"This place brings back so many memories," Anakin confessed to the wind. "That was when I realized that I loved her, but it could never happen. Our futures were different. I couldn't stop thinking about her, though.
"And Jar-Jar is untrusting of me. I can understand, but I really want him to trust me. He certainly trusts Luke."
"He trusts you, Father," a voice said.
"I was alone," commented Anakin quietly.
"I've learned to mask myself using the Force," Luke answered, equally quiet. "Why were you speaking out loud?"
"I'm used to somebody listening." Anakin stared over the lake and the beach. He was reminded of the last time he was here.
"Who would listen?" Luke stepped forward with every question and answer.
"Padmé, Palpatine." Anakin fought back tears by biting on his trembling lip.
"Palpatine found a weakness in you an executed it," Luke said, speaking the uncomfortable half-truth.
"Not exactly. He used the Dark Side to see into my thoughts. He figured out about Padmé, the child, or so we thought at that point, and about my nightmares regarding her death."
"He tricked you into thinking that you could save Padmé, which was, of that effect, the reason why she is dead," Luke finished. "She died of a broken heart because you turned and nearly killed her."
"Yes." Luke was now by his side, and that was the only reason why he heard Anakin. "I can never be fully forgiven for my actions. Only Jedi would understand how hard it was for me to come back to the Light Side."
"Leia is not trained, which makes me wonder how she understands so easily."
"I have no idea how she would understand either."
"Father, what kept you alive until the bacta healed you?"
"I feel it was the Force, but I have no idea why. It might be you used the Force unknowingly to keep me alive."
"It could also have been your sheer will to live." Luke stood next to his father for many tense moments, and Anakin could sense that a question was desperate to ask, but couldn't tell what it was. "Do you see much in Leia?"
"If you mean your mother, yes. Not only by looks. Padmé was a savior here on Naboo. The Trade Federation was oppressing the planet and many were dying due to hunger. She decided on infiltrating the Palace and cornering the Viceroy to make a new treaty while the Gungans tried to stop the invasion army. I destroyed the control ship, and the Gungans won while Padmé held the Viceroy. The one mistake she made was trusting Senator Palpatine and making him Supreme Chancellor after making a Vote of No Confidence in the previous Supreme Chancellor."
"Palpatine was…"
"Senator, then Supreme Chancellor, was given emergency powers, and then Emperor after deciding that the Jedi had betrayed him. The Trade Federation, the Clone Wars, and the Empire were all his doing. He pulled the strings for 36 standard years, Luke. We did not suspect him a Sith until he told me there was a way for him to save Padmé. I went and told Mace Windu, who told me to stay in the Jedi Temple. But I went, anyway, and Palpatine killed Master Windu because of my mistake. He had Palpatine under control and should have killed him, but I insisted he stand trial. Everything went to the Outer Rim from there. Not literally, of course…"
As Luke heard the truth, he began to understand why Anakin had done that. He was nauseous from the love he felt flowing through the veins in Anakin, and wondered if Leia would do the same for Han.
"Father, I wouldn't have known Han Solo if you hadn't done all of that," Luke answered after a moment. "Leia wouldn't be happy by his side. We cannot be sorry for what should have happened. Save that for another life time."
"This is another life time," Anakin retorted. "I plan on making the most of it, too."
"Father," Luke said warningly.
"I was always good at fixing things."
"You still are."
"I wasn't then. I killed the Sand People because my mother died. I killed Padmé on accident. I thought I killed you and your sister. I killed the ones I loved, thus becoming a true Sith."
"We must learn from our mistakes, Father."
"The Jedi Order's code was, 'There is no emotion; there is peace.' I always lived with emotion of hate, but Padmé's death in my dreams was what tore me apart. I should have stayed in that Temple."
"You cannot think of the past, but only learn from it. Now that you know about the Sith, you can help me destroy it while making another Jedi Order. You are the wisest of all of us, Father. You can teach the most."
"I'm afraid of not knowing the difference; of not being able to teach them what is right and what is wrong."
"To the Jedi and Sith, that is a matter of opinion."
"You sound just like Obi-wan." Anakin was silenced, and Luke let him mull his facts over under the night sky. Luke could feel what he was thinking through Anakin's vulnerability.
"You were his brother."
"He was my mentor and my father. It was said that I would be the death of him, and I was in two respects."
"You killed him, and you turned against him. To a Jedi, the latter is the worst form of death."
"We aren't supposed to love, Luke. I wasn't supposed to feel that way about Padmé. I should have let Obi-wan protect us. He loved Padmé, too. Not like we loved each other. It was more like a brotherly love. When she was in danger, he wanted to be assured her safety. I should have trusted him more, but I was blinded by my own pride."
"We must have a certain amount of pride, Father," a voice drifted, carried by the winds. "If we didn't, we would all be though incompetents."
"You must have the mind of a Jedi and a diplomat, Leia. You are like your mother in so many ways."
"And like you, Father," Luke added. "She has your quick mind and incredible passion. She also has your unending ability to be devoted to and love someone; Han Solo."
"Why do I feel like an open book?" Leia asked, clearly uncomfortable.
"Because you almost are, Leia." Luke answered, smiling softly. He noted the wet hair and decided he would follow after Leia early the next morning to relax his thoughts about a single decision that changed the course of a galaxy.