Note: Here is Chapter 3. I'm halfway through my testweek, so I'll be able to write chapter 5 next week.

Enjoy :D


Chapter 3: Talk to me


Coruscant's sunset basked the veranda in an orange glow and glittered in the reflection of the falling water from the fountain. The only thing that reminded her that she was on the busiest planet in the galaxy, was the low humming of speeders in the distance.

In front of her sat a peacefully-looking silhouette on the floor near the edge of the veranda facing the horizon. While he was meditating, a light breeze crossed the platform and made his hair wave. Anakin seemed so peaceful, that she got the urge to sit beside him and meditate herself. She quickly dismissed the notion because walking further towards him would probably make enough noise to disturb him. He already looked less troubled, so her assistance would probably not be needed. Instead, she stayed in the doorway and looked at the view. In quiet moments like these, all of the galaxy's problems seemed to be less important. Anakin didn't need her help, so she turned around to walk back towards the living room but stopped when she heard his voice.

"Don't go."

She looked back at Anakin and saw him shifting uncomfortably. A tiny trace of fear crept into his voice which he desperately tried to hide. Why would he be afraid?

"I don't want to disturb you."

"Your presence is soothing."

So that's what he was afraid of. He didn't want her to leave. What was on his mind that she could help with but Obi-wan couldn't? She couldn't help herself and decided to ask him.

"What's wrong Anakin?" Padmé said as she started walking towards the edge of the veranda next to where he was sitting.

Anakin felt Padmé approaching and broke free from his meditation. He stood up, turned around to face Padmé, and sighed as he tried to find another explanation for why he fled from the dining room other than the truth.

"I… I don't know." Anakin hung his head to avoid Padmé's prying eyes who tried to search his soul for answers. He had to come up with something which bothered him, otherwise, Padmé would be able to see right through him and notice that he was lying. Knowing her, if she knew he was hiding something, she would probably be even more determined to find out the truth.

"Don't do this Anakin, I can see you're lying. You used to tell me everything, so please tell me and let me help you!"

"I guess I'm just frustrated." Anakin started to turn away, but Padmé's plea stopped him.

"Please…Ani!" She was starting to get frustrated. Why couldn't he tell her what was bothering him? Surely their time apart wouldn't change the fact that they were friends? Then again, it had been ten years and she didn't know what he had been through while he trained to become a Jedi.

Anakin pulled his biggest frustration from the back of his mind where he had learned to keep it locked up and away from other force sensitives. The rule of the Jedi that stated it was forbidden to form any attachments. His eyes started tearing up as all of his feelings connected to his mother filled his head.

"It's my mother. I miss her so..so much, and I can't go and visit her."

Padmé was surprised but kept her voice tender and soothing.

"Why? What prevents you from going?"

"The Jedi forbid it." A bitter tone crept into his voice. "It is forbidden for a Jedi to form attachments. Even for our family. That is why most Younglings are picked up when they are only one or two years old. That way, they don't remember much of their parents and are more easily able to forget about them. I was a lot older when I started my training, so I have spent more time with my mom than any other Jedi. It is impossible for me to let go, and even if I could, I don't think I would want to.

He sounded so helpless and defeated, just like he once was when he left Tatooine for the first time in her Royal Starship. She hated seeing him like this, so she had to do something.

"Oh Anakin, that's horrible! I'm so sorry." Padmé went to stand in front of Anakin, so he couldn't escape her gaze. "I can't imagine having to close yourself off from everyone."

"Well, it's very hard, but also necessary if I want to become a Jedi Knight. Master Obi-Wan says that my feelings for my mother pass in time, but they don't. They seem to get stronger every day."

No wonder this bothered him so much. Anakin was surrounded by Jedi and couldn't talk to anyone without being judged. He missed someone to talk to who knew what he was going through, or at least, someone who understands what it is like to be away from family for so long. Her hand unconsciously started reaching for Anakin's in compassion.

"If you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me."

A soft smile washed the sadness away from Anakin's face. "Thank you Padmé, I appreciate that."

Padmé gasped quietly as her hand grazed Anakin's, and quickly pulled away, only now noticing what she was doing. She felt herself blush, and took a step back.

"I uhh… I have to get back to master Obi-Wan to set up shifts for tonight's guards. I've already been away too long." Anakin turned around and walked back towards the apartment.

As he walked back, her eyes never left his body. His padawan braid seemed to dance from the combination of movement, and the light breeze that occasionally crossed the veranda. As he walked, she could see the movement of strong muscles under his tunic which was a testimony to his devotion to the Jedi order. His handsome face was covered by shadows as he reached the door, and disappeared into the building. Wait a minute, did I just think that…? Padmé only now noticed that she was studying his body, and scolded herself for it. There were better things for a senator to do than to be attracted to someone. Although she disliked that she thought of him as handsome, it was something she couldn't deny.

He had looked a little distant for the whole evening, but when he opened up to her about his mother, his stress seemed to diminish. The image of him smiling when she offered that he could always talk to her filled her mind, and warmed her heart. She took a deep breath to try and order her thoughts, but to no avail. How could a single smile affect someone so much? "It wasn't just anyone's smile though, it was Anakin's," she told herself. And with that thought, she decided to head indoors to finish preparations for tomorrow's senate meetings.


It was already late in the evening, and Padmé and her staff had already retired. Anakin sat in the living room together with Obi-Wan, killing time, before their strict guard shifts for the night would start. At midnight one of them would get some sleep, and the other would keep watch. Every two hours they were going to swap places so that the person on guard stayed sharp. When on guard, their connection to the force would allow them to sense danger. This way, if anyone managed to break through all of their security, hope would not be lost, and there would still be a last line of defense.

"Your move," said Obi-Wan as he moved one of his pawns on the holochess board. A big smile stretched across his face because he won the game.

"Ah, not again! Why is it that I always seem to make critical errors when I can't afford them?" Anakin sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Obi-Wan frowned, it wasn't normal for Anakin to get frustrated when losing a game of Dejarik. He sometimes got irritated when he lost, but never doubted his own abilities.

"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't just about the game?"

"Something just doesn't feel right. I don't know what it is. Whenever I try to find the source of this feeling, the trail fades and leaves me with nothing. I don't know if I can protect the senator if I can't even sense the source of my discomfort.

"You may have already answered your own question. Doubting your ability to help will not save her from a threat. Only you and the force as your ally can do that. If you let go of your doubts and submerge yourself in the force, you can accomplish many great things."

"I know I can do it, but it's just that I know her, and she used to be my friend. I can't let anything bad happen to her."

"Qui Gon used to tell me that focus determines your reality. If you think about all of the ways you could fail, then you will. Instead, focus on the living force my young apprentice, for it will guide you, and give you strength in times of need."

"Yes master. It is almost midnight, you should take a nap before I have to wake you. You'd better not be too far gone, otherwise I will have to turn your mattress upside down once again," Anakin joked.

"If you do, I'll be more than happy to return the favor."

Anakin knew that Obi-Wan wasn't bluffing. At one point during his training, he had decided that it would be fun to mess with his master while he slept. Little did he know that he would wake the next morning by a bucket of ice-cold water. He learned the hard way that it was dangerous to mess with his master's sleeping ritual. Obi-Wan liked to sleep, so disturbing him in the process was only allowed in emergencies.

"Yeah, how can I forget. Goodnight master."

"Goodnight Anakin, see you in a couple of hours."

The doors to one of the guest rooms where Obi-Wan resided closed and left Anakin completely alone in the living room of Republia500.

Before his mind could wander astray, he relaxed and released all of his feelings into the force, strengthening his connection with it. He closed his eyes and slowly began to sense everything that happened in his vicinity. He could sense the guards downstairs who guarded the turbolifts and feel all of the people who were sleeping peacefully. His mind wandered around the building through the force, looking for any sign of danger.

Being so deeply connected to the force, and seeing people sleeping peacefully made him happy. This was how life should be. Everyone should be able to work for whom they want and rest whenever they needed to and be happy. War and slavery were wrong, and he knew firsthand how it could destroy a person.

Anakin's mind arrived at the door that led to Padmé's bedroom. He almost entered, wanting to bask in her relaxing aura, but held back realizing that he would be invading her privacy. He loved and respected her too much to do something like that. Instead, he let his senses surround her room, so that he would notice whenever something happened in it.

Knowing that she was safe for now and that he could sense everything going on in her room, Anakin opened his eyes and strayed through the living room. It was a large space with windows as high as the ceiling which made it easy to get a great view of Coruscant. In the middle stood a glass table surrounded by soft couches. It was a beautiful apartment by Coruscant's standards but lacked coziness. He could see that Padmé tried her best to bring some life into the sterile-looking space because it was decorated with all sorts of colorful flowers and Nabooian paintings.

He walked over to a picture of two people, and as he drew nearer he could see that Padmé was one of two in the picture. She was much younger and sat underneath a large tree in a beautiful garden playing with another girl, who was at least five years older than her. He guessed that it was her sister, as he could clearly see similarities between the two. They both had the same color of brown hair and had the same contagious smile.

Anakin started walking towards the kitchen, but a small ripple in the force got his attention. A shiver ran up his spine when he sensed that the disturbance he noticed was an early warning from the force. The disturbance wasn't large enough for Padmé to be in immediate danger, so he decided to wake Obi-Wan out of precaution.


Coruscant's traffic zoomed past when she arrived at her destination. The job she was about to do would make her rich and would ensure that she would never have to work again if she wanted to. However, that was not what she planned to do after she got her credits. Zam Wesell lived for the thrill of chasing a bounty across the galaxy and capturing or killing it. If she had to live without bounty hunting she could just as well be dead.

The mission was as simple as could be. She had to cut a hole in a window from a skyscraper while bypassing the forcefield that would surround the building, release the Kouhons into the room and watch the poisonous creatures do their job.

It was past midnight so the senator would be asleep by now, and all of her staff would be too. This meant that it would be much easier to kill her because there would be no one who could see a speeder hovering in front of the bedroom.

There was no time to waste, so she grabbed a tool that would create a gap in the forcefield and started working.


Anakin sat on the couch in the living room together with Obi-Wan focusing on the disturbance in the force. It was getting larger by the minute and made him feel uneasy.

"Master, how do you think an assassin could reach the senator? If he would try to get in through the lower levels we would surely notice, and we would see him if he were to land on the veranda with a ship."

"I don't know Anakin. Something is off, and I don't like it."

Suddenly, Anakin felt the force cry out in danger, pleading for him to react. "Master!" he exclaimed while launching up from his chair and running to the bedroom where the source of the warning originated and ignited his lightsaber. When he arrived at the door, there was only one thing he could think about. Please let her be alright.


Hope you enjoyed Chapter 3!

If you have any suggestions, or noticed errors feel free to comment :)