chapter seventeen

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Ryha stood outside of Padmé's chamber doors for a considerable amount of time, unknowing of how to approach her situation.  She was on the mend, still not to full health but not on the brink anymore either, and she was about to get married.  But there were two things to consider: she didn't know how to get married, and she had absolutely nothing to wear. 

To no one's surprise, Tatooine was not the most romantic destination for a wedding, so they weren't had with the same grandeur and elegance as most others on different systems.  Not that that was something she craved — she was never one for the gaudy things in life — but she knew that she could not get married in her tattered mission clothes. 

The thought of it was still shocking to her: she was getting married.

Biting her lip, she contemplated just turning around and sucking it up, not wanting to inconvenience Padmé any further.  She'd already done so much for the girl, who was she to add another burden to her plate?  But Anakin had assured her that Padmé would help her with anything she might need, while he went off to find someone to officiate the ceremony.

Which brought her back to her current situation: stood in front of the double doors, hands clenched at her sides, and eyebrows drawn in worry. 

She couldn't do it.  She couldn't.  It was rude of her, imposing like that, especially on her future employer.  Maker, what was she thinking?  If Anakin loved her enough in her tattered clothes to propose, he loved her enough in her tattered clothes to marry her.  Sucking in a breath, she turned her heel to leave but was interrupted by the doors opening.

"Ryha?" Padmé asked, pleasantly surprised by the young woman's presence.  "You're up!  Oh, I'm so glad to see you're okay!"

Ryha froze in her place and looked down at Padmé with wide eyes, not knowing what to do next. 

"Is everything alright?  Did you need anything?"

"I-I..." she sputtered, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. 

Do it for Anakin. He deserved a bride to be proud of.

"I need your help, Senator Amidala."

Padmé smiled comfortingly, doing her best to ease the clear worry across her features. 

"Of course, Ryha, and you can call me Padmé, it's alright.  What's the matter?"

"It's... something secret.  Something that only you can know."

At this, Padmé's eyes widened.  This was most certainly the last thing she expected of Ryha's surprise visit.

"Come in," she invited, moving aside so the girl could enter her chambers. 

Ryha kept her head down as she walked through the threshold, but upon looking up, her wide eyes got even bigger.  It was the nicest room she'd ever been in — easily the size of her home back in Tatooine, if not bigger.  There was a royal sized bed in the middle of her room, and there were two women in the room with her, ready to assist her in all of her needs.  Was that what she was going to be doing?

"Ladies, if you could give us a moment," Padmé spoke politely, leading Ryha over to the bed and sitting down as the women made their exit.  "Thank you."

Ryha waited until the doors latched shut before turning her attention back to Padmé with much apprehension.

"Tell me, what's wrong, Ryha?  You're worrying me.  Do I need to call Anakin?"

"No, no, I'm fine," she reassured.  "Actually, it's more about Anakin than anything."

"Oh?"

"He... He asked me to marry him."

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