Wayward Desire
Chapter One
"She theemths quite mature for thomeone tho young."
The lisping words hissed from the visiting planetary official as Governor Bibble reached for his hankie to wipe the spatter from his face.
"Yeth." The elderly governor lisped back, immediately correcting his speech. "Yes. She is. And now you can see for yourself what an astounding wife she would be. Why with your resources in trade and commerce, both of our civilizations would profit greatly from such a union."
"And she ath well with a union with yourth truly!" Barltow Lerch, leader of the Grolani people stated, with an obscene gesture made directed to his crotch as he eyed the young queen who was now making her exit from the room.
Sith! The man was disgusting, thought Bibble. But what choice did he have? The queen had been putting this off for too long. In just six months, if the young woman did not find a spouse and Naboo did not have a King, she would lose the throne, and frankly, he didn't want to go through the hassle of training yet another young woman to be Queen of Naboo, much less have to round up another group of teenage bodyguards.
Nope. He had no choice. If Queen Amidala refused to find herself a mate, then he had to do it for her.
Bibble offered the man his hankie to wipe some of the saliva that seemed to constantly leak down the man's stubbled chin, while attempting to smile at the man's rude gesture. The older gentleman then glanced up to follow Padmé as she walked across the room, an obvious look of regret showing on his face.
With as regal an air as any Queen, Padmé Amidala exited the main conference room, holding her head high, her back in perfect posture. A row of identically dressed females quickly followed suit, their heads respectfully bowed, filing behind the young woman as she led them down the long hall and into her private suite.
Securing the door shut behind them, handmaiden Sabé burst into a fit of giggles.
"Did you see the way he was looking at you, your highness?"
"With which eye?" Commented another handmaiden by the name of Rabé , who soon joined in on the laughter.
"When I talked with him, I didn't know where to look!" Yané fell onto the large bed. "One eye was looking one way, and the other the complete opposite direction!"
"Governor Bibble can't be serious." The handmaiden called Saché noted upon rising up to lean on one elbow, looking at each of the young women now reclined upon the bed. "Just because of some silly law."
"You should change it!" Rabé announced, sitting up, daring Padmé with her eyes. "After all, you are the queen!"
"Not for long. If I don't find someone to marry anyway." Padmé scooted back to the headboard and leaned against it.
"It's not fair." It was Eirtaé who now voiced her opinion. "Just because you're fifteen years old. What makes them think that marriage is going to make you a better leader? And besides, what woman in her right mind would let her husband influence her decisions?"
The group all laughed together.
"It's the stability of the idea behind it, Eirtaé." Replied Rabé more seriously. "Padmé only has six more months until her sixteenth birthday. If she doesn't find a suitable mate by then, she is going to have to give up the throne."
"And we'll be out of a job." Saché added before she was elbowed by Rabé .
"I still say it's ridiculous." Rabé then grabbed a large satin pillow and placed it in her lap.
"It's tradition." Padmé replied. "And frankly, I'm getting a little nervous about it. If I don't find someone soon, Governor Bibble is going to find someone for me, and his taste…well…"
"Thuckth!" Rabé and Sabé both replied together, following which the girls once more rolled on the bed with laughter.
"Come on. Let's do something fun." Saché patted Padmé's leg, hoping to bring a smile to her heavily made-up face. "Let's check the HoloNet to see if they've put up any new images."
Her idea apparently worked as a smile crept over the young queen's face. "First though, let's get this make-up off."
"Got it." Eirtaé replied, bringing over an assortment of lotions and cloths to the bed, and proceeded to remove the layers of powder, rouge, and kohl from Padmé's face.
Yané carried over the datascreen and soon accessed the Galactic HoloNet, bringing up the girls' favorite website.
"Wizard!" Screeched Yané as she clicked an update link. "New photos!"
All the girls arranged themselves on the bed so that they could each view the screen.
Yané clicked on the link toward the top of the site and read aloud as the picture downloaded onto the screen.
"Ki-Adi-Mundi." She began. "Hailing from Cerea, this 1.98 meter male is all politeness and good manners. But don't let that binary brain fool you. Beneath those cool blue eyes lurks the heart of a cunning warrior…"
"With a cone-shaped head." Blurted out Eirtaé, which again received a retalitory elbow from Rabé.
"He's a Jedi Master, Eirtaé!" Padmé gently scolded her friend.
Eirtaé pointed the brush she was using on Padmé's hair toward the screen. "So? Who would want to wake up to a head like that every day? If he was turned away from you in bed, you wouldn't know if you were looking at his head or his…"
"Eirtaé!" The other girls responded in unison, to which Eirtaé hushed and once more took up the task of brushing out Padmé's hair.
"Well," She replied quietly. "You wouldn't."
"Here." Yané replied. "Mace Windu."
When the screen revealed the full-length photo of the Jedi Master, the girls all leaned closer to the screen.
"That's more like it." Whispered Saché.
"Respected Jedi Master and senior member of the Jedi Council, this Haruun Kaal male is one hunk of a Jedi. Standing 1.88 meters of pure brawn, there is brain there as well. His wisdom in philosophy and history would make any schoolgirl happy to stay up for those long all-nighters."
"Yané!" Rabé accused loudly.
"I didn't make that up! Look! It's right there!" The young handmaiden pointed to the screen.
"Well?" Rabé looked toward Padmé, who was still reclined against the headboard.
"Well what?" Padmé replied with a smirk.
The handmaidens looked at one another in disbelief.
"Care to go for a swim? What do you think I was asking?"
"Please." Padmé responded. "He's too…hairless."
"Oh, stars above!" Saché replied, throwing her hands up into the air. "Beggars can't be choosers, you know. I think you need to lower your standards just a bit." She measured the air with two fingers and squinted at the queen.
"What can I say?" Padmé gestured innocently. "I like a man with…hair."
"Keep looking." Saché sighed as Yané went back to the list of names included on the site.
"Wait." Padmé spoke suddenly, moving away from the headboard and maneuvering into position next to Yané. She reached to the datascreen and brought up yet another page, and watched with rapt attention as the image revealed a tall Jedi Master with deep-set eyes of dark blue, a regal-appearing nose and forehead…and lots and lots of hair. Padmé smiled as she read the name above the image.
"Qui-Gon Jinn."
"No way!" Yané playfully slapped at her friend's arm.
Padmé ignored the teasing and proceeded to read the Jedi's statistics.
"Of unknown origins, this mysterious Jedi Master stands at 1.93 meters tall and is the epitome of Jedi serenity. With his piercing blue gaze, long flowing mane, and natural air of authority, he could easily have a girl agreeing to any type of Force suggestion he could muster."
Padmé smiled broadly as she finished her reading.
All of the handmaidens looked at her with disgust written on their faces.
"Mi'Lady!" Shouted Rabé.
"What?" Padmé said sweetly.
"He's….old!" Eirtaé blurted out.
"He's not that old." Padmé responded defensively.
"Old enough to be your father!" Sabé argued.
"Grandfather!" Saché corrected loudly.
"There's got to be someone else." Yané quickly clicked off the screen revealing the image and hurried to find information on another available Jedi.
But Padmé wasn't paying any attention. Her head full of visions of handfuls of long, luscious hair and peering up into a pair of dark blue eyes, her mind was made up.
Now all she had to do was figure out a way to get Qui-Gon Jinn on Naboo.