"A Small Measure of Comfort"
"I care for you too. Only I..."
"You miss your mother."
The small boy's blue eyes glimmered at those words, amazed she could sense what he was thinking. After she gave him a reassuring hug, Padmé could even see a hint of pink coloring his cheeks. He's so sweet, she thought. It's hard to believe he's had such a difficult life.
Anakin snuggled down in the velvet wrap Padmé had given him, trying to sleep propped up against the bulkhead. The young girl frowned. The number of passengers aboard exceeded the number of bunks and sleep couches available. Everyone had to make do with wherever they could sleep. The Gungan snored away from his chair nearby. The two Jedi had wrapped themselves in their cloaks and slept on the main deck.
But Anakin was a child and though he didn't complain, Padmé knew he had to have been uncomfortable. She considered for a second perhaps having him sleep in the Royal Suite. The couch in there was as big as a regular-sized bed. But that would compromise her cover. Sabé was still masquerading as the Queen and it would look awfully strange if a servant girl managed to convince Naboo's monarch to permit a practical stranger to sleep in her bed. The other handmaidens were two to a bunk as it was. Anakin could sleep in her bunk with Eirtaé and she could find another place…
"Anakin," Padmé said softly, gently touching his shoulder. He opened his eyes. "Would you like to sleep in a real bed instead of here? You'd have to share with Eirtaé, but she won't mind."
"Where will you sleep, then?" he asked with genuine concern.
"I'll find a place," Padmé shrugged. "Don't worry…"
"No," Anakin said, shaking his head. "I'll stay here."
"But Ani, you can't be comfortable where you are."
"I'm fine," Anakin insisted. "Besides, I'm going to be a Jedi someday. I'll have to get used to roughing it, like Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan."
Padmé sighed with resignation. Her mother once said you had to let a man have his pride. That, she supposed, applied to little boys as well. "I'll be right back."
From the Royal Suite, she fetched a large fluffy pillow. It was meant for ornamental purposes, but it was comfortable enough. She brought it to Anakin and he gratefully accepted it. He put it on the floor and lay down. Padmé drew up the velvet wrap to his shoulders.
"Thank you," he said.
"Good night, Ani." Impulsively, she leaned over and quickly kissed him on the cheek. He grinned back up at her before closing his eyes.
Padmé waited until he had finally drifted off to sleep. She caressed his forehead then rose to her feet. Remembering the japor snippet necklace Anakin had given her, she slipped the leather cord around her neck before at last retiring to her bunk.