Hello Again everyone! Chapter 3….I've had a request for longer chapters so I'll see how I go about that lol. Keep the reviews coming, and enjoy!
Anakin felt Padme shudder repeatedly in his arms. Her legs still wrapped around his waist, and her face buried in his chest, her tears falling onto his Jedi cloak. What is it my love? Why all of the tears? He thought to himself. Anakin gently brought his hand to the insides of her thighs, stroking them softly. She immediately sat straight up in his lap, and her eyes looked straight into his own, showing pain. Her breath was caught in her throat, and she brought her hands down to his, trying to move them off of her thighs, but he wouldn't allow it.
"My love, what is it?" he whispered softly to her. He kept his hands on her thighs, and gently started massaging them. To his surprise, she threw her hands down to his, and the tears began to flow freely, and she screamed into his cloak, desperately trying to pry his touch off of that area on her body. Anakin, with a curious look on his face, removed his hands from her thighs, but continued down to the edges of her dress, and slowly began lifting it.
"Anakin please I….I don't want you to see this…" she protested immensely through sobs. In horror, and in shock, Anakin continued to lift the dress, only to reveal dark bruises on his angel's body. He gasped, and she broke apart in front of him. When she had seen the sheer look of horror on Anakin's face, her first instinct was to pull her dress back down to cover what she had been hiding from him, and run. She slid off of Anakin's lap, and quickly made her way for her bedroom, excusing all of the handmaidens whom were making small talk with 3P0. But before she could shut the door, Anakin took her by the arm, let himself into her room, and closed the door behind the two of them. Padme immediately fell to her knees, embarrassed and ashamed of what he had seen.
"Padme….what happened?" Anakin kneeled down to her, taking her into his arms, and letting her cry into his embrace. "It's alright….don't cry…I'm hear now. Padme I need to know" Anakin's pleas were desperate, his heart was aching knowing that someone had touched Padme in this way, and she hadn't even told him! SHE HADN'T TOLD HIM!
"Padme, tell me. I'm not asking you anymore" He pulled her to stand with him, only to sit with her on the king sized bed. He looked past her tears and into her eyes, holding her gaze with his, silently asking her to trust him. He slipped his hands down her sides, and up her thighs, taking her dress up to her waist to look at what had happened to her. He softly ran his hand over the bruises that covered her inner thighs and the bruise just below her naval. His gaze still holding hers, he moved his hands to slowly slide her panties downwards, and the bruises he saw underneath the delicate scrap of garment brought him to tears. He pulled her close to his body immediately, and tears ran down his cheeks. Padme held him tightly,
"I'm so sorry Anakin". He stroked his hands through her hair, "My Love this isn't your fault, who did this to you!" His voice began to rise in anger, still worried however. Padme shook her head, "It happened last night….Anakin I can't even begin to bring myself to tell you …who". Anakin tightened his grip on his lover, desperate to get his hands on the bastard who had caused her such pain. Hell the second he found out who, he would run him through with his own light saber. "Ani…do you remember… a while ago, I told you about an old friend of mine? Paulo? He and I were…" "In the legislative youth program together, I remember Padme" Anakin finished her sentence for her.
"The night before you came back, I was assisting Chancellor Palpatine in his quarters, and the chancellor informed me that Paulo had been brought into Coruscant representing count dooku, and wanted to negotiate the terms and relationships between the Separatists and the Republic…ironically, out of all of the senators that could have dealt with this matter, he insisted on speaking with the Senator from Naboo", Anakin pulled slightly away from Padme's embrace, and pondered the idea of what "relationships" needed to be discussed between the Republic and the Separatists. Clearly the two sides hadn't agreed on many things, including the war. Why would he be in Coruscant to negotiate now?
"My love, how did he hurt you, Chancellor Palpatine was in your presence, or should have been at that time?" Anakin found himself in a confusing situation. Unless she had brought Paulo somewhere where they could be alone together…..Anakin's eyes immediately turned from a look of wonder to a look of fear, and pain. "You were alone with him Padme. Don't hide that from me…." "Anakin we were in the Jedi tower, it was after one of our briefings, and everyone had left. I had to stay, he wanted to help! I didn't…I didn't …." Padme stuttered on her words, not knowing where Anakin was going with his accusations. Anakin's voice turned to a soft, serious whisper.
"He touched you". Padme looked away from him, unable to face the fact that another man had tried to have his way with her. The way Anakin had said those words, made her feel like she was nothing anymore, nothing but some other man's property, and she hated it. Her mind flashed back to that evening, the way Paulo had his hands on her, pushed her against the wall, even as she fought his physical violence, his words were what had really cut into her.
Anakin watched the looks on Padme's face. Using the force, he linked his mind with her own, her thoughts running straight through his, and he had seen exactly what Paulo had done, had said. The disgusting threats he made to her, the force he used to push her against a wall, bruising her in the places he had previously examined on her body, and the way he touched her. Anakin watched Paulo through Padme's memory, and watched Padme ache, and scream, fighting to get him away from her. That was enough. Anakin couldn't bare to continue viewing what she herself had experienced.
"That's why your cloak was on the chair outside that night….when I came back….I couldn't tell anyone, one because I was embarrassed, and two because….if I had….Paulo would have killed me, I know it. I sat out on the balcony, wishing on everything that you would come home…..and I….I wrapped myself in your cloak". Padme's soft tears stained her cheeks, and Anakin kissed them away gently. "Padme, I'm not going anywhere. I will protect you, I swear it. I will find him, and deal with him, until that happens I'm not leaving you, I promise". Anakin pulled her off of the bed, and led her into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet in her exquisite bath tub, the sides lined with golden trim, and dim candles lit around the counters. He softly kissed the pulse on the side of her neck, sucking gently. She gasped, her hands moving up to Anakin's shoulders.
"My Love you need to relax, have a bath….sooth your bruises. It will make you feel better, I promise". As soon as the bath water had finished running, Padme stripped herself of her clothing, and Anakin slowly lowered her into the warm, water. Her long, brown hair cascading down her back, she slowly laid herself evenly in the water, sighing as the water took the pain from her body. Anakin brushed his hand over her face. "My love, I have a briefing to attend this evening, I will be back shortly. I've informed Dorme that she should remain here in the apartment until I return". Padme nodded slowly, her eyes focusing on his masculine features. "Will you be alright, Padme?" "I'll be fine Ani". He nodded, kissing her forehead softly as she lay in the bath, and than slipped from her apartment, heading downstairs to his briefing with the other members of the Jedi council.