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. . .could you please check. . .
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THE NIGHT VIBES took Andrea's breath away. Her gaze lingered on the distant Jedi Tower, and stayed there until she heard the window shatter in the room occupied by Senator Amidala.
Out of the corner of her eye, the brown-haired girl saw the glass break, and someone jumped out with its shards.
"What was that?" Mae asked, tossing and turning on her bed. Leaning on her hands, she looked at her older twin.
The young Padawan shrugged her shoulders, turned her body towards the door and, taking silent steps, left the room.
"Andrea, where are you going?" She asked quietly, indignant that she had to get up from under the warm blanket. Andrea did not answer, only tilted her head in the direction in which they would follow.
Mae sighed irritably. The lack of an answer made her strangely wild. She was annoyed by the behavior her sister had adopted at that moment.
They both approached the next door, clenched fists, hit the wooden material several times, and when the echo spread throughout the interior, they moved against the wall.
"You look tired." Asher noticed, the darkened face was calm, only the hair was disheveled. "What do you want, you interrupted my meditation."
"I guess snoring, because you can't call it meditation." The youngest sibling bit back, then turned to face her older sister, who made them stand at the very door. "Andrea needs something, apparently."
"Yes, I need to." She murmured softly, Asher frowned, looking at his sister with his head tilted. "You're her Master, my Master is currently on a mission that her life depends on, and I'm not sleeping well because I don't know what's going on in Padmé's room. Could you please check?"
Asher knew how important Padmé herself was to Andrea. Their friendship developed over the years, and continued for the same years. Asher nodded, closed the door behind him, and tightened his fingers on the wrist of one of the sisters, the others made the same gesture, with the hand of another, so they wouldn't get lost.
"Why didn't you go directly to our uncle or Anakin? They were the last ones to talk to Padmé." he suggested, still driving the mini train they made themselves.
"I don't know."
She knew perfectly well why she hadn't. She didn't want, or even needed, another confrontation with Anakin, who kept his eyes on Padmé more and more often, and Andrea envied practically everything, especially her personal charm.
"The more important question, why did you drag me along?" Mae huffed, the girl irritably marching with her older sibling.
"You went alone." She snorted, but Mae just rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't be left alone in a room because you'd be sure your worst nightmare would come true."
They didn't answer anymore, they walked in silence until they saw people gathered close to Padmé. Andrea met her gaze, and when their eyes met, the Senator silently informed her that she was safe.
So Andrea needed no more information, just returned to her room to meet with the Jedi Council first thing in the morning.
"Track down this bounty you must, Obi-Wan." The three of them heard. Standing between her uncle and Anakin, Andrea stared at Master Yoda's green, wrinkled skin.
"Most importantly, find out who he's working for." Said Master Windu. Andrea did not know exactly what they were talking about, she was just waiting for the mention of her Mistress, after whom the trace was lost.
"What about Senator Amidala?"
Andrea looked up at the mention of Padmé. She began to delve into the meaning of the words spoken by other people. "She will still need protection."
"Handle that, your Padawan will." Yoda replied confidently in his words. Andrea clasped her hands behind her back, clasped them together, and stared at the floor, waiting for one memory of Mistress Vidar.
"Anakin, escort the senator back to her home planet of Naboo. She'll be safe there. And don't use registered transport. Travel as refugees." Windu explained some points to him, then glanced at the other members of the council.
"As the leader of the opposition, it will be very difficult to get Senator Amidala to leave the capital." Anakin answered in an obvious tone, Windu looked at the person a head shorter standing between him and Obi-Wan and said with a crooked smile.
"Andrea will help you, make sure everything goes according to plan."
"Until caught this killer is, our judgment she must respect." Yoda explained, folding his hands together, closed his green eyelids and sighed calmly and thoughtfully.
"Anakin and Andrea go to the Senate and ask Chancellor Palpatine to speak with her about this matter." Mace ordered. Anakin and Obi-Wan leaned in to accept the order. Andrea was still facing Windu, a worried expression on her face.
The dark-skinned man knew perfectly well what the girl wanted to ask, so with a short nod of his head he said directly, "no traces from Mistress Vidar."
The girl immediately became sad, bowing before the council, and quickly left the room with the other arrivals.
Padmé said goodbye to Jar Jar and walked into her room without even looking at the others. Mae followed her first, listening to her words.
"I do not like this idea of hiding." She explained hastily, reached for the previously folded clothes and packed them into the suitcase on the bed.
Andrea, along with Anakin and Asher, stood in the entrance, watching the atmosphere that prevailed in the room. Anakin was the first to respond to the Senator's words.
"Don't worry. Now that the council has ordered an investigation, it won't take Master Obi-Wan long to find this bounty hunter." He stepped further into the room, for which Mae gave him a murderous look.
The girl believed that her words would not accomplish anything, but would only make the whole atmosphere worse.
"I haven't worked for a year to defeat the Military Creation Act, to not be here when its fate is decided." Padmé was indignant, her puffy dress arms slapping against her waist as she let her hands drop along her body.
Mae looked at the others, begging them to give her a chance to talk to Padmé alone. They listened to her silent request. Asher left first, followed by Anakin, who kept his eyes on Andrea.
"Sometimes we must let go of our pride, and do what is requested of us." Mae pondered, silence in the room after her words. When she looked at Padmé, she was staring straight into the brunette's eyes.
"Mae, you've grown up." She noticed, then moved on to get more things. Mae sat on the bed next to the suitcase. She adjusted the long beige dress her mother had once worn. "Where is that little girl who was stealing her uncle's lightsabers in the middle of the night?"
Both girls laughed at these words. Mae shrugged and cleared her throat as Padmé stood in front of her, glancing in her direction out of the corner of her eye.
"Well, my uncle doesn't seem to notice. He still treats me like a little girl who can't handle being a Jedi Master." she whispered, the words finding their way out of her mouth, tiredly spoken.
"Maybe not as a Jedi," Amidala mused, then turned her body to Mae, with a small smile, "but as a queen, you could do it. After all, you can become one."
"Please, Padmé. Asher will take the throne of Alderaan, he will never miss such an opportunity." She explained, straightening her arms on the mattress.
Senator Amidala looked at her for a moment, then returned to what she was doing. Putting away the remaining clothes, she silently pondered Anakin's words, remembering the longed-for conversation with Andrea.
"Don't get me wrong, my brother totally deserves to take over the family throne." Mae began, rising from the mattress and walking with fluid steps to the window to watch the view beyond. "Others see him as the embodiment of power and prosperity. Just like our parents. But still, if I could just once show others that I can do something good too, make the galaxy better, I wouldn't think for a moment."
"That's why I think you'd make a good queen." Padmé said, giving the younger girl a smile.
"It's so frustrating and even worse." The brunette was indignant, turning on her heel and looking at the Senator. Her eyes sparkled, and tiny specks danced in them.
"It's part of growing up."
"I know." Mae sank helplessly onto the mattress, Padmé moved closer to her, softly saying her name. "Mae."
Their eyes met, their irises shining brighter every second. And yet both had serious expressions on their faces that separated so quickly.
"Don't try to grow up too fast."
Mae stood up again to face Amidala. They were about the same height, so none of them had to lift their chins high or look down at the other.
"But I am grown up. You said it yourself." A warm tone of voice left Mae's lips as she stared intensely into Padmé's eyes.
Senator Amidala began to shake her head. With a gruff tone of voice, there was also disappointment on Mae's face as she heard those words.
"Please, don't look at me like that."
Mae nodded as if still under the council's command. Then she let Padmé pack up alone.