"Aw Man! I thought the Jedi was gonna chop the guy in
half with his lightsaber!" Jacen said disappointed once again.
The twins were wide awake
again, but little Anakin was still fast asleep.
"No Jacen! Jedi only battle if they have to," Jaina
disagreed.
"Says who!"
"Uncle Luke. He told me when we went to the Jedi Temple!"
"If I had a real lightsaber
I'd take all those guys and slice 'em," Jacen said as he jumped up and grabbed
his plastic lightsaber from under his bed.
"They'd beat you up first!"
Jaina teased.
"No they wouldn't!"
"Yes they would!"
"I could beat you
anyday!" Jacen gave her a dirty look.
"Jacen, sit down!" Leia
yelled.
"I'd like to see you try!"
Jaina yelled back.
"I'll take that bet!"
Jaina grabbed her lightsaber
and both twins started dueling jumping from bed to bed.
"Children! Get down…" Leia scolded.
The were too busy dueling
and ignored her, Anakin was awake from their yelling and was hiding under the
covers.
"Jaina, Jacen…Stop NOW!"
Leia yelled, causing both twins to stop.
"Yes mom," they said
together.
They put their lightsabers
back under their bed and crawled into their beds and turned towards Sabe.
"Are you sure you want to
continue tomorrow night?" Sabe asked.
"No!" Jacen said.
"All right. Now where were we? Ah yes. The queen was
sleeping, but was waken by a door opening…"
Amidala got out of bed, not
making a sound, and grabbed her royal pistol. She could have sworn she heard the front door open. But who could it be? She crept toward the door and it slid open.
"Who are you!" she said
pointing her pistol at the hooded figure.
"It's Sabe your highness,"
replied her handmaiden.
Amidala put the pistol aside
and recognized the dark purple robes Sabe wore. The queen let out a sigh of relief.
"Sabe you scared me,"
Amidala said, and let out a smile.
"I'm sorry your highness,"
Sabe said quietly.
"It's all right. Come in my room, I won't be able to fall
asleep now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, come on," Amidala
took her arm and led her friend into her bedroom.
Once the door was closed
Sabe took off her hood and sat in one of the big coushion chairs.
"Sorry for waking you up
Padme. I tried to be quiet."
Sabe and Amidala have been
best friends since they were little. They had gone to school together and trained together. When they were alone Sabe called Amidala by
her less formal name, Padme.
"It's okay, relax. What were you doing anyway?"
"I took a walk around the
city," Sabe said guiltily.
"Really! What was it like?" Padme said
excitedly. As queen she couldn't go off
as she pleased, so she wanted to know everything she could.
Sabe told her about the bar,
and about the Cantina Medley, the metal tasting water, all the different
people, and of her troubles with the Coruscant workers.
"How did you get away from
them…alive?" Padme said relieved her friend wasn't hurt.
"You'll never believe me."
"Yes I will!! Tell me!"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin
Skywalker saved me and brought me back here," Sabe looked at her friend's
shocked face.
"Obi-Wan…and…Anakin? Our Anakin?" she said, almost whispering.
"Yes, but they didn't know
it was me, my hood was covering my face, or at least I think they didn't," Sabe
replied.
"I can't believe it! Did you know it was them right away?"
"No, not until they
introduced themselves. I barely recognized
Anakin!"
Padme asked all kinds of
questions about what Anakin looked like.
"I'll tell you one thing,"
Sabe said. "He's not a little boy any
more."
They talked a little bit
more but Sabe was yawning every two minutes.
"I'd be tired too. Sounds like you had an exciting night, going
to a bar and being rescued by Jedi," Padme said teasingly. Sabe turned bright pink.
"Good night Pad."
"'Night Sabe."
Padme had trouble falling
back to sleep. Her mind wandered back
to Obi-Wan and Anakin. She hadn't seen them
in years, it had been so long. Even
though their time had been short, she had never forgotten them. Padme wished she had kept in touch with
Anakin, but she was always so busy. He
probably was too, he probably had forgotten all about her by now. It was like they had met yesterday, a little
boy offering their group shelter from the sand storm. He volunteered to help them, by entering a pod race. Qui-Gon trusted him completely. Qui-Gon…she missed him also. He was always kind. Anakin was a nice kid. Padme couldn't imagine him as a young
man…what did he look like?
The sky was turning gray;
the sun would rise soon. Padme drifted
off to sleep, remembering when she and Anakin first met.
"Are you an angel?" Anakin
found himself asking the pretty girl that had entered the shop.
"What?" she smiled.
"An angel. They're the most beautiful creatures in the
world. They live on the moons of Iego,
I think."
"You're a funny little boy,"
she laughed. Her laugh…it sounded
beautiful. "How do you know so much?"
"I listen to all the traders
and deep space pilots, I'm a pilot you know?"
"A pilot?"
"Yep, all my life," he
bragged.
They kept talking until the
tall man returned from the back.
"I'm glad to have met you
Anakin," she smiled before she went out the entrance.
"I was glad to meet you
too," he called after her.
Anakin opened his eyes and
looked around his dimly lit room. The
sun was at the horizon, causing the sky to be an orange, pink. He slowly got out of bed and put on a clean
tunic. He was sure his master was
already up and about, probably meditating. Anakin dreaded his daily chores that were waiting for him. After that came lessons, exercising and
dueling. He practically had every move
and every lesson memorized in his head. But this was the life of the average padawan, he was used to it after
ten years. Anakin hooked his lightsaber
on his belt and slipped into his brown cloak, ready for the day ahead.
When he stepped into the
common room, Obi-Wan was already dressed and meditating in the middle of the
room. He didn't want to disturb his
master, so Anakin quietly walked toward the door.
"Good morning Padawan,"
Obi-Wan said from behind him.
"Morning Master," Anakin
replied turning around. Obi-Wan looked
out the window and saw the sun slowly rising.
"What are you doing up this
early? Usually I have to pry you away
from your bed," his master said with a soft chuckle.
"No particular reason," was
his reply.
What was he doing up
this early? Anakin had had a dream, but
what was it? He had focused on his
chores and forgot about it. He stood
there for a few moments until the last words came to him…'I am glad to have
met you Anakin…'
"Are you okay?" Obi-Wan
asked.
"Uh…fine master. I was just thinking of a dream I had last
night."
"Do you want to talk about
it?"
"No that's alright. It was just a dream."
"Well," his master replied
getting up and picking up his cloak from a chair. "Let's start your lessons."
"Yes Master." Both jedi left their living quarters and
walked through the quiet Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan was talking about techniques and different dueling moves but
Anakin's mind was elsewhere. He
wondered what his angel was doing right now.
Amidala was awakened by
Sabe. She was fully dressed in emerald
green robes. The queen could hear Rabe
and Eirate walking in and out of rooms. What time is it? she wondered.
"Your highness?" Sabe said
quietly.
"What time is it?" Amidala
asked groggily.
"Your highness, you must
hurry. Chancellor Palpatine expects you
in two hours," Sabe explained.
"Two hours?! Sabe can't you take my place?"
Sabe made sure Rabe and
Eirate were out of earshot until she answered her friend.
"Padme get up! You're the Queen of Naboo for Force's
sake! I can't do everthing for you!"
"You're right, I'm sorry,"
Amidala untangled herself from her covers and climbed out of bed. "I was just in the middle of a dream."
"What about?"
Amidala stood there. "I don't remember."
Sabe rolled her eyes and
sighed. "And they elected you to
be a queen?"
"When did the Chancellor
call?" the queen asked, changing the subject.
"A few minutes ago."
"Well," Amidala sighed as
she sat infront of a mirror. "I guess I
should start getting ready. So tell me,
what crazy hair designs are you going to attempt today?"
"I dunno, something
different," Sabe said.
After an hour of making her
hair perfect, forty-five minutes getting dressed, and the last fifteen minutes
of applying the traditional make-up, Queen Amidala was ready and walking
towards Chancellor Palpatine's quarters followed by Rabe and Eirate. Sabe kept her hair simple by curling it and
pinning half of it up with silver chopsticks. Her dress was purple, with a high neck and long sleeves. The edges of the sleeves and bottom of the
dress were embroidered with silver thread and rhindstones. And of course her sign, small and silver,
was at the bottom of her skirt between the embroidery.
"Good morning your
highness. You look lovely today," the
chancellor smiled and gestured for her to sit down.
"Chancellor did you find the
leader of the attacks?" Amidala asked getting straight to the point.
"Uh…no your majesty," the
chancellor hesitantly.
Queen Amidala sighed.
"Not to worry, we will find
out soon."
"You said that last week,
when the attacks first started," Queen Amidala replied, getting angry.
"Yes, well, we have been
working and trying to solve this mystery. But unfortunately we have had no luck," Chancellor Palpatine's smile was
fading away.
Stay calm Amidala…don't
go crazy, she told herself.
"These attacks are growing
worse, I must return home soon."
"Your majesty, I believe it
would be wiser to stay here in the Senate. No harm will come to you here, I cannot say the same if you return
home."
"Chancellor, the attacks are
killing innocent people…our people. I
should be with them, protecting them, not hiding for fear of my life. They need me, and I refuse to stay here if
their suffering continues. I will only
be on Coruscant for a few more days, but I will go back to Naboo, my
place is with my people," Amidala, furious, walked towards the door.
"But…y-your highness…"
Chancellor Palpatine wanted to say something, to persuade her that they were
trying, but he couldn't find the words.
"If there is any news,
inform my handmaidens, they will find me," she kept looking forward as she said
this and left the room. When she
returned to her quarters she told Sabe what the chancellor had said.
"Can you believe him?! I mean…what does he expect me to do? Ignore the people!!!"
"He might be right Pad. You just made it out alive, you can't go
back. You'll be killed," Sabe
disagreed.
"But I can't stay here! What about home? People are dying! What
will they say if I'm here, safe while they are suffering?"
"What good will it be for
them if you are dead? It won't help
them," Sabe said, Padme would agree, but she was unsure if Amidala would.
"I can't leave them."
"Stop being stubborn!!" Sabe
yelled. Amidala gave her a surprising
look. "Nothing good will come if you go
back, I know you don't want to be here, neither do I, but we have to deal with
it. At least here you can do something,
get help from the Senate, they will help. You know Chancellor Palpatine will."
"I'm sorry. You're right, that would be better. It's just…" her voice trailed off as tears
entered the corner of her eyes.
Sabe walked over and hugged
Amidala. "I know," she whispered. There was silence. Neither talked for a long time. Finaly Amidala spoke.
"Sabe…what am I going to do?"
"You will get passed this,
your highness. You always break
through. But for the time being, all
you can do is show a brave face," Sabe smiled.
"Thank you," Amidala
whispered.
