Agitation and worry were not uncommon emotions for someone in Qui-Gon's position, a man who shouldered great responsibility. But the Naboo leader was discovering that these feelings were unusually strong this morning, and accompanied by an emotion that he was not accustomed to.
Fear.
Apparently, pirates had kidnapped his beloved Padmé during the night and having been strongly advised not to leave the palace by his security advisors, Qui-Gon found himself anxiously pacing near the palace entrance, awaiting word of her retrieval.
As if dealing with wedding preparations and handling various trade corporations weren't stressful enough, now he had to deal with trying to figure out who had taken her and why. Perhaps when Padmé returned, she could provide some answers.
She was returning. He was positive that his guards would find her safe and sound and return her home. They had to. He wasn't sure what he would do if anything happened to her.
The noble man's blue eyes brimmed with tears as he glanced out across the city of Theed.
He had failed her. The acidic thought abruptly grabbed a hold of Qui-Gon as he paced just inside the rear entry where he had told the guards to return. The discovery of crystallique on the first moon had prompted the increase in planet security, but his true intention all along was to provide adequate protection for his future queen, and her home planet of Lonessa.
Lonessa was vulnerable, and he knew that Naboo's newfound wealth would draw the shadiest of characters in the form of entrepreneurs who would give anything to get their hands on the some of the profits the new mines had brought. But he would never have believed that their development would have attracted pirates this quickly.
Qui-Gon had dealt with these types of criminals before, but it had been many years ago. The Correllians had infected the trade and travel routes between several systems including Lonessa and Naboo, and a task force from several planets had been formed in order to eliminate the threat.
Their efforts were successful, but in the process, Qui-Gon's best friend, also Padmé's father, had been killed, his ship caught in the cross-fire during a ferocious space battle.
Ruwee's death, however, was not the only loss of the campaign. Numerous Naboo citizens, as well as Lonessans and Regulans had lost their lives, prompting the leaders of Lonessa, led by the young orphaned daughter of the King to usher in an era of pacifism. Lonessa would no longer engage in battles of any kind.
Against Qui-Gon's advice, Padmé had literally disarmed her entire planet within a few years. He understood her reasoning, but suspected her actions were a direct result of the loss of her father.
All the more reason for Qui-Gon to increase his own power in order to protect the smaller and weaker planet, and ultimately protect the woman that he loved.
It was in that respect that Qui-Gon had failed.
But where? How had the pirates slipped past his security? Taken her off of palace property? Right under his very nose?
If he got her back… When he got her back, he corrected himself, he would never let her out of his sight again.
In the meantime, however, he had to figure out where the pirates had succeeded, and where he had failed. This indeed was a rare success for the Correllian rebels. Never before had they been so bold and attempt an on-planet abduction. Their crimes were typically carried out in space. It made him wonder about this new aggressiveness. Their actions had proven that they had become desperate. He expected a substantial monetary ransom demand any time soon.
Or perhaps not.
This kidnapping simply did not fit with what he knew about Correllian pirates and their villainous acts. There had to be another motive or perhaps even an outside motivator. A source that was funding their operations, providing inside access to high security areas such as Theed.
If this were true, it was a frightening thought, and would only mean that Padmé was meant to be used as a bartering tool to get whatever it was that her kidnappers wanted, and the King had the growing suspicion that it was more than money. The most valuable thing that Naboo could offer was the first moon along with the crystallique mining rights.
Qui-Gon hoped that this was all they wanted. Prosperity and wealth meant very little to the King and his people. He would give it up quickly in order to save Padmé's life. He would give his own life if he had to. But what if the ransom was for more than he was willing to give? What if her abductors demanded Naboo itself?
The King's worried pacing took him out onto the stone patio, his eyes yearningly searching the distance for any sign of approaching palace guards.
Within a few klicks, his desires were satisfied as three speeders came into view, rapidly approaching the palace from the Theed main street. His heart rate faltered and his feet stuttered on the steps as the large man bounded down them.
He quickly noted Padmé had obviously been injured, as she was having difficulty stepping from the speeder, and revengeful anger flared up in Qui-Gon for an instant, but it was immediately wiped away with the overwhelming joy of seeing her alive, safe, and home.
The young woman hobbled away from the vehicle with the assistance of one of the guards, who quickly moved out of the way as Qui-Gon approached. Padmé found standing quite difficult and painful, but she did not have to suffer long. She was suddenly swept up off the cobblestone path and held in the powerful arms of the King.
"Thank the gods, you're safe." Qui-Gon murmured into her hair as he held her close.
When the older man sought out her mouth to claim his peace of mind that indeed she was safe in his arms once more, Padmé kissed him back with as much enthusiasm as she could, holding onto him tightly afterward.
Her heart may belong to another, but with Qui-Gon she felt secure and well loved, and she could be satisfied with that.
Couldn't she?