Author Note: Ok guys, sorry its taken so long to post, but I've finally got a full time job! Hurrah! A little word of advice though. Never work with children and try to keep regular postings of stories on here...I'm finding it virtually impossible, because I come home each evening absolutely shattered...so there we go...that is why I probably don't update as regularly as I should.
jla2snoopy - Ah yes, that famous question 'What happened to Yoda and Obi-Wan?' (all my mates asked me that when they read this too.) Well I shall now explain. Because Padme was not part of the equasion(sp? its been a looooong day!), Obi-Wan had no-one to lead him to Mustafar, meaning that he had no idea where Anakin would be. Therefor he simply went into hiding with Yoda and the Mustafar fight never happened. Is that a logical reason, or am I just confussing every body?
Xkinky-bootsX - Dingbatt a dory, my fellow Doctor Whovian! Heylo! And thanks for such a great review. I had no idea I characterised everything until you pointed it out, but looking back now, I guess I kinda do that a lot. I guess thats just my style!
xO sith happens Ox - Welcome to fanfiction! Of course you're comments aren't small. A comment is a comment, no matter who it's made by. Everyone is equal on here, so thanks for such a great review!
SufferingIdentityCrisis - A little hyperness never hurt anyone...infact I think this world would be far too boring if we didn't have little hyper spells now and then. I'm so glad you like this story so much that you've taken to memorising the chapters...I have to admit that I do that a little with my fav books (but only the parts that I like...not the whole book, obviously!)
CaptJoe213 - Very true about the spelling! And thanks for spotting the missing word. It was meant to be 'His tall, thin frame simply couldn't...' Where would I be without you, huh? (still writing this story, but with no-one to point out my mistakes, probably.) And I don't mind you pointing them out either. After all, you learn from your mistakes, you never learn from success (a little wise quote there for ya all! lol) Keep reading, as always!
AnakinVanhelsingLegolaSkywalker92 - Never fear, there is method to my madness! Put it this way...if Vader is kinder now at the little things, it lulls Padme (and you readers) into a false sense of security so that when he loses it, he loses it BIG TIME! (Which he will in later chapters) However, there is a little taster of the angry Vader at the end of this chapter, so this is kind of to make up for his relaxed attitude to the escape attempt. And you know what, I think all boys do that...flex infront of the mirror. It's so cute when they do it though, when they think no-one's looking. LOL.
Anyways, to all of you who reviewed, and all those who didn't...same as always, thanks for reading this story, and enjoying it (at least I hope you all enjoy it. You wouldn't read it if you didn't) So remember, Read and Review as always...and
ENJOY! (see now I'm hyper!)
oOo
Padme flopped on her new bed, exhausted from the day's work. Vader had kept her busy all day, finding little chores to keep her out of his way so that he could plan for his next mission. It had been three days since she'd picked her new clothes, hoping they would please him, and when they'd arrived yesterday, she couldn't believe it. There were at least four or five other outfits besides the ones she'd chosen, and for a moment she'd though there'd been some kind of mistake. When she'd suggested this to Vader, he'd laughed and told her that they were for her, because her choices weren't practical for every type of situation she might find herself in. Not even daring to think what kinds of situation he could be talking about, she'd hurriedly taken them and hung them neatly in her room.
Now, every spare moment she had, she'd nip into her room, pick up one of the extra outfits and hold it up to herself as she stood infront of the mirror. She hadn't tried any on yet because Vader had kept her too busy. But now that she had been allowed the evening off, she decided that it was as good a time as any.
Sitting up on her bed, she looked over to her wardrobe - a simple rail hanging from one wall - and tried to decide which to wear. So far she'd only worn the grey or green robes she'd picked from the database. Scanning the rail, she pulled out the one that caught her eye - the pastel dress with silver straps - and went into her bathroom to try it on. It wasn't that she didn't trust Vader not to invade her privacy, it just seemed like a better idea.
However, just as she re-emerged in the dress, ready to twirl infront of the mirror, Vader called to her and she began to panic. She couldn't serve him dressed like this. But if she made him wait, she knew she'd regret it.
Taking a deep breath, she poked her head round her door, trying to hide the dress from him as she replied "Yes Master?"
"I haven't seen you wearing any of your new clothes yet...the extra ones that I got you, I mean. Why don't you try them on and let me see what they look like on you?"
"Of course Master," Padme replied, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice as she ducked back inside and closed the door behind her.
She was just going to wait a moment and then walk out in this dress, but glancing at herself in the mirror, she was well aware that it was all too revealing. Now that she had a choice of how much of her body she exposed, she always chose to cover up as much as possible, because showing her bare flesh to a Sith Lord - especially her Master - wasn't a thought that particularly appealed to her. So instead, she chose the blue two piece outfit, with the high neck and floor length skirt, which she quickly changed into and then paraded infront of Vader, who was lounging on his sofa with a contented look on his face.
When he saw her emerge from her room, he gasped and then quickly covered it up in a coughing fit. If Padme had heard his shock, she didn't show it as she paraded infront of him, a slight smile playing on her lips as the soft material flowed around her legs and a soft breeze brushed across her stomach.
"It suits you," he said at last and this time she really did smile.
"Thank you Master. Should I show you some of my other outfts?"
"That would be a very good idea," he replied happily. Just seeing her smile made him fill with happiness. So she tried on every outfit, even daring to show him the pastel dress. The more she tried on, the more she began to enjoy herself, twirling around like a model on a catwalk. And the more she enjoyed herself, the more Vader complimented her.
oOo
At last, when she'd shown him everything, she was all set to go back to her room, when he called her over to sit beside him. She was now wearing the black lace dress with the fabric choker, so she felt a little uncomfortable sitting next to him, but any tension was soon dissolved when Vader turned to her.
"I'd like to appologise for my actions the other day, when we first met . I was totally out of order, even by Sith standards, and I'm sorry."
Padme was speachless. Was a Sith Lord really appologising to her for being a Sith? She wanted him to repeat it, just so that she could be sure she'd heard him right, but then she realised that he was speaking again and forced herself to listen.
"You've worked so hard these past few days without reward, and that's not fair. I want you to be happy while you're here, so I've come up with a few rules that should help us to live together a little easier. Firstly, I don't want any more of this 'Yes Master', 'No Master' nonsense. I do enough of that for the both of us."
Padme allowed a little chuckle to escape her lips, and even Vader smiled, before continuing. "Instead, you can just call me Vader. Secondly, this appartment is now as much yours as it is mine. You may go anywhere you wish, except my bedroom. That is out of bounds. Oh, and I doubt I need to tell you that you cannot leave?"
"No, you don't," Padme replied, wincing at the memory of the sharp electric.
"Thirdly, I'm going to provide you with some credits so that you can buy some more clothes, for leisure purposes. Fourthly, from now on, every evening after seven, and every Sunday, I am going to let you have off. For those times, you can just be yourself, and perhaps we could even get to know each other a little better, as friends?"
"Of course," Padme replied, wondering what had brought on this change of heart in the Sith Lord. When she dared to ask, he simply smiled and replied "I used to be a slave too. I know what it's like, and I don't want to be like my old owners. They were cruel and mean."
A Sith that doesn't want to be cruel and mean? Now I've heard everything! She thought in amusement.
She wanted to ask what had happened when he was a slave, but she was interupted by the door chime. Looking to Vader, she saw him nod towards her room, and took the hint, hastily hiding herself inside just as he opened the door. She pressed close to the door and listened as he dismissed whoever it was with several harsh words that caused her to frown. How could he switch his emotions just like that? Flick his rage on and off like the flick of a switch?
She decided it must be some trick the Sith learned.
Then she heard the door shut and Vader stamp back over to the sofa. Daring to peer out of her room, she saw him throw himself on the sofa and wondered if it was a good idea to show herself again. Perhaps she should just stay in her room.
But Vader had other ideas.
"PADME!" he bellowed.
She cringed and gingerly stepped back out into the living room. He was in a furious mood now and his eyes blazed that deadly Sith yellow again.
"Yes...Vader?" she asked tentatively, suddenly afraid. Her fear must have been obvious, because Vader made a visible attempt to calm himself before speaking again.
"Get me my cloak, I need to visit my master immediately."
"But sir, you said that after seven, it was my time off. It's half past eight."
"I DON'T CARE! GET ME MY CLOAK!"
"Yes sir," she muttered, and then she realised that his cloak was in his bedroom, the one room he'd forbidden her to go in.
"Erm, its in your bedroom. You said I could never go in your room."
Vader cursed loudly at her and shot to his feet, causing Padme to back away in alarm as he stormed into his room. Then he re-emerged a moment later with a thunderous look on his face, pulling his cloak tightly round him. It was at that moment that she was thankfull he was leaving. She didn't know if she could stand to stay with him for a minute longer.
"DON'T GO ANYWHERE!" he ordered before storming out of the door.
"INCASE YOU HADN'T NOTICED, I GET FRIED EVERYTIME I DO!" she shot back, her own frustration boiling over now. Vader paused mid-step, his foot still hanging in the air. Padme wrapped her hands protectively round her throat, fearing the worst. But he just glared at her for a moment and then muttered "I'll deal with you later!" before storming out and making sure the door locked behind him. She could have cried with relief as she silently scolded herself for allowing her emotions to get the better of her. Now Vader would either kill her, or cause her unbareable pain, and she didn't exactly want to stick around to find out which it would be.
Running back into her room, she changed into the blue skirt and top, then set to work at the collar with a hair grip. Now was as good a time as any to set her carefully formulated plan into action, and if she was quick, she could be long gone by the time Vader got back.