"My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite."

-Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Padmé Amidala

Varykino House

Upstairs Grand Suite

Right before I feel asleep I sensed your fingers graze the nearly healed scratches on my back. You thought I was asleep and since my back was turned, you couldn't tell that I was smiling, soaking in the intimate display of your affection in the late-night hour. I'm sure I feel asleep like that, smirking uncontrollably.

I awake to this sunlight filled room and I'm still grinning. For the first time, in as long as I can remember, I awake happy; I am not concerned, nor practicing speeches, or going over a daily agenda. Our union has lifted the burden of a life lived alone, a life devoted to the public good. I didn't realize what a load this work had really been until you came back into my life. So this is what Mom and Sola wanted for me all along…

Abruptly, I feel the bed shift underneath me. You are awake too and have turned your face towards mine. I don't think I've ever seen such a delightful sight.

"Good morning," you greet me.

"Good morning," I respond. I notice you looking down at me with blushing cheeks and I rearrange the sheets around my naked torso. I note this is the first time we are seeing each other bare in the bright light of day, no dim rooms or shadows for mystery. Noticeably, we're both still a little sheepish with each other. "Did you sleep well?"

You ignore my question but your eyes are hazy as if you didn't. I try and hide my concern for you. A smile spreads across your lips as you take a curl of my hair and twist it around your humanoid index finger.

We are so young, I forget sometimes. But in this morning light, fresh faced and without affect, our youth is inescapable. There are no Jedi robes or weapons lending you authority nor do I have my senatorial gowns to grant clout to my slight frame. Together in this bed we are not boy-hero and former queen, nor Jedi and senator; we are only man and woman lying together as husband and wife. We are young lovers from different sects of society, forbidden to be together, now secretly wedded and bedded-much like the romantic lore of old.

"What are you thinking about?" you ask me.

I consider that you'd probably like me to say 'you', but instead I tell the truth, "Oh…an old Naboo fable."

This perks your interest and you lean back on your pillow idly with arms crossed behind your head and say, "Tell me."

"It's just an old legend…" You turn over on your side, with your head on your hand, and stare me down playfully, so I continue. "…once upon a time in ancient Naboo, there lived a girl from the royal house of Kenta and boy from Kenta's enemy, the house of Dominaée. They fell in love secretly and against their parent's wishes. Knowing they could never have their families' blessings, they were compelled by true love to marry in a secret ceremony...sound familiar?"

Your eyes twinkle, beautiful and blue. "Go on…"

"Oh, well there's a conflict between the two houses and confusion ensues…but I can't quite remember the ending…" I lie to you, uninterested in ruining our first morning together with the true conclusion.

"Promise me something..." you tell me.

I nod my head in agreement.

"Promise that one day we won't have to hide like they did. That when we see fit, we'll come out of the shadows and live openly…unashamed. Even if that means that I leave Order eventually. One day, I want the whole galaxy to know that I love you…not just a holy man and a couple of droids."

I laugh a little at that last bit. "Ahhhh but Anakin, you are forgetting someone. Another person knows..."

"Who?"

I seductively roll my torso on top of yours, unashamed. Your tanned skin against my pallor is so warm and inviting. And then I answer, "Me. I know you love me. And that's all that matters today, you and me." I began tracing your lips with my index finger, eager to memorize the shape of them. Today is the first and last day of our honeymoon and I want to savor each and every part of you.

I want to remember the shape of these lips on the nights I can not kiss them.

I bend down a little and slowly begin to kiss you. You struggle to reply in between my affections, "I know…but… one day…after this war…"

I try and shush you. Your hands, one warm, one cold, begin to slide down my back, to my hips, and beyond. I am desperate for you.

Conversely, you are desperate for my answer. "Please, Padmé."

This is the best day of life. There's not a place in this galaxy I'd rather be. Not anyone else I'd rather be with. I run my fingers through your hair.

How could I deny you anything ever again?

"Shhh, Alright. I promise Ani. Now, no more worries…" I bury my nose in his neck and inhale him "…just love me."

And you happily obliged.

"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triump die, like fire and powder
Which, as they kiss, consume"

- Shakespeare, Rome and Juliet

If you enjoyed-please comment!

Sincerely,

Lizabethia