The Angel
Padme Amidala Padme finally aparently finds the strength to speak again after a moment and manages to stammer out, "I can't- we can't, it's just not possible." They have a bit of an arguement about whether or not "it"- that is, a relationship between them- would be possible. Padme refuses to even consider it, (in the book at least) saying that she will not let him throw his life away for her and that she has responsibilities as a Senator to the Republic- that she has better things to do than fall in love. Though she wants the very things Anakin wants she is the older of the two and thus the more rational, as Anakin readily admits, and she realizes that Anakin would lose his position as a Jedi, he having told her that for Jedi "possession is forbidden, attachment is forbidden". He himself admits that he cannot imagine leading any life but that of a Jedi... So she decides to be unyielding, more for his sake than for her own. Anakin starts to walk away but turns to her again and suggest that perhaps it "wouldn't have to be like that"- that they could keep their relationship a secret from the rest of the world (they do occasionally refer to 'the world', speaking of the galaxy in which they live as a whole 'realm' more than a planetary entity- though in this particular instance these are my words, not theirs) but Padme quickly refuses, saying that it'd be living a lie and that she couldn't live like that and doesn't think he could either. Anakin reluctantly agrees with her saying, "You're right. It would destroy us." That night Anakin has yet another one of his vivid, and he suspects prophetic, nightmares about his mother and Padme hears him, even going so far as getting out of bed and walking to his room, considering going and trying to wake him but right before she works up the courage to try his fitful dreams seem to subside. She mentally scolds herself for wishing that she could hold him and help him through his bad dreams- thinking to herself that their agreement was the only reasonable one and that it most certainly did not include her crawling into bed next to him, then she goes back to her own bed. The next morning she awakens and goes to look for Anakin, finding him out on the balcony, standing near the railing, very quiet and very still. She approaches him briefly but soon realizes that he is meditating, his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. She quietly turns to go, not even having reached him yet, but as she does he, without opening his eyes, tells her to stay. She, startled that he realized she was there at all, explains that she didn't want to disturb him and he merely replies that her presense is soothing. After a moment she mentions his nightmare the night before and he stubbornly responds, rather absurdly, that Jedi don't have nightmares. She quickly debunks this by explaining that she'd heard him- as she had on the trip from Coruscant. He desists and explains to her that he had been seeing his mother, as clearly as he saw her [Padme] now, and that she was in pain...dying even. And that he felt that he had to go and help her... even if it did mean disobeying his Mandate to protect Padme. Padme, taking pity on Anakin more than actually desiring any kind of protection, says that she'll accompany him to Tatooine, so that she would still be "under his protection"... only on Tatooine. Anakin, desperate to get to his mother, agrees to this less than ideal situation so the pair leave Naboo for Tatooine. When they arrive there they go to Mos Espa, the place where Anakin had spent most of his early childhood and where Anakin and Padme had met one another ten years previously. Padme follows Anakin as he locates his former master, his former owner, Watto- the junk dealer. When they find Watto he seems far less "prosperous" than he had been a decade before, being decidedly older and, if looks are any indication, decidedly poorer, probably due to his never-dying gambling addiction. Anakin, after proving his identity to Watto, explains in Huttese that he is looking for Shmi Skywalker- his mother. Watto explains that Shmi no longer belongs to him but agrees to help Anakin, intimidated by the fact that Anakin is a Jedi now and perhaps from a small speck of affection held for the little boy Anakin had once been, and so he ushers Padme and Anakin into his shop to look through his records. They leave Mos Espa, now with the information that Shmi had been sold to a moisture farmer names Cliegg Lars who lived on the outskirts of another space port- Mos Eisley- and with a rumor that Shmi may have been freed by her new master and that the two had gotten married. When they arrive they are greeted outside the homestead by a dull-but-covered protocol droid who tries to introduce himself at "C-3PO" but Anakin finished the last three parts of his number for him, recognizing him in spite of his very different looks. 3PO quickly catches on and recognizes the pair as his maker, Anakin and as 'Miss Padme' who had visited them a decade before. Anakin explains their reason for being there and 3PO nervously ushers them inside. Padme follows Anakin and stands by him as they are introduced to Owen Lars and his girlfriend, Beru Whitesun. Padme introduces herself after giving up on Anakin collecting himself enough to do it. They then meet Cliegg Lars, a man on a hoverchair with only one leg and a partial one, who explains that Shmi is his wife...telling Anakin that they have a lot to talk about. Around the table Padme listens as Cliegg explains to Anakin that his mother had been taken by the Tusken Raiders and that thirty men from the area, including himself, had gone out looking for her but that the Tuskens were so viscious that only four of them had come back. Anakin, after processing this information, almost immediately gets up form the Lars' table and when Owen asks where he is going he tells him that he's going to find his mother. Cliegg tries to make Anakin think sensibly- that having been gone a month that all odds were that his mother was dead but Anakin won't accept it- he can't accept it. Padme looks after him, worried, and when he goes outside to leave she gets up and follows him. He tells her that she'll have to stay there with the Lars' family- but tries to reassure her that he believes them to be good people and that she'll be safe with them. She accepts this, seeing as she wasn't even thinking about herself but rather about Anakin and his safety. She hugs him tightly before he goes and watches as he leaves on a swoop bike belonging to Owen Lars before returning to the house. While waiting on Anakin to return Padme stays with the Lars family as he had asked her to and Beru, Owen's girlfriend, tries to befriend her- and does to a certain extent but Padme can't seem to keep her mind in the present well enough to talk very much. She does, however, help Beru in the kitchen and such and Beru is rather impressed with Padme's domestic ability- considering her resume. When Padme can't sleep she goes out to the Lars' garage where she meets 3PO again and has a conversation with him. She kindly gives him an oil bath, seeing as he hadn't been cleaned in a while and that the sand had gotten stuck beneath his old, rather worn covering. She does this rather happily, for the moment distracting herself from being worried about Anakin and his mother but as soon as she is finished she worries even more because she realizes that she's running out of things to hide her thoughts behind. The next day Anakin returns, with his mother's dead body wrapped in a make-shift burial shroud. Padme watches as Anakin carries Shmi's body much the way one might carry a baby, going right past her, seeming to be in a world all his own and a very dark one at that. Later that evening Padme goes looking for Anakin, deciding to take him something to eat considering he probably hadn't eaten since they'd arrived on Tatooine. She finds him in the Lars' garage, attempting to fix a shifter on the swoop bike. She tries to get him to eat but rather than actually talking to her, or responding, he begins going on about how life is much easier when one is fixing things- and expresses his disappointment, his hurt, his anger at not being able to 'fix' or save his mother. He explains that he knew that if he'd done something different that he could have. Padme tries to console him by saying that "there are some things no one can fix"- that everyone eventually dies. Anakin refuses to accept this and in a moment of nearly blinding anger and frustration he begins explaining that he will one day become the most powerful Jedi ever, that he would be able to stop people from dying with his power, and that the only reason he had not attained that level of power was because Obi-Wan was holding him back from his full potential- that Obi-Wan was jealous of his ability and capacity. Though Padme doesn't fully understand what is happening to Anakin she does seem a bit frightened by it and for the first time sees the darker, tortured part of Anakin's soul- and pities him for it. She wants to help him and spends the rest of her life trying to figure out how but never fully succeeds. She insists that Anakin tell her what was bothering him, what was actually bothering him, knowing that his evident turmoil had to be caused by something deeper than he was letting on. He finally admits that he had killed them- all of them. [i.e. the Tuskens] Not just their men, but their women and their children, and that even afterward that he still hated them- that he didn't want to hate them but that he did. Padme, though more than a little disturbed that he was capable of such a thing, tries to console him yet again by saying that to be angry was only human. He sits down in the floor and shakes his head, saying that as a Jedi that he knows he's better than the anger that is consuming him. He finally allows himself to cry for his mother- something that he hadn't been able to do even from the time he'd left her as a ten-year-old little boy- and Padme puts her arm around him and stays with him until he finally stops. The next day they have a small funeral ceremony for Shmi Skywalker Lars, where she is placed next to two other members of the Lars family just outside the homestead. Both Cliegg and Anakin speak to Shmi, as a way of paying respect and saying goodbye to her. Anakin promises his mother that though he hadn't been strong enough to save her, that to honor her that he would "never fail again". Padme glances away and notices a certain familiar astromech droid rolling toward the homestead. She asks R2 what he's doing there, even though he couldn't answer her verbally. 3PO translates the little droid's beeps and whistles, explaining that he is carrying an important message from "an Obi-Wan Kenobi"- 3PO asks if that name means anything to Anakin. Anakin and Padme then leave the homestead and return to Padme's ship, 3PO accompanying them with R2, seeing as Anakin made him and with Shmi gone there was no reason for him to stay on Tatooine since he rightly belonged to the Skywalkers. R2 plays back Obi-Wan's message in which he requests that Anakin retrasmit the message to Coruscant for him because his long-range transmitter had been knocked out. Padme presses the appropriate buttons and they continue to listen. Obi-Wan goes on to explain that he had traced the bounty hunter back to Geonosis, where all of the Seperatist leaders are meeting and planning something. Obi-Wan's report is interrupted when he is attacked by a droideka- the destroyer droids of the Trade Federation. Padme and Anakin are both shocked, horrified by this and Mace Windu contacts them on the ship and tells Anakin that he should stay where he is and to protect the Senator [Padme] at all costs. Padme is very confused when Anakin does not leap at the opprotunity to go and help Obi-Wan. She tries to prod him into doing it by reminding him that Obi-Wan was his friend, his mentor, that it'd be impossible for the Council to get anyone to Obi-Wan in time to help him... Anakin counters her attempt to convince him by readily admitting that Obi-Wan was like his father- and explains that he had been given strict orders to stay where he was and that he probably couldn't help Obi-Wan anyway, if he was still alive at all. Padme, fearing the loss of two of her friends, Anakin to his guilt at not being able to save his mother, and Obi-Wan to the Geonosians- says, "No, they gave you strict orders to protect me... And I'm going to help Obi-Wan," and defiantly readies her ship for flight. After a brief pause Anakin smiles at her and positions himself in the co-pilot seat and with that Padme, Anakin, R2 and 3PO leave Tatooine, for what all of them assume to be the last time. They arrive on Geonosis and land their craft in an unidentified exhaust pipe. Padme tells Anakin to let her do the talking, that as a Senator of the Republic that she could perhaps find a diplomatic solution to all the mess. Anakin agrees, saying that he'd given up on trying to argue with her. When they enter the Geonosian facility they find themselves in a gigantic droid factory, busy at work creating thousands upon thousands of battle droids. They get stuck in the factory and when trying to escape Padme ends up in a vat that was in just a moment going to be filled with molten metal, and Anakin was unable to get to her. Without the assistance of the indominable droid R2-D2 she would have been reduced to molten-something herself. In spite of their best efforts, Anakin, Padme and R2 are captured and 3PO gets his head put on a battle droid body and his body given to a battle droid head. Padme enters negotiations with Count Dooku, Anakin standing protectively at her shoulder, Jango Fett standing in the same position at the Count's- though without his lightsaber [which he had once again managed to lose in the droid factory] and with Jango's guns and other weaponry it was hardly even protection. When Padme refuses to swear her star system's allegiance to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, in spite of almost being swayed because Count Dooku's arguement against the Republic is very convincing, he tells her that there is not much he can do for her and that he is giving them over to the Geonosian government. Padme and Anakin are then sped through a 'trial' where they are convicted of the crime of espionage with no proof for or against the claim, and are sentenced to death in the Geonosian Arena. They are both strapped into a cart that would take them out into the arena and while waiting in the wings for their fate, Padme looks at Anakin for a moment and he tells her not to be afraid. She continues looking at him and quietly says, "I'm not afraid to die. I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life." He is confused and asks her what she's talking about and she replies, "I love you." He, startled, and in spite of the situation thrilled by this revelation asks, "You love me?" She then begins to lean toward him to kiss him, "I truly, deeply, love you... and before we die I want you to know." And the pair have their first uncompromised kiss, but it only lasts for a moment as they are forced to pull away when the cart pulls out and they are driven into the arena, holding hands for a moment but quickly letting go. Obi-Wan is in the arena, his hands bound above his head against one of the several large pillars in the center of the arena that were there for that very purpose. He, however, does not see any of the things that had just happened between his Padawan and the Senator. He questions Anakin and Anakin explains that they did, in fact, get his message to the Council and that they had then decided to come and rescue him. Obi-Wan looks at his own shackles, at Anakins, and at Padme's being fastened beyond Anakin and nods incredulously, saying quite sarcastically, "Good job." Several viscous and very hungry creatures, native to Geonosis presumably, are released into the arena, where they soon rush at their bound would-be prey. Obi-Wan tries to calm Anakin by telling him to concentrate but Anakin is too concerned about Padme, but then he notices that Padme is actually scaling her respective pillar, having picked one of her hands free from the shackles using a wire she had hidden in her sleeve. Once he sees that she is safely atop the pillar he manages to use the creature that runs at him's own force to free himself, as does Obi-Wan. Anakin uses the remainder of the chain that still hangs from both his wrists, as a make-shift bridle and straddles the beast. Obi-Wan uses a spear, taken from the creature's handler, to fight the creature- a reek- that had taken interest in him. Padme remains on top of the pillar, trying to use the wire to free her other hand, as a very large and viscous feline-like creature salivates and tries to jump at her. It almost reaches her too but because she moves quickly it only manages to scratch her back superfluously, but in spite of the fact that it caused no injury it hurt enough to incite a scream from the quite calm and collected Senator. Anakin steers the beast he is riding over beneath the pillar and calls to Padme to jump down and after brief hesitation she does, landing squarely on the animal's back, right behind Anakin and she leans foward and kisses him on the cheek though no one else sees this. They then go and find Obi-Wan and he climbs on behind Padme. It seems that the trio are only delaying the inevitable until an unexpected Mace Windu shows up in the 'VIP box' where Count Dooku, Nute Gunray, Jango and Boba Fett, and various other important figures are watching. Mace soon reveals that the stadium is filled with hundreds of Jedi. A battle ensues between the Jedi and the Seperatist's enormous droid army. Padme holds her own with a pistol, she and Anakin fighting together in a way that seems surprisingly seemless. Anakin sarcastically asks her, "You call this a diplomatic solution?" She smiles breathlessly at him and replies, "No. I call it aggressive negotiations." Everyone fights valiantly but many of the Jedi die, until everyone is even more hopelessly outnumbered than when the battle began. Being surrounded by battle droids all of them had mutually determined that they would die before allowing themselves to become hostages for Count Dooku and the Seperatists to barter with and there seems to be little to no hope of escape. Padme then looks up into the sky and tells the others to also and up above them there are countless gunships in the sky, the lowest one containing Yoda and several clones. The battle is then more than a fair fight then for the Republic and they escape the arena, the fight moving to the general landscape of Geonosis. Padme, Anakin and Obi-Wan all find their way onto the same ship and soon find themselves in persuit of Count Dooku. Count Dooku sends the two who were flanking him behind the ship and they hit it twice, the first jarring it a bit and the second causing it to buffet even more. The second time the ship was hit Padme loses her grip and falls out of the ship down to the sandy terrain below. Anakin orders them to put the ship down, even attempting to defy Obi-Wan's orders until Obi-Wan reasons with him, asking him what Padme would do in the same situation. Padme remains laying on the group, unconscious for most of the time, while Anakin and Obi-Wan follow Dooku to a hangar. As soon as the ship pulls up it is hit and blows up so unless she'd managed to follow Anakin and Obi-Wan, Padme would have died had she not fallen out of the ship. When she awakes she shows one of the more powerful evidences that she does have some Force sensitivity, though she may have never been trained to use it. When she is stirred by a Clone Trooper they attempt to get her back to the base because she is injured and is a civilian in spite of having a gun but she blatantly refuses, recognizing mentally just how grave the situation was becoming for Anakin and Obi-Wan. She insists that he gather what men he can and that they must get to that hangar immediately. He obeys her orders and they get to the hangar only in time to see Dooku show his cowardice and escape. When they enter the hangar they find an exhausted Yoda, along with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan's leg and arm had been injured but Anakin fared far worse, having his arm severed just below the elbow, most of his natural forearm being gone. Padme runs up to him and holds him tightly, though no one seems to notice or care too much. Anakin receives a prosthesis and is allowed to "escort the Senator home". I'm not entirely sure why or how he was allowed to do this, considering Obi-Wan was now fully aware of just how much the Senator meant to his Padawan. In any case it seems that Obi-Wan may have intentionally covered for his friends. Back on Naboo, they pair are married in a quiet ceremony, witnessed only by the holy man, and their two droids- R2-D2 and C-3PO. The Clone Wars rage on for three long and gruelling years. The Chancellor continues to hold his emergency powers long after the imminent crisis that he spoke of when he took them upon was abated. A new enemy, General Grievous, allies himself with Count Dooku and the ever elusive Darth Sidious. Anakin and Obi-Wan, along with all the other Jedi, are named Generals in the Republican Army. Anakin and Padme manage to keep the true nature of their relationship well-hidden, Obi-Wan not even being completely sure of the real truth, probably due to the stress and distraction all around them. Anakin gains the rank of Jedi Knight, no longer Obi-Wan's Padawan, though he continues to be ordered about and does in fact listen to the older man... occasionally. Many find it rather disturbing that Anakin seems so attune to battle, that he seems to thrive in the military arena, but at the same time it makes the Jedi Council more convinced that he is the Chosen One, and more afraid of what exactly that may entail. Anakin and Padme even live together when they happen to be in the same place at the same time, but due to the war this doesn't appear to be very constant. Padme continues to be the Senator of Naboo and retains her Senatorial apartment on Coruscant. Anakin, now likely almost twenty-three, had been away for approximately five months, fighting alongside his fellow Jedi against the Seperatists. In the five months he was away Padme [now 27] learns that she is pregnant. When they are reunited Padme tells Anakin of this both wonderful and terrifying news. At first Anakin was overwhelmed and both of them were almost sickeningly afraid of the ramifications of their having a child because even if Padme were to have the child there would be questions about the child's parentage and that could spell ruin for Anakin's career as a Jedi, not to mention cause Padme to be ostracized. But after a moment Anakin refuses to think about that, saying that in spite of things being less than ideal that it was the happiest day of his life and that he was not going to let anything ruin it. When they are at home [Padme's apartment] Padme stand out on the balcony and brushes her hair, her pregnant belly actually showing without all of her complex political attire. She and Anakin fantasize about going away and rasing their child on Naboo away from the prying eyes of the Republic and of the Jedi. That night Anakin awakes to nightmares, the vivid kind of nightmares he had about his mother just before she died, but this time they are even more disturbing because he dreams that Padme will die in childbirth, at least this is how he interperets the dream. He gets up out of bed and goes back out onto the balcony. Padme, waking up alone, follows shortly thereafter. She finally gets him to tell her the truth about his dream and though she is a bit disturbed her first question was about the baby. He told her he did not know whether it would be safe or not... but he also promises her that he will not allow this to come true the way he had with his mother. Political intrigue becoming the norm in the Republic, Anakin finds himself in the middle of a silent battle between Palpatine and the Jedi Council. The Council wants Palpatine to lay down his emergency powers and he keeps refusing and so Palpatine requests that Anakin be put on the Council. He asks Anakin to be his eyes and ears among the Jedi. Anakin is reluctant but does not see how imminent the danger is in this request. Mace Windu and Yoda reluctantly grant Anakin a position on the Council but they do not grant him the rank of Jedi Master. Though Anakin did not accept the Chancellor's request for the purpose of becoming a Master this makes him very angry because being on the Council and being a Master had, up until that point, been synonymous and this could be read as a very grave insult. He tries not to allow it to bother him, and tries to soothe the tension in his strained relationship with Obi-Wan, but he cannot help but admit that the lack of gaining more power makes him angry. At some point Padme finally gets him to admit this to her and she tries to help him make sense of things. Anakin then discovers that Palpatine is, in fact, Darth Sidious, the evasive leader of the Sith. He becomes very angry with Palaptine's deception and was ready to kill him but realizes that killing him would only add to the darkness within his own soul. Palpatine tries to convince Anakin that if he were to learn the ways of the Dark Side that he would be able to save his wife. At first he attempts to do what he is sure is the right thing and goes to turn Palpatine in to Master Windu. When he does he begins to have doubts, wondering if Palpatine could have been telling the truth, and attempts to get Mace to allow him to go along but Mace refuses, for Anakin's safety if nothing else. Anakin stays behind in the Temple, for a while, until he finally comes to the conclusion that Palpatine truly is the only way to save Padme so he goes to the Chancellor's office. There he finds Mace towering over a feigning-weak Palpatine, preparing to kill him. Palpatine pleads for mercy, sounding quite pitiful. Anakin is very torn until he sees that Palpatine truly is about to be killed (or rather let himself be killed) and then jumps into the fight to save his elderly friend. He cuts off Mace's saber-arm and without this protection the Master is weakened and easily defeated, being thrown off a ledge from the broken wall-window. "...Goodbye... - Taken from 'Candle in the Wind' by Elton John.
Vital Statistics
Birth Name: Padme Naberrie
Regent Name: Padme Amidala
Legal Name (?): Padme Naberrie Amidala (Skywalker)
Known as: Padme Amidala
Nickname(s): Angel*
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4
Occupation: Senator (Queen of Naboo[age 14- approx. 22]/ Princess of Theed [EU]/ Anakin's Angel)
Born: 46 BBY
Died: 19 BBY
Species: Human
Planet of Origin: Naboo
Parentage: (Mother) Jobal Naberrie, (Father) Ruwee Naberrie
Age Lived To: 27
Spouse: Anakin Skywalker
Child(ren): Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa 
Biography:
Padme was born in a small mountain village on the planet Naboo to Jobal and Ruwee Naberrie. She has an older sister named Sola who eventually had two daughters named Ryoo and Pooja. (Pooja, in particular, would play a substantial role in the EU of Star Wars, as I understand.)
From a very young age she was involved in public service, joining the Refugee Relief movement where she assists in the failed attempt to relocate the Shadda-Bi-Boran as their system's sun was dying. At the age of eight she joins the Apprentice Legislature (elsewhere referred to as the Legislative Youth Program, I believe) where she is first introduced to politics. At the age of twelve she is elected Princess of Theed, something equivilent to the office of mayor in the capital city of Naboo. Two years later she becomes one of the youngest Queens of Naboo ever elected.
The beginning of her reign is beset with crisis as the Trade Federation blockades Naboo, hoping to take over the planet for financial benefit (at least that's their aparent reason). At first she refuses to go to war with them, both because of her personal beliefs about war and a cocern for the well-being of her people. Instead she reaches out to the Galactic Senate for help. Supreme Chancellor Valorum then dispatches two Jedi to negotiate with the Trade Federation.
The two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Learner**, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are welcomed onto the Trade Federation ship that is orbitting Naboo but they never actually speak to anyone of authority. Rather the Trade Federation's Viceroy, fearing the Jedi, makes several rather feeble attempts on their lives. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan discover that the Trade Federation has compiled a droid invasion army and they decide that it is imperative for them to get to the Queen so they stow away on a Federation ship that is en route for the planet's surface.
When they reach the planet they meet Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan***, another creature who would play a somewhat important role in Padme's life.
Meanwhile the Trade Federation invade Theed and take Padme, her advisors and her handmaidens captive. They try to threaten and persuade Queen Amidala to sign a treaty that would make their invasion legal but to no avail. The two Jedi save Padme and most of her staff from the Federation, only a few staying behind on Naboo after the Jedi convince the Queen to come with them to Coruscant, the captial of the Republic.
The ship that they acquire from the hangar narrowly escapes Naboo's airspace, its hyperdrive being broken in the process, meaning that they could not jump to hyperspace and could not feasibly get to Coruscant without it being fixed. Obi-Wan looks at a schematic of the area and suggests that they land on the small and remote planet of Tatooine. Tatooine, controlled by a band of greedy gangsters called the Hutts rather than the Republic, would be a wise choice he suggests because at least there no one would be looking for the Queen. The Queen's security reluctantly agrees and they land on Tatooine to try to get their ship fixed.
When on Tatooine Padme accompanies Qui-Gon and Jar Jar into the city-center of Mos Espa, claiming to be one of the Queen's handmaidens rather than the Queen herself. Qui-Gon sees through this rouse but does not point it out and reluctantly allows her to come along. When they arrive in Mos Espa they go to the first small junk shop they can find, this particular one belonging to a Toydarian**** named Watto. Qui-Gon goes outside to haggle with the stubborn creature, trying to persuade him to accept Republic credits. Padme is left in the room with Jar Jar and a little boy, Anakin Skywalker, the nine, almost ten-year-old slave of Watto.
Anakin asks Padme if she is an angel, explaining that angels are the most beautiful creatures in the Universe, making his opinion of her quite clear. She laughs off the rather over-the-top compliment and the two quickly become friends. Padme and Anakin part company when Qui-Gon, Jar Jar and she leave the shop.
Anakin aparently follows them after he completes the tasks Watto gave him to do and he saves Jar Jar narrowly from a scrape with a particularly mean and nasty creature named Sebulba, Anakin's rival. Anakin then begins to follow the group around. He shows them around Mos Espa for a bit, while I'm sure Qui-Gon tried to find some way to pay for the parts the ship needs.
Soon a sand storm comes and Anakin offers his new friends shelter in his mother's (and thus his) home. As soon as they arrive Padme is quickly ushered by Anakin to see the droid he built- C-3PO. The droid is still without a covering, wires and metal workings showing all over instead. Padme is impressed with the boy's ingenuity, marvelling at how well-made the protocol droid is.
Age 14
Reluctantly Qui-Gon agrees to sponser Anakin in the Boonta Eve pod-race, allowing Anakin to use a pod that the boy had built from spare parts over time. Padme is very unsure about whether or not trusting their fate to this boy "they hardly know" is wise- but further she is concerned for his safety- he is very young and pod-racing is very dangerous. Anakin wins the race, and- due to Watto's love of gambling- his freedom.
Anakin then, after a very reluctant goodbye to his mother, accompanies them on their repaired ship to Coruscant.
While on the ship Anakin gives Padme a Japor Snippet that he'd carved for her, for her to "remember him by"; she explains that she won't need it to remember him but she accepts it quite welcomely anyway. She promises him that regardless of how many things could and would change when they reached the capital that her "caring for him would remain". A promise that would prove more true than she could have possibly known.
When they arrive on Naboo, Padme, whom Anakin still believes to be a handmaiden rather than the Queen, takes him under her wing for a time while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan appear before the Jedi Council. Padme still manages to keep her true identity hidden from him, even when appearing as the Queen before Senator Palpatine and the Senate. Padme trusts Palpatine, the Senator from Naboo, and reluctantly calls for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum, believing it to be the only way to speed up the process of getting help to her people. Palpatine is then nominated as a candidate for the chair of Supreme Chancellor. Padme eventually decides to return to her home planet of Naboo, in spite of the urgings of Palpatine and her security to remain on Coruscant where she will be safe. She refuses, saying that her place "is with her people".
Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Jar Jar and Anakin accompany Padme and her staff back to Naboo, Anakin tagging along by Qui-Gon's wishes because the Jedi had not accepted him for training yet, maintaining that he was too old to begin proper training. Padme formulates a plan to win the capital back and has the "Queen" ask Jar Jar to take her to the leader of the Gungans- Boss Nass. Jar Jar, having been banished himself, doesn't really want to but finally agrees for her sake.
It is only when begging the assistance of the Gungans and their army that Padme reveals her identity as the true Queen, much to the dismay of everyone, including her bodyguard, Sabe, who was posing as the Queen- the two Jedi knew all along however.
The Gungans, being pleased that the Naboo have acknowledged them as relative equals, agree to help with the counter-coup. Padme, now in a full and open position of authority explains her plan to Boss Nass, the Jedi and her head of security, Anakin standing nearby. She has Boss Nass send the Gungan Army, newly named General Jar Jar Binks in-tow, to face off against the Federation's invasion army. The others accompany her into the capital city, where they slip past security until they are forced to run through, blasters ablaze. When they enter the palace they split into two groups, Padme in one group and Sabe, her decoy, in the other- but not before Qui-Gon insists that Anakin sit and wait in a Naboo fighter ship. The two Jedi diverge from the group, instead following the Sith Lord Darth Maul into a confrontation.
Padme and her group eventually make their way to the throne room, where they are then surrounded by Federation Soliders and destroyer droids, also called Droideka's. Padme tells her security to lower their weapons, saying that the Federation had won that round. The Viceroy seems to recognize Padme as the Queen without her royal garb but soon the other group- the one with Sabe, still in her royal attire- show up, guns drawn. The Viceroy, fearful, makes the rash decision of sending nearly all of his defenses after the new arrivals, the others having already relinquished their weapons. As soon as most of the Viceroy's security is gone Padme hops up onto the throne and presses a well-hidden button, causing a panel to slide back, revealing a small stash of weapons- very curious considering her generally pacifistic stance on thing. She tosses several to a few of her security staff and tells the Viceroy that now they will discuss a new treaty.
Meanwhile the Gungans are not fairing well in battle but just as it seems necessary that they surrender or be completely annihilated Anakin, who in trying to defend himself without running away accidentally engaged the fighter's autopilot, ends up destroying the Federation's Droid Control Ship- meaning that all of their legions of battle droids are rendered entirely useless, leading the Gungans to an obvious victory.
Naboo is saved from the would-be coup by the resourcefulness of a young Queen, a small boy, a blundering Gungan and a pair of Jedi, but not without a loss. During the fight with Darth Maul Qui-Gon Jinn was killed. Palpatine, Senator of Naboo and newly elected Supreme Chancellor of the Senate returns to Naboo to congratulate Queen Amidala and tells her that together they would bring prosperity and order to the galaxy. Formal peace is made between the Gungans and the other citizens of Naboo and a celebration is held. Obi-Wan Kenobi is recognized by his colleagues as a Jedi Knight- no longer an apprentice to anyone but a Jedi of his own right. Also, after much hesitation, the Jedi Council, Yoda in particular, allows Obi-Wan to keep his word to his dying Master by allowing him to take on Anakin Skywalker as his Padawan Learner. Though all seems well on the surface, this course of events does not bode well for the Jedi at all- for once again the Sith have made themselves known.
And so, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker- now Obi-Wan's Padawan- are sent to Padme's apartment. Anakin is very nervous about seeing her again after ten years, it becoming very obvious that his infatuation with her had not died but had only grown with time. Obi-Wan seems somewhat concerned by this, but not overly seeing as most Jedi at some point or another have a love interest but because of greater responsibilities choose on their own not to pursue it.
Padme is very pleased to see Obi-Wan again but for a few moments doesn't even recognize Anakin- who is now a handsome young man who'd just turned twenty, rather than a little boy. When she does recognize him she is also very pleased to see him, but more shocked than anything. She tries to regain her footing against his ill-attempt to flatter her by saying that he would "always be the little boy she knew on Tatooine".
Later, after yet another attempt on her life Padme is put solely under the protection of Anakin whilst Obi-Wan is given a mandate to go to a remote planet called Kamino to search for answers about the mysterious assassination attempts. The young pair are sent back to Padme's home planet of Naboo, disguised as refugees on their trip. On their trip Anakin falls asleep and Padme for the first time witnesses his fitful nightmares- seeing him cry out for his mother in his sleep pains her. When they get there they go before Queen Jamillia- who followed Padme in succession- and discuss the best course of action. Padme suggests that perhaps she and Anakin could go into the Lake Country of Naboo where they would be relatively secluded and safe. Anakin is a bit annoyed by Padme's trying to run things but holds his egotism at bay for the most part for her sake.
Before going to the Lake Country, Padme and Anakin set off to visit Padme's family. When they get there Anakin is introduced to Padme's nieces- Ryoo and Pooja, her sister Sola, and her mother and father. They stay for dinner and an awkward moment comes and passes as Sola assumes that Anakin is Padme's boyfriend- if that'd been the case he would've been the first one she'd ever brought home. In spite of the fact that Anakin, and perhaps even Padme, might have wished it so it was not the case and so Padme quickly dispells the misconception- explaining that Anakin was the little boy who'd helped in the counter-coup ten years previously and that now he was protecting her at the order of the Jedi Council. Padme's parents are very concerned by the fact that she needs a bodyguard and Padme tries to reassure them that it's nothing terribly serious, as usual attempting to undermine their concern for her. Her father asks Anakin instead, knowing that Padme would tell them that everything was fine whether it was or not. Anakin, going against what he knows Padme wants but with what he feels to be best, tells Padme's father the truth- that she is in quite serious danger but explains that Obi-Wan, his Master, is investigating the plot against Padme and that the danger should be abated soon.
Padme is very annoyed by the fact that Anakin refused to help her calm her parents fears but her anger is dispelled by the fact that he cares enough about her to be honest with them.
Later Padme is helping her mother and sister clean up after dinner and Sola continues to tease her little sister about Anakin who is out in the garden with their father. Padme insists that Anakin is just her friend and that their relationship is strictly professional- but as she looks out the window, down at her father and Anakin talking to one another in the garden below- it's obvious by her sigh and the look on her face that she wishes that at least that didn't have to be so.
When they arrive at the Lake Retreat, an island resort of sorts out in a remote part of Naboo, they walk over next to a balustrade and lean against the railing, and have a conversation about Padme's school days and how she and her classmates would come there and swim. Their conversation eventually meanders to talking about those things that are real, those things that are imaginary, and those things that can only be real in a place like Naboo. Anakin reaches up and touches Padme's arm and for the first time she doesn't resist and so he leans in and brushes his lips against hers, perhaps a bit timidly and she kisses back but only for a moment, quickly forcing herself to come back down to the reality that she forces herself to know- the reality that she is a Senator and has responsibilities to the Republic and that he is a Jedi and has responsibilities to the Jedi Order and that nothing can or ever should exist between them.
The next day they go out to a meadow, surrounded by waterfalls and have a picnic of sorts, aparently having nothing better to do while in hiding. There they have a conversation about Padme's past again, Anakin prying until she tells him about the one 'boyfriend' she'd had as a child- a boy named Palo when she was twelve. Padme continues to slowly realize that in spite of her trying to fight against it that her relationship with Anakin is taking on colors that a strictly platonic one perhaps shouldn't have. They also have a conversation about political systems and Padme is very concerned by Anakin's leanings perhaps against democracy, believing that because people disagree at times that maybe it can't work.
They then walk amongst a herd of friendly grazing animals, native to Naboo, called Shaaks. Anakin attempts to ride one of them, once again trying to show off. He gets bucked however as the Shaak runs and he falls to the ground, and he appears to try to get up but again collapses, laying on his stomach against the ground. Padme is terrified when she sees this, having the strange emotion that perhaps her whole world could collapse around her but her fear quickly fades into childlike annoyance as she realizes that Anakin is faking, merely to frighten her. She laughs at him and playfully hits him, ending up vaguely on top of him and the pair roll for a bit, for the moment not fully thinking through their physical proximity to one another- being lost in a childlike freedom that perhaps neither of them had ever known.
That evening they share dinner together at the resort, their only company being the employees that work there who constantly make themselves nearly invisible. Padme is bemused by Anakin antics- his taking a bear and using the Force to float it to himself, he cuts it, and floats a piece of it back to her. They then go to a sitting room of sorts where they sit by a fireplace in the dark, and Anakin finally confesses his feelings for her, saying:
"From the moment I met you, all those years ago, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you. And now that I'm with you again... I'm in agony. The closer I get to you, the worse it gets. The thought of not being with you- I can't breathe. I'm haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me. My heart is beating... hoping that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me... what can I do? I will do anything you ask.... If you are suffering as much as I am, please, tell me."
Padme Naberrie Amidala
Age 24
Padme Amidala Skywalker in her wedding gown
Anakin then sees that he has crossed the point of no return and explains that he cannot live without Padme- that he will now do whatever Palpatine asks. Thus Darth Sidious dubs Anakin a Lord of the Sith- Darth Vader. His first mission is to go to the mining-complex, volcanic planet of Mustafar to kill the rest of the Seperatist leaders. He does so.
Age: 27
[A picture of her with her pregnant-belly visible is below.]
After Obi-Wan has aparently accepted her inability to reveal Anakin's location and has seemingly left she goes out to her ship and insists that she go alone, spare 3PO. She goes to Mustafar, not knowing that Obi-Wan has stowed away in a small cargo area.
When she arrives she runs into Anakin's arms and the couple embrace, Anakin's face still wet from tears of indecision after he killed the Seperatist leaders. She explains to him what she's heard about his killing younglings and turning to the Dark Side and she hopes that he will tell her that what she has heard is a lie but he only reiterates it- explaining his reasons. Even this doesn't appall her to the point of leaving and she pleads him to leave the public life with her, to run away and raise their child and to leave politics and the world they know behind to a place where they will be safe from the Emperor but Anakin refuses, saying that Palpatine's powers are the only thing that will save her life- that love will not be enough to spare her from her deadly fate and that after he has attained this power that he can kill Palpatine and that they can run the galaxy in the way it should be.
Padme refuses, tearfully lamenting that she "does not know" her husband anymore and that he is breaking her heart by going down a path that she cannot follow.
Padme is then taken to Polis Massa, an asteroid where the remaining Loyalists have found refuge from the Emperor, to a medical facility. There she gives birth to two beautiful, healthy children who would change her husband's terrible fate and that of the galaxy in their lifetimes- she names these two children Luke and Leia.
She then dies for a mysterious reason that even the medical staff cannot discern. I have a theory about this but I will express it later but for now I will say that it was NOT from childbirth itself.
And with that one of the most beautiful and influential women of the Star Wars galaxy was reduced to only her legacy through the lives of her children and to the remaining spark of light in her husband's heart.
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Goodbye..."
Related links to be added.
Textual Notes:
*I listed "Angel" as a nickname for her because even though she doesn't get called "Angel" or an angel too often Anakin calls her one in TPM and I wanted something to put under the heading.
**A Padawan Learner is the official title of an apprentice Jedi. It usually refers to one who has been taken under the wing of a particular Jedi as an individual student, though those that commonly are called "Younglings" are also technically Padawans.
***Gungans are a somewhat militaristic amphibious race whose native environment is the oceanic core and ocean of Naboo. The most prominent in the Star Wars series is Jar Jar Binks.
****Toydarians are a race of creatures like Watto, bulbous-flying-things who are, for whatever reason, immune to Jedi mind tricks and do not seem impressed with the Force at all.
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