Anakin and Padmé were sleeping comfortably in each other's arms. They had made love three times during the night. After each session, they would whisper terms of endearment to one another and then drift off to sleep before waking to express their love again.
Now, all was quiet except for the steady even sound of breathing coming from the two slumbering lovers. They were snuggled up next to one another, one keeping the other one warm. For the past six months they had longed for each other's touch and been engulfed in loneliness by their time apart. However, life was perfect now that they were together again.
Ripples flowed through the Force as Sidious's essence cackled with glee. He had just found a way to destroy Skywalker. He would rip apart everything he holds dear and destroy his will to live. His former apprentice would not survive the horrors he had in store. He would have to find someone he could manipulate and lead to take part in his terrible plot and he knew the perfect candidate. No one would ever suspect him until it was too late.
Sidious began to prepare himself for his strike. He needed to wait until the timing was perfect so that his actions had the maximum impact. "Soon," Sidious whispered through the Force as he tightened his shielding around him. He did not want any Jedi, particularly Skywalker to know of his presence. He would make sure his former apprentice was surprised.
Sidious cackled once more as he relished in the images of the imminent destruction of Skywalker. Soon that foolish boy would learn the true nature of the dark side and that it is never wise to betray a Sith.
Anakin Skywalker woke up with a start and sat straight up in bed glancing back and forth around the room. His actions startled Padmé who had been cuddled up next to him. She sat up as well, put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Shh." Anakin held his hand out indicating she should remain silent while he glanced around the room. Padmé looked around the room too, but did not see anything out of place.
Confused by his actions, and unsure of what was going on, Padmé questioned her husband again, "Ani, what is it?"
Anakin did not respond to her question but quickly got out of bed and pulled on his discarded sleep pants. He used the Force to call his lightsaber hilt, which was lying on a nearby bedside table, to his hand. Padmé was startled and jumped slightly when she heard a familiar snap hiss and Anakin's lightsaber ignited, emanating a cerulean glow.
Anakin had taken up a defensive posture and his eyes shown with intense concentration as he scrutinized the surrounding room. Even more perplexed by her husband's actions, Padmé slowly tried to move herself from the bed to join his side and question him some more. However, she was stopped when Anakin held out his hand, palm up, in a gesture indicating she should stay where she is,
Frustrated, Padmé asked, "What is going on?"
"Stay here." Anakin said as he made his way to the bedroom door.
"Why?" Padmé asked indignantly.
Anakin did not turn to look at her when he replied, "Because I felt a disturbance in the Force." Anakin then opened the bedroom door and paused in the doorframe giving a look around. Before he stepped outside he turned towards Padmé and with determination etched on his face, he said, "There is someone else in the apartment."
Anakin squinted his eyes and tried to call upon the Force to locate the intruder in his and Padmé's apartment. However, the Force signature he was feeling was very faint and he was not able to determine where it was. Originally, he thought it had been in his and Padmé's bedroom, but upon examination of the room, there was nobody there. Based on the faintness of the Force presence he felt, it seemed that whoever was the intruder was trying to cloak their presence. What worried Anakin was that generally people only cloaked their presence when they wished to cause harm or malice to another. He knew this because the Sith often cloaked their presence to Jedi. As a former Sith, Anakin had used that tactic several times when he had killed Jedi, an act he now regretted.
Slowly Anakin crept into the sitting room, using all of his senses including the Force to detect the intruder. The sitting room was the main thoroughfare in the apartment in that it connected all the rooms in the house. The hallway that led to Anakin and Padmé's bedroom was on the far side of it. On the opposite side of the room was the front door to the entire apartment. To the right was a small balcony overlooking the skyline of Coruscant and to the left was a doorway leading to additional rooms. The sitting room itself was plainly decorated with a few sofas surrounding a large coffee table. Padmé often used this room to entertain various Senators she was working with and wanted it to look professional. She had decorated the room with a few paintings and sculptures from her home planet of Naboo, but otherwise the room was fairly empty.
Anakin did not see anyone as he moved about the room. In addition, the front door was locked and it appeared that it had not been touched since he came home that evening. However Anakin kept his guard up, ready to block any attack. As he made his way through the sitting room, he stealthily crept toward the balcony. He kept his gaze towards the sitting room as he backed onto the balcony, using the Force to make sure he would not misstep. Once he was outside and his back was pressed against the railing, Anakin quickly turned and scanned down the side of the building to see if anyone was hiding there. Seeing nothing, he quickly turned his gaze back to the sitting room and re-entered it to continue his search.
When it was obvious that the sitting room was clear, he walked to the left and entered the kitchen and dining area of the apartment and took up a similar scan. Again, Anakin found nothing out of the ordinary. By all accounts it seemed like there was no one in the apartment, but Anakin could still feel the strange faint presence nearby. Frustrated with his lack of locating the intruder, Anakin opened the room where the droids usually stayed during the night. It was a fairly small room, but it served the needs of the two droids it housed. As soon as Anakin opened the door, R2D2 turned at him and beeped in welcome.
"R2, scan the apartment and tell me if you sense an intruder."
R2 immediately setup a scan, while C3P0 greeted his master. "Good Morning, Master Anakin. I trust you slept well."
Anakin ignored the golden droid and waited for R2's response, but this did not deter the protocol droid from attempting to make conversation. "Would you like R2 and I to make breakfast for you and Miss Padmé?"
"Not now 3P0!" Anakin barked as he turned toward the droid and glared at him. Then he softened his tone when he realized he had startled the droid, "I'm sorry I yelled, but I think someone has broken into the apartment and I am trying to find them."
"Oh dear!" C3P0 exclaimed. "I hope they do not come in here, I do not know what I will do."
Anakin rolled his eyes at the droid, but then tried to reassure him, "I am sure you will be fine, I suppose…"
"Boop beep beep boop." R2D2 stated, interrupting Anakin's reply.
"No intruders?" Anakin asked incredulously.
"Boop."
"That cannot be possible, I could feel them. I can feel them now." As Anakin finished his statement, his eyes grew wide as he felt the presence grow stronger. Worst of all it was right behind him.
Anakin swung his lightsaber around him quickly in order to defend himself. He was turning his body at the same time so that he could get a good look at his would-be attacker. He was shocked when he saw that it was Padmé, clad in her royal blue robe, who was standing behind him.
"Anakin!" She screamed as she saw the sapphire blade swing at her. Fear and confusion spread across her beautiful face as her husband attacked her.
