Chapter 3
Night fell on the city as the ball drew to a close. With the last of the guests finally departing for the wing where all the guests were staying, Padme was finally able to relax a little with a nice hot bath and a cup of tea. Her ladies in waiting carefully brushed her hair as it dried and she relaxed into the soft chair of her vanity, enjoying the smoothness of her silk robe. In front of her sat one of the final drafts of a speech she was going to give in a few days at one of the charity events she was invited to. With the days events finally over, and the rush coronation planning at an end, it was time for things to go back to normal. For Padme, this meant making her presence known, attending events, representing her family's commitment to the wellbeing of the people, and keeping good relations with the government. She read through the speech once more as her hair was being brushed, taking a pen to make some small notes for possible revisions to try in the morning. She was just making a note on a few other names to mention in the speech when Sola burst through her bedroom doors and heaved a dramatic sigh as she threw herself down on Padme's bed.
"I am beat!" She whined, sprawling herself in an ungraceful heap as she closed her eyes.
"Then why don't you go to bed?" Padme asked, quirking her brow at her sister.
Sola groaned, "I really don't want to."
"You're meeting with the Prime Minister in the morning,"Padme said. "You're to go over your stances on the major issues currently on the docket in Parliament as well as the long term goals of your reign."
"I know."
She sighed as she turned to face her older sister, the ladies in waiting, taking the moment of silence to dismiss themselves. Padme waited until they were gone before speaking again. "Have you put any thought into your stances yet?" She asked.
Sola gave a small shrug, "A little… I know I want my people to be happy—"
"As do we all—"
"Free education would be nice—"
"— Or at least more government funding to cut costs."
Sola nodded, "Our healthcare is pretty good, so I'm fine with that…"
"And what about international policy? Your recommendations on ministers? And picking a charity to receive the Just Service Grant?"
Sola's eyes rolled as she groaned and let her head flop back onto the pillow.
Padme sighed and stood from her seat making her way to the bed and climbing on to join her sister. The two of them laid facing one another, heads propped up by pillows. "Sio Bibble can probably advise you on some of these things," Padme said, "But you know he has his own stakes in this. His party is counting on him—"
"—I know," Sola said, "Dad taught us both how to do this. And while I might be a bit of a slow learner, I do know what I have to do. It's a lot to get used to, and I'll be the first to admit that I still have a lot to learn… but I'll figure it out. I promise." She smiled and rolled to sit up, crossing her legs under her. "But, enough of that!" She declared. "If I have to spend all day tomorrow in a stuffy room filled with stuffy old men, you're going to tell me all about that boy you were dancing with."
Padme laughed and shifted so that she was leaning back against the headboard, folding one leg under her and wrapping her arm around her bent knee. "What's there to tell? He's just a boy."
Her sister smirked, "Sure he is," She said. "Just a boy who seems to like you a lot."
Her eyes rolled as she scoffed, "You're reading way too much into this."
Sola sighed and shook her head as she flopped back down onto the bed. Her eyes focused on the grand ceiling of the bedroom and let the silence and calm of the room fill her. Padme laid beside her, joining her in her examination of the ceiling. "Can you promise me something?" Sola asked, never looking away from the ceiling.
"Of course," Padme replied.
"Promise me you won't let our work consume us. Promise me that when you do get married, that it's for love."
Padme sat up and turned to face her sister, "Sola…"
Their eyes met and for once, her sister looked her thirty years. Gone was the bubbly impulsive girl she knew her sister to be, here was the Sola who fully knew the reality of their obligations. She smiled up at her, "I know I have a duty to this country. I know that when I marry, it'll be to someone of status and picked from a selection of men. But you… you have the freedom to marry whoever you want. I want you to marry for love, because that person makes you happy."
Padme took her sister's hand and gripped it tightly, "You'll marry for love too," She said. She knew that while the list of candidates to marry Sola would be a pre-approved selection of men of some renown in Naboo, Padme knew that there had to be someone who Sola could truly find love and happiness with.
She shook her head, "It won't be the same. There's no freedom in it. I might have the final say but… they won't be men that I picked." Sitting up, she took Padme's hands in hers and squeezed tightly, "I want you to have what I can't. So can you promise me this?"
Padme returned her sisters tight hold on her hands, "I promise."
—
Breakfast the following morning was not nearly as grandiose an affair as the previous night's events. Dressed in fine but not formal attire, the small private dining room was occupied only by a select few guests from last night. At the head of the table, Sola exchanged small talk with the Prime Minister who sat the the right of the Queen. At Sola's left was Ben Kenobi who listened intently to the Queen and the Prime Minister's casual discussion on small international regulations. Padme sat at the opposite end of the table, her seat directly to the right of her mother who sat at the opposite head of the table. Across from her was the young Duke, Rush Clovis who would flash her a charming smile every once in awhile as he spoke with her mother. As she listened to the Duke talk about his desire for the nobility to play a more active role in government, Padme fought to keep from rolling her eyes at his obvious attempt to try and sway her mother with smooth words. One look at the older woman, and Padme knew that she was thinking the exact same thing.
A few seats down from Clovis, she noticed Anakin would look at her every once in awhile. He was sitting closer to the middle of the table and it seemed like he was trying to keep up with Ben's conversation as well as try and watch her as well. Their eyes met briefly and he smiled at her with unabashed awe and admiration. Such looks were nothing new to Padme who was used to being close to the center of attention, but the way Anakin did it, felt so real that she found it hard to look away. She couldn't have kept her gaze locked to his for longer than a minute or two, but she completely lost track of the conversations around her as she practically felt like she was drowning in his eyes. It was only when Ben grunted loudly and drew Anakin's sharp attention away that Padme fell back into reality. She watched the silent exchange between Ben and Anakin and the older man shot him a warning look before turning back to Sola. Anakin's cheeks flushed a light red as his shoulders slouched, slightly deflated from the exchange.
The breakfast ended after about an hour or so of discussion. Sola had other obligations and meetings to attend now that her rule was recognized. That left the schmoozing and entertaining of the guests to Padme and her mother. It wasn't a difficult task. The palace itself was filled with no end of things to do. Many guests entertained themselves with a stroll through the famous gardens filled with flowers and plants native to Naboo. Some took an interest in the Royal Library which held numerous first editions of rare books and some of the paper artifacts from previous rulers of Naboo. Yet still there were also those few guests who felt the need to practically glue themselves to their hosts.
The young Naboo artist, Palo Jemabie was unfortunately one such guest. Padme tried not to mind so much as the young man was well respected among nobles and commoners alike. His still life depictions of the small Naboo towns were so beautiful and awe inspiring that some argued that the paintings alone put them back on the map and created a surge of interest in their culture. Padme didn't share that belief, but she at least acknowledged the man's obvious dedication to depicting his culture and his people as accurately as possible.
She smiled as the two of them walked along the stone walkway near the waterfalls. Palo spoke about how he wished he had his paints so that he could paint the skyline of the capital right now, or how he wished he were talented enough to capture her beauty on a canvas… all of it overly romantic and too ridiculous to believe, but she knew better than to call him out on this. Instead, she listened to him drone on and one and kept a polite smile even as he tried to inch closer to her. For each attempt he made towards her, she took a silent side-step away from him. Where most would have understood the silent request for space, the artist was either too dim or too determined to pay it any mind. Padme tried to be polite about it, but when he placed his hand on the small of her back as he spoke about his art, she'd had enough of him.
Taking his wrist in a tight grip, she pushed his hand off her back as she stepped farther back and narrowed her eyes in warning at him. "Mister Jemabie, while this conversation has been… enlightening, I do have other guests that I would like to speak with," She said, not bothering to hide her distaste for him as she encouraged him to speak with one of the staff about getting paints and canvas. She hoped he would, as it would hopefully mean she would have to spend less time with him. Bidding him a good day, she quickly left his company and walked quickly along the cobblestone path in the garden, heaving a sigh as she rubbed at her temple.
"What a prick."
Padme jumped at the unexpected voice, and turned to see Anakin leaning back on a stone bench, his legs stretched out and his arms folded behind his head, looking completely at ease. She blinked at him for a moment before looking back at Palo who seemed to have taken an interest in a blonde woman he was now walking with. Padme scoffed, "Yeah," She agreed, looking back at Anakin and gestured towards the empty space next to him, "Do you mind if I—"
"—Not at all," He cut in, shifting over to give her more space.
She smiled and joined him on the bench, sighing contently as she tilted her head back to soak in the warmth of the sun.
"Was he that exhausting?" He laughed.
Padme laughed and shook her head, "I've… seen worse," She admitted, breathing in deeply. The air smelled of the fresh lavender flowers mixed with the cool scent of two varieties of Naboo tulips, all of which were planted in a nearby plot. "I just like to come out here sometimes and relax," She said.
"I can see why," He replied. "You know… Naboo was the first place I'd been where I saw so many flowers in one place."
"Really?"
He nodded and leaned forward on his knees, "My mother was a translator in Tunisia when I was a kid," He said. "She worked on a long series of documentaries there from around the time I was three until I was ten." He gave a shrug and cocked his head to the side, "Her job was cool, but I didn't really like living there. The cities were too crowded, the rural areas were too sandy, it was very hot in the Summer…" He shook his head and leaned back. "We had a layover in Theed when we were moving to Coruscant after her contract ended. I'd never seen so much green in my life," He said, a hint of a smile gracing his face as he spoke.
"I suppose it's a good thing you ended up working for an ambassador then."
Anakin laughed and gave a small shrug with one shoulder, "This wasn't my first choice for a career, but… it does have its perks."
His eyes slowly found hers, looking at her almost shyly, as if he wanted to say more but thought better than to voice his thoughts. Padme looked at him, and she swore she could hear what he wanted to say as if he had said them himself. "I'm glad to have met you." She felt herself relax a bit more as they gazed at one another. She took one small glance over her shoulder to take a quick inventory of the people wandering the gardens. None seemed to be paying her any mind. Most were chatting amongst themselves or admiring the gardens. A few of the benches were occupied by the lone reader lost in a book. It was one of the rare moments Padme truly felt like she was alone. No one needed her attention, she didn't have anyone who she needed to speak with, and while she knew that there was the odd security person lurking around somewhere, they were nowhere within her eyesight at the moment. This feeling— which she could only describe as a sense of newfound freedom— seemed to urge her to do something so utterly new and… daring that she felt a surge of adrenaline as she looked back at Anakin.
She couldn't deny that he was quite handsome. He seemed kind, and her status didn't seem to remotely phase him where others tended to fall into either a stickler for protocol or sycophants. Padme smiled at him, "Would you like to take a walk with me?"
The corner of his lip cocked up in a roguish smirk, "Of course."
