It's about to get interesting...
That night, Padme talked to Leia and Luke. Luke had also been doing the force-training with Leia, and he grinned as the apple he was holding in his hand floated before dropping back into his open palm.
"Listen. Your father, he is still alive. He has…changed. He didn't look the same and his eyes were cloudy and full of hate. He is coming. You will greet him and accompany me as he searches the palace with the troopers. Whatever you do, do not betray your thoughts. I may say some unflattering things about the Jedi but remember it is all an act. Shield your mind with the force, but do not reach out with it. He will know."
The two children nodded before walking back to their beds. Neither was able to sleep well that night as they thought about their father. Who was he?
The handmaidens came to collect Padme, Luke and Leia. They walked to the Queen's quarters which was covered in red wallpaper. A huge dressing room was near the tables and couches in the main room. Padme smiled at the familiarity of all this. She walked into the dressing room and took out a dress and a formal suit for her children before searching for her clothes. There were the heavy and elaborate robes and headpieces of the queen as Padme walked further in. She opened a dusty closet in the corner of the room and held back a gasp.
Padme knew her clothes were in here – they kept the clothing of previous queens and kings. But she wasn't expecting to see Anakin's old robes inside. His jedi robes that he wore on his visit to Naboo were hanging next to the yellow summer dress she had worn in her outing with him. And behind that was her wedding dress.
With trembling hands she felt the intricate lace of the hood and ran her fingers over the pearls which were attached along the length of the train. She shoved back her tears and pushed the dress further inside. She needed something familiar, and it wasn't going to be that dress.
She pulled out the yellow dress and picked up the fishnet hairpiece she had worn on that day. Leia was wearing a long white robe and Luke was wearing similar clothes to what the former Senator Organa had worn. He was pulling at the fabric with mild distaste but didn't complain.
Padme closed the changing curtain behind her as she pulled on the yellow dress. She felt the soft fabric slide over her skin as a handmaiden helped tie the corset. Sabé stepped in to do Padme's hair. Her thin fingers deftly wove Padme's hair as she tucked some of the curls into the fishnet. Sabé curled the remailing hair which fell on Padme's shoulders and fixed a delicate hairpin to the top of the fishnet.
"Still looking like the Queen I knew," Sabé smiled as Padme stood up. It was as if she could feel Anakin's hand wrapped in her's. She could see his boyish smile and his ruffled hair. He was so carefree back then.
Padme pushed the thoughts out of her head and walked with her children to meet the Queen outside. The Queen was standing at the mouth of the archway as a ship landed in front of them. It was an old clone shuttle from the clone wars. Padme had fallen out of one at some point.
Troops marched down the ramp as the Commander took off his helmet and talked to the Queen. Padme wasn't listening as she saw Anakin step out of a one-person fighter. He had a dark hood on his head and a lightsaber was clipped to his belt. He nodded to the troops and turned to the Queen, bowing before her.
"We will be gone soon – Naboo is not as, shall we say, troublesome as the other planets." His voice was rougher and colder. The Queen nodded and walked with him as they headed around the palace. His eyes locked onto Padme's and his face changed. He saw her hands holding Luke and Leia's and a small smile formed at the corner of his mouth. He turned as a trooper turned his head towards him.
The Queen let the troopers search the databanks. Chips popped out of the tables until all that was left was the Naboo history files and records of senatorial meetings. Padme hid her thoughts about the chip she had given to Leia and replaced them with her memories of her children.
The troopers walked back to the ship and waited for Anakin. He motioned for them to take off as he spoke quietly to the Queen. She nodded with a smile and left Padme and her children alone with him.
"Padme," he whispered, pulling her into a tight hug.
"I thought you were dead," she sobbed. Leia and Luke looked at each other.
"Of course not. The Emperor trusts me and I have set my allegiance to him. He is a good man, Padme."
Padme tried not to make her smile falter. So it was true. The Emperor took control of Anakin.
"I am glad you are here," she said. Anakin looked at Luke and Leia who were standing beside their mother protectively.
"My, our children are beautiful," he whispered, smiling at Luke and Leia. His eyes flashed from the cloudy yellow brown to a pure chocolate before flashing back again.
"This is Luke and Leia," Padme said, nodding with a sideways glance to them. Leia looked into her father's eyes.
"Hello father," she said.
Anakin looked at his children in silence for a moment.
"I can help them, Padme. I can train them," Anakin said, taking Padme by surprise.
"It was obvious they were going to be force-sensitive," he shrugged.
Luke reached out slightly to his father's mind and saw a flash of memories – him killing the younglings, slaughtering the sand people and most of all, pledging his allegiance as Darth Vader. Luke gasped and took the lightsaber he had been hiding out from between his thick clothes.
"You are not my father," he snarled. Padme looked at Luke with a stern face, fear in her eyes.
Anakin laughed, but it was hollow and sinister.
"You have spirit, Luke. Do you know why you aren't dead yet? Why you haven't been taken away like the other force-sensitives around the galaxy? Because I protected you," Anakin spat back.
Luke hesitated but still held the blade firm, pointing it at Anakin's throat.
"So be it," Anakin snarled.
