A/N- I am out of town for the weekend, so this will not be updated until Monday. Enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Four

He left her after a period of time. She had no way to mark hours or minutes, but it felt like days of pain. He had weakened her body, but that was no matter. She could survive that. Instead, he had dealt her a far more powerful blow. There was no way for her to close out the visions of Anakin slaughtering children and innocents.

Her restraints snapped open, no longer needing to keep her securely held in the convulsions the drugs caused. She toppled to the floor, her body not obeying the commands of her mind. There was no thought of escaping, for she could not even stand.

She knew that she could not let her guard down even fro a second. Although his physical presence had left the room, she knew he was still there, and that even a temporary weakness could let him through into her mind.

She closed her eyes, probing her body for wounds. Every movement sent her into spiraling agony, so she moved as little as possible. There was nothing broken, but the pain was carefully honed and not blunt. It felt like a thousand searing needles, pressing all over into her flesh, burning her.

She slowly curled up into a ball, holding her knees tightly against her face, breathing harsher and raggedly by the moment. She felt like a child again, wanting to be held and comforted, told that everything was alright.

But there was no one to tell her that, no one to be her protector. The man who had always been her refuge, her strength, her Jedi knight, was gone. She clenched her fists, ignoring the pain, trying to hold back the agony that would accompany thoughts of the man she loved.

A tear slipped slowly down her cheek, burning against her pale flesh. She wanted to howl in despair, but knew that would do nothing. Another tear came out of her other eye, despite all her attempts to stop it from coming. Before she knew it, she was weeping, struggling to deal with the utter betrayal of the one person who had mattered more then anything.

All her pent-up sorrow washed over her, threatening to drown her. She saw him again, his eyes an unnatural shade of yellow, an expression of pure rage on his face. She saw him cut down an innocent child who stared up at him with naive trust.

She whispered his name into the darkness, cursing herself as she did. He was lost to her. The man who had been Anakin Skywalker would never have raised his hand to do anything but strike down evil and bring peace. He was gone, as Obi-Wan had told her. She combated her despair as she whispered a farewell to her husband, to his memory. She stopped weeping, although none of her pain lessened. All she had now was her strength, which was quickly fading in the throes of betrayal. She felt it, and prayed for death in the dark, if only to keep her children safe.

------

Vader closed his eyes, reaching out with the Force, looking for her distinct pattern, almost afraid to find it again. He grasped onto her signature in the force, feeling it fading slowly. He clung to it, sensing out where she was. He opened his eyes, feeling only urgency.

"Coruscant," he said aloud with some surprise. "She is on Coruscant." Vader felt anger begin to lick at him, and he clenched his fist. He did not want his master to know that she was alive. There was constant treachery between a Sith Master and Apprentice, and he never knew when he could be betrayed. There was always extreme deference, but beneath it currents of plotting. It would be difficult to hide his presence from his Master.

He felt despair sink in his heart, and knew immediately that it was not his emotions, not his pain. She was quickly fading, and he had to make his movements soon.

He quickly set in the coordinates for a jump to hyperspace, then attempted to reach out to Padmé, whispering to her, It will be alright, Love.

------

Padmé raised her head out of the darkness, feeling a whisper on the back of her neck. She felt a presence around her. It murmured words of comfort in her ear, even as she felt that it was dark and evil.

She closed her eyes, knowing what it was.

"Anakin," she whispered. She did not know what to think, whether to push him away and hate him for all he had done or to feel utter relief that he was there. She did neither, and simply sat, her tears dried.

Any thoughts she might have had were erased, for two imperials dressed in the red of the Emperor's personal servants came through the door, and she knew that all her focus had to be towards keeping the part of her mind that knew where her children were protected.