Chapter Three

"You see, your Highness, the Senate is growing weaker by the day. And you need to be especially careful, given your situation with the Trade Federation five years ago."

"Yes, Senator Organa, but that was five years ago and much has changed since the Blockade. I believe that if need be, the Senate will assist us as much as they possibly can. And of course, there's always the Jedi Council. They've always been reliable in any matter."

Senator Organa stopped walking and turned to gaze at Queen Amidala. She had to stop herself from cringing under his stare. It made her uncomfortable in a way she had never been before and she felt almost dirty. It was nothing like the way Anakin had made her feel.

She smiled slightly at the thought of him, but quickly erased that from her face as it seemed to encourage the Senator just a bit more. He stepped a little closer to her and she quickly inched away from him. He seemed to take the hint and resumed himself back to his original position and he looked away with embarrassment.

The Senator began to carry on the conversation, much to the Queen's dismay. Within a matter of seconds, something caught her eye that was far more intriguing than the boring Senator next to her.

"Senator, I'm sorry but I just remembered that I must meet with my security about the recent changes. Can we finish this another time?"

"Of course, your Highness."

Senator Organa immediately took his leave, knowing exactly why the Queen had been so eager for him to leave. The Queen, on the other hand, made her way to a pillar that was directly in front of her.

She reached out to place her hand on the pillar but another hand stopped her. He immediately began to kiss her hand, then pushed up her sleeve to shower her arm with more kisses.

"Anakin…"

He stopped and looked at her with a disappointed look. "What?"

"We shouldn't do this here…"

"Why not, no one's here. Your 'friend' already left."

Padme looked up at him and sighed exasperatedly.

"I saw the way he was looking at you, you know."

Padme rolled her eyes at him and he shook his head at her.

"I mean it, Padme. I don't like the way he's always hanging around…lurking around you…"

Padme laughed good-naturedly. "I think you're the one that's lurking. Besides, you've only been here for three days. What do you know anyway?"

She shoved him playfully, but he wasn't interested in being playful at the moment.

"That's exactly my point. If he's like this while I can see it, I can only imagine what he's like when I'm gone."

Padme's face fell considerably at his mention of being gone. That was the last thing she wanted to think about. The last three days had been the most incredible days of her life. A true whirlwind romance for sure, but it wasn't like they had all the time in the world. She knew that the Jedi were not supposed to love, so they would have to continue to keep their relationship a secret. She was willing to do whatever it took to be with Anakin. As long as she was with him, nothing else mattered.

"Anakin, I don't want to talk about that right now. I know you're leaving soon, but…I just want to enjoy what time we have left together. I don't want to waste it by worrying about the future. I can do that after you've left."

He nodded and drew her to him, silently berating himself for going on about the Senator. Padme was right, he could worry about that later. For now, he just wanted to focus on them. Besides, they barely had enough time to do that anyway.

"Padme, there's something I need to tell you. Obi-Wan just informed me that we're leaving tomorrow morning. I wish there was something else I could say…"

She cut him off by grabbing his neck and pulling him into a passionate kiss. He pulled her closer until the space between them had been completely closed while her hands caressed the back of his head. Before things could go any further, Padme pulled away breathlessly.

"Not here, Anakin."

He furrowed his brow at her, that disappointed look creeping back into his eyes. "Then where?"

She cast him a sideways look. "Follow me."

Anakin closed her door as quietly as he could and followed Padme deeper into her room.

"How much time do we have?" He whispered.

"I don't know, a half hour maybe."

A handsome, yet devilish grin spread across his face. "That's more than enough time."

As if their bodies had wills of their own, they crashed into each other's arms and began kissing wildly, partly because of the passionate, adrenaline rush, but also because they knew that this may be the last opportunity they had to truly be alone.

His hand twisted into her delicate hairdo, while hers somehow found their way inside the folds of his Jedi robes. As their passion grew, their legs moved them closer and closer to the bed. Within moments, they would be at the brink and then there would be no going back. Anakin immediately realized this and pulled back, despite his body telling him not to.

"Padme, maybe we should wait." He said breathlessly.

She gazed up at him while trying to catch her breath. Part of her had wanted it so badly, but now that Anakin was objecting, she was beginning to realize that maybe this wasn't the right time.

"I think you're right, Anakin."

He exhaled loudly with relief, extremely grateful that she wasn't mad at him for stopping what would have inevitably happened.

She laughed softly. "After all, we've only been together for three days. We have plenty of time for…well, anyways, we still need to get to know each other better. I feel like we've been rushing all this and I…"

"Padme, it's ok, you don't have to say anymore. I feel the exact same way, it's just that, after I leave here, I don't know how often I'll get to see you."

She nodded, desperately trying to suppress her brimming tears. He was leaving the next day and that was more than she could handle. She felt cheated, like he was being stolen from her. He pulled her into a warm embrace and they fell onto the bed. For the remainder of the alone time they had, he just held her, which was exactly what she needed.

When their time was up, Anakin rose slowly as if to put off the inevitable as much as possible. She sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed out her skirt, knowing that this was goodbye now. She knew that their schedules wouldn't allow them to see each other again before he had to leave.

She slowly met his sorrowful gaze and a loud giggle erupted from her.

Anakin looked back at her, shocked that she would laugh during such a painful moment. "What is it?"

"Anakin, look in the mirror."

He turned around and stared at his reflection in horror. Moments later, he was laughing right along with Padme, while she jumped up to find a towel so he could wipe the white ceremonial makeup off that was smeared all over his face. Once the incriminating evidence was gone, the mood changed significantly.

He knelt down to where she was now sitting and gently took her hands in his. "Padme, I know this is going to be hard on both of us. I mean, we just found each other again, we have to keep up hope that all this is going to work out for us. I just want you to know…in case anything should happen to me before I can see you again…"

"Anakin, don't talk like that."

"No, Padme, please. Just let me get this out."

She nodded and remained silent as he continued.

"I just want you to know that I…I love you, Padme. I've loved you since that day in Watto's shop and I'll love you until the day I die."

She smiled through her tears and leaned forward to kiss him softly on the lips. "I love you, too, Anakin. I'll always love you."

He kissed her on the lips one more time before placing a tender kiss on her forehead. He dug around in the folds of his Jedi robes and lifted out a delicate necklace. He placed it gently around her neck and she carefully picked up the wooden charm to inspect it. The jappor snippet was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she had ever seen because he had made it for her.

She kissed him lightly on the lips as her thanks. Then without a word, he got up and softly closed the door behind him.

With that, he was gone. And Padme could only lay back on the bed and gently caress the spot where had been only minutes before.