Ahsoka
After a short walk through the beautiful courtyard of the Theed Royal Palace and through the magnificent edifice itself, Lux and Ahsoka, escorted by Padme, soon arrived in the Throne Room.
Upon having taken a moment to absorb the intricate detail of the carvings in the enormous room, Ahsoka inclined her head to Queen Neeyutnee in the customary Jedi fashion. Lux effortlessly slipped into a dignified bow, which was apparently a product of his inbred manners and noble descent.
"Senator Bonteri," the young Queen said, her light and clear voice resonating in the airy room. "I am glad you arrived safely. Thank you again for coming."
"I wouldn't have missed it, my lady. Onderon values its trading partners, and your people have always been known to mine in this respect. After the falling-out at the beginning of the Clone War, I believe it's high time to reestablish our old routes." He smiled, before smoothly adding, "With new modifications to the original agreement that will be to both our benefit, of course."
Ahsoka was impressed. She had never seen Lux in action in the political arena aside from that one speech, and he spoke eloquently and with genuine interest. She was quite certain she would have agreed wholeheartedly with whatever he said next in a heartbeat.
"Of course, Senator. I look forward to these negotiations, and..." Neeyutnee paused, looking over at Padme, who sat in a chair to her right. "I believe you will be staying with your colleague for the duration of your visit, will you not?"
"Yes, milady," Padme said. "My mother and father have been gracious enough to let Senator Bonteri and his Jedi protector stay at Varykino. I plan to divide my time between there and my parents' home here in Theed."
"Very well. I will see the both of you tomorrow." The Queen rose, as did her entourage. "Good day, Senator, Master Jedi."
As the Queen and her people filed out of the room, Padme walked over to the young Senator and Jedi Padawan. "I have some things to attend to," she said, "but I'll join you back at Varykino sometime this evening. It will still be light out for the next few hours, so why don't you take a boat down to the estate?"
Lux nodded. "That would be great. We'll see you this evening, Padme."
The Nubian Senator smiled, before walking off in the direction that the Queen and her Advisory Council had taken. Lux turned towards Ahsoka, and she found herself blushing. His face, hair and eyes were lit up in the most magical way in Naboo's sunlight...
"Come on," he said. "Padme's told me a lot about Varykino, and I can't wait to take a look around."
Ahsoka smiled. "I'll get the bags."
"Are you sure you can–"
"Yes, I can handle it," she said with a laugh. She suddenly remembered when she had told him the same thing, back on Raxus a so long ago, and, judging by the grin on his face, he did too.
A few minutes later, the small boat that was to take Lux and Ahsoka to Varykino had reached its destination. Lux tossed a few credits to the boatman, before hopping out of his seat and onto the stone steps a little while away.
He held out a hand to her, silently offering to help her up. With a smile on her face, she took it, taking care to pull her Jedi cloak up at the bottom so that it didn't fall in the water.
As two attendants walked by to retrieve their bags, they walked up the carved stone stairs and onto a beautiful veranda overlooking a lake.
"We used to come to a place like this for school retreat, my mother and I," Lux said. "Back before the war."
Ahsoka leant up against the stone railing slightly. "I've never had any kind of retreat, except for meditation. And in that case, you're just sent back to the Temple from the frontlines for a few days."
"Well, maybe you'll get an idea what I mean, staying here. This is supposed to be relaxing; a time for you to unwind and me to take care of some negotiations that I predict won't even take a week to complete."
"Why did you decide to come here?" Ahsoka asked. "I mean, couldn't you and Padme have worked something out on Coruscant or Onderon?"
"I suppose we could have, but I wanted to see Naboo for myself. I've hardly ever been, and I wanted to take it easy for a while. Back on Onderon, everyone knows who I am. But here... I'm practically anonymous."
She smiled to herself, turning away from the view to look at him. "Not to me," she said softly.
His beautiful grey-green-blue eyes met hers, and for a moment, they both found themselves leaning in. Closer and closer still, until, for a moment, it was almost like they were about to kiss...
But then, Lux pulled away. "I think we should start unpacking."
"Yeah," she agreed quietly, a little disappointed that nothing had come of their earlier episode. "I'll see you soon, then?"
He nodded. With a gentle smile – the one that made her heart melt every time she saw it – he walked through an arched, open doorway and into the villa.
She sighed, as she watched him go inside. I'm so confused... Why do I feel this way about him? And why can't I just let my feelings for him go?
*A little more Luxsoka... But it's moving more into the heavy-duty zone, and I get the feeling that it will continue to do so... *smiles* There was a reference to 'Heroes On Both Sides' and then another to the scene from AOtC where Anakin and Padme first kiss... And, as you can see, I was going for a sort of parallel there...
Ahsoka is discovering that she's really confused about the way she feels about Lux. And, on another note, I tried to make Lux's political side interesting and... well... The kind of Senator like Padme.
Enjoy the next chapter (which is the last one I have ready tonight... sorry)!