Chapter 18
Theed was a busy city. The people bustled by with baskets of fresh Nubian fruit, groceries, and jugs of water. They came in crowds, hurrying by, because they had other things to do 'besides shop around'. Luke stayed close to his father, following his heel, and Leia stayed close to Luke, knowing that getting near Anakin might trigger something she didn't want.
Anakin stopped upon a small, hometown café that had a table for three outside. They quietly sat at it, looking over their menus in silence.
Despite the many people around, Anakin suddenly felt so—alone. He'd always been alone for the past years, but now, he had his children with him. It was supposed to be a happy time, right?
Wrong.
Leia didn't want to be there. She didn't want anything to do with 'Darth Vader'.
The waiter came over to their table, taking their order, and then scurried off to place it—they were left alone once again, sitting in silence. With the menus gone, they had nothing to occupy their eyes, nothing to stare at to have an excuse for not speaking to one another.
They ate in silence. The placing of forks and knifes on their plates was the only sounds to be heard at that table. Onlookers found it odd to see a quaint little family eating without speaking one word. Anakin sighed, knowing that this was going to be his life unless he did something about it.
Reaching inside his cloak, and pulling out a few credits, he placed a few on the table in front of his children, "Go buy yourselves something in the stalls," he said with a pushed smile.
Luke grabbed the coins, jingling them in his hand, but Leia made no move to do anything.
Silently cursing to himself, he begged, "Please."
Luke turned towards Leia, "Come on, Leia—we can go together," he said, all but unkind. He picked up Leia's coins, placing them in her hand. Anakin watched as she sighed inwardly, getting up and following Luke to the stalls across the street.
Anakin got up to pay the tab, using the only left credits in his pocket. No, there wouldn't be anything else to buy.
Forcing a jagged smile, he strode outside of the shop and looked through the stalls himself. He noticed the woman's jewelry, the bags, the many fruits and vegetables, the antiques—he yearned to be here with Padmé, watching their children go off and spend their money on whatever they wanted. Spoiling them silly, Anakin thought. He smiled.
Maybe they'd even have more children—no, he couldn't think like that. He knew he'd never get over her, but she was lost. She was no longer a part of him, but one with the force. There was nothing he could do to bring her back.
"Luke," Leia called, waving him over to the stall full of jewelry, "What about this one?" She held it up to her neckline, a necklace, and showed it to her brother, who she now thought of as more of a friend.
Luke groaned. "I was never one for shopping," he said with a smile.
She winced, again thinking she could be on Alderaan, running through the snow…
Seeing Leia upset made Luke's heart ach, thinking that she would never adjust to life with Luke and Anakin. He moved a step towards her, picking up the necklace before she dropped it back onto the stall, "No, get it." He said, smiling, "It looked great on you."
She smiled genuinely, "Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah," he placed the necklace in her hand, "I'm sure father will be happy you bought something."
Suddenly, seeing Leia's face, Luke knew he had said the wrong thing. Her expression of happiness changed to utter disappointment, like he had just ruined the entire thing for her. A moment later, though, much to Luke's surprise, she was back again to smiling.
"I'm going to get it," she reported, placing the necklace in front of the cashier who kindly packaged it for her. She placed all of her credits in front of the woman who took them, popping them into the machine.
Grabbing her bag, Leia turned around and was faced with about fifty HoloNet reporters.
Luke grabbed Leia's arm and linked it with his. He was frightened; Leia could feel it.
A group of several men pushed a microphone in front of both Luke and Leia's faces, expecting them to say something—"WHY ARE YOU ON NABOO?"
"WHO IS THIS… BOY YOU'RE SEEN WITH?"
"WILL HE BECOME PRINCE, AN HEIR TO THE THRONE?"
"IT IS SPOKEN THAT DARTH VADER IF AROUND HERE. IS THAT WHY YOU ARE HERE?"
"WHERE IS PRINCE SENATOR ORGANA?"
"ARE YOU STILL SUFFERING FROM YOUR MOTHER'S DEATH?"
"HOW LONG WILL YOU BE HERE?"
"WHAT IS THE BOY'S NAME?"
"WHERE IS HE FROM?"
"ARE YOU HERE ON A SENATORIAL SCHOOLING COURSE?"
"THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO KNOW!!"
There were many more. Leia could take it. She turned around, almost hiding behind the stall where she bought her necklace. She buried her face his Luke's shoulder, as if he wasn't as afraid as she was.
And then, there was a silence.
Picking up a pot, and surveying it, and then putting it down, Anakin felt something—unusual—in the force. He'd never felt anything like this before, except for many years ago when he saw his wife's ship descending upon Mustafar…
They were in danger.
Luke. Leia.
His children.
Dashing over to where he had seen them last, saw a large crowd forming around them, and many flashes of HoloNet news cameras blinked off their faces, Leia's head buried into her brother's shoulder, her arm around him. Luke soothed her, and Anakin felt at peace knowing that they'd be brother and sister, even if he couldn't be Leia's father.
He reached for his lightsaber, the red menace still hanging on his utility belt. It was a sin to use it, especially now that its blade had smothered so many and sent all to their innocent death…
The red snap hiss was heard, and the constant chattering stopped.
The news crew stared in awe at the scene before them, seeing the Dark Lord who mysteriously disappeared defending two young children—and using his weapon to fight against them.
The silence, though, only last for a moment, until the news crew finally realized what their job was. They shoved many microphones, just as they did to Luke and Leia, in front of his face, and he rudely slashed them away with the palm of his hand, sending them flying onto the ground. The silence resumed again, over taken by the words of a young girl—
"Father!"
She was hugging him.
And he deserved it.
Leia looked up to see the glimmer in Anakin's eyes, as he looked from Luke in astonishment down to Leia's soft brown hair. Luke kindly shrugged, almost as happy as Anakin was that she had finally accepted Anakin as her—her…
"Father," she echoed again, releasing her tight grip, noticing that the crowd that been scared away. "You—you…"
He didn't really 'save them', per say. He had done some 'saving' during his days as a Jedi, and after he turned to the Sith for answers, the 'saving' had gone. Anakin could only breathe a nervous smile, knowing that maybe this would be the start of their family.
Leia began to dig into the brown paper bag the cashier had given her, and then proved successful by holding her necklace in front of Anakin's face. "Look," she said, "I bought this—thank you for the money."
"It's very pretty, your highness," he said formally. He hated speaking to her like this, but knowing he had to gain her trust, her respect—
"Leia, father," she said, looking down, shuffling her feet, "My name's Leia."
Anakin felt a smile creeping onto his face; he couldn't help it. Hearing Leia say for Anakin to call her in causalities was something that he couldn't get used to, until later, of course. He felt a pang of happiness swell his heart upon hearing his daughter speak kindly, softly, like he had heard her speak when he was on Alderaan—when he spied on his own daughter.
"C'mon, Leia," Luke suddenly came up from behind, linking arms with his sister. He pointed to the collection of dark clouds forming above them, "We have to get back to the lake retreat before it starts to rain—we have to go swimming!"
No one was more surprised to hear him utter those words than Luke—he hated swimming, as he told Ryoo and Pooja. But, he was discovering to enjoy it, especially since everyone was there now. All of a sudden, he loved the water.
Leia nodded slowly, biting her lip. She walked with Luke, up until they reached the transport station where they'd take their train to the lake country.
Anakin walked in the background, watching his two children converse about the subtleties of Naboo, and Alderaan, what they were used to, and how life would be different now. He watched them walk, and he knew this would be something he would remember forever. The morning had started off with screaming, yelling, fighting, and cursing—but, in the end, Anakin ended up earning a daughter, and Leia ended up earning a father.
He would never be the father that Bail Organa was for Leia; he would never be the man who saw her grow up. He would never be the father that Owen Lars was for Luke, even if Luke only called him uncle. He'd never be that figure for them—he'd never feed them their first meal from a can, never give them their first bath, never watch them take their first steps—but that didn't matter.
He'd watch them eat their first meals in the morning, before rushing off to their first day of high school. He'd watch them bring home their first boyfriend/girlfriend, and he'd be the father who couldn't let go. He'd watch them grow into teenagers, and into adults. He'd watch them become their own person, their own self—he'd watch them pursue the careers that they chose, not what he chose.
In the end, it all added up.
A/N: Aw, we're almost to the end of our story! Please review, I'd like to know what your input was on this chapter! Thanks!