Thank you again to all who have favored, followed, and reviewed this. And here is chapter three of the Skywalker Adventures: Mysteries on Naboo

Chapter 3

Naboo; 38 bby

Padme was very sad.

She, Mommy, Daddy, and Sola were moving to Theed where Grandma Winama lived so she and Sola could go to the Legislative Youth Program, the best school on Naboo. She should be happy, but she wasn't because Grandmamma Ryoo wouldn't be coming with them.

"Why can't you come with us, Grandmamma?" the eight-year-old asked teary eyed.

"I'm not ready to go to Theed just yet," Grandmamma asked with a sad smile.

"Yes you can. I can help you pack up, and you can come with us," Padme insisted.

"Wherever you go, I'll always be with you," Ryoo told her.

She turned around to grab a tube of nail polish from her dressing table and painted Padme's thumbnails white. Padme's eyes widened in surprise and delight. Her Mommy, Grandmamma, and recently her sister all painted their thumbnails white as a sign of maturity yet continuing devotion to one's family.

"When you look at them, think of an old woman who loves you very, very much," Ryoo said.

She kissed Padme's temple and held her in a deep embrace. Padme hugged her back, taking in the love her grandmamma gave her.

The Adventurer; 18 bby

Padme woke up with a jolt. It took her a moment to remember where she was: on the Adventurer. It was a YT-2400 light freighter. Padme had thought it a piece of junk on sight. Karrde had been insulted, telling her it was a Corellian vessel that was faster than it looked and had a few surprises of its own. Anakin had confirmed this to her and she force herself to relax because her husband knew more about mechanics and ships than anyone else she knew. She had strapped in for takeoff and laid her head against Anakin's shoulder for a couple hours rest before they reached Naboo.

Padme looked at her thumbnails she had painted white even during her exile. Bits of paint were coming off. She would have to paint a fresh coat later on. She thought of the dream she had when they were painted for the first time by her grandmamma, then she thought of Luke and Leia. It had only been a few hours but she already missed them. She missed their familiar weight in her arms, missed Luke's giggles, and Leia's mischievous smile. She wondered if she would paint Leia's thumbnails white when she came of age. She really wished that her Grandmamma Ryoo could have met them. She would have loved them.

She heard footsteps and looked up to see Anakin. The beard he had grown and the months he outside in Tatooine's suns had bleached his hair back to the blonde he had as a child, making him look different to the famous Hero with No Fear he had been throughout the galaxy.

"We'll be entering Naboo space in ten minutes. Then we'll hide in Karrde's smuggling compartments and sneak out that way," he explained to her.

Padme nodded. "Good."

Anakin hesitated for a second before sitting down next to Padme. "Do you want to talk about?"

"No," Padme answered, staring at the wall. "I want to have a clear head throughout this ordeal."

"This isn't an ordinary situation. You use to get upset with me if I kept things hidden from you. What's bothering you besides the obvious?" Anakin asked.

Padme wanted to argue nothing, but she realized the futility of it and the point Anakin had. "I'm worried about what would happen if anyone on Naboo would recognize me. I had my handmaidens who looked similar to me, but even if someone mistook me for a former handmaiden, it would draw attention to us," Padme explained.

Anakin frowned a bit. "We'll have to be careful. The funeral will be tomorrow, so tonight we'll settle at someplace low-profile and after that, we'll start looking for Ferus."

Padme accepted that plan as Karrde came to tell them that they would be coming out of light speed and into Naboo airspace. They heard Karrde talking to an Imperial official on the comm. Karrde told him he was carrying shipment supplies for a "Lars Quell" who was moving to Theed. The official granted him permission to land and to prepare to have his ship searched.

Karrde left the cockpit. "I'll take that five thousand worth of jewels before you guys sneak off my ship."

Anakin handed him his payment. Karrde opened the bag to count and make sure they gave him the right amount. Satisfied, he placed the bag into his vest pocket. "Alright, how long will it be before you guys want to leave? For smugglers it's best not to stay in one place for too long,"

Too be honest, Anakin and Padme didn't know how long this mission would last. Anakin gave him the first answer that popped into his mind. "One week."

Karrde nodded, not liking the answer but accepting it anyway. "Alright, just don't get yourselves captured before paying me. This trip must be worth a lot to you two to risk Imperial capture for whatever you guys have done."

Padme glared at him, but she and Anakin just went into the smuggler's compartments to wait until it was clear to sneak out. Karrde handed them a commlink to communicate with him in case they would need him. He then sealed them into the compartment and returned to the cockpit to land the ship. The minutes it took to land filled Anakin and Padme with tension. For one moment, Anakin was back in the war, ready to be deployed into another battle. He took a deep breath to diffuse the tension in him.

Suddenly, he and Padme felt the Adventurer dock and waited. They heard the ramp go down then the sound of footsteps over their heads. Anakin listened until the footsteps disappeared and his commlink beeped.

"They're getting a scanner team out. Move," Karrde's voice told them.

Anakin snapped the hatch below them open and jumped out. Padme followed him and closed the hatch. Quickly but quietly, they crept around the cargo on the platform, passing squads of Stormtroopers until they made it to the streets where people were returning to their homes for the night as the Naboo sun setted.

First place they went to was a pawn shop where they could sell some of Padme's jewelry for credits to buy themselves a room for a couple of nights and some food. The pawn shop owner looked at a gold ring, a silver bangle, a ruby snood, and a couple other pieces of Padme's jewelry before giving them five hundred credits for it all.

Next, Anakin and Padme headed over to a nearby motel. By now, the streets were nearly empty except for a few people who were rushing to get home. Anakin and Padme entered the motel and the elderly man at the desk looked at them with a start before relaxing. "What can I do for you?"

"One room for two for a couple of nights," Anakin told him.

"Nams?" the receptionist asked as he typed it in.

"Lars and Angel Quell," Anakin supplied the fake names he and Padme were using.

"Excuse me," Padme asked the man, "But could you tell us what's going on out there?"

The man looked at her in surprise. "Haven't you heard? The Emperor ordered a curfew throughout the planet until Ryoo Thule's killers are found."

"Killers? I thought it was only one who had killed her?" Anakin asked in alarm.

"Latest development this morning," the man said. "Officials found confirmation that there were two Jedi who left Varykino at the time of Thule's death. Sick and cowardly bastards! Old woman like that deserves to die peacefully in her sleep, not tortured and killed by a couple of force wielding punks!"

"T-tortured?" Padme asked, shaken.

The man nodded sympathetically. "They reported the autopsy report in the news this morning too. Poor woman had a bruised spine, a couple of broken ribs, internal bleeding, and of course that lightsaber wound. They did a scan on her brain to find out that her killers used the Force to manipulate her brain cells for something. Woman must have been terrified. I can't even imagine. My heart goes out to her family, the Naberries."

"Thank you for the room," Anakin said, grabbing the key cards and taking Padme's hand to go to their room.

Padme was quiet and looked as shocked as she did when she first found out about her grandmother's death. Anakin's blood boiled, his mind already planning about what he would do to Ferus and his partner as soon as he got his hands on them.

Padme barely registered Anakin opening the door to the room, walking in and sitting on the bed as Anakin moved around her. Over the years she had last friends and loved ones. She remembered how surprise she was when she heard about her Grandma Winama's illness, and the shock she would feel when one of her handmaidens would die protecting her. The difference between their deaths compared to her Grandmamma Ryoo's death was that her friends' were quick and Grandma Winama's was peaceful. She also had her duties as Queen then Senator's that made her focus.

She felt a hand on her face, jerking her from her thoughts. She saw Anakin kneeling in front of her, looking at her with deep concern in his eyes.

"How are we going to find them?" she whispered.

"We're going to go to Varykino for a start after the funeral tomorrow," Anakin gently explained to her. "We'll make our way after that."

Padme nodded. She took a shaky breath. "Why would they reveal that information to the public? My family is already going through so much. Now the public eye will be even more focused on them."

"They want to instill fear into the public. By making the Jedi seem like psychopathic monsters," Anakin answered, bitterness creeping into his voice. He never fully agreed to the ways of the Jedi, but he never would have condone them to a life like this. Being feared and hunted down like animals throughout the galaxy. It was Sidious' disciples like Dooku and Ferus that gave the Jedi all bad names.

Anakin looked into Padme's brown eyes. "We should try to get some sleep. Tomorrow isn't going to be easy."

Padme nodded.

After changing and making sure the door was locked and the window curtains were closed, Anakin and Padme slipped under the covers of the bed, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep.

000{{*}}000

Naboo; 66 bby

Padme concentrated as she studied her Political Sciences book. She had a make-up test on that subject today. After that, she would be caught up with her studies. She repeated the Amendments of the Constitution in head. What was that one on-?

"Ouch!" she screeched.

"I told you to stop moving," her sister scolded.

They were in Winama's fashion store early morning just before they opened, and before Luke would take Ruwee and Jobal to school and drop Padme off at the Youth Program on his way to the palace. Ryoo was helping Winama sew all the outfits, and since Padme was the same size as most of their customers, she was usually their model dummy.

"If Naboo's high society wants these outfits so badly they should come in and pose for them themselves," Padme grumbled.

"If that were true, my job would be a lot easier, but everyone has more important things to do than being a dress doll," Winama said, carrying a stack of clothe into the room.

"After today, I will too. Tomorrow my internship at the palace will start," Padme said proudly as Ryoo began to stitch a couple of pieces together.

"You be careful. Those high society men are slippery and the women even more so," Winama warned.

"Good thing Luke and Queen Celestine aren't," Padme said returning to her studies. She would continue her studies until the end of the spring semester, but until then she would be getting her feet wet in the politics of Naboo.

"The Queen may not be intimidated by all the big-shots in court, but she's one against many with only a few allies," Luke said as he came into the dressing room with the kids behind him.

Padme looked at him in surprise. "You never told me that."

Luke smiled without humor. "When you're a politician, you can't let your enemies see you without any weapons. The Queen has been trying to clean up the corruption in the government for years, but I fear that she's either out of her depth or the corruption is finally starting to smother her," he admitted sadly. Then he smiled teasingly at her. "Well are you going to come to class or have you decided to quit and become a fashion model?"

Padme instantly stepped off the stool, carefully taking the dress off over her school clothes and grabbing her holobooks. She, Luke, and the children then went out and headed towards their destinations. Padme listened as her niece and Ruwee jabbered about what they were learning in class this week.

"We're studying about the Gungan War that happened when humans started living here and how they were jealous of our technology," Ruwee said enthusiastic.

"Actually, the Gungan War started when the King was supposedly assassinated by a Gungan over the rights to mine plasma in Gungan territory. It wasn't until after the war, the Gungans swore that none of them had harmed the King and it was proven that it wasn't possible them to have," Padme explained as they walked.

Ruwee and Jobal stared at her in awe while Luke had a proud grin on his face.

"But our teacher didn't say any of that," Jobal said, confused.

"She wouldn't. It's a hidden shame of the Naboo the way we automatically accused the Gungans without them have any say. You can only find it by digging through the books and piecing it all together," Padme gently told her.

"Then why are we fighting the Gungans if they didn't kill the monarch?" Ruwee asked.

"People never like to admit they're wrong so they stick with the easy solution by blaming someone else for their problems. There are also people who look for any excuse to attack the Gungans so they can mine plasma on their land," Luke answered his son. "Now after so many wars with the Gungans, people refuse to accept the truth and admit that they were wrong. It takes true courage to break away from what you've been told all your life and stand up for what is right. I want you kids to remember that."

Ruwee and Jobal both nodded.

They reached the school, and the kids said goodbye to Luke and Padme.

"Well," Padme said as they continued on. "Let's hope my Lecture class this afternoon will be as easy to handle as those two were with my argument."

"Lecturing politics rarely is," Luke warned. "I am proud that you choose to do your argument on Gungan Rights."

"Thanks and thank you for loaning me your great-grandfather's journals for this. I doubt my classmates will believe me or be opened to my ideas on Equal Rights for Gungans. One classmate of mine called me a traitor. I feel like it's just me against everyone. I can't tell what they really think."

Luke smiled at her sympathetically. "I'm afraid it's always like that in life when people stand up to their beliefs and people shoot them down. But there are some who are willing to listen. You just have to search hard."

They stopped at the Youth Program and wished Padme good luck on her test and lecture before heading to the palace. Padme went in and took her test in a private room of the Program's library. After that, Padme went outside to walk around the Plaza and study for her lecture this afternoon. She went to the Jafan café where she would study until her friends Pooja and Gregor would on their lunch break.

Pooja Janren was an older woman whom Padme had met a couple years ago when she first started out at the Youth Program. Pooja had just gotten out of a nasty divorce and had come to work on her diploma and recently became a handmaiden to Queen Celestine. During her time in school, she and Padme had become good friends by helping each other study for their projects and exams. During that time, Padme also learned that Pooja had had a daughter with her ex-husband around the same age as Jobal and was fighting custody over her.

Gregor Panaka was a guard at the Theed Palace whom Padme had met through Luke when he wanted her to take self-defense classes. Like Padme, Gregor had grown up in one of the villages up in the mountains until he decided to join the military. He met his wife Lane while attending the Academy and they now had a one-year-old daughter Romainaria or "Ro" for short.

It was noon by the time Pooja and Gregor were able to join Padme for lunch. Pooja was a tall and slim woman, despite all the workouts she put in with strawberry-blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. Gregor was a tall and big man, dark-skinned with chocolate colored eyes.

"Padme!" Pooja leaned down to embrace her. "I was so worried about you! When I heard about the Quarantine and the devastation I-" Pooja stopped, swallowing. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"I heard about what had happened from my colleagues who went to help. I'm sorry about everything that happened," Gregor said solemnly.

"Thank you guys," Padme said. They sat down at the table and ordered their lunch.

"How have you been faring?" Pooja asked gently.

With Pooja and Gregor Padme didn't have to put on a face or be strong like she was for her sister and niece. "I've been trying to follow Mammy's advice on taking it one day at a time, but it's only been two weeks. I'm still struggling to grasp that my mother and Jon really are gone," Padme admitted.

Pooja place a hand over her's and Gregor looked at her sympathetically. They were quiet until the waiter came with their food.

"You should eat. You look like you've lost weight," Pooja admitted as she began to dig into her salad.

"I've read the report my captain made to the Queen. You were one of the victims that survived the Plague," Gregor said as he cut into his bantha steak.

"Yes, I'm alright. I just have to regain some of my weight so I don't look half-starved as I did when I first came here," Padme said as she bit into her tuber fries and fried nuna.

"Well your mourning dress isn't helping your appearance. You should probably grab something lavender to add to make your cheeks less hollow. Wait a minute," Pooja said before getting out of her seat and going cross the Plaza to a vender who sold accessories. A minute later she came back over with a lavender sash and hairband. She wrapped the sash around Padme's waist and pulled Padme's hair back with the hairband,

Gregor nodded approvingly. "Not bad," he admitted.

Pooja nodded with a smile. "An improvement."

Padme took their word for it. She looked at the chrono and realized that she had ten minutes till her next class started.

"Oh Shiraya! I got to get going!" she exclaimed. Pooja and Gregor realized that they too had to return to their duties.

Padme grabbed her notes and quickly rushed back to the Program. She went inside and was running down the hallways when from another corner hallway, a boy her age came running and crashed into her. She dropped her books and notes, scattering them everywhere, and fell hard on her side.

"Hey!" she gasped.

"Watch where you're going peasant!" the boy yelled at her.

She looked up, a little stung by the insult, to see that the boy had red hair and amazing blue eyes, but what stood out the most to her was the rich blue clothing he wore.

"I was until you came barging out of your hallway and into me!" Padme shot back.

The boy stared at her as if suddenly seeing her. Then his gaze turned into one of curiosity. It made Padme a little uncomfortable. She started gathering up her notes and books and looked back at the boy. Suddenly, he was the one who seemed uncomfortable. He got up and headed toward a classroom which Padme realized was the same classroom as her Lecture class. So she had class with him. Great.

She looked at her reflection in one of the windows and grimaced at the sight. She looked like a rag-a-muffin. She smoothed out her dress, fixed her sash, and straightened her hair. She looked good. Pooja was right. The lavender made her look healthier. Taking a deep breath, Padme stood up straight and went into her classroom.

000{{*}}000

There's the new chapter. Sorry that it's shorter than the others, but I promise that the next chapter will be longer. I'm in the middle of righting it right now, but I don't know when I'll be able to post it with college coming up in a week. Please let me know what you guys think.