CHAPTER 1
Princess Leia Organa had always reminded Darth Vader of Padme, always digging up those old, painful memories from the deepest parts of his soul. They burned him to look at her. It his unfeeling limbs to touch her and steady her body as she watched in horror as Alderaan vanished from existence.
Her scream resonated in the force, and within himself, sounding too familiar to another's he still remembered from years ago.
She fought his grip, and then abruptly slumped in defeat. And for the briefest of moments, he let her lean on his cold mechanical body and forced a false calm over his mind. Underneath, however, Anakin Skywalker screamed at the pain in the force, the loss of life, the hole created. Look at her! He screamed in his mind, we've felt her before, inside Padme, we dreamed of her as an infant in our arms! His younger self was on the shore of the lava river, waving his arms emphatically, blue eyes ablaze.
The white and grey surfaces of the Death Star gradually faded away.
His eyes briefly flashed to the girl under his grip, her hair and eyes were exactly the color of Padme's, but it was a coincidence and nothing more, of that he was sure. Dark hair and dark eyes were common anyway.
No, Darth Vader said taking in a mechanical breath. Our daughter died with, her. She couldn't have survived, you saw the body, why would our Master lie to us? His black-clad form stood opposite to his younger self's form.
But what if he did, Anakin said, his voice broken, resonating in the force, and repeating a broken record. But what if our little girl survived and they faked it, she could be right here, our angel right here!The words rang with truth. This wasn't the first time this conversation had happened. It happened every time he was in proximity of the girl, especially after she had been tortured earlier after he probed her mind.
Tears rolled down his twin's face, blue eyes shining. Darth Vader could almost see his reflection in the glass, the red-rimmed blue eyes, and could almost feel the rawness in his throat from shouting. Almost.
NO. Darth Vader roared back, he refused to believe it. He wouldn't believe it. He wouldn't torture himself like that with false hope and false light. His heart rate skyrocketed as he marched forward towards his younger self. She's dead, Padme is dead, and so are you! He shoved Anakin underneath the lava of emotion in his mindscape once more, smothering his cries. His body burst into flames and a single, pure white butterfly flew off into the distance.
Darth Vader's words rang hollow in the force.
He refused to acknowledge it.