II

Several long, agonizing hours go by, though it may as well have been twenty minutes. I haven't moved from the window. I haven't taken my eyes off that tragic view. My eyes are locked on the crumbling Jedi Temple. It's a scene that breaks my heart, but I cannot look away.

My main concern and worry lies with Anakin. But I also worry for the great amount of other Jedi whom I have been friendly with and whom I worry may also be trapped in the danger. Is Master Windu safe? Are the other members of the Council safe? How many of my Jedi friends may have perished in the chaos?

In spite of the horror, I find myself feeling relieved that some of my closer Jedi friends, like Obi-Wan and Master Yoda are away from the Capitol on this night. They are off on the front lines, ironically where it may be safer than in the collapsing towers of the Temple where they would be otherwise.

Threepio appears from behind me. He is spending these early hours dusting off the several sculptures that stand around the apartment. However, he brings me news—news that puts my mind and heart at temporary ease.

"My Lady, there's a Jedi fighter docking on the veranda." He tells me.

I waste no time standing by the window, watching the Temple burn anymore.

"Tell Captain Typho to temporarily disable the alarms and allow him entry." I say, slipping on a pair of aqua shoes, and racing into the bedroom, trying to get down to the veranda as fast as possible.

The second I descend the stairs, I see him. He is climbing out of the Jedi Starfighter and looks worn, but determined. Fortunately, he bears no scars or injuries. His robes are hardly even scoffed.

I throw myself into his arms, intent on only holding my husband in the safety of my embrace. I want to know that he's really here with me, away from the danger.

I hear Threepio follow me down to the veranda. He runs over to his counterpart, R2-D2, my old astromech droid, who is sitting within the Starfighter.

"Hush! Not so loud!" Threepio scolds Artoo's loud array of beeps and whistles.

"Are you all right? I heard there was an attack on the Jedi Temple, you can see the smoke from here!" I say breathlessly into Anakin's chest.

I feel his comforting arms wrapping around me, holding me close to him. I breathe in his presence. After seeing the Temple burn, wondering whether he was alive or not, I never want to let go.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I came to see if you and the baby are safe." He replies, running his hand through my mass of curly hair hanging behind my back.

"Captain Typho's here. We're safe. What about the Temple? Who attacked you all? What's happening?" I ask, desperate to know.

He looks in my eyes and says with a plain expression, "The situation is not good, Padme. The Jedi have tried to overthrow the Republic."

My heart sinks. My first instinct is to deny it—to tell Anakin right here that he's joking. How can this be? Was it the clones and Republic troopers who have been firing at the Temple all night? Were the military forces that I assumed were rushing to the Temple in aid actually going there to attack?

This seems so unbelievable. How could the Jedi have plotted a rebellion?

"I can't believe that!" I gasp.

"I couldn't either at first, but it's true. I saw Master Windu attempt to assassinate the Chancellor, myself." He says to me, shaking his head.

My mind is whirling with confusion. This has got to be some mediocre dream I will soon wake up from. However, I fear that no matter how much I try to pinch myself, I have nothing to wake up from; the horrors of this early morning are perfectly, dreadfully real.

Still, how could this be true? How could Master Windu honestly be caught trying to assassinate Chancellor Palpatine? How could the Jedi allow a physical attempt to murder the Chancellor? Setting aside the legal aspects of this bold move, have the Jedi lost all sense of logic and reason?

This makes me concerned for Anakin. Where will he fit into all of this? The Jedi are his family. Now, I cannot blame him for the skepticism and mistrust he had. If they had been plotting this, why was it being kept from him, why were they throwing him into a friendship with the very man they were going to slaughter in the end? It's no wonder he's been feeling confused with his duty.

"Oh Anakin. What are you going to do?" I ask, curious to know how he is reacting to the turn of events.

Anakin lets go of me and paces the edge of the veranda. He looks shaken and perturbed.

"I will not betray the Republic," He says, facing the city, but looking down. "My loyalties lie with the Chancellor, and with the Senate…and with you."

He turns back to me and looks deep into my eyes. There is a smile that tries to make its way onto his face—as if none of this is really bothering him or worrying him. He seems as though he's not moved in the slightest by the destruction of his home—his life.

"What about Obi-Wan?" I ask.

I bring up Obi-Wan for two reasons: first, for my own worry and curiosity. If the Republic forces initiated this attack, then Anakin was no doubt spared due to his relationship with Palpatine. Surely, Anakin would ensure that Obi-Wan was also spared the fate that countless Jedi may have suffered tonight. I need to know that my husband is claiming his friend, master, and brother as an ally.

Second, I ask this to see if a mention of his name resonates any emotion deep within Anakin. I am alarmed by the reserved calmness Anakin is displaying at the moment. I just spent the past hours crying hysterically. How can he be so composed after all of this?

His reply alarms me.

"I don't know," he says calmly, moving a strand of hair from my face. "Many Jedi have been killed. We can only hope that he has remained loyal to the Chancellor."

How could he be so uncaring about it? How could he not be worried about Obi-Wan? It breaks my heart to see this side of him. Yes, the Jedi's rash decisions and secrecy may have hurt him, but does his relationship with Palpatine really render everything the Jedi have given him all his life meaningless?

"How could this have happened?" I ask, wanting—needing—to hear more. I know he has the answers.

"The Republic is unstable, Padme. The Jedi aren't the only ones trying to take advantage of the situation. There are also traitors in the Senate." He says as though it's a warning.

"What are you saying?" I ask.

Worry rises within me. I've been worried about Anakin's safety all night, but haven't given myself any time to think that if the Senate, particularly those of us who have signed the Petition of the Two Thousand, were to become the next to blame, my own life would be in danger.

I had known that what we were doing with the petition was risky. I had known it was a bold move. But now that I know the Chancellor could use it as a plain list of traitors within the government, there is nothing even Anakin could do to get me out of this.

"You need to distance yourself from your friends in the Senate. The Chancellor said they will be dealt with when then this conflict with the Jedi is over." He says. The warning is clear, now.

I have to ask him. I have to know if he already knows the future of my career.

"What if they start an inquisition? What if they start arresting Senators? Anakin, I've opposed this war since the beginning. I've opposed granting him the emergency powers—I'm quoted saying that the Chancellor has been a threat to democracy. What will you do if I become a suspect?" I ask.

He smiles at me, the same way a parent would to a child who is foolishly worrying about something so ludicrous, the absurdity of it is laughable.

"That won't happen, I wont let it. Palpatine and I have discussed you already. You're fine as long as you avoid…inappropriate situations." He says to me.

His words do not put my mind at ease. Palpatine may have agreed to keep me safe, but that will only last as long as he doesn't change his mind. It will only last as long as Anakin remains faithful and useful to him.

"I want to leave," I say suddenly, "Go somewhere safe."

Anakin gives me a puzzled look. "Why? Things are different now. There is a new order to the galaxy."

He's right. Things are different now—too different. There is death and betrayal at every turn. My friends in the Senate are all in danger, along with Obi-Wan and all of my Jedi friends. They're close to rebelling themselves, and I'm not sure they're wrong anymore. But I could never talk to Anakin about this. I couldn't before, and I definitely cannot now—now that it will be his job to arrest them—and possibly me.

"I want to raise our child somewhere safe." I say, hoping this simple sentence will be enough to convince him.

"I want that to, my love. And that place is here." He says, kissing my forehead.

But I know he's wrong. Coruscant is not safe. It's never been more dangerous to be here—especially for a politician and a Jedi.

Of course, he probably did think it was safe. Why should he have any reason to worry as the Chancellor's right-hand-man? Why should he feel threatened or endangered?

"Don't worry about anything. There's no need for worry or secrets anymore. All of that is behind us now." He says, comforting my worries.

I want to ask him what is really behind us: Worry? Threat? Democracy? Or a combination of all three?

"Oh, Anakin, I'm afraid." I breathe to him, suppressing a sob, hoping he can see the worry reflecting in my eyes.

He looks at me again with that smile. I observe the dark circles surrounding his eyes. I wonder when was the last time he has slept soundly. When was the last time he wasn't going back and forth between the Jedi and the Chancellor and me?

"Have faith my love. Everything will soon be set right. The Chancellor has given me a very important mission: the Separatists have gathered on the Mustafar system. I'm going there to end this war. Wait for me until I return." He informs me.

When he tells me to wait for him, I take it as an instruction. Despite the urge I may feel to speak out, fight, explore, and involve myself in the conflicts that I know cannot be as simple as an act of rebellion, I must listen to Anakin. I must remain quiet. I must distance myself for the safety of my career, my child and myself.

It's bizarrely funny to think Anakin is now so convinced that worry and secrecy is behind us when I can't help but feel that I've never been so fearful and cautious.

"Things will be different, I promise. Please. Wait for me." He finishes, placing his soft lips on mine.

We kiss and I breathe a promise back to him.

"I will."

And at that, he turns from me and swoops into the cockpit of his Starfighter. I keep my eyes fixed on him as long as I can—until his engines rumble and the speeder takes off into the skies along with all other crafts that have ignored the practice of consistent traffic lines on this night of terror.

I can hardly process all of this information at once. How could the Jedi plot a rebellion against the Chancellor in silence? How could Master Windu—a skilled warrior who is so disciplined with the rules and structure of the law—attempt to murder the Chancellor with his own hands?

How could they all become traitors overnight? How could they do this to Anakin and the Republic?

The questions whirl in my head and I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of what will happen in the coming weeks.

I shake at the thought of Anakin's new mission. Why is he going to that desolate, menacing planet alone? Why isn't he taking forces to help him arrest the Separatists? How could the Chancellor expect them to submit to him when he arrives on his own in a Jedi Starfighter?

"Oh, My Lady, is there anything I might do?" Threepio asks me.

I shake my head, barely managing to form the words, "No thank you, Threepio."

My eyes go back to looking at nothing, but I hear him as he passes by me.

"I feel so…helpless."

I look up to the sky and follow Anakin's Starfighter until it is nothing but a fading twinkle in the sky.

Threepio's not the only one who feels this way.

We all should. We all do.