Chapter Two

The speeder arrived in front of the building where Padmè resided when she came to Coruscant. Once it stopped moving, the Senator, her head of security and R2 got out of the vehicle. As soon as they were in the lobby, he had her wait with a small cache of armed Senate guards while he and the blue and white astromech went up to check her penthouse to ensure no other surprises were waiting for them.

Once Typho was sure that the entire place was safe, he took the turbolift back down, retrieved them both and dismissed the guards.

As they rode the lift up to the penthouse, Padmè realized that she was having a hard time processing her feelings over what had just occurred. Neither Cordè nor Versè had been the intended target. She also knew that no number of fancy words or long speeches would bring them back. Furthermore, she knew that those people who said them would be more concerned with how she was doing than what they were dealing with.

As soon as the turbolift reached the foyer and the doors slid open, she looked up from where she had been starring at the ground and saw that Dormè, who was one of her handmaidens, had been patiently waiting for the two of them. Typho stepped back and allowed the older woman to take the Senator into the common area.

Walking through the open doorway, Dormè led Padmè over to one of the couches and gently forced the Senator to sit down. As she slowly sank into the soft cushions, she was glad that she had requested that Dormè and one of her other handmaidens go ahead of them to get the place ready, as they hadn't been there to witness the attack. She didn't understand how some of her fellow Senators treated their staff as if they were invisible and not real people. As though their droids, servants and bodyguards were simply ornaments that were able to be changed whenever it was requisite.

As she closed her eyes, she saw the ship and the explosions all over again. Saw both Cordè and Versè as they were thrown off the ramp, heard the screams of the bodyguards as they fell off the sides. Then she found herself looking at Cordè's body as it lay in front of her, all battered and bruised and saw the small trickle of blood that came out of a small cut on the right side of her friend's mouth.

"Milady? Senator, are you alright?" Typho asked as he noticed that the Senator had closed her eyes. "I know that you've just lost both Cordè and Versè, but you cannot allow yourself to become lost in your grief."

Padmè slowly opened her eyes, looking to her right as she could hear the tension and concern in Typho's voice. She had almost forgotten that he was in the room as she had been lost in her thoughts. "I'm fine Captain," she said. "I suppose I am still in a little bit of shock over what happened on the landing platform. But thank you for your concern." She glanced down at herself and noticed that she was still wearing her flight suit. "I think I'm going to go shower and change into something a little more comfortable." She stood from where she had been sitting on the couch.

Dormè followed the Senator as she headed into her bedroom.

The Captain watched them leave and then went to the security office downstairs to ensure that everything was running smoothly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as both Padmè and Dormè entered the bedroom, the older woman made sure that the door was closed behind her, then turned around and watched as the Senator softly rubbed her face, and walked into the bathroom.

Padmè then turned to get a good look at herself in the bathroom mirror that was above the sink. As she did, she saw Dormè pass by. The woman was headed for the walk-in closet as she wanted to ensure that the outfit that she was going to need for her meeting with the rest of the Loyalist Committee was ready.

as the woman headed into the walk-in closet to ensure that the outfit that she was going to need for her meeting with the rest of the Loyalist Committee was ready. She smiled and then closed the door, noting that Dormè must have placed a robe in the room before she had arrived, for there was one hanging neatly on a hook near the tub. Then with the ease of experience, she reached up and removed the small metal decorations that were in her hair and then carefully combed through her rich brown locks, which smelled like burnt smoke.

Turning away from the mirror, she removed her clothing, turned on the shower and hopped into the tub. As she ran her fingers through her now wet hair, she reached for the shampoo bottle. As soon as it was in her hand, she stepped out of the way of the water, poured some into her other hand and then rubbed it through her hair.

Once her hair was all lathered and ready to be rinsed, she moved back under the steady stream of warm water and washed it out. After making sure that both her hair and body were clean and didn't smell like burned debris, she turned off the water and climbed out of the tub. Once she was standing on the non-slip mat that was on the floor, she quickly reached for a towel and used it to dry her hair before drying the rest of her body and then hanging it back on the rack where she had taken it from. She put on the clean robe, walked forward, opened the door and made her way into her room.

"Dormè?" Padmè called.

"Yes, M'lady?" Dormè responded, coming out of the closet.

"Is my dress for tomorrow ready?" she asked.

Dormè nodded. "Yes Padmè," she responded. "Why don't you ask the Chancellor if you can take the rest of the day off? I'm sure no one would mind considering everything that has happened today."

Padmè let out a sigh. "I think you're right Dormè," she said, knowing that she needed some time to herself if she was to get her act together and defeat this legislation that was currently being put forward in the Senate. "Would you mind fetching me some food, seeing as you have finished your task in the closet?"

"Of course, milady," Dormè replied. She quickly bowed and left the room.

Padmè then took a seat at her desk and picked up the datapad that she had left on the desk before she had left for her trip home. Turning the device on, she tapped the screen and sent a quick message to the Chancellor, informing him that she was alive and well, figuring that he must have heard about the attempt by now, and then requested that she be allowed to have the rest of the day off. Palpatine quickly got back to her, saying that he was relieved to hear that she was unharmed and that he was granting her request, considering the tragedy that had befallen her and her staff. He offered his condolences for the deaths of both Cordè and Versè and told her that he would see her tomorrow for the meeting with the rest of the Loyalist Committee.

She looked up as the door to her bedroom slid open and Dormè entered, carrying a plate of food. Padmè smiled as she put her datapad to one side and allowed her friend to place the plate in front of her. "Thank you," she softly murmured.

Dormè gently laid one of her hands on Padmè's left shoulder, gave it a gentle squeeze and left the room, allowing the woman to eat her lunch in peace.

After Padmè had finished her lunch, she called for Dormè, who came and took away the now empty plate. Now that her desk was clear, she reached over, picked up her datapad and took a deep breath. Then she began to compose a message. It was to be a letter of condolence for Versè's family as she knew them personally. In it, she offered her former security chief, Captain Quarsh Panaka and his wife Mariek, her condolences for their family's loss and told them how wonderful Versè had been.

When she finished the letter for Versè's family, she signed it and sent it off. Then she repeated the same thing for Cordè's letter to her family.

Cordè, as well as Versè, had become more than just her handmaidens. They had become her friends, as well as her confidants. It had been a privilege to get to know and work with the two of them and she wasn't about to let their lives or their sacrifice be in vain.

Once both of the letters were saved to her datapad, she tapped her screen again, this time bringing up all the notes that she had taken on the Military Creation Act. Then she began to go over what she and the rest of the Loyalist Committee had discussed in their last meeting together.

When she looked up from her datapad and glanced out the window, she saw that the sun was just beginning to set and realized that it was late. She called for Dormè again, who came with supper for Padmè. While she was eating, she heard footsteps in her closet and knew that Dormè was getting out of her nightgown.

A few minutes later, Padmè had finished her supper.

Dormè came over, picked up the empty plate and moved to the bedroom door, which slid open as she approached. As she began to walk through, she turned around and looked at her employer. "Goodnight M'lady," she said.

"Goodnight Dormè," Padmè told her.

Once the door had closed behind her handmaiden, she got up from her seat at her desk. Making sure that her blinds were closed, Padmè quickly changed from her robe into her nightgown. Remembering that she had a meeting tomorrow, she decided to head to bed. As she climbed beneath her covers, she silently hoped that whatever happened tomorrow would hopefully be better than how today had gone.