Chapter Twenty-Two - Sith and Senator
XxX
Padmé watched the battle from inside the house. The glare of the red and blue lightsabers blinded her to everything else. She hated being in here, kept safe while her love dueled with a Sith Lord. She gnawed on a fingernail, even as she clutched her blaster in her other hand.
Her throat constricted as she stood inside the ysalamir bubble. The blue blade had disappeared. Obi-Wan was lying motionless at the edge of the clearing. Tears ran down Padmé's face; Oh, Gods, he's hurt. He lost.
Stay calm, Padmé.
But he's still alive. Hang on, Love. Scenarios ran through her mind: lure the enemy in, they'd be on more equal footing without the Force. She could even take a few shots at that monster from here with her blaster and stand a chance against him.
If Obi-Wan was dead, his body would disintegrate, like Master Alanna said, Padmé thought. Then she gasped, for Darth Vader was approaching her sweetheart as he lay on the ground. The Sith Lord raised his lightsaber over his head.
No! She wanted to go outside, do whatever she could to save Obi-Wan's life. But Padmé's duty to her children, and the future that they held in their still-tiny hands, kept her feet rooted to the floor.
XxX
Vader stood over Obi-Wan, preparing to cleave the dead Jedi's head from his shoulders. But something prevented him from starting the weapon's downward arc. Indecision made him pause – Obi-Wan, on some level, still had Anakin's respect. Why bother? Vader sneered to himself. He's dead already. He deactivated his lightsaber.
The Sith Lord stepped away from Kenobi's body and turned his senses to the house.
XxX
Vader was close enough for Padmé to see moonlight reflect off the blank eye visors in that awful mask. And he was getting closer.
Padmé stepped out of the parlor and into the common room. She was at the edge of the ysalamiri's protection, she could go no further undetected. Crouching in the shadows, Padmé waited...
XxX
Darth Vader approached the house, climbing the steps slowly, the sound of his breathing getting harsher as it echoed back from the depths of the building. The house felt empty, but he had to make sure, for Obi-Wan's thought echoed in his mind: She loves me.
XxX
Silent as death, Padmé visually checked her blaster's power pack and intensity setting. Obi-Wan's assailant was approaching, she could hear Vader's mechanical wheezing growing in volume. Her breath and heart quickened for the second time that night. The first time was much more pleasant.
The Sith Lord's huge frame stood black in her doorway, blocking her view of everything else. He ducked a little, and she heard the soft sound of boot on carpet. Padmé bit her lip, despair entering her mind. He was wrong, Obi-Wan said he wouldn't come in!
The control panel on Vader's chest made a pretty target, red and silver gauges calling her attention to themselves. Raising her blaster, Padmé took a silent breath and stepped into a firing stance. Her hand tightened.
XxX
Vader's Force sense zinged. His thumb descended onto his weapon's ignition button.
A cry of pain rent the darkness. A weapon and a body hit the floor.
His breath accelerated, overriding the mechanism that regulated his respiration. Darth Vader stumbled, looking down at the woman who had just tried to kill him. The crimson glow turned Padmé's brown eyes to black as she glared up at the Sith. Smoke crept out from under her fingers, which were clutching her abdomen.
The left side of her abdomen. Stomach wound. Vader watched Anakin's wife struggle to sit up, scrambling for her weapon with her left hand. "Monster," she spat.
Vader remembered Obi-Wan's thought as the duel began. She loves me.
This is who loved Obi-Wan?! Even in the darkness, through the shaded visors, light caught the Vader's eye. A commitment bracelet circled around the hand that clutched Padmé's stomach, the like of which Anakin had wanted, and been unable, to give her when he found out about that tradition.
Obi-Wan and Padmé were betrothed.
The former Jedi backed up, horrified. He scanned the area again with the Force. No one else was here. Then, with so many emotions clamoring for dominance in his mind, he simply obeyed his body.
Darth Vader ran.
XxX
Padmé grimaced. What was that all about? Why didn't he just kill me? She looked at her hand. There wasn't much blood on it, which surprised her. The Sith's speeder whined off into silence. Thank the Force for that, I suppose. "Laurae," she called. Force, her side hurt. "Laurae!"
"Mistress Padmé?" The Alderaanian came around the corner, blaster in hand. She gasped when she saw Padmé on the floor. "M'Lady!"
Padmé waved off her assistance, instead taking a computer disk out of her pocket. "This is the Queen's Code encryption system. Call the Palace Guard immediately. We need transport for two wounded to the Healer's Wing. You stay here with the children until Queen Jamilla or one of us contacts you, using the same encryption."
"Two wounded?" Laurae took the disk and moved to the commstation, typed the message in and encoded it. After sending it, she found a blanket and covered Padmé with it.
Padmé leaned against a wall. Her head spun. "The General is hurt, near the west edge of the clearing. He's alive if you can find him, and he needs medical attention. Vader used his lightsaber to deflect my blaster, but I think it's just a flesh wound." Laurae took a blanket out of her bedchamber and left the house.
Now that she was alone, Padmé groaned. "Shavit." She was so tired, it had been such an extraordinary day. In two ways, now. But it was still a good day, because Obi-Wan had finally come. And he loved her. Padmé was certain there was some way they could be together, even if it meant leaving Naboo and Alderaan behind and becoming moisture farmers on Tattooine or something. It wouldn't come to that, anyway; she still had most of the money he sent over the last three years, plus her royal pension. They could do anything.
The pain was spreading. Padmé endured it. Being clawed by the nexu hadn't hurt this much. Neither had giving birth. Padmé Amidala Skywalker, soon to be Kenobi, sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for Laurae to return. Everything was going to be all right.
XxXxX
Author's Notes: Thank you thank you thank you to all who are still reading! I have not abandoned Hope's Sanctuary (actually, it's already finished, I just haven't finished posting), but evil spyware made my computer go the way of the dodo.
A pox on anyone who was ever involved in the development, implementation, and installation of spyware. May every last one of them rot forever in a terrible, maggot-infested purgatory.
Now, responses to Chapter 20 reviews (I love this part):
Aerlinnuial: I'll admit, Dearie, that your review was a little difficult to take in -- I sat there with my head cocked to the side, going Huh? -- but thank you for the enthusiasm you have for Hope's Sanctuary. Makes my day to get a good review, it really does. I'm glad you liked the proposal, I loved writing it.
Lena: I'm glad you found HS, I hope you continue to read. I do love SW fanfic, I still read it, though now my writing attentions have strayed to Harry Potter lately. I'll come around, I'm sure, when I've gotten Remus and Severus both properly hooked up (though not with each other).
Confused 11: Thank you, any time writing is indeed happy writing.
Princess-Kinky: Actually, HS is finished, it's Sabbatical that is currently the focus of my despair. (I doubt I'm going to finish it, but until I completely give up, I'm not gonna take it off the site.)
In response to the other things you've said, be careful what you wish for, my dear.
Adelaide: Baby! Where's the next chapter of Revelations, by the way? The semester is almost over, and I am itching to beta again for someone, anyone! It must be the bossy git in me, I guess I love telling people what to do. I'm glad that Chapter 20 set off your bells and whistles. I sure loved writing it.
