Ten minutes later…

Queen Amidala waited at the door of the meeting room for her advisors to arrive, along with her handmaidens Sabé, Eirtaé, and Saché. She fidgeted nervously with her hands in anticipation, since security protocol stated that all six main handmaidens must accompany the Queen at all times until sleeping hours. Prime Minister Bibble first arrived for the meeting in his cloth attire, and asked, "Your Highness, aren't you supposed to have all six handmaidens present?"

Bibble had not doubted the capability of the previous King Veruna to rule his planet, but a teenage girl? She had not even reached the new Naboo age of consent, which numbered at eighteen years. The young girl standing before him had an age of just sixteen. He doubted that a young, inexperienced teenager should hold the throne of Naboo or govern the planet.

The Prime Minister lectured the young Queen, "The meeting will start in approximately ten minutes, You Highness, and it is crucial to have all of your handmaidens with you. Security is a major priority when meeting in attention-getting conferences-"

"I am well aware of that, Prime Minister. I perfectly know what occurs in these palace walls, and I understand my expected duties as Queen. Whatever objections you have, it is foolish to judge a person by age alone," Padmé spoke in her regal voice.

Bibble stopped his rambling and folded his hands with a straight expression on his face. Apparently the young Queen of Naboo had an intelligent and fiery nature. Her level headed mind was something to respect. The chrono on the wrist of the Prime Minister beeped, which signaled the start of the meeting with her advisors and some Parliament members. A crowd of Parliament members, the representatives of the provinces of Naboo, walked in front of the room door and gave the young Queen suspicious stares.

After probing the mind of Bibble, Queen Amidala was tired of being put down by her Prime Minister and the other governmental officials, as she had sacrificed much for her dream of serving the people of Naboo and fighting for unfortunate citizens. She despised the repeated dishonor towards her duty and values of selflessness and generosity. An distant family and a lost childhood were her great sacrifices for the office of Queen. Perhaps, a show of her inner Force powers could teach them to respect her authority and her position. Amidala looked at her handmaidens, who subtly nodded in approval.

"Someone has to show them who's the boss..." Sabé messaged from her mind.

"I know that, Sabé. Maybe a show of some 'force' would help," her friend and the Queen of Naboo replied.

"Hilarious. You got me, Padmé," Sabé sarcastically said through the mind link, and rolled her eyes. Eirtaé looked at Sabé with a raised eyebrow from annoyance that her friend forgot her etiquette towards the Queen, despite their friendship.

Padmé Amidala raised her hand towards the large metal doors and flung them open with a loud clang. The Parliament members and Prime Minister Bibble looked up at the door, and then at Queen Amidala with startled faces.

"We have much more to fuss over than the age of the current ruler of Naboo, Parliament members. If you have anything belittling to say during the meeting, then I can and will remove you from the meeting," Padmé sternly spoke with a glare.

"Yes, Your Highness..." the members quietly said in unison.

"Good, it would be unfortunate for a province to let its feedback go unanswered," the Queen responded. She messaged her handmaidens through her Force link, "Hurry up, the meeting will start soon."

While the Queen led the Parliament members in the room, her other three handmaidens rushed through the palace corridors to rejoin their Queen. Their flame-colored robes flowed behind them while they ran on the stone floor with echoing footsteps. Sabé glanced at her wrist chrono, and swore. Only five minutes were left.

"Which way is the meeting room?" Eirtaé asked, as the three handmaidens encountered a three-way corridor split.

"Uh, let's try the right corridor, I remember that from my service with King Veruna," Saché said, and shuddered at the thought of the corrupt ruler. Memories of his random fits of rage passed through her thoughts. As a reminder of the outbursts of the previous king, a glued together flower vase stood along the walls. Of all the problems that the Naboo spent money to fix, the condition of the palace was not one of them. The three handmaidens continued through another corridor, which led to the meeting room, and Rabé could be seen with her arms crossed.

The lone handmaiden said, "What on Naboo took you so long? The meeting's about to start!"

"Well, we took a while already when sparring and shooting blasters for almost an hour..."

"Ask Captain Panaka, but at least we did have a great sparring match," Eirtaé said.

"Alright, just sit in there and keep quiet," Rabé said, and turned around to walk into the room with the other three handmaidens following behind. Once inside, the handmaidens took their seats nearest to the Queen, who did not glance at them. Padmé, now Queen Amidala, took a deep breath through her nose. The meeting would be a tedious one with all twenty-four Parliament members from each Naboo province telling her the state of their lands. Additionally, the overworked Queen would have to ensure that all twenty-four visitors did not fight in the humid and stuffy room. A quick look at the fragments of a shattered teacup behind her chair proved that.

After the meeting

"Interesting compromise, Your Highness. Perhaps we can solve the Kaadara drug crisis and the unemployment issue there," said the coast province representative.

"Glad to hear your approval," Padmé said, and the representative bowed his head and exited the room.

"Your Highness?" Saché asked.

"Actually, you can call me Padmé, especially during private hours and break days," Padmé answered her new handmaiden with a softer tone as she look back at her handmaidens.

"Yes, Padmé," Saché said.

"Alright, so what were you asking earlier, Saché?" Padmé asked.

"When will lunch be served? It's been a while since breakfast..."

"Actually, Saché, it's already time for lunch, so at least we can relax and discuss other things. Glad to be out of that horrendous meeting, right?" the young Queen spoke in relief.

Her six present handmaidens nodded and chattered in agreement. The young Queen of Naboo, filled with enthusiasm for a delicious meal, said, "On that note, let's go to the mess hall!" They walked through a corridor leading back to the three-way corridor intersection that Saché passed earlier.

During the middle of the walk, Saché looked outside the window of a palace hallway near the west cliffside, and gaped at the view of the 500-meter dropping waterfalls on the cliffs of Theed. Her other handmaidens gazed in awe at the majestic view of the Naboo landscape. Saché remembered the landscape of the planet Alderaan from the view of the waterfalls, as it gained attention for its pristine, mountainous landscape. Eventually, all seven of them reached the mess hall, which was exquisitely decorated.

Within the room, a lengthy rectangular table rested in the middle of the room, which had a blue, silver, and crimson carpet upon the stone floor. On the table rested plates of many dishes from multiple planets: Coruscant, Alderaan, Grizmallt, and Naboo. From the door to the kitchen, one palace servant stepped out to serve the Queen and her loyal handmaidens. The gangly man walked over to the table and told the seven young women, "Enjoy your meal, Your Highness and handmaidens. Today we have delicacies from Alderaan and your homeplanet as requested."

"Thanks, Royal Attendant Roux," the Queen said, as she sat down in her tall-backed wooden chair. Her handmaidens also removed their flame colored robes, revealing light red uniforms with long silvery skirts and armored boots. After all, they did not want to splatter their robes with food bits, or disgrace their royal uniforms. With relaxed moods, the Queen and her handmaidens began to eat their lunch. As expected, they conversed about matters from family to gossip, including romance.

"So, Padmé, I've heard rumors that you've got feelings for that Skywalker boy," Sabé said, her eyebrow raised with a sly smirk.

"We're just friends, Sabé, it's not like we're in love," Padmé spoke, as she chewed on a toasted garlic bread roll with shaak cheese.

"I've even seen the girls at the Theed academy stare at him with flaming desire, their eyes just dilate like an expanding black hole," said Eirtaé with a smile, as she rested her head on an upright arm.

"Eirtaé, Sabé, me and Anakin aren't dating. Neither do we have a crush on each other," Padmé said with a straight face while feeling butterflies in the pit of her stomach. She deeply cared for Anakin and felt compassion for him, as he was once a slave on the poor planet Tatooine. But she had a liking for his handsome physique, his blonde hair, his ocean-blue eyes, and his muscular abdomen..." How could she be feeling a crush for the Naboo Defense Pilot Anakin Skywalker? Were they solely accomplices, or were they something else? Padmé attempted to quell her hormonal urges, but Sabé and Eirtaé looked at each other with a smile.

"So… you do like your Prince Gorgeous, right?"

"Ugh, it's just my hormones, all adolescent girls experience urges. It's not like you girls have any romantic interests," Padmé said in annoyance.

"Those urges could be a start though, your 'friend' Anakin is a handsome and brave young man already. Just two more years, and you both can be legally considered as a adult on Naboo: eighteen years of age is a great time to break the ice," Sabé said with an even wider smile.

"Perhaps you can go out on a date with Ani..." Eirtaé added.

"Quiet, Eirtaé," Padmé said, and breathed deeply to soothe her nerves.

"You're wrong, Sabé, we are still just friends, and it's too early to predict who will be " Padmé added. She blushed from a growing embarrassment, and she felt frustrated from being unable to control her emotions under the subject of Anakin. Thankfully, the facepaint covered her blushed cheeks, as if masking her deepest emotions from the notice of her friends. However, as Sabé and Eirtaé both had Force-sensitivity, they easily sensed the emotions seething within the young Queen. In addition, the frequent stares of her other handmaidens Rabé, Yané, Saché, and Dormé made the young Queen feel uncomfortable. Her lunch would be a longer one than usual...