The celebration was loud, and busy, and completely overwhelming to Anakin. The only time he’d ever seen crowds like this was when he’d participated in podraces, and at least then he’d had a machine to distract him. The sun was blazing overhead, and while it wasn’t as painful as the suns of Tatooine, it was still too bright for his stinging eyes.
Cordelia, dressed in her regal attire, stood with Boss Nass as they declared peace between the Nubians and the Gungans. The invasion of Naboo had brought these two different cultures together, and had fostered a respect between the two that would allow them to live in harmony from then on. Or so they hoped.
But mostly, the parade was to honor those who had fought in the war, remember those who had been lost, and to celebrate that it was over, and that Naboo had been victorious.
Cordelia called all those who had played key roles in the war – Obi-Wan and Anakin among them – to stand with her at the front of the palace, so that the people of Naboo could see who had fought to protect them.
“The heroes of Naboo!” she called to the crowd. They exploded with cheers and praise.
The group took a bow. A sea of faces cheered and shouted to them, curiously observing the little boy who stood with the warriors.
“And now, we must observe a moment of reverence for the brave Naboo, Gungan, and Jedi who were lost in this battle.”
The crowd murmured and became quiet. Anakin and Obi-Wan looked at one another solemnly. Both knew they had a difficult road ahead.
Most people had their heads bowed in respectful silence, but Anakin felt eyes watching him. He turned and saw a girl, probably a bit older than he, standing off to the side, perhaps ten feet away. She was slightly removed from the crowd, closer to the Queen, perhaps some lower-ranking nobility, or a relative. She had dark hair and dark eyes and was staring at him with a strange intensity.
Their eyes locked for a moment.
“Padmé,” a man behind her scolded, saying something else that Anakin could not hear. She turned away and bowed her head like those around her. Anakin looked up at Cordelia, who smiled at him warmly, but sadly. She looked too much like his mother, and he broke eye contact, pretending to bow his head in reverence. Really, he just needed to look anywhere but her face.
When the moment passed, the people of Naboo gave another cry of gratitude and the music began to play again.
The parade marched on as the Naboo celebrated their victory.
But Anakin was still mourning his mother and his mentor.
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***DISCLAIMER: Obviously, these characters aren’t ours, because none of us are named George Lucas, and none of us are crazy-rich off the Star Wars franchise. We have omitted some characters, added some people, and altered a few basic plot points, but the Star Wars stories still don’t belong to us. Everything belongs to George Lucas – we’re doing this purely for the fun of it.***
