Okay, this was my first SW fic, so please, try and keep that in mind…
Before You Read: Anakin never went to the dark side, and Palpatine was defeated. When Luke and Leia were born, he and Padmé had decided that it would be best to separate the twins to keep them safe from any dark souls that might be remaining in the galaxy, as well as to keep Anakin's identity a secret from the Senate and the Jedi Council. Leia stayed with her mother on Coruscant, while Luke was sent to live with Owen and Beru on Tatooine. Anakin and Padmé attempted to keep in contact, but it was just too dangerous. Five years later, Anakin took a padawan to distract his thoughts, a six year old girl named Karlyn Rehnquist. Our story picks up five years later, the twins are 8 and Karlyn is 11. Attempts by numerous bounty hunters have been made to kidnap Leia. A price has been put on her head, but only if she is taken alive. No one knows the culprit behind these attacks, nor their reasoning for kidnapping an 8 year old child. Padmé and Leia have relocated from Coruscant to Naboo in order to hide from the mass of bounty hunters on Coruscant. Anakin and Karlyn have been assigned to protect Leia, and are arriving at the palace of Naboo.
THE RETURN OF THE SITH
Chapter One: Reunited
By Norwegianchick101
"Are you all right Master Anakin?" Eleven year old Jedi Padawan Karlyn Rehnquist asked her master.
Anakin shifted from his thoughts and sighed. "Oh, yes Karlyn, I'm perfectly fine."
Karlyn laughed at her Master's attempt to cover his thoughts.
"I can sense that you don't want to be here. Do you have anything against the senator or her daughter?"
Anakin gulped as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Hoping that his young padawan could not sense the exact reason he did not wish to be there at the moment. "Oh no, Padawan. I have absolutely nothing against the senator or her daughter. Nor do I have anything to hide."
Anakin wasn't completely lying. He did not have anything to hide from Padmé, only Leia.
"Leia, Master Skywalker will be here any moment. You must make yourself look presentable!" Padmé fussed at her daughter. She didn't want Anakin thinking she couldn't take care of their child.
Leia sighed. With her mother's life as a senator, she had been forced to grow up much faster than most children did. By the young age of 8, she had the maturity of an adult.
"Mom, what's the big deal? It's not like you're the queen or anything."
Padmé laughed silently. If she only knew. Padmé and Anakin had agreed it best that their children not know more of their past than was needed.
"Leia! Master Skywalker is one of the most highly respected jedi masters in the galaxy! Besides, first impressions are everything. Or at least, that's what your Aunt Sola always told me."
Leia sighed once more and began brushing her hair at her mother's vanity.
Padmé looked on as Anakin approached her, a young girl following behind him.
"Ah, good morning Senator. It has been far too long since we last met." he greeted her, gently placing a kiss on her hand.
Padmé smiled softly. "Far too long indeed Master Skywalker. Allow me to introduce my daughter." she began, taking a step back. "Leia, this is Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker."
Leia smiled and gently shook the man's hand. There was something about him; she just couldn't put a pin on it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Leia." Anakin said with a smile. "Allow me to introduce my padawan to you, Senator." he continued. "This is Karlyn Rehnquist. Karlyn, this is Senator Padmé Amidala, a very old friend of mine."
Padmé tried very hard not to scoff at the smirk on Anakin's face. Friends. Sure Ani.
Reading Padmé's thoughts caused Anakin's smirk to slowly turn to a grin.
Padmé decided it would best to introduce Karlyn to Queen Jamilla. (A/N: I love that name!)
"Well, we must be getting to business, as the Queen is awaiting us."
Anakin smiled. Queen Jamilla was one of the few people that they had entrusted with their little 'secret'.
Padmé led their guests down the hall, leaving Leia and Karlyn lagging behind.
"So…" Padmé began; a gleam in her eyes, "Looks like their far enough back for us to get caught up."
Anakin laughed and put his arm around his wife as they turned a corner.
Padmé took his other hand in hers as he ran his hand across the small of her back. The love passing between the two as they kissed was unexplainable. They stood there together, unaware of their surroundings, until they heard the voices of two young girls approaching.
Padmé pulled her husband into one of the guest rooms off of the corridor as they heard the girls pass outside.
"Wait, where'd they go? I could have sworn they turned this way." Karlyn asked.
"Oh, don't worry. We're not far from the throne room. They're most likely already there." Leia's voice came wafting through the cracks in the door.
Upon hearing this, Padmé pulled Anakin through the door on the other side of the room.
Anakin looked around puzzled, until he noticed the large door at the end of the corridor.
A smile came across Padmé's face as she began to speak.
"Yes, the loss of the chancellor during the Clone Wars was indeed very unfortunate for the senate. But considering the circumstances, we all know it was for the best." she spoke very loudly.
Anakin looked at her confused, but a look of comprehension crossed over his face as she pointed towards the direction of feet.
"Well of course, Senator. But I still say that Supreme Chancellor Organa was a fine replacement." he replied, catching on to his wife's drift.
Padmé smiled at her husband and shot a glance behind her, finding Leia and Karlyn at the end of the hall.
"Leia!" she called out. "You two get up here now!"
Anakin laughed. It was times like this when his wife truly seemed like a politician.
Leia and Karlyn were out of breath by the time they reached the end of the hall.
Anakin raised an eyebrow at his padawan, but said nothing.
Padmé, however, could not let running down the palace corridors go unaccounted for.
"Leia," she exclaimed. "How many times have I told you not to run in the corridors?"
Leia shot an innocent glance at Karlyn, and then turned to her mother.
"You told us to hurry." she replied sweetly.
Padmé sighed. Her daughter always seemed to get the best of her.
Anakin, sensing the tension, went on and opened the door to the throne room.
Once the three ladies had entered the room, Anakin followed suit and gently shut the door behind him.
"Ah, Master Skywalker. I am very pleased to see you. It has been a while since your last visit." Queen Jamilla smiled at Anakin. The picture was almost complete. She wondered whether Leia would learn of her true past with this visit.
"Yes M'lady." Anakin replied, before turning to Karlyn. "Karlyn, this is Queen Jamilla. Yet another old friend. M'lady, this is my padawan, Karlyn Rehnquist."
Jamilla extended her hand to the girl, and turned to Leia. "Leia, Karlyn will be staying in the south guest room of the west wing. If you could be so kind as to show her where it is, I would like to have a chat with your mother and Master Skywalker alone."
"Yes M'lady." Leia replied, as she and Karlyn made their way out of the throne room.
As soon as Leia and Karlyn had left the room, Padmé broke down in tears.
"Oh Ani!" she sobbed. "I'm so scared. What would anyone want with our daughter?"
Anakin sighed as he held his wife close. He had an idea, but he didn't want to believe it.
"Well, we have been seeing other disappearances, as well as assassination attempts lately. And, whether we want to believe it or not, the council is thinking that Palpatine may have had another apprentice."
Anakin could sense the hurt that his wife was feeling, and pulled her closer to him.
"Don't worry Love, we'll get through this."
Padmé looked up and saw nothing but love and sincerity in her husband's eyes.
"But how do you know, Ani?" she asked. "We've already skirted death too many times too count."
Anakin smiled and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.
"Exactly," he replied. "We've gotten through everything else; so who's to say we won't get through this?"
Queen Jamilla looked on as her long time friends embraced each other, a vibe of hope flowing through the room.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but the reason I asked you both to stay is of great importance." Jamilla spoke up. "I need to know whether or not the two of you plan on telling either of your children the truth."
Padmé gulped. She had been afraid that this topic would come up. She looked up at Anakin and squeezed his hand.
"Well…" she began. "If Leia hadn't found out someway or another by the time she turned sixteen, I was planning on sitting her down and explaining everything to her on her sixteenth birthday. And when we left Luke in Tatooine, I pulled Beru aside and asked her to do the same.
Anakin noticed the tears starting to form in her eyes as she continued to speak.
"But now I don't know what to do. Now that Leia's met her father, it seems wrong to deceive her. And if we told Leia, we would have to tell Luke. But he knows nothing about either of his parents. I'm sure that Leia would have asked about her father more as well. But when she first asked me why she didn't have a father, I began to cry, and she hasn't asked since. She probably assumes her father died in some attack or something."
By the time Padmé was finished, her eyes were glossed over with tears, and Anakin was holding her tight.
"We'll talk about this later and let you know what we decide." Anakin told Jamilla. "I really don't think that now is the best time."
Jamilla smiled sympathetically at Anakin as she offered a bit of advice.
"You do realize Anakin," she began. "That if you tell either of your children, then your confidentiality will be in jeopardy."
Anakin nodded. "Yes Ma'am, I do."