Misread Prophecy
AUTHOR: Abigail
SUMMARY: What if the 'chosen one' wasn't Anakin Skywalker? What if the Jedi Council realized their mistake too late?
CHAPTER 5: The Meeting
RATING: T
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that was created by George Lucas.
NOTE: I know that so far this has been following RotS plot, but trust me...things heat up. Thanks to everyone who is reviewing. Keep it up because I only write when you guys put in the good word, or bad word for that matter. Enjoy!
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Don't waste your time on me
You're already the voice inside my head...
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Padme stared across the smog covered city, still battling the remnants of the war. It was early morning, the time when the sun was first fully visible in the sky. Anakin had left to go to a meeting for the Council, once again insisting that Padme stay home and rest. Reluctantly, she agreed, busying herself with small housework chores and Senate affairs. But her peace and quiet was interrupted when she saw her Master arrive at her apartment.
"Good Morning, Padme," he said cheerfully, walking down from the landing ramp. She awaited him on the veranda, and slightly bowed to him.
"Good morning, master," she replied, welcoming him into her apartment. Obi-Wan had always found pleasure in his rendezvous' with Padme, but on this particularly morning, he wasn't altogether thrilled to be at her home. He could feel a familiar presence in the force still lingering in the atmosphere of her living room.
"Has Anakin been here to see you?" he asked questioningly, turning to Padme.
"Oh, yes..." she replied quickly, trying to cover up the small detail that Anakin was unknowingly living with her. "He's been updating me on all the dealings of the Jedi and Senate while I've been sick..." she said, her quick mind pulling the words out of thin air. Obi-Wan smiled at this and slowly took a seat on an elegantly upholstered couch.
"That's what I've come here to talk to you about, Padme..." he said, his manner changing to a more serious one. Padme sat down next to him, feeling the mood in the room shift...
"Yes, Master?" she asked, a worried look crossing over her face...
"The Chancellor approached the Council this morning with quite a...surprising request. He feels that you, Padme, should lead the campaign on Utapau..." his wide-eyed gaze continued to peer into Padme's downcast eyes.
"Yes, the Chancellor mentioned it to me yesterday..." Padme said quietly, fearing what Obi-Wan was going to say next.
"Then you must realize that you are very incapable of doing so at the moment. That is why this morning the Council agreed to send me. I know that you trust their decision, am I right?" Obi-Wan asked, not seeing the flicker of lightning that flashed in Padme's eyes. She turned to the window, the boiling of her blood shooting flames of anger into her heart.
"Of course, Master" she said, smiling at Obi-Wan, the anger creeping into her sharp words.
"Good," he replied, not seeing the change in Padme's countenance. "I want you to also realize, my apprentice, that your position in the Senate and personal relationship with Chancellor puts you in a very vulnerable situation. The Council feels that the dark side has blinded the Senate...and Chancellor Palpatine as well. So be wary of your close friend...as we all are," Obi-Wan said, his gaze leaving Padme's eyes for a moment.
Padme listened to her Master speaking, and could feel the anger rising again. "Why doesn't the Council trust the Chancellor anymore?" she asked, quickly standing up and walking over to the window. "I know why Anakin was given the rank of Master. It's because you want him to spy on Chancellor Palpatine, isn't it?" she said, turning back to Obi-Wan.
The Jedi Master stood up from his place on the couch. "Padme...Our allegiance is to the Senate, not to the Chancellor, who might I add has managed to stay in office long after his term has expired..." Obi-Wan replied, suddenly recognizing the rage in Padme's face and voice. As her Master, it rarely, if ever, occurred that Padme would be so furious with such a situation...
"We as a Senate chose to let the Chancellor stay longer because of his leadership and..."
Padme was quickly cut off by Obi-Wan.
"Padme, use your feelings. Listen to the force. Something is out of place...you must feel it!" he said, walking over to her.
She turned away from him, looking out the window. "I can't believe the Council is doing this. You've taken advantage of Anakin. The Council realizes how much he wanted to be a Master and you simply used him. What you are making him do is treason! Against the man who has held this Republic together thus far. It's against the Jedi Code, and you know it, Master! That is what's out of place!" she said, her voice filled with fury.
Obi-Wan bowed his head, his eyes searching the ground below him. "Padme...you must know something. It was Anakin who approached us about the Chancellor. He was the one who brought our attention to Palpatine." Obi-Wan was silent after this, slowly looking up at the dubious look on Padme's soft face.
"Anakin would never do that. I know him!" she hissed hatefully. Obi-Wan sighed, watching the force around Padme fill with hate.
"Sometimes, it is the ones who are closest that cannot see..." he said. Padme's eyes flared as she stared at her Master, looming in front of her... "I know you both too well, Padme. I can see you two are in love. This relationship has confused you, ever since Geonosis...you've changed. I'm worried about you," he said honestly, watching the resentment in Padme subside for a moment, her flustered face turning away.
"How did you..." Padme stopped from saying what she already knew. "Please don't inform the council of our...correlation..."she said quietly. Obi-Wan smiled, letting his hand rest on her quivering shoulder. Padme turned to him again, a sorrowful look upon her face. She wanted to tell him everything...about the baby, her marriage, her vision, her feelings... But the words never came and that small moment of trust in her Master was banished by his next words.
"Well Padme, it is time for me to leave for Utapau. I know that Anakin will get to the bottom of this plot in the Senate...I only hope that you will do your job too," he said, turning to leave the room. Padme watched him leave, as he stopped at her entryway out onto where his ship had docked. "May the Force be with you, Padme..." he said, his eyes searching her confused face.
"May the Force be with you, Master," she replied, a small smile on her face. Obi-Wan quickly left, his ship blasting off the terrace. Padme leaned against the window, watching it disappear into the lines of traffic that hovered above the majestic city. She silently waited for Anakin to come home...millions of questions flowing in her mind...
Anakin sat down on the couch, feeling his Master's familiar presence. The force was mysterious like that...giving small hints as to what was coming...or what had come. Padme came in from her bedroom. She had retired for the day, changing into something far more comfortable. "I didn't see you come in, Ani!" she side, surprised by his figure sitting on the couch. "Where are you coming from?" she asked.
He stood up, a smile on his face. "Chancellor Palpatine's office. We had some...matters to discuss." Padme's face fell at this. She fully knew what Anakin had been trying to do at the Chancellor's office; she could sense it in the force...
"Was Master Obi-Wan here earlier?" he asked, watching the smile on Padme's face fall to the ground.
"Oh, yes..." she replied, reminded by their conversation. She sat in the plush chair opposite where Anakin stood.
"And...What did he have to say?" Anakin asked, sensing the Padme wasn't all too pleased about what was said, and he had a feeling that he would know why.
"Oh, just the usual. He was appointed to lead the campaign in Utapau for General Grievous, I hear..." she said dryly, eyeing Anakin as she said it.
"Yes, the Council was very firm about their decision, despite the Chancellor's choice..." Anakin looked up at Padme regretfully. "I'm sorry, Padme," he said afterward. She turned away from him, trying to fight the emotions that were welling up inside of her. But it didn't matter anyway...Anakin could always see through her disguises.
"Obi-Wan and the Council don't trust me..." she said, heated tears welling up in her eyes. Anakin walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her.
"Of course they do," he whispered. "They trust you with their lives. Obi-Wan loves you like a daughter..." Anakin gently caressed her arms, reveling in the softness of her warm skin against his own calloused fingertips.
"I'm just so confused..." she said, her eyes glued to the woman that stood before her in the reflection of the window. Everything that she had believed in so solidly, was crumbling at her feet, washing over her. It left her feeling raw, unprotected...scared.
She loved Anakin so much...she always had. Everything about him made her heart weak, and he completed her...made her the strong woman she was. Yet she didn't believe what he had to say...No, he's wrong...the voice inside her mind told her. Anakin's hands drifted down to her stomach, caressing her gently.
"I found a way to save the baby..." she said quietly, looking up into Anakin's dazed face.
"Save the baby?" he asked dubiously. She smiled warmly, looking back at her reflection again. The feeling of her power, strength, and devotion to her growing child made her feel happy again.
"From my nightmares..." she said, looking down at his hands, which had stopped their administrations to her stomach. Anakin looked down on her, fear filling his eyes.
"Is that what's bothering you?" he asked the question that had been hiding in the back of his mind ever since he returned from the Outer Rim Sieges.
"I won't loose this baby, Anakin!" she said furiously, returning his gaze.
"The baby isn't going to die, Padme. I promise you..." he said.
"No!" she yelled, turning around to face him. "I promise you! I am becoming so powerful with my knowledge of the Force that I will be able to save this baby from dying!" Her face was flushed with anger and she shamefully turned away from Anakin's crestfallen face. She reached out to touch the window, feeling the coldness of it against her warm palm.
"You don't need more power, Padme..." he whispered quietly, standing where she had left him. Padme didn't turn back, trying to ignore his words. He's wrong...the voice told her. Padme listened, trusting the conscience inside of her, that conviction that was beating so strongly inside her little heart.
"You're wrong, Anakin..." she whispered silently, inaudible to Anakin's ears. She turned around and walked to him, embracing him with a loving and passionate kiss. All of her fears and confusions dissipated, as he slipped her into his arms and carried her to their bedroom. And for that night, Padme was able to drown out the voice that began to develop more strongly inside her head...