Chapter 22

Vader left Polis Massa bound for Naboo less than twenty-four hours after the departure of his children. Piloting a star fighter without the cumbersome helmet and mask was a distinct pleasure, one he had forgotten after so many years.

The thought that Jobal and Ruwee Naberrie may no longer be alive had crossed Vader's mind more than once; if they were dead, then it would make his quest to find Padmé even more difficult. There was another thought that he had tried to ignore, but would not be ignored. What if Padmé herself was dead? A lot could happen in twenty years. He refused to let himself consider that possibility, she is alive, and I will find her…

He found himself awash with memories of his wife as he made his final approach to Naboo. It had been many years since he had been there, but the sight of it affected him just as it always had. It was here that he had known happiness, true happiness. It was here that he had declared his love to Padmé, that they had shared their first kiss, where they had been married and had consummated their love in an all too brief honeymoon. Who would he find here? Would he find the woman he loved, or a stranger who merely looked like her? I will bring her back- she will remember me, I know she will…

Using the Force to bypass the security measures at the landing bay in Theed, Vader left his craft and set out on foot into the city.

It felt good not to be noticed, not to have everyone stare at him with shock and fear. To be just another face in the crowd was something he never imagined he would experience again. It was one he enjoyed now, after being infamous for so long. Still, the face of Anakin Skywalker was not exactly a common one, so he kept the hood of his cloak up as an extra measure of anonymity.

The house where the Naberries lived was in a small village outside of Theed. It was a long walk, but Vader enjoyed it. It afforded him the opportunity to put his newly made body to the test, and he was pleased at how well it held up. It felt good to feel his heart and lungs working again without the need for artificial assistance.

After walking for close to two hours, Vader arrived at the home of Padmé's parents. He felt himself fill with anticipation as he approached the door. Perhaps she was here…perhaps she hast lived with her parents all these years…

Activating the door chime, Vader waited for what seemed to be an eternity before someone came to the door. It was a young woman, perhaps a few years older than Luke and Leia. She looked suspiciously at him through the locked door. His heart sank as he realized what her presence meant; the Naberries no longer lived here.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"I hope so," he replied. "I'm looking for the Naberrie family. I know they used to live here. Do you have any idea where they might be?"

The young woman hesitated before answering. "Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"I was hoping they could help me find someone," he explained. "Someone very important to me, their daughter, Padmé."

A startled look came across the woman's face at the mention of Padmé, and it made Vader thinking that perhaps he had not hit a dead end after all.

"Please, if you know anything about her, I beg you to tell me where I can find her," he said.

Vader could sense the young woman's hesitation and confusion. She knows where Padmé is but is afraid to tell me anything…

"What is your name?" she asked at last.

"Anakin Skywalker," he replied without hesitation.

"Wait here," she said, and then disappeared inside the house.

So much for using an assumed name, he thought when he realized how quickly he had used the name he had been rejecting for so long. He didn't have time to consider what this could mean, for the young woman returned to the door. She unlocked it and opened it for him. "Come in," she said. "My grandmother wants to see you."

"Your grandmother?" Anakin asked. "You're…you're Sola's daughter, aren't you?"

"Yes," she replied as she led Anakin through the house. "I'm Ryoo Naberrie. I've lived with my grandmother since my grandfather passed away three years ago."

So Ruwee was dead… "I'm sorry to hear that," Anakin said.

Ryoo nodded. "It's been a difficult time for the family," she replied as they entered the parlor. "Since Aunt Padmé came home."

Anakin frowned. "Where is she? What has become of her?"

"Anakin Skywalker, it truly is you."

Anakin looked over to see Jobal Naberrie sitting in an armchair in front of a large picture window. She was very frail looking, and looked as though she had aged more than the twenty three years since Anakin had last seen her.

"Mrs. Naberrie," Anakin said, sitting down across from her. "It's good to see you. I was sorry to hear about your husband's passing."

Jobal nodded. "Thank you," she replied. "I didn't expect to ever see you again," she told him. "I thought you'd been killed in the Jedi Purges."

The irony of her statement was not lost on Anakin. "No, I…I managed to survive," he told her, wanting to spare her the horrible truth of what had become of him. "I've come here hoping you can tell me where Padmé is, Mrs. Naberrie."

"I have to tell you that I'm rather surprised by your interest in her whereabouts after so long, Anakin," Jobal remarked. "It's been more than twenty years since you and she were here together."

"Yes, I know that," Anakin said, looking down at his boots. "I have spent the past twenty years believing her dead, Mrs. Naberrie, and have only recently found out that I was deceived."

Jobal frowned. "I'm afraid I still don't understand…" she began.

"Padmé is my wife," he interjected, looking up at her. "We were secretly married a few weeks after we were here in this house."

"Married??" Jobal exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. "You and Padmé were married? Why didn't she tell us?"

"As a Jedi, I was forbidden from getting married," he explained. "That is the reason you weren't told. We could tell no one."

Jobal did not reply, and Anakin began to grow fearful for the old woman's health.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this," he said. "Truly I am."

"I had a feeling that there was more going on between you two than Padmé let on," Jobal said at last. "But I had no idea it was that serious."

"I love Padmé, Mrs. Naberrie," Anakin told her. "I have loved her since the moment I met her, and have never stopped loving her, even when I thought she was dead all these years. But now that I know she is alive, I must find her. Won't you help me? Please?"
Jobal nodded. "Yes, I will help you, Anakin, but first you must tell me why she ended up the way she did, alone on the streets of Theed with no idea who she was."

"Is that how you found her?" Anakin asked, trying desperately to piece together the entire picture from the fractured bits of information she was giving him.

"It wasn't me who found her," Jobal told her. "It was Palo, a childhood friend. He found her and brought her to his home, or rather the home he runs for those who are in need of a place to stay, people who are suffering from some sort of mental break down. He took Padmé in, and then came and told Ruwee and me what had happened. We came to see her at once, but she didn't know who we were," she related, her eyes filling with tears. "She knew no one, Anakin, and had no memory of anything before arriving here."

Anakin listened to his mother-in-law's narrative, his anxiety growing by the minute. The thought that it was Palo, the first man Padmé had ever kissed, who had found her made him see red with jealousy.

"Padmé gave birth to twins days before she came here," Anakin told her. "A girl and a boy. She had a very difficult time, and the doctors nearly lost her. She was in a coma for almost two weeks as a result of the complications, and when she awoke, she had no memory of her previous life."

"Why did you let her leave if she was in such a delicate state?" Jobal asked.

"I was not with her when the twins were born," he told her. "I had been in a terrible accident on that same day, and nearly died myself. When I was conscious, I asked about her, where she was- and I was told that she had died. I trusted the person who told me, and spent the next twenty years believing she was dead."

"So how did you find out the truth?" Jobal asked.

"I found our twins," he told her. "Luke and Leia. They had been separated at birth, since the doctors thought Padmé wasn't going to make it; but have been reunited and now know the truth. I told them that I would find their mother and bring her back to us. And I mean to do that, Mrs. Naberrie. I know she doesn't remember her past, but I will help her, I swear it. I will do whatever it takes to bring her back."

Jobal smiled at him. "You really do love her, don't you?"

"Yes," he said. "With all my heart. Will you take me to her? Please?"

Jobal nodded. "Yes, I will."

Jobal filled Anakin in on more details as they made their way to the home where Padmé lived. Apparently she had managed to develop a relationship with her parents and sister, despite not having any memory of them. Jobal and Ruwee had gone to visit her every day, but were unable to convince her to leave the safety of the place she had come to think of as home. It had puzzled them that she was not willing to leave, but they respected her wishes, and did not force the issue. So long as she felt safe, and was relatively happy, that was good enough for them. Jobal had to wonder if the same would be true of Anakin.

Images from his dream returned to him as Anakin and Jobal approached the large home where Padmé had lived for the past twenty years. He saw the high stone wall, and heard the rush of a distant waterfall. Trees surrounded the wall, bending their heavy branches over the wall, just as they had in his dream.

"We will need to check in with administration," Jobal explained as they got out of the speeder. "Palo only allows her family to see her; but as her husband, you qualify as family."

Anakin did not reply, but he felt a surge of anger at the thought of Palo having so much control over his wife. Padmé's parents had been unsuccessful at convincing Padmé to leave, but he was determined to do so.

"Mrs. Naberrie, how are you today?" the young nurse greeted her as they entered the main office.

"I'm fine, thanks Thea," Jobal replied. "How is my daughter today?"

"She's in a good mood," Thea replied. "You've come at the perfect time for a visit." She looked up at Anakin appraisingly. "And are you a member of the family?" she asked, giving him a smile.

"Yes I am," he replied, ignoring the young woman's attempt to charm him.

"May we go in?" Jobal asked.

"Yes, go on in," Thea replied. "I believe you'll find her in the garden."

"Thank you," Jobal replied. She turned to Anakin. "This way," she said, leading the way.

Anakin was overwhelmed by the tumult of emotions he sensed as he walked through the quiet corridors. Pain…despair…fear…loneliness…He tried to shut them out, but they were everywhere, all pervading. He focused his mind on trying to seek out Padmé's, but her aura was no present, at least not the one he recognized. As they grew closer to the quadrangle in the center of the facility, he sensed a vaguely familiar presence. Padmé…

"There she is," Jobal said as they reached the large double doors that lead outside.

Anakin stepped over to the door and looked outside, his heart in his throat. And then he saw her.

She was walking amid the rose bushes, just as she had in his dream. Anakin felt his throat constrict when he saw her face. She was as beautiful as he had remembered, the years not having affected her tremendously; but her eyes were empty. Padmé had always expressed herself with her beautiful eyes. How many emotions had Anakin seen in those eyes: love, desire, anger, fear, joy…but now they were vacant, as though she was incapable of feeling emotion any more or perhaps unwilling to? This isn't right, Anakin thought to himself. Something is wrong…

"Let me go in first and tell her she has a visitor," Jobal told him. "You realize of course she won't know you," she added.

Anakin merely nodded, not taking his eyes off of his wife.

Jobal left him and pushed open the double doors. Anakin watched Padmé react to her mother. She smiled at her, but the smile never reached her eyes. Clearly she recognized and even loved her mother, for she hugged her back when Jobal embraced her; but the sparkle that was so typically Padmé was not there. Anakin felt hot tears roll down his face as he watched Jobal tell Padmé that he was there. What was he telling her? That her husband was there? The husband who tried to kill you and abandoned you for a pack of lies and empty promises??

Jobal looked over at where Anakin stood and motioned for him to come in. Anakin wiped his tears with the sleeve of his cloak, and pushed the doors open, his heart pounding within him.

He walked towards the spot where Padmé stood with her mother, willing himself to be strong. But when Padmé turned and her eyes met his, he felt his strength give way. There was no joy in her eyes at seeing him, no sign of recognition; merely a vague sense of curiosity, and more than a little trepidation. He forced himself to smile at her, knowing that his reaction to her would mean nothing to her in her present state.

"Hello Padmé," he said, fighting the urge to take her into his arms and hold her. "It's good to see you."

"Hello," she replied. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't remember your name."

"It's Anakin," he said. "Anakin Skywalker."

Padmé nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Anakin," she said.

Anakin looked briefly at his mother-in-law for support. She could not meet his gaze, and merely looked down at the cobblestone under their feet.

"Thank you," he said softly. "This is a beautiful garden," he said, grasping for anything to say to her.

"Yes, it is," she replied, looking around. "I love it here. It makes me feel safe and…happy for some reason."

"You always did love flowers," he commented.

Padmé looked back at him. "You…knew me from before?" she asked.

Anakin nodded, not knowing if he was supposed to tell her so or not and not caring at this point. "Yes, we've known one another for a long time, Padmé," he told her. "Since we were both children."

Padmé looked back at her mother, bewildered and troubled by his words.

Jobal merely smiled at her. "It's alright, Padmé," she said. "He's telling you the truth."

Padmé looked back at Anakin. "Will you tell me about it?" she asked. "Will you tell me about when we were children?"

Anakin smiled, a small flicker of hope igniting in his heart. "Yes, I will."