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Chapter Three

Prolonging the Inevitable

Meanwhile...

Sola Naberrie always knew this would be a night she would remember. Between some of the awkwardness between her family members the past few months and the supposed-to-be-joyful occasion. Now, however, this was a night she would prefer to forget.

Yes, she knew this- her sister and Anakin and everything else would all come out, and soon. Just not tonight. Why of all nights, she had wondered, did it have to be tonight!

As soon as her parents left, her husband, Darred went back the office to work on some work related emergency. Sola knew she should have begun to clean up- the house looked like a summer storm had swept through- the house but instead she watched the news for awhile. She couldn't even remember why. Curiosity? To see what the damage was- what beings knew? She couldn't remember. Now Sola wished she hadn't because she only felt more stressed out about the situation.

Plus Sola now realized she probably wouldn't sleep at all tonight between this and her snoring husband! Sola groaned. She had to work tomorrow!

Awhile later she finally was able to reach her grandmother. They had been talking for at least thirty minutes now.

They talked about the news. From the pathetic, nosy beings showing the footage over and over again, to their wild speculation games.

One of these tall tales was that Anakin had killed Chancellor Palpatine- who had apparently mysteriously died this evening. But few seemed to be focused on that subject as of this moment. Instead everyone was focused on the latest celebrity couple. And besides, why would Anakin, a Jedi Knight, kill the Supreme Chancellor? Yes, she had to admit, Palpatine had hardly been the fellow countryman and friend she remembered from her youth. Instead, he had been replaced by this unrecognizable, greedy, power grabbing stranger. And hadn't Padmé once said Palpatine doted on Anakin like his favorite nephew?

There were also there not so wild speculations, from how they suspected Padmé to be pregnant to how they suspected it to be a long term affair. Both of which Grandmamma Ryoo and Sola knew to be true. And the speculation went on and on.

It was almost like a nightmare. One which they might never wake up from.

Finally they talked about that evening. What happened at the end of their blissful evening with the family. How Ryoo and Pooja turned on the Evening HoloNet News and saw all this. How both Grandmamma and Sola both agreed they did not want to be caught in the middle of it. Nor did they want young Ryoo and Pooja mixed up in any of this either, which is why Sola shooed them upstairs earlier that evening.

Still, that didn't make Sola feel any better. She felt guilty for doing this to her parents.

Her grandmother kept reassuring her. "You are a wonderful daughter and mother, and you've done nothing wrong."

"Yes, perhaps," She said into the comm, "But I still feel terrible."

But as her Grandmamma always said, and her mother before her said, "When something bad happens, there's no point in wishing it had not happened or being angry about it. The only option is to minimize the damage." Which they had. The younglings would not be mixed up in this mess.

"Grandmamma," Sola shook her head. "We- we didn't minimize anything." In fact, they probably knew by now. Everyone probably knew by now. "We simply prolonged the damage."

"Perhaps, dear," Grandmamma Ryoo said that motherly tone. One Sola had known her whole life. "But this isn't our mess to fix."

It was Padmé's.

Sola sighed. She supposed that true. Again, she heard something... waves? A moment she asked, "Are you at the Lake Country?" Sola listened in more carefully. Yes, yes, she was certain of this. She could even hear the evening country birds singing and the waves of the lake. She supposed that explained why it taken so long to reach her.

"That I am," Grandmamma answered.

"Why?" Sola asked, puzzled. That was over an extra hour of flying. And Grandmamma absolutely dreaded flying at night.

"And go home? To my home communications?" The incident had made the news only a few standard hours ago. And her gossip mongering cousins had already called her irritating mobile communications device.

"Is it all really true?"

"Well, I thought Jedi weren't supposed to be in relationships."

"Have you ever met the young Jedi? What is his name? Hero without Fear? Anakin, yes?"

"How do your daughter and son-in-law feel about all this? Do they like Anakin?"

Ugh!

The questions simply in her head were already giving the old woman a headache.

"Or to the neighbors?" Ryoo added. Her curious and extremely nosy neighbors who would surely be waiting on her? To ask her all those same or similar questions. Wanting the gossip and the dirt on her granddaughter and her lover. "No, thank you."

Sola looked at her bedroom chrono. "It's past midnight." Didn't these beings have lives? And needs? Like sleep.

Amazing, the Hero with No Fear is caught kissing one Senator and the whole Galaxy falls to pieces. But the Chancellor dies and no one seems to care.

"You've never met my friends." Nor her neighbors.

"Actually, I did." Sola rarely saw them, but had met her grandmother's snobby "friends" a few times. Though they weren't there for Sola or even her grandmother, they were all there for Padmé. Wanting to meet the former, current Senator, and one of Naboo's most famous beings of their time. Asking questions. When she would be back? Where she was? Sola simply rolled her eyes at the questions.

Sola suspected the only reason these "friends" associated with Grandmamma was all because of Padmé. Father's friends were the exact same way. Though in father's case, he actually recognized that was the only reason his snobby Nubian friends associated with him. All because he was a Naberrie. A relative of the great Padmé Amidala.

"Speaking of friends, what you going to do about the girls?" School was tomorrow.

"I'm sending them to school." What else? They needed an education.

Young Ryoo would be attending the art school in the fall. Besides, they only had a few weeks left. Though why the Promotion Ceremony always was placed weeks before the end of the year was something Sola never understood. Shes long suspected it was so some of the beings could brag or so parents could "help" their children secure better positions before it was too late.

"I'm not going to let them cower at home." Unlike some people.

"I'm not cowering." Ryoo would never ever do such a pathetic thing. "And I agree with you,"- that she should send them to school. She was simply making sure she was correct. "Like your sister, I'm simply prolonging the inevitable." She wasn't in the mood to face her friends or the neighbors right now. They'll be still be there tomorrow.

"And besides, if you could stay home tomorrow wouldn't you?" In fact, Ryoo wanted to stay home- well, in the Lake Country- the day after, but she would have to work at the library. She didn't want to. But she was still a few years away from retirement.

"I..." Sola looked up. She could hear two pairs of feet trying to tip toe by her door. Which was pointless. She looked back down at the bluish image. "Can I comm you back?"

"Tomorrow," Grandmamma Ryoo yawned. "Good night." She blew a her granddaughter a kiss.

Sola smiled. "Night." She hit the button on her portable communications. Then she groaned as her head hit the pillow. Between her sister, Anakin, and now her daughters.

And apparently her comm too. She counted all her new messages... "Seven, eight, nine?!" She counted. "Oh my Shiraya..."

Then again, Grandmamma may have had a point in going to the Lake Country.

Sola sighed. "One thing at a time," she said to herself.

Couldn't her daughters' mischief take a break while she dealt with her family's literal galactic crisis? And really why couldn't Padmé have simply told them? At least then she and the rest of the family- particularly their father might have been a little more prepared. While they never really talked about it, she knew her mother and grandmother knew about Padmé and her secret life with Anakin. Her husband , Darred also knew. Though only because she confided all her suspicions with him. While her father had no idea. At least none to Sola's knowledge.

Her daughters were now at the door, trying to peak their head around to see if she was asleep. They wished. She wished.

"Not so fast," said Sola Naberrie as she sat up, sitting on top of the covers of her bed. Normally, she would read and quietly watched the news, but this was hardly an ordinary night. And she certainly didn't want to watch the news. In fact, at this rate, she may be never watch it again.

Sola sighed. She knew her daughters were going to prolong their bedtime. She knew it, but again this had hardly been a normal evening. And perhaps it had even been a good thing they had stayed up for so long. "I want to talk to the two of you."

Pooja was the first to open her mouth. "Because we're not in bed?" She said carefully, clearing fearing they were in trouble.

"Well, you're not." Sola wore a disapproving face. That's what it should be about, but this was far from an ordinary evening. "But that's not what I want to talk to the two of you about."

"Okay," Pooja said, hopping up on the bed first.

"Kay," Ryoo said. "What then?"

"Well, first off," Sola felt she had to make sure her daughter was okay "Ry," One of daughter's nicknames. "You had a good time tonight, didn't you?" It hadn't quite ended the way they had all planned on.

"Uh-huh," Young Ryoo said with several nods of her head. She then began talking about some of the events at the Promotion Ceremony. How this one girl tripped. How this boy and girl held hands, and so forth.

How Sola wished she could go back to that time in her life right now. When all one had to worry about was tripping at his or her party and finishing one's homework.

Then she talked about the party and some of the gifts she received from Grandma and Grandpa, and Grandmamma Ryoo.

Sola silently wondered how much Grandmamma had given her namesake. For she had always spoiled her namesake. Both of her daughters, really, but still...

But there were more pressing matters at the moment. Sola took a deep breath. "Now I want to talk to you about..." Okay, she could do this. "About Aunt Padmé and... and Anakin."

"And they were kissing," Pooja quickly replied. Suddenly very eager to hear what her mother had to say.

"That they were."

Ryoo finally decided the one question that was probably burning in their minds. "So...Anakin is like her boyfriend?"

Sola was about to say "probably", but she didn't want to confuse them. And really the answer was "Yes."

Pooja asked the next question. "Does this mean Anakin is going to be our uncle?" The seven year old girl's face was brightly beaming with hope.

Sola supposed that was a possibility if Anakin left the Order. Then again, for all she knew they already were married- no. Sola was absolutely, positively not going there. "I don't know," She answered honestly. "We'll see."

Ryoo and Pooja smiled at the possibility.

"Now," Sola was approaching the part she was truly dreading. "Some at school will probably ask questions," She began.

"So we'll just say to them that Anakin is Aunt Padmé's boyfriend?" Pooja assumed.

"No," Sola said firmly. Maybe a little too firmly. "No," She then said more gently. "Both of you should say absolutely nothing about this to anyone. About Aunt Padmé. About Anakin, or any of this. At least not right now. Not until we speak to your Aunt." Which would hopefully be tomorrow or as soon as possible...preferably yesterday. "Okay?"

"So," Ryoo said. "What do we say if someone does ask?"

"Simply tell them it is a private matter." And it was. "A family matter and I do not wish to discuss it. Okay?" She looked to see if they had any questions.

The two girls nodded their heads.

"However," Sola hoped that would be enough of an answer, but there was always that possibility that being that wouldn't settle for such an answer and push. "If someone becomes more persistent or if they keep asking again and again, change the topic."

"Huh?"

"How?"

"Well," Sola could not believe her nine and seven year old children were already learning political skills. Maybe what some beings said about the Naberries being the top political family on Naboo wasn't entirely incorrect after all. And Padmé had begun her political education at an even earlier age. Then again, she was born that way.

Padmé... Oddly enough, Sola felt angrier with her sister over this instead of Anakin and all the secrecy.

"Tell them they have on a lovely dress or tunic. Ask about an assignment. Or about a holo show from the previous night."

Ryoo's face suddenly looked disgusted and embarrassed at the idea. "I'm not going to tell a boy he has a lovely tunic."

"Alright." Sola smiled slyly. "Hm, then tell him it's a very lovely dress."

"Mom!" Ryoo and Pooja both tried not to giggle.

I know you're probably all eager to see our favorite couple, don't worry. We'll see them soon.

I was a bit worried this chapter was slow.

Do review please and tell what you think over all.

Next chapter will feature Darred and Sola. Also a surprise... ;D