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The war was over and the Skywalker's were back on the throne of Naboo. It was a long war, before even her Ladyship and the King’s Mother, Leia, was born, when Palpatine rebelled and chased the Skywalkers out. Now it was Benjamin Organa Skywalker Solo that was the reigning King of the once prosperous land of Naboo. Once. Because of the long fought war, the country was in shambles.
It's not like Palpatine was a kind and just king. He ruled with an iron fist and executed people on a whim. He crushed the slightest hint of rebellion without mercy to frighten all others into submission. He paid no care to education, infrastructure, or the people. Palpatine was only interested in touting his own kingship with lavish parties and various executions of his enemies. All supported by Kylo Ren, or Ben Solo’s dead alias. Ben had been kidnapped as a wee babe and raised into the nightmarish hellion Kylo Ren; he who was Palpatine’s most loyal dog and slaughtered all he was commanded. Even Ben’s own father had met his death on Kylo Ren’s blade. It was the way Han Solo had looked at him while bleeding out, his final breath used to impart his love for his child. It wasn’t long after that Kylo Ren had discovered the truth of his heritage and reached out to his mother. Acting as a spy, Ben Solo was the one to kill his master and restore his true family to their rightful place. His mother’s careful wording had promoted the tale of the heroic son in hiding having slayed both the cold hearted tyrant and the feared Kylo Ren to keep the public from fearing his rule.
No matter now. It was over. Ben was King and he would be a benevolent and wise King if he had anything to say about it. To earn that reputation, he had to focus on rebuilding the Kingdom. He quickly found out that this was easier said than done. There was a lot, a lot, of work to do and every little plan had to be evaluated and signed off by him and no other. He was already overwhelmed when the nobles and advisors that helped his ascension to the throne started baying for an heir to secure his legacy. An heir meant a wife, and that meant a whole parade of eligible bachelorettes. No doubt there were many noble families that saw this as an opportunity to secure themselves to the throne through marriage, but Ben wasn’t interested in humouring some tittering bird that grew up under Palpatine’s cruelty or one of the noble girls that fought in the resistance with his parents.
Sick of the constant pressure from his duties and the demands of the court, Ben and his mother called upon a Fey ally. Maz Kanata had aided the Resistance where she and her ilk could as none of the Fey appreciated Palpatine’s grasping reach that tried to permeate their enchanted lands. Maz was an advisor to the Fey Queen and was considered a dear friend to Leia and her late husband. Some said she was gifted with the ability to see the future, but she always denied it. She was old and wise enough, however, that Leia thought she might be able to help.
When the short fey heard about the court’s demands and opinions, she gave a hearty laugh. “How like men to think they know everything! You don’t need a whiny leech latched onto you, Ben. What you need is a Queen who is diligent and driven! You need a woman that is willing to work for the good of the people!”
Ben sighed, his head resting on his clenched fist. “And where can I find this Queen, Maz? I don’t suppose you’re hiding her in your shoes.”
The fey rolled her big eyes. “Alright, cheeky. You want your Queen? I’ll send her to you wearing pearls, silver, and gold and carrying five treasures.”
The King narrowed his brown eyes. “I’m listening.”
Maz smirked and leaned in close to the Mother and Child, her voice low despite her charms preventing eavesdropping. “Here is my plan. You will make a proclamation that you will marry the woman that enters the Fey’s Forest and walks out wearing pearls, silver, and gold and carrying five treasures. Many women will enter with such finery prepared and present you with things like rubies and emeralds in an attempt to trick you. The treasures your true Queen will carry are far more precious though will look inconsequential to the untrained eye.”
Leia patted her son’s back in solidarity. “What will she be carrying?”
Maz nodded in thought. “The first will be Golden Pears. The tree that bears them only gives them to those who do him a favor. They have a bright yellow skin, but the flesh inside is gold and promotes fertility in those who eat them. Perfect for a King who needs an heir, yes?”
The King blushed and his mother persisted. “Golden Pears. Alright, what else?”
“The next treasure will be Golden Fey Wine. The wine is produced with gold grapes from the Fairy grape vine. He has a tendency to complain to anyone who will listen like the grumpy old man he is, but he rewards those who tend to his roots. Golden Fey Wine has no specific taste as it changes for anyone who drinks it and becomes that which they crave most in a wine. It leaves the drinker feeling light and happy without the drawback of drunkenness and morning headaches. A rare treasure for those willing to work for it.”
Golden Fey Wine was indeed a priceless treasure. Only the truly wealthy could afford it and there were only so many bottles among mortal men. The wine could keep forever and was said to be better than divine ambrosia. Those who were lucky enough to have a bottle of it kept it locked up tighter than their gold.
Maz continued softly. “The third treasure will be the breads and cakes from the Fairy Furnace. The Fairy Furnace is a sentient oven that can craft the best pastries in all the world. The true worth lies not in its taste but in its healing properties. Eating the bread from the Fairy Furnace can heal one of any ailment. Of course he only grants them to those who do him a great favor, and without them knowing of the reward.
“The fourth will be a white wedding gown made of Fairy Silk. It is softer than a duckling’s down yet strong enough to protect the skin from the sharpest blade. Bastila will weave it herself, and you know how talented she is at cloth crafting, Leia.”
Leia smiled as she was wearing one of Bastila’s gowns. It was a gorgeous purple dress of intricate embroidery and tiny pearl beading. “And the fifth treasure?”
At this Maz beamed. “The fifth will be a set of wedding rings for the King and his Queen to wear. They will be made of Fey Gold and will both bear two halves of a white Kyber. This stone is far more precious than any gem as it will glow when the wearer's life is in immediate danger. A Kyber stone that has been crafted into a set of wedding bands is said to tie the couple together for life, going so far as to being able to feel the partner’s heartbeat through the ring and pulling in the direction of its pair. At first glance, the rings will only appear to be mere woven dead grass. When you and your Queen put them on, their real value will shine bright for all to see. Another feature of Fey Gold is that only the person who placed the ring onto their partner can take it off, so it cannot be stolen.”
Ben sat back in astonishment. Golden Pears to promote fertility, Gold Fey Wine, products from the Fairy Furnace, a Fairy silk wedding gown, and Kyber wedding bands. Just one of those treasures was worth more than the castle and all its contents, some out of sheer rarity. All together, they would be worth more than any trinket that any girl could produce from her pocket. It was quite enticing, but… “ How do you know your plan will work? There is no way to guarantee that a girl would be able to retrieve such items all by herself, and certainly not before the nobles practically force me into a marriage.”
Maz was undeterred. “Just make the announcement I told you and reject all the fakers. I’ll get you your Queen within five years time even if I have to drag her here by her hair.”
Leia gently brushed her son’s bangs back from his forehead. “I think we should give it a try, Ben. Maz always keeps her promises and such gifts would be a great boon to us. Besides, I am eager to meet the kind of lady that can earn such rarities through hard work and due diligence.”
On the far edge of the capitol, in a run down farm, said girl was scrubbing the floor of the meager dwelling while her stepsister lounged on the porch with her needle work (if that’s what you could call it). Rey didn’t like Bazine and her laziness. Not at all. Rey partially blamed Bazine’s mother. That woman was once the daughter of a noble family and lived a life of luxury until the tyrant king Palpatine stripped the entire family of their rank and wealth for some offense the father committed. Her father was executed (some say by a beast), her mother made a concubine (everyone knew they never last long with king Palpatine), and young lady Carmen Netal was left to fend for herself and her daughter as her husband had died in the tyrant’s army (hence why she was living with her parents).
Rey’s father had only just lost his wife when he met Carmen Netal. Rey had been but four winters and hardly remembered what he was like. She did remember that he was a kind man that seemed broken over the death of his lady love. Perhaps he saw something of himself in Carmen. Maybe his kind heart was looking for companionship in his misery. Well he had certainly found it as Carmen made it her life goal to make everyone around her as miserable as she. It didn’t take long for his new wife’s nagging to chase him into the bottle and made him blind to the world around him.
He didn’t see, or didn’t care, how his second wife was treating his daughter like a slave. He didn’t hear, or didn’t care, how Carmen Netal scolded and berated her stepdaughter. When he wasn’t out working the land of the farm under the command of their landlord, Unkar Plutt, he was haunting a sad little pub with other working class men as they all drowned in their sorrows together. Rey was left alone to fend for herself.
The next morning came with the royal proclamation concerning the future bride for King Benjamin. Rey only half listened as she was more intent on haggling for a few scraps of fabric to mend her shoes. Royal business had little to do with her as she was a scrawny nobody, only useful when she’s helping the citizens of the city to earn extra coins. Anything to keep food on the table was a boon made harder when her father would take money for booze or Carmen for luxuries or Bazine for whatever her little black heart desired at the moment. She had a new hiding place to stash her hard earned money and was determined to buy her own shop one day. By helping anyone she could for money, Rey had become quite the jack of all trades. It was darkly amusing to her that skills she developed out of desperate necessity would be her livelihood one day.
It was a wonderful dream: escaping her abusive stepfamily and her distant dad to live in her own home with her own shop working her own business. It would be hard, but she was determined. Her father may not be dead, but he might as well have been for the past several years. It didn’t seem he had much time left either if his wavering health and sickly pallor weren’t hint enough. Carmen had made it clear that she wouldn’t be taking care of Rey when her father passed, so she needed a plan and this one seemed the most plausible. Whatever happened, she would survive like she remembered promising her mother before she passed. She would live.
Although Rey paid no attention to the royal decree, the same could not be said for the rest of the city. Women everywhere were excitedly gossiping among themselves. Some were pondering just what five treasures the King was looking for while others were already scheming and hunting the market and shoppes for trinkets that might catch a King’s eye. It was certainly all Carmen and Bazine could talk about if Rey was hearing right. Of course Carmen would see this as a way to crawl back into the noble elite.
Rey overheard them as she invaded the kitchen to put away the small selection of groceries. “Oh darling baby, this couldn’t have come at a better time! You’ve just come of age and I’ve been looking for a decent husband for you, not that I’ve been having much luck with the filth living around here. This is obviously a sign from God that it’s your destiny to marry a King!”
Bazine’s high pitched whine would surely make dogs whimper and cry. “But mom, how am I gonna impress him with five treasures when we don’t even have one?!”
Rey realized they were running low on flour and felt a twinge of irritation knowing that she would have to go back to the market for more. “Have no fear, dearest. The proclamation leaves quite a bit of wiggle room. For example, it doesn’t say specifically that you need to be wearing silver and gold coins. We can improvise with some silver and gold thread, so you’ll need to put your embroidery to good use and make something to catch the King’s eye. As for the pearls, well, I may have saved a few things from my estate before that bastard tyrant stripped us of rank and dignity. I have three lovely pearl necklaces that you can choose from, and a few brooches that are years out of season and could fetch a pretty price. Pick the one you like most and we can sell the other two to buy some real treasures to impress his Majesty.”
Rey froze in her movements, her veins frosting over with icy rage so cold it burned. She thought of all those nights when she had to go to bed hungry, all those nights when Carmen and Bazine would bitch and whine about the lack of food even when they had taken more than their shares leaving Rey with nothing. Carmen had been hiding expensive trinkets when they could have been easily sold to improve their livelihoods while Rey was forced to slave away at any shoppe that would accept a helping hand in return for a few coins. How badly she wanted to strike her stepmother. She imagined how good it would feel to feel Carmen’s nose break under her knuckles.
Her stepsister squealed like a pig with excitement and joy. “Oh mom, this just might work! I need to go get gold and silver thread right away! I need to get started! I need a whole new dress! Mother, is it alright to sell one of your brooches now to get the money to buy me a new dress? I feel so bad asking, but think of all the things we’ll be able to buy when I’m Queen?”
Carmen chuckled, “Not to worry dear. Let’s save those old things for those five treasures. I found a nice little fund to get you something decent.” The distinctive sound of coins rattling around in a glass jar sent Rey’s heart racing. She kept her stash of coins in a jar under a loose board in one of the kitchen cabinets. Racing to the far corner of the room, Rey ripped open the last cabinet door and pried up the loose bottom.
The jar, and her hard earned money, was gone.
Her vision went red and she honestly had no idea what had happened between finding her coin stash gone and coming back to find herself standing over her stepmother’s prone form clutching her nose and screaming bloody murder. “You broke my nose! You broke my beautiful nose, you ungrateful whore!”
Rey was only upset that she couldn’t recall the memory. “You’re one to talk about gratitude, you self absorbed, avaricious bitch! How dare you touch my money! You have no right to a single piece of copper when you spend your days lazing about and whining about the good old days when you could laze about in luxury!”
Carmen was climbing back to her feet with her daughter’s help, glaring at Rey harshly though it was ruined by her stumbling and nasally pitch. “You live in my house so you live by my rules, and rules say that we share everything in this house!”
Rey scoffed mockingly. “Share? I seem to remember not even yesterday how you and Bazine both screamed at me for supposedly stealing a handkerchief. And it’s easy for you to say funds should be shared when you bring in nothing!”
Carmen’s face was almost as red as the blood streaming from her nose. “Silence you impudent pig sow! You’re just jealous that Bazine will marry the King!”
She really started to laugh then, deep bellied laughs at the absolute audacity of her stepmother. “Are… are you mad?! Has the summer heat gone to your head? You have truly gone delusional if you think Bazine will marry royalty.”
Now Bazine was world up into a tizzy. “Shut up you worthless tramp!”
Carmen put a comforting arm around her daughter, or what should have been comforting if she were not using her as a living crutch. “Bazine is the most beautiful lady in the Kingdom! King Benjamin would be insane to turn down such a beauty!”
Unfortunately, they were right. Bazine was gorgeous with her mother’s thick black hair and voluptuous form. She turned many heads when she deigned to grace the public. Compared to her, Rey felt like a scrawny chicken not even fit for a simple stew. Her breasts were modest mounds while Bazine’s were full and heavy. Her skin white and creamy from staying indoors all day everyday for years. Rey, on the other hand, was heavily freckled from uncountable hours spent working in the unyielding sunshine. Rey was hardened where Bazine was soft, calloused where Bazine was smooth, scarred while Bazine was flawless.
Rey knew he had no chance with the King, but neither did Bazine.
A sneered smile of mocking disdain appeared on Rey’s face. “Funny, I think I heard that same phrase back in the market. And again a few weeks back from someone else. Bazine is not the only pretty girl in the Kingdom. There are dozens more out there just as pretty as she is and most of them much richer than us. What kind of treasure could you buy that some other family couldn’t a hundred times over? Face the facts: His Majesty is going to wind up married to a pompous, pampered little priss that has the money to pay for her shit attitude, unlike somebody I know!”
Carmen reached out to smack her, but Rey was faster, stronger, better. Rey had spent years toiling away in various shoppes doing various jobs. She grew strong over the years. Carmen and Bazine both were delicate blossoms that could be crushed all too easily. Her stepmother’s face was still red and starting to turn purple. “You will leave right now, you worthless piece of pond scum, and you can come back when you have some real money to help buy Bazine some nice treasures to catch the King’s eye!”
Rey tightened her grip on Carmen’s wrist and flung it back at her chest. “I would love to leave now that you mention it. At least when I’m on my own I won’t have to deal with whiny, thieving bitches like you!"
With that, Rey collected her coins and kicked out at her step family when they tried to stop her. She then raced to the tiny closet she slept in, preferring it over sharing a room with Bazine whose snores could be heard over a thunderstorm, and stuffed some essentials into a raggedy bag. Rey finished her packing by wrapping a loaf of bread and a few apples in a cheese cloth and shoving it in with her clothes. One last punch to her stepmother’s face when Carmen tried to stop her and Rey was free.
Rey felt a moment of fear for her future, but she plowed forward anyhow with the intent to survive. Her first stop was to the nearest inn keeper with whom she had worked for several times over the years and had developed a friendly rapport. The rotund woman with graying red hair and ruddy cheeks was more than happy to room her indefinitely. Afterall there were better inns within the capitol and, though she never lacked for customers, coin was always welcome. Securing a safe place to store her clothes, Rey was able to move about the streets in search of more work.
For several weeks Rey worked from sunup to sundown to keep her room at the inn and build her savings. Her dream was to one day own her shop where people could bring their broken furniture and trinkets and she could fix them up for a fair price. Already she had two jars of copper coins sprinkled with a few silvers from the bigger jobs. It would take months of work, but Rey was no stranger to it.
Sometimes Rey would catch sight of women walking out of Fairy Forest, enchanted lands owned and traversed by the Fey, decorated in silver and gold and wearing strands of gleaming pearls while carrying all manner of objects in their arms. Some carried small bags on their elbows, some sported larger bags on their backs. Once she saw a woman struggling to hold a gilded cage containing a colorful bird much too big for its prison and a silk sack. And still, even Rey had heard how the King rejected each woman and her array of gifts. That same girl that had such a time struggling to bring him the peacock was rumored to still be sobbing about being turned down.
The race for the King was getting so bad now that Rey had heard talk that many an heiress were hiring thugs to steal from the girls that walked out from the forest before they could reach the castle, if they walked out at all. It was an enchanted forest filled with bored fairies and some said that one could get lost if they went in too far. Rey hadn’t believed in such tales until more than a dozen girls had gone missing within the trees only to wonder out days later dreadfully confused and carrying nothing but the clothes on their backs thinking they’d been gone for only an hour.
For Rey it was just another reason to spurn the royal wife hunt.
Not that she had much time to mock the people for participating when she was working all day, everyday. From the carpenter, the blacksmith, the jeweler, the cobbler, the seamstress, the tailor, to dockers at the river port, Rey took work wherever she could find it. It was on a day hauling cargo off and on the boats that traverse the river that Rey returned to find the innkeeper fretting and pacing with her hands twisting a rag between her hands. A few guards were present within the humble dining area and asking questions of the few customers present. The innkeep paled as she saw Rey coming near. Rey was horrified to learn that someone had broken into a few of the rooms and made off with money and expensive trinkets, her room being one of them.
Rey spent an hour crying through her interrogation and another staring blankly at the table top. A plate of roast, steamed veggies, and a hearty ale was placed before her by the innkeep. “I’m so sorry, dear. Go ahead and eat this up and get a night of good rest, free of charge. There’ll be more work for you tomorrow.”
She wasn’t hungry, but food meant energy and Rey would need plenty of it if she was going to start building her savings again. It was after she finished her meal that she was accosted by a small woman with sharp gold-brown eyes. “I heard about the break ins, child. The nerve of some people.”
Rey pushed the empty plate away and finished off her ale. “I should have anticipated it. I should have hidden my money better. It’ll just take me that much longer to get the money I need to buy my own shop.”
The lady tapped her nimble fingers on her own wooden tankard. “Not going to rage and scream about the unfairness of it all? I saw a few doing that before you came in and storming off to who knows where.”
“What will that accomplish but making me look like a fool?” Rey had seen and gotten enough secondhand embarrassment from her stepsister’s tantrums to know that fussing did nothing. “It won’t make my coins reappear or catch the thief that stole them. I just have to trust in the royal guards to find the culprit.”
Her companion nodded her head slowly in agreement. “So I guess it’s back to the grind for you tomorrow then?”
Rey shrugged numbly. “No one is going to hand it to me. That's all that I can do.”
She heard the lady hum. As Rey started the hike to her room on the second floor, she heard her hoarse voice. “You looking for a job then?”
Rey turned back around and sat down again. Her mornings were spent walking all around the city asking for work. A guaranteed job meant more time spent working and earning a wage. “What’s the job entail?”
“Work as a maid.” Was the stranger’s response. “Nothing too hard. Mostly cleaning and I’m sure you’ve done plenty of that.”
Cleaning was something Rey was very familiar with, in fact, but she had never gotten a job as a maid. The one time she tried to interview for one, she was turned away because her clothes weren’t clean enough. Rey has since determined that even the servants of the rich were just as snobby as their masters and never tried again. “Do you think they would take me? I’ve been told I’m not presentable enough to be a maid.”
The lady snorted into her cup. “If you’re willing to work, she’ll hire you.”
It sounded perfect to Rey. “I’m more than willing. Where do I go?”
“She lives in the Forest in a seven room estate. It’s big enough you won’t miss it.” A tan, wrinkled finger gentured to the direction of the Fairy Forest that bordered the capitol.
Just the mention of the Forest was enough to deter Rey. “Is she a Fey?”
The stranger arched her eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”
Work was work to Rey. So long as the woman/Fey paid, it mattered little to her what she was or wasn’t. “Not at all, but how would I even get there? Mortals that wander in too far come out days later if they come out at all.”
“With this.” The woman lifted a necklace over her head and placed the pendant in Rey’s hand. It looked like a gray flat stone with a single hole in the middle looped by a leather thong. “That right there will allow you safe passage through the Forest. So long as you wear that, you will never lose sight of the trail.”
Rey had once heard about charms like these. Seeing Stones, they were called. Just having one in your pocket meant you could see through a Fairy’s illusions. “Seeing Stones are real?”
“Very.”
She slipped the cord over her neck. “I hope you’re right. So, how do I get to this house?”
Her new friend sipped at her ale. “Just enter the Forest at the great oak tree and stay on the trail. It will take you straight to her.”
Follow the trail from the great oak tree. Simple enough. “Thank you for this opportunity.”
Rey got up to pack her things and rest for the journey tomorrow. The stranger’s voice called out to her. “Don’t fear the denizens! Be kind to them, and they’ll return the favor.”
“Thank you! Good night!” Rey had a pep in her step as she slipped into her borrowed room. It felt a little uncomfortable sleeping in a place that had been violated by a thief, but she would be out in the morning and on her way to what was hopefully a secure job. Rey woke up early and paid the innkeep for a sack of simple foods to take on her journey. The streets were bustling lazily in the early light of dawn as Rey made her way to the edge of town where a gentle meadow divided the city from the Fairy Forest. Already there were a few girls and their mothers dedicated to becoming the King’s bride along with a few shady men dressed in black.
One of these girls noticed Rey. She was the daughter of the noble for whom Rey once tried to work as a maid. She was a spoiled, repugnant girl that was chubby from years of abundance. She knew Rey for who she was as many people knew about the girl that worked everyday and began to harass her loud enough that all the others could hear. “Well well, if it isn’t the poor little scavenger girl. What are you doing here? You don’t really think you’ll find anything of value in the Fairy Forest, do you?”
Rey just shrugged her small shoulders. “Off to find work actually. There is a Fey that needs a maid in the Forest.”
Another girl of a not as prominent family trembled. “How will you get there? Those who wander too far get lost forever.”
She merely sniffed in disdain. “I have a charm that gives me safe passage. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m burning daylight.”
And so Rey walked into the Forest with her head held high, only a little scared that the strange woman had fooled her. However, the oak tree was easy to find as it was the most massive tree at the border and the trail was right where the lady had said. Rey felt better and she set a brisk pace. She walked and walked and walked until she had to stop for a break. She settled against a dried out tree and nibbled on a loaf of bread and cheese.
“Good morning, young lass.”
Rey swallowed and returned the greeting out of habit, looking up to see who else was trekking the path. Her cat hazel orbs found no one and her brows furrowed in confusion.
“You really should be eating more.”
She realized the voice was coming from above her and she looked up. The bare, dry branches hid nothing from her gaze, yet she could not see anyone from which the voice could have originated. “Who’s there? Where are you?”
“I am the tree.”
Rey shrieked and jumped away from the tree she was leaning against. She stared wide eyed as one of the branches shook in the imitation of a wave. “Oh god, the heat has gone to my head.”
There were no eyes to see or mouth for which it could speak, but speak it did all the same in a voice that was neither masculine nor feminine. “I am no summer heat. I am Pear Tree, a nymph that has existed in this Forest for centuries.”
Rey remembered how the strange woman had told her not to fear those that dwelled in the Forest and to be kind. She sighed and allowed her muscles to relax. “Oh. Sorry for screaming. You’re the first tree I’ve ever heard speak.”
“No harm done. My kin tend to keep their council from mortals.”
Rey nodded as if that meant anything to her, as if the tree could see.
“Before you go on your way, could you do me a favor and rid me of my dead and dry branches. They itch like mad and take a while to fall off on their own. I’ll do you a good deed in return one day.”
She noticed the many small twigs clinging to its limbs. The lady did say to be kind and she understood having an itch she just couldn’t reach. She didn’t believe that a tree, Fey or not, could do her much in return, but being nice never hurt anyone. “It’s not like I’m in a rush I guess. I’ll help you.”
“I thank you kindly.”
It took two hours to break off all those tiny twigs and Rey was warm and sweaty by the time the tree’s limbs set her back on the ground. One of its branches reached out to touch the delicate skin below the inner corner of her left eye. The spot tingled under the wood. “What was that?”
“Just a mark on your skin to show that you have done me a good deed. The other Fey will see it and know that you are a friend.”
A literal mark of friendship. It’s not like it would hurt her. Rey thanked him and started back on the trail. She walked and walked until the sun was high in the sky and a sad dried out grape vine clinging desperately to a trellis. A crystal clear creek wasn’t too far off on the opposite side of the path and she stopped to get a drink.
“Would you mind getting me a drink, too?”
Rey spun around so fast that she lost her balance and fell into the creek. She sat up to see the grape vines waving in the air like a snake, sentient and aware. “First a tree and now a plant. Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Sorry for startling you.”
She climbed to her feet, only a little irritated and the feeling of wet fabric clinging to her skin. Her trousers would dry off soon enough in the summer sun. “I’m okay. You said you needed water?”
“And someone to hoe around my roots. The soil here has dried up under the sun and it needs to be churned and watered if I am to thrive.”
Rey glanced around. “Have you no gardener?”
“Not for a few years now. Would you help me? I’ll return the favor one day.”
She had already helped a talking tree, so she might as well help a talking grape vine. “Of course. I know what it’s like to be thirsty.”
Rey spent an hour more trimming the vine, hoeing the soil, and carrying enough water from the creek to the vine with her modest flask. When she was satisfied, the tip of the grape vine touched the delicate skin under her left eye in a spot next to the mark left by the tree. “Now all of the Fey folk will see that you have done me a good deed.”
Rey bid the vine farewell and went on her way. She walked for a while until she came across a crumbling furnace covered in leaves and weeds. Confused as to why there was an oven in the middle of a clearing with no sign of a house anywhere nearby, she was only a little startled when the furnace spoke to her. “Now I know I’m hallucinating.”
“I am the Fairy Furnace and I need someone to clean me up and fix me. Should you do this, I will do you a good deed in return.”
Who was Rey to turn down a talking oven? Rey got work wetting down the clay and mud with water from the creek and took off her shoes to properly mix it. She spent hours pulling the weeds and cleaning the debris before molding the mix into the cracks and fissures of the furnace. When she finished, the furnace changed before her eyes. No longer did it appear like an old abandoned oven but now a gleaming, glittering furnace worthy of the King’s kitchen. “Couldn’t you have done this yourself?”
“I needed someone to fix me first. I thank you kindly. A wisp of smoke rose from the ignited flames of the over and kissed the delicate skin under her left eye. “Now the Fairies will see that you have done me a good deed.”
Rey said her goodbyes and continued her journey. She walked and walked along the path parallel to the creek that was slowly growing bigger until it became an impressive river. Rey jumped when she heard a piercing scream ring through the air. She raced ahead and saw a beautiful woman standing at the edge of the river. Her dark hair was in a loose bun at the top of her head and allowed Rey to see her pointed ears. The Fey must have heard Rey approach as she turned to stare at her pleadingly. “Please, you must save my spiders! I cannot swim and they are my friends and assistants! Please save them!”
She looked out over the choppy waters and saw a collection of spiders huddled on a broken dock. Rey knew herself to be a decent swimmer and tossed her bag aside to jump into the water. The current wasn’t too strong, but she still had to fight to stay on course. Her muscles were aching by the time she reached the free floating dock where it had caught on a cropping of rocks. Her swim back wasn’t as bad with the wood to cling to, but her legs were burning by the time she reached shore.
The Lady Fey welcomed her rather large spiders onto her skin with gentle coos. Her grey eyes were warm and glowing with gratitude. “Thank you so much. They were waiting for a delivery for me when the dock broke free.” The spiders too seemed to wave their little legs in thanks, their black coloring all the darker against their mistress’ white gown. “I don’t suppose you know how to fix it, do you?”
Rey looked at the dock and the posts sticking from the water where it once sat. “I can give it a quick fix, but it will only last for so long. You’ll need to have a professional come and set up new posts.”
The woman smiled. “I am Bastila the Weaver. I will remember this always.”
And so Rey quickly affixed the dock back to the posts with the nails and hammer Bastila provided. While she worked she couldn’t help but ask about the spiders. “What is so special about your spiders, aside from the fact that they seem to understand us?”
Bastila stroked the back of the biggest spider which was larger than Rey’s hand. “They are Silk Spiders. I design beautiful clothes and they weave them for me. I dye them myself and thank them with plenty of food to eat.”
Rey had never heard of Silk Spiders, but it’s not like she lived in the Fairy Forest. “Well I’m all done here. I’d get someone here as soon as you can build you a new dock.”
The Spider lady smiled brightly and touched her thumb to the delicate skin under Rey’s left eye next to the three marks already there. “I promise to return this kindness you have done for me. I bid you safe travels, young lady.”
So Rey walked onward, eating her bread and cheese on the way. Her clothes were almost dry when she came across a dirty little dog. “Goodness me! Could you wash me, brush me, and trim me? I will do you a good deed in return!”
Rey had washed and trimmed a few dogs in her time and washed him as best as she could with the scrap of soap she had in her bag. She brushed out his wet fur and cut away the excess with the scissors he produced from a hole in a tree because of course he did. It wasn’t like much could surprise her after having spoken with a talking furnace.
After the dog looked tidy and clean, he brushed his wet nose into the delicate skin at the outer corner of her left eye. The skin tingled with a new mark. “Now all will see that you have done me a good deed!”
He dashed away down from where she came and Rey moved along in the growing darkness. By the time the sun touched the horizon, she had finally reached a beautiful house in the lovely clearing. Rey knew she smelled like sweat and wet dog and river water and hoped that the Fairy wouldn’t turn her away for being dirty. She knocked on the door and was shocked to see the very same woman who had told her about the job. “It’s you! The woman from the inn! You’re the Fey that lives here?”
The short Fey set her hands on her hips. “That I am! Maz Kanata, advisor to the Fairy Queen and friend to King Benjamin!”
Rey blinked twice. “Does this mean that you won’t turn me away?”
Madam Kanata beamed. “Turn you away? You were determined enough to hike your way through the Forest, and it seems you've done a few good deeds along the way. I’d be a fool to reject such a diligent lady like yourself! Come on in and have some dinner. After that, you can get some well deserved rest. I’ll tell you your duties in the morning.”
The mortal was bashful at first but quickly succumbed to the feast presented before her. She ate her fill, a little more, and happily accepted the room where Maz said she could sleep. While she slept, the tiny Fey traveled to Skywalker Castle where the King and his mother were still up and tending to paperwork. Maz approached them with the good news. “I have found you a promising candidate, your Majesty! Her name is Rey and she is hardworking and kind hearted. She would make an excellent Queen!”
Ben and Leia both beamed with joy. The King was particularly excited about no longer having to deal with the constant stream of women trying to fool him with all manner of gifts and treasures. “That’s wonderful to hear. Can we expect her tomorrow?”
The Fey woman chuckled at his eagerness. “Slow down there, child! She is from a poor family and has worked all her life to scrape by and survive. She knows nothing of court etiquette and those pesky nobles would tear her apart if they met her now. Not to mention she is skinny from years of poor eating. She needs time to grow and fill out. Give me a year to train her to endure those finely dressed brutes and you shall have yourself a worthy Queen and bride!”
Ben didn’t like the thought of waiting, but he admitted that the upper class could be cruel. His bride would need thick skin to survive among them even with his aid and knowing court etiquette couldn’t do anything but help. He reluctantly agreed to her terms.
And so Maz taught Rey all she would need to know while she cleaned her home, as promised. Rey was a wonderful student and absorbed knowledge like a sponge all while maintaining a clean and tidy home for Maz, even if she thought it all a joke against the high class. The consistent diet of three hearty meals helped Rey develop a more womanly figure and added much needed fat to her bones. With a supportive and kind companion, Rey walked taller with her head held high and learned to share her opinions without fear of retaliation. She and Maz discussed hypothetical situations surrounding problems of the country and what Rey would do to fix them if she had the power. Under Maz’s care, Rey grew into a beautiful and thoughtful woman that would usher in an area of peace and prosperity as King Ben’s wife and Queen.
Finally a year had passed and it was time for Maz to fulfill her promise to King Benjamin, not that Rey knew what was in store for her. In fact, she seemed very sad at the thought of leaving Maz behind. “Are you truly sending me away?”
Maz took her hand in hers and looked her in the eyes. “Dear child. The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead. It is time for you to live your life.”
Rey shed tears at the thought of returning to her lonely existence at the capitol, but how could she stay when it seemed that Maz no longer needed her. “If that is what you wish.”
The Fey woman chuckled. “Dry your tears girl. It is time to show you what you’ve earned! You remember that room I told you not to enter ever?”
She did remember that room. On day one, Max had ordered her to clean six rooms everyday and to leave the seventh alone. “Of course I do.”
Maz grinned slyly. “Well it’s time to show you what’s behind it.”
Rey was dragged behind Maz as they raced to the seventh room tucked into the back of the house. The door opened and Rey was shocked to find two giant piles of gold and silver coins. “I’ve never seen so much money in one place!”
“This is nothing compared to the King’s coiffers.” Maz gestured to the piles. “Now lay down and roll over both piles and whatever sticks to you is yours to keep.”
Rey did as commanded and stood up to find that she had rows of silver and gold coins stuck around her neck and chest, along her shoulders, and around the waist of her pretty cream uniform dress. Rey thanks Maz for everything and left with tears in her eyes and a promise from the Fey that they would meet again. She carried nothing but a leather satchel containing some food for the road and a small box that Maz ordered she deliver to the King himself. She knew not what was inside the box, but it was hardly her business to know.
The morning sun was beating on her back when Rey across the dog she recalled helping last year. At least she thought it was him considering he was covered in pearls. “Hey! Hey! I remember you! You helped me once! Come take as many pearls as you like as a thank you for your good deed!”
Rey tried to turn him down as a simple grooming wasn’t worth something as precious as pearls, but the dog insisted. So Rey took several tiny pearl pins and tucked them into her braids and bun. The dog ten tossed some more into her bag and licked her hand and bid her farewell. Rey walked on with a lighter heart.
Next, Rey came across Bastila and her Silk Spiders. “Rey! I’ve been waiting for you. As a thank you for your help, me and my spiders made you this lovely cloak!”
It was a lovely cloak. Though black at first glance, it shimmered with purples and blues and greens and pinks when the light touched it just right. A beautiful silver and gold clasp inlaid with a single pearl the size of her thumb would keep the cloak on her shoulders. Such a piece was more befitting a Queen than a peasant like herself. Besides, someone was likely to steal it right off her back. “I couldn’t accept anything so fine for temporarily fixing your dock.”
Bastila pouted prettily. “Well, it’s not just just for the dock and saving my spiders. Consider it to double as a payment for a delivery. I have finished a commission for the King and I need you to take it to him for me.”
Well, when Bastila put it that way Rey could hardly turn her down. That and she really liked the cloak. “Thank you so much. I’m just worried that someone would rip it right off my shoulders for themselves.”
Bastila whipped out a neatly folded fabric of the purest white wrapped in blue silk ribbon, wrapped it in a large clean leaf, and tucked it safely in Rey’s satchel. Bastila then fixed the cloak over Rey’s shoulders and left her to secure the clasp. “Fear not! This is Fey Gold and only the person who secures that clasp can undo it! Now if it gets stolen when you take it off, that’s something I can’t help you with. It’s not like you won’t be able to find it again when it is such a unique cloak.”
Such a cloak would sell for a very fine price should Rey ever get desperate, though she felt ill with guilt as soon as the thought crossed her mind. The cloak was a gift, a reward for a good deed and a job well done. Rey and Bastila parted with fond farewells.
Rey continued on the trail when she came across the talking furnace. It was still sentient and alive, if that's what one could call it, and called out to her. “There you are! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you! Come and eat your fill as a thank you for repairing me!”
The breads and cakes and pastries that the Fairy Furnace was producing looked too delicious for Rey to turn down. Each delicacy was warm and soft and better than anything a mortal baker could make. So much so, in fact, that she was most definitely ruined for human bakeries. Just eating the Furnace’s food had her feeling better than ever as her aches and pains disappeared with every swallow. Finally, she groaned and patted her belly. “I don’t think I could eat another bite. Thank you so much.”
“I don’t think that’s nearly enough to satisfy my gratitude. Why don’t you pack some to take with you on your journey?”
Rey thanked the Fairy Furnace profusely as she tucked a variety of his goods into her satchel. They said goodbye and she went on her way. She walked and walked until she came across the grape vine that was now brimming with grapes. More surprising yet were the barrels and bottles at its side. “Rey! Come here! As a thank you for what you did for me, eat and drink your fill!”
She happily indulged in the ripe grapes and the golden wine that made her feel light and happy. At the vine’s insistence, she packed three of the bottles into her satchel and continued on her way. At last she came across the pear tree that was practically brimming with ripe yellow pears. “Hello again, my dear. Come and take as many pears as you wish.”
Still bubbly from the wine she drank earlier, Rey didn’t not even think of refusing. “Thank you, sir pear tree. I do hope to see you again.”
“I have a feeling we will, young one. And I’d suggest you put up that hood of yours, for it feels like a storm is coming.”
Rey trekked along the path when the sky suddenly opened and poured a deluge onto the land. She put up her hood to protect her hair and face from the assault. Miraculously, the fabric stayed dry and her hood never fell back no matter how hard the wind tried.
The trees thinned out until finally Rey stepped into the strip of land with the city in the distance and Skywalker castle standing tall above it all. As she walked forward in the rain, she was stopped by two unfortunately familiar faces and a few others. Carmen and Bazine were glaring at Rey looking like drowned rats in the rain. “Rey, you worthless trollop! Where have you been?!”
Rey glared back with pride. “I found work in the Forest as a maid for a Fey. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a delivery to make to the King.”
She was stopped by a set of hands. “Bazine, take her satchel!”
Her leather satchel was ripped off her shoulder and Rey watched as the girls gathered around it like scavenging vultures. Their eager zeal melted into confusion. “She’s just got three bottles and fruit in here. And is that a leaf?”
Rey snatched her bag back. “It’s rude to take things that aren’t yours. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a delivery to make to the King from the Fey Lady, Maz Kanata.”
A short, curvy woman with big blue eyes and big blonde curls gasped at the name. “Maz Kanata the War Hero? The one who helped the Skywalkers reclaim the throne?”
“That’s the one.” Rey confirmed proudly. “I was her maid and she sent me on a final errand to take a package to the King himself.”
Another woman, an heiress considering her silk dress and flashy jewels, scoffed and waved her off. “Whatever, just go. It’s not like she has anything worthwhile in there that the King isn’t already expecting.”
Carmen turned up their noses and the contestants for the Queen’s crown moved away to ready themselves and their spoils. Rey made her way into the city and was ready to finish her journey. She thought of her future and the little shop she would be able to purchase. Surely with all the gold, silver, and pearls she wore hidden beneath her cape, she could more than afford a shoppe of her own with a small fortune to put back for emergencies. Maybe she could even convince her father to leave his wife and live with her and he would stop drinking away his sorrow. She could dream.
As she neared the castle’s gates where dozens of girls and ladies were entering or running from while weeping, two large men stepped into her path. “Excuse me, but you’re in my way.”
They escorted her to the cover of an awning where a woman waited, the same one that heckled her last year. “Oh, it’s just the scavenger. Let her go, boys. She has nothing of wor… Wait. Is that a gold and silver clasp on your cloak? And a pearl?! Seize her! Take her bag!”
Rey rolled her eyes as once again she was accosted and her satchel taken. The brute not holding her arms was going through her bag. “Nothing in here but some bread, fruit, and some wine. Hold on, what’s this?”
“I’m a servant of Maz Kanata, the Fey Hero.” Rey explained again. “I am making a delivery to the King on her orders.”
He unwrapped the leaf. “Fuck me! It’s Fairy Silk! This stuff is worth a fortune!”
Rey glared at the dolt. “It’s a delivery for the King. He is surely expecting it.”
The heiress bit her lips and eyed the folded silk with envy. “What else does she have?”
Her hired muscle dug deeper and found the box. He opened it only to close it and put it back. “Just some rings woven from dead grass. Oh, there are strands of pearls at the bottom of the bag.”
“Those are a delivery for the Queen Mother.” Rey spoke quickly. The heiress would definitely take them if she admitted they were a gift, but no way was she dumb enough to steal from the King’s mother. “Can I go now? I’d like to make my delivery some time this week if possible.”
Still the spoiled heiress stared at the silk. Rey could see that she desperately wanted it.
Rey shook off her offender. “Should I go to the King empty handed, then, and tell him that you have stolen his commission? Or perhaps I should go right back to the Fey and tell them all about the humans that stole from the King.”
The brute dropped the silk back into her satchel and held it out. “Here you are now. Have a nice day.”
His employer growled. “What?! No! Take that silk from her! It counts as a treasure!”
He responded with a nervous laugh. “You’ve got plenty of other goods to choose from, lady. Besides, he’s expecting the silk anyway. Can you imagine how humiliating it would be to present a silk he commissioned as a treasure?”
The heiress blanched and snarled in rage. “Fine. Give me her cloak then!”
Rey scoffed and shouldered her bag. “This cloak was a gift to me for helping a Fairy fix her dock and you will not touch it or I will ask her to sic her spiders on you.”
She moved on and passed through the gate without further interruption. The rain was coming down even harder and was making the lady contestants rush for the cover of the castle’s entrance. Rey avoided the line of eager women and approached a handsome guard. He beamed a smile at her, but it looked fake and impatient. “I’m sorry miss, but you’ll have to join the line like everyone else.”
Shaking her head in denial, Rey patted her satchel. “I am sent by the Fey Maz Kanata with a delivery for the King.”
The guard’s grin became more genuine. “In that case, Rose here will take you right to His Royal Majesty.”
Rose was a tiny and happy maid that led Rey past the line of scowling women while openly talking about how irritating they were when suddenly her belly grumbled in hunger. The maid blushed a bright red. “Forgive me! I’ve yet to have lunch today and it’s almost time for supper.”
It meant nothing to Rey to share her spoils with the hungry girl. She held out a golden brown honey bun with a smile. “Hopefully this will tide you over.”
Rose accepted her offer and devoured the bun with zeal. “This is the best bun I’ve ever tasted! It’s so good I can’t even feel my aching back or cramping calves anymore!”
By this time, Rey and the maid were well into the throne room and Rose’s exclamation was loud enough to echo off the expansive walls of stone and stained glass. The King, who looked incredibly bored, looked up from the latest rejection. Rose blushed again and bowed to the King. “A delivery for you, your Majesty.”
His mother, just as weary and irritated as her son, replied. “From who?”
Rey bowed to the reigning monarch. “I am sent by Maz Kanata with a gift for his Majesty.”
The King and his mother sat up straight and shared a look. A year had passed and Maz had promised them a bride and Queen. King Benjamin was smiling as he gazed down at Rey. “Remove your cloak, my lady.”
She did as commanded and handed her cloak to Rose for safe keeping. Many ladies gasped and growled among themselves. Her stepfamily was in the crowd and hissing out her name in anger. Rey ignored them.
Leia pointed out her accessories. “I see you bear silver and gold coins, and such lovely pearls in your hair.”
Rey explained them away. “My coins are payment for a year of work. The pearls were a reward for a job well done.”
Ben and Leia grew excited. Ben addressed the lady. “What is it that Maz has sent me?”
Rey reached into her satchel and presented the wooden box containing the rings and the unwrapped silk. “Maz sends you two rings while the Fairy Silk was sent by Bastila, she said you had commissioned her, your Majesty.”
The King could see she wasn’t going to give more, so he had to provoke more conversation. “My my, your bag looks quite heavy. What all do you have in there?”
She wanted to leave, but Rey could not deny the King and his curiosity. “Just some snacks, your Majesty, nothing impressive.”
“Humour me.” Ben pressed, eager to confirm that this was his bride. And so Rey did, pulling out her spoils of Golden Pears, Golden Fairy Wine, and breads and cakes from the Fairy Furnace. King Ben inspected them and found them to be the very objects the Maz Kanata had promised to send him a year ago. Ben rose from his golden throne and took Rey into his arms, lifting her into a bridal carry. “You are my bride! You came to me wearing pearls, silver, and gold and presented me with five treasures! We will marry and you shall be my Queen!”
Rey was very flustered and bashful, unbelieving that she could ever be a fitting Queen, but the King insisted that this had been Maz Kanata’s test to find a hardworking and diligent Queen who would help him rebuild the kingdom and usher in an area of peace and prosperity.
It was then that Rey agreed and the news was spread throughout all the kingdom. Women everywhere weeped, yet the plans for the wedding were still made. A few women like Bazine and noble ladies who did not want to see the crown on Rey’s head tried to enter the Fairy Forest to take the same test that Rey did and convince the King he had the wrong bride. To their dismay and the Fey’s delight, the girls were fooled by the tricks and illusions of the Fairies and were guided right back out of the Forest days after they went inside.
The wedding was a beautiful affair and Rey’s Fairy Silk dress was white and lovely and decorated with pearls like her hair. Ben and Rey married, she was crowned Queen Regnant and the Royal couple went on to bring peace and prosperity to the Kingdom. She birthed him five children, his precious treasures, and they all lived happily ever after.