A Mother's Heartbreak

Padmé stared at the ceiling as tears down her face. She eventually fell asleep and entered the dream world.

Hundreds of miles away, another mother who had lost her child, Hera, goddess of marriage and the Queen of the Greek and Roman gods, fell asleep as well.

Under orders from Zeus, Hera's husband, and King of the Greek and Roman gods, the god of dreams and nightmares, Phantasos arranged a dream meeting for the two grieving mothers.

Padmé rubbed her eyes when she noticed she was in a very unfamiliar clearing. That was when she noticed a beautiful young woman, who also looked quite sad, approaching her. "Hello," Padmé bravely walked to the other woman. "I'm Padmé."

"I am Hera, mother of the gods," the other woman replied.

"Um, Hera, we have nothing in common, why are we here?" Padmé stated.

"We do have one thing in common, but aren't you a bit young to have children?" Hera replied.

Padmé sighed. "I haven't had the twins yet," Padmé explained.

Hera nodded and the two sat down in silence. "So, how did you lose your children?" Padmé hesitantly asked.

"My youngest son, Hercules, was kidnapped and turned mortal," Hera sighed. "I've had to watch him grow up from a distance. It's been tough. What about you?"

"Well, apparently, I died giving birth to the twins, thanks to the Jedi," Padmé sneered.

"What do you mean?" Hera questioned.

"OK, so there's this guy, Anakin Skywalker, that I marry in ten years from now," Padmé began. "Our marriage is also against the Jedi Code. Three years after that, I'm pregnant with twins—Luke and Leia. However, something happens to Anakin. He turns to the Dark Side, becoming a Sith Lord named Darth Vader, because he was trying to save me from these nightmares of me dying in childbirth, but goes crazy and ends up choking me when he sees that Obi-Wan Kenobi is on my ship. I was furious with Obi-Wan for stopping me from saving Anakin. If that bastard hadn't been there, I could have brought Anakin back to the light. I know it."

"What of the twins?" Hera asked.

"Luke's fine," Padmé replied. "Leia, on the other hand..."

Hera raised her eyebrows and Padmé said, "Leia is a bit more, how to put this nicely, unstable when compared to her brother."

Hera touched Padmé's shoulder. "I will watch over Leia, I promise," Hera promised.

Then Padmé sprang to her feet. "I cannot and will not abandon the twins again. I have to do something. But what?" She sank back to her seat and sighed.

"Stand against the Jedi Council, make them see the error of their Code and their ways," Hera replied. "From what you've told me it's pretty obvious they're as much a part of the problem as these Sith Lords."

Padmé nodded and said, "Yes, they'll be here tomorrow for the unification ceremony thing between the Naboo and the Gungans and they'll stick around for Master Qui-Gon Jinn's funeral. I'll talk to them, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, before the funeral."

Hera smiled and said, "Maybe we'll meet again, Padmé."

"Maybe," Padmé replied. "Goodbye, Hera."

"Farewell, Padmé," Hera replied.

The two women woke up, knowing that they had a new friend in the other.