The Emperor came around to face the girl. Padme had no choice but to look up to Vader. She was tall for her age, but she felt tiny in comparison to him. She had nightmares about him, but even her worst dreams did not accurately portray the strength of his presence. It must have been the Force that gave Padme the courage to not look away from Vader's mask.

"Impressive. Most impressive," he said to the girl. He turned his attention from Padme and walked over to Leia. She was shaking with fear, because her worst nightmare was coming true.

"You still haven't changed, Leia. After all these years, you are still lying. Did you really think you could hide this girl from me?" he growled angrily.

Padme was surprised that Leia would have the courage to lie to Vader about anything. But it showed how committed her mother was to fighting against the Empire.

Vader raised his arm, as Leia was about to protest. He already knew what she was going to say, and wanted to silence her. But it was a test, to see how the girl would react.

From Padme's point of view, it looked like Vader was about to Force choke Leia to death. She was still angry at her, for keeping all these secrets from her. But now her rage was directed at Vader.

Padme raised her arms, holding the lightsaber. She ran in his direction. Vader spun around and extended his arm in her direction. Padme was frozen in place, her arms above her head. She was not able to lower them to strike Vader. She glared angrily at him.

He slowly approached the girl, and grabbed the lightsaber from her hands, and turned it off. She was unfrozen, and fell to her knees. This was it. She had failed. She and Leia were going to die. She waited for his lightsaber to be ignited and thrusted into her body.

But the death blow never came. Instead, Vader said in a calm but menacing voice,

"I was silencing her, not Force choking her."

How Padme got up the courage to speak to him, especially down on her knees, she did not know. She stared up at Vader and replied,

"It looked like a Force choke to me." She could not see it, but Vader grinned underneath his mask.

"Rise to your feet, child," he commanded. Padme slowly stood up. She tried her best to remain calm, and to not look away from Vader. But she did for a brief moment, to glance at her grandfather's lightsaber, now in Vader's hand. This caused the Emperor to examine the weapon. The lightsaber was very familiar to him. He had not seen it since he cut Luke's hand off in Cloud City.

"Vader, please!" Leia begged, desperately trying to escape the ropes that held her down. The tears fell down her face. She was afraid for herself and for her daughter. Everything was about to be revealed, in the worst possible way.

Padme heard again the male voice speak to her mind.

"Stop resisting. Do not be afraid. If you do not do what Vader says, he will harm Leia. Trust in the Force, Padme."

The voice was right. Padme had not listened, and it got her nowhere. But she would listen now, even if it meant she and Leia would die.

"How did you get this lightsaber, child?" Vader questioned her, his tone more curious than threatening. "Are you a Jedi?"

"No," Padme softly whispered. "It was a gift given to me a few years ago, for my birthday."

"Please leave her alone!" Leia cried out. Vader turned around and yelled at her to be quiet.

He focused his attention back on Padme. Did Leia tell her who the lightsaber belonged to? He knew.

"Did Leia give you the lightsaber?" Vader asked. Padme couldn't help but shake in fear as he walked around her.

"Yes, she did."

"Did she tell you how she got the lightsaber?"

"You know how I got the lightsaber, Vader," Leia growled angrily at him. He spun around to face her.

"Silence! I am not talking to you. I can't believe a word that comes out of your mouth!" Vader hissed in disgust. He turned around and motioned for Padme to speak.

"No, I do not know how Leia got the lightsaber," Padme answered honestly. She was not sure why Vader was asking her about the lightsaber.

"Do you know who owned the lightsaber?" he further questioned her.

"You don't have to answer him," Leia spoke to Padme's mind.

"I told you be quiet!" Padme heard Vader reply back to Leia's thought. "Stop interrupting, otherwise I will knock you unconscious!"

Padme was tempted to speak in Leia's defense, but she refrained. She did not want to incur Vader's wrath any more than she already had. She took a deep breath and said,

"She told me the lightsaber belonged to my grandfather." Vader did not respond, so she added, "She said he died during Order 66."

Padme tried to read Vader's mind, but was unsuccessful. He turned to face Leia, who was so fearful, she could not even speak. He was tempted to tell the girl the truth, that it was his lightsaber.

"Do you know who your grandfather is, child?"

"I do not," Padme softly confessed. If she only had more information from her mother! But Leia was too terrified to say anything, even via the Force, because Vader would know the truth immediately.

"Such a shame. Everyone should know about their family. Don't you agree, Leia?" Vader snarled at her.

"Vader, please..." she moaned. But he ignored the pleas that came from her lips, and drew closer to Padme.

"Tell me about your family. Do you have a mother, father, siblings?"

Padme was confused as to why Vader would want to know about her family. Did he know the truth about her parentage? Or was this his way of torturing her and Leia?

But the Force was flowing strongly in her. She remembered the words of the male voice. Stop resisting, trust the Force. Then the voice spoke to her again.

"Padme, tell Vader the truth whatever he asks of you."

"Are you crazy?" she responded back to the voice in her mind. Vader tilted his head. The girl was communicating to someone else, a presence not in the room.

"Who are you talking to?" Vader demanded to know. "Tell me!" His voice was so fierce, Padme's knees shook.

"It will be all right, child. Tell Vader that you are speaking to Obi Wan Kenobi," the kind voice told her.