Anidala

"I truly, deeply, love you, and before we die I want you to know."

- Padmé to Anakin, before kissing him in the Petranki Arena on Geonosis.

Anidala is the het ship between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala from the Star Wars fandom.

The Phantom Menace
After her ship is damaged while escaping Naboo, Padmé is stranded on Tatooine. She disguises herself as one of her own handmaidens to accompany Qui-Gon Jinn into Mos Espa.

In Mos Espa, Qui-Gon attempts to bargain with the junk dealer, Watto, Padmé meets Watto's slave boy, called Anakin. Anakin is amazed by Padmé, and he asks her, "Are you an angel?" Padmé responds by smiling, and calling him a funny little boy. After Anakin wins the Boonta Eve Podrace, he is freed from Watto and goes with Padme to Coruscant to train as a Jedi. One the ship to Coruscant, Anakin gives Padmé a pendant carved from Japor, telling her it's for her to remember him by.

While on Coruscant, Anakin asks if he could say goodbye to Padmé, as he is unsure as to whether he will see her again after he starts his training. One of Padme's handmaidens, Rabe, tells him that she is not there. Queen Amidala, who is unknown to be Padmé at the time, says that she will tell Padmé for him. At the very end of the movie, Anakin and Padmé share a friendly smile.

Attack of the Clones
Obi-Wan and Anakin have been sent by the Jedi Council to act as guards for Padmé, who is now Senator of Naboo, and the subject of multiple assassination attempts due to her objection of the Military Creation Act.

When Anakin is reintroduced to Padmé, she is amazed at how much taller he has grown. She remarks on this, and Anakin, who is flustered by her comment, replies with, "You've grown more beautiful, for a senator, I mean." She laughs and tells him he will always be the little boy she knew on Tatooine.

After the third assassination attempt on Padmé, she and Anakin are sent to Naboo to help protect her. Having arrived at the Lake House on Naboo, the pair kiss, and Padmé says that she "shouldn't have done that." Anakin then apologizes.

During the picnic the two have in the meadow, Anakin asks Padmé about affections she potentially held for other people in the past. When she describes a boy from her junior legislature program, Paolo, Anakin tells her that he gets the picture, denoting he's not really comfortable listening to her talk about other men. They then move on to discussing politics, and Anakin says he likes two or three politicians, but isn't sure about one. Later, Anakin falls off an animal he was riding. Padmé, being concerned, rushes over to him, before realizing he was joking. The pair laugh together and roll around in the grass.

Anakin and Padmé have dinner together in the Lake House, and Anakin uses the Force to lift Padme's fruit to him, cuts a slice off and levitates it back to her. Afterwards, Anakin tells her how he has thought about her everyday since he met her, and the emotional pain he has been in. Padme argues that she will not let him give up his future for her. They agree that falling in love and having a secret relationship would end up destroying them.

Because of his recurring nightmares about his mother, Anakin tells Padmé that he has to go to Tatooine to check on her. She says she'll come with him, in spite of directly disobeying his mandate to protect her.

On Tatooine, Anakin discovers his mother has been taken by the Tusken Raiders, who ended up killing her. He slaughters them all, before coming back to the Lars' Homestead. He has an emotional breakdown, and Padmé comforts him, telling him that "to be angry is to be human."

Padme discovers that Obi-Wan has been captured on Geonosis. She tells Anakin that he must go with her and help their friend, as he has been ordered to protect her. On Geonosis, Anakin and Padmé are captured in the droid factory. Before riding out into the arena, Padmé confesses her love for Anakin. He is surprised, and reminds her that they decided falling in love would destroy their lives, to which Padmé replies "I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway." They then kiss as they ride out into the arena.

After the battle of Geonosis, Anakin and Padmé get married in secret on Naboo.

The Clone Wars
Following the breakout of the Clone Wars, Anakin and Padmé rarely got the chance to spend time with each other what with Anakin's recent Knighthood as well as his responsibilities as a Jedi General. Padmé herself was busy with her senatorial duties which were much needed during this time of galactic strife. She often worried about her husband who was the general of the 501st Legion - one of the most elite legions in the entire Grand Army of the Republic - this meant that Anakin was always in the thick of battle and in charge of the most dangerous missions.

Negotiations with Jabba the Hutt
After the kidnapping of Jabba's son, Rotta, he sends out a call for help in order to find him. Anakin and Ahsoka are tasked with finding him, but the Separatists, led by Count Dooku and his assassin, Asajj Ventress frames Anakin for abducting and killing Rotta. When Padmé hears about the trouble Anakin is in, she defends him in front of the Chancellor and decides to go to the Hutts and convince them of Anakin's innocence, using the excuse of forming a treaty with Jabba to allow Republic troops to use the Outer Rim hyperspace lanes controlled by the Hutts for passage. Despite the danger to her life, she is determined to save Anakin.

Padmé manages to uncover the plot of what really happened and discovers that Jabba's uncle, Ziro was working with Count Dooku and they were the real culprits involved with Rotta's kidnapping. Anakin and Ahsoka manage to return Rotta safely to his father but they are still ordered for execution. Fortunately, not a moment too soon, Padmé manages to contact Jabba and reveal what Ziro had done, saving Anakin and successfully brokering a treaty in the process. Seeing Padmé, Anakin professionally thanks her for saving their lives, keeping their cover. Padmé thanks him professionally in return but the two share a last look of longing before the hologram of her switches off.

Rescue from the Malevolence
After temporarily disabling the ion cannon on General Grievous' dreaded ship Malevolence, the Venator-Class Jedi Cruisers began firing on the ship to completely destroy it. Unfortunately, Padmé who was sent on an important mission by Palpatine, was captured by the Malevolence in a ploy to use her as a bargaining chip. This would be enough for the Jedi to cease fire on the Malevolence.

Once Anakin realises Padmé has been captured, he is furious that her life is in danger. Despite Padmé telling them that they should continue their attack and disregard her life, Anakin is having none of it and orders his men to stop firing. He immediately tells Obi-Wan that he is going to save Padmé. Obi-Wan is unsurprised and follows him.

Meanwhile, Padmé manages to hide from Grievous and successfully sends a transmission to Ahsoka who patches her through to Anakin. He expresses her worry for her and tells her they too are on the ship to rescue her. Padmé is annoyed by this but she accepts she has no other option and agrees to meet Anakin and Obi-Wan at a rendezvous point provided by Ahsoka.

Once they reach the meeting point, Obi-Wan points out that Padmé isn't there but due to Anakin's strong feelings for her, he counters and tells Obi-Wan that she is there and he is able to sense her. Anakin was indeed right, but Padmé was on the opposite side of the tracks and couldn't see them either. She smirks and remarks to Threepio that Anakin was probably late again. At that moment, she and Threepio are shot at by Battle Droids, which allow Anakin and Obi-Wan to discover their location. Padmé and Threepio manage to escape by jumping on transport trains, just as Anakin and Obi-Wan manage to jump on another train. Soon Anakin and Obi-Wan are separated as Anakin jumps on another transport train in an attempt to rush to Padmé's side. They call out to each other and Anakin smiles as he catches sight of her.

At that moment, the train track that Padmé's transport was on, got blasted and destroyed by a Battle Droid. Anakin tells Padmé to trust him and jump to him as he would use the Force to lift her. She smiles and nods at him as she jumps. Anakin lifts Padmé with the Force and pulls her into his arms. They embrace and playfully flirt with each other as Anakin teases Padmé about the lengths she would go to get him alone. She smirks at him and tells him to stop talking, leaning in to kiss him. Unfortunately, they are interrupted by Obi-Wan and Anakin tells Artoo to rescue Threepio while he and Padmé decide to sabotage the ship's navigation system. Once they arrive, they are attacked by battle droids. Anakin Force Pushes Padmé to safety as he destroys the droids with his lightsaber. Padmé teases him, saying that ever since she knew him, he liked playing with droids. Anakin tells her that he used to like putting them together, now he only takes them apart. He then proceeds to try and hotwire the ship as Padmé hides away the destroyed droids.

Once they are done with their respective tasks, Anakin, Padmé, Obi-Wan, Artoo and Threepio meet up and manage to escape the Malevolence. However, they are chased by Grievous and his Vulture Droids. Padmé successfully navigates the guns and shoots back at their attackers. Obi-Wan is surprised and remarks to Anakin that Padmé knows her way well around Anakin's ship. Hearing this, Anakin is silent. Suddenly, Artoo notifies them that the Malevolence's hyperdrive is activating but Anakin assures Obi-Wan that it was all part of the plan. Due to his expert engineering skills, Anakin set the navicomputer so the ship would crash into a distant moon, finally destroying the Malevolence for good.

Around this time, Padmé would also go on a mission to Rodia with Jar Jar Binks and Threepio. Jar Jar was able to find a Jedi robe in her ship which allowed him to convince the enemies he was a jedi and save Padmé. That robe is assumed to be Anakin's which suggests that Anakin and Padmé spent a lot of time together on her ship.

The Blue Shadow Virus
Fearing an invasion, Padmé goes back to Naboo to assist the Queen in investigating why destroyed battle droids were discovered. To obtain more proof in order to bring in the assistance of the Republic, Padmé travels with Jar Jar to the Eastern Swamps of Naboo to infiltrate the lab to uncover the Separatist plot. Hoping to avoid tensions with the Gungans, Padmé requests the presence of General Kenobi and General Skywalker to assist her as they are familiar with the Naboo dealings. Yoda and Mace Windu agree and send Anakin and Obi-Wan to Naboo.

Unfortunately, Padmé and Jar Jar are found and abducted by Doctor Nuvo Vindi who inform them that he plans to release the deadly Blue Shadow Virus upon the galaxy with the help of his Separatist allies. Once Anakin and Obi-Wan finally arrive, Captain Typho goes to greet them, but before he is able to say anything, Anakin angrily cuts him off and blames him for letting Padmé go off alone. Fortunately, Threepio manages to diffuse tensions by telling Anakin that once Padmé sets her mind to something, it is very hard to stop her. Anakin reluctantly agrees and sends Ahsoka off with Peppi Bow to see if they would have any luck finding them but he is still furious at Typho for not sending someone to look for Padmé in the first place.

Captain Typho brief the two Jedi on Padmé's location but Obi-Wan and Anakin disagree on the tactics to rescue her. Anakin refuses to go in "guns ablazing" as it would only endanger Padmé but Obi-Wan counters that they have no choice but to risk it because if the virus is released, it would endanger every life in the galaxy.

Later, Anakin is extremely tense as Ahsoka has not returned and they were no closer to rescuing Padmé. Obi-Wan tries to calm him down but Anakin goes off on him, getting more and more worried. Finally, Ahsoka contacts them and updates them on the situation, explaining that there is no way to get inside the lab. Anakin and Obi-Wan come up with an alternate plan as the two of them decide to enter the lab a different way. Immediately after relaying the orders to Ahsoka, Anakin impatiently tells Obi-Wan to hurry, but Obi-Wan is worried for his former Padawan's clouded feelings and extreme attachments. He warns Anakin that Padmé might already be lost and not to risk the mission trying to rescue her. Anakin angrily tells Obi-Wan that he knows what is at stake.

They successfully infiltrate the lab and Anakin manages to find Padmé. Unfortunately, Doctor Vindi starts electrocuting her and Jar Jar and tells Anakin that he only has two options: let Padmé die or capture him. Refusing to let her die, Anakin lays down his saber and his troops follow suit as Vindi escapes. Anakin destroys the electrocution device and rushes to Padmé's side, caressing her face to see if she is okay. Padmé weakly teases him about rescuing her before destroying all the droids. Relieved that she is safe, Anakin jokes that a little thanks from her would go a long way. Anakin helps her up as they separate, him going after Doctor Vindi and Padmé going after one of the bombs containing the virus. They manage to capture Vindi and Ahsoka informs Anakin that they managed to deactivate the bomb. Anakin is still worried about Padmé and asks Ahsoka if she had seen her. Ahsoka assures Anakin that Padmé was safe and sound next to her.

Unfortunately, one of Vindi's servant droids had set off one of the bombs, freeing the virus while Ahsoka and Padmé are trapped in the lab with it. Padmé informs Anakin that she will help Ahsoka seal off the lab and do everything in her power to prevent the virus from escaping. Anakin pleads with her to be careful. In his anger at the danger his Padawan and wife are facing, he threatens Vindi with his lightsaber, demanding the antidote. Obi-Wan warns him to be patient but Anakin is too angry and worried to care. Obi-Wan manages to reason with Anakin and he finally listens to him.

Captain Typho informs Anakin and Obi-Wan that he managed to discover the cure which is a reeksa root, only found on the world of Iego, deep in Separatist territory. Anakin immediately tells Obi-Wan they have to get going but Typho tells them they have to move cautiously. Anakin is having none of it, getting more and more impatient and agitated. He angrily tells both Obi-Wan and Typho that there is no time for caution as Ahsoka and Padmé's life is in danger. Seeing the stern, warning look in Obi-Wan's eyes, Anakin manages to calm down and correct himself, referring to Padmé as Senator Amidala instead of her familiar first name to keep up the ruse of objective professionalism. Obi-Wan is obviously not buying it but he agrees to go on the mission with Anakin and reassures him that both Padmé and Ahsoka will be fine. Anakin agrees but only if they succeed.

They manage to obtain the reeksa root and successfully return to Naboo. Anakin then gets a holographic message from Ahsoka and Padmé who are infected and in really bad shape. Padmé asks Anakin to promise him that no one will ever open that bunker and tenderly says a final goodbye to her husband as the holographic image cuts off. Anakin refuses to accept her death and tries to formulate a plan to get them out and administer the cure. Obi-Wan tells him to slow down but this only angers Anakin and he reminds Obi-Wan of his Padawan and wife's fragile state. Obi-Wan convinces Anakin to listen to him and comes up with a better plan.

Anakin and Obi-Wan successfully pull off their plan and Ahsoka and Padmé are freed from the lab. As they are carried out on a stretcher, Anakin rushes to Padmé's side and reassures her that she will make a full recovery. She tells him that she never lost faith in him but Anakin tells her that there were a few moments where he lost faith in himself. Padmé smiles and tells him he made it, complimenting Ahsoka in the process as Anakin smiles, proud that she is impressed with his Padawan. He gently takes hold of her hand as the two bid each other farewell.

Revenge of the Sith
When Anakin returns from rescuing Palpatine, Padmé is waiting for him in the shadows of the Senate hall. They hug, and Padmé tells him how worried she was, when he notices that she's trembling. He asks her, and she joyfully informs his that she is pregnant with his child. Anakin seems happy, and they share a kiss.

Anakin has a nightmare of Padmé dying in childbirth, which wakes him up. He leaves the bedroom, and goes to sit by the balcony, where Padmé follows him. She asks him what's wrong, but he shuts her out. He ends up telling her about the nightmare, and how he won't let this one become real. After Anakin pledged himself to Darth Sidious, he comes back to visit Padmé, telling her he is alright, and is going to Mustafar. He tells her to wait for him to return. Padmé seems distressed and scared for their future.

Obi-Wan later visited Padmé, and told her of how Anakin had turned to the dark side, she couldn't believe him and went to Mustafar herself to try and find out. This action accidentally ended up leading Obi-Wan right to Anakin.

On Mustafar, Padmé runs to meet Anakin, only to have her worst fears confirmed. When Obi-Wan reveals himself, Anakin takes this to be an act of betrayal from Padmé. He chokes her using the Force, rendering her unconscious. After giving birth to Luke and Leia, Padmé's life force is vanishing from her and using her final breath she tells Obi-Wan that she believes there is still good inside Anakin.

Quotes
"There is good in him, I know there is... still..."

- Padmé's last words. "You were right."

- Anakin's last words

Children
Luke Skywalker is the only son of Anakin and Padme. He was born on secret asteroid base Polis Massa, his mother gives birth to him and his sister before dying in childbirth. He is also the older twin brother of Leia Organa Solo, brother-in-law of Han Solo, and uncle of Kylo Ren.

Leia Organa is the only daughter of Anakin and Padme. She was born on secret asteroid base Polis Massa, her mother gives birth to her and her brother before dying in childbirth. Somehow through the force she remembers blurry images about her mother while she was being born. She is the younger twin sister of Luke Skywalker, widow of Han Solo, and mother of Kylo Ren.

Fanon
A key factor that helped many fans to ship the pair was their theme song; an emotional song composed by John Williams.

Fan works often feature Padmé becoming a force-ghost after her death. Despite the predetermination of Padmé's fate, many fans were distressed by her death. Some fans speculate what Vader and Padmé's relationship would be like, had she survived the childbirth. Certain fans are inclined to believe she would oppose her husband and fight for the freedom of the galaxy.

On a lighter note, the fandom also feature stories that are about what would happen if Anakin had never turned to the dark side and having the couple raise Luke and Leia. Both parents are written as being doting towards the twins. Whether or not the Jedi Order allows Anakin to remain or not varies between authors and stories. As well as, whether or not Anakin and Padmé have more children after Luke and Leia start to get older.

On AO3, Padmé/Anakin is the 9th most written ship in the Star Wars - All Media tag, most written in The Clone Wars, second most written in the Prequel Trilogy and 7th most written in Rebellion Era. It is also the 6th most written ship in the Skylanders fandom despite neither character appearing in the series. It is the most written ship for both characters.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Padmé/Anakin tag on FanFiction.net
 * Padmé/Vader tag on FanFiction.net
 * Anakin/Padmé - Clone Wars tag on FanFiction.net
 * Padmé/Vader tag on FanFiction.net
 * Anakin/Padmé - Clone Wars tag on FanFiction.net

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Anidala week takes place between May 4th and May 10th.
 * Padmé and Anakin's love theme's name, "Across the Stars", is an allusion to the prologue from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, "from forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life."

Variations

 * Obianidala refers to the ship between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin and Padmé
 * Rexanidala refers to the ship between Captain Rex, Anakin and Padmé