A/N: I must apologize profusely for the delay in update. Such a lengthy one will not happen again; in fact, I hope to update rather quickly from here on. This chapter is going up un-beta'd, so be merciful. I edited it heavily myself, based on my own judgment, and decided it was ready to go when reading it gave me my usual angry reaction to Palpatine. Hopefully I wasn't just angry because the Emperor is so hard to write this way and to edit.

Emperor Palpatine

I regret that I will be unable to attend your funeral, my dear. Of course I will convey my deep unhappiness at being forced to miss it. I imagine it will be quite a spectacle—weeping throngs lining the streets of Theed, flags at half-staff, very solemn and lovely. But, sadly, business concerns will keep me away and, of course, I have no love for Naboo. I avoid it, when I can.

Finding your body shocked and frightened Bail Organa. I could sense it even through the holo transmission he sent. When he contacted me, he was already on the way to Naboo. I took it upon myself to alert Queen Apailana of your demise and your pregnancy both. The looks on the faces of the Queen and her Royal Council were a small reward to me, and brought great satisfaction.

I am to give an address on the HoloNet very soon, and the extent of my grief over you will be moving to see. I will call you my dear friend, recall how we worked together when you were Queen, say that you were a daring crusader for justice and an inspiration to all who knew you; I will even claim that you were like a daughter to me. My resolve to hunt down the Jedi will only be strengthened by the tragedy of your murder at their hands. And so, my dear, will everyone else's.

I know what I shall do, since I cannot attend your funeral. I will declare a galaxy-wide day of mourning for Senator Amidala, friend of the Emperor, ruthlessly cut down by the traitorous Jedi. Yes, there is delicious irony in that. I will make you into a regular little martyr for my Empire. You have no idea how you have earned that title, no idea of the delightful truth of it.

You naïve fool. I doubt that, even at the end, you understood the extent to which I had used you. I was able to make you jump into every web I spun, and you never knew how trapped you were. In fact, you became one of my favorite toys to play with. And, through all of those years, you never did learn the rules of the game. That is what made you weak, and that is what made you fail.

Do you know, Amidala, you are one of the few people I have ever bothered to truly dislike?

Most beings I encounter are beneath my notice; they are not worthy of the attention required for true dislike. You, on the other hand, were different. While others could be easily brushed aside, you continued to surprise me, and I am not easily surprised. Your compassion, above all, I always found disgusting; your persistence was frustrating; your naivete bordered on the ridiculous. You were never worthy of hatred, but dislike and contempt you certainly earned.

I was like you once, Amidala. I thought I could fix the galaxy. I, too, was a naïve fool. But I soon realized what you did not: that people cannot be trusted, governments cannot be trusted, no, oneself alone is worthy of trust. You trusted the Republic, you trusted the Jedi, you trusted your darling husband. Your faith in the Republic and your faith in him were always your weaknesses. Once I knew that, I knew how you fit into my plan.

I endorsed you for Queen. You perfectly suited my purposes—young, inexperienced, easily coerced. You played into my hands splendidly. You were such a sympathetic figure calling for Valorum's impeachment; you ensured my election to Supreme Chancellor. And then you went home to be killed.

Only you were not killed, and your foolhardy battle set back my plans and cost me an apprentice. I was very angry with you, Amidala, for quite some time. I vowed then that you would be made to pay for what you had done. One day.

Patience is what has brought victory to the Sith. I know how to be patient. My anger does not cool over time.

During the time that I patiently waited, you grew into a nuisance, and the Trade Federation's grudge made your assassination at last a useful gesture. But it seems you still had a part to play, some usefulness I had not fully foreseen. For you had also grown into a beautiful young woman. Not my taste, but certainly young Skywalker's.

Your loss even then would have devastated him. When you failed to die, I brought the two of you together again as an experiment, knowing how he cared for you, knowing you would tempt him and that his feelings for you would cause him conflict and alienate him from the Jedi. I confess I had no idea that you would fall in love with him. You hardly seemed the type. It was a delightful surprise, above and beyond my expectations; no one could have been happier than I at the news of your wedding. I was later even more pleased at your pregnancy, and I do regret the loss of the child. There could have been some use for him. But no matter.

Suddenly, as Skywalker's wife, you were much more useful alive than dead. So I would let you live a while longer. I even protected you for a time, and laughed that you thought you were safe.

Know that I could have killed you at any time, Amidala. I chose to make you suffer before you died. I chose to make you suffer his fall. And, in the end, you provided the means of bringing that fall to pass. As surely as I foresaw your death, I knew that you would. You, above all others, have made him mine.

You made me Emperor. You made Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. None of it would have been possible without you. Pathetic as you were, you have been a great help to me. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I will not smile when I announce your death. Not on the outside.

I do regret that I will be unable to attend your funeral, Amidala. I have been looking forward to it for quite some time.