And voila. Chapter 4. Thank you all for being patient. And thank you for the support.

Chapter 4

Anakin hated waiting. Ten years as Obi-wan Kenobi's padawan, three years of war and even marriage to a former queen and current senator had done nothing to improve his ability to be patient. He didn't know how long it had been since Mace Windu and the team of Jedi he took with him to arrest the Chancellor. It felt like hours. He should have gone with them. If the Chancellor had been powerful enough to hide for all these years from the Jedi, including Master Yoda, Anakin needed to be there to help them. He was able to kill Dooku.

Dooku's death filled Anakin's mind and he felt the guilt that had been haunting him since then. He could have handled it differently. He was unarmed. Literally. He was no longer a threat. Even with all the things he had done to Anakin and everyone in the galaxy it wasn't right to kill him the Anakin had.

Anakin remembered the feelings he sensed when he held his and Dooku's lightsaber to the man's throat. When Palpatine goaded Anakin into killing him, Anakin sensed fear, betrayal, and shock. A lot of shock. And anger. Then Dooku looked at Anakin as if seeing him for the first time in his life, and the first thing Anakin noticed was his eyes. Instead of the sickly yellow he was used to seeing on Dooku, he saw a familiar pair of brown eyes staring at him. Anakin had hesitated then felt something akin to… hope and realization. Then he felt something pushing into his mind the same time Palpatine demanded he kill Dooku.

Now that Anakin thought about it, he believed Dooku was trying to warn him about something.

Sidious?

If so, then why?

What about Padme?

How could he save her?

How did Palpatine know about her and the baby?

And how did he know about the dreams?

He was suddenly pulled out of his musing when he felt a deep disturbance in the Force. He felt the deaths of Master Agen Kolar, Saesee Tinn, and Kit Fisto, until finally, he heard the call of Mace Windu crying out to him and the Jedi to run before his life force was snuffed out.

For a moment, Anakin was stunned. Mace Windu and three of the greatest swordsman in the Order were dead just like that? He snapped out of his stupor and ran down the hallways to warn the Jedi. As he ran, he felt the cold hand of darkness reaching out over the Temple. He made it to the hallway overlooking the grand entrance when he heard the sound of marching. He looked over the railing and saw the 501st, his men, entering the Temple. Anakin watched in stunned horror as the men he trusted with his life opened fire on the Jedi in the room, even the younglings. He felt not only their deaths, but the deaths of hundreds of Jedi spread out throughout the galaxy.

Anakin woke up with a startled gasp, sweat pouring down his face. He looked around the motel room he was in. He calmed down a bit as he registered where he really was. Light was streaming through the curtains and he heard the water in the fresher running. Padme must have gotten up earlier to use it.

He knew she was having trouble dealing with this new information on Ryoo's death. He really hoped they would be able to catch Ferus before he found out where Padme and Anakin had been hiding these last six months. Anakin couldn't let him find Luke and Leia. He wouldn't. He'd rather be tortured by Sidious again than let that happen. He couldn't know for sure of Ferus was still on Naboo after two days but his feelings were telling him that Ryoo's killer was still here.

The water in the fresher stopped, and a couple minutes later, Padme came out with a towel wrapped around her body and another wrapped around her hair. If this had been six months ago, Anakin would have taken the time to appreciate the beauty of his wife, but now he was more worried about her. She looked better than she had these last couple of days even though she still looked a little tired. She started ringing her hair out when she noticed Anakin awake and the expression on his face.

"Another nightmare?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Anakin answered, wiping a hand over his brow. He got out of bed and peaked through the curtain. Squads of Stormtroopers were already patrolling the streets and he saw people heading out to work. It would make things a little difficult going through the city.

"What was it about?" Padme asked about the nightmare.

Anakin dropped the curtain. "That night. At the Temple."

Padme closed her mouth without saying anything else. She too remembered that night all too well, and how she narrowly escaped with Artoo and Threepio, carrying everything she could take when Tarkin came with a squad of clones to arrest her. She went to Bail and he hid her with the surviving Jedi until Obi-wan and Master Yoda had returned with an injured Anakin. Padme had gone into labor there on Polis Massa, and after several difficult, long hours of labor she gave birth to two beautiful children.

Padme grabbed her comb and began to untangle her long curly hair while Anakin turned on the holonews. First thing the reporter announced was Ryoo Thule's funeral.

"Madame Thule's funeral will begin at 0900 when family members will be accepting condolences from friends and people who knew Ryoo Thule. Representative Binks, an old friend of the Naberries has these words to say."

The screen changed and instead of the usual gullible but funny Gungan Anakin and Padme were used to seeing, they saw a sad and solemn one. It was then they realized how much the Empire really changed everything in everyone, including Jar Jar.

"Mesa ask on behalf of mesa friend Padme Amidala that thesa public respect thesa Naberries during thisa troubling time. Theysa thank thesa public for thesa support theysa been given, but theysa like to mourn together in thesa privacy of theysa home without trouble. Thank Yousa," Jar Jar said, bowing his head.

Padme felt tears in her eyes, grateful that Jar Jar was helping her family.

The repoter continued:

"Media has been forbidden from entering the Naberrie estate on behalf of the family. Rumors have it that the Queen and many members of the Advisory Council along with former employees of Amidala will be there in support of the family. The ceremony will start at 1000 when a Brother of the Cognizance will come to perform, and friends and family will offer tribute to Ryoo Thule. At 1100, the family will take Ryoo Thule up to the mountain village of Claines where she was born and where she will be left to rest in peace with fellow family members. Then at noon the Naberries will have lunch with the guests who came. Officials have made no further progress in locating Ferus Olin and his mysterious partner."

The news ended and Anakin turned the holo off. Padme was quiet, and Anakin realized that she needed some space. "I'm going to use the fresher," he said. He got up and went to the fresher and water started running again.

Padme continued to sit on the edge of the bed. Half of her was filled with relief and gratitude knowing that her friends would be there for her family. The other half was still struggling to accept that this was really happening. She had woken up this morning from nightmares of seeing her grandmamma broken on the ground like those glass dolls Padme's great-grandmother collected. Her grandmamma's gray eyes looking up at her accusingly before she woke up gasping.

Now, after hearing the news she knew it was going to be more difficult attending the funeral. Almost everybody there would recognize her and no doubt there would be guards and Stormtroopers there to protect the politicians there. She would have to come up with some disguise, but what? She couldn't wear her traveling clothes. People would wonder how an off-worlder knew Ryoo Thule. She would have to buy an appropriate mourning outfit, but not too much black so people would question how well she knew Ryoo. She could wear black trimmed with lavender. It was a good color to wear to funerals if you weren't as close to the person as the other people there. Now, how would she hide her face? A hood could only do so much. She could get away with her brown hair but what if she did something with it? And how would she alter her face? Memories of the makeovers Padme would have with her friends when she was young flashed in her mind and an idea popped. She continued combing her hair and looked out the window. She remembered the mall not being too far from here. It would be perfect.

000{{*}}000

At 0900 the door to the Naberrie estate was opened up by Nandi. She had been a part of the Naberrie household since her older sister Teckla Minnau started working for them years ago when their father had died. Padme Amidala had been queen at the time and Sola Naberrie was expecting Little Ryoo. Teckla had become a handmaiden to Senator Amidala, while Nandi worked at Varykino. Nandi and her husband Paddy were there that night when Ryoo had dismissed them for the night. Teckla had died while helping Amidala expose the corruption in the Banking Clan, leaving her children Sonni and Jeck orphaned and in Nandi and Paddy's care. Nandi had been happy to have the night off so she could spend time with her niece, nephew, and her and Paddy's newborn son Jerri. Now, she wished she had stayed with Ryoo that night. Maybe Ferus Olin and his partner wouldn't have come if they realized that Madame Thule wasn't alone in the house. The Naberries had asked Nandi and Paddy to move their family over to their house for their safety until the killers had been apprehended. Nandi was grateful for their kindness. She didn't think she could bear being at Varykino where someone she knew had died. When Nandi opened the doors, many beings came pouring into the house that Nandi worried that there wouldn't be enough room.

After the Blockade, the Naberries had to move to a new house because their old one had been severely damaged. Since their youngest daughter was Queen, the Naberries were able to move into a much bigger home. It was big enough to entertain political guests, but there were rooms small enough for family members to gather in and be cozy. The guests would be walking down the hallway to the guest parlor where Ryoo Thule laid.

Two of the guests signed their names on the guest list.

Lars and Angel Quell.

Lars was a tall man with blonde hair and a neatly trimmed beard, yet wore a dark cloak with a hood that covered the upper half of his face.

Angel was a short woman when compared to her husband, who wore a pair of black boots with lavender leggings and a matching dress with a black cloak over it. If you noticed carefully she wore a simple necklace with a small block of some kind of wood with a design carved into it. The woman had long locks of brown hair that had been straightened, with makeup that made her brown eyes darker, and peeking out from under her hair were a pair of green jaded earrings.

No one could recognize Lars and Angel Quell as the famous Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala.

Padme's arm was wrapped around Anakin's in support as they slowly made their way down the hallway. Holos of Ryoo had been set out throughout the hallway, showing important moments in her life. Padme saw holos of her grandmother her and Sola's graduation ceremonies, her parents' wedding, at the medcenter when Little Ryoo and Pooja were born, and at Padme's sworn in ceremony as Senator of the Chommel Sector. She also saw holos of her grandmamma at birthday parties, holidays, and festivals. Her grandmamma was always happy at those. Anakin squeezed Padme's arm. She looked up at him and he smiled gently at her. She squeezed his arm back, thankful he was here.

They moved on to holos that had Ryo as a young woman before she became a grandma. One had her in bed with Padme's grandfather, Jon Thule eating breakfast. She smiled a bit as she remembered the story behind it.

"That's my grandfather with her," Padme whispered to her husband. "It was their tenth anniversary. My mom, my great-grandparents, and my great-aunt Padme all wanted to surprise them with breakfast in bed. It was the last anniversary they celebrated before a plague came and killed my grandfather and great-grandmother."

Anakin frowned a bit.

Padme had once told him about her family tree when he had been on leave to know that she was named after her Great-Aunt Padme Lydonia. She had been secretary to Queen Celestine before her sudden death, and Padme admitted that she had been one of her inspirations in going into politics. But there was something else. Like the Force was trying to tell him something.

He and Padme moved on to another holo. This one had a lot of people at where Anakin realized was Varykino. Padme swallowed as she pointed out who the people were in the holo.

"That little boy running around is my father. The man chasing him is my Grandpa Luke. The man in the back is my Great-Grandfather Ruger Lydonia, and the old woman next to him is Mammy, their nursemaid I believe. After my grandfather and great-grandmother died, she took care of him until she died," Padme explained. "Those two women talking to each other: that one is my Grandmamma Ryoo and the other my Grandma Winama. That little girl playing in the sand is my mother with my Aunt Padme and I believe her boyfriend. I don't know his name."

It looked like a normal holo of a family picnicking on the beach, but there was something that bothered Anakin about it. He could feel the Force humming around him as he looked closer at Padme Lydonia's mystery boyfriend. To everyone else, he looked like a handsome young man in love with the girl next to him. He had red hair with fair skin, but his face looked so familiar and Anakin couldn't understand why. Then he looked at Padme Lydonia and was startled to see the close resemblance. Other than her hair being more dark and wavy instead of curly, she could pass off as his wife's twin.

He definitely had a bad feeling about this.

He felt Padme tug his arm and realized that they were holding up the line. They made it to the guest parlor and he noticed Padme paling at the sight before them.

At the other side of the room where her grandmother's casket laid was her family accepting condolences from their guests. Her sister Sola was doing most of it with their father, and their mother was sitting in a chair next to them. In all her life, Padme had never seen her mother look so old. She looked like she hadn't slept in days and her eyes looked as though she had aged decades. Padme felt another wave of unmeasurable guilt as she realized what her disappearance had done to her family.

She noticed in the corner, Darred watching over her little nieces. Pooja was sitting in a chair swinging her legs while Ryoo sniffed all the flowers. Padme saw all the flowers that filled the room with cards sticking out of them, along with figurines of the Goddess Shiraya and the Angels. So many people had sent gifts. Yet when Padme looked at the cards and saw their names, she realized they were from people looking for a few minutes of fame. She felt her fury grow as she listened to the flake apologies people made to her family.

However, as they drew closer to her family, Padme grew more fearful that someone would recognize her. Before she knew it, Padme was standing in front of her sister Sola.

Sola wore a brave smile as she greeted Padme. "Hello, thank you for coming. Did you know my grandmother well?"

My whole life, Padme thought to herself. "We met a few times when my husband and I went on those tour guided trips. The first time was when we went to Corellia for our honeymoon," Padme said, trying to make her accent sound like she was from the country regions of Naboo. Her handmaiden Eirtae grew up in the countryside before going into politics so it wasn't too difficult to imitate.

"Oh," Sola said, looking at her curiously.

Padme fought the urge to squirm. "When I found out what had happened on the news, my husband and I were stunned. We decided to say our goodbyes in person," Padme tried not to ramble. It wasn't a complete lie, but Sola always had a way of telling when she was lying.

A sad expression filled Sola's face as she nodded. "I thank you for coming and going through all the trouble. I'm sure my grandmother would have appreciated it." Padme fought the urge to hug her sister, but Anakin's arm entangled with hers prevented her, reminding her of her mission to keep her family safe.

She and Anakin moved on to her father even while she felt Sola's gaze on her. Her father looked grim, struggling to keep his family together. Padme remembered that although her father wasn't as close with her grandmother as the rest of her family had, he had known her since he was a little boy.

Padme swallowed as she looked at her father.

"I didn't catch your names as were talking with my daughter," he said solemnly.

"Lars and Angel Quell," Anakin supplied in what Padme recognize as a Coruscanti accent.

Ruwee nodded. "Well I thank you for coming here on behalf of Ryoo. Others barely knew her, so thank you all the same," he said.

They then moved on to Padme's mother. She looked up from her seat at them, and it pained Padme to look at her and not tell the truth. "I am," she struggled to maintain her accent, "So sorry about your loss."

"Thank you," Jobal said. She started to squint at them and Padme turned her face away.

Now was the part she dreaded most.

She and Anakin moved over to the casket where her grandmother laid. It was like looking at a stranger. Her grandmother's cheeks had shrunken in and she was so pale. The expression on her face was so different to the gentle smile she always gave to people. This stranger in the casket was a shell of the woman who use to be Padme's grandmother. Padme felt tears in her eyes as she noticed the bruise on her grandmother's face, and the bruises on her wrists leading up to under her sleeves. She felt Anakin wrap an arm around her shoulders as a tear slid down her face.

They moved over to the back of the room where they would draw less attention. They watched as the Naberries greeted guests and thanked them for coming. Among them were the Bibbles, Padme's handmaidens, Captain Typho and his family, Jar Jar, and the Queen's entourage. Anakin hoped that no one would recognize them. He had sensed suspicion from the Naberries as he and Padme talked to them. He felt the Force pulling at him, warning him of danger. He knew it from the beginning it was a risk coming here, but he knew that Padme needed to come here before they conducted their investigation.

Everyone took their seats and quieted down as a Brother of the Cognizance stood up at the podium in front of Ryoo's casket. Anakin barely listened as the man rambled on. Instead, Anakin's focus was on the emotions of everybody in the room. Half of them was filled with boredom, the other half sadness, and even a few were angry.

When the Brother stepped down, people began to step up to the podium to share their memories of Ryoo. People laughed and cried as Sola told them of the time she broke one of her grandmother's glass vases and blamed it on Padme who was too young to talk at the time, but her Grandmamma Ryoo saw through it and made Sola help her do dishes. Sabe, one of Padme's handmaidens and closest friend, talked about how she first met Ryoo with Padme when they attended Sola's wedding and the funny stories Ryoo told Sabe.

Near the end of the hour one last person came up to the podium. Padme recognized him as former Lieutenant Gregor Panaka, Captain Panaka's father and Captain Typho's grandfather. He had been discharged due to a set of injuries obtained during an attack while he was on duty. Padme could see the old burned scars on the man's face as he came to the podium, and she also noticed him favoring his left leg.

Once he reached the podium, he cleared his throat, and began to speak. "I knew Ryoo by being friends with her younger sister back when I was very young. She was hardworking, trying to take care of her family, but she was loving as well. Even after I was discharged, and even after her sister Padme had died, and she moved back to her village, Ryoo always made sure to comm me at least once a month to be certain I was alright. I never told her, but her calls helped me through the most difficult times. I'm sorry that I was never there when she needed me the most."

There was a quiet murmur of sympathy and understanding throughout the room. Padme though was a little surprised at this. She didn't know that her Grandmamma Ryoo had known the Panakas when she was young and had been comming Gregor Panaka once a month for years?

The murmurs got loud all of a sudden, everyone turning their heads around towards the entrance where someone had just come in with an entourage of guards.

Anakin and Padme both felt their blood freeze as they recognized the new guest.

Emperor Palpatine.

The man who had orchestrated all the death and destruction in the galaxy, walked in with a set of his personal red guards and two of his advisors, Mas Amedda and Sly Moore.

Anakin's hand slid into his cloak where his lightsaber was hidden and gripped it tightly as the Sith came near him and Padme. He could do it. He could take Palpatine by surprise and kill him, ending his reign of terror on the galaxy. He suddenly felt Padme gripping his arm, and he looked into her eyes to see fear and her silent plea telling him not to do what he was thinking. Then he felt the weight of the Jedi Holocron in his pocket and the darkness that had been surrounding him, creep back away from him. He couldn't risk Padme's life or her family's or anyone else's in the room. He retracted his hand from his cloak and placed it over Padme's hand. He felt her relax a bit before they were forced to bow as the Emperor passed them.

Everyone else in the room quickly followed suit. Padme fought the urge to pick her nieces up from their curtsies along with the rest of her family. That man no longer deserved their respect after everything he had done.

Jobal picked herself out of her chair, shaking a bit as she curtsied while the Emperor of the Galactic Empire approached her. "Em-Emperor Palpatine. We are honored by your presence," her voice trembled a bit.

"Yes. I felt it was my duty as a friend of your family to pay my respects to you in person. After all, your mother was once a dear friend of mine. It pains me that she has fallen victim to our deadliest enemy, the Jedi, " the Emperor's raspy voice spoke.

"Yes," Jobal whispered, tears in her eyes.

Anakin clenched his teeth and felt Padme dig her nails into his arm, angry as well for the insincere compassion in Palpatine's voice.

Palpatine turned to Lieutenant Panaka, the only being in the room who hadn't bowed to him. Instead, he glared fiercely at him, and Anakin felt the unadulterated anger and hatred in him at Palpatnie. Anakin instantly formed a liking to this man for not falling for the Emperor's charms or being intimidated by him. However, he worried about what Sith Lord would do to him for his defiance. He couldn't see Palpatine's expression from this angle, but he could sense his amusement at Gregor.

"Lieutenant," Palpatine greeted.

"Your Excellency," Gregor replied back coldly. "I believe you would like to offer your contribution for Ryoo?"

"Indeed," Anakin could hear the grin in his voice.

Gregor moved aside to let the Emperor step up to the podium and returned to his seat. The Emperor faced the audience in the room. Anakin and Padme struggled to control their emotions so as not to alert the Emperor to their presence.

"Like most of you in this room, I know Ryoo by my acquaintance with her youngest granddaughter, Padme Amidala," the Emperor paused, drawing people in. "In the rare times I met her, I had gained the impression of a kind woman until later I learned how much of the fire she had in her that passed down to the rest of her family. When I heard about her tragic death, I was grieved to learn that I was unable to prevent another tragedy from happening."

The Force stirred around Anakin, begging him to leave as quick as possible.

"It is horrible for a Jedi to be hiding on the very planet you live upon with your family, never knowing when you'll be their next victim. It is a shame of mine that Jedi have managed to hide here on my homeplanet and torture an innocent woman like Madame Ryoo Thule to death. I vow to you all, her death will never be forgotten and her killers will never escape," Palpatine promised them.

Almost everyone started applauding as if they were listening to him at the Senate instead of someone's funeral. Suddenly, Palpatine looked right at Anakin. His sickly yellow eyes grinned at him like a predator's, and Anakin fought the urge to throw up. The Force was screaming at him and he knew they had to leave. Now!

"we have to get out of here!" he whispered urgently to Padme.

"How?" Padme asked, equally as disturbed. "If we leave now everyone will see."

Anakin thought hard and quickly. The nearest exit had two red guards and a servant Anakin recognize as Paddy from the Lake house. An idea popped into his head.

"Be hysterical," he told Padme. His wife looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Pretend Palpatine's speech moved you to tears combined with the loss of Ryoo. I'll ask Paddy where the fresher is so you can compose yourself. There's a window in there, right?"

Padme nodded as she realized what her husband was planning. Creating the tears was easy enough for Padme given everything going on around her. She started sobbing into Anakin's cloak as he motioned Paddy over to them.

"Excuse me, but where is your fresher? This whole event has been too much on my wife," Anakin asked.

The man looked at Padme with sympathy and understanding. "This way sir, madame, if you please."

Anakin and Padme stood up with Padme's face still buried in his cloak as they walked out of the room, past the guards. They garnered a few stares, but none that were suspicious except two.

They walked down the hall toward the fresher Anakin remembered being next to the family dining room.

"If either of you need anything, let me or my wife Nandi know," Paddy said to them.

"Thank you," Anakin said.

As soon as Paddy left to return to the parlor, Anakin and Padme went into the fresher and locked the door. The only window in the fresher was on the other side of the room above the bathtub leading to the garden outside. The couple quickly climbed over the bathtub and opened the window to find a screen behind it. "Let's hope your parents forgive me for this," Anakin muttered before using his prosthetic to push the screen out. He squeezed out and jumped several feet down on the ground. He turned and caught Padme when she jumped next. They quickly went over to the garden door leading out into the alleyways to find it locked. Anakin used the Force to move the gears around and unlocked it. Looking both ways to find no one in the alleyway, Anakin and Padme went out, relieved.

Suddenly, Anakin felt a dark presence nearby and stopped. Padme looked at him, concerned and worried. Anakin felt the Dark Side prodding around him, so much like the times he faced Dooku, Ventress, and Sidious. He heard a thump from behind him and knew someone was behind him.

"The Emperor knew you both would come, Skywalker."

It had been five years, but that wasn't Ferus' voice or even his presence.

His partner?

He turned around to see a man his age, maybe a couple years younger than him, dressed in black with a hood covering most of his upper face, several feet away from him and Padme. Anakin saw the lightsaber hanging off his belt, and he could feel the Dark Side coming off this man.

"No doubt you, Ferus, and the Emperor arranged all this," Anakin responded.

The man grinned under his hood. "More or less."

Padme reached into her cloak and took out her blaster, pointing it at the man. "Why my grandmother? She knew nothing about us," Padme asked, feeling another tear in her eye.

"That was the problem. According to the Emperor, Ryoo Thule knew more about everyone than she let on. When the Emperor realized this, he saw the perfect opportunity to silence her and bring the two of you out of hiding." The man took out his lightsaber and ignited it. A red blade shot out of the saber, like the blood that had already been spilt.

Anakin pushed Padme behind him and took out his lightsaber but didn't ignite it yet. "Where's Ferus?" he growled.

The man smirked, twirling his lightsaber around. "I don't know, but once I kill you, take the Jedi Holocron, and the location of your Skywalker from you, the Emperor will finally accept me as his apprentice."

Like Anakin and Padme would let him.

"You will try."

Anakin ignited his lightsaber, and Padme fired several shots at the Dark Jedi. He blocked the blasts as Anakin lunged at him. It had been six months since he went against an actual opponent, but Anakin had kept in shape during that time, practicing his Form so if they were discovered he would be ready. Now, Anakin was grateful for all the hours he kept in shape during his spare time. This guy was good. How long had he been trained in the Dark Side? He wasn't at Dooku's level, but close enough to give Ventress a run for her money. He hoped that no one in the house could hear all the commotion going on outside, but that was next to impossible.

"Not bad," the man said as they got into a lock. "I can see why Sidious wanted you so bad for an apprentice." That sounded like contempt and jealousy in his voice. "What happens when you fall and your wife has nobody left to protect her?" the man grinned viciously as Anakin was pushed into the wall, the saber close to his throat.

"She gathers her army!" a feminine voice announced.

Suddenly, the man was flung away from Anakin to the other side of the alleyway. Anakin turned around to see his and Padme's rescuers. All of Padme's surviving handmaidens: Sabe, Eirtae, Rabe, Sache, Yane, Dorme, Motee, and Elle, and Captain Typho were all standing at the end of the alleyway towards the Naberrie house.

And in front of them all was Ferus Olin.

000{{*}}000

Naboo; 66 bby

"Gungans and humans use to live in harmony together on Naboo, but when King Solomon was killed allegedly by a Gungan, the Naboo declared war on the whole Gungan community. The war lasted for decades, killing off millions both Gungan and Naboo before King Jafan I created the Treaty of Theed that ended the war when modern technology and investigators looked more closely at the evidence to discover the inaccuracy of a Gungan assassinating the king. Still, the Naboo refused to accept the Gungans back into society or apologize for the mistakes that costed so many lives," Padme lectured to the class of people whose ages ranged from her niece's to her sister's.

Half of the class looked bored, some even appeared to be on the verge of falling asleep. Most of the other half glared at her, no doubt hating her version of the Gungan War, and her ideas on Gungan Rights. When she finished, the room was awkwardly quiet. Professor Magery awkwardly started clapping, followed by just a few other classmates.

"Well put, Padme. Thank you very much," the professor praised her before turning to the rest of the class. "Does anyone have any questions for Miss Lydonia?"

A boy's hand shot up. "Where do you get all these crazy ideas? This is Lecture Class, not Creative Writing." Some people laughed.

"It's not ideas, it's truth. The information I got was written in the journal of a friend's great-grandfather who was a historian at the time the Jafan dynasty was ending," Padme explained as patiently as she could.

"You sure he wasn't a political idealist like you?" a student sneered.

"Or a looney?" a boy laughed.

"Why are you defending a species that has killed millions of Nabooins?" another student called out.

"They are beings like us," Padme answered. "They have lived here longer than us and we invaded and took their land without asking them."

"You speak treason!" another called out.

"Alright, I believe that's enough," Professor Magery interfered. "Thank you Padme. You may sit down."

Padme went over to her seat next to Sio Bibble, a little boy the same age as Ruwee and one of the few classmates that was nice to her. Her cheeks were red from anger and embarrassment. Why wouldn't anyone listen to her? Why wouldn't anyone care? She wasn't a member of one of Naboo's noble house, but couldn't someone at least hear her out?

The rest of the class passed by until it was time to leave. Padme was gathering her notes and books, severely disappointed in how her lecture turned out.

"You should work more on your composure."

Padme turned around, startled to find the boy she had run into in the hallway earlier. "Excuse me?"

"Your composure," he repeated. "You can't let people see how rattled you are from all their prodding."

"I'll keep that in mind," Padme said, picking up her books and leaving the classroom for her next class. The boy followed. Padme stopped and turned around to face him. "If you're expecting an apology for running into you earlier, it's not happening."

"No, I actually wanted to tell you that I think your lecture was enjoyable even if you wore every single emotion on your sleeve," the boy said with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest.

Padme was taken off guard. "Really?" Someone other than a friend actually liked it? It was almost too good to be true.

The boy nodded. "Yes, and my friend Vidar Kim liked it also."

Padme was surprised. "Well, thank you… um…" she didn't know his name.

"Sheev Palpatine," the boy supplied.

Sheev Palpatine

As in relation to Cosinga Palpatine?

"Are you related-"

"Cosinga Palpatine is my father, yes," Sheev interrupted, annoyed.

"Sorry, I'm just surprised," Padme apologized.

There was a tense silence and Padme got the impression that he wasn't close to his father.

"Well thank you again. I guess I'll…see you around," she said.

Sheev nodded.

Padme turned around and headed toward her next class. She didn't know what had started in that moment.

That night at the Naberries' during dinner, she tried to listen to Jobal and Ruwee go on about their day.

"We tried to tell Miss Kali what Padme said about the Gungan War, but Kun Lago said we were all liars," Ruwee said.

"I'm sorry, Ru," Winama said as she served them cooked vegetables while throwing a pointed look at Luke. He shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry too Ruwee. Um, did anything else happen today?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"During recess, we saw Kun bully one of the exchange students, Onacanda Farr from Rodia. By the time we got to them, Kun had already left, so Ruwee and I helped Onacanda up and offered to play with us," Jobal explained.

"That was good of you two, Jobal," Ryoo said, a mixture of worry and relief in her voice. Ryoo had been worried since they moved to Theed that Jobal would have a hard time fitting in and making new friends.

"How was your lecture today, Padme?" Luke asked.

Padme looked up from her plate to see everyone's stares at her. She didn't want to disappoint Ruwee or Jobal, or even Luke after this morning so she couldn't tell them what a disaster it had been. "It… was alright," she lied.

Ruwee and Jobal went back to their plates while Luke's hopeful expression deflated.

Later that night while Padme was in her room, dressed in her nightgown, she practiced her expressions in her hand held mirror at the desk.

"What are you doing?"

Padme turned to see Ryoo at the doorway with an amused expression.

"Working on my political face. This boy in Lecture said my composure gave off too many of my emotions," Padme answered.

"Then I guess the Lecture didn't go so well, despite what you said at dinner?" Ryoo asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Padme looked up to see the sympathetic expression instead of the disappointed one she was expecting. "It was horrible. I would give out my piece and they all swarmed on me like a pack of piranhas. How does Luke and the Queen do it?" she asked, leaning against her desk.

Ryoo was silent for a moment.

"I don't pretend to know much about politics as you and Luke do, but I do know that you keep fighting. Luke didn't get to where he was because he was a Naberrie. He got it by fighting hard for his beliefs which made the people vote for him onto the Queen's Advisory Council. I remember when Queen Celestine was elected, that she didn't win because she was beautiful or had high aptitude scores, but because she worked her tail off to win the people's hearts. She traveled all over Naboo, touring places from the cities to the small villages in the mountains and country side, and listening to the people as they told her about their jobs and the demands of them. She was a middle classer nobody expected to win, but she did. You have to work hard too, Padme," Ryoo told her.

Padme looked at her a little stunned by her speech, but then she smiled. "You really think so?"

Ryoo smiled back at her. "I know so. You won't make it easy on them. Believe me, when you were a toddler, I struggled to help Mammy keep an eye on you. When Jobal was born Mama and Mammy said you were training me for her."

The two sisters laughed.

"Thanks Ryoo," Padme said, smiling.

Ryoo smiled back. "You're welcome Baby Sis. You better go get some sleep. Your internship starts tomorrow."

"Right. Love you Ryoo."

"Love you too Padme."

000{{*}}000

Well I would love to add one more note to this, but I got hurry and go pick up my sister from practice, so thank you and keep favoring and reviewing.