AN: Another prequel-era snippet-this time an AU, where Padmé helped expose and defeat both Palpatine and Anakin/Vader.
black ribbon, long black gown
she's walking through her memories
she's so alone
her soul never left the garden
-sixpence none the richer, "The Garden"
The Garden
She moves in a swirl of tattered silk and soiled velvet, ancient skirts trailing on the dusty stones like the fading plumage of a firebird. Long, matted hair flows down her back, silver mixed amidst the gleaming chestnut strands. Her skin is another such paradox; at first glance her cheeks are smooth, with a soft flush against her china fairness – but a closer look reveals a network of tiny lines, weaving across her face and ending in deep creases by her eyes. And there is also something odd in her gentle brown eyes: a tragic sadness, occasionally replaced by a resigned hope.
She comes to the market sometimes, peddling delicate trinkets wrought from gold wire and colorful stones. On other days, she comes just to watch the hectic chaos of the booths and buyers. Attempts to draw her into a conversation usually produce a quiet refusal—though some, remembering her from hazy childhood memories, will afterwards recall old tales of queens and slaves and forbidden love wistfully over a few rounds of drinks.
The Jedi, it is rumored, know the truth behind her forgotten story—but despite the continuing gossip, they will not even tell her name. The Galactic Coalition sends her enough money each year to live comfortably—"in recognition of her great service to the cause"—but their lips are also sealed.
So the stories persist, as everyone from children to government employees ponder her fate. She was the Supreme Chancellor's mistress, who betrayed his schemes to Bail Organa; she was a Jedi Knight, who'd become disenchanted during the Clone Wars; she was an infamous Separatist traitor, who'd defected to aid the Coalition. Yet the wisest say she'd been a noblewoman, who lost a love in the Clone Wars—if the old legends are to be believed.
They call her the Madwoman of Aldera—as much a part of the culture of the city as the architecture and artifacts from the Republic. Odd visitors come to see her: Jedi in homespun robes, Senators in elaborate garb, military officials in regimental dress. And still she remains a mystery.