Padmé Amidala groaned as she rubbed her temple, trying her hardest to ignore the headache that was blossoming behind her eyes as she searched for her most recent memory.

She remembered being in the Senate. There had been a hearing scheduled for that day— something about the Separatist movements in the Outer Rim. She remembered the Chancellor giving a speech and then—

Nothing.

She rose to her feet, taking a moment to check her surroundings. She was on a ship—not her own, and not one that she recognized either. She could feel the hum of the hyperdrive beneath her, which meant that she was in space. Which also meant that she was not on Coruscant.

"Hello?" she called out, reaching instinctively for her blaster only to find it gone. She inhaled sharply, realizing the extent of the danger she was in.

Don't panic, she told herself as she checked her surroundings once more. She was in a room, small and cluttered with useless things. Do not panic.

She made her way out of the room, glad to find that the door was not locked. She ventured into a corridor, her movements cautious and her eyes sweeping for any sign that she was not alone.

"Hello?" she called again, keeping her voice calm and steady. "Is anyone there?"

Padmé kept her steps as light as she could as she made her way down the narrow and winding corridor, her hands brushing against the wall. She half expected someone to come walking out, but the only footsteps that she could hear were her own. Save for herself, Padmé appeared to be the only person there.

What was she doing there?

Her memory was too unreliable to tell her. She couldn't explain how she had gone from a Senate hearing on Coruscant to waking up on this strange and unfamiliar ship— nor could she explain her reason for being there. She must've been kidnapped. It was the only explanation. But if that was the case, then how—?

Her memory tugged at her. Distantly, she could hear a panicked voice urging her to move quickly as blaster shots filled the air around her. There were other voices too, desperate and scared as a familiar hissing sound filled their ears followed by a red glow…

The red glow of a lightsaber.

Her eyes widened as she felt her stomach drop. The sound of approaching footsteps filled her ears as she once again found herself reaching for her blaster, only to remember that it was gone- confiscated by her abductor. She would have to make do without.

The footsteps grew louder as she ducked behind one of the adjacent walls, her hands curling into a fist as she mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen. She knew she was no match against a trained Sith, but that didn't mean she was going to go down without a fight.

A figure made its way into the hallway. She couldn't see them from where she was, but she could see their shadow from her hiding spot. She watched as they came to a stop, their footsteps ending abruptly as silence filled the air.

"I know you're there," came an unfamiliar female voice. It wasn't Ventress's— the tone was much too soft, but still goading. "And I know what you're trying to do."

"And what's that?" Padmé asked, keeping her voice as regal and as senatorial as possible. She wasn't about to show her captor any weakness.

"You're trying to escape," she answered before adding; "it won't work."

There was a moment of silence as Padmé considered her options. Not that she had very many to begin with seeing as she had no weapons or Force abilities to protect herself with.

"I know you must be very confused," the woman continued. "I can answer your questions if you come out."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because you don't have any other choice," was the scathing response. "And I am beginning to lose my patience."

Padmé wanted to scoff at that, but she knew that wasn't going to get her anywhere. She was weaponless, and alone… If she wanted to make it out of this alive, she would need to cooperate and bid her time. This was not the worse situation she had ever been in— nor would it be her last.

Slowly, and with the grace befitting of a Queen and a Senator, she stepped out into the hallway. It took her a few moments to fully meet the other woman's eye, but when she did, Padmé couldn't help but do a double-take.

She was younger than she had been expecting, dressed almost entirely in black save for the red cape that flowed behind her— an elegant touch to an otherwise utilitarian outfit. Her brown hair was intricately braided, even more so than Padmé usually wore hers, and her face, although young and pretty, was marred by a scar that ran down the length of her left eyebrow. Her eyes were yellow— cold and gleaming as Padmé felt a shiver run up the length of her spine.

"Ah, there you are Senator," she smiled as she catches her gaze and oddly enough, Padmé is suddenly and very oddly reminded of her husband— of someone who was battle-hardened and scarred by war. Someone who had seen and done terrible things.

There was a moment of silence as the two of them stared at each other, sizing each other up; calculating.

"Who are you?" Padmé finds herself asking. Of all the people who had it out for her, Padm was surprised to find that she did not recognize this woman at all. "Where am I? Did you kidnap me?"

"You're on my ship," she says, leaning casually against the wall. "And yes, I suppose you could say I kidnapped you," she shook her head before adding; "not that it was hard. For someone as high profile as you, kidnapping you was much easier than I thought it would be."

Padmé ignored the backhanded remark that was directed towards her security team as well as her handmaidens. She would rather not think about what had happened to them… At least, not until she was safely back on Coruscant.

"The Jedi won't let you get away with this," she said, using her Queen voice before adding; "kidnapping a Senator of the High Republic—"

"The Jedi don't scare me," was her brutally honest response. "And neither do you, Senator."

"How did you get past my security team?" she asked. "My handmaidens—"

"Your security team was no match for the power of the dark side," she said as a knot began to form in Padmé's stomach. "As for your precious handmaidens, they are still alive. Your Captain, however…" she trailed off as Padmé inhaled sharply.

No, she thought. Not Typho. Please…

"He… He's dead?" the words felt as hollow as Padmé felt.

"Along with a few Clones," there was no remorse in the woman's voice. None at all. "Although, if it's of any consolation, I wasn't trying to kill him," she said before adding; "he just didn't know when to quit."

"You murdered him," she gasped. "He— he was trying to protect me and you—"

"I did what I had to," she said. "I'm not proud of it, but I made a choice."

"That's not a choice," hissed Padmé. "Gregor Typho and those Clones were just doing their jobs."

"I had my reasons," said the woman. "Not that it matters anyway. When I finish what I came here to do, I will have saved billions of lives. Their deaths are— inconsequential."

Padmé stared at her as if she had grown two heads, which she might've just done. This woman was mad… And dangerous.

"You'll pay for this," sneered Padmé. "The Jedi will find you and when they do—"

"They'll what? Hunt me down?" asked the woman, pushing herself off the wall to stand in front of her. She's shorter than Padmé by a few good inches— not that it makes her any less intimidating. "Good. I am quite looking forward to meeting General Skywalker. I hear your husband is a good fighter— they call him the Hero with No Fear do they not?"

Padmé paled. "Husband?" she choked.

No, no, no

"Yes, your husband," said the woman. "You know, the one you married in secret on Naboo about—" she paused as if calculating something in her head before adding; "two years ago."

She didn't say anything— couldn't say anything. The breath had been stolen out of her lungs.

"What? You thought you could keep your little marriage a secret forever?" she says, her words slicing and cutting like a lightsaber as she gives Padmé a cunning smile. "Surely you are not that naïve, Senator."

"Who are you?" Padmé asks at last, voice cracking. She had wanted to give this strange woman the full force of her Senatorial voice, but her words are weak, and they carry almost no weight behind them, and she knows it. "How do you know—"

"How do I know about you and Anakin?" she asks, running her finger across the panels in the durasteel wall as she eyed the Nabooian Senator, her yellow eyes never quite leaving Padmé's brown ones as she took a few languid steps closer to her. It takes almost all of Padmé's strength not to take a step back as she finds the woman's face only a few inches away from her own, her breath tickling at her skin.

"You're very beautiful," she says at last, yellow eyes still peering up at her she soaked in her appearance. Her voice is soft now— full of something that makes the Senator uncomfortable. "Just like he described."

"Who are you talking about?" she asks as the woman pursed her lips. "Who is this he?"

"My father," she took a few steps away from her, the curiosity melting into cold indifference. "My biological father… He always told me you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Like the Angels on the moons of Iego."

At that, Padmé is almost certain that the ground beneath her has disappeared. She can feel her stomach twist, the woman's words echoing in her head along with that of her husband, childlike and so full of wonder.

"I never understood why he would describe someone in such a way," she said before adding; "but now, I can see why."

"What do you want?" rasped Padmé, voice still cracking. She's trying so hard to keep her composure— to not let it fall and shatter around her like glass.

She watched as her daughter— hers and Anakin's daughter— reached into her pocket and fished out a comm before tossing it to her. Reflexively, she caught it as she stared down at it, unable to meet the beady yellow eyes that were still fixed on her.

"I want you to make a call."

AN: I have the first 9 chapters written and I will be uploading them here. Currently, I am planning on about 15-17 chapters in total, so I'm about halfway done already. The next chapter will be posted tomorrow, so if you liked this first chapter keep an eye out for it :)

Hope you enjoyed it and don't be shy to tell me what you thought!