DISCLAIMER: All the Star Wars characters mentioned anywhere in this story belong to George Lucas. Not me. I'm just a lowly concession/cashier/usher girl who wants to write stories. So ha.

~*~Night before TPM~*~

The night was silent as the servant girl walked along the halls of the Nubian Palace. Servant girl? It was more like handmaiden. Yes, she was a servant, but a servant of high power. Not like the kitchen girl…gardener's daughter… Not like any of those.

Just as quietly as she had been moving along the halls of her home, she ducked into one of the gardens frequented by the Queen and her closest servants. However, everyone else was asleep so this gave her free reign to do what she pleased in there. No guards dared to come around it, no servants wanted to walk inside of it - only two gardeners took care of it.

In the center of the garden was a fountain which Queen Amidala loved to sit at. The space around it was cleared and would be the perfect place for her to practice. The girl set up a holovid console and programmed it to play back one of the duel scenarios which she had created earlier.

An image of a man appeared, brandishing a lightsaber. A smile crossed the girl's face as she withdrew hers from the belt she was wearing under her cloak. She took off the large outer garment and threw it aside. After igniting the silver-blue blade, she lowered it to the level of her opponent. Things were silent for a few seconds - but the clashing of the lightsabers filled the air all too quickly.

It took the girl all her concentration to get her opponent into a position which could allow her to strike him down. She faked a blow which drove the image back and when she did leap forward and struck, she connected with the side of it. The image went out a few seconds later, giving her something to smile about.

She had succeeded in beating the scenario.

Her Master would be pleased.