Here is chapter 4.
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Chapter 4
Sunlight hitting his face woke Anakin. He peeked around the room through his blurry eyes. He sat up groggily and scratches the sleep from his eyes. When his sight cleared, he stood up and went to the refresher. After minutes of freshening up, he made his way to the kitchen. He noticed all the bags in the living room. He sighed deeply, taking his moment before continuing his way to the kitchen. Once he got there, he saw that everybody was already there. The room got still when they noticed his presence. All eyes are on him, anticipating his move. "Good morning." He said with a small smile. The others in the room released their breath. "Good morning Ani." His mother replied affectionately at her son. Not bothering to hide the love she felt. She had prepared almost everything in their stock. They ate at ease all through out breakfast.
The time has come for them to leave. It brought torment to the Skywalker family. Qui-Gon and Padmé left the three by themselves and waited outside. After sometime the three followed outside. Their eyes were red from the tears; except for Anakin who had a firm stare. He was trying to be strong for his mother and sister. His eyes won't give away any weakness. But it took a lot of self-control to hold back the tears that were threatening his eyes to fall. Shmi hugged her children one last time. "Take care of yourselves okay? I love you both so much. Always remember that." She said trying to hold back a sob. She kissed her little girl's forehead and hugged her tightly. She then turned to her son, "Take care of your sister. Always remember what you promised. I love you Ani." She said as she crushed Ani in a fierce hug. Anakin wiped her mother's tears dry. "I promise to come back for you mom. I will take you away from this place. That's my promise. I love you very much." He said returning her hugged with an equal fierceness. LJ joined in the hug. "Now go." Shmi said breaking the hug. She turned to Qui-Gon and Padmé, "Thank you." she said sincerely at the two. Qui-Gon nodded and went to grab the children's baggage leaving Padmé and Shmi to talk. "Please take care of them. You're like my daughter and I trust you to take good care of my precious ones." Shmi said to Padmé hugging the younger girl tightly. "I will. I swear on my life. Thank you." Padmé replied, as small tear fell from her eyes. "Time to go." Qui-Gon declared. "Goodbye mom." LJ said hugging her mom one last time. Anakin did the same. This time the two Skywalker's had a smile on their faces. They want their mom to remember the happy faces that they were. They waved goodbye to Shmi as they started walking through the vast sand of Tatooine. Anakin looked back one more time at his mom and smiled. 'I will keep my promises Mom. I will not fail you. I love you' he said to his self with a determination that cannot be torn down even with the fiercest cyclone. He took his sister's hand in his. 'New life. Fresh start. We'll get through this together.' He added to his thoughts.
After an hour of walking, they've reached the Nubian Ship. When Anakin saw the ship, he was in awe by her smooth and elegant body. The rays of the twin suns of Tatooine hit her surface and it gave a beautiful vibrant color. The door of the ship opened and they all went inside.
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"What took you so long?" Captain Panaka asked.
"We had a tough time finding the parts." Qui-Gon replied apologetically.
The door of the control opened as it discharges the queen and her handmaidens. "It's good to see back. And I see you have brought company." The queen said. The others in the room had a confused look. They looked to where the queen was looking and noticed for the first time the two children with Qui-Gon and Padmé. The little girl was behind the boy who had his arms around her protectively. "This is LJ and Anakin Skywalker. They helped us find the parts and saved our lives by offering their home to us for shelter." Qui-Gon explained. The two children studied the new faces, as did the others. Anakin saw one particular man intently looking at them. The man is shorter than Qui-Gon. He had short dark blonde hair. With a few left in braids that hang behind his ear. He wore a brown tunic and a utility belt around his hip. Anakin noticed a lightsaber. 'Another Jedi!' he thought wildly. Anakin saw the two Jedi's share a short secretive look. He tried to catch Qui-Gon's eyes but he wouldn't look at him. He looked around the room to study the others. One was wearing a gown. Her face is covered with white powder. 'I think she's the queen.' Anakin thought. Behind her are several girls dressed in the same outfits. All of them along with the queen and Padmé, almost have the same height. But you can see their different characteristics. He shifted his eyes to the man in uniform. He had a captain's hat. He was dark and tall. He had a stern look telling you to back off. With the little girl. She was doing the same thing but was quite taken with the girl in the powdery face. Their probing was interrupted when the queen spoke, "I would like to extend my thank you for helping our friends." She said smiling at the two. "Y-you're welcome your highness." It was the little girl who replied, while bowing. Everybody smiled at the girl's gesture. "Padmé please accompany our visitors to their quarters. I need you assistance immediately after that. If you excuse me, I need to retire for the evening." The queen said before leaving the room.
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Two hours has passed when LJ was pulled out of her sleep. 'I'm cold.' She thought as she shivers. She looked at the other side of the bed to find his brother gone. She stood up and went outside the room. She passed a few rooms while walking through the corridor inside the ship, before stopping in front of one of the rooms. As she stood there she heard voices on the other side of the door. She couldn't make out what their saying. She took her time before knocking on the door. When the door opened she was greeted by one of the handmaidens of the queen. "Is Padmé here?" she asked timidly. The handmaiden smiled at her before letting her in. When they got in, the handmaiden led her into a room. Once they entered the room, she saw Padmé getting out of the queen's gown. "Someone's looking for you, your highness." The handmaiden announced. "You're the real queen!" LJ said excitedly running towards Padmé. "Yes. And this is a secret between us okay?" Padmé responded with smile.LJ nodded over and over. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable, while I get out of this dress?" Padmé said entering the refresher and not bothering to hide her disgust at the gown she was wearing. "Okay." LJ said with a giggle. LJ looked around the room. It was decorated with elegant furnishings. A soft carpet covered the floor. The wall sends off golden color as the lights hit it. At the center of the room was a bed. It was thrice bigger than her own bed back at home. She sat on it and waited for Padmé. "So, what brings you here milady?" Padmé asked as she got out of the refresher. "I was looking for my nerfherd brother." LJ said nonchalantly as her stomach growl at the same time. Her face went red which cause a giggle from Padmé. "Why don't we get you something to eat then go look for your brother afterwards?" Padmé said as a truce. "Alright." LJ responded and the two made their way outside.
Once they arrived at the kitchen, LJ's stomach growled louder wanting to be fed. Padmé laughed at this. "Sit down while I prepare food." Padmé said to the little girl. "Yes milady!" LJ replied teasing Padmé. The older girl just shook her head at this. "What do we have here?" Padmé said while browsing through the stock cabinet. Her face lit up when she saw her favorite fruit. 'Ooh. She'll like this.' She thought happily. She got some of the fruit and offered it to LJ. "Here try this." Padmé said to LJ as she sets down the plate with the fruit. LJ picked a slice and took a bite. "Hmm…. What is this?" she said delightfully. "That's Shuura fruit. It's from Naboo, my home planet. It's my favorite." Padmé answered before taking a bite with her slice. The two chatted as they ate.
After eating, the two went to find Anakin. They found him in the control room with pilot Cody. They didn't seem to notice their presence. "There you are!" LJ said loudly startling the two. "We've been looking for you." LJ added. "I was looking for some blankets for the cold." Anakin said. LJ lifted her right eyebrow, saying she's not buying it. "I swear!" Anakin said defensively. "That's right little girl. I found him wandering around. He said he was cold so I gave him something for the cold." Cody interrupted as he points at the mantle draped over Anakin's shoulder. "I'm sorry LJ for leaving you. I just couldn't hold back when Cody here took me here in the ship's control room. Peace?" Anakin said with a pout. "Alright! Just stop doing that. You look like a chick." LJ replied teasingly. Padmé and Cody laughed which caused Anakin to blush madly. "What's your name little miss?" Cody asked. "My name is LJ and I'm not little anymore." LJ replied confidently. "You have a feisty sister here boy." Cody said to Anakin winking. Anakin chuckled. "It runs in the family." He said proudly. "Have you eaten yet Anakin?" Padmé asked Anakin who blushed at her concern. "Y-yes" he answered stammering. "Mr. Cody gave me something to eat. Thanks for asking." He added shyly. Padmé just smiled at the boy's shyness. The four chatted for awhile when LJ stifled a yawn as she scratches her eye. "Back to bed young lady." Padmé said to LJ. "Come on Ani. You should rest too." Padmé added. "Yes milady." Anakin replied sheepishly. 'You sure are siblings." Padmé thought laughing to herself. "Thanks Cody for this." Anakin said to Cody pointing at the blanket draped on his shoulder. "You're welcome little man." Cody replied smiling. The three bid Cody goodnight before heading to their rooms.
LJ instantly fell asleep once her body hit the bed. Anakin rolled his eyes and used the blanket on his shoulder to cover his sister from the cold. Padmé took a seat at the end of the bed as she watched LJ sleep. Silence filled the room. And they sat with contentment as they watched LJ's steady breathing. Padmé noticed Anakin shiver from the cold. "I'll be right back." She said as she headed for the door. She came back holding a blanket in her hands. "Here." She said as she handed Anakin the blanket. Anakin thanked her and smiled. "It's freezing out here." Anakin said shivering a little. "Your planet is too warm, in fact too warm for my liking. It'll take some time getting to used to the cold." Padmé said warmly and the two smiled at each other. Anakin reached inside his pocket and pulled out a round object and handed it to Padmé who took it gladly. "It's a japor snippet. I've carved it for you. So you can remember me, us." He said shyly casting a glance at her sister. "I don't need this to remember you. Here." Padmé said breaking the japor snippet into two that it looked like two pieces of half moon, and handed it to Anakin. "You have the other half of me, and I have yours. As long as we wear this we will never forget each other. I care about you both. I like you." Padmé said gently. Anakin blushed lightly at Padmé's statement. 'I know it doesn't mean anything beyond brotherly liking, but still!" he thought exultingly for a second. "I like you too. It's just--" he said sadly when Padmé cut him off. "You miss your mother don't you?" she asked sympathetically to Anakin who nodded. He was trying his best to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "I don't want to leave her alone." He said in a sad voice. "I miss her so much." He added letting go of the tears that he was holding. Padmé moved closer and took him into her arms as he sobbed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your dress." Anakin said apologetically as he wiped the tears dry. "It's okay. Are you going to be okay?" Padmé asked. "Yes. Thank you." Anakin replied appreciatively. "You know what mom always tells us? The universe's biggest problem is that nobody helps each other." He added contentedly. Padmé smiled, "Your mother is a great woman." She stated. "Yeah. I don't know how she managed to take care of us." He said chuckling a bit. They talked for awhile when they heard someone on the other side of the door. Padmé stood up and opened the door revealing Versé, one of the queen's handmaidens. "Your highness asked for you Padmé." Versé informed Padmé who nodded. "I'll be there shortly." She said to Versé. She turned to Anakin, "I have to go now Ani. The queen asks for my presence. You need to rest. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." she told him as she hug him lightly. "Goodnight." He said blushing madly. Padmé giggled at this before turning to leave. "It's not so bad after all." He thought happily. He turned to his sister who's sleeping peacefully and kissed her in the forehead. He turned off the lights and turn in for the night.
Padmé lay in her bed thinking. Tomorrow they'll head to Coruscant to talk to the senate. Things have gotten out of hand for the past few days. She touched the snippet around her neck and smiled. 'I've only known them for a few days but it feels like forever.' She thought before dozing off for the night.
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