When Padmé thought that Anakin had warmed up slightly, she began questioning him.
"So will you mind telling me why you tried to kill yourself?"
There was no answer, so Padmé continued to question. "What are these visions you are trying to stop?"
"I don't want to talk about it senator."
"You are not getting out of it that easily Skywalker. You owe me an explanation for your silly stunt. What's wrong?"
Anakin sighed. He had his back to Padmé, and quietly replied, "Attachments are forbidden by the Jedi Code."
"So, what does that have to do with all this mess?"
"I have been trained, and continue to train myself to rid myself of all my previous attachments, so I can stay focused on the will of the Force."
Padmé quirked an eyebrow as she stared at the back of Anakin's head, he was not explaining his problem yet. "And?"
"And, I keep having visions of the two of us together. Its an attachment that as a Jedi I cannot afford to have."
Finally, she knew what was bothering him. What confused her was that Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Jedi and had an attachment with her handmaiden, Sabé, why was Anakin so against it. Obviously, following the Jedi code was important to Anakin, more so than any other Jedi. However, now that he admitted to having visions of them, she was curious to know more. "What do you see in your visions?"
"Well they started out with images of our first meeting back on Tatooine eleven years ago. Do you remember that?"
"How could I forget, you asked me if I was an angel." She smiled at the memory. "Besides, I could never forget, after you gave me my Japor Snippet." She pulled a small necklace out from underneath her clothing.
Anakin turned around towards Padmé and saw as she pulled out the Japor Snippet. "You kept it?" He reached out and grabbed the pendant he had made years ago, examining it.
"Yes, someone I considered a dear friend made it for me."
They both smiled. "So, what else have you seen in your visions?" Padmé asked.
"Us kissing from yesterday, and…" He trailed off.
"And…?"
"And us kissing elsewhere." He added uneasily.
"Like where?" Padmé asked curiously.
Anakin sighed. "I don't remember, but it appeared that you were wearing a wedding dress. Which is why I've been trying to keep my distance from you, my attachment is getting stronger the longer I stay around you."
They were now facing each other, but they did not let their eyes meet. They stayed silent for a while, neither knowing what to say until Anakin voiced his main concern.
"I am falling in love with you, Padmé. Well…" he paused, "…falling back in love with you, I started this eleven years ago. But I can't. It is not the Jedi way."
Padmé was awed by his admission. No man had ever admitted that he loved her, and she knew Anakin was not after her position as Senator, but loved her just for her. Although Anakin did irritate her, she had to admit that there was a part of her that was falling in love with him too. He was nice to look at, but that was not why she loved him. He was kind, caring, and had a great sense of duty. However, it was that duty that was preventing them from pursuing their relationship any further. She looked up into his eyes and stated, "I understand." She sighed. "Tell me about the Jedi code."
"What? Why?" Anakin asked a little startled.
"I'm falling in love with you too, Anakin. But, I will not ask you to do anything that will undermine you position as a Jedi. I'd like to know all the reasons why we can't be together."
She loved him. Anakin was stunned, he did not know if the attraction was mutual, and now she had just admitted that it was. It was even more special that she was willing to give up a relationship with him just because of his position as a Jedi. However, it also pained him to think of not being with her, but he knew the code. Padmé had given him a great gift by admitting her love, but now he owed her an explanation as to why they could never be together.
"The Jedi are the guardians of peace and justice in the Republic." Anakin began.
"Yes." Padmé replied looking into his eyes.
"The Jedi code is the set of rules we follow to maintain our focus on the light side of the Force, so that we can do our job. If a Jedi does not follow the code, they can fall prey to the charms of the dark side of the Force, the power the Sith use to attempt to control the galaxy."
Padmé was a little concerned, if breaking the code meant going to the dark side, then perhaps Obi-Wan Kenobi could fall to the dark side due to his relationship with Sabé. She had to know more. "Go on." She replied.
"Well, the code provides guidance on how we should train, but it also sets some rules for how we live our lives. For example, we must be masters over out emotions. We cannot let our emotions cloud our judgment when performing tasks. Therefore, we must control our emotions like fear, anger, and aggression. At the same time, we need to control things that can lead us to lose control of emotions, like…"
Padmé finished his sentence, "Attachments."
"Yes, a lack of focus on the part of any Jedi could cost people their lives. Following the code helps prevent that." Anakin finished.
There was a long pause where Padmé considered everything that Anakin had just told her. Anakin had a duty to the Republic, and a relationship with her could ruin it based on his logic. But, what did that mean for Obi-Wan and Sabé?
"Do you know of any Jedi who currently have attachments?" Padmé asked.
"No, like I said, it's forbidden."
This interested Padmé. Obviously, Anakin had no idea that not all Jedi followed the code like he did. She considered telling Anakin what she knew about Obi-Wan, but thought better of it. He probably would not believe her anyways. She sighed resignedly and turned away from Anakin.
As she turned, she stated, "I love you Anakin, but I understand your duty. I will not ask you to go against the code. From now on, we are just a stranded Jedi and Senator, and nothing more."
Anakin did not know what to say. This solved his problem with the Jedi code, but the thought of not being with Padmé pained him. Anakin rolled over, away from Padmé and sighed.
Both remained in silence, both mulling over their thoughts until they both slowly fell asleep.
Onboard the Naboo Cruiser orbiting Hoth, Obi-Wan was startled awake.
"What's the matter?" Sabé asked sleepily.
"We have to go down there, now."
"What?" Sabé sat up. "Why? We are not due to pick them up for another day and a half. What's going on?"
"If we do not go now, we will regret it. I'll explain later. Just get dressed in something warm, we are going planet side."
With that, Obi-Wan bolted off the bed to quickly find his clothes. Sabé was confused by all of this, but she decided to trust Obi-Wan and was soon gathering her clothes as well.