She's our daughter from the future."

Padmé kept her eyes trained on Anakin, her hold on Leia tightening as she watched her husband's face shift and change, processing the information— or at least, he was trying to.

"I— what?" his brows furrowed and then unfurrowed. "What are you talking about?"

There were not enough words in any language to describe the myriad of emotions that crossed his face. Shock, confusion, disbelief. The one that was becoming more and more apparent, however, was anger.

"No," he shook his head. "That's not possible. That's—"

"Anakin—"

"What did you tell her?" he snarled, turning on Leia with blazing eyes. "What lies did you fill her head with?"

Leia's eyes narrowed. "I didn't fill her head with anything, Skywalker. I told her the truth."

"The truth?" he was practically vibrating at that point. "What— what kind of sick game is this? Did Sidious put you up to this? Is that what this is about?!"

He took a step towards them as Padmé felt herself scrambling to her feet, her hands coming out to stop him from further enclosing on their daughter as she pressed on his chest, stopping him dead in his tracks. But the anger was still there— anger that Padmé thought she would never see again.

"Anakin, listen to me—" her voice was soft and soothing, but urgent as she tried to placate him. "Leia is our daught—"

"Do you even hear yourself?" Anakin asked, eyes snapping towards her. "Can you even hear how crazy that sounds?"

"But it's true—!"

"Padmé," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder and staring down into her eyes. "Time travel isn't possible. Whatever she told you is a lie—"

"I am many things," hissed Leia as she rose to her feet, her eyes darkening as they began to flicker. "But a liar is not one of them."

Padmé may not have known her daughter that well, but she knew she wasn't a liar. In fact, Leia was quite the opposite. She was painfully truthful— her words cutting deeper than any knife or lightsaber ever could. Maybe it was because Padmé hadn't liked what she had said, or maybe it was because nothing hurt more than the truth.

"What are you trying to accomplish here?" demanded Anakin, his nostrils flaring as his grip on Padmé's shoulder tightened (almost possessively). "Who put you up to this?"

"Anakin—"

"WHO?" he bellowed as Padmé frantically tried to hold him back, her hands grasping his robes as if her life depended on it.

"Anakin!"

He started to make his way towards Leia before she raised a hand, drawing upon the Force before unleashing it on him. He cried out as it hit him square in the chest, sending him flying across the clearing as Padmé gasped.

There was a moment of silence as a dazed Anakin struggled to his knees, orienting himself. Rex went to help him, but Kenobi held him back.

"Nobody put me up to this," breathed Leia, her voice raspy. "Search your feelings. You know it to be true."

He shook his head in silent denial— but Padmé could see it in his eyes. Something was changing.

"No," he rasped. He tried to stand, but he slipped in the mud. Padmé rushed over to help him, but he hardly noticed her or her outstretched hand as he sat there, staring up at Leia with wide, horrified eyes. "You… You're—"

He shuddered as Padmé placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, feeling the way that his body tensed and untensed. His breathing was labored, although she wasn't sure if it was from the shock or the pain from his injuries— or both.

"Leia?" Padmé asked, her voice echoing across the clearing.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she said hollowly. "The ritual—"

"What ritual?" asked Padmé.

She didn't answer her. Just shook her head in silent resignation.

"What ritual?" she repeated, her voice firm as she took a step towards her daughter. But before she could, her husband's hand grabbed onto her, stopping her in her place as he clung to her.

Her eyes flickered to Anakin, taking in his pained features. His eyes were wide and his face—

She closed her eyes as she felt her chest clench.

"Well this has been quite an interesting turn of events," said Obi-Wan dryly, speaking up for the first time in what felt like an eternity as his eyes flickered between the three of them. Both Rex and Cody stood beside him, their helmets gone, and their features shrouded in stony silence as they too watched the scene unfold before them. "I'm still not quite sure what to make of it," he added, still unreadable as usual. But there was something in his eyes, some measure of sadness, tiredness. Disappointment.

And it wasn't just directed at Anakin either. He was disappointed in both of them.

"We can explain," whispered Padmé as she reluctantly pulled away from Anakin, noting the way that his fingers had weakly held to her, clinging to the threads of her clothes for as long as they could. She glanced briefly at Leia, silhouetted by the setting sun over the Endorian mountains. "We— I will explain everything to you," she said hoarsely before adding; "just please don't hurt my daughter."

"Your daughter," breathed Obi-Wan, eyes glittering with something that was all too familiar to Padmé. She met his gaze, silently urging him to see. To understand. She and Anakin weren't the only ones reeling from this revelation. She could tell that Obi-Wan was trying to wrap his mind around it as well, and admittedly he might've been doing a better job at keeping his cool than any of them.

"Sir?" Rex had been uncharacteristically silent until then, but his voice was enough to snap Obi-Wan out of his reverie.

"If you had asked me yesterday if I believed time travel were possible, I would have laughed and said no," said Obi-Wan, wryly. He was speaking more to himself than anything, and yet he had the attention of everyone present. He shook his head, "but I don't need the Force to see what is plainly evident," he said, his eyes drifting towards Leia. "I can sense the truth, no matter how impossible it sounds."

As soon as the words were out, he seemed to deflate. His shoulders tensed and then sagged as if someone had placed a heavy weight upon them. "Which is why I am terribly sorry for what I'm about to do."

Padmé wasn't sure what he meant by that until she saw him reach for something on his utility belt, metal glinting in the fading light as she felt a knot begin to form in her stomach.

The seconds passed in unbroken silence for what felt like an eternity as Padmé watched Obi-Wan approach Leia, a pair of Force inhibiting cuffs dangling from his fingers.

To her surprise, Leia wordlessly held out her hands. Accepting her fate with far more grace and restraint than Padmé was capable of.

"In the name of the Galactic Republic," he said as Padmé closed her eyes, bracing herself for what was about to come. "You are under arrest."