The entire situation was getting stranger by the minute.
After checking with the senate docking station, a droid attendant there reported three women matching the descriptions of Dormé, Sola, and Padmé boarding the senator's private vessel.
Departure records indicated the ship was scheduled to land on Naboo and should be doing so in about three standard hours.
"This is quite peculiar, Master." Anakin noted as they reviewed the flight logs.
"I agree." Obi-Wan replied with a nod and a twirl of his moustache between his finger and thumb.
"Why would Dormé and Sola drug Padmé and take her off planet?"
"I was hoping you could tell me, Anakin." The knight responded flatly, handing the datacom back to the droid technician and turning to face his apprentice. "You were with Padmé the night before last. Did she mention anything that would explain these events?"
The young man was taken aback by his Master's question. He had thought he and Padmé had kept their meetings much more discreet.
"Not really, Master." He said calmly, but Obi-Wan could not help but notice the slight blush on his apprentice's face.
"You've been spending a lot of time with the senator lately, Anakin. Is there anything you wish to tell me?"
Once again, the padawan's face colored, but he replied firmly. "No, Master."
However, Obi-Wan knew that Anakin was keeping something from him. He didn't think the boy was lying – he just wasn't freely offering any information. That was fine, decided the Jedi, as long as it didn't affect their mission.
He might not be able to read his apprentice's thoughts, but he did know that his padawan would never do anything to jeopardize the safety of someone who meant so much...
To both of them.
"It's not as bad as we first thought." Anakin noted as the two Jedi left the docking station and made their way back to their transport. "At least she's in the company of someone who won't cause her any harm."
"Can we be so sure about that?" Obi-Wan asked with a wry grin, to which his apprentice began to chuckle.
"I suppose you're right, Master. Sola, we can trust, but I'm not so sure about Dormé."
"Wait a minute! Did Anakin really say that about me?" Dormé asked Padmé as they sat on Naobi's bed.
"That's what I was told." The senator responded with a wink aimed at her daughter.
"Well, I think I'll just go back in there and tell him what a…" Dormé's angry outburst stuttered to a stop when she noticed the innocent and curious expression on the nine-year-old's face.
"As I recall," Padmé interjected. "You said much worse things about him. Let's see…I believe you said he was self-centered, disrespectful, argumentative…"
"Don't forget arrow gant, mom." Naobi added.
"Arrogant. That too. Thanks honey."
"All right…all right! Go on with the story." Dormé conceded with a pout.
"Where am I?" Padmé's groggy voice questioned as she swiped at the hand that was irritatingly touching her forehead.
Her eyes squinted open slowly and she hissed as the sunlight in the room lodged tiny daggers into her brain. Forcing one eye open, she hissed again as she viewed the rather offensive sight of Dormé hovering over her.
"How's the head?" Her typically friendly and devoted bodyguard asked. But for some reason, Padmé's sense of survival was blaring a warning for her to beware.
"Pounding." She moaned, rubbing her temples, squeezing her eyes shut once again. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" A familiar voice asked and Padmé peered one eye open toward its source.
"Sis? Where are we?" The surroundings looked vaguely familiar, but then again, they didn't.
"On Naboo. In the Lake Country." Sola replied quietly with a smile as she leaned over her sister and swept back the hair from her face.
However, as her sibling's awareness returned and the brown eyes opened wide and then suddenly narrowed dangerously, Sola backed up, dragging Dormé along with her.
But Dormé didn't need any prompting. She was well aware of the senator's capabilities.
Slamming and locking the door to the room where they planned on keeping Padmé until she got her head straightened out, Sola was startled as it seemed anything that wasn't bolted to the floor was being thrown against the door, accompanied by a string of various demands to be released; some of which were actually quite colorfully phrased.