Chapter Ten: Mysterious Illness
Later that morning, Leia was woken when Sabé, her mother's handmaiden, came into her room to announce that she had prepared breakfast.
"Have the boys left?" Leia asked Sabé as the handmaiden worked on opening the tall curtains of the room's windows. Sunlight streamed in through the broad glass, revealing a bustling city view.
"They left a few hours ago," Sabé answered her.
"I didn't know they were up so early," Leia remarked, sitting up in her bed.
"Well, it is late," Sabé remarked, and Leia was surprised to see that it was already 1100 hours. "It sounded like they wanted to get an early start," she continued as she tied back the curtains.
"I guess so," Leia replied, pushing back the covers of her bed. She wondered where they were now, and she hoped that they were safe.
"I hope you slept well?"
"Yes, thank you." It had been the best sleep she had received in a long time. She could barely believe how long she had slept.
"If you'd like breakfast, you're welcome to come down to the dining room," Sabé told her as she headed towards Leia's door to give Leia some space.
"Is my mother already down there?" Leia asked her.
To her surprise, Sabé paused by the door to shake her head. "I don't think she's feeling alright. She's still in bed."
"What do you mean?" Leia asked her, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and hoisting herself to her feet.
Sabé looked uncomfortable. "She insists that she's okay, but no one knows how bad it is, not even your father. It's been happening for a few days now."
Slightly alarmed at hearing such words from Sabé's mouth, Leia immediately set her mind on finding Padmé and seeing if she was okay. She didn't know what was wrong, but she knew that her mother had a tendency to understate her own issues. As Sabé left the room, Leia quickly grabbed the pants, shirt, and vest she had worn the previous day, and stripped from her nightgown, tossing it onto her bed.
When she had dressed, she quickly moved from her room, passing through the veranda and by the kitchen, where she could smell Sabé's cooking. She began to climb the stairs on the opposite side of the veranda, where she knew her parents' and Jinn's rooms were. She had never been up in this part of her parents' house, so she slowed down a bit, not wishing to intrude if it was private.
It didn't take her long to identify the master suite as the door at the end of the hallway. It was closed most of the way, except for a small crack that Anakin must have left when he had departed earlier that morning. Cautiously, Leia approached the door, and listened by the crack for any signs of her mother stirring. There was no noise coming from the bedroom.
Hesitantly, ear still by the door, Leia raised her hand to knock. Again, there was no reply.
Not wishing to disturb her mother if she was sleeping, Leia pushed lightly on the door, calling out softly, "Mother?" When the door had opened enough for her to peek in, she did.
The room was very large, much larger than hers, and its curtains were still drawn, making the room very dark and shadowy inside. There was a large bed in the center of the far wall, and sheets spilled messily over the bed and onto the floor. There was no one in the bed.
Now Leia was concerned. "Mother?" she called again, this time louder. She stepped into the room, and quickly saw that to her right was another doorway, and this one was filled with light. It appeared to be a fresher of some sort. Leia hastened to the fresher.
"Mother!" she cried when she saw Padmé sitting beside the toilet. Padmé was clutching her stomach and her head was leaning against one of her hands, instantly making Leia's alarm rocket. She hurried to her mother's side and put her arm around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly. "Mother, are you okay?"
Padmé didn't seem to want to look at her. "I don't know," she replied, her voice shaking.
"What's wrong?" Leia asked her worriedly.
Padmé shook her head, wiping her eye with the back of her hand. "Nauseous," she said briefly, her voice wavering with unshed tears. "I don't know."
Seeing that her mother was near crying, Leia softened her tone and asked her in concern, "How long has this been happening?" Leia studied Padmé's face closely for any distinguishable signs of illness.
Padmé pushed away from the toilet and leaned back against the bath, rubbing her face with her hands. "I thought it was just a regular cold," she said shakily. "Or stress from the past few days."
"It's obviously not," Leia said softly, gently brushing the curls from her mother's forehead. "…Maybe we should tell Father."
"No," Padmé said quickly. "He already worries too much. He's been stressed out with this whole ordeal too."
"Mother," Leia said, feeling slightly uncomfortable that she was pushing her. "I think it's serious."
Padmé rubbed her face. "It's not bad," she replied softly.
Leia did not reply. Obviously it was, but she did not want to correct her when Padmé seemed so adamant. "What other symptoms have you had?" she asked her.
Padmé seemed to be calming now that Leia was by her side. As she hesitated to answer, Leia took her gently by the hand and stood.
"Let's go sit somewhere comfortable," she said gently, leading Padmé out of the fresher and to the bed.
As the two women settled against the headboard of the bed, Padmé began to speak. "I don't know what's wrong," she said. "I've been nauseous for a few days now, and it doesn't seem to be going away." She drew her knees to herself in comfort. "I initially thought it was just a prolonged cold; the result of stress from the whole explosion…" She paused again, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands before continuing. "But it hasn't gone away. I almost feel as if it's gotten worse. I'm dizzy, and Anakin told me he was worried that I was tired last night."
With a sigh of frustration, she straightened her legs and leaned her head against the bed's headboard. "I don't know why. I've just been so emotional lately."
"Is it hormones?" Leia asked her gently. "Sometimes they can do something like that."
Padmé let out a shaky breath. "It probably is," she said. "I'm already late with my monthly cycle, so this is probably-" She stopped abruptly.
Leia was immediately alarmed when she registered the abrupt change in her mother's expression. Padmé's eyes had suddenly gone round, as if she'd realized something. "Mother?" Leia prompted worriedly.
Padmé looked at Leia, repeating, "My monthly cycle is late." She was looking at Leia, as if expecting Leia to realize the implications of what she was saying.
Leia was silent, waiting for her to continue to clear up the confusion.
"What if I'm pregnant?" she whispered, then looked to Leia in astonishment.
Leia's eyes widened. It certainly fit all of the symptoms. "Could you be pregnant?"
Padmé took a shaky breath. "It's a distinct possibility." She bit her lip, and was silent for a moment. Leia waited for her to speak again, not wishing to ask private questions. After a while, Padmé spoke again, this time more softly. "I think I might be pregnant." Her hands rose to her temples.
"Are these the symptoms you usually get?" Leia asked her. With two pregnancies already, she supposed her mother already might have ideas about what to expect.
"I got morning sickness with both," Padmé replied. "But this would be the first time I've ever been dizzy or lethargic."
Leia felt uncomfortable, wanting to ask a follow-up question but not wanting to intrude on her parents' sex life. "How likely is it that you could be pregnant?" she asked cautiously, not wishing her mother to get the wrong idea. "Do you usually take pills?"
Padmé slid off the bed and began to pace back and forth. "We usually use protection, yes, but we forget occasionally…"
Leia blushed, not willing to think about it. "There's only one way to find out," she said, changing the topic quickly.
"Home test," Padmé said, sighing and rubbing her temples.
Leia arose and rubbed her mother's shoulder, pouring as much comfort as she could to her mother. Then, with a worried glance toward her daughter, Padmé went into the fresher and closed the door behind her.
Leia waited for about three minutes, and then the door to the fresher opened slowly.
Leia studied Padmé's expression closely as she emerged, but it was hard to read. Padmé held out a small plastic stick towards Leia.
"Just let me know what it says."
Leia took the stick graciously and stared at it as her mother paced in front of her. It was blank right now, but it read Displaying… and seemed to be reading. Finally, after what felt like an age, the result appeared.
Leia glanced up at Padmé, who was still pacing.
"What does it read?" she asked, sounding extremely anxious.
Leia met her mother's gaze, unsure how she would react to the unexpected news.
"You're pregnant."