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❝𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦, 𝘚𝘩𝘮𝘪 𝘚𝘬𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳. ❞
                    - 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐬é 𝐀. 𝐀𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞

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»»-----------►Ｆｏｒｃｅ

𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐒 of Mos Espa, for the fourth time alone that day, were Clarissé Amidala and Qui-Gon Jinn, both speeding off to fetch a future Jedi in training for the latter, and a close friend for the former.

Not very much time later, the two rescuers had found their certain rescued slave boy within the contents of Watto's horrible shop, as predicted by Clarissé and Qui-Gon alike.

When he reached the entrance, Qui-Gon poked his head into the shop, calling the young Skywalker's name and surely confusing the poor boy on why the Jedi Master was there.

Did that mean... she was here?

It sure was a possibility.

The young boy certainly got his wish as he made his way out of Watto's repair shop for the last time, seeing a face he had surely ingrained into his memory forever, as he knew he would never forget her.

And there she was.

Clarissé Naberrie, in all her wonderful, beautiful glory, standing in front of the boy she had departed from only an hour prior.

Time was certainly a funny thing for the two young friends.

"Clarissé?" The Skywalker boy shouted out in surprise and question after setting eyes on the girl right outside the shop, making fellow bystanders turn at the sound of Anakin's booming voice, but he could care less what the people of Tatooine thought about him.

"Hi Ani," she lightly greeted, waving at her friend while smiling brightly at the boy.

Even with her clearly right in front of him, Anakin was still bewildered and confused as he looked at her, not believing it to be true.

Why were they back?

That very same question whirled around in Anakin's mind as Qui-Gon stepped forward to hand over a small pouch of some sort.

"Here you go," the man offered as Anakin gingerly took the small pouch, looking inside to find it a stack of credits awaiting him and gleaming in the bright light for him.

Anakin, to the pleasure of Clarissé, started to beam in pure happiness, shouting a "Yes!" in return at the sight of endless credits in the palms of his little hands.

Him and his mother could do anything they wanted with that kind of money.

After that, the group made their way to the Skywalker hovel for the last time.

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»»-----------►Ｃｌａｒｉｓｓé

𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄, Anakin, my clever blonde friend, burst into the room his mother was currently in as Qui-Gon and I calmly entered the small, low room, giving Anakin the time to give his delightfully earned credits to his mother.

"Mom," the blonde boy started as he looked back at Qui-Gon and me, smiling wildly, "he sold the pod. Look at all the money we have!"

In response to his excited statement, Anakin poured the contents of the mysterious pouch into Shmi's bush hands. The mother of one special blonde was previously working on cleaning a small droid left behind on a desk in the living area of the hovel, her hands working fast and steady.

I used to call them Mom Hands, as no one could clean as fast as a busy mother on a mission to accomplish something.

"Oh, my goodness," Shmi whispered in shock and under-toned excitement at the new found wealth in her shaking hand, "That's wonderful, Ani!"

I smiled at the woman, the horrifying thought of Qui-Gon never officially telling me that Shmi was also released raking through my brain, causing my bright grin to quickly fall.

What about Shmi? I never heard anything about Shmi. What's gonna happen to her?

The whole idea of leaving behind the Skywalker mother immediately put a bad taste in my mouth.

"And Anakin has been freed," Qui-Gon revealed as the entire room, mainly Anakin and Shmi, unpacked that admission piece by piece, bit by bit.

"What?!?" My friend suddenly yelled shockingly at this newfound revelation, looking at me while asking me with his eyes if it was true.

I nodded my head once, confirming that it was, indeed, completely factual.

"You're no longer a slave, Ani," I delicately said as I moved to hug Anakin around his shoulders, causing me to slightly have to stand on my toes to reach his larger height. "You're free to do whatever you please, and Watto no longer owns you."

Watto no longer owns you or your mother.

That's what I wanted to say, but I couldn't, with fear that it wasn't true.

It pained me to leave Shmi out of something so important.

"Did you hear that?" Anakin asked his mother as he threw his arms back around my own shoulders, squeezing them as he pulled back to address his mother.

The mother took her son by his shoulders and placed him down in front of her frail, older figure, kneeling down to address him head to head.

"Now you can make your dreams come true, Ani," she softly started, a smile pulling on her beautiful lips, "You're free!" Every word of her statement made me smile tremendously, although the still, daring thought of Shmi continued to linger in my mind.

What about Shmi?

The mentioned woman turned towards Qui-Gon as she asked, "Will you take him with you? Is he to become a Jedi?"

At the word Jedi, I immediately perked up, wondering how Anakin could possibly be Force-sensitive, considering he didn't know his father.

Nevertheless, I was still thrilled for my friend to live out one of his many dreams, one of them to be with me in the stars, he had told me.

A part of me thought he was too good to be true, but he was so much more than the young boy who had saved me from the sandy pits of Tatooine, giving me and the rest of Naboo a sense of hope and longing, and I was entirely grateful for that, but he was also a great friend of mine, even though I had only known him for a day or two. It didn't feel like that at all; it felt right, like we were meant to meet each other.

But even then, it sounded much too far fetched to other people, although it wasn't too crazy for me.

I came back from my trip into my own mind when Qui-Gon answered Shmi's question from earlier.

"Yes. Our meeting was not a coincidence. Nothing happens by accident."

I couldn't agree more with what Qui-Gon said, believing my own encounter with Anakin to be set in the vast galaxy.

"You mean I get to come with you and Clarissé in your starship?" The way that Anakin's eyes lit up after his excitement filled question made me internally and externally smile widely, finding his enthusiasm to be adorable.

Qui-Gon knelt down to address Anakin, gently advising, "Anakin, training to become a Jedi is not to be an easy challenge. And if you succeed, it's a hard life." Qui-Gon looked pained the entire time he said his Jedi speech, looking off to the side with a peculiar glint in his wise eyes, causing mine to narrow instinctively.

He was hiding something. That much was sure.

I wasn't sure exactly what.

Anakin quickly piped back up with, "But I want to go. With you and Clarissé. It's what I've always dreamed of doing. Can I go, Mom?" Anakin turned to his mother to await her response.

Shmi smiled warmly as she kindly answered, "Anakin, this path has been placed for you; the choice is yours alone."

And with the true grace of a real, loving mother, Shmi Skywalker gave her son the option to choose his own path, his own destiny.

Anakin must have been in a mental turmoil with himself as he started to pace around the small room and mumble to himself. He finally stopped, turning to me and grasping my hand in his warm palm. He turned to his mother, the dark haired woman still awaiting his answer to her question, and replied, "I want to do it." He squeezed my hand at the end, causing me to turn towards him and smile gently at him, glad to see that he would be coming with us to Coruscant.

Qui-Gon swiftly jumped into action, clapping his hands together as he ordered, "Then, pack your things. We haven't much time."

"Yippee!" Anakin cheerfully exclaimed as we hugged each other, the both of us jumping up and down in glee at Anakin joining of our Nubian/Jedi group headed to Coruscant.

Anakin let go of me to hug his mother, which he did, and turned around quickly to make his way back into his room to pack for his upcoming journey, but he didn't go very far before he turned back around back to his mother, who had a depressed and confining smile on her beautiful face.

What about Shmi?

"What about Mom? Is she free too?" Anakin asked in a fast paced tone, gesturing towards his solemn and dejected mother.

Qui-Gon sighed as his eyes trailed away from Anakin's, as if he couldn't look my friend in the eyes after the news he was about to share.

"I tried to free your mother, Ani," the older Jedi attempted to explain himself, but ultimately ended up failing regardless, "but Watto wouldn't have it."

My heart practically broke at those distasteful, depressing words being spoken.

It wasn't fair to either Shmi, or Anakin. To have to be separated like this.

All because of one fat, hideous Toydarian with little flapping wings.

I quickly became angry at that singular thought.

"You're coming, aren't you, Mom?" The former slave boy asked, his eyes still holding onto that childish, innocent hope filled gaze, very similar to my own, with the only different being our iris colors, of course.

Shmi sighed dejectedly as she gazed up at her own flesh and blood with doe eyes, the ends brimming with fresh tears.

"Son, my place is here. My future is here. It is time for you to let go... to be with your friend, Clarissé... to become a Jedi with Master Qui-Gon. It is your fate, my lovely boy."

Anakin sniffled a tad as the reality of his mother's words hit him like a brick, and I wanted nothing more than to comfort him as he whimpered, "I don't want things to change."

Shmi put a shaking hand to her son's warm cheek, caressing it gently as she whispered, "But you can't stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting. Now... hurry." She tilted her head in the direction of Anakin's room, telling him to hurry and pack quickly.

The mother and son duo hugged each other tightly for a moment, before Anakin grabbed my hand and led me to his bedroom.

For the last time.

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»»-----------►Ｆｏｒｃｅ

𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐊𝐘𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 a living tornado as he threw extra clothes and toys into his beige Tatooine backpack with a very neutral Clarissé Naberrie behind him.

As he started to shove valued possessions into his large bag, he impulsively decided to switch on See-Threepio, his own creation, to say goodbye to the proper droid.

"Oh!" The droid popped up as he started to blink rapidly at his sudden new pulse of life, his lurch into the leans of the living almost scaring poor Clarissé. "Oh my, oh. Hello Master Anakin, Miss Clarissé. It's a pleasure to see you again, Ma'am."

"You too, Threepio," Clarissé kindly replied to his greeting, smiling warmly as she did so.

As Anakin reached behind his droid to grab one of his favorite wrenches, he revealed to the robot, "Well, Threepio, I'm free... and I'm going away... in a starship... with Clarissé Naberrie." The said girl in the room chuckled at his bewildered face, all while still thinking about the heartbroken mother just down the hall.

"Master Ani," Threepio started, trying his best to turn around and bid farewell to Anakin and Clarissé properly, "you are my maker, and I wish you well. However, I should prefer it if I were a little more... completed," the droid finished as he bashfully looked down at his partially "nude" body.

Who knew that droids could be embarrassed by their expressive nudity.

Anakin softly smiled at his droid, a trace of a frown in his eyes as he apologized, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish you, Threepio... give you coverings and all... I'm going to miss working on you. You've been a great pal, and I'll make sure Mom doesn't sell you or anything."

"I'll miss you too, Threepio," Clarissé bid as she walked up to the interpreter and patted his uncovered head with her soft palm, "You're a great droid, and you're gonna help a lot of people someday. I know it."

But the robotic creation didn't seem to hear anything that the young girl said, just simply worrying about his own fate as he hastily shouted, "Sell me?!?"

"Bye," Anakin said with his bag all packed as he and Clarissé slowly exited the room for the last time, the little girl stopping in the doorway to wave goodbye to the droid she would probably never see again in her life, even though she would appreciate more time with him.

Just like Shmi Skywalker.

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»»-----------►Ｃｌａｒｉｓｓé

𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐘, dirty old road that led to the slave quarters, I realized that I would miss this old dust bucket.

Not for its landscape or food or leadership or dangerous pod racing, but for the people who inhabited it, and certainly not the slave owners or out of planet people who only come to gamble and drink, but the slaves. The people who are forced to work here, day by day, night by night.

They were the true heroes, and I genuinely hoped I could come back to Tatooine, perhaps when I'm older, and if Anakin and I are still friends by that point, I could take him with me, and we could visit Shmi, if she was hopefully still around.

For now though, I had to stop daydreaming and get on with my royal objectives as queen of Naboo.

I had to get to Coruscant.

As Anakin and I walked side by side of each other on that dusty paved walkway, with Qui-Gon ahead of us by a couple of feet, he suddenly stopped and abruptly turned around, looking at his mother waving him off in the doorway. I turned around with the former slave, raising my eyebrows in question at him.

What is he doing?

My question was soon answered as Anakin lunged himself towards Shmi, and into her awaiting arms, for one last hug, I assumed.

Due to my standing of being a couple feet away, and how quietly they both spoke, I couldn't hear very much of what Shmi and Anakin were saying to each other, even though they were clearly exchanging words. Either way, it wasn't my business and I didn't need to pry into it. I simply watched the mother and son say goodbye for the last time, their hearts no doubt empty, and their eyes no doubt wetter.

A few seconds after their private conversation, Anakin stood up straight, straighter than I had ever seen him before, turned, and briskly marched in the direction of Qui-Gon and I, never once looking back at his dear mother.

I smiled at his resilience, but frowned as I figured out why he was being so brave.

Shmi told him to not look back, to keep on going without her.

It felt like someone had punched my gut, and I was forced by my sympathetic mind to look at the broken, kind mother.

She had silent tears streaming down her face, and her eyes were unmistakably red from crying, and I suddenly felt the urge to go and apologize for taking her son away from her, but the words couldn't leave my clogged up throat.

Instead of chastising me for taking Ani away, she smiled.

One tiny smile.

And that was all it took for me to give one tiny smile back.

"Thank you," she warmly said, her eyes glazing over with happiness and contentment, "For making him feel like he belongs in this cruel galaxy. Thank you for listening to him, and for your immense kindness. You have brought him hope, and for that, I am eternally grateful."

I continued to smile at the older woman, not understanding why she was thanking me. I should have been thanking her, for letting us take Anakin away from her, even though we were taking him away from the horrors of Watto and Tatooine.

"You're welcome," I managed to push out in a strangled voice, not wanting to let her go after all she had done for us. A kind soul like her doesn't deserve to be on Tatooine, living a slave's life. She deserved to live, just like her son. "I promise I'll watch after him. You have my word."

Shmi wistfully laughed and smiled warmly, content with her situation.

"I know you will, sweet girl."

"I know you will."

*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*

A/N: Whew! I'm certainly crying now after writing that emotional whirlwind, but don't worry, we'll see Shmi again soon, just not in this particular section in Clarissé's life. Anyways, I took my test yesterday and it went pretty well, for anyone wondering. I also read The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes last week, and it was pretty good! It shouldn't be as hyped as it is on BookTok (yes, I follow the trends and books on BookTok, shut up) but overall it was pretty good. I might do a reading review book here on Wattpad, since reviewing books is like my second favorite thing to do, other than read and write, of course. I've also decided to do a Clone Wars book, because why not. I love Clarissé and every time I get to write about her is a good writing day for me. It will be after every other Star Wars book I have is published and finished, because yeah. It's gonna be freaking long, man, and I'm slightly freaking out about it.

For today's fun fact: Clarissé really likes muffins, like a lot. It started when her mother brought a fresh batch home from the local Nubian market down the street from where they lived. Clarissé took her first bite when she was around seven and visiting her family from the palace, and simply fell in love with muffins. I don't blame her. Her favorites are hsuberry muffins, as the Naberrie family had a hsuberry tree in their backyard, and Clarissé would always help her mother make a fresh batch when she came home for the holidays. This usually involved flour getting all over due to Mrs. Naberrie and Clarissé always playing around in the kitchen.

And that's all folks! I'll have a new chapter for you on Tuesday or Wednesday. Adios!

Word Count: 3177 words