Chapter 17
Vader watched as Padme lived the next 2 years of her life. She lived as 2 people in her heart. One was the senator, and the other was the wife of Anakin Skywalker. While she played the part of the Senator very well, she was forever and always in her garden tending the roses of love. She could be in the Great hall arguing her point with the other Senators, but everything she did she did so as to make it possible for her husband to come back home to her. When She received a letter from him she read it 2 or 3 times before putting it down. She savored each word and prayed that this war would soon be over and he could come home to her and stay forever.
Vader noticed that she left her garden not once until something started to eat at her concentration. He had known something was wrong the first time she cried when he left. She had never once complained when he left; nor did she cry once in front of him. She said she never wanted to waste their time with regrets. They chose this life and they should savor each moment they have together since it was precious little time to begin with. Anakin knew that as soon as he left she cried as he did when he was alone in his cabin. His last Mission in the Clone Wars was totally different though. She cried hysterically in his arms the last night they had together. She claimed that somehow things were going to change for them and she was afraid that they would be pulled apart. They both thought she might be talking about Anakin possibly dying. He held her and did his best to make it all better but she was distraught. Vader noticed that her tears were not good for her garden of flowers. Nothing changed so noticeably at first but as those 5 months past and she found out she was pregnant worry set into her mind. How could she hide a baby from the World? Somehow they would be found out, Anakin would suffer badly at the Jedi Hands. How could she curse them like this? She did not at first see this baby as a blessing. Color seemed to seep from the flowers. Never did her love for him waver but fear and worry can cause such distress in the heart of love that things can change.
Five months past, and Anakin came home safe and sound. Anankin's first response to the pregnancy eased Padme's fear and things seemed to be set right for her. She was suddenly not afraid anymore and when he told her his dream and started to fear she felt a new strength that she could face whatever came along. Her garden seems to get better, but it never fully recovered. Vader need not wonder why things never got back to normal because his fear was eating away at him he started treating her different. He started holding on to her with a tight fist and it was choking her. Only slightly at first and she did not even realize the change at first until the one time their minds connected. She saw into his heart and saw the barrenness that had become of his life. She suddenly felt the fear that he felt and it scared her. The mind meld was suddenly gone and she was left tortured but the memory. Then she saw the Jedi Temple on fire and her heart suddenly became dry. Vader had showed up at the home hours later and she was expecting a healing rain to fill her heart but no rain came instead he left her feeling more dry. Cracks were starting to appear in the ground. Padme looked around the garden in a frantic search for some water to throw on the ground but there was none to be found. She screamed for someone to help her but the only one who heard was C-3PO and there was nothing he could do.
Obi wan showed up at her apartment and petals started falling off the bushes. No matter how hard she screamed no one heard her. She looked at Obi wan as he was telling her these false things about Anankin and she threw Daggers at him but they never seemed to reach him. He was like a brick wall of a man determined to take away her love. She thought of Anakin and all the wonderful things he has done and of his tenderness toward her and love that had radiated off of him at one time. No her Anakin could not have done such things but then she thought of how things had changed in him and how fear took over and fear oozed out of every pore in his body until he had stunk of it. She started to waver but she pulled herself together. She would not give into Obi wan. He would never make her betray her love. She dismissed him with such force that many more petals fell off the bushes.
Padme went to the Senate Building because Palpatine had called an emergency meeting. When the Empire was born Rose bushes started dying. She could no longer stop the dying, but she knew who could and he would make things right again. She left in hopes of finding her loving, Caring, life-giving Anakin again, but she never found him. In his stead stood Vader, Vader threw Fire on the garden of her love. Everything was burned in the heat of Mustafar.
Vader stared at what he had done. He could not believe what devastation was left in the wake of his anger toward someone he realized he never quit loving. He burned her heart to ashes. He had taken away the wellspring of her life. He suddenly felt something he had never felt since that day. Remorse. He had blamed his actions on everyone and everything around him, but seeing this made him realize it was truly his own fault. He started weeping.
Qui Gon would not let him wallow in his tears though. He pointed to the garden again. Nothing seemed to happen at first but He saw that while she was unconscious she was searching for Anakin in her darkness. She must have found him in but the chains that held him were unbreakable. She kissed him and said, "One day you will rise up again and I will always believe in you." she walked away because there nothing else she could do.
She had the children and a seed that somehow had not burned up fell into the hard ground. Her love for her Children made it possible for the seed to live. She knew they were alive she did not know where they were but they were alive she had heard their cry. She would see them again someday just as she would see her Anakin again someday. The seed sat in the ground.
Then came the years of torture at the hands of Palaptine. All of her heart became nothing but barren wasteland Tatooine had more moisture than Padme's heart. The seed of love stubbornly stayed through the windstorms, through the lightening blasts and through the mind numbing days of bodily torture. Nothing eased the pain she felt. Nothing brought a sprinkle of relief and yet she lived through it. Every second was pain yet Padme stayed. Anakin could not handle his pain so he needed to become someone else. Not Padme she fervently stayed until pain turned to blackness and she thought she was dead.
Slowly a tiny trickle of water seemed to splash on her still body as she lies beside the tiny seed in her garden. 1, 2, 3 drops at a time, but it was water none the less. She awoke to find Vader standing dropping water on her. The water ran from her down to the seed and a tiny bush sprouted. No flowers showed because the bush needed a gush of water and all it got was a few drops at time. Each drop was eaten up by the bush and a scrawny thing started shot out a leaf. Padme tried to make the thing grow into a big bush but Vader kept throwing salt on her efforts.
Vader watched what was happening to his love but as he was watching what was happening to her he did not realize that something else was happening behind him. A scrawny bone thin image was coming out of the darkness in his heart. The bars and chains that had held him seemed to melt off. Hollow eyes took in the sight of his beloved bending over her bush as Vader doused all he efforts and anger at Vader and love for Padme made muscles grow and he slowly moved closer so as not to alarm Vader.
Neither Padme nor Vader ever noticed the man standing quietly in the background. Padme noticed nothing now though because after she lost her baby the bush died. Padme gave up caring, she gave up trying and she gave up wanting to live. Her dry heart could no longer take any more. She lies beside the shriveled up bush teetering between life and the endless blackness of death.
The skeletal man could not stand by and just watch as his beloved's soul left her body. He could not let her die when this was one time he could definitely save her. A light saber appeared in his hand and in one fell swoop he loped off Vader's head.
Vader never realized what hit him, but suddenly Anakin was a strong again. Killing Vader gave him all the strength to become himself again. He stumbled over to Padme and took her in his arms cradling her, tears fell unabated from his eyes, he cried out "Padme it's me Anakin and I love you." Life giving words. As his tears fell a shaking started to occur on the ground where his tears fell. From the ground burst forth a fountain of water shooting 20 feet into the air covering the ground with water. The shriveled bush drank the water greedily and Padme stirred in the arms of her love.
Qui Gon sank into the background. He would be back. He would be needed again but right now these 2 needed some privacy.
Anakin awoke from the dream crying, but to his amazement Padme was looking into his eyes.
A/N: Right now I am jumping up and down for joy because Anakin is finally back. Yeah!!!!!! I hope you are also. Peace to all. And I love anyone who leaves me reviews.