Chapter 4: Assassination
The doors towards Padmé's bedroom slid open and Anakin saw two tiny creatures crawling over her body, making their way to her neck. Through the windows, he could see the assassin, who was clearly surprised by their sudden appearance. Obi-Wan would have to deal with her because the creatures were about to attack. He mustered all of his strength and force-jumped on the bed, careful not to land on Padmé, and sliced the creatures in half with two quick strikes.
Padmé felt her mattress shake violently and woke up. Anakin was standing on her bed with his lightsaber ignited. She shot straight up, not knowing what just happened. The smell of burned flesh reached her nose, and when she looked down she could see the remains of two creatures which were probably cut down by Anakin.
"Ani, what's going on?" Padmé asked, still shocked from being woken so violently.
Then she heard the windows shatter as Obi-Wan dove through the window towards a person standing on a speeder. "Anakin, stay with the senator!" he screamed while he tried to find his balance on the roof of the vehicle. The assassin noticed that she was being chased, and punched the accelerator. The speeder flew away with Obi-Wan still on its roof.
"Padmé are you alright?" Anakin jumped off of her bed and scanned her neck with his eyes for a sign that she got stung. He looked absolutely terrified for her.
"I don't know. I don't feel abnormal, so I think I'm fine," she replied with a trace of fear in her voice.
Having heard all of the noise, Sabé rushed into the room together with some of her staff and Captain Typho.
"Milady, are you hurt?"
"No Sabé, I'm fine thanks to Anakin and master Kenobi." She threw an appreciative smile at Anakin who seemed to relax after knowing that she hadn't been stung by the mysterious creatures.
"I'm only doing my job Milady." He made a small bow to acknowledge her compliment.
Padmé shivered as the cold air from outside started to flow into the bedroom through the broken window. Sabé noticed it immediately and dove into the closet to grab a robe and another blanket for her. When she came back, Padmé gratefully took the robe from Sabé and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Milady, I suggest that you don't stay in this room for the rest of this night. Besides it being uncomfortable, the broken window has compromised your safety."
"I agree," Captain Typho stated.
"Where am I going to sleep then? All of the rooms are now occupied because all of my security staff is here on Coruscant due to the new threats, and the guest rooms taken as well." Padmé knit her brows as she tried to find a solution. She didn't have to wait long, because Anakin already had the answer.
Anakin stared at the floor, a little nervous about the solution he was about to present.
"You can stay in my room… if you don't mind."
"Oh Anakin, you don't have to do that. Where will you sleep if I did?"
"I know I don't, but I want to," Anakin replied while giving Padmé a gentle smile unnoticeable for everyone else. "I'll just take the couch. Besides, my room is next to Obi-Wan's. If something goes wrong again, we will be much closer than if you slept in a room with one of your handmaidens on the lower levels.
She didn't have any better ideas and his arguments were too strong to be dismissed. "Alright, but I owe you." She said while giving him a playful nudge with her elbow.
"I guess you do." His grin now stretched across his face.
"Excuse me Milady, but I will go to my room and get my things. Hopefully, you can still catch some sleep after being woken so rudely."
"Thank you, Anakin. I appreciate it."
Sabé listened to their conversation with great curiosity. Padmé seemed different when she was around this Jedi. Instead of behaving like senator Amidala, she seemed more herself. Sabé and the other handmaidens were about the only people who knew the real Padmé. The life of a senator required her to sacrifice spare time to talk with other senators about some new bill or prepare for senate meetings.
But lately, she spent a lot of time researching a secret project which she kept to herself. Even Sabé didn't know what Padmé's project was about, which meant that it was personal and not work-related.
Anakin and the rest of the staff walked out of the bedroom, and Sabé could see Padmé's eyes following him and roaming across his body.
Out of all the people on Coruscant to have a crush on, she chooses a rather good-looking Jedi padawan. Padmé was one of her best friends, and she wanted her to fall in love with someone worthy.
When everyone left the room, Sabé woke Padmé from her trance. "Padmé!"
Sabé's call made the image of Anakin worrying about her fade from her mind.
"Yeah.. what is it?" She turned her head to look at Sabé and saw her smirking
"I didn't know that you were hungry."
"Hungry, what are you talking about?"
She looked so innocent that Sabé didn't know if Padmé realized what she was doing.
"I'm talking about the hot Jedi padawan of course. I saw you devouring him like you do your Shuura dessert."
"Sabé!"
Sabé chuckled at catching Padmé off-guard. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you like him."
"No, I don't like him," Padmé said, clearly irritated by her handmaidens bold statement. "At least not in the way you are implying. He is pretty, but that doesn't mean I have feelings for him. The only thing I want him to be is my friend. I miss having Anakin around. He understands me and what I'm going through."
Sabé recognized a warning in Padmé's voice not to press the issue any further.
"If you say so Milady. If you'll excuse me, I will return to bed." Sabé left Padmé alone with her thoughts until Anakin would return to bring her to his room for the night.
Anakin followed Obi-Wan back to the Jedi temple after an emergency meeting with chancellor Palpatine. Together with a couple of members from the Jedi council, his master, and Padmé they had discussed the best way to protect the senator.
In the end, they concluded that it would be best for Padmé's safety for her to return to Naboo, while the Jedi would search for the assassin. The councilmembers said that it would be too much for two Jedi to accompany the senator, so Anakin and his master were split up. He got the least dangerous mission of escorting Padmé, and Obi-Wan would hunt down the bounty hunter.
Although he was very happy that he got this assignment, especially because it involved being alone with Padmé, he wasn't entirely sure about the chancellor's emotions.
When he reported that Padmé was unharmed and only a little shaken, he felt like Palpatine wasn't sincere in his happiness at the news. His face didn't show it, but through the force, he could sense that he was irritated. Anakin had no clue if something else was the cause, or that their news upset him in some way.
It was not the first time that he had doubts about the chancellor. Whenever he was in his office, the everpresent cloud of darkness on Coruscant seemed to become thicker, and a cold feeling would encompass him. He once asked Obi-Wan why the force seemed so blurry on Coruscant, and especially in Palpatine's office. His master told him the reason was that there lived a lot of people on the planet who all share some kind of connection to the force. Because there was a huge amount of connections in one place, it was more difficult for a force-sensitive to reach into the force. As far as the darkness in Palpatine's office, Obi-Wan didn't have an answer to that. He said that he couldn't sense any difference with the rest of the planet, and left it at that.
Palpatine was not what he seemed. Anakin could feel that something was off about him, but he didn't know what. This, together with his exaggerated kindness towards only him made him warry of the chancellor.
"Anakin, you will need to pick up your new attire for the journey to Naboo in the temple's clothing hall. I have already sent a message that you will be there shortly to pick up Nabooian clothes." Obi-Wan stated.
The thought of wearing a civilian get-up made him remember the last time he had worn something like it, and it was not a pleasant memory, for that was when he was still a slave on Tatooine. The only clothing pieces he used to own were a couple of sets of underwear and a shriveled old tunic.
"Why can't I just wear my robes and pretend I have business on Naboo."
Obi-Wan got annoyed at his padawan's persistence. "We have gone through this Anakin, it is safer for the senator if you never left her side. If your absence is discovered, the assassin will go and look for you. If he finds out that you have gone to Naboo, the senator's home planet no less, it would be no stretch to assume that she went with you. That is something we cannot afford."
His Jedi tunic made him feel like he was free, free from the shackles of his previous life. He didn't want to feel like a slave anymore, so he had to try one last time.
"I know master but I can wear a cloak and draw up the hood so it covers my face. That way people can't know that it is me if only the order knew of my true destination"
"That may be Anakin, but you would still look like a Jedi. Following the senator around the transport would give you a lot of unwanted attention because it is abnormal for a Jedi to guard one single civilian."
Anakin hung his head in defeat because in his heart he knew Obi-Wan was right.
"You win master, but I will wear my normal clothes whenever I'm alone with Padmé or anyone trustworthy."
"Fine by me, as long as it doesn't jeopardize your mission."
"Master, do you really think I would endanger a mission just to get a glimpse of battle?" Anakin exaggerated feigning hurt by his master's comment.
"Oh I don't think it, I know it," Obi-Wan responded. His apprentice was one of the most reckless in the entire Jedi order, and that resulted in some unnecessary danger from time to time.
Anakin stopped at an intersection where their paths would diverge.
"The dressing rooms are to the right, you go on and prepare for your investigation, and I will pick up the new clothes and make sure I'm ready when the transport departs. See you in a couple of hours master."
"See you then Anakin."
Anakin dipped his head in respect to his master and headed for the pickup point.
If he had to wear different clothes, they'd better be comfortable. His old tunic certainly wasn't, and he did not look forward to having itchy skin because of ragged cloth.
Anakin shifted in his seat, hoping to find a more comfortable pose than he found three minutes ago. Together with Obi-Wan, Padmé, her handmaiden, and Captain Typho, they traveled towards the public transport that would take them to Naboo's capital. This was his first assignment on his own, and he couldn't help but feel nervous.
He would have to act like he was a normal civilian, while he never experienced what it was like to be one. He had only been a slave and a Jedi. He certainly looked like a native from Naboo with his new outfit, but he didn't know their customs. The new clothes he picked up were not as bad as he thought they would be. The silk was soft, thin, and was extremely comfortable. Naboo's climate was very warm, so this type of clothing may prove to be useful. His Jedi robes were made of thick soft cloth, which kept him warm in the neutral to cold temperatures of Coruscant, but on a warm planet, the heat often meant that his undertunic would become completely soaked in sweat. Only time would tell if his new clothes would suit Naboo's climate better.
The ship descended towards one of the landing platforms where public ships could dock. It decelerated and landed smoothly near the public transports.
They all stood up and walked towards the exit of the ship, but stopped before disembarking to say their goodbyes.
"Take care, the threat is one you two now," Padmé said to Sabé.
She dropped her luggage and hugged Sabé. when she stepped back, she noticed a couple of tears sliding down her cheeks.
"You will be fine."
"It's not me Milady, I worry about you. What if they realized you left the capital?"
Padmé glanced at Anakin and smiled to reassure Sabé that she would be alright. "Well, then my Jedi protector will have to prove how good he is."
Obi-Wan put his hand on Anakin's shoulder to get his attention. "Anakin, don't do anything rash, because the senator's safety will be your responsibility. If you have any questions about the mission or how to proceed, you can always send a message through the encrypted connection on your datapad."
"Yes master, I will master. May the force be with you."
"And with you my young padawan." Obi-Wan turned to Padmé. "I will get to the bottom of this plot quickly Milady. You will be back here in no time."
"I'll be most grateful for your speed master Jedi. The sooner I can get back to work, the better."
"Don't be too fast master Kenobi. She hasn't had a vacation in way too long. She could use some rest." Sabé turned around to see a disapproving glare from Padmé and laughed inwardly at her best friend's reaction. She basically just told everyone that Padmé was a workaholic, and she could see that her friend didn't appreciate it.
Anakin picked up their luggage and left the ship. "Come, it's time to go."
"I know," Padmé said whilst following Anakin. When she left the ship, her stomach started to twist and turn as her nervousness rose. Pretending to be someone else always came with excitement. Even with all the experience of swapping roles with her handmaidens as queen of Naboo, there was always a chance of getting caught. There was never a dull moment as you had to constantly mind what you said, think about your poise, and control your facial expressions.
Padmé looked at Anakin and grinned as he wasn't able to mask his nerves. She moved closer to him while walking towards the transport to sell the picture of two lovers returning to their homeworld for a vacation. Her arm briefly brushed his, and she felt him twitch at the physical contact.
"Anakin, try to relax. I don't bite."
He couldn't see that she was nervous but felt it radiating from her through the force.
In an attempt to lighten the mood a little, he thought of a humorous response.
"I'm not so sure. What if I tasted like that fruit you so obviously crave."
His completely unserious response made her grin grow into a huge smile, and she felt herself giggle like a young girl.
"Then you need to be extra careful when we reach my home. My nieces love it as well, and they will jump at every chance they get to taste its sweet flavor. My dad used to buy them for me on the local market when I was little. How exactly did you know that it was my favorite?"
"Well, you only need to take one look in your kitchen and see a huge bowl filled to the brim with it, and you can't conclude otherwise."
The astromech that followed them seemed to notice that they were talking about the fruit that he always kept for his master whenever she felt like eating it, so he sped up until he caught up with Padmé before offering her a piece of fruit. Padmé turned red out of embarrassment as she gratefully declined the droids offer.
The sight made Anakin laugh, and for a moment he could relax and forget about the difficult task ahead. "That serious huh? If you can't go for a day without it, I would have to try it someday."
"When we get to my house, I will take you to one of the marketplaces. There we can buy some of the best-tasting food on the planet. You'll love it!"
After they boarded the transport, they dropped off their luggage and walked towards one of the lounges to watch the ship depart from Coruscant.
Hope you enjoyed Chapter 3!
If you have any suggestions, or noticed errors feel free to comment :)
