Wham!
The sound of the door slamming into the wall as it burst open didn't even rattle her.
She didn't even blink. Not really.
Padme was still numb from shock by the time Obi-Wan came crashing through her door. Instinctively, the sound of the door bursting open was enough to get her up from the living room couch where she had been sitting and hugging herself, and had her whipping out the blaster she'd placed at her side and firing at the intruder. Thankfully, Obi-Wan, using Force induced speed, ducked in time...It would have been a useless move anyway. Darth Vader would have ducked away, too. Any Force sensitive would. But, just knowing that she truly was helpless to stop Vader from coming back and taking her and the children back aboard his ship anyway was unnerving, to say the least.
"Padme!" Obi-Wan gasped in relief, as if she hadn't almost blown his head off. "Thank the Force!…"
"Where were you?" Her voice was cold, nearly icy in its tone. Colder than she meant it to be...but her entire body felt frozen at the moment. She'd felt hot, like Mustafar hot, when Vader and his blasted Stormtroopers had been in her home terrorizing her mother and children...but the moment they'd left, she'd frozen over, as if she'd suddenly set foot on Hoth. It had been an effort to calm her frightened children down enough for them to go back to sleep...and when they did, they refused to sleep in their own beds. Since she was now on full alert with no intention of falling asleep, like, ever, her mother had stepped in and calmly taken over the responsibility, even though she herself didn't look like she wanted to go back to sleep either.
"We were on the other side of the planet." Obi-Wan reminded her grimly, stepping into the living room, his eyes searching it wearily as though the Empire was going to pop out from the shadows and yell "Surprise!" "When we sensed him, we came as quickly as we could." He paused, his eyes settling on her. "Are you alright?"
Was she alright? That was a multifaceted question with an equally tortuous answer.
Padme hesitated. "Physically, yes." She answered, honestly. She realized she was still pointing her blaster at him, and she lowered it; though, she did not put it away. Behind her, she heard her mother's door open, and a second later, heard her soft footsteps on the tile.
"Oh, Obi-Wan," her mother breathed in relief, "Thank goodness it's just you. I heard a blaster and…" she trailed off, unable to finish, looking at the gun in Padme's hand.
"We're still clear." Obi-Wan assured her. "I'm sorry to have woken you, Jobal."
Jobal nodded her head. There were dark circles under her eyes. Padme's fists clenched, another wave of sizzling hatred briefly thawing her out, before yet again she froze over. Vader would pay for terrorizing her family this way. Dearly. "It's okay. I wasn't sleeping, but I should go back to make sure the children are still asleep." She gave Padme one last look of concern, her eyes lingering on the blaster, and disappeared back into her room.
They waited to hear the door close behind her before Obi-Wan sighed, leaning against the living room wall. Before he could ask her what happened, a split second later, Yoda hobbled in the door, leaning on his cane, perfectly at ease. "Senator," Yoda greeted cheerfully, as if he hadn't just walked into an incredibly tense situation. "Pleased that you are here, I am."
Padme's jaw clenched tightly, and her eyes narrowed in displeasure. But, she was spared from having to say anything, because Obi-Wan suddenly snapped, "Pleased?!" He echoed incredulously as the door swung shut behind the diminutive Jedi Grandmaster almost of its own accord. "That's a bit of an understatement, wouldn't you say, Master?!"
Normally, hearing Obi-Wan lose his cool around Yoda would have shocked Padme. At the moment, however, she was inclined to agree with him. "Did you know this was going to happen, Master Yoda?!" She demanded through gritted teeth.
"Know? Certainly not. Suspected? Yes." Yoda nodded, his ears bobbing up and down with his movements, pointing the end of his knobbly cane in her direction. "A matter of time, it was, Senator. Once know of your existence, inevitable was Vader's search. Find you, he almost certainly would. Tenacious and determined, he is."
"But, did we have to leave her and her extremely Force sensitive children unguarded when it happened?!" Obi-Wan was as close to yelling as he ever would be. He didn't, though...and Padme wasn't sure if it was because he respected Yoda too much, or if it was because of her sleeping children. Maybe both.
Yoda sighed, hobbling over to a chair and climbing up on it, and Padme was struck anew by the look of exhaustion in his ancient face. Usually, she was so focused on Yoda's immense power in the Force, that she tended to forget that he was almost 900 years old. She was not the only one who had experienced great tragedy in a single lifetime. Yoda settled into the chair, before answering. "Fell, Skywalker did. Not because of evil intentions did he fall. Born from intense love gone awry, Vader was. Bring Skywalker back to the Light, love will." He pointed the end of his cane at her. "Family will...Your family, Senator."
Obi-Wan scoffed in disbelief. "Once a Sith, always a Sith. You've told me that yourself, Master Yoda. No Jedi that has ever turned to the Dark Side has come back from that pathway. Sith are incapable of love. Remember?!"
Yoda paused. "Different, Skywalker is. Born of the Force, he was. Includes all that the Force is, he does-both Light and Dark. The Chosen One, he remains. Capable of love, he was and still is. Knew this, we did. Consider it and protect him from the Dark, we did not."
Obi-Wan still didn't look like he was buying it. Padme just stared at the little green creature, her heart thundering in her chest, a splitting headache starting to take form and pound at her temples. If this conversation had happened immediately after Polis Massa, she would have jumped at the chance to bring her Ani back. But, so much had happened since then, not only for Vader, but for herself. She was no longer the naive senator from Naboo who had willingly believed in and trusted Palpatine and had even given the man his control of the senate in the first place during her time as Queen of Naboo. She had to carry the guilt of that decision the rest of her life. But, what Vader had done...The atrocities he had committed in the last two years...there was no coming back from. Redemption simply wasn't possible. And yet…
"Senator." Yoda interrupted her thoughts, his look for her pointed, his words impacting her like a charged gaffi staff. "You are here, are you not? Take you, he did not."
"Yes, Master." She barely managed to maintain a tone of respect. His words rang true, of course, as shocking as that seemed. Still, she simply wasn't of a mind to process them right now. Her head was hurting. She was exhausted. She'd had one of the most terrifying nights of her life, and she just wanted some peace and quiet to...absorb.
"Why?"
Why?! He's asking me why?! Internally, she sighed. Why were things never simple or easy with Master Yoda?
She thought back to the very end of their confrontation in the hallway, right before Vader had left her home. He'd taken off his helmet, that face so familiar and yet not, with his Sith-gold eyes, longer hair, and sunken expression from unhealthy weight loss, his once tan skin much paler now. He'd approached her, slowly, cautiously, and she was so sure this was it, when he'd take her and her children against their will by the Force...but, he hadn't. Instead, he'd gently reached out and brushed his hands through Luke's hair first, and then Leia's. The gesture had calmed them slightly, and the look in his eyes...for just a moment, those gold eyes flickered with their natural blue, as he stared at the twins in pained wonder and longing. Then he'd looked into her own eyes, touching her cheek oh so gently, tenderly, with -dare she say it? - a loving touch. She knew she should have jerked away, knew she should have spat in his face...but she'd remained still, transfixed, unable to breathe, let alone move. For a moment there… as he spoke words that she knew were meaningless, she thought for a moment that her Ani was in there somewhere behind that golden-eyed gaze..."He said he loved me and always would." She said hollowly.
Obi-Wan's expression crumpled into sympathy. "Padme," He began, almost patronizingly, "You know...you know Sith aren't…can't..."
"I know!" She snapped, shooting a glare at him.
There was a moment's silence. Then Yoda spoke once more, "Why then, are you and your children still here? Hmm? Consider this fact, you must."
Her mind blanked. She knew better than anyone how obsessive Vader was, how he wanted her and the children and would never let them go. It was what had turned him to the Dark Side in the first place. And yet...Yoda was right. He'd let them go. "For now, yes." She whispered. "He's...trying to gain my trust." That must be it.
"Perhaps." Yoda conceded with a slight nod. "Or awakening, Skywalker finally is."
She hesitated. Could it be…? Her mind thought back to her beloved Ani. To the way he smiled at her on their wedding day, taking her hand with his new metal one, gently so as not to hurt her. How she'd missed him dreadfully whenever he was away. How they stole whatever moments they could away together, even within the confines of her ship as they traveled through hyperspace (he'd been much more careful about leaving his robes lying around after Jar Jar used one to impersonate a Jedi). She remembered the way he laughed, loud and clear and with all of his heart and soul. She remembered his smile, his touch… the way he'd sleep in, exhausted after a long night of lovemaking, and she'd have to wake him up with kisses and teasing pleas to get up and get ready for the day. She remembered their second honeymoon at Varykino when he'd had a ten day furlough, and they had been consumed with passion, conceiving Luke and Leia during that trip.
She treasured each and every one of those memories.
But, she also remembered Mustafar. The Jedi Temple. Order 66. Her family, and countless others all across the galaxy that he had terrorized since that fateful night on the lava planet. No. The man she loved was dead and gone. And, she wasn't going to entertain the idea, the possibility that he was coming back to her, and have her heart broken all over again! "I think that's enough." She said sternly, crossing to the door and opening it. She turned to the two stunned Jedi, glaring at them both. "Good night, Masters." Her voice left no room for argument, as she gestured towards the door.
Yoda sighed, hopped off his chair, and hobbled out, pausing for a moment to look up at her. "Good night, Senator. Protected, you will be." he promised.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll hold you to it." She said bitterly. But,Yoda didn't rise up to the bait, and left, Obi-Wan hesitantly following after him, saying nothing else.
She didn't mean to slam the door behind them, but she did. She just couldn't help it. The tight lid on her emotions was coming unhinged. The silence left behind the Jedi's departure was so poignant, her ears rang. Numbly, she crossed back over to the couch and collapsed on it, burying her face into the pillows. She would not cry. She was done crying. She was…
Kriff. She was crying.
She buried her face deeper into the pillows, willing the tears to disappear, but that only seemed to make them worse. She didn't know how long she lay like that before she heard her mother's door open again and shut quietly. Great. She didn't need the Force to know that it was her mother. If it had been her twins, they wouldn't have closed the door quietly.
She didn't move, willing the tears to go away before her mom realized what was happening...but her mom wasn't an idiot. She felt the edge of the couch shift as the older woman sat down on the edge, felt her mom's gentle hands on her back, rubbing gently. "Oh, Padme," Her mother breathed out softly, "I'm so sorry, Dear."
Well. She couldn't hide it anymore. Slowly, she rotated herself so that she was looking up at her mom, sniffling. "Oh, Mama," She breathed, her voice sounding broken, even to her own ears. "How has everything gone so wrong?"
Her mom gave a soft sigh, reaching up to move a strand of hair out of her face. "We don't always choose who we fall in love with, Padme," her mom said softly, "Sometimes, love chooses for us."
Padme was shaking her head, more tears leaking out of her eyes. "I told him once that if...that if we went down this path, it would destroy us. I was right. Never have I ever wanted to be so, so wrong before."
Her mom was silent for a moment, watching her daughter, pain in her eyes. There was nothing either of them could do to fix this situation. Even when Vader was dead, or when she was dead, whoever was left alive would be left with a gnawing chasm in their hearts that could never be filled, never healed. Killing Vader was the right thing to do, yes, and yet...it hurt so much to considerate it. A long silence filled the room, as Padme wiped her eyes on her sleeves.
"Do you regret it?" Her mother asked after a while, turning to watch her daughter closely.
Padme paused, the tears stopping for a moment. She'd asked herself that very question multiple times since Mustafar. Did she regret ever loving Anakin? For giving in and marrying him in secret? "No." She whispered softly but firmly. "I regret how things turned out, yes. But, I would never regret loving Anakin." She wondered if her mother would like that answer. Because of Vader, their family had been ripped apart in almost every way possible. Not to mention the galaxy. But, her mother simply nodded silently in understanding.
After another quiet moment, her mother spoke again, and her words shocked Padme, "I don't think he knew about your father." Her mother stared off into space for a second before turning to look at her daughter again.
Padme frowned. "Of course he did, Mama." She said bitterly, "He's the Emperor's right hand."
Her mother pursed her lips and shook her head, a thoughtful frown on her face. "No. I don't think he did. He seemed...genuinely shocked when you told him what happened to your father and to Sola's family." She said, and hesitated. "And, you know...He did leave. You told me yourself that if he ever found you and the twins, he'd kidnap you and never let you go. And, yet...He did the exact opposite. He walked away."
The tears were gone now. The fact that her mother was echoing the thoughts she'd had earlier, the fact that her mother sounded so much like Yoda...No. She couldn't do it. She sat up, her heart going cold once more. "Anakin's dead, Mom." She said, her tone one of finality.
Her mom paused, hesitant, her look thoughtful. "And...What if he isn't?"
Padme closed her eyes, breathing deeply in, before opening them and staring her mother right in the eye. "If I allowed myself to believe that, and he was ripped from me again," she said darkly, "Then I would truly die."
Not another word was spoken after that before the twins woke up again.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the little family in the small house in the forest, Vader was watching the entire scene unfold from his ship still orbiting Gandle Ott, courtesy of the encrypted holofeed from the microdroids he'd released (and were now hiding in the house) before his departure, and he was considering all that he'd seen and heard...very carefully.
Can we just get this over with already? He couldn't help but think.
Honestly, how long did he have to kneel here?
The Emperor was silent, staring at Vader with those bone-chilling golden eyes, his blue image flickering over the kneeling figure of his apprentice. Vader waited, making sure that his mental shields were very carefully and firmly in place, as strong...no, stronger than transparisteel. He'd given his report to the impatient...and freakishly paranoid...Emperor the moment he'd entered his audience chamber off the bridge the very second he'd returned to his ship, after Piett had delivered the message to him that the Emperor demanded he make contact with him.
After he'd returned to his ship. Without Padme. And his children…
No. Stop thinking about them. He thought, as he strengthened his shields even more as dark tendrils touched his mind, searching. He willed the Emperor to see the truth in his words-that the Assassin they sought was well protected, the most protected of any Rebel operative they'd encountered thus far, hence why he had not found her yet. And, it wasn't technically a lie. She most certainly was well protected...by two of the strongest Jedi Masters on a backwater planet in the Outer Rim that he really didn't think the Emperor would have considered looking on. For that, Vader was thankful. Still, he fed him bits of truth to make it believable.
He'd attempted to bring her down back at the Spire, but she'd narrowly escaped. He'd attempted a tracking beacon, but they'd found the beacon and led him on a wild Loth cat chase across the galaxy using a decoy. So, he was still empty handed. Again, that wasn't strictly a lie, since he'd returned to his ship alone without his family.
Kneeling there, he thought that story so hard, he almost fooled himself into believing it was true...at least that's what Sidious would find in his intentionally weak points in his mental shields.
That he was frustrated, angry, and empty handed. Nothing more.
"Very well, Lord Vader," The Emperor said, and though Vader could hear the displeasure in the wretched man's gravelly voice, he also could tell that the Emperor had other reasons for calling him. At that moment, the Emperor only knew enough about the Assassin to know that she was a danger to the Empire, but not enough of a threat to actually do any real lasting damage. Soon enough, Vader would have her. Or, so the Emperor assumed. So had Vader, up until he'd actually gone down there to her home and been confronted with the reality that the situation was...volatile and overtly hostile to his presence.
Much more so than he'd anticipated at any rate.
And, he had no damn clue yet how he was going to even begin to fix it. He just knew now that forcing his wife onto his ship against her will was not the way to do it.
"I have received a rather disturbing report, Lord Vader."
Oh, Force. What now?
He forced himself to remain calm, to not react. "Yes, my Master?" He questioned through clenched teeth. It had, of course, occurred to him that not only had the Emperor lied to him about his killing of his own wife, but he'd also lied about his children, too. Not that he knew. Force, he hoped he didn't know about his children…but Vader had no doubt that the Emperor knew that he was at least lying to his apprentice about the circumstances surrounding Padme's supposed death. So, since she was pregnant with his child, he'd also, by extension, therefore lied about them, too. That knowledge burned to Vader's very core...and to be back in his presence, even in holographic form, knowing what the old man did, what Sidious had knowingly lied to him about...Just what else had he lied about?
After all, lying was as much a part of a Sith Lord's mentality as hatred.
Vader now had no doubts Sidious lied to him all the time and about a great many things.
His hatred for the man only grew.
"I have received reports that Piett transferred quite a number of men off of your ship to other posts recently." There was suspicion...and annoyance in the man's voice, and his golden eyes narrowed at Vader accusingly. "It was done under your orders, Vader. I'm concerned that you do not have enough men left to man your flagship vessel."
Ahhh...So, that's it you sneaky bastard.
Vader was prepared for this. He'd been prepared the moment he'd given the order in the first place to transfer all staff loyal to the Emperor off of his ship. "They were not satisfactory, my Master." Vader replied smoothly. "You once told me that you did not wish to rule a galaxy of dead men. So, I simply transferred them instead of disposing of them as I normally would." He saw the hesitant pleasure in his master's eyes. Sidious loved it when Vader made a show of following his teachings. Vader's teeth clenched harder. How had he not seen how egotistical and just plain loathsome Sidious truly was? "I will replace them with better soldiers I have interviewed myself."
The Emperor frowned. Vader knew that his master understood the meaning behind the words: He would root out any spies the Emperor would have in place on board. "That would take considerable time, Vader. Time you do not have."
"Even so," Vader replied easily, again prepared for that answer. "I need to know that my ship is in good hands when I am not aboard. I will not tolerate weak links." He paused. "If you wish to suggest any, I would be more than willing to meet with them."
An extension of an invitation. A courtesy. Not a guarantee. If there was one thing Sidious would never fully control, it was how Vader commanded his ship to achieve the Empire's needs. Vader was the best pilot in the galaxy. Nothing and no one would ever take that from him. Even the Emperor.
And, he knew that fact drove Sidious crazy.
"I will think on it." The Emperor relented, which essentially translated into "I'll find another way to get my eyes and ears on your ship." It was not unexpected. Vader had no doubt he'd root that out, too. "Find that Assassin, Vader. My patience grows thin."
Vader bowed his head. "Yes, my Master." He waited for the hologram to shut off, and even a few minutes after it had, before he rose, heaved a great sigh, and made his way from the bridge to his personal chambers. Once there, he began stripping the stupid suit off of him, making his way over to his private terminal, where the feed from his wife's home was now playing on four of his multiple screens of data. One showed the exterior of the home from the original microdroid he'd planted in Padme's bag at the Spire. The others from the three microdroids he'd planted not a few hours before.
Suddenly seeing that a conversation was happening between his old master, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and his wife made him throw off the suit faster. By the time he'd wiggled into his black sleep pants and jumped into his chair, almost toppling it over, he saw to his disappointment, that Obi-Wan and Yoda were gone. He didn't know what he would have done anyway-go back down there and fight them? Yeah. Not likely. That wouldn't work out much better than his last trip down there. Still, he could rewind the footage and replay it to listen to their conversation. He had no doubts it would be enlightening.
But, what distressed him the most was the way his wife collapsed on the couch after they left. He didn't have to see her face to know that she was crying from the slight shake of her shoulders. His stomach dropped, and for a moment he couldn't even breathe as tremendous guilt washed over him. Force...he hated it when she cried. If he had the power to make sure she never cried again…
He paused in his thoughts.
Wasn't that over protectiveness what got them all into this damn mess in the first place?
No. A dark voice whispered. He had done what he thought necessary to save her and their children. And yet...there she was. Alive. Crying her heart out from the looks of it, as her mother walked in, sat down next to her, and they began to talk.
He pushed away his inner conflict, leaning forward as her turned up the volume and intently listened to their conversation-about him. About what he'd just done. About what he'd become. Each word that was spoken was like a sucker punch to the gut. Over and over again. Padme hadn't ever fully understood why he'd done what he'd done, but it was evident that his actions had caused her a significant amount of pain. Almost as much pain as his belief in her death had caused him. To know that his Angel...and his children...had been hurt by his actions...by what he was still doing…
"Anakin's dead, Mom." Padme said, and Vader's throat constricted at the words. He'd said that about Anakin Skywalker. He'd insisted on it, not only to his Master, but to himself. But hearing Padme say it...something deep within him shrunk away from the words.
Her mother paused. "And...what if he isn't?"
His heart skipped a beat, and he waited for his wife's answer on bated breath. "If I allowed myself to believe that, and he was ripped from me again, then I would truly die." She said it so hollowly, so calmly, and yet in his mind they words were like blaster fire slamming into him. She might as well have shot him, like she had sworn to do. Without realizing it, he'd muted the holoscreen, unable to listen to any more. The silence afterwards was deafening, and he stared at the screen, numb.
His wife truly hated him.
The words sank into his mind, his heart, burning his very soul. Hate. Sith...The Sith were supposed to feed off of it. It was supposed to make them powerful. And yet...the knowledge that his beloved Angel hated him...he felt...powerless. Powerless to stop it. Powerless to fix it. Even though he knew that somehow, he needed to. But...how?
He got up, leaving the monitors, crossing over to the viewport, staring out at the vast expanse of space and the planet below. The one his wife and children lived on, protected by two Jedi guardians. Protected from the Empire. From him. He crossed his arms over his bare chest, staring down at the planet so hard, his head began to pound.
His wife wanted someone...he no longer was. If he was truly honest with himself, he'd stopped being that person long before he'd sworn himself to Sidious. His entire life had been nothing but conflict, and then war. A war in which he, the so called Chosen One, had been held to expectations he had been pressured to not only fulfill but exceed...though, he hadn't been given the necessary tools to achieve them. The Jedi hadn't had that answer. And, if he was honest with himself...neither had the Sith. He swallowed thickly, checking his mental shields. No, they were strong. He was certain Sidious wouldn't sense his blasphemous thoughts, not all the way out here. Reluctantly, he continued the train of thought.
With the Sith, he was powerful, yes. More powerful than he'd ever been. If he continued down this path, he would continue to gain more power. And yet...he thought of his wife. Of the blame in his mother-in-law's expression. Of...of the stark terror on his children's faces. If he was truly honest with himself, going down this path would bring him further and further away from his family.
And family...even as Vader, family was vital and necessary to him.
He shook his head, his blonde shaggy curls falling across his face. No. There had to be a way. There just had to. He just had to...plan it out. He wasn't a brilliant tactician for nothing. He'd already sent Fett to track down Sola and her family. He had no doubt that the bounty hunter would find them, unless they too had Jedi protecting them...or worse, had been killed in their escape effort. But, from what he'd heard, it was highly unlikely they were under the protection of the Rebels. So, once he found them, he would bring them aboard his ship, play the perfect gentlemanly host as he escorted them personally back to Gandle Ott. He would then contact Padme, invite her to come on board to pick them up (since there was no way he was going back on the planet while the Jedi were there and...not if he wanted to win her trust). He would show her he could be trusted. Then maybe, just maybe…
But no. That wouldn't be enough.
He sighed. He knew Padme. He knew she would take her family home, give him a cold look, and tell him to go back to wherever he kriffing came from. Besides, she wouldn't trust him if those she trusted didn't trust him. Nope. He needed...What he needed was a grand gesture. Some way to get those she was close to to trust him. Which would be hard, if not impossible, given that the imposing suit of Lord Vader was…
Wait a minute.
He paused. He didn't...need the suit. The suit was a symbol of the Empire, a symbol of the right hand of the Emperor. As far as his spies and intelligence had reported, prevalent members of the Rebellion still debated on who, or what, Vader was. Why Padme and Obi-Wan hadn't revealed his true identity yet, he wasn't sure. But, as of right now...the Rebellion didn't know that Anakin Skywalker and Vader were one and the same person.
Ahhh...This could certainly work to his advantage.
He straightened, his breath catching in his throat as an idea began to take form. He could play the role of a double agent. He could be Vader for the Empire...and Anakin Skywalker for the Rebellion. No. Wait. He frowned. He couldn't just waltz in to Rebel command (wherever that was) and announce that he was Skywalker, and he was back from the Purges and was there to help. Not only would that cause a lot of questions and distrust, but at this moment, he was sure Padme would turn him over immediately. Besides, he couldn't just make the grand entrance he was used to making. He would need to be subtle. If the Emperor even got a whiff that Anakin Skywalker was running around helping the Rebellion…his life would be forfeit. And, possibly that of his family, too, if Sidious ever found them.
He didn't realize just how long he stood at the viewport deep in thought.
But, as his eyes glanced over to the screens again, he saw his children were now awake, clinging close to Padme, as she made breakfast at the stove. They were not running around playing like he'd seen them do before. Instead, they were wary, as if afraid he was going to come back and terrorize them. He gulped, trying to think of a way to make this work.
Then… Nightblade. His wife's code name for her assassin persona. The name the Emperor knew her by…She wore a disguise.
A disguise.
He wore a disguise for the Empire. Why couldn't he wear another disguise for the Rebellion? It wouldn't be as elaborate as his suit of armor, of course. And, it couldn't invoke fear. It would need to be easily removable, allow him freedom of movement, but yet, completely hide his face. He'd have to figure it out...He had never been that great at fashion. Padme had always chosen his limited wardrobe (for home or when they did manage to get away together), the Jedi had provided his robes, and the Emperor had ordered the suit. A disguise didn't need to be flashy, but it needed to inspire...What was it? Hope? Naaah...He scoffed, rolling his eyes. But, if that's what got those around his wife to trust him, he'd do it.
Then...then when Padme trusted him again, he would use his position to overthrow the Emperor. He would take the throne in the guise of a temporary Emperor, telling the Rebellion that it was only temporary until they could work out the transfer of power back to a new Republic. But instead, he would use that time to convince Padme that he was right. That she could best serve the galaxy at his side. As his Empress. And, their children being his heirs. By then, she would see that he was still hers, and would always be hers, and they could live together again as husband and wife, happily. And, nothing would hurt them again. Nothing.
He smirked, immensely pleased at this idea. There would still be kinks to work out, of course...but a subtle approach to getting her to trust him was his best bet. Yeah, this was the answer he needed. He looked at his reflection in the viewport, his grin widening...and he suddenly froze.
There, staring back at him, was a pair of crystal clear blue eyes. Eyes he hadn't seen in two years.
It took him a moment to realize...they were his own. Frowning, Vader stared at the countenance of Anakin Skywalker that reflected back at him in the viewport...And, he couldn't help but wonder…
What did this mean?
Oh Vader. So stubborn. Then again, both Vader and Padme are a bit stubborn. Hence why they are meant to be!
If you haven't seen the Last Jedi, go see it. Seriously. Go do it.
The song for this chapter is Not Today by Imagine Dragons.
Review!
Love,
Sarah
