Chapter 23
Palo Corrino was not a man who liked to be trifled with. He had left strict orders with his staff that only those people he had approved were permitted to visit Padmé Amidala. So when he passed through the upper story gallery that over looked the quadrangle, he stopped in his tracks when he saw a man he did not recognize talking to Padmé.
Furious, he strode to the front office, where the young woman who had shown in Jobal and Anakin was sitting reading a juicy romance novel.
"Miss Mereel," he said as he stood in front of her desk.
Thea looked up, startled by the voice of her boss. "Oh, you startled me! What can I do for you sir?"
"You can tell me who the man is talking to Padmé Amidala," he snapped, folding his arms over his chest. "I do not remember authorizing someone matching his description to see her."
"He came with Padmé's mother," Thea explained. "She verified that he was a member of the family. I'm sorry sir, but I figured that if she okayed it, he must be family."
Palo frowned. "I have the final authority here, Miss Mereel," he reminded her. "What is this man's name? Did you at least get a name?"
"No, I'm afraid I didn't," she replied. "I'm sorry, sir."
Palo shook his head. "Very sloppy, Miss Mereel," he admonished her. "Very sloppy indeed." He turned on his heel and walked away in the direction of the quadrangle. Thea watched him go, rolling her eyes when he was out of sight. She then returned to her novel, picturing a striking, tall blue eyed man as the hero of the story.
"Well, let's see," Anakin began as he sat down with Padmé on a stone bench. Jobal had discreetly made her way to the other side of the garden to give them some time alone. "We met in a junk shop on Tatooine," he told her with a smile. "I was working there, and you were there with a man named Qui-Gon Jinn looking for parts to repair your ship."
"A junk shop?" she asked. "We met in a junk shop?"
Anakin nodded. "Not terribly exciting, I know. Do you want to know what my first words to you were?"
"Yes," she replied at once.
"I asked you if you were an angel," he told her.
"Why did you ask me that?" she asked.
"Well, I had always heard the deep space pilots talking about the angels of the moons Iego, and how they were the most beautiful creatures in the universe," he explained. "And you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen," he added with a smile.
Padmé's face turned pink, and she averted her eyes from his. He could sense how uneasy his words made her, and regretted being so candid with her. But it was so hard not to; this was the woman to whom he had bared his very soul. How could he pretend to be anything but madly in love with her?
"I need to know something," she said quietly, not looking up at him.
"You may ask me anything you wish," he replied.
She looked back up at him, her dark eyes full of confusion. "Who are you? I know your name, but I need to know why you are here, why you came to see me. Who am I to you that you would want to see me?"
Anakin hesitated before responding. Do I tell her the truth? What would it do to her to learn it?
"I don't believe we have met."
Anakin looked up to see a tall thin man standing before him. He had curly dark hair and green eyes. Palo.
"You are interrupting," Anakin said. "Something I've always considered bad manners."
Palo lifted one eyebrow, trying not to look unprofessional in front of Padmé. He looked at her, not wishing to upset her with the inevitable confrontation he sensed was imminent. "Padmé, would you excuse us please?" he said gently, a smile on his face. "I need to speak to your visitor."
Padmé stood up at once. "Of course," she replied. She started to walk away, and then turned and looked at Anakin once more. He watched her, holding her eyes with his own, until she turned away again.
"Under the circumstances, I believe a little rudeness was necessary," Palo said once Padmé was out of ear shot. "I am Palo Corrino. I am the administrator of this facility, and Padmé's guardian. Who might you be?"
Anakin stood up, allowing his imposing physical stature to intimidate the man before he spoke. "I am Anakin Skywalker," he replied. "I am Padmé's husband."
Palo did not respond immediately, for he was too shocked to do so. So this is Anakin, he thought, sizing up the daunting man standing before him. This is the man who Padmé cried for every night for weeks…
"Her husband?" Palo said at last. "You'll forgive me if I don't believe you."
Anakin narrowed his eyes, feeling hatred for the pompous administrator filling him. "I don't give a damn what you believe," he replied. "Padmé is my wife; she has been my wife for more than twenty years. Whether or not you believe that is irrelevant to me."
"But it is not irrelevant to me," Palo replied coldly. "I have spent the past two decades caring for her. If you are truly her husband, you'd have been the one to do that, instead of leaving her to wander the streets of Theed alone like a…"
Palo did not finish his sentence, for he felt Anakin's large hand around his throat, preventing him from speaking.
"Do not for a moment think that I would hesitate to kill you for what you are thinking at this very moment," Anakin warned Palo, his voice low and threatening. "You know nothing, administrator."
Palo stared with wide eyes at Anakin, terrified beyond words. He felt Anakin's grip relax, and he finally released him. Palo commenced coughing and sputtering as he struggled to catch his breath. Who is this Anakin Skywalker?? And why would Padmé marry such a dangerous, volatile man?
"I want to see the records of Padmé's care while in this facility," Anakin told him, having calmed down. "I want to see everything, every doctor's note, every dosage of medication, everything. And I want to see it now."
"What makes you think that you can just walk in here after twenty years and start giving orders?" Palo said, rubbing his throat gingerly. "You've been estranged from her all this time and now all of a sudden you think that you can just come in here and turn her world upside down? If you cared at all about her well being, you'd leave her the hell alone!"
"You really don't get it do you?" Anakin replied, amazed by the man's nerve. "You are in no position to tell me what I can and cannot do. I know the law, administrator. I know that I am perfectly within my rights to see my wife's medical records. The way you are acting makes me suspect that you have something to hide, that there is something you do not wish me to see," he observed, watching Palo closely for his reaction.
Palo swallowed hard, doing his best not to lose his composure. "I have nothing to hide," he declared. "And you may very well be within your rights, but as a friend of Padmé's, I feel compelled to voice my concerns. You have no idea what she has gone through these past twenty years, I do. You weren't here when she cried herself to sleep every night, when she called your name until she was hoarse. You see, Mr. Skywalker, you have undoubtedly played a significant part in her condition. And now you expect me to allow you to enter her life and destroy her all over again."
"What is going on here?" Jobal demanded as she came over to the two men. "I can hear you shouting from the other side of the garden!"
"Where is Padmé?" Anakin asked.
"I took her back to her room," Jobal replied. "She is very confused by all this. And the two of your arguing doesn't make matters better."
Anakin looked at his mother-in-law, realizing that she was right. "I'm sorry," he told her. "This isn't easy for me, seeing her like that," he admitted. "She isn't the Padmé I know."
Jobal nodded. "No, I realize that," she said gently, putting a hand on his arm. "But you must be patient, Anakin. The fact that she was willing to speak to you at all is a very good sign, isn't it Palo?"
Palo hated to admit it, but it was. Padmé normally refused to speak to anyone other than her parents or her sister.
"Yes, I suppose it is," he replied at last. "You caught her in a good mood."
"Perhaps on some subconscious level she knows you," Jobal suggested. "Perhaps you will be the one to unlock her memories."
"I hope so," Anakin replied.
"I wouldn't pin too much hope on that happening," Palo said. "She has shown no sign of remembering anything. It isn't likely to happen now, after twenty years."
"And yet she said my name," Anakin pointed out, folding his arms over his chest. "Curious."
"That's true," Jobal said, remembering. "I'd forgotten about that. But that was a long time ago, wasn't it Palo?"
"Yes, many years," he replied. "She hasn't said it again since."
"Even more curious," Anakin remarked. "Those records, I'd like to see them now."
"It will take me a while to assemble them," Palo replied. "They are quite numerous, as you can well imagine."
"I can wait," Anakin replied. "Just download the information onto a datadisc. I wouldn't want to hold you up any longer than necessary," he said.
Palo could feel the back of his neck reddening in anger, but he said nothing. "As you wish," he replied simply. "I will return shortly."
Anakin watched Palo leave, sensing the man's unease at filling his request. What are you hiding, administrator? He thought, for he felt certain that Palo was hiding something.
"Why do you want to see Padmé's medical records?" Jobal asked.
"I don't trust him," Anakin said, still watching him retreat from the garden. "He's hiding something."
Jobal frowned. "He saved Padmé's life, are you forgetting that?" she asked indignantly.
Anakin turned to her. "No, I'm not forgetting that," he said. "And I am grateful to him for doing so. But something tells me that he is not being completely ethical, completely honest with you, with me, or especially with Padmé. I am seldom wrong about people, Mrs. Naberrie. But if I am, I'll be the first to admit it."
"And apologize to Palo as well?" she added.
Anakin sighed. "Yes, I suppose so," he replied reluctantly.
"What is it you hope to find in those records?" she asked.
"I will know when I find it," Anakin replied.
Padmé paced about in her suite, unsettled by the brief visit she'd just had. Why did this man come to see me? Why does he look at me the way he does? The image of his intense blue eyes would not leave her mind. Who are you, Anakin Skywalker? she wondered. Why do I feel something when you are near? She did not even know what it was that she felt, and this only added to her confusion. You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen…his words still echoed in her mind. Was it more than mere childhood friendship that they had shared? Was there something deeper between them? He was about to tell me when Palo interrupted…
"Time for your meds, Padmé."
Padmé looked up to see one of the duty nurses in her room, a small cup of pills in her hand.
"What meds?" she asked. "I don't need anything."
The nurse smiled indulgently. "Come on now," the nurse coaxed. "We go through this everyday. You know it's Mr. Corrino's orders. Now be a good girl and take them," she said, handing Padmé the cup and a glass of water.
Padmé took the cup and looked at the small yellow pills. Why am I taking these? Why are they making me? But she knew that if she did not comply, her garden privileges would be curtailed, and she did not want that. So she swallowed the pills, dutifully, and handed the cup and the glass back to the nurse.
"There now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" the nurse said with a smile.
"Dinner will be shortly. Why don't you try to rest until then? It's been an exciting afternoon for you, I understand. You don't want to get yourself too worked up."
Padmé frowned, hating the condescending attitude of the woman. She watched her leave, and then walked over to the window. It over looked the garden and she looked around to see if her mother and the mysterious visitor who had accompanied her were still there. She was unable to see them, however; and so she assumed that they had left. With a sigh she returned to her pacing, wishing more than anything to have the answers to her questions.