Synopsis: Disgruntled with his Master's disinterest in his twins, Vader tries various methods of finding out more information from the handmaiden. He finds himself drawn to her, struggling to remind himself that she is not Padme. Vader mistakenly leaves a route for Padme to escape in a rage, which she does so unsuccessfully, and in the process makes her existence on Mustafar known to Sidious. Sidious and Vader argue about what to do with the woman. Padme realizes the Sith Lord is her husband. Sidious and Vader are at odds.
It had been three days since Vader had been brutalized by his master. He had spent the first day recovering, the second day in a dismal depression, and the third debating about what to do with his situation in regards to the handmaiden. On the morning of the fourth day, he entered her cell. Despite her lack of food and water, she was just as beautiful as he remembered Padme: she looked like a rose growing out of the crevasse of a dungeon- wilted and sad, but beautiful nonetheless. She noticed Vader's presence as he entered the room, and quickly sat upright defiantly.
"Have you come to kill me yet?" she spat hoarsely. A thorny rose, Vader thought. Padme's throat was dry, her thirst immeasurable, and her stomach growled, betraying the silent tension between her and the Sith Lord. Instead of speaking to her, the figure reached under his cloaks to reveal a capsule of water and a small muffin. It was lemon flavored. My favorite, she thought to herself. She looked at the food and water suspiciously despite her malnourished body screaming out for it.
"You're no use to me dead," Vader muttered, reassuring her that the food had not been poisoned. She hungrily tore open the wrapper and took a bite, washing it down with the entire bottle of water. The Sith Lord reached into his cloaks again, leaving another muffin and capsule of water.
"I suppose I should thank you," Padme murmured.
"Do not mistake this for kindness. I will get my answers from you whether it be by force or not," he spat. Padme nodded solemnly, a sarcastic smile twisting on the edges of her face.
"You'll have to do a lot better than water and some food," she muttered. "Those children will not fall into the hands of the Empire if it is the last thing I do. I will protect them from you and your vile ways if it means I die in this cell. Do you understand me?"
"I think it is you who does not understand me," Vader retorted. In many ways, he was right.
"You will not kill them," she spat.
"I do not wish to kill them. Quite the opposite." At this Padme laughed angrily.
"Your master would slit their throats for the glee of it. I know what kind of person you work for," she muttered. Vader eyed her curiously, not that Padme could tell anyways behind his mask.
"He would not." But Vader wasn't so sure. Would he?
"That's right, because I will tell you nothing, no matter what." Vader clenched his fist in anger, smashing the lemon muffin to a mush, and spilling the water all along the floor. He stormed out without a word, his body visibly shaking from the frustration this handmaiden caused him. Padme felt proud of herself, a small win against the gravity of her dire situation.
Vader left the room and stalked off to his quarters. If she looked like anyone else, I'd crack her skull like an egg and have my children with me in a day, he thought angrily. Why does she have to look like Padme? he lamented. Worst of all, she even acted and felt like Padme- her gentle defiance, her kindness even in the face of death, her passionate defensiveness for those whom she loved, even her aura. Oftentimes Vader forgot she wasn't Padme when he was around her. This made him feel guilty. I have a wife. This woman is not her, he tried to remind himself. Yet his eyes lingered, and his tormented soul calmed in her presence. He was letting his emotions and loss get in the way of reuniting with his twins, and it infuriated him. Instead, he was left in a limbo between letting her go and wanting to kill her. He couldn't bear either option. Not now, at least.
xxx
Instead of forcing the information from her or letting her leave, Vader had no option other than to learn from her, hoping she would slip up and disclose something to him. The next day he did not see her, but instead ordered her cell to be furnished to make it slightly more inhabitable: a bed with a pillow, ample water and food, even some books to keep her busy. When he arrived the day after, the wilted rose had perked slightly. Nonetheless, she stood on edge at Vader's presence.
"You are feeling better," he rasped.
"I suppose that depends on how you define "better". Imprisoned by a Sith Lord isn't "better" in my dictionary," she muttered.
"It could be worse," he reminded her ominously.
"So this is your plan? Keep me here indefinitely until I talk?" Vader only blinked at this, not knowing what to say. He didn't really have a plan so long as she looked like his wife, which wasn't going to change anytime soon, and he could not bring himself to harm her.
"Until I find a way to get you to tell me where the twins are without torturing or killing you, you will remain my prisoner."
"You're wasting your time. You might as well kill me now and get the same result as you would by waiting." Vader said nothing to her in response to that, instead sitting down on the floor of the cell. Padme watched him curiously. She wondered why he wouldn't torture her outright, or take the knowledge from her by force.
"Why don't you torture me?" she asked.
"Do you wish to be?"
"Not particularly. I just find it peculiar that you haven't."
"Yet."
"Yet," Padme sighed.
"Do you think I take pleasure from torturing innocent people? Killing them?" he asked.
"Why do you do it if you don't?"
"For a greater good."
"A greater good? What good is so great it requires the blood of innocents? Enslaving the galaxy for Sidious's gain? You're a fool if you think that," she argued.
"You know nothing of the power of the dark side," he spat defensively.
"I know it took away my family and put me in this cell," Padme choked. The Sith Lord watched her curiously as she let the tears stream freely from her face, drips of her sorrow falling to the floor of the cell. "I lost my family, my friends, everything because of this war- and for what? Millions are slaughtered every day, and you want to talk about the 'greater good'? You are lost, so lost…"
"If you had to do the things I've had to do to save the family you lost, would you do it?" He challenged her. Padme thought about it for a few moments: Luke and Leia in her arms, Anakin's smiling face as she woke up in the morning- then she thought of the death and destruction she had seen, the loss of everything she held dear.
"Would it be worth it?" he prodded impatiently.
"I don't know," she murmured. "I don't think my soul could bear it." At this, Vader grew solemn and quiet. He questioned the strength of his own soul, the nightmares of what he'd done haunting him every hour of the night. What of my soul? What can it bear? Vader had no answer to his own questions.
"Did Queen Amidala have sons? or Daughters? Or one of each?" he asked after a long pause. He wanted to know anything and everything about them. His soul yearned for them. Padme snapped out of her existential contemplation, a sour look plastered her face.
"Like I'd tell you," she snapped.
"It doesn't matter so long as you refuse to hand over their location," he argued.
"Then it doesn't matter."
Vader sighed and stood to leave. He knew she would not give up any information willingly, and doing so any further would be a waste of time. He was both enraged and impressed by her devotion to his deceased wife and their children.
"I will find them. You can't hide them from me forever," he snarled. Vader turned to leave, and Padme in her defiance threw her book at the back of his helmet the second he turned around. The pages fluttered as it fell to the floor with an echoing plop. You could hear a pin drop in the room. Padme didn't have to be Force sensitive to feel the rage emanating from the Sith Lord. Vader turned to her.
"You will regret that," he seethed, slamming the door behind him as he stormed down the corridor. A stormtrooper replaced him, standing guard in front of the door. Padme's heart was pounding, but even in her angered panic she noticed something: a mistake, one she had not expected the Sith Lord to make: the door had been flung closed so hard the latch had ripped partially out of the wall. I could push the door open, she thought excitedly. The storm trooper looked at her with disdain, and she quickly looked away to avoid any suspicion. The next moment the trooper would let his guard down even for a second, Padme vowed to escape. He will not keep me here, even if it means death.
xxx
Within the hour, the guard had let his aggressive authoritative stance mellow into one of boredom. While he probably thought of drinking with other stormtroopers later, or training, or women, Padme had only one thing on her mind: knocking him out and getting far, far away from this place. Almost, she thought anxiously as he yawned boredly. She was waiting for the precise moment he'd yawn again, taking his hand off his blaster for a mere second. He had done so twice before, and now she was certain he'd let his guard down once again.
Eventually, her patience was rewarded. The guard put his hand to his face to yawn, and in that moment, Padme furiously kicked the metal door, the lock coming undone completely and ripping from the wall. The guard let out a quick yell before Padme leapt out, grabbing the blaster from his holster. She blasted him quickly.
"Sorry," she murmured quietly, before dragging his body into the cell. Padme quickly undressed the man into his undergarments, sliding his armor on. Now, she was ready to escape. Clutching the blaster close, she made her way cautiously through the halls of the unfamiliar Mustafar base.
Several times she passed groups of stormtroopers, the hair on her neck standing on end. If I'm caught, I'll blast myself, she decided. The lives of her children were far more important than her own in her mind, and she would do anything to protect them- even taking her own life. But I'd much rather get out of here and see them again, she thought.
As Padme padded down the twisted halls, she began to grow more and more frustrated at her inability to find the main hangar where her escape ship would be awaiting.
"Damn this place, damn the Empire," she cursed under her breath, traversing the halls in hope of her escape.
xxx
"Sometimes a firm hand is necessary for your growth in the dark side of the Force. I hope you can appreciate such a thing," Sidious growled down to his young apprentice, who bowed down before his master in obedience.
"Yes, Master."
"Then why do I sense a chip on your shoulder? Do you need another lesson in obedience?"
"No, Master… But I cannot accept the existence of the twins in the galaxy," Vader rasped.
"You will accept it," Sidious snarled at him.
"I will find them!"
"You will serve your Emperor and your Master! Enough of this nonsense about those whelps! They are nothing, they serve us no use. They make you weak," Sidious snapped.
"They are my children. My children!" the Sith Lord screeched. Blue electricity tickled the ends of Sidious's fingertips. The great lightning cast itself down upon Vader, but this time he tried in vain to deflect it with his saber. Slowly it creeped up his saber and into his veins, searing his suit and his skin. Vader twisted to the ground, Sidious laughing as he injected more and more pain onto his apprentice. Finally, he ceased his torrent on Vader, who grovelled on the ground in agony.
"You will do your duty to your Emperor, your master, and the Empire. I will not ask again," Sidious growled. Despite the pain, all Vader could feel was unbridled resentment. He wanted to fight more, but he knew he would be dancing with death if he chose to do so. Instead, Vader growled under his mask and stood shakily to his feet.
"Yes, master," he seethed before spinning away in a rage. Sidious frowned. Something is amiss with my new apprentice, he thought warily. The situation with the twins' existence was becoming a problem Sidious could not foresee resolving itself. He suddenly turned on the hologram, ringing from the holding cells from down below. It was unusual for a stormtrooper captain to summon the Emperor himself unannounced and so directly. Sidious's curiosity was piqued, and he prepared himself for news, most likely of the unpleasant variety.
"My Lord," the captain said courteously.
"What occasion warrants your contacting me so unexpectedly?" he muttered disdainfully. The captain shifted uncomfortably, fearing for his life.
"It seems prisoner 58392 has escaped. She has not been apprehended, but my platoon has blockaded the main hangar as well as any escape routes she could take. I will report back when she is brought into custody," he explained. Sidious's eyebrows knitted in confusion.
"Which prisoner? I was unaware we had any female political prisoners in our custody," he asked.
"The handmaiden from Naboo. Lord Vader assured me that he would make you aware of her detainment." At this, Sidious's interest was beyond piqued: not only was there a mysterious woman linked to his apprentice's deceased wife, who knew the location of the twins, but his apprentice had not extracted the location yet in addition to hiding her. Very peculiar, he thought.
"Find her. Bring her to me immediately when you do. Alive. That is an order," he barked.
"Yes, my Lord." The captain clicked off the hologram, while Sidious waited impatiently for the arrival of this handmaiden Very, very peculiar.
xxx
Vader stormed off in a rage to the holding cells. I must see her again, he thought angrily. Yet as he approached, platoons of stormtroopers were running through the halls, blasters in hand. Eventually after passing a third platoon, he asked the captain of the squad what was going on.
"The handmaiden from Naboo escaped. We're searching for her now," he said quickly.
"Why was I not informed immediately-" Just as Vader finished, a hologram interrupted them on the captain's wrist. A blue image of another captain came into view.
"Fugitive has been apprehended," he said. A chill ran through Vader's spine.
"Bring her to me. At once," Vader snarled.
"I'm sorry, my Lord, but we have strict orders to bring her before the Emperor as soon as she is found," he explained warily. Rage boiled inside him, and Vader let out a panicked snarl before turning back to the throne room. How did she escape? How did my master find out about her? What is going to do with her? he wondered, hastily running back to the throne room as soon as he could. She was his only link to his children, and Vader knew his master was about to do something to her that he could not bear. He knew Sidious would break that link, and Vader would kill him before that would ever happen- or die trying.
xxx
Vader entered the throne room angrily, his cloak waving furiously behind him as he sprinted in. Sidious frowned at his arrival.
"Why is the handmaiden being brought before you?" Vader panted.
"Why does it concern you so? What is she hiding and why did you hide her from me?" Sidious countered. Cold sweat beaded anxiously on Vader's masked brow, the hair standing up on the back of his neck. He took several heavy breaths before the sound of footsteps filled the room. Two stormtroopers led her into the throne room. She was still garbed in the uniform of the stormtrooper she'd blasted, kicking wildly at the two men holding her.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she screeched futilely. As she was dragged in, Padme's furious rage faltered when she looked up at Darth Sidious. No, this can't be, she thought tearfully. Vader sensed her distress at the sight of him mingling with his own at what was about to happen. The stormtroopers forced Padme to kneel before him. Vader stood helplessly aside, watching anxiously.
"Now tell me, my apprentice, why you hid her from me. If you tell me, perhaps I will allow her to live," Sidious growled. Vader swallowed hard, every fiber in his soul screaming not to speak.
"She has the location of the twins. I have kept her my prisoner in order to obtain their coordinates," he rasped. Sidious's lip twitched.
"Why haven't you taken this information yourself? I could rip it from her mind like an overripe apple off a tree, as I know you are fully capable of doing. Why have you hesitated?" he growled. Vader was silent, as was Padme. Her heart beat like a rabbit's ready to flee. Sidious looked at his obstinate apprentice and then back at Padme.
"Take off your helmet," Sidious ordered Padme.
"No," Vader blurted.
"Do it. Now," Sidious snarled. Padme slowly reached up to the helmet and lifted it off her head. Vader wanted to protest again, but refrained for fear of what Sidious would do. She dropped the helmet, revealing her face- a face that Sidious was more than familiar with as well. His eyes widened in shock as he paused for a few moments, then a wicked smile cracked upon his face.
"Ah, now I see why," he murmured. Vader was uneasy. Meanwhile, Padme began to grow confused at the exchange. She knew there was something unspoken going on between the three of them, but she could not put a finger on it. Instead, leapt forward at Sidious.
"Kill me, you monster! How dare you betray the Republic and Naboo!" she yelled at him. I would rather die than give Luke and Leia to you, she thought angrily.
"No!" Vader screamed, lunging forward like a panther to grab her. Sidious smiled and laughed, watching the handmaiden struggle in the much stronger hands of his apprentice. Blue lightning danced on the tips of his fingers, waiting for the chance to strike her down. Eventually, Padme cried angrily against Vader's arms as he held her down.
"My dear, what kind of person do you think I am killing an innocent woman as beautiful as yourself?" Sidious murmured sweetly. Padme eyed him warily. Sidious smiled widely, his rotten gnarled teeth protruding out.
"My apprentice, I do believe I've been wrong in my assessment. I hope you can forgive my… methods of reprimanding you. Perhaps it is right for you to reunite with your children after all," Sidious murmured. At this Padme's heart skipped a beat: his children? she thought in shock. Padme felt dizzy, as though she were going to pass out.
He is my husband.
Vader watched his master warily. Despite his kind words, they sent goosebumps down his skin. Something was wrong about his change of heart, and Vader knew it.
"You… mean that?" Vader asked.
"Yes, yes. On second thought, you have been so tormented by the loss of your wife and children, you have not been the same apprentice I took under my wing. I think if this handmaiden can give you their locations, and if they would bring you some contentment, you would finally be able to serve the Empire to your full capabilities," Sidious murmured, smiling. Vader let go of Padme, the two standing before him in anticipation. Suddenly, Sidious's smile faltered.
"Take the location from her and execute her. Now," he ordered.
"I… I can't," Vader rasped in surprise.
"Why not?"
"I… can't bring myself to harm her," he finished reluctantly. Sidious frowned.
"Do you want your children back or not?" he snapped.
"Yes… but not like this," Vader breathed. Sidious sighed nonchalantly.
"You're weak. Look away then, my apprentice. I will do what should have been done in the first place," he snarled wickedly. Lightning shot down from his fingers and seared into Padme's flesh. She let out an agonized scream, and Vader's eyes widened in horror.
"No!" he screamed, throwing himself in front of his master's lightning. Vader dispatched his saber amidst the torment, and within a few seconds deflected one of Sidious's heavy bolts. Padme was breathing heavily in a panic. Part of her wanted to run, but the other part of her couldn't bear it. I won't leave Ani, she thought. Her body was racked with pain.
"Go!" Vader screeched at her.
"You dare defy me, boy?" Sidious snarled, sending more and more lightning down at him. Vader deflected every bolt, frustrating his master immensely. Padme watched the two in horror like a deer in a headlights.
"Go, now!" Vader snarled at her. He force pushed her hard, sending her body flying out into the halls beyond the throne room. Padme tried to enter again as they fought until finally Vader used his mind tricks on her.
"You will go to my quarters," he seethed. A trance fell over Padme's face.
"I… I will go to your quarters," she murmured, turning slowly to limp off through the halls. Sidious had grown tired of throwing lightning at his apprentice, who he had underestimated in his ability to deflect his lightning. He is the Chosen One, much stronger in the Force than me, Sidious thought irritably. He dispatched his own lightsaber, towering above his apprentice.
"I do not wish to challenge you, master," Vader panted. Sidious eyed him viciously for several moments. He knew Vader would not back down, and Sidious knew he had lost this battle against his apprentice. He would either kill Vader or turn him away from the Empire if they continued this battle. Worse than that, Sidious knew Vader was more than a match for himself, and Vader could kill him outright. Eventually, after several tense moments of contemplation, Sidious returned his blade to its sheath. Vader let out a sigh of relief, and Sidious sat irritably back into his throne.
"I will not bring harm to her. I cannot. I will find my children and raise them," Vader rasped shakily. Sidious glared back at him, displeased.
"Can I tell you of the legend of a man a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?" his master questioned. Vader nodded warily, his saber still held in his hand.
"There once was an Emperor much like yourself: strong, fierce, wild… Like you, he killed his wife in a rage. He was so distraught by this he saw her face everywhere, even in a young peasant boy named Sporus. Sporus looked so much like his wife the Emperor ordered him castrated and dressed like his wife, and kept in a room nearby for his pleasure. Of course Sporus was not his wife, but he pretended he was to soothe his own weakness," Sidious concluded. Vader eyed him uneasily, unsure of what point his master was trying to make.
"Is she your Sporus?" he growled. Instead of responding, Vader angrily stormed out of the throne room. When he was gone, Sidious let out a frustrated snarl. Furiously he turned on his hologram to Tarkin, who was somewhere on the base making preparations for the Imperial Army.
"My Lord," Tarkin said.
"We have a problem," Sidious growled angrily.
"I heard that the escaped prisoner was apprehended-"
"Worse. She knows the location of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala's children, and is being kept in leisure like a pet bird by Lord Vader himself," Sidious snarled. Tarkin's brows furrowed.
"It was common knowledge that the children died alongside Padme Amidala. How can this be?" Tarkin questioned.
"Because she is Padme Amidala in disguise," Sidious snarled. He had sensed it even before she had removed her mask. Her accent could fool Vader for now, but she could not fool Sidious himself. Tarkin's eyes widened. "She is in Vader's quarters. Execute her immediately. He must not know that she is his wife or where their children are. Get the whereabouts of those twins so I can put an end to this madness at once!"
"Yes, sir," Tarkin murmured. Unbeknownst to Vader, Padme's days on Mustafar were numbered.