6. Faith
Rating: PG
Characters: Padmé, Obi-Wan, 3PO
Summary: "Have faith my love, everything will soon be set right..." Padmé has faith in Anakin. Maybe too much.
"Miss Padmé!"
C3PO's voice shook her from her reverie as she stood in her bedroom, watching the various ships fly by her window.
"What is it, 3PO?" she asked wearily, straightening her gown. She had asked the droid not to let any income messages or communications save Anakin, her family or Bail.
The droid looked confused.
"There is a Jedi in the veranda who wishes to see you…"
Anakin…
She chased the thought away in disappointment. The protocol droid would have said his name straight away.
She swallowed. Who could be here for her? Which Jedi would come when they were pursued relentlessly by clonetroopers?
"He says his name is Obi-Wan Kenobi."
She gasped and waltzed past her droid to reach the corridor leading to her veranda. Obi-Wan was alive… She sighed in relief.
"May I help, Miss Padmé?" 3PO called after her.
She didn't look back.
"No, stay where you are and wait for any calls."
When she reached the veranda, she felt grateful for some fresh air. Obi-Wan turned away from the hypnotic traffic to face her as she approached him. All her earlier resentment had vanished. She was relieved to see him alive.
"Obi-Wan!" She exclaimed. He kissed her cheek gently, his eyes so sad it hurt to look at him.
"I feared the worst." She said hastily, forcing a smile on her face. "I'm glad to see you're well."
He swallowed, obviously looking troubled.
"Have you seen Anakin recently?"
"Yes…" she answered uneasily.
No desire to know further now. She realized with a pang that there were more pressing matters than her relationship with his former apprentice.
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Yesterday," she replied, turning her back to him instantly.
"And do you know where he is now?"
He sounded determined and it made her uneasy. Instantly, her desire to protect Anakin from whatever had happened rose inside of her.
"No." she replied instantly, though she hated lying to Obi-Wan in such circumstances.
But there was this feeling inside of her that told her something had happened between the two men somehow.
Obi-Wan didn't look convinced by her answer. He began to talk then, about danger… Her heart squeezed in horror and she whirled around to face him. All this had made her so wary. Of course, Obi-Wan would want to help Anakin. That was why he needed her help. Maybe she was the only one who could help him find him.
"In danger? From the Sith?" she blurted out.
She knew Jedi had been tracking the Sith relentlessly: she remembered the scar beside Anakin's eye and trembled. He had not told her the whole truth last night because he didn't want to worry her-
"From himself."
She froze, staring at him in disbelief. He tried to sound gentle then, tried to come closer to soften the blow.
Somehow she knew before he even uttered a word.
Anakin has turned to the dark side…
It was a nightmare.
Padmé fought the urge to slap Obi-Wan, only pulled away from him angrily. It took all her political training not to yell at him.
How dare he?
She was furious, felt anger fill her though she could not know why.
Anakin's look as he said he would remain at the Chancellor's side…
No. It was impossible! She would never believe this. Never!
And yet she could only see the truth in the Jedi's eyes. She saw the silent agony and she knew.
Padmé shook her head, denying his accusations.
She would be Anakin's last advocate if need be.
Obi-Wan turned away from her then, his voice almost shaking as he claimed he had witnessed Anakin killing…
She shook her head vehemently.
"Not Anakin! He couldn't-"
Her hands were almost feeling the movement of their baby. The vision of her husband, eyes cold and hard, lightsaber slashing on small bodies was too hard. She couldn't believe this. Anakin would never do this. Never. He was a good person, one of the most selfless people she knew. She knew him, she loved him, knew everything about him. He couldn't have… He just couldn't-
Not just the men, but the women, and the children too…
She felt cold suddenly.
Obi-Wan began to explain everything in a monochord voice. The words registered in her mind numbly.
Palpatine was a Sith.
She was not even shocked. It made sense. Much sense. It explained why a seemingly good man had shred the Republic into pieces.
And it also explained why he had never done anything to stop the war. Because he was behind all this.
They had been played so easily. Even Jedi. Obi-Wan sounded almost resigned. But when he included Anakin into this, she stared at him in disbelief. How could he stay so rigid and so calm when his comrades were dying? How could he even think that Anakin, of all people-?
Anakin, a Sith?
Impossible.
My loyalty lies with the Chancellor…
"I don't believe you." She claimed, feeling herself crumble down.
"I can't!"
She was almost choking, her head spinning suddenly.
She had to sit down. Numbly, she found the couch and felt her legs give out as she sat down. Obi-Wan settled beside her, looking at her with compassion but also determination.
He wanted to find Anakin.
It was suddenly clear and she understood why she had felt so protective of Anakin from the beginning.
"You're going to kill him, aren't you?"
He had never wanted to help him, only wanted-
Padmé felt unwelcome tears come into her eyes. Obi-Wan, of all people, wanted to kill Anakin.
He didn't counter her claim, only said Anakin was a threat now.
A threat?
Anakin had come here, last night. He had held her, kissed her in this veranda. She had sat right here, beside him as he laid his hand on her belly.
Obi-Wan wanted her to help kill the man she loved, the father of her child.
"I can't," she said simply.
It was all she could utter. She wanted to be more resentful. She wanted to sound angrier than this. But it was all she could say. She wanted the Jedi to leave. To go far away from her. Go away with his lies and his assertions.
Obi-Wan rose then, nodding.
She didn't watch him leave, only rested her hands on her belly. Her last comfort.
"Anakin's the father, isn't he?"
She looked up, stared at him silently. Looked down swiftly.
It was all he needed.
Strange that now their secret was out, it didn't feel relieving. It felt so useless.
"I'm so sorry."
That was all he said before leaving.
As if he had just told her Anakin was dead.
Tears fell on her cheeks and the traffic was suddenly blurred. Padmé rose on shaky legs, reached her bedroom slowly, ignoring 3PO's questions. She slumped on the bed, the uneasy feeling spreading through her body until she couldn't breathe.
Underneath her gown, she felt the weight of the jappor snippet against her chest. Her fingers reached out, smoothed the material.
The sobs began then. She could almost hear Anakin's childish voice. Could almost hear his mature voice later as he realized she had kept his gift. She could hear his voice in her ear the day before, as he twirled the jappor in his hand, holding her close in this bed. Her hand clutched the precious item so hard she felt the hard edges inch into her skin.
When she came back to her senses, she realized the sun was setting.
Padmé straightened, caressed the jappor.
Her mind was back into action.
There were two possibilities. Either Obi-Wan had lied -or had been mistaken- and Anakin had nothing to do with the Sith. The Jedi was intent on finding her husband. What if he discovered Anakin was on Mustafar and went to kill him?
She rose, called 3PO roughly, rummaged through her clothes urgently and found the only jumping suit she could still put on.
The second possibility was too awful to consider and yet she had to try. If Anakin had really done this, there must have been something she didn't know that propelled him to believe Palpatine's lies. She needed him to tell her he had not done this. And if he told her he had, -she shuddered, anything but that- she would bring him back.
Save him from himself.
They would flee. From Obi-Wan, from Palpatine, from the new Empire.
Anakin was a good man, she knew it, could not let herself believe-
As 3PO prepared all she needed for the journey, she paused, suddenly remembering her meeting with Bail and the other Senators. If she were to flee with Anakin, she would not be able to stand up against Palpatine…
Her mind was made in a split second.
Nothing was more important than Anakin.
Nothing.
She pushed the organization, her thoughts of saving the Republic at the back of her mind and followed 3PO through the door.