Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. It belongs to George Lucas's imagination; I'm just here to play.
Let It Burn, Chapter 4
Anakin didn't know what brought him to brooding in his office. He supposed that in the time that it had taken his heart and head to revive from the stab of seeing Padme after all of these years, he had wandered into his secluded room. Staring at the bland walls, he could not feel. His insides were a raging mess of violent fires as destructive and dangerous as the lava-filled Mustafar, but his exterior was coldly numb- making his body a dulled craze of untouchable feelings. Crossing his arms, it gave him the illusion that he was held together; a stony force to be reckoned with. Darth Vader had no looming emotions; no past to weigh him down; no inhibitions or doubts; no lost love. Anakin Skywalker though, contained all of these heavy faults, and he bore them with a grudging duty. Anakin could sense the same tumbling feelings and thoughts returning from when he had first decided to join the Dark Side. Nausea was a constant in his stressed stomach and clenched jaws became a habitual thing he had to relieve pressure from. The impact Padme and his children had Anakin was dangerous- it is what had brought him to the Dark Side; and which was now slowly taunting him to return to the Light. A part of him though, did not wish to return to the Light and the Jedi. If he did, Anakin would consider himself a failure. He had made a fateful choice- he would not turn back on it now.
"My Lord," General Vaison entered humbly with a bow. Staring at his master with clenched fists, he didn't know what had possessed him to seek out Vader. His feet stepping on the now precarious floor of his master's office, he knew he had doomed himself.
"What is it," Lord Vader bit out sharply. Although Vaison was his most trusted general, Anakin wanted nothing to do with him when he was deep in thought. That was one thing this new empire did not understand or accept- contemplation.
"My Lord," Vaison stated shakily once more, "there is a group of soldiers who- who believe they are being cheated." General Vaison averted his gaze from Vader's darkening eyes. He felt himself melting in his spot, and he did not know if he would leave this room alive. His master's temper was never an easy one to pinpoint.
"Cheated," Anakin replied in bitter monotony, "what do you mean by that." Stepping closer to his loyal general, Anakin could sense Vaison's courage flinch.
"They believe they should be able to learn your powers. If there truly will be a war, the soldiers want to be able to protect their empire and emperor to the best of their abilities." Vaison found himself shrinking quickly. Soon, he would be a speck of nothingness.
Anakin cackled darkly before replying. "Lies," he said in a harsh whisper. "Lies! General Vaison, do you agree with these soldiers?" Anakin inched closer.
"I- I see their point and understand it," Vaison replied timidly. When under scrutiny such as this, it was always smarter to speak as little as possible.
"Do. You. Agree. It is a simple yes or no, Vaison. This is not complicated." Anakin stared dryly at Vaison.
"Yes," the general whispered in defeat, "yes." Lifting his eyes, he faced his lord's stare.
"Then you are a fool. The Force is only meant for a specific type- you and your soldiers do not fit it." Vader paused. He knew he could not let Vaison go freely for what he did. "How dare you come to me, merely a servant to my empire, and demand a power which was not granted to you. My hands," he flexed them with a smirk, "have been yearning to kill today; yearning to suck the life away from an unfortunate soul. You would do stupendously." An evil smile creeped its way onto Lord Vader's face and he could feel the darkness rise in him. His blood seemed to turn thick and black as it coursed in his veins, and he knew the evil message it carried throughout his body.
"My Lord, forgive me. I am but a stupid- stupid servant." Vaison pleaded, hands lifting shakily into the air, as he inched closer to the door. Anakin mimicked his general's steps; not allowing him any relief- the threat of no mercy was very strong.
"Yes," Vader drawled, "you are indeed stupid. Stupid and proud; bold. You have been corrupted my dear general, and you know very well my policy on corruption."
"Lord Vader- please. I have seen the error in my ways. Allow me to live out the rest of my days in humility. I beg of you, my Lord." His heart was pounding in his head, and he could feel the sweat form on his skin.
"You want to learn the Force?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Lesson one: never cross your master." With that, he tore his lightsaber from his belt slashing the cowering Vaison in two. Watching the man's torso fall to the ground, Anakin felt a sickening shudder tingle throughout his body. Shrugging off the feeling, he ordered Callum's presence.
"Take and burn the body," Vader instructed numbly. Callum gave a shuddering bow and swept the body from the floor and exiting the room. Once alone, Anakin massaged his temples, closing his eyes. He was too distracted to even close the door to his office- in a moment, a mistake he would regret.
"What did he do?" Anakin turned to find Padme leaning in the doorway with a blank expression. He did not even want to know what thoughts ran through his wife's head.
"He crossed me," Anakin replied just as blandly, turning to face the opposite wall. He could not face her, he knew he would crumble.
"So that was reason to kill?" Padme sighed heavily. She knew the longer she stayed in Coruscant the more she would die inside. But something possessed her not to leave from her spot in the threshold.
"Yes," Anakin's simple reply came. How could she have expected any other answer?
"That is not the Anakin I know," Padme stated with a disappointed simplicity. She knew her reaction should be to scream and cry, asking what had possessed her husband to commit such an evil act, but that was the old Padme. Her new self knew killing was part of Lord Vader; it was a moot point to cry over.
"Anakin Skywalker is dead," Anakin replied harshly, still not facing Padme.
"Is he? Because I see him in this room." Padme pushed herself from the doorway, stepping cautiously into the room, arms crossed.
"A trick of the mind then, Senator," Anakin returned distantly, turning to face his wife. Blue eyes clashed with brown, but neither party could act on the fiery collision.
"Or a truth of the heart," Padme thought to herself. She knew the words would never pass her lips, but reciting them in her head lessened the blow of her husband's coldness. "A very cruel one at that. I of all people should know that Anakin Skywalker died many years ago; undeniably." Padme crossed her arms tighter around her small torso.
Anakin threw away his wife's words with a clearing of the throat. "Naboo has been treating you well, I presume?" Anakin became as detached as possible. Padme's heart plunged deep into her stomach. He was treating her as a political guest he had to entertain- a very inconvenient guest.
"It is untouched by the Empire's wrathful hand," Padme drawled in return.
"Ouch, Senator. A tad bitter, are we?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. The black and hateful blood still polluted his body, allowing him the evil coldness he had mastered and prided himself in for the past sixteen years.
"I will not have a battle of wits with you, Anakin."
"Then why are you in my office?" Anakin began to tap his foot lightly, just loud enough for the rhythmic sound to irk Padme's ears.
"I am taking Luke and Leia to dinner tonight; they deserve at least some acknowledgement for their birthday, would you not agree, Emperor?" Oh how Padme wished that Anakin would insist on attending as well. What she would give to experience one day with all four of them together in peace.
"My opinion will hold no significance in your already solid plan."
"Have you ever even told them 'happy birthday'?" Padme whispered. Once the words came flowing from her mouth she wished she could take them all back. This conversation would lead nowhere pleasant.
No. "You say it enough for the both of us," Anakin drawled in reply, brushing past his wife and exiting the room. Padme sighed, cracking her knuckles in thought. She knew she had to keep pestering Lord Vader if she ever wished to see her Ani return to her after all of these years. Flipping the curls that were eyes, she exited the room, head held high.
"Mom says she's taking us to dinner tonight," Leia commented quietly as she and Luke sat in one of the many lounging rooms of the palace. Leia loathed the unwavering tension between them; twins should be almost one. She and Luke were certainly far from that norm.
"Did she say if Father would be joining?" Luke questioned instinctively. As much as his father caused him strife, Luke felt oddly alone without Anakin's presence. Whether in conversation or in person, his father provided Luke with a certain comfort and strength no one else could offer.
"Does it matter?" Leia returned bitterly. She stared at her brother harshly. Luke Skywalker had changed more than Leia had feared. Soon he would be just as cold as their father; Luke would be a clone of Anakin- a reality Leia could not bear.
"I was simply asking," Luke replied simply. His sister's reply was a hit not only to their father, but to him. No one insulted Anakin Skywalker. Luke mentally froze when this thought came whizzing through his mind. Had he really just defended Anakin? Yes, he had. Luke realized then that he truly was loyal to Anakin. Maybe not yet to Lord Vader, but his father, Anakin Skywalker, he most certainly was devoted to.
"No," Leia answered dully, "I don't think he is coming." Leia's glared deepened. "There, happy?"
"What are you so touchy about today?" Luke almost sneered at his sister. He felt the darkness his father spoke of regularly build up inside him, and Luke began to internally shake. Emotions unknown to Luke filtered through his body, and he didn't know how to stop them. He could feel the Light sink into his depths, but there was no way he could save it. For right now, the darkness that had festered in Luke sprung to the surface. But somehow, he knew- or prayed- that the lustful darkness would ware off.
"What am I touchy about? Luke! You're becoming just like him! You promised me, promised mom, that you'd stay true to who you are. This darkness," she waved her finger over her brother, "is not you! You're allowing him to corrupt you."
"You don't know that! Maybe this is me! Maybe I'm more than just a one dimensional martyr with a strictly light core. Have you ever thought of that?" Luke paused for air. "I live with him, Leia," he continued more softly, "I'm bound to turn out something like him."
"But that's just it! You're not supposed to be like him. You're supposed to be kind, caring, loving, and merciful. You are supposed to be what Father deserted sixteen years ago." Leia's eyes moved frantically over her brother's face. She could feel the heat rising in her body; her heart pounding painfully loud, and the tension grow in her muscles. This could not be happening to her.
"I'm not supposed to be anything! I am supposed to be me. When was it decided I was supposed to be anything but my father?" Luke stared at his sister. Not darkly, not lightly; simply blandly, and that killed Leia more than either of the extremes. The words "my father" haunted her thoughts painfully. Luke had implied that Anakin was only his father; Leia had lost him years ago.
"You decided that, Luke! You! You should have stayed on Naboo last time when Mom invited you to live with us. "Leia shook her head sadly. Happy birthday to her.
"And what, leave Father? I couldn't. He is so close, Leia, so close to becoming Anakin again." Luke's blue eyes pleaded with his sister's brown.
"You've been saying that for a long time now," Leia whispered. "I think all Father will ever be is close to a breakthrough. He's a lost cause."
"He's my father; he's never lost to me." Luke's stare became stony and dark. He would always be on the side of his father; no matter who it was on the opposing side- even his sister and mother.
Okay, I am SO sorry it's taken me so long to update! School has been crazy. So, I do hope you enjoyed this. This chapter was mainly to display how Luke truly feels about his father… I hope that came across okay. Also, thanks so much to everyone who is supporting this story; you truly are too wonderful!
Be good and review!
