A/N: Padmé becomes Senator, bringing us that much closer to a certain inevitable meeting.
Chapter Nineteen – The Royal Election.
Sabé stood precariously atop a narrow ledge in one of the larger gardens of Theed Palace. From up there she could see far out across the forests and rivers, but had no time to enjoy the view. Instead, she concentrated on the task ahead. She stood poised on the ledge, focused on keeping her balance. She set off at a sprint and leapt off the edge, reaching to grasp a parallel bar above. She swung backwards and forwards to gain momentum before pulling herself up. From there she executed a graceful swan dive into a nearby pool, swam to the bottom to retrieve a blaster, surfaced and shot at the pursuing figure which toppled into the water. She swam to the side and climbed nimbly out, standing in front of twelve nervous-looking girls.
"Right," she said. "This is a simple assault course devised by Captain Panaka to test your physical skill as well as posture, aim and, to an extent, strength. You will take it in turns to climb the tower, leap off the bar, dive into the pool and shoot the droid. Tanith, you're up first."
Sabé wrapped herself in her handmaiden's cloak and watched the recruits perform the same exercise. It was hard to tell some of them apart from a distance, proving once again how well the handmaidens worked as a team. Every girl had identical dark hair, dark eyes and tanned skin.
She sighed and ran her fingers through her wet hair. These were the potential new handmaidens for one of the candidates in the forthcoming Royal Election, Arimé Jamillia. Sabé had been training them, as well as Padmé's replacement for Yané, who had left on maternity leave. Versé was very quiet, but she had received a little training from her mother, who had flown in the Battle of Naboo against the Trade Federation. Eirtaé had been replaced by another potential decoy named Cordé, whose resemblance to Padmé was not as remarkable as Sabé's, but a stand-in was useful. Padmé would still require protection after she stepped down from the throne, so handmaidens remained a necessity.
Sabé turned upon hearing footsteps, only to see Saché approaching with a curious look on her face.
"How are they doing?" she asked.
"Well enough," Sabé replied automatically.
"Is there any point in me talking to you, Sab? You've got that distant look in your eye again."
"Sorry, I was thinking."
"You're always thinking these days," Saché said with a sigh. "When is your consciousness going to come back from Coruscant?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean you're always thinking of what might have been. Thinking of him…aren't you?"
Sabé glanced at her friend. Only Saché and Padmé knew her well enough to confront her on this matter.
"Why bother to ask if you already know the answer? Anyway, I do think about other things as well. I am moving on, I promise. It's just…taking longer than I expected."
"I'll say!" Saché said in exasperation. "He loved you, Sabé. I was there the day he left and I saw it. I bet you ten credits that you'll get married." She grinned.
Sabé smiled half-heartedly. "Not going to happen."
"Will."
"It won't. If it does I'll…I'll jump in the fountain!"
"Oh, Sabé, bad move. I'm going to hold you to that!"
The two friends shared a short laugh and Sabé was glad for the light relief. Too much, recently, she had been bogged down in political matters, especially with the forthcoming election. Practically the whole of Naboo was awaiting the voting day; Padmé's last day of being Queen.
Several months and an entire planet's worth of votes later, Sabé found herself accompanying Padmé to the results of the election. She had finished her training of the new recruits and had selected four of the best. Now it was time for the new monarch to be announced.
Padmé was dressed in robes of office, but wore no ceremonial make-up. She made a small speech to the crowd, thanking them for their support during her eight years as Queen.
The applause made Sabé's ears ring, despite the protection of her blue velvet hood. Padmé held up her hand for silence.
"In the past few weeks there has been a petition by some people to amend the constitution and allow me to stay in office. This has not occurred, not only due to our laws, but my personal request. I am truly grateful to you all for having so much continuing support for me, but my time as Queen must end. I trust you to have voted wisely for your new leader. Every candidate is worthy of your vote. People of Naboo, I thank you." She stepped down from the podium and joined Sabé amidst more applause.
"Would you have stayed in office if you could?" the handmaiden asked.
"No, enough is enough," Padmé was quick to answer, frowning at the crowd.
Sabé noted the frown with curiosity. "What is it?"
"I don't know. Something niggling at the back of my mind."
Sabé scanned the crowd and spotted a man near the front who looked out of place and uncomfortable. He kept his eyes on Padmé carefully. Then Sabé saw him slip a hand towards his jacket. She didn't wait for any more. Moving quickly, she reached for her blaster and shot the man at once. The crowd gasped and the speaker at the podium turned to look at her.
"Handmaiden!"
Sabé glanced up with a cool gaze. "It's okay, he's only stunned."
"Still, you must explain your actions."
Sabé walked to the front of the stage. "He has a weapon on him, I'm sure. I believe he was prepared to use it on Amidala."
One of Captain Panaka's team searched the unconscious man and found a blaster hidden inside his jacket. The speaker, who was a member of the Council of Governors, turned back to Sabé.
"Good work, handmaiden. Well spotted."
She inclined her head and returned to Padmé's side.
"Sabé," her cousin frowned.
"What? He was going to kill you."
Padmé rolled her eyes and the Governor stepped up to reveal the results. Padmé and Sabé had both voted for Governor Bibble's daughter, Joya, who had shown strong determination in recent political matters. Saché had been given the task of training her potential handmaidens. Both sets of women, as well as the attendants for the only male candidate, Governor Woodal, were standing by at the palace.
The Governor at the podium cleared his throat. "Citizens of Naboo, I will now reveal the results of the Royal Election. In third place is Governor Woodal with 20% of the votes."
"Predictable," Padmé whispered to Sabé.
"In second place is Lady Bibble with 30% of the votes, making Lady Jamillia our new Queen with 50% of the votes."
Applause broke out and Padmé stepped up to congratulate the new monarch. Jamillia made a short speech of thanks, outlining her plans for the future, and then left for the palace with Padmé and Sabé in tow. There Captain Panaka, Saché, Versé and Cordé stood waiting with Rabé and Queen Jamillia's new handmaidens. The four tanned-skinned girls were dressed in their flame-coloured robes, as well as Rabé, who was making a transfer to be lead handmaiden for the new Queen.
"Captain, may I present Queen Jamillia of Naboo," Padmé announced.
Panaka bowed. "I will be your chief of security, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Captain," the Queen said in her soft, lilting accent.
"These are your handmaidens, Your Highness." Padmé gestured them forward. "Rabé here has served me since the Trade Federation blockade. She'll be an excellent leader to them. She's good with hair too."
The Queen smiled and Rabé bowed. "We will be your bodyguards as well as handmaidens, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Rabé. I look forward to us working together."
Padmé led the new Queen to her chambers where the handmaidens helped her with the red and white face paint and an ornate headdress and robe. Then she was given the official tour of the palace, which the local HoloNet crew was allowed to record. Padmé made a reasonable tour guide, but Sabé could see how much she hated the task. It was another old tradition that accompanied the handover of leadership. The old monarch had to show the new one around. The two sets of handmaidens and Captain Panaka followed silently as Jamillia was introduced to her court. When they had come full circle back to the throne room, a young woman stood there accompanied by Captain Panaka's nephew, Captain Typho.
"Your Highness." He bowed. "This is the new handmaiden for…former-Queen Amidala."
Padmé held back a laugh. "Thank you, Captain." She turned to the girl. "What is your name?"
"Dormé Solesu," she replied politely.
"Nice to meet you, Dormé. Join the group." She gestured to her cluster of handmaidens.
"Thank you."
Padmé noticed she was careful not to repeat Captain Typho's mistake. Queen Jamillia too seemed to be having trouble with how to address her. Everyone was so used to calling her 'your Highness' that it seemed disrespectful to call her anything less.
"I have a favour to ask you, Amidala," the Queen said eventually.
"Please call me Padmé."
Queen Jamillia nodded. "You have been such a great leader to all of us, I would truly welcome your guidance."
"Of course, Your Highness."
"I would like for you to take the position of Senator for Naboo. Our Senate representative is getting far too old for his duties now and you would be able to continue your good work in the political scene."
Padmé was stunned. She wondered whether it was prudent to go from one high political position to another so quickly. Her family would worry. Still, she had managed to maintain peace for eight years. Perhaps she could still be of some use. And the honest part of her knew that she would find life outside of politics hard to settle into.
"I would be honoured, Your Highness."
Sabé shifted uncomfortably behind them. 'I knew she was going to say that,' she thought. 'Just like her to want to carry on serving.'
Her cousin, Sola, had visited recently and complained about Padmé's ongoing public service. Her exact words had been, "I was hoping for a younger sister that I could tutor about men and dump the kids on when I need some space. But if I ever did ask her to babysit I'd quickly want to take the girls back because I'd be worried about giving her some space."
Thinking back on it, Sabé shook her head. Sola wouldn't be too pleased about this at all. But as long as Padmé wished to serve, Sabé would continue to be her handmaiden. She had saved her cousin's life many a time and would always be there to do so again if necessary. Besides, it was a steady job and the pay was considerably larger than that of her brief career as a shop assistant when she was twelve.