The Moons of Iego: The Padmé Amidala & Anakin Skywalker Website

FAN FICTION : THE PHANTOM MENACE ERA

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Missing Images
Prologue - part 0/7

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During TPM.

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Anakin jumped out of his pod racer's seat and scurried around to the back. He saw Padmé jump at his action, but then she smiled. She had a really great smile... but he got the feeling she hadn't used it much lately. That was too bad.

Well, she'll be smiling tomorrow, he promised himself. He hadn't talked about the race with her, but Anakin had sensed that he would win. It was one of those strange feelings he could never explain. But he trusted it. His... lackluster... performances in his other races wouldn't have much bearing on this one. Racing to avoid punishment from Watto was one thing. Racing for his new friends, and for her, was quite another.

"Wait until you see the crowds tomorrow, Padmé. The last time, there were people standing in the stairwells. I don't think they'll let people do that this time though."

"Why not?" she asked.

"No one pays much to stand. The Hutts thought it was a waste of money. And they're more stingy than Watto."

She laughed a little then. Boy, was he lucky that he was with them when the storm started. He would never have seen her again otherwise, or found out that Qui-Gon was a Jedi. This was the most exciting thing to ever happen to him, and he had almost missed it.

Of course, this was likely torture for Padmé. Qui-Gon was all right - he was a Jedi, he could handle anything. But it was easy to tell that she wasn't used to it, and had no idea what to do with herself.

He snickered. Tatooine was an ordeal for people who had lived there all their lives. Important girls who traveled the galaxy with Jedi shouldn't even go past it, much less be forced to stay... with slaves no less.

"What's so funny, Ani?" She had heard him snickering and stopped working to look at him.

He shrugged. "I was just thinking about how much you must hate being here."

Padmé shook her head. "No, it was very kind of you to offer your home to us -"

"Oh, I didn't mean here. I meant on this planet. It isn't the best place to get stuck."

She seemed to be worried about offending him, but finally said, "No, it's not. But we're here, and for now, there's not much to be done about it. It's not so much that I don't like it here, as it is wishing that I could be somewhere else."

"Home?" Anakin asked. Not that he knew where that was. He figured that Qui-Gon had told Padmé and Jar-Jar not to tell him too much about their mission.

"Yes," she said, and her eyes seemed to drift away.

I shouldn't have said anything. He had upset her by reminding her of whatever was going on. Anakin experienced her discomfort, and he really wanted to get rid of it. It was the same way with his mother...and a few other people under certain circumstances. Sometimes it was like reading their minds; other times, like now, the emotions felt like they were his own. Often, when he knew there was nothing he could do to help the person, he frantically wished he could turn it off.

But this wasn't one of those times. He had helped them when Jar-Jar got into trouble, and he had helped them when the storm started. And he had helped Padmé keep her mind off things, at least for a little while. "Did I show you what I did with the steering?" Before she could answer, he had grabbed her hand and pulled her to the other side of the racer, chatting about the importance of handling and control.

He wasn't sure she understood everything that he was saying, but she seemed interested in his attempts to engage her, and was amused by his enthusiasm (or what his mother often referred to as his "constant fidgeting"). And she listened avidly to him; he wondered if she knew how much he appreciated that.

He should do something for her. Not the pod race, but something... nice. Something that might make her smile a little from time... He'd have to give it some thought.

**********

Amidala sighed, looking at the rows of screws and bolts and gadgets. Anakin had just told her to undo one of them, and she realized that she had no idea which one. And he just pointed it out to her.

She had been out here helping him for the better part of an hour... if you could even call it helping. Amidala knew some basic mechanics, but nothing this specific or complicated. She had broken more things than she fixed, and simply hadn't been able to do some of the other things he had asked.

Of course, he had acted oblivious to her bumbling: happily correcting her mistakes, explaining things to her numerous times, and not hesitating to trust her with a new responsibility. He was a sweet kid.

Amidala looked at the rows again, resolutely chose one gadget, and began undoing it. She had no real way of knowing if it was the right one, but she was suddenly possessed with the need to do something.

She leaned into the wrench, almost violently jerking it around. Her movement slightly shook the pod, and she could hear Anakin lean around to see what she was doing. She kept going until the part loosened up.

"Uh...Padmé?"

She barely heard him... and then the part finally gave way, and she stumbled, falling back to the ground.

The rest of the panel also fell to the ground with a loud crash, along with several other parts.

Amidala didn't bother getting up. She stared at the parts for awhile. "I guess that wasn't the one you asked me to remove."

"Nope. But that's okay. I can put it back." He walked over to the parts on the ground, and turned to her with a smile. None of them are broken." Anakin noticed that she still hadn't picked herself up. "Are you okay?"

Amidala shrugged, and heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, Anakin. I'm not really helping."

"Sure you are."

"No, I'm not. If anything, I'm slowing you down." She tried to hand him the wrench, but he didn't take it. Instead, he sat down next to her in the sand.

Amidala shook her head ruefully. It was a nice gesture, and she was surprisingly touched, but it also had the effect of making her feel like a bit of a spoiled brat, pouting and sitting in the dirt.

"I'm sorry, Anakin."

"Padmé, stop saying that. What are you sorry for?"

Good question. A better one would be, what wasn't she sorry for? But for now, she narrowed her focus. "I'm sorry that you have to fix our mess, Ani."

"But I wanted to help, really."

"I know, but how dangerous are these races?" He didn't answer right away. "Anakin, I don't want you to get hurt on our account. Please."

"I won't." He grinned mischievously. "The winners usually don't have to worry about injuries."

He certainly was confident. Yet, she still felt badly for putting this pressure on him. That's why she had asked Qui-Gon and Jar-Jar not to tell him too much about what was going on. He didn't need to feel the weight of a planet on his shoulders. That was her job.

And what was she doing about it? Nothing. Sure, you could argue that there wasn't anything to do until they got to Coruscant, but that didn't make her feel much better. She had to rely on the Jedi to get off Naboo, now she had to rely on a nine-year-old to get her off Tatooine. And once she got to Coruscant, she would have to rely on the Senate. She was tired of it. This was all her responsibility - she was absolutely itching to DO something about it, instead of waiting for everyone else.

"Padmé?"

"Yes, Anakin?"

"You'll... figure it out..."

Amidala gave a bit of a start. She had half a mind to ask him what he meant - how he knew - but she changed her mind. It made more sense just to say, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He hopped to his feet and held out his hand. "Do you want to keep working?"

"Sure." She took his hand and got up. He was right. She would do what she could to help today. She would figure the rest out later.

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