The Dark Handmaiden | Anakin Skywalker

5. Secrets

Valis spent the remainder of the night with Dormé as they both comforted the Senator.

As they gathered in the dimly-lit lounge, all of them dressed in their night-clothing, it was clear that no one would be getting any sleep tonight. Padmé looked pale and shaken as she lay back on the yellow couch.

'Master Kenobi will find the killer, my lady,' Dormé attempted to reassure the Senator from where she knelt by her side, 'I am sure of it.'

Valis, on the other hand, was not so sure.

Staring out of the large window at the vibrant lights and flying speeders of Coruscant, she wondered what the Jedi were doing. Had it been the wisest decision for her to have thrown herself in like that? She had sensed the intruder before the Jedi, burst into Padmé's room before they had even made it down the hallway. Valis knew there would be questions.

'Valis?' Dormé's gentle voice pulled her out of her reverie, 'are you alright? You've barely said a word.'

Valis turned away from the window to find the concerned faces of both the handmaiden and the Senator looking at her. 'Yes,' she hugged herself in an attempt to appear fragile, 'just shaken, that's all.'

'I would be dead if it wasn't for you,' Padmé breathed with tears swimming in her brown eyes, 'thank you.'

I didn't do it for you, Valis thought, I did it for him. She offered Padmé a small smile; 'I'm just glad I heard the intruder,' she lied, 'besides, it's Anakin that deserves your thanks, he's the one that really rescued you.'

Padmé contemplated her handmaiden's words. She just hoped that whoever, or whatever it was that was trying to kill her, was now under the arrest of the Jedi.

~

The following morning it was decided by Captain Typho that the Senator could no longer stay in her apartment.

Whoever had tried to kill her somehow knew where Padmé slept and that alarmed him. Valis and Dormé assisted Padmé with the move. Together, and with the help of a polite service droid, they transported her wardrobe and valuables across the Senate complex to a new, more secure apartment.

Valis had not seen Master Obi-wan Kenobi or Anakin Skywalker since they had gone chasing after the assailant. She had heard from Captain Typho that they had captured a changeling, only for it to die before they could bring it in for questioning. Typho had assured the Senator that an emergency summit was to be held at the Jedi Temple and that, above all, her safety was being treated as a matter of urgency.

When Padmé was settled into her new lodgings, Valis excused herself, declaring that she needed to rest. It wasn't a lie necessarily; she needed to meditate. With all the recent commotion she had been neglecting her connection to the Force but, if she wanted to maintain her mental defences around the Jedi, that would have to change.

Opting to sit on the carpeted floor of her new room, Valis closed her eyes and tried to relax. Just as she felt her vibrational energy increase, there was a loud knock on the door. Her eyes shot open.

'Missa Valisss,' the unmistakable voice of Jar Jar Binks penetrated the wood of the door, 'issa Ani here to see yousa.'

Ani? Valis frowned. Anakin? Why would the Padawan be here to see her? Surely he was here to see Padmé?

Valis leapt up from the carpet. 'I'll be right there Jar Jar,' she called out.

Tucking a few stray curls behind her ears and smoothing out the high-neck gown she was wearing, Valis prepared to face the Jedi. She wondered if this visitation had anything to do with her handiwork in fighting off the Kouhuns.