Kobayashi quickly returned with his uniform. They proceeded in helping Vader get himself into it and then Kerrick groomed his hair some more before finishing by tying it back.
The women entered the room as Numel walked over to the bed and sat down beside Vader. "Wow, Little One, you're going to impress all the ladies tonight."
"I am?" Vader asked, a note of excitement leaking into his voice. "Is that a good thing?"
"'Is that a good thing?'" Numel repeated with a chuckle. "Of course it is, Lo! You always want to impress the ladies, then you talk to them, and get to know them, and—"
Numel howled in pain when his ear was yanked harshly by an irritated-looking Zhymmia. He then immediately blushed and looked away, rubbing his ear. Kerrick saw Vader watch the exchange with mild curiosity before suddenly narrowing his eyes and smiling wickedly. Then, as soon as the expression came, it was gone.
They left the room and walked towards the main palace. Kobayashi led them inside and through a series of hallways before they entered into a cavernous ballroom.
The wall opposite from the one they entered through held a large platform. Five elaborately decorated staircases led onto the platform. In the center of the platform was a large gold-cushioned bench on which the king, King Sahashi Beillane, and queen, Queen Aider Beillane, sat. Two smaller but similarly furnished chairs flanked the bench. The one on the king's side was slightly larger and held the crown prince of Nihoma, Kobayashi's older brother Prince Sano. Flanking the platform were two blue statues of dragons.
The wall on the left was painted red and held exquisite artistry upon it. On the right, there was no wall, but merely an opening into the garden area. There were eight red pillars in the room, four going through on the left side, and four on the right.
Upon entering, everyone in the room immediately bowed low from the waist to Kobayashi, whose face flushed. Kerrick did his best to suppress a sudden bout of giggles.
Kobayashi walked across the room to join his family and the rest of the Imperials walked over to the sides. Kerrick took notice of Vader, who had immediately focused on one part of the room and hadn't looked anywhere else since.
"What are you looking at, Little One?" he heard Carh'la ask him.
Vader didn't offer a reply.
Kerrick joined Carh'la and, along with Numel who had also noticed, they began to examine the corner at which the boy was looking. It certainly wasn't the architecture that had caught the boy's attention; they had already seen the gardens. It must be one of the guests… from what Kerrick saw, there were mostly senators in that corner of the room. He saw the Nihoman senator, Senator Miko Demora, the Alderaanian senator, Senator Bail Organa, the Naboo senator, Senator Jar Jar Binks, the Corellian senator, Senator Garm Bel Iblis, and the Chandrilan senator, Senator Mon Mothma. The only other occupants in that area were two others, an elderly gentleman who was an aide to Senator Organa and a young Naboo woman who was a handmaiden of some sort for Senator Binks. When Kerrick looked over the inhabitants once more, he heard Numel begin to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" he whispered.
"I think I know what he's staring at," Numel replied before facing Vader. "Little One, you wouldn't happen to find that Naboo woman attractive would you? She is quite a beauty, you know."
By then, most of the other Imperials had noticed Vader's odd reaction and heard Numel's statement. The women burst into a strange fit of giggles (all except for Zhymmia, at least) and most of the men exchanged knowing looks.
"She's like an angel…" Vader muttered, causing the women to snort and giggle even more.
"Then why don't you go dance with her?" Numel suggested.
"I… I don't know how to dance!" Vader protested, sounding nervous.
"It's easy," Numel replied, and before the others could say anything, he escorted Vader over to the woman. Kerrick watched in horror as Numel began to talk to her and motioned towards Vader, who had frozen in place.
"What is he doing?" he hissed and Carh'la only laughed harder.
Padmé smiled and nodded her head in acknowledgement to Senator Demora before talking once again to Bail. They discussed what had been happening with the galaxy during the time she had been comatose.
Then, suddenly, two Imperial officers approached her. Both were lieutenants dressed in their formal uniforms. One appeared to be leading the other. The leading one had slick black hair and olive skin. His wide brown eyes were glittering with amusement and mischief. He was tall and muscular, making him look rather attractive… at least to those who were looking for a muscular brainless type as this one appeared to be in Padmé's opinion. His companion was slightly smaller in build, though certainly taller. He looked a little too skinny, actually, almost as if he were undernourished. However, it was not this that caught her attention; it was his face, particularly his eyes. He had a deeply tanned face with bright blue eyes that shone out. They held tension and anxiety in them. The man's face was almost boyish in its expression, showing one of utter terror as he was being dragged over by his companion.
The two lieutenants bowed slightly in recognition and she offered a small bow in return.
"Greetings, my lady," the lieutenant said, slightly alarming Padmé. "My name is Lieutenant Numel Sanus. My friend and I were growing bored with this party until we saw your angelic face."
Padmé's fears immediately vanished. These guys were just trying to flirt.
Lt. Sanus' friend meekly cleared his throat and asked in a small but sincere tone, "Do you… would you like to dance, ma'am?"
Padmé was tempted to refuse him, but unlike his flirtatious friend, he was too innocent for her to say no. "Of course,"
The two stared at each other for a brief instant and Padmé found herself drowning in his eyes. He slowly reached his hand out towards her and she accepted it, not tearing her gaze from his. The two walked out to the dance floor in a daze.
What was wrong with her? She had this horribly unsettling feeling that she had seen him somewhere before.
The music was slow, with an indigenous flute taking the solemn melody. A stringed instrument was strumming in the background, introducing the flute into new passages. A small wooden percussion instrument was tapped occasionally to add to the layering alongside a small metal circle that was touched by a wooden stick to make a ringing noise.
The dance that accompanied the music was a traditional dance, though for some reason the Imperial knew it. Padmé only knew of it through her political experiences; during her first year as a senator she had met the then-senator of Nihoma, who became a dear friend of hers before he was assassinated during the Clone Wars by the Separatists.
The dance consisted of the man taking the woman's hands in his before slowly circling along with her. They would do this slowly for three turns before separating and walking straight two steps and then doing this with another partner and then returning to their original partners. The man would then take her left hand in his right and they would slowly slide their left foot behind them until their arms holding each other were fully extended and they were bent low to the ground. They would then slowly rise and resume their previous position before fanning their left hands and then their right hands over their faces, watching them. They would then turn around and face each other once again and circle once more. Then everyone would go into lines and face each other. They would slowly raise their arms in front of them, crossed at the wrists, before separating them and stretching their right foot back. The line opposite of them would stretch their left foot back and then vice versa so they would be facing each other. The dancers then turned around and bowed before starting the entire routine over again.
Padmé knew she had seen him from somewhere now, but she just didn't know where. The end of the dance left the two of them staring at each other silently before Padmé smiled and nodded, getting ready to leave. However, more music started and she found herself dancing with him once again.
The music this time was a solo by one of the string instruments. It was plucked by one hand while the other lay atop the string to add vibrato or to smoothen the tone. The beat was livelier than the first. Padmé recognized the song. It was called Miki Hala Kobiyet, which translated to Fluttering Dance. It was based off of one of Nihoma's indigenous butterflies, a small blue fluorescent butterfly that was a symbol of youth.
The dance required for Miki Hala Kobiyet was more exciting than the previous one. The women and men had their own specific parts in the dance, sometimes dancing together. At the beginning of the dance, Padmé went with the other women and lined up in one of the three lines they made. The men stood on the opposite side of the dance floor lined similarly. The women immediately began pouring all of their weight into their left foot and then their right in rhythm with the music waving their hands to where their left palm faced the ceiling when they were on their left foot and then vice versa. The men watched them for a short while before dancing in the same manner except in reverse, going on their right foot when the women would go on their left. They all twirled at the same time before the men continued the dance move and slowly began moving forward into the center of the dance floor while doing so, progressively shifting their feet forward as they danced. The women then began to move until the three lines became one and then they walked around the men in a circle, waving one arm up while the other went down. They then turned around and faced outward, doing the same thing before turning to face the men once again. Everyone then walked amongst each other in rhythm before finding their partner.
Padmé found the young lieutenant and the two were doing the beginning move facing each other. Then the lieutenant took her right hand in his and raised it above their heads. They circled each other in a skipping manner before parting and everyone returned to their three lines on opposite sides. The motions repeated over and over, steadily growing faster and faster before finally finishing with the partners holding the position with their right hands clasped together over their heads.
When Padmé looked at the lieutenant in the face, she could see where the connection was coming from… however, who she was connecting him to was impossible. There was no way this lieutenant could be her husband. He just couldn't be. Her husband had become Darth Vader and was in a black terrifying suit. She had to admit, though, that the lieutenant did bear a striking resemblance to Anakin.
She couldn't resist when he smiled. His smile was so much like Anakin's, so full of happiness. Unlike Anakin, though, this boy's smile reached his eyes. Anakin's smile hadn't done that since before the Clone Wars.
The next song was played by the entire ensemble. It was a romantic melody. The flute once again took the main theme, but this flute was different, with a lower, richer sound to it. A percussionist played softly upon metal chimes so well that it sounded just like water. One of the other players started making soft bird calls. The string instrument strummed away smoothly and caressed the tune the flute made. The music was intended to build an imaginary garden with a romantic feel to it, and these musicians were doing a good job of it. To top it off, the small chime was occasionally tapped on to add flavor to the piece. The piece was actually Nihoma's most famous romantic theme that was used in numerous areas in the galaxy. It was titled Naklo Shasano: Bird Garden.
The traditional Nihoman style of showing affection was not embracing but placing one's hand to the other's chest to share in their heartbeat of life. This was how the dance to Naklo Shasano was done. Padmé placed her hand to the lieutenant's heart and he tenderly placed his right hand over hers. The instant she felt it she could tell it was a mechanical prosthetic, just like Anakin's was. Was this… could this really be…? The two began to take slow steps, Padmé going forward with her left while he stepped back with his right. All the couples floated across the dance floor in this way, not daring to look away from their partners. They occasionally twirled, and when they did so, they switched to where the man gently placed his hand over the woman's heart.
When the lieutenant did so for Padmé, she felt her heart skip a beat; this was Anakin. There was no denying it. She found herself lost in the moment of finding her husband in one piece and looking at her in the same loving manner he used to. She slowly placed her right hand over his left and the two steadily drew nearer to each other. They were about to kiss when the music went on along with the dance and the two had to pull away. Padmé grabbed his left forearm with her right hand and he grabbed her right forearm with his left hand. The two leaned away and slowly twirled before raising their other arms and coming closer once again. They grabbed hands overhead and continued to twirl before resuming their original positions. The next set of moves was pulling close enough to almost kiss and then slowly twirling around each other. They then returned to their original positions once again. Padmé could feel herself trying to go all the way and just kiss him, but a part of her was afraid to do so. The third set of moves was for the man to finally embrace the woman by lifting her into the air and doing a twirl and then gently lowering her to the ground once more. When Anakin did so, Padmé felt as if she were flying. He placed her on the dance floor once again and the two looked at each other as the music faded away.
Without saying a word, Anakin led Padmé off to the side where the opening into the garden was. They walked just outside of the room and sat down at one of the benches.
Padmé found herself panting for air as if she had run ten kilometers. She got a hold of herself and asked, "What is your name?"
He watched her, blinking slowly as if he were in a trance. Then, answering in a soft low tone, he said, "Lieutenant Lo,"
Lieutenant Lo? Was that an alias, or was she really losing her mind? Was her heart so desperate for Anakin's embrace that it was playing games with her? She had thought it was him… it had seemed like him…
"Where do you come from?" she asked.
"Death Squadron," he replied in the same tone of voice.
Death Squadron?
"Is that not Lord Vader's fleet?" Padmé continued.
Lt. Lo was about to respond when a voice interrupted him, saying, "Lo, what are you doing out here?"
Padmé turned to see the prince of Nihoma himself, Prince Kobayashi, standing right in front of them. She quickly stood and bowed.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Prince Kobayashi hastily said.
Lt. Lo stood up slowly before smiling broadly, bounciness evident in his body. His tender gaze vanished and was replaced by a childlike affection for the man in front of him. Apparently they knew each other well. It was time for Padmé to bow herself out of there… she didn't want to attract attention.
She slowly backed away as the two began a conversation. Padmé reentered the ballroom and returned to Jar Jar, trying to shake the whole unsettling experience from her mind. She really was going crazy.
Kobayashi sat in his respective seat, bored to tears. He had sat through many of these balls when he was younger, and this was no different except the Imperials were there to join him. He risked a glance to his right to look at his parents. His older brother was dancing with a native Nihoman woman named Sumi Tong. From what Kobayashi had discovered, the two had grown very close. Kobayashi remembered Sumi from his youth; the girl used to play with him and Sano all the time. Apparently the two thought of each other as more than friends…
Despite the pleasant distraction that brought, however, it still only kept him preoccupied for a short time. Kobayashi's eyes glanced over the dancing crowd before stopping dead in their tracks. Was that Vader dancing out there?
Sitting up straighter to get a better look, Kobayashi watched as the Imperial officer turned around. It was Vader! He was dancing with some woman (who was extremely attractive, Kobayashi had to admit)! Kobayashi spotted the other Imperials, who were also gaping at the scene before them, even Numel. Apparently he hadn't expected Vader to know Nihoman traditional dances. How did he know those dances?
The tune they were dancing to was Hoona Ie, which translated into Basic as Sunrise. It was a peaceful piece that was not too well known outside of Nihoma. Vader knew the moves perfectly, as well as his partner. If it were not for their attire, Kobayashi would have thought they were natives. Something about the look in Vader's eyes really caught his attention, though.
Once they finished dancing to Hoona Ie, it seemed as if they were going to leave. Then Miki Hala Kobiyet, a livelier dance, began to play. The two looked at each other for a moment before silently agreeing to dance again. Once again, they both knew the moves, although it was slightly more understandable; Miki Hala Kobiyet was one of Nihoma's more popular pieces.
Their next performance, to the romantic song Naklo Shasano, was just uncanny. The unspoken emotions that were blazing in their eyes kept Kobayashi enthralled with their performance. At some points it seemed as if they were about to go farther than the dance moves, but Vader always pulled away before it could go any further. Sometimes he looked unnerved… in fact, sometimes the woman looked unnerved. What an odd couple.
The dance came to an end and Kobayashi lost sight of them in the crowd. He quickly stood up and walked down off the platform in order to find the boy. He caught a glimpse of an Imperial uniform out in the garden and went to investigate.
"Lo, what are you doing out here?" he called as he approached.
Upon closer examination, he realized that Vader was still with the woman. The two had been talking softly when they both suddenly noticed Kobayashi. The woman immediately stood and bowed.
Feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment, Kobayashi hastily said, "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to interrupt anything,"
Vader stood up slowly and then the odd look in his eyes vanished before being replaced with their usual energy. "Hey, Koby!"
Kobayashi smiled and was about to ask who Vader's friend was when he realized that she had vanished. Oh, well. "Come on, Little One, let's go back inside. I didn't know you could dance so well!"
Vader giggled and then ran towards Kobayashi and the two walked side-by-side indoors. "I don't know… I just… started dancing."
"Well that was some just dancing," Kobayashi laughed. "You certainly had that woman enamored."
"Yeah…" Vader muttered, his eyes glazing over.
"You like her a lot, don't you?" Kobayashi observed.
Vader could only nod in reply.
The other Imperials soon ran over. Numel immediately approached Vader.
"Good Force, if I knew you were that much of a charmer I would have sought your help earlier!" he said, although his tone denoted the same surprise as everyone else.
"How did you know those dances?" Moeema asked.
"I… don't know," Vader shrugged.
Shiine raised his eyebrows and then sighed, leading Vader towards one of the seats. "Well, I think that's enough excitement for you."
Kobayashi looked at Zhymmia, who seemed a little out of place. He smiled and walked towards her, offering his hand. "Hey, Zhymmia, how about a dance?"
"What—uh, I don't know…" Zhymmia quickly said, clasping her hands in front of her nervously. "I don't know any of these dances…"
"It's okay," Kobayashi replied. "I'll teach you as we go along. This next song is pretty easy to go along with."
"Okay…"
Kobayashi led Zhymmia out to the dance floor. The music that was beginning to play was a Nihoman favorite about a sechuna, a delicate pink flower. The piece itself was called Sechuna. It was a duet solo for a specific type of string instrument, though this instrument was dedicated solely to plucking rather than adding texture through sliding to different notes. The beat of the piece was faster than the others before except for the butterfly song. The song was actually a traditional song created for the warriors and often danced by the warriors at their chumiya, or warrior houses. Kobayashi positioned his right foot slightly in front of him with his hands crossed at the wrists, palms up. Zhymmia copied him.
The moment the strong beats were plucked out by the two instruments, Kobayashi first separated his hands by raising his left hand and bouncing it in the air to the rhythm of the music before watching it slowly fall down to his side, still bouncing upwards though steadily losing momentum. His right hand was held in front of him unmoved until the left hand fell to his side. Zhymmia mirrored him as she was supposed to and he did the same exact thing with his right hand. When both hands were at his sides, one of the string instruments began plucking a decorative harmony to the main theme and Kobayashi made a ball with his hands, holding his left hand over his right. When the strong beat of the music came once again, he stepped diagonally to his right with his already somewhat extended right foot, spreading his hands apart as he did so. He then rocked back, leaning his weight on his back leg, bringing his hands low at his waist, palms facing out in front of him before leaning forward and making a pushing motion. Zhymmia mirrored him exactly, doing the same move to his left and facing the opposite direction as was correct.
The melody then descended and Kobayashi straightened his position and he and Zhymmia faced each other again. Then he placed his left heel in front of him, extended diagonally to the left. He placed his hands forward, fingers stretched apart and facing each other, his left hand slightly above his right. He then began to circle his right hand around him and then slid it over his left hand, taking a step back with his left foot as he did so. He then did it vice versa with the other hand. He and Zhymmia did this move three times before Kobayashi slid his left leg out to his side and separated his hands, letting his right hand flow upward, palm facing the ceiling, while his left hand descended, palm facing the floor. Then he straightened himself and repeated the entire dance over and over to the ongoing tune. By the fourth time around, Zhymmia had it down to where she didn't need to constantly watch him, but rather glance only for reference. They continued for a short while longer before facing each other after the final move of the sequence. Kobayashi then placed his hands in front of him and placed the palms against each other in front of his chest. Zhymmia did similar and then Kobayashi and she bowed to each other and the music ended.
"That was fun," Zhymmia said, slightly out of breath but happy nonetheless.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Kobayashi smiled in return as the two walked back towards their fellow officers.
"You two look good together, you know that?" Kerrick laughed.
Numel grumbled under his breath, causing him to get a funny look from Vader.
Kobayashi sighed and sat down beside his friends. "I wish I could stay with you guys all night, but I'm going to be stuck with my family."
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing," Rowan noted.
"Don't get me wrong, I adore my family," Kobayashi quickly said. "But these balls can be so boring,"
The next piece was not intended for dancing, so the guests began to meander throughout the room. Vader was glancing around in search of someone (probably the Naboo woman he had been dancing with, Kobayashi thought) but seemed to finally relax and just start playing around with Moeema as the two sat side by side on the bench and began picking out funny outfits.
Kobayashi suppressed a groan when he saw his mother looking at him expectantly. After receiving an apologetic shrug from Jifo, Kobayashi walked back towards his family, promising Vader that they would hang out tomorrow.
Woo, I had fun doing those dances! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, so please review! :-D Also, I have a poll on my profile asking about these dances. Please go check it out and vote! The results from the previous poll are up on my profile.
Here are the songs I listened to for inspiration while writing the dances:
Miki Hala Kobiyet ("Fluttering Dance") - http : // www . youtube . com/watch?v=GlRHoj9BhZI
Sechuna (indigenous flower of Nihoma) - http : // www . youtube . com/watch?v=chwADnoFDng&NR=1
Hoona Ie ("Sunrise") - http : // www . youtube . com/watch?v=2qqmwsxFOK4&NR=1
Naklo Shasano ("Bird Garden") - http : // www . youtube . com/watch?v=Ox2EMYGk9zE&NR=1
(Just copy/paste the internet addresses and get rid of the spaces in between! ;-) )