By Labyrinth-Runner.
Summary: She may have been a princess, but she was born to be a Pirate Queen.
Padmé watched him work from behind the pillar. She knew her father wouldn’t approve of her watching the blacksmith’s apprentice outfitting their horses with new horseshoes. It wasn’t something a princess would do, but she didn’t quite care. Watching Obi-Wan work was always mesmerizing. His hands were strong and rough, and the way his muscles rippled as he worked made her lose focus on anything else.
“You could stare, or you could calm the horse down while I attach the shoes to her hooves,” Obi-Wan said, looking up from the ground with a smile.
Padmé blushed, slipping out of her hiding spot. “I never could slip past you, could I?”
“Princess Amidala, you’ve never been someone that I could lose in a crowd,” he said fondly as she came to stop in front of the horse. “I’ve found that my heart always knows when you’re around.”
“Please, Obi-Wan, we’ve known each other since we were kids. How many times must I ask you to call me Padmé?” she chuckled softly as she pet the horse’s forehead to calm her while he attached the horseshoes.
“Once more, Princess Amidala,” Obi-Wan blushed, as he finished up.
“Princess Amidala! Oh, there you are!” her butler, Threepio, called out in relief as he caught sight of her. Padmé shook her head. The man was always so anxious about everything. She wondered what it would take for him to relax.
“Yes, Threepio?” she sighed, turning towards him.
“Your father requests your presence. The dress fitters are here to make the final adjustments to your dress for the ball tonight. He will be with you momentarily, after he deals with an unpleasant matter,” Threepio replied.
“What ‘unpleasant matter’?” Padmé asked out of curiosity.
“It appears that there’s a pirate in town. He’s been evading the local guards, but he is apparently quite dangerous,” the man said in concern.
“A pirate? There hasn’t been sightings of pirates in years,” Padmé breathed. She turned back towards Obi-Wan, her brow furrowed in concern, “Please, be careful.”
“Of course,” he replied, watching her leave with her butler, “…Padmé.”
When she left, it was like the sun had left with her. He quickly finished packing up his tools. The sky took on a dreary gray as he made his way back to the shop. A storm was on the way. He could feel the electricity gathering in the air. Obi-Wan looked out over the horizon and frowned.
Naboo was overdue for a storm this size, but surely the storm would pass without incident. He couldn’t imagine how terrible it would be to have to cancel the King’s ball due to a hurricane. Especially since it would be the ball that introduced his most prized possession to society, his youngest daughter. Padmé may not have been the crown princess, but she was the brightest jewel in the crown that was the royal family. News of the King unveiling his precious treasure spread far and wide. To get an invite was to be the highest honor.
Obi-Wan stopped at the door to the shop. He turned to look over his shoulder at the palace on the hill. Their island nation of Naboo wasn’t large, but it was respected. He knew that Padmé would find a suitable suitor tonight. They had been friends for years, which is why he wanted to be happy for her, but deep down he couldn’t help but wonder what life would have been like if he had been born to a higher station. She probably didn’t even see him as an option, meanwhile she was his everything. Watching her marry another man would kill him, but he’d do anything to stay in her orbit, because even just her friendship was a gift to him. With a sigh, he ducked into the shop to find it in action, except for the owner, Qui-Gon, who was decidedly asleep. That wasn’t right. He’d left everything at rest when he left. No, something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.
Cautiously, Obi-Wan withdrew his sword. “Alright, I know you’re in here. Might as well show yourself and get this over with.”
A man stepped out of the shadows. He had long hair and a scar over his eye.
Obi-Wan’s eyes widened. “Anakin Skywalker.”
“Oh, so you’ve heard of me?” he smiled cheekily. “Listen, lad, we could do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way would entail me taking that sword hanging on the wall, and then you letting me leave, and we’ll pretend this never happened. Savvy?”
“You’re a terrible pirate,” Obi-Wan spat. “The ‘Chosen One’ of the seas, because you’re always left marooned on an island. Why should I let you go? This would be the easiest fight of my life.”
“Oh, I hate when they choose the hard way,” Anakin sighed to himself, drawing his own rusty cutlass. It got the job done, but he really needed a new one.
They both got into a fighting stance and squared off, circling each other. Anakin made the first attack, lunging. The game was afoot. They slashed and parried each other until they were a heaving, panting mess. While they paused to catch their breath, Qui-Gon had woken from his drunken stupor and knocked Anakin out with his empty bottle.
“What did you do that for? I had him,” Obi-Wan replied.
“You took too long,” Qui-Gon yawned.
“It was a fair fight,” Obi-Wan replied, sheathing his sword.
“Fights are never fair, apprentice. Remember that,” Qui-Gon replied, pointing a swaying finger at him. He was very much still inebriated.
Obi-Wan sighed, but went to fetch the local constable to take the pirate away and throw him in the dungeon at the palace. He dragged the pirate behind him before leaving him with the palace guards. Then, Threepio escorted him off the property.
“Master Kenobi, King Amidala is very grateful for the help you and Master Jinn have always given him. He hopes that we can continue to count on your loyalty and support,” Threepio told him as they made it down to the main gate.
“Always,” Obi-Wan replied.
“However, the King would also appreciate it if you limited your interactions with his daughter. It is not proper for a princess to be getting her hands dirty in the stables with a blacksmith,” Threepio said pointedly, closing the gate in Obi-Wan’s face.
Obi-Wan sighed. The sun was starting to set and he felt a raindrop on his face. He rushed to get home before the storm really started in full. He looked out over the horizon and squinted. The rain was blurring his vision, but he could have sworn he saw a black mast closing in. He swallowed the lump in his throat. No, it couldn’t be what he was thinking it was. It must have just been a storm cloud. Even they wouldn’t dare attack here.
Padmé stared at herself in the mirror as her handmaidens tightened the corset of her gown. It may have been the latest fashion, but why had breathing gone out of style? She let them dress her and then sat for them to do her hair. It was an intricate series of twists and perfectly misplaced curls to frame her face on the way back into a low bun. While she sat, someone gently lifted her crown to be placed atop her head. The silver crown of the second Princess of Naboo glinted in the candlelight. Always silver, never gold. Gold was reserved for those who would one day rule. Gold had always been Sola’s color. However, all that glittered was not gold. Her father had reminded her of that multiple times throughout her life. Sola may have been poised to be Queen of Naboo someday, but Padmé knew she was destined for more than a life within these walls. She wanted to see the world, and she hoped she’d find a suitable match to help her do so. If she couldn’t be with Obi-Wan, then she’d at least find a way out of this palace.
Padmé looked at her reflection in the mirror as her handmaiden and closest confidante, Sabé, nestled her crown into the curls atop her head.
“You look beautiful, Princess,” Sabé told her, making a small curtsy before stepping back.
Padmé nodded, appreciating her work before standing.
“Do you think you’ll meet the one tonight?” Sabé asked curiously.
“I fear I already have,” Padmé said with a small smile. “Now, whether my future husband will be attendance tonight is a different story. I know my father would love to see me off to Rush Clovis. I may attach myself to Admiral Yularen all night to avoid it.”
“Surely the Duke isn’t all bad,” Sabé said with a teasing smile.
Padmé rolled her eyes. “Let’s just get this over with.”
She stepped into her shoes and straightened her skirts. She gave herself one last nod in the mirror before going to wait behind the doors atop the stairs to the ballroom like her father had instructed.
She stood behind the set of double doors as she listened to the chatter from the room beyond. Normally she wasn’t a nervous sort of person, but today she felt unease. She heard the rain pitter-pattering off the glass dome of the ballroom and sighed. It was an omen if ever she’d seen one. Something was not quite right.
“There’s my treasure,” her father called out as he came down the hall towards her.
She buried any sense of unease away and plastered her best smile on her face. “Father, as flattering as that is, I’m sure there are things of more value in the vaults that are real treasure.”
“Nothing is worth more to me than my little princess,” her father smiled, coming in to offer her his arm. If he felt the same way she did about this night, he didn’t show it.
“Ready?” he smiled down at her.
“Always,” she smiled back, taking his arm.
Her father nodded towards the men on either side of the doors and they opened them. Together, they stepped through the door way and into the brightly lit ballroom, overlooking the crowd below. A hush formed over the crowd as they stepped up to the top of the stairs.
“Good evening, everyone. It is my greatest honor to have you all here tonight to witness the debut of my greatest treasure to the world, my daughter Padmé. She has officially come of age, and I couldn’t be any prouder of the woman she has become,” her father beamed with pride. The crowd applauded politely. Her father turned towards her, leading her forward a bit to address the crowd herself.
“Thank you all for coming. It brings me great joy to see everyone here on account of me, although I’m sure that my father’s invitations were a bit misleading. I apologize to anyone who came here under the belief that you would be shown gold tonight. I hope I don’t disappoint,” she chuckled. The guests laughed along with her. “Well, the weather may be dreary, but let us be cheerful. Please, enjoy yourselves.”
The guests turned back towards their respective conversations as the storm raged against the glass overhead. What they didn’t know, was that the worst was yet to come.
Black sails blocked out the moon as the ship sailed into the harbor. It loomed above the seas, dark and imposing.
“Well, boys, we’re making it big tonight,” Captain Hondo yelled from his place beside the wheel. He placed his cap atop his head and moved to walk down the stairs to be amongst his men. “Any King foolish enough to announce that he was unveiling a great treasure deserves to be robbed.”
“Aye!” his first mate yelled. Hondo patted his monkey-lizard on the head as he went to stand on the bow of the ship.
“Lower the rowboats. We take the city, and then we take the treasure,” Hondo ordered.
Obi-Wan had just sat down for his evening cup of tea when he heard the sounds of cannon fire in the distance. He sprang into action, knocking over the pot on the table.
“So uncivilized,” he sighed to himself as he ran out the door and into the fray.
He saw the town crier running towards the chapel to sound the alarm bell when he was shot down. Obi-Wan’s eyes widened. Someone had to warn the people. Someone had to warn the palace. He turned his head back and forth. He wanted to go to Padmé’s side and protect her, but he couldn’t just let the pirates take the city without putting up a fight. He knew what he must do. He unsheathed his sword and ran to the chapel. He took the stairs two at a time until he reached the top. He sounded the alarm, dodging bullets that were being fired at him from the street below. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.
Obi-Wan fought his way through the pirates, but there were just too many of them. After a while, they stopped paying him any mind, swatting him away as if he was a harmless bug. Eventually, one of them knocked him into a cellar and closed the door. He struggled against it, but they’d clearly barred him in.
Padmé stiffened in the arms of Admiral Yularen as they danced. She heard the bell in the distance. It was too late for a service, which could only mean one thing. Pirates.
“Stop the music!” Her father yelled to be heard above the fray. “Guards, fortify the palace. They must not get in.”
Padmé rushed to her father’s side, “Father, what about the people?”
He looked at her in all honesty, “Maker have mercy on their souls.”
Padmé stood dumbfounded as she watched her father move to make preparations for an attack. She turned to look back out over the city. It may have been raining, but she could see the fires spreading across the rooftops. She watched in horror as the homes of her people burned. She needed to do something to ensure their safety, but she didn’t quite know what.
Hondo walked amidst the burning town on his way to the palace. He knew the King had limited men. Naboo was a fairly peaceful, small island nation. The King had no need of a large army, making treaties with nearby islands to send aid should he ever ask them to in exchange for goods. Their treaties would be of no help now; those armies would be too late. Hondo and his motley pirate crew would make quick work of the palace guards, take the treasure, and be on their merry way before they could even get the word out to their allies. Yes, everything was going according to plan. He was just glad this island was on the way to his true prize. He just hoped it was worth the stop.
Padmé watched as the ballroom was surrounded by guards. The guests were ushered into the center of the room for their safety. She didn’t like this. She was a sitting duck. It made her feel like a coward, hiding away while her people were dying. This was not the way to rule a nation. Her people were not just collateral damage. They were the heart and soul of Naboo. This was wrong.
Thuds sounded on the glass ceiling. Padmé felt sick to her stomach as she chanced a glance up. She could make out the outlines of feet. Lightning flashed, illuminating the face of a pirate staring down at her. He held a pistol in his hand, wrapped with deer skin to keep the flint dry. He aimed at the glass and fired, shattering it about their heads. Padmé held her hands up to shield herself from the fragments as the pirates dropped a rope down and landed amongst them. They quickly barred the door, outnumbering the handful of guards, two-to-one.
“We’ve come for your treasure, Your Majesty,” Hondo replied, removing his hat and enacting a deep, mocking bow.
“You can’t have her,” her father replied, placing a protective arm in front of his daughter.
“Her?” Hondo asked in confusion. He followed the King’s protective arm and realization dawned on him. The treasure wasn’t something. It was someone. Hondo raked his eyes over the girl. She was beautiful. She could probably fetch him a pretty penny, and she might even be of use to him on his current course of adventure. “I see, I see… Well, unfortunately for you, my men have already taken the city. We outnumber your guards, and well, you see, we are quite good at what we do. You can either hand over the princess, or we can put on a show that your guests may not find as entertaining as I will. What do you say?”
Padmé watched her father’s jaw twitch. She knew her father wouldn’t agree to it, but she was her own person. If this kept others from getting hurt on account of her… well, so be it. The fact that the city had been destroyed because of her was already weighing heavy on her conscience. She boldly stepped forward out of the circle of safety, raising her chin in defiance as she spoke to the pirate.
“If I go with you willingly, you will not harm anyone else on this island,” she said pointedly. She held her hand out to him in order to make the deal.
“Very well,” he replied, taking her hand. He shook it briefly before using the grip to pull her against his chest. He held a dagger to her throat as he stared at his audience. “In case any of you are thinking about trying to be a hero, I’d decide against that if I were you.”
Padmé swallowed, feeling the blade dig into the soft skin of her neck. This is why she wished her father had let her train with the royal guards, so she’d know how to get out of situations like this, but no, ‘a princess’ place is in a palace, not defending it’ he had always said. Well, that surely was biting him in the ass now. Hondo nodded at another one of his crew to come over and bind Padmé’s hands together. He then threw Padmé over his shoulder and grabbed ahold of one of the ropes dangling from the ceiling. His crew at the top of the dome started to hoist them off as he took his hat off and tipped it to the king.
“Lovely nation you have here. Maybe I’ll come back and visit,” he shot down as they pulled him out of the dome and disappeared into the stormy night.
Anakin leaned up to look out the window of his cell. He heard feet running by… and the voice of a Captain he’d never forget.
“Hondo,” he spat in disgust. However, if Hondo was here… that meant that the Twilight was in the harbor. His ship. His old crew. This day was just getting worse and worse. First he was thrown in jail, and now he had to watch as his enemy sailed off with his ship, yet again.
Obi-Wan sighed as he picked himself up from the ground of the cellar and rammed at the closed door again. He could clearly see the fire raging in the house above him and he needed to get out before he, too, was consumed by the flames. He made another pass at the door, hearing it groan on its hinges. He couldn’t give up. He was so close. Obi-Wan collected his inner strength and ran at it full force, finally breaking through. The doors flew wide open, and he emerged into the night. The storm had died down considerably, no longer whipping the trees with the wind. Thunder had become more infrequent, and the rain was only a light splattering. The town was eerily silent as he took in his surroundings. The ship was leaving the harbor. He could see the sails on the horizon.
But, if they were leaving, then….
Obi-Wan whipped his head back to see the trail of fire leading up to the palace.
“Padmé!” He exclaimed with wide eyes as he rushed off to the palace.
Obi-Wan found the palace in chaos as he entered. He pushed his way through to the ballroom, scanning the crowd for Padmé.
“Where is she?” he asked, rounding on the King.
“He took her. He took my treasure,” the King replied despondently.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back, your Majesty. I promise,” Obi-Wan replied emphatically.
“Son, you’re just a blacksmith. What good could you possibly do?” The King asked.
The remark felt like a slap in the face.
Rush Clovis stepped forward. “Your majesty, if you’ll allow us to, Admiral Yularen and I will find the Princess and bring her home. We’ll set out with the navy first thing tomorrow after this storm dies down. You’d have to be mad to leave in this weather.”
“Very well,” the King nodded.
Obi-Wan slowly backed away in disbelief. They were just going to wait? Padmé was out there now. If they waited too long, they’d never find her. He’d heard of these pirates before. They weren’t someone who she could just charm like the rest of the court, not that Padmé wasn’t charming. Her safety was on the line. He couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. Obi-Wan quietly made his way back to the dungeons. He didn’t like having to do this, but it was his only option. The Chosen One was his only hope.
Anakin heard someone coming down the stairs of the dungeon and went to casually lean against the back wall. He didn’t want people to know that being in a cell was making him go stir crazy. That would ruin his reputation. He pulled the brim of his hat down a bit to leave his face in a shadow, thinking that it would make him look like an intimidating pirate.
“You there, Skywalker,” a man said. “What do you know about the Twilight?”
“I know that she’s the best ship out there,” he replied, not even looking up.
“And what do you know about her Captain and Crew?”
“Enough to know that Hondo claims to have been spawned by the devil himself,” Anakin growled, daring to look up into the face of the man he’d dueled earlier. “Why?”
“He took something that I care about and I need to get it back,” Obi-Wan said, not looking Anakin in the eye.
Anakin smirked, crossing over to the door of his cell. He placed his hands through two of the holes and leaned out. “What’s the lass’ name?”
“She’s not a ‘lass’, she’s a Princess,” Obi-Wan corrected him sternly.
“Yet, you still love her,” Anakin said knowingly.
Obi-Wan cleared his throat, “We’ve been friends for years. I just want to make sure she gets back home safely.”
“Right. I’m sure her father wants a blacksmith and a pirate looking for his daughter,” Anakin replied, rolling his eyes.
“He… he didn’t send me to find her,” Obi-Wan sighed.
Anakin raised a mocking brow, “Really? I don’t see why he wouldn’t. I mean, why send a nobody and a criminal when he could send the navy under the leadership of someone respectable and wealthy. Surely finding the princess would endear them to her and she’d marry them and he’d have another beneficial alliance.”
Obi-Wan’s jaw ticked in annoyance. “Will you help me or not?”
“What do I get out of it?” Anakin asked, looking down as he dug dirt out from beneath his nail to look disinterested.
“Your freedom, potentially your ship back. The chance to show Hondo who’s the better pirate,” Obi-Wan said pointedly to try to goad him into it by using his pride. He swung the key to the cell that he had taken on his way into the dungeon around his finger to entice him.
“You make an interesting offer,” Anakin replied. “I suppose I will help you get back your lady friend.”
Anakin took a step back and gestured to the door for Obi-Wan to open it.
Obi-Wan let out a sigh of annoyance. He knew this man was going to get on his nerves, but what else could he do? He stepped forward and unlocked the cell for the pirate, handing him his effects that he had found at the empty guard’s station. Anakin took his sword back with a flourish, tucking it into his belt and then he started to walk down the hall.
“The exit is this way,” Obi-Wan sighed as he walked in the opposite direction.
“Right. I knew that. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that. If we’re to work together, I need to make sure my partner has a good sense of direction. I can’t steer the ship all the time,” Anakin smirked.
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. The sooner they found Padmé, the better. He didn’t enjoy this unlikely alliance, but it was all he had right now. Padmé was worth it. He could do this for her. He just hoped that wherever she was, she was safe.