When Padme awoke the next morning, she yawned and stretched in her bed. She slowly slid out of the silk sheets and felt the cold slick marble floor on her feet. She walked over to her dresser and started brushing her curls. As she brushed, she glanced over to the bed and opened her mouth to say good morning to Anakin, but he wasn't there. She set her brush down and walked around the large bedroom.
"Anakin?", she said softly. "Ani are you there?" The only sound she heard was the birds chirping outside her window. Where is he?, she thought. She put her velvet robe on and started wandering down the hallway towards the spiral staircase leading to the bottom floor. The long hallway seemed to last forever as she continued to call his name. Light filled the golden walls and Padme could feel her feet sink into the soft white carpet that lined the hall. Finally, she reached the end and leaned over the silver rim, looking down at the floor below. "Hello? Anakin? Anybody?" she called. She knew something was wrong. Her mind was now racing with thoughts and she felt a little uneasy. Where is everyone? What happened? Her heart started to beat faster and faster as she raced down the stairs and screamed his name. She searched every room. The entire house was empty. She was breathing fast and she felt scared and worried. She glanced at the clock. It was 9:37 am and the only thing she could think about was what she was supposed to do. Should I call Obi Wan? Should I search outside and around the lake? Oh god. Padme ran up the stairs and sprinted down the hallway to her bedroom. She grabbed her shoes and struggled to put them on but her hands were shaking and she looked as though she was trying to win a million dollar race. Finally she had managed to put them on and she sprinted back down the hallway and raced down the stairs. Padme swung open the door and stepped outside into the daylight. She immediately cupped her hand over her forehead and started looking in every direction as far as her eyes could show her. When she didn't see a sign of Anakin or anyone else, she ran passed the pool and down the steps into the grass. Her throat was beginning to burn from screaming so much and tears were now streaming down her cheeks. Her heart pounded as she made her way through the trees and under branches that had fallen. She heard nothing but the sound of birds chirping and the lake water swishing against the shore. After a while, her tears stopped and she just wandered beyond the yard and into the woods that she had so much dreamed of exploring. Her mind was not on Anakin anymore but on how beautiful and amazing the woods were. She looked up and couldn't help but smile because the sun was shining so brightly through the branches. She wandered for a very long time and her silk white nightgown began to get a little dirty. Her shoes were muddy and her robe was torn on one side. But she didn't care at all. She was too busy running through the woods. Then it hit her. Anakin! Oh my god where is he? I have to find him! "Anakin!", she screamed. "Anakin!!!!" She was screaming so hard now it felt as though a knife was piercing her throat. She stumbled over twigs and her hair was getting caught in bushes. She tried to free herself from it, but was stuck there. Finally she managed to get passed the deadly bushes and looked ahead. "Ani? Anakin!" she screamed louder. She opened her mouth to scream again, but someone clamped their hand over her mouth and jerked her backwards. She couldn't see their face, but they had rough cold skin. She tried to scream for help but it didn't help and the stranger pulled out a knife and pressed it against the skin on her neck. "Quiet Senator. Someone might hear you," said a deep, scratchy voice. His voice was strange to her and not familiar at all. Padme began to weep and tears ran down her face. "Yes, that's right Senator." the voice said. "Your precious Ani can't save you now. We've already taken care of him." Padme whimpered at the words. Taken care of? Then, everything went black. A blindfold was choked tightly around her forehead and she felt the man pull her hands behind her. Then the man pulled out some rope and began tying her wrists. Padme didn't say a word. She was too scared to speak. The rope was burning and cutting into her skin but she wouldn't dare say anything. For what seemed like forever, Padme was jerked through the woods. She was tired and hungry. Sweat was dripping off of her body, but not once did the man stop to rest and she was too scared to complain. The leaves crunched beneath her and she struggled to find her way over fallen tree branches, but sometimes tripped and fell to the ground. Then, the man would jerk her up so hard; Padme couldn't help but let out a yelp of pain. Finally, for some reason.....they stopped. Padme couldn't feel her legs, but that didn't seem to worry her at the moment. She heard the man splash water on his face and then with another jerk, they walked, but not very far. A few moments later she heard voices. Another man was there. And one woman. "Took you long enough", said the other man. "We've been waiting here for 7 hours!", said the woman. "Hey. I'm the one doing my job here. All you do is fly the ship." The kidnapper said. "What is that supposed to mean?" said the other man.
"It means shut the hell up before I tell the boss to fire you."
"Well...get her on the ship you moron!" the woman yelled.
Padme felt a jerk and was walked up a platform onto the ship. It was extremely cold inside and after a few minutes she was thrown onto a cold floor and heard a metal door slide shut.
She was alone.