Starting Anew: Padme & Anakin Star Wars Fanfiction(#Wattys2014)

Chapter 6: Home At Last

April the 15th, 19 BBY

Padme sighed deeply, taking a few deep breaths to center herself and clear her mind. She looked back over her day so far, and she realized she hadn't been in a good mood at all. It was so out of character for her to be irritable or ill-humored that she knew something must be wrong. Twice, she'd snapped at Dorme for something very small, that was not worth getting upset about. She couldn't figure out what on earth was going on with her. Then it hit her. It was simply that she was missing Anakin. She'd been unable to contact him since January, three months before! The reason being that he was not permitted the use of the Holo Projector in jail.

  She knew he had assured her he would be back as soon as the duration of the sentence was completed, but she doubted. What if he never came back? What if something bad had happened that he'd never expected? She had forced herself into a mire with these thoughts and she needed to stop. In the process of worrying, she'd lost her appetite, wasn't sleeping well, and mistreated her sweet, submissive maid- servant.   

Padme turned to Dorme now, who was washing off the dining room table; and had spent the morning cleaning, while Padme tended to the twins. " Dorme.. I'm sorry I've been on such a short fuse today. Not that it's any excuse or reason to act as I did, but I've just been so worried about Master Anakin." she said. Dorme turned curiously to her and then replied,

"It's all right, miss. If my husband was more than halfway across the galaxy, in a dangerous city, I'd be afraid too."  

" Thank you for understanding. Be sure It won't happen again, though." Padme said, smiling at her maid. Dorme was more than she really deserved, at all, having been there for her for months.. While Corde and Verse had died, Dorme still remained as faithful and devoted as ever. Although Padme loved all of her maidens the same and had hated to see them perish, Dorme had a special place in her heart.

She'd been willing to put her own safety in jeopardy, at the start of the Clone Wars, acting as a decoy for her mistress. While Padme was on Naboo, Captain Typho, her head of security and she( Dorme) had stayed behind to further the illusion that she was still on Coruscant. Padme reminisced over these things, thinking how thankful she was to have her. She decided it would best if she sat on the verandah for a while and got some fresh air. She pulled a white lawn-chair out to the balcony and relaxed herself, drinking in the scent of the hydrangeas growing beside the steps of it.
 

( A hour later)

She looked out over the pond, leaning her arms on the railing with it's elaborate, Italian spirals, watching the ducks glide across the deep,blue waters. She wore an ombre dress with shades of red, orange and yellow and a hood.It was the same outfit she'd wore when she disguised herself as a handmaiden, during the conflict with the Trade Federation. Somehow, she'd kept it nicely all these years, unworn in a trunk and decided to take it out for the first time today.

Luke and Leia sat in a lace basinet, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine as much as she was. They were making adorable noises, happily cooing and moving about in observation of their surroundings. For the next half hour, Padme was engrossed in a book Sola had lent her, a history of Naboo that she was benefiting from a lot.

 So interested was she in it, that she almost didn't hear Dorme's excited cries of, " Master Anakin is back, milady! He's only about a mile down the road- I saw him!". In her eagerness, Padme dropped the blue book she was holding and rushed outside in her red, ombre robes. Only about twelve feet from her stood Anakin, at long last. For three long months, she'd missed him, worried herself near sick, and now he was finally back. Her heart felt as if it might burst. 

They ran toward each other and he picked her up, while she laced her legs around his waist. He just held her for a while, closing his eyes and sinking his chin into the crook of her shoulder and enveloping her with his love.  How very right his embrace felt after long, welcoming and feeling like home." I missed you." he whispered in her ear. " I missed you too, Ani." he pushed her hood back to reveal her luscious curls and stroked her face with his hand.