Light Up The Dark

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Chapter 3: Settling In

Leia followed Vader into the waiting speeder. Both were silent for a few moments before Vader said, "Well, that could have been worse."

"Yes, it could have been," she agreed, hesitating before continuing, "Y-you won't hurt me, will you?"

"Of course not, princess. I'd never harm a child." He looked almost offended at the thought.

She glanced up at him. "Not even a Jedi youngling?"

"No."

"But...but I thought you led the march on the Temple," she said.

"The clones killed the younglings. I couldn't bring myself to do the deed." He paused, lowering his eyes. "The Emperor wasn't exactly pleased with my decision."

"Well, I think you were in the right," she muttered.

He chuckled. "Perhaps I was, and perhaps I wasn't. In any case, I couldn't do it." The two were silent until they arrived at Vader's castle. "Come, Leia," he said, offering her his hand. She took it, and he helped her out of the speeder before grabbing her suitcase. They entered together. Leia's hand crept up and slipped into Vader's. She quickly looked up to make sure that he didn't mind, but his hood betrayed no emotions.

Vader began to ascend the stairs, going to the living quarters. I suppose she can have one of the spare bedrooms, he thought, looking down at the child who was holding his hand. She's brave, I suppose. I'll give her that. He, of course, didn't mind her holding his hand, but she didn't know that. Once they reached the top of the stairs, he almost opened the door to the first bedroom, but something told him to give her another room. He shrugged and continued walking, leading the girl. "That is my room," he said, pointing with his free hand. "However, I am rarely there. Usually, I'm on the Exactor, or, if I'm here, I'll be in my study." She nodded.

Vader suddenly froze as he realized in which room the Force wanted him to put Leia. No. Not there. Anywhere but there! Yet his feet and hands moved involuntarily to open the door to the room next to his. "This will be your room," he heard himself saying.

She entered the room and glanced around before turning back to him with a furrowed brow. "I-I thought you didn't know that the Emperor would turn me over to you."

"I didn't."

"Then, why do you have a room prepared for a girl my age?" She cocked her head.

He sighed. "Because, had my wife not died while she was pregnant, my child would have been about your age, and this would have been her room had she been a girl." He smiled slightly, remembering the many arguments with Padmé over the baby's gender. "Even though both my wife and child died eight years ago, I've updated the decorations in this room and the one I prepared for a boy on the anniversary of the day the child would have been born. I suppose, though, that it's time that I accepted that they're dead, and…" His voice broke. "And they're not coming back."

Leia looked up at him before slowly walking up to him and wrapping her arms around him tightly. He smiled and returned the embrace. After a few moments, he released her. "Well," he said, placing her suitcase onto her bed, "I'll leave you to unpack and get settled. Dinner will be in an hour."

"All right," she said with a bright smile.

He exited the room, wondering why and how that smile had such a hold on him so quickly.

*L*U*D*

At dinner that night, Leia asked Vader, "Mist-I mean, Lord, Vader-"

He laughed. "You may call me Mister Vader, if you wish, Leia, since we will be living together for an undetermined amount of time."

"All right, Mister Vader." She giggled. "Well, my mother and I weren't able to pack very many outfits for me, and..." Her voice trailed off.

"And you need more clothes," he finished.

"Well, yeah."

"Would you like me to take you shopping tomorrow?"

She beamed. "Yes, please! Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

She bit her lip. "I hate to be a bother, but I have one more question."

"Well, go ahead and ask it. I don't bite, you know."

She chuckled. "I know. I was wondering if and how I would go to school. I mean, I know that I probably can't go, but is there any way I can continue lessons here, whenever school starts back?"

"I suppose that I can look into something through the holonet."

"Thank you. I can't wait to go back to school."

"Really? You enjoy it?"

"Yes, I do. Didn't you?"

"No. I hated school, as a matter of fact."

"Most do, but I guess I'm strange."

"It's a good strange, then, princess."

They were quiet for a few minutes before Leia gathered enough courage to ask him one more question. "Do you ever take that hood off?"

"Occasionally, but never when others are around to see."

"Why not?"

"Because the Emperor does not wish for me to."

"Oh." Leia then gave a determined nod.

Vader inwardly winced; that motion reminded him strongly of Padmé. "What's that nod for?"

"It's just become my life mission to see you without the hood."

"Oh, really?" he asked. She grinned. The two finished their dinner in silence.

*L*U*D*

The next morning, after his daily training regimen, Vader discovered a message on his comlink informing him that he had to attend a briefing in an hour and a half. He quickly cleaned up from his exercise and was about to leave when he remembered Princess Leia. I suppose I should tell her that I'm leaving, he thought. He walked up to the door of her room and knocked. "Leia?" he asked. No response came, but he heard the shower going in her fresher. He entered her room and went to the fresher door. "Leia?" he repeated.

"Mister Vader?" she called. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong, but I thought you might like to know that I have to leave. I'll be back in a few hours, and I'll take you shopping then, all right?"

"All right. I'll be fine."

"Very well, then. See you later, princess." He turned and left.

*L*U*D*

After Leia finished showering and getting ready for the day, she decided to explore a bit. The first place that had caught her curiosity was Vader's bedroom, and, since he was gone, she thought that now would be a perfect time to look around in there. She crept up to the door, trying to be quiet (even though she was certain she was alone), and opened the door, half-expecting it to be locked. It wasn't, however, so she entered. The simplicity of the room surprised her; there was very little in the way of decoration. In fact, all she saw was a couple of holopics on the dresser.

She tiptoed over to it and began to examine the holos. The first was of a dark-haired woman and a blond-haired boy, around her age. It looked to have been taken on a desert planet. Neither looked familiar to her. The other was of another dark-haired woman, but this one she thought she knew. She gasped. "No way…" She rushed to her room and removed the pic of her birth parents before rushing back to Vader's room. The women were indeed the same. "Sooo….why does Darth Vader have a holopic of my mom?" she asked herself, quite confused. After several minutes of staring at the holos, she finally re-hid hers and closed the door to his room before exploring the rest of the palace.

*L*U*D*

Vader returned soon after, and she, of course, didn't mention her foray into his room, though she was dying to ask him how he knew her mom (not to mention exactly who her mom was; she still didn't know). He took her shopping, as he had promised. She bought a lot of new clothes, and after she had finished, the two ate lunch and had ice cream. Still, for the rest of the day, the holopic in Vader's room haunted Leia. How did he know her?

A/N: THIS IS NOW MY MOST REVIEWED STORY! AHHHHHHHHH! I'M SO EXCITED! I'VE GOT THREE PAGES OF REVIEWS!

Ahem. OK. Now that I'm calmer, thanks so much to all of you for your support. I really appreciate it.

Next chapter is Leia's revelation about why exactly Vader does have a holo of her mom…. That's going to be so much fun.