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(Y/n)'s POV
I have never internally cringed so much in all my years of living, nor have I ever been this annoyed and bored. So it is safe to say that the day was going exactly how I expected it to.

One by one these men would come in and either serenade me, read me poetry that they claimed to have written themselves, or bless me a wonderful show of their subpar dancing skills. As if any of those are things I want to see or hear within the first few minutes of meeting.

And it is because of this that not one man has received a nod of approval from me, not one. Even my mother looked mortified at the selection that has been bestowed upon me that she eventually left. I even nearly left myself when one attempted to impress me with a magic trick.

Anakin on the other hand, he was enjoying himself a little too much.

I sighed heavily as I rested my head in my palm while I watched the events in front of me unfold, "Sir it is just wine-"

Anakin cut him when he used his sword to uncork the bottle that one of the suitors had brought for me. That is another thing, they have been showing me with gifts, and of course Anakin must inspect them all — thoroughly.

"And how am I supposed to know it has not been poisoned, hm?" He stepped forward with his sword pressing into the man's clothed chest, causing him to take a few steps away from me.

The suitor look terrified which I could hardly understand why, Anakin does not even appear intimidating—to me at least. But then again the entire town knows about him and the lengths he has and is willing to go to for my protection. It is a secret to no one in many countries how good he is at his job and how serious he takes it — he is as famous as I.

My suitor whose name has already slipped my mind began to awkwardly laugh, "Surely you are not serious, I would never attempt such a thing. I only came to meet the Princess and hopefully win over her heart, I mean her no harm." He slightly stumbled over his words.

I could not see Anakin's expressions since his back was to me, but I could see the Lord's nervous one as he swallowed his own saliva, "Drink it then." My protector demanded.

The Lord appeared stunned, "You want me to-"

"Did I stutter Lord Alexander Abrams?" He cut him off as he removed his sword from his chest and put the wine bottle in his hand, "Just a small taste, then you may continue on with your introduction." His face need not be seen for me to know the smirk he was currently holding.

These poor men, they either leave here crying from rejection or from the embarrassment of peeing themselves in front of the Princess of Naboo. I am joking of course, no one actually peed themselves, but it would be hilarious if they did.

The Lord brought the bottle to his mouth and poured a small amount, before handing it back to Anakin who I am sure looks smug. Nothing pleases him more than when he can get others to do what he tells them to, he enjoys the power this job and his title gives him. Which I know is not a good thing, but I have never seen him use said power for anything harmful. He just uses it to be an arse sometimes.

"Smart man." Anakin came back towards me and placed the now open bottle next to the other two open bottles I received as gifts.

"Why must you open each bottle? It is not the same after time has passed and I will not be drinking three bottles of wine in a single night." I complained in a low mumble as I watched the Lord approach cautiously, and stop at the bottom of the steps when the tip of a sword kept him from going further.

"You are close enough," Anakin snapped and brought his sword back down, "Trust me, you three will get through them with ease." He whispered to me, referring to the two to my left.

Lord Abrams bowed respectfully, "It is a true privilege to be in your company Princess (y/n)," He stood up straight and I was thanking the heavens that he could actually get a full sentence out.

I heard Anakin snort and I resisted the urge to punch him right in his groin, "You flatter me," I smiled sweetly, "And I must apology for the behavior of my protector here, he can be a bit...much. But I am sure you can understand why."

He nodded, "Of course I understand-"

"Your time is up, next," Anakin ushered him away as he yelled so the next person knows it is their time to shine.

"But I-"

"She will be at the ball tomorrow and she knows your face, that is all you need," He repeated what he has told many of the men he has kicked out if they tried going over their three minutes; but in their defenses, he takes up a lot of their time. And I was starting to suspect that it was on purpose too.

I turned my head to meet the eyes of Padme and Ahsoka, "Is it just me, or has he gotten worse throughout the years?" Ahsoka looked like she wanted to laugh at the situation, but did her best to be sympathetic of my position.

"Trust me, he has gotten worse," I sighed.

"Well have you at least met anyone that caught your eye?" She asked and I shook my head in response.

"No," I looked forward to see Anakin walking back towards me, "But it is not like I have had many opportunities to get past a first name basis." I commented while shooting my protector a vexed glare. I know I wanted him here but I also wanted to do things my way, and he was trying to take control of the situation, "You are being excessive." I said to him.

He rolled his eyes, "I am not being excessive Princess," He said innocently as placed his on the back of the throne and leaned on it while looking down at me, "I am simply tossing out the ones I know for a fact are not good enough for you."

"You do not even know them," I argued.

He shrugged without a care, "One glance is all I need to know a man. Trust me, they were all nim-wits, especially the aspiring magician."

As annoyed as I was, a smile broke onto my lips at the memory, "I thought we were all going to lose our heads to your sword."

He smiled as well with a small head shake, "As did I, that bird came out of nowhere. Although I am starting to suspect it was hidden in his trousers." He laughed and I joined him while watching his eyes glimmer.

Our rare moment of shared laughter was interrupted by someone clearing their throat, "Pardon me for interrupting," A smooth and deep voice caught my attention and I snapped my head to the new person in the room. Our eyes locked for the first time and I was instantly in awe of how handsome this man was, the most handsome to come in here by far. He smiled when he saw that he had my attention, "It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Princess, I am Anthony Benedict, the-"

"King of Felucia." I finished when I recognized his name. His smile widened like he was excited that I knew who he was, but how could I not? "I have heard many things about you King Benedict." He had to take over his country when he was just eighteen years old after both of his parents passed. And now he has been ranked as one of the kindest, generous, and most courageous leaders of his countries time.

He glanced to the floor shyly before looking back up, now holding a confident smirk, "Please call me Anthony, hearing myself being referred to as King Benedict makes me feel like I am much older than I am."

"And how old are you exactly?" Anakin butted in with his usual attitude.

Anthony hardly looked in his direction when he answered, "Twenty-four," He responded, his eyes on me, "Now I saw quite a bit of singing, dancing, and poetry reading out there. Was I meant to come prepared with something? Because I will not lie to you, I have zero artistic talents and if I even try, I will either hurt myself or your eyes and ears." He spoke fast and confident while maintaining a straight and professional posture — ending his words with a light-hearted laugh.

I giggled. For the first time since starting this over an hour ago, someone has finally gotten a reaction from me other than horror, "What you do with your time here is completely up to you."

"Which you are running out of." Anakin butted in — again.

Anthony paid no attention to my overly annoying protector and strutted a little closer, "Well then let me start with the basics," He took a deep breath, "One of my favorite things to study is astronomy, I find it absolutely fascinating and do not get me started on the concept of space and other worlds like ours," He smiled and I smiled with him. As I have said before, I love the stars, "I love animals, especially horses and dogs, and although I do find cats to be annoying and a little chaotic, I would not mind having one for the experience. Children have always been a goal of mine, I love the idea of having a big family — I think nature is beautiful and being outside in the fresh air is the most wonderful feeling to me," He took another breath with a smile that highlighted a simple km his cheek, "I visit my parents grave every first Sunday of the month with my mother's favorite flowers, and I am an only child, but I promise I am not selfish as many only children tend to be."  It took me until he stopped speaking for me to realize that the entire time he was introducing himself, he moved closer to me and now he was only one step away.

Anakin looked like he was about to do what he always does and make them step back, but I held my hand out to stop him and he froze in place. I stood up and I could see Anakin's eyes following me, "And when it comes to children, what is your number?"

Anthony then smirked as he got on the last and top step, so there was now only about a foot of distance between us, "As many as you want Princess."

"Oh that was smooth," Padmè said aloud, most likely on accident. She has a habit of speaking her mind without realizing it.

Anthony turned his head and his gaze landed on my best friend, he paused for a second, but before he could say anything, Anakin beat him to it, "Alright time is up, we need to keep it going and you are too close to her for my comfort." He did not pull out his sword this time, but he did get close to Anthony as he tried to intimidate him to back away.

But instead, the King of Felucia simply smiled at my guard, "I admire you for how serious you are when it comes to her well-being, but I can assure you, you need not worry about me," He boldly, like a man with a death wish, moved past Anakin and grabbed ahold of my hand before he could be stopped — courageous indeed, "I shall attend the ball tomorrow, and I do hope it is my turn to learn about you." He placed a kiss on the back of it and I had to hold my other hand up to assure my protector that it was okay. He listened, for once, but still looked uneasy. Anthony released my hand and turned to bow at Padmè and Ahsoka, "Have a good evening ladies."

And then he was gone, physically, but not from my mind.

He was charming, intelligent, devilishly handsome, kind, mature — he had so many positive qualities and I am unsure if I even spotted a negative one. He was even patient with Anakin, and not easily scared off by him. He was just so confident and his presence alone was like a breath of fresh air.

I will admit that when I started this that I did not think I would find anyone I liked — and well, I stand corrected. He left a good and lasting impression, and it is going to be more than difficult for someone to out-do him.

"So," Ahsoka pulled me away from my thoughts as we sat there and waited for the next person, "Did you like him?" She asked as she nudged my shoulder.

I looked at her and took notice to Padme who was looking in the direction of the door instead of having her attention on us, "I did actually, he was a perfect gentleman."

"He was not good enough." Anakin commented and I turned to glare up at him.

"Will anyone ever be?" I asked in a snap. I thought the King of Felucia gave an amazing first impression of himself, so whatever scale Anakin has been weighing all of them on is faulty.

He said nothing as he clenched his jaw, his eyes giving me the answer — No.

He then blinked and looked down, "Forget it. If you like him, you like him," He faced the double doors opened and he turned to face them before immediately waltzing down the steps, "What do you have in that bag?"

The suitor glanced around nervously before answering, "Uh cookies?"

"What kind?" Ani demanded.

"Um...Peanut butter-"

Anakin slapped the bag of cookies out of his hand, "The Princess is allergic to peanuts, are you trying to kill her?"

My hand was covering half my face in embarrassment as I watched the poor man try to figure out how to get out of his position, "No sir, those were actually mine, I got hungry while waiting. I actually brought her this." He pulled out a single stemmed rose from behind his back.

Roses, they are my favorite flowers.

Anakin glanced down at the flower, then at the man before taking it from him, "Next time you decide to bring her something like this, do the gentleman thing and remove the thorns." He spun around and walked back to me as he picked at the stem. Thirty seconds later he handed it to me, thornless so I could hold it.

I can not even begin to explain the way that gesture made me feel, it was so simple, yet so caring and gentle. Oh what I would give for him to always be this way.

The suitor awkwardly laughed and I glanced at him, "My apologies-"

"Star."

The bar is now set high and if that man can not do something as simple as the task of removing thorns from a flower just so I could hold it, then he is not even close to reaching the bar.

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