I was so happy when I saw all the followers, favorites, and reviews. It motivated me to continue writing, so thank you all. I hope with this chapter none of you are disappointed.

Chapter 1

Tatooine; 18 bby

Anakin was finishing fixing the droids up when Beru's voice called down in the garage.

"Owen! Anakin! Time to eat!"

"We'll be right there Beru!" Owen called back. He turned back to Anakin. "That should be enough for tonight. Hopefully they won't break apart again before the harvest," he told Anakin. He left to go wash up, leaving Anakin to put the tools away.

Unlike Padme, he didn't have much difficulty adjusting to farm life on Tatooine. After all, he spent the first decade of his life here. It was just that the desert planet held too many painful memories for him: his years as a slave and the loss of his mother. Since coming here with his family he often wondered what it would have been like if his mother had lived. She would have adored Padme and loved her grandchildren with all her heart.

Anakin finished putting the tools away, and headed up to go wash for dinner. Once he cleaned his hands, he went and sat at the table where Beru was serving stew, and Padme was putting Luke and Leia in their high chairs. At six months, Anakin and Padme were slowly introducing the twins to baby food. Padme had a couple of jars of mashed tuber for them set aside.

Anakin looked at his meal to see that the ladies had also made bread for them to dip into the stew. It reminded him of those days when his mother would have a nice meal ready for him when he would come home from working for Watto.

He grabbed his bread, dipped it into his stew and took a bite of it. It took all of his Jedi training to swallow and not cough. The bread was fine. It was the stew. There was a little too much spice in it that it made Anakin's mouth water.

"How's the food?" Padme asked as she twisted the lids off the jars and began to feed the twins.

Anakin shot Owen a look that clearly said, Don't you dare say or do anything as he took a bite of his own food. Owen's eyes widened and he put a hand over his mouth until he swallowed. There was a little bit of sweat on his face as he answered, "The bread is delicious."

"What about the stew?" Padme asked, turning her head at them.

Anakin took up his spoon and swallowed a spoonful of the over spiced stew. He thought just the plain stew was ten times without the bread. At least with the bread it absorbed most of the spicy taste. He hoped to the Force that Padme didn't see his discomfort as he swallowed the stew.

"Delicious," he lied.

Padme raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Do you need help feeding them," he nodded to the twins, hoping it would change the topic.

Padme sighed. "Sure. Luke is fidgety every time I offer him a bite, and Leia keeps swatting the spoon away from her. They were fine eating this stuff last night. I don't know what's wrong tonight."

Anakin looked at his kids to see bits of tuber on Luke's chin from where Padme must held his spoon before moving his head, and Leia had some on her hands and was now rubbing against the sides of her head, getting mashed tuber in her hair.

"Hey, Leia, don't do that," Anakin said, getting up and moving to grab Leia's hands and wipe them before trying to wipe the tuber out of her curly brown locks. Leia made a face that said she didn't like this.

"Why won't you eat this?" Anakin picked up a spoonful of tuber. Leia turned her head away from it.

"Come on. Won't you take a bite for Daddy?" Leia shook her head.

"How's Luke?" Anakin asked Padme.

A spoon fell to the ground and Luke started to cry at the same time Anakin felt a tremor in the Force. He turned around to see Luke crying in his high chair, Padme, Owen, and Beru, who had just returned with a jug of blue milk, frozen in shock. There was no sound for a moment other than Luke and Leia's cries.

"Did…did Luke just use the Force?" Owen asked, still shocked.

"I believe he did," Anakin answered quietly.

What the kriff was going on? The twins rarely threw tantrums like this, Luke especially. Padme turned to look at Anakin, fear in her eyes. Obi-wan and Master Yoda had both warned them of the dangers in raising force sensitive twins together, fearing that Sidious might be able to sense them. Anakin had assured them by covering the twins' presence in the Force with his own while they were young until they could learn how to shield their presences on their own.

"I was just holding the spoon up to Luke when he swat his hand and the spoon was flung out of my hand," Padme explained, her voice shook a little.

"It's probably nothing," Anakin reassured, mostly for Owen and Beru's sakes. His step-brother hated all talk of the Force, and Beru always worried about them.

"Luke's only six months old," Beru said, her voice laced with that worry. "Is that normal?"

"It's not normal for any child. No matter how old they old!" Owen corrected in annoyance. Anakin picked Leia up and began to rock her while Padme did the same for Luke.

"For a force sensitive child it is normal to unconsciously use the Force, especially at this age!" Anakin angrily told him.

Leia's crying increased as did Luke's. Padme looked bewildered, not wanting to deal with two wailing toddlers and two arguing male adults at the same time.

"Ani, why don't you take the twins outside for a little bit while I get their bottles ready?" she suggested.

"Sure," Anakin grumbled, glaring at Owen.

Taking Luke in his other arm, Anakin went upstairs outside the homestead where Tatoo I and Tatoo II were setting. Anakin loved coming up and bringing his kids to see the suns set, one of the only good things about Tatooine. It helped to calm down the three restless Skywalkers, seeing the beautiful display.

It reminded Anakin of when he was a kid how he would come out to watch the suns set and imagine himself leaving this planet, flying through the stars, and seeing all the different star systems he would hear from retired space pilots. Now, standing here with his children in his arms, made Anakin want to travel and show them all the different star systems he visited as a padawan and a general during the Clone Wars, and tell them about all the adventures he, their mother, Obi-wan, and Ahsoka shared.

He looked down at Luke and Leia. Both of them seemed calmer now than they did when they were eating dinner earlier. It infuriated him that Owen refused to even try to understand what the twins were going through. It reminded him of his childhood, before he knew about the Force, when he couldn't explain how strange things happened around him.

However, even he struggled to understand what was going on. All day he thought he felt a stirring in the Force. Like someone was afraid and in pain. Could that be what the twins had been feeling too? He didn't know. He once heard that children, especially force sensitive ones could sense things adults couldn't. Right now as he felt his own children's emotions, he sensed their love for him and their awe of the Tatooine sunset.

Still, he couldn't help the bad feeling he felt. Staring at the innocent faces of his children reminded Anakin of the promise he made six months ago on Polis Massa when Luke and Leia were born. "Whatever happens I won't let anyone harm either of you," he promised them.

000{{*}}000

Dinner had been a disaster.

After Anakin had taken the twins, Padme tasted the stew she helped made. She was forced to spit her bite out when it tasted too rich and hot. She was even more furious with Anakin and Owen for lying to her. Beru had been nice to her, saying it was better than last time when she overcooked it, but it still bothered Padme. She had faced battle droids, the scum of the galaxy, ruled a planet when she was fourteen years old, and yet she couldn't make a simple meal without messing something up.

To top everything off was Anakin and Owen's latest fight. Just when she and Beru thought they were starting to get along like true brothers. Beru had once told her that the reason why Owen didn't like any talk of the Force was because he felt like it separated him and Anakin. Padme could kind of understand why. When she first married Anakin she struggled to understand his connection to the Force. She still struggled now that she had children who were as force sensitive as their father. She had a feeling though that the Force wasn't the only thing that bothered Owen.

After clearing the table and readying a couple of bottles for when Anakin would return with the twins, Padme, Beru, and Owen gathered in the living room to watch Beru's favorite holonet show. It was about a large family living together on Coruscant and quite comical.

Eventually, Anakin returned halfway through the show with the twins who were much calmer now than they were earlier. Because of their fits, neither Luke nor Leia had eaten anything yet, so when offered their bottles both took them and sucked greedily on them without complaint. Things were still tense between Anakin and Owen so they sat on opposite sides of the room away from each other.

After feeding the twins and setting them down on their baby blanket to play, Padme smacked Anakin.

"Ow!" Anakin exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder and looking at Padme in surprise. "What was that for?"

"For lying about dinner," Padme glared.

Anakin winced before turning back to the holonet.

The show ended and the Galactic news came in. Owen didn't like watching them, believing that they shouldn't get involved in events that had nothing to do with a backwater planet like Tatooine. Anakin and Padme however, had to see them to make sure that the newly born Empire hadn't caught anyone they knew. Anakin, Obi-wan, Master Yoda, and a few other Jedi had barely survived the purges, but they didn't know who or if any other Jedi had managed to survive. Padme worried about her friends and colleagues she had made over the years in the Senate, and feared every day that someone she knew would be branded a traitor to the Empire and executed.

Now, Anakin leaned forward on his knees and Padme sat up straight. Their eyes were glued on the holonet as the reporter made the evening announcements.

"According to inside sources: Obi-wan Kenobi was spotted on Rodia five days ago. Officials are warning citizens that if spotted they are not to confront him but to report to the nearest official. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous."

"So close," Anakin whispered.

Padme glanced at him worriedly. Rodia was just several parsecs away from Tatooine. Padme knew Anakin was fighting the urge to go there and help Obi-wan. It must be for a mission for the Rebellion that he was there for. Padme knew Obi-wan would be okay, and she knew Anakin knew that as well. Still, she couldn't help but worry as well.

The reporter continued:

"Imperial Investigators are looking into the murder of eighty-six-year-old Ryoo Thule on Naboo. Ryoo Thule is the maternal grandmother of Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo who disappeared six months ago. Investigators report that Madame Thule had been staying at her in-laws' lake house, the Naberrie Lake Country house in Varykino where she was killed. Here's what officials have to say."

At that moment it seemed everyone in that room, minus the twins, had frozen once they heard about Ryoo. Owen and Beru knew about the name from Padme's mentioning. Anakin had met her once when he had been on break from the war and was visiting Padme.

Padme however was stunned. Her Grandmamma Ryoo, the sweet woman who fed her and her sister sweets and took her to all the different places on Naboo as a child was dead. Murdered. Why? Who would ever harm her kind-hearted old grandma in her own home?

The channel changed to an Imperial dressed official who reported:

"Witnesses say that Madame Thule had been staying at Varykino since hearing the news of her granddaughter's disappearance. The night of her murder, Madame Thule had dismissed the staff for the night. She was attacked around 0600 near sunset at this time of year on Naboo last night. Based on the evidence and the condition of her body, we've deduced that she was murdered by a lightsaber at the hands of a Jedi. Witnesses have confirmed that around the time of her death, a strange man in dark clothing, carrying what appeared to be a lightsaber was seen leaving the house after 0600. By the time help had arrived, Madame Thule was announced dead on the scene. We have been able to identify her killer as former Jedi Ferus Olin."

Ferus Olin.

Anakin sat up. His childhood rival killed his wife's grandmother? Anakin hadn't seen Ferus since before the Clone Wars, but he remembered him as an arrogant bully who didn't think Anakin was worthy to call himself a Jedi. During missions, Anakin tolerated him only because his master was Siri Tachi, an old friend of Obi-wan's and one of the few Jedi who was nice to him. Ferus may have been a jerk but he never would have killed an innocent old lady in cold blood.

Unless…Anakin realized. Unless his years from the Jedi had completely changed him. Anakin use to believe that Palpatine could do no wrong and look how that turned out. He focused his attention back to the holonet as the investigator continued:

"-investigating to see if the rumors of any other Jedi hiding here on Naboo are true. I can assure the public that the Empire is doing everything it can to make sure these butchers and child snatchers do not get away with this. We are searching transports coming in and out of Naboo to make sure they don't escape. They will not escape Imperial justice."

The news changed to another topic and everyone turned their attention to Padme. She just sat there, staring into space, not moving.

"Padme?" Beru gently asked.

Anakin looked at his wife worriedly, realizing she was in shock until Leia started to cry. That seemed to snap Padme back into reality a bit that she grabbed her daughter and left the room. Anakin turned toward his step-brother and step-sister-in-law.

"I'm going to check on her. Goodnight."

He grabbed Luke and headed towards his and Padme's bedroom where he knew she would be hiding. He was right. He found Padme pacing their bedroom, rocking Leia.

Anakin didn't like this. He was used to seeing his strong Padme whom he had married four years ago. He remembered when his mother died how broken he was and how Padme had been there to help put some of the pieces back together. He knew Padme had been close to her grandmother even after she had gone into politics, and to lose her like that…It reminded Anakin too much of his own mother's death, especially now that he knew the true circumstances of her death. To see Padme like this now she seemed so…lost and…broken. Even after they went into exile, Padme had always been the stronger one. This wasn't right.

Anakin put Luke down in his crib before taking Leia from Padme and placing her in her own. He held Padme's face and saw tears shining in her eyes. He laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back as he did. It started as a sniffle then turned into a sob which caused Padme to gasp for breath as she cried into her husband's shoulder. Anakin moved them to the bed and had Padme sit on his lap as he did his best to comfort her.

Padme couldn't stop sobbing as the reporter and the investigator's words repeated in her mind.

"…had been staying at her in-laws' lake house, the Naberrie Lake Country house in Varykino where she was killed."

"…been staying since hearing the news of her granddaughter's disappearance."

"…dismissed the staff for the night."

Her Grandmamma Ryoo who had been through so much in her life had died in a place that should have been safe and had been all alone when she died. No family or friends or even acquaintances had been there in her last moments. That made her cry even harder.

Anakin didn't know how long it was. Holding Padme as she cried seemed to last for hours. He didn't know how it had lasted when the tears finally stopped and Padme finally caught her breath.

"She was all alone," she whispered. Her sadness shone deep within the Force around Anakin. He also felt her anger, confusion, and…guilt. He pulled away and brought his fingers to her chin up to meet his eyes.

"Padme, this isn't your fault," he told her.

Padme shook her head. "Yes it its. When I first found out about my pregnancy, I went to Naboo to tell my family about it. My father was angry, my mother and sister were stunned, Darred was confused, and little Ryoo and Pooja were too young to understand the situation. My Grandmamma Ryoo was the only one who comforted me and didn't ask who the father was. Granted, she was disappointed that I was pregnant with no father to show, but she didn't hound on me for being irresponsible. Anakin, I think she knew."

Anakin's blood froze. "About us?"

Padme nodded. "She always had a way of knowing things without asking. When I was getting ready to leave and return to the Senate, she took me aside and told me to tell the father the minute he came home from the war."

Anakin felt even colder as theories began to gear up in his head. "You think she was murdered because she knew about us?"

"That's the only thing that makes sense as to why she was killed," Padme answered. "I hadn't spoken to her since I left Naboo, but I stayed at Varykino with her after telling my family. Maybe whoever killed her thought I had talked to her about something or left something that would indicate where I would hide in worst case scenario?"

Cold realization hit Anakin. Did Grandmamma Ryoo's killer think that she knew where Padme, her child, and lover were hiding? He remembered the investigator mentioning that Ryoo had been murdered by a lightsaber. A Jedi wouldn't have murdered an innocent old lady, unless they had fallen to the Dark Side. Obi-wan and Yoda were the only Jedi who would know of his connection to Ryoo. Them and Sidious. Anakin froze in horror at the realization hit him.

"Ani?" Anakin looked down at his wife to see her looking at him in concern.

"Who's Ferus Olin?" she asked.

"He was a fellow padawan who left the Order right before the Clone Wars started. An incident happened that caused him to leave. I never heard about him again until now. We…didn't get along so well," he explained.

Padme raised an eyebrow. "There's something else Ani. What is it?"

Anakin swallowed. "I think…I think Sidious is behind Ryoo's death. When he realized that I wouldn't become his apprentice, he decided to use Ferus Olin, knowing our history. He probably killed Ryoo to draw us out of hiding."

"Why would he kill my grandmamma to do that?" Padme asked. "Even with my disappearance and the trouble I caused in the Senate before that, my family is well respected throughout Naboo. The Naberries have been known for being political advisors or volunteering at the Refugee Relief Movement, and the Thules have always been well beloved members of the community even after my grandfather's passing. If Naboo caught wind of Palpatine harming my family, it would disrupt everything for him."

"I don't know Padme. Sidious isn't above harming innocent people no matter their age or station," Anakin said. He felt bad when Padme flinched but didn't apologized. The bodies of Jedi younglings at the Temple appeared in his mind. He shook it away, refocusing on Ryoo.

"Whatever his reasons, I can't let Olin run around freely and hurt someone else I love. He can come after anyone else in my family, Anakin! My parents, my sister, her husband, or even my nieces. I can't take the chance that he'll hurt them too," Padme said.

"You're not going to Naboo!" Anakin immediately said.

Padme glared at him. "My grandmother is dead! Murdered because she knew my secret. She's dead because of me!"

Anakin once again felt the guilt coming off of her.

"When you dreamed about your mother, did you ignore those dreams and followed your orders? No, you went to go help her because she needed you like my family needs me right now." Padme knew she was pulling a risk by mentioning his mother.

Anakin clenched his teeth in anger as he remembered what happened to his mother. Who was he to deny Padme the chance to protect her family from Sidious? After all, she left her family, everything she ever knew and loved because of him. He couldn't stop her.

"If you're going to Naboo to stop Ferus, I'm going with you."

Padme's eyes widened. "You can't Ani! The twins-"

"Owen and Beru will take care of them until we come back. You'll be facing a Sith Lord, and I won't let my children grow up without their mother because I wasn't there to protect her."

"And I won't my children grow up without their father because I let him come with me. I already lost my grandmother, Anakin. I can't lose you too." Tears filled Padme's eyes.

Anakin placed his hands on her face, wiping her tears away. "You won't Padme. I've survived encounters with Sith Lords, battle droids. Clones, bounty hunters, pirates, and you," Anakin said with a teasing grin. "You're not getting rid of me easily."

Padme smiled back. They didn't have a plan yet, but they would figure that out in the morning after a good night's sleep.

000{{*}}000

Naboo; 66 bby

Padme took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had regain some of her strength and had more color on her cheeks, but she still looked thin from the weight she lost during her illness. The black dress and robe she wore only served to highlight that fact. If her classmates at the Legislative Youth Program saw her now, they would tell her how ghastly she looked.

A knock sounded on her door. Padme turned to see Mammy open it, dressed in black as well. Her sad face struck Padme, nearly breaking down the mask she was forcing herself to wear for today.

"Are you ready to come down?" Mammy's voice asked gently. Padme nodded, not trusting her voice just yet.

They went down the stairs to the parlor where Padme's family would be gathered. It had been a week since Padme had woken up and the Plague on her village had passed. Her mother hadn't been the only victim the Plague had taken. Children, middle-aged, and elderly had each been effected and practically every family had lost someone. The village's population had been reduced by half.

News has reached the Queen of their dilemma that she sent soldiers, doctors, and volunteers to help treat the sick and move the dead. They were being pressed for time because the doctors wanted to have the bodies burned as quickly as possible or risk another outbreak.

Padme entered the parlor where her father, sister, niece, and her sister's mother-in-law waited for her. It hadn't just been Padme's mother they lost. They also lost Jon, her sister's husband and her niece's father. Her beautiful sister looked miserable wearing the black clothing befitting of a widow, but her mother-in-law was the most heartbreaking to look at. The proud woman looked like she had aged decades. Padme had always been cautious around her because of the hard relationship she had with her sister. Now, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor older woman. Her little niece looked sad and lost. The little girl wasn't even ten years old and she had lost her father, grandmother, and so many friends and neighbors she had known in her short life.

Her father broke the tense silence. "Let's get going before they start without us."

The six of them left the small house and walked down the road where the other surviving villagers had gathered. Padme had to hang on to Mammy and her sister's arms for fear that she might collapse.

The ceremony was being performed by a member of the Brotherhood of Cognizance at the Queen's request. As he talked, Padme looked around the gathering. Many of the women were sobbing, the men trying to keep a strong face for their families, and the children seemed confused as to what was going on and why this was happening. Padme looked to her father whose gaze was focused on his wife's body among the many others. She was dressed in her white wedding gown, the prettiest dress she owned. Padme still couldn't get over how pale her mother was while she was dead. When she was young Padme remembered how her mother would go out and tend to their vegetable garden for hours and sometimes she would go out to help father in the fields and vineyards to raise food and money for their children. As a result for all the hours she spent outside Hane Lydonia's skin was brown as walnuts.

Just thinking of her mother nearly brought tears to Padme's eyes. She did her best to force them down. She wouldn't cry. Mama wouldn't want her to cry. She took a shaky breath, then heard sniffling from her sister. She saw tears flowing down her sister's face behind her veil and a tear of her own sliding down her face.

Blast it!

Padme knew of she had said that out loud, her mother would have jump to her feet to slap and scold, whether she was dead or alive. With that thought it was the final straw. A dam broke and tears flowed freely down her face. Soon, she was sobbing uncontrollably. This was ridiculous she thought to herself. Here she was a sixteen-year-old, training to be a politician, sobbing her heart out in public, while there were people around her who had lost more and kept a straight face.

She felt arms around her and realized it was her sister who was holding her. She didn't know how long it lasted until the Brother finished and the pyres were lighted. Padme watched as the flames claimed the bodies of her mother and her brother-in-law Jon, wishing them one last goodbye before she finally turned her head away from the sight.

Her father was still staring at the flames, while Mammy was bent down talking comfortingly to her niece, and Jon's mother turned and headed back to the Lydonia house to mourn in private.

"We should be getting back home," her sister said to their father. He didn't move or even acknowledged that he had heard her.

"Father?" Still nothing.

Her sister sighed before turning to Mammy. The old woman nodded before taking the young child back to the house. Her sister wrapped an arm around Padme and helped her back to the house when they saw a couple of figures walking down the road towards their house. One was a man, another a boy around the same age as Padme's niece, and the third figure was a woman with brown curly hair. All three of them wore dark clothing finer than what anyone in the village wore. It wasn't until they got closer to the house did Padme finally recognize them.

"Winama?"

"Ryoo! Padme!"

000{{*}}000

Well that chapter was longer than I expected it to be. I hope you all liked it. The funeral was written based on what I was feeling a year ago during my grandfather's funeral. I'm going to be going on a camping trip this weekend and am hoping to work more on the next chapter. Enjoy and please favor and review.