Chapter III:
Vader walked coldly down the long corridor, taking his time. He made many mental notes of the impressive resourcefulness of the Rebels. They would be hard to stamp out. The walk over, through a tundra-like wood, had been approximately three miles. It had taken him less than a half hour to complete it, but he had done lots of thinking. In the icy coldness of space, he had felt nothing for his wife. But now, as he drew nearer to where she was, he began to recall the color of her eyes, the softness of her skin, even the sound of her voice. He had lost complete control of his emotions when she'd contacted him. Only two people had ever done that before, both his masters. Obi Wan's kithe was calming, but devoid of any sentiments. The Emperor's was numbing, demanding and full of so much anger. But Padme-she felt like everything he'd missed; warmth, happiness, sunshine, love. Love, what was that again?
As he stepped through the last slider door, he remembered.
She gasped slightly as he stood there. He'd changed so much. Not in a blatantly obvious way, but she noticed little things. His eyes had deep circles of purple under them. His hair had grown out a little longer-he now kept it tied back. But most disturbing was his skin. It had a sickly yellow tone to it, as though he had jaundice. She immediately recognized it for what it really was, though. Many humanoids that spent more than half a year in space at a time developed it. Resulting from a lack of exposure to natural sunlight, it was quickly remedied by just that. He still wore all black, but a heavy hooded cloak had been added, along with a more dangerous looking lightsaber.
He noticed changes in her, also. Small wrinkles had begun to etch in her face. Little crevices crept out from the corners of her mouth, and around her eyes. Her eyes. They were blood shot and red, from crying. She'd lost her innocent air, that naivette that came so naturally to young women full of ideals. He knew he was partly to blame. He had practically been the cause of the fall of democracy. So many times they'd argued over politics, he believing that a dictatorship was the only way to secure peace. Only now did he realize how wrong he'd been.
"As representative of the planet Naboo, I request total amnesty. I am a cooperative prisoner, and request to be treated as such."
She had presented this speech numerous times to hordes of droids, clones and other minions of the Emperor, always saved at the last second of capture by Kenobi's mind tricks. But not this time. She shuddered as the realization came over her that the Evil Emperor knew this. That's why he'd sent his apprentice. Sighing, she had nearly given up all hope of ever seeing her beloved Anakin ever again. Now, he was her executioner.
He sensed the turmoil and sudden cold repulsion in her. For a brief second he had held fantasies like those he had held all those years ago.
"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..."
He smirked as he recalled her reaction. Total rejection. Exactly how she treated him now, but then again, this time, she was at the mercy of a Sith Lord.
"Milady, I would think of treating you as nothing less, or more. However, I can't promise my master will be so...benevolent as I. Therefore, I request that you give me a sign of your harmonious nature."
"What do you want, Lord Vader?"
"For starters, Padme, please stop calling me that. Part of me is still Anakin."
His eyes suddenly became clear,
"Can't we just go back to where we were? Start over?"
He let out an exuberant laugh. She stared at him, disbelieving. This was the man she'd been conditioning herself against since he had struck her. This is the Darth Vader of the Sith? But he's my Anakin! Suddenly, she rushed into his arms. He received her, recalling a well of memories. They wouldn't be kept at bay-like a tidal wave, his emotions crashed through.
"Oh Padme, its not what I'd thought it would be. The Emperor is cruel and cunning. I'm not becoming more powerful, I'm only his underling. And worst of all, I've lost you."
His body shuddered as the tears came. The yellow of his eyes faded to the blue she remembered.
"Anakin. I've missed you so much. You can still come back to us. Just forget everything that's happened. Obi Wan will forgive you, I'm sure of it."
At the sound of his old master's name, Vader suddenly became cold. He pushed Padme away from him.
"Do you really believe I would betray the Emperor like that?"
She swallowed in fear. He'd never shown so much…anger before. Hadn't he just been denouncing the Emperor? The yellow haze had returned to the iris of his eyes.
"I just thought maybe you'd like to come back."
"For what? The back-stabbing Jedi and his haphazard rebellion?"
"No, Anakin. For me. Don't you see? Nothing else matters. After you left, I thought I'd never see you again. And now that you're here, I don't ever want to let you go."
She softly placed her head on his shoulder. This was too much. He tipped her chin up to look into her eyes. The soft, deep brown was welled over in tears. He let his forehead rest on hers, so he could look down onto her face, and she up into his.
"Do you still love me? After everything I've put you through?"
"Oh, Anakin. I'll always love you."
"Than you're right-nothing else matters."
Unable to hold back any longer, they met one another's lips in an almost painful kiss. Painful for its intensity, for all the memories of hurt and remorse that came with it. He'd hurt her, he suddenly realized. He'd known that all along, but only on the surface. The fact that he'd damaged this flesh that was more precious to him than anything in the universe-it bared down on him with unparalleled guilt. He suddenly pulled back.
"What is it?"
"Padme, I need you to tell me that you forgive me. Because-I am so sorry for everything."
"Anakin, so many times I've tried to tell myself I shouldn't forgive you. But it was Obi Wan who finally helped me to. He said-he said that you weren't the same man. That it was pointless to blame Anakin Skywalker, the man I love, for the actions of Darth Vader. But I never really believed that. I have forgiven you, though, Ani."
And she thought to herself, "But I don't trust you any more."
He smiled, his old smile. It was that smile from so long ago, from the picnic on Naboo. They both melted into each other. It was as though they were still in their little apartment in Coruscant, with all the lights sparkling. There was none of the cruelty she'd expected. She didn't hold back, to his surprise. They fell to the couch together, in a tangle of limbs and emotions.
