The coordinates provided by Mon Mothma take us to a landing platform hidden deep within an ancient forest. I brace myself as Chewbacca lowers the ramp. We are met by two armed guards who point weapons at us as we made our descent.

"Hand over all weapons," one of them commands. We look at one another briefly and then comply. The second guard moves forward and confiscates our weapons.

"Search them," orders the first guard.

"Now wait a minute," protests Han. "We already gave you our weapons!"

"You have something to hide?" challenges the man.

"No, of course not," replies Han testily.

"Then compliance won't be a problem," returns the guard.

Han rolls his eyes and submits to the search. Finally, after all of us have been thoroughly searched, the guards lower their weapons. "Who are you? What is your business here?" demands the first guard.

"We have come to see Senator Amidala," I reply. "I am…a childhood friend."

The guard raises an eyebrow, looking me up and down. "You're a Jedi by the look of you," he observes. "So why have you come here?"

"We have news to bring the Senator," says Leia, stepping forward, using her best senatorial voice. "News of her family."

The men exchange a look, considering what my daughter has said.

"Very well," says the first guard at last, as the second one raises his weapon once again. "Follow me."

We follow the man through the labyrinth of giant pines, the armed guard at our rear. My heart is beating so hard that for an instant I swear I can hear it above the sound of snapping twigs under my boots.

A stone path emerges as the trees begin to thin out. Suddenly a large house emerges in a clearing ahead of us. A small lake lies behind the house, surrounded by more dense foliage. A figure appears in a window on the second floor behind a curtain, but before I can discern who it is, they disappear again.

The path ends at a small courtyard behind the house. It is surrounded by a stone wall, with shrubs and potted plants scattered about. The sound of footsteps is heard approaching quickly, and I feel my daughter's hand slip in tom mine. I give it a squeeze, as we stop, waiting with hearts racing for her to appear. But it is not Padmé who appears, but Sabé.

"These people have come to see Milady," explains the guard in front of us. She looks at me, a mixture of shock and anxiety on her face.

"I see," she says, looking back at the guard. She then returns her attention to me.

"You're about the last person I expected to see here," she says at last, not trying to hide the animosity from her voice. "How did you find her, anyway?"

"Mon Mothma gave us the coordinates," I reply. "I…I've changed, Sabé. Vader is dead. I'm Anakin Skywalker again, and I've brought our children to see Padmé."

Sabé frowns. "Your children? What are you talking about?"

"Luke and Leia," I continue, baffled by her reaction. "The twins she bore! Our twins!"

Sabé turns her eyes first to Leia and then the Luke. I can see by her reaction to seeing them that their resemblance to Padmé and I does not go unnoticed by her.

"But…this can't be!" Sabé exclaims. "Luke and Leia died within minutes of their birth!"

"What?" exclaims Luke.

"What are you saying?" demands Leia. "Are you telling us that…" she stops as the truth dawns on her, on all of us, and she and Luke turn to me.

"No, it can't be…" I say softly. I look at Sabé. "Are you telling us that Padmé...that she was told that the twins died all those years ago?"

Sabé nods, the truth finally forming in her mind as well. She puts her hands to her face. "A lie?" she asks simply.

"Yes," I reply. "A lie. One of many lies that all of us have spent a lifetime believing and agonizing over."

"But why? Who would tell her such a lie? What reason could possibly justify such cruelty?" cries Leia.

I put my hand on Leia's shoulder and she draws close to me. "I don't know,"

I tell my daughter softly as I hold her in my arms. "But I mean to find out."

"May we see our mother?" asks Luke. "We have waited a long time to meet her."

Sabé nods. "She will be utterly shocked…I just hope this doesn't worsen her condition, the knowledge that she has spent her life alone because of a lie."

"Her condition? What are you talking about?" I demand.

"Depression," replies Sabé. "Severe depression. She's been suffering for years now, and hasn't spoken more than a handful of words for ages."

I close my eyes, guilty remorse filling me Because of me…she has suffered a life time because of me…forgive me, my Angel...

"We need to see her," Leia says at last. "Perhaps the knowledge that we are alive will help."

Sabé smiles. "I hope so," she replies. "Now come, follow me."