SANCTUARY

Chapter Six

Anakin parked the speeder as close as possible to Watto's shop, but found it considerably difficult given that Mos Espa was especially busy that morning. Anakin swallowed nervously and quickly surveyed the occupants of the street. He grimaced, suddenly regretting his decision to let Padme come with him. His eyes quickly found Padme and he could only shake his head at her naivety. Her eyes widened with almost child-like curiosity as the speeders and people past by. She looked up at him, expectantly waiting for him to make the first move onto the street.

He shook his head again and leaned down to her to whisper: "Don't say I didn't warn you."

She smirked playfully back at him and shrugged. "It doesn't look that bad."

His eyebrows rose slightly and he smiled knowingly. Apparently, she hadn't seen the real Mos Espa. The day she had arrived must have been a fluke because he had heard horror stories about women being kidnapped, sold as slaves or worse, and never heard from again. It was more than a miracle that she had made it out of there safely. He looked down and felt his face redden when he met Padme's confused and impatient eyes.

"Alright, we're going to have to cross. Just stay close and follow me."

Padme nodded and he took the determination in that action as a sign to proceed. He looked from side to side, waiting for the precise moment to cross. Unfortunately, today was busier than usual, which was extremely busy, and crossing the street was going to prove to be a harrowing task. After several minutes of waiting, Anakin's face lit up at the opportune moment. He excitedly grabbed Padme's arm and pulling her after him, hurried across the street. They were only beeped at a few times, which was pretty good in Anakin's estimation.

Once they were safely across with all limbs intact, Anakin quickly pulled her all the way over to the side. She looked at him questioningly and when she didn't receive an explanation from him, simply shrugged and followed Anakin, who was between her and the street and also a few paces ahead of her. As they continued down the side of the street, Padme, having been pushed so close to the shops by Anakin, actually hit her shoulder against them a few times.

"Ow! Anakin!"

Anakin slowed for only a moment to raise an eyebrow in her direction. When he saw it was only a minor scrape, continued on his way despite Padme's glares of annoyance. Just before she was about to cry out again in pain, Anakin halted and turned into a shop. She breathed a sigh of relief and gratefully followed him in, suddenly feeling a little regret that she insisted on coming along.

She followed Anakin to the counter of the shop, feeling a slight pang of déjà vu. The appearance of the shop seemed reminiscent of a long-forgotten dream. The walls, counter, even the parts in the shop seemed to scream at her and she suddenly half-expected a small blonde boy to walk out from the backroom.

Her eyes began to widen in recognition and she frantically looked at Anakin, whose eyes were plastered to the dust floor. Her mouth opened slowly, as if she was stalling so she could think of something comforting to say but then the small, insect-like creature flew in from the backroom, confirming all her suspicions.

"Ani! It's good to see you again!" Watto cried cheerfully.

Anakin mustered a faint smile and immediately set to the matter at hand. "I'm here for the part you ordered for me."

"Ah, yes, yes. It's here." He excused himself for a moment, turning to the backroom where he yelled for Anakin's order, then turned back with a semi-sincere smile on his face.

"And who is this lovely lady with you? You know, you look awfully familiar…have you been in my shop before?"

Padme was about to answer when Anakin quickly cut in. "She's Owen's cousin…from Andara."

Watto nodded slowly, trying to remember where Andara was. "Oh yes…Andara. That must have been a pretty long journey for you, then?"

Padme nodded quickly, immediately chastising herself for forgetting to put her hood up.

When Padme failed to provide him with anything else, Watto shrugged and turned to the backroom to check on Anakin's order. He muttered something under his breath about how slow this one was and when he looked back at Anakin, quickly smiled to ease Anakin's intense, angry stare. An awkward silence penetrated the room and Watto found himself shifting around tensely under Anakin's concentrated glare.

When the small slave boy emerged from the backroom with Anakin's order, Watto sighed with relief shakily and quickly handed it to Anakin.

"There you are," he chuckled nervously. "It was nice doing business with you, Ani. If you ever need any more parts, don't hesitate to check with me."

Anakin nodded carefully, measuring Watto to determine the sincerity of his offer. He smiled uncertainly after several uncomfortable moments and quickly motioned with his head to Padme that they should leave. She smiled quickly at Watto and followed Anakin out the door.

Once they were safely outside, Anakin leaned against a nearby wall and sighed deeply. Padme leaned next to him and turned her head to face him, with concern in her eyes.

"Anakin…I'm sorry you had to do that."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It doesn't matter. It's been almost ten years…why should I hold a grudge? I know Mom wouldn't like that…"

As he trailed off, he sucked in air deeply, to push down the pain that omission brought to the surface.

Padme placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled gently. "I know, Anakin. You don't have to talk about it anymore if you don't want to."

He nodded gratefully, slightly ashamed with himself for showing weakness in front of her like that. He started to move in the direction of his speeder but stopped when Padme didn't follow him.

"Are you hungry, Anakin?"

He blinked and shook his head. "Where did that come from?"

She chuckled good-naturedly. "Well, we probably missed dinner already, knowing Owen. And I'm getting hungry. Isn't there a restaurant somewhere where we can get some food?"

His eyebrows raised and he sighed. "Restaurant? You won't find anything refined like that around here. You don't want to eat here, Padme. We'd be better off just going home and making food there."

She frowned and moved a little closer to him. "What difference does it make? We're already here…we might as well eat here and then go home. Besides, I don't know if I can make it that long, Anakin. I'm pretty hungry."

He rolled his eyes and sighed tiredly. He really didn't feel like arguing with her. Besides, given their previous arguments, he figured he didn't stand a chance against a Senator.

"Alright, alright, alright." He started looking around; trying to decide which cantina would be the safest for Padme. He sighed again, realizing that she probably wouldn't be safe anywhere he took her in Mos Espa. Nevertheless, he decided on one nearby, remembering that he and Owen had ate there after a race and that it was surprisingly mellow there.

He motioned for Padme to follow him and shook his head at the wide grin of happiness that spread across her face. They walked briskly down the street and reached the cantina within a matter of minutes. Before they walked in, Padme quickly pulled her hood up and grinned at Anakin. He exhaled loudly and found himself grabbing her arm and pulling her closely along after him.

Padme's curious eyes roamed around the room as Anakin led her to a table, remembering quickly to hide the fact that it was very unusual for someone like her to be in a place like this. But she couldn't help it. She had never been anywhere like this in her life and the thrill of being somewhere new heightened as the music grew louder in her ears. There were a few lounge singers off to the side and her eyes widened with further curiosity as she surveyed the interesting looking creatures dancing near the singers. They walked past the bar and she could feel Anakin tense as several of the patrons cast glances in their direction. She couldn't understand why he was so nervous today. Mos Espa just seemed like a less-advanced Coruscant to her.

They reached a booth and Anakin quickly slid in. Padme followed slowly, still taking in her awe-inspiring surroundings.

"Padme, sit down." He muttered.

She snapped out of it and quickly sat across from him, an embarrassed expression crossing her face. Her gaze returned to the people around her and she continued to watch them as if they were some mystical creatures that had never before been seen.

The waiter approached their table, asking for their order, and since Padme was off in la-la land, Anakin just ordered for her. When the waiter left them, his brow furrowed in confusion when he realized what she was looking at.

"Padme?"

"Yes?" She answered, almost hypnotically.

"Snap out of it."

A shocked expression appeared on her face and she gaped openly at him. "What?"

"Stop looking at those people. I know you don't mean anything by it, but you're going to cause trouble."

She nodded apologetically. "I'm sorry. This is just so exciting! I've never been anywhere before like this in my life! Isn't this exciting, Anakin?"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Padme, you have no idea what you're talking about."

She was about to answer, but the waiter appeared with their food and drinks. Anakin quickly took it and started eating as fast as he could. He only stopped when he noticed the disgusted expression on Padme's face.

"Sorry…I just want to get out of here, alright? Eat your food."

She sighed and started to eat her food, sorry that her excursion was ending.

They finished their food, quickly paid the waiter, and started to leave. Anakin immediately grabbed her arm again, pulling her quickly after him as his tense desire to get out of there intensified. They were almost there, he could see the exit several feet in front of him, when a scruffy-looking patron stepped in their way.

"Excuse me, sir. But we're just trying to leave."

"I can see that. But I'd like to talk business with you, if you don't mind."

Anakin quickly shook his head. "No, I'm not interested. Sorry."

Anakin tried to move around the man, but he just moved to block their exit again.

"Your slave…how much for her?"

Anakin's face tensed as his grip on Padme's arm tightened. "She's not a slave and she's definitely not for sale. Can we pass, please?"

"Aw…come on. I'm sure we can work out a price."

Anakin shook his head furiously and pushed Padme behind him so the man could no longer see her. "No."

The man's arms came across his chest, a stern and angry expression appearing on his face. "Now, there's no need to get all protective. How about this? I borrow her for an hour or so, pay you a good price, and give her back to you in one piece. It won't take long…"

Now the other patrons in the bar had could wind of the situation and had started circling the same group, eager to see a fight. Anakin tensed, his face twisting in rage. He felt something building inside of him, something intense and ferocious. As the man tried to move around him to get a better look at Padme, Anakin snapped.

He let go of Padme and leaned back, just about to the hit man. But he watched with amazement as Padme stepped in front of him, pushed up her sleeve, and punched the man square in the jaw!

Loud cheers erupted from the cantina as the man staggered back, holding his jaw in disbelief.

"Forget you!" He muttered painfully and sprinted out the door. Several people followed him out, jeering at him for getting slugged by a woman, a dainty one no less!

Anakin was frozen to the ground and couldn't do anything but stare at Padme in complete shock. He watched her shake her wrist from the pain of the impact of her punch and suddenly, he started laughing uncontrollably.

An amused grin spread across her face, quickly replacing the expression of pain. She chuckled at the entire situation, laughing even harder as several people came up to her to shake her hand and pat her on the shoulder in congratulations.

She looked up at Anakin and motioned towards the door. "You wanted to leave?"

He smiled cheerfully and nodded. "After you, milady!"

She laughed and led them out the door to their speeder.

Cliegg, Owen, and Beru were sitting calmly in the living room, watching the holonet, when Anakin and Padme burst through the front door, laughing hysterically.

Padme was laughing so hard she started to fall over and had to lean against Anakin to keep her balance. His arm came around her shoulders to steady himself, causing him to burst into another fit of laughter. They stopped laughing for only a second when they realized that they were being looked at like they were crazy, but that only caused them to laugh even harder.

"Alright, what happened?" Owen asked slowly, not completely sure he wanted to know.

Padme started to answer when Anakin interrupted in between laughs. "Padme hit a guy!"

They started laughing even harder as Cliegg, Owen, and Beru's mouths gaped open in both shock and surprise.

"What?"

Anakin nodded. "Yeah! She punched him right in the face!"

"Padme did what?"

This only caused both Anakin and Padme to burst out laughing yet again. Owen shook his head.

"Why don't you just…ah…calm down and tell us later?"

The only thing Anakin and Padme could do was nod, before laughing again. Anakin pushed her back out the door and they disappeared again within seconds, leaving Cliegg, Owen, and Beru to stare at each other in confusion.

"What was that all about?" Beru asked.

"Kids." Cliegg muttered as he shook his head.