Disclaimer: I don't have the privilege of owning Star Wars, not yet anyway :/
Just a little story idea I had. I'm not sure where it's going to go at the moment, but that's the pleasure of writing, you go where your muses take you ;)
Anyway, here's the first chapter, I hope you like it.
Chapter 1 - Mustafar
The wind blew ash, hot and fast into his face. Anakin couldn't see anything but red, the red of the planet, the red of the lava, and the red of his fury.
Anakin was brimming with anger, the anger that for so long he had tried to suppress, along with his ever growing discontent and resentment, but now, he embraced it, savoured it even. The dark side of the force was strong, stronger than he had imagined it being, and with it came a sweet sense of satisfaction, the freeing feeling of finally letting his emotions fuel him.
His whole body was alive with energy, humming with the power of the dark side, and the seemingly unending strength that came with it. He had been so fearful for Padmé before, afraid of the fate that awaited her, and him. Now it was different, never again would he be reduced to the scared little boy clutching his dying mother. The dark side of the Force was all powerful, and it would give him the ability to save his wife. She would not leave him as so many others had. He would not allow her to die on him.
The choice to join Palpatine, to destroy the Jedi Order, had been an almost impossible one. Anakin had stood under no illusions; it was a decision that would change everything, the fate of trillions of beings around the galaxy would be affected. It was hard to bear the weight of such a decision, but Anakin was confident that he had made the right choice.
He allowed his anger to wash over him, freeing himself of lingering doubts as to the whether he had done the right thing to kill the Jedi. The Jedi were traitors. They were the ones that had failed democracy, not the other way around. Anakin only hoped Padmé could see that, would see that. He had saved them, doing what was necessary to protect her and their unborn child. He would not be the apprentice forever, his position as a slave to Darth Sidious would only be temporary, just until he found a way to save Padmé. Then he would overthrow the Emperor, Anakin would make his wife a Queen once again, and they would give their child the Galaxy. He would not spend the rest of his life enslaved and taking orders, for yet another 'Master'.
Anakin could sense the Nubian ship approaching, the one carrying his beloved Padmé. Her force presence impossibly bright these past few months, reaching out to him unknowingly, a beacon of love and familiarity, heightened by the ever growing force signature of their child, in addition to her own.
He wanted so badly to reach out to Padmé and let her know he was there, to comfort her and ease her obvious anguish and distress. Rumours and whispers of his actions must have reached her before he had a chance to ease her concerns. He should have brought her here with him, if only to stay on the ship, it was not safe to leave her alone at the moment. His Angel could not abandon him the way the Jedi had.
Breaking into a sprint, Anakin raced towards the landing platform, eager to greet Padmé and dispel her worries. He arrived at the dock just as the ramp descended, his anger turned to fear and concern. The anguish he had felt from a distance was deep emotional turmoil; Padmé was stressed and afraid, there was nothing he wanted more than to sweep her into his arms and protect her from harm.
Padmé ran down the ramp of the elegant ship looking as beautiful as the ever, gone were her Senate dresses and instead she wore a simple outfit, her pregnancy on full display. He embraced her upon greeting, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"I saw your ship..." He murmured his words softly into her ear.
She melted into his arms, "Oh, Anakin."
"It's all right, you're safe now. What are you doing out here?"
A slight frown lingered on her face, her red ringed brown eyes were wide with concern, in a way that he suspected mimicked his own. "I was so worried about you. Obi-Wan told me terrible things."
"What things?" He feared the truths that Obi-Wan had told her; it could ruin everything. His wife was a kind hearted, a trait he had cherished in the past, but she likely wouldn't understand that sacrifices that had to be made.
"He said you have turned to the dark side - that you killed younglings." She sniffled, clutching his arm, her gaze seemed to penetrate his soul, begging him to deny the claims. But he could not deny the accusations, even if he tried, she would discover the truth eventually.
"Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me." He tried to keep his tone soft, even, but the anger that had been eased by Padmé's arrival was coming back full force.
"He cares about us." She was reasoning with him, ever the diplomat, but this was not the time for politics. Obi-Wan had no place in their marriage.
"Us?" He questioned, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.
"He knows... He wants to help you." Her brown eyes softened as if she truly believed that Obi-Wan wanted to help him.
He couldn't believe that she had turned to Obi-Wan the moment he had left, the child was his, theirs. "Is Obi-Wan going to protect you? He can't - he can't help you. He's not strong enough."
"Anakin, all I want is your love." She confided, the faintest hint of a smile peeking through her .
"Love won't save you, Padmé. Only my new powers can do that." Anakin sighed exasperatedly, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair. It was a fact, if love alone could save her then she would not be dying.
"At what cost? You are a good person. Don't do this." She begged him, laying a protective hand on her stomach.
An immense jet of lava exploded beside them, reminding Anakin the reason he had come to the horrid planet in the first place. It pained him to know that his Angel was in such distress, especially given her current state. Yet another thing that Obi-Wan would have to atone for when the time came.
"I won't lose you the way I lost my mother! I've become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of and I've done it for you. To protect you." He was losing her, they both knew it.
"Please, come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can." She pleaded.
Anakin was done with hiding their marriage, their love for one another; he would not spend his life sneaking around like a teenager just to meet with his wife. He had spent his entire life doing as others had told him, always a servant to a Master. His child would not grow up the same way, Anakin would give their son or daughter the Galaxy, and the Galaxy would know of his love.
"Don't you see, we don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. I am more powerful than the Chancellor. I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be."
"I don't believe what I'm hearing," Warm, salty tears streamed down Padmé's flushed cheeks, "Obi-Wan was right. You've changed."
Obi-Wan had no place in their marriage. It was meant to be the two of them, forever and always, even if they had to keep it a secret. She was supposed to be the one by his side, yet she trusted Obi-Wan more than her own husband.
"I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me too."
"I don't know you anymore. Anakin, you're breaking my heart. I'll never stop loving you, but you are going down a path I can't follow."
Why couldn't she just understand? Everything, everything he had done was for her, and he would do it a thousand times over if it meant she would live. But still, she accused him of being the one in the wrong. It was all Obi-Wan's fault; he had twisted her, turned her from him.
"Because of Obi-Wan?" He spat angrily.
"Because of what you've done..." She paused to flick her gorgeous eyes up at him, even if it was only for a second, "What you plan to do. Stop it, stop it now. Come back! I love you. I've always loved you."
A moving figure on the ramp of the cruiser caught his attention, one that Anakin knew like the back of his hand. His jaw tightened, and a hand instinctively drifted to his lightsaber, everything made sense now.
"Liar." Anakin declared, his statement laced with barely disguised hatred and disgust.
Padmé eyes widened with shock and horror, at the accusation, unable to comprehend how Anakin could deny her claim. Noticing Anakin's unwavering gaze at a spot behind her, she spun around to find Obi-Wan standing in the doorway of the Nubian ship.
"No!" She choked, realising what Anakin would think.
"You're with him. You've betrayed me! You brought him here to kill me!" White hot fury coursed through Anakin's veins, never before had he been betrayed in such a manner.
His wife, the one person he had trusted above all others, had conspired with his mentor, his brother in all but blood to destroy him. The dark side beckoned, urging him to punish those responsible for his suffering, to enact his revenge.
"No!" Her voice was sweet, sharp, but filled with terror, "Anakin, please. I swear... I..."
She cut off, and Anakin jerked up in surprise, never had he heard Padmé at such loss of words during such a critical moment, she never stopped fighting. That was the moment that he realised it was of his doing, he was choking her unknowingly with the force.
"Let her go, Anakin." Obi-Wan's voice broke through his mental haze, in a tone that seemed just as panicked as Anakin felt. It came at a surprise, never was 'The Great Negotiator' anything but cool calm and collected. A wayward part of his mind felt a perverse pleasure at pushing Obi-Wan to his breaking point, and he ignored it.
Anakin was allowing the dark side to control him, to suck him into destroying the one thing he held most dear. No, this couldn't happen, Obi-Wan would get what was coming in due time, but he'd be damned if Padmé was lost too. Focusing his love for the unborn child within her, his grip on the dark side eased somewhat and Padmé collapsed, released from the chokehold.
He turned to face Obi-Wan, drawing his lightsaber, "This is all your fault, you turned her against me."
"You have done that yourself." Obi-Wan replied, far too calmly for Anakin's liking. He needed his former Master to understand the pain he was going through. The feeling of being consumed by love and hatred and the same time.
"You will not take her from me." He was prepared to fight, to the death if necessary, to prevent Obi-Wan from taking Padmé. His wife belonged at his side and his alone, if Obi-Wan had his way he would never see her, nor the child again.
He attacked Obi-Wan with a ferocity that he barely knew he had, Anakin wanted so badly for Obi-Wan to meet his end here and now by Anakin's hand. It would satisfy his desire for revenge. His former Master had let him down in more ways than he could count. Obi-Wan deserved to suffer. He deserved to know what it felt like to be betrayed by one that you had once completely trusted.
He was certain that he could beat Obi-Wan, he was superior in the force, an advantage that would give him the upper hand. Though they were fairly equally matched with lightsaber skill. He also knew that Obi-Wan would not be able to strike him down, he was too attached to the boy he had raised as a son, and later fought with as a brother. Anakin had no such emotional attachment.
The battle was fierce, both attacking with the intent to kill, however, years of sparring had meant they each knew the techniques of the other as well as they knew their own. The treacherous terrain also threw a spanner into the works, a single misstep and a certain death awaited in the molten lava.
It was a sudden awareness of Padmé that caused Anakin to falter slightly, for all that he was thinking of her he had not thought to check if she would be alright following the choking. Continuing to parry Obi-Wand half-hearted jabs, he reached out to the familiar presence of his wife to find that she was fading.
He swore, what kind of a husband was he for not checking on his pregnant wife earlier. Padmé needed medical attention and fast. He could not risk allowing his fight with Obi-Wan to continue any longer.
In a move he had never used against Obi-Wan before, he slashed wildly in an unorthodox manner, it was a move easily blocked but threw his opponent off long enough for him to sprint back towards the landing platform.
He knew he only had seconds of a head start on Obi-Wan, but if he played his cards right it was all he needed. Upon reaching the platform, he scooped the still unconscious Padmé into his arms as gently as he could under the time constraint and ran towards the ramp of the Nubian craft. Once he reached the top of the ramp, he mustered all his anger into a violent force shove directed at Obi-Wan that succeeded in knocking the Jedi off his feet.
He lay Padmé down in the nearest seat and took off.
I confess to copying large chunks of the dialogue from ROTS, the story diverges after this point, but it had to be done for this chapter. Sorry.
If you liked the chapter you can leave a review, and if you didn't like it you can leave a review too and tell me what I can do better.
Thank you for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day :)
~Dyenya