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Darth Vader lead his estranged wife and two small children through the corridors of his ship. It was magnificent. State of the art. Over the top. Padme knew he had put a lot of input into the design and power of this ship. She wondered what exactly his title was in the Empire and feared the worst. 'He is something powerful, something higher up.' She thought to herself. Padme held the twins hands tight and kept them close to her body. She knew they were scared, she tried keeping them as calm and as safe as possible in this situation. Vader lead them to his private quarters..it was surprisingly very homey. He opened the door and the four of them walked into what seemed to be a living room. The door slammed shut behind them, a loud thud, this door was very thick. Padme stood in the middle of this living room with a twin gripped tightly to each hand. They stood, looking around at their surroundings and then turning to Vader, standing by the door watching them. Padme looked directly at him, hate, rage, disgust, and pity filled her stare at him. She hated him now more than ever. How could he just show up and expect to ever be a family. How could she be so stupid to put the children in this position? She hated herself right now as well. She made a promise to herself that she would do whatever it took to get the children and herself away from him and his control. She knew Obi-Wan would come her, she knew escape was possible. In the meantime she would shut down, not engage with Vader, her once husband turned abusive destroyer of their lives and love.
Vader spoke first, "I will have my men set up the children's bedrooms, get them clothes and whatever they need. And as for you, the same applies. Just let me know what you need..." Padme gave him no emotions. She was stoic. The children felt her power and had the same reactions to this man, they did not like him. This angered Vader, and hurt deeply. He approached Padme slowly, becoming more intimidating with every step, the twins inching behind their mother for protection. He got within inches of his estranged wife's face and said, "And Senator, do not try anything stupid. If you try to escape with my children ever again, there will be grave consequences." He gave her an icy stare. He then turned around and walked out of the living room. She heard the loud door slam shut once more and she knew without a doubt they were locked in. Vader had cameras everywhere. He had employees simply assigned to his family now, watching and protecting them when he couldn't.
Padme gathered Luke and Leia into her arms, she sat them both down in a nearby couch and began to wipe the tears from their eyes. "Mommy what is going on?" Leia asked so desperately. Leia always spoke her mind as where Luke kept quiet until he absolutely had to speak up. They were both petrified of this new person in their lives claiming that he was their father. She had to give them some real answers.
"Luke, Leia...you both are so young and I hope you can understand what I am about to say..." she didn't even know where to begin. They were six years old. Explaining this complicated situation wouldn't be easy. She opened up..she had to tell them some of the truth. "For many years I have believed your father wasn't with us anymore...do you both understand what that means?" She looked at them, already knowing the answer.
"Yes mommy." Luke told her confidently, Leia nodded her head. Their eyes were so curious for some of their history. Obi-Wan was the closest thing they had to a father and they both loved him. He treated them well but it didn't fill the void if not knowing their real father.
"We hide from the empire right? She asked them.
"That's why we always keep moving?" Leia shook her head trying to get her mother to explain the truth of their father faster.
"Yes, your father is alive...and it is this man. His name is Anakin...I didn't know he was alive...and I didn't know because we've been hiding for so long..." Padmes eyes were so filled with worry..explaining any of this to her children hurt her. It made her sick to her stomach they were trapped on Vaders ship. He knows about them now. He is sick and twisted.. who knows what he is capable of.
"Is our father a bad man Mommy?" Luke was so hoping for the opposite but deep down he knew his father wasn't a good man.
Sadness filled Padmes face, "yes, your father is a bad guy. I don't know how long we will be on this ship, but it won't be forever. I will get us off. Don't be scared, mommy has a plan." She didn't want to lie to the children. She had to make sure they knew she wasn't going to let an abusive man raise them, let alone an evil monster ruling the galaxy. "In the meantime follow my lead, listen to what your told and listen to me. I love you both so much, I am sorry...I didn't want life to be like this for you, my angels." Padme felt like a complete failure as a mother in this moment. They were all exhausted from the events of their kidnapping, mentally and emotionally drained. The children did not say much to after this and soon the threesome had fallen asleep, huddled together on the couch...
Vader walked through his ship with his hood up. He had real work to do. That all seemed to fade away though once he reached his office. Inside, he sat down in his chair. Work was there, he pushed it away. He took a deep breath in. Vader felt like he had no time to take it all in, he needed a moment...here he was, living this life alone, believe his soul mate and children were dead.. when they in fact were just hiding. Hiding from the empire. Hiding from him. But Vader felt Padme being truthful, she really did not know he was alive. She was in shock, just as much as he was. 'She's been raising these children on her own." A moment of compassion hit Vader. He did not intend to not raise his twins, he wanted his family. But he wanted it his way. That compassion was soon gone once he remembered the way she treated him...she hated him. Not happy at all he was alive. She seemed almost mad to see him..'you hurt her.' Another moment of compassion. And that he did. He almost killed her. Vader pushed these feelings of remorse and compassion out of his mind and began remembering that Padme was his. She was his wife and belonged solely to him. His children were his as well. They were apart of him and his bloodline: they were special. That excited him. Vader in that moment fantasized about killing the emperor.. realizing he would be after his children. His greedy hands would never touch a hair on their head.
Vaders thoughts wandered. Seeing Padme was hard. She was still beautiful, but sad. He could feel it right away. He longed for her for years. He hadn't been with anyone but her and he never planned on it. He had lustrous thoughts about Padme and wanted her to be with him again. 'She is mine, I have her back.' He reminded himself. For now he would have to gain their trust. He would start with their children. Padme would take longer.
Padme and the children were still fast asleep on the couch... Padme was dreaming of life on Naboo as a child. She saw her parents, her sister, she was dreaming of her life as queen. The dreams changed quickly, turning dark. She saw Leia being raised by another family, she had a comfortable life. Padme saw Luke, being raised on Tatoowine by Owen and Beru. The nightmare continued and she wasn't alive anymore, a dark shadowy figure followed her in her dreams and began strangling her like Anakin once did. It was horrible..she woke up in a sweat. A few moments later Padme carefully slipped out of her comfy position with her children and went to the kitchen area for a Beverage. She walked around Vaders private quarters, curious, wondering how he lived. The kitchen was stocked with food and snacks the kids would love. All of the sudden Padme heard a loud boom, it was the door. She snuck out to the living area to see Vader watching their children sleep. He seemed enamored by them. She didn't see red yellow eyes, she saw blue once more. He stood their in a trance of love.. looking at his children.
"Hello Senator." He said, embarrassed letting her see such a different side of him. Padme didn't say anything back to him. She just sat there, looking at her children sleep peacefully...Vader walked past her and entered his bedroom.. Padme stood in the living room awkwardly, wondering if she would have to sleep in there with him...this wasn't her home, she didn't feel safe here. She wondered who Anakin had become. She was scared. Before she could finish another thought, Leia was awake. Both kids soon woke up and in a fog, remembered where they were. "Mommy.." Luke was asking for her.
Vader entered the living room again and soon the mother and children found themselves waiting for this tall figure to speak. "Dinner is almost ready, and the children's rooms will be finished tonight." He removed his hood, he showed his true face to his children. In the light of the home they could see how scarred his face was, it was bad. This was the first time Padme had really studied it as well, she looked at him, tears filling her eyes. He was still handsome, but he had been though a lot. "Where are the children's rooms?" Padme asked, trying to change the subject. "They are here, follow me.." Vader extended an arm to her which she did not take. He brushed Padme off and took the family down another hallway in his gigantic home and lead the children to a massive bedroom. Once inside, the children burst with excitement.. their bedroom was nothing but spectacular.. Vader clearly had spent a lot of money, the room had two beautiful beds, every toy you could possibly imagine, dressers full of the finest clothing.. you name it the kids now had it. Padme was happy to see her kids happy, for the moment, and have things they needed...but she didn't want it this way. She felt resentment, that Vader was able to give the children all of this while she was hardly able to give them anything for the past 6 years.
"Wow," both children said while running into the bedroom. For a moment they were able to forget about the crazy state their lives were in...They ran from toy to toy, exploring every inch of the room. Vader stood and watched his children, their curious minds made him smile. Padme was uncomfortable..this wasn't what she wanted for their lives.
The children didn't want to leave their new room and toys.. they were playing for hours. Padme sat on the couch in the living area, frozen, sinking deeper into anxiety and depression. She couldn't believe the state of her life right now. She had no idea who her husband had become and she was afraid to ask. She was ok with raising her kids by herself, she had worked through the emotional process of losing her husband and career...she was finally living again. She hated Anakin for what he did to her and their family, to the galaxy for that matter, but a huge part of her still loved him. Losing him was terrible. Finding out he was alive was terrible, too. He would never be the man she married and he abused her.. she couldn't forgive him for that. Another side of her tried to remember the good times, the loving, caring man he once was. The guy she married. The Anakin she loved. Her mind was racing..full blown panic attack began. She stood up and tried to walk it off but she became overwhelmed with panic, anxiety, fear... her heart was racing out of her chest and she was breathing fast. The room was spinning.. so many emotions running through her. Her mouth was dry...she could see the walls closing in on her, everything turning black. "Padme." It was Vaders voice, he appeared out of no where and tried to comfort her..she pushed him away. "Padme talk to me what's going on?" She just ignored him, panicking..all she could think about was escape.. getting her children safe again..
"Padme please try to calm down..." Vader tried reaching for her arms, she once again pushed him away.
"Don't...don't touch me.." she said between breathes..she started sobbing uncontrollably, everything coming out all at once. Everything, Anakin turning, hurting her, believing he was dead, raising the kids in hiding, the kidnapping, it all came pouring out. She fell to the ground. She hated how weak she appeared in front of him. Vader fell to the ground and put her in his arms, but Padme broke free, "you never get to touch me again, ever. What you've done to your family is unforgivable. I hate you." She said in between cries. Vader was hurt by her words but understood he deserved this treatment. Padme stood up and ran into the fresher. Out of no where the twins appeared...having watched their mother run to away crying and their father left sitting on the floor..Leia walked over to her 'father' and point blank asked him, "why did you hurt our mother?" Her brown eyes stabbing him right in the heart...
Vader looked down, here he was having to explain to his daughter the pain inflicted on her mother. He would never want a man treating his princess like this, but she already knew her father wasn't good to her mother. He had no idea what to say. Luke stood next to his sister waiting for an answer, his eyes were scared of him. Leia was furious with him.
"I...I.." here was Vader, a man who the galaxy feared, not knowing what to say to a six year old.
"You may be our father, but you will never be our dad." Leias words stung. She was brutally honest. Luke looked at her in disbelief that she even said that..As cold as Vader was, those words cut deeper than he could have ever imagined. It hurt. He wanted his children to love and respect him. He didn't want them to be afraid of him. He wanted their love desperately.
"Your mother and I have a complicated relationship. I never wanted to hurt her. I love her." That's all he could muster our. "And I love you two, and I know this has been a confusing time, but I will do anything to gain your trust and love." The twins could tell he was defeated. The great Lord Vader stuck down my two children. Anger ran through him, but his rational side stuck out.. his kids were right...
Padme was able to push herself through her panic attack and melt down...she was laying in the kids room, even after they were asleep. She didn't know if she had her own room and she refused to sleep in bed with Vader. She didn't want to leave her kids. She was scared he would take them in the middle of the night and never return with them. She was trying her hardest to block him from her mind and from reading her thoughts. She didn't want him to know her plans of eventually escaping.
She saw a small crack of light in the doorway and knew it was him, checking on them. They locked eyes for a moment..Padme rolling her eyes and looking away. He kept standing there, making Padme super uncomfortable. She finally got up and walked to the door to shut it, he whispered, "please talk to me." She shut the door anyway. What did he expect? A loving wife? After all she had been through, she didn't want much to do with him. Her love for Anakin was never ending, her love for this man he was now was nonexistent. Yes her husband was alive, walking and breathing but the man she married died years ago. They wernt the same people and pretending they were would be impossible. Sleep came easy that night, she had emotionally drained herself. She passed out on the floor next to her twins beds and dreamed horrible nightmares...there was no escaping Vader.
The next morning, Padme and her children sat in their bedroom. "Listen, I am sorry for the way I acted yesterday it was inappropriate...I just want us off this ship as soon as possible. I'm working on it." Padme told her twins with a sigh. "Mommy why do you hate him so much?" Luke wanted to know more than his mother had told him, but that was for another time. "Right now, all we can do is make the best of this situation. Stay together. We will make it through this." She told her twins.."now let's go eat some breakfast and start our day."
When Padme walked into the kitchen there was an older man and women waiting for them. No Vader in sight. The kitchen, like the rest of Vaders living quarters, was beautiful. A chefs kitchen indeed. Something Padme always dreamed of having in her own home one day.
"Hello Lady Vader. I am Posel and this is Lana. I am more of a caretaker to the home and Lana is more of a nanny/cook. Lord Vader wanted us to introduce ourselves and help you with whatever you may need." The man spoke to her.
Padmes stomach turned with nausea. She finally learned the truth..and he couldn't even be the one to tell her. Anakin was the emperors right hand man..someone she heard horrible things about. "Please don't ever call me that, my name is Padme." She responded as politely as she could. "That's daddy's name?" Luke questioned as he sat at the table ready to eat. Padme had no words. She couldn't focus on the children she needed a moment to digest this information. 'Lord Vader.' She thought to herself. 'What an asshole.' She almost let out a sarcastic chuckle. Her hate and rage for him grew as she imagined all the lives he took, ruined, and destroyed. 'Lord Vader...' she couldn't get this out of her head. He was truly a monster. Escaping this man and his prison of a home would be her next steps. She wouldn't let him hurt her ever again.