Twilight settled on the hills by the city of Theed. The last traces of sunlight faded into the starry sky. It was perfect, at least it should have been perfect. The light of the sunset had shone scarlet, like the blood being spilled by the Republic's army. Padmé didn't know what had gone wrong, or when. One moment the Republic had been saving lives and the next it was destroying them. But the Republic was far from Padmé's worries
She felt tears well up in her eyes. Anakin, how could he leave her, betray her? A smile fleeted across her face, too worn for her age. He had not left her, not really, but he was never around. Most of his time was spent with the Chancellor. Days ago, Obi-Wan had come to her with his concerns. Anakin was spending too much time away from his training, did she know why? Then, Padmé had been puzzled by his worried expression when she admitted that Anakin was spending time with Palpatine. Now she understood what Obi-Wan could not articulate. Palpatine was a danger to the Republic, not to mention Anakin.
She turned away from the edge of the balcony and returned to her quarters. She wished she could stay; stay in the warm interior of the palace; stay in the city of Theed. In a day, she would return to Courscant, the galactic center. Padmé would confront the falling moral standards of the Republic, and face Anakin. She did not know if she could withstand losing him to the devices of Palpatine. A hand on her shoulder startled her out of her reverie.
"Senator Amidala, you need to rest." Sabé smiled down at her. Padmé offered a wincing smile. Sabé was always here when she returned. She always had been and probably always would be.
"Sabé, will he leave us?" Her eyes pleaded with Sabé for the answer.
"I do not know, but all the same you must sleep. When was the last time you slept the whole night?" she implored. Sabé nodded when she saw Padme's blank look. "That's what I thought. We will worry about our other concerns in the morning. Tonight, however, you are going to get some sleep."
"But Sabé…"
"No arguing tonight," she replied as she led Padmé to the bed. When the senator made no actions to take off her robe and get in, Sabé did it for her.
Sabé turned back when she reached the door. "Say goodnight to the little ones for me," she added, eyeing Padmé full stomach.
Padmé smiled back and closed her eyes as Sabé exited the room with a distinct look of worry etched into her youthful features.
The fingers of dawn broke into the corners of Padmé's room. The sky outside was changing from a soft pink to a brilliant blue. Native species' cries echoed around the palace. She shifted in her bed to stare out the window. What a beautiful day.
Quickly, she dressed and entered the other room where Sabé had already put the morning meal on the table. Padmé sighed. Sabé was far too good to her. She took a seat in one of the giant wooden chairs around the oval table.
"I trust you slept well, milady?" Sabé questioned as she reentered the room with steaming tea.
Padmé nodded reaching for the tea. "Very well. Truthfully, much better than I ever have in the past few months."
"Even without Anakin?" Sabé realized her mistake when Padmé bowed her head and turned away, "Forgive me, Padmé. I forgot."
"No, don't apologize. I need to acknowledge this now. I can't deny what's happening forever," she admitted, lifting her sad gaze to meet Sabé's.
"Forgive me for asking, but what is happening. You haven't told me." Small, but unmistakable marks of worry marred Sabé's expression. "I understand we hardly see each other and that it is formal when we do, but please remember I'm your friend. I've always been and will always be."
Padmé took Sabé's hands in her own. "You have no idea that means to me, Sabé. And I, also, will always be there for you. But I don't really know how I can explain."
"Don't worry how it comes out." Sabé smiled reassuringly. "Just say what's on your mind."
"I'd been noticing for awhile. Anakin wasn't around as much and he was never at the Jedi Temple either. At first, I didn't give it much thought. Then one day Obi-Wan came and talked to me. He asked where Anakin was spending his time. I was surprised he didn't know and tried to remember where Anakin had said he was going. It took awhile, but I finally remembered that he was seeing the Chancellor. Oh, Sabe, Obi-Wan was devastated." Padmé lowered her head. "And now I always feel so alone. He's never around. I haven't even been able to tell him I'm pregnant. It's almost like I'm afraid of what he'll do, that he won't care."
"Oh, Padmé." Sabé got up and moved to embrace Padme. As soon as she felt Sabé's arms around her the tears started flowing try as she might to stop them. Sabé felt helpless. She could do little more than offer comforting murmurs in Padmé's ear.
She knew Padmé had been having a hard time, but it had never occurred to her that Anakin was the root of the problem. From the moment she had met the bright blue eyed boy she had known he was fascinated with Padmé. She remembered her amusement at the expression on his face when he found out that Padmé was really the queen. So much had changed since then, but as far as Sabé had known Anakin had still been utterly in love and probably still fascinated with Padmé Amidala. In her opinion, there was no reason to believe otherwise.
Padme sniffed again and looked up at Sabé. "What time is it?"
"A little before ten. You have plenty of time before your meeting with the queen," she answered with a slight smile.
"Good." Padmé nodded. She didn't want to have to think about politics or the state of the Republic just now. A voice inside of her whispered that she was being selfish, but at the moment Padmé could not bring herself to care. She turned again to glace at her companion. Sabé was staring at her with a perturbed expression. "What?"
"I was thinking of last night." Sabé's voice was heavy with melancholy.
"I was standing on the balcony watching the sun set thinking of the Republic and later of Anakin." This mention caused the lines in Padmé's worried face to increase slightly.
"I don't have any good advice for you. I wish I did, but…"
"Don't concern yourself with my petty problems. I'll talk to Obi-Wan again and ask him about this. In the mean time, Sabé, I need to get dressed in time to meet with the queen," Padmé stated rising from the table and heading towards the doors to her rooms.
Sabé had risen as well. "What about the rest of breakfast? You need to eat more than a few little eggs."
"Food will have to wait. I have a duty to fill," Padmé told Sabé sharply.
"Alright," she sighed. "I'll be in my rooms if you need any help dressing."
Padmé's expression softened. "Thank you, for everything."
Sabe just gave her the ghost of a smile and drifted into the other rooms. Padmé set about to the annoying task of dressing and doing her hair. She was extremely grateful that she was no longer the queen. The dresses had been elegant and even exquisite at times, but they had weighed her down like a pile of bricks. It still fascinated her that some of the dresses had almost weighed as much as she had. Being a senator entailed fancy dresses, but simplistically fancy and definitely not overdone. It took her moments to find a simple deep red dress. It was strapless and had a long scarf to go with it. The cut was modest, showing no more than it needed to. Padmé decided on a simple braid with red ribbons down her back. Her fingers expertly wound the ribbon into her hair.
Minutes later, she was drifting down the corridors of the palace. The queen, a delightful young woman by the name of Vivianala, had been recently elected to the throne of Naboo. She was much older than Amidala herself had been, at age 19. She had a strong sense of ethics and was good for her people. Today, she and the senator of Naboo had a meeting concerning the affairs of the Republic.
Padmé entered the throne room with a sense of nostalgia. She bowed her head and waited until the queen acknowledged her presence.
"Welcome, Senator Amidala. We are pleased that you could come," Vivianala greeted in her strongly accented voice.
"I am pleased to be here, but please my time is short. Shall we get down to business?" Padme explained approaching the throne.
Vivianala nodded. "Of course. I've been hearing various accusations that the Republic is increasing the blood shed of the galaxy, it this true?"
"Sadly, yes. The Chancellor has had much support in utilizing the army created almost a decade ago. The clone troops are efficient, no one can argue with that, but many diplomatic opportunities are being turned down and instead the Republic is immediately sending the clone army," Padmé clarified in a sad tone.
The queen nodded. "Isn't there a way to start a motion in the senate to stop this?"
"The senate no longer functions to the will of the senators. A few years back a bill of such was started. Hours after the senators had proposed it, they were found dead in their homes. I do not believe it would be wise to start a resistance now. Too many innocent lives would be lost." The senator lowered her eyes.
"What about Chancellor Palpatine?" the young woman suggested.
Padmé shook her head. "He is clearly in favor of the army. In fact, over time he has been the first one to suggest its use."
"He used to be the Naboo senator. He couldn't refuse our requests, could he? Have you approached him on this matter?" Vivianala searched.
"I tried a couple of years ago when all this first started to take shape. He understood my concerns, but in the senate he did nothing to acknowledge them. I fear that he has become too hungry for power. Perhaps he has spent too much time in office," she reflected. "Other Chancellors could only stay in office for ten years total, Palpatine has been in office for almost 25 years."
The queen bowed her head. "I understand your concerns. In the meantime let us pray that no further damage is inflicted on the Republic."
"Indeed." Padmé gave a small bow and turned to leave.
"Wait, senator." Padmé raised her eyebrows in question. "Are you alright? You seem a little distant."
Padmé nodded. "I'm fine. I suppose work has been taking its toll on me."
"If you say so," the young woman sighed. Padmé gave her a reassuring smile and swiftly left the throne room.