Chapter Seventeen: The Dress Up
Padmé sat on the floor with Leia sitting on her lap. The mother had found a strand of silver beads in her closet and was weaving it into the girls hair. Leia sat still and quiet as she let her hair be spun and coiled into a fancy updo. Draped around the small girl was an elaborately embroidered scarf that had been found in the closet. Delicate flowers in silver, gold, and purple threads snaked along a dark blue fabric. Small gold tassels hung off the edges of the scarf.
"You look just like a princess, Leia," Luke had said when Padmé had wrapped the scarf around Leia.
The twins had discovered Padmé's mostly untouched closet in her bedroom. Vader had supplied Padmé with a few practical but rather dull outfits. Though rather shapeless and bland, she had stuck to wearing them than any of the fancy clothes. Yet the twins had been fascinated with the closet. Thus they had started their game of dress up.
Padmé couldn't help but smile at Leia's own joy. Not that Padmé discounted Luke's enjoyment, but Luke was much easier to please. Leia still had shadows of sadness, and she truly seemed to enjoy the lush fabrics and accessories.
Padmé was aware that Alderaan held a bit of an austere fashion sense. True the clothes could be very beautiful and well-made, but there was a sense of simplicity. Those from Alderaan were not known for their loud fashion statements. It might have been Leia's first experience with such clothes seeing Padmé's wildly colorful and extensive wardrobe.
"There," Padmé said as she finished pinning Leia's hair into a nest of curls and silver beads.
"I want to dress up too!" Luke said doing a series of small excited jumps. "I want to be a prince!"
The three quickly went to search the closet. Padmé had no care for taking the outfits off their hangars and throwing them to the floor. She was looking for something that would fit the small boy's frame. Eventually they settled on short-sleeve top that Padmé tied the bottom of to allow Luke to walk freely. The top was green with beaded details along the collar.
The twins eventually found a necklace that Luke managed to balance on his head as a crown. Once the children were done getting dressed, they turned their attention to their mother.
"You have to get dressed up, too!" Luke said.
Leia smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Please put on a dress!"
While Padmé kept her smile up in front her children, she couldn't help the small pang in her heart as she glanced at the clothes. She still had an aversion to wearing these clothes. Clothes picked out by Vader.
"You have to be the queen!" Luke added. "For the prince and the princess."
"I bet you'll look really pretty," Leia added.
Padmé looked from one set of blue eyes to another set of brown eyes. She couldn't say no to either of them. "But whichever one shall I wear?" she said as looked back over at the messy closet. "Perhaps you two shall help pick an outfit out?" The twins broke out in a large smile and both rushed off. They grabbed at some outfits as they decided which one would be best.
A short time later Padmé was dressed in a rather mix-matched outfit. She wore a silk shirt in light teal picked out by Leia. Over that was a heavy velvet jacket in a dark red with gold borders picked out by Luke. The bottom was a flowing skirt in purple with a geometric motif pattern in a darker purple that had been picked out by both children. Padmé picked out a simple headpiece of some beaded strands.
The three then paraded their way around the bedroom. Leia was trying to show Luke how to walk like a proper prince with his chin parallel to the ground and a straight back. Padmé simply watched her children when she felt hands softly settle on her shoulders. She gave a small jump, but otherwise didn't turn to face him. She felt Vader's body step up close behind her. She felt the heat of his body on her back. One hand came down from the shoulder and ran through the loose curls on her back.
"Father!" Luke exclaimed as he noticed Vader. He trotted over. "How do I look?"
"Wonderful," Vader replied. Padmé could hear his amusement.
"How does mother look? Leia and I picked it out!" Luke said as came and wrapped his arms around Padmé's waist. Leia had walked up behind Luke. Though she didn't embrace her mother, she stood close by. Her big eyes locked on her father.
Vader stepped out from Padmé's back. He gave an exaggerated look over her body with his blue eyes. "Why my love I must say you look absolutely beautiful. Your outfit is stunning." he said with a smile. Both twins smiled back at the warm compliments.
"We're playing. Mother is a queen," Luke explained. "I'm a prince and Leia is a princess. Do you want to play with us? You can be the king."
"A king? No I'm afraid that won't do," Vader said. Luke frowned. "I'll be something much more than that. An emperor with your mother as my empress." Vader was staring at Padmé, and though his eyes were blue, they seemed cold and hard.
Yet their son in his sweet pure innocence, noticed nothing amiss. "Ok," he said happy to merely have his father join in his game. "You need to get dressed." Luke unwrapped himself from Padmé and grabbed Vader's gloved hand. He started to pull his father towards the closet. Leia only moved closer to Padmé. Her small form was leaning against Padmé's legs.
"Leia?" Padmé asked. The girl didn't look up, but kept looking into the closet.
"It wasn't a game," she said softly. Padmé knelt down and gently put an arm around the girl. Leia looked over at her mother. "It wasn't a game. He's not playing. He really is the Emperor." Leia's eyes were filled with fear, and Padmé could only hug her daughter in a tight embrace in hopes of chasing it away before Vader returned and noticed something amiss.
Padmé felt shamed that it was the first time she had thought about what her children knew. What did they know about the galaxy? The Empire? The Emperor? Luke appeared to not know much, but Leia did. She knew Vader was the Emperor. What had she learned about him? Did she follow the propaganda-filled holonews broadcasts? Knowing Bail Organa, surely not.
Bail, Padmé thought. What had become of him? Of his wife? What had happened when Vader came to claim his daughter? Padmé could hear Luke finishing up dressing up his father. Yet Padmé could still tell Leia was not comfortable.
"Leia listen to me," she said. The young girl looked over. "You are Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan. You're going to be brave. You're going to make your parents proud." To say some of these things tore at Padmé. To call Leia a different name. To say she had different parents. Yet she knew this was a moment where Leia needed strength. "You will face the Emperor, your father. Your birth father. And you will not be afraid."
A long moment stretched between the two as Leia stared at Padmé. She was clearly contemplating the words. Finally she gave a small nod of her head. Padmé stood back up.
"Leia! Mother!" Luke called as he came jogging out of the closet. "Look at father!"
Padmé couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her. She could feel Leia loosen up as well. Vader wore a long cloak, possibly one of the few items of clothing that would actually fit his form. The cloak started off as a steel blue and blended down into a dark gray at the bottom. Small white beads were woven into a swirling pattern around the bottom. Vader had been accessorized with a few chunky bracelets and an impressive red-stoned necklace that was acting as a crown.
Vader walked over to the girls. He wrapped his arms around Padmé. His eyes were blue, sparkling with humor and warmth.
"Now your highness," Vader said lightheartedly. "Is that how you greet your Emperor?"
"Forgive me your majesty," Padmé said. "But your choice of outfit today is . . ." She paused and glanced down at Luke, who now stood nearby. His eyes were wide, and he was hanging on to every word.
"Amazing? Spectacular? Stunning?" Vader offered. "Alluring?"
"Let's go with unbelievable," Padmé said as she pulled away from him.
The rest of the day and evening went along smoothly. After the twins were put to bed, Padmé retreated into her bedroom to finally free herself from the mismatched clothes. Vader followed her and came to stand right behind her. One hand wrapped around her waist. He leaned over and placed his mouth on the base of her neck. He then started to give slow open-mouthed kisses that moved up her neck.
As he reached the top of her neck, he said in a low husky voice, "And you say you are a bad mother." He paused to give off another kiss. "It appears you are doing an excellent job, my empress." The way he said the last word was filled with pleasure and a certain sense of twisted joy. "Though I don't believe these clothes are really fit for such a title."
Again he started to kiss along her neck, this time moving down the neck. Both his hands moved and started to peel off the velvet jacket. Once her arms were free of the jacket, Vader dropped it to the floor and then moved on to the skirt. He undid the hidden clasps and the zipper and let the smooth fabric fall to the ground. One gloved hand and one calloused hand slid under the silky shirt against her sides. The hands lifted the shirt over her head and threw it to the ground.
Vader gently spun her so she faced him. His gold eyes traveled up and down her body, which still wore her under garments. A pleased smile ran across his lips.
"Now this is much more fitting of my empress," he said as he cupped her face in his hands.
That night after Vader had fallen asleep, Padmé still found herself awake. Her mind couldn't stop thinking back to Vader and Anakin. She had given up believing that Anakin had survived. She had lost him, her husband, her love of her life. Yet now Padmé was starting to doubt that. There was no way Vader could be this kind.
Suddenly, Vader jolted awake and sat straight up in bed. He was tense and his eyes seem to focus on something beyond that room. Then he took a sharp intake of air, before he threw the covers off of him and ran out of the room.
What was wrong? Is it the children? Something with the ship? The Empire?
Yet Padmé couldn't shake her worries and fears that it was the children. She slipped out of bed and wrapped a white silk robe around her. The door to the bedroom was still open. As she approached it she saw Vader exiting the hallway door across the living room. He was carrying Leia, whose tiny arms were wrapped tightly around her father. Her head was buried into his neck.
Padmé took a step back into the room as Vader entered. "What happened?" she asked. At hearing Padmé's voice, Leia brought her head up and looked at her mother. Her face was stained with tears. Upon seeing her mother, Leia let go of Vader and reached out for her mother with a small whine. Padmé stepped forward and took the child into her own arms.
"It was a bad dream," Vader said. He placed his flesh hand on Leia's back and started to rub it comfortably.
Padmé carried Leia back over to the bed. She placed Leia down and got into the bed with her. Leia curled up against her mother as Padmé pulled the covers over both of them. Padmé wrapped an arm around her child. Vader came into the bed a few moments later. He slid under the covers and placed his flesh hand on Leia's hand. Eventually Leia's whimpers calmed down and an even breathing fell upon the child as she fell asleep.
Padmé looked up into the blue eyes of her husband. He smiled warmly over at her. A new fresh ache tore through Padmé's heart.
Anakin.