Title: Day Into Night
Author: Fierce N Feisty
Description: This is my interpretation of how Amidala and Anakin's relationship progresses from love to lost hope. I'm sure George Lucas has a whole different approach, which we will see in the next few Star Wars prequels. In the meantime…Enjoy my take on it!
Disclaimer Stuff: I do not own these characters, places, etc. – They are the property of George Lucas, Lucasfilms, Ltd., etc. etc. No money was made from these stories, so please don't sue me.
Part I: The Reunion (10 Years after The Phantom Menace)
Ten years, an entire decade, had passed since he saw her last. It felt more like a lifetime. He had been so young, a different person, when she walked into that dusty Tatooine shop and into his life. He had asked in boyish wonder if she was an angel. She had smiled at him quizzically, not quite sure how to answer this sandy-haired child with a curiously earnest expression in his blue eyes. He had been naïve, untrained, inexperienced in matters outside of his narrow existence. Yet he knew, in that moment, that there was something special about her. Something that reached out and grabbed hold of his thoughts, his feelings. He couldn't explain it, or put a name to it. Yet, in his nine-year-old mind, he knew that he was somehow connected to this beautiful stranger in a way that he had never been to his mother, or his friends. It was as if he had suddenly found a part of himself that he never knew was missing.
Amidala had been Queen back then, the newly elected leader of Naboo. He had been a slave. Her station could not have been further from his own. Yet, she did not speak to him as mere property, or even as a child. She treated him as an equal. She had cheered him to victory in the Boonta Eve pod race, had comforted him that first night away from his mother, had watched as he entered the Academy and took his first steps towards becoming a Jedi. And always – always – she had made him feel as if where he belonged was right there with her.
Much had happened in those ten years. He had grown from padawan learner to apprentice, his training every day re-shaping his body and mind towards learning the will of the Force. He had learned much from his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the rest of the Jedi Council. He had replaced wide-eyed wonder with unflappable calm. He had grown in stature, in strength, in wisdom, and while he still had much to learn, he was far from the boy he once was.
She had changed, too. From the reports he got at the Academy, he learned that she had retired as Queen and had made a successful bid for the Senate. After defeating the Trade Federation, Amidala had turned her attention to making sure threats of that kind would never again affect her people. She worked hard, and made sure her actions were carefully planned, effective, and fair. Only 24 years of age, and she was already a well-respected political power in the Republic.
Ten years of changes. Ten years of growing up. Ten years of separation. And yet, Anakin still felt for Amidala the way he felt back then. He felt his connection to her as strongly now as he did back then. Not a day had passed when he had not thought of her and wondered with great hope if he would ever see her again. Did she feel the same way? Did she remember the slave-turned-padawan who held her in such high esteem? Did she ever hope, as he did, that their paths would one day cross again? Was she glad now that it seemed inevitable that they would?
Anakin turned from the viewport of the Nobility. Only 10 more standard hours before they reached Coruscant. It wouldn't be long now before he found the answers to all those questions clouding his mind. It wouldn't be long at all.
* * *
Padme Amidala awoke with the expectation that it would be a normal day. She had not fully roused herself from sleep when her mind began to swim with all of the meetings and negotiations that were on the agenda. Her time was short in comparison to all of the tasks that she had to accomplish before the day was over.
Amidala sighed and rolled out of bed, dressing quickly so that little of that precious time would be lost. She smiled ruefully at the thought of how long it used to take her to dress, back when she wore the heavy gowns and make-up of a Queen. The simple, loose gown she now wore was far more practical and better suited to her duties as a Senator.
She was minutes away from rushing from her suite to meet Bail Organa, the Senator from Alderaan, when Sabe informed her that she had a visitor. Amidala faced Sabe, the only handmaiden she had retained from her reign as Queen, and bit back the words that would quickly send this new intrusion away. But something stopped her – something inside of her whispered to have patience, that this was an interruption she would not regret.
"Show the visitor in," she conceded, almost succeeding in hiding the irritation from her voice. Sabe left to usher the guest into her chambers. Amidala was not prepared for who she brought back with her.
The man standing there was tall, nearly a head taller than herself. He was young, his steady blue eyes sparkling with a hint of mischievous mirth. Sandy blond hair was cropped short at the crown of his head, with a single braid falling past his shoulders and down his back. He wore the clothes of a Jedi Knight: earth-colored tunic and dark boots partially hidden by the folds of his brown robe. The silver hilt of a lightsaber glinted from his belt.
The young man smiled when he saw her. There was warmth and hope in that smile, along with an enthusiastic excitement too great to hide. It had been so many years since she had last seen that smile, yet there was no mistaking who it belonged to. All the time in the galaxy could not erase from her mind the boy inside of the man who now stood before her.
She laughed, the sound bubbling from deep inside her. It had been awhile since she had heard herself laugh, and it sounded strange in her ears, yet intensely comforting. Instantly, the Senate meetings and politicians vying for her time faded from her mind, like the morning mist of her home planet melting away under the warmth of the rising sun. She no longer felt old, or tired, or pulled into a thousand directions at once. She no longer felt like Senator Amidala, representative of Naboo. For in Anakin Skywalker's presence, she was simply Padme. His Padme.
Amidala closed the distance between them quickly, grasping his hand in her own. She could see her own joy mirrored in his eyes. "Ani, You've come back to me," she breathed.
Anakin's smile grew. "You knew I would," he responded, clutching tightly to her hand.
* * *
They talked for what seemed like hours, when, in reality, was only a few minutes. Their words came easily, and it was as if they had never parted. The connection that had been established so long ago had not been severed by time and distance.
Anakin told her of his training, how he was nearly finished, and that any day now, he would face the trials required to become a full Jedi Knight. He spoke of Obi-Wan Kenobi as a kind, fair master who had taught him much, and added wistfully that Qui-Gon Jinn would have been proud of his apprentice.
Amidala smiled and replied that Qui-Gon would have been proud of him, as well. "I know I am," she added. Her compliment set him blushing. He tried to act modest, but inside, he beamed like the nine-year-old boy that had won her heart on that wind-swept desert.
Anakin turned the conversation to her, wanting to know everything that had happened since they last met. He congratulated her on her election to the Senate, saying that it was quite an honor to be the youngest person ever to serve in such a position. He listened with concern as she spoke of her struggles with certain members of the Senate, and her commitment to limit their ever-increasing power.
"But, enough of that." Amidala brushed the topic aside with a lighthearted smile. "I want to hear all about the Academy, and your missions."
"Senator," a small voice interrupted insistently, but not unkindly. It was Sabe, holding out a datapad to Amidala. "Organa is waiting for you."
Amidala sighed. "Please, Padme," Anakin interceded. "We can catch up at a more convenient time. I have only just arrived, and have no plans to leave in the near future." He smiled tenderly, and almost shyly. "I just wanted to see you as soon as I could."
Amidala returned the smile. "Yes, Ani. Soon. We will meet again soon." She released his hand, which she only now realized she had still been holding. It was if she had wanted to keep him there with her, to make sure that he was safely anchored in reality, and not a dream ready to vanish into the air.
He gave her one last look, and was gone. She felt light, free from the burdens that weighed heavy only moments before. Somehow, everything seemed perfectly in place when Ani was near.