Chapter 8: The Haunting and Evil Emerges
"Mommy! Mommy! Come back!"
"I'm right here my little angel. Don't worry there's little time left, run away, far away and don't come back. Listen to the Mother Confessor; she'll take care of you…"
"No mama please don't go! I don't wanna lose you! I don't want things to change; I want things to stay the same as they always were before."
"You can't stop the change my little angel, no more then you stop the suns from setting."
"No mama don't leave me…don't leave. I need you here. I need you to help me, I don't know how to stop this, make it stop, please please…"
"Let me go my sweet angel, let me go…only then I'll be able to leave this place and be with your father. Just let go and everything will be alright…remember that I will watch over you no matter what and also remember to fulfill your destiny. I see great things for you young one…one day you'll make your father and I very proud. I love… "
"NOOOO! Mama come back! I love you, please don't leave me by myself! I can't do this, please come back…please, please…"
I wake up in a cold sweat, tears staining my cheeks, crying that cry that's plagued me for so many years. I still see her…dying that same death, but yet…it's different in the sense that her death is more and more painful and much slower.
I look around to get my bearings and only the darkness greets me after such an uneventful night of sleep. I look around dazed wondering where am I exactly and realize that I'm in my quarters with the Mother Confessor and the sun hasn't risen yet. I glance at the chrono on my nightstand reading 0400 standard hours. I realize that there are still a few hours until we have to depart for Icylian.
I try to go back to sleep pushing my long, damp, brown curls out of my face and trying to stop my heart from hammering so furiously against my chest. The attempt is futile so I get out of bed and slowly walk out of my room to the living room to watch the sun rise.
I watch the massive light coming out of the horizon blazing on top of the buildings that reach the sky and see a new day dawning. I sigh wondering where was my life taking a turn towards and why was I still haunted by those dreams or should I say nightmares. Why couldn't I forget about my mother no matter how hard I tried? Why did she haunt me? I close my eyes and in response I see her face all pale, her lifeless brown eyes rolling back and forth into her head trying to take a look at her surroundings, her limp brown curls bouncing as she tries to talk to me one last time. It's her eyes that haunt me the most with their intensity and how much fear and loss it reflected in her final moments. I still can't figure out why she had to die? She never needed to die like that, if fate hadn't been so cruel to us then maybe my mother would still be here with me and we would be living on Naboo.
"Stop this Padme! What are you thinking? What would your parents say if they saw you like this thinking about the 'what ifs'? There are no 'what ifs' only what actually happened." I realize that I need to focus on the task ahead of me and what I'll be facing on Icylian very soon.
"Your focus should be in the here and now Padme because your focus determines your reality." I hear that phantom voice echo into my head once again for perhaps the millionth time in my life. If I close my eyes I can still see his face with all the worry etched into his forehead and the determination set in his eyes and his loud, booming voice. I quickly open them when I realize that I see images that I don't want to see ever again. I get lost in those memories of when things were right and I had a family, a mother and father who loved me along with my grandparents. I can still see my mother smile her all too rare smiles that were forever wiped from existence the day she died…
"Padme? Padme? Are you alright dear?" I hear the Mother Confessor ask me in a concerned voice.
I reply shakingly, "Yeah…I'm fine Mother Confessor. Is something wrong?"
"No…I just heard you come down here and decided to come down here to see if you were alright. I heard you…you had another nightmare and wanted to see if you were okay. I know its difficult to see them again in your…"
I quickly cut her off and lie, "Mother Confessor I'm alright. I just couldn't fall sleep as I'm pretty excited about this mission you know."
The Mother Confessor didn't look to convinced and pressed further, "Padme, I understand its not easy to lose the ones you love, but you must understand that I'm here for you…always. You know you can talk to me anytime you want to and I might not be able to fix it, but I can promise that I'll listen."
"Thanks Mother Confessor. I appreciate that, but I don't wanna talk about it. I just wanted to watch the sun rise as it always is soothing to see a new day come again," I replied trying to convince her, but mostly myself which wasn't really working.
The Mother Confessor walks away not fully convinced that Padme was looking okay, but she didn't want to press her as it might result in a barrel of emotions flying everywhere. The last thing she needed was Padme to go out of control as the girl already looked shaken and as white as a ghost. The Mother Confessor decided that she'd ask Padme later during their flight in space to Icylian and help her to overcome these nightmares. "I promise you Qui-Gon and Jobal I will watch over Padme until my last breath."
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I walked out with the Mother Confessor to the docking area near the Jedi Temple looking at the various Confessors and Jedi that were already up and ready to being their days filled with training, attending classes, or going to the battlefronts to fight the Separatists. Uhh, the battlefronts to fight. How I hated that with the passion. I wished this stupid war would be over with already. All it did was bring pain and bloodshed to the innocents and it needed to stop.
I walk quietly alongside the Mother Confessor towards the docking area where the transports will be leaving to transport the various beings to different parts of the galaxy. I wonder where some of these beings are going, perhaps to see their parents, or to see a sweetheart they've been separated from the war. I sigh loudly, which earns me a concerned stare from the Mother Confessor.
I quickly look away as to not wanting to explain what's going through my head right now. I adore and love the Mother Confessor even though its forbidden by the Code, but she's like the mother I never had. She took care of me since like the day I was born, and the bond we share is that of a mother and daughter. I know it must've been difficult to raise me since I reminded her of my parents, as the three were best friends.
With all that musing, we arrived at the docking area and Obi-Wan, Anakin, Saba Salem, Katara Jensen, Master Windu, and Master Yoda were awaiting our arrival.
"Good morning Melindra and Padme. I hope the both of you are well rested for this next mission," Obi-Wan replies a little too cheerfully for my liking.
The Mother Confessor equally cheerful replies back, "Yes, thank you Obi-Wan and don't worry we're ready to tackle this situation won't we Padme?"
"Oh yeah, we're ready as we could ever be," I say monotonely.
Everyone looks at me weird wondering what side of the bed I woke up on and where was my sarcastic wit.
Anakin pulls me aside whispering into my ear, "Padme are you alright?"
"What do you think Farmboy? It's freakin 0530 standard hours in the morning, of course I'm not alright! Who wants to wake up at this ungodly hour in the morning?" I retort back viciously.
"Padme I want you to know that the Icylians are dangerous and will do anything to get rid of intruders they feel are endangering them. I want you to be careful while you're out there and watch out for anything unusual."
"Ok, Farmboy I'll make sure I won't piss off any maniac cannibals. Why do you care? I can handle myself just fine, and why is everyone all edgy?"
"Padme, I don't think you realize how grave the situation is. Everyone is edgy because Icylians are known for their savage behavior, but we've never seen anything like this before. Just promise me you'll take care of yourself and come back in one piece. I don't think I can bear to see you get hurt. Promise me?" Anakin asks me pleadingly.
I reply back softer then before, "I promise Skywalker. Don't worry I'll try to not do anything you would do which is just about everything." I manage to smile at the last comment to try to convince him that everything was alright.
Anakin looks at me questioningly and I realize that we're too close for comfort and instinctively step back wanting to stop my heart from racing by being so close to him. I couldn't figure out why my heart was racing when I stood next to Anakin, but it was something I couldn't explain. Why did Anakin care so much about what would happen to me on Icylian? It almost seemed like if he cared about me in ways I couldn't even imagine. Nah, I thought it was just friendly talk and Anakin was just my friend nothing more. He was just concerned for his dear friend and wanted to give me some moral support for this mission. I smiled inwardly at this as this was the only logical explanation and was grateful that Anakin was there for me when I needed him the most.
"Alright then Padme, I wish the best of luck on your mission. You'll probably be back in a few days and I'll be waiting for you when you return," Anakin told me in a promising voice that made me shiver.
I don't know why, but the way he said seemed like it had a double meaning. Was there truly more to Anakin then I thought? My brain screamed no, but my heart screamed yes. Anakin was my very good friend and I was his and nothing could change that. Nothing.
Another one of my friends Katara Jensen, a Confessor Guard, who had curly red hair and green eyes like the Mother Confessor which sometimes made me wonder if they were related…came towards me to wish me some luck too.
"Well, Padme this is goodbye for now. I hope you do well on your mission and I wish you the best of luck. Please come back home safe and sound," She chokes out looking like she might cry.
"Oh man, Katara don't start crying…again. I'll be back before you can say shaaks will fly," I say jokingly to cheer her up.
"Oh shut up Padme! Leave it to you to say something incredibly stupid like that."
We hug briefly and I turn towards the last person, Saba Salem who has brown hair with gold streaks and green eyes, patiently waiting to talk to me.
"Padme I want to wish you the best of luck on your mission. I know you'll do well as you are an extremely powerful Confessor," Saba praises me.
My cheeks burn red as I reply back, "Thanks Saba, but I don't think I'm that powerful. But I guess I'll see you when I get back."
"Oh but, Padme you underestimate yourself. You're more powerful then you think," Saba says with a bit of darkness behind it, but I ignore it thinking that Saba was anything, but dark.
I walk towards the Mother Confessor as our transport awaits us and I look back towards our fellow comrades and I tell Anakin, Katara, Saba, and Obi-Wan a saying I learned from my mother long ago, "Goodnight guys, but not farewell because we'll see each other again soon."
They laugh at my comment and watch as we both climb up the ramp to get to our cabin. The transport takes off twenty minutes later and soars through the skies of Coruscant as we head off into hyperspace to our next destination.
Meanwhile, after everyone leaves the docking bay Saba's commlink beeps and she picks it up to see who is contacting her.
"Ahh, my apprentice have the Mother Confessor and young Jinn left for Icylian?" The cloaked figure questions.
"Yes, Master everything is set into place. If everything goes accordingly to plan I don't think the Mother Confessor will be coming back alive," Saba answers evilly.
The figure cackles horribly, "Yes, everything is falling into place my young apprentice, and everything will be set straight."
Saba questions, "But what about the loss of Count Dooku, milord? Anakin Skywalker killed him when they rescued the Chancellor from General Grievous, so won't that hurt our oppostion?"
"Count Dooku's death was a necessary cause. Do not fear the Dark Side will prevail and soon I will have a new apprentice, one far younger and more powerful."
Saba thought evilly to herself, "Yes soon, Padme, very soon."