A/N: This week on Tethered: we find out what Palpy is up to and the story can truly begin! Everything up until now has been an introduction of sorts to the story, and I hope you are all pleased with the direction I'm going in.

This chapter's song is: Maria Callas's interpretation of O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini

"Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives."

Oscar Wilde

After the ship landed, a group of 5 or so troopers dragged her to a holding cell somewhere in the building, almost certainly underground. It was all done despite her request to go willingly. She could have thrown a fit and resist the arrest, but she didn't see any point in it now. The second she left Coruscant she was doomed one way or another, though she regretted that her death here would most likely be slow and agonizing. The senator anticipated the brutal torture she heard about by whispers in an effort to extract useful information. From what she had heard about the Empire's alleged torture methods, it was far from a pleasant way to go. It was dark in the cell already without having been as poorly lit as it was, and there wasn't much for her to do other than wait. She remembered one of the troopers telling her that she was to have an audience with the Emperor, but she was never told when that would happen exactly.

Padmé supposed she could be here for days, maybe even weeks if Palpatine planned to withhold the truth about the mission's abrupt end. He may be of the mind that leaving her here to rot for a few weeks would make her more responsive to interrogation. Hell if she knew. It was comforting that he wouldn't be able to put this off forever, as eventually people would start asking questions. However, she doubted that he would wait long. Quick and decisive action was the only way she could see her execution stirring the least possible bit of sympathy. If the trial were to be dragged out, she would have time to garner support, or at least to go into hiding.

All things considered, the cell wasn't too bad. At least it wasn't nearly as bad as she had anticipated it to be. Yes, she hated to admit that things certainly could have been worse, though that didn't mean they couldn't have been better. The cell may have been small, but there was a bed on which for her to recline and a bathroom should she need it. The structure of it led her to believe that she could be trapped for quite a long time. She wondered why they didn't just throw her in some dungeon-like space, the image her mind had constructed of imperial prisons. Perhaps they were like that, and perhaps she would experience one in the near future, but for whatever reason the holding blocks in the palace were decent.

She rubbed her eyes. It was impossible for her to sleep on the trip back to Coruscant, as she was just too frightened. Even though she cloistered herself in her cabin, she couldn't bring herself to let her guard down. But after waiting a few hours in the cell, she was convinced that it might be a while before she gets her audience with the Emperor. So she laid back and closed her eyes, waiting for unconsciousness to take her.

Padmé didn't know how much time had elapsed when she was woken by a loud banging at the door. She wasn't sure why the trooper had even bothered to knock, because the second after they barged in and told her quickly that it was time to leave. They cuffed her hands behind her back and promptly led her out of the cell.

It would have been helpful if they decided to tell her where exactly she was going, as the anticipation was killing her. What if the Emperor decided to just kill her now and wash his hands of the whole affair? Or worse, what if bouts of torture or an interrogation awaited her?

Eventually, Padmé concluded that they were leading her to the throne room. It was a relief on one front that she would not be executed right away, but the fact that she was actually having an audience with the most powerful being in the galaxy didn't help her nerves. Padmé was at a point where she thought she knew how to deal with Palpatine, but these circumstances were not favorable, and there was no telling what he would do. She had seen it once before, but under more pleasant circumstances in which she currently found herself. It was a splendid room, exquisitely furnished and designed. A paragon of opulence. This was the image of the Empire that Palpatine sought to establish, though it existed in few places other than this one. The trooper that cuffed her and dragged her there handed her off to the guards before leaving.

So there she stood, sure of the fact that she would soon die, but grasping desperately at whatever dignity she had left until the Emperor entered the room.

The Emperor had been a sneaky man in his days as chancellor, but a boldness that came as product of his new position made his endeavors more conspicuous than ever. It bordered on carelessness Padmé figured that he had gotten caught up in his newfound power, and the wealth that it brought. The sudden acquisition of material possessions had profound effects on the ego. He had walked with confidence before, but it was nothing like this. Vader followed closely behind, which was to be expected. He stood to the Emperor's right side and said nothing, which was also to be expected.

"Your majesty," Padmé said, bowing stiffly out of courtesy.

"Senator Amidala," he spat, the anger in his tone difficult to ignore.

"I am honored by your presence, but I regret the circumstances that have brought us together today. I plead innocent to the crime of which I am accused, and I ask that you look into your heart, look upon the person that you know me to be. Your majesty has known me from when I was a child, and surely-"

"Do not be so foolish as to think that I can't see through your act. I am perhaps the only being in the galaxy that is immune to it, because I practically invented it," Palpatine said.

"Then what does your majesty ask of me? That I go to trial? Die for a crime I did not commit and let the true transgressor go unpunished?"

"That is enough!" Palpatine said, his voice booming and echoing through the hollowness of the room. Padmé could not have prepared for what he did next, but when he raised his right hand she had a fairly reasonable idea of what was coming.

Her expectations were shattered when lightning emerged, and rather than feeling her throat constrict, she was struck with powerful electricity that surged through her body causing intense pain wherever it went. Tears escaped her eyes in the frenzy as she felt her skin and insides burning.

She felt her muscles spasm and throw her to the ground, but still kept herself from screaming. No, she would not give him the satisfaction of hearing her suffer. But as quickly as it started, the pain vanished as soon as he willed it to do so.

"Admit your guilt," the Emperor commanded, before sending the surge of electricity through her again, but at longer intervals this time. And again, but not only longer, but more powerful the third time. Padmé could feel herself drifting in and out of consciousness, to the point where everything was hazy and she had the sensation of having almost left her body entirely before he gave her some relief.

"I-I see now that you believe me to be a conspirator and murderer, and that there is no way for me to convince you otherwise," she said, trying to get up from the floor before stumbling and falling back, "B-but you have brought me here for some other reason, if your intention was to execute me you would have done it already."

"You are correct, there is in fact something that I want from you, something that could earn you a pardon."

"Name it, but I shall make no promises, except to consider your proposal."

Palpatine laughed, and the sickening sound filled the throne room. "I don't think that you're in any position to refuse my offer."

"Why don't you make your offer first before you assume what my answer will be?" Padmé said.

"Very well. If you enter into an arranged marriage with Lord Vader, then I will spare your life, so long as you behave in accordance with certain guidelines."

Padmé's initial reaction to the Emperor's words was shock, which transformed into raw anger. She turned to observe Vader's reaction, and was surprised to find him in what she assumed to be a very similar state. He moved for the first time since the beginning of the audience, and he was not facing his master. She concluded that if she were able to see his facial expression, it would be much like her own. But that didn't make sense, wouldn't he have known about this beforehand? What did Palpatine gain from keeping his own apprentice in the dark?

This was ridiculous. Even if her life would be spared, being the Emperor's pawn was no way to live, and neither was being married to that monster, even if it was political. Who was to say he wouldn't turn on her and kill her anyway? But to be degraded like that, and in the public eye no less, Padmé wouldn't stand for it. His reasons for doing this were awfully transparent, it was obvious that he wanted Vader to keep tabs on her until she slipped up and revealed key information about the Alliance. She couldn't abandon her dignity, or the chance that she could accidentally reveal rebel information for the prospect of survival that would very likel be short lived.

"With respect, your majesty, I refuse your offer. I would rather die than lower myself in this way," she said.

"I thought you might say that, which is why I have prepared an extra incentive," Palpatine said, with another smug laugh.

"Don't waste my time or yours, I've already said that I'm not interested," she said curtly.

"Then I suppose you don't want to hear about how your father and sister have been? You have a lovely family, I just went to visit them myself on Naboo. It's a good to return home after having been away for such a long time."

"What have you done with them?" Padmé yelled. The mention of her family awakened a passion in her, just as the Emperor had anticipated no doubt. He knew that she cared little for her own life, but was fiercely protective of them.

"Nothing yet, and so long as you do precisely as I say, nothing ever will. In fact, I am willing to grant them my protection. I've heard your dear father has been in trouble with the law as of late, something having to do with suspected treasonous activity if I recall correctly."

"And how am I to know that you are telling the truth?" Padmé asked.

"I'm glad you asked. I meant to send it by mail, but now is as good a time as ever to pass the gift along," Palpatine said, motioning for one of the red guards to come forth. She was always fascinated by the silence of their steps and movements, and had he never called for them, she may not have detected the guards at all. He traversed the room and laid a wooden box at her feet.

"Go on, open it," Palpatine said with a smile.

She bent to pick it up and was hesitant in opening the lid to peer inside. Padmé wasn't sure what she expected, but what she saw disgusted her. Occupying the box were two severed fingers, looking to be cut off fairly recently, and she recognized them instantly as the respective index fingers of her sister and father. The appendages had a foul smell, causing a sour feeling to develop in her stomach. She dropped the box and covered her mouth, unable to find the words to describe her anger.

Had she been anywhere else she would have regurgitated right then and there. But no, she refused to give him the satisfaction he had probably pulled this stunt to gain.

"This is sick, if you believe me to have committed a crime then by all means punish me as you see fit, but do not be so nonsensical as to bring anyone else into this-"

"I already have them in custody. If you'd like, I can make arrangements for more souvenirs to be sent to you by mail if you are having trouble deciding. Your choice."

"I-I," she said, having trouble actually forcing out the words, "I accept your terms."

"Excellent. We will be in touch," Palpatine said, motioning for the guards, "Show Senator Amidala out."

The three guards, clothed fully in red surrounded her and they walked toward the door and eventually outside. Her eyes had grown momentarily accustomed to the dimness of the throne room so that the sunlight seemed far brighter than usual, not to mention that it was a particularly sunny day to begin with. The guards left her at the door and retreated back inside without a word.

Padmé's first instinct was to return to her apartment. She needed a fresh change of clothes, as well as to examine the damage the force lightning had left on her skin, so she decided to head straight home. Dormé was still on vacation, so Padmé would be on her own for the next few days. This was both a blessing and a curse, because it meant she wouldn't have to explain her current situation to anyone just yet.

The dazed feeling Padmé felt began to leave once she returned home. Things had been moving so quickly this past week that she relished in any small opportunity to relax that made itself available.

But there was no time for that now, not after the predicament she now found herself in. She had to hand it to Palpatine, he really had backed her into a corner. She could flee the planet with the help of her friends in the Alliance, sure, but to do that would essentially kill her family. Not to mention she would never be able to return to Coruscant, she would have to leave everything she worked so hard to achieve behind.

And if she stayed? Padmé knew that this was about control, and that it would be impossible to do much of anything if Vader was constantly supervising her. She might as well kiss her position with the Alliance goodbye. Even if she learned to be even more covert than she already was, Padmé couldn't possibly be able to keep it up forever. But she was assuming that after word of this engagement got out the rebels would still accept her as one of them.

She could be off-planet within the hour if she made the call soon. The appropriate measures were already in place in preparation for a situation like this, and no questions would be asked straightaway. Padmé knew she could lie, she could say that she would have been tortured or executed had she stayed. That would certainly take the embarrassment out of it.

But she couldn't. It was selfish of her to choose her freedom over her the lives of her father and sister. How could she live with herself if she were to abandon them? No. She couldn't allow herself to be so selfish. She had to see this through, put on an act at least until she knew she wasn't putting any lives at risk.

It was important to Padmé that she notify the others of her plan before they hear a different version of things through other means. She believed she could soften the blow, though probably not by much. She grabbed her communicator and dialed for Bail.

No answer. She would have to leave a message.

"I have something of the utmost importance to discuss, please tell me when you are able to meet with me," Padmé said.

She decided to take a bath while she waited for a call back, at the very least to examine any burn marks if she had them. Usually Dormé would take care of it for her, but she wasn't here, so Padmé went into the bathroom and started it herself. Even though she missed her handmaiden, there was something soothing about the solitude. She realized that it was the first time in too long that she was allowed to be completely alone, with her only responsibility being to herself. It dawned on her that perhaps the reason she had been so irritable as of late was the fact that everyone seemed to be smothering her. Or maybe Padmé was merely feeling the pressure of the scrutiny she was now under, and it was becoming too much.

Palpatine was so utterly transparent in his efforts to punish her, as he usually was, but this was taking things to a whole other level. Padmé dealt with the suspensions and the attempted arrests, even though they contributed to the decline of her reputation, and the lack of respect she received from her peers recently. It was all strategic, and the senator had done her best to shoulder each blow but this was entirely too far. The marriage proposal was a lifetime solution to his grievances with her behavior.

Palpatine would be able to achieve the constant surveillance he desired, in order to extract the information he needed to crush the rebellion. He could make her endure a pregnancy and raise Vader's devil children. He would have an excuse to remove her from the senate permanently.

But there was no other alternative, no possible escape. At least not yet.