A/N: Hey readers! Sorry for the delay with the chapter. I had to do a bit of research on whom the holyman was who married Anakin and Padmé. I also added in the hints that Clovis knows of Anakin and Padmé's marriage and so on. Anyway, enough of my babbling. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 11: A Deal that goes Wrong
Clovis boarded the shuttle that he had been assigned to by Ventress. Once he was aboard the shuttle it took off to the unknown regions of space.
"Rush Clovis," said a voice from the doorway of the cockpit. Clovis turned to see Count Dooku standing there.
"My lord," Clovis stood and bowed to the Sith.
"You know why I'm here?" The Sith asked.
"Certainly, my lord," Clovis said.
"You know that there is something going on between Anakin Skywalker and Senator Amidala," sneered Dooku.
"Yes I do and I don't like it," Clovis said flatly. Little did he know that Dooku could see right through him.
"I sense that you have feelings for the Senator," Dooku said with raised eyebrows.
"I had feelings for Padmé. I do not have feelings for her now. She would rather be a senator then be with me and that Skywalker," An evil smirk played on his lips. "I have an idea why she is so attracted to him,"
"Oh, do you now?"Dooku said completely unmoved by Clovis' words.
"I have reason to believe that are they married," Clovis smiled wickedly at the thought of having the entire galaxy find out that the Hero with No Fear was in fact secretly married to the galaxy's most talked about Senator.
"Do you have proof?" Dooku asked suddenly interested.
"No, but I can get some. The archives of the brotherhood on Naboo should provide the answers we need to spark Skywalker's downfall and Padmé with be rightfully mine!" Clovis cackled menacingly leaving Dooku to roll his eyes in pure disgust. This wasn't about Clovis getting his dream girl but it was to get revenge on Skywalker and his team for rescuing that worthless Padawan of his.
"Once we depart from here, depart for Naboo's lake country immediately," Dooku instructed.
Clovis nodded but didn't utter a response. He was looking forward to exposing Anakin and Padmé's secret.
888
Ahsoka sat with Padmé on the long sofa in the Senator's apartment. Anakin and Sola had gone to address the Senate and the Jedi Council.
"This is incredible, Soka," Padmé smiled as she watched Ahsoka demonstrate what Anakin had been teaching her.
"Thanks Padmé," Ahsoka smiled.
"Padmé, Snips?" Anakin called.
"Hey master," Ahsoka called back looking over the back of the sofa.
How'd you go?" Padmé asked as she went over to kiss her husband on the cheek.
"Obi-Wan knew that I was talking about and I could tell that he agreed that I could do with some time off but it seems that the Council weren't too happy with the idea," Anakin told his wife and Padawan.
"That's not fair," Ahsoka exclaimed in disgust. She knew the council were rough when it came to handing down breaks from the battlefield that she felt (now being in on her master's secret marriage) that the council had gone one step too far. "Why don't you just tell them your secret then maybe they'll see reason?" Anakin and Padmé looked at each other in alarm.
"Tell them? Are you mad? They will only expel Anakin and I would get dismissed from the Senate," Padmé cried.
"She's right, Ahsoka. The council can't know of our marriage. What's gotten into you?" Anakin was a little hurt that his own Padawan would even consider ratting him and Padmé out to the council and the Senate. Having told Sola had been enough but to have the Council know was another thing entirely.
"Sorry, I dunno what came over me," Ahsoka apologised.
"That's quite alright, Ahsoka. We know you didn't mean any harm." If there was one thing Ahsoka liked about Padmé it was that she was lot more forgiving than Anakin was. Anakin was forgiving for minor things but when it came things that concerned his personal life then he was less forgiving.
"Padmé!" Sola yelled as she slammed the door of the apartment behind making her sister, brother-in-law and Jedi friend jump.
"Sola! What's wrong?" Anakin asked as he, Padmé and Ahsoka hurried toward Sola.
"I have just been told the most disturbing news!" Sola cried.
"Sola, slow down and tell us what you heard," Ahsoka said trying to get the Queen's ambassador to calm down.
"I just received a message from the holy man that married you two and he said that someone tried to break into the archives of the brotherhood and steal your marriage certificate." Sola told Anakin and Padmé.
Anakin and Padmé looked at each other in horror. Who was trying to find out their secret? Who was trying to expose them? Whoever it was wasn't doing a real good job at it.
"You had files made when you married?" fumed Ahsoka. "Anakin!"
"No we didn't. I 'instructed' the holy man to keep our union a secret and from Padmé has told me, he kept his word," Anakin said with a smug smile aimed at Padmé.
"No crap, master! You used a mind trick on him of course he would keep limited information!" Ahsoka continued over her master's wrong doings.
"Ahsoka," Padmé threw a stern look at Ahsoka and the Padawan immediately fell silent.
"This has gone too far," Anakin headed back towards the door.
"Master, wait up!" Ahsoka went to step forward when Padmé stopped her.
"I'm go. You've already done so much already for us. I'm his wife, I'll go," Padmé said gently to the Padawan who nodded in approval. Ahsoka could see the true spirit of a wife in Padmé. She hadn't seen many married couples but Anakin and Padmé took the cake. Whenever they were together there was some sort of... Ahsoka struggled to find the correct word to describe them. Spark. That was it. Whenever Padmé was in danger Anakin wouldn't even hesitate to save her and vice versa.
Ahsoka and Sola watched Padmé rush after her husband.
"Anakin slow down!" Padmé called trying to keep up with Anakin.
Anakin ignored his wife's calls and kept walking.
"Where are you going?" Padmé asked as she managed to catch up with him.
"I can't take it anymore, Padmé," he said as he stopped and turned around to face his wife. Padmé looked around and spotted her open office door. Grabbing her husband's arm, she dragged him towards the office. The other Senators were in their offices. The Senate Apartment block and the Senate Office block were joined together and close so that it didn't take Anakin long to walk all this way.
Entering the office, Anakin went to sit on the desk while Padmé stood with crossed arms in front of him.
"I can't keep this up, anymore, Padmé. We always have to run and not show emotion for each other. I mean in front of people that actually know is fine but do you know how many times we have almost been caught by Obi-Wan?"
Padmé didn't answer. She could feel her husband's pain of having to continue to hiding their marriage.
"It gets on my nerves that I can't show how much I love you," Anakin said dully.
"I know, Ani. We have Ahsoka and Sola on our side. But we have to continue to keep our heads down. War is dangerous. Assassins at every corner. You name it we face it. The point is our love is stronger than this entire war put together with all the disasters we have faced," Padmé reached up to stroke Anakin's cheek and they both could come up with at least two separate disasters. The death of Shmi and the victory of the Podrace back when Anakin was only a boy.
"I don't think Ahsoka and Sola will be the only ones that know," Anakin sighed.
Strangely he was right because on Naboo, Clovis met up with Padmé's former chief of security and news he had was a lot better.
"Clovis," Panaka said as he watched the silhouette of Clovis close in on him.
"Panaka. Do you have the information I seek?" Clovis asked.
"I do indeed," Panaka said a sneaky smile appeared on his lips.
"Go on,"
"I have learnt that Amidala and Skywalker went to Maxiron Agolerga, an old friend of the Naberrie family and asked to marry. They were smart in the way they married. They used false names. Set being Skywalker and Veré being Amidala. They asked for their union to be kept secret and Agolerga left very few documents of the marriage.
"Why did Agolerga keep very few documents of the marriage?" Clovis asked heartlessly.
"No idea. But the more I think about it, you would think that Skywalker used a Jedi Mind Trick on him," Panaka said clearly puzzled.
"All Jedi have that ability," Clovis said. He didn't care what else Panaka said. All he really cared about was destroying Anakin and Padmé's marriage so he could win back Padmé. He could only hope. Without another thought, Clovis pulled out a rifle from inside his tunic and he shot Panaka in the chest. The former security fell to the ground: dead.
Clovis walked away as if nothing had happened. He walked into the brotherhood archives and found the scroll he had been looking for. He pocketed the scroll and disappeared into the shadows.
888
Anakin and Padmé with Sola and Ahsoka in tow hurried to Naboo to inspect the crime scene. Little did they think that a man was murdered.
"What happened here?" Anakin asked the holy man that had contacted them.
"I do not know, Master Jedi. I came out here this morning after my praying session to find this man dead,"
Padmé looked over the body of her old friend. She struggled not to cry. Anakin immediately felt really guilty for bringing her with him. This was the place they had married and the same place where they would conceive their children. Now it was a murder scene. Ahsoka went over to help Padmé discover what had killed Panaka.
"Looks like a pistol was pulled on him," Ahsoka said pointing to the bullet wound in Panaka's blood stained chest.
"Master," Padmé called over to Anakin.
"What?" he asked crouching down on the other side of the body.
Ahsoka and Padmé pointed to the bullet wound.
"That was the first thing I noticed, yet I find it strange," he said.
"Strange master?" Ahsoka asked seeing her master's confusion clearly.
"Why would anyone what Panaka dead?"
"It certainly is a bit strange," Padmé agreed.
"I think it was a deal gone wrong. What do you guys think?" Anakin asked.
"I think you're right, Master," Ahsoka said in agreement.
"Agreed," Sola said kneeling next to Anakin. She had a white sheet in her hands and she got to her feet and covered Panaka's body with it.
"It's out of our hands now," Sola said as the others rose to their feet.
Anakin stared at the sheet covered body and wondered. Who would want to expose his marriage to Padmé and why would they want to? It wouldn't get them fame it would only cause heartache for Padmé and Anakin those select few who knew of their forbidden romance.
"Anakin?" Anakin snapped out of his trance when he felt Sola shake his shoulder.
"What?"
"You alright?" Padmé asked her husband.
"Yeah. Fine," Anakin said.
"I know that look, Sky Guy. What are you thinking?" Ahsoka asked.
"Who do we know is hell bent on revenge?" Anakin asked turning to his friends and wife.
No one spoke. Padmé uttered what her husband had wanted to hear, " Clovis," Anakin nodded.
"He wants to expose our marriage so that he can win you back," Anakin lowered his voice so that no one else but Padmé, Ahsoka and Sola could hear him.
"Like that'll happen," Ahsoka muttered to Padmé.
"Well that won't happen," Padmé said going to Anakin's side. "I'll support you. I am your wife after all." Her statement was of the truth and nothing but the truth. She was the making of a true wife.
Anakin smiled before turning back to his patiently waiting sister-in-law and Padawan. "Can we get away from the mushiness now?" Ahsoka whined in a low voice.
Anakin laughed in a low tone. "Yeah alright then," Padmé smiled up at her husband before returning to her sister's side.
"We have to go after Clovis," Ahsoka said stepping forward, her voice was frantic.
"We will, Ahsoka. Don't worry," Sola said placing a hand on the Padawan's shoulder.
"She's right. Clovis has gone too far this time," Padmé said looking around to make sure no one else was listening
"Doesn't he always?" Anakin said in total disgust. "He only wants Padmé as his pawn to get to me. If I'm not mistaken, this will have something to with Dooku," His female companions nodded in agreement.
"Dooku and Ventress with stop at nothing to get what they want," Ahsoka said through almost gritted teeth.
"All separatists are like that," Sola said simply.
Suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees making the two Jedi and two political females turn around in unison. They took off running in that very direction.
888
Clovis ran towards the hideout where Dooku was stationed. He could have sworn he had heard footsteps following him. He ignored it and bolted for his destination.
"How could you be so stupid?" Dooku roared at him when Clovis had told him of involving Panaka and then killing him.
"He was a reformed ally of Padmé. He knew of Padmé's union with Skywalker and he must have used this information to his advantage," Clovis said trying to defend himself.
"Oh and how exactly would he have used the information?" Dooku asked in mockery.
All Clovis could do was shrug. How was he to know that Panaka had blabbed to Palpatine?
"I have no use for you now," Dooku said turning toward the window, his long cape turned with him.
"We had a deal that I could join your cause," Clovis said ruthlessly.
"Bringing down Skywalker and his petty Padawan is the job of myself and Ventress. Not a man in love with a fellow Senator," Dooku said. With that he turned and walked out of the room leaving Clovis baffled. The deal had certainly gone wrong.
Please Review!