Chapter: Meeting Padme

10 years later

…

Lena hadn't attempted to make any contact with Anakin, and Anakin made no attempt to contact her. He'd watch her from a distance sometimes, but other than that he usually ignored her. He managed to keep up with Ash-Ke, Aliyah and most of the time Shaal. Contrary to what Anakin had suspected, they'd become even closer as the time flew by. Aliyah still liked keeping contact with Lena – the two could be seen talking on countless occasions in the great halls. Anakin wanted no participation, no matter how much Aliyah begged him to come with them. His presence would be unwelcome. Ash-Ke, on the other hand, seemed to be content to go wherever Aliyah was, and she seemed to enjoy his company even more than Lena's.

Right now Anakin was sitting in a ship, his master Qui-Gon sitting next to him. Across the room Lena's master, Obi-Wan, was standing with his arms crossed, staring at the stars. Anakin could tell from his pale parlor that he was not one for flying. Qui-Gon on the other hand, seemed to have no problem with it. He and Anakin got along well; though Anakin wasn't sure if it was considered attachment or not. He'd never been this close to anybody in his life before, not even his friends. He didn't know his mother, so that didn't count. He had no father, as he'd been reminded on countless occasions from his rival padawans. It bothered him more than it should. He was different; he didn't fit in. In fact, he was starting to suspect that the only reason he was still in contact with Shaal, Aliyah and Ash-Ke was the fact that he was "The Chosen One". Anakin sighed and leaned back in his chair. Qui-Gon turned to look at him. "Something wrong, Padawan?"

Anakin chose his words carefully, and when he said them it was in a murmur so that only Qui-Gon could hear. Or so he thought. He was completely unaware that Obi-Wan was listening intently to every word he was saying. "I'm not what people thought I was."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not… the Chosen One. I don't feel it. I know that I'm not normal – but I don't think that I'm that un-normal." He sighed. "I think that my friends only like me because that's who they believe I am. I think the only one who sees the truth is Le – Elenar'e. That's why she doesn't talk to me."

Silence. Complete and utter silence.

"You don't believe that, do you Ani?" Qui-Gon asked, using a nickname that he hadn't used since Anakin was ten.

Anakin turned a shade of pink, "I don't know," he said. "I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Listen to me, Anakin. Listen well. I've seen you with your friends – ever since you were in the crèche. You've always been happy with them, and they with you. They were your friends before people believed you to be the Chosen One. To them, you're Anakin Skywalker, their friend that they've known since before they could walk."

Anakin stayed silent. Qui-Gon sighed, "Anakin, do you think that Master Obi-Wan treats me differently because you are my apprentice?"

Anakin gave him a disbelieving stare, "No! Of course not!"

"And why is that?"

"Because he was your padawan and – oh…" Anakin trailed off, looking sheepish. Qui-Gon smiled and even Obi-Wan's lip twitched upwards.

"Do you understand now?"

Anakin nodded slowly, looking thoughtful. "I think I do."

"Good." And then it was settled. For the remainder of the trip Anakin felt very appeased.

…

"Here we are," spoke the pilot. "Naboo is straight ahead." Anakin jumped out of his seat, excited. He'd only been on six missions before, and they had all been full of action and suspense. He hoped this would be the same.

The planet was beautiful, Anakin had to admit it, but his excitement was diminished when Lena came in the room. Of course, she was Obi-Wan's apprentice, so it was to be expected she'd be on the mission as well, but it didn't stop Anakin from wanting to flee into the opposite room until she left. She didn't stop walking until she was right next to him, and he stiffened. If she noticed this, she decided to ignore it. From the opposite end of the room, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon watched the two apprentices apprehensively.

"Lena," Anakin said awkwardly.

"Hello, Anakin."

Her soft voice made Anakin want to vomit and hug her at the same time. He turned to look at her. Though she was still beautiful, she was of no attraction to him anymore. He wondered if she felt the same way. "How are you?"

Lena didn't say anything for a moment. "I've been well… have you been keeping up with your lightsaber practice?"

Anakin suddenly grinned. "You bet. I must be at least ten times stronger than you now."

Lena let out a snort. "Right. I bet I could take you on one hundred times and beat you at every duel."

Anakin rolled his eyes, "Sure you could."

"I could!" Lena exclaimed, her eyes bright. "I'll prove it to you!"

Anakin turned to her, amused. "Oh yes? How?"

"We can have a duel," Lena said simply. Anakin thought about this. A duel WOULD be a nice way to let out his emotions…

"Fine."

He thought he'd never seen Lena look so happy and confused at the same time.

…

"It's hot on this planet," complained Anakin. Lena looked at him from the corner of her eye, "says the boy who came from Tatooine."

"That's different," said Anakin flippantly. "I was only born there, not raised – and I'm not a boy anymore. I'm twenty!"

"I'm sorry, O wise one. I had no clue you were that ancient."

Anakin glared, "I'm still older than you!"

Lena looked offended. "Only by a year!"

"Yeah yeah…"

They stopped once they reached a large, beautiful castle. Lena's eyes sparkled when she saw it. "What would I give to live here," she breathed.

Anakin scrunched up his nose, "It's pretty." He said, "but I've yet to see anything that makes me want to stay."

"How about that?" said Lena, pointing towards the side of the elegant room they had just entered. Anakin blinked quickly, following where she had been pointing. A beautiful girl, maybe a bit older than him, was standing in the corner. She was wearing an orange and yellow flowing handmaiden dress, wearing it like a veil over her head, covering her hair. He could still see her face though. She had beautiful, wide brown eyes, and smooth, clear skin. "She's nice…" he concluded, turning away. Lena looked at him, clearly confused. "What?"

"She – oh," Anakin then realized she'd been pointing to the wall, where a large mosaic of different space cruisers were painted. "Right – that's what I meant."

Lena had already spotted the girl though, and rolled her eyes. "Boys…"

Anakin didn't bother to correct her on his age.

…

Anakin yawned as the political discussions went on. Lena was looking equally as bored, but Anakin had his eyes on one particular handmaiden. The Queen's voice was starting to annoy him.

The handmaiden caught his eye and gave him a small smile before turning to look back at the scene. "If you'd stop mooning," Lena said crossly, and Anakin turned his attention to her. "You might want to pay attention to this."

Anakin looked to where his master and the Queen of Naboo were discussing politics… again.

"My Lady, what do you propose we do?"

The Queen was looking lost, and also panicked. For a moment she seemed to consider something; Anakin noticed she shot a quick glance at the handmaiden he found so captivating. "We shall sign a treaty then," she said, her voice sounding weak.

For a moment nobody spoke, and then the handmaiden walked in front of her. There was a murmur of surprise – this was a bold and rude act. After all, she was simply a handmaiden, what did she have to do with any of this?

"No," she said, pulling her veil off. Long, dark brown braided hair hung down her back, sleek and shiny.

"No?" questioned Qui-Gon. "Young handmaiden –"

"I'm no handmaiden," said the girl with authority. "I am Queen Amidala. This is my decoy," she motioned towards the Queen – no, decoy; "and also my most loyal servant."

The whole room let out collective gasps. "Is this true?" asked one of the guards to the false-Queen. She nodded, "It is indeed true. My Lady, I apologize. I wasn't sure what you would have chosen –"

"It is fine," said the true Queen. "You have done a wonderful job, but I think I need to step in on this particular cause. We will sign no treaty," she said, turning back to the Jedi. "I want to see it done that they do not bother my people over a contract as vile as this. If they don't stop this, then we will have to discuss a new treaty."

…

"I just can't believe it!" Anakin exclaimed for the third time. Obi-Wan had difficulty rolling his eyes. "Oh I pity you," he said to Qui-Gon, who simply chuckled. Anakin glared at the both of them, but Lena laughed.

"Oh fine! Since you're all against me anyway," Anakin muttered angrily, stalking ahead of them. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan exchanged amused glances.

"Hey, wait up!" Anakin paused as Lena raced over to him.

"Come to laugh at me some more?"

"No," Lena said sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Right."

"So… you're right, I wasn't expecting her to be Queen either."

Anakin wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just resumed walking.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted Queen Amidala walking towards them.

"You like her." It was no question. Anakin turned red and growled, "What's it matter to you?"

Lena didn't say anything.

Once Amidala reached them they all gave her a small bow. "My Lady," said Anakin, going one step further. He could practically hear Lena rolling her eyes.

The Queen smiled at him, and Anakin's heart rate sped up considerably. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Anakin Skywalker? And his infamous trainer, Jedi Master Jinn?"

"Yes," said Qui-Gon. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, my Lady."

The Queen nodded. "You can call me Padme, if need be. I don't care for such formalities outside of the throne room."

Qui-Gon smiled. "Well met, Padme."

"And you…?"

"You can call me Qui-Gon," he said.

"And you may call me and my apprentice by our first names as well," Obi-Wan spoke up. "This is Lena, and I am Obi-Wan."

Padme smiled at them all. "I've heard of you all. Although, I thought your apprentice's name was Elenar'e?" she sounded confused.

"That is her name, yes, but she prefers to be called Lena."

Lena nodded and gave Padme an odd smile. Padme gave her the same smile, and Anakin felt a warning sign go off, though he wasn't sure what it meant yet.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon also seemed to notice something was amiss. "Ah, yes, well," Obi-Wan stuttered, "me and my padawan ought to be going."

Lena shot him a look, but didn't argue as he walked them both swiftly away towards the space shuttle. Padme watched her go with an odd spark in her eyes and then turned back to Anakin. "She'll make a good jedi."

For some reason, Anakin felt that she was trying to catch on to more than she had spoken. "Yes, a very good one," he said. "Though she isn't as skilled as I am," he couldn't help adding. Padme laughed, a clear, ringing laugh that made Anakin smile.

"You're funny, Anakin." She said, smiling at him. Anakin hadn't meant it as a joke, but if she thought it was funny then he'd pretend it was one. "Yeah, I get that sometimes," he said, still with that same smile on his face.

He heard Qui-Gon clear his throat loudly and then excuse himself. Anakin was about to follow him, but then he realized that Bail Organa had just beckoned Qui-Gon. Anakin wasn't about to get into any more political discussions, so he stayed with the Queen.

The two made small talk for a little while, when Anakin noticed that the sky was starting to turn dark. "Sorry," he apologized. "I must go find my master now."

Padme gave him an understanding smile and nodded. "Goodbye, Anakin. It was nice meeting you."

Anakin smiled back, "It was nice meeting you too."