Darth Vader had just come out of the tomb, his heart clenching in his chest and his breathing ragged, when he heard the rustling in the leaves once again. He could not have imagined that.
"Come out and face me.", he declared loudly, his respirator hissing in and out.
He scanned the area with the Force, searching for any nearby life-forms.
But he didn't have to search for long.
The person who had been hiding in the bushes stepped forward even before he had sensed her through the Force. Not because he lacked in Force-abilities but because whoever this was, they were so faint in the Force that it was almost impossible to sense them.
"What are you doing here?" the voice — a female voice — asked as she stepped out of the shadows. "This is Padmé Amidala's tomb."
"I know very well whose tomb this is.", he answered, slightly amused by the woman's fierceness. So much like the late senator he had known. Her features were even similar to Padmé's.
"Then what are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes narrowing, and now she realized who it was she was talking with — Darth Vader himself.
Then he recognized who the woman was. Sola Naberrie. Even if he hadn't known who her sister was, he could still remember her face from the last time they met. She looked almost the same, but her eyes were wearier, and her demeanour was colder. It was as if the death of her sister had taken quite a toll on her. If she now was dead…
He didn't answer her question.
"I am her husband after all.", Vader answered, uncharacteristically quiet, and with a smirk on his face as he saw how the shock spread across her face and then how a little laugh escaped her mouth in disbelief.
"What?", she said half-laughing, half-confused by the statement.
But he didn't forget his mission. Why he had come here in the first place.
Her parents would know if she was alive or not.
He had to be sure.
"Take me to your family, and I will explain.", he said in the coldest menacing voice he could muster, despite the still loudly beating heart in his chest.
"Fine", she said, her voice faltering at the chilliness of his voice.
Then she led him towards the city and towards the house he had visited so many years ago.
The house looked just like it had when he had last been here. He had a faint memory of Ryoo and Pooja running down the stairs to greet Padmé when they arrived. Back then, when he was her protector and the only thing that kept them from each other was their status as Jedi and senator. Yet, they had loved each other deeply, and would risk it all to be with each other.
A small smile tugged on his lips at seeing the house again, but when he noticed, it was replaced by a frown. Padmé may very well be dead. He knew he had to prepare himself for that, but it was hard to imagine a world without Padmé in it.
Jobal and Ruwee Naberrie greeted them at the door, their faces displaying the fear they felt at the sight of the caped, dark lord.
"Sola?", Jobal asked, her eyes wide with fear.
"He said he would explain if I took him here.", she explained but was unable to keep her own confusion out of her voice.
He could see that they would rather close the door on him there and then, but their fear kept them from doing so.
Reluctantly, they let him in through the door, wary of his every step. His boots clamped loudly on the floor and his ominous respirator hissed in and out.
There was an almost awkward pause as they had just come inside the door, the only piercing through the silence was the respirator's steady hissing. They were too frightened to say anything, and he didn't know how to start.
But he knew what he had to do. To find out the truth, he needed to be honest with them.
"Sorry, but I find it very hard to believe that you know Padmé." Sola suddenly sputtered out, her voice slightly shaky.
"He knows Padmé?", Jobal gasped and put a hand over her mouth. A feeling that Vader recognized as sadness mingling with shock was visible in her eyes.
"I was once...Anakin Skywalker.", he said reluctantly, not meeting their gaze upon him.
"Anakin…wait. The Jedi who came here with Padmé", Ruwee said as the realization. It was the first time he had spoken since Vader arrived.
All of their eyes grew wide, and he could feel their shock echoing throughout the Force.
"How do we know you're not lying?" Sola said, her voice steadier this time and her gaze narrowed at him.
He smiled inwardly at the memory of their last visit there.
"The last time I was here, you said that I was the first boyfriend that your sister had ever brought home. ", Vader replied, managing to keep his face straight, which was a challenge. Not that he really needed to since his face was covered by a mask.
Sola gasped when she heard this. The rest of the family sat there, quietly observing him, but he could sense their turbulent emotions from across the room.
"So it's true. It really is you.", she whispered and looked at him with fear.
He could guess their thoughts at this moment. They are probably wondering how I could have fallen so far from the light, he thought.
"But you said you were her…" Sola began.
And then it seemed to dawn on Sola, and she put the final piece of the puzzle in place.
"…husband", she finished in a shaky breath that renders both Jobal and Ruwee speechless.
"We were married at Varykino, just before the war began.", Vader stated.
There was a moment of silence as they took in the information about their daughter that they thought they knew so well.
"Why would she marry you?", Jobal asked, completely stunned by the new information.
"That you have to ask her.", Vader growled at her and clenched his fist.
"Why are you here?", Jobal asked him, trying to stop the fight brewing between the two of them. He knew what the dark lord was capable of and didn't want his daughter anywhere near him when he lashed out in anger, which was bound to happen if they didn't stop antagonizing him.
"I am here because I need to know if Padmé's still alive.", Vader said.
"She isn't. But even if she were, why do you think we would tell you?" Sola said, scowling at him, but was interrupted as they suddenly heard someone coming down the stairs from the upper floor. Sola froze, her blood turning to ice as those light footsteps came closer.
Entering the room was a young girl, barely 14 years old and still in school. Her brown hair and brown eyes reminded Vader of Padmé.
"Ryoo, get back upstairs.", Sola said, and her voice broke, the fear for the little girl evident in her voice.
"No.". The simple word from the dark lord cut through the air like a knife. Everyone froze.
Vader felt the cold rage brewing inside him, fizzing like electricity in the air.
He activated his lightsabre with a hiss, and the blood-red blade came out, a stark contrast to the picturesque house.
"If you want her to live, you will answer me.", Vader said and turned his blade to the child.
Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?
The voice taunted him, and he immediately squashed the memory and pushed it into the deepest darkest corners of his mind.
Yet deep down, he doubted he would be able to swing the blade, should it come to it. To kill one of Padmé's family was too close to hurting Padmé, and he couldn't bear to cause her any more harm than he already had. Even if she may already be dead.
"We will tell you. Just please don't hurt my daughter", Sola sputtered out, barely able to control her own fear of losing her child.
"Padmé's dead", Jobal said abruptly.
Vader deactivated his lightsabre, and they all breathed out.
Dead
He had tried to prepare himself for this. But in truth, nothing could prepare him for the massive wave of grief that came over him at hearing those words. It was as if a knife cut through his heart.
But as he had been taught by his master, he let his pain and grief turn into pure rage which he then let strengthen him further in the dark side. He channelled every emotion he felt and turned it into raw darkness, staining his soul until the flicker of light that had been the hope that his wife was still alive died out - consumed by darkness.
Their shared sadness laid over the room like a heavy blanket, weighing them down.
Then, the dark lord turned on his heel and went out of the house with no more words.
The family stood there stunned by what had happened until Sola broke the silence with a cry and almost threw herself over the poor girl Ryoo and hugged her tightly. Tears stained her cheeks, and her grip was tight.
"I'm fine, mom.", Ryoo said, but her breath hitched, and her eyes were glistening, tears threatening to spill out from them.
And that is how he left them.
Vader soon returned to the capital by his speeder, but he barely remembered how he got there. It was as if everything was in a dark haze. Darkness was clouding his senses. His anger usually made him more focused, more powerful somehow, but now it was the opposite. His anger and pain were blinding him completely. He couldn't think of anything else than his wife's face as he ended her life. And now he had found out that it was his fault.
No, he couldn't have done it.
But he did.
And he couldn't take it back, no matter how much he wished for it.
He entered his ship and went immediately to his quarters.
Now the only thing he had left was Leia. The only remainder of Padmé and his love left.
The doors opened, and the first thing he was met by was darkness. He couldn't even make out the furniture placed in the room.
He turned the light switch next to the door, and he could see again.
But what struck him was not what he could see, but what he couldn't.
Because the sofa, where his daughter had been lying, was now empty with no trace of her. Vader reached out with the Force, but he couldn't feel her blinding presence any more. She was gone.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hi everyone! Just so you know, I will be updating once a week, every Sunday.
This chapter was a bit longer than usual, but I really enjoyed writing it. Hope you liked it!
Just so you know, English isn't my first language, so if there are grammatical errors, please let me know.
I don't have a beta reader yet, so if anyone's interested, send me a PM!
I have also created a poll about how long the chapters for this fanfic should be, so you can vote in it if you like!