Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I just created my own little AU sandbox to play in.

AN: Here's part 11! Thanks for all the amazing reviews, as usual. Enjoy this next installment and let me know what you think!

Wicked Planet: A Forever Destined Vignette

Part 11/?

The next morning, the grieving family arrived in Theed at the palace for the funeral ceremony that was being held for Yan. Another one was being planned for Serenno, as the people of Yan's home were also morning the loss of their great leader. Many delegates and officials had turned out for Yan's memorial, including Bail, Breha, Bel Iblis, and his wife Lydia.

"We're so sorry for your loss. Yan was a great and very wise man. He will be dearly missed," Bel told Elana. She sniffed.

"Thank you Chancellor," she replied gratefully, as they filed into the palace gardens where the ceremony would take place. It was a simple, yet elegant tribute to Yan's life where various stories about him were shared, mostly stories about how devoted he was to his family and examples of that fact, as well as stories about how he helped so many people and the great Jedi that he was.

After the beautiful ceremony, they held a wake in the atrium where there was food and drink served. Anakin and Padme accepted condolences from most that attended when they spotted Governor Bibble slowly making his way to them.

"Angel, didn't Governor Bibble know your Grandmother well?" Anakin asked. She nodded.

"Yes, he did. My Grandfather was Governor of Theed before him and Bibble worked closely with both of them," Padme replied.

"He may know something about your Grandmother's estate," Anakin mentioned.

"I wasn't sure this was the time to ask," she replied.

"I'm sure Grandfather would understand the importance of what we're trying to find out. In fact, I'm sure he would insist on us starting our investigation right away if he was here," Anakin said. She nodded, smiling knowingly.

"You're right, he would," Padme replied, as the Governor approached them.

"Senator, Master Jedi, please accept my deepest condolences. Master Dooku was a very wise man, who did so much good for his people and the people of the galaxy. He will be sorely missed," Bibble stated.

"Thank you for your kind words Governor," Anakin replied.

"Yes, we will miss him, but his memory will live on. If you a moment, Governor, there is something my husband and I wish to ask you about," Padme said.

"Of course, anything. What can I help you with?" he asked.

"It's about my Grandmother Winama's estate," Padme began.

"As you know, it and all her possessions inside were left to me, but before I was able to claim any of it, my father and Governor Danae, with the help of hired hands, looted the entire mansion. I believe they sold everything inside, including my Grandmother's personal items and literature. We want to find any books, journals or manuscripts that belonged to her. Do you know who they could have possibly been sold to?" Padme asked. He sighed.

"That was such a tragedy. By the time we found out they had broken into the mansion, it was too late to stop them. My jurisdiction, as you know, ends at the boundary between Theed and the mountainous regions. They were long passed the boundary when we discovered what had happened. But literature like your Grandmother had would have been seen as very valuable and possibly sought after by museums and historical libraries, or even private collectors. I wish I knew more, but they were two men that would have sold to the highest bidder and there is no way to tell who that could have been. I do know, however, that Governor Danae kept impeccable records of all financial transactions," Bibble replied. Then it struck Padme.

"Of course! And the records of those documents would still be in the Governor's mansion. Sabe has all those records!" Padme exclaimed excitedly.

"I hope you find what you're looking for, Padme. I know how much your Grandmother wanted you to have her library," Bibble told them.

"Thank you for your help, Governor," Padme thanked him, before she hugged her husband.

"Padme, Governor Bibble mentioned you may need to see me about a business matter?" Sabe asked, as she approached.

"Yes, do you mind if Anakin and I return with you to your mansion today to access the archived financial files? It's of great importance," Padme replied.

"Of course. We can leave whenever you're ready. Does this concern the time period during Governor Danae's rule?" she asked. Padme nodded.

"You do have those, right?" she asked. Sabe nodded.

"I do, of course and you're welcome to all of it," she replied.

"Thank you so much. We'll tell you the rest of the story on the way," Padme said, as they quickly told their kids and family where they would be and left with Sabe.

Shane put his hand on Kimberly's shoulder and she turned, smiling softly at him.

"I thought I might find you out here," Shane said, referring to the palace gardens.

"You know me well," she replied.

"How are you holding up, beautiful?" he asked, as he gently caressed her cheek.

"I'm doing okay. We all miss him so much already, but he's still with us. I can feel it," she replied. He hugged her close and kissed her hair. She looked up at him with love in her eyes and saw the love shining back in his own. Shane leaned in and she met him halfway, as their lips met in a passionate kiss. Lost in the love and passion for him, Kimberly did not sense the pair of eyes on them. Sav glared at Shane's back, before stalking off angrily.

Marcus groaned, as he landed on his back for what seemed like the hundredth time. He lay there for a minute, as Jenna swung her blade around and paced impatiently.

"Come on, get up. We're not done," Jenna huffed.

"Maybe you're not, but I'm done getting my butt kicked today. You're brutal when you're in a mood like this," Marcus complained.

"Fine, I'll go find someone else to spar me," Jenna replied.

"Don't you think you should be something else right now?" he asked.

"Like what? Crying and whimpering like a little girl? Not my style," Jenna replied.

"Look Jen, I know this is how you grieve, but there's a lot of people that are here for you and it's okay if you want to talk. I'm here," Marcus told her.

"There's nothing to talk about," she insisted, as she started to walk away. He jogged to catch up with her.

"He was not only your great Grandfather, but he was also your Master," Marcus said.

"Stop! I don't want to talk about it!" Jenna screamed at him. He grabbed her arm and stopped her from leaving.

"Sometimes we don't always get what we want," Marcus replied.

"Just let me go Marc, I'm not doing this," Jenna cried. He responded by hugging her tightly.

"Sorry Jen, you're going to grieve properly, even if I have to make you," Marcus replied. She started trying to push him away, though she wasn't using her real strength and he held her tighter.

"Let me go," she said, choking back a sob.

"Sorry, can't do that. I love you too much," he replied. She stopped struggling and instead collapsed into his embrace. He held her, as she cried.

Padme's beautiful chestnut curls wafted in the breeze, as she and Anakin followed Sabe in an open cockpit speeder they had borrowed from the palace. As they neared the village, the place of her birth, memories came flooding back to her and most of those memories were very unpleasant ones. Ones she had tried to bury and forget over the years, which had been easy for the most part, considering she had such a loving husband and wonderful family. Nonetheless, the memories were just as painful as they had been when they were fresh and Anakin looked over to her, sensing the whirlwind of emotions inside her.

"Are you okay, angel?" he asked. She nodded wistfully.

"It's been more than twenty years since we've been here. The last time we came, we liberated the village by arresting Ruwee. I'm actually looking forward to seeing all the welcome changes that have taken place," she said, pausing for a moment.

"There are a lot of bad memories here, but I have so many more good memories with you and our kids that it doesn't get to me like it used to," Padme finished. He smiled and leaned in, kissing her tenderly, as he parked the speeder at Sabe's mansion.

"Come on angel, let's go find some answers," he said, as they got out and followed Sabe inside.

Once they were inside the mansion, Sabe led them to her office and put her security clearance code into the archive.

"There, you have access to it all," Sabe told them.

"Thanks Sabe," Padme replied, as she began scrolling through Governor Danae's financial records. She went back thirty-five years to the month of April. Her Grandmother had passed away on April 8th and she began looking at the logged transactions from the ninth day on.

"Wow, look at all these funds that say they are from selling items at auctions," Anakin mentioned.

"They went to auctions all over the planet to sell my Grandmother's things," Padme said sadly.

"I'm sorry angel. They should have never gotten away with it," Anakin said.

"They didn't, not in the end anyway," she replied. He nodded with a smile, as they began reading the descriptions for each amount.

"Ani, look at this. They sold the majority of my Grandmother's books to several historical libraries, some to the one in Theed and to the University. She had some very old history books, but I doubt the University would have wanted certain ones," Padme said.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"She and my Grandfather used to make notes in the margins. They knew a lot more about ancient Nabooan history than most of the supposed scholars that wrote the books did," Padme replied.

"So the University wouldn't have an interest in anything that conflicted with mainstream teachings…especially if it concerned certain mystical aspects of history," Anakin surmised.

"Exactly," Padme said.

"But if the books were notated, then why would the historical library want them?" Anakin asked.

"They wouldn't, unless the buyer knew what they had. They may not even be in circulation. The Theed historical library has what they call special collections in a special wing of the library that not everyone is allowed access to," Padme explained.

"I bet they have some interesting books in that room. Question is, how do we get clearance to go?" he wondered.

"We break in tonight," she suggested mischievously. He shrugged.

"Okay," he replied simply, like it was no big deal. She laughed.

"Ani, I'm kidding. I'm Senator of Naboo. I have top security clearance," she said. He chuckled.

"I love when you throw your power around, though breaking in could have been quite a thrill," he teased.

"You're terrible. And, normally I don't like throwing my power around, but in this case I think I'm within my rights. Those were supposed to be my books anyway," Padme replied.

"Well, I'll download this list onto a holodisc so we can take it with us and if we leave now, we'll make it before the library closes," Anakin said. Padme nodded and went to say goodbye to Sabe. Anakin looked at the list of all the things that should have been given to Padme by her Grandmother. He knew his beloved didn't care about the material things so much, but the literature held special meaning to her and if Anakin had his way, the library wouldn't be able to turn down his lucrative offer to let him have the books that belonged to Leia Winama. He smiled to himself, as he spotted a few other items on the list that he recognized from things Padme had told him over the years about her Grandmother's house. And again, if he had his way, he would gain possession of a few little things that rightfully belonged to his angel. He put his comlink to his lips and heard Artoo's familiar clicks and beeps coming over the frequency.

"Hey buddy, I'm going to be sending you a list of a few things and I want you to track down the current addresses of the people who own these things," Anakin said.

"Okay, but what's in it for me?" Anakin read over the translator.

"What do you mean, what's in it for you? Since when did you become an extortionist?" Anakin quipped.

"Since Dathomir," the droid replied, making Anakin smile.

"All because a bird pooped on you. What a baby. Just get the list of addresses for me. Trust me, if this pans out, Padme is going to be so happy that you can guarantee she'll reward you greatly. Threepio will be so jealous," Anakin tempted.

"Fine, if it's for Mistress, then I'll gladly do it," Artoo replied. Anakin scoffed.

"I love you too," Anakin replied sarcastically, as he cut the frequency.

Natalie carefully picked another flower from the palace garden. Pooja had given her permission to make a fresh bouquet for the plaque that was being placed in the east wing of the garden. In that wing of the garden, surrounded by waves of multicolored flowers, was a very old, but very well preserved marble stature of a guardian angel. The monument had been constructed by an unknown artist and was probably thousands of years old. Surrounding the monument were many gold plaques that had been placed there over the years. On them were names and descriptions of notable people in which the Naboo people decided should be honored. Most were native Nabooans, but as Great Grandfather to the current Queen and genuine humanitarian, a plaque had been made in his honor. So Natalie was gathering flowers to put beside the memorial.

"Those flowers are pretty, but they pale in comparison to you," Jayden said, as he approached.

"Trying to charm me again with one of your pick up lines?" she teased.

"You know you love my corny pick up lines," he replied. She smiled, as he put his arms around her waist.

"Only because it's you," she replied, as their lips met in a tender kiss.

"How are you doing?" she asked, referring to the loss of his great grandfather.

"It's tough. We all really miss him, but I think I'm coping with it a lot better than Jenna," he replied.

"I figured as much. I was going to go see how she's doing, but I think Marcus is with her," Natalie replied.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll open up to him, after she kicks his tail all over the gym for a while," Jayden quipped, only half joking, as they joined hands and walked to the memorial monument. They were silent for a moment, as they observed Yan's newly finished memorial plaque. Natalie set the flowers beside it and then stood up, as Jayden took her in his arms.

"Goodbye Great Grandpa," he said, as he and Natalie embraced.

After saying a quick goodbye to Sabe, Anakin and Padme returned to Theed and went inside the government owned and operated historical library and quietly approached the front desk.

"Excuse me," Padme said politely. The head librarian, who was probably in her fifties, looked up and gasped.

"Senator Skywalker, what an honor," she said. Padme looked down shyly.

"That's very kind of you. I was wondering if my husband and I may have access to the private literature collection," Padme asked politely.

"Of course Senator. Normally, we restrict that access to Nabooan officials only, but I believe we can bend the rules for someone like Master Skywalker," she said. It was clearly obvious that she was star struck and more than a little taken with Anakin.

"A rule breaker. Those are my kind of people," Anakin mentioned, making the librarian blush furiously.

"Here's an access card. Take your time," she said.

"Thank you," Padme replied, as they ascended the stairs that would take them to the room where the private collection was kept.

"I think she might faint. I can't take you anywhere without women falling all over themselves around you," she teased.

"You know I only have eyes for you," he replied.

"I know, that's why I'm so lucky," she replied, as she swiped the access card.

"Don't be stealing my lines," he teased back, as they entered and observed the large room full of dozens of shelves, all filled with very old, very important books.

"Wow…where do we start?" he asked.

"We go to the holo archive and have it pull everything owned by Winama up and tell us the location of the books," Padme said, as she typed her search parameters into the computer. A few seconds later, a layout of the room popped up on the screen with green dots highlighting the locations of books of interest. There was at least forty dots.

"Okay, that narrows it down. I'll start over there," Anakin said. Padme nodded and went the other way toward a location with of another book.

Queen Rayna bowed before the four Council members present, as they met in a private meeting room in the palace. Qui-Gon, Mace, Yoda, and Obi-Wan were in attendance.

"Masters, I must say that I am truly sorry for your loss and you have my deepest condolences," Rayna said.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Qui-Gon replied.

"This will be a short meeting. With everything that has happened, the Council hasn't had time to properly meet and discuss our decision yet. But I assure you, we will soon and then meet with you again," Mace informed.

"I understand," Rayna replied. Callista scoffed.

"I don't. You could meet now, but Anakin is no where to be found. I guess gallivanting all over Theed with his wife seems to be more important," Callista scoffed.

"I assure you that anything Anakin and Padme are doing is of vital importance, not that it's any of your business," Qui-Gon reported.

"I apologize for that, Master Jedi," Rayna said.

"You don't have to apologize, my Queen," Callista refuted.

"It's all right, Callista," Rayna assured her.

"No, it's not! We lost people too!" Callista spat.

"Aware of that, we are. Feel that a few days, needed they are, to come to terms will all that has transpired," Yoda explained.

"I agree Master Yoda, w shall take our leave now," Rayna said, as she and Callista exited the room.

"You must quell your temper," Rayna chided.

"My Queen, now that your sisters and most of her clan are dead, we do not need the Jedi or Republic," Callista said.

"If we are to truly rebuild our society, than we need guidance," Rayna insisted. Callista stopped and held her stomach, looking quite ill.

"My charge, you are unwell. Let's see the palace healer," Rayna said.

"I'm fine," Callista insisted.

"That's an order," Rayna replied. Callista obeyed and they headed for the med bay.

As Padme closed another book, she sighed, starting to wonder if they were wasting time.

"Maybe we're looking for something that isn't there," Padme said dejectedly. Anakin set a book down and sat down next to her.

"Angel, you had that vision for a reason. The Force doesn't just impart such clear visions to a person for no purpose. Your Grandmother wants you to find something…I can feel it," he told her vehemently. Padme looked over at him and gently caressed the side of his face with her hand. He turned to her and kissed her hand.

"You're right, we just need to keep looking. She had to hide whatever it is she wants us to find well enough so Ruwee and Governor Danae didn't find it," Padme said, with renewed hope she had naturally found in her beloved's love and devotion to her.

"Well, nothing in this one, but we have more to look through," Anakin said, as he plucked another book from the shelve and Padme instantly recognized the book.

It was very old and one her Grandmother's most prized in her entire collection.

"I don't believe it…" she said. Anakin looked at the book in his hands and then handed it to her, before sitting down next to her again.

"What is it?" he asked.

"This was the first history book I ever read. It's centuries old and was widely rejected by the University and the leaders of Naboo shortly after it was written. It conflicts with the written history that most Nabooans know and were taught," Padme explained.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because it suggests that the evil King of Naboo, who had been creating all the chaos and turmoil on the planet, was dethroned and killed by a God-like savior. The planet then ascended into peace, crowning this warrior as the King of Naboo and his beloved mate as Queen," Padme said.

"The Legend," he nodded in understanding.

"A very watered down version. The version I read that Grandfather gave me is much more detailed and tells the real back story. But scholars rejected this idea, unconvinced that such things could happen. It was then suggested by a scholar that the warring and chaos on the planet was simply caused by a war between humans and Gungans. The first King of Naboo, who we both know wasn't really the first King, struck a peace agreement with the leader of the Gungans, awarding them with the seas and marsh lands and humans with the land and mountains regions. It was well known that this scholar did not like Jedi and even believed that the Force was simply a creation of the Jedi's by way of their skill in magic tricks and deception," Padme explained.

"Sounds like a tool to me," Anakin scoffed.

"He was or so my Grandmother has told me. His time was even far before her time, but as I understand, he was no friend to the Winama family," Padme said, as she leafed through the book.

"It doesn't really look like there's anything in here though," she said, as she prepared to close it with her hand on the back cover. Her fingers grazed over the frayed corner. Instigated by a sudden hunch, Padme starting peeling the paper back on the back cover and it revealed a folded peace of parchment hidden underneath the flap. Padme gasped at what she had discovered and carefully pulled the folded parchment out. She looked at her husband, whose face showed equal amazement and quickly unfolded the parchment. Padme put a hand over her mouth, as she instantly recognized the cursive writing, before Anakin began reading it aloud.

"My dearest Padme,

If you are finding this letter, then it must mean that my suspicions were correct. I knew that in the event of my death, Ruwee and Governor Danae would have conspired to strip my house of all my belongings and sell them off to the highest bidder. But I knew that there a few important things that they could never get their hands on, so I hid them before my death and you'll be able to uncover them with the map on the back of this letter. I implore you and your husband to use this knowledge in the fight against evil. You'll soon learn everything, for the truth lies inside my diary, which still lays hidden in wait for you to find. From the moment you were born, I knew you were special. But I only came to know exactly how significant you were as I watched you grow into a young woman. I love you so much, my darling Granddaughter and while I worry about your well being when I am gone, I know that you will find a true, powerful love in your future and that his man will let no harm come to you. Take the knowledge you receive from my diary and use it to slay the evil that threatens to consume the galaxy. It is your destiny, my sweet, special girl. You never deserved the life you were born into, but I know that you have persevered over it all and have become an amazing woman. Perhaps the Force will see fit to allow me to look after you from whatever afterlife soon awaits me. All my love, Your Grandmother.

Anakin finished reading and took his crying wife in his arms. He held her for several moments and kissed her forehead. Padme lifted her head and started wiping her tears away.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She sniffed and nodded.

"I'm fine. Let's look at the map," Padme said, as she turned the parchment over.

"I don't believe it," Padme said in amazement, as she stared at the map, which was a drawn map of Varykino and showed the meadow, where an x marked the place where the things Winama wanted them to find were hidden.

"The meadow. She must have buried whatever it is in the meadow!" Padme exclaimed. Anakin smiled.

"She knew that she needed to put it somewhere where no one else but us could and would find it. The meadow was the perfect place," Anakin replied, as he stood up.

"Let's go find what she wants us to find. We'll comm everyone on the way and tell them we'll be home at Varykino," Anakin said, as they left the room and returned the access card, before quickly leaving the library for the marina.