WPRT Ch.19 (Updated 2021)
Wedding Crashers
Aaron:
All of us could only stare at the event that had just happened before us. Anakin had just kissed Padme in marriage. Thoughts ran through all of our minds for both parties. I heard them. All at once…
Jo's was of delight, "EEEEEEE!"
Boba and Bossk's reaction was confusion, "WHAT!"
Padme and Anakin were of the same mind, "NOOOOOO!"
The "Priest" present didn't know what to think.
The droids were silent. (For obvious reasons.)
But out of all of them, the worst was Barriss.
It was pure unadulterated rage, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Worst headache, ever! And it can get a lot worse if I can't defuse this situation.
"...So. Congratulations?" I said.
Three things happened. One, Barriss made a dash for the door. Two, Anakin and Padme yelled for Barriss to stop. Three, I tackled Barriss before she would do something drastic.
Even though I just did something drastic. I just knocked down Barriss while in my swimming trunks. Not one of my most prideful moments.
She started to wrestle herself free from my arms as I held her down.
The reaction everyone else had was utter shock.
I yelled at her, "Barriss! You need to calm down! You're overreacting to this!"
"Anakin has betrayed the Jedi for his own desires! He may very well betray the Republic and become a Sith! I'm going to report this to the Council!"
Padme yelled out, "No! Please Barriss! Don't do that! He will be expelled!"
"Please Barriss! If the Senate learned of this affair, she could lose her position! She has worked hard for her people for over a decade! They need her now more than ever! Please! You've been a friend to me at the temple when others made me an outcast! "
But she wouldn't listen to them, "You will bring destruction to the Jedi and the Republic! How quick you forget the code Anakin! There is no Emotion! "
Barris then proceeded to jab me in the gut, making me let her go from the pain inflicted. She sat up quickly and ran for the door. To the padawan's surprise, the door was now blocked by Boba, Bossk, and Jo. All of which were determined to not let her go.
"Get out of my way!"
Bossk hissed at her, "No! I may not know much about Jedi affairs. But I'm not about to let you make a mistake!"
"Mistake?! MISTAKE?! They made a MISTAKE! I'm going to correct it!"
"Please Barriss, let's talk this out," Jo said calmly.
"Shut UP! I can't stand you or your brother anymore! Ever since you all have shown up, you have made everything one big mess! You're both mistakes!"
The more she talked, the more the tension in the room increased.
Jo looked on the verge of tears from her insult when I asked, "Then tell us Barriss! Just tell us what's wrong!"
Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. It felt like a power similar to what Dooku displayed, not just a day ago, shooting out from Barriss. But instead of using it to bring down rocks. It was used to grasp almost everyone on the patio by the neck. The only ones not affected by this display of raw power were Boba, the droids, the Priest (who was now freaking out), and me.
Boba saw they were choking, "Bossk! Jo! What's going-."
Boba stopped talking after turning to look at Barriss. His jaw hung low at the sight I would soon see for myself. Barriss slowly turned her body in my direction. Her eyes were now an unnatural shade of yellow. And on her face was a sickly grin.
"Go ahead, oh wise Shepherd… tell me what to do! Tell me what our entire order should do! How we should just bow to the whim of an outsider like yourself! You are ignorant of what the Jedi are! And you have the audacity to come here to judge us! The only love the Jedi can have is for the Order! You're all nothing but EVIL!"
I can understand why she is mad... But I didn't tell them what to do! And I didn't Judge them! I just said they were wrong! Not ordering them around! Right now she is going to make an even worse mistake than telling on Anakin. She is going to be the galaxy's most wanted for killing everyone here!
Jo's face was turning blue, and she grasped around her throat to try and pry loose what was there. Anakin was trying to counteract Barris, and Padmé was in the same boat as Jo. Bossk's skin was turning what I assumed was an unnatural shade of color as well.
What I did next was all I could think of at the moment.
I smacked her, and the connection made a loud crack that sounded so exaggerated it could have been out of a Three Stooges short.
It was also a good thing Barriss was in arms length. I had to do something I never thought I would have to do. I had just backhanded a woman across her face! I wished I hadn't. But it brought results. Gasps of air came from those who were being choked. Boba rushed to Bossk's and Jo's aid. While the Priest checked up on Anakin and Padme.
Barriss slowly turned her head back my way. Her eyes no longer had the yellow color and now we're watery. It was like she was just in a trance.
"Wha-"
"SHUT UP!"
Everyone was now better at this point and were nervous for what I was going to do.
"Grow UP! Only love for your Order?! Who is that man right there?! Is he not a part of your Order?! Yeah, I'd say it's safe to say he made a mistake. But where is your restraint! As a fellow Jedi, should you not have that same restraint you say he doesn't have?! You just tried to kill him! You just tried to kill us!"
I moved closer to Barriss as she started to move away.
"You say I cast judgement. But what were you doing here?! You were going to condemn this man without talking to him. Without trying to bring him back! He is not dead! He can change! But let's take a look at what he did…'wrong.' Shall we?"
I walked up to Anakin, "Alright. Anakin, tell us why you married her."
"W-what?"
"You heard me… why?"
It had seemed that Anakin never thought he would ever have to answer that question.
"I don't-."
"Anakin, take your time. Explain it the best way you can. Please. Do it for your sake."
The man took a deep breath before answering.
"It really started a few days ago. It had been 10 years since I had last seen Padmé. I held some feelings for her ever since I had first met her. And it only grew as time passed on. When I saw her on Coruscant for the first time in ten years, all the memories I had of her came rushing back. Her compassion for her people. Her kindness towards me and others. And her unwavering spirit. It…"
Anakin appeared to be tearing up.
"It reminded, me of my mom…"
Padmé spoke up and put her arms around his body, "It's ok, Anakin. You have said enough."
"No. I need to do this."
He took another breath of air before continuing, "My mother died, a few days ago… no, not just dead. Killed. Murdered by Tusken Raiders! She was tortured for days. S-she ddddied in MY ARMS! " At this point he burst into tears. And Padmé brought him into her arms to calm him down.
Well. That answered my assumption I had for him being related to the Lars family. And he gave me the response I needed. He does love Padmé. And Padmé loves him.
I waited a minute and asked, "Anakin, did the Order ever show you love like your mother had? Did they ever talk about your feelings?"
The man had calmed down at this point and Padmé now only had one arm around him.
"No. The code is against showing emotions. They lead to the darkside. They have us let them go."
"But they would still talk about it to you. Right?"
Anakin looked depressed, "No. I only talked about it to Obi-Wan. But not that much."
Wow, this Order sounds insane. But what is it even founded on? Why do they do what they do? I need to dig deeper if I want to help defuse this situation.
"What is the code?"
He took a deep breath, "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."
That's the Code?! Anyone could interpret it anyway they wanted!
"The Jedi are meant to keep the Peace, not cause destruction. Just to bring Balance."
"And how do you keep the peace?"
"By keeping Order throughout the Galaxy by doing missions to save people from mercenaries, slavery, and kidnappers. Even to prevent conflicts from happening."
Well that turned out well for them.
Bossk spoke up, "Except the one that just happened. Right?"
Anakin sighed, "Yeah…"
Jo now seemed to be back to normal color and asked. "So then you're police officers?"
"No, not exactly, Jo. We don't necessarily patrol the galaxy. Just to go where we are called."
"Like policemen."
Anakin just groaned. Jo seems to not have a lid on her mouth as of late and was driving Anakin mad.
"Sorry..."
"No… I suppose you're right in some way. The difference is that Jedi have the Force, and it can be a dangerous tool in the wrong hands. That's why we need to have a calm mind. To better control it."
"I see. So your Order is there to try to hold back misuse of Force, because things like anger can get out of hand? Like choking?"
Barriss looked away. The question really seemed to work for Anakin as well. After all, he had killed raiders not too long ago in anger, but he was unaware we knew.
I looked away from the group as a sour memory came to me, "Believe it or not, as a kid, I got easily emotional about a lot of things. It made people want to avoid me. Eventually, I learned to put reins on them. But I did it to the point where I didn't show them or care to share them with even my parents. And one day I blew up at school on a kid who I didn't even know."
I could still remember the day as if it were yesterday. Jo shuddered at her memory of the event.
I turned back to the group and continued, "Why it happened or what fueled it didn't matter. What did matter is controlling emotions and feelings is completely different than bottling them up."
Anakin looked upset, "And how do you do that? I have tried to let go and couldn't."
Padmé put her arms around Anakin's waist to comfort him which seemed to work. But Barriss was growing more uncomfortable with what was happening.
"You talk about it. Explain in full detail to family or friends. But your Order doesn't allow that. Does it Barriss."
"Well it doesn't matter, Anakin still committed a crime against the Order! He will be brought to the Council!"
Everyone, save for Bossk and I, moved a little back after her outburst. Bossk wasn't going to let her pass and we weren't about to back down. Her power could be felt just like before. Right before she started to choke people. But it wasn't the same. Her sights were on me.
Jo grabbed Barriss' wrist tightly and whipped her around. Through clenched teeth, Jo said, "Dont. Touch. My. Brother."
I turned the attention back to myself.
"Really? After everything we had just talked about, you still don't get it. What backing does your code have? If it's true with your Jedi, should it not be true with people who don't have the Force like you do? Look at Padme. Wouldn't it work for everyone if the only difference was that you have more control over it? You treat your Code as fact. If it's designed for having control of emotions, shouldn't everyone do that?"
"What say does an outsider like yourself have! This is getting us nowhere! I am through with this!"
She turned to leave and proceeded to stare up at Bossk. His face showed nervousness. But he would not budge...
"Hold it Barriss!"
She actually stopped to my surprise… I could feel something in her mind.
Was it… fear?
I hadn't thought I yelled that out loud…
Whatever I did, it worked to our advantage.
I wish it didn't have to be this way. Maybe if Barriss didn't come with us. This whole argument wouldn't have happened, but now I have no choice. I'm going to have to play my trump card. Maybe then she can really see what she had done.
"Go ahead. Turn Anakin in..." I said calmly.
Everyone's minds stopped working for a second…
The first thing to come out of everyone's mouth was one word.
"What?"
"You know what I said Barriss. Go ahead and turn him in. Take him right to the council. Go ahead and seal his fate. You can have all of the time in the universe and we won't stop you."
Anakin and Padmé's hearts started to race with fear. Jo mouthed to me 'What are you doing!?'
Ignoring her, I started to move closer to Barriss and look her dead in the eye. She seemed afraid of what I was going to say…
"But riddle me this: Can you convict this man before the council after what you have done?"
"W-what?"
"If you can remember correctly, you used your anger to try to kill some of us here. And if Anakin is going to be expelled for marrying a woman that he loves, what will your Order do to you if they find out that you attempted to kill your charges and fellow Jedi."
Her worst fears came to life before her as she put together the pieces… tears leaked from her eyes.
"If Anakin can't change due to your code, what hope do you have?"
It seemed her whole world was breaking apart. With a sudden show of strength, Barriss moved her arm straight into Bossk's gut. A gasp of air shot out of the trandoshan's mouth as Bossk moved to the side, cradling his stomach. This gave her a chance to get away. Which she did and not a moment too soon. Nearly everyone was ready to go after her.
"Hold it!"
Everyone who ran to get her stopped.
Boba spoke up, "What? Why?"
"She won't tell the council about Anakin. Not now anyway. Let me talk to her. She won't go too far."
I think.
Boba spoke up, "Aaron?"
I quickly reassured him, "It's alright, she is not as angry as she was. She just seems… lost. Please let me try something first. Then you all can come and find us."
They didn't like it, but they were not going to stop me.
Boba, however, still wasn't fully convinced, "Please be careful, I don't want to lose family again."
Jo put a hand on Boba's shoulder, "Don't worry, Aaron wouldn't do it if he didn't think he could."
This did little to ease him, but he still agreed nonetheless.
I turned to leave, but I was stopped by a voice, "Wait."
I was surprised to see that it was Esau who had something to say.
"Yes?"
"I wanted to thank you for what you have done. It's given me a lot to think about. It was a much needed perspective that most don't have when it comes to solving life's problems."
Padmé spoke up, "I am so sorry for what has happened Mr. Abner. It wasn't a part of the plan for them to show up. Please stay longer so I can pay you more for what happened."
The man held up his hand.
"That won't be necessary. I was paid to marry you to your husband. What happened was an accident that was beyond your power to control. If anything, I was already paid more from what happened. But I would go after her young man. I have a feeling you still have something she needs to hear."
...He wasn't wrong...
I started to sprint towards the door with a wave of my hand.
"I'll bring her back, Lord willing."
Quickly, I ran back the way we came when we entered the house. As I made it to the beach, I switched to walking. I took note of the sun as it was about to set. I needed to look for fresh footprints. Sure enough, I had found some at the base of the steps. The tracks led away from the ones we made not too long ago. I started to follow them and did so for about 10 minutes. It seemed she had a good running start. Then, the tracks started to have less of an impression.
She must have stopped running at this point.
I noticed some tall rocks along the beach. And the tracks ended right at them. I started to walk faster, hoping I would find a clue as to where she went next. But to my surprise, I heard crying. Not a loud crying, but crying all the same. I started to look around the boulders until I found her by one closest to the water. Barriss was resting her back on the rock. Curled up with her arms around her legs and head buried in them. For the moment she didn't know I saw her. I decided to wait for a bit before I moved closer.
She wept for a couple more minutes before she started to calm down. It was now or never. I made myself known by slowly leaving my cover and walked up to the base of the rock. It didn't take long for her to know I was there.
She was still upset, "Have you come to gloat?"
"What?"
"Congratulations, you caught me. I suppose you're going to blackmail me now to not say a word to the council. I hope you're happy…"
This caused me to sigh, "Is that what you think?"
At this point my back was now to the rock resting. "Barriss, I meant what I said back there on the patio."
Barriss looked up confused by what I said. Her eyes were still watery, and dried streams of tears were still visible across her face. "What?"
"I said we wouldn't stop you. To me and my sister, blackmailing someone who isn't an enemy is wrong. Our belief is against that kind of thinking."
"But then, why?"
"Barriss. It's because you have one thing a lot of people don't have."
She stared at me, wondering what I was getting at.
"You have a good conscience Barriss."
This didn't seem to answer her question. She needed more. "I don't understand. What does that have to do with any of this?"
"Everyone has a conscience. But not everyone listens to it. It's a moral compass. And morals can change. You want to do right. So I know you won't tell on Anakin. You now see that you're just like Anakin, like Bossk, like Boba, like Jo, like Padmé, and like me. We are not all that different. It would be hard not to see. Honestly, I wish more girls back home were like you."
She was taken back by that last comment, "O-oh."
Barriss looked down, "But what am I supposed to do? How can I let this go?"
"You don't."
She seemed to be getting frustrated again, but quickly calmed down. "Why?"
"I would think, if you still believe what Anakin did is wrong, you would need to do some investigations in your Order. Try to find a counter argument to what we said about your code."
"And what if I don't find an answer?"
"Then you would have your answer."
"...Right."
We didn't talk after that for about 5 minutes. The sun was now down completely. And the sky was full of stars. It was like an endless sea. Nothing looked familiar. Nothing.
"We really are lost…"
Barriss was confused, "What?"
I sigh, "Right, you don't know. Well to sum it up, Jo and I are lost. I'm sure Jo has told you about our world. Well, we have no way of returning to our homeworld. Or at this point anyway."
"What do you mean, don't you have a ship then? Did it crash?"
"No. There was no ship."
"Then what happened?"
"Well, we woke up in a desert…"
I proceeded to explain everything. Barriss asked a question here and there. Like, "What's a spring break?" or what "Coke" was.
When I told her our planet had almost 200 different nations, and over a thousand different cultures, her heart skipped a beat. To use her words, she said, "That's like our galaxy rolled onto one planet!"
It appeared after that point she got more invested in what I said about my world. Eventually, I finished up explaining our world and what we were doing before we got into this mess in the first place. The "how" was the only part we couldn't explain or understand in the first place.
"So let me get this straight. You were camping in a woods 'close' to home. And all of the sudden you remember a bright light for a moment? Then next thing you know. The two of you were head face in sand on Tatooine?"
"Ya, it wasn't easy. Both of us were scared we were going to die in the middle of a desert on a foreign world. We were lucky enough to be going the right direction. And to be honest, the two of us know very little about how to travel in the desert aside from basic things from books and videos. That was my first real time in an endless sea of sand."
I take a deep sigh, "So far everything has been luck that we haven't gotten shot or cut up too bad. Were lucky that we only had a few bruises and some tans. I don't think that it was a random chance that we came here. I mean, if we were meant for this, couldn't we have done more? If I had acted sooner… couldn't we have saved some more people? The only thing that runs in my mind, over and over again, is, 'Can I do this?'"
Barriss was dismayed by what I had just said, "What are you saying?"
My back was still to the rock as I sat down, and I told her my thoughts, "I could have saved that kid from being beaten to death, I can only imagine what's happening to the rest of his family now. I know we saved them twice. But it doesn't make up for the fact their son is gone. And I'm here wondering what my family is doing right now."
Barriss finally realized what I was getting at. She didn't say anything and let me continue, "Are we dead to them? Are they having a funeral for us right now? Up until this point, I chose not to think about it. I needed to put it aside for my sister and the others. Now that things have died down… I don't know if I'm strong enough…"
After a few seconds of silence, the padawan sat up, "I'm sorry you feel that way. But after all you have done, I don't see how you're letting that get to you. You're strong enough to make it this far."
I was shocked by Barriss' encouragement. "Really Barriss? A compliment from you?"
Her jaw dropped and she turned away with a pout. It was a sight to see. I started to laugh a little and said, "Thank you. Barriss."
She sighed and came over to where I was and held out a hand. I gladly took it and hoisted myself up.
I cleared my throat, "I guess we should head back. The others are probably looking for us by now."
The young woman moved away while holding her arm, "I think I'm the last person they want to see."
"It's alright Barriss. All you have to do is apologize. That's the first step of forgiveness."
She started to giggle.
"What's so funny!?"
"That sounds like something Master Yoda would say."
That caused me to clear my throat, "Young Padawan, mocking me, are you?"
The said Padawan covered her mouth laughing. Through her hands she spoke, "I shouldn't have said that. But…"
She couldn't take it anymore when I said, "Laughing stock, am I? A punishment, you desire?"
The Jedi couldn't contain her laughter anymore and put down her hands roaring in laughter. Not a moment later, she snorted. In which she brought her hands to her mouth again. Seconds later, both of us start to laugh harder than before. After a minute we finally calmed down and I let out a long sigh, "Well, let's get going…"
"Right..."
Begrudgingly, she started to walk with me, still nervous to how the others would treat her. We walked for about five minutes before we could see the "House" in the distance. Although, our attention was not on that. We could start to see the silhouettes of people in the distance.
Looks like they're right on time…
Another minute passed before they were in clear view. As we got closer, we slowed down. Both parties stopped a good distance from each other. Barriss hung her head low to the side. Away from the others. The others were none worse for wear. Anakin and Padmé were nervous as well. With Anakin looking down and rubbing the back of his neck.. Padmé looked on ahead at Barriss, hoping she was alright. Bossk and Boba were another story. Both were mad and stared right at the young woman. It did little to ease the tension in the air, but it was to be expected. Boba was tapping his foot waiting impatiently for her to say something.
And finally, Jo was looking at me. We each gave each other a look and nodded at what was about to happen.
I cleared my lungs, "Go ahead Barriss, tell them what you want to say…"
She now started to look up and didn't try to hide her emotions when she spoke.
"I regret what I said to you all back there on the patio. You were right, Anakin. You are a friend and I didn't try to listen to you. I was just so shocked that you would do that. And Padmé, I'm sorry that I treated you like that. You of all people don't deserve what I said and did to you."
The newlyweds were amazed by her proclamation. Both were now staring right at her, as if she had grown two heads. Barriss continued nonetheless,
"Bossk, I'm sorry for what I did to you as well. I hit you pretty hard in the gut. Not to mention choking you along with everybody else…"
The said Bounty hunter crossed his arms. Boba shortly followed suit.
"Nothing I can say could make up for what I did. I was… scared. Confused. I think I still am."
Bossk's face seemed to soften slightly at that last remark. But the kid's face remained the same.
Lastly, the Jedi in training turned to my sister. Barriss seemed to have a harder time speaking to Jo.
"Jo, I can't tell you enough how sorry I am. I said you and your brother caused nothing but problems. But, I was wrong. The prejudice I held towards you got the better of me. Had I known you were lost in space, maybe I would have not looked down on you so much. But you were right to not tell me. If any of that information gets out to the wrong people, it could be disastrous for your world. The fewer who know the better."
Jo was now on the verge of tears, "Barriss, I'm sorry we didn't tell you! We were going to! But we figured it would be better for us if we didn't have to repeat telling our plight to everyone! We're sorry!"
As Jo said her last bit, she walked up to Barriss and pulled her into a hug. Barriss's eyes started to water up as well and said, "Why, why, would you forgive me so fast? I was mean to you. I tried to kill you. A-and y-you a-are saying s-sorry to me?!"
"Because we all get mad at some point and make terrible mistakes. I have made some too. Everyone has…"
At this point both said nothing as Barriss cried in her arms. It went on for a good while before she calmed down.
The touching moment came to a halt when Boda cleared his throat,
Everyone's attention was on him. Barriss realised she forgot about the kid.
"Oh, right. Sorry Boba. I guess seeing me use my powers is quite scary. Can you forgive me?"
Boba only replied with a huff and walked away.
Jo yelled out to the boy, "Wait Boba, come-!"
I put a hand on Jo's shoulder, "It's alright Jo, let him go."
Confusion came across my sister's face, "What, but shouldn't we try to get him to accept her apology? Shouldn't we do what we did on Geonosis?"
"No, this is different when Boba shot off Padmé on Geonosis. He has a logical reason for what he did. If he does forgive her, it'll have to be on his own terms."
My sister didn't like it. However, she decided to accept it. Barris looked down in shame at her own actions. I needed to bring her out of it.
"Don't worry, he'll come around eventually. He is a kid after all."
She accepted my reply with a shake of her head albeit still feeling guilty. She looked up to the others waiting for their reactions. Anakin answered for both Padme and himself, "We forgive you Barriss. And it's not as if it wasn't partly our fault. If not, all. We were the reason that it happened in the first place. So. Will you forgive us?"
"Yes! I have! Thank you. For being my friend, both of you."
Last but not least, it was Bossk's turn to give his answer. The Trandoshan was pretending to be aloof. Looking up in the air to the side. His arms were still crossed. He was taping his left foot in a joking way. After a few moments, he gave his response, "You know, I'm not a fan of this sappy wishy washy forgiveness thing. But I will humor you and say…. Yes."
Barriss had a look of relief.
"I only have one thing to say to you…"
He made us wait a few seconds for effect.
"Did you have to hit me so hard in the gut? I think something popped."
Once Bossk's comment registered in their minds, everyone present broke out in fits of laughter. It seemed we all needed something like that to cheer us up.
Maybe things can get better from here. Though something we could use right now is some food…
And speaking of the devil, Padmé spoke up for our plight.
"Well, it's getting late. And we aren't having that beach picnic this late. How about we have dinner with my family?"
All of us, save Padmé, looked at her confused. Anakin scratched his chin and said, "Uhh Padmé? I don't think you can drop something like that on them this late."
She laughed and said, "Actually, when we first landed they contacted me to see how things were going. I told them what we were doing and they invited all of us. You see, they were going to host a celebration at their home with some of their neighbors. But, all of the neighbors cancelled at the last minute."
Bossk interrupted, "What was the celebration for?"
Padmé waved it off, "Oh nothing really. They have one every now and then to have everyone spend time with each other. Anyways, they invited us to come for dinner at their home. I had told them possibly. Though now I think I can tell them yes. If nobody has any objections?"
Everyone seemed to be in agreement. However, something still needed to be done.
It's the most logical thing for them to do right now…
"We'll go, Padmé. On one condition."
Everyone looked at me wondering what I was trying to do.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
We were now back in the city area near where we landed. All of us had a tired look from a long day. The hunger we felt was now kicking in as we dragged our feet to the door of the house Padmé brought us too. The said woman brought her hand to the door and knocked. After a few moments, the door opened up to reveal an older woman. A smile grew across the older woman's face and she said, "Sweetie!"
And she reached out to hug Padmé. However, Padmé looked less as ecstatic. Though she accepted the hug gladly. The woman who could only now be confirmed as the mother looked at The rest of us.
"And guests!"
Padmé drawled her speech, "Hi, Mom."
"Oh we're so glad to see you! The council contacted us about what had happened to you, we were so worried. But, now that you're safe, things can finally settle down… Padmé? What's wrong?"
Padmé looked more upset than when she was hugged.
It's understandable. This is not going to be easy for her or her family.
The daughter finally broke the ice, "Mom, we need to talk."
End Chapter