Who Are You?

A Visit From the Past

"This is most unfortunate..."

The words seemed to echo all around as Padmé struggled to find any semblance of focus.  Her mind felt as though it was melting away, like a piece of ice creating a puddle.  Spreading along and growing thinner as more is left behind.  It wasn't a bad feeling, yet something about it didn't seem quite right.  The spread came to a halt.

"That's it, Padmé.  It's not your time yet...relatively speaking."

The voice was a bit clearer this time, though Padmé still couldn't fathom where it was coming from.  It perplexed her, and she could feel her thoughts returning back to her as she tried longer to figure it out.  Unfortunately, the longer she thought, the more her mind began to wander.

"Your purpose Padmé!  Don't forget why you're here!"

It finally clicked.  Padmé's eyes burst open, and she was greeted by a foggy world shrouded in darkness.  A single figure stood crouched next to her.  He smiled down proudly, before standing and offering her his hand.  Padmé's eyes narrowed as she slowly sat up.  She noted his white robes and long hair, as well as the strangely familiar look of his face, he was like someone from a dream...or perhaps a memory?  Suddenly, images of her past bombarded her newly reconstituted thoughts. All at once, she was a fifteen year old queen dressed in a handmaiden's clothes, escaping her home planet, traversing an endless desert, and fighting her first war. There were others, a young boy who held her hand and followed her through the upper city, a bumbling Gungan who seemed to make a mess of everything he touched, and two Jedi determined to play negotiators. The older one, with his cream colored robes and long hair, she remembered the night he burned, a traditional Jedi funeral she had been told. Padmé felt her eyes grow wide, and she nearly fell back over.

"Master Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn?!"

The man chuckled to himself, as if he had been expecting such a reaction. "It's been some time, your majesty."

Padmé could only nod in response. It feels like a lifetime ago...

Qui-Gon didn't wait for her to grab his hand, instead he took hers.

"Up you go."

Padmé barely registered the change, and as she stumbled to her feet, she continued staring intently at the Jedi. For the most part, Qui-Gon didn't seem to mind, in fact, the man still held the same slightly smug air Padmé remembered.

Always right about everything, she recalled silently...or at least she THOUGHT it was silent.

"I'm not always right, I just come incredibly close to being so," Qui-Gon smiled, obviously enjoying the new batch of reactions Padmé provided.

"How did you-"

"-read your mind?"

Glaring at the Jedi, Padmé was quickly losing her patience. Sensing her discontent, or probably just listening to the less than cordial thoughts she was currently having, Qui-Gon quietly tapped the side of his head.

"You were practically one with the Force by the time I found you, your majesty. And, as such, you've seemed to left a piece of yourself behind. I regret that I wasn't able to reach you in enough time to prevent the loss, but it could have been a lot worse."

"The Force..." Padmé whispered, seeing as there was no point thinking it. Instead, her mind was busy trying to understand what Qui-Gon had actually been trying to explain. When she was coming up with nothing, she heard the Jedi speak once again.

"I just guess it wasn't your time yet."

"My time," Padmé repeated back.

A few moments passed, and Qui-Gon was actually starting to look a bit worried at Padmé's lack of a reaction.