Hi! I apologise for the delay – you know my excuse…I've already had two exams out of seven, and my most dreaded exam is on Wednesday. After seven hours of studying, I couldn't even put two and two together, and then I remembered that you were still out there, waiting for (or dreading) an update!

Thank you so much for reading, and for your feedback! It's greatly appreciated by the frustrated college student!

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty

Winds of Change

Even though the sun had long since risen, it was still dark. The sky was weeping uncontrollably, and the moans of the wind hammered at the windows, demanding to be let inside. These were the winds of change. The usually insane traffic was stunningly calm, and only a few vehicles zoomed outside. The city looked grey and dull.

Leia woke up at a particularly strong gust of wind. The window had snapped open from the power of the storm, and the curtains had been blown in a ghostly high arch. Still drowsy, she got up and slammed the window shut.

Father is here.

The thought flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning. She didn't know how she knew he was here, she just sensed his presence. And he was troubled… Leia grabbed a robe and headed for the main room.

Anakin sat on the sofa, his head resting in his hands.

"It's raining like mad," he said, sensing her approach. His voice sounded muffled. "Water can put out a fire … It should…"

Alarm bells rang shrilly in Leia's head. "What happened?" she asked anxiously.

A black glove moved aside, and a listless blue eye gazed dully at her. "Just a bad dream," he said, his flat voice making Leia's chest tighten uncomfortably.

Anakin's face was sickly, gaunt, and worn, and the dark colour of his cloak accentuated the deathly pallor of his face. Leia thought back to her first encounter with him on the Separatist base only months ago. She remembered how stunned she had been by his self-confidence and the powerful sense of invincibility around him. He had been one of the strongest warriors she had seen…Where was that strength now? It was gone, drained by Palpatine…

"Would you like to share it with me?" Leia asked cautiously.

Anakin threw her a weird look she couldn't interpret. "Better not, for your own sake," he muttered. He leaned back and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples harshly as though trying to scrub the images from his mind.

This is what his fall from grace looked like, Leia thought bitterly. It was a long and agonising process, full of utter confusion and desperate loneliness. Caught in a revolting web of political intrigue and internal conflict; Anakin simply faded away, he didn't explode in a bright flash like a supernova as she had believed. Leia wasn't naïve enough to think it would happen overnight, but she had never suspected how full of torment, how full of silent agony her father's descend had been…

"You're not alone, Anakin," Leia said softly, pulling his hands away and starting to massage his temples. A vein throbbed strongly under her fingers, and Leia was afraid it would burst.

Anakin grunted sceptically. "Really? There is only one person left who I can trust."

He was burning from fever… Leia couldn't shake off the nauseating sensation that she was talking to a dying man.

"And who would that be?"

Please, say that it is mother.

"Chancellor Palpatine," Anakin replied with a shadow of an unhappy smile.

It seemed that the floor swam under her feet. Palpatine was Sidious….

Father trusted only Sidious…

Father didn't trust her Mother…

He didn't trust her

"Anakin, don't you smell that there's something foul about him?"

She didn't know what made her ask him that, but she just couldn't keep silent any longer. He had to know, he deserved to know what a monster his so-called friend was.

In a blur of black fabric, Anakin rose from the sofa, and her fingers grasped at nothingness.

"What do you mean?" he asked, bewildered.

Leia bit her lip. "He's not who he pretends to be."

A heavy silence hung between them.

"He's a good man, Leia," Anakin said flatly. "I can sense it."

Leia chuckled sadly. "Have you given any thought to how he has managed to keep his post even though his term is long over? How everyone who dared stand in his path died in terrible accidents?"

Anakin shrugged. "Palpatine deserves his post. And the deaths were a set of sad coincidences."

"The entire galaxy lays at his feet! He has absolute power! It's not a democracy any longer, it's a dictatorship!" Leia exclaimed, her voice rising to a shout with each word.

How could Anakin be so blinded by his affection?

Anakin shook his head in an exasperated gesture. "Political talk again," he said in an irritated voice. "Padmé keeps feeding me this rubbish all the time. Why can't you see that at least something is being done for the good of all of us, no matter what measures are being taken?"

It was impossible to argue with him – he was too stubborn, too blinded, too …twisted by Palpatine. How could she make him see the truth?

"I don't want to hurt your feelings, but why would the Supreme Chancellor seek friendship with a little boy from Tatooine?" Leia asked quietly. "You weren't anything special at that time, you were just an ordinary boy-"

Anakin looked as if he had been slapped in the face. "Because he's a kind man," he interrupted her defiantly, but his eyes shifted to the corner.

"-except for the fact that he might want something from you, something only the Chosen One can give him-"

"Enough."

Leia paused. His voice was calm, but full of silent anger. Anger at her.

"I'm sick of all this talk about the Chosen One," he said flatly. He looked tired. Pale. Confused. "No more of that. No more speeches about me being the last hope."

Leia had no answer. She had never felt this miserable and helpless before…

"I have an appointment with the Chancellor, and I'm already late," he said dryly. "I'll check on you again later today. You don't like to be under constant surveillance anyway."

No, it's you who needs to be under constant surveillance, Father.

"He wants your soul!" Leia cried desperately. "Why can't you see that?"

Anakin's gaze was long and harsh. "You're insane," he said coldly. "All of you are."

Before she had time to even blink, he had stormed off in a swoosh of dark fabric.

The tips of her fingers still remembered the burn of his fever.

Outside, the wind continued to howl in anguish.

----

Grievous exploded in wild flames, and the remnants of his flesh burned with a foul stench. Very slowly, Obi-Wan pushed himself to his feet, extinguishing the flames on his robe. The fierce leader of the Separatists burned in a miserable heap at his feet.

"So … uncivilized," Obi-Wan muttered.

It might be not the last mutilated enemy burning at his feet…

Fire…endless rivers of fire…unbearable heat…a formless heap of flesh engulfed in vicious flames…

Anakin.

Anakin needed him.

Obi-Wan ran to his ship, the last remnants of General Grievous swallowed by flames in his wake.

-----

The rain poured madly against the plexiglass of the Chancellor's office windows as Anakin entered. Shadows danced eerily in the corners, extending their ghostly hands to everything in the room except Palpatine. His pale face remained untouched by the darkness.

There is something foul about him, Leia had said.

Why would she say something like that? The Chancellor was his only true friend. He was the only one who had always been honest with him. The only one who showed him complete understanding.

"Are you not sleeping well, my boy?" Palpatine asked him, the gentle smile Anakin liked so much shining at him.

He could only shake his head. He could not speak. He felt too tired to speak.

"The Jedi had no right to put so much pressure on you," his friend said kindly.

Palpatine's eyes were glowing with sympathy. Anakin never saw pity, embarrassment or…fear in them. Sometimes, he had the feeling that the Chancellor knew him better than he knew himself. What was wrong with that?

"I'm the Chosen One. Who else would be a convenient pawn in games of betrayal and deceit?"

The Chancellor smiled slyly. "Have you been wondering what you have been chosen for?" he asked, his silky voice echoing softly against the pelting of rain outside.

"The prophecy said I'd be the one to bring balance to the Force," Anakin said, slightly stunned by the question.

The window trembled under the power of the wind's blow.

Palpatine laughed softly. Anakin had never heard him laugh like that before…

He's not who he pretends to be, Leia's voice echoed in his head. His instincts told him to trust the girl, but he had known the Chancellor for years.

"Forget the prophecy, my boy," Palpatine said. Something about his voice sent icy chills down Anakin's back. It sounded … seductive… manipulative.

Palpatine had never spoken manipulatively before.

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked, dazed.

Did Palpatine want something from him?

He wants your soul, Leia's shrill voice cried in his head. She had looked so desperate…But this was insane!

"The prophecy is not about your destiny to serve the Jedi. You have not been chosen by them."

Leia was right – Palpatine's term had been long over, but he still reigned. Anakin thought that he did a good job, but why did the war only escalate with each day?

Padmé didn't like the man…Obi-Wan had warned him about the Chancellor…Leia didn't trust him. Was there indeed something wrong with him?

Stunned and torn by confusion, Anakin stared at his friend's kind, wrinkled face. Palpatine's sharp, dark eyes locked with his gaze, and Anakin couldn't make himself look aside. A flash of lightning illuminated the skies, and a peal of thunder sounded far away.

Something was wrong with Palpatine's eyes…they never were harsh and consuming like they were now.

How had he managed to keep his post?

"What?" Anakin whispered, barely audible.

Deception.

Palpatine had managed to keep his post by deception. But why?

Greed. The whole room was filled with it. Greed for power.

Power…Palpatine wanted power.

"You have been not chosen by the Jedi. You have been chosen by me."

Anakin felt dizzy. The shadows reached for him, inviting him into their phantom embrace. Lights flickered as another peal of thunder erupted. His vision swimming, Anakin tried to focus his gaze at Palpatine. The Chancellor was smiling. It was a cold, heartless smile.

Darkness framed Palpatine's pale face, and it seemed as if he was wrapped in it like in a cloak.

"Who are you?" a feeble voice asked the darkness. Anakin felt strangely that it was not him standing there in the office; it was as if it all was happening to another person.

Palpatine's smile broadened, the shadows dancing in savage fury around him. "I'm the man who has always helped you. I'm your friend."

Who was Palpatine? The real Palpatine, not the old kind-hearted man he pretended himself to be?

And then Anakin understood.

"Darth Sidious," he managed to choke out. He felt as if the air had been drawn from his lungs.

Palpatine laughed softly, entwining his long, spider-like fingers. The shadows laughed with him, accelerating their dance of madness.

"Yes, my boy," he said gently, his warm dark eyes watching Anakin as they had for thirteen years. "And I am your friend. Your only friend."

Was this really happening? It felt so surreal…

Palpatine couldn't be Sidious…Palpatine was his friend…Palpatine wanted to bring peace and happiness to the galaxy…Palpatine was a good man.

Palpatine was a good man that had never existed. He was just a shell for Darth Sidious. Only a shell…

"You have been lying to me for thirteen years," Anakin whispered hoarsely. "Everything you said to me was a lie…"

Anakin could feel the Force screaming in pain. It shuddered and shifted, agonised by the darkness that polluted it. And the centre of that darkness was standing right here, before him. Anakin looked at Palpatine with the Force, and the sight nearly made him sick.

The aura around Palpatine was a greenish-yellow, framed by shades of red. Inside this cloud was a thick bundle of impenetrable darkness, sending out sharp spikes of venom. His Force signature smelled of perfidy, hatred and greed.

Palpatine watched him intently and Anakin felt some of the Sith's essence brushing his mind, the greenish-yellow glow touching his spirit. This contact felt cold and slimy, and Anakin nearly shivered in disgust. He had allowed that monster into his mind for thirteen years…How could he have been so stupid, so blind?

A blue sizzling blade hovered in the air. The gloved hand that held it shook badly.

"I should kill you right now," Anakin said stiffly.

It was his duty to kill the monster who had held the galaxy in his evil clutches for the whole decade. It was his duty to kill the man who had brought so much evil into the world. It was his duty to kill the person who had manipulated him for thirteen years. It was his duty to kill the man he had held as a friend.

Palpatine didn't stir. He was serenity itself whereas Anakin feared he would either burst or collapse. He felt so confused…

"Of course you should," the Sith said softly. "You always do what is right. Only …if you kill me, Padmé will die too."

The turquoise blade drew back into the hilt with a hum. Absolute silence reigned over the room, broken only by the drawn-out moans of the wind and the splattering of rain.

"I'll report you to the Council," Anakin said flatly.

Palpatine didn't say anything. He just smiled gently at him like he always did.

Anakin didn't know how his feet carried him out of the room. Once outside, he broke into a run.

Padmé will die if you don't save her, the darkness whispered into his ear, and Anakin ran even faster.

You are going to destroy the only chance to save her, the darkness hissed.

Anakin ran blindly up the stairs, his eyes burning. Palpatine had lied to him … Palpatine had betrayed him … Palpatine wanted his soul…

But only Palpatine could save Padmé.

He burst through the door and leapt into his speeder, and instantly, the vehicle took off.

The skies wept even harder.

------

Heavy raindrops fell from the grey sky. Some of them fell on the few vehicles that drove through the streets, some of them fell on the pavement, and some of them hit the windows.

The raindrops saw four Jedi Masters load into transport and head away.

Knocking at the towers of the Jedi Temple, they saw a young blonde man standing by the window. He stared at them, but his gaze was empty. A single tear ran down his cheek.

Hitting the window of one of the apartments of 500 Republica, they saw a beautiful woman toying with a japor snippet. She stood up and touched the glass, gazing somewhere far away. The raindrops were stunned to see tears in her eyes.

Banging at the windshield of a speeder, the raindrops saw the young blue-eyed man driving it. It was the same man that had wept alone in the huge Council chambers.

From the window of a guesthouse, the raindrops witnessed another sandy-haired man hugging a young woman that looked stunningly like the one that had toyed with the snippet. They looked devastated.

Raindrops fell on the blonde hair of the young Jedi as he ran through the thick veil of rain into the Senate building.

Falling onto the windows of the guesthouse, the raindrops saw the dark-haired woman screaming in pain and collapsing.

And then the raindrops knew no more.