I probably sound like a broken record, but thank you to everyone who reviewed! Your words and just the fact that you're enjoying this means so much. You are all amazing. Everyone who has followed is amazing too... maybe you would like to review as well? ;) I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Let me know your thoughts. :)
CHAPTER FIVE
Anakin Skywalker.
The name rippled in the room as though he had detonated a sonic weapon instead of merely speaking. But then, Padme supposed, words could sometimes be the most dangerous weapons of all.
The weight of his revelation descended on her shoulders, and Padme busied herself with rearranging her armload of supplies in order to avoid Lord Vader's (Anakin Skywalker's she thought in amazement) piercing look. The moment of intimacy faded enough for her to speak, and she immediately decided to retreat. "Well, if you won't be requiring my assistance any further today-"
"There is - there is something else," he interrupted suddenly, stumbling over his words for the first time in their brief and strange acquaintance.
Padme blinked. "Yes, Milord?"
He winced minutely, although Padme could not fathom why, and passed her on his way to the door. "Follow me," he said. His eyes fell on the datapads filling her arms. "Leave those here." He indicated her station across the room.
Curious now, Padme did as requested and followed him out of the office.
She trailed behind Lord Vader's long strides until he finally turned and waited for her, looking amused rather than impatient. She caught up, and he slowed his pace to better match hers. The sun was warm through the panels of transparisteel windows to her left, and she found herself enjoying the walk. They had covered almost half the distance back to Bail's office with Lord Vader remaining as unreadable as a blank wall and showing absolutely no signs of enlightening Padme to her duties.
"More filing today, Milord?" she finally pressed.
He didn't reply for a moment. The hallway ahead split off into three passages, the center passage leading further into the Senate Building where the offices of the senators and representatives were situated, the right branching off toward landing pads and the left toward public transportation and a series of enclosed walkways connecting much of the political districts of the city. Vader veered suddenly toward the left.
Padme halted, staring after him in bewilderment. "Where are we..." she started, trailing off and gesturing vaguely, as though the answer would appear before her. Vader finally turned to face her.
"No more filing," he answered smoothly. "I have something else in mind for the rest of the day... that is, if you would care to join me." He waited expectantly.
Padme was suddenly lost. "What?" she managed, all her practiced eloquence failing her.
"Do you like art?" Vader asked, taking a step towards her and away from the leftmost corridor. "There's a new exhibit opening in the Imperial Gallery, and I have an open invitation to a private viewing before the official opening."
"What is the exhibit?" Padme stalled, still struggling to find her footing.
"Paintings of lost worlds," Vader supplied. "Many are quite ancient, and some are of unknown origin, but there are a few more modern pieces. Naboo is represented, of course," he added in a softer tone, studying her face. Padme wasn't sure what he was looking for.
She considered. "Very well, Lord Vader. Lead the way."
He smiled briefly, and turned back to the hall that would lead them out of the maze of offices, into the connecting walkways, and eventually, she supposed, to the Imperial Gallery. She fell back a pace or two and studied Lord Vader's back. What are you doing? She wondered at him - and at herself. But she followed his unfaltering steps.
She wasn't sure what she was looking for either.
The grandest wing of the Imperial Gallery was situated directly adjacent to the Senate Building, designed as it was to serve as a venue for glittering receptions and the occasional interplanetary conference. Comprised of many elegant and spacious theaters, dining halls, and the actual galleries, the private wing of the Imperial Gallery was both beautiful and expensive, a much-lauded jewel of the Coruscant skyscape, and always one of the most recommended landmarks for visiting ambassadors. Separated from the extensive public sections of the Gallery by floors and floors of maintenance rooms, storage space, and the curator's offices, the private floors were accessed through security lifts and a few walkways that funneled foot traffic directly from the most secure portions of the senate building. Nevertheless, there were guarded checkpoints along the way. One of the advantages of Lord Vader's company was that Padme didn't have to show her ID even once on the trek; she was allowed past all security checkpoints by his presence beside her. The burgeoning sense of excitement about exploring a gallery without the usual crowds distracted her from her vague discomfort with Vader's unquestioned power.
A hunched human woman with wispy white hair met them at the doors to the gallery proper, wringing her hands unconsciously. "L-lord Vader," she greeted with just a tiny stutter. The ID badge she wore proclaimed that she was a curator by the name of Lidia. She smiled nervously.
"The checkpoint guards informed me you were coming. What can we do for you today, my Lord?"
Vader had the gift of being intimidating without effort, even without desire. "I received an invitation to tour the Lost Worlds Exhibit. I would like to take you up on that invitation."
Lidia was already nodding. "Of course, of course," she said in a reedy voice. "I would be happy to take you there myself, and lead you in a tour-"
But Vader was waving away her suggestion. "That will not be necessary. Simply point us in the right direction and we will be on our way."
"But thank you so much for offering," Padme interjected, trying to calm the poor woman's obvious nerves.
Lidia nodded unhappily (despite her palpable relief) and led them through the sliding double doors to the dim interior of an empty foyer that looked as though it would be grand if the chandeliers overhead were powered on. Shadowed statues surrounded the circular room and a single fountain gurgled in the center. Deactivated hologram projectors danced in the rippling water. Padme wondered what sort of display would erupt if they were turned on. Lidia led the way down an unadorned corridor that was clearly intended for use by the staff rather than the public. They saw nothing but walls and closed doors until she finally halted before a door with an OPENING SOON display flickering overhead. "Here we are!" She tried for a cheerful voice, but missed by a wide margin. Vader turned away.
"Thank you," Padme replied as Lidia nodded and swiped an access key. She hurried away as the doors hissed and slid apart.
Cool air seeped through the doorway, and Padme could not quite help her eagerness to step inside. She stepped soundlessly onto the woven carpeting that covered the floors, swallowing up all footsteps and dampening conversation. The cavernous room was designed like a maze, paintings suspended from walls that began a few meters away, twisting and turning out of sight. Light pooled around each of the visible artworks, and bled away into shadow between them. The sparse light did not reach the ceiling, which was high above and invisible in the shadows.
"Where would you like to begin?" He asked, clearly amused by whatever expression she was making. She was too distracted to be quite sure what that expression was. His voice sounded muted in the new surroundings and Padme thought that there must be padding on the ceiling to dampen the echoes. Searching subconsciously for the Nubian portion of the exhibit, she couldn't spare enough thought to be embarrassed as Vader studied her face.
"There," she said breathlessly, pointing toward the second nearest entrance to the maze, having spotted a glimpse of waterfalls and trees. Vader gestured for her to lead the way.
The paintings were not Nubian - they were from an unknown world and bore clear signs of being quite ancient - but they were beautifully executed, and the simplicity and clarity of the brushwork reminded her of the art galleries she had visited as a child. She didn't speak much as she read the holographic information floating beside each work, detailing the design and suspected origin of each piece. She thought distantly that perhaps she was being rude, but when she came back to herself enough to consider the question, she saw that Lord Vader was reading the descriptions as carefully as she was and seemed engrossed. He wasn't speaking much either. Padme smiled.
They spent at least an hour wandering through each twist and turn of the maze, discovering new planets at every turn. Desert sunsets, tropical lagoons, and sparkling snowy landscapes met them, and Padme felt far away from Coruscant and its futilities. She was almost glad that they had not found the Nubian section first; it would have made her entirely too sad. She found that she was enjoying herself.
After an hour and a half of floating between worlds, they came to Naboo.
Padme came crashing down. The weight she had not realized she was carrying settled back into her shoulders with backbreaking force, and she clenched involuntarily. The maze opened up into a sort of courtyard in the middle, the paintings hung along the rounded walls, benches facing them from the center, a fountain in their midst. It was a tiny recreation of one of the greatest fountains in Theed, a doll's house imitation of one of her favorite places. She couldn't breathe.
She felt Vader's hand on her arm. "Are you alright?" he asked, turning to face her, concern written in his ice blue eyes. She was floundering, but her extensive diplomatic training formed words for her when she couldn't find any. "I'm sorry, my Lord. If I could just have a moment?" Overwhelmingly thankful for all those etiquette classes from her days in the Legislative Youth Program, Padme drew back and focused on breathing, shutting her eyes and drifting away from the pain. When she could feel only cool emptiness in place of the jagged heat of grief, she opened them.
Staring at the painting before her, a landscape of the Lake Country using a wealth of pastel colors, she felt nothing. But that wasn't quite true - she could feel Vader's overwhelming presence behind her. He regarded her in silence and Padme began to dread what would inevitably come next. The pity speech. All the I'm-so-sorry's and I-can't-even-imagine's would flutter around her like flies around a carcass, drawn to death and underlining its presence. She waited, determined to be polite. The colors of the Lake Country blurred together before her and she blinked. She was so very tired.
Vader moved, silently stepping up beside her. "So this is the Lake Country?" he began quietly, as though she had not just skirted the edge of a breakdown in front of him. "Would you tell me about it?"
Padme was flooded with the feel of sunlight above and warm water beneath as she floated in one of the many lakes, fish nibbling at her feet as she walked in the shallows looking for shells, moonlight cutting a diamond path across the black water as she sat on the terrace at night... "It was beautiful," she started quietly. "This painting doesn't do it justice, although the pastel colors do capture the magical quality, I suppose." She smiled and laughed distantly. "It was the happiest place I have ever known."
Vader listened as she went on, speaking quietly of sacred memories and forgetting all about the pity she had expected. It never came.
But the memories did, more easily than they ever had. Vader and Padme laughed together as she led the way through the gallery, a story for every painting. Sometimes two.
They were nearing the beginning of another planet's display when Vader's comm chirped. He made a sound of annoyance, and plucked it from his belt. "Excuse me," he grunted, sweeping out of the Nubian courtyard and disappearing into the maze. She heard his comm crackle to life, but the sound-dampening effects of the gallery swallowed up his voice. Padme studied the last set of paintings, a series of landscapes filled with flowers, feeling lighter than she had in some time. She found herself looking at the opening Vader had disappeared through, wondering when he would return. She tried to force herself to focus on the artwork instead.
The flowers were a riot of color and they reminded her strongly of the fields she had played in as a child. She could almost smell the heady scent of the natural gardens. Her eyes drifted toward the corner of the last painting, where the artist's signature was nestled between a clump of flowers and the water's edge. Palo N., it read.
She had only registered the name and all its significance when Vader reappeared, looking distantly angry. "I'm very sorry, Milady," he began, coming to stand beside her again. "My presence is required back at the Senate."
Padme shrugged. "We leave for a few hours, and everything falls apart."
Vader laughed sharply. "So it would seem. I will happily see you back to the Senate, unless you would like to remain here."
"No, that is quite alright. I would just as soon return with you and avoid all the security hassles," she said, smirking at him.
Vader offered an exaggerated bow. "I am always happy to be used as a security bypass by beautiful women."
Padme laughed and they left the Nubian section, weaving their way out of the maze in companionable silence. Padme felt lighter with every step.
A young employee was standing beside the main doors of the gallery when they emerged from the maze, and he stood up straight and stepped forward when he spotted them. Padme could see his curator's badge even from a distance. He seemed young for a museum curator. "Lord Vader," he said with a surprisingly confident voice. "I am here to escort you both back to the entrance when you are ready."
Padme froze. That voice...
Vader nodded and stepped forward to follow the young man with brown hair who was already leading the way.
Padme knew without seeing that his eyes were a warm brown and he had a single freckle on his left cheek. "Palo?"
The curator halted with a jerk and turned back. "Yes, Milady?" He studied her curiously as she stepped out into the light of the hallway. His eyes instantly went wide.
"Padme!"
He grinned and rushed past Lord Vader to embrace her. "It's been years, Padme! I heard you were alright on Alderaan..."
"I never heard anything about you!" she interjected. "No one knew what had happened to you..."
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I was in the camps for a while, but some of us escaped. I bummed around the galaxy for a time, but it seems that my art school connections weren't all for nothing. I got a job here not long ago... They're letting me oversee the Nubian part of the Lost World Exhibit - did you see it?"
"Yes! It's beautiful, Palo. And your work was beautiful."
"Thanks, Padme. It means a lot that you got to see it." He was smiling at her like the old days, and she felt warm and cold all at once. Lord Vader was standing just beyond their impromptu reunion, arms crossed, expression inscrutable.
"I've got to go, Palo. Lord Vader has an important meeting to get to, and I really have to get back to the Senate too."
"Right!" Palo's face finally registered the fact that Lord Vader and Padme had been in the gallery together, and the levels of confusion and concern that lit up his expression would have been humorous if Padme hadn't suddenly felt so ill. He turned to Lord Vader, his manner all business, and apologized for the delay as they resumed their march to the entrance.
Lord Vader stayed behind to walk with Padme, lifting an eyebrow at her as they entered the dim foyer.
"I'll tell you in a minute," she whispered, her voice echoing loudly in the domed - and not sound-dampened - space. She winced and Vader actually chuckled.
The doors opened to the first natural light they had seen in hours, and Palo stood aside. "Thank you for your interest, Lord Vader. It was an honor having you here," he offered, sounding so polite and professional, and not at all like the wild-haired boy with a goofy sense of humor she had known. She spotted a hint of that boy when he turned to her to add, "It was wonderful to see you, Padme. We should catch up sometime."
"Of course, Palo! Look me up, and we'll talk." She smiled at him, and with a bow to Lord Vader, the too-young curator vanished inside.
Padme felt Lord Vader's gaze before she saw it. "Well?" He asked immediately.
"I knew Palo back on Naboo," she began. "We were both in the Legislative Youth Program a long time ago."
Vader nodded, but Padme thought he looked vaguely dissatisfied. They walked back at a brisk pace, Vader wearing a preoccupied expression the whole way.