A Masquerade for Padme
Chancellor Palpatine had seen Padme grow up into a beautiful young woman right before his very eyes. His desire for her had always been a secret…Until he finally decides to lure her into his venomous grasp by using the person she loves the most…Anakin.
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Chapter 1: Revelation
The war was raging…The Separatists vs. The Republic. Two different sides of the same coin, both fighting a war in which only one can be the victor. In such a war, there are main players, people who decide what must be said and what must be done. And at that very moment, those to whom the outcome laid in the side of the Republic, were gathered in the office of Chancellor Palpatine, the grandioso puppet master.
"With all due respect, Chancellor…The war must come to an end." Said Senator Amidala. She sat across the Chancellor's desk with Bail and Mon Mothma. "The last thing we need right now is more blood shed. We must speak with the Separatists --- Negotiate with them if we can. It is not yet too late, Chancellor."
Palpatine sat on his chair, hands clasped together on the table. He looked at Padme with his pretentiously kind blue eyes as if he truly were concerned about her principles. After all, he had to play the role of the sickeningly kind and humble Chancellor Palpatine. He had been doing so far the past few decades.
His entire life as the Nubian politician, Palpatine, was nothing but a game, a masquerade, a show...something that would soon lead him to his true intentions --- to destroy all Jedis and restore the Sith's reign on the galaxy. Yes. That time has almost come. He was the ring leader now, and they, his unsuspecting puppets, pawns to his game of intergalactic chess. The only thing he had to do now, was to continue to pretend.
Though, there was one thing that remained true during his main political reign…one thing that continued to tug at the remaining strand of humanity that was left in the darkness of his existence…and that one thing was his growing fascination with that girl…The girl who was now counter-acting his plan. There she was, sitting before him, explaining her side, and oblivious to the ever growing fascination that he had for her.
His icy blues eyes observed her every move. He watched her like an obsessed lover. His eyes trailed over hers, examining them as they sparkled against the light that shone in from his clear windows. He watched as every syllable from every word she spoke escaped from her reddish lips. Oh those lips…The lips that have been unfairly claimed by his future apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, the boy who had 'married' her.
How ironic…the boy he wanted the most, was the one who had taken the one, true, living thing that HE truly loved the most. Love was almost too tame a word. The only person he had ever truly 'desired'. Irony at its best…and a punishment he truly deserved.
He continued to tell himself that Padme did not deserve that boy…She was a brilliant mind with a strong spirit, unwavering in her beliefs and vocal about her concerns. In fact, it wasn't her physical beauty that lured him to her...If he had grown blind, he would still 'love' her. He found her physical beauty nothing but an outlet for the beauty that blossomed within.
It was really her spirit, her essence, her love for life that seduced him. She was the other side of his coin. She embodied the light side of himself. Within her was the light that his dark existence would never be able to touch. Funny, he thought…The light seducing the dark. Another example of irony in his life.
The covert news of Anakin and Padme's marriage actually shook him when he first heard of it. His initial thoughts were… 'How dare that boy claim Padme for himself? How dare he own her?'
When in fact, it was 'him', the former Senator Palpatine, who had been with her since the beginning. He had been her political advisor. He had been her confidant. He had been her 'friend'. He was there with her in those downtrodden times when no one else was. Those were the only true things in the political plan he had chosen. And that was why he honestly served her…not the Republic…Just her…Just Padme. Damn the Republic. Damn it all to hell. Padme was the only truth in all the lies.
Unfortunately for him, his fascination for her was the one thing he never foresaw.
/ "What have you gotten yourself into, Padme? Why did you have to get involved?" / He thought as he continued to 'pretend' to hear out her concerns.
She wasn't originally a part of the plan he had weaved. In fact, he had tried, in different ways, to deviate her from the path where the railroad track of his empire was to be built on. But now, here she was, soon to be run over by the train itself. His plan, his revenge was only supposed to involve The Chosen One, and the Jedis.
Why couldn't just Padme stay on the sideline and watch? Why did she have to be in the eye of the storm? Why couldn't she have just given up her Senatorial position and lived a peaceful life with her family in Naboo? He, too, was Nubian. When he becomes emperor, he would protect his planet…protect her and the people she cared for.
"What say you, Chancellor?" She asked, pleading as she looked at him.
"She is right, Chancellor Palpatine. We must try and negotiate with Count Dooku." Said Bail. "This war has gone too far to the point that it's not just bringing chaos to the galaxy, but it's eating away the stability of our own Republic too. If the war continues, I'm afraid that the Republic we are serving, might crumble right under our very feet."
"You have been given the powers to stop the war when the right time comes, Chancellor." Added the young and vigorous Mon Mothma. "The emergency power is in your hands. Use it to stop the war, or at least suppress it."
Palpatine just gave them a faint and fake smile. "I will try my best." He said calmly, looking like a kind, wise, old man. "But remember, my friends, that there are sacrifices that must be made. And to achieve the peace that you want, we will have to take certain risks. Not all actions can be left unpaid and unaccounted for."
He momentarily glanced at Padme. And the fact hit him. She was his risk. She was his payment. She was the person that he had to sacrifice for the grand plan that he, himself, had conceived.
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TBC…
Please do review :D! I'm really not sure if anyone would be interested in such a "weird" story, but here it is anyway :D! Reviews would definitely be appreciated !
PS: I HATE Palpatine :P! And this fanfic is a testament to how twisted and eeevil and manipulative he really is. That basturd!