two in one day! this one came out pretty quick. more to come this week! once more, reviews are HIGHLY appreciated.

18.Time for a Break

The morning came quicker than Aurren expected, as she was startled that the alarm that she regularly set every evening actually had a chance to go off for once. She never managed to sleep in long enough to be awoken by the alarm she always set as a safety net. The beep beep beeping of the alarm had her disoriented as she sat up in the large bed, tangled unceremoniously in the sheets. With a groan, she managed to free her arms from her bonds and turn off the alarm. Silence spread around her like a thick blanket as the infernal racket ceased. Falling back to the pillows ungracefully, she rolled onto her side and looked at the time. 'Great,' she thought, 'just great…' as she scurried out of the bed, simultaneously raking at her hair with her fingers divesting it of knots and approaching the wardrobe.

Aurren had overslept. Though technically not late for anything, she was usually an early riser, and was irritated with herself for having needed the alarm to wake her. She moved to the closet and grabbed a pair of leggings and a tunic, dressing quickly without much thought. She pulled on a pair of boots, and as she walked towards the bathroom, rolled the sleeves of the tunic up to her elbows. Hardly stopping to look in the mirror, she ran a brush quickly through her hair and tied it up. Picking up a small tube of clear gloss, she brushed it over her lips, putting it down then grabbing a jar of jasmine scented lotion and rubbed some into the dark circles under her eyes, then over the rest of her face, hands and the exposed skin of her chest at the front of her tunic. Leaving the bathroom, she grabbed a belt from the closet and slung it around her hips and without another thought, left the room in search of Lord Vader so that they could begin their day.

On the other side of the villa, Darth Vader sat in a dark, leafy green corner of the greenhouse. He had come here looking for something to distract him. He was fascinated by this small piece of engineering wonder. It was as if he were in a separate world inside of this room… in fact it reminded him of a strange jungle planet on the outer rim he had spent about a week on during the clone wars… shame he couldn't remember the name of the place. It was easy for him to say why he liked it- it was the polar opposite of the arid, sandy, hot, and endlessly brown Tattooine. It even smelled drastically different… it smelled alive, as if he could breathe in the scent of the lush green plants actual life force as opposed to the nothingness and rank and death that his home planet seemed to reek of.

Though he came looking for distraction, he found none.

He had arrived in the greenhouse early that morning after waking trembling and covered in sweat and tears. He had had a "bad dream," or at least, that is what he was trying to convince himself. What bothered him the most though, was the simple fact that the dream had effected him so dramatically. Confusion swirled around him, almost visibly mixing and combining with both dark and light and clouding his mind to the point of utter distraction. He had left his room in a huff, and had actually made it all the way to the kitchen before he realized that not only was he still clad in just his sleep pants, but he had also rather foolishly left his mask off. If Aurren chanced to see him, everything would be… well, he didn't know exactly, but it wouldn't be good. He hurriedly made his way back upstairs, stopping at the outer doors to Aurren's chambers and sending a heavy wave of force induced sleep towards her to ensure he was undisturbed, before he dressed himself and eventually ended up in the greenhouse.

He could only recall glimpses of what he saw in his dreams- just faint images, or even suggestions of images of things he couldn't understand. There was Aurren, walking along a dimly lit alleyway. He heard a child's voice, one he noticed as hers as a child, singing the nursery rhyme from the field with the orchard and the flowers. Then there was a scream, as a figure emerged from the shadows and attacked her. As the images flashed in his mind he felt as if he were being physically held down, and a weight was being pressed on his chest, forcing the air from his lungs. He tried to reach for her, to run to her, to save her, but he was held there static, all he could do was scream and rage at the assailant, threatening him verbally to leave her alone. But the attacker continued. He watched her fight back, kicking out at him and clawing at his eyes, until he brought out a blaster and bashed her in the back of the head with it. He screamed as the bastard let her fall to the ground, then kicked her to make sure she was out. He struggled as hard as he could to break his invisible bonds, to run to her and kill this man who would dare violate her so. The man then grabbed Aurren by the hair, and drug her into a dark corner littered with filth, and began to cut her clothes off with a long knife. He felt his stomach drop as he realized the man's intent as rage filled him and compressed around him. This had to stop. It HAD to stop. He would not let anyone brutalize her like this.

But he couldn't move. He couldn't help her.

The images began to fade and he screamed out, he couldn't save her. And then he shot up in bed. The blood pounded through his veins as he took in the fact that he was actually in his bed. That he was on Alderaan. He reached out through the force without even thinking to check on Aurren, to find that she was resting safely in her bed. And now- now he sat there in the greenhouse, trying to figure it out.

He was shocked at his own reaction. Of course, if Aurren were attacked he would protect her, there was no question about that- the trouble was his actual feeling about her being attacked. The utter panic it instilled in him. The rage that filled him that anyone would dare touch her- even think about touching her. Seeing her being bloodied and bruised, being knocked out, having her clothes ripped from her- and then knowing what the attackers intent was- watching him viciously cut her clothes from her and then being cut off from the image KNOWING what was about to happen and that he could do nothing…

The flood of emotion overwhelmed him.

It wasn't bad enough that he was having a bad dream, but it had to involve her. And that wasn't even the worse of it. Vader had had these kinds of dreams before, and they had all come to pass, no matter what he tried to do to rectify it. There was no doubt about it to him. This wasn't just a dream.

He thought back to the dreams he had about his mother. How they made him feel. How he seemed trapped in a sort of limbo as he watched his mother writhe in pain and he could do nothing about it. He tried to save her. He failed. His mother died in his arms. And then, he saw to it that those who had brought this fate upon her were punished- killing every Tusken Raider in the camp- women and children included.

He then thought about the dreams he had of Padme. He felt his blood boil slightly at the thought of her. The woman he would have given his life for. The woman who he had lived for since he was a young boy at the temple. The woman who married him and then lied to him and used him as a plaything while she carried on illicit affairs with several lecherous old politicians. He thought of how foolish he was. He had dreamed of her death. That she would die in childbirth. At the time however, he was under the assumption that the child was his.

These dreams were what led him to the darkside. His first taste of it was when he brandished his lightsaber unmercifully in the Tusken camp after the death of his mother. His second was after confiding to Senator Palpatine the nature of his dreams. Palpatine lured him to the darkside with promises of saving his wife's life. It wasn't until after he had gone to the temple with the clone troopers and watched them destroy the only real home he had ever known that Palpatine told him that his wife was cheating on him… that she never loved him… that the child she carried in her womb was not that of Anakin Skywalker.

'So that's it then,' Vader thought to himself. 'If that is what is to happen to her… so be it. I can't do anything about it… after all… it could just be a dream…'

Vader remained sitting solemnly in the greenhouse until he sensed Aurren moving about the house. Discomfort welled up in him at the thought of spending the day in that ship with her. He had too much on his mind. He was too emotional. Overall, he was too angry. He felt like he would snap from the tension weighing down on him. He decided that they would take a break. He would claim he needed to leave for the day, and would ask her to stay and work on her plans for the house. He could get away from her, but also know that she was safe at home.

It didn't take long for Aurren to find Lord Vader. She was hoping to spend a quiet few moments alone in the greenhouse before meeting with Vader, and was surprised to see him seated in a far corner, his masked face bowed as if gazing distractedly towards the floor.

He sensed her presence in the room and raised his head to look at her. He felt a pang of pain in his chest as he looked at her, a reminder of his vision screaming in the back of his head. He took her in for a moment, noticing how tired she looked and feeling slightly guilty for the overwhelmingly strong sleep suggestion he had placed on her. Even through the slight dark circles under her eyes and the hurried simplicity of her dress, he still thought she was stunning. Even though she was stunning, Vader wanted nothing more than to just run, get as far away from her as he could. It was too tender now, too close to the surface. He wasn't even sure if he could hear her voice without reeling in pain.

He stood swiftly, and Aurren could have sworn she felt a coldness settle in around her bones as he spoke to her.

"Miss Farr, we will not be going out today. Or for the next few days. Instead, I would like you to work further on your drawings for the palace. I will be leaving for a short while. You are to stay here and not venture further than the gardens outside."

He felt her tense up as he spoke, and winced under his mask at the harshness he directed towards her. He felt her heart drop at his command for her not to leave.

He began again, slightly more gentle, "I tell you this for your own safety Miss Farr, please, I have my reasons. Stay at the villa. Do not venture from the home. I will be back later."

Before Aurren even had a chance to say, "Yes My Lord," he was gone.