"Thank you Dormé. That will be all."
The young handmaiden left Senator Amidala alone in her apartment bedroom to finish unpacking. Just a few small bags left, and she would be completely settled.
In two days she would begin her term as the youngest senator ever elected to the Republic.
She wondered at her lack of feeling for the position, as she had discovered she wasn't nervous at all. Although still considered quite young for such an appointment, the pain of her past had matured her beyond her years.
Pain.
She knew it quite well.
Her small hand reached into the final bag and withdrew a small velvet box. Lifting the lid, she reached inside and removed a long braid, coppery brown in color, adorned with colorful beads along its length.
Obi-Wan's padawan braid.
It was all she had left of him. After he had failed to show up for his own Master's funeral ceremony on Naboo, Padmé had sent her own security, accompanied by Masters Yoda and Windu in search of him. All they had found was his braid, lying deserted amongst the thorny vines in the heavily wooded area outside of Theed.
He had literally vanished. Not even Master Yoda could locate his Force signature. It was as if he no longer existed.
That was six months ago.
Clutching the silky braid to her chest, Padmé was surprised to feel the warmth of a lone tear coursing down her cheek. She had believed that she had cried so many tears in the past few months, that there couldn't possibly be any left.
Voices coming from the living area beyond her bedroom brought her back to her present reality and she hastily replaced the braid in its velvet container and moved to receive her guest. Approaching the room, she could easily make out Dormé's voice as well as the unmistakable one of Master Yoda.
"Senator Amidala. Congratulations in order they are."
"Thank you Master Yoda." Padmé sat across from the Jedi and attempted to hide her surprised and concerned look.
Yoda didn't miss it.
"A great disturbance in the Force I have felt."
The question was written on her face. Why had Yoda come to tell her this? She was about to speak the words, when he continued.
"Obi-Wan. Gone to the Dark Side he has. A Sith Lord he is."
And now when she felt she should be crying, the tears would not come. It was not sadness she felt, but anger. With no one in particular to direct it at.
Was she angry with herself? Angry with Obi-Wan? Angry with the Jedi Council?
No. She was angry with the Sith responsible for taking Obi-Wan away from her. Whoever it was.
Yoda gave her time for the words to sink in. The emotions he felt radiating from the young woman sitting across from him surprised him. He could feel her anger. It was very strong, but soon receded to give way to what he would describe as determination, until finally transforming into disappointment and ultimately despair.
Obi-Wan had told her the stories of Xanatos - Master Qui-Gon's first apprentice who had fallen to the Dark Side.
Once a Jedi turns to the Dark, forever will it dominate their destiny. Those were Yoda's words Obi-Wan had told her once.
She mentally braced herself in preparation to hear those words from the Master himself, forever damning Obi-Wan to the Dark.
But the next words Yoda spoke stunned her beyond rational thought.
"Go to him you must. Save him you can. Only your love can bring him back from the Dark."
"What?" The message seemed to pain the diminutive Master and suddenly, to Padmé he seemed very tired and very old. "I thought...Obi-Wan said that Jedi are forbidden to form attachments. They are forbidden to fall in love. It's against the Jedi Code."
The small green Jedi took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. "Wrong we were. The Force. Brought you together, it did. Deny it, you cannot. To Mustafar you must go. Obi-Wan is there. Save him, you can."
Mustafar? She knew little of the planet. It was on the outer rim, beyond the Republic borders. But if this was truly where Obi-Wan was, she didn't care if she had to travel to the seventh level of the Sith Hells. She had to help him if she could. But when would she leave? How would she get there? Did her expect her to go alone?
Once again, Yoda nodded his head as if he knew her questions before she had even asked them.
"Master Windu, travel with you he will. Leave tomorrow. All is taken care of."
Master Windu? Incredible. He was the Council's most strict advocate of the Code. Obi-Wan had looked up to the man, but had also told her stories of Mace and Qui-Gon's frequent disagreements in their interpretations of the Code.
Windu's was literal, Jinn's had been much less so.
Their different viewpoints had elevated Mace to the Council and labeled Qui-Gon a rebel. Obi-Wan had stood somewhere in between.
But if Mace had agreed to accompany her, perhaps there was a chance that Yoda's words were true. Maybe love could save Obi-Wan. With the Council's permission, she had to try.
----------------------------------
Mace Windu paced the tiled conference room floor in the upper tower of the Jedi Temple, his hands clenching and releasing in frustration. Yoda watched him from a relaxed and seated posture across the room.
Mace finally stopped and turned to the senior council member. "You are sending her to him? And you told her I would go as well?"
One quick nod from Yoda was his only reply.
Mace's head however shook several times. "Attachment is forbidden. There is no passion..."
"No!" Yoda's gimerstick striking aggressively against the gold tiles stopped Mace from speaking further. "Wrong we were. For eight-hundred years have I taught the Code. The Force has shown me, not too old am I to learn. Wrong we were." His voice softened dramatically. "Love is all that can save Kenobi now. Return him from the Dark it shall. Trust in the Force Master Windu."
Biting the inside of his jaw, sending his confusion and frustration into the Force, Mace decided he had no choice but to honor the ancient Jedi's wishes. As always, he would trust his judgment.
Mace nodded slightly and turned to leave the room to prepare for his journey to Mustafar, but first he would pay a visit to the young Senator.