Chapter 20
Naboo and the Naberries

After a very, very long ride on the refugee ship, they finally landed on Naboo. Vader couldn't help but sigh in relief when they stepped off the ship and onto Nabooan soil. It was wonderful to get off the crowded and smelly vessel, and the clean Nabooan air only made it better.

Vader looked around the clean, airy spaceport where the refugee ship landed and was struck by how beautiful Naboo was. The sky was blue, the plants were vibrant green, and everything felt so alive. He was struck at how much like a picturesque fairy tale everything was.

I like it here, he decided as he lugged two of the Senator's three suitcases along behind her. Coruscant is bright and sunny too, but it smells like smog and exhaust. The air smells kinda like flowers here.

They were on their way to the palace to meet with the current Queen of Naboo, still dressed up as refugees. Artoo and Orbie were following along and not poking at each other for once. That, the beautiful scenery and the Senator's silence, made the walk very nice.

A curious sound, whispery and hushed, reached his ears as they drew closer to the palace. "What's that sound?"

Amidala stopped and frowned at him. "What sound?"

"That sound…" Vader stared off the walkway towards the cliffs and listened.

She cocked her head to the side. "Oh, those are the waterfalls."

Vader raised a questioning eyebrow. "Waterfalls?"

"Yes," she nodded and started walking again. "When I first saw the capital I was very young. I'd never seen a waterfall before. I thought they were so beautiful." Her expression turned dreamy.

"Tell me, did you dream of power and politics when you were a little girl?" It was a random question, but one that had cropped up in his mind a few times during the long transport ride.

"No, that was the last thing I thought of," she replied. A set of stairs came up and as they climbed, the droids fell a bit behind. "I wasn't the youngest queen ever elected, but now that I think back on it, I'm not sure that I was old enough. I'm not sure I was ready."

"The people you serve thought you did a good job," Vader recalled as he thought back on some of the background that Kenobi had impressed on him. "I even heard they tried to amend the constitution so you could stay in office."

"Popular rule is not democracy," Amidala explained, her tone on the patronizing side. "It gives the people what they want, not what they need." A shadow fell over them as they entered a section of covered walkway. "I was relieved when my two terms were up. So were my parents. They were very worried about me during The Blockade. They couldn't wait for it all to be over."

The Blockade, Vader mused. Pretty tame stuff must happen here for them to call it "The Blockade"…

"Actually, I had hoped to have a family of my own by now. My sister has the most, amazing, wonderful, kids," Amidala continued wistfully. "But when the Queen asked me to serve as Senator, I couldn't refuse her."

Vader watched her walk out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to have relaxed some since they'd first boarded the refugee ship, but an air of tension still hung around her. Amidala strode on towards the palace, her expression calm and controlled and unhappy. He chewed at his lip before he made up his mind.

"I agree with her," Vader decided. "I think the Republic needs you." Not only am I being polite here, I'm sucking up to you, so cheer up!

She shot him a wary look, like she was unsure of how to take what he'd said. Whatever she ended up thinking of it, she kept it to herself and just kept on walking. Vader was rather annoyed.

Fine. Be that way…

Shortly after they arrived at the palace, they were shown into a meeting with the queen and some of the governors. They hadn't even been given time to change so they were still wearing their refugee costumes. The queen, Jamilla, sat behind her desk, flanked by hooded Handmaidens. Amidala was seated at her right and Vader stood at attention behind her. Artoo and Orbie had been dismissed elsewhere for the time being as they had no purpose or place here.

While Vader stood there like a statue, he let his eyes roam over the politicians present. The Governors looked like ordinary enough politicians, but Queen Jamilla…she looked like a clown. Her face was painted white with a little red dot on each cheek and some really weird-looking lipstick. Her dress was all puffy and flashy and made the Senator's attire look tame. And her hair was wrapped around some crazy hair ornament that made it look like a crown.

"If the Senate votes to create an army," Amidala commented, "I'm sure it's going to push us into a civil war."

"It's unthinkable," an elderly male Governor huffed. "There hasn't been a full-scale war since the formation of the Republic."

"Do you see any way through negotiations to bring the Separatists back into the Republic?" The Queen asked with a curious accent.

"Not if they feel threatened." Amidala replied. "My guess is that they'll turn to the Trade Federations or the Commerce Guilds for help."

"It's outrageous," the old Governor complained, "but after four trials in the Supreme Court, Nute Gunray is still the viceroy of the Trade Federation. I fear the Senate is powerless to resolve this crisis."

Vader caught the queen and the Senator share a look before the strangely made-up monarch delivered her opinion. "We must keep our faith in the Republic." Queen Jamilla stood up from her chair and all those present took that as a cue to stand as well. The elected monarch then walked over to Amidala's side. "The day we stop believing democracy can work is the day that we lose it."

"Let's pray that day never comes." Amidala murmured as they all started to walk out of the meeting room.

"In the meantime, we must consider your own safety." Queen Jamilla declared.

"What is your suggestion, Master Jedi?" the old Governor inquired respectfully.

Master Jedi? Vader blinked. That sounds so weird…especially when it's directed at me. What do I suggest? Well, um—

"Oh he's not a Jedi yet," Amidala interjected. "He's still a Padawan Learner, but I was thinking—"

"Hold on a minute," Vader frowned. Excuse me?

"Excuse me." Amidala brushed him aside and continued on. "I was thinking I would stay in the Lake Country. There are some places up there that are very isolated."

"Excuse me," Vader butted in. "I'm in charge of security here, Milady." Not that I want to be…but…respect me, damn it!

"And this is my home," Amidala calmly replied. "I know it very well. That is why we're here." She gave him a hard look. "I think it would be wise if you took advantage of my knowledge in this instance."

Vader dearly wanted to argue with her, drag her down a notch or two, but he could feel Queen Jamilla and the other Nabooan politicians staring at him worriedly. And as much as he despised admitting it, Amidala did have a point. "Sorry, Milady," he apologized with a polite smile.

"Perfect, it's settled then." Queen Jamilla smiled and led them on through the palace.

You may have won this round, Amidala, but I shall win the war. Vader clenched his jaw as he marched along just behind the Senator, playing the role of the obedient bodyguard. I'll be all nice and polite and obedient for our stay in Theed, but when we get to this Lake Country you watch yourself. I'll drive you up the wall and they'll be no escape.

Vengeance will be mine, just you wait!

After the Senator made the arrangements concerning their ultimate destination, she decided she wanted to go home and visit her family before she dropped all the way into hiding. Not in the mood to argue with her and potentially embarrass himself again, he made no protest. So after changing, sending ahead the Senator's luggage, and gathering up Artoo and Orbie, it was off to visit Amidala's blood kin in Theed.

The walk was slightly longer than the one from the spaceport to the palace. They edged around a commercial district and stayed mostly in the residential areas of the planetary capital. Eventually the streets narrowed until they reached a particular street that got Amidala a little more animated.

She led him under an archway and down into a small alleyway where there was a small, non-descript door. "We're here," she announced cheerfully. "This is my house."

Before Vader could think over Amidala's shift in mood, from cold and controlled to more open and almost childishly happy, a pair of young girls scampered out of the door. The first girl was older than the other with dark straight hair. And the other girl, the younger one, had slightly lighter hair that was very curly.

These must be her sister's kids, Vader observed as he remembered her mention of them from before.

"Ryoo!" Amidala grinned. "Pooja!"

She knelt down to their level and hugged both little girls. They hugged her back and then bypassed her to run over to Artoo. The girls poked at the Astromech and giggled when it whistled at them. And then the hovering sphere of Orbie captured their attention and they were fascinated.

Vader grinned slightly as he watched Orbie bob, weave, whistle, and thoroughly amuse the little girls. Orbie's such a spaz. He loves kids and kids love him. It's cute. Mostly.

Amidala hurried up the steps and inside the house. Since she was so comfortable leaving her nieces outside with a pair of droids, and since he was supposed to be guarding her, Vader followed her in. He hung his dark brown Jedi cloak on a hook just inside the door beside the Senator's own cloak and strode after her.

He caught up with her just as she was entering a dining room. There were two women and a man there, setting the table for an early dinner. The man and the older woman were clearly the Senator's parents. That meant that the other woman had to be the Senator's sister and mother to the two girls still playing outside.

"Padmé!" he sister cried upon catching sight of the Senator.

"Dar'ti, this is my sister, Sola," Amidala said, formally introducing him.

"Hello, Dar'ti." Sola grinned as he bowed politely to her.

You could've introduced me as Vader. I swear, no one uses my "first name"…

"This is my mother." Amidala continued the introductions, directing his attention to the older woman.

"Hello, you made it just in time for dinner." Amidala's mother smiled warmly. "I hope you're hungry, Dar'ti."

"A little." Vader shrugged. It would've been nice if they fed us lunch at the palace.

"He's being polite, Mom," Amidala snorted. "We're starving."

"Well you've come to the right place at the right time." Amidala's father remarked cheerfully as they all settled down around the table.

Amidala's parents sat side-by-side, and Sola sat next to them. Amidala sat across from her sister and Vader slipped in beside her. Two seats were left open for Ryoo and Pooja when they felt like coming in.

"Honey, it's so good to see you safe," Amidala's mother sighed. "We were so worried."

"Dear." Amidala's father chided.

"I know, I know, I had to say it and now it's done." Amidala's mother replied.

Plate and bowls of food were passed around the table and Vader cheerfully began to fill up his plate. He didn't get to enjoy home-cooked meals very often and he was more than happy to take advantage of this opportunity. And, as Amidala had declared, he was starving.

"Did you know, Dar'ti, you're the first boyfriend my sister's ever brought home?" Sola asked curiously.

Vader snapped his head up from his plate. Boyfriend? Hell no!

"He's not my boyfriend." Amidala corrected. "He's a Jedi assigned by the Senate to protect me."

That's right, Vader nodded. The only kind of guy I could see as her boyfriend is some sort of whipped shell of a man. Do I look like a whipped shell of a man to you?

"A bodyguard? Oh Padmé, they didn't tell us it was that serious!" Amidala's mother fretted.

"It's not, I promise. I'm not in any danger, Mom," Amidala insisted.

Amidala's father locked eyes with Vader. "Is she?"

Vader stared down at his plate. "Yes, I'm afraid she is."

Ryoo and Pooja chose the next moment to appear at the table and join the adults for dinner. Conversation immediately shifted away from the threats against the Senator's life to safer, more kid-friendly topics. But all throughout dinner, Vader could feel Amidala sending angry looks his way.

Tough, Senator, I'm not lying to your folks. If you want to lie to their faces go ahead. No matter what you tell them, they're going to worry about you anyway. I'm at least giving them a realistic picture here.

Deal with it.

After dinner, Padmé joined her mother and sister in the kitchen to clean up. Padmé stood in front of the sink and angrily scrubbed at the dishes, occasionally peering out the window over the sink. Vader had gone and ruined her family dinner and now he was out there talking with her father.

Why couldn't he have just gone along with what I said? Padmé fumed. I went through all that trouble to nicely introduce him to my family and then he goes and tells them that I lied to them and that I am in danger. Why did I even bother?

"Why haven't you told us about him?" Sola inquired curiously.

Padmé shot her sister an annoyed look. "What's there to talk about? I only met him a few days ago and I can't say that I like him very much. And besides, he's just a boy."

"A boy?" Sola snorted. "Have you seen the way he looks at you?" she teased.

"Sola, stop it!" Padmé scowled. "He doesn't look at me in any particular way." Except maybe hatefully.

"It's obvious he has feelings for you." Sola continued with her merciless teasing. "I bet that one day soon he's going drop his disinterested act and proclaim his undying love and adoration for you."

"Our relationship is strictly professional," Padmé insisted. "There is nothing remotely like that between us. There's nothing at all between us."

Padmé shook her head and stared out the window at the backyard again. She could see her father and Vader strolling along and casually chatting down in the communal backyard. If she didn't know any better, she would guess that he was just an ordinary boyfriend trying to get along with his girlfriend's father. Thankfully she did know better.

She looked away from the window to find her mother watching her speculatively. Shaking her head, Padmé put her full focus into scrubbing plates and utensils. No matter what her sister thought, no matter what her mother might be thinking, there was nothing going on with her and her reluctant Jedi protector.

Sola thinks she's so funny, Padmé grumbled. Just because I bring a cute boy to the house, she takes it as an invitation to tease me about my non-existent love life. It's times like these that I wish that I wasn't the little sister…

Vader wasn't sure what to expect when Amidala's father, Ruwee, dragged him out into the backyard of the house. The only thing that came to his mind was an unpleasant interrogation about what sort of situation was going on with his daughter. So as Ruwee paced out the boundaries of the grassy green yard, Vader grew nervous.

"So tell me, son, how much trouble is my daughter in?" Ruwee asked at last.

"It's serious," Vader admitted, "but now that she's off the capital, I don't foresee any more attempts anytime soon. My Master should have everything taken care very soon. My presence here is more of a precaution than a necessity."

"That's good to hear." Ruwee nodded to himself as he slowly walked along an ivy-covered wall. "Who is your master?"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Vader answered.

"Really?" Ruwee smiled. "One of the heroes of Naboo?"

Vader blinked. Huh? "Yes," he guessed.

"Very good," Ruwee nodded, thoroughly pleased. "My little girl is in most capable hands, then."

Vader merely nodded in response. Just smile and nod and pretend to know exactly what he's talking about. Just smile and nod…

Amidala's father then shifted the conversation to old stories about his younger daughter, allowing Vader to do plenty of nodding and smiling. The way her father painted her, Amidala was nearly an angel; a dedicated public servant who was practically selfless. But, being the woman's father, he was most assuredly biased in her favor.

She may be a wonderful public servant, but that doesn't give her the excuse to order me around and then diss me in front of her queen…

An hour after Sola took Ryoo and Pooja home, Padmé headed up to her old room with her unwelcome shadow following behind. Vader had come in from his talk with her dad and now she was wishing that he'd stayed outside. Feeling his intense blue eyes watching every move that she made was decidedly unnerving.

Once she reached her room, she dug out another suitcase and began putting a few of her favorite outfits that she kept at home inside. Now that she wasn't limited to bringing along only what luggage a refugee would, she intended to bring a few things extra to her family estate in the Lake Country the next morning. At her mother's insistence, she would spend the night here before going away on her forced vacation and Padmé couldn't argue with her.

Vader hadn't been pleased when he'd heard about that. Padmé didn't see why, though. Her parents' house had a guest room so it wasn't like he would be stuck sleeping on a couch.

At least he didn't try to argue with me about it, Padmé sighed as she dug through a drawer. That little tantrum he threw in front of Jamilla was so embarrassing.

Glancing up from her suitcase, she watched as Vader slowly walked around her room and peered at the holos that plastered her walls. Some of them were looping clips of events in her life, while others where still images. The images there all marked important events in her life and displayed all her friends and family.

"So you still live at home?" Vader inquired neutrally as he glanced over her room.

Padmé had to force herself not to bristle as she answered him. While this was her parents' house, he was her guest and she would be a proper hostess. "I move around so much, I never had a place of my own. Official residences have no warmth. I feel good here, I feel at home."

"I never really had a home." Vader remarked quietly. Before she could ponder on that incredibly odd statement, he focused in on one holo in particular. "Hm, is this you?"

Padmé walked over to his side and studied the holo he'd picked out. It was a looping clip, and in it she was around eleven years old. There were two little alien children with her with gray skin and enormous round eyes that glimmered brightly. One was sitting beside her and the smaller one was in her lap. Over and over again she smiled and cuddled them. It was a bittersweet memory at best.

"That was when I worked for the relief group," she explained softly. "Their sun was imploding and their planet was dying. I was helping relocate all the children. See that little one I'm holding?" she pointed. "His name was Nakitillo, which means 'sweetheart.' He was so full of life. They all were. They were never able to adapt, to live off their native planet. They all died."

Pained, she moved away to the picture next to it. This one was still image with her, slightly older, standing next to an older man. She was dressed more formally here, and though she looked serious, it was a much happier memory.

"My first day as an Apprentice Legislator," she sighed. "That was the start of it all."

Vader made no comment and so Padmé returned to packing. She went through her closet and picked out a few gowns and then raided her jewelry box. Just as she was finishing up, she looked up to check on her Jedi companion.

He was still staring at her holo of her first day as an Apprentice Legislator. The teen was staring at it in deep thought, like it reminded him of something or someone. Padmé found it a bit creepy.

I don't get him.

As night fell over Naboo, Vader settled into the guest room of Amidala's parents' house. The room was small and simple and as tastefully decorated as the rest of the house. The bed was quite comfortable and he foresaw no trouble in getting to sleep. Now he just had to get tired.

What a day, he sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Landed on Naboo and got off that awful refugee ship… Met the Queen of Naboo… Got embarrassed in front of the Queen of Naboo… Met Amidala's family… And all-in-all, learned more than I thought I would, or wanted to, about Amidala from various sources…

Vader shifted around on the bed until he found a comfortable position. Although he wasn't tired, it was probably best that he got to sleep. The sooner he fell asleep, the sooner that morning would come, and the sooner they would leave for this Varykino place in the Lake Country. The droids, Artoo and Orbie, had already been sent on ahead. A security man had picked them up just after dinner to ship them with Amidala's luggage from Coruscant.

Amidala isn't so horribly terrible…I guess, Vader decided very reluctantly. Her family loves her and she loves her family. She loves her people and they love her. And she's done plenty of good things in her life…

Damn it, if only she wasn't so bossy and bitchy! Her pushy treatment of Kenobi and himself still lingered in his mind. And her casual dismissal of him as some kind of worthless novice in front of her queen grated on his nerves and stung his pride. Force, she probably brushed me off like that because I told her this was my first solo assignment. I shouldn't have told her that!

Sighing, he shifted his glare from the ceiling to the floor. I know I haven't been much fun to deal with—really, when have I ever been fun to deal with?—but that doesn't give her an excuse. She's supposed to be the kind, tolerant person who can get along with anyone, and yet she can't deal with me. Ugh…

And then there's that picture… The holo of her as a young girl getting her first taste of politics rose up in his mind's eye. She looks so much like Handmaiden Padmé in that picture it's scary. It's almost like they're cousins, or even long-lost twin sisters. Freaky.

That eerie picture, along with all the other weird coincidences, like Artoo, Jar Jar, and Amidala's first name, made him unnerved all over again. Just looking at that holo and thinking over things gave him a funny feeling, like he was missing something important. And Kenobi's insistence that there were no such things as coincidences didn't help his state of mind much either.

Whether it's coincidence or the will of the Force, this is seriously bugging me. Vader sulked as he closed his eyes. But enough with that, it's time to go to sleep…