She saw the fighting match that she knew would soon ensue in the Senate, the screaming and fist waving, the threats and the loud objections. How badly it drained her.
Anakin was there.
Her dream became a nightmare, some unseen assassin chasing her, blaster bolts whipping past her, and her feet seemed as if they were stuck in deep mud.
But Anakin rushed past, his lightsaber ignited and waving, deflecting the blaster bolts aside.
Padme shifted a bit and gave a little groan, on many levels as uncomfortable with the identity of her rescuer as she was with the presence of the assassin. She didn't truly awaken, though, just thrashed a bit and raised her head, opening her eyes only briefly before burying her face in her pillow.
She didn't see the small round droid hovering behind the blinds outside her window. She didn't see the appendages come out of it, attaching to the window, or the sparks arcing about those arms as the droid shut down the security system. She didn't see the larger arm deploy, cutting a hole in the glass, nor did she hear the slight, faint sound as the glass was removed.
Over by the door in Padme's room, R2-D2's lights went on. The droid's domed head swiveled about, scanning the room, and he gave a soft 'wooo' sound. But then, apparently detecting nothing amiss, the droid shut back down. Outside, a small tube came forth from the probe droid, moving to the hole in the window, and crawling through it, into Padme's room, came a pair of kouhuns, like bloated white maggots with lines of black legs along their sides and nasty mandibles. Dangerous as those mandibles looked, though, the true danger of the kouhuns lay at the other end, the tail stinger, dripping of venom. The vicious kouhuns crawled in through the blinds and started immediately toward the bed and the sleeping woman.
'You look tired,' Obi-Wan said to Anakin in the adjoining room. The Padawan, still standing, opened his eyes and came out of his meditative trance. He took a moment to register the words, and then gave a little shrug, not disagreeing. 'I don't sleep well anymore.'
That was hardly news to Obi-Wan. 'Because of your mother?' he asked.
'I don't know why I keep dreaming about her now,' Anakin answered, frustration coming through in his voice. 'I haven't seen her since I was little.'
'Your love for her was, and remains, deep,' Obi-Wan said. 'That is hardly reason for despair.'
'But these are more than…' Anakin started to say, but he stopped and sighed and shook his head. 'Are they dreams, or are they visions? Are they images of what has been, or do they tell of something that is yet to be?'
'Or are they just dreams?' Obi-Wan said, his gentle smile showing through his scraggly beard. 'Not every dream is a premonition, some vision or some mystical connection. Some dreams are just… dreams, and even Jedi have dreams, young Padawan.'
Anakin didn't seem very satisfied with that. He just shook his head again.
'Dreams pass in time,' Obi-Wan told him. 'I'd rather dream of Padme,' Anakin replied with a sly smile. 'Just being around her again is… intoxicating.'
Obi-Wan's sudden frown erased both his and Anakin's smiles. 'Mind your thoughts, Anakin,' he scolded in no uncertain tone. 'They betray you. You've made a commitment to the Jedi Order, a commitment not easily broken, and the Jedi stand on such relationships is uncompromising. Attachment is forbidden.' He gave a little derisive snort and looked toward the sleeping Senator's room. 'And don't forget that she's a politician. They're not to be trusted.'
'She's not like the others in the Senate, Master,' Anakin protested strongly.
Obi-Wan eyed him carefully. 'It's been my experience that Senators focus only on pleasing those who fund their campaigns, and they are more than willing to forget the niceties of democracy to get those funds.'
'Not another lecture, Master,' Anakin said with a profound sigh. He had heard this particular diatribe repeatedly. 'At least not on the economics of politics.'
Obi-Wan was no fan of the politics of the Republic. He started speaking again, or tried to, but Anakin abruptly interrupted.
'Please, Master,' Anakin said emphatically. 'Besides, you're generalizing. I know that Padme-'
'Senator Amidala,' Obi-Wan sternly corrected.
'— isn't like that,' Anakin finished. 'And the Chancellor doesn't seem to be corrupt.'
'Palpatine's a politician. I've observed that he is very clever at following the passions and prejudices of the Senators.'
'I think he is a good man,' Anakin stated. 'My instincts are very positive about…'
The young Padawan trailed off, his eyes widening, his expression becoming one of shock.
'I sense it, too,' Obi-Wan said breathlessly, and the two Jedi exploded into motion.
Inside the bedroom, the kouhuns crawled slowly and deliberately toward the sleeping Padme's exposed neck and face, their mandibles clicking excitedly.
'Wee oooo!' R2-D2 shrieked, catching on to the threat. The droid tootled a series of alarms and focused a light on the bed, highlighting the centipede invaders perfectly as Obi-Wan and Anakin burst into the room.
Padme awoke, her eyes going wide, sucking in her breath in terror as the wicked little creatures stood up and hissed, and came at her.
Or would have, except that Anakin was there, his blue lightsaber blade slashing across, just above the bedcovers, once and again, slicing both creatures in half.
'Droid!' Obi-Wan cried, and Anakin and Padme turned to see him rushing for the window. There, hovering outside, was the remote assassin, its appendages retracting fast.
Obi-Wan leapt into the blinds, taking them with him right through the window, shattering the glass. He
