Amidala had always been interested in the local cultures of the various Naboo tribes, especially the ancient ones. Well now she was getting to experience first hand the culture of this ancient tribe. Only she wasn't so excited about it right now.
She thought she would faint from all these people crowding round her, the net veil draped on her face made things worse.
She wore an elaborate lace dress that was dotted with pearls. It was fitting at the top and free flowing below the waist. The lace was almost transparent, so she wore an off shoulder blouse and white slacks underneath with white high heeled shoes to make up for her lack of height. Her hair too was done to compensate for the height difference with the groom. It had been piled high above her head; a wreath of white rolla flowers encircling it.
A set of pearl earrings and a string of small pearls with one big tear shaped stone in the middle around her neck comprised her jewelry. The narrow sleeves of her dress were cuffed with more pearls making it look like she was wearing white pearl bracelets. She carried a lone white Celisa flower as big as a child's head with five white curled petals, serving as her bouquet. A white oversized veil made of delicate net covered her from head to foot. The over all effect was one of purity and mystery, like a forest nymph seen through the morning mist.
"What have I talked myself into?" She thought. "A simple dinner!" The chief had said. "Huh!"
She had expected a simple ceremony in front of a few grumpy chieftains. Instead here she was, sitting on an oversized throne of colorful plumes, perched on top of a raised dais, which seemed to be a permanent feature of a large square in the center of the village.
Nearly a thousand people, men, women and children were crammed in the square, dressed in their gaudy best. Guests had been pouring in from the nearby villages, and were arriving in large drove even now. The village drummers had been banging away all day inviting Chief Wakabu's subjects-which had been in turned relayed from village to village.
The girls were fussing over her. They had arranged and rearranged her jewelry and veil so many times; any one that was not trained in the patience of a Naboo queen; might have exploded. She felt tired and sick. If only Anakin would come and get over with this misery. But there was no sign of him. She longed to see a familiar face of some civilized human.
Weddings in the highlands of her home were so much simpler. Among the elaborate weddings the bride and groom would exchange the rings and take the oath in front of their guests. The witnesses would sign the documents. Then there would be dinner and dancing. The simple ones had no dinner just a light snack.
But then the Capa considered marriage ceremonies as a once in a life time event. Capa married for life and usually did not remarry even after the death of a spouse.
Amidala's cogitation was interrupted by a hush in the crowd. She looked up to see a group of smart young men, all dressed in black, heading their way. A tall handsome man dressed all in white like a rajah from the Orient system, walked in their midst.
"Anakin!" Amidala whispered incredulously to her self.
He was scrubbed and shaved, and those clothes, it was like they were made for him. Gone were the drab Jedi garbs and that untidy stubble in which she had seen him for the past so many days.
Anakin beamed at her with a smile he could hardly repress. There was a hubbub in the group of girls behind her-her handmaidens she called them-The boys arrival seemed to have excited them. She looked at the group from the corner of her eyes. And was quite chagrined to see that they had eyes only for the groom-for her bodyguard. She was also angry with Anakin, that he should actually be enjoying himself.
"Why this is just an act and he knows it." She thought angrily-nothing seemed to be going her way and there he was grinning and practically bursting with pride and joy.
Anakin stood next to her, he coolly reached out and held her hand in his; it was warm and clammy.
"Perhaps he needs to touch something familiar." she thought, but what surprised her was that his proximity was making her nervous.
His touch sent a hot bolt through her arm, her palm was burning from it, she squirmed. Anakin tightened the grip on her hand lacing his fingers through hers. She had never been so nervous before, but then she reasoned, she had never been a bride before. Amidala closed her eyes.
"This is not the real thing." she kept on repeating to her self and each time she repeated it, the words sounded more hollow and unreal. Her heart beat wildly. Her mind advised her to act with prudence, which always came to her naturally, yet she was angry with herself now.
She was the Queen, always calm and composed, in the midst of battle or in court with dignitaries of the world, always in control of herself. But this was not the court and this was no war. This was a situation that confounded the woman in her. Something had struck her, deep within. It had released a ghost she had willed to imprisonment.
Chieftains came onto the dais and took their places besides the bride and groom. Twenty chieftains of all Capaland come to bear witness to this wedding. Indeed it was a royal wedding.
The chief announced that he was giving away his daughter Amidala of the Capa to Anakin Skywalker of Theed highlands. He bore witness along with... he painstakingly read out the list of names of all the distinguished witnesses and their lengthy titles.
The bride and groom took the holy vow, promising to be one, forever to be loyal to each other in life and in death. After which the bride and the groom had to sign it
Chief Wakabu announced that the groom would present the bride with the ring. Anakin pulled his hand away from her, dipping it into his pocket he took out the box, which the chief had given him. He held the ring out to the crowd and the stone dazzled with the brightness of a star. Amidala noticed that it was a rare and priceless jewel of ancient times-a diamond. A real one she guessed because the synthetic ones did not shine so brightly.
Amidala held out her hand trying hard to keep her defiant posture. She was surprised to see that her hands were trembling. Anakin saw it.
He looked at her knowingly, a huge grin cut through his beaming face. Holding her trembling fingers in one hand he slipped the ring on with the other.
"This is it!" he said. "You are my wife now." Then he raised her veil over her head to stare down at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She looked up at him defiantly, with a you-seem -to-be-enjoying-yourself look. Anakin smiled and shrugged his shoulder with the You-got-us-into-this-mess look.
All this ceremony was getting to her. She forgot she was the queen. She was Amidala of the Capa and this was her warrior. She closed her eyes in expectation as he bent down to kiss her softly. Her heart was beating like a drum. No one had ever kissed her before.
Anakin disengaged and stood up to his full height. For a moment they stared into each other's eyes. The crowd showered them with flowers and petals, cheering and congratulating them. The boys patting and thumping the groom, almost knocking him over. Wakabu asked the pair to sit. Anakin held her hand again as he bent towards her to hear what she had to say.
"Anakin where were you? I thought I would die with boredom." She whispered in his ears.
"I had to greet all those haughty chieftains." he told her, she started giggling as she looked around at them. Some of them had great feathers stuck to their turbans. Anakin told her that the feathers denoted some brave heroic act of the past. He had picked a lot of information from his friend Liane.
"You look gorgeous!" He whispered to her. She felt an excited thrill run through her as he came close, his scent making her heady. Amidala sighed and leant back in her chair.
"God! What is happening to me?" This is just a staged drama; I shouldn't be going all mushy like this. Anakin is so much younger than me-he's just a boy!" She thought to her self.
But even as she tried to reason with herself, that boy's touch on her hand was making her melt like ice.
They watched as the villagers rejoiced. For them this was a chance to celebrate, whether they were acquainted with the bride or groom was irrelevant. The drums began to beat slowly at first. The youth formed a circle, which seemed to become larger and larger as more and more, people joined in. Inside this circle was another circle, that of the female guests-obviously there were occasions when the village boys and girls were allowed to mix.
They moved about in a synchronized deliberate way. The outer circle moving clockwise and the inner one anti-clockwise. The two rings would move a step in each other's direction then out again then they would clap in time to their steps and then repeat the first step. As the drum beat faster the pace of the dancers increased. The slower participants dropping out as the drums beat a faster pace-till only the young boys were left leaping and somersaulting wildly, intent on keeping up with the furious pace of the drums. Whoops and whistles filled the air.
Anakin had a harebrained notion to join them; he looked at the dancers in rapt awe. He was happy for himself and for the young souls enjoying themselves.
The two of them went numb when the chief came and whispered to them that it was time to go to their room. She felt Anakin's grasp tighten around her hand as he swallowed hard.
Anakin felt her stiffen and he felt her hands become cold. He was aware of her unease at his nearness.
She thought she would faint from all these people crowding round her, the net veil draped on her face made things worse.
She wore an elaborate lace dress that was dotted with pearls. It was fitting at the top and free flowing below the waist. The lace was almost transparent, so she wore an off shoulder blouse and white slacks underneath with white high heeled shoes to make up for her lack of height. Her hair too was done to compensate for the height difference with the groom. It had been piled high above her head; a wreath of white rolla flowers encircling it.
A set of pearl earrings and a string of small pearls with one big tear shaped stone in the middle around her neck comprised her jewelry. The narrow sleeves of her dress were cuffed with more pearls making it look like she was wearing white pearl bracelets. She carried a lone white Celisa flower as big as a child's head with five white curled petals, serving as her bouquet. A white oversized veil made of delicate net covered her from head to foot. The over all effect was one of purity and mystery, like a forest nymph seen through the morning mist.
"What have I talked myself into?" She thought. "A simple dinner!" The chief had said. "Huh!"
She had expected a simple ceremony in front of a few grumpy chieftains. Instead here she was, sitting on an oversized throne of colorful plumes, perched on top of a raised dais, which seemed to be a permanent feature of a large square in the center of the village.
Nearly a thousand people, men, women and children were crammed in the square, dressed in their gaudy best. Guests had been pouring in from the nearby villages, and were arriving in large drove even now. The village drummers had been banging away all day inviting Chief Wakabu's subjects-which had been in turned relayed from village to village.
The girls were fussing over her. They had arranged and rearranged her jewelry and veil so many times; any one that was not trained in the patience of a Naboo queen; might have exploded. She felt tired and sick. If only Anakin would come and get over with this misery. But there was no sign of him. She longed to see a familiar face of some civilized human.
Weddings in the highlands of her home were so much simpler. Among the elaborate weddings the bride and groom would exchange the rings and take the oath in front of their guests. The witnesses would sign the documents. Then there would be dinner and dancing. The simple ones had no dinner just a light snack.
But then the Capa considered marriage ceremonies as a once in a life time event. Capa married for life and usually did not remarry even after the death of a spouse.
Amidala's cogitation was interrupted by a hush in the crowd. She looked up to see a group of smart young men, all dressed in black, heading their way. A tall handsome man dressed all in white like a rajah from the Orient system, walked in their midst.
"Anakin!" Amidala whispered incredulously to her self.
He was scrubbed and shaved, and those clothes, it was like they were made for him. Gone were the drab Jedi garbs and that untidy stubble in which she had seen him for the past so many days.
Anakin beamed at her with a smile he could hardly repress. There was a hubbub in the group of girls behind her-her handmaidens she called them-The boys arrival seemed to have excited them. She looked at the group from the corner of her eyes. And was quite chagrined to see that they had eyes only for the groom-for her bodyguard. She was also angry with Anakin, that he should actually be enjoying himself.
"Why this is just an act and he knows it." She thought angrily-nothing seemed to be going her way and there he was grinning and practically bursting with pride and joy.
Anakin stood next to her, he coolly reached out and held her hand in his; it was warm and clammy.
"Perhaps he needs to touch something familiar." she thought, but what surprised her was that his proximity was making her nervous.
His touch sent a hot bolt through her arm, her palm was burning from it, she squirmed. Anakin tightened the grip on her hand lacing his fingers through hers. She had never been so nervous before, but then she reasoned, she had never been a bride before. Amidala closed her eyes.
"This is not the real thing." she kept on repeating to her self and each time she repeated it, the words sounded more hollow and unreal. Her heart beat wildly. Her mind advised her to act with prudence, which always came to her naturally, yet she was angry with herself now.
She was the Queen, always calm and composed, in the midst of battle or in court with dignitaries of the world, always in control of herself. But this was not the court and this was no war. This was a situation that confounded the woman in her. Something had struck her, deep within. It had released a ghost she had willed to imprisonment.
Chieftains came onto the dais and took their places besides the bride and groom. Twenty chieftains of all Capaland come to bear witness to this wedding. Indeed it was a royal wedding.
The chief announced that he was giving away his daughter Amidala of the Capa to Anakin Skywalker of Theed highlands. He bore witness along with... he painstakingly read out the list of names of all the distinguished witnesses and their lengthy titles.
The bride and groom took the holy vow, promising to be one, forever to be loyal to each other in life and in death. After which the bride and the groom had to sign it
Chief Wakabu announced that the groom would present the bride with the ring. Anakin pulled his hand away from her, dipping it into his pocket he took out the box, which the chief had given him. He held the ring out to the crowd and the stone dazzled with the brightness of a star. Amidala noticed that it was a rare and priceless jewel of ancient times-a diamond. A real one she guessed because the synthetic ones did not shine so brightly.
Amidala held out her hand trying hard to keep her defiant posture. She was surprised to see that her hands were trembling. Anakin saw it.
He looked at her knowingly, a huge grin cut through his beaming face. Holding her trembling fingers in one hand he slipped the ring on with the other.
"This is it!" he said. "You are my wife now." Then he raised her veil over her head to stare down at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She looked up at him defiantly, with a you-seem -to-be-enjoying-yourself look. Anakin smiled and shrugged his shoulder with the You-got-us-into-this-mess look.
All this ceremony was getting to her. She forgot she was the queen. She was Amidala of the Capa and this was her warrior. She closed her eyes in expectation as he bent down to kiss her softly. Her heart was beating like a drum. No one had ever kissed her before.
Anakin disengaged and stood up to his full height. For a moment they stared into each other's eyes. The crowd showered them with flowers and petals, cheering and congratulating them. The boys patting and thumping the groom, almost knocking him over. Wakabu asked the pair to sit. Anakin held her hand again as he bent towards her to hear what she had to say.
"Anakin where were you? I thought I would die with boredom." She whispered in his ears.
"I had to greet all those haughty chieftains." he told her, she started giggling as she looked around at them. Some of them had great feathers stuck to their turbans. Anakin told her that the feathers denoted some brave heroic act of the past. He had picked a lot of information from his friend Liane.
"You look gorgeous!" He whispered to her. She felt an excited thrill run through her as he came close, his scent making her heady. Amidala sighed and leant back in her chair.
"God! What is happening to me?" This is just a staged drama; I shouldn't be going all mushy like this. Anakin is so much younger than me-he's just a boy!" She thought to her self.
But even as she tried to reason with herself, that boy's touch on her hand was making her melt like ice.
They watched as the villagers rejoiced. For them this was a chance to celebrate, whether they were acquainted with the bride or groom was irrelevant. The drums began to beat slowly at first. The youth formed a circle, which seemed to become larger and larger as more and more, people joined in. Inside this circle was another circle, that of the female guests-obviously there were occasions when the village boys and girls were allowed to mix.
They moved about in a synchronized deliberate way. The outer circle moving clockwise and the inner one anti-clockwise. The two rings would move a step in each other's direction then out again then they would clap in time to their steps and then repeat the first step. As the drum beat faster the pace of the dancers increased. The slower participants dropping out as the drums beat a faster pace-till only the young boys were left leaping and somersaulting wildly, intent on keeping up with the furious pace of the drums. Whoops and whistles filled the air.
Anakin had a harebrained notion to join them; he looked at the dancers in rapt awe. He was happy for himself and for the young souls enjoying themselves.
The two of them went numb when the chief came and whispered to them that it was time to go to their room. She felt Anakin's grasp tighten around her hand as he swallowed hard.
Anakin felt her stiffen and he felt her hands become cold. He was aware of her unease at his nearness.