Padmé Amidala - her perspective

Chapter 4 - troubled

The next day the Senate gathered to vote about the additional power to the Chancellor, but I chose not to show up. Instead I did something I normally didn't do - call in sick. The last few weeks the pregnancy had started to make me feel more and more tired. I hated not showing up but I had to look after myself and the baby, so I decided to let Jar Jar Binks represent my vote.

After a whole lot of thinking I had decided to vote against the proposal. I was afraid that if this proposal were to go through it would slowly create a policy within the Republic that almost resembled a dictatorship. That was the last thing I wanted and I was determined to prevent that - even if my worries were based solely on premonitions.

During the entire war I had been in conflict with myself. One part of me wanted to keep faith that the Senate and the Chancellor would do what was right, but a little voice inside me always spoke against it. Therefore I, as well as Bail, had consistently served as advocators for diplomacy. It seemed everyone wanted to end the war, but no one wanted to stop fighting.

After years in conflict with the separatists as well as the majority of the Senate and the last months of pregnancy, my body ached for rest.

I gave my handmaidens a day off and after some discussion they obeyed me. I spent the day simply walking around and fixing small things in the apartment. I moved ornaments, changed positions on the pillows, made the bed and organised my closet. It was reassuring to do these little things and  I even chose not to keep up with the reports from the voting.

While I was picking around I thought about Anakin's dream. I couldn't deny that it had scared me. I knew the severity of his premonitions, I had witnessed one of them come true. But that was then, and this was now. Anakin wasn't far away, unable to warn me or help me. The pain he experienced last time was from being too late, but now, we could prepare ourselves. Delivering a baby always came with risks but all of my check ups had been fine. The baby was well, I was well, and we had all the help we could possibly need.

There was nothing to worry about. Everything would be fine.

In the afternoon the Committee "The Two Thousand Petition" would gather and discuss the amount of extra powers Palpatine requested. I was hoping that together we could come up with some crystal clear arguments that I could proudly and without fear bring to Palpatine's office. The committee consisted of a handful of Senators with the shared ambition to work for democracy and liberty – Bail Organa was one of them.

But just as I was about to change I heard a small ship land on my little landing pad by the terrace. I quickly went over there and saw that it was Anakin. That puzzled me. What was he doing here? Firstly, he always used to come home pretty late at night, mostly for security reasons – he could not risk getting caught. Secondly, he and Obi-Wan had just got back and I assumed that they had a lot of business to attend to over at the Temple, especially considering battles were still at full swing.

I was just about to ask him but he came towards me and pulled me into his arms without saying anything before I had a chance to talk. When I pressed my cheek against his chest I heard how fast his heart was beating. His arms around me trembled.

"Did something happen?" I asked after a while.

Anakin supported his cheek against my head and slowly drew a big breath.

"Is it about the vote?" I tried again.

He was quiet for a few moments and I waited in his arms. The way he had pulled me in showed how badly he needed to be close right now and I had to keep faith that he would eventually open up without me having to pressure him.

"Palpatine got his additional powers," Anakin finally said.

"He's even more powerful now?" I exclaimed, emphasizing the word more.