Darth Vader walked slowly through the snow on Hoth, his mechanical breathing the only sound. The Snowtroopers and officers knew not to disturb him until he returned to finalize cleaning out the remains of Echo Base.
Now that the actual battle was over, his personal oversight of the task wasn't needed. And there was something he wanted to do. Away from prying eyes.
A strong gust of icy wind struck him, making his cape billow out behind him. It almost struck him as funny. Anakin Skywalker had hated the cold. Darth Vader enjoyed it. In the frozen atmosphere of Hoth, the pain of his old burns and the itching of his artificial skin didn't trouble him as much as usual.
His cloak was dotted in the snow raised by the breeze as he stood, returning to his memories.
Vader began to lift snow from the ground with the Force, grunting to himself in frustration when he discovered the snow was far too dry to hold any shape unaided. Now using the Force to hold the snow together, too, he began to gather the crystals into a roughly five-foot pillar, then shape it into the form of a beautiful, richly dressed woman.
Padme Amidala stood silent, white, and glittering on the Hoth tundra.
"Just as I remember you," Vader said. "Beautiful, lively… delicate."
When he momentarily loosened his grip on the snow, her face began to dissolve, and he quickly repaired it.
"But not so delicate, given that our son still lives, fighting with the Rebellion."
Snow Padme, of course, said nothing, and continued to stare blindly at Darth Vader.
"I have much to say to you," he continued. "So many questions. About our son, among others. How did you arrange it? And why, would you send him to Tatooine? I never knew. I suppose that was what you wanted. And I cannot blame you."
He raised his hand, so that he was almost touching her frozen cheek. But he hesitated, so as to avoid damaging her face again.
"I gave up everything for you, but I killed you. I loved you too much."
For several minutes he was silent.
"I don't know if you can even hear me." He slowly drew his arm back to his side, unable to say anything more. Even alone, he couldn't admit that he wanted her to hear him, and that he would give it all up to be with her again.
His breathing sounded heavier than usual for a moment, and then he turned away, walking determinedly back toward Echo Base.
With each step, the snow statue began to collapse on itself.
Perhaps he hadn't realized he was doing it, but as he released the snow, he held onto the snow forming Padme's face the longest. He had almost reached the troops again by the time she had completely dissolved.
Author's Note: This was inspired by another Sithmas art piece: image/168732728877. This actually inspired the whole story. I've been working my way back to this.