"Bail, wake up. Bail, please,"
Padme plead, eventually having to drag the heavy body from the speeder,
though Organa's weight was too much to carry for Padme's light frame.
Finally one of the Jedi noticed, a
Twi'lek who looked no bigger than Padme herself, but could carry the Viceroy
of Alderaan with surprising ease. Once he was up the stairs, two
other Jedi appeared to help carry Bail away.
"Don't worry, Senator," the Twi'lek
assured her, "We'll heal him."
"You know who I am?" she asked incredulously.
Jedi, though often involved in politics,
could not be expected to keep track of every member of the Imperial Senate,
especially at a time when they were so unimportant.
"I think all Jedi know about you,
Senator," she replied with a laugh, "The way Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan
Kenobi speak of you. Come, I will take you to the Jedi Council.
You wish to speak with them, do you not?"
She nodded, hoping her mind was not
that easy to read. Padme didn't want them sensing Anakin on her mind.
Luckily for her, the temple seemed empty, and the Jedi that were there
were too busy to notice a stray Senator in their midst. Even the
Twi'lek seemed concentrating on something else as she led Padme through
the winding passages of the temple.
The woman stopped in front of an unobtrusive,
plain door, and smiled.
"Here, Senator. They expect
you."
"Thank you, Jedi Mistress," she replied
respectfully, watching the woman's long tentacles sway as she hurried down
the hallway.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped
towards the door. It opened with a noisy swoosh, revealing each of
the members of the Jedi council, sitting peacefully in a semicircle, saying
nothing as she approached them.
"Good to see you well it is, Senator,"
Yoda said, "Anakin Skywalker I'm sure you are eager to see."
Was there a double meaning there?
No, certainly not. If their marriage had been discovered, Anakin
would have been rejected as a Jedi Padawan long ago. Still, she guarded
her statements, eyeing the council suspiciously. They could read
minds, she reminded herself.
"Fine and well your friend will be,"
he added.
"What happened, Senator?"
A smile played at her lips as she
realized how absurd she would sound. Well, Master Yoda, Master Windu,
I think the respected leader of the Republic tried to kill Bail Organa
and I because we disagreed with one of his decisions. Then I hijacked
a speeder and carried him up the steps because he was unconscious, and
was hoping my husband, whom I haven't seen in nearly six months, would
help me, and instead, got plopped in the middle of the best mind-readers
in the Galaxy. My handmaiden has disappeared, I have no way of getting
my other one here, and I'm pretty certain that I'm no longer a Senator,
or have any sort of job for that matter. She felt pinpricks at her
eyes, and had to concentrate just to keep breathing in and out in a regular
rhythm.
"Upset and confused you are," Yoda
murmured, "And danger I see. To a room, show her, and speak later
we will, Senator."
One of the female Jedi stood, smiling,
and led her out the door. The unlikely example of affection caused
Amidala's eyes to prickle as she left the room, feeling like a helpless
child, and embarrassing herself in front of the entire Jedi council.
"Behind this I fear the Sith are,"
Yoda murmured, his brow furrowing, "Protect Organa and Amidala we must."
Mace Windu nodded wisely, knowing
the chances were that Master Yoda was correct.
()()()