Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it. Sorry this took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait.
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"I don't know about you Skywalker but I sure don't want to inform Anakin that he goes dark side, Padmè had to separate you and Leia on different planets, he kills all the Jedi as Darth Vader, no one knows what happened to Padmè and the whole galaxy is turned upside-down…" Mara mumbles babbling on and on and pacing the room.
Even though the situation called for them to be serious Luke found himself amused at Mara's attitude. No longer did she hide behind the cold walls of the ex-assassin, no now she was worried and concerned and…
"Do you want to just take off? We'll grab the next shuttle and get out of here. It's easy! I'll sneak in the dinning room and stun em' before anyone is the wiser…"
"Mara!"
At Luke's amused exclamation Mara gave him an impish grin obviously a little embarrassed.
"Ok, ok I know, its just Anakin is so happy and I don't want to be the one to tell him… you think Jaina will?"
Luke stood up and took her hands in his, and surprisingly she didn't pull away and he stepped closer raising one hand to touch her cheek. She smiled slightly and leaned her head against the warmth and comfort of his palm.
"We have to tell them Mara. We are supposed to tell them."
"Jedi hunch?"
"Something like that."
Mara pulled away and headed for the dinning room.
"Come on Skywalker"
"So I'm back to being Skywalker now?" he mumbled under his breath.
Mara's strides didn't halt as she pushed onward. There was no evidence that she had heard his comment so Luke followed her.
Inside her heart twisted, all she wanted to do was reassure him that they would fix everything between them later, but she couldn't. She wasn't even sure if she knew what to say so she kept quiet.
"Aggressive negotiations, what's that?"
"Uh… negotiations with a light saber" Anakin answered with a slight blush.
"OH," The senator laughed.
"Or a blaster," Mara said from the doorway seriously. Luke laughed and pushed her lightly forward.
Anakin and Padmè watched them sit with anxious faces. Padmè's expression seemed openly warm and loving as she gazed from Luke to Anakin than back. It was obvious she hasn't expressed her feelings but Mara could read here expression and new she felt them.
Luke and Mara sat down at the table as Anakin force floated a piece of fruit over to Padmè. Mara looked over at Luke and snorted, it seemed like something the farm boy would do, pathetic really, unnecessary use of the force.
"So where's Jaina?" Mara asked shifting from side to side in her chair.
"Mara, stop changing the subject!" Padmè ordered, her voice already starting to sound motherly. Mara glanced at Luke and shrugged as if to say I tried. Luke took that as a hint that he was going to have to be the one to explain everything or Mara's idea would take action and she would stun them both with the blaster hidden somewhere in her dress…
Luke shook his head to clear his thoughts about the fiery red head beside him and cleared his throat. Padmè leaned forward slightly in anticipation, Anakin's smile had diminished slightly from before but he still looked happy.
"Well I don't really know where to begin," Luke started and cleared his throat again.
Padmè's face turned impatient as she sent a silent glare at her son.
"Get on with it Luke!" she exclaimed knowing he was stalling. Anakin grinned and was tempted to tell the kid to listen to his mother but held it in and instead just kept on grinning.
"Ok, ok what do you want to know?"
"Are you guys really married?"
Mara snapped her gaze to Padmè's, shocked that she would ask that question when she could ask about anything else first.
"Its not like there's a limit I guess," Mara muttered to herself then looked at Luke. Their eyes locked and Mara swallows slightly and looks away.
"No," Luke whispers, almost as if he dreaded the answer.
Padmè doesn't look surprised by that and that makes Mara curious. Had she known the whole time? Did she just want to make it hard on them or something? If that was true Mara just wanted to blurt out the truth, that Anakin goes darkside and be done with it but Padmè's next question stopped everything.
"But you're in love."
It wasn't a question but rather a statement. Mara opened and closed her mouth as if to speak but nothing came out. She thought to deny it. She thought to laugh but couldn't do either.
"Yes," Luke answered calmly and softly gaining Mara's attention. Once again she thought to say something, anything that would prove him wrong but couldn't so she just looked away.
"So what's it like in the future?" Anakin asked changing the subject.
"Different," Mara muttered.
"Is master Yoda still head of the council?" Anakin asked with a slight grin. It was obvious the young Jedi liked the troll.
"No" Luke answered shortly not wanting to continue. So Mara did for him.
"Actually Luke is, he runs the Jedi school on Yavin 4."
Anakin looked very interested now. "What school? What do you mean, the Jedi Temple is no longer on Coruscant?"
"It was destroyed, long before I even heard of Jedi."
"What?"
Mara could see Luke struggling to answer his parent's questions. She knew this was hard for him and a part of her was amused. Another part of her, which Mara thought suspiciously, was her heart, knew she had to help him out.
"All the Jedi where destroyed except for Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi."
"What about Anakin?" Padmè asked softly.
"A young Jedi named Darth Vader turned to evil and helped the emperor hunt down and destroy all the Jedi knights. He betrayed and murdered Anakin," Luke said softly and sadly which earned him a strong elbow in the ribs from Mara.
"Owe… ok, from a certain point of view at least," He muttered correcting his logic.
"I know of no Vader," Padmè muttered thinking out loud.
"That's because he is me, I am him right?" Anakin asked looking Luke in the eyes.
"I am Darth Vader."
"From a certain point of view Darth Vader did kill Anakin Skywalker. I don't know what made you turn father but you did."
"Why would I do it, its not worth it."
" I don't know, I never knew you."
"What do you mean?"
Luke sighed and Mara felt herself reaching under the table for his hand. He grasped it firmly and Mara squeezed back giving him the strength. She then turned her attention back to Padmè. Padmè had a wise look in her eyes but she wasn't focused on anything or anyone.
"I never knew I had a family. When I was a baby I went to live with my aunt and uncle… I didn't even know I had a twin sister. She grew up on another planet, literally, as the princess. She has a little memory of you, Mom, but then you were gone."
"I died."
The words were spoken so softly that no one was really sure if she had meant to say it out loud.
"What?" All three looked toward her in askance and she looked toward Anakin lovingly and gave a slight smile.
"That's why you turned, I must have died. I know you Anakin, you wouldn't give up a family for anything. You must have thought I died and never found out about your children…" She trailed off thinking.
"It's possible, Darth Vader had no knowledge of us."
"But what I don't get," Padmè began again and looked towards Mara, "Is what Palpatine has to do with any of this."
The man hadn't been mentioned till now but Padmè couldn't crush the feeling that it was his fault. Mara grimaced and shifted in her chair. Her eyes narrowed as she realized everyone was focused on her.
"What are you looking at?"
No one averted their gaze and Mara growled slightly in the back of her throat not prepared to answer any questions about that despicable man.
Padmè knew that man had something to do with this, she trusted Palpatine as far as she could throw a Hutt. Something about him made her suspicious, no longer did she believe in his principles as she once had at the naïve age of fourteen.
Looking back on the federation invasion now, Padmè couldn't believe that she had sought his advice and easily stepped into the role of his pawn. She felt like a stepping stone, one he hadn't hesitated to trample over in order to gain further power as the new Chancellor. At the time she hadn't realized how easily she had been manipulated but now, years later she had grown wise enough to see through his charade. She just didn't know exactly what he is hiding.
Luke could feel the anger building up inside of Mara by the second. Not even when he had believed she had wanted to kill him had he felt this much hatred come off her and that confused him.
Mara finally succeeded in calming her anger at the mention of that heinous man's name. She didn't want to talk about him or what she used to be to Padmè or Anakin, there were things even Luke didn't know, like the torture she'd endured for every mistake and every failure. It was no wonder she had called him Master, not because she had respected the man, or liked him but Mara realized with a start, that she had always feared him and he had happily played off her fear using her to do what he was to weak or cowardly to do himself.
The thing about Palpatine, Mara thought with a sneer, is that he can't really accomplish anything without the aide of someone else. He is a manipulator and he is very good at twisting realities into his sick fantasies, playing off the emotions and feelings of anyone he needed. How that sith had ever gotten her feel the need to protect and respect him enough in order to turn her into a cold emotionless assassin, Mara couldn't quite figure out. She has very little memory of her early childhood; to be honest Mara wasn't quite sure if she was ever classified as a child, there was no memory of ever being loved, no memory of her family…
Her unpleasant thoughts were immediately wiped away as she felt Luke give her hand a squeeze, identical to the one she had given him before, for strength, and she glanced up at him and smiled slightly.
Finally turning her attention back to Padmè, Mara realized that the woman was still awaiting an explanation. Mara scowled slightly not really wanting to answer her.
"Are you sure she isn't a Jedi?" Mara muttered, not really meaning for anyone to hear. Padmè returned her look with a slight glare and Mara rolled her eyes knowing the senator wouldn't be waylaid, but some how Mara knew that what she was about to tell her wouldn't be to surprising.
"Palapatine is not to be trusted!"
Padmè gave Mara a look as if to say 'you think I didn't figure that out already'. Anakin looked at her in confusion but the light of the matter was finally beginning to turn on. His blue eyes were no longer the happy sky color so like Luke's, but instead a dark stormy gray as he listened to the whisperings of the force.
Anakin could feel it now; suddenly it was as if a wall from his mind had lifted and he could see clearly passed it. The force had been warning him, he had felt something during every meeting he has had with the Chancellor but up until now he couldn't recognize it for what it was.
A warning that he hadn't seen, that he wouldn't see. No, something was wrong, Anakin shook his head as if running through every possible scenario and getting rid of the foolish notions. One thing was for certain; he hadn't been the one to put up this wall that had been blocking the truth.
A sound of pain escaped Anakin's throat as everything fell into place and he forced himself to listen to Luke as he continued where Mara had left off. Palpatine is this emperor Mara had mentioned earlier, a sith lord. He should have seen it, he shouldn't have trusted him.
He looked up to find Mara Jade's green gaze directed at him filled with sympathy and understanding. Anakin turned his head to avoid it and concentrated once again as Luke went on.
The things he had done, to the galaxy, to the Jedi, to everyone he loved for force's sake, as this monster known as Darth Vader, was horrible. He had cut off his own son's hand with a light saber, destroyed all the Jedi and blew up Alderaan. He betrayed all that he's lived for and everyone he cared for in order to become powerful. No matter how much power he had, could not possible make up for his sins, clear his conscience.
But monster's like Darth Vader don't feel, they don't care, and there is no guilt to deal with. Unable to take anymore, Anakin stands up abruptly causing his chair to fall and left the room as quickly as possible.
"He returns to light in order to save me from Palpatine in the end. He sacrificed himself to save his only son. He overcame the darkness and left all his power behind in order to save me, mother," Luke told Padmè emotionally, the fact that it was strange to call her such when he was older than her, was insignificant.
"If you'll excuse me," Padmè said standing, never once taking her eyes off the door since Anakin had walked out of it. She had a small sad smile on her face when she finally tore her gaze away and looked at Luke and Mara.
"Everything will be okay…my son," she said softly and left to go find Anakin. Both Luke and Mara were reassured by her voice and couldn't help but believe her. Maybe, just maybe, everything will be all right.
"I'm going to go get some fresh air Farmboy," Mara told Luke softly as she stood releasing his hand. Luke stood as well but didn't move to follow her and Mara knew he needed to think, just as she did. She turned to leave but twisted back to Luke, gently reaching up and tracing his check before allowing her lips to settle in their place in a chaste kiss. Before he could do or say anything she was gone.
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The next part will be up in a few days.
Review **WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE** :)