Padme sat on her living room floor with her legs crossed, at absolute peace. She had never been this relaxed before. Qui-Gon Jinn had taught her how to relieve herself of all her troubles. Every time she worried about what could be happening to her kids right now, she reassured herself that they were in the good hands of friends and family. Whenever she worried about Vader finding her, she reminded herself that that is why she's doing this. Qui-Gon was impressed with her progress. She'd mastered a year's worth of abilities within a few months! Yes, she was improving quickly, indeed, but almost too quickly. He worried that her catching on so fast would make her arrogant, like her husband. Then, he assured himself that she was certainly humble. She proved that the day she got on her hands and knees for the Gungans' help even as a queen. This quick learning had its advantages, too. Every day she was growing even more prepared to fight Vader; a task they were only waiting for. He would come find her one day.
Across the whole galaxy, Vader never took his eyes off the radars. He checked the destination of the pod which his family and old master left in, Naboo, months ago. But he was disappointed to sense no one familiar to him on the entire planet. So now, desperate times call for desperate measures. He'd have to start at the left end of the galaxy, and have his storm troopers search each planet and moon they came across as they traveled across the entire galaxy. Sure, it would take months, maybe even years before he finally found her, but it guaranteed that she would be discovered.
Padme had found Anakin's old lightsaber in the drawers in her room. He'd left it there at their wedding. Now, she'd use it until the time came she would make her own. The Force was truly an amazing thing. She learned to shield her presence so no one anywhere could detect where she was. She didn't realize how handy it really was. She'd learned so much from Master Qui-Gon, she'd realized what made Obi-Wan the excellent master he is today. She was pleased to hear that Qui-Gon admired her patience. Patience was a key part she learned in being a senator, and now she was using it as a Jedi. She'd found some combat wear in the back of her closet in cases of emergencies. Now, they became her normal wear as they let her move easily. Her skills with a lightsaber were growing nearly as fast as her connection with the force. After an entire year of hard work, Qui-Gon felt she was finally ready to face the cave. One morning, as Padme was sitting on the floor waiting for the day's training, Qui-Gon told her,
"Padme, you have grown to be a skilled padawan, and I am very proud of you. The time has come for you to face the cave." He said.
"The cave?" she asked. She'd never heard Anakin say anything about a cave. Probably, because he didn't want her to hear. She faced Master Qui-Gon again.
"The cave is a significant part of each Jedi's training. It is the test of the spirit. You must go into a cave, and in there, you will be faced. It may or may not be painful to watch, but it leads you on the path to your destiny." Qui-Gon explained to her. Padme nodded her head. She put a large cloak over her head to disguise herself from bounty hunters. They were crawling all over the place like maggots. Qui-Gon's spirit guided her deep into the swamps right outside the lake. They went to the middle of the swamp where little light shined. There she found the cave. She dropped the cloak, and took a deep breath. This part was all so new to her. The rest of her training she had already heard about whenever Anakin came home and told her. She wondered why he didn't tell her about this. Then she remembered what Qui-Gon had said. This vision might bring her pain. Anakin was never was a big fan of pain. He often times shunned himself from everyone whenever he was in great pain. She, however, was not like Anakin. She could overcome pain, and made sure she clued her loved ones in on her troubles, and it always made her feel better. She took another deep breath before finally walking into the cave.
The walls were slimy and green, and the ceiling was covered in worms and other little creatures. The appearance was disgusting, but Padme kept walking. As she walked, she thought she could hear voices hitting the walls. Then, she saw something run past her, a white light. She snuck up to this white light and followed it to a small part of the cave. As she got closer, she realized it was more than just a light; it was an angel that Anakin had told her about years ago. The angel glowed brightly in the dark cave, and she realized it was carrying something. She looked closely at the angel and realized it was holding a child, no wait, two children. It laid one sleeping child on a soft patch of grass hidden in the corner, and then ran back in the direction in which she came. Padme followed the angel once again as it carried the other child all the way to the other side of the cave. As it hid the other child in another spot, the angel looked up and face turned into complete fear. Padme thought it was scared of her, but then she turned around to see what the real threat was. A dark shadow suddenly appeared from behind them. The dark shadow traveled toward the child in the corner. It was just about to engulf him, but suddenly the angel blocked the path between the shadow and child. The shadow grew angry, and tried to shoot an army of demons from its hands. The angel simply put her own hands up and deflected the demons away from the child. The demons came stronger and stronger, and the angel appeared to be getting weaker with each blow. After that, Padme blacked out.
She woke up to find the cave empty. The angel, the shadow, and the children were gone. She ran back out of the cave to find Qui-Gon waiting for her. He decided to give her a minute to sit down and process what she saw.
After a minute, he asked her, "What did you see?"
"I saw an angel trying to hide two children, but a dark shadow followed her and tried to get them. The angel tried to fight back the shadow to the best of her ability, but I don't know what happened to the angel." Padme said.
"What do you think this vision means to you?" Qui-Gon asked her. She realized the vision explained her story, and the angel was her.
"I think it means I'm the angel. Also, I think it's telling me I should protect Luke and Leia with my life."