Just want to say a big thank you to Fireshifter who is a real sweetie, this chapter's early release is for you! Hope you all continue to enjoy the story & I will continue to write until this story is finished :)
Padmé lay awake, staring at the ceiling of the royal guest suite as the grey light of dawn began to illuminate its detailing and birds began to sing outside in the trees. Ornately carved grapes, vines and flowers decorated the plaster surface, reminding her of Naboo. She checked the chrono on the bedside table every few moments, waiting for news, but there were no new messages. Boba Fett's report had not reached them yet so she went back to staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep but unable to do anything else. The previous day had been spent in negotiations and a briefing with the famous bounty hunter. Though he was eye-wateringly expensive, she remembered the skill of his 'father' Jango and so she had great faith in his abilities. Hearing his distinctive clone accent had been strangely comforting to hear. Like Bail's presence, it was a thin thread linking them back to their old life that they all shared before Order 66. The bounty hunter had been terse with Obi-Wan, no doubt remembering being chased from Kamino and the battle of Geonosis, but the money had been enough to convince him to take the job of tracking down the children. He had also signed a contract of secrecy, though Padmé wasn't sure what good it would do. If he was captured, he would gladly reveal that they were both alive to the empire. The bounty hunter had no reason to be loyal to them besides the money - she just hoped his skill would be enough to keep him out of such a situation.
Her husband was absent from their bed. He'd probably gone to meditate or get some air on the balcony, and subsequently she felt cold in the sheets that caressed her body and draped over her heavily pregnant belly. She drew the cover up over her further and tried to feel some warmth as she rolled to the side. Part of her wanted Obi-Wan to warm her, but another part of her wanted to be alone, for she couldn't face seeing the sadness in his eyes at present.
Looking out towards the balcony and the lightening sky, she traced her hands absently over her stomach. With heaviness in her heart she remembered when Luke and Leia were with her, close and protected in her womb. Every second felt like hours without her children. The twins were her whole universe, a precious gift consummated in love.
As it often did when thinking of Luke and Leia's origins, Padmé's mind wandered down that well-trodden path to Anakin Skywalker. Over and over throughout the years she'd told herself that her husband had died; his body and soul were taken over by a monster. Though she had healed from the heartbreak of his betrayal and was able to love again, she could never truly be free of the voice deep down inside which told her that the monster was still Anakin. He still had memories of his life from before his turn to the dark side. He was still Shmi's son. He was still Luke and Leia's father. He was still flesh inside that suit, flesh she used to touch and love, a beating heart that used to lull her to sleep.
Rolling over to the other side of the bed, she wished such thoughts would go away, but she'd spent enough sleepless nights with Anakin's ghost in her mind to know that it wasn't so easy. For years she had lived in peace with Obi-Wan, but Vader was going to find out sooner or later she was alive, and she was terrified of what might happen to her and her unborn child if he captured her. Anakin had been a jealous and possessive lover even before he had become consumed by Vader - how bad would it be now? Unconsciously her hand went to her throat, and she remembered how he had almost crushed her windpipe from the mere thought of her conspiring with Obi-Wan. What would he do when he found out she had married and was carrying his child?
"Padmé," she heard her husband's voice and she looked up to see him coming through the main door of the bedroom, his whole body alive with restless energy. He was dressed already in a simple tunic, trousers and leather boots. Though the sun hadn't even risen fully beyond the horizon it was clear he'd been awake for some time. "A message came through, get up and cover yourself, it's the twins!"
Within moments she was up and sitting with Obi, Bail and Breha in the cool of the morning in the guest living space, her bare feet cold on the marble floor. She had gone into Senator mode, with her mind calm and her emotions pushed aside. Bail, who was in his dressing gown, told them that their government portal had received a message during the night which he'd just woken up to view.
The projector flickered into life and there were her babies, looking utterly dishevelled and dirty. The dark clouds of worry were broken by sunbeams of pure joy and relief - they were alive!
"I am Leia Kayla and this is my brother, Luke Kayla. We're nine years old and we're from the planet Bakura…" Leia's precious voice echoed out into the marble room and the four of them sat in silence, listening to the recording with rapt attention. "We were kidnapped from our home by stormtroopers from the imperial army and taken to a prison for…some bad behaviour which we shouldn't have done…"
Bad behaviour? Prison? Padmé remembered when her and Obi-Wan had speculated about how the stormtroopers found their home. Luke's words confirmed that they must have used their Force abilities. But bad behaviour was something for the local police, not imperial stormtroopers and a Project Harvester ship. The children must be ignorant of the real reason for their abduction, which was the plot to put them into a Sith academy. Her heart went out to them, they must be so confused and terrified.
"We escaped from the prison into hyperspace in an escape pod," Leia continued. "We landed here on a planet called Tatooine, in a city called Mos Espa…"
"Tatooine? What in the blazes are they doing there?" Obi-Wan exclaimed before he stopped dead.
She heard it too, that sound…that breathing. The children looked up in terror at some unseen presence before the recording abruptly cut off.
"Is that the whole message?" she asked Bail. He nodded.
"What was that sound?" Obi-Wan asked, disturbed.
"It sounded like…" Bail began, looking at his wife as they both reached the same conclusion.
"Lord Vader. He breaths through a voice modulator that sounds just like that."
"It may not be him, we need more evidence," Obi-Wan said in an effort to displace some of their worry, though the look in his eyes told her that he was just as terrified as she was.
Neither Padmé or Obi-Wan had ever heard Darth Vader speak, let alone breathe. The snippets of the HoloNews that he'd appeared on in Namusa had been brief, almost as if he wanted to stay out of the limelight.
It was not long after hearing the children's message that Boba Fett's live report finally reached the royal courts of Alderaan. The bounty hunter had successfully tracked their whereabouts to Mos Espa, but as the recording had suggested, he confirmed they had indeed been taken by Darth Vader off planet.
"I'm in Mos Espa. Some street kids told me they'd seen the assets and followed them to a junk shop," he said through his distinctive Mandalorian helmet. "There was a body there when I went inside, found an old male Toydarian with a broken spine. No sign of the kids. Went back out and asked around. Some people in this area saw them leave with some troopers in the night after dusk and the man himself was here. I can't track them anymore than that. I'll take my ten percent deposit; it would be suicide going to Vader's star destroyer alone. Besides, he's one of my wealthiest clients, and I don't want to piss him off."
"We understand," Obi-Wan said, and Padmé could already see his mind was formulating the next plan.
"The ten percent security deposit will be transferred to you immediately. Thank you for your service," Bail ended the call cordially. Then he turned to face the two of them. "We've no time to lose. I've got some calls to make, meet me back here in an hour, I may have another plan to propose."
"As will I," Obi-Wan replied.
Bail and Breha left, leaving the two of them alone. Padmé breathed out a deep sigh, placing her hand over her stomach and leaning back in to the many cushions dotted along the sofa. She remained silent, gazing out past Obi-Wan to the marble archway that led to the grand guest balcony. It was late morning and the sun was shining onto the white floor, making it gleam with a high polish lustre.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.
"I really hope not."
"Like Boba said, it would be suicide going to Vader's ship alone, I'd be taken prisoner and you'd be killed. On the other hand, we can't give up without a fight," she turned to her husband, and took his hand in hers, urging him to listen to her plan. "We have to get them back. A quick, precise attack on his ship is going to be the only way. If we wait too long then the Emperor will get his hands on them and it may become impossible to retrieve them. But now, we have a small window of time when it could be possible to get them out if we are fast and focused solely on their rescue."
"I agree with you, and I'm going to suggest to Bail the same plan," he nodded slowly, processing her words. "But as you know I am often wary of these things. People will get hurt. You could get hurt. You could go into labour any time now. The thought of losing you and our baby is too much for me to bear. Please my love, you must stay here."
Her heart ached at hearing his plea, but she just couldn't agree to it. "I can't, they need me. If you go alone he will kill you on sight."
"He'll kill me whether or not you're present my dear."
She sighed, "I can't just sit here whilst you and everyone else risks their lives to save our children, it's selfish and I can't do that. You know I can't. If you're killed and the rescue mission fails, how will I bear it knowing I could've been there to help? I cannot stay here."
He looked away and the worry on his face was unbearable to her. "Alright. I can see that again; you won't listen to me. But promise me that you will put you and the children's safety above everything else?" "I promise."
He squeezed her hand to show that although he was upset at her stubbornness, he still understood and loved her regardless.
"The Skywalker children represent a hope the rebels will fight for. But for them to fight they must know the truth of who they are. We can't keep it a secret now," she said, changing the subject to take his mind off her decision.
He nodded, knowing it was coming. Currently, it was only a handful of key figures who knew of their survival, such as Mothma and Bail. It was time for all the whole of the rebel alliance to know that Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala's children lived. Realistically they were the only ones left aside from Yoda who would ever have a chance at defeating the Emperor and consequentially the Sith, once and for all. It would bring hope to the oppressed to hear of them, of her survival, and of Obi-Wan's.
"Vader must know I'm alive by now if he talked to Luke and Leia," she said, not quite processing the implications of such a thing. "And he knows you didn't die that day on Mustafar. I wonder if they told him that you're their father?"
"Who knows. I guess we'll find out when we rescue them," he replied, his voice sounding far away.
"Mhmm," she hummed in agreement, squeezing his hand reassuringly.
She studied his side profile and took in every beloved detail. His golden-brown hair was greying slightly at the temples and his usually bright and mischievous eyes were downcast with worry and grief. Suddenly he looked his age. She moved up on the sofa and snuggled against his chest, placing her hand on his shoulder and holding the material of his tunic. Immediately he gathered her in his arms and lay a secure hand on her stomach. This was her safe place.
"Things can never be as they were, in our safe hidden cottage," he said above her. "Qui-Gon would tell me through the Force when I used to speak to him that such a day would come, but I didn't want to listen. I didn't think it would be so soon that all this would happen."
"Me neither. I wanted to have our baby in that cottage. I wanted him or her to grow up there, safe and secure. And Luke and Leia are so young. Far too young for all this."
He cupped her shoulder with his strong hand and drew her in even closer, kissing her forehead. "I remember when I first met you. Even though you were young, you were so brave and capable. So was little Ani, remember?"
She nodded against his chest, breathing in the warm comforting smell that took away all her worries. Their baby kicked against Obi's hand and she smiled sadly, wishing again that they could go back home.
"The children are far stronger and more capable than we know," he continued, his voice rumbling against her cheek. "They've already escaped from a prison ship, descended onto a foreign planet and found a way to contact Alderaan just like we told them. We're both worried sick of course - but if we have faith, things may work out in the end."
"I have faith in them, but they're still so vulnerable. I can't believe they were at Watto's shop…I remember him," she recalled as the memories came back to her. It all felt like a lifetime ago. "He was so cruel to young Ani. He used to tell me of a slave device that was implanted in his neck so he could never run away. Watto would beat him and…awful things happened to him."
"Yes. I'm not surprised he killed him, it must have opened up a horrible wound for Vader," her husband replied. She wanted to ask him more, to ask whether somehow, he would know if Vader could ever hurt his own flesh and blood, but she couldn't bring herself to.
"Padmé, I know it sounds crazy but I don't think he'll hurt them."
She blinked in surprise as he'd read her mind. "Why do you think that?"
He shook his head above her. "I don't know, I just get a feeling."
"And what about us?"
"What about us?"
"If he finds out about…" she sighed and placed her hand on top of his where it rested against her stomach. "I think he might notice this."
Her husband chuckled, a sound she hadn't heard since they'd been back at the cottage with the children. "Let's hope he doesn't get close enough to you to see that."
"You can see this bump from a mile away Obi-Wan," she reminded him, the mood lightening a little.
He looked down and smiled at her, a warm proud smile that filled her up with a golden kind of joy. Leaning up towards him, she kissed her husband slowly and tenderly. Her husband brought his hands up to cup her face, then glided them down her arms and over her stomach back up to her breasts and shoulders. Padmé ran her hands through his short hair then clasped the back of his neck as she instinctively pressed closer to him. It had been so long since they'd shared a tender moment and she relished the feeling of his warm body beneath her fingers and the taste of his familiar lips. Part of her was memorising every second of the kiss just in case something happened when they went to rescue the children. Just in case it would be the last happy moment she ever had.
Bail agreed to their plan and later that day, news spread across the rebel alliance network like wildfire. The survival of the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as Senator Padmé Amidala, and the children of the deceased hero of the Republic, Anakin Skywalker, brought a new wave of hope to those who were fighting for freedom. Suddenly, the great heroes of the clone wars had reappeared, and with it all the memories of a galaxy they used to live in, when democracy ruled. Free speech, electoral voting systems, social reform, anti-corruption and alien species rights were all things that Padmé had fought and stood for in her time in the Senate. Brave rebels began to flock to the cause and an attack on Vader's star destroyer was quickly organised.
Working from the royal courts, Padmé, her husband and the rest of their loyal friends created a plan to rescue the children, and do some major damage to Vader's ship in the process. It was to be a very swift operation with a lot of moving parts, the chances of success weren't high, as one of Bail's droids liked to remind them, but they had to give it a fighting chance. By the evening, they had packed their kit and were ready to depart.