This is one of the more angsty chapters (I was listening to "My December" by Linkin Park) that shows a bit more of Anakin's life as a palace guard. The timeline is moving a little fast, but it will slow down once I get to the Attack of the Clones section.

...

Anakin stared ahead as the sun beams played out on the city life. It had been two months since Padme's offer for him to join her security force. Two months of grueling training and late nights studying Naboo protocol. All had paid out in the end when he was finally presented his official uniform of a Naboo security guard. Padme thought he looked quite handsom in it, but with each passing day Anakin could feel more and more of his past slipping through his fingers.

From his perch on the roof of the senate building on Coruscant he could see for miles. The drawing of twilight drew the last of the sunlight to the more prominent of the Coruscant structures, but none were struck with such radiance as the Jedi Temple.

Anakin hugged his knees to his chest and rested his chin as his gaze stayed fixed on the building. Pangs of homesickness came in waves as he reminisced the time he spent there.

Tru and himself, laughing at another one of Darra's silly jokes. Obi-Wan training him to use a lightsaber. Siri, of all people, wearing a dress for a mission instead of her usual Jedi robes. Joking with Darra about Master Yoda's backward talk. Missions with Obi-Wan, some good, some harsh. Kind Master Yaddle and the sweets she would slip into his pocket when he was a young padawan in training.

Yaddle's death. Sora's disapointment in his display of anger when he battled Ferus. Tru's cold eyes. Obi-Wan's stony silence on Andara when all Anakin wanted was for his master to be proud of him. Darra's limp form when she was shot in the leg on Radnor.

"Stay with me until I'm asleep. It's lonely down here..."

The memories crashing down on him were too much to handle. Anakin put his head down on his knees and wept.

Slowly the sun disapeared behind the Jedi Temple, cloaking it in the shadow.

...

"Luitenant Stalin."

Anakin turned at the voice. He was off duty for the next hour, and had been heading off to find some dinner when Captain Lun had called for him.

Anakin saluted sharply and the captain nodded in response.

"I'm afraid you're going to be needed during off duty times for a while," Captain Lun informed him in an all business tone. "The election for the new queen will be held three weeks from now, and we will need all personnel available for the Queen's protection. I don't think I need to stress how easy it is for someone to cause the elections to begin a few weeks early due to a tragic accident."

Anakin nodded his understanding. He knew only too well that although Naboo was a relatively peaceful planet, there were still rebellious citizens and greedy offworlders who would try and create chaos just before the election so their own preferred rulers could take the throne.

"You will still continue in shifts as usual," Captain Lun continued, "But I'm afraid all liesure time will have to be forgotten for a while." He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, it won't last long. A few weeks after the new queen has been elected things will settle down. Until then however I need everyone ready for any possible attempts on the queen's life."

Anakin nodded again.

"Good," Captain Lun said curtly. "You're next shift will start in half an hour. See to it that Captain Panaca gives you your new schedule. Dismissed, Liutenant."

Anakin saluted and strode on towards the palace kitchens. He'd grab a quick bite to eat and then report to Captain Panaca.

As he was passing two of the queen's handmaidens he heard a slight giggle escape from one of them. Turning around, Anakin regarded them with a bemused expression. Rabe and Sabe blushed furiously and looked down with demure faces. Grinning and shaking his head, Anakin continued on.

This wasn't the first time ladies had swooned over him. Anakin had come to realize two months ago that women found security guards in uniform to be quite attractive, and apparently they had officially termed "Laurence" to be quite the stud.

He wasn't sure if Padme shared those feelings, but regardless of the matter he still tried to gain her attention. Sometimes he would sit there for hours while Padme poured out her heart over the burden she bore as Naboo's queen. Once he had even relieved Rabe of the queen's lunch tray and took it to Padme himself, adding a budding pink rose he had picked earlier for a more delicate touch. He wasn't sure if she ever noticed these little favors, but Anakin continued to let her know in small ways of his affections for her.

After a hasty dinner Anakin ran back to the palace, ignoring the fact that it was hardly considered proper behavior to be racing back and forth from one's duties.

The others working in the palace had gotten used to Laurence's eccentric personality by now. At one moment he could be totally serious, and the next he would be grinning like a school boy. Laurence was the only security guard who could get away with running up and down the halls during an important off-world senator's meditation hours, stealing sweets from the refreshments set out for negotiation groups, slipping down the stairs in a most ungraceful manner only to scramble up and start racing through the palace again, bursting into infectious giggles at the most inopportune times, flying his personal speeder at seventy mph in a thirty mph space lane, podracing on his off duty hours, silently mimicking bored sounding senators behind their backs (much to Padme's amusement), and "accidently" tripping a wire that drenched Jilzan in ship oil. By the time that was all done, Laurence topped it all off by acting like the perfect model security guard with a look of seriousness that could rival a Jedi.

Indeed, as mature as the Liutenant seemed for his eighteen years, he still acted like a boy when he felt like it. Perhaps it was this quality that made him such a favorite to the queen. He never failed in making her laugh.

Anakin dashed up the stairs two at a time and soon stood in front of Captain Panaca, panting slightly and grinning from ear to ear. Panaca rolled his eyes in false annoyance at the boy's exhubrence and proceeded to give him the new schedule.

As it turned out, things were not quite as serious as Captain Lun had implied. Security guards would be expected to work three shifts instead of two, and the risks they faces would indeed be more present than before, but for the most part it was simply a routine that had continued since the Naboo government came into existence.

A little while later, Anakin walked through the extensive palace gardens, whistling a Tatooine jig he had heard once when he was younger. Darkness had fallen by now, and several fireflies began glowing softly, adding their own special touch to the night magic. The flowers Padme took such joy in admiring were hidden away in the shadows, but their sweet fragrence still filled the air.

Sighing in contentment as the peaceful atmosphere invaded his troubled thoughts, Anakin sat down on one of the garden benches - only to jump up again as a small squeak of surprise came out from beneath him.

Anakin blushed furiously and almost stammered an apology as he recognized Rabe sitting on the bench. She quickly smoothed down her purple handmaiden robes as she stood up.

"I'm sorry," she apologized profusedly. "I didn't want to disturb you, seeing as you seemed to be enjoying the quiet. That's why I didn't say anything, you know, I just - "

Anakin couldn't help it as he burst out laughing at the handmaiden's flustered motions. Quickly he tried to smother it, but a few giggles still escaped.

Rabe stopped trying to fix her appearance and glared at him. "It's not funny! And what I don't understand is how you can keep putting up a show of non-vocal abilities and yet giggle like a schoolboy minutes later. What are you hiding?"

Anakin sobered immediately. It had occured to him that his uncanny laughter could endanger his false identity, but he never could help it when the situation occured. Until now no one had mentioned it...

Sighing deeply, Anakin sat down next to Rabe and pulled out his datapad. "You really want to know?" he wrote down for her to see.

Rabe gave him a suspicious look, then answered, "Yes, I do."

"This is why. I can't tell you. Yes, you are right, I don't have a speach impediment. But if I were to tell you why I really do this, it could endanger the life of the queen."

Rabe gave him a disbelieving stare. "You mean all this time you've been faking a disability just to protect the queen? But why? It doesn't make sense? What possible danger could your silence prevent?"

"I'm afraid that is not mine to answer. I only hope I can reveal it to you at a better time. Until then, I just need you to trust me in this. Will you keep it a secret?"

"Well of course," Rabe said, blushing at the thought Laurence sitting so close to her. "I won't tell a soul. I promise."

His eyes shone with gratitude yet some concern. Captivated by his gaze, Rabe leaned towards him, her lips drawing close to his own. All the time in the world seemed to be wrapped up in this moment.

Just before the much longed for kiss became a reality, Anakin suddenly stood up and stepped away from the bench.

"Forgive me, milady," he said quietly, then left the garden.

Rabe stayed where she was, confusion, hurt, and shame flooding her emotions. She loved him, she realized. Laurence Stalin, the quiet, thoughtful stranger with so many secrets. Rabe had always been attracted to him. All the handmaidens were. But this was the first time she had gotten so close to making his heart fall for her own.

And now the moment was ruined.

Wiping away a tear that trickled down her cheek, Rabe stood up and smoothed down her dress. Perhaps it was better this way. She was the queen's handmaiden. She could not be distracted from her responsibilities when so much was at stake. Laurence, as the queen's guard, could not afford such luxuries either. Rabe would do well to leave things alone.

Still, her heart panged with a grief she had never known existed. They say a broken heart is a pain no one should bear. Rabe was experiencing it for the first time.

Then she straightened her shoulders. Pain or no pain, she had to move on, if only for Padme's sake and not her own. Swallowing her emotions, Rabe strode swiftly back to the her room, where she collapsed on the bed and cried her heart out.

...

Anakin leaned against the wall, his emotional strength taxed to the limit. It had been so tempting just to enfold her into his arms and accept the upturned lips. Rabe had Padme's eyes and hair, and that strong personality which made Padme the queen she was. But she wasn't Padme, and Anakin would not let allow himself to be distracted from the young girl he had met on Tatooine.

Drawing a shuddering breath, Anakin turned and paced down the hallway. He needed some time to think.

He would apologize to Rabe later, but his heart would not change. He was devoted to his Angel, and no one would stand between them.

...

"I understand you've only been working as the queen's guardian for the past three months."

Senator Bail Organna had come to Naboo for the royal elections in hopes of offering Padme a place in the Senate on Coruscant. It was against the Naboo customs to allow a queen to serve longer than her term, but Organna felt Padme could still be just as effective as a voice in the senate as she was as Naboo's ruler.

Anakin nodded slowly as he mulled over Organna's words. Queen's guardian. The name had been mentioned lightly by a news reporter after an attempt on Padme's life three weeks ago, but it had stuck permanently. It seemed he could not go anywhere without the term being mentioned.

"Will you continue to look after Padme after she leaves the throne, or will you lend your skills to the new queen?" Organna asked.

Anakin could sense the loaded question. Organa seemed to sense his feelings for Padme.

"I'm not sure," he wrote on his data pad. "I haven't decided yet."

Organna nodded his understanding. "Either way you'll be greatly needed," he commented. "A political career is always deadly, no matter what your position."

"Unless you're the garbage disposal manager, that is."

Organna laughed. "Well, even that has its problems. You'll likely die of the stench."

Anakin grinned in return then politely excused himself. He was still on duty, despite the momentary break.

...

It was late evening by the time everything was over. The elections had gone smoothly, the only trouble being a pickpocket who tried to steal the royal crown.

Anakin stood in the doorway of Padme's room as she packed her belongings.

"I'm actually rather glad that's all over," Padme commented as she took a folded dress from her one of her handmaidens and placed it in a trunk. She had changed from her formal queen's robes to a more comfortable burgundy dress that was trimmed in silver. "I could use some time to settle down and relax without the fate of the entire planet resting in my hands."

"Will you be accepting Senator Organna's offer, milady?" Sabe asked as she continued to empty the closet.

Padme smiled. "It's not really like I can refuse," she said lightly. "Bail Organna's right. I can accomplish a great deal by representing Naboo."

She looked up towards Anakin. "Will you be coming with me, Laurence?"

The question was so blunt and unexpected that complete silence filled the room. The handmaidens stopped working and looked to Anakin with expectant faces, waiting for his answer.

Anakin hesitated a moment, but his heart was singing. She had asked him to come with her! Perhaps Padme did care for him after all, even if she didn't show it outwardly.

Grinning and shrugging helplessly, Anakin nodded his assent.

Padme smiled broadly while the less formal maiden in training, Dane, burst into tears. Padme rolled her eyes slightly and gave the young girl an encouraging pat on the back.

Rabe, Sabe, and and Sache exchanged looks of destitution, then quietly excused themselves.

Padme laughed slightly and shook her head as soon as she and Anakin were alone. "Laurence Stalin, I do believe you've stolen the heart of every girl in the palace," she chided teasingly.

Everyone but yours, he wanted to say. Instead Anakin helped her pack.

Organizing a trunk however was not the same as a toolbox, and Padme was soon shooing him out of the room. Laughing as a slipper got thrown at his head when he stuck out his tongue, Anakin quickly escaped down the hallway.

He would need to tell Panaca of his resignation from the queen's service, and then he needed to pack his own belongings.

As Anakin passed by the shipyard, he looked in at the familiar scene. Jilzan was shouting at a doug who offered too low a price for a ship, employees were scurrying frantically, and the same hapless employee Jilzan had fired on Anakin's first day was still adjusting controls wrong.

Shaking his head at the general chaos Anakin let his gaze sweep over his beautiful ship. Finally completed three months ago, the Black Falcon's simple yet sleek black paint shone radiently in the bright sunlight. Anakin would be taking her with him, that was for sure. Smiling, Anakin let his mind take in the busy shipyard one last time. He would no longer be coming here any longer, but with a bright future ahead, he doubted he'd regret it.

...

PLEASE NOTE:

Next chapter begins the Attack of the Clones Arc. From then on I will be referring to the real Anakin as "Laurence" except when he is alone or with someone who knows his identity (like his Mom).