Author:
AnakinsFavorite
Era: After Return of the Jedi
Characters:
Anakin/Vader, Padmé, Luke, Leia, Han…
Summary:
Vader was never able to let go of Padmé and held onto
something of hers for many years…
Disclaimer: I still do
not own Star Wars. Also, bad things happen when I watch Titanic…
(for further details, figure out my inspiration for this vig!)
Letting Go
The wound that Luke had delivered to his shoulder had earned Vader not only a harsh reprimand from the Emperor but also a week's leave at his tower-like home, Bast Castle. As he strode through the empty and lifeless halls, the Sith Lord realized only how vulnerable and weak he was without his cloak and much of his suit.
Rain lashed against the castled, lighting suddenly filling the emptiness with light, but it too disappeared like the good that had been within his own heart.
Once
While Vader's feet led him along an unknown path, he mused his surroundings. It wasn't until he'd experienced his crippled stated that the Sith realized the meaning behind his abode- the way its torrential surroundings expressed the feelings within his own heart.
Weak
The Emperor had told him to either turn Luke or kill his own son- but he had failed to do so. Perhaps it was the fluttering of good within him or the weakness of his body, but Vader could not harm the being who had Padmé's beautiful face and kind heart.
Suddenly, Vader found himself standing before a heavily barricaded door. A gentle nudge with the Force sent the doors swinging open to reveal the storm beyond.
Unhesitant, Vader stepped out into the rain.
Vader slowly began to remove the gloves from his hands. Instantly, rain fell upon his charred flesh, something which startled him greatly and caused him to jerk his hand away.
It was then that Vader decided he liked the foreign feeling. Soon, his armor and other clothing, including his boots, laid scattered on the ground. Last came the mighty help, the removal of which seemed like a kiss of life.
Had there been anyone there to witness, they surely would have laughed to see the great Sith Lord standing drenching wet like a little child out in the rain, wearing nothing more than a pair of ragged trousers. At first, his face crinkled as the wetness spread over him, but a smile parted Vader's lips as teardrops rested on his long eyelashes.
A single word rolled off his tongue like a prayer.
"Freedom…"
The feeling of stone beneath his feet was also familiar, but Vader slowly moved towards the railing that overlooked the precipice of a great cliff. Anyone less would have surely been intimidated by the crashing lightning and the great height, but he shakily stood up on the lowest bar of the railing, pausing to gain balance.
Looking down at the bottomless pit below, Vader knew how easy it would be to escape the unending misery of life, to be joined with the Force…
To be with Padmé.
The sound that came forth from his lips was not the deep and mechanical voice of Vader but that of a haunted man who had hid behind the darkness for too long. For the first time in twenty years, he uttered the name of the woman he'd loved and eventually betrayed.
"Padmé…"
Hot tears rolled down his face to mingle with the rain, the saltiness of it stinging his fragile skin. A sob escaped his closed mouth as he looked down the precipice with great temptation…
"Padmé!"
Though unsteady, he let go of the railing and slowly unclenched his right hand to reveal the precious burden that the Sith Lord had carried for many years within himself.
I am a person and my name is Anakin!
You are a silly boy
I am going to marry you someday
What makes you say that?
It's just what my heart believes
I truly, deeply, love you
Anakin… I'm pregnant
Anakin, hold me like you once did…
Liar!
No, Anakin… I love you!
Darkness.
No jewel nor object of great power was held there- only a small snippet of japor wood. Rain began to fall on it, and Vader reverently brushed it away with his real thumb. As if mesmerized, Vader continued to stare at it, a boyish smile crossing his face, the same smile that had been present when he had given it as a gift many years before. Time had changed the smile, though, it was now cynical and almost bitter.
"I will never let you go," he whispered, caressing the necklace.
Silently, the japor snippet slid from his hands and fell into the abyss below, never to be seen again by the eyes of man.
I will never let you go
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Three Months Later, Bast Castle
Victory had been achieved and they were sore to return home to their families, but the members of the Rebel Alliance found that they had one last task before them- to bury the ghost that had haunted them for so long.
Words could not aptly describe the feelings of these brave men and women as they walked through the empty corridors where a cruel Sith Lord had strode but days before, oddly feeling as if they were trespassing on a grave secret.
It was a couple of hours before they realized that Luke Skywalker was missing.
"Always getting lost or finding trouble," Han mumbled merely out of trepidation than annoyance.
They searched all over the castle but found no sign of their companion.
"Wait!" one rebel called out.
Soon, they were all running down a dimly lit corridor but came to a sudden stop.
A cloak lay on the floor.
Luke's cloak.
"Who is she?" a single voice asked, breaking the silence.
Obviously expecting to see a ghost or some other specter, they were all startled to find that the object in question was actually a magnificent painting. In it, a young woman with dark brown hair who wore a small wooden pendant around her neck laid sprawled on a plush couch. She was kind-looking, beautiful but sad…
"Mother…" Leia breathed, twenty years of hidden emotions welling up inside of her.
"What?" Han frowned,
"Burn the place," she said softly so everyone had to strain to hear.
"But Luke…"
"Is no longer with us," Leia whispered, reverently picking up the cloak from the floor and clutching it to her breast. "Burn it."
Thirty minutes later, smoke billowed as flames licked at the carpet and the interior of the castle, but Leia did not notice- she was drawn to the edge of the precipice and leaned against the railing as tears coursed down her face.
So, this is how it all ends she wept,
Do not cry, my child… a voice whispered through the mist.
Gasping, Leia looked up to find three figures gazing down at her. One was the woman in the picture- she gave Leia such a loving look that she was sure her heart would burst.
"Mother…"
The woman nodded before disappearing.
Hungrily, Leia looked at the handsome man who had stood at her mother's side.
Father…
It is time to let go his deep voice said in her head. With an affectionate smile, he too disappeared.
The only one left was Luke. He is right
"It will be so hard," Leia cried though she knew it was true. "Let me come with you!"
You cannot come where I am to go- you are needed here
Suddenly, Leia was all alone though warmth pressed around her.
"Hey, Princess! Do I need to escort you to the ship?" Han's voice broke through her troubling thoughts.
Somehow, she managed a weak smile. "I'd like that," she said before offering him his arm. "Let's go home."
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