Vader's world seemed to come to a shuddering halt at the familiar voice. The presence he had attributed to memories of Tatooine, the unexplained presence that had his feelings whirling in turmoil for the first time in three years . . .
He stood, frozen, unable to even turn his head as the girl ran past him.
The girl . . .
Chocolate brown curls and eyes, fearless and strong . . .
His muscles finally unclenched allowing him to turn to face the hooded person to whom the girl was running to. "W-Who are you?" he whispered roughly, hating the uncontrolled emotion that so plainly spilled out of him.
The figure faltered, confused, then straightened haughtily, lifting its chin. "None of your concern." The voice was icy and scornful, startling him in the foreignness of its tone- yet it was one he knew so well he was certain he could never forget it, ringing in his eyes and mind although he did all he could to push it away.
It could not be.
She was . . .
Dead . . .
Yet so alive . . .
And suddenly all he wanted was to hear that voice, hear it say his name with the warm, loving caress it reserved only for him.
Anakin . . . I love you . . .
Then the frozen state melted and there was fire, swirling its way through him, igniting his veins and his nerves, and he could feel, so much that it made him tremble in its intensity.
Everything was so wrong, but in his mind there was only her . . .
"Momma, momma, what's going on?" the child pleaded, pulling incessantly at the figure's cloak. "Momma-!"
One tug too hard and the hood had fallen, the figure giving a cry of alarm at the revealing of its identity to a deadly Sith Lord.
Vader took no notice.
His eyes devoured the figure hungrily, taking in the sight like it was water in a scorched desert.
For previously hidden was a mass of thick, chestnut locks, tumbling down the elegant slope of a finely arched neck and curling handsomely over graceful shoulders. The cheeks were rosy, glowing with health, though the skin still the same shade of pale moonlight. He frowned as he noticed dark circles shadowing an otherwise flawless complexion that had never been there previously, as if a good night's sleep was impossible to come by.
But what drew him and took his breath away were the eyes, large and chocolate brown as he remembered them. He wanted to dive into them and rest in the peace there that always had been waiting, but something stopped him.
They were different- though they looked the same, it was the expression in them that had him unnerved. The love and acceptance was gone; the usually warm brown color was almost icy in her coldness. They were narrowed, in obvious hate and distaste, the defiance marked in the arch of one fine eyebrow.
He never wanted her to look at him like that again.
"Padme . . . " He stumbled forward, his gloved hand reaching longingly for her. In that one word he could hear the tremor of a thousand unspoken ones, raw emotion clinging to every syllable- but for once he did not care, the man shoving the growling beast into submission if only for a second. Because she was here, his Padme, his angel; somehow, when she had been ripped from him in death . . . "Angel . . . "
She stiffened, shuddering violently in shock and revulsion. There was an agonized silence; and then she started, raising her head proudly. "No more of your malicious playacting, Vader," she spat. "Anakin may have done some horrible things, but he would never do what you have done. Anakin may have become unrecognizable, but he would never become the monster you are."
And now her eyes were not full of distaste but deep revulsion, echoing throughout every part of her in her disdainful stance and protective arms around the child, hiding it from him . . . and his vision blurred red, the agony sweeping over him in a new fire and then being replaced by a cold black tidal wave, dousing the fire in its darkness and consuming him in the rage . . .
He strode forward, taking her by the collar and pulling her head to meet his. Her neck strained away from him, her gaze focused haughtily away from him.
"Don't speak to me like that," he hissed. "You will see it from my side soon enough."
Then her eyes flickered to meet his hooded head, only seeing the glowing gold in the darkness but meeting them head on. "You're not Anakin!" She shook her head stubbornly, her nose turned up in disgust. "You aren't-" Her voice trailed off, more quiet now, almost as if she was speaking to herself. "You can't be . . . "
"I'm not," he agreed darkly. "I'm Vader. But I was Anakin Skywalker- and therefore, you are my wife and belong to me."
He was interrupted by the child, yanking on his sleeve. "Don't be mean to momma!" she said sternly. His eyes moved to meet hers, realizing the extent of the situation for the first time. She met his gaze unblinkingly.
"Padme," he said slowly, his tone almost dangerous in the jealously licking at his insides. "Who is the father?"
For an instant, her eyes widened; then they tightened and her defensive, stubborn stance seemed to all but evaporate, the blazing look being replaced by an almost blank one, as if she had become numb. There were faint lines he had not noticed before forming on her skin, marring the perfect smoothness. "Why do you need to know?" she asked bitterly. "If you are truly Vader, I have no business with you, and you have none knowing my personal business." She pushed his hand from her collar, attempting to push past him.
"It doesn't matter who I am now!" he roared. "I am him-," he stopped, correctly himself angrily. "I am your husband- and I have every right to know who my wife has been sleeping with in my absence!"
He did not dare to let the pain leak through; he opened the floodgates and the Dark Side poured forth, hardening it into steely rage that another man had touched his Padme.
She blinked, traces of the disbelief surfacing in the uncertainty of her countenance. She opened her mouth to reply, but stopped abruptly when a little boy ran forward, his adorable features twisted in an exasperated expression. "Leia, Momma, I'm so bad at hide and-"
His eyes met Vader's, his words cutting off in shock at the appearance of the Dark Lord. But Vader did not register the boy's surprise, only that his eyes were blue - a bright, clear, familiar blue, his hair a mass of dark blonde curls cropped short . . . and he was obviously the same age as the girl . . .
"T-The child . . . " he breathed, aghast. "T-The child . . . twins?"
She recovered quickly, the coldness returning as she rolled her eyes. "Not yours," she snapped. "Anakin's."
His expression darkened, shoving the satisfaction at the discovery deep inside him, when the man was again locked away. "Whatever," he said irritably. "Come with me."
Padme's jaw dropped, astounded. "To think-!" she cried angrily. "You abandon your family, leaving them to find their own way, forcing them to hide on their own and protect themselves from you, and you expect us to drop everything and go with you?"
Vader clenched his jaw, holding his rage in knowing it would do him little good. "It doesn't matter what you think," he said curtly. "You're coming with me."
"How dare-"
A hand was placed almost tenderly upon her forehead and Padme Amidala fell unconscious into black clad arms as darkness swept over her.
Vader took Luke and Leia by the hand, holding tightly onto their mother with the other. "Don't worry, little ones." There was just the barest touch of softness in his tone. "I'm not going to hurt Mommy. We're all going to be one big happy family."
Padme awoke to gentle rocking. Wincing at the banging headache, she groaned slightly, squeezing her eyes even tighter shut and snuggling into the warmth beneath her. She had no desire to awaken herself further to the pain; the strange rest she had been in seemed to offer a better way out. Perhaps she could continue sleeping . . .
"Dada," came an inquisitive voice to her right, "where are we going?"
"We're going to my home, little one." The voice above was a soothing, familiar one, of a beloved . . .
"Where is that?" asked an excited one. "Are we gonna fly in space?"
There was a chuckle of part amusement and part understanding. "Yes, child. I live on a space ship. A very big space ship."
"Is that yours? Are we getting on it now?!"
Wait a second . . . that wasn't Obi-Wan's voice . . .
And they certainly didn't have plans to be traveling right now-
She sat bolt upright, gasping as her sudden movement almost had her launching out of her spot onto the sand and the bright light hit her eyes like a shock wave. The memories and emotions pushed at her, of the past and the present- clamoring for attention and simultaneously overwhelming her senses - but she refused them entrance into her thoughts, burying them deep within the recesses of her mind.
It was too much- too much to take in right now when her children's lives were in danger.
No, she must focus on getting them away from the evil Sith Lord, to safety . . .
You mean their father? a traitorous little voice whispered inside of her.
No, Darth Vader was another being; their father, her husband was no more, washed away in the evil that consumed his body, and she must remember that.
She would protect her children at all costs.
Padme turned to the man holding her, pushing herself as far as possible away from the arms that had been so secure and comfortable just moments ago. "Get your filthy hands off of me!" she hissed, pushing in vain at his hard chest. She removed her hands quickly. "You're not allowed to just kidnap me and my children if you feel like it because I won't come!"
"Our children," he corrected darkly, tightening his grip on her body. "And both you and them belong to me. I shouldn't need to kidnap you- you should willingly come with me. It's not my fault you're so against the idea of our family."
"Family," she spat. "Yes, the family of us three that you abandoned for the Dark Side." She glared at him in hatred. "You lost us when you decided to choke me."
The hooded head snapped up, the air dropping to freezing in the blazing heat. She tumbled to the ground, almost slamming into his boots as he came to a violent stop. "Don't speak to me like that!" he snarled, his finger raised in front of her threateningly. "You have no idea-!" He pulled her roughly to her feet, shoving her forward. "You have no right to speak to me like that," he growled menacingly. "And you better remember that."
"I'm not afraid of you!" Padme retorted, trying to control the trembling as she stared defiantly up into the glowing yellow eyes. "You hold no power over me!" She turned back, where the twins were walking a few feet behind Vader, shocked silent. Grabbing their hands, she pulled them protectively before her, giving him a look reeking of abhorrence. "I don't know how I ever loved something like you."
He stilled suddenly, the dark gaze trained on her. He was completely motionless- just stood there: silent, unmoving, and unreadable. Padme faltered slightly under the intensity of his eyes, expressionless, yet underneath churning with something she did not know. She shivered, feeling suddenly uncertain.
There was a long pause- and then, a few quick steps and he had brushed past her. "It doesn't matter how you feel about me," he growled, not looking back at her. "I don't need love. You will come with me, and you will obey me. That is not an option."
Obi-Wan Kenobi felt the dark presence in the Force as soon as he reached the market, shrouding the light he had come to recognize as Padme and the twins.
Vader. After so many years of fighting alongside him in the Clone Wars, it would have been impossible to mistake his presence, even obstructed by the sheets of darkness he was wrapped in.
Still, whatever he did to differentiate Vader from the Anakin Skywalker he had cared for, the familiar Force presence of his former padawan could not be separated from the pure evil radiating from his very being. He had to admit the truth.
Though Anakin Skywalker may have once loved Padme Amidala, desperately, he would not hesitate to harm her and the children now. Obi-Wan had see his former padawan grip his pregant wife's throat in a wild rage, cutting the air from her lungs. He had seen her crumble to the floor, unconscious.
And now he had been immersed in the Dark Side for three years.
To think that he would show them kindness and mercy was a desperate and illogical thought.
He jumped on his speeder and raced back the way he'd come, pushing the speed to an unnatural extent- praying to the Force that it would stay in one piece.
When he arrived back at the house, it was empty.
It had been empty for over an hour.
The feeling of death not far away was unmistakable.
Obi-Wan allowed himself one Huttese curse word - learned from Anakin, might he add - before he was in the speeder again, rushing off over the sands along the common walked trails. Padme must have been taking a walk with the twins . . .
As he approached Mos Espa, he stopped suddenly, the sight before him confirming his fears and the dread creeping in. The horror was such that the allowed second curse word did not make it from his lips.
A huge ship had landed there, along with several small ones, surrounded by rows upon rows of stormtroopers stationed at the ready. And just visible in the distance with Obi-Wan's sharp eyes, death- masses upon masses of bodies littering the sand, smoking rising from homes, destruction and chaos and . . . not a single living soul, except that of a dark presence and three others being hurried away from it and towards the ship.
Vader was taking them prisoner.
The hooded head snapped in his direction, sensing him even from a hundred yards away. There was a moment of stillness and a flash of something in the yellow eyes; then a savage snarl ripped through the air. Vader scooped the struggling woman up with one arm and the children with the Force, carrying them swiftly up the ramp even as her desperate cry echoed across the sands and little arms reached towards him with warm greeting.
"OBI-WAN!"
Another snarl and the door slammed shut, even as Obi-Wan sprinted forward with his lightsaber blazing, yelling out for them.
Lights flashed and the ship rumbled to life, even as he slashed his way furiously through dozens of clones.
He was too late.
In a last attempt, he knocked aside the nearest men, reaching out with one great thrust of the Force and pulling the ship back towards the planet.
But a dark power rose, pushing back, and with a clone aiming at his back Obi-Wan had no choice but to turn and defend himself . . .
A screech of the engine, and it was gone.
Hope anyone reading enjoyed! I worked really hard on the dynamics of this chapter :)
IMPORTANT NOTE: About half the book is done so far, but I might quit the posting, as it doesn't seem like anyone is interested in reading this fanfiction - there only seems to be one person. If anyone else is out there reading, please comment and let me know; I don't want to discontinue the posting if there are actually people interested. If a decent number of people are actually interested I will happily start posting the rest :)
