A.N: In case you are wondering, I did not forget about Anakin. He will appear in this chapter. To clear up misconceptions, Padmé and Sabé's afternoon walk takes place at noon, not during evening.
(Four hours earlier) Naberrie Street, Theed, Naboo
Padmé and Sabé, satisfied with their after school lunch, walked together in silence along the cobblestone street towards the Naberrie villa. Their schoolbags already felt like carrying a mini shaak on their backs, and both girls felt tired from the walk across half of old Theed. Walking into the front yard alongside the surrounding flower beds, Padmé called for her family to open the door.
"Mom, Dad, Sola, I'm home!"
"Coming, " Sola called.
Sola pressed a button and the door slid open to reveal Padmé and Sabé, who were confused about where Jobal had gone, as she normally arrived early to watch the house.
"Sola, where is Mom?" asked Padmé as she entered the villa greeting room and walked to her room, her sister following behind. Sabé closed and locked the front sliding door.
"I don't know, Jobal said she would buy some extra clothes for the summer, but she hasn't returned for at least fifteen minutes,"
"Yeah, how about we go look for Mom, I hope she isn't harmed," said Padmé with a worried expression while she unpacked her school items alongside her datapad. Her conversation with her parents about her conflict over her dream of politics would have to wait for a better time.
Then a message notification bleeped on her comlink. Padmé gazed at the flashing light and pressed the speaker button.
"Just to let you know dear, I'm stuck in an air-jam. So many hover-trucks today on the Theed speeder way. I'll be home... eventually," heard Padmé.
"At least your mother hasn't been captured or harmed at all, Padmé," reassured Sabé.
Another message from Ruwee activated the notification light. Padmé also pressed the button to hear his message, wondering if her father had finished his shift as a history professor in the university that stood on the other side of Old Theed.
"My class has a larger lecture than usual, Pad. Looks like I won't be returning in time for the noon. BUT I want you to stay in the villa, and don't open the door to strangers. I want you to be safe and undisturbed, I hope we can talk about what bothered you at school today." heard Padmé.
"Thanks Dad. I appreciate the concern," sent Padmé through the Force link.
"Love you... please watch your sister and friend and behave," sent Ruwee to his daughter.
Padmé closed off the Force communication link with her father, feeling relieved that he was fine. Yet thoughts of her looming future still bothered Padmé, although she was becoming independent and intelligent beyond her years. She found herself as losing the freedom and innocence that a preteen like her should have had, because she had discerned the true, imperfect, corrupt nature of the galaxy. In addition, she was about to make a decision that would either keep her with her family or separate her from them. The following of politics as a teenager definitely posed as a dream and thorn in her life at this time, with both options as daunting as the steep Gallo mountain paths. An urgent question by Sola interrupted her reflections.
"So Mother and Father are alright?" asked Sola.
"Yes, it's just terrible traffic today, and Dad has a longer work day at the university as usual," said Padmé.
"That's great to hear, sister. Now how about we find something to do while mother and father are away..." proposed Sola.
"How about watching a holodisc movie?" said Padmé.
"Yeah, just make sure its not your parents' old steamy romance classics like what happened by accident last time," teased Sabé.
"Sabé!"
About one hour later, the Naberrie girls sat on the living room couch with their eyes glued to the movie with horrified faces as space worms ate their way through the body of the super-villain. Excruciating screams of agony filled the living room and slowly died down. However, Sabé stoically kept her eyes open as the worms finished their meal from the body of the hapless antagonist, and glanced at the Naberrie girls. The future Pelare heiress rolled her eyes at the normally strong-minded Naberrie girls cowering in fear.
"Calm down, Pad, Sola, it's just a movie!" said Sabé with a smirk.
"You! You switched the discs between their cartridges!" angrily said Padmé, finally noticing the quick prank perpetrated by her friend. Like her sister, Sola wore a greatly annoyed expression on her face.
"Well, what did you expect? I'm a Pelare prankster at heart, and I couldn't let you stay upset since after school," stated Sabé, who could not resist grinning at the shocked, annoyed expression of Padmé.
"Okay, Sabé. I'll let you off easier this time, but I must admit that the sneakiness of your prank beats even bounty hunters," said Padmé, still red with a mixture of anger and some pleasure from the prank by her friend.
About a standard half-hour passed before both of the Naberrie parents returned. Upon hearing the whine of their speeders decelerating near the villa, the young schoolgirls quickly returned the horror movie disc to its cartridge to conceal it within a drawer. To cover up any suspicion, Padmé placed a Nubian puzzle cube among them and pretended to closely study it. Surprisingly, their ruse worked, and Jobal and Ruwee entered the greeting room to find their house silent. The Naberrie couple saw nothing wrong when observing the condition of their villa, except for the lingering emotions that Padmé felt after school.
"Nothing seems wrong, Jo. I told you that the children would keep the house in order, especially themselves."
"You're right, honey. Yet I still sense some excitement from Padmé and Sabé. What on Naboo happened?"
Ruwee soon suspected some suspicious activity by Padmé, Sola, and their friend Sabé.
"Padmé, Sola, we know that something happened when we were away. You girls might as well tell us the whole story," said Ruwee in his stern voice. Padmé knew that her father meant business judging by his hard gaze with his narrowed eyes; she could potentially be expecting a month without being allowed to invite her friends or watch her holo-documentaries.
"I am sorry, Mister and Miss Naberrie. I decided to trick my friends into watching one of your cheesy horror classics as a prank. The real reason was that I just wanted to cheer up my friend Padmé after some bullying she had at the academy over political beliefs," said Sabé, her head facing the ground in a shameful slump.
Padmé found herself gaping in surprise as her friend defended her, as she was the one who lost control over her rationality. The Pelare girl felt sorry for getting her friend into trouble with parents despite out of good will. Ruwee and Jobal both looked at each other and then at the Pelare girl, and considered what to say. After a few moments of muttering and a few Nubian curses at the bullies of her daughter, both Naberrie elders made their decision.
"We appreciate what you did for our younger daughter, Sabé. But we still have to punish her with a less severe but fitting punishment: she will see you less often to ensure that she is well-disciplined in obedience and self-control," said Ruwee. Sabé could only nod in agreement with the result of the situation.
"Sorry, Pad'," apologized Sabé to Padmé, who nodded her head to indicate her acceptance of the apology of her best friend.
"Yes, Dad, but can I talk with you and Mom about my decision whether to join politics, or the Nubian Force-user society?" asked Padmé.
"Of course, all of us within the family need to be honest with each other for the sake of shared trust," said Ruwee.
"Well, how do I put it this way... I desire to help the defenseless and unfortunate of society in my dream to become queen and maybe senator in the far future. I just can't bear to see those individuals suffer. But at the same time, I would hate leaving both of you, Mom and Dad, since you are my family who cared for me through all my twelve years. To just push you both away from the direction my life takes, that feels wrong, like abandoning my family. I just want to know which is the right path for me and if you approve. I just feel so lost," said Padmé with an uneasy tone.
"If you become Naboo's Queen or a Nubian Force warrior like the Arias House members, I will live happy knowing that everything I did for you succeeded in raising you the right way, the Naberrie way. Either way, you will be serving our planet and the galaxy for the greater good," said Ruwee, caressing the chocolate curls of her daughter with fatherly tenderness.
"Also, I don't understand why you are afraid to move on to the next stage of life, dear. Your father had always desired with all his heart to see you grow up to be an independent, strong Naberrie woman. So moving on towards a life of politics away from us would not hurt us at all. Sure we'll miss you, but we'll also be immensely proud of you," added Jobal, holding the hands of her daughter, as if she willed her daughter to find strength to do a difficult thing. Padmé nodded yes when asked about her decision to join politics.
"Really? You and Dad are comfortable with my decision now to join politics?"
"Yes, I feel that way, dear. I assure you that we will support you every step of the way," confirmed Jobal.
Padmé tried to hold back tears, but found the effort futile. She collapsed into her the embrace of her father and mother, touched by their encouragement to move on to her destiny, and teared up. Sola also walked over and hugged her younger sibling along with Sabé. Padmé realized that love hopes, cares, and endures, no matter who she may become or where she may go, and her family and friends had helped her understand that. After the tears stopped, Ruwee and Jobal told Sola and Sabé to move to their chosen bedroom to allow a quiet moment to further speak to their daughter.
"You may do some things that we may not approve of, but that has no effect on how much we love you, Padmé. Now we want you to be strong and not worry too much about what may happen. After all, everyone sometimes makes blunders in life, even your stubborn, intelligent father here," said Jobal.
"Darling, as much as I may dislike admitting that, you are right," said Ruwee with a half-smile...
A few hours later, Padmé prepared to go to bed. Changing into her pajamas inside her yellow-walled bedroom, Padmé looked at holopictures of moments of her life glowed faint shades of blue just above her head. She saw one hologram flash the moment of her graduation of the academy a few hours ago, and another one flash the moment of her very first Force training session. Looking at the pictures, Padmé felt that she as meant for a certain destiny bigger than she could comprehend, as if the events of her childhood lead up to a focal point: her choice to follow politics as a type of guardian. As a result of approval by her parents, Padmé finally felt comfortable with adopting a lifestyle around duty to society through politics.
After a dreamless sleep, Padmé awoke and decided to visit the Theed Relief Movement Processing Center to meet one group of new refugees from the desert planet of Tatooine. Padmé sat upright in her bed and rubbed her eyes with a yawn. Padmé dressed up in her normal attire, heard footsteps and commotion within the kitchen. Sola and Sabé had not yet awakened from their sleep, and she saw them still asleep in their shared bed. Jobal and Ruwee were making scrambled eggs and breakfast rolls, and smelled the aroma of toasted bread.
"Thanks, Mom, thanks Dad," said Padmé.
"Not a problem, dear," said Jobal.
Padmé quickly finished her breakfast, brushed her teeth, and prepared to leave for the refugee processing center. The thought of people still suffering from slavery in the galaxy disturbed her, as they were innocent and had friends alongside families like her own. She desired to understand the true severity of the refugee issue of Naboo through experience to gain knowledge for future decisions in her target career.
"Dad, when we go check out the refugee center?"
"Actually Pad', I'm ready to drive us there in our speeder. Jo, watch Sola and Sabé until I get back," said Ruwee.
"Don't be gone too long, Ru," answered Jobal.
"Okay Jo'," said Ruwee before walking with his youngest daughter out the front door. The trip would not take long. Neither would the meeting of Padmé Naberrie and Anakin Skywalker take long to change their lives forever.
Theed Relief Movement Refugee Center, Theed, Naboo
"We've made it Ani. Watto's pre-bought transport tickets really did help us, " commented Shmi Skywalker to the blonde preteen boy Anakin Skywalker, the future "warrior" of the prophesied Chosen Two, as they both sat on cold durasteel benches waiting for their settlement cards to be approved.
"I know, but I can't understand how Watto just let us go without an argument or hassle. We've been his slaves for about four years," said Anakin with a confused expression as he gazed at the freshly stamped tickets.
"Well it's mainly the promise of better paying jobs here, which makes a better living than Tatooine could ever give. Watto freed us only because he cared for us and wanted a better livelihood. He simply moved on to his hope of being an accountant," answered Shmi.
"Wow, look at the size of those buildings. Tatooine never had any skyscrapers, not even a large settlement like Mos Espa. This place seems awfully rich from some sort of trade," said Anakin in amazement as he sat in awe of the skyline of styled stone and durasteel buildings.
"Yes, Ani, the Nubians of Naboo often export plasma for energy devices and weapon makers, as I heard," said Shmi while gazing out the window with her son.
"But why would the Republic or the Nubians neglect freeing all those slaves like us from that vile slave trade of a Hutt? It's unfair!" grumbled Anakin with clenched fists trembling from his bitterness.
"I don't know the answer to that, Ani, but there are some things we cannot change like the fall of the Tatooine suns, or the existence of evil. Sometimes all we can do is make the best from the present situation," said Shmi.
Finally, their residency card was approved and uploaded to the census database of Naboo. Shmi and Anakin Skywalker both smiled with joy, as their lives as slaves were officially over since the Refugee program provided protections under the Republic Code of Rights. Anakin hugged his mother and could hardly grasp the concept of living life normally after being abused or ordered around for fourteen years. Even Shmi could hardly come to terms with the situation they faced, since she had been enslaved for around twenty years. Now the ex-slaves could finally enjoy freedom for their remaining years. The officer at the counter handed to them two identification cards and two small bundles of Republic currency as a starting benefit.
"Enjoy your residence here on Naboo, ma'am," said the officer.
"Thanks sir," said Anakin as he took his luggage and exited the waiting room. The two ex-slaves found themselves in a large courtyard after some walking through the hallways. Anakin was awestruck by the large trees that waved in the summer breeze, their leaves slowly raining down onto the paved stone floor. Instead of the coarse, rough, irritating sands of the Dune Sea, Anakin saw multitudes of trees and flowers among the stone architecture, and concluded that they reached the outside gardens. Shmi then saw a moderate height, brown-eyed, black-haired man no older than forty with formal attire and a petite brunette girl in a gray-blue dress walking in their direction.
"Anakin, someone is approaching," said Shmi to alert his son to the approaching people who were probably wealthy, aristocratic Nubians.
Anakin Skywalker turned around from the massive tree to face a beautiful, slender girl with dark curly hair and chocolate brown eyes with ivory pale skin. He gaped with his mouth open, and his jaw slacked. Scrambling to make a good impression on the Nubian beauty peering into his dark-blue eyes, he said the most absurd line of speech one could say to a Force-sensitive Naberrie.
"Am I dead or have I spotted an angel? 'Cause you're literally shining in the sunlight," said a stunned and momentarily infatuated young Anakin.
"What? I don't understand," said Padmé out of confusion, her eyes wide open in surprise. She could notice that the Force aura of the young blond preteen boy shone like a supernova, unusually bright for a casual Tatooian refugee. The boy was Force-sensitive like her. Also, she began to feel strange emotions for this boy; her face flooded with a surge of warmth from hints of affection for the innocent adolescent boy.
"My name is Ruwee Naberrie, and my daughter here is Padmé. And your names are...?" asked Ruwee with a stern and formal tone after clearing his throat. The Head of the Naberrie House stared with narrowed eyes at the young blond boy who had very recently tried to make romantic advances on his youngest daughter before coming of age. He also raised an eyebrow as he sensed something her daughter had noticed earlier, the astronomical power surging from the Force aura of the young blond boy.
"Not so fast, young one. Nobody fools with my daughter," messaged Ruwee to Anakin.
"Sorry, Mister Naberrie," silently responded Anakin.
"I apologize for the unusual behavior of my son, Mister Naberrie. Our names are Shmi and Anakin Skywalker," said Shmi, ignoring the tension between her son and the stern nobleman.
"Nice to meet you Shmi Skywalker. How is Naboo for you both?" asked Ruwee while shaking hands with the short, dark-haired refugee woman.
"It's lively and soothing, it's much better than Tatooine in the scenery and wildlife." said Anakin, who gazed at another large tree opposite from Padmé.
"Yes, Naboo is quite a scenic and relatively peaceful planet, especially with our competent King Veruna. I hope you enjoy your time living here, as there are many employment opportunities," said Ruwee, as he quickly regained his composure.
As Shmi conversed with Ruwee, Anakin decided to attempt to know more about Padmé through a conversation not about attractive looks. Padmé seemed virtually unaffected by the earlier awkward impression that Anakin had made for her, and asked Anakin about where his background.
"Now that we know each other's names, how about we introduce some facts about our childhoods?" asked Padmé.
"Sure, but you are not gonna enjoy hearing it... I was actually born as a slave of Jabba the Hutt, and then was sold off to a Toydarian named Watto and worked for him over nine years. But I've always yearned to be a spaceship pilot, since I always had good reflexes and a sense that Mom and I can't describe," testified Anakin about his past.
"Oh... That must have been awful. I guess that now you must be happy to be freed from being a slave," said Padmé with pity for the awkward Tatooian boy.
"I've always considered myself to be a person, Padmé, not property. Even my mother would say the same," said Anakin with abrupt bitterness burning within his tone.
"I didn't mean to offend you Anakin, my bad. How about we change the subject to myself?"
"Sure. I'd like to know how you got here at this position."
"Well, I was born into a noble family of Naboo, which makes me more eligible to run for Queen of Naboo. My family also has many members who are strong in this sense that you inherited, and we try to safeguard our planet with 'Force powers' as it is our only home. Oftentimes we would train in the summer breaks out of my school sessions and do some fun exercises like swimming and playing tag in the flower fields..."
The conversations continued between the Skywalkers and Naberries for nearly an hour, but both families grew to respect one another and come to an understanding despite the mediocre pickup line from Anakin.
