I awoke late into the evening at the sound of someone at our door.
Immediately I tensed up, and Padmé curled her hand on my chest, sitting up
in bed to lock eyes with me. We both were filled with tension, even though
I knew that it couldn't be anything bad. Years ago, when we were first
married, there had been many a night where intruders weren't welcome. Well
. . . not welcome to Padmé.
I relaxed forcedly and got out of bed. Padmé followed suit and pulled on a robe. I walked to the door and slapped the button to activate them. When they slid open, I saw Sabé standing there, looking tired and miserable, dried tears on her cheeks.
"Sabé!" Padmé cried out in alarm, rushing to my side. She took Sabé by the arm and dragged her into our room. "What happened? Did you speak to Obi- Wan?"
Sabé shook her head. "Padmé, I want to tell Leia."
"Now?" I asked, disbeliving. A look at my chronometer told me that it was oh-one-hundred. Leia was asleep in Luke's room. Sabé hadn't come back to take her all evening, and Padmé had decided to let the little girl sleep over. Neither Padmé nor I were terribly upset about that.
Sabé turned her dull gaze to me. I thought I saw a flicker of the passion that this woman had once held. "Yes, now. When is a better time?"
"Why now, Sabé?" Padmé asked softly.
Sabé's cheeks scrunched up as if she were going to cry. "I have so many things on my shoulders now, Padmé. I want Leia to be happy, and she will be happy with her rightful family. I have worried day in and day out since you arrived how I was going to tell her. If I get it over with, I can rest easier."
"Do you really want to do this?" Padmé asked, a breathless note in her voice.
Sabé nodded. "Why else would I suggest it? Bail will be angry with me, but he is already."
"What happened?"
"It's nothing to worry about. He just acts . . . cold."
"You mean colder than he usualy does?" I muttered. Padmé elbowed me.
Sabé smiled slightly. "He wasn't always like that. Something changed him. But, yes, colder than he usually acts." Her lower lip trembled slightly. "He's so angry at Obi-Wan."
"Maybe it'll keep his focus off me," I said.
"Would you stop with the so-called jokes?" Padmé snapped. She softened. "Nothing could get his back off you. I have half a mind to join him as it is." She turned to Sabé. "Why is he angry at Obi-Wan?"
"I don't know!" Sabé cried. She looked truly at a loss. "I have asked myself this again and again. He cares not for me. I know it. I have in all of the years we have been married. Yet now that Obi-Wan is back, he acts in a jealous rage. He knows about Obi-Wan, he knew from the beginning. I guess he just assumed that Obi-Wan would never be back."
"And he never was, until now," Padmé said. "They thought him dead."
"Padmé, go wake the children," I murmered, giving her a look. I knew she wanted to protest, to see what I had to say to Sabé, but she sighed and left the room anyway. I focused in on Sabé, trying to make my gaze as intense as possible. "Bail does care about you, Sabé. A great deal more than you can imagine."
Sabé's breath caught in her throat. "That's what I'm afraid of," she whispered. "I thought Obi-Wan was gone too. If I had known he was still alive . . ."
"Why did you marry one man if you were in love with another? I don't believe it was for the money," I said gently, wondering aloud what I couldn't stop thinking about.
"For protection," Sabé said simply.
"I have your children," Padmé said sharply, entering the room again with Leia and Luke walking groggily behind her. "Are you done talking?"
"Yes," I answered simply. I looked at Leia and my stomach dropped. Would she reject us? Reject *me*?
"Mommy!" Leia cried, running to Sabé and throwing her arms around the elder woman's legs. "Are you all right? Was it that mean man again?"
Sabé gently extracted herself from Leia's embrace. She kneeled before the child. "Leia, I have something very important to tell you."
Leia's eyes sharpened. "I'm listening," she whispered, sounding slightly afraid, but too scared to question what it was that had upset her mother so greatly.
"Your Aunt Padmé is not my sister," Sabé began. "She was the Queen of a different planet long ago, and I worked for her. I protected her."
"Like Irshaad?" Leia asked meekly, sounding as if it was the first thing that came to her mind.
Sabé smiled slightly. "I hope I wasn't as mean and stuffy as Irshaad."
"You aren't," Padmé assured her.
Leia turned around and looked at Padmé warily, as if she wasn't sure what to think. She turned back to her mother. "That's not all, is it?"
"You're a sharp one. No, Leia. What I have to tell you is going to upset you and change everything. I didn't mean to keep it from you all of these years, but we all had to protect you." Sabé took a deep breath. "I'm not your mother, Leia. Not by blood. And Bail isn't your daddy."
Leia looked deeply confused. She stared at her mother for a moment. "Who?" she weakly asked after a moment, her voice sounding strange.
Padmé spoke; Leia turned around to look at her. "Leia, I am your mother."
Leia stared at Padmé for a long time, then finally nodded. "Okay."
"Okay?" I repeated, strangely disappointed.
Leia looked at me warily. "You are my father. Luke is my brother."
"Yes," Sabé said.
Leia turned to look at Sabé. "And you are my mother's best friend."
"No, no," I said quickly, before Sabé could say anything. I kneeled in front of Leia. "We are your blood family, Leia, but we could never hope to replace Sabé. We won't take you away from her. You can do whatever you want to do."
Leia looked scared. "Can I go back to sleep?"
I sighed and stood up. "Yes, you can. I'm sorry that we woke you up."
"I guess it was important," Leia said. As she walked back to her room, she added, "Though I can't see why you couldn't have told me before."
Luke stayed for a moment, his innocent eyes wide. "Leia is my sister?" he asked, looking hopeful.
"Yes, she's your sister," Padmé murmured.
"I knew it," Luke said softly in satisfied conviction. He followed Leia into their small bedroom and shut the door behind him.
"That went well," I said, turning around to look at Sabé.
"She's a strong girl," Sabé said softly. "She takes after her parents. Her real ones."
"Sabé . . ." Padmé began, looking lost at what to say.
"I have to go now," Sabé said, backing away slowly. "I need to go."
"Come see Leia tomorrow. She might be upset if you don't," Padmé said just as Sabé shut the doors behind her. Padmé sighed and turned to me. I held out my arms, and she collapsed into them. I rubbed her back soothingly.
"It's strange," I said into her hair.
"What is?" Padmé said. "Or should I ask, what isn't?"
"I know I should be feeling guilty over Sabé . . ." I trailed off.
"But you can't help but feel elated that Leia finally knows," Padmé finished. She pulled away just enough to look at me. "I know."
"You always do," I said, placing a light kiss on her lips.
"Let's go to bed now. We can't accomplish anything else until morning," Padmé said reasonably.
"We can't even accomplish . . ." I suggested, arching an eyebrow.
Padmé pushed me so that I landed backwards on the bed. She picked up a pillow and threw it at me just in case I didn't get the message.
* * * * *
"Wake up! Ani, wake up, for Force's sake!" Padmé screeched in my ear, pounding at my chest.
I slowly opened my eyes. I smiled slyly at her, then slung an arm around her chest and pulled her on top of me. "Anxious for something, my love?"
Padmé rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am. Leia's gone."
"What?" I demanded as I bolted up in bed. "Is Luke gone too?"
"No, he's still asleep."
"Probably not any more thanks to your yelling."
"I think that I was justified in yelling due to our situation!" Padmé cried out vehemently.
"All right, all right. You know her pretty well. Where would she go?" I asked.
Padmé squeezed her eyes shut in concentration. "Um . . . when she's upset, she always comes to me."
"That helped a lot."
"I'm sorry, but I'm panicking, if you cared to notice. What if she ran away? What if she hates us because we lied to her? What if--"
"Shh," I whispered, pulling her close. "She probably just wanted to be alone. It's a lot to handle for a little girl."
"Is it too much for her to handle?" Padmé asked, voicing her fears.
"Maybe for any other girl, but not Leia. She's beyond her years," I said honestly. Truthfully, I felt a nagging doubt to my words, but I didn't want to voice them. I was just as worried as Padmé. Just as anxious to find her.
"We'll go look for her," Padmé said. She paused. "No. You go look for her, Ani. She may be angry with me for lying to her. You never lied to her."
"I'll find her," I promised Padmé, climbing out of bed. I didn't bother changing out of my sleep pants, but walked right out of the small room. Once outside, I was at a loss as where to look. I closed my eyes and tried to gather the Force around me, hoping that my agitation wouldn't be a block.
I felt someone coming, and I snapped open my eyes just in time to recognize Obi-Wan. He looked less than thrilled to see me. "Obi-Wan," I called softly when he started to turn around.
Obi-Wan turned around stiffly. "What do you want, Anakin?"
"I want to know that you're okay," I said truthfully. "Or at least that you're going to be okay."
Obi-Wan shrugged. "I really don't know."
I wanted to yell at him for being a hypocrite. He forgave me for everything I had done, and yet he couldn't let it go that I had helped kill his child. I blushed as I realized how selfish and cruel I sounded. When I started to speak again, to apologize, Obi-Wan was gone.
It took me a moment to remember Leia. I went on my way, keeping the Force close at hand. I felt presences all around me, but only a few of them were bright enough to be a Jedi. As I kept walking, I felt something muted, but sincere. Leia was nearby. Somehow she was shielding me out, but I could still sense her. I searched harder in the Force, and once I found her exact location, I ran all the way there.
When I opened the doors, I recognized a small gym that I had used the other day for training. Master Yoda was standing in the middle of the room, the picture of calm as he looked up to see me. His eyes were sparkling merrily, and I recognized what was going on. Leia was wearing a helmet with a small lightsaber held out, fighting off stray laser bolts.
Yoda called the machine to his hand, and the small round orb fit right in his palm. "Your father is here, Young One," he said, his voice cracking with joy. I hadn't heard him sound that way since I was a young Padawan under his instruction.
Leia lifted the shield off of her face and turned to look at me. Instead of the cold hatred I expected, I saw warmth and excitement. "Did you see me?" she asked eagerly. "Did you see what I did?"
"Yes, I did," I said, putting encouragement in my voice. "You were wonderful."
Leia glowed. "I think I did all right. And Master Yoda promised to teach me again! He said that he's going to teach Luke too. My mom . . . I mean . . ." Leia trailed off, looking at the ground.
"She's still your mother, Leia. Even if not by blood," I said gently.
Leia looked up at me. "No. I can't do that to Aunt Padmé." She sighed. "What I was taught as a child doesn't even compare to what Master Yoda has said," she finished blandly.
"Too much credit, you give," Yoda said, but he sounded pleased. "Go now. Worry about you, your family does."
Leia looked guilty. "I'm sorry that I left. I didn't get back to sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about what you told me. Then I felt like I should be here."
"A calling in the Force," Yoda explained. "Felt it too, I did."
"You don't mind teaching the children?" I asked Master Yoda.
"Doubt me, you do, eh?" Yoda laughed smugly. "Never doubt your elders, Young Boy."
I smiled at the old pet name. "I'm glad that you didn't get killed, Master."
"I as well," Yoda said solomnly. His sleepy eyes snapped open suddenly. "Back to your wife, you must go. Die of worry, she will, if you don't."
"That's not very hard to believe. Come on, Leia."
"I'm coming. Thank you, Master Yoda," Leia said politely before jogging the length of the gym to get next to me. She looked up at me and smiled charmingly. She held out her hand, and I took it, my happiness beyond words at that point.
"You enjoyed Master Yoda's company?" I asked as we walked the journey back to Padmé's rooms.
Leia nodded heartily. "Oh, yes. At first I was afraid of him, but he was happy and nice."
"You haven't seen him on a bad day," I joked, winking at Leia as she giggled.
"Is Aunt Padmé upset with me?" Leia asked.
"No. She's worried beyond belief, though. Don't be surprised if you're attacked by her as soon as you step into the room."
"What am I supposed to call her?" Leia asked desperately. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything. Why did they lie to me?"
"You can call her whatever you want, whatever you feel comfortable with," I advised her. I sighed warily. When would I escape my mistakes? "And they lied to you to keep you safe, as they said. To keep you safe from me."
"From you?" Leia asked doubtfully.
"I was bad for a very long time, Leia. Did you ever hear anyone speak of 'Darth Vader'?" I asked, dreading her answer.
Leia made the connection immediately. She looked at me in fear, something I couldn't stand. "You were him?"
"I was. That's over now. I'm a good man, Leia, and I won't ever hurt you or anyone else again."
Leia watched me for a second. "I believe you," she finally said, conviction in her voice. "You're too innocent to be mean. You're eyes are hurting, I can tell. And if you're hurting, then you're feeling. If you're feeling compassion and guilt, then you are human. And if you are human, you won't be able to kill anybody again."
Surprisingly, her words were soothing. I squeezed her hand. "Thank you," I whispered. "You certainly are a smart little girl."
"I've heard that before," Leia said mock-casually. She grinned at me just as we reached the doors. They slid open, and our special dauther-father moment was ruined. Padmé must have used her little Force-sense to feel us coming, for the doors slid open, and she threw herself at her daughter, murmuring words of love and apology.
Leia looked up at me from Padmé's shoulder. She smiled brightly at me. I savored that smile. It made the world seem all right again. If Leia said that I couldn't hurt people again, then she had to be right. I couldn't believe someone to pure and innocent could be wrong.
* * * * * * * * * *
Author's Notes: I received quite a few reviews and emails asking about this fic. The truth is, I wanted to keep from writing it until I had planned out the entire series. However, I got quite a nasty review on my fic Pieces of the Puzzle talking about my lack of finishing fics. All right, so sometimes I dont finish a fic. I'm not saying that I'm ever going to finish some that I have up on my account. This one is different for me. I love this fic so much, and all of you who read this avidly I hope enjoy it too.
Once I got to thinking about that, I just felt guilty. I've been there. A favorite fic, or just one that I liked a whole lot. The plot was going great, I would risk being late for classes just to read a new chapter. Then the author decides not to update anymore. Now, if I had lost interest in the fic, I wouldn't have felt so bad. But since I'm still interested in TRPA, I skimmed the last few chapters to get myself familiar with the flow again, then wrote this. I'm sorry if it's not what you expected, but I promise to keep updating this regularly, and I apologize profusely for being such a . . . well . . . dumbass. Yeah, that about sums it up.
~Haley
P.S. If you're interested in how Sabé and Obi-Wan got to where they are in this story, read my other fic series Chained to You. (Book One and part of Book Two are both out. If you want my plot, and not a TPM take off, try reading the second one.)
I relaxed forcedly and got out of bed. Padmé followed suit and pulled on a robe. I walked to the door and slapped the button to activate them. When they slid open, I saw Sabé standing there, looking tired and miserable, dried tears on her cheeks.
"Sabé!" Padmé cried out in alarm, rushing to my side. She took Sabé by the arm and dragged her into our room. "What happened? Did you speak to Obi- Wan?"
Sabé shook her head. "Padmé, I want to tell Leia."
"Now?" I asked, disbeliving. A look at my chronometer told me that it was oh-one-hundred. Leia was asleep in Luke's room. Sabé hadn't come back to take her all evening, and Padmé had decided to let the little girl sleep over. Neither Padmé nor I were terribly upset about that.
Sabé turned her dull gaze to me. I thought I saw a flicker of the passion that this woman had once held. "Yes, now. When is a better time?"
"Why now, Sabé?" Padmé asked softly.
Sabé's cheeks scrunched up as if she were going to cry. "I have so many things on my shoulders now, Padmé. I want Leia to be happy, and she will be happy with her rightful family. I have worried day in and day out since you arrived how I was going to tell her. If I get it over with, I can rest easier."
"Do you really want to do this?" Padmé asked, a breathless note in her voice.
Sabé nodded. "Why else would I suggest it? Bail will be angry with me, but he is already."
"What happened?"
"It's nothing to worry about. He just acts . . . cold."
"You mean colder than he usualy does?" I muttered. Padmé elbowed me.
Sabé smiled slightly. "He wasn't always like that. Something changed him. But, yes, colder than he usually acts." Her lower lip trembled slightly. "He's so angry at Obi-Wan."
"Maybe it'll keep his focus off me," I said.
"Would you stop with the so-called jokes?" Padmé snapped. She softened. "Nothing could get his back off you. I have half a mind to join him as it is." She turned to Sabé. "Why is he angry at Obi-Wan?"
"I don't know!" Sabé cried. She looked truly at a loss. "I have asked myself this again and again. He cares not for me. I know it. I have in all of the years we have been married. Yet now that Obi-Wan is back, he acts in a jealous rage. He knows about Obi-Wan, he knew from the beginning. I guess he just assumed that Obi-Wan would never be back."
"And he never was, until now," Padmé said. "They thought him dead."
"Padmé, go wake the children," I murmered, giving her a look. I knew she wanted to protest, to see what I had to say to Sabé, but she sighed and left the room anyway. I focused in on Sabé, trying to make my gaze as intense as possible. "Bail does care about you, Sabé. A great deal more than you can imagine."
Sabé's breath caught in her throat. "That's what I'm afraid of," she whispered. "I thought Obi-Wan was gone too. If I had known he was still alive . . ."
"Why did you marry one man if you were in love with another? I don't believe it was for the money," I said gently, wondering aloud what I couldn't stop thinking about.
"For protection," Sabé said simply.
"I have your children," Padmé said sharply, entering the room again with Leia and Luke walking groggily behind her. "Are you done talking?"
"Yes," I answered simply. I looked at Leia and my stomach dropped. Would she reject us? Reject *me*?
"Mommy!" Leia cried, running to Sabé and throwing her arms around the elder woman's legs. "Are you all right? Was it that mean man again?"
Sabé gently extracted herself from Leia's embrace. She kneeled before the child. "Leia, I have something very important to tell you."
Leia's eyes sharpened. "I'm listening," she whispered, sounding slightly afraid, but too scared to question what it was that had upset her mother so greatly.
"Your Aunt Padmé is not my sister," Sabé began. "She was the Queen of a different planet long ago, and I worked for her. I protected her."
"Like Irshaad?" Leia asked meekly, sounding as if it was the first thing that came to her mind.
Sabé smiled slightly. "I hope I wasn't as mean and stuffy as Irshaad."
"You aren't," Padmé assured her.
Leia turned around and looked at Padmé warily, as if she wasn't sure what to think. She turned back to her mother. "That's not all, is it?"
"You're a sharp one. No, Leia. What I have to tell you is going to upset you and change everything. I didn't mean to keep it from you all of these years, but we all had to protect you." Sabé took a deep breath. "I'm not your mother, Leia. Not by blood. And Bail isn't your daddy."
Leia looked deeply confused. She stared at her mother for a moment. "Who?" she weakly asked after a moment, her voice sounding strange.
Padmé spoke; Leia turned around to look at her. "Leia, I am your mother."
Leia stared at Padmé for a long time, then finally nodded. "Okay."
"Okay?" I repeated, strangely disappointed.
Leia looked at me warily. "You are my father. Luke is my brother."
"Yes," Sabé said.
Leia turned to look at Sabé. "And you are my mother's best friend."
"No, no," I said quickly, before Sabé could say anything. I kneeled in front of Leia. "We are your blood family, Leia, but we could never hope to replace Sabé. We won't take you away from her. You can do whatever you want to do."
Leia looked scared. "Can I go back to sleep?"
I sighed and stood up. "Yes, you can. I'm sorry that we woke you up."
"I guess it was important," Leia said. As she walked back to her room, she added, "Though I can't see why you couldn't have told me before."
Luke stayed for a moment, his innocent eyes wide. "Leia is my sister?" he asked, looking hopeful.
"Yes, she's your sister," Padmé murmured.
"I knew it," Luke said softly in satisfied conviction. He followed Leia into their small bedroom and shut the door behind him.
"That went well," I said, turning around to look at Sabé.
"She's a strong girl," Sabé said softly. "She takes after her parents. Her real ones."
"Sabé . . ." Padmé began, looking lost at what to say.
"I have to go now," Sabé said, backing away slowly. "I need to go."
"Come see Leia tomorrow. She might be upset if you don't," Padmé said just as Sabé shut the doors behind her. Padmé sighed and turned to me. I held out my arms, and she collapsed into them. I rubbed her back soothingly.
"It's strange," I said into her hair.
"What is?" Padmé said. "Or should I ask, what isn't?"
"I know I should be feeling guilty over Sabé . . ." I trailed off.
"But you can't help but feel elated that Leia finally knows," Padmé finished. She pulled away just enough to look at me. "I know."
"You always do," I said, placing a light kiss on her lips.
"Let's go to bed now. We can't accomplish anything else until morning," Padmé said reasonably.
"We can't even accomplish . . ." I suggested, arching an eyebrow.
Padmé pushed me so that I landed backwards on the bed. She picked up a pillow and threw it at me just in case I didn't get the message.
* * * * *
"Wake up! Ani, wake up, for Force's sake!" Padmé screeched in my ear, pounding at my chest.
I slowly opened my eyes. I smiled slyly at her, then slung an arm around her chest and pulled her on top of me. "Anxious for something, my love?"
Padmé rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am. Leia's gone."
"What?" I demanded as I bolted up in bed. "Is Luke gone too?"
"No, he's still asleep."
"Probably not any more thanks to your yelling."
"I think that I was justified in yelling due to our situation!" Padmé cried out vehemently.
"All right, all right. You know her pretty well. Where would she go?" I asked.
Padmé squeezed her eyes shut in concentration. "Um . . . when she's upset, she always comes to me."
"That helped a lot."
"I'm sorry, but I'm panicking, if you cared to notice. What if she ran away? What if she hates us because we lied to her? What if--"
"Shh," I whispered, pulling her close. "She probably just wanted to be alone. It's a lot to handle for a little girl."
"Is it too much for her to handle?" Padmé asked, voicing her fears.
"Maybe for any other girl, but not Leia. She's beyond her years," I said honestly. Truthfully, I felt a nagging doubt to my words, but I didn't want to voice them. I was just as worried as Padmé. Just as anxious to find her.
"We'll go look for her," Padmé said. She paused. "No. You go look for her, Ani. She may be angry with me for lying to her. You never lied to her."
"I'll find her," I promised Padmé, climbing out of bed. I didn't bother changing out of my sleep pants, but walked right out of the small room. Once outside, I was at a loss as where to look. I closed my eyes and tried to gather the Force around me, hoping that my agitation wouldn't be a block.
I felt someone coming, and I snapped open my eyes just in time to recognize Obi-Wan. He looked less than thrilled to see me. "Obi-Wan," I called softly when he started to turn around.
Obi-Wan turned around stiffly. "What do you want, Anakin?"
"I want to know that you're okay," I said truthfully. "Or at least that you're going to be okay."
Obi-Wan shrugged. "I really don't know."
I wanted to yell at him for being a hypocrite. He forgave me for everything I had done, and yet he couldn't let it go that I had helped kill his child. I blushed as I realized how selfish and cruel I sounded. When I started to speak again, to apologize, Obi-Wan was gone.
It took me a moment to remember Leia. I went on my way, keeping the Force close at hand. I felt presences all around me, but only a few of them were bright enough to be a Jedi. As I kept walking, I felt something muted, but sincere. Leia was nearby. Somehow she was shielding me out, but I could still sense her. I searched harder in the Force, and once I found her exact location, I ran all the way there.
When I opened the doors, I recognized a small gym that I had used the other day for training. Master Yoda was standing in the middle of the room, the picture of calm as he looked up to see me. His eyes were sparkling merrily, and I recognized what was going on. Leia was wearing a helmet with a small lightsaber held out, fighting off stray laser bolts.
Yoda called the machine to his hand, and the small round orb fit right in his palm. "Your father is here, Young One," he said, his voice cracking with joy. I hadn't heard him sound that way since I was a young Padawan under his instruction.
Leia lifted the shield off of her face and turned to look at me. Instead of the cold hatred I expected, I saw warmth and excitement. "Did you see me?" she asked eagerly. "Did you see what I did?"
"Yes, I did," I said, putting encouragement in my voice. "You were wonderful."
Leia glowed. "I think I did all right. And Master Yoda promised to teach me again! He said that he's going to teach Luke too. My mom . . . I mean . . ." Leia trailed off, looking at the ground.
"She's still your mother, Leia. Even if not by blood," I said gently.
Leia looked up at me. "No. I can't do that to Aunt Padmé." She sighed. "What I was taught as a child doesn't even compare to what Master Yoda has said," she finished blandly.
"Too much credit, you give," Yoda said, but he sounded pleased. "Go now. Worry about you, your family does."
Leia looked guilty. "I'm sorry that I left. I didn't get back to sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about what you told me. Then I felt like I should be here."
"A calling in the Force," Yoda explained. "Felt it too, I did."
"You don't mind teaching the children?" I asked Master Yoda.
"Doubt me, you do, eh?" Yoda laughed smugly. "Never doubt your elders, Young Boy."
I smiled at the old pet name. "I'm glad that you didn't get killed, Master."
"I as well," Yoda said solomnly. His sleepy eyes snapped open suddenly. "Back to your wife, you must go. Die of worry, she will, if you don't."
"That's not very hard to believe. Come on, Leia."
"I'm coming. Thank you, Master Yoda," Leia said politely before jogging the length of the gym to get next to me. She looked up at me and smiled charmingly. She held out her hand, and I took it, my happiness beyond words at that point.
"You enjoyed Master Yoda's company?" I asked as we walked the journey back to Padmé's rooms.
Leia nodded heartily. "Oh, yes. At first I was afraid of him, but he was happy and nice."
"You haven't seen him on a bad day," I joked, winking at Leia as she giggled.
"Is Aunt Padmé upset with me?" Leia asked.
"No. She's worried beyond belief, though. Don't be surprised if you're attacked by her as soon as you step into the room."
"What am I supposed to call her?" Leia asked desperately. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything. Why did they lie to me?"
"You can call her whatever you want, whatever you feel comfortable with," I advised her. I sighed warily. When would I escape my mistakes? "And they lied to you to keep you safe, as they said. To keep you safe from me."
"From you?" Leia asked doubtfully.
"I was bad for a very long time, Leia. Did you ever hear anyone speak of 'Darth Vader'?" I asked, dreading her answer.
Leia made the connection immediately. She looked at me in fear, something I couldn't stand. "You were him?"
"I was. That's over now. I'm a good man, Leia, and I won't ever hurt you or anyone else again."
Leia watched me for a second. "I believe you," she finally said, conviction in her voice. "You're too innocent to be mean. You're eyes are hurting, I can tell. And if you're hurting, then you're feeling. If you're feeling compassion and guilt, then you are human. And if you are human, you won't be able to kill anybody again."
Surprisingly, her words were soothing. I squeezed her hand. "Thank you," I whispered. "You certainly are a smart little girl."
"I've heard that before," Leia said mock-casually. She grinned at me just as we reached the doors. They slid open, and our special dauther-father moment was ruined. Padmé must have used her little Force-sense to feel us coming, for the doors slid open, and she threw herself at her daughter, murmuring words of love and apology.
Leia looked up at me from Padmé's shoulder. She smiled brightly at me. I savored that smile. It made the world seem all right again. If Leia said that I couldn't hurt people again, then she had to be right. I couldn't believe someone to pure and innocent could be wrong.
* * * * * * * * * *
Author's Notes: I received quite a few reviews and emails asking about this fic. The truth is, I wanted to keep from writing it until I had planned out the entire series. However, I got quite a nasty review on my fic Pieces of the Puzzle talking about my lack of finishing fics. All right, so sometimes I dont finish a fic. I'm not saying that I'm ever going to finish some that I have up on my account. This one is different for me. I love this fic so much, and all of you who read this avidly I hope enjoy it too.
Once I got to thinking about that, I just felt guilty. I've been there. A favorite fic, or just one that I liked a whole lot. The plot was going great, I would risk being late for classes just to read a new chapter. Then the author decides not to update anymore. Now, if I had lost interest in the fic, I wouldn't have felt so bad. But since I'm still interested in TRPA, I skimmed the last few chapters to get myself familiar with the flow again, then wrote this. I'm sorry if it's not what you expected, but I promise to keep updating this regularly, and I apologize profusely for being such a . . . well . . . dumbass. Yeah, that about sums it up.
~Haley
P.S. If you're interested in how Sabé and Obi-Wan got to where they are in this story, read my other fic series Chained to You. (Book One and part of Book Two are both out. If you want my plot, and not a TPM take off, try reading the second one.)