3 Chapter 3

"Ummmmm...y-your welcome." Cain stuttered while he stared at Padmé Amidala, in real life.

She was the future wife of Anakin Skywalker and soon to be Senator of the Republic. She even looked exactly like Natalie Portman, but somehow prettier even as a child.

"May I now know the name of my rescuer?" Padmé asked.

"Oh-I'm Cain. It's an honor to meet you, Queen Amidala." Cain said, while extremely happy that he had a helmet to hide his face.

"I see you recognize me, but I must once again thank you for your help. If there is anything I can do, please ask." She said with a regal expression on her face.

Thinking about what to ask for Cain suddenly saw a chance to help Padmé and give himself a way to change the future.

Taking off his helmet, Cain bowed to the Queen and gave his request.

"I wish to serve as a Guard for you, my Queen. I know I may be young but I wish to protect you." Cain said humbly to Padme.

Surprised by his request, Padmé saw that behind the helmet, Cain looked about the same age as herself. Although this body was actually only ten years old, Cain looked much older as he was very tall for his age.

Cain had dark black hair, light gray eyes, and sharp feature that made him very handsome for his age.

Already shown by his height at a young age, Cain knew he would be pretty tall as he was 6'4" before he died and then transformed back into a child.

"Well taken into consideration I wou-" Padmé began but was interrupted as a voice suddenly called her name.

"My Lady!"

Turning around, both Padmé and Cain saw that a dark-skinned man in a red outfit come running towards Padmé. Letting out a sigh, Padmé turned to greet the man.

"Hello there Captain Panaka. Nice weather we're having." Padmé joked while greeting the Captain.

"Yes, My Queen. It would be even better if I didn't have to scour the entire planet for the one person I'm supposed to protect." Captain Panaka said while glaring at Padmé, but smiling slightly.

Suddenly the Captain's eye quickly moved over to Cain as he stepped forward menacingly. Surprised at how quickly the man's expression changed, Cain gulped and shifted nervously.

"Hello, I'm Cain. Nice to meet you." Cain said as the Captain's eyes glared at him more.

The Captain after glaring through Cain's soul shifted his eyes to Padmé and silently questioned her.

"He saved me when I got into a....certain situation," Padmé explained while not actually explaining how she almost got mugged.

"Certain situation, huh. Which you definitely wouldn't have gotten into if you didn't hide from me."

"That's all in the past, let's look towards the future," Padme said completely innocently.

"And how would we do that?" Captain Panaka said while crossing his arms.

Suddenly grabbing Cain's shoulder, Padme pushed him forward and smiled.

"By adding another guard to protect me. You've always said that you needed more help, so here he is." Padmé said while presenting Cain like a show horse.

Cain just stood there while being unsure whether or not to salute the Captain.

"Him? He wants to join the Queen's guard, why?" Captain Panaka said while studying Cain intently.

"He has already saved my life and wishes now to become a guard for me as a reward. Also if he wanted to kill or threaten me, he would have already tried it by now. Furthermore, he seems to be able to handle a blaster, and already has a... special talent." Padmé explained frankly while staring Cain in his eyes.

Cain was shocked by Padme's bluntness and was shocked that he forget he had used the Force in front of Padme to pull that gun away.

"If you wish this then I'll consider...this boy for the position." Captain Panaka finally relented after Padmé gave him the puppy eyes.

"That's terrific! Now lets all head back to the Royal Palace." Padmé said after winking at Cain, as she began walking away.

Seeing that he was expected to follow, Cain started walking but was stopped by Captain Panaka.

"I'll be watching you. If you even show that you are the slight bit of a threat to my Queen, then I'll kill you myself before you even realize it." The Captain said while towering over Cain.

"Got it." Cain quickly replied.

Swiftly turning around, the Captain followed after Padme. Letting out a sigh, Cain made sure he was still breathing and then quickly followed after them.

...

After walking in uncomfortable silence for the whole time and then the drive in a speeder to the palace, Cain finally let out a sigh of relief when they stopped.

"....and here we are Naboo's Royal Palace," Padmé exclaimed while gesturing towards the giant building.

Amazed by the large palace, Cain almost didn't notice that everyone had exited the speeder already. Following after them as they passed through the various security checks, Cain was soon forced to hand over one of his pistols, but quietly put his other blaster and knife into his inventory.

As they finally reached a large door, Padmé suddenly stopped.

"Well, I must abide you a goodnight. I hope I'll see you tomorrow." Padmé said to Cain as she entered her room and went to bed.

Cain was about to say good night too until he realized what Padmé had actually said. Looking towards Captain Panaka, Cain saw that he was already walking away.

"Follow!" The Captain called out to Cain without breaking stride.

Rushing after the man through the long corridors of the Palace, Cain finally caught up to Panaka as he made it to an empty room with only a table and chair.

"Take a seat." Captain Panaka said as he walked around the table.

Quickly dropping into the sole chair, Cain looked up to see Panaka staring menacingly down at him.

"Now, let's answer some questions." Captain Panaka said as a grin grew on his face.

...

"Ugh." Cain groaned while twisting in the temporary room he was given.

After a long night of questioning by Captain Panaka, Cain was finally allowed to stay in the palace and was to be trained as a guard for a probationary period.

When asked a series of questions about his life, Cain came up with an elaborate story on how he lived with his widowed father in a remote part of Naboo. After his father was killed by a wild beast, Cain decided he wanted to join Naboo's guard as a job. He then got extremely lucky when he met Padme and got the chance to become a guard.

Although Captain Panaka barely believed the story, he could tell that Cain wasn't here to endanger the Queen. After deciding to let Cain stay and be trained as a probationary guard, he gave him an empty room to rest in.

Sitting up Cain quietly stumbled his way into the bathroom and took a shower. As he showered Cain suddenly realized that the cut he got from the vulture had already healed. Thinking this had something to do with his newly acquired Force abilities, Cain continued to scrub away the dirt and grime on his body.

While walking out of the bathroom Cain suddenly saw a young girl standing in the middle of his room. As she turned towards him, Cain saw that she quickly looked away.

"Apologies I didn't realize you were showering."

Standing there in his towel for a second, Cain quickly jumped back into the bathroom and closed the door. After tightening his towel Cain peaked his head out of the bathroom to see that the girl was giggling at him.

"Did you need something?" Cain asked

"Captain Panaka wishes your presence and I've come to give you a change of clothing at the request of My Queen." The girl spoke.

"Thank you!" Cain was about to walk out of the bathroom but stopped himself from making the same mistake.

Seeing his dilemma, the maid placed the pile of neatly folded clothing on the bed.

"I'll leave it here." The girl said as she made her way to leave.

"Wait! What's your name?" Cain suddenly exclaimed.

Surprised by this outburst, the maid simply turned her head and smiled.

"I am Sabe, one of the Queen's handmaidens." The pretty girl said as she closed the door.

As she left, Cain suddenly felt that her name sounded familiar. After some thought, he realized that she was Padme's decoy. Since they looked so similar she was literally a perfect decoy for Padme, but he knew that she was going to be assassinated since everyone thought she was the actual Queen.

Grabbing the black shirt and gray vest from the bed Cain quickly put them on and made his way out of the room.

Finding Sabe outside the door, Cain saw that she motioned him to follow her as they walked down the long corridor.

"So, how long have you been working for the Queen?" Cain questioned.

"I've known her since we were both children, and I've sworn my loyalty to her when she became my Queen. What made you want to be a guard?." Sabe replied, and then asked a question of her own.

"I was already trying to be a guard when I was coming here, but seeing someone get mugged I tried to help and it was just dumb luck that it just so happened to be the Queen," Cain said while embarrassingly rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't believe in luck. I think that everything happens for a reason, we'll just have to wait and see what you're here for." Sabe said wisely while looking at Cain.

"Thanks, I guess," Cain replied while surprised at how Jedi-like Sabe sounded.

As Sabe and Cain continued to talk with one another, they finally made it to a large dining room. At the table sat Padme and she was surrounded by a group of 4 other handmaidens. Standing silently behind them was Captain Panaka.

Nodding her head and smiling, Sabe joined the other handmaidens as they talked amongst themselves.

Standing by himself, Cain quickly bowed his head towards Padmé.

"Good morning, my Queen." Cain quickly greeted.

"Good morning to yourself as well. How did you sleep? Good, I hope." Padmé replied.

"It was great! Thank you again for allowing me to stay."

"I do hope that you meet the criteria to stay as a guard, it seems like you already made acquaintances with my handmaiden," Padmé said as she glanced at Sabe.

"Thank you," Cain said as he made his way towards Captain Panaka.

He ignored the obvious giggling of the handmaidens and Padme, he quickly presented himself to the intimidating Captain.

"Your training will begin today, and at the Queen's request I will be personal reasonable in making you into a guard worthy enough to protect the Queen." Panaka strictly stated.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good, let's hope you keep that enthusiasm. Follow me and we'll begin immediately." Captain Panaka said as Cain strengthened his resolve.

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