come into the water | padmé amidala

One. ( The Beginning Of The End. )

chapter one. the beginning of the end.
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IZALA IELLAN gently lowered her craft into the lower levels of Coruscant, the fading sound of hissing gas filling the air, she felt the ship jerk one last time before it halted in its place. A disappointed sigh escaped her pink lips. Her eyes flickered across the control panel one last time. Gathering her belongings — which wasn't much — she lowered the ramp and walked down idly. Izala looked around wearily, eyes darting across the crowded streets. Her eyes honed into a specific person, just who she was looking for.

"Mercer Jean!" She called to him from across the street. At any other place she probably would've gotten questioning looks from passerby, but Coruscant was always on the go. No one cared about anyone. But precautions still stood.

"Ianna! A pleasure to see you again." He waved again, gesturing her to cross over. She did so, following him into the bar he awaited outside of.

Live music bounced across the walls of the pub originating from the front corner by the entrance. A large bar stood amid the center of the room encased by wooden stools and dark marble counters. The two took a seat at the counter while they made small talk as to not seem suspicious while they got served their drinks, Meero a glass of whiskey and Izala water. She wasn't much of a drinker, at least not anymore. Not after that night.

After Meero had a few sips of information, the information spewed from his mouth, "So I hear you need another job."

"You heard right, Meero." She addressed him by his real last name, which she couldn't do very often. But it was loud, very loud.

"Keep quiet, Izala." He mimicked with a humorous eye roll, "The reward of this bounty is negotiable, but the initial offer is 101,000 credits for she who commits treason against the Republic."

"Who is she?" Izala pondered, taking a sip of her own whiskey. It was strong, but not strong enough for Meero to be tipsy off of three sips. She figured he'd drank a little before her arrival.

"We'll get to her later." Meero stuck a hand up to cease Izala from speaking. She furrowed her brows, confused by his sudden abruptness, but let him continue, "How long've you been hunting?"

"About three years." Izala responded. She couldn't help but think of the days that weren't filled with blood and lost lives. It was much better.

"Okay." He nodded slowly. Izala slightly questioned his weird behavior, but she kept her expressionless look with another sip of alcohol. "She was reported to have been seen at an undocumented meeting of negotiation with several officials of the Galactic Empire."

Izala raised her eyebrows, it had to have been a sort of politician because otherwise, an undisclosed meeting would be worth a single credit.

"Who reported seeing her? And who was reported to be at the meeting with her?" Izala asked. She liked to have as much information as possible before agreeing to a bounty, for obvious reasons.

"Val Daivand reported it. He claims he had walked past the conference room and she was in there with Jallo Kivall, Rena Ener, and Sion Tarkal of the Empire."

Izala nodded intently upon hearing the information. This was an odd thing to have a bounty for, at least from all of the bounties Izala had ever taken. It was mostly little things like smuggling or possession of illegal spacecraft. This was new, and something exciting in a very twisted way.

"So," Izala began, "can I know who it is now?"

"Not yet." Meero responded. Izala's expression fell into that of a blank stare, her eyes drooping lowly as he ordered another drink, "One more thing."

"Which is?"

"If you'd let me finish," He snapped causing Izala to breathe in a sharp inhale of irritation, "I believe you might know this person."

"Well if you'd tell me who it is then maybe I'd know." Meero shot her a glare before taking one last sip of his drink. He placed the glass down on the counter with a clang alongside the money for his drink and stood up from his chair.

"Padmé Amidala." And with that, he started to walk away, "Get it done, find me, and then you'll get paid."

A burning feeling aches along Izala's chest, it felt like her rib cage was closing in on her beating heart and breathing lungs. A frown spread along her lips, eyes instantly dropping down to the counter. Leaving a half empty glass of water on the counter she placed credits beside it and left.

The night air was crisp and the breeze brushed along her goosebump-lined skin. She wandered idly along the street, arms wrapped around her torso to trap the heat against her flesh.

Her mind swirled with thoughts. Good, bad, ugly. Yet all of them seemed to have one person in it. Her brown hair curled around her temples and her smile that shined like a torch in a dimly lit cave. Her eyes, the ones Izala could get lost in for hours.

Suddenly the blaster attached to Izala's hip weighed a million tons.

AUTHOR'S NOTE ## purposely short chapter to set up for the next chapter, it's literally not even 1000 words....my apologies for the lack of padme, but soon. thanks for reading!! remember that ily <3