- - - Chapter Thirteen: The Son - - -
Vader sat at his desk in the study. There was a pile of letters to go through from his absence. It was a chore to sit down and go through them. He would rather be with his family. His family . . . Padmé and Luke. Luke had taken to his mother quickly and easily. Already he loved her and accepted her and was hugging her leg and asking her a million questions. A small smile tugged on his lips. He always yearned for this day when Padmé would be home; when all three of them would be together.
But we're not all together.
No, they were not. He still had a daughter out there somewhere. He clenched his jaw and felt his fangs growing long. How much more would his family have to deal with being pulled apart? This wouldn't stop until Sidious and the remaining Jedi were dead. Vader glanced down at the pile of letters. A letter from Sidious sat at the top. It was one of several letters Sidious had sent. Vader ripped it open, read it, then picked up the next letter. The letters were stacked in chronological order with the first letter received on top. As Vader read through each of them, Sidious grew more and more annoyed. Not that his language ever became foul. There was a true art of nobility of being able to insult someone with polite words. Throughout Vader had been called an addle pate, a shag-bag, an unlicked cub and someone who would hang in chains.
Vader sighed as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He had to write back to Palpatine and soon. No doubt a new letter was already on its way. Vader sat up and penned a short letter saying he had returned from his journey and would call upon the duke at his earliest convenience. He then had it sent out with a private messenger. He looked at the other letters from various lords and businessmen. The pile was large and he would be at his desk for many hours. It was a thought that made him frown.
He was only a few letters in when there was a soft knock and Padmé entered. Vader smiled as he saw his wife. It was amazing to see her walk through the door. She smiled warmly as she walked over and looked at the pile.
"Looks like you have a lot of correspondents," she said.
"The combined work of Marquess Skywalker and Darth Vader," he said glaring at the letters.
"I could help," she said.
Vader frowned. "No need," he said. "I can handle this. Go spend time with Luke."
She looked down at her feet with a slight pout on her lips. Had he said the wrong thing?
"The maids took Luke for his bath. They said I should enjoy a quiet moment to myself, but honestly, I feel so restless. Useless."
"You are not useless," he said, jumping to his feet and walking over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I used to be the one to do all of this," she said looking back at the letters. "And for the past four years, all I've done is have quiet moments to myself. I don't know if I want another one."
"I apologize. I just thought you wanted time to recover and be with Luke."
"I do want to be with Luke, but I also want to . . ."
"Be the Marchioness Naberrie again?"
She smiled. "It's Marchioness Skywalker, remember?"
He leaned in and kissed her lips.
She placed her small hand on his chest. "I've been wanting to talk to you," she said.
"About?"
She looked up at him. Her eyes were big and large. "About your power," she said.
Vader couldn't help but instantly look away.
A soft hand cupped his cheek and slowly pulled his gaze back to her.
"Don't be ashamed," she said. "Never be ashamed of who you are. I'm not scared of you Anakin."
"You should," he said in a stern voice. "You haven't seen what I can do. What I can really do. Traveling here and then back at Ozzel's estate . . . that was nothing."
She continued to look at him. Her gaze unwavering. She didn't know how far he had fallen. He wasn't the noble knight anymore. Suddenly, she sucked in her lower lip and bit down on it. When she let go, her lip had a bloody gash on it.
"Padmé, what did you—"
He was cut off as she grabbed his face, pulled him towards her, and their lips met. Instantly he tasted her blood. He couldn't help but lose himself in the moment. His body relaxed and leaned into her as his fangs grew long. He pulled on her lower lip and sucked on the cut tasting more of her sweet blood. God, she was intoxicating, every part of her.
"I trust you," she said in a low and sensual voice. "I trust you with my blood. With my life."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tighter. She was bold in her advances as her tongue slipped into his mouth. He forgot about the cut and focused on her. His arms wrapped around her. His normal hand ran up her back and neck and into her hair. His fingers laced through her silky curls. His other hand tightly grabbed her side to keep her close. Her body pressed against his as they continued to kiss. His hand on her waist let go so it could slip lower and grab at her behind. She let out a pleased moan and her hands squeezed him tighter.
The heat inside him was growing. He arched his back to grind into her. She responded by doing the same. The heat was starting to burn him up. He could feel himself getting hard. Did she have any idea what she did to him? How she drove him wild? Nothing else mattered right now except her . . .
And the sound of small bare feet slapping at the wood floor as they ran down the hallway towards the study.
It was Padmé who pulled away with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. Her cheeks were bright red. The wound on her lip had stopped bleeding but the cut was still visible. His hand came up and he gently pressed his thumb against the wound. He could heal it. It would be easy.
But all thoughts of that were cast aside as the running stopped and the door was pushed wide open.
"Papa! Mama!" Luke shouted gleefully. "I'm done with my bath! All clean!"
Both parents stood still as they looked at their completely naked son. He was dripping wet and white soap suds still clung to his body.
Padmé couldn't stifle her giggle. "Does our son enjoy walking about in the nude often?" she asked in a soft voice so Luke couldn't hear.
Vader felt his already red cheeks burn even hotter. He could feel it on the tips of his ears.
"This is a very new development," Vader said.
Loud steps were heard running down the hallway, and soon Versé came running into the study with a towel held out in both hands. She did a little jump, threw the towel around Luke, and snatched him up.
"No!" Luke squealed while also giggling at the same time.
"You naughty boy!" Versé teased.
"I'm done with my bath!" Luke said. His voice half-muffled by the towel. "It's storytime! Storytime!"
"Perhaps he just wants attention," Padmé said softly to Vader. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and walked over to Luke and the maid. "Give him here." Her arms were open. Versé passed the wiggling child to Padmé. "Luke," Padmé said. "You're a big boy, right?"
"Yes! I am a big boy!" Luke replied happily. He had finally freed his face from the towel.
"Then you know big boys finish their baths properly. They don't leave until all the soap is washed out."
Luke paused as he clearly thought about that information.
"Let's go finish your bath," Padmé said kissing his cheek. "This will be the first time I've given you a bath."
"Yay!" Luke exclaimed. "Mama give me a bath!"
He pulled his arms free of the towel and wrapped them around her neck. Padmé glanced back at her husband and smiled. She walked over to him. Vader placed his normal hand on Luke's damp head and ruffled his soapy hair.
"Papa come too?" Luke asked.
"No," Vader replied. "I have to stay here and read my letters."
"That's boring!" Luke pouted.
"I agree. But it is what must be done. Just like you must go finish your bath." He looked at his wife. "Are you sure you can do this? Bathing him can sometimes be . . . challenging."
She smiled and leaned in so her lips were right next to his ear. "I know how to handle Skywalker boys," she whispered in a low sultry voice that sent a fresh wave of heat burning through him. She kissed his cheek as she stepped away. She must have tickled Luke through the towel as he started giggling as Padmé carried him out of the room with Verse right behind her.
Vader sighed as he leaned against his desk. He was all too aware of the lingering heat Padmé had stirred up inside of him that he wasn't able to act on. He ran his blackened hand through his hair as he looked at the pile of letters. Padmé would be busy for a while longer while she bathed Luke, so he might as well get some work done.
He had lost track of time and it was well into the night when he finally stopped. His body was stiff as he got up and walked out of his office. He first went to Luke's room. The little boy should be asleep by now, and Vader hadn't tucked him in or kissed him goodnight. However, he found Luke's bed empty. Next, he went to his room. He found both his wife and son there. They were both asleep in the bed. Luke was curled against Padmé, who had her arms loosely wrapped around him.
Vader couldn't help but smile. He quietly slipped out of his clothes and into his sleeping clothes then crawled into bed as carefully as he could. This still woke up Padmé. He settled down in the bed. She slowly reached out her hand and he grabbed it with his own. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He mouthed 'I love you' against her skin. She mouthed 'I know' back. Then they both closed their eyes and went to sleep.
Vader left early the next day before Padmé or Luke woke up. He took a horse and rode out to Coruscant House. Sidious should have received his letter. There was no point in waiting for the response. Vader had no doubt Sidious would demand Vader come to see him at once. There was no point in delaying this meeting.
He arrived at the house just as the morning sun was starting to grow warm and bright. Staff met him outside and took his horse. He was escorted upstairs to the duke's drawing room. Sidious was in a dressing robe, clearly fresh out of bed. A dead human laid on his feet. Bite marks were still dripping blood from where Sidious had enjoyed his breakfast.
"Anakin," Sidious hissed. All the pleasantries were gone.
"Sheev," Vader replied drily. If Sidious was going to forego manners and titles, then so was he.
Sidious narrowed his gold eyes. "I see you have finally returned. How did your wild goose hunt end? Did you find the Jedi you were hunting?"
The excuse Vader had sent to Sidious was he had heard rumors of Jedi and had gone to personally confirm it.
"I found what I was looking for," Vader said. There was no hesitation in his voice and also no lie. Sidious was very good at sensing them.
There was a small tense pause. Did Sidious suspect what Vader had really done? Did he know that Padmé was free? That she was at Varykino right at this very moment? That Vader knew Sidious' role in her disappearance?
"Good," Sidious said. His response was short and curt. "Perhaps now we can focus on other things?"
"Like America?"
"You leave in a week, boy," Sidious hissed. "Too much planning has gone into this for you to miss that ship."
"And I wanted to make sure there were no Jedi scum lingering about before I left," Vader growled back.
"You will have plenty of Jedi blood in America."
Vader huffed and rolled his eyes. This obvious sign of disrespect did not go unnoticed.
"Your mind is elsewhere," Sidious said. "You are not focusing on what is important."
"I'm focused," Vader said. He took a small step closer to Sidious.
"Is it? Or is some part still swooning after your long-gone wife? Or perhaps it is on your son? Or on both?"
"My mind is focused on exactly what is important," Vader growled as he took another step closer. He pointed a finger at Sidious.
"I am starting to have serious concerns about that. I cannot have you distracted in America. I need you present. I need you doing your job at securing our empire."
"Don't you mean your empire? There can only be one emperor after all."
Thick heavy silence fell across them.
"You forget yourself," Sidious snarled. "You forget the one who has made you. The one who has given you prestige and importance. You would be nothing without me."
I would have my family together if it weren't for you, Vader thought to himself.
"I now see the error I have made," Sidious continued. "Where the weakness lies."
"Which is what?"
"Your son," Sidious said.
Vader's heart turned cold and dropped into his stomach. "What?"
"Luke will stay in England. He can come live with me. I will see that he has all that he needs."
"No," Vader growled. "No." He took another step closer to Sidious. There was a small flinch in Sidious' eyes. "Luke stays with me. I will not be separated from my son."
"Look at how soft it has made you," Sidious said. His voice was full of disgust. "Putting some distance between you and the boy will do you some good. Give you a fresh perspective."
"I do not care. I will not go without my son."
Vader went to take another step closer, putting him within striking range of Palpatine, but the old man took a step back.
"You will," Sidious said. "You will follow my orders. Do not forget yourself and who you serve."
Vader let out an angry yell as he jumped forward. His thin needle flashing as he drew it. He stabbed it right at Palpatine, but it only slid through the air. The old man was far faster than Vader thought he would be. He sidestepped Vader's strike. Vader twisted; he was ready to strike again, but never had the chance. Lightning tore out of Sidious' hands and into Vader. He was blown over a sofa and into the wall.
Vader couldn't help but scream as the pain tore through him. Part of him wondered if this is what it felt like for regular vampires to be out in the sun. Each and every part of him was on fire but there were no flames. There wasn't even heat. Just the neverending pain and blinding light. Surely any moment now he would turn to ash. Finally, the lightning subsided. Vader was on the ground heaving and sweating.
"I am sure you will remember this lesson well," Sidious' voice said somewhere above him. "I understand our relationship is going through its adolescent stage. It is not abnormal for one such as yourself to rebel. That is why I must take a harsh hand, and I will not hesitate to do it again. Go collect yourself, Lord Vader. Prepare for your trip to America. I have high expectations for you."
Firmus Piett had become rather fond of Varykino, the Naberrie-Skywalker estate. Lord Skywalker had generously allowed Piett to live here. His absence in Ozell's service would have been noticed by now. He had probably become a wanted man. One could not simply walk away from being employed by vampires. Plus, he knew too much. He had been Ozell's aid. He had handled all his correspondence. He had met the prisoner kept in the old watchtower before he learned her name and importance. Piett had on occasion been the one tasked with feeding the lady. And it had never sat right with him, especially as he learned she had done no crime.
They had been keeping her in the desert to control Lord Skywalker, a young man Ozell hated. Skywalker was a young and freshly turned vampire, and yet he had wealth and prestige amongst both the human and vampire worlds. He stood at Lord Sidious' right side. Many vampires, especially those who had been serving Sidious loyally for years now, despised Skywalker.
Piett shook his head. It would do no good to dwell on such thoughts. He should be safe here under Lord Skywalker's protection. The Varykino estate was lovely. There was a large lake nearby and the ground surrounding the buildings were all exquisitely designed and well kept. The sun was out today and Piett had decided to go out for a walk. He now sat on a bench under the shade of a tree enjoying a moment of peace and serenity.
It was short lived.
"Mr. Piett!" Small little feet were heard running down the path. "Mr. Piett! I found you!"
Piett took in a sharp breath, forced a smile, and said, "Yes, Master Luke you did."
The little boy came to a stop in front of the bench. His cheeks were flushed from running, but his blue eyes sparkled. There was a large smile on his face. As always, he was dressed very smartly in shorts and a shirt. Ever since Luke had met Piett, the young little Skywalker was absolutely enamored with Piett.
Without a second thought, the little boy climbed into Piett's lap. He sat there rather contently as he looked out across the garden and kicked his legs. His heels bumped against Piett's shins. Piett did not understand why Luke was so interested in him. He did not play games or tell jokes. Honestly, he was sure he would be quite boring to such a little boy, but Luke was undeterred. Piett had tried to avoid Luke, but the boy had made a game of it. He ran around until he found Piett until, just like today, he could proclaim he had found his prize. As if the two were constantly playing a game of hide-and-seek.
"Where are your parents?" Piett asked.
"Down in the basement. That's a no-go place."
Piett assumed that is where they kept Lord and Lady Skywalker's, ahem, meals of the vampire variety.
Luke looked up at Piett. "Do you think they're kissing?"
Piett's cheeks burned red. "Wha- what?" he asked. Why was such a young boy asking such a question?
"They like to kiss when I'm not there. A lot."
Piett felt his cheeks turning brighter.
"And they kiss all funny sometimes, too! They look like fishies. It is very silly looking."
"Yes," Piett coughed, "Yes. That sounds very silly."
"Do you want to go look at the ducks with me, Mr. Piett? I wanted to go with Mama . . . but she's busy . . ."
There was such a sorrowful note in the little boy's words. Was he lonely? Perhaps jealous? Or was he simply not used to having two parents? From what little interaction he had seen between Lord Skywalker and Luke prior to Lady Skywalker's return, Lord Skywalker had always given his son his undivided attention. It was clear the lord loved and doted on his son. It was also clear with Lady Skywalker's return, the lord also loved and doted on his wife. How was young little Luke handling that? Now that his father's attention was divided?
"Yes," Piett said. "Let's go see some ducks."
Luke broke out into a large smile. He jumped off Piett's lap. "Let's go!"
Piett stood and let the little boy lead them away from the house towards the lake. Luke was rambling on about the different ducks and how he had named them all. There came a cold wind that caused Piett to shiver. Luke seemed unaffected, but Piett glanced up at the sky. The skies had been clear of late, but was that about to change? Was the rain returning?
"We're here, Mr. Piett!" Luke exclaimed. "Come meet Mr. Snappers and Mr. Baxter and Captain Caesar!"
"Captain Caesar?"
Luke stopped and looked up at Piett and said in a very serious voice, "He's a captain of the HMS Cheddar Boat. You better address him as sir, or he might bite at you."
Piett nodded his head with a bit of uncertainty, but that seemed to be acceptable to the four-year-old.
Hands. Hands were sliding all over him. And skin. So much skin. Her skin. Vader couldn't get enough of it. His hands were exploring every inch of it, but they always seemed to linger on the same few spots. Her breasts. Her rear. Her hips. Oh her hips. He grabbed them as he thrusted into her. Her hands wrapped around his neck to bring him closer to her. She kissed him aggressively. It was raw and passionate and needy. Both their lips were going to be bruised, but neither cared.
A moan slipped out of her lips as he continued to pleasure her. He used her distraction to suck on her lower lip. The gash was still there and had freshly opened. Both of their fangs were still long from their recent meal. Blood mixed with their salvia. Her lips slipped off his as she left a trail of kisses down his throat. He leaned his back. He felt her long fangs brush against his exposed neck.
Would she bite him? Part of him wanted her to, but she didn't. She licked and kissed his neck. He moaned as he tightened his grip on her hips and started to go faster, harder, and deeper. She gasped as she threw her head back.
"Anakin," she said breathlessly. "I'm so close. Please."
"Of course, my lady," he grunted.
He pushed himself to his limits. There was nothing elegant about this as their bodies slammed together faster and faster.
"I love you!" she said between thrusts.
He had reached his peak at the same time she did. They both released at the same moment.
"Padmé!" he shouted his name as bubbly joy erupted through his body. "I love you. I love you so much."
They both wrapped their arms around each other and held each other while their high wore off. Every now and then one of them would give the other a soft kiss on the cheek or on the forehead. He wasn't sure how long they laid there. It could have been minutes or hours. He didn't care as he was enjoying every moment with her. He was intoxicated by her touch and taste.
"We should get cleaned up and dressed," Padmé murmured.
"Mmm, must we?"
She kissed his cheek. "Yes, my love. We can't spend all day in bed."
"Why not?" he asked wagging her eyebrows at her.
She rolled her eyes. "Because sooner or later a little curious boy is going to come through that door wondering what we're doing."
"Ah, yes," Vader said. "Fair point, my dear."
It was with great reluctance on both their parts that they finally parted and got out of bed. They took their time cleaning up and getting dressed. When Vader ha returned home from his visit Palpatine, she had wrapped him up in his arms. They had enjoyed a meal and then had gone upstairs to rest. Now that they were done resting, Padmé looped her arm through his as they walked down the stairs. She stopped the first maid they saw.
"Morté, have you seen Luke?" she asked.
"He is out in the garden, my lady. Most likely with Mr. Piett."
Padmé nodded her head in thanks. The two Skywalkers went out into the garden and slowly made their way along the flower bushes and trees. There was a chill on the wind and Padmé hugged Vader's arm tighter. Vader was going to make a comment, but the words died on his lips as the wind shifted and he smelled fresh blood. Padmé had smelled it as well and they both tensed up. Padmé pulled her arm free and picked up her skirts as she followed the smell as Vader followed right behind her.
The path led towards the lake. The smell was getting stronger, and Vader noticed there was a tightness in his chest. The smell was too strong. It had to be coming from a lot of blood. A lot of human blood. Fresh blood. Who? Where? Why? They rounded around a small grove of trees and finally came to the lakeside. They both gasped. Laying on the shore was Firmus Piett. His body was littered with slashes. Slashes Vader instantly recognized as the long claw marks of a vampire.
Padmé ran to him. "Mr. Piett!" she cried as she knelt in the mud next to him. "What happened?"
"My- my la-lady-dy," he stuttered.
Vader knelt down by the man. The wounds were quite serious.
"Hush," Padmé said softly. She looked up at Vader. "We need to get him to the house."
He nodded and moved to pick Piett. Piett's eyes snapped onto Vader.
"L- L- Luke," he muttered.
Vader froze. He could feel every hair on him freeze as well. His breath escaped him. He recalled Morté saying Luke was out with Piett. Vader looked out. His head snapped this way and that as he looked along the shore and even out to the lake.
"Luke?" Padmé asked. Her voice was squeezed.
"They too-took him-m."
"Who?" she asked.
But Vader already knew the answer. It was Sidious. Sidious was behind this. Sidious who didn't want Vader and Luke to be together claiming it made Vader weak.
Vader jumped up and screamed. His rage was a black fire boiling out of him. He would get his son back. And find his daughter. And he was going to do it by tearing Sidious apart piece by piece. Then everyone and everything else that was keeping his family apart.