In the Aftermath

Lunch with the Enemy

In all the time she's taken to distance herself from the man, Palpatine never actually tried to seek Padmé out.  In fact, aside from a few stretched out instances of small talk, the chancellor hardly ever acknowledges her existence nowadays.  This was all by her design, of course, and necessary for all of the plans to be able to take place out of his sight.  However, and Padmé hated to admit it despite herself, the outright rejection by a person she at one time held up as a friend had stung.  It was ridiculous and incredibly juvenile, but she had hoped that maybe, just maybe, her judgment hadn't been so off in the beginning.  That perhaps at one point in the entire time they had known each other, Palpatine had genuinely cared about her, and not only used her to further himself. Unfortunately, it seemed he was right about her naivety.

"You really don't have to do this," Anakin repeated for about the fifth time. "The council ordered me to be here, not you."

Padmé rolled her eyes as they reached the door to the chancellor's office. Palpatine had been very eager to meet with Anakin as soon as the Jedi Knight reached out, and he had even cleared his schedule for the afternoon. It all left a sour taste in Padmé's mouth, while Anakin only commented that it wasn't the first time Palpatine had done such a thing on his account.

"I'm not leaving you alone with him," Padmé firmly reminded. 

Anakin gave a worried look, before sighing in acquiesce.  There was no stopping Padmé, not from this.  The chancellor's secretary soon let them know it was alright to go in, and Anakin opened the door.  However, he lingered by the entrance. Padmé stared up at him worryingly. A faint sheen of sweat could be seen on accumulating on his forehead, just barely concealed by his hair.  All while his eyes seemed to dart across the room. However, Anakin clearly tried to force himself to smile, or at least appear a little more casual, when Palpatine gestured for them to enter. Padmé's grin came a bit more naturally, as she was far more experienced with burying her true feelings under a polite face. A lifetime career in politics will do that to someone.

"Anakin, it's so nice to see you!" Palpatine exclaimed as he met them halfway in the room. "And, Senator Amidala as well. Always a pleasure."

Padmé couldn't help but notice the barest minimum of strain in Palatine's voice when he greeted her.  It was obvious that he had not been expecting her presence, or at least, he wasn't exactly pleased with it.  Still, he kept his smile.

"I hope you don't mind, Chancellor," Padmé apologized in a gracious sounding manner.  "Jedi Knight Skywalker was assigned to guard me by the council."

Palpatine gave her a curt nod.  "Oh, but of course, my dear.  With all these rumors floating around, it would only be natural that the Jedi would fear for you in particular.  After all, it was only a year ago that you were almost taken from us permanently."

Memories of her encounter with the emperor suddenly bombarded Padmé's mind, and all at once, she could see the disgusting monster peering out from behind the facade of Palpatine. She practically felt his yellow eyes bore into her, waiting for his chance to snatch away her life and lay claim to her family. Padmé suppressed a shudder, but unconsciously placed a hand on her stomach.  Anakin must have noticed her discomfort, which only meant Palpatine did as well, and he took a step in between her and the chancellor. 

"Maybe we should go get some lunch?" He weakly suggested, perhaps playing off of Padmé's action.  "Senator Amidala and I haven't eaten yet, would you care to join us, Chancellor?"

Palpatine was clearly thrown by the offer, and Padmé suspected that he would have preferred to keep the meeting within the walls of his office.  A closed room saturated with negative emotional ties, where he held all of the power over them both.  As much as the thought of eating anywhere remotely close to Palpatine curdled Padmé's appetite, she would most certainly prefer regaining at least some even ground to stand before him.  And, a crowded restaurant could, at the very least, knock him down to her level.