As they left the Death Star, Leia left to get something while Luke sat, depressed. Padme let her tears freely flow, trying to get over the shock the shock of the moment.
"Who was that man?" Padme whispered weakly. She had taken her hair out and it now flowed down her back. Luke looked at her and whispered,
"What do you mean?" Padme looked at her son and repeated at the same volume as last time,
"Who was that man?"
"The man you are referring to is Darth Vader, Ms. Padme." Threepio explained. Padme nodded. She wanted to know more but she didn't want to reveal who she was yet. Just then, Leia came back with the cloak Luke had bought on Tatooine.
"I can't believe he's gone." Luke whispered.
"It was his destiny." Padme chocked out, "He knew that from the beginning. He would die protecting us." Just then, Han came back saying,
"We're not out of this yet. Come on Kid!" Luke got up and followed Han to the cannons. Leia and Padme ran to the cockpit as the canons came online.
"Here they come!" Leia cried as the TIE Fighters flew past and began to shoot. Padme held her breath as Han and Luke faced off with the 4 Fighters. If Luke is anything like Ani, they'll survive. I just know it! Padme thought. While she hadn't believed in Anakin at first, this trip proved that he did, in fact, succeed. And so far, Luke was a lot like how Padme remembered his father. Finally, Luke took out the last Fighter. "We did it!" Leia cried, hugging first Chewie and then Padme. Padme smiled and headed back. It's time Artoo and I talked. She thought.
"Threepio," Padme said as she stood before the droids, "could you give Artoo and me a minute?" Threepio immediately answered,
"Of course Ms. Padme." He left right after that. Just to make sure nobody would hear, Padme led Artoo to the rooms and shut the door.
"Okay Artoo," Padme said, "you have to tell me everything's that happened." Artoo beeped and proceeded to tell the young queen everything he knew about this time and what changes have happened. When he finished, Padme smiled, "Thank you Artoo. Now I just have to hope I understand everything." Filled with worry, Padme sat on a bed, head in her hands. "Why did you leave me Obi-Wan?" Padme cried as tears once again fell, "Without you, I'm lost. I don't know anything, even after everything Artoo told me. I'm scared I'll reveal myself and I'll have unbelieving children. Obi-Wan, why? Why? Without you, Qui-Gon and Ani, I'm lost." Tears fell from Padme's eyes. Tears for her friend, tears for her people, tears for her family and, most of all, tears for Ani.
"Padme?" Leia called some time later, "Are you in here?" Without waiting for an answer, Leia opened the door to find the crying queen and Artoo. Leia walked over and sat next to Padme. Padme looked up and into Leia's identical eyes.
"Leia…" She whispered.
"Padme." Leia answered and put her arm across Padme's shoulders. Despite her pain, the young queen refused to cry anymore. She was strong and would get past this pain. But she couldn't help leaning her head on her daughter's shoulder. When Leia didn't push her off, Padme smiled. To both, this was a sign of friendship. Leia held Padme like that until the queen lifted her head up and asked,
"Where are we going?"
"Yavin IV." Leia answered. Padme nodded when something occurred to her.
"Don't you think we got off too easily?" Leia turned to the young queen and asked,
"How did you know?" Padme shrugged,
"Just seemed too easy after my experience." Leia chuckled,
"And what experience is that?" Padme looked straight into Leia's eyes and answered,
"They tried to keep me on Naboo. They held me captive and tried to get me back before I escaped on my ship. They even blew it up to get rid of me." Leia gasped,
"And you're only 14?" Padme nodded. "Oh Padme." Leia hugged her mother, unaware that she would be through more difficult times when she returned to her own time. Padme thanked the Force she remembered her cover story. As they pulled away, Padme asked,
"So why'd we get away so easily?"
"They're tracking us. They want to know where the rebel base is so they can destroy the planet…like they did with Alderaan." Leia answered sadly. It was Padme's turn to hug her daughter.
"I'm sorry." Padme whispered.
"For what?" Leia asked.
"For everything you've been through." Leia offered Padme a small smile,
"It's what I asked for when I joined the rebellion." Padme smiled back when Han cried,
"We're landing on Yavin in case you're wondering!" Padme rolled her eyes as the two walked back to the others.
When they went on land, Leia told Padme and Luke to follow her. Han and Chewie followed to figure out where their money was. As the leaders hooked up Artoo, Padme stood beside Leia while Luke sat with the pilots and Han and Chewie stood behind the group. The leader explained his plan and once he finished, he added,
"May the Force be with you." Padme smiled, glad to see that the wish of luck was still in use. Leia and Padme stood beside Luke's starship and waited for him. When he arrived, he looked…sad.
"What's wrong?" Leia asked, concern written on both mother and daughter's faces.
"Oh it's Han." Luke said, "I don't know, I just thought he'd change his mind." Leia lifted Luke's chin and said,
"Nobody can choose his destiny for him." Then, she gave Luke a peck on the cheek and whispered, "Good luck." Before she walked off. Padme once again flinched slightly but recovered fast so Luke wouldn't notice. As Leia walked away, Padme gave Luke a hug, whispering,
"Promise me you'll come back." Luke nodded and whispered back,
"Promise." Padme pulled back and Luke could clearly see tears brimming in her eyes. Padme quickly wiped them but she couldn't hide the concerned look on her face. "I'll come back." Luke vowed. Padme nodded, her queen mask quickly falling into place. And she walked off to join Leia. As she left Luke, the voice from before said,
"Do not worry Padme. Your son shall not die for his destiny has not yet come." Padme nodded, thinking, I believe you…Qui-Gon.
Padme stood beside Leia in the control room as they listened to the pilots and waited to see how long they had before the Death Star was in range. So far, several pilots have perished, including Biggs, a friend of Luke's from the sound of things. Luke was going in and almost at the targeted spot when he turned off his computer. Obi-Wan. Padme realized and smiled, knowing his ghost was watching over her son. Thank you Obi-Wan. Thank you.
"You're welcome Padme." Obi-Wan answered causing Padme to jump slightly. She quickly recovered and held her breath as the Death Star was in range. Suddenly, an explosion rang through the air.
"Luke did it!" Leia cried and hugged Padme tightly. Padme smiled, tears of happiness threatening to fall but she pushed them back. She didn't plan on crying again unless a family member died and she was not planning on that. As Luke landed, Leia and Padme ran up to him. Leia hugged him first and he went to Padme next.
"You came back." Padme whispered.
"I'll always come back." Luke smiled, "And that's a promise." As Luke pulled away from Padme, Han ran over and they shared a group hug.
"You're not that bad, Han." Padme smiled up at the captain.
"Well you're not so weak yourself." Han smiled. They made their way back into the hideout, feeling better than they had since Obi-Wan died.
The next night, Leia stood before Luke and Han dressed in white while Padme stood to her right, wearing ice blue and her hair falling in curls. Leia awarded Luke and Han medals for their bravery and Padme flinched slightly when she saw the smiles they shared when she heard a beeping. She turned and smiled at the newly fixed Artoo who stood happily beside Threepio. Leia raised her arms as Luke, Han and Chewie turned around. The rebellion let out a cheer and Chewie roared. Padme smiled. This might be good after all. She thought but couldn't help wondering how long she would be here and when she could tell Luke and Leia the truth.
There it is! You guys are amazing with reading, following, favoring and reviewing! I got 2,214 readers, 41 reviewers, 10 favorites and 33 followers! Thanks to K-FictionFan, PixieDustDiamond, Katyperry22, tate4eva, QueenNaberrie, charmedjedi, Japor Snippet, ccp, Lunarballet, ComicCartoonFreak13, Dormantness, metallicakiki, Crystal di Angelo, Nanobot5770, bhujmnoi, fantasyandmusicperson1 and squirtlee16 for reviewing/following/favoring. Now we know who the voice was and nice job to everyone who guessed right! Next time we start The Empire Strikes Back and I have a very interesting twist coming up that involves Padme, Luke and Vader but that's a few chapters away. Try and guess it if you can. And if you like Kingdom Hearts, I've updated my story for that a lot and I've updated all my Once Upon a Time stories. If you like those, please check them out! Anyways, later!