Author's Note: Thanks again for all the lovely reviews!  I'm sorry I didn't make clear that this would be an Anakin/Padmé romance.  I just automatically figured it was clear enough.  For me, the idea of Obi-Wan and Amidala sounds really strange, but I keep forgetting that on ff.net, it's more common than most places.

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Part Three (4/05/02)

By all accounts, I must have woken up sometime in the afternoon. The light coming through my small window was harsh and direct. It illuminated Threepio, who was still asleep in the corner.

I moaned and sighed, turning a bit and rubbing sleep out of my eyes. The movement caused Threepio's sensors to wake him up.

"Good afternoon, Master Anakin," Threepio said cheerfully.

I grunted and sat up, not bothering to answer him. I was surprised that I didn't have the headache I'd feared so badly. Instead, I found that just my muscles were stiff, probably from the beating they took in the race the day before. The pods were really small, especially now that I had grown nearly to two meters.

I threw on a loose tunic and stalked outside. I found Maecenas sitting in his office, jabbering on the holo comm to some associate. I figured he would want to see me, so I waited silently at the door.

"Look, Urbak," he was practically screaming. "I don't care how, I don't care how much, just get me that spice!" He slammed his hand down on the console, efficiently ending the connection.
"Trouble on Kessel?" I asked, raising my voice in mock concern. I leaned triumphantly against the doorframe and allowed a smirk to escape my lips.

He looked up at me from the desk, his face still red with anger. Noticing my reaction, he allowed himself to calm down and leaned back into his chair. His dark frame didn't so much as twitch.

"Careful, boy," he hissed. "Or I'll make you wish you mined there."

Have you ever heard of the expression 'that's not a threat, it's a promise?' Well, I'd say that basically summed Maecenas's disposition towards my existence.

"Sir," I mumbled softly, lowering my head. Perhaps I should have been at bit more of a jerk, but I liked all my bones intact.

"Better," he said. "You'd think after four years, you'd have learned a little discipline."

He sighed in false disappointment. He waited for some sort of reaction, but, when he got none, he stood up.

He walked toward me and stopped just inches from my face. I dared not move.

"You're very lucky, Anakin."

He rarely ever used my first name, and when he did, the vibration of it off his lips sent chills down my spine. I leaned into the frame more and crossed my arms together, somehow hoping to shield myself against him.

"If you weren't so good at what you do and-" he pinched my cheek harshly. "-so pretty, you would have been put down along time ago."
He stopped momentarily, and then continued, whispering in my ear.

"You're nothing more than a smart animal. I own every breath you take. Remember that when you're prancing around at those clubs."

He backed up and flashed me a smile. "I had the droids set you out something to wear. It should be in the 'fresher."

I had a lump in my throat the size of Tatoo I, so I simply nodded and walked out.

I showered and dressed. The outfit he'd given me was made out of some sort of silk and was probably worth more than even Threepio. I fixed my hair as best I could - Maecenas made me cut it a few years back, so it was easier to manage during the races. It was slightly spiky and I put some gel in it to enhance the effect.

By the time I finished getting ready, it was time to leave for the party.

Maecenas bellowed out. "Skywalker!" a few times, as if once wouldn't have been enough. I scuffled down into the entryway to join him.

The landspeeder ride was quiet at first, so I just looked out the window. I was surprised that Maecenas didn't have a call to take or anything.

"Stop that," he spoke, causing me to jump a little. "It's an annoying habit."

I didn't turn my head, just my eyes. He was sitting across from me anyway. I contemplated what he was talking about a second, before I took my half-bitten fingernail out of my mouth.

When I get nervous, I chew on my fingernails. It's a habit I started when I left my mom.

I continued to stare out the window.

"You know about the Duchess, right?" he asked, his voice growing harsher.

"Entertain her," I mumbled sheepishly.

"Deny her nothing," he hissed, his gold eyes flashing. "She is very close to the Queen of Baroonda. A little praise here and there couldn't hurt our odds."

This was what Maecenas was talking about when he said 'pretty.' It's rare, thank the gods, and only with the wealthiest of women. That didn't make me like it any better, but one had to do what one had to do.

I let my fingernail slide back in between my teeth, but this time Maecenas didn't bother to complain.

Perhaps now is the best time to explain my relationship to Maecenas. As you know, he owned me and had my chip active, but our situation was a little unique. You see on most pro-circuit planets, slaves weren't allowed to race for their owner's profit.

So, in order to get around that little rule, Maecenas had some documents forged, saying that he granted me release. Everybody on the pro-circuit believed that I was freed and that Maecenas was my 'patron', providing me with whatever monetary resources I needed as a racer.

That's why I was able to go out partying. Actually, Maecenas expected it from me - to keep up a sense of normalcy.

Maecenas thought he was being a good master by giving me a little money after each successful race. It started during my first race under his ownership. I had refused to do anything, sour from missing my mom and scared on a new planet.

He made me a deal; he was a business man, after all. If I won, I could keep one percent of my winnings, if I lost, he took five percent of whatever the pot would have been. Sometimes, though, I had to throw a race when my odds were too low. If I took down enough of my fellow racers in the crash, and the racer that Maecenas wanted won, I would get five percent of whatever the winnings would have been.

He said that if I made enough, he'd allow me to free my mother.
Well, when that fell through, we kept up the system and I bought parts for Threepio, or my other projects. When Threepio was completed, I used it on things like those drinks. I also had a little stash for if I ever found somebody who could deactivate my transmitter.

With things like the Duchess, well, there wasn't really a system for doing that. He told, I did. Once, par my usual behavior, I refused. Let's just stop at saying that was a mistake.

You're probably wondering why I just didn't inform the pro-circuit authorities of Maecenas's little plan. Well, I could have, but that wouldn't have stopped him from actually owning me. Who knows what he would have put through if I didn't race pods.

We rounded up the driveway to a very expensive mansion. The place belonged to Maecenas's friend, Gujdim Wiphshun. He was the local governor here. He took a blind eye and, not to mention a few bribes, to Maecenas's spicing trade.

People were getting out of landspeeders ahead of us - all were dressed in way too nice clothes. You could feed an entire family for a year on one of their cloaks.

I sighed loud enough for Maecenas to hear. He turned to me a second before a servant helped him out of the cabin.

"Cheer up, boy," his voice cheery. "It's your party."

I bit my lip to keep any trade comeback at bay. I really hated that man.

I stifled a groan as I got out of the speeder.

Let the fun begin.

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