Chapter Seven
She was aware of him before he came into the room where she was. She closed her eyes, sensing his presence. It had grown darker over the years, twisted until there was only a gleam of the man she once had known as Anakin Skywalker.
She felt his eyes on her, and turned to look at him.
The thing that served for him as a face was elemental and terrifying; a demon's cold, unyielding sharp features. He was taller then she remembered, towering over her. An ebony cloak swept behind him, shrouding him in mystery and evil. He wore armor to keep the rest of the world out, but she could only see it as enclosing himself. His breathing was a constant noise in the background that betrayed any sort of humanness.
Her voice was harsh when she used it, rasping out in a way that she had not expected it to.
"Where are you taking me?"
She felt his gaze slip down from her face.
"To Bast Castle on Vijun. It is my home, and you will be safe there."
A bitter, sarcastic smile crossed her face.
"Do you even know what you're protecting me from?"
She felt his eyes move back to her in a penetrating way. It reminded her uncannily of his master, and she let out a soft whimper. Of course, she thought bitterly. He is Palpaltine's apprentice. He folded his arms across his black-plated chest.
"Perhaps you could enlighten me."
His voice was cold, and it took her a moment to recognize the same inflections of anger she had observed in Anakin. He wants to protect me, she mused. She was tempted to laugh out loud at the idea.
"The Emperor," she whispered, staring him straight into what she hoped was his eyes. "Your master did this to me."
"What?" she heard him hiss. A shockwave of denial and rage burst across the room.
Somehow, she did not feel any sympathy for him. All that had been wiped away by a crimson lightsaber. When she had whispered his name before… that had been only a temporary sign of weakness. She could not love this man, not after what he had done.
"Do you want me to tell you what he did to me?" She asked him the question with a straight face, not allowing any emotion to show through.
She thought she saw him tremble for a moment, but it was soon gone.
"I…" his voice trailed off weakly.
She persisted on.
"The drugs and the needles were bad enough, but that wasn't what almost killed me."
She weakly stood, pulling herself up and wincing with pain, determined to face him as an equal.
"He showed me," she snarled, "you." Although she stood several inches shorter then him, there was the distinct picture of her standing over Vader, overpowering and weakening him.
For once, the Dark Lord seemed not to have anything to say. He simply stood, a mute, watching her rave at him.
"He showed me you killing children, Anakin," she hissed, her voice growing in loudness and intensity. "Children. He showed me everything you have done."
He spoke.
"My name is Vader."
She turned away from him, carefully easing herself onto the bed.
"I have nothing to say to Vader or Anakin at the moment, whoever you may be."
For a moment, she felt anger come over her, followed by a harsh recoil of guilt tempered by sorrow. She ignored it as best she could, knowing that it came from the monster that stood behind her. For a long moment, they simply stayed that way, her with her back turned to the second-most feared man in the galaxy, he gazing after her. Finally, she heard heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway, leaving her in peace.
She struggled to breathe as a tear slipped down her cheek, glimmering in the cold lighting.
"Was I wrong?" She addressed the question to the empty room, talking to no one. "Was Obi-Wan right?" It hardly seemed to her that Anakin Skywalker could be encased in the abomination that had stood before her moments before, and suddenly, she felt lost, struggling for balance in a world that kept tilting.
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Vader sighed harshly as he came to the cockpit of the small vessel. The meeting had not gone as he had hoped. He had wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, and how much he had been tormented ever since she left, how his only thoughts were of her. He had wanted to tell her how he had suffered for the last ten years, blaming himself for her death, clinging to his master because there was nothing else to cling to.
Instead, the worst possible thing had happened. She had wanted to confront him, and he saw what he most feared in her eyes. Condemnation.
His thoughts spun to what she had told him.
His master. Anger boiled within him, red-hot and intense. If his master had indeed been the one to hurt her… But what could he do? Vader swallowed as the truth of his situation sunk in. He was weakened, no longer even half of the man he had been. There was no self-pity in his thoughts, only a blunt truth. He could not possibly fight his master and win.
Helplessness gnawed at him, an emotion that he had not felt in a long time, wrapped in the cloak of the Dark Side as he was. He wanted revenge, which was certain. He wanted to kill the Emperor more then he wanted to kill anyone. His anger against Obi-Wan, while still existing, suddenly seemed like a petty grudge compared with the rage hw now felt against his master.
He thought no more as his ship came out of hyperspace to rest above Vijun. He was tempted to call back to Padmé and tell her that they had arrived, but he doubted she would welcome either his voice or the sight of where she would rest for an indefinite amount of time. He simply stared out at the broiling yellow clouds and waited.
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Padmé limped out into the cockpit, leaning heavily on the walls for support. She sensed from Vader a desire to help, to reach out to her, but she ignored it. She sat down heavily in a black chair, feeling small and insignificant against the bulk of Vader.
A lone memory slipped into her head, and even as she tried to ignore it, she saw it in her mind.
She stood on the edge of a high-peaked mountain. It was in the early hours of the morning, and she had left Anakin to come see.
The sun peered over the mountain-top, illuminating everything in a rosy-pink and orange glow. She could see the sweeping valley before her, with verdant, lush emerald trees and occasionally a bright crimson or gold. Mist swept around everything, clothing the valley below her with light dewdrops. She could see the crystal blue of the river that ran through the canyon, and could hear the distant roar of the waterfall that they had crossed.
The smell of Naboo's mountains filled her until she was a creature that belonged to the place, part of the balance. She heard the bird-song rise with a gentle tranquility and peace.
She stepped forward until she was at the edge, looking down directly. Joy filled her, radiating from the simple beauty contained in a sunrise, and she spread her arms wide, smiling and exhilarated.
She felt warm, muscular arms cross over her and the soft breathing of the man she knew to be her husband. She felt his respect and awe, and they stayed in their warm embrace for a time, simply enjoying the view and each other.
When she spoke, it was softly with reverence.
"I have been here dozens of times. My parents took me when I was very young, and I haven't tired of it yet."
She felt him smile, and his love filled her whole until she was at peace, perfectly content with everything.
"Nothing on Tatooine even comes close to this."
Her laughter echoed out, tinkling like a bell over the mist and the sunshine. She felt his amusement in the way his arms relaxed and the way he chuckled a little.
She closed her eyes and formed a picture in her mind.
"Ani, when the war is over and are able to start our family, I want to bring our children here."
"Of course."
They were silent a few moments more. She relaxed in his embrace, content to let him hold her, feeling utterly safe. It was him that broke the quiet.
"I still think that none of this compares to you."
She turned around, staring straight up into his eyes. A mischievous thought came to her, and she tackled him, tickling him mercilessly.
"You are the charmer," she gasped with laughter as he got revenge on her. He grinned, and suddenly she found herself on his lap, cradled in his arms.
She admired the line of his jaw as he stared out at the mountains with easy concentration. She reached up and captured his lips in a gentle, passionate kiss. He sighed with contentment when they came apart, stroking her cheek gently as he stared into her eyes.
"Whenever I am away, fighting," he whispered in a moment of utter solemnity, "Whenever I miss you so much I think I cannot bear it, my mind will return here, and I will be here with you."
Padmé's eyes filled with tears as she thought of the brutal Clone Wars and how, after this brief rest, he would leave her again. She clung to him, determined to save the moment in her mind. She felt his arms rub her back as she buried her head in her shoulders.
After awhile, Anakin spoke again, and it was with a false sense of joviality.
"You'd better get up and get some breakfast," he murmured, "Before I eat it all." She opened her eyes and realized that she could indeed smell roasted shaak.
They got up, smiling and laughing again. He extended his hand to her, and she took it with a grin, allowing him to lead her back to their campsite.
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Padmé looked out into the world of Vijun. Yellow, acidic clouds boiled against a bleak backdrop of brown and grey. There was no plant life on the world that she could see. It was a barren, empty land. The ugly flat of the plains was only broken by a great, towering black giant building that encompassed the land.
She wondered if his choice of home reflected his soul, bleak and empty only broken by anger. There was something about this world that agreed with the man sitting beside her.
The ship pulled into a landing bay, coming to rest under a balcony. Vader stood up abruptly, startling her. He offered his hand in a way that eerily reminded her of a memory moments before. She ignored his offer, painfully limping to the exit of the ship. She saw him stride ahead, and she caught a whiff of pain from him as well as pity. The door hissed open, deploying a ramp.
He walked calmly down the ramp, coming to the end of it and waiting patiently for her to make her slow, shuffling journey down to the ground.
He waved a hand at the forbidding castle and the huge, ebony door. She could not tell if it was sarcasm when he boomed out,
"Welcome home."