A gust of wind whipped at Padmé's cloak, swirling the fallen snow around her ankles. Pausing at the familiar stairway of her childhood home, she saw the transformation of her home since her last visit. Gone were the vibrant greens and blooming flowers of spring, replaced by a stark palette of winter white. The last time she'd been here, Anakin had been by her side, his warm hand brushing against hers. This time she can only feel a pang of loneliness echo in her chest. Now, he was lightyears away, entangled in a seemingly never-ending war, and the weight of his absence pressed down on her like the cold, unforgiving sky. With a deep breath, she climbed the stairs, the crunch of snow distracting her from her worries. Reaching the door she raised a hand and knocked. After a few seconds the door creaked open, revealing her sister Sola.
"About time you graced us with yout presence, Your Majesty!" Sola teased, taking Padmé in a hug.
Behind Sola, a familiar voice welcomed, "Padmé, dear, what a welcome surprise." The parents of Padmé, Jobal and Ruwee, emerged from the doorway.
Padmé offered a watery smile, "The senate has a recess right now, and I needed a break from Coruscant." She disentangled herself from Sola, and gave her parents a tight hug. The familiar warmth reminding her of Anakin. A flurry of motion whooshed past her legs, as two giggling kids emerged.
"Aunt Padmé! Can we show you our snowman?" Pooja, the younger of the two exclaimed, her voice bright with enthusiasm.
Sola chuckled, "Let your Aunt get settled in first." She moved her kids back inside with her arms before continuing, "And you better get dressed if you want to go outside."
"Yes, mom," her children chorused.
Padmé stepped inside, the house enveloping her in a wave of comforting warmth. She shrugged off her cloak, the movement cascading her unbound brown hair down her back. "No bodyguard this time?" Ruwee inquired, raising an eyebrow at the lack of security.
"Of course not, Father. Captain Typho wouldn't hear of me traveling alone," Padmé scoffed, with a hint of amusement.
"What a shame. They couldn't have spared another handsome Jedi for your protection." Sola teased nudging her playfully.
Padmé forced a smile, the playful jab a bittersweet reminder of Anakin's absence. Sola didn't, no couldn't know just how much she wished for that handsome Jedi to be here. "The war effort has stretched everyone thin, I'm afraid."
After Padmé had put her belongings away she joined Pooja and Ryoo in the snowy gardens of their home. "Look Aunt Padmé, we made a Jedi snowman," Ryoo exclaimed, pointing at the long stick in the snowman's hands.
Meanwhile Pjoo, bundled in her winter clothes, was sprawled in the snow sliding her arms and feet up and down, and she shouted, "Look Padmé, I'm making a snow angel." Padmé smiled and pushed away her worries as she fell down next to Pjoo creating a second much bigger angel.
"Ryoo, Pjoo! It's time for bed!" their mother Sola called.
"Five more minutes, pretty please," Pooja begged.
"No I already let you two stay up longer to show Padmé your snowman," Sola explained.
As Sola brought her kids to bed, the rest of the adult Naberries sat down on a soft coach. Ruwee decided to bring up a familiar topic, "We know we ask this every time, but have you considered taking a break from your career?"
He was right. Now more than ever, she poured all her energy into ending the war, not just because she believed it was the right thing to do, but also so her Anakin wouldn't have to go way to fight. Yet, a small selfish part of her wanted to just run away from the war with Anakin to a life were they could openly love each other. Now though she needed to reassure her parents that she was doing the right thing, "Isn't this a break?"
"Yes, but Coruscant can be a lonely place," Ruwee pressed.
It was only lonely when a certain Jedi wasn't there, she silently responded. "No, I have many friends there, and my job is important. I am helping end this war," Padmé retorted.
Sola, returning from sending her children to bed, interjected playfully, "Any Jedi friends?"
Padmé could barely keep the blush from forming on her face. "Sola," she scolded in mock outrage before deflecting in her politicians voice, "Can we discuss something else? I came here to relax."
Jobal sensing her daughter's discomfort changed the topic, "We had planned a dinner party in two days with some old family friends," Jobal said.
"Who's coming?" Padmé asked.
"Palo, Umarth, Yerri..." Jobal explained, but Padmé was zoning out distracted by the holonet in the background.
"Another victory for the Republic! Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, the hero with no fear has emerged triumphant in the battle for Cata Nemodia, and is returning back to Coruscant," Relief washed over Padmé, Anakin was safe. Until she remembered that she had just left Coruscant, and he would be there without her.
Sola's voice cut through Padmé's thoughts, "Maybe you'll meet someone nice at the party. Someone you can actually date this time, or become the spinster we all secretly worry about."
"Perhaps," Padmé absentmindedly responded.
"Are you even listening?" Sola asked.
"Excuse me", Padmé apologized with a sudden urgency, "I just remembered that I forgot to send a message to one of my colleagues."
In the privacy of the fireplace she grabbed her datapad, and sent a coded message to Anakin apologizing for not being on Coruscant, and inviting him to Naboo. She signed of with "Your Angel", a nickname that only Anakin called her.
When she sent the message she sat back down, but Ruwee interrupted, his voice laced with disapproval, "See, even on vacation you can't stop working."
The comment stung. Reminding her of the times she had worked even when Anakin was there. "That wasn't work," she defended, unable to give many details. She finally added, "It was personal."
"For you your work is personal. It's why you work so much," Ruwee retorted.
He was right, now more than ever, she spent so long working to end that war, so Anakin wouldn't have to leave. Trying to distract everyone from the conversation, Padmé tried again, "Where's Darred?"
"He had some architecture project he has to work on, but he will be back tomorrow," Sola answered.
"Darred can try to fix my speeder when he gets here tomorrow," Ruwee said.
"I think you should just buy a new one. Not even the repair shop could fix it," Jobal commented.
Here a bittersweet pang hit Padmé. Padmé was so tempted to say Anakin could fix it. The only problems were he wasn't even here, and officially Anakin and Padmé were at most friends. Still Anakin would have loved to tinker with the speeder.
Exhaustion finally won over Padmé. "It's getting late now, and I have hyper-lag." She retreated back to her childhood bedroom. When she went into the fresher to wash her face, she saw her reflection in the mirror. On her visage she could see the fatigue in her eyes. Her eyes almost looked dead, but Anakin would have said something that would make her feel better. She could imagine his voice, full of genuine love, say some ridiculously akward over the top statement like, only an Angel can have such pretty eyes. A small smile played on her lips as she remembered his charming compliments, unlinke the empty flattery of her previous suitors, his words were spoken deep from his heart.
As she had dried the water of her face she went back into her bed where exhaustion finally claimed her. As she drifted of to sleep she felt the invisible thread of her bond with Anakin pulling on her heart. In her dreams the winter landscape melted to the green fields of Varykino.