Do not fear me. Padme." Vader said, He quickly turned his attention back to Ptolemy whose feet seemed to be cemented to the ground. "Was I unclear? Lead me to her room now." Ptolemy let out a soft yelp, and began. to walk to the door, it opened., and he exited the private room. Vader took a large step forward, and quickly glanced at Padme. The young woman had not moved a muscle since he announced she was leaving with him. "Stay close." He instructed her, not wanting to leave her unguarded in this place for a millisecond...She blinked at the sound of his voice, and moved to his side. He continued walking, and she followed beside him. Within moments they were standing behind Ptolemy. "Move!" Vader demanded.
Ptolemy immediately obeyed. He knew now that it was beyond stupid to think he could get away with defying Darth Vader, The agreement they had was clear, but Ptolemy thought it was worth the risk to go back on it. Padme was breathtaking,, she made him rich.
Padme tried to ignore the many men whose eyes were glued to her as she, and the tall blond haired man followed Ptolemy past all the private rooms, tea rooms, and bar areas. They finally reached a door none of the club's customers knew of. Ptolemy punched in a code, and the door opened. Inside was a staircase. Ptolemy paused and yelped again. "Go." Vader commanded. Ptolemy took a deep breath. He took 2 tiny steps forward, and descended the stairs, He wished Vader wasn't following behind him, he wished Padme wasn't leaving,
Vader's eyes turned red as he took in the gray concrete room, that Ptolemy forced Padme to live in for years. It was a wonder she had survived the conditions of this room for so long. It was like an icebox. The only thing that kept Vader warm was the rage that boiled inside of him, threatening to burn him from the inside out. He wanted to shove Ptolemy down the last 5 steps, but held his temper. He watched as Ptolemy's feet left the last step., and hit the floor. Ptolemy put several feet between himself and Vader, knowing the Sith touring young Padme's prison was enraged. He began to shake as Vader's boots hit the cold concrete floor. Padme followed him, and stood very still as Vader sped through the room, inspecting every inch of it. His red eyes quickly found a dirty mattress on the left side of the room in a corner. He walked to it, and bent down to sit on it.. He slowly forced himself to lay on it , he grunted, and rose from it quickly. It was hard as stone.
He stepped in front of Ptolemy. He wanted nothing more in that moment, than to use the force to punish the animal in front of him.. Feeling Padme's fear he was forced to find another option. He raised his right hand, and punched Ptolemy to the man yelled out in pain. His body trembled as he tried to stand up.. He was almost up when Vader grabbed him, threw him back onto the freezing cement, and kept punching.
"Please stop!" Vader heard Padme scream. Her voice pulled him out of his rage induced trance, and he immediately stopped the assault. Padme ran over to her captor, and helped him to his feet. The second she knew he was steady enough to stand without falling she let go of him.
"Leave us, before I change my mind ,and kill you. Vader said darkly Ptolemy made his way to the steps, Padme watched as he made his way up them.
"Do not worry about him Padme. He clearly does not worry about you." Vader said. annoyed that she showed concern for her captor. Padme watched Ptolemy until he reached the door that led him back into the club. Wordlessly, Padme turned to Vader. He waited a few seconds for her to speak, and when she didn't he let his eyes sweep over the room again. He focused on a door at the right side of the room. He walked to the smaller room. Padme followed. He opened the door, and stepped inside to find that it was a refresher. In it there was a small toilet, a large shower, and a quickly opened the closet, to find an assortment of revealing clothing, below that were 2 drawers filled with headpieces., hair brushes, and makeup. On the very bottom of the closet Vader found a worn suitcase. He suddenly felt Padme's presence in the refresher with him.
"What are you doing?" She asked softly.
"Preparing to pack your belongings." He answered..
"I don't want to go with you. Please, don;'t make me go with you." She answered in almost a whisper.
"You would rather stay in this dungeon?" By the time the question left his mouth, he knew the answer. She didn't want to stay here, but she knew what to expect here. He waited a few moments for her to answer, and when she remained silent he continued speaking. "I can not leave you here."
"You can come to see me everyday. That was your original plan."
He wanted to tell her that she had no idea what his plan was, but he didn't. "You are coming with me. I will not leave you alone with that animal for another second. "If I left you here now what do you think he would do?" Vader asked, turning to Padme, and looking deeply into her brown eyes.
"You shouldn't have beaten him!"
"I could have done far worse to him. Pack whatever you want quickly, I'll help you, I do not wish to stay here a moment longer than necessary." Vader backed away from the closet to give her room to assess her closet. When she reached it, she bent down, and grabbed the worn suitcase.
"This is all I need." She said, stepping away from the closet, and turning back to Vader.
"Allow me to carry it for you, Milady." Vader said, extending his right hand toward the bag.
"No, I have it." She replied.
Vader accepted her answer. They stepped out of the refresher, and back into the bigger room. As they climbed the stairs to leave this frigid hell Vader saw Padme shiver. Within a few minutes they were in the club area, and out the door.