Hi again everyone. You have no idea how happy it made me to see your reviews. It helped encourage me to write down this chapter as quick as I could. Thank you all, and I hope that you will like this chapter as well.

Chapter 11

The sewers of Naboo weren't as bad and disgusting as ones Anakin had been in before, but that didn't make the trek through them any pleasant. That, and with Naboo's cold months coming in, the tunnels were freezing.

Anakin and Ferus had been following Jar Jar through the sewer tunnels when Ferus asked the Gungan if he knew where he was going.

"Yesa, before mesa became representative, Mesa helped the Naboo create a new water system to sure dat de pollution didn't go into de Gungan waters. Mesa remember de waterfall unda palace a click from here. As long as wesa stay away from desa exit, wesa safe from de bombad Imperials," Jar Jar explained.

Anakin had to grin. Most beings thought Jar Jar a clumsy idiot, but Anakin and Padme knew that Jar Jar was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for.

"How'd you know where we were?" Anakin asked as they made a left turn. The tunnels were dark and slimy with only Jar Jar's glowrod, and Anakin and Ferus' lightsabers to give them light. The Gungan seemed unaffected by the slime and cold sewer water he trudged through.

Jar Jar explained how he had been in the throne room for a meeting with the Emperor, the Queen, and the Council when Panaka received a transmission from an anonymous tip that Anakin Skywalker was in the market sector with an unidentified woman. Anakin couldn't understand how Padme's identity remained a secret, but he listened as Jar Jar explained how he had overheard Panaka whisper to the Emperor about the tip before taking several guards to look for Anakin. When the Emperor dismissed the Council, Jar Jar heard about the attack going on in the market sector and had snuck out to go find and help Anakin. "Miss Sola Naberrie told mesa how shesa saw yousa at Madame Ryoo's funeral de otter day and told mesa. Mesa know yousa never hurt Miss Padme's family so mesa sought to help yousa," Jar Jar explained.

Anakin was touched, but then he realized something Jar Jar had said about Panaka's tip. "Jar Jar, are you sure you didn't recognize the tipper?"

In the dim light he could see Jar Jar frowning as he tried to remember, but then shook his head. "Nosa, the message was scrambled and Panaka had stepped away from the meeting to intercept it," the Gungan answered.

Blast. That means the traitor could still be Typho or any of the handmaidens. He remembered Typho, Sabe, Sache, and Eirtae who all worked in the palace. Typho was one of the heads of security, Sabe was one of the handmaiden trainers, Eirtae was one of Queen Apailana's advisors, and Sache was a member of the planetary legislative assembly if Anakin remembered correctly. If they had been in the throne room when Panaka received that tip it could help the process of elimination.

Anakin then asked Jar Jar if Typho, Sabe, Eirtae, and Sache had been in the throne room at the time Panaka had received the tip.

Jar Jar thought for a couple of minutes as they jumped into another tunnel. "Mesa know Miss Sabe wasa training de handmaidens in de palace gym. Captain Typho was in anoder corner of de palace. Miss Eirtae had been delayed from comen to meeten due to a message from her family. But Miss Sache had been sitten inside meeting de whole time until de Emperor dismissed us," Jar Jar answered.

Anakin looked back at Ferus amd saw the same thoughts he himself had. If what Jar Jar said was true, the traitor wasn't Sache which meant there were eight other people who could be it.

Finally, Jar Jar stopped at a lid, and lifted it up. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, Jar Jar climbed out, followed by the two former Jedi. The cold air almost made Anakin shiver in his wet and filthy clothes, but he suppressed it. He had also lost the disguised wig somewhere down in the sewers, but with the Naboo sun setting at this time of day, he doubted anyone would recognize him like this. He looked at Jar Jar. the Gungan's senatorial clothing was ruined, and if he went back to the palace like that suspicion would fall on him. When Anakin said so to Jar Jar, the Gungan just shrugged. "Mesa will be returnin to Gungan City. Emperor Palpatine plans on haven mesa bein replaced by Senator Tesse Yelnina."

Anakin could feel the Gungan's sadness and disappointment at this. Padme would be upset too when she would find out.

"Thank you, Jar Jar. We wouldn't have been able to escape without you," Anakin said to the Gungan.

"Yes, thank you," Ferus added.

Jar Jar smiled and hugged Anakin before taking off and disappearing into the streets of Theed.

Anakin turned to Ferus. "You lead the way."

The older man was happy to do so. It turned out they weren't so far from the Lasara home. However, both men's thoughts were on the information Jar Jar had just given them. Sache may have been innocent, but there were other to worry about.

"Two down, eight more to go," Anakin muttered. And they now had four more days before Karrde would be forced to leave with or without Anakin and Padme. Four days to uncover what Palpatine was searching for and snuff out the traitor.

000{{*}}000

Because the Lieutenant had busted the window of his front parlor, he escorted the three women to his kitchen that had a gorgeous view of the Solleu River.

On the way, Padme noticed holos hanging in the hall. Pictures of the Lieutenant when he was younger: at his daughter's wedding, his son's graduation, and with his wife on what looked to be one of Naboo's mountains. In them, Padme could see his scars more prominent, and the sadness in his eyes even as he smiled around his loved ones. It seemed that the attack he had survived had left more than physical scars on his body.

In the kitchen, the Lieutenant began to pour them all some cafe. Padme sipped the beverage, allowing it to warm her inside before looking at the Lieutenant. The man was around the same age as her grandmamma had been, but with his scars, he seemed far from a harmless old man. Despite being decades out of service, his military training still showed in his posture.

"I suppose you heard my argument with my son?" he asked Padme.

Padme winced. A part of her felt guilty listening to such a private argument between her former mentor and his father.

"No need to be polite, my lady. It's no secret that since the Emperor came to power, my son and I have been at each other's throats."

"I wasn't expecting it. Nor was I expecting your fake drunkenness," Padme told him. To her surprise, the Lieutenant grinned.

"If my son believes me drunk, he'll get out of here faster than a startled voorpack. Whenever I see my son coming, I drink about a mouthful of whiskey before dumping the rest of it unto my clothes. Makes a mess, but I rather deal with that than my son."

Padme could hardly believe anyone going into such trouble to avoid speaking to their own son, but given the changes she had seen in Panaka recently, she could understand.

"Since I found you three hiding in my bushes, I'm assuming you're here to ask me something," the Lieutenant inquired.

Padme reached down into the pocket of the cloak she wore and pulled out the holo of her aunt and Pooja. The Lieutenant froze stiff for a second, before a deep and heavy sadness filled his dark eyes.

"I know that Palpatine wants my aunt's comb to unlock her diary because she knew secrets that could destroy Naboo's most powerful families. The thing is though, my aunt's comb is missing, and it doesn't seem Palpatine's agents know where it is. I was hoping you could tell me where it is, and possibly where her diary is as well," Padme explained to him.

The Lieutenant took the holo out of her hands, and held it as if it were priceless glass. "Should have buried that comb with while we had the chance," the Lieutenant muttered, but Padme heard it. He continued to stare at the holo of the two young women.

"Padme Lydonia never meant to get mixed up in all of it, but she did. Many in court didn't give her enough credit because she was the scholarship intern of Lady Veruna, but that allowed her to observe and listen without being noticed. If she had been given the chance, she would have made an excellent handmaiden," the Lieutenant smiled a bit.

Padme smiled too. Her aunt's death had hit her family hard, but her mother, father, and both of her grandmothers had told her stories of the talented woman she had been named after. When she had first started out in the political field, Padme had wished many times that she had known her great-aunt that could have been a great leader of Naboo had she lived.

"It started out as an accident, overhearing politicians talk in the dark corridors. Most people would plug their ears and look the other way, but Padme Lydonia couldn't stay silent of the things she heard. She didn't know what to do, so she came to me and Pooja and asked what could be done. When Queen Celestine found out about her, the two of them became partners in crime. Celestine's term as queen was nearing its end, but the court was filled to the brim of corruption. Those who hadn't chosen a side with Tapolo or Costil, were among the few who tried to help Celestine weed out the corruption. Upon graduating the LYP, your aunt became the Queen's aide and secret spy. It was her job to uncover the corruption and force the councilors and people like Tapolo, Veruna, Costil, and Palpatine into resignation if they couldn't be arrested. Padme never fully divulged what she uncovered to me, but it was dangerous enough to get her killed."

By the time the Lieutenant completed his tale, Padme had been captivated until she was reminded of her aunt's fate. Her aunt, her grandfather,and six other council members who had been loyal to Celestine along with with Queen Celestine herself, three of her handmaidens, and eight of her guards had been killed in the bombing. The Lieutenant, Pooja, and two other people had survived, but were heavily scarred and disabled.

"Do you know what happened to her diary?" she asked.

The Lieutenant shook his head. "Shiraya knows where your aunt hid it. I always suspected that she gave it to Pooja somehow, but even on her best days Pooja would always tell me that the secret lies behind the 'red flower."'

Padme sighed in disappointment, and Rabe placed a comforting hand on her arm. She had seen Pooja once already. Not a pleasant experience when the woman was torn between two different timelines.

"What about the comb?" Padme tried again.

The Lieutenant chuckled grimly. "That old thing is probably too mangled to be of any use. I doubt if we even had the diary, the comb would be able to unlock it."

Padme wasn't sure. If Palpatine really believed it then Malorum wouldn't have broken into Varykino and kill her grandmamma while searching for it. She shook her head. "We searched my Grandmamma Ryoo's belongings. The comb wasn't in the place she usually kept it. You said during her funeral that she commed you every month. Could she have given it to you? One of my aunt's friends? My aunt's boyfriend, Sheev?"

The Lieutenant bursted out into such hysterical laughter, Padme, Rabe, and Dorme all jumped in their seats. The Lieutenant rocked back and forth in his chair. He slammed the table with his hand several times, nearly upsetting the cafe until he placed a hand over his chest in an effort to calm down. It took several minutes before he finally calmed down.

By then, Padme's cheeks were aflame with anger. "Is something funny?"

"Forgive me, my lady," the Lieutenant chuckled before clearing his throat. "But your aunt's 'Sheev' would be the last person your grandmamma would entrust her sister's comb to."

"Why not?"

The Lieutenant's expression suddenly became sober, and there was something along the lines of pity in them. "They never told you? Because, my lady, Cosinga Sheev Palpatine II is our great and glorious Emperor, and the man who killed your aunt, Celestine, and eighteen other people."

000{{*}}000

Padme was aware of Dorme and Rabe as they hurriedly followed after her.

After hearing what the Lieutenant said about her aunt's boyfriend, she had numbly gotten up, grabbed her cloak, and took off. The Naboo sun had set and was beginning to get dark, but Padme knew these streets. How many times as a child did she walk these streets with her friends and family? Or how many times did she walk them while she was queen surrounded by her guards and handmaidens?

How?

Padme had heard it from the mouth of a man her grandmamma had known, but she couldn't believe it. How could her great-aunt have known and loved Palpatine? How could her parents, her grandmothers have known and never tell her? All these years, and she had always assumed Palpatine was just a friend of her parents until he decided to become her mentor when she entered into politics. And all this time, he was responsible for the deaths of her great-aunt, grandfather, and so many people before he even entered politics. Would the lies and betrayals he had committed never cease?

Padme felt her vision blur and her eyes sting. She slowed her pace as a sob escaped her. Then another and another, until finally she buried her head in her hands. She felt arms wrap around her before pulling her into an embrace. Dorme or Rabe? She wasn't sure. She felt them rub her back as she sobbed into their shoulder.

When she finally brought herself to stop, she pulled away to see Rabe's soft and kind eyes she remembered when she was queen. Rabe didn't say anything and neither did Dorme. For that Padme was grateful. They continued on towards the Lasara home, avoiding Stormtroopers that passed them until they finally made it.

Eirtae was the one who opened the door. Her face was filled with worry but when she saw them and the look on Padme's face, she closed her mouth, and let them inside without a word.

Padme walked inside. Right now she wanted to see Anakin, so she asked Eirtae where he was.

"He's in the fresher up in your room," Eirtae answered her.

Padme thanked her before going up. When she entered the room, Anakin had a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair was wet from the fresher.

He turned around, startled by her entrance, then relieved, until he saw and possibly felt her despair. "Padme, what-"

"Please just hold me Anakin." She wrapped herself around Anakin. Anakin froze for a second before wrapping his arms around her and did the best he could to comfort her.

000{{*}}000

Anakin quietly shut the door as Padme slept in their bed. He had barely gotten her to eat dinner that Eirtae and Elle had prepared before she finally fell asleep.

She had told him what she, Dorme, and Rabe had discovered from Panaka: how her aunt's mysterious boyfriend was none other than Palpatine himself. In all the years Anakin had thought he'd known him, he had never imagined Palpatine as being in love with someone, let alone Padme's great-aunt. And he killed her? The thought sickened Anakin.

He looked up and saw Ferus coming down the hall towards him. There was sympathy in his dark eyes as he approached Anakin. "Dorme and Rabe told me what happened. How is she?" He nodded towards the closed door.

"She just fell asleep. The news… was difficult to digest," Anakin answered.

Ferus nodded understandingly before asking, "Are you ready to do this?"

Anakin wasn't, but he didn't have many options left. "Let's do this."

Quietly, they went downstairs towards the library. Everyone else had gone to bed after being debriefed by Anakin and Ferus. Typho, Sabe, Motee, Elle, and Sache were all still nursing bruises from Anakin and Ferus' escape earlier, but Sache had discovered during the council meeting at the palace that Palpatine and his staff would be staying at the Convergence with the Costil women during his stay. It would be useful information for later on.

Anakin and Ferus entered the library where they found Vatie sitting down in one of the sofas where she had been waiting until they came in.

She stood up, concern evident in her expression. "How's Padme?"

Anakin knew she wasn't the traitor, so he didn't lie to her. "She's hurt, but… she's strong." He had to believe that.

Vatie nodded before taking a deep breath. "So what did you want to ask me away from everybody else?"

Anakin and Ferus looked at one another. This wasn't going to be easy, but Anakin felt that it was best if it came from him. "We have a traitor in our group, and we need your help to find them.

000{{*}}000

66 bby

It was a simple dinner among friends, and that's what Padme loved about it. She couldn't remember the last time she had a simple meal with Pooja and Gregor. However, she felt like she was about to destroy her last chance at backing out of this. She could do it: drop everything and forget it, just to enjoy dinner with her friends. But could she live with herself if she kept her mouth shut, and didn't try harder to do something about the situation? Would she be the person she wanted to be, and the person Ryoo, Jobal, and Mammy believed her to be?

Padme believed not. That is why she planned on talking with Gregor, Pooja, and maybeLine tonight after dinner. It was her hope that they would be able to provide advice on how she should proceed with the information she had heard.

She went to Pooja's home that night. It was an apartment in the market sector, above a builder's workshop. It was small but big enough for Pooja's daughter Monie and her mother Clotia to live in. Monie was just a couple years older than Jobal and Ruwee and had plans to become an artist like her grandmother. It was Monie who welcomed Padme into the apartment when she knocked on their door.

"Hi, Padme."

Padme smiled at the preteen. "Hi Monie, it's been a long time."

Monie grinned. "Three months. I've grown two inches since then."

"I can see that."

"Padme?" Pooja's head poked from the kitchen. She was out of her handmaiden uniform, and dressed in a light blue gown with her strawberry-blonde hair in a long braid down her back. A smile appeared on her face when she saw Padme.

She came out of the kitchen and hugged Padme. "I'm so happy you were able to make it." She pulled away, and looked at Padme's attire. "You look great."

Because Padme was still in mourning, she still wore black, but tonight she dressed in a gown with different layers of lavender with black trimming, a black sash, and a black ribbon around her throat.

"Thank you. Um… am I late? I had difficulty remembering which room it was-"

"You're just in time," Pooja assured her. "It's Gregor and Lane who are running late. Line and her fiance Shon are in the parlor while my mother and I finish dinner."

She took Padme to the parlor. There, she found Line, and who must have been her fiance sitting in a love seat and looking out the window behind him. Pooja cleared her throat and the two of them noticed her and Padme. Now that she was out of her handmaiden uniform, Padme could see Line's features much more clearly. Her face wasn't as soft as Padme and her sister's were, but the shape of her lips, her cheekbones, and eyes were the same. Her hair was a light brown with a hint of auburn in it, but her eyes were as brown as Padme and Jobal's were. Line had dressed in a soft, long-sleeved gown that obviously showed off her wealthy background in a casual way.

"Padme, you remember Line. This is her fiance Shon Lasara," Pooja introduced.

Shon was a handsome man with fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes, and seemed to come from a wealthy background if his clothing and the way he was sitting was any indication. Padme wondered how the couple felt sitting in Pooja's humble home, wearing clothing the could probably pay a couple of its months rent even if it was "casual evening wear".

Nevertheless, Padme knew from experience that people were more than what they seemed behind the fancy clothing, so she smiled pleasantly at them as they stood up to shake her hand. "I'm pleased to meet you."

A bang that sounded like a pot falling, followed by a call from Monie came from the kitchen. Pooja sighed before turning to her guests apologetically. "I better go check to see if everything is alright. If you'll please excuse you," out of habit, Pooja curtsied before she left the room.

Line and Shon returned to their places in the loveseat while Padme sat down in the chair next to them. What should have been tense and silent awkwardness between Padme and the engaged couple was not that. In fact, Padme found herself having a pleasant conversation with them as if they were old friends.

Line, she discovered had been a handmaiden under Queen Celestine since her first election around the time Line was fifteen years old.

Shon, Padme discovered was the firstborn son of the merchant family Lasara, and a palace guard under Captain Blantyre as well

Line and Shon told Padme how they had been childhood sweethearts back when they lived in Keren with their families neighboring each other's properties up until Shon's family had moved away. Around the time Celestine's election came, Shon had completed his training at the Academy and that's how he and Line were reunited. Now, with Celestine's terms nearing their end, the couple planned to marry upon retirement, and move out into the countryside where Shon would be helping with the family business. It was a sweet and romantic tale, and Padme hoped that they would be very happy.

In return, Padme told them about herself. She told them about her studies in the Legislative Youth Program. She told them about her village of Claines that had survived the recent epidemic, and that she was in mourning of her mother, brother-in-law, and several of her neighbors she had grown up knowing. Line and Shon listened , both sympathetic and understanding as she told them about her struggles in her classes for being a peasant under scholarship and her beliefs for Gungan Rights.

Before they realized how long they had been talking, the occupants heard the knocking on the door. This time it was Pooja who answered the door. "Well, it's about time you two showed up!"

Padme leaned her head out to see Gregor helping his wife to remove her cloak, revealing a gorgeous yellow dress that set off her beautiful dark skin. Gregor himself was out of uniform, and wearing simple but nice garments.

"Sorry Pooja, but you know how long it takes Lane to get ready. Almost as much as it takes you handmaidens to get the Queen ready," Gregor laughed good naturally, until Lane elbowed him and he coughed.

Pooja laughed, and Padme couldn't help but grin. Pooja came into the parlor, still smiling. "Now that our wayward friends have finally arrived, we can at last eat."

Dinner was spread out on the kitchen table, and it was a tight squeeze for sitting with Padme squished between Monie and Gregor, but it was perfect. Pooja and her mother outdid themselves with blossom bread, several dishes of cooked vegetables, and roasted nuna that must have costed Pooja a good deal of credits. But if this was going to be one of those rare times Pooja would get to spend time with her daughter, mother, and friends, Padme believed that Pooja of all people deserved to spoil herself like this.

Everything was delicious.

Line and Shon had brought a bottle of Alderaainian white wine to share with everyone except Monie, and showed Padme how to dip her blossom bread into it. Padme had seen council members doing it at dinners, but she had never tried it before that. Aside from eating, dinner was filled with pleasant conversation. How Padme knew Pooja and Gregor, how Line had mentored Pooja when she first became a handmaiden years ago, where Gregor and Lane were planning on moving by the Solleu River for their growing family, and what Monie's plans were for her future.

It was all so relaxing that the secrets of Veruna and Costil had almost been forgotten by Padme. Almost.

By the end of the meal most of the food had been, so while Clotia worked on packaging leftovers, Monie began cleaning up with help from Lane. That left Pooja, Padme, Gregor, and Line to gather in the parlor while Shon worked to save what was left of the expensive wine he and Line had brought. Without even meaning to, the parlor's occupants fell into conversation about the palace events.

"How much longer do you think Celestine can stall the Trade Federation?" Gregor asked.

Pooja sat her cafe that she had been drinking on her lap. "At least a couple more months. The Trade Federation knows that her terms will be ending soon, which is why they haven't been pressuring as of late. However, when Celestine steps down this autumn and a new monarch is elected, they'll expect him or her to make the final decision."

"If Tapolo is elected he hands us over to them. If Costil is elected, he'll just provoke them into attacking us and surrender without a thought," Line added in.

"Are our only options just those two?" Padme asked. "Is there really nobody else who can refuse the Trade Federation and be strong enough to protect us from an invasion if it comes to that?" Padme could see the looks of fear and worry in her friends that she herself felt.

Naboo was a peaceful world ever since the Gungan Wars centuries ago. Their only security were volunteers that protected the monarch and ensured the peace here on Naboo. If an invasion ever did happen, they would be overwhelmed within minutes.

Line sighed mournfully. "At this late stage, the only way a third candidate would be introduced in the running would be if the had the Queen's public approval, they are well-known to the public, and they had the backing of some powerful allies."

Padme felt her hope plummet. Who did she know that fitted all those credentials?

Line continued, "Tapolo's so well-known with his brother being the governor, and having the backing of Ars Veruna. Costil's family has been in the public eye for years, and even with his sister's scandalous behavior, he has the wealth and influence of Cosinga Palpatine to keep him unharmed. Who can go up against all of that?"

"What if they didn't?" Padme whispered. Costil and Veruna's argument repeating itself in her head.

Everyone had heard her whisper, and were now looking at her confused.

"What do you mean?" Pooja asked her.

Padme felt her heart beginning to race. "What if Tapolo didn't have Veruna's backing? What if Palpatine's influence wasn't enough to protect Costil?"

Gregor, Pooja, and Line looked at her confused, worried, and… possibly hopeful.

This was it, Padme thought. No turning back. Hesitating for one moment, she explained the argument she had overheard between Costil and Veruna weeks ago. She watched as surprise lit her friends' faces before morphing into confusion then anger and worry.

"You're absolutely certain of this?" Gregor asked her.

Padme nodded. "Yes, I know it's nothing without physical evidence or proof, but I just couldn't stand by and do nothing but keep my mouth shut. I thought that if the Queen was aware of such allegations, a proper investigation could be done on the two of them."

Gregor shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid that without concrete evidence, Captain Blantyre wouldn't be allowed to conduct a legal investigation based on the words of just one intern. He'd be commanded to just look at it as if it were just plain gossip."

"Actually, the Queen would have the authority to conduct a small investigation," Line interjected. She turned to Pooja. "Remember when Mikael mentioned about missing funds just a few days ago? He said that the transactions were small, maybe up to a few hundred credits each, but all together there is a huge chunk of the monarch's treasury missing. Now that Padme has mentioned it, I wonder if Costil has anything to do with it."

Mikael, Padme knew him to be Councilor Mikael Excenil, one of Dreann Palpatine's nephews, Sheev's cousin, and Lille Costil's brother. With Mikael Excenil as brother to Costil's sister-in-law, Costil would have a way of accessing into the royal funds.

Padme watched as rage filled Line's eyes, her hands fisting the afghan on the loveseat. "I've served Celestine for eight years. I've traveled with her to mines where the miners didn't have enough safety equipment because of lack of funds. I've been to villages torn by famine and diseases. And all the while Costil tossed out Credits like it was just laundry credits?" Line turned her head away, but Padme could see the rage in her posture.

"And Veruna?" Pooja asked.

Padme turned her head over to her, and for the first time in her life, she saw the handmaiden trained to fight and kill, but it was more than that.

"What about the girl he is seeing?"

Padme knew Pooja was thinking of her own daughter who was laughing in the kitchen, and what she would do if some sick older man touched her.

"I don't know," Padme admitted softly. "Costil didn't say who she was. Only that she was fifteen or sixteen."

She saw Gregor clenching his jaw in anger, and knew he was thinking of his own daughter, sweet little Ro who had just started walking recently. For a moment, everyone was silent until Shon came into the room, followed by Lane, Monie, and Clotia. The four other occupants all forced smiles and cheerful moods, hiding their anger and helplessness behind the masks they had perfected from working so long in the palace.

Pretty soon after that, everybody began to leave. First, Line and Shon, followed by the Panakas, until Padme was the last to leave. Before she left, Pooja pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks for coming, Padme," she said for the benefit of her mother and daughter. Then she whispered in Padme's ears. "I'll make sure Celestine is made aware of this."

On the way home, Padme wondered what was going to happen because she still felt as if all the stars of the galaxy were on her more than ever.

000{{*}}000

Two days later, Padme was sorting through Lady Veruna's files before she would leave for the day when she felt a shadow over her head. Looking up, Padme was startled when she saw the handsome,but serious face of Captain Andrei Blantyre.

"Miss Lydonia?" he inquired.

Padme closed her gaped mouth and nodded.

"The Queen requests your presence. Follow me."

000{{*}}000

So whatcha guys think of this? Please review to let me know. I'm already planning the next chapter. Hope you guys like it.