As usual, thank you all so much for bearing with me and reading this. Again, I apologize that it's taken so long to get this chapter out.
Chapter 13
The world smelled of burnt hair to her. Her mother's hair, the hair that she would bury her face in when she was a child. Her sister's hair, the hair that should would pull when sentiments were bad, but more often, the hair that she would painstakingly design and braid when sentiments were good. She would never get a chance to touch them again. They burned, and all of Padme's best memories burned along with them.
Her entire world was bathed in shades of black and orange. Black like the eyes of the man that had slaughtered them, and orange like the flames that continued to consume their bodies and finish his work. Foreign tendrils of hatred began to creep into her mind. She had briefly entertained such thoughts before, in the darkest days of the Trade Federation invasion. Even then, the tragedy had not been so personal. Now that history was repeating itself Padme found that she could really care less about the Neimoidians.
And the people, the ones who used to be her people. Padme found herself cursing the same people that she had worked years to protect, for they were the same people that turned their backs on her so easily and allowed a mercenary to strip her family of whatever dignity they had.
Anakin softly rested his left hand on Padme's shoulder, aware that any small words or motions could break her spirit forever. He did not mean to probe her thoughts, but she was projecting her grief and her guilt so obviously that it was impossible for him not to pick up on it.
"They were brave to the very end," he said, addressing what he felt was Padme's concern. "I can feel it still, they did not have any fear for themselves. All they thought about was you."
To his dismay, Padme let out a shriek of unbearable agony and then broke into uncontrollable fits of sobbing. Unsure of his next step, Anakin knelt onto the grass alongside Padme and cradled his arm around her, hoping to comfort her the way she had comforted him only hours ago. Padme fell onto his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him, her hands strangely tugging at his hair.
"I never should have left," she said after the crying died down. "I thought I was doing the right thing, but I ended up killing them."
"Padme, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known."
"But I should have! I'm the Queen! I couldn't protect my planet, and I couldn't even protect my own family."
"You're a great Queen, Padme, but you're still a human being. You were tricked by someone. As was I. You made a decision you felt was right."
"But it wasn't right. And I didn't have the best intentions."
Padme stood up and began to pace in circles around the still seated Anakin.
"We ran away, Anakin. I allowed ourselves to be manipulated out of Theed because I wanted to get away from my job and the politicians, and I left this place because I didn't want to deal with my parents' and Sola's questions."
"Padme," Anakin pleaded, reaching his hand out in protest. "Don't…"
"I was wrong, Anakin. I was wrong for the wrong reasons." She looked back at the decapitated pieces of the assassin. "And I have committed a transgression even more…"
She stopped speaking, and as Anakin watched her painful expression change into one of blankness he was suddenly wary of a new feeling of despair tinged with determined resolve.
"NO!" Anakin leapt up and tackled Padme to the ground just as she was about to run forward towards the conflagration. He grabbed her arms and held them tightly against each other behind her back.
"Let me go," Padme yelled. She kicked her feet against the ground as she strove to break free of Anakin's grasp. "I do not deserve to live!"
"Yes you do!" Anakin motioned with his fingers at their surroundings. "What you don't deserve is any of this."
"Anakin…" Padme started, furious that the boy was not allowing her to do what she had to do. She looked into his eyes expecting to see the same rage, but instead was shocked to see them supplicating and wet from tears.
"Anakin," she tried to reason with him. "Please let go of me. There is nothing left for me on this world. My family, my people, my planet, I have destroyed them all."
"I'm still here, Padme," Anakin begged, his croaking voice sounding more like the boy she had known on Tatooine than the teenager that bound her arms together now through his sheer will.
"Please don't leave me. I need you."
The words pierced through Padme's heart, and the realization of her selfishness once again put her conscience to shame. She had been trying to run away again, this time from the pain that inflicted her heart, and in trying to do so she had forgotten about the fragile boy who had just experienced the same ordeal as she had only months ago.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"
"Padme," Anakin interrupted, again sensing her thoughts. "I am the one who is selfish, not you. I just cannot bear the thought of losing you."
Their conversation was abruptly cut short by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Two Royal Guards newly alerted to the blaze engulfing the Naberrie home slowed their pace when they entered the backyard and cautiously pointed their blasters at the two intruders.
"Get up," one of the commanded. "Put your hands in the air!"
Padme meekly rose, but Anakin gazed at the officers menacingly. After defying them purposefully for a brief moment, he stood up. Instead of raising his hands, however, he moved them towards his belt and approached the men.
"Leave," he ordered with just as much authority. "This is none of your business."
The guards stood their ground.
"Don't move another step," barked the first one. "We will shoot."
His comrade, however, let his eye meander to the woman behind the boy and instantly recognized her features.
"It's Amidala," he shouted for the benefit of his colleague. Still with his blaster in the air, he stepped forward towards the Queen. "Your majesty, we have orders to escort you to the capitol."
"Don't you dare touch her!" In the blink of an eye, Anakin's blue lightsaber separated him and the Queen from the officers. He deftly deflected several bolts meant to disarm him.
"I'm not afraid of you," he taunted. Anakin felt the Force flow through his body as he advanced towards the two guards. They were nothing, he told himself, other than insignificant obstacles, and they deserved to be punished for getting in his way. His and Padme's.
"Anakin! Don't!"
He looked back in confusion. Was she going to surrender to these swine?
"No more killing! Please!"
"As you wish." With a swift motion of his hands the two guards found themselves flying through the air until their heads collided with the hard surface of a neighboring house.
"They still alive," he told Padme. "They will live."
"What will we do now? More will come for us."
Anakin hesitated. His sensed something familiar, so familiar that he had previously overlooked for too long.
"Obi-Wan. I sense him. He is very close to here now."
"Can he help us?"
"The Jedi will never want to help me."
He grabbed Padme's forearm and tugged her along.
"Hurry. I have a plan."
Obi-Wan stared hard at the detached limbs and the headless torso that they used to belong to.
"Oh Anakin, what have you gotten yourself into?"
"This was clearly done by a lightsaber," remarked Master Gallia morbidly.
"The man does not appear to be an upstanding character. Perhaps there was reason for my Padawan's actions."
One of the security guards accompanying him stepped up.
"Master Jedi, according to our records, I believe that he is the assassin that we have been looking for."
"Regardless of the man's background," Adi stated coolly, "this was not a clean killing. It was done with the purpose of inflicting pain."
"It makes sense," said another guard, a bearded one. "We believe that the assassin may have been in collusion with the Queen with the intention to distract us before the Neimoidians invaded. If that's the case, then it's entirely possible the Queen and her rogue Jedi would move to cover their tracks and eliminate all involved."
"That's preposterous," yelled Obi-Wan. "Why would my Padawan conspire to invade a planet?"
Adi patted the young Jedi Knight on the back.
"We must be open-minded, Master Kenobi. He is not your Padawan anymore. He may be under the control of the Sith now."
Obi-Wan averted his gaze from the Jedi Master. He knew that whatever he said would have no affect on her. He tried to sense his Padawan, perhaps even warn him of the danger he was in. Anakin was close by, and it was obvious that Adi could not sense him.
That's because she is wrong. Anakin is still my Padawan, and I will get him back.
Perhaps it wasn't yet time to disclose what he knew to her.
"I can't believe they are saying that about me," Anakin whispered to Padme. They both cautiously peered through the window of their neighbor's abandoned home at the two Jedi and the official gathering they had brought along with them.
"It's my fault. They think you killed the man."
"No, Padme. It's their fault! They should know me better!"
"Obi-Wan doesn't seem that angry."
"He still thinks I am a Sith."
Anakin looked at Padme with a hurt and wounded expression in his eyes.
"I am not a Sith," he almost shouted. Without any hesitation Anakin raised his hands in the air, and the building above and around them began to crumble. Pieces of roof peeled off and began hurling themselves at the Nubian Security guards who surrounded the scene.
"Watch out," warned Obi-Wan. He focused his immediate attention on their safety and along with Adi Gallia meticulously deflected the pieces of stone and cement harmlessly aside. The debris kept falling all around them though, and the Jedi only focused on the ones that were about to crush the people around them.
"It worked," Padme exclaimed. The Jedi were still unaware that the crumbled debris now formed a formidable barrier between themselves and the two-person Jedi flyer they had landed in front of the house.
She jumped out the window, but hearing no one follow her, Padme glanced back at Anakin. His face was covered with sweat, and he was hyperventilating from exhaustion as he propped his arms on the windowsill to support himself.
"I'm fine."
Anakin summoned the Force, calling for his deepest reserves of energy and strength. He rolled outside onto the grass and Padme quickly pulled him upright. They both began sprinting towards the front street, where dwindling remnants of the mob, some frightened away by the fire, still gathered.
"Hurry, Padme! Into that ship, and we'll be able to leave this planet."
As Obi-Wan and Adi scrambled across the rocky barrier, the sight of their starship taking off into the night sky informed them of the fact that their prey had escaped from right under their noses.
Unbeknownst to them, a bearded security officer took advantage of the chaotic confusion and silently crept away and activated his comlink.
"Governor, a transmission from Captain Narca."
"I will take it in my office."
The Governor walked into his spacious study and slammed the doors shut. He sat down on his desk and soon the figure of the Captain was standing before him.
"Lord Repsaj, I am reporting to you from Varykino."
"Good. What's going on there? I know something has happened but the Holo-Nets are telling me nothing."
"The Queen's home is burning. Our bounty hunter has apparently slaughtered the Naberrie household and set their house on fire."
"What of the Queen?"
"I don't know, but the bounty hunter was also found dead, chopped to pieces and beheaded by a lightsaber."
Repsaj's immediate reaction was a smirk. The Queen may still be alive, but he would save plenty by not having to reimburse a dead assassin.
"You have done well, Captain. It is clear that the Queen's Jedi Protector killed him in retribution. If this boy Jedi could have taken down a bounty hunter so easily, it is clear that he is a threat to us."
"He must not be allowed to harm you. What are your orders?"
"Lay low for now. I will take care of this situation and make it to our benefit."
The transmission ended, and Repsaj activated his comlink to contact his assistant.
"Yes, Lord Governor?"
"Contact Viceroy Gunray and tell him that I have prepared another speech."
"My fellow Nubians, I speak to you in the midst of the greatest tempest our precious planet has ever faced. I will not alarm you with speculated rumors, for we all know that our situation is indeed a grave one. Communications are still down, and I have not yet been able to make contact with the Republic and our Supreme Chancellor. Even if they knew of our plight here, their hands would be still tied because of the legal aspect of this occupation.
However, I come to you today with a message of hope. The Neimoidians are an alien species to us, but they are not without reason. The Trade Federation is a business, and thus we must conduct appropriate negotiations with them. I am happy to inform you that I am making significant progress in my talks with the Viceroy, and that it will not be long before I can say to you with confidence that we have worked out a course of action that will be beneficial to all parties involved. Until then, I urge you all to maintain your courage, stay calm, and have faith in your government. I will not let you down.
I also come before you today with a sober reproach. We are a civilized society, and in this pressing time we must not lose touch of the values that we hold so dear. Intrinsic to these values are the ideals of law and order. I know that the idea of vigilante justice can be appealing to many right now, but such actions lead to nothing but unnecessary bloodshed and death.
It is with great sadness that I inform you that the innocent family of our Queen has fallen victim to such inexcusable actions. I must remind you all that we must give everyone, no matter how vile their crimes, the benefits of due process and a fair trial before condemning them. Such lawless retaliation must not be allowed to continue.
I have already set into motion an inquiry to investigate this atrocity, and it has been uncovered that a vigilante group led by our esteemed native artist Cnal-Ides Broos was responsible for ordering the deaths of and executing the innocent members of the Naberrie family.
We must not let them, or anyone else on this planet, die in vain! Justice must be brought to anyone who is guilty of breaking the law! I urge you, my fellow Nubians, to help bring justice to our land. Assist our security forces in locating and apprehending both our former Queen and Cnal-Ides Broos. Regardless of what they have done, we must ensure their safety so that they will be given the opportunity of a fair trial in our custody.
I must bid you goodnight now. There is much more work for me in the days ahead, as there is for all of us. But if we stick together and keep our senses and our values, I know that Naboo will weather this storm."
With the speech over, the Governor walked smugly back into his office in the Royal Palace. Waiting for him was his assistant.
"Lord Governor, I have a urgent coded transmission from an unknown source."
"I will take it in my office."
"As you wish."
Duu Repsaj knew what to expect when he activated his holo-transmitter.
"What is the meaning of this," demanded the image of an indignant poet.
"We must have order on this planet. I will not tolerate rogue actions by anyone in this dire time, no matter how esteemed they are."
"What are you…"
Broos's eyes grew wide as recognition of the Governor's treachery set in.
"I see that this was your intention all along. I never should have trusted you."
"I do not know what you are talking about," Repsaj said coldly and innocently. "Turn yourself in, and you will receive a fair trial and perhaps even clemency, given these circumstances.
"You will not get away with this! My following, my people, they will never turn their backs on me!"
A devious smile crept onto the Governor's face.
"I'm afraid, poet, that your precious people should be the least of your worries right now."
"Padme."
She didn't respond. Her eyes remained glued to the Holo-Net reports inside the ship.
"Padme, I told you not to watch them. They will only bring you pain."
"I needed to know," she said, still staring at the broadcast. "Now I know."
Anakin walked up beside her and sat down in the pilot's chair.
"Where should I set our coordinates to?"
"We won't leave this planet just yet, Anakin."
His eyebrows shivered in anticipation of the coming confrontation.
"Tell me where I can find him, Padme."