The handmaiden cautiously walked toward Ben and Leia with her blasters aim holding its target. When she finally approached Ben, she held out her leg to lightly kick the lightsaber out of Ben's reach. From behind, a man dressed in Naboo guard wear marched up with a blaster rifle pointed at Ben's back. Ben continued to keep his hands raised in a position of surrender. "We mean no harm." Ben stated, hoping to negotiate his way out of the mess he found himself in. "We are no friends of the empire."
"Nor would any Jedi be." The handmaiden stated, not lowering her stance. "That still does not answer why a Jedi would be visiting our Queen's grave."
"Queen?" Leia interjected.
"I am taking this young one to pay her respects. The child has been studying Naboo history and has recently stumbled upon Queen Amidala's record during the Naboo invasion." Ben bluffed.
The handmaiden lowered her blaster and Ben relaxed slightly, knowing full well that a Blaster rifle still pointed at his back. The handmaiden lowered her hood to reveal a woman's face that very closely matched Amidala. Ben had to double take before realizing it was not his old friend but still was someone he had met before. "Sabe." Ben whispered. Leia looked up at him, confusion painted on the young girl's face.
"Have we met before?" Sabe asked.
"We have." Ben started. "A long time ago. Back then I was referred to as Obi-wan Kenobi." Sabe's eyes grew wide at the mention of Ben's old name.
Immediately Sabe's guard raised, and she motioned with her hand for the man behind them to lower his blaster rifle. "Come." She stated. "We should at least get out of the open." She moved toward the small cylinder building behind them. Ben used the pull of the force to grab his lightsaber and attach it to his utility belt. He and Leia followed Sabe cautiously with the Naboo armor clad man close behind them.
Upon entrance to the building, it was clear that this mausoleum was the place of Leia's vision. Pots of red flowers were carefully raised on pedestals around the outskirts of the room. A stained-glass window remained the centerpiece of the far wall, the last bits of light from the day peeking through the image of Queen Amidala. Ben had to catch his breath when his gaze rested on the glass casket that lay in the center of the room. Even through the dark, Ben could see the surreal and perfect image of Padme resting inside the casket. Her hands still lay clasped together over her swollen stomach, a small japor snippet necklace wrapped around her fingers. She remained timeless beneath the glass, ageless and beautiful. Ben's chest ached from the loss that he still hadn't accepted. sp
"You were one of the last people to see her alive." Sabe said, her gaze also resting on Padme's image. "I have to know what happened. I have to know how she died." She choked out, a river of emotion clouding her voice.
"I'm afraid that I bring no answers." Ben told her.
Leia edged away from Ben once she realized that the handmaiden and Naboo guard were no threat. She slowly approached the glass casket and rested her small hand on top. She could feel a connection through the force, though she had never met the woman who rested beneath her hand. She could feel warmth though the force that encapsulated her, making her feel welcome.
A small stream of tears entered Sabe's eyes as she grieved for her Queen. "I spent my life protecting her. I have failed." The Naboo guard approached Sabe from behind and rested a comforting hand on Sabe's shoulder. She placed a hand upon his in a gentle and subtle embrace. "Tonra." She whispered toward him, and Ben realized that he too had served Padme.
"Everyone in this room mourns her loss." Ben began. He could feel the pain and loss that Sabe felt through the force. But with that pain there was also anger. "But revenge is not the answer, and it is not something she would want you spending the rest of your life chasing."
As Ben tried his best to comfort the handmaiden with his wise sentiments, Leia continued to study the casket. She walked its perimeter, keeping her hand on the glass at all times. When she approached its other side, her hand dropped to the caskets edge. A Naboo design was chiseled into the concrete slab that the glass encapsulated. Leia ran her fingers over the soft and intricate work, wondering whose fingers took the time to make it and how long it actually took.
"Then what do you suggest I do, Master Kenobi." Leia heard Sabe cry. "I have devoted my life to her, I continue to devote my life to her."
Ben's gaze dropped to the ground in sorrow. While he did not spend all of his life protecting her, the time he did have with her remained fond in his memories. He always had revered her as a strong and masterful negotiator, a force to be reckoned with. He often viewed her as the only politician that he could trust. He wished there were something more he could have done to save her, if not for her, then for his old apprentice. Ben tried hard to suppress the memories of Anakin, as they brought so much pain and suffering. He couldn't help but recall the look on Anakin's face whenever they returned to Coruscant during the clone war. He was pretty sure that was the closest Anakin felt to being happy during those tumultuous times.
"Anakin has loved you since the day you met, in that horrible junk shop on Tatooine. He's never even tried to hide it, though we do not speak of it. We pretend that I don't know."
Those were the words he had spoken to her so long ago in an attempt to give aid to his brother in arms. If only he had pressed her further, perhaps she could have saved him from himself.
"And I was happy too, because it made him happy. You made him happy, when nothing else ever truly could."
Ben looked over toward Leia, half of the remaining legacy of his two greatest friends. He watched as she traced the design on the casket, seemingly lost in thought. A sudden clink startled all the occupants in the room, Leia taking a step back from the casket with her hands raised in the air.
"I didn't do it." She claimed. Ben walked toward where Leia stood and found that the relief on the side of the casket was now pressed in. A low humming began to resonate from the casket and with small puff of smoke from the churning gears, the glass of the casket began to slide open.
Everyone in the room stood completely silent as the glass disappeared behind the concrete slab that Padme rested on. Ben inched closer to the body, using one of his hands to keep Leia where she stood. Ben had to bring his fists to his eyes and rub away the disbelief as he got closer the Queen. She remained perfectly preserved, but Ben could see the subtle movement of her chest. Sabe and Tonra inched closer as well; everyone was present for the gasp that came from Padme Amidala. The Queen of Naboo had returned.