Epilogue

Padme opened her eyes. She had to blink, because it was just so bright. Once her vision adjusted, she became aware of several things at once. Firstly, she was standing. She was so sure she had been lying down the last she remembered. Next, she was in a room that was all white. It had no real discernable walls or floors, it was all just white. Finally, she was herself again—in the body she had originally been born and had died in the first time. She smiled a little sadly to herself.

She wondered how many souls could lay claim to the fact that they had died twice.

A soft rustle of movement alerted her to the fact that she was suddenly not alone. She turned, finding Qui-Gon standing there. He looked as pensive as ever, though maybe a little sorrowful around the eyes.

"Hello," she said softly.

"Hello, Padme," he returned. "The Force recognizes the great sacrifices you have made—in both of your lives. They wish you to offer you a final gift, before you pass on into the peace you so dearly deserve."

He gestured to the "wall" right in front of her. She took a single step forward, stopping when suddenly a set of images filled the space. She, in this, her original body, was shown in a medical facility, crying out in pain as a medidroid and Obi-Wan Kenobi stood over her. In a moment, a crying infant was taken from underneath the modesty cover over her bottom half.

"It's a boy," Obi-Wan said.

"Luke," her image-self whispered. "Oh, Luke."

She was in pain again, and then, another infant.

"It's a girl," the Jedi informed her.

"Leia."

Padme, in the present, blinked. The image changed, and she was on a planet she had only visited a handful of times. She recognized it though, because of the dark-haired man who was holding a baby. Bail Organa playfully bounced the infant he held, smiling down at her.

"Princess Leia, are you excited for your announcement?" he cooed at her.

The image switched again, and now she looked upon the figure of Beru—Lars, last Anakin had told her—sitting in a chair with a wrapped baby in her arms. She rocked the baby slowly.

"You will be so loved by your uncle and me, Luke. Oh, so loved…"

With that, the images were gone, replaced by that blinding whiteness. Tears wetted Padme's eyes, but she smiled through them. Her children… children. They were safe. They were loved. She turned to Qui-Gon.

"Thank you."

He nodded once. "The road ahead of the twins will be a hard one, but you were right when you told Vader that there would always be hope. Even if… even if you were wrong about Vader himself."

Padme waited for that feeling of heartbreak she had felt so often during her time as Triana. But, instead, only a soft warmth filled her. She had access to all her old memories now. She had the knowledge she had been missing as the other woman. She grinned at Qui-Gon.

"I don't think I was."

#

The roar Vader unleashed swept out of the storage room and across the courtyard. It knocked Imperial and citizen alike off their feet, and—judging by the metallic crashing—blew the gate off the courtyard. Behind his mask, he could feel tears rolling down his scarred cheeks. It hurt to cry, his tear ducts still not fully healed from his original injuries. He relished this pain and used it fuel him.

Poison. He saw the injection mark on her arm. Someone had murdered his beloved wife. Someone had taken his angel from him again. He scooped up her body and exited the room. The courtyard was almost emptied out by the time he emerged, leaving only Imperials and dead citizens littering the area. An officer approached him, stopping short when he saw the dead woman in the Sith Lord's arms.

"Caught in the crossfire, my lord?" he asked.

"Poison," Vader growled. "I want an investigation launched. I want any and all security footage looked over. Check every home. Burn them to the ground, if you have to, but I want answers."

There was the briefest moment of hesitation on the officer's part. Vader supposed that it was probably due to the fact that the men all saw him as holding Triana Sarbarn's body, not Padme Amidala's. But the officer came back to himself, saluted, and was gone.

He left Jedha soon after that, knowing that the setting up of the mining operation would meet no resistance now. He took Padme to Mustafar, to the very spot where he had burned, and he buried her there. His tower room overlooked this very spot, serving to remind him of the failure he had sustained here. Now, it would serve to remind him of all that that Jedi had taken from him. Padme had died blaming herself, blaming the fact that she had broken the Force's rules. But Vader knew the truth… had known the truth all along. The Jedi had placed those restrictions upon her, as they had him when they called him The Chosen One, and when she no longer followed them, they took her life.

He set up a fund that evening, after Padme's second burial, for Briari Sarbarn. Padme would have wanted that of him, knowing her heart. She would have wanted to offer the sister to Padme's unknowing host to have some measure of peace. Then, Vader set to work. He contacted the Emperor and informed him of the development.

"Oh," Palpatine's holographic image said. "A shame. She was truly an asset to the Empire. She will be missed. Are you quite sure it was assassination, Lord Vader?"

"Yes, my master. And only the Jedi could have perpetrated it."

"Ah. And your intentions, Lord Vader?"

"As they always were. I will kill them all."

Palpatine let out a long cackle. "Good. Good."

The transmission ended, and the kneeling Vader rose. Padme had died telling him of hope. He, indeed, had hope. Hope for the destruction of all the Jedi who had escaped Order Sixty-Six.

They, however, would find themselves lacking.

fin

End Notes: Thanks so much for staying with me this far. I hope everyone enjoyed this fic. I've received all of your lovely reviews and have been grateful for everyone one. Unfortunately, life-and the fact that I am once again doing NaNoWriMo this year-prevents me from replying to every single one. Just know that I read and love every one of them. Thank you so much!