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Leia woke up with a pained moan. Her vision was blurred and all she could see were unfocused images of the orange glow of the fire dancing on the roof of the cave and its walls.
"What happened?"
The question had burst out of her lips without thought.
How did I get here?
Where is here? And...
Who am I?
The simple questions she knew she should know caused her heartbeat to race with fear and worry.
"You were hit on your head and made unconscious from a large and falling hailstone, Leia." The dark baritone voice she hadn't expected startled her.
Leia hadn't been sure someone else was with her. She focused on her other senses and when she did the sound of hearing was the strongest.
She could hear breathing. Unnatural and repeated mechanical breathing.
Such a simple sound made her feel more fear and even anger and she wasn't sure why.
The sound of heavy rainfall nearby also played in her ears.
"Who are you?... And who am I? What am I doing here and where are we?"
Vader's heart skipped a beat.
"You don't know these things?" He asked. The deep part of Anakin inside the sith felt fearful for her while an entirely different emotion from the dark side started to strongly blossom: greed.
"Well, I wouldn't be asking if I did now, would I?" Leia returned in annoyance.
This must be why we were brought together by the force! The sith father thought triumphantly. Behind his mask, a sickening smile had spread across his face. The concern for her had faded inside of him once he had resisted it. He had no real worry now for the well-being of her mind or memory. Her outward injury while serious would heal if kept clean.
Now she was but simple putty he could mold into a daughter devoted to him and the Emperor. She could even be used to one day bring her brother to the dark side.
"I am your father and your name is Leia. Our ship crashed on this planet and no one else knows we are here. I tried to get a signal to call for help but alas, nothing."
The dark lord smirked, watching the gears turning behind Leia's eyes.
"So... We're...stranded?" Leia questioned hopelessly. "Do we know anything about this planet?"
The princess wasn't sure how she knew but one of the things she did know is that with space travel it was important to know a planet to avoid injury or death. If you ate the wrong thing such as what looked like a harmless piece of fruit you could wind up dead in seconds.
"No, but do not fear, child. I am well-educated on survival." Darth stated, giving her a couple of soothing pats on her hand. Among the lies he had spoken, that part indeed have been true. The dark lord had studied as a Jedi and also as Sith on such matters.
"I can provide us with the things we will need with ease, daughter. You must now rest and heal. I am sure we will escape from this planet soon."
The anxiety that had filled Leia started to ease away at his words and she let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding.
"I think I'll take you up on that offer of rest, father." She breathed, feeling her lids becoming heavier by the second as the worry she had felt continued to subside.
Hearing Leia acknowledge him as father made the Sith's eyes glow yellow in glee. He watched Leia close her eyes and within seconds he could sense she was asleep. Darth waited until she was sleeping deep enough not to risk waking her. When he had sensed that she was in deep slumber he stood up. He walked to the mouth of the cave, the same sickening smile had returned and he looked up at the sky, seeing it was soon to be twilight.
Thank you Force that I was brought here today with another child I didn't know I have. I see destiny unfolding before my eyes; One day both of my children will be at my side. It's only but a matter of time.
Vader retrieved his lightsaber, reminded that unlike himself who had plenty of nourishment remained in his suit for his body, she needed sustenance. He ignited the lightsaber and began to go out, hunting for a creature of some kind that he could provide for her to eat.
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"You need to run away!" Obi-wan kenobi's voice spoke to Leia as she dreamed, but she didn't recognize the voice.
"Why?" She demanded in the dark void. "Who are you?"
"Consider me to be your guardian and a friend of your real parents, Leia. That man with you in the cave is not your father. He is lying to you. He is an evil man."
"Ev..Evil?" Leia's voice trembled.
"He wants to murder your soul." Obi-wan answered back seriously. "Run!"
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Leia's eyes snapped open in fear and she was seized with it. Her vision wasn't blurred anymore, but her head ached terribly.
She lifted her head and saw for the first time the man who had called himself her father.
He was some distance away, using a red lightsaber to skin some kind of animal Leia had never seen before.
She had hoped that what she had dreamed had been just that: a terrible nightmare. That when she looked up, she would be looking into the gentle eyes of a loving and concerned father.
Instead, once she saw the red blade yielded by the tall shadowlike man, memories of words spoken to her came flooding back.
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"So pretty." Leia as a small child no older than five had remarked, touching the image of a red-bladed lightsaber.
Her eyes sparkled at the ruby color.
"The color is, Leia." Agreed the man who was holding her on his lap, showing her and teaching her about the differences between Jedi and Sith.
"But usually its the Sith who use red lightsabers: the bad guys."
Leia's breathing hitched at the memory. She wasn't sure who the man was that had been teaching her and holding her but whoever it was, she had felt safe and loved in his arms.
Could it be my real father?
The fear Leia had felt had rised in her throat. it was seconds away from erupting into a scream. She was in a cave with a Sith and a Sith who wanted to destroy her soul like the dream had said.
"Run!"
The same voice from the dream made the young woman quickly get to her feet. When she stood up, pain shot from her injury making her involuntarily hiss.
The sound gathered the Sith's attention. He turned his head away from the animal and looked.
"You should be lying down, not standing." reprimanded the dark lord just as Leia began to take off and run.
"Wait! Where do you think you are going, child?!" Vader cried, quickly beginning to follow her in pursuit.
The hell away from you, that's all I need to know. Leia thought to herself as she exited the cave. Rain was heavily falling and it was near dusk. Within seconds she was soaked and her clothes hung off of her like wet rags.
"Daughter!"
She could hear the sith lord calling out to her.
Part of her wanted to look back and see the distance of just how far apart they were, but Leia told herself not to do it. It would just slow her down and she could still hear the roar of his lightsaber from behind.
That alone signaled he was far too close and with her short legs compared to his tall stature, she needed to get a move on.
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Anakin skywalker wasn't sure what had just happened. One second he was thinking deeply about the terrifying dream he had earlier, fearful of losing both Padme and the baby and the next second he was standing in the rain in some foreign place.
Is this some vision of the Force? He wondered to himself seriously. Never before had he had felt such reality in a vision. The rain and the cool air around him made him shiver.
The feeling of an approaching evil fell on him abruptly. Anakin's blue eyes widened. He hadn't felt such evil since his encounter with Count Dooku.
Reflexively through the force he called his lightsaber into his hand and it flew from his side and into his palm. Quickly he ignited it and turned around to face whoever the fiend was that was headed his way.
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Twice, Leia had nearly slipped. Not all of the giant hailstones that had fallen earlier had melted away entirely and she stumbled on the sleek ice underneath her. Her shoes had been made for fashion, not for running outside and fleeing for your life.
Her throat burned and pleaded with her to stop. No matter how much she ran and how fast, it seemed the villain following her remained close behind.
Where am I supposed to go?
She demanded in anger to the Force and the voice who had spoken to her earlier. You give me a warning and without direction!
I'm like an animal being chased by a predator right now! Damn you! Do something!
Leia had made her way past the trees of the forest and found herself in a muddy pathway. Tall fields of wheat about eight feet of height were at both of her sides, but quite a good distance away.
The princess was battling over the decision of hiding in one of the wheat fields or continue running until she was back in a forest area again when she spotted him.
A silhouette of a tall man became clearer as she neared him.
Leia wasn't sure to scream for help or tell him to run too when the figure turned around, holding on to a blue lightsaber.
She almost couldn't believe her eyes.
"HELP! THERE'S A SITH AFTER ME! PLEASE SAVE ME!"
Goosebumps formed on Anakin's arms at the blood-curdling feminine scream and at the words that had been spoken.
As the woman drew closer, Anakin thought it was Padme he was seeing but while the woman looked similar he was able to recognize it wasn't.
The Jedi looked behind the woman, seeing a menacing looking figure running after her and holding in his hands a red lightsaber.
Anakin's eyes narrowed at the sith, angered that he wished to harm what he sensed as an innocent woman. The fact that she looked like Padme added fuel to his outrage.
Leia ran behind Anakin and hid there. With his tall stature and her small height, she felt secured as if standing behind a fortified wall.
She desperately tried to catch her breath. Despite having no memory of who she was or her past, she would bet on her life that she had never run so fast in her life or as much.
Leia choked a little as she swallowed. Her throat was dry from all her running.
"You have to get further behind, m'lady. It's not safe for you to be so close. I'll protect you with my life, but you need to go and distance yourself from us. The battle will in all likelihood be brutal."
Leia understood, taking in his words.
"Thank you." She wheezed, grateful with every fiber of her being.
While not running, she moved at a quick pace. She clutched at her chest where her heart resided, feeling it pound like a hammer.