Memories

Chapter 1.

I walked through the gardens, running my gloved fingers across the morning dewdrops that glistened on the pale pink rose petals. The golden light of the barely-risen sun reflected off the hundreds of tiny half-spheres, sending slivers of hope into my low mood. I hadn't slept hardly at all last night, and I was exhausted because of it. Sleep evaded me, or rather, I evaded sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I was hit by a memory.

She lay dying in my arms. I couldn't believe that I was too late. Had I come a week, even a day, earlier, maybe I could have saved her. But there she was, weak and wounded, dying in my arms. Scars and cuts marred her beautiful, gentle face, and her wrists told of the ropes that had been so cruelly tied around them. She was in so much pain, and she had been waiting, asking, begging for me to come. But I was too late.

"You look ... so handsome." She reached up to brush my face, her cracked voice searing into my breaking heart. "I ... love ...."

My blue eyes snapped open again, the memory a fresh wound in my mind. I traced my bare fingertips across the droplets on my black glove, loving the feeling of water on my hand. Two years had passed since she died – exactly two years.

I found sweet solace walking through the quiet stillness of the gardens, brushing my fingers over the soft flowers and experiencing the thrill prompted by the cool bite of dew. My only company at this time of morning was a pair of perfectly-white doves, who were settled in one of the trees and cooing softly to each other. I stood watching them for a full five minutes, the caring companionship between the two birds reminding me of the gentle love of my beautiful wife. It never ceased to amaze me how Padmé Amidala, the fiery, strong-willed senator of Naboo, could be the graceful and forever-attentive light of my life. She always knew just the right thing to say to me, and she constantly remained loyal to me, even if we had to be galaxies apart. How I wished she was at my side now. But just the thought of her pretty face and sparkling smile was enough to lighten my mood, and I continued my slow amble through the Jedi gardens, occasionally reaching out to touch and feel the plants.

My black boots clicked quietly along the stone pathway that snaked its way through the gardens, morphing into the background noises of distant speeders and ships. I don't know how much time passed before I reached one of the carved, bench seats which were littered throughout the area. I sat down stiffly, uncaring of the dust that would likely cling to my dark brown pants, and breathed in deeply, taking in the sweet, slightly smoky Coruscant air. A gentle breeze puffed through the trees and shrubs, ruffling the loose, cream-white shirt that I wore and blowing my dark blond hair into my face. I pushed my wavy locks back slowly, ignoring the sting of the scar which ran down my right eye. In my mind's eye, I pictured the scar on my face, then scrunched my eyes shut when I was hit by the memory again. She was scarred, wounded, bruised ....

I forced my eyes open as fast as I had closed them. That was it. I was going to see Padmé. Standing up, I checked the sky as a gauge for the time. The sun still hung low on the horizon, so I would have time at least to pop in on her. She was probably just getting up but wouldn't have started her senatorial duties yet.

In a matter of minutes, I was sneaking onto the balcony that branched off her apartment and knocking softly on the crystalline glass doors. I felt like Romeo waiting for his beloved to appear at the window. Then she was at the door, opening it with a flustered frown of confusion on her beautiful face. A navy-blue dress, tightened at the waist and wrists, accentuated her slight figure, and she had a hand dug into her curly brown hair as I had caught her part way through doing it up.

"Ani," she scolded, her brown eyes anxiously darting to the other door in her apartment, "you shouldn't be here! And why aren't you dressed properly?" She indicated with something akin to disgust to the loose shirt that replaced my normal Jedi robes. "What do you want?"