Arriving at Theed international airport Anakin starts to feels more nervous with each passing minute about meeting his stepmother and the country for the first time. He doesn't know how he should act around the people. Does he have to be distant? Or can he be open to them. He also is not sure what the rules are he will have to follow from now on and to which school he will go after the break. He suspects that it will be a private school with a lot of rich children considering who his father is. Looking out of the airplane window Anakin sees a limousine waiting for them near mobile airplane stairs and a few cars waiting behind the limousine. Before the limousine two bike agents are also waiting likely to escort them. Hearing seat belts being unbuckled Anakin looks to his feather and see him getting up. Quickly unbuckling his own seat belt Anakin puts his backpack into his back and follows his father towards the door.
The sunlight bites in Anakin's eyes for a few seconds as his eyes get used to the brightness after the door opens. Blinking a few times Anakin looks around the area and can see trees with green leaves in the distance. The temperature is also colder than what he is used to which gives Anakin the impression that the heat he knows from Tatooine is not common here. He wonders if he will get used to the temperature of Naboo or if he always will have to wear multiple layers of clothing to protect his body against the coldness he already feels.
"Anakin, is everything alright?" Qui-gon asks when Anakin stays standing on top of the stairs and also he sees him shivering. He scolds himself for not thinking about the climate difference between Naboo and Tatooine that Anakin is sure to feel. Taking his jacket of he walks to Anakin and puts it around his shoulders after taking Anakin's backpack of his back and putting it on the ground. Taking the backpack back into his hand Qui-gon holds his other hand out to Anakin who takes it and they walk down the stairs towards the limousine waiting for them. Anakin gets into the limousine first and Qui-gon gets after him and he also puts the backpack on the floor in between him and Anakin. Soon the chauffeur starts driving towards the palace with the bike agents leading the way their sirens on.
Ten minutes after leaving the airport they arrive at the palace gate and drive onto the palace grounds. Anakin looks around amazed at the trees and colorful flowers beside the road leading to the palace. The grass looks great to play at as soon as he can. He hopes the cameras he saw near the gate will be gone then as he does not want them to film him while playing. He also wonders why they are at the gate so he asks his father
"Father, why were there cameras near the gate?"
"We had to give a statement to the public for my sudden departure to Tatooine. We told the press that I had to go to Tatooine for personal matters and that I will give them more information after my return. I imagine that they are here to see if they can get a glimpse on the reason for my sudden departure. It will have kept the press and tabloids busy last week to guess what personal matters I could have in Tatooine which I had to attend to on such a short notice" Qui-gon explains.
"Have they seen me?" Anakin asks nervously.
"I don't know, Anakin, I don't know. Only time will tell if they have seen you. If they have I'm sure that it will be on the news in no time including possible pictures or footage of you" Qui-gon says and has to remember the conversation he had with Shmi about Anakin's upbringing. They had agreed to leave Anakin unaware so that he could have a normal childhood without the stress of royal life. Now he knows Anakin will face the stress of royal life hopefully with his and Tahl's support after they have built trust between them.
Anakin nods understandingly to his father as he has seen that happening with Tatooine celebrities. Anakin hopes that they have not seen him as he wants to get used to his father and stepmother before having to deal with the press and everything that comes with it. It also makes him wonder what his father will tell the press about him and so he asks
"What will you tell the press and when?"
"I will give them a picture of you and tell them that you are my son and heir and I will tell them a bit about your life and my relationship with your mother. I will most likely give a statement next morning as I want to get you settled today and have you meet with Tahl when we arrive" Qui-gon explains and then they feel the limousine stopping. Anakin looks out of the window and sees two stone stairs leading up to a platform which in turn leads to large double door. He sees two of the towers he saw in the plane on the side of the building. The stones from the palace look old to him which makes him wonder during which year the palace was build. He suspect it was built hundreds of years ago considering the color of the stones. The palace has three floors from what he can see from the amount of windows. The window frames are made from dark wood at least Anakin believes it to be dark wood.
Hearing the door opening Anakin looks to his father for permission to leave the limousine and sees that the door on his side has also been opened and his father is leaving the limousine. Seeing this as permission Anakin takes his backpack and steps out of the car. Looking at the person who opened the door Anakin sees a man wearing a large red coat which has golden decorating and black pants. The man also wears white gloves and polished black boots. Looking at the man's face he sees that it is a man in his forties with a clean shaved face who smiles at him when he sees that Anakin is looking at him.
"Come, Anakin. Let's go inside so you can meet Tahl" Qui-gon says and Anakin follows him up the stairs towards the double doors. Stepping through the doors as they are opened before them Anakin sees a large light hall with paintings on the wall. He wonders who the people are in the paintings. Looking at the last one he sees his father standing behind a woman sitting on a chair. The woman, who he suspect is Tahl, has dark honey skin, dark hair and green eyes. Both his father and the woman wear crowns on their heads while the woman also wears jewelry that he also saw in other paintings on the wall. She appears to be kind, but Anakin knows from his time in Tatooine that appearances can be deceiving. The painting is different to the one he saw at the embassy and he wonders why there would be multiple different paintings of his father and stepmother though the clothing are the same as in the embassy painting but without cape and scepter.
"That is the official painting of Tahl and I made a few weeks after our marriage. At that time I was already Naboo's king so she became the queen with our marriage. The other paintings are of the last ten generations of kings and queens of Naboo" Qui-gon says when he sees Anakin staring at the painting of Tahl and him. He hopes that a painting of Anakin will be on the wall in the future if he is willing to officially accept the position of crown prince when he is eighteen even though until that time he will still be known as crown prince.
"Come Anakin, let us continue" Qui-gon says and walks further into the palace after Anakin nods. He leads them through the hall and up a large staircase covered with rich looking carpet. They move to the right side after they reach the top of the stair mad walk through a door into Qui-gon and Tahl's private quarters. The room they arrive in is a sitting room with comfortable brown couches, a few chairs and a small table between the couches. Sitting on one of the couches is the woman Anakin saw earlier in the painting and he suddenly feels incredible nervous as he will live with her from now on and he wants to make a good impression on her so that she will care about him. He doesn't want her to hate him and make his life difficult. Looking to where his father is Anakin sees him embracing Tahl and then he turns to the woman sitting next to where Tahl sat before. He hadn't seen her before and sees that she is holding a baby, who he is sure is his half-sister as he remembers her face from the picture his father showed him the day they met besides he wouldn't what another baby would be doing in the palace. The woman has a light shin color, dark hair and also dark eyes. She wears a light colored dress and high heels. Her hair is put in a ponytail. Anakin wonders who she is and because he is so lost in thought he doesn't see Tahl approaching kneeling down before him.
"Anakin?" Tahl says calmly so as not to scare him while also trying to get his attention. To do that she also out a hand on his shoulder and sees him snapping out of his thoughts. Anakin jumps and looks shocked at her. This confirms to her that he loses an overview of his environment when he is lost in thoughts. She knows that that can become dangerous when he is older and makes a mental note to herself to teach him not to get to lost in thought whenever he is not at home and to also tell Qui-gon about it. Then she sees she has his full attention she holds a hand out in greeting and says
"My name is Tahl, Anakin. It is nice to meet you"
"Nice to meet you and I know. Father showed me a picture of you and Ashoka" Anakin answers while shaking her hand.
"Shall we go to your room so that you can start with decorating it and get everything you brought with you unpacked" Tahl suggests but before Anakin can answer Qui-gon says
"You can show him to his room soon, dearest. Anakin, come here and meet your little sister"
Anakin walks up this father happy to meet his sister for the first time. He hopes that they will get along well when she is older. Now that she is still a baby he doesn't think that getting along will be difficult. His father kneels down so that he can easily look at her. Looking at his stepsister who lies in his father's arms Anakin sees that his sister has the same skin color as his stepmother which he doesn't find surprising at all. Her eyes are the same color as his father and himself and she has also short dark hairs. He thinks that she is really young as he remembers the few baby his mother took him to whenever they went to see one of her friends who recently gave birth. They were all a few weeks old and around the same size as his stepsister.
"How old is she?" Anakin asks wondering at her exact age as his father never told him it to him.
"She is currently five weeks old" Tahl answers from where she walked up next to Anakin and Qui-gon. She guides Anakin to a couch where he sits down with a questioning look on his face. Qui-gon sits down beside him and gently gives Ashoka to him while coaching him to ensure that he holds her correctly which Anakin barely needs as he remembers the other times he held a baby. Looking down at Ashoka Anakin sees that she reaching for him with her hands so he holds her a bit higher at which time she manages to grab a few hairs and pulls on it.
"Ouch, Ashoka!" Anakin says at which she looks confused before pulling again. Anakin grimaces but before Ashoka can pull again Qui-gon carefully removes her hands from Anakin's hair. Anakin gives her back to his father who in turn gives her to the woman who held her before.
"Where does she go to?" Anakin asks when the woman leaves the room with his stepsister.
"She went to the nursery, Anakin, so that your sister can get her nap which she is long overdue for. The woman who I gave her to is called Shaak Ti and she is our nanny. That means that she helps us with caring for your sister and you whenever we don't have time to do so because of our duties" Tahl explains before offering her hand to him. Anakin takes it and she walks with him into a hallway where they walk passed one door before stopping before the next door. Letting go of Anakin's hand Tahl says
"This is your room, Anakin. The doors we passed are your fathers and mine room and Miss Ti's room. Miss Ti's room is next to yours and ours across from hers. Across from your room is your sister's room" Tahl explains and Anakin nods understandingly. He knew that he would get a spare room. Stepping into the room he sees a bed before the window with a bedside table beside it. On the left side of the bed is a desk with a chair and before both is a sitting area. On the right side of the bed is a closet and beside the closet is are two doors. Looking back at Tahl he sees that his father is standing beside her smiling. When they see him looking at them Qui-gon says
"This room is yours Anakin. You can open the doors whenever you want. You don't have to ask for permission"
After this Anakin walks to the first door he comes across and opens it. Inside he sees a bathroom and after opening the door next to it he sees a walk-in closet. He is amazed that he has a walk-in closet but has to wonder what he will do with all the space as he doesn't have so many clothes to put into it. Stepping out of the walk-in closet he sees his suitcase and boxes standing beside the table.
"Do you want one of us to help you with unpacking or do you want to do it alone?" Qui-gon asks and Anakin knows that he needs help as he can't put his clothes in the walk-in closet alone.
"Could you help me, please and thanks for the room. It is great" Anakin says belatedly so as not to disappoint his father for not thanking him for the room.
"Of course we can help you Anakin. You don't have to thank us for the room as it is normal for us to give you a room" Qui-gon says before they all start unpacking the boxes and suitcase. Tahl and Qui-gon make sure to give Anakin control over where everything should be stored. They spend the afternoon unpacking and starting to bond between Tahl and Anakin.