I my eyes flutter open in annoyance as I realise it is already morning. I sigh in disapproval as I get up and shower, and put on my dark Jedi robes in preparation for the day ahead.
My mind travels to Anakin and what happened. I can't help but smile at the thought of travelling to Naboo with he and Padme.
Naboo!
Kriff!
I run out of my quarters and toward the elevator to take me to Padme's apartment. I am out of breath by the time I get inside. With my fitness level, I don't think I will ever be a Jedi Knight.
After a few short moments of catching my breath the elevator doors open, revealing an amused Anakin.
"I told you not to sleep in." He teases.
"Yeah, thanks Skywalker " I emphasise his surname, knowing that it annoys him.
"Did you sprint here?" He laughs. I only glare at him, not wishing to admit my disorganisation.
Padme then greets us, showing she is ready for the long journey ahead. Together we walk from her apartment to a speeder bus bound for the freighter docks. Captain Typho, Dorme, and Obi Wan meet us there. Padme speaks alone with Dorme as Obi Wan pulls Anakin and I aside.
"Both of you must stay put on Naboo. Do not attract any attention" Obi Wan warns. His eyes showed signs of concern, but I couldn't tell if it was for me or Padme.
"Yes Master" Anakin bowed
"(Y/N)," Obi Wan directs his attention to me. "Make sure Anakin does absolutely nothing without checking in with me or the Council"
Anakin's eyes widen in betrayal and I have to fight the proud smile forming on my lips. It was fun to know that after all these years Master Kenobi saw me as more responsible than Anakin.
"You have my word, Master Kenobi" I bow.
Obi Wan glances between the two of us, as though ashamed that the fate of a galactic senator lies in our hands; the arrogant Chosen One and the awkward Jedi Padawan. He turns his attention to Padme.
"I will get to the bottom of this plot quickly, M'Lady. You'll be back here in no time" Obi Wan says to Padme
"I will be most grateful for your speed, Master Jedi" Padme replies with a shaky voice. Her gaze turns to Anakin and I. I can sense her unease toward the situation.
The speeder bus comes to a stop.
"Time to go" Anakin announces.
"I know" Padme smiles weakly. She gives Dorme a final hug before exiting the speeder bus with us.
"May the force be with you" Obi Wan calls out as we begin to walk away
Anakin briefly turns around "May the force be with you, Master"
A blue and white astromech droid awaits us as we enter the spaceport. It beeps excitedly when it notices Anakin.
"Hey Artoo!" he beams excitedly as he crouches down and pets the droid.
"Artoo?" I ask.
"He's my droid. We've been through a lot together" he smiles. It was cute to see Anakin so attached to a droid.
"Hi there Artoo" I smile as I attempt to introduce myself to the droid.
He beeps something I cannot understand.
"I agree with you, buddy" Anakin smiles as he looks at me
"What'd he say?" I ask. My gaze switching between Anakin and Artoo as I wait for someone to explain.
"That you're beautiful," Anakin says, his gaze not leaving the droid.
Not knowing how to react, I keep walking toward the ship we will be taking to Naboo. Anakin, Padme, and Artoo follow quickly.
"Suddenly, I'm afraid," Padme says
"I'm kinda scared too. This is my first assignment on my own." He says. I clear my throat, reminding him of my presence. "Without Obi Wan, I mean" he corrects himself
"That's better" I mutter to myself
"There's nothing to worry about. We have Artoo with us" Padme jokes and Anakin joins in on her laughter.
Truthfully, I did not find the joke that funny.
We make our way onto a small ship next to a large star freighter that we will be travelling on to Naboo. Anakin inspects it while I sit and wait with Padme.
"I thought we were travelling on the starfreighter to blend in?" Padme questions.
"We were, but the Council changed their mind. This will remove any threats to you on the journey to Naboo" I explain.
"Anakin's idea?" She asked
"Mine, actually," I tell her. It's true. I did not see it safe for Padme to travel in the presence of such an abundance of people. She could easily be hurt. Although we would stand out more in our own ship, it would prove to be safer in the long run.
"I'd like to apologise for my behaviour last night." she says unexpectedly "I understand you were simply trying to help. You did not deserve my attitude"
I honestly didn't expect this from her but I welcomed the apology.
"Thank you, M'Lady" I smile "I, too, apologise for my choice of words. I was slightly out of my comfort zone last night"
"Because of Anakin?" she raises an eyebrow. I remain silent, "Come on, (Y/N), it's obvious you have feelings for him"
"Truthfully I don't know what to say" I blurt out honestly
She giggles "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me"
"Thank you, M'Lady"
"Please," she places a hand on my shoulder "call me Padme."
"Thank you, Padme" I correct myself.
"So, you want to tell me what's going on between the two of you?"
"Nothing is. I first met him 7 years ago in the courtyard of the Temple. He was arrogant and I was obnoxious, so I dared him to do something dangerous. Long story short, he nearly died but I managed to save him. Last night was the first time I'd seen him since that day"
She laughs as she visualises the scenario.
"I've known Ani since he was 9 years old on Tatooine. He asked me if I were an angel, likely because I was the first female he had seen apart from his mother." She pauses, "The way he has been looking at you today is like nothing I've seen from him before, even when he thought he was looking at a literal angel."
My heart skips a beat at her words, but I do my best to push aside my feelings.
"That's the problem, Padme. Love is forbidden for Jedi. Any type of attachment or possession is. If he actually did return these feelings I have, we could never let anything happen." My heart breaks a little as I fully comprehend what I had just said.
"Jedi or not, I'm sure the two of you will work everything out" Padme moves her hand to mine in an attempt to comfort me
Anakin walks in and immediately notices Padme's hand on my mine.
"Should I be relieved or worried?" he asks, genuinely unsure of how he should react
We both laugh.
"No need to worry, Ani, we have sorted out our differences" Padme explains. He looks at me as if asking me to support what she is saying.
"It's true, Anakin," I say.
"Good. Also, Padme, we've talked about you calling me Ani. I'm not a child anymore" he pouts
"Sorry, Anakin, it's become a habit" she explains, slightly embarrassed.
"To be fair, you shouldn't pout like a child if you don't wish to be treated like one, Ani" I emphasise the nickname he has grown to hate.
Anakin shoots me a playful glare that I have no doubt Padme noticed.
"Well we probably should get going. What's your flying like (Y/N)?" Anakin asked
"Best pilot in the galaxy" I arrogantly reply
"Must be the second best. Clearly I would be number 1" Of course, his arrogance tops mine.
"How about someone just flies the ship to Naboo" a slightly irritated Padme suggests.
Anakin looks at me and I immediately know what he's thinking. At the same time, we race to the pilot seat of the ship. Unfortunately, he beats me and I'm stuck as the copilot.
"It's comforting to know my protectors have the mental capacity of younglings" Padme sighs as she meets us at the front of the ship
"Only the best for you M'Lady" Anakin replies while yawning. It was only then that I noticed the deep bags under his eyes.
"Did you not sleep last night?" I ask, slightly concerned about allowing him to fly.
"Not really, I had too much on my mind" he smirks "Not to worry, I'm more than capable of flying."
"If you say so." I sigh, not wanting to question him.
Together, Anakin and I fly the ship off of Coruscant. I notice him nod off to sleep multiple times so I remain extra vigilant as the co-pilot. Once we leave the atmosphere, Padme gets out of her seat and walks to the back of the ship.
"Are you okay, Padme?" I ask, slightly concerned about her decision to leave.
"Uh yes, thank you, (Y/N). I'm just tired so I was going to lie down" She says. I feel as though there is something more she is not telling me but I do not press the matter. I come up with a better option,
"I'll walk you there" I get out of my seat
"No no, I can manage" she quickly interjects, confirming my theory.
"I insist," I say, beginning my walk toward the small dorm at the back of the ship. The room is only a few metres away from Anakin and I at the front of the ship but I needed to make sure there wasn't anything she was hiding from us.
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" I ask, eager to know
"Nothing's wrong. I just want to rest before I'm greeted at my home planet" she assures me. For some reason, I choose to believe her. I nod and turn to reunite with Anakin at the front of the ship.
As I'm walking there, my attention is drawn to the spectacular sight around me. Space. I've seen it a thousand times before, but I still find it breathtaking each time.
A strange feeling takes my attention from the space around me. I feel a heavy weight in my chest. Pain. I focus on it and realise it's not my own, but Anakin's. I walk back to the pilot seat and notice he is fast asleep.
"No, no, Mom, no" he cries
His body is covered in sweat. A nightmare. I grab a cloth and wipe some of the sweat from his forehead gently. He wakes up in fright but quickly realizes where he is. That he is safe. He stares at me for a brief moment with confusion taking over his features.
"What?" He asked. My stare clearly lingering longer than I anticipated.
"You were having a nightmare" I place my hand on his to try and ease his trembling. I wanted to ask him what it was about but didn't want to make him relive the pain.
"It was about my mother," he says, as though he read my mind, which he probably did "I left my home, Tatooine, so long ago, my memory of her is fading. I don't want to lose it. Recently I've been seeing her in my dreams. Vivid dreams. Scary dreams. I worry about her, (Y/N)"
I give him a sympathetic look. Not really knowing what else to do.
"It felt so real, (Y/N)" he sobs. His pained eyes meet mine. I can see the anguish he is going through.
I ignore everything my conscience has been telling me and wrap my arms around him. He immediately registers the action and holds me close to him. I could feel his pain easing with each second he was in my embrace. I can feel the force growing within me as I relish in the moment of being so close to him.
Finally, I break from his embrace. Embarrassed that I allowed it to continue for so long, I look down at the ground.
"You should probably get some rest yourself, I can take care of the flying" he attempts a smile but it doesn't quite reach his eyes
"No need. We started travelling at lightspeed a while ago. Artoo and I have everything under control" I state proudly
"I'm glad you two are getting along." He smiles
Artoo begins beeping something that I cannot quite understand. I tilt my head in confusion.
"We're coming out of lightspeed" Anakin translates, answering my non-verbal question
"I'll wake Padme" I say
He nods as I walk through the ship to the room the Senator is resting in. I knock on the door upon arrival before walking in. To my surprise, she is sitting at the end of the bed.
"I thought I'd give you guys some time to catch up," she winks.
"Wait, you weren't actually tired?" I ask, confused yet impressed by her scheme
"Not at all" she laughs. I try to speak but no words exit my mouth. She laughs softly and makes her way to the door "Well, we better prepare for landing"
We silently walk to the front of the ship. I sit next to Anakin in the copilot seat and Padme sits in the passenger seat behind us. The ship leaves hyperspace and we are greeted with the stunning sight that is Naboo. Even from space, the planet looked pristine. I could not wait to land. From want Anakin and Padme had said, it someone is even more magnificent from the surface.
Anakin and I fly the ship down to the planet and into the giant port city of Theed. We exit the ship and walk together toward the palace with Artoo following behind us.