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An Eternity Apart
It was a dark and cold day on Coruscant. There was very little sunshine and nothing but clouds in the skies. As Padmé Amidala peered out of a window in her office in the Galactic Senate, she felt a shiver running down her spine. This was how her life had been without her husband, Anakin Skywalker.
Her entire world had just seemed to come crashing down on her ever since the Clone Wars began. She had had very little time to do anything but work and keep on top of her schedule. She had been attending countless meetings with senators from various planets, including Alderaan, Uyter and Malastare. Each and every senator she met seem to be growing more and more concerned about what was to come in the future in terms of the Republic. However, not a single politician wanted to make their worries very clear and open, for they feared what the Chancellor might say to them in such a situation.
Padmé adjusted her chair in her office and shifted from side to side. She tried to work but just could not get very much done. She too was thinking about the future of the Republic and other things. She felt a small kick in her stomach and placed her right hand over it in an attempt to feel and connect with her unborn child. She was very much pregnant and in need of her husband’s support.
Only a few people knew that she was in such a state, including her and her handmaidens. Not even the Jedi or Obi Wan Kenobi – a close friend of hers and Anakin’s former master – knew about her pregnancy in any sort of detail. And she preferred to keep things this way, for she had gotten used to keeping her marriage to Anakin and secret from the Jedi and others whom she knew and trusted. She did not dare risk telling anyone besides those who already knew, save for her lover. He was the only person who could help her through any of this solitude, yet he was also the only person who could make her situation worse by staying away.
Suddenly she heard a knock at her office door. She stood up from her desk and quietly shifted towards the door to see who could possibly be visiting her. When she looked through the small hole in the entrance, she saw a familiar face. It was Obi Wan Kenobi and he had a very serious expression on his face. She quickly greeted him then and let him come inside and have a seat. “Greetings my friend,” Padmé said kindly, “Why do you look so serious? Is there something very grave that you wish to tell me?”
Obi Wan furrowed an eyebrow and then touched his beard, which was already beginning to grey a little. He looked into her eyes and then looked back down, not knowing how to begin what he was going to say. “Senator Amidala,” He said slowly, “I come bearing news of your friend, Anakin Skywalker. Seeing as though the two of you knew each other for a very long time, I thought it best to let you know this first.”
Upon hearing him beat around the bush and not exactly say what it was he had to say, Padmé began to grow very impatient. Nevertheless, she kept in mind that whatever Obi Wan had to say was probably serious and needed to be said correctly. Thus, she did not press him for more details and encouraged him to just continue. “Please, Obi Wan, tell me…” She said softly, “What has happened to Anakin?”
Obi Wan looked very sad then and felt a small tear in his eye. “Padmé,” He said, using her first name this time, “Anakin is in a very critical condition. He just barely survived the last raid of enemy fighters and has been wounded severely. He is being treated right now at the medical wing in the Jedi Temple and needs time to recover. We hope that he will make it, however, we do not know of what is to come in the future. I am so sorry to be the one to tell you all of this. Perhaps you could come and visit him now, should that be your wish.”
Padmé tried as hard as she could to not reveal her deep desire to see her husband. Instead, she nodded a moved her head only very slightly. She tossed back a few strands of hair that had somehow managed to cover her ears and then said, “This is awful indeed. I think that if I saw Anakin he might take to my presence very well. Shall we go then?” She turned towards the door and gathered a cloak to wear, for it was very cold outside in the streets of Coruscant.
Obi Wan put an arm around her back and escorted her to a private shuttle. He then ordered the driver to take them to the Jedi Temple and make haste, for they needed to see Anakin very soon. While they traveled towards the temple, the Jedi Knight tried to comfort Padmé in the best way he could and reassure her. He told her that Anakin was a fighter and would never let himself succumb to death, as long as there was still blood running through his veins.
The senator of Naboo just nodded at this and tried to remain very optimistic. Anakin would hate for me to be very pessimistic in a time like this, she thought. She hoped that Obi Wan would not reach into her thoughts and invade them, for she was thinking of other things that were kept secret. She began pondering on how they first fell in love and then thought of the first time they kissed. It had been a much more beautiful day on Naboo where birds were singing and the waters were calm, as was the breeze that ruffled through her hair. She sighed a little and then smiled, just wondering how her life could have ever been worse by marrying him.
Obi Wan caught her smiling and then tried to smile a little himself. He wondered why all of a sudden she appeared content, but did not question her. Perhaps she is thinking of better times and days in which she experienced a lot of happiness, he reasoned. I will not intrude upon her thoughts to find out what exactly she is thinking of, for that would be very wrong of me. He was just about to ask her a question when the shuttle came to a halt and they arrived at the Jedi Temple. “We are here,” He said to Padmé, who seemed to be stuck in some sort of dream.
“Oh,” She said in a surprised voice. She had forgotten how short the ride to the Jedi Temple was and then quickly exited the shuttle, eager to see how Anakin was doing and try to comfort him. For a moment she even thought of telling him right then and there that she was pregnant, but decided not to. There would be too many Jedi around who would just hear and possibly expel him from the order! I could not risk doing something like that!
Obi Wan saw Master Windu ahead and quickly showed Padmé to the medical wing of the temple. He then told her to ask anyone for any sort of help should she have a need of it. After saying this, he left to speak with his friend and colleague about the progress of the Clone Wars and the latest news.
Padmé walked very briskly through the corridors of the temple. She did not run or walk slowly; all she did was walk very quickly and hope to be able to see Anakin soon. She did not like the idea of waiting to see someone she loved, because she had always thought of seeing him or her whenever she wished. Ever since she was a young woman, she had managed to see her parents and not have to wait for them at any given time. Now was certainly not the time that she would wait or express any contentedness in waiting. No. She had waited long enough just to see him.
When she arrived in the medical wing, she saw a group of Jedi Knights walking through and heard Anakin’s name being spoken. “Greetings,” She said kindly to them, “Would you happen to know which room Anakin Skywalker is being treated in? I would like to visit him, because we were once very good friends and have not spoken for a while. I knew I had to come once I heard of his critical condition.” As she said the last sentence, her voice wavered uncontrollably signifying how worried she was of him.
Adi Gallia, a Jedi Knight who had been on the Jedi Council for several years, told the senator where to go and how long she could stay for. She then led her to Anakin’s room where she could see him resting peacefully. After doing this and exchanging a few more words with her guest, she parted and left the two of them alone.
Padmé waited until she was sure that there was no one else around. She stepped outside and checked the corridors of the medical wing. There was no one in sight, which pleased her greatly. She then walked back inside and sat near Anakin so that they could be together again, physically.
Anakin opened his eyes slowly and frowned as the harsh light came into his view. He looked around and wondered where everyone had gone and how the war had been going, for the last time he saw anyone was in space. For a moment, the young Jedi Knight looked very disoriented and confused, until he felt the presence of his wife. He looked around and then saw her sitting next to him closely.
Padmé kissed his forehead softly and then caressed his cheek. “I could not stay away from you forever,” She said as she took his hand into hers. She kissed his hand and then saw that it was beginning to look a little bit wrinkled. “Dear Anakin…please say something to me. I have been waiting for this moment to come for too long. I need you to be here with me in mind and spirit.”
Anakin suddenly began to feel stronger and less feeble. He managed to sit up so that he could face her fully. He touched her cheek just as she had touched his own and then smiled sadly. “This is all part of my work as a Jedi Knight,” He said simply to her. He then kissed her passionately and let it last for what seemed like a lifetime; his kisses seemed so continuous and became longer and sweeter with every breath he took.
Padmé pulled away and opened her eyes. She breathed in and out deeply, wondering how such a simple gesture could make a person feel as high as the mountains and as pure as the heavens above. She smiled and saw him doing the same, until they both laughed together and were so overjoyed to be reunited. They had not seen each others faces for months and in fact almost an entire year.
Anakin held her closely and wrapped his only real arm around her. He put the other one around her shoulders. He embraced her then and did not want to pull away. “I know that I must have given you quite a scare when you heard about my condition, so I must apologize. I never intended to hurt or instill fear into your heart, Padmé. I would die if anyone ever killed or took you from me. You are in the air that I breathe and are an angel; my angel.”
Padmé wanted to tell him that she was pregnant, but then decided against it. Anakin is too overwhelmed right now and does not need to hear this so soon, she thought. She knew that now might probably be the best time to tell him of her state, yet said nothing to him. She only considered their reunion and wanted to make it last as long as possible.
Anakin sensed hesitation and something he could not quite place inside his wife’s soul. He wondered why she had suddenly become so quiet and turned to face her. He looked into those beautiful brown eyes he had gotten lost into as a young boy, and had come to love as a young man. He knew that he could never let them fade from his visions or forget them, for they were one of her best features and what made her his own. “Are you all right, Padmé? Why have you become so silent?” He said softly.
The senator blinked back a tear and felt guilty for withholding information from her lover. She knew that it was not right to keep this from Anakin, but did not want to spoil their time together. This moment and their time were now. And she would try her damn hardest to make this a memory to always cherish and never forget. She lay back in his arms and relaxed, realizing how tense she might have looked to him. “I’m sorry,” She apologized, “I just have a lot on my mind these days. The skies are just too grey for my liking and desire. Everything seems so depressing without you. I wish we could just live happily and never keep secrets from those we love…but then I know that that is and will always be impossible.”
Anakin remembered their wedding day and how beautiful she had looked as his bride. She was wearing a very fine gown made of the most expensive laces that one could find in Naboo. Her hair had looked so natural, yet beautiful at the same time. She had also not worn very much makeup on her face and had truly appeared like a glowing angel in his eyes. He sighed, remembering the time they spent together after their wedding until he was forced to return to Coruscant. His memories of them together had been extended up until that point, as he could hardly remember what had happened before. “I will never forget the day we married,” He said to her, in an attempt to try and change the subject.
Padmé remembered that day as well and sighed, remembering how happy she was by the Lake retreat. She recalled a beautiful sunset that lasted for a while across infinite skies of radiance. The sight had been simply lovely at best and without flaw. Everything about their wedding day was just perfect. How could she dispute anything about it? “Tell me, Anakin, would you have done anything differently?” She wondered, with curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
Anakin shook his head and said no. He would never want to do anything in such a case. He only wished he could go back in time and change things that he thought of as tragedies, including the death of his mother, Shmi Skywalker. He felt saddened trying to think of the good times they had together and all that had been lost when she died in his arms on that night. If only she could see me now, he thought bitterly.
Suddenly, the young Jedi Knight felt a familiar presence nearby. He knew that Master Windu and his former master were nearby. He then told Padmé that their time together was coming to an end, as two Jedi were heading into the medical wing of the temple. “Goodbye my beautiful angel,” He said at that moment. He gave her another quick kiss and made her promise to be careful in the future.
The senator wept then, because he had forced her to leave so soon. It had seemed like their time together would always be cut short by a Jedi, or someone who could not keep away from either of them. She looked bitter as she closed the door to his room and then forced herself to dry the tears on her face. She used a sleeve from her cloak and made sure that the part she used would not look wet when others saw her.
When she gazed ahead, she saw Obi Wan again with Master Windu. She bowed to them both and said that she needed to return to her office immediately. And with that, she left and headed back towards the shuttle that she used to come in.
Obi Wan and Master Windu bowed back to her politely and then continued on. They were heading towards Anakin’s room and were going to ask him a few questions, for they knew he had woken up. Both Jedi wondered how he could have woken up so quickly, and were a little suspicious of this, yet did not pursue their intuitions.
Upon entering Anakin’s room, they saw him sleeping again with his brow furrowed. Obi Wan advised his colleague to return later and then shut the door firmly. When they had left, Anakin slowly opened his eyes again and made himself a promise. He would see Padmé again and have a longer reunion with her. And the next time he saw her, he would make the time last and seem like an eternity…
The End
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