up to the biggest house she’d ever seen.
The car, driver, and a sandy-haired man had been waiting for her when she’d exited the sea life rehabilitation center where she worked on weekends. She tightened her grip of the straps of her backpack and wondered for a second if she should run for it. She gave herself a mental shake.
“Ms. Tano,” the man said, walking toward her. “My name is Mas Amedda. My employer, Mr. Palpatine would like to meet with you.”
Ashla’s stomach had lurched. Sheev Palpatine was the principal donor to the Marine Life Rehabilitation Foundation which operated out of the campus where she worked. For the man to want to meet with her, a lowly grad student, was a huge honor. Ashla looked down at her khaki shorts and the polo bearing the logo of the foundation. She knew she smelled of fish.
“Any chance I could go home and shower first?” she asked.
Amedda gave her a polite smile. “I’m afraid not. It’s a bit of an urgent matter.”
So here she was, in her work uniform, smelling of fish, riding in a limo and about the see the man who’d single handedly paid for the new building of the MLR center. As the limo stopped in front of the mansion, Ashla wished she’d through to brush out her blue-streaked, pale hair and redo the braids hanging down either side of her neck.
A man in black trousers, with a white shirt under a gold embroidered red coat opened the door for her. Another man in the same uniform opened Mas Amedda’s door.
“This way,” Amedda said, striding toward the mansion.
Ashla settled her backpack on one shoulder and followed him. Another set of men in the red and gold livery opened the doors and Ashla followed Amedda into a huge, cool marble hall. She half expected Palpatine to appear at the top of the grand staircase in some rich robe or billowing cloak and sweep down the wide steps in a dramatic entrance.
Instead, the man walked toward her from somewhere deeper in the house, in a fine dark business suit. His auburn hair, coifed into neat waves, was starting to recede and greying at the temples. He smiled kindly at her, the slight jowls and lines on his face evening out with the expression. Ashla internally rolled her eyes at her own flight of fancy and smiled back.
“Ms. Tano,” Palpatine said, extending one hand.
She gripped his hand, which was soft and smooth, and shook it. “Mr. Palpatine. It’s so nice to meet you. Thank you for all you’ve done for the MLR Foundation.”
“Of course, my dear. I’m a staunch supporter of the work your foundation does. The least I could do was make sure you have the facilities you need.”
“Mr. Amedda said you had a pressing matter you wanted to talk to me about.”
“Yes. Please, walk with me,” Palpatine said. He led Ashla back the way he’d come, deeper into the house. “I’m a bit of a collector, you see, and I’ve recently come into possession of something very rare.”
Ashla frowned. “I don’t know that I can help you. I don’t know anything about art or statuary.”
Palpatine turned a smile on her. “I never said I’d acquired a piece of art, Ms. Tano.”
They passed down a hallway toward two heavy looking wooden doors. Two more men in the red and gold livery opened the doors which led to . . .
Ashla sucked in an awed breath.
The hallway they entered was like stepping into one of those underwater tunnels in an aquarium. Bright sunlight streamed through clear water in golden beams. Kelp swayed gently as schools of fish darted through the fronds. As she watched, a sea lion zipped past the window, then disappeared from sight.
“This is incredible,” Ashla whispered.
“I’m pleased you approve,” Palpatine said.
“How do you have room—?”
“My property is quite extensive,” her host interjected. “All the animals have plenty of space to roam.”
Ashla flushed. “I’m sorry if it sounded like—”
“I have animal activists send me lawsuits and death threats, my dear. I’m quite used to people not understanding the lengths I go to, to keep my collection healthy and happy. You did not offend me. Nor have you endangered the funds I donate to the MLR Foundation.”
She let out a wry huff. “That’s good to know.”
They stopped before another set of massive doors. There were no liveried men down here.
“Before we go any further, Ms. Tano, I must ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement,” Palpatine said. “It’s mostly a formality for anyone who works for me, however temporarily.”
Mas Amedda, who Ashla hadn’t realized was following them, came forward with a tablet and held it out to her.
“I’ll of course have a copy emailed to you for your records,” Palpatine said.
“Could I have a moment to read it over?” she asked, taking the tablet.
“Of course, my dear. Please, take your time.”
Ashla looked up to thank him-
-And blinked down at her hands as Amedda slid the tablet out of her fingers.
“Well, now that that’s out of the way,” Palpatine said with a smile.
He touched something on his wrist and the immense doors began to open on their own.
“Wait,” Ashla protested.
“Mas will see to it that a copy of the agreement is sent to the email you provided,” Palpatine said, directing her into the room with a hand on her back.
When had she given them her email address?
But her attention was once again diverted by the beauty around her. Little fish glittered like jewels in a wide tube that stretched from floor to ceiling. Shimmering jellyfish floated serenely through a donut-shaped tank, fluttering and dancing in a perpetual, gentle current. A white bottle-nosed dolphin with blue eyes swam up to the window of a tank and turned upside down, grinning at Ashla.
There were more tanks and tubes and little aquariums stuck into the walls, all filled with wonders, but a tank at the far end of the room caught Ashla’s attention. Unlike the other tanks, which seemed to be just a window looking into a wider area beyond the confines of the room, this tank was fully enclosed within the room. The bottom was covered in gravel and a few small rocks and plants, but except for a largish rock near the center, the tank seemed to be empty.
So why was she walking toward it as if pulled by an invisible string?
Ashla stopped a foot away from the tank wall.
The rock in the middle of the tank shifted, and Ashla realized she was looking at a broad back which tapered down to a narrow waist.
Her heart started racing.
Where the waist should have turned into hips, then legs, a long deep blue tail extended, curled around the front of the figure, the fluke draped to hide the head.
Ashla pressed a hand to the glass, willing the figure to move. To look at her.
“Please,” she whispered.
As if sensing her desire, the figure tensed, then slowly uncurled. Ashla saw short blond hair, then the figure turned to look over his shoulder at her with golden eyes.
Ashla’s breath caught, and tears stung her eyes.
“You’re real,” she whispered.