Thirty-five
Administrator Jeslow entered his office early to find a message waiting for him from one of his staff members. It was a simply written resignation letter, which offered very little by way of explanation. Jeslow frowned as he read it over again, wondering what had happened to Ania Kinsky that would make her want to resign. She had only been with Veslack for a short time; what had caused her to leave on such short notice? What was it about her, anyway? He thought as he scrolled down to the rest of his messages. There was something on the edge of his memory, something he couldn't quite remember. Perhaps the students she worked with had something to do with it; or maybe it was that womanizer, Wagar, he reflected. It wasn't a secret how Wagar had taken a liking to Ania, for he wasn't terribly subtle. Had he driven her away?
"Good morning sir."
Jeslow looked up to see his assistant, Inid. "Morning," he said. "Do you know anything about Ania Kinsky resigning?" he asked.
The woman's eyes widened. "She resigned?"
Jeslow nodded. "Yes, with no explanation whatsoever and it's effective immediately. It's very strange," he said, the frown returning to his face.
"Maybe she got a better position elsewhere," the assistant suggested.
Jeslow snorted. "There is no better educational facility on this planet, Inid. You know that."
Inid nodded. "Maybe she ran off and got married," she said with a smile. "She certainly was a pretty one."
"Yes, she was that," he admitted. "At any rate, we have to find someone to replace her."
"I'll get on that right away," Inid said.
Vader residence
"Luke! Leia! Hurry up or you'll be late for school!"
Leia emerged from her room first, looking the picture of organization.
"Where is your brother?" Padmé asked.
"He's still getting dressed," Leia said. "He got toothpaste on his shirt."
Padmé looked in exasperation at Vader, who stood by, not seeming terribly surprised by their son's tardiness. "Does this happen often?" she asked.
"Almost daily," he replied. "He inherited your tardiness," he couldn't resist adding.
Padmé's eyes widened at this. "My tardiness?" she asked. "I think you've got that backwards."
"I don't think so," he replied simply. "I seem to recall waiting a great deal while you….fixed your hair."
Leia couldn't help but giggle at this, enjoying the rare light moment between her parents.
"I'm coming!" Luke said as he ran into the hall, one arm in his jacket, his school bag hooked over the other arm, its contents precariously close to spilling out onto the floor.
"Luke, you're going to lose all your things," Padmé said, closing up his haversack. "My goodness," she added, helping him on with his jacket. She looked over at Vader, who watched with silent amusement. She didn't need to see his face to know that he was smiling.
"Are we ready now?" Vader finally asked when Padmé finished fussing over Luke.
"Yes," Luke said, allowing his mother to slick down his hair. "I'm ready."
"Very well," he said. "Let's be off then. Say goodbye to your mother," he added.
Padmé looked up at him. "I'm coming too," she said.
Luke and Leia looked at one another, sensing another row in the making.
"And how do you plan to explain your presence in my vehicle should you be seen?" Vader asked.
"Are you going to keep me a secret forever?" she countered. "I don't want to stay in this house all day, hidden away."
Vader sighed, realizing that she did have a valid point. "Can we discuss this after I get the kids to school?" he asked. "They're almost late already."
Padmé looked at the twins, realizing that he was right. "Yes, of course," she said at last. She gave each of them a hasty hug and kiss and then watched as they left with their father. Then she walked into the twins' rooms to tidy up the mess that Luke had surely left in his haste to leave. She smiled as she looked around her son's room, which, as she had anticipated, was utterly disorganized.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Miss Padmé?" Threepio asked as he entered the room, followed by his short companion.
"No," Padmé said, starting on the pile of clothes on Luke's bed. "I can manage."
"But Miss, this is my job," Threepio protested.
Padmé looked up at him. "I'm Luke's mother," she said. "I want to do it, okay?"
Threepio didn't quite understand why she wanted to menial housework when there were droids to do the job, but decided to let her do it nonetheless. Padmé found it therapeutic to tidy up for her son, something she'd not done in the boy's first ten years of life. As she put his clothes away, she noted that many of the garments were quite old, and worn. She pulled one of the shirts off of the hangar and examined it. The fabric reminded her of the clothes that Anakin had worn when he was a boy on Tatooine, and she realized that this shirt must have been one that Luke had worn when he had lived on Tatooine. Padmé smiled sadly when she noted how many times the sleeves had been let out, how many times the mismatched buttons had been replaced. No doubt Luke's life until now had been one of hardship. She thought back to all the birthdays she's missed, twenty in all if she counted both children. Twenty birthday cakes, twenty birthday presents that Luke and Leia had missed out on. And then she had an idea.
"Threepio!" she called.
The droid appeared after a moment. "Yes Milady?"
"Tell Captain Kassel I need a vehicle," she said. "I'm going shopping."
Threepio did as he was told, as Padmé quickly finished tidying up her son's room. Then she went to her own quarters and slipped the green contact lenses into her eyes before finding a hooded cloak that would serve to help conceal her face. Padmé knew that Vader would be angry with her for leaving the house this way, but she decided that she didn't care. The way she saw it, this was part of the healing process that she and the twins needed to go through to recover from the long separation they'd endured. If their father didn't like it, too bad.
"You need me, Milady?" Captain Kassel asked as Padmé appeared in the hangar bay.
"Yes," she said. "I need a vehicle."
Kassel hadn't known Padmé long, but knew her well enough to know that once she'd made up her mind, it was next to impossible to change it. "Uh…does Lord Vader know about this?" he asked.
"No," Padmé replied. "He's not my keeper, Captain," she replied. "I come and go as I please."
Kassel didn't believe this for a minute, but didn't dare to question Vader's wife. "Why don't I take you where you want to go?" he said at last. "Coruscant traffic is nuts this time of day," he added. "And…I think I'd feel a whole lot better if I came along."
Padmé nodded, realizing the difficult position she was putting the man in. "Very well," she said. "But I want to go right now," she said. "I have a lot of shopping to do."
Kassel stepped aside as Padmé walked up to the closest speeder, rolling his eyes as he did so. Vader's going to kill me, he thought as he climbed in beside Padmé. He's going to have my head on a platter…
"All set?" she asked.
"Yep," Kassel replied. "Let's go."
Vader arrived at home shortly after Padmé had departed with Kassel. Right away he noted that one of his many speeders was missing, and it set him in a foul mood.
"Kassel!" he bellowed as he entered the living quarters. When he received no reply, he activated his comlink to contact the captain.
"Kassel here," came the disembodied reply.
"Where are you?" Vader asked suspiciously.
"Uh…on the north side of the center of town," Kassel replied.
"Why?" Vader demanded.
"Well, sir, Lady Vader needed to do some shopping, and I offered to take her since I figured you wouldn't like her going alone," he said.
Vader was silent for a long time as he fought the anger that was bubbling up within him. Kassel looked at Padmé, who seemed very unconcerned by the whole thing.
"Quick thinking, Kassel," Vader said at last, feeling certain that Padmé had given him very little choice in the matter. "Make sure the media stays well away from her," he added. "And tell her we'll discuss this when she gets home."
"I'll tell her, sir," Kassel said, looking at Padmé. "Kassel out. Well, you heard him," he said to Padmé. "He didn't sound too happy, did he?"
"Does he ever sound happy?" Padmé asked.
Kassel smirked, realizing that she was absolutely right. "Where to first, Milady?"
As Vader walked to his office he was suddenly reminded of just how stubborn his wife was. He'd learned long ago not to try and dissuade her from a course of action that she'd decided upon. His mind hearkened back to a time long ago, before the Clone War, before the Darkness….
"They'll never get to him in time!" she tells me. "Geonosis is half way across the galaxy! Look," she tells me, indicating a star chart on the console. "Geonosis is only a parsec away."
"If he's still alive," I reply glumly.
"Ani, are you just going to sit here and do nothing to help him?" she asks. "He's your mentor, your best friend!"
"He's like my father," I tell her. "But what am I supposed to do, Padmé? Master Windu gave me strict orders to stay here."
"They gave you orders to protect me," she counters, "and I'm going to help Obi-Wan. If you want to protect me, you'll just have to come along."
Her feistiness brings a smile to my face, and I take my seat beside her as she prepares the ship for take off.
That feistiness has never changed, Vader realized, smirking as he thought of the difficult spot Kassel must have been put in. She probably threatened to leave without him, he mused. It was going to be difficult to keep her a secret, he realized, perhaps impossible. And how will I explain her presence to the emperor? It's only a matter of time before he finds out that she's living her, that she's alive…unless he's known all along…Anger at his master filled him once more, and his fists clenched tightly. You won't take her from me again, my master, he vowed darkly. You won't win this time.
Veslack Academy
"Did you hear? Miss Kinsky quit," Pati told Leia as the girls sat down to eat lunch together.
"Yes, I know," Leia replied nonchalantly. "I wonder why?"
Pati watched her friend closely getting the feeling that Leia knew more than she was letting on. "Kari told me that she saw you and Miss Kinsky together on the weekend," she said.
"That's right," Leia replied.
"Why were you out with her?" Pati asked. "Didn't your dad get home yesterday?"
"Yes."
"And he let you go out with Miss Kinsky?" Pati asked.
"Why not?"
"Because your dad is like the strictest parent in the universe," Pati pointed out. "And because he's never as much as met Miss Kinsky," she added.
Leia looked at her friend, whom she had only really known a few weeks. She had to wonder who it was that was looking for information, Pati or Pati's mother, who had the reputation of being something of a gossip monger. Leia sensed that it would be poor judgment to trust her with this secret, and so she thought a lie up quickly.
"She's been teaching Luke how to swim," Leia explained calmly. "And my father was grateful to her for it. Simple as that."
Pati nodded, deciding that Leia's explanation was logical. "Gee, maybe you can set her up with your dad," she said with a smile. "He's not married, is he?"
Leia frowned. "My dad's a widower," she said. "That's not very funny."
"Oh, sorry," Pati mumbled, feeling foolish.
Leia felt badly for lying to her friend, and decided to change the subject.
"Come on," she said. "Let's get outside before Mr. Partlow blows his whistle."
"Don't you mean Mr. Fartlow?" Pati giggled as they picked up their trays.
Leia giggled too as they made their way to the exit.
Vader residence
"Thank you Captain," Padmé said as Kassel helped her carry her multitude of parcels into her quarters. "You've been very helpful."
"No need to thank me, Milady," Kassel said, by now captivated by Padmé's charm. "It was my pleasure."
Padmé gave him one last smile before he left. She then pulled off her cloak and tossed it onto the end of the bed. Next she headed into the fresher to remove the contact lenses which had begun to irritate her eyes. When she came back into her bedroom, she gave a start, for Vader was standing in her room, waiting for her.
"You scared me," she said.
"That wasn't my intention," he said, looking at all the parcels. "It seems your shopping expedition was a fruitful one," he remarked dryly.
"Yes it was," she said, sitting down on the end of the bed and opening up one of the parcels. "I got everything I needed."
"And then some," he added. He hesitated before saying what was foremost on his mind, knowing that he was risking another argument by doing so. "I have no intention of forcing you to stay here," he told her. "But I would appreciate it if you would let me know when you want to go out."
She looked up at him. "You weren't here," she pointed out.
"No," he concurred. "But Kassel has a comlink," he pointed out.
"And he told you where I was with it," she added.
Vader sighed, starting to grow frustrated. "Perhaps I ought to get you one as well," he said. "That way you won't have to rely on him or anyone else to communicate with me."
"Yes, that's probably for the best," she agreed as she started pulling the contents of the package out and setting them on the bed. Vader watched her for a moment, trying to determine why she had bought the things she had.
"You…needed these things?" he asked finally.
She looked back up at him. "They're not for me," she explained. "They're for Luke and Leia."
"All of this?" he asked, looking around. "This is all for them?"
Padmé nodded. "There are ten gifts for each of them," she told him. "One for each birthday that I've missed," she added, her voice faltering at the end of the sentence.
Vader could sense how emotional she was, and sensed that doing this was in some way part of the healing that she would undoubtedly need to undergo now that she'd found their twins. "They will be delighted," he said at last. "It was a thoughtful thing to do."
She looked back up at him, her eyes bright with tears. "I had to do it," she said softly. "I've missed so much," she told him. "Their first steps, their first tooth, their first words…." She stopped as her emotions threatened to get the better of her. The last thing she wanted was for to lose control in front of him.
"I know," he said simply. Sensing that she needed to be alone, he turned and left her, wishing he had the right words to say to make it all better.