Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. Sorry for the long delay in updates. It's been a strange week.
Chapter 5
The air continued to tremble in Anakin's ears with deadly auspices. There was an impostor in the room. One whose murderous thoughts should have stood out among the impotent bourgeois had Anakin's senses not been corroded by the lingering effects of his binge in the Nubian arts of mixed cocktails.
Anakin immediately rotated his eyes around the room to locate the one person he sought to protect, and to his dismay Padme was being swirled about by the rude man further and further away from him. A twinge of jealousy burrowed into his head, and Anakin had to fight hard to not allow it to become a distraction. She's wearing my hairpin, he reminded himself as he stared at the trinket entwined in the Queen's braids. She's wearing my japor snippet. He means nothing to her.
Blinking twice, he turned his eyes to his own dance partner and noted the difference. There was not much of it physically. Sabe could've passed for Padme's older sister. Twin, even. But then, he remembered, she had already passed for Padme herself during the Trade Federation crisis five years ago. Probably still plays the body double role even today.
There were slight differences too, of course. The handmaiden had a trimmer, more athletic body. Her eyes were sharper and seemed more alert, a trait Anakin recognized in a career bodyguard. Her hair was lighter than he had remembered, and definitely not as dark and, in Anakin's opinion, mysterious as Padme's. All in all, Sabe was a very attractive woman, comparable in the eyes of most men, Anakin surmised, to her queen. But not in his eyes. The main difference was, he finally concluded, that while he could see Sabe's beauty, with Padme he could feel hers.
He looked around for Padme. Anakin could barely see her now, and not only was that disappointing, it was also very contrary to being prudent to his now overwhelming urge to keep her safe from the danger that was lurking in the chamber. He subtly nudged Sabe and whispered in her ear.
"Do not show any panic or surprise, but I think there is a threat to the Queen in this room."
Sabe obeyed his instruction everywhere but in her eyes. "What is it," she whispered back. "How do you know?"
"I don't know, but I have a very strong feeling about it. Very bad, too."
He tried to locate the trespasser again. Concentrating only on his feelings for Padme and his need to protect her, he stretched his consciousness across the chamber. He was one with the chamber now, one with all the dancing nobles…one with the impostor who had just perched himself into position in an alcove above the crowd. Something cold, he felt. Physically cold.
Like the hard durasteel of a blaster.
"Everyone get down," he yelled as he tried his best to gently let go of Sabe. "There's an assassin in the room."
His voice carried through the entire chamber and Anakin felt the rising panic now starting to overtake the mob. He wondered if it was a wise decision to alarm everyone.
The blaster fired. Anakin screamed in panic and ran across the room towards Padme, unintentionally Force-pushing a whole throng of aristocrats violently onto the ground in the process. His hand was already on his lightsaber, and as he lit it and jumped over some of the crowd Anakin prayed that he would not be too late.
He was too late. For as many miracles as the Force could achieve and as fast as a young passionate former Padawan could move himself, there are few things in the galaxy that could overcome the light speed velocity of a blaster bolt.
Anakin saw the deadly blast of energy strike directly into Padme's head. And his heart stopped as soon as he felt hers stop.
Now I normally would not update with such a short chapter, but this is too evil of a cliffie to leave you guys with. The next, longer, chapter should be up later tonight or tomorrow. But in the meantime, there is a thread on where you make trailers for your stories, so I made a little trailer for the entire Rogue Saga as a whole, so hopefully you can enjoy this in the meantime.
Scene: Queen Amidala of Naboo hesitantly approaches a hooded man standing alone in the Palace lobby.
Voiceover of Mace Windu: "Do you think he is a threat?"
The man pulls down his hood to reveal the face of a young Anakin.
Voiceover of Obi-Wan: "He is just a boy"
Scene: Changes to a balcony in the palace of Theed overlooking a waterfall. Anakin and Padme stand side by side.
Anakin: "The Jedi and Master Obi-Wan weren't what I expected them to be."
Scene: The camera slowly zooms away from the two and into the waterfall. All you can see is water. Then fire. A house in a small Naboo village is burning. Camera shifts to Padme, kneeling on the ground, crying and screaming. Anakin stands behind her, face bruised and bloody, unsure of what to do.
Voiceover of Anakin: "I couldn't save her either."
Scene: Lightsabers hiss and clash. The camera zooms out to reveal the participants-Anakin and Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan: "It's not too late Anakin. The Jedi..."
Anakin: "The Jedi mean nothing to me now. And neither do you."
Scene: The inside of a ship. Anakin and Padme sit huddled in a corner with weary demeanors.
Anakin: "Where do we go now?"
Padme: "Somewhere. Anywhere. There is nothing left on Naboo for me."
Scene: Switches to fire again, and an explosion. A older Anakin is running towards a burning building, screaming at the top of his lungs. Scene then changes to a desert landscape illuminated by the moon. We see an even older Anakin, slashing at various scoundrels and scofflaws with his lightsaber. His eyes are burning, almost yellow. He revels in each death he inflicts.
Voiceover of Anakin: "There is nothing but revenge. It is my life."
Scene: Obi-Wan Kenobi is cautiously approaching someone.
Obi-Wan: "She may be alive."
Scene: Anakin Skywalker walks confidently into a royal palace gathering, brushing through the mingling aristocrats. His hair is short and dignified. He is wearing the expensive and exquisite robes of a noble. He joins the crowd with a sophisticated gait.
Anakin: "I am Naszqa Dooku, the Count of Serenno."