Chapter 11

She was sore when she woke up. It felt similar to the day after a hard ride on one of the more stubborn horses at the Royal Stables and yet… it felt like so much more than just tired muscles. Her cheeks blushed as she felt a fluttering in her chest as she recalled last night. She snuggled deeper into the pillow on her bed. Bed… when had she… she couldn't remember making it back to her bedroom. Her eyes slowly opened and watched as the familiar sheer white drapes danced in the morning breeze. Padme sat up slowly, pulling the comforter around her naked body as she looked around the room. Anakin wasn't in the bed beside her, and yet the other side of the bed clearly looked as if one had slept there. The pillow had long since gone cold but his scent remained. The door leading to terrace that was normally closed stood wide open.

Padme stretched as she rolled out of bed, pulling on a blue woven robe with bronze patterned seams along the shoulders and sleeves before heading through the open door. She found him in the center of the terrace, sitting on a metal garden chair clad in a loose pair of pants. His body was hunched over his knees as he whittled with a carving knife and a piece of pale wood. He didn't seem to notice her as she approached and watched as he was so deeply focused on his task of carving designs into the wood. She didn't recognize any of the markings, or what exactly he was making, but it was amazing to watch him work. The way his brow crinkled as he carefully sliced a chunk of wood from the side, or how he slowly ran his thumbs over the edges to brush away the small sprigs of wood that stubbornly clung to the piece. God he was beautiful.

Unable to help herself, she closed the distance between them and placed her hands gently on his shoulders and slid them down his chest and then wrapped them around his neck as she leaned her head against his. Padme felt him smile as she placed a light kiss to his cheek. "What're you working on?" She asked.

He looked back down at the small piece of wood in his hands and blew the dust out of one of the patterns he had finished before taking a thin strip of leather and fed it through a hole he had made in the top of the hourglass shape. He tied the two ends of leather into a tight knot before holding it up for her inspection. "I… I made this for you," He said, turning his body party to look at her. Padme took it in her hand and traced the lines that led from the corners towards the center where a square was carved. "The markings are from an impression my mom saw when she was working in Tunisia," He said. "The original piece was made of gold, not wood. But… it was rumored to have been a gift from a wiseman from a far away land to grant good fortune to whoever wore it." He bit his lip as he gave a small shrug, "I'm not exactly a master carpenter but—"

"It's beautiful," Padme cut him off, leaning down to kiss him lightly. He sighed into the kiss and before she could pull away, he coaxed her into another kiss, and then another, and another. "Anakin…" She laughed.

"One more," He said, kissing her for a final time and taking her hand in his. "Things are going to be so dull when I have to go back to Coruscant."

Padme scoffed and stood back to her normal height, "Doubt it'll be as dull as what I go back to." Anakin followed suit and stood up with her. "Theres a state dinner with officials from Sweden and Denmark in three days, so that means once we get back, I need to go to fittings for an evening gown, meet with a few tutors to brush up on my Swedish and Danish skills, not to mention memorizing names and faces, and current events for each country."

Anakin stared blankly at her and shook his head, "I can see why your sister would need to know that stuff…" He started. "But, why do you need to do all that work?"

"Because people are complicated and sometimes other members of the family need to step in to serve the needs of the monarch and the country," She answered. "Not to mention it just makes conversations more interesting especially since there are some things we just don't talk about during these formal functions."

He nodded slowly in understanding but still let out an exhausted sigh, "I can't imagine how I would manage doing that kind of stuff as often as you," He remarked.

"You work for an ambassador."

He smiled, "Yes, and most of the time it is a simple nine-to-five deal. I've only been to a handful of formal events and most of the time I'm just there to take notes and keep my boss on schedule. No one ever talks to me."

"I did."

Anakin hummed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Yes, you did. And I'm pretty sure I'm due for a promotion when I get back."

"And why's that?"

He shrugged, "Well, I was of a mind that relations between Coruscant and Naboo were… greatly improved by our… negotiations."

"Were you now?" She asked, her arms sliding up his chest to wrap around his neck. "Because I was thinking that… while great strides were made… they left me a little… underwhelmed.?"

His eyes went wide as his jaw dropped, incredulous of her claim. "Seriously!?"

She gave a half shrug and tilted her head slightly. "Unless I was misunderstanding. In that case… maybe it would do us well to… go over it again."

Anakin let out a growl as his hands slid down her thighs and hoisted her up, allowing her legs to wrap around his waist. His lips found hers as he kissed her once again. "I'll go over it as many times as you need." Their lips clashed together, as she sighed into him and he carried her all the way back into her bedroom.

This was ridiculous. How is it that even as a grown adult, with the power of a Queen, Sola still found herself intimidated whenever her mother called her in for a private lunch? Seated across from one another in her mother's private dining room, not a word passed between them as the elder of the two flipped through the pages of one newspaper, and then another. That was never a good sign. "Wasn't it in 1458 when the law permitted defense attorneys to be present during interrogations?" Sola asked.

"52, actually. Why'd you want to know that?" Her mother asked.

She shrugged, "Because I'm not really sure why I'm here."

"You're here for lunch." She answered. "And I wanted to commend you on your opening of the children's home. You composed yourself very well… your father would have been proud."

Sola beamed at the high praise and smiled.

Her mother glanced back down at the newspapers and sighed. "However," She started, folding the paper in half and passing it over to allow her to read the article. "It seems not everyone is singing you praise." In the middle of the page just under the article on the children's home, was a critical response to the operation. It featured an interview with one Darred Janren. "It seems he is of the opinion that the contracted work was shoddy and on the verge of being condemned within a year."

Sola shook her head and dropped the paper on the table. "Well, he's one person. And I have assurance from the contractors that only the best was used for the construction." What was it with this guy and trying to ruin all her hard work? And all this just because she turned down his offer. Ridiculous.

Her mother shook her head, "He's spoken with reporters from three major papers, as well as a handful of magazines," She said. "It hasn't reached the major news stations. Yet. So, my advise is to contain it."

"Contain it?"

She nodded, "Yes. Keep it from becoming big news. Find a way to appease him and those who agree with him so that this story dies. Right now, people are proud of the completion of your father's last great work. We cannot let that turn into questions of your role in the construction, or worse, your father's."

Sola nodded and looked down at the paper where the article title seemed to glare at her. "So, you'd have me reach out to this guy and figure out what will make him shut up?"

Her mother shrugged, "Maybe be a bit more eloquent in the request, but ultimately, yes." She said. "Think of this as an early lesson," She started. "Not everyone will like you, and for most of them you can just ignore the critics. But every once in awhile, you will need to find a way to get ahead of them and prove that their claims are utterly false."

She sighed and nodded, "I'll have my staff reach out to him and arrange for him to visit the palace then." She was not looking forward to this.