Luke opened his eyes to see Lord Vader entering his room and he had many questions, but decided to remain silent. Luke handed the datapad to the Dark Lord, "Good. Here take these and practice levitating."
Luke took the box and nearly fell to the floor because of the weight, "What the hell is in this box, lead?"
"Language, young one; it is unbecoming to curse."
"It is also unbecoming to murder people too."
Luke suddenly found himself being knocked to the floor by Lord Vader's backhand. "You will stop passing judgment on me and correcting my motives. I am the master and you are the learner, if you forget that for even a moment, the punishment will be very harsh, do you understand!" Luke fearfully nodded his head.
"I can't hear you."
"Yes, Lord Vader, I understand." Luke replied with a tinge of fear in his voice.
"Now, do as you are told."
Lord Vader left Luke's quarters as Luke went to the refresher and spit out a mouthful of blood. "Krit, why me; is this what I can expect for the rest of my life? I have to find a way to escape, but how?"
Luke returned to the main room and started emptying the box of large lead squares and balls.
xXx
The days and weeks of being trained were very arduous for Luke, and he thought his Uncle Owen was strict; the old man had nothing on Lord Vader. The Dark Lord the Sith was demanding, exacting, and punitive. Despite the grueling training both of physically and through the Force, Luke was finally becoming stronger and despite being thrown into the water to learn how to swim, he actually began to enjoy it, especially when he learned how to hold his breath for long periods of time. The calmness of the water particularly in the deep end was a soothing balm to his tortured soul. When Luke thought about Darth Vader and his nature he was sometimes surprised by Sith Lord's actions. When Luke gained more trust his privileges also increased. He was allowed access to the Lord Vader's private bay to work and also to the planetarium. Luke even had access to the holonet. Late one evening on the eve of his twentieth birthday, he woke up from a horrible nightmare; he recognized the world as Mustafar. Luke scanned the Force and found Darth Vader on the command deck of the Executor, he seemed to be alone. Despite being only in black silk pajamas, Luke quickly ran through the corridors to the lift tube and approached the Dark Lord, Admiral Piett stared at Luke as the young man approached Lord Vader.
"It is late, young one; you should be in bed."
"I need to talk to you, please." Luke pleaded silently.
"Follow me." Luke smiled at the Admiral who shook his head in wonderment at the lack of uniform and shoes.
Lord Vader returned to his quarters and motioned Luke to take a seat on the leather sofa. "Lord Vader, it is said that you have killed many Jedi; may I ask how you knew Anakin Skywalker and how you killed him?"
"Anakin Skywalker was a proud man some would say he was a good man; others would say that he was reckless, a daredevil, and an accomplished pilot. He also had special abilities even amongst the Jedi that were unusual. He was their "Chosen One," he also earned the label, "Hero with No Fear," though it was a misnomer, he had several fears, the most of which was to lose his wife in death. He had prophetic dreams of her dying, he would do anything to prevent her death, for he loved her so, even when she betrayed him, he still loved her."
"So, he didn't fall onto a bed of lava after losing his arm and legs to another Jedi?"
Suddenly Luke found himself unable to breathe as the Dark Lord lifted the boy up by his throat, "Who told you that!" Luke couldn't concentrate as the dark black circles enclosed around his vision.
"I woke up from a horrible nightmare, a Jedi was screaming in pure agony and pain, was it my father? Please I must know the truth, was it you that killed him? He had been cut down the only arm he had was mechanical, he caught fire. Please tell me you put him out of his misery that he didn't die a horrible death."
Lord Vader released Luke and as the young man coughed and sputtered to get oxygen back into his lungs. "No, he didn't die a horrible death, though that would have been preferable."
"Huh, how can you say that? He's still alive? How can anyone live through all that pain?"
"He lived through it because his hate was the only thing keeping him alive, pure black hatred, and the scars of betrayal haunt him still. He lost much of his power in the Force that awful day on Mustafar as well as his humanity."
"So where is he? Is he still alive?"
"You are not ready for the truth, Luke. Just know that your father is very proud of you."
Luke thought it was odd that the Dark Lord was kneeling before him as he helped him to his feet and even when he spoke the words he held the Jedi close to him, almost close enough for an embrace.
"Milord, why do you wear a mask and armor?"
"To strike fear into my adversaries, it works well doesn't it?"
"Yes, almost too well for my tastes." Luke rubbed his neck.
Lord Vader tousled Luke's hair and reminded him of the hour, "I will see you in the morning, young one."
"Tomorrow is my birthday; may I have the day off?" Luke jokingly asked.
"Yes." Lord Vader acquiesced.
Luke left the chamber oddly pleased and yet he had more questions now than answers, "If my father didn't die, could he be hiding?"