Chapter 42: The Youngest
Padmé glared at Bail, but his face was neutral. Perhaps a bit tired. But it didn't seem to hold the venom of Padmé's stare.
"Padmé, put your blaster down and-" he said.
"And what?" she snapped. "Have one of your men attack me again? Leave me for dead? Use me in another ploy or diversion? I will not be a pawn in your games. In anyone's game anymore."
Bail sighed and slightly shook his head.
"Padmé, I don't think you're in any position to . . ."
She ripped her blaster up and positioned it right under her chin. The barrel dug into the soft flesh there.
Everyone tensed up.
"Padmé," Bail said in a low voice.
"I meant it," she said.
It wasn't her first choice. Not even her third choice, but she would not be used against her husband or her children by . . . by them. She was Padmé Amidala.
Suddenly the blaster jerked out of her hand. It soared into the air, over the heads of the people surrounding her, and clattered softly to the ground.
She sucked in a sharp breath as her eyes scanned the crowd looking for the Force user as no one else could have pulled that off. It was on her second sweep of the crowd that her eyes stopped on a pair of familiar blue-grey eyes.
Obi-Wan Kenobi.
She wasn't surprised.
Emperor Vader swept down the ramp of his shuttle and into his palace on Mustafar. A single servant, the one who was in charge of running the palace, awaited him. He bowed, but Vader didn't pause. He surged forward leaving the man to scramble to catch up.
"Your- your majesty," the man said out of breath. "Welcome back to Mustafar."
"Any updates?" he asked.
"No, sir," the man said. He was struggling to keep up with Vader's fast pace. "The girl still has yet to say anything. But we did finally get her to eat."
They entered a turbolift.
"Also the medical staff have released a report of recommendations for the girl," the servant said as he dabbed his sweaty face with a handkerchief.
"Recommendations?" Vader growled.
"Vaccines and vitamins," the servant said. "She is a bit underweight and small for her age. Perhaps malnourished."
Vader grounded his teeth together. His hands balled into tight fists. He wasn't that surprised. Padmé had most likely been living a horrid life the past four years, and of course, his little girl was suffering the consequences.
The lift opened and Vader stormed out. This level was strictly for the personal quarters of his family. He could feel his daughter in the Force. Small, but strong. So much like Luke and Leia. So much like him. He used the Force to open the door to his own room, walked in and paused.
A servant woman sat on the edge of his bed and a small little girl was curled up amongst his pillows with her knees to her chest. Her arms wrapped tightly around them. Her large blue eyes were instantly on him. The servant stood up and bowed. Vader waved his hand in dismissal and she left him alone, for the first time, with his daughter. He quietly crossed the room and came to the side of the bed.
He looked down at her; she looked up at him. She was so small. Had Luke and Leia ever been this small? Perhaps when he first found them? But even then they had been a year older than this little one. Vader slowly lowered himself to the edge of the bed in the very spot the servant had just been sitting.
"Hello there," he said softly.
Big blue eyes continued to stare at him. Vader took a deep breath.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked. She didn't respond. "I'm your father."
Still nothing.
There was a slight pain in Vader's heart. He shouldn't be surprised considering what had happened to the twins. At least this child had been raised with her mother, and like the other members of this family, had been abandoned by Padmé. She had been left adrift in a spaceship all by herself. It had exited out of hyperspace near the planet broadcasting an old code Senator Amidala of Naboo.
Anger flared up inside him. The little girl flinched. She curled up tighter as she sensed it. He pushed the emotion down. It would do no good to get angry here. He slowly reached forward and those blue eyes watched his hand, but she didn't shrink away. He gently placed his hand, his flesh hand, on the top of her head. He felt the soft curls. It was so much like Padmé's hair.
He started to gently stroke it. The little girl seemed to relax a small fraction.
"You're safe now," Vader said. His voice was still soft.
They sat like that for a while.
"Are you hungry?" he asked. She shook her head slightly. "Thirsty?" Again she shook her head no.
He sighed. He knew that wasn't the truth. She had barely eaten anything since arriving here. He'd devoured everything in all the reports about her.
"Little one," he said. "You have to eat."
"Mommy," came a soft pathetic little voice that was laced with longing and sadness.
It was like an arrow, and it stabbed Vader right in the heart. He knew this heartbreak. This loneliness. He scooted up the bed and wrapped his arms around his daughter. He pulled her to him. She didn't uncurl but she did rest her head against his chest. Vader leaned his head down and left a small kiss on top of her head.
"Don't worry," Vader said softly. "I'll find her."
He would. One way or another, it was time to find his wife and bring her to his side for good.
Vader sat in his office on board his personal star destroyer. The blue streaks of hyperspace sped by outside the viewport. He was on his way back to Imperial Center with his little daughter in tow. Varné was asleep in his room nearby.
There was no reason to stay on Mustafar. He didn't have anything for the girl there. No clothes her size, no real room of her own, no toys except for a small stuffed Twi'lek she carried around with her that she had when they found her on the ship. Plus that was where Luke and Leia were, who were very excited to meet their sister. He had charged them with helping to prepare a room for her. A task they seemed enthusiastic to take.
The small shuttle Varné had been found in was on board the destroyer too. It was being looked over by his intelligence officers for whatever scrap of information they could find. He was currently looking at a report of what they had discovered so far.
The shuttle had been programmed to fly on autopilot to Mustafar and used clearance codes only Padmé would know. So Padmé had purposely sent the shuttle there with her daughter, but not herself. Why? They soon discovered the spaceport of it had taken off and agents were digging into retrieving files, registrations, and security holograms.
There was a small bump. That station had been attacked by Rebels. Its archives were raided and destroyed. It couldn't be a coincidence. Had Rebels cornered Padmé? Is that why she sent Varné alone to him? Did that mean Padmé had been taken by the Rebels?
He needed more information. If they had her . . . What would the Rebels do with her? It seemed like she had cut off all of her connections from them after she left four years ago. That wasn't surprising after what he revealed about Bail and then the Rebels stealing Luke and Leia and attacking Padmé on Velm. At least she wasn't clinging to them anymore. But who and where had she been clinging to? Someone was helping her, or had been.
Whoever it was wasn't doing a good job at helping raise a little girl. Vader sighed and leaned his head back. Varné was small. Too small. Unvaccinated and malnourished and shy. She barely talked. Vader had tried to talk to her, tried to get some information from her, but the little girl would not talk.
What life had Padmé been living these past four years? And was it really better than being with him? Being where their child would be healthy and happy?
Well, at least he had the girl now. He could start to rectify some of the damage and hope none of it would be long-lasting.
The door opened to his office and he sat up straight. A red royal guard stood at the entrance, but he didn't approach. A small little girl did. Her bare feet slapped against the cold floor as she ran in and around the desk and crawled into his lap.
"Varné?" Vader asked as the door closed leaving the two of them alone.
The child didn't say anything. She just curled up in his lap and placed her head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a moment.
"You're supposed to be sleeping, little one," he said softly. Again, nothing. She just snuggled closer to him.
He gave her forehead a quick kiss as he stood up and carried her out of the office. His guards fell quietly in step behind him for the short journey down the hall to his room but didn't follow him in. Vader placed Varné down on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. He gave a quick kiss on the cheek and a smile.
She wasn't happy. Her lips were turned into a pout. She was gripping the edge of the covers in a white-knuckled hold. Her blue eyes were large and wide and pleading though he didn't know what she was asking him.
He sat down on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?" he asked.
She let out a small whine.
"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked. She shook her head. One of her small hands let go of the covers and grabbed his sleeve. She tugged on it and gave another small whine. "Do you . . . do you want me to stay?"
She nodded.
His heart softened. How could he say no to that? He hadn't planned on sleeping for a while yet, but perhaps he could lay down until she did.
"Well let me get into my sleep clothes," he said as he stepped away.
Her blues eyes were on him the entire time watching intently. He could feel her anxiety humming in the Force. Was she afraid he was going to leave her too? Like Padmé had? There was a pain in his heart thinking about that. Oh, this poor little baby girl. He wasn't going to do that.
He crawled into the other side of the bed, and Varné was wrapping her arms around his chest before he had finished laying down. She squeezed her father tightly, and he wrapped her up in his arms. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep on his chest. He considered gently sliding her over onto the bed and returning to his work, but . . . He decided to stay until sleep finally claimed him too.
"Remember," Vader had told the twins over a holocall, "be calm around her. She's very shy and everything is new to her."
He looked down at the little girl in his arms. Varné was quite at home and fully at ease in his arms now as she stared in wide-eyed wonder at the halls of her new home. He could sense the twins' excitement in the Force and their gentle prods towards their sister's presence. He wasn't sure if Varné had noticed. It was obvious she was strong in the Force, but also that she had no training.
The door to the bedroom opened without Vader having to touch a thing. Luke and Leia were on the balls of their feet. Their eyes were wide and smiles stretched across their faces. Their bodies buzzed with barely contained energy. Vader glanced around the room. He had seen plenty of holos of it, had approved every item in there personally, but it was still nice to see it all together in person. The walls were painted a soft blue and green with a pattern of flowers. There were flowers sewn into the comforters and pressed into frames hanging on the walls.
"Hi!" Luke said as Vader slowly sat down on the floor. Varné shifted to get comfortable in his lap.
The little girl was . . . attached? Clingy? She didn't like to be separated from Vader. If he left her alone, she would either cry quietly until he came back or go find him if he was close believed she was using the Force subconsciously to sense him and find him. She especially liked to be held and would sit contentedly in his lap for hours. If he placed her in a chair beside him or on the floor, she would just climb right back up.
He had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it was very cute and he secretly enjoyed the attention. Yet, on the other hand it was concerning. They couldn't be together all the time. He was Emperor. He had a job to do, one that was often bloody, and she was just his tiny little girl who needed to live the life of a spoiled princess free from any blood for a long, long time. Perhaps in time he would train her as he was with Luke and Leia. She could be another strong Sith, but for now, he just wanted her to be happy and healthy.
"This is Luke and Leia," Vader said. "Your brother and sister."
They had met before via a few holocalls during the trip. The twins wanted her opinion on what she wanted in her room. What kind of toys did she like? What kind of clothes? Varné never said a word. Sometimes she would just stare at the twins, while other times she would bury her head into Vader's neck or chest.
"Can you say hello?" Vader asked.
At least she wasn't shying away and trying to hide right now. She looked at Luke and Leia for a long moment before she looked around the room.
"Do you want to check out your room?" Vader asked. "This is your room now."
Big blue eyes looked up at him; he smiled reassuringly at her.
Slowly she got up and walked over to a white toy chest. A few toys sat purposefully on top. She picked up a baby doll and cradled it like a mother would a child. She put it back and then scurried back over to her father, jumped into his lap, and cuddled against him.
Well at least she had left for a small bit and had shown interest in the toys.
"Did you like your doll?" Leia asked. "Luke picked that one out."
"You want to see your other toys?" Luke asked. He scooted a bit closer to her. "I can show you."
He held out his hand, and after a small wait Varné took it. Luke gently led her back over to the toy chest with Leia right beside them. All three children sat down in front of the chest and started to explore its contents. Vader just watched and smiled. They were all here. Together. All three of his children. Playing together. Happy. It was perfect.
His smile faded just a fraction. Almost perfect. There was of course the matter of Padmé. If she was here, willingly, then it would be perfect. They could have been together all along with him protecting and loving them. A glorious royal family.
And even though he had his children, there were cracks in this family all caused by his wife. Mental scars that raced through each of them. Luke's sadness. Leia's anger. Varné's silent clinginess. Vader pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed to find a good therapist for Varné. There was concern of trauma, which would hopefully explain her current behavior.
"What kind of trauma?" Vader had demanded of the med droid.
"I cannot say, your majesty, without knowing what her life was like prior to this. We do not know if this is how she has always behaved, or if this is a defensive reaction to something traumatic."
"Like being separated from her mother?"
"Possible, sire."
He would need to do that tomorrow. He may not be staying on the planet long. Imperial agents had recovered footage from the spaceport. It showed a group of Rebels escorting Padmé down a hallway. So she was in their custody.
No matter. He had sworn he would find her regardless of who she was with. If the Rebels thought to use her against him, he would just kill them all until he got to her. And if he couldn't do that, he would figure out their names, their planets, their families, and he would destroy each one of those things until he had Padmé. Because no longer would she be free. She was going to be him. He would allow nothing to stand between them.
Darth Vader wouldn't be bargaining with his wife anymore, and he certainly would not bargain with Rebels.