Chapter Text
Anakin Skywalker was nine years old when she immigrated to Naboo with her mother Shmi.
She still remembered the first time she saw Naboo. All she knew about it was that it was one of the supporters of The Galactic Freedom Initiative and supposed to be her new home.
The trip over had been bizarre. Only newly freed, she and her mother traveled light. They ended up wearing most of the clothes they packed. After a life under the blazing sun of Tatooine, the cruiser’s temperate hallways felt freezing. Anakin knew they probably looked strange, but they were free now. There was no Watto to berate or beat her for looking dumb, and no work to stop her from staring out the spaceport for hours. It was magical, seeing space rush by, knowing they were going faster than any podracer.
The ship was a marvel. If Anakin could, she would’ve taken it all apart and put it back together again. Of course, she couldn’t so she had to settle with pestering the engineers with questions. Luckily between her precocious nature and the clear evidence of her rough upbringing, they were happy to oblige her.
As they finally exited the last hyperspace lane and the planet came into view, Anakin thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
That title was quickly succeeded by the flowing waterfalls of Theed, rushing with more liquid than Anakin would’ve ever dreamed of.
And that was soon succeeded by the election poster pasted on the corner shop window across her new home.
CANDIDATE AMIDALA , it read in all caps. On the left was a list of her qualifications; on the right a picture of the girl herself. She was a vision, an angel.
Anakin was too young to vote for her, but Shmi did. They even managed to be at her victory celebration.
Seeing Amidala in person was a revelation. She was beautiful, yes, but Anakin already knew that. Meeting her, even getting to shake her hand revealed how alive the queen elect was. She was truly vibrant. She was also short.
Anakin noticed that even though the other girl was older than her, they were exactly the same height—a fact seemingly noticed by Amidala’s Chief of Security. As the party wrapped up, he tapped Shmi on the shoulder and pulled her aside to talk.
The next morning, the holo arrived: an offer to work as handmaiden for the queen.