Chapter Six

Sarali spent the rest of the trip to Coruscant in peace. She kept Anakin company much of the time. He, in turn, spent much of his time with Padme. That is, he talked with her as much as he could when she was not serving the Queen. This meant that she, as well, got to know the handmaiden quite well. They became friends, even to the point that they talked without Anakin around.

Jar Jar, who she had recently learned was a Gungan and a native of the planet Naboo, generally followed Anakin, Sarali, or one of the Jedi around during almost the entire trip. Whenever he chose Sarali, she attempted to be gracious and diplomatic, which to her meant not snapping or being cynical around him.

Most of the crew of the spacecraft was friendly and obliging. If ever she was lost, which was not often for she was almost always with someone else, they would help her. Ric Olie, the pilot, was particularly friendly to both her and Anakin. He even began to teach the boy how to pilot the craft, though the young boy never actually flew it.

One thing that rather surprised her was that Qui-Gon came to see how she and Anakin were doing on the journey. Sarali took that kindness of his in stride and attempted to repay it with intelligent conversation and an over of help should he ever need it. He hid his surprise at the offer rather well, but Sarali sensed it with ease. He merely said that he hoped it would not be necessary, but he would remember it.

The most surprising thing about the entire journey was the Padawan's sincere concern for her well-being. Sarali was used to only being truly cared about by two people: Shmi and Anakin. Everyone else had either blatantly not cared a wit what happened to her, or only cared because she would bring them money. Qui-Gon had cared, but despite the altogether benevolent legends of the Jedi, he could very well only have selfish reasons for wanting her well and uninjured. After a bit of thought, she had come to the conclusion that Anakin would be still more unhappy without her, and Qui-Gon quite obviously needed Anakin to go to the Jedi Temple for training. On the other hand, Sarali could think of no reason why Obi-Wan could possibly care about her well-being. He'd barely even met her, yet he took every opportunity he could to talk with her, ask her how she was feeling, help her whenever he could. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was in love, but Jedi did not form attachments. It was against the Code.

oooooooooooooooo

Finally, they had reached Coruscant. As they went in to land, Sarali stayed by Anakin in the cockpit. As the pilot guided them in to a landing platform, he said, "Coruscant. The entire planet is one, huge city. There's Chancellor Valorum's shuttle, and look over there. Senator Palpatine is waiting for us." Almost as soon as he said this, they had landed.

Senator Palpatine watched as the group of Naboo walked off the ramp. The two Jedi led the way with a small boy, a Gungan, and a young woman with cat ears and tail. The boy practically glowed with the Force. However, he felt the Force fluctuate when he saw the woman. It was her.

Sarali and Anakin followed the Jedi out towards the Chancellor and the Senator. After the Jedi had bowed, the three of them followed the Jedi's lead by backing up out of the Queen's way.

The Queen stepped forward with her handmaidens following behind. "It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty," Senator Palpatine said, his voice kind and benign. Sarali took a closer look at him. His hair was greying, but his face was open and honest. Despite that, she felt that she should not trust him. Whenever she sensed something like this, she followed it because she had never been wrong. "With the Communications break down we've been very concerned. I'm anxious to hear your report on the situation," the Senator said. "May I present Supreme Chancellor Valorum," he said next, gesturing to the other man.

"Welcome, Your Highness. It's an honour to finally meet you in person," he said. His voice held more of an edge to it. Despite that, she could feel that he was more trustworthy than the Senator.

"Thank you, Supreme Chancellor," the Queen said, stepping between the two men and walking with them toward their shuttle.

"I must relate to you how distressed everyone is over the current situation. I've called for a special session of the Senate to hear your position," he said as they continued to walk.

"I'm grateful for your concern, Chancellor," the Queen said. As soon as she said that, the Chancellor stepped to the side. The Senator, the Queen, and the handmaidens continued to walk forward, with Anakin and, Sarali, and Jar Jar following.

At that point, Sarali stopped listening to them. Instead, she followed Anakin's lead and looked around at all of the buildings around them. She hadn't been here for years, so it would take some getting used to again.

She was pulled from these observations by Padme calling quietly, "Ani. Ani, come on." She looked around and found that she was next to Jar Jar, lagging behind the group. Anakin was even farther back. The boy looked back at the Jedi. Apparently, it was fine to go, so he ran up to walk by Padme's side.

The walked over to a shuttle. Jar Jar got in and sat beside the driver. Anakin followed, with Sarali coming last.