Disclaimer: They all belong to George Lucas. I just didn't like the way it turned out. :) So I decided to have a bit of fun. Enjoy. This is set right into the end of The Phantom Menace, which, on some levels, did not have a happy ending.
Written In the Stars
Eight
Padme could hear the voice, a tiny voice, a little girl, calling out, crying. She lay awake on her cot in the tiny house she and her handmaidens shared with the two Jedi on the miserable planet. The only other sounds she could hear was the soft rustle of blankets as Sabe slept restlessly, and their breathing. Other than that, there were the barely audible sounds of Siri and Obi-Wan talking, as they did so often late into the night.
Padme slipped from the bed, taking care not to wake the other two sleeping girls as she slipped from the room. In the living area, she saw Obi-Wan and Siri talking, their faces turned away from the doorway. Padme walked out the door, searching for the voice.
"Mommy," the girl said again, and Padme hurried toward the sounds.
Padme skidded to a stop as the scene unfolded before her.
The little girl was curled against her mother's side, crying. The mother's skin was pale, grayish, and her lips were blue. Dead, though not long. Padme suddenly felt as though a hand were wrapped around her heart, squeezing, and tears filled her eyes. The little girl was so, so young.
Padme walked over and knelt beside the little girl, tucking a strand of dark hair out of her face. The little girl looked up at her with a pale face, dirty and streaked with tears. Padme reached out her hand to the little girl. The girl looked at Padme with wide, bright green eyes. Startling eyes.
"It's okay, sweetie," Padme said, still holding out her hand. The little girl slowly reached out her hand and took Padme's.
"Mommy won't wake up," the little girl said.
"I know," Padme said.
"I'm scared," the girl said.
"I'll keep you safe," Padme said, and she picked the little girl up in her arms, and carried her back to the tiny house. As she entered, the little girl's dangling leg knocked a light from a table. It crashed to the floor and shattered. The little girl started to cry.
"Shh," Padme said, stroking the little girl's hair.
Obi-Wan and Siri came into the room. Both Jedi froze when they saw Padme and the little girl. Siri strode across the room and tipped the little girl's face up so that she could see it.
"Hello," she said. The girl sniffled and said nothing. "What's your name?" Siri asked.
"A'shera," the little girl told her, reaching up one hand to wipe at her nose. Obi-Wan came up behind them, and touched the girl's arm gently.
"I'm Siri," Siri told her. "And this is Obi-Wan," she said. Padme looked at both of them. Something was going on that she didn't understand, as Obi-Wan and Siri stared at each other across the top of the child's head. She saw Obi-Wan's lips form the words.
"Force-sensitive," he said.
"Not for sure." Siri said. Padme looked back and forth between their faces.
"Her mother…" Padme said. Obi-Wan nodded his head.
There was a very hard knock on the door at that moment. Padme almost jumped out of her skin, and A'shera started to cry. She buried her face in the Naboo queen's neck, and Padme rubbed her back gently.
"Siri, go in the other room, make sure the handmaidens stay quiet. Keep yourself and them out of sight. I'll take care of this," Obi-Wan said.
"I've always loved the way you consult me before you make decisions on missions," Siri said, her voice filled with ice. Obi-Wan gave her a sarcastic little smile.
"Go," he said. He looked at Padme. "Just play along, okay? Pretend she's our daughter."
Obi-Wan went and opened the door, looking out into the night at the civil policemen.
"We need to search the house, sir. There's a city-wide search on," the officer said.
"By all means, sir," Obi-Wan said, holding the door open for the men. "Please try not to scare my daughter. She's not feeling well."
The officers nodded and began their search of the house, Obi-Wan trailing after them, watching, his heart pounding in his throat with no amount of Force training to calm his insides.