Chapter 14

When they were younger, both Padme and Sola had been under the careful instruction of the experts of the laws of Naboo. They had studied the constitution every day until they could recite it by memory, they learned about the laws of past and present, and studied how policy and laws are made and repealed. Out of the two of them, Padme had been the most studious. Which was why she found herself sitting at her desk late at night with a large old tome that contained the laws passed after World War I laying open on her desk. She understood why the Marriage Law of 1920 came to be. Before the Great War, marriage between royals was common. A means of ensuring alliances, and strengthening family holdings. The law ended that practice so as to ensure that the Royal family had no external motivations when it came to international conflicts. And while the law does not have anything specific on dating in its text, the inclusion of it can easily be inferred by a modern audience.

At the moment, she didn't exactly know where this thing with Anakin was going, but she liked it. And she wanted to ride it to its conclusion— wherever that would be. She knew there was always the chance that this thing would end at some point, but there was also the chance that things could get more serious. And Padme was a planner. She thought things through to every possible conclusion she could and while for the moment, she could be content with secret get aways with Anakin, she knew that could not continue forever. If this did continue, they would have to find a way to be seen together in public. And if by some chance they were spotted before they were ready, she had to have a defense prepared. The law was a huge problem for that.

The door to her bedroom opened as her friend and decoy Sabe entered. She gave her a kind smile as the other girl extended a cell phone to her. The phone was vibrating with a call and Padme quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey," Anakin's voice came through from the other side. He sounded tired, yet relaxed.

"Hi," She returned, unable to help the smile his voice brought to her face.

"Sorry I didn't call yesterday," He said. "I wanted to but Ben called me in because he wanted to make sure that everyone understood how he was going to do things now that Qui-Gon's retirement has started." He laughed, "It was the most brutally dull thing I've ever been through."

"Poor you," She said as she closed the book and turned out the desk light before going over to sit on her bed. She sat on top of the soft duvet with her legs tucked under her chin. "At this point I'm just glad you called."

"About that…" He started, "Did that guy have to give the whole, 'if you lose this phone, you die' speech? It kinda freaked me out and I'm pretty sure it was one of the reasons I had to go through extra screenings at the airport security check point."

Panaka… Padme shook her head. He was a great security officer, but he was much too serious. All she asked when they returned was that he be given a secure line so that they could talk. Security around the royal family's phones was extremely tight and it wasn't like she could just give him a phone number he could put into his phone. Hers didn't work like that. "Yeah, sorry about that," She laughed. "He's just… being protective."

"Yeah, well I got the feeling that he doesn't really like me."

"He doesn't really like anyone who isn't my family. He's very loyal."

"Hmmm…" She could hear rustling on the other side but she wasn't sure what from.

"Where are you right now?" She asked.

"In bed," He said. "I miss you."

Padme smiled as she shifted to lay down, her phone tucked against her ear. "It hasn't been that long," She said.

"I still miss you," She could just picture that playful crooked smile of his as he spoke.

Padme sighed as she shook her head, "I miss you too," She admitted. From what she knew about his home, he lived alone. His friends were fairly close but not on hand at all times like her handmaidens. She wondered if he had even seen his friends since he returned. "Tell me about your place." She asked.

He breathed deep as he let out a relaxed breath, "Well… it's a standard one-bedroom apartment in Coruscant. I live above this small local convenience store that sells a little bit of everything except a decent beer," He said with a laugh. "I got some pictures on the walls of my mom and some of my friends. I also got a few posters. Nothing really special."

Padme hummed as she listened to him describe his home. She could just imagine what it probably looked like. If his organization (or lack there of) from their stay at the lake house was any indication, he probably kept his dirty clothes in a pile in the corner, the nightstand would have a few empty water bottles, and the wardrobe would just be a disorganized mess with clothes poking out preventing it from closing. He swore that there was a system to the madness but her eye just could not fathom it.

"What about you? Did you have to go to that dinner thing tonight?"

She smiled, "You mean the dinner at the King's Conservatory. That's two days from now. Dinner tonight was just me and my family." Her thoughts drifted back to the conversation that had occurred at dinner and she frowned as she looked back at the books on her desk.

"What's wrong?" Anakin asked. "You sounded upset there for a moment." She could hear his concern in his voice, but she remained quiet as her mind raced to find an answer.

"It's nothing."

He paused for a few seconds, waiting for her to cave and tell him what was on her mind… but she couldn't. Not yet. "Doesn't sound like nothing," He said.

He wasn't going to give up on this. She could tell. "Anakin…" The last thing she wanted to do was push him away when all he wanted was to help. But she had to get him to give this some time before she talked to him about this more. "It's… a family thing."

"Bad?"

"…I… I'm not sure yet." She said. "But once I figure it out, I'll let you know. Okay?"

She heard him take a slow breath before he spoke, "Alright," He didn't sound completely satisfied with her answer, but he at least seemed to respect her wishes.

Padme smiled as she made herself more comfortable in bed, her phone pressed between her ear and the pillow. "Hey… you know I love you, right?"

"Hmmm," She could hear him smile, "I love you too."


The director was calm but clearly frustrated when Sola answered his call. "Majesty," He started, "I am sorry to disturb you, but our staff has reported several strange sounds in the building that they seem concerned about. While I believe none of this is of any real concern, I do know there have been a few articles about this building and I'd be remiss if I didn't ask but… is there anything we should be worried about?"

Sola was frozen as she listened to him. Was this a sign that things were already going bad with the construction? It couldn't be. Lott Dod couldn't have been foolish enough to make a building that wouldn't even stand for a month. There was still time to fix this without causing panic. "Of course not, Director." Sola answered. "I am sure there is no immediate danger but just to be safe, I promise that we will have someone come and check things out just to be safe."

"I am humbled by your generosity, Majesty," He said.

Sola bid him a good evening before hanging up. The walls of the sitting room she was in were adorned with regal paintings of kings and queens who had ruled before her. Adorned in their regalia, they bore the crests of noble orders, medals of valor, and looked every bit like what a king or queen should look like. Their eyes were like daggers made of ice as they stared down at her, crushing her beneath their weight as they watched her, judged her and challenged her. She felt cold as she looked up at them. These were the people whose example she would be compared to in years to come.

Turning to the aid that waited patiently by the door for her, she took one calming breath before speaking. "I'll be working late tonight. Alert my advisors that tomorrow we will begin the implementation of the project." She ordered. He gave a curt bow of his head before leaving and she made her way to her office, making a note to have coffee sent to her.