Chapter Fourteen: Celebration

Theed, Naboo

"How are we to guard the Queen in these ridiculous outfits?" Sabe blurted out, attempting to pull up the neckline of her dress to cover more skin.

"Oh, I expect we will manage," Rabe smiled, touching the side of her own dress where her blaster was concealed in a holster. She took a firm hold of Sabe's shoulders. "Now stay still! I'll never get this right if you don't stop squirming." She set about combing Sabe's hair again.

Since none of the girls had much in the way of formal outfits for the celebration to be held that evening, Padme had generously opened her wardrobe to them. Sabe had watched with amusement as the other four handmaidens rifled through the lavish gowns with the enthusiasm of children in a candy shop. Even the tomboyish Eirtae had participated with uncharacteristic girlishness, picking a black lace concoction that turned her from a rough and tumble bodyguard to a proper lady of the court.

But when Padme had noticed Sabe hanging back, she'd gotten a particularly sadistic twinkle in her cinnamon colored eyes. She'd ordered Eirtae and Rabe to pick something stunning for her before sweeping out of the room with Sache and Yane in tow.

And what they'd chosen, well… Sabe looked down at her gown doubtfully. The delicate chiffon looked as if a strong wind might carry it off. "Is this absolutely necessary?"

"Absolutely," Rabe replied without the slightest sympathy.

"What's the matter, Sabe?" Eirtae said. "You throw yourself in front of Tusken Raiders in the middle of a raging sand storm, you face droids and destroyers without flinching, you walk right up to the leader of an invasion in the middle of a battle, but a little dress has you quaking?"

Sabe sent her a withering look and then winced as Rabe pulled the comb through a particularly uncomfortable snag.

"I'll finish this up, Rabe."

They all turned in surprise. Padme was dressed for the gala in a flowing gown of blue silk with her hair piled on top of her head and pearls and flowers woven in. It was really rather simple considering her usual wardrobe. "You two go on downstairs. We'll be along shortly."

They bowed and walked out.

Padme came forward. Sabe started to stand. "Please, Padme. It's hardly appropriate for a Queen to dress her handmaiden's hair."

Padme put a firm hand on her shoulder and pushed her back into the chair. "No arguments. You've been serving me for days without a break. It is my turn."

Sabe surrendered with a sigh to her ministrations, and Padme began combing her hair, dividing it into sections and beginning small braids. Sabe watched her in the mirror, biting her lip as she bent over a strand in concentration. Sabe grinned and allowed herself to relax.

"My mother used to do this for me," Padme said softly. "Sometimes I'd fall asleep sitting up because her touch was so soothing."

Sabe could see what she meant. She hadn't been this serene in days.

She saw a furrow appear between Padme's brows in the reflection. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting," Padme said.

"Why? I'm sorry. I had no business questioning you so often," Sabe looked down at her hands ruefully. "Sometimes I forget that you are my boss now rather than my old school chum."

"Gods, I miss those days," Padme exclaimed. "No wars, no politics, no intrigue. Just the dear old academy, the gruff professors, and our schoolyard."

"Where you ruled the social scene as gracefully as you rule Naboo now," Sabe joked.

"Not always," Padme grimaced. "Remember that day Roark Tyndal set fire to my favorite policy book? I cried for hours."

"How could I forget?" Sabe muttered. "I was suspended for three days."

"Why?" Padme asked in surprise.

"I…broke his nose," said Sabe, coloring.

"Really? Is that why it suddenly became so crooked? Why did you never tell me?" Padme asked.

Sabe winced. "I wasn't particularly proud of it. I was a little savage then, and I knew it."

Padme considered for a moment or two, taking a feather from the vanity. "It isn't an easy job you have, protecting someone who constantly resists protection. I don't thank you enough for it."

"It isn't necessary," Sabe murmured. "I do it because I want to."

"Still," Padme said. "It isn't just protection you give me. There are times when your council means more to me than anyone else's."

Sabe raised her head. "Really?"

"Of course. Governor Bibble and Captain Panaka are wise men, devoted to Naboo. But they don't know me as you do. I'm the Queen to them and nothing more. You have never changed toward me, regardless of my election."

Sabe could suddenly think of nothing to say.

"Someday…" Padme continued, smoothing back her hair with gentle hands. "I may not have you near to tell me what I don't want to hear. To keep me honest and balance me."

"That's nonsense," Sabe said fervently. "I'll always be behind you."

Padme smiled. "Don't be silly. You'll get tired of being a handmaiden eventually, especially after my term is up and I'm just a simple village girl in the mountains again. You'll want to make your own life, maybe even enter public service yourself."

"I would be a terrible politician," Sabe said with distaste. "Besides, even if I did find something else to do, I'd always be thinking about you, wondering where you were and what you were doing."

Padme eyes misted in the mirror. She bent and kissed the top of Sabe's head. Then she tucked in a final feather and stepped back. "There," she said with satisfaction. "Don't ever let it be said that the Queen cannot dress hair."

Sabe stood and looked at herself critically. Padme had arranged her hair in a figure eight on the side of her head with the feathers arching over it. With her hair as red as ever and no force illusion or makeup to obscure her face, she didn't look anything like Padme. But for once she couldn't help but be pleased with her appearance. "I feel ridiculously formal," she said with a blush.

"Well, you look lovely. Jedi Kenobi will be speechless," Padme said.

Sabe glanced at her and then coughed quickly to cover her embarrassment. 'I don't know what you mean."

A corner of Padme's mouth turned up mischievously. "I think you do."

The knock on the door was well timed. Sabe opened it and suppressed a tiny sigh to find Chancellor Palpatine standing there. She bowed.

"I have come to personally escort the Queen to the Gala," He said, and looked at her with interest. "Pardon me, but I do not believe we have been introduced."

"Forgive me, Lord Chancellor. I am Sabe," she said.

"Lovely to meet you, Miss…ah…" He prompted.

Sabe hesitated. If she had a last name, she'd never known what it was.

"Naberrie," Padme cut in, coming forward and linking her arm with Sabe's.

"A family member, then? Well, this is an unexpected honor," the Chancellor said grandly. "You must be very proud."

"Yes," Sabe said distractedly.

"Chancellor, I will meet you in the Great Hall in just a moment," Padme said.

He inclined his head politely and turned back down the hall.
"You don't have to lie for me, Padme," Sabe said softly. "I am done with being ashamed of where I came from."

"It was not a lie, Sabe," Padme said. She touched Sabe's cheek tenderly. "You are more than a sister to me."

Padme sent Sabe ahead to walk with Rabe and Eirtae to the field outside Theed where the celebration had been set. Though many had expected it to take place at the palace, the wounded and ill still being cared for in the Great Hall had made that impractical. Besides, Padme had said, this was not to be a celebration for the nobility of Naboo, but for everyone, the rich, the poor, and the Gungans. Despite the rustic setting, the field had been made to look as a starscape with millions of twinkling lights in the branches of the surrounding trees. The grass had been mown short, and both Naboovian and Gungan musicians were setting up on a platform on the southern side. Overhead the skies matched the trees, perfectly clear and twinkling with innumerable stars. The air was sweet with the recent rain and the scent of flowers. Two full harvest moons rose in the east, plump and red on the purple horizon.

Evidently, not all of the nobles approved of Queen Amidala's choice of locale. "Most irregular…" Sabe heard from behind her. "And to have these Gungans present at an official state function? It's embarrassing."

Sabe was trying to think of a scathing reply, but to her astonishment, Rabe beat her to it. The dark-haired girl whirled around, her eyes flashing. "You pompous ingrate!" She hissed. "If it weren't for 'these Gungans', you wouldn't have the luxury of being embarrassed!"

Sabe and Eirtae exchanged amazed looks and then trotted to keep up as Rabe stormed off, staring at her with eyes the size of dinner plates. "R-Rabe…" Sabe stuttered. "I think that is the most uncharitable thing you have ever said. Well done!"

"Evidently someone has had a change of heart," Eirtae said, winking at Sabe.

"Just – the nerve! I know I've had my prejudices in the past, but no matter how we disagree, they helped us to save Naboo!" Rabe spluttered.

As they entered the field, Sabe surveyed the crowd. Already a dozen couples twirled in a Naboovian waltz. There were even a few Gungans trying it out. She saw Amidala arrive with Chancellor Palpatine and join a group of senators who had come the previous day. Her lip curled. Even Naboo was not free of the tangle of politics. No doubt these expected to cash in on their association with the now famous Queen Amidala.

Amidala had spared no expense in transporting the families of her staff members from all parts of Naboo. Sabe saw Captain Panaka standing with a lovely, olive-skinned woman with flowing dark hair and round black eyes. His wife, she decided. She couldn't help gaping as he lowered his head and kissed the woman full on the mouth. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined the stern-faced man making a woman giggle like that. Many of the palace guards were also around him, accompanied by an assortment of wives, sweethearts, parents, and children. There was not an unhappy face to be found among them, though the group of Jedi Masters standing off to the side kept their faces arranged in dignified frowns.

Suddenly, Rabe's fingers dug clawlike into Eirtae's arm, and she pointed a shaky hand across the field. Sabe followed their gaze to a group of people standing with Sache and Yane. In two of the couples, she recognized variations on her friends' faces.

"Mama?" Eirtae whispered.

She and Rabe hurried toward the group. Eirtae leaped into the arms of a plump, flaxen-haired woman, and Rabe embraced a couple with her dark hair and eyes. Sabe smiled, trying to ignore the little ache that had begun somewhere in her chest. After all, it was true what Eirtae had said before. She'd had no one waiting in Theed to worry about.

A shrill feminine laugh interrupted her thoughts. She looked curiously toward a crowd of young girls and women, but she could not quite see the people they were fawning over. Creeping closer, she just caught a teenaged brunette's question to the object of her adoration. "Could I hold your sword?"

"Absolutely not,"Obi-Wan said, adding in a mutter, "Even if I did know where it was."

The women shifted, and Sabe was able to see Obi-Wan. He wore a cream-colored dress tunic, and would have looked quite handsome if not for the miserable look on his face. Anakin stood at his side looking bewildered but polished with his fresh padawan's cut and smart new outfit.

Sabe shrank behind some people standing nearby and continued to listen, the corners of her mouth twitching.

An older woman had not seemed to catch Obi-Wan's scorn, for her voice continued in what she must have thought was a seductive tone. "Jedi Kenobi, I have often heard that Jedi Knights do not marry."

"No, my lady, we do not."

The woman affected dismay. "How terrible. Whatever do you do for companionship?"

"I can assure you that we are not locked away in solitary cells," Obi-Wan replied in monotone.

The woman gave a high, false laugh and drew uncomfortably close to Obi-Wan, running a hand over his sleeve. "Well, of course, Jedi Kenobi. But surely Jedi like all living things must satisfy their more primal—"

"Excuse me ladies," Obi-Wan interrupted hastily, grabbing Anakin by the arm and dragging him through the group. "But the young one and I have some important business requiring our immediate attention."

But the unfortunate knight did not get far. He was immediately ambushed by Liodne Bibble, the Governor's daughter, and half-dragged to the dance floor. To Sabe's surprise, he proved to be an able dancer, navigating both the complicated maneuvers of the folk dance and Liodne's giggling flirtation with relative ease.

"You should try and procure the next one."

Sabe turned to see Padme's dark eyes dancing with mischief. "Next what?"

"The next dance with Jedi Kenobi, of course," Padme replied slyly. She gestured toward him. "Give him reason to leave off that sullen expression."

Sabe burst into laughter. "I think more dancing would only worsen his mood. Besides, why would I want to dance with a cantankerous Jedi?"

Padme turned coy. "Really, Sabe. I saw the way you looked when he carried you in his arms at the Gungan temple."

Sabe rolled her eyes. "You are ridiculous, Padme."

Padme's eyes twinkled. "You fancy him!"

"He's a Jedi, Padme," Sabe said with exaggerated patience.

"That isn't a denial."

Sabe was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation, and increasingly close to a blush. "He's like a brother to me," she said dismissively.

Padme turned away from her, a disbelieving smirk on her face. "Okay."

She couldn't help but look in his direction again. His eyes were trained on his dance partner, a particularly impish look on his face that didn't seem to be entirely due to Liodne's wit. Horrified, she wondered if he could sense that they were talking about him. The memory of the warm weight of arm on her shoulder only yesterday came back to her. "Perhaps…not exactly like a brother," she murmured, believing Padme to be out of earshot.

"Ha!" Padme exclaimed in triumph, whirling back around. Several dignitaries nearby turned and stared, startled to see the normally aloof Queen behaving so girlishly. Sabe put her hands over her burning cheeks.

Ironically, Sabe was saved from further humiliation by none other than young Lord Tyndal.

"Excuse me, your highness, but may I be so bold as to ask you for a dance?" he asked, bowing deeply to Padme.

Padme grimaced, but it was gone before he could see it. "Of course, Lord Tyndal, she replied, extending her hand gracefully.

As he led her into a waltz, Padme turned back toward Sabe, a mischievous grin playing on her face behind her makeup. "Don't forget that dance," she mouthed, gesturing toward Obi-Wan behind her dance partner's back.

Sabe sighed. Evidently she hadn't heard the end of the Queen's attempts at matchmaking.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan had finally been freed from Liodne's custody, giving her a polite bow before turning back to Anakin with a glower. As soon as they were away from the girl, Anakin shook his head dazedly. "Women."

"—Are sometimes second only to the Dark Side for sheer perniciousness," Obi-Wan finished for him grimly.

Anakin looked up at the sound of Sabe's smothered giggles. His eyes lit up.

"Wizard!' He whistled approvingly, tugging at Obi-Wan's robe sleeve. "Look, Master! Look at Sabe!"

Obi-Wan followed his gaze as they came near to where she stood torn between greeting them and slipping away. As he recognized her, he froze mid-step. His mouth opened but for a moment nothing came out. Sabe fidgeted.

"You look quite—" Obi-Wan swallowed visibly. "—cold."

She blushed furiously and ducked her head, just in time to catch Anakin giving his master a disgusted look.

An authoritative female voice spoke up behind her in court accent.

"Jedi Kenobi, Sabe is without a partner, and you do not look preoccupied. This defies logic."

Sabe's horror left her speechless for a moment. "No, Padme."

Obi-Wan regained his composure. "I suppose it does, your highness," he said lightly, half-bowing to Sabe and extending his hand. "How about a dance between two old sparring partners?"

Sabe's eyes threw daggers at Padme as she took Obi-Wan's arm. "Very well,"

As they joined the crowd of dancers, Sabe glanced up. Obi-Wan's eyes were twinkling mercilessly. "I beat you at that spar, remember."

"That was never settled," He replied, leading her easily in the steps, seeming to catch the movements as if he had been doing it for years.

She was not quite so skilled. Obi-Wan grunted as she accidentally planted a high-heeled shoe squarely on the toe of his boot. "You know, for a member of the Queen's court—"

"Not, a word Jedi," she interrupted darkly. "While the other handmaidens were learning court manners and dancing, I was perfecting the art of throwing knives."

He mumbled something she didn't catch, and she leaned forward. "What?"

'I said, 'touché'," he repeated with a smile.

She grinned. "How do you do this so well?"

He raised his eyebrows. "I suppose it's rather like battle. Minus the intention of killing or wounding your partner, of course."

She peered up at him mischievously. "To see your face with Liodne Bibble, one wouldn't think so."

He swung her rather forcefully into a spin. "So you rescue me from Tusken raiders but leave me to the hazards of governor's daughters?"

She gave an enigmatic smile as she carried into the spin and then back. Their eyes locked as their hands met, and for the space of five seconds she couldn't move as the moment in the forests of Paonga repeated itself. The breath left her lungs. His eyes were serious, and as in the forest she could feel the Force flowing between them. It was exactly like the spar had been; a game, one neither of them would win. She turned her eyes away, unable to look directly into his face. She kept them averted throughout the remainder of the dance, and they lapsed into an awkward silence, his hand tightening on hers.

At last the dance ended, and she could not deny her relief as her heart returned to its normal rhythm. Obi-Wan bowed formally.

"My lady."

Sabe stood for a moment, uncertain what to do, and then gave a clumsy attempt at a curtsy. He grinned and returned to where Anakin and Padme were finishing up their own dance.

Shortly, Sabe felt Padme's smug presence at her elbow. "Well—" the Queen began, but before she could properly gloat they both heard Anakin's voice.

"Master, aren't you a little old for her?"

Sabe sighed as she heard Padme's unladylike snort of amusement.

"Isn't the Queen a little old for you?" Obi-Wan returned evenly.

Padme choked, and Sabe burst into laughter.

Rabe and Eirtae appeared out of nowhere with the shy Sache and giggling Yane close behind them. "Liodne Bibble is beside herself," Yane chortled. "She was already picking out china patterns when she saw you with Jedi Kenobi just now."

Sabe groaned and affected to walk away with her nose in the air, but the girls wouldn't let her get far. They gathered around her.

"Is it just Sabe he likes or handmaidens in general? I wouldn't turn down a dance," Eirtae muttered, looking Obi-Wan over appraisingly.

"Don't waste your breath," Yane said. "I already asked him, and he mumbled something about having the gout."

"I think Sabe must have won his heart all for herself when she skewered that creature in the desert," Rabe teased.

"Enough!" Sabe cried in exasperation.

Just then the didgeridoos growled, starting another rousing folk song. It wasn't long before two soldiers claimed Rabe and Eirtae for a dance, and a blushing young lord asked Sabe. Luckily, it was too fast a piece for her to interact much with the amorous noblemen, and soon enough everyone abandoned their partners to join hands in a giant circle for a wild jig around and around. Sabe watched with surprised delight as Jar Jar Binks joined the Gungan musicians with a flute. It was fortunate that his musical abilities far exceeded his prowess on the battlefield. A round of raucous applause followed his solo, and even the Jedi were smiling and nodding to the music.

Sabe had no lack for partners as the dance went on, and found the complements she received flattering. But she found she could never quite give her dance partners her undivided attention. Too often her gaze tripped over Obi-Wan. Each time she spotted him she found him staring right back, a smile fixed on his face. Closing her eyes, she felt the warm brush of his consciousness from across the room, so that she could almost forget it wasn't him twirling her to the strains of waltzes and folk songs.