THE QUEEN AND THE SITH

By Lincoln Six Echo

This story assumes that you have seen "The Phantom Menace", "Attack Of The Clones" and "Revenge Of The Sith" and that all scenes not specifically altered herein, occurred as they were depicted in those movies.

The story is set in an AU very similar to the one I described in my "The Jedi And The Sith" series, but the storyline is completely different.

Prologue

The new day had almost begun. Dawn had arrived and a pale, yellow-rosy light was creeping inside the bedroom, caressing her husband's fair skin and making the red in his hair shine like polished copper.

He was still asleep, and Padmé tried not to move least she woke him. The last months had been very hard for him, and the previous night had been quite energy-consuming.

Her lips bent in a wicked smile as she thought of how beautiful their belated wedding night had been. It had been perfect, even better than what she had envisioned in her dreams, during the years they had been apart.

Thirteen, almost fourteen long years during which she had thought they would never been together. Years of longing and bitterness, of dashed hopes and bad mistakes.

They were now in the past, but it looked like Padmé could not stop thinking of them. Her mind wished to return to the past, to when she had seen her husband for the first time.

Basking in the warmth of her new found happiness, Padmé closed her eyes and let her thoughts return to the day everything had begun…

I

Padmé was being marched along with her entourage towards one of the detention camps the invading Trade Federation's army had already created in Theed. She had refused to sign the treaty Viceroy Gunray wanted her to, and the Nemodian had decided that making her witness to her people's suffering would be a good way to change her mind.

The young queen's steps were heavy as she walked along the streets of the capital city of Naboo. Everywhere, she could see squads of battle droids pursuing scared citizens, who tried in vain to escape or hide.

Unable to witness what was being done to her people, Padmé lowered her eyes, and instinctively moved closer to her handmaidens. They were all dressed in the same orange clothes she wore, with the exception of Sabe, who was currently posing as Queen Amidala.

Then, suddenly, as the group was crossing a square and passing under a walkway, two men and a Gungan jumped down from a balcony, blocking their path.

One of the men was very tall, with leonine features, long salt and pepper hair, and a well trimmed beard, dressed with a brown robe and trousers and a beige tunic. His companion was much younger, clean shaved, with short cropped, spiky hair and his clothes, while similar to the other man's, were in different shades of grey.

Both men were brandishing lightsabres, green for the older one, yellow for his comrade, and they made a quick work in despatching the droids escorting the prisoners.

Once the group was freed, the tallest man approached Queen Amidala and said, "Your Highness, I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and this is Sith Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. We are the ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor."

"Your negotiations seem to have failed, Ambassador," commented Governor Sio Bibble, his tone veiled with bitter irony.

"The negotiations never took place. Your Highness, we must make contact with the Republic."

Captain Panaka, the chief of the Queen's security forces stepped forward, "They've knocked out all our communications."

"Do you have transports?" asked Qui-Gon.

"In the main hangar. This way."

Padmé listened to the conversation, of course, but even in that delicate moment she could not help but throw a look to Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was standing by Qui-Gon's shoulder, scanning the area around them.

Padmé had never seen a Sith before, not even on the holonet. She knew they were said to be the best warriors in the galaxy, and this one looked fierce and dangerous—but also concerned and gentle.

It was something in his eyes, Padmé thought, as she looked at him. They were blue-grey, showing the inner depth of the man, and the young woman briefly mused she would like to know him better once the crisis was over.

Then, all levity forgotten, she returned to concentrate on the tricky situation they were in and to the important decisions she would soon have to make.

§

During the next few days, there was little time for Padme to think of Obi-Wan Kenobi or pursue her interest in him and the Sith Order.

Their ship had been damaged when they had forced the blockade around Naboo, which obliged them to stop on Tatooine to find the spare parts needed to repair it.

That sandy, rocky, barren planet, so different from Naboo, fascinated Padmé. Thus, once again leaving Sabe to cover her, she left the ship and went in town along with Qui-Gon and Jar Jar, while Obi-Wan stood behind, guarding the "queen".

While in the settlement, Padmé established the beginning of a friendship with a local child, a boy named Anakin Skywalker, whose help was essential in securing the spare parts they needed to repair their ship.

Padmé was moved by the generosity and kind heart of that slave boy, and by his willingness to help them, a group of strangers, without seeking something for himself. Thus she was delighted to discover that Qui-Gon had somehow been able to obtain Anakin's freedom and that the boy would travel with them to Coruscant, where he would be trained as a Jedi.

Back in space, Padmé kept on posing as a handmaiden, spending time with Anakin as she watched Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan discuss animatedly about the dark-clad creature that had attacked their party as they were returning to the ship.

The words "Dark Lords" left the men's lips more than once, but they had no meaning for the young woman. Her attention was divided between making Anakin comfortable and warm and worrying for Naboo, as she pondered the best line of action to present their case in front of the Senate.

-----

Once in Coruscant, things moved quickly, much to Padmé's relief.

Senator Palpatine suggested to her to move for a "vote of no confidence" in Chancellor Valorum's leadership, because a stronger leader was needed for the Republic, and the young woman did so, in the hope that the new chancellor would not be as controlled by the bureaucrats as the current one was.

After addressing the Senate, Padmè decided to return to Naboo. She could not bear to stay away from her home world a moment more, and she thought it was her duty to stay near her people as they suffered the occupation. And also, the continued chattering of Jar-Jar about the Gungans and their "mucho big" army had given her an idea-- a plan for freeing her planet without needing to wait for the Senate's deliberation.

Padmé had Sabe inform Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan of her plan as soon as their ship left Coruscant for Naboo.

The Jedi master did not like it at all, claiming that sending the Gungans army against the droids would only cause a useless slaughter. The Sith knight instead approved it, and that caused some tension between the two men.

Qui-Gon accused the Sith of being insensitive to the Gungans' fate, while Obi-Wan reminded him there was no way they could sneak inside the Royal Palace and capture the Viceroy Gunray without some kind of diversion to keep the droid army busy and away from Theed.

In the end, Master Jinn agreed with the plan and thus there was a collective sigh of relief when Boss Nass, the Gungans' chief, accepted the request of help that Sabe, still posing as the queen, made.

Padmé had thought about revealing her real identity in that occasion, to show how honest and heartfelt her request was, but captain Panaka had advised her against doing it. He thought it was more prudent she carried on with the charade a little longer, for the stakes were too high.

-----

With the Gungans troops drawing the majority of the droid army away from Theed, it was easy enough for Padmé and her group to reach the Royal Palace. However, once inside the main hangar, they found their path blocked by the dark-clad, red-black tattooed creature they had first seen on Tatooine.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon calmly told her they would take care of him, and thus the group split, in search of another way to enter the inner area of the Palace.

In the years that would follow, Padmé could never say how much time the battle in the long corridors and high-ceiled rooms of the Palace took, but shortly after it ended, with Nute Gunray taken in custody, her first thoughts were for her Jedi and Sith protectors.

Where were they? Were they all right? Why had not they joined them?

Unable to shake off the worry that had suddenly assaulted her, Padmé took four guards with her and went in search of the two men.

She found them in the Palace melting pit, and her heart almost skipped a beat when she saw Obi-Wan lying on the ground while Qui-Gon knelt by his side.

Padmé ran across the large room, her heart beating wildly. Was Obi-Wan all right? Was he wounded? Was he…dead?

She skidded to a halt near Qui-Gon, and knelt, her worried eyes taking in how pale the Sith's skin was.

"What happened?" she asked, as behind her one of the guards rushed to search for medical help.

"He has been wounded in the back while saving my life," Qui-Gon murmured, raising his solemn eyes to meet hers. "I called him insensitive and selfish and instead he was willing to sacrifice himself for me."

Padmé nodded, remembering their hot discussion about the rightness or wrongness of involving the Gungans in their plans, and then looked down at Obi-Wan's still form. Her hand reached out to caress his cheek and she was taken aback by how cold and clammy it was. She mentally willed the medical rescue to be fast, then asked, "What happened to that creature?"

"Obi-Wan killed it before collapsing. His remains have fallen inside the melting pit."

"Who was he?"

"I believe he was a Dark Lord…a dark force user," Qui-Gon's voice was pensive.

"I see," she answered, although she did not really. The Force was a mystery to Padmé, for she preferred to concentrate on more concrete things.

She stared down at the pale face of Obi-Wan. He looked so vulnerable and young. She felt a pang in her heart as she thought he might die there, in that melting pit, without knowing how grateful Padmé was for everything he had done for her people.

'Hold on Obi-Wan,' she thought as she took one of his hands in her own. 'We have exchanged only a few words, but I know you are very important to me and I wish to come to know you better. You have helped save my planet, and Naboo will always consider you one of its sons. You will always have a home here, but I don't want you to die here. Please hold on, hold on.'

Blessedly, the medical rescue arrived in that moment and as soon as Obi-Wan's condition was stabilized, he was taken to the nearby hospital. Padmé went with them, as Qui-Gon went in search of Anakin.

The young queen was aware she had a duty to absolve, and she did not intend to be negligent with her obligations, but she was resolute to first know how Obi-Wan was.

She owed it to him as a queen, but also wanted to do it as a young woman who was more than a little taken by the handsome, grey robed warrior that had protected and helped her in freeing her people.