Anakin stood up from the bed and angrily paced back and forth across his bedroom. He did not know what had come over him. He was Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, and Sith Lords did not kiss rebel leaders.
Vader gave a frustrated growl as he continued to pace. Kissing the enemy was certainly not going to help him stop the rebellion, no matter how good her lips tasted. Vader paused at this last thought. He could not seem to get Padmé out of his head.
In the few hours since his master's punishment, she had shown him a great kindness. In return he had revealed his name and kissed her. In his mind, he could still see the image of her beautiful body next to his, as he enjoyed the feel of her lips against his.
Vader shook his head to clear the image and continued his pacing. It sounded to him like he was in love, but that was not possible. Sith Lords did not fall in love, it was forbidden. Besides, she argued and fought with him too much for him to possibly be in love. However, Vader mused as he stopped his pacing again, the feel of her in his arms had felt right. It had seemed that she was meant to be within his embrace.
Vader gave an agitated sigh as he continued to pace again. He could not believe he was having these thoughts. He needed a solution to this problem. He had to quit thinking of her this way; after all she was a rebel and his enemy.
Padmé ran from the bedroom and collapsed on the closest sofa in the sitting room. She could not believe that she had kissed Darth Vader. Worst of all, she had enjoyed it. She brought her fingertips to her lips, which still tingled from the kiss. She closed her eyes and could still sense the comfort she had felt when Anakin held her in his arms.
Padmé gave a frustrated groan at this thought and placed her face in her hands. Ever since he returned from his meeting with Sidious, Padmé had shown great compassion for the Sith Lord. Then after he had revealed his name, her feelings had inexplicably grown. A part of her burned for the touch of Anakin Skywalker.
However, he was not just Anakin Skywalker, he was also Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. Vader was her enemy and he did not warrant or deserve her feelings of pity or compassion. She could not and would not betray the rebel cause by falling in love with a Sith Lord.
Padmé's head shot up at the last thought. Love? Did she love Darth Vader? A look of horror crossed her face as her lips continued to tingle with the lingering memory of their previous kiss. An image of her fingers running across Anakin's sculpted chest flashed before her eyes as she stared blankly into space.
She shook her head to clear this thought when realization hit her. She did not love Darth Vader. He had killed rebels, helped to destroy the Republic, and most importantly he was a Sith Lord. She could never love a monster like that. However, she also conceded that she was falling in love with Anakin Skywalker. A handsome young man who it seemed had tragically been led astray. Unfortunately for Padmé, Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker were the same person. If she loved one of them, then she had to love the other.
Since she had been enslaved to Darth Vader, she had always wanted to know his original name. Now that she knew it, she wanted to forget it. That name sparked conflicting emotions within her, emotions she knew that she should not feel. She would need to distance herself from him so that she could reign in and control her feelings.
Padmé sighed is exasperated frustration. She was locked away in Vader's quarters, and although there were multiple rooms, it would be impossible to avoid him completely. With no means of escape, she had to think of another way to create distance between them.
Padmé sat silently for a long while in quiet reflection of her problem. Slowly, a solution formed in her mind. Her compassionate nature had drawn her to develop strong feelings for Anakin Skywalker. At the same time, her love for democracy, freedom, and justice had forced her to loathe Darth Vader. She realized that to prevent herself from falling in love, she had to continually associate Anakin with Vader.
From this day forward, she decided to never say the name Anakin Skywalker again. If she ever addressed him, he would always be Darth Vader. This would prevent any other conflicting emotions, because she would never love her enemy.
Darth Vader had quit his pacing, and had decided to meditate. Perhaps reflection would help him resolve his feelings for Padmé. However, after calling upon the Force for five minutes, he stopped, placed his face in his hands and sighed in frustration.
He did not have a solution for his feelings. His meditations had left him with a sense of yearning and longing as various images of Padmé flashed in his mind. Even the Force was not letting him escape his feelings.
As Vader stood up to resume his pacing, he stretched out with his feelings and could sense Padmé's presence in the nearby sitting room. Through the Force, he could feel that she was weary, troubled, and exhausted just like him. Then realizing what he was doing, Vader quit using the Force to sense her. He was showing way too much concern for her, and that was not the way of the Sith.
He realized that he needed to get away from her and busy himself with something else for a while. He decided to go to the bridge and supervise his crew in the search for Senator Organa. With this action plan, Vader quickly got dressed and exited his bedroom.
Once he was in the sitting room, he glanced around for a sign of Padmé. He found her slumped over on a couch, asleep. Tension etched her beautiful face and Vader realized that she had worn herself out with her own troubled thoughts. He felt better since he obviously was not the only one who was suffering from the aftermath of their kiss.
Vader turned to walk out of his quarters, when he heard Padmé faintly call out, "Anakin."
Vader turned around as he replied, "Yes?" However, as he glanced at her, he realized she was still asleep.
He was about to turn to leave again, but stopped as she spoke again, "Anakin, please."
"Please what?" Vader asked, perplexed at what Padmé could be dreaming about.
"Help." Padmé said as she continued to dream.
"Help with what?" Vader asked trying to coax her to reveal more about her dream. However, Padmé remained silent. He tried to use the Force to learn more about this dream, but Padmé's strong mind blocked it from his view.
Vader sighed as he gave up on his probing. Her dream seemed to have ended because she remained silent. With one last glance at her, Vader turned on his heel and walked out of his quarters.
As Vader left, Padmé's dream continued and as the door slid closed, she softly whispered, "Stop him."