The Lake Country...
It was beautiful as the white snow covered the green gras, as the ice covered the still blue water. The waterfalls rushed down on the water on the background. The trees' branches were covered with the white substance and the the building that rested at the foot of a hill looked like it could collapse any moment.
It was a ruin, a ruin of memories. The ivy from around the pilars had faltered in time. Scorch marks were visible on the white, cream coloured stones. Pieces of the collapsed pilars laid on the ground of the balcony, forgotten by the human mind.
Even through all the damage that the empire had caused to the building, it still radiated waves of peace, serenity, calmness, love. The white and pink flowers that had grown around with the ivy had disappeared from the scene.
It looked cold from the outside, but the balcony was filled with warm memories. Where once the decorations for the holidays hung, was now an empty place. The fountain that had spilled water from it's top had been destroyed, just like the rest of the magnificent building that showed the peace that the people of Naboo tried to maintain.
The windows were shattered in thousands pieces and the doors were broken in two when they stormed into the building without a warning.
"Who could've done something horrible like this..." Anakin asked himself. He knew the answer, the empire did this. But yet, why would they do something like this? He shook his head out of his thoughts.
He wachted the spot on the balcony where he first kissed the love of his life, the girl he had been dreaming of since he met her. His strong but gentle hand rested on the stones as he touched them, thinking of that sunny day.
He looked around, the surroundings were all familiar. The spot where he had teased her in the grass, the place where they married in the sun, the place where he had ridden a shaak. The constant running of the waterfalls soothed his nerves and mind.
Anakin sighed sadly, the sadness clearly showing in his bright eyes. He slowly walked to the spot where they stood on their wedding day. The sun that had shined upon his face that day was hidden behind the clouds.
The young man ignored the warning signs as he walked through the broken door and entered the building. On his left was the kitchen, he remembered it clearly from when she had shown him every room of the wonderful lake retreat.
The roof had collapsed, pieces of the roof blocked his way but he used the force to shove them aside. Snow covered the pieces of snow and furniture. Every little piece of furniture was destroyed, scorch marks were upon them and the pieces of a chair laid on the floor, covered in the white snow.
Anakin touched the scorch marks but he retreated his hand from the moment he felt the waves of darkness surrounding the marks. His eyes glazed over as he walked to the dining room where he once dined with his angel, the girl he loved.
The dark curtains that once decorated the windows were torn on some places, the window was broken and the table was removed, the chair stood against one of the walls and Anakin could hear his own footsteps crack in the snow.
He looked over his shoulder, his footprints were printed in the snow, like a memory. His feet led him to the living room where the couch that stood against was destroyed. The spot where she had once looked him straight in his eyes was now nothing but air.
"We would be living a lie, I couldn't do that...could you Anakin? Could you live like that?"
"No, you're right, it would destroy us."
He couldn't live a live, but he did. For three years, he had been living a lie. But he didn't regret it one single day. Those three years, were the best days of his life. The hallway was dark, pieces of stone covered the floor and blocked his path to some doors.
He simply passed them but eventually couldn't ignore the door that lead to the room. The room where she wanted the baby room to be. Even though it was destroyed like any other room of the once so beautiful building, it was magnificent non the less.
Anakin felt the waves of peace and calmness greeting him as he entered the room. The large window did have a great vieuw of the garden, just like she had said.
"I could go early and fix up the babies room."
He didn't linger long in the but quickly used the side door to enter the room where Anakin had spend most of his time with her. The room looked so cold like it was now. The curtains were taken down, the sheets had disappeared from the bed and the doors to the walk-in closer were open.
Tears sprang in his eyes as he saw the state the room was in. He felt cold only looking at the room. He wrapped his arms around him and a single tear fell down his cheek. He looked at the ground, not wanting more tears to fall down.
The dust that covered the furniture was left untouched, but one single clean spot was visible on the floor. He took a sheaky breath and looked back up. The tops of his fingers touched the bed and her nightstand.
The oaken wood that made the framing of the furniture felt familiar. It had her presence everywhere. He closed his eyes and a small smile crept up to his lips. He walked through the door that lead to the second balcony and his eyes widened at the balcony where he once metitated.
"Don't go, your presence is soothing..."
The ivy around the pilars was gone, just like some of the pilars. The decorations that were on the walls were covered in moss. Another small tear fell down his cheek as he saw what the empire had done to the place she once called home.
He walked back inside the abandoned building, he looked at the small objects like her desk, the table, the frames on the wall. Everything held memories, memories of her. All the small things that she once treasured were now laying around like the dust on the floor.
The only thing that caught Anakin's eye was a small piece of paper, crumbled under the dust, the handwriting unreadable. He carefully picked it up from the desk and tried to straighten it a little bit without damaging it.
He looked at the words written upon the note…they were unreadable, but some of them he could decipher…the handwriting looked familiar to him. He looked as close as he could.
It was her writing…
Anakin,
I know that you might never receive this letter, but I don't care, I just want to write these thoughts on paper. I know that I love you, that's for sure. But the look in your eyes, the look that you directed at me at that planet called Mustafar…it broke my heart.
Your once blue eyes, they were filled with anger, sadness. Your thoughts had been twisted, you didn't believe me any longer. I wished you hadn't taken the easy way out. I wished that you would've left everything behind while you still could.
But yet, after all of this, after all that happened…I still love you. Even if every inch of me has faded away in time, the memories remain, the memories will stay in the minds of the people, and even maybe later on, our children. A memory… it's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having.
We must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us. I hope that if you ever come back to the light side, if you ever escape the darkness. I hope that the world turns back to the way it was before the Empire.
But What I hope most of all is that, even though I might never meet you again, laugh with you again, cry with you, or kiss you…I love you. With all my heart, I love you. And that means more to me than anything in this world.
More then my life…but just know, if I died, it wasn't your fault. It was never your fault. It's because I couldn't live with a broken heart. And it's never going to be your fault. You were as much decived as we all were.
I feel the life ebbing away from me as I write this letter? I know that you might never read this, that it will fade away in time, but the thought written on this paper, mean more to me then anything…
I love you Anakin, never forget that…I love you
P.A. Naberrie-Skywalker Skywalker
Anakin read the letter over and over again, the two initials at the end meant her first and second name, but the tears sprang in his eyes as he read the last three words
I love youHe read every word again, staring at those three last words, he couldn't believe what he was reading. Even after all that he had done to her, she still loved him. The paper crumbled in his hand.
Tears flowed down his cheeks as he clemmed his fists in an attempt to stop them from falling. He began to tremble as he opened his hand and looked at the crumbled paper in his palm. The first time, she had lined through her second surname…
Clearly she had rethought of it, and rewriten it afterwards. He smiled through the tears and began to walk out of the room. He looked back at the building once more before walking of the balcony into the snow.
It cracked under his feet as he walked in the white substance. He looked at his feet, dust covered his face. The tears had made their way down his cheeks, making marks on his face. He used his sleeve to wipe away some of the dust from his eyes.
His eyes darted back to the isolated building. Snow began to fall down from the sky, he raised his head to the sky, like he was savoring the peace that the snowflakes brought upon the world when they fell.
He took a deep breath and looked once more at the letter in his hand and then at the building before leaving the Lake country…
Leaving the memories behind…
R&R please, I hope you all like this one shotMJLS