Across the Stars: A Cinderella Story

By Serena Kenobi

Author's Notes: HOLY FORCE!! Wow, you guys are totally amazing!! Your support is fabulous, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I've decided to go with the Pocahontas story, along with another fairy tale (which one I don't know), but I need some assistance. And yes, it will be almost exactly like the DISNEY version, so Padme will be just a few years younger than Anakin, like here. However, I need ideas for the cast list. Here's what I got so far.

Pocahontas - Padme (obviously)

John Smith - Anakin Skywalker (again, obviously)

Powhatan - Ruwee Naberrie

Ratcliffe - Mas Amedda

Thomas - ?

Ben and Lon - ?

Nakoma - Sabe

Kocoum - Palo (go ahead, laugh. I know I did.)

Kekata - ?

So you see I have some problems. Any character ideas would be great. Onto the story!

Disclaimer: SEE OTHER CHAPTER.

Chapter six

Anakin stared down at her intensely, giving her a searching gaze; and Padme glanced at her feet and tried not to blush. Get a grip, girl!

"Let's start over," he spoke, holding out his hand. "I'm Anakin Skywalker."

Padmé slowly reached out and shook it. "Padmé," she replied, pretending not to notice the jolt of sparks she felt when touching his hand.

The sound of giggling girls brought them out of their moment, and Anakin turned quickly.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he groaned, seeing three girls walking up the road towards them.

Padmé raised an eyebrow, amused. "I take it you don't want anyone to know who you are, then."

"You got that right," he replied, taking her arm and gently pulling her in the opposite direction, "Come on, let's go this way."

Padmé stopped. "No, bad idea. Another town's that way." Suddenly getting an idea, she added, "Follow me!" She grabbed his hand and ran off down a road.

Grinning, Anakin followed her, keeping up with her easily. They ran past a stream, a few houses, and finally ended up in a field, where they halted to catch their breath.

"That was invigorating," Anakin chuckled, straightening up. He turned to Padmé, whose eyes were lit up, and her cheeks flushed. "You all right, milady?"

She nodded. "Fine, thanks," she answered. "I haven't done that much running in a while. It was fun, though!"

"I agree." He hadn't had that much fun in a while, he'd admit that. "So, what do you suggest we do now?"

Padmé looked at the lake a few yards away and back to him. "I don't know," she shrugged. "I'm not an expert on what Jedi do in their free time." She shot him a knowing smile, which he returned. "Well," she went on, "I could show you around the lake country, there's some beautiful spots by the lakes."

He held out a an arm to to her. "I would love to, but only if I am honored with your presence, Milady." His smile was causing her knees to weaken slightly.

"Of course, Master Jedi," Padme regally said, taking his arm and leading him to a nearby dock. She felt a bit nervous, but also excited. It wasn't every day she got to spend time with a Jedi Knight. A very HANDSOME Jedi Knight, an annoying little voice called out. She shook her head and tried to ignore it.

Anakin, on the other hand, was confused. He hadn't known anyone like Padme before in his life, and he was feeling an odd sensation throughout his entire body. Whenever he turned to look at her, his heart began to race, and his breathing quickened. All rational thoughts left his mind as he gazed at her. What was going on with him?

"So, I'm not very knowledgeable about the Jedi Order," Padme confessed, as the two were being driven in a boat on their way to the lake country. "All I know is that they're raised from infants. What's it like?"

Anakin's face darkened slightly, and she wondered if she had touched up on a bad subject. "I'm sorry, if I said something wrong," she began hesitantly.

"No, it's all right," he reassured her, flashing her a smile, "I don't mind. Most girls only want to talk about themselves." He sighed. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't brought up among the Jedi. I was actually a slave until I was nine, living on Tatooine with my mother."

Padme's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Anakin," She put a hand on his shoulder.

"One day, a Jedi Master named Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, came to the shop where I worked. They needed a part for their ship, and they realized that I was Force-sensitive. But my master would only part with me or my mother, and I had to win a podrace to win my freedom. My mother stayed behind while I left to become a Jedi."

"That must have been hard," she remarked sympathetically.

He nodded. "Yeah, but I've dealt with it. My mother recently married a moisture farmer, and she lives with him and his son. She's happy, so I'm happy for her. I don't see her often, seeing as how I'm a Jedi full time."

"How did you find out that Chancellor Palpatine was the Sith Lord?" Padme wondered. "I read it on the Holonet. I met him a few times, but when I was much younger."

Anakin became grimmer than he had been before. "It was a slow process of manipulation," he nearly growled, "He became one of my mentors, feeding me lies about the Jedi and my master. When he finally told me who he really was, he tried to persuade me to join him in the Dark Side. He told me that he knew I wanted more power, and I almost fell for it. But I ended up killing him."

"Good for you," she said softly.

He gave her a sideways look. "You know, I don't talk like this to most people. You're actually one of the few people to whom I've told this entire story. I'm not very good with confessions and all that," he admitted, looking down.

Padme realized that there was more to Anakin Skywalker than she had thought. He wasn't just a sexy, young and brave Jedi Knight hero; inside, he was a hurt, pained young man. "Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to come to me," she told him, putting a comforting hand on his back.

Anakin smiled at her. "Thank you, milady," he nodded.

They gazed at each other for a moment before glancing away, embarrassed.

Anakin and Padme finally reached the lake country; and Anakin hopped out of the boat first and helped Padme out, taking her small hand in his own once again. She led him throughout the beautiful, older buildings, until they came to a patio that showed spectacular views of a large, clear lake, and a few grand mountains behind it.

"I used to come here as a little girl," Padme said, strolling towards the edge of the patio, Anakin by her side. She leaned against the stone. "I love the water... I loved to lie on the sand and let it dry me, just after I had been swimming for hours."

"I don't like sand," Anakin replied. "It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere." He smiled. "But I can tell you had a happy childhood."

Padme's soft smile faded slightly. "Yes. It was."

Anakin noticed her changed in mood. "I can tell it's not so happy now, is it?"

She looked down.

"I'm sorry, Padme." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with tears. "No, it's not you," she quickly said, trying to pull herself together. "It's just... I miss my father. He died when I was eight."

"I know what's it's like to miss a loved one." His gentle voice caused her to shut her eyes, the tears began rolling down her face as she began to silently cry. Anakin frowned and gathered her into a strong embrace, stroking her back comfortingly. Padme buried her head in his shoulder, feeling more safe and secure than she had ever been. It was quite a while before she pulled away, embarrassed.

"I apologize," she tried to smile, "I'm not a very good tour guide. You're trying to get away from it all and here I am, crying about my dead father."

Anakin shook his head. "No, I don't mind at all. It's only right that you should miss him. Sometimes you have to let out your feelings onto someone else." He continued to rub her back.

"I thought that Jedi weren't allowed to let their emotions get the better of them," Padme answered.

He shrugged. "Even Jedi have their limits."

Padme suddenly felt a buzz on her belt, and she saw that it was her comlink. She paled. "I have to go," She said, dread creeping into her voice.

Anakin, puzzled, said, "What? Why?"

"I'm sorry, I've stayed far too long," She pulled herself out of his warm embrace, missing the feel of his arms, and rushed down to the dock. Anakin quickly jogged after her.

"Padme! What's wrong?" he demanded.

Padme turned and said quickly, "Nothing, I just have to leave. Anakin, thank you, and I'm sorry for the abrupt departure. Good bye." With that declaration, she darted off as fast as she could back to the palace, a befuddled and severely disappointed Anakin staring after her.

"Padmé? Padmé, wait!" he called, but she was already out of hearing. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. What had taken her away so quickly? He frowned and started off for the dock, but his comlink beeping halted his progress. "Obi-Wan, what is it?" he sighed, turning on the device.

"Your apparent disappearance, my old Padawan," Obi-Wan returned dryly. "I need you back on Coruscant right away. The ball's tomorrow, if you haven't forgotten."

Anakin rolled his eyes. "No, I haven't. I'll be there in a few hours. Skywalker out." He shut the comlink off and hurried to the speedboat renting place. But the image of Padme's beautiful face continued to burn in his head.

It was the day of the ball, and at the moment, Padmé was working her butt of. She sighed and pinned up Sabé's hair.

"Hurry up, you worthless piece of fodder," Sola snapped, "There's still my hair to be done!"

Padmé rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm doing the best I can, so please try to be patient," she told her stepsister.

Sola sniffed haughtily and spun back around to her vanity. Padmé finished up Sabé's hair and then did Sola's. When all was said and done, they trounced off in their fancy gowns and made up hair, leaving Padmé staring after them despondently.

Aw, poor Padme. She's probably thinking of Anakin. Maybe they're falling in love... who knows? Don't forget to review! Thanks, and MtFbwy!