Chapter 20
Padme sat up and screamed "NO!" Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she could not focus on where she was for a minute. Then the soothing coolness of Anakin's arms encircled her and she clung to him trying to push the fear out of her heart. The agony and fear had gripped her so hard it was at long time before she could relax her grip on Anakin's neck. He soothed her and softly whispered words of love into her ear until she calmed a bit. Padme felt protected but not safe; not this time. Palpatine was looking for her and not just her. He was looking for Luke and Leia. She had never found out during her time in his presence if he had believed that they were dead. He constantly asked and he probed her mind lots of times to try to find any information about them. She always was left unconscious from those sessions. This dream was worse to her than all the things he had done to her during her captivity.
After tears slowed and she gulped for air to fully fill her lungs again, Anakin turned and commed for Jennifer to bring Padme some tea. Padme got up from the bed and went to the fresher. She splashed cold water on her face and it helped to dissipate the terror of the dream. She just stood bent over the sink for a little while. It was not long to her but it was long enough to make Anakin come in and check to make sure she was all right. She went to him again clinging to him silently begging him to keep her safe all the while knew he might not be there to help her this time.
Anakin picked her up and took her to the large sofa. He knew that she was not ready to go back to the bed though she needed get off her feet. Her fear and anguish wrapped around his heart constricting it just as it was doing to her. Jennifer brought the tea and as she gave the cup to Padme she looked into Padme's eyes. The fear was so readable in them that Jennifer had to give Padme a hug before leaving. She knew that Master Anakin would take good care of her and yet she wanted to be in there to help also. She really had come to love her mistress.
Two hours later as Padme stared into the fire that Anakin had built she was ready to talk. Padme looked into Anakin's eyes and said, "Palpatine found us." Anakin's eyes filled with unshed tears. He had feared this ever since she came back into his life. He was training to kill Emperor Palpatine but the one thing that could cripple him would be for Palpatine to capture Padme. He would do anything to save her. He had already proved that fact.
Padme went on though because she had not caught the look in his eye. She was still focused on the dream. "I was forced to watch as he tortured Luke and Leia. I felt all their pain until finally he killed them. I felt the lightning course through their bodies until it snuffed out the light in their eyes and their screaming voices were silenced. I tried with all my might to break free and stop him but it was impossible. Then I woke up."
Anakin let the tears fall. He could not stop them. He tried to get the words out that he was thinking but nothing would come. He would kill his master before he would allow Padme to be tortured this way. Then she said words that stopped his heart cold. "The most horrible part was you could not stop him. You came right at the end but you were blocked and all you could do was just stand there."
"Padme I vowed to protect you and I have hidden you from the Emperor. He does not know you are alive or he would already have you and this time he would make sure you were dead. I would never just stand by and watch that happen."
"The thing was when I pleaded for you to do something Palpatine started to laugh saying 'Anakin was always weak and too fearful to stop me. I know his worst fear and he can't make it go away, EVER. I have control of Anakin Skywalker.' He really did control you."
Anakin sat stunned by what she said. Did Palpatine really control him by his fear? Fear leads to anger, anger to hate, hate leads to suffering. Yoda's words screamed through his mind. Fear had certainly ruled him during the Clone Wars. In fact as he sat there and thought over his life, fear had filled him from a very young age. He remembered Gardilla the Hutt telling him to obey her every word or his mother would be taken from him. He had nothing but his mom and fear sank its talons into his heart then. Fear of loosing Padme still filled him and fear of Palpatine finding his children first filled him to this moment. He was constantly in contact with Kitster to find out if there was progress. Nothing had turned up yet. He knew also that if he could not feel them through the force neither could the Emperor. It was a relief to know that much.
As Anakin thought on this he knew one thing for sure; he needed to talk to Qui Gon.