A/N: forceuser1456: Point taken…thanks:-) And a thank you to all readers & reviewers!
Chapter 8: Consternation
Vader sighed in frustration, although the sound came out only as a harsh breath.
All too short.
He observed Padmé asleep on the cot and wished that they had had more time together. They needed to reacquaint themselves. He needed to reacquaint himself with a way of being he had not known since he thought she had died. Or reinvent that side of him. Part of him had died when he was told she was dead.
His thoughts were racing with painful unanswered questions. How could he never have thought to seek out her Force signature? Why had he not questioned his Master? He never imagined that his Master would deceive him like that. Perhaps there were other things he was deceived about, as well.
You fool.
He could not get enough of watching her, but it was not enough. I want more.
He was the second most powerful being in the universe; he could have anything he wanted by force. But he knew that Padmé could not be won over in such a manner.
He wanted her to be comfortable with his mask and suit and welcome him to her, not revile him or fear him as he sensedshe did. It would take time…
He had carefully cultivated her dream to a most happy time in their past, but he knew she would figure out the truth eventually. He only hoped she would not reject him the next time he would enter her dream state, which he could not wait to do.
But he was most gratified to find out one key piece of information:
Padmé had been in a coma and had not voluntarily hidden from me all these years.
That would also somewhat explain why Luke was so surprised to see his Mother. She could not have raised him.
That is most curious.
He knew Luke had been profoundly shocked to meet his Mother; he felt it in the Force. And she had been just as shaken.
He also knew that Luke had wanted to take Padmé away from him. He let the anger rise up in him. They was no way in Sith that Vader would ever allow that. His son would have to learn his place and Vader's side.
So would Padmé.
He sat gazing at Padmé before he went to take his own rest in the adjoining cabin. She was sleeping deeply and he once again carefully made sure she was covered by the blanket. She never liked to be too warm while sleeping, he remembered, but his sensors told him the room was on the chilly side. Temperature did not affect him anymore.
Impetuously, he reached out to touch Padmé's hand, wanting any contact with her, but thought better of it; how horrid to touch her but not really be able to feelher? His hand curled into a tight fist. What if his cold, impersonal touch caused her to waken?
She would be disgusted; he could not bear that. He ground his teeth in frustration.
Perhaps one day his Vader persona would not cause such a violent reaction in her, but now was not the time to chance it. He rose to leave; he did not want the first thing for her to see when she awoke again to be Darth Vader.
He did not want to break the tenuous thread he believed he had forged with her this night in her dream state. I will win her back. I know it. Their connection was growing stronger and stronger. He could feel her love for him in her dream. He could sense it and he was very pleased.
More pleased than he has been in a long while.
Correction: I can feel her love for Anakin Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker is dead. Now she will come to love Darth Vader.
x x x x
Padmé woke feeling disoriented. She was half expecting to be back on Naboo with Anakin, and was sorely disappointed when her eyes focused on the sterile silver-grey walls of the cabin. She felt tears spring unbidden to her eyes and she impatiently wiped them away. She had no time for such emotions.
She wondered where Anakin was and when she would see him again. But the thought of that forbidding mask gave her a shudder. It was just awful.
She stood up and paced the room, hoping to turn her thoughts to other things.
Where is Luke? Is he safe? And my Leia, will I ever meet her?
Padmé felt a painful jolt. She wanted to know of her children, but did not want to speak of them around Anakin. Something told her not to confide her longing to see her children. Anakin or not, he was a Sith Lord and Force only knew how he felt about them. She did not really trust him. She really didn't know him anymore. He had tried to kill Luke. She'd seen it with her own eyes. There is no telling what he could do to Leia.
A cold sensation crawled up her spine and a powerful thought came unbidden to her mind. She pressed her fingers to her mouth with dismay.
He doesn't know about Leia.
Padmé felt both hopeful and profoundly sad at the same time. She desperately hoped Leia would never meet Darth Vader. Little did she know that Leia had met Vader, with disastrous results.
x x x x
Vader could feel it when Padmé awoke and he felt all her subsequent tempestuous emotions. He paused in the corridor, noting their growing Force connection. He took a deep breath and shook his head slightly.
He wanted to go to her, but he had an important holo transmission with the Emperor, where he would have to explain how Luke Skywalker managed to escape. As he stalked through the corridors, he could feel the fear emanating from the crew as he passed them. It pleased him; it made him feel more feral, powerful, and alive.
As he approached the holo room, he carefully hid his feelings of Padmé from the Emperor, knowing that the Emperor would sense any weakness and use it accordingly. He imagined that his Master would take great pleasure in taking Padmé from him, again.
He entered the room, and as the door closed shut, Darth Vader bent at the knee to the holo image of the hooded Emperor. The cold, harsh tones from Vader's mask respectfully addressed the flickering blue image:
"What is thy bidding, my Master?"