AN: Thank you guys for waiting so long for the newest chapter. It is the first time Vader touches Padmé deliberately...

It would appriciate to receive some reviews so I know whether you like the progress or not :-)

Enjoy, R&R!

Chapter 7

The moment that the Nubian became aware of Vader's left hand pressing lightly against her slender neck did Padmé's breath fall out of its' rhythm. Images of her mother crying alone at her father's favourite spot in their water residence on Naboo were supplanted by the terrifying thought of yellow eyes. Knowing that showing fear wouldn't stop the abuse she was about to receive, the former Senator decided to close her eyelids in an apathetic way. She resigned to the treatment Vader was about to give her. So almost obediently Padmé awaited the sharp pain that would suck away the air in her lungs…

To tell the truth the once cheerful woman, who had always radiated optimism amongst her colleagues, felt betrayed by life and somehow desolate. Palpatine had proven to her that there was no hope and no escape from his terror. Mistreatment would probably be a constant part of her life from now on and she would need to get used to it.

…At least until she was able to make an escape. But how likely was that? What if she was caught during her escapade? What could be the consequences for the remaining part of her family?

Tossing these thoughts aside Padmé began to notice that the pain was a long time in coming. At first the delicately built Nubian decided not to spare too many thoughts on the fact that Vader had not squashed her throat yet. The Sith probably only waited for the right moment to strike. Waiting eagerly for the moment his victim would suffer the most from his merciless grasp. Perhaps waiting patiently for the right moment amused the Sith?

Perhaps I am just another involuntary participant in a Sith's sick game…

The very idea elicited a slight nausea in the Senator.

But as another minute had passed without Vader initiating violence or harming her neck the pale Senator could not resist her urge any longer and slowly began to peek. To her surprise her senses had not betrayed her as Vader's cloaked left was still against her skin.

Only now did the Nubian notice that Palpatine's assassin was standing so close to her that she was able to have a closer look under the thick cloak the Sith always wore. Raising her head in order to be able to examine her enemy's feature, Padmé became aware of the young man's tall built again.

This guy has to be 2 meters tall at least…

Just as the politician's big eyes rested on Vader's face did she truly realise that this villain was indeed pretty handsome. Scanning her opponents every muscle further Padmé's glance landed on Vader's smooth cheek. Contrary to the scar in the corner of his right eye Vader did not show any signs of lesions on his strings. The skin was naturally tanned, healthy and hardly showed any hair growth. Vader had to be young indeed. Actually too young to be able to commit such crimes…But reality had proven otherwise again: sometimes the wolf wore sheep's clothing.

Shamelessly exploiting this unobserved moment the Senator took another look at the young man's eyes.

Surprisingly there were no yellow iris staring back at her. Vader had his eyes closed. His symmetrical eyebrows were crooked as the Sith was obviously concentrating.

Like this Vader just looked like a totally normal fellow… More like a prince than the villain...noted Padmé with astonishment realising that especially his yellow orbs turned this man into a monster. Ironically with this kind of appearance the devil in black almost had a calming effect on the Nubian, so that Padmé's anxiety lessened.

Feeling her mind kicking in again, the question of all questions popped into the brown haired woman's head: What…is Vader doing?

As if the Sith was able to read Padmé's mind his eyes shot open.

The change in Vader's mimic startled Padmé, so she intuitively took a step backward. Realising the absurdity of the situation himself, an alarmed pair of blue orbs met chocolate ones. Vader acted like he was caught red-handed and felt flustered about it.

But what did he do? Or did Padmé just misinterpret her warden's motions?

Only seconds later the Nubian became aware of the fact that something about her opponent had changed. It was not certainly not the stern mimic in Vader's face that had changed; it was not his height either: it was his eyes.

Since when does Darth Vader have blue eyes?

What was the cause of this? And more importantly: What was the meaning of this? What about the consequences? Feeling uncertain of how to react properly the politician started to analyse her opponents face again. She could definitely detect surprise in the young man's face and as soon as Vader noticed that his arm was outstretched into the air, he quickly withdrew it. The analysis came to an end as the cloaked abruptly turned away to storm off.

With an anonymous shush the white door to Padmé's room slit shut.

Padmé stepped two feet backwards and started to shiver.

Something had just happened. She had witnessed something Vader did not feel very comfortable with – but what was it?

Gulping loudly the confounded politician took a few moments to calm down.

First Vader had choked her mercilessly and he did not seem to mind the abuse at all. Why did he pause the second time he was about to punish her?

Feeling irritated about the questions Padmé turned around and regarded her room. It was neat, cleanly decorated and a little smaller than the rooms she usually stayed in. Next to a bed she had seen a mirror, which she started to march to.

"Turn the news on" did she hear an unfamiliar hoarse voice speak and realised that it was indeed her body that produced such a smoky tune. But worrying about the fact that she sounded like a Hutt was irrelevant. What did the world think about Palpatine's rise to ultimate power? What happened to other members of the Opposition? She needed to find out…

Taking a seat in front of the mirror Padmé relaxed slowly while watching the speech Palpatine held before the Senate….