A/N: I feel like the previous two chapters weren't my best work. (To me…) they felt rushed however THIS chapter is much more my pace, still doesn't have the amount of imagery I'd like but then again I am super critical of my work. Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy this one! [Three things: I made Vader/Anakin OP in this fic. because WHY NOT :D, I borrowed a variation of an Albert Einstein quote, and this has not been edited]
Chapter 20: Forgiven or Forgotten
The second Padmé's consciousness returned, she shot from the confines of a bed into the security of a pair of arms. Vader. Shaking the thought aside, she still felt exhausted but above all else she remembered. She had tried to run away – Eryx – then darkness. It was a daring thought to think that perhaps Vader spared stealing her memories because of what Eryx reveled. Yet it still hurt her mind to think she wouldn't know any better if he'd stolen her memories.
"Why did you run? Quite the foolish tactic on a planet as desolate as this, don't you think?" Vader's deep voice rang through her ears, his dark sandy tresses brushing the tips of her ears. Padmé fought the urge to reply immediately, she wondered why he sounded so calm, indifferent almost. If the emotion was of indifference that worried her. It would mean his calmness was a façade. She partially knew it had to be considering the heat radiating off of his body. He should be livid and perhaps her instincts weren't far off the mark. "I am displeased that you tried to run away, yes," he replied, answering her thoughts. Padmé's thought process froze, startled by his intrusion.
"You let me keep my memories," Padmé stated shifting in his grip, however he didn't budge. His hold on her was gentleyet firm. She was locked to him, unable to leave. She was in the arms of a weapon. Is that why she ran? Under a different state of mind she would have known it was a futile action. Inexplicably, a stab of pain zapped through her skull. Without even knowing she winced, something was happening that she couldn't explain. She ran without thinking – jumped out a window to get away from him. Yet here she was feeling comfortable in his arms. Horribly confused with herself, the bipolar nature of her thoughts was startling. The meaning of Eryx's words rang loud and clear – Vader was controlling her reaction to him. When he was away, not influencing her, she had a moment of freedom and her body immediately took the action to escape.
"So you extrapolated that from what he told you," Vader declared aloud, once again dragging Padmé from her thoughts.
"You're controlling my moods," Padmé breathed, this time a chill ran down her spine as she said it aloud. Was it even possible for him to do such a thing? How? She'd never heard of any force-sensitive individual being able to control an individual's decisions for a prolonged period of time. Perhaps she didn't know because the Jedi only used their powers for the greater good, not for their own personal gain. As that thought brushed across her mind, she felt Vader tense.
"They are mere Force suggestions," Vader explained all too calmly.
"But you don't deny it, suggesting my actions – my reactions." Padmé whispered, designating the truth from his reply. A deep respire released from Vader's nose while the pads of his leather-clad fingertips brushed against her cheek, gracefully moving strands of hair from her face. With her back pressed against his chest, Padmé stiffened as his hand curled around her throat. Even though his touch was tender, the treat was still apparent. Pressing down a swallow, Padmé was finding it harder and harder to remember what she was upset about – a pleasant fog was entering her mind. Horrible fact was, she was eager to invite it. The muscle of Vader's fingers pressing against her skin made her only seep deeper into his arms. This was the reaction Vader wanted, she could tell as he allowed for his hold to drift from her neck to her chin – his hand encompassing her effortlessly.
"Do you know what the Emperor would do if he found out you tried to leave the planet without permission?" Vader intoned in her ear, shivers ran up her spine at the mention of Palpatine. The fog receded slightly as the word 'family' entered her mind. What had she been thinking trying to run away?
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," Padmé replied automatically. If anyone on the outside were watching this situation unfold, they'd find her programmed reply disturbing. But for Vader this made a small smirk tug at the corner of his lips. Even knowing the truth, even with her instincts continuing to warn her – the woman's mind was still his.
Heat rushed across Padmé's body as Vader's hand glided down past her navel. It was then the woman noticed they were no longer at Fort Ypso but back at the imperial base – the bed donned in lavish silk sheets. Vader did not let her mind ponder on the thought for too long as he sharply ripped open her nightgown. A gasp escaped Padmé's lips from the sudden rush of brisk air, feeling like small needles against her skin.
"You could have been kidnapped," Vader hummed. A beat, "killed…"
A sharp breath escaped the woman's lips as the Sith's hand slipped down to the heat between her legs. Squirming against him, she couldn't help it as her eyelids fell. It was reflexive the way she reached to cup the back of the Sith's neck, gripping the base of his cowl. In that moment, she heard Vader pull air through his teeth and suddenly his right hand was clamped around her throat. The tightness made every muscle in her body freeze.
"No," he growled. His demand rang through her ears, deep as poison. Abruptly, his fingers ripped from her warmth. Before she could whine in disapproval – his hand was already clamped around her chin, keeping it shut. "Perhaps I have been to lenient with you, angel." Those words sent lightning across her skin, Eryx's words of punishment rang loud through her mind. In that instant, Padmé heard Vader's teeth grind harshly, his jaw almost popping. In a blur, she was face first into the pillows, Vader's hand clamped at the base of her neck and that's when her heart dropped. 'Why am I not surprised that you condone rape,' her own words rattled her, making the same twisted feeling reck havoc on her stomach. She couldn't even formulate the the word stop, Vader was off of her in an instant. Panting against the pillows, Padmé eyed his direction. He was gone. Like an apparition, he'd vanished.
Exiting his chambers, the Dark Lord of the Sith was fuming. His skin was like touching flames, his mind a roaring river of lava. He fought the urge to return to the Senator, knowing anything he did would only potentially hurt her. He froze in the hall, his eyes wavering shut as his teeth clamped together, his jawline firm. In a flash, his fist was buried into the wall, the metal of his prosthetic arm burrowing deep into his skin. The troopers in the hall froze, scared to move.
"Lord Vader," A voice from behind him announced, immediately Vader recognized it – it was Sobek who stood a significant distance away.
"What?" Vader spit, his tone taught.
"The Executor is ready for your orders and arrival, my Lord," the inquisitor replied calmly.
"Tell Piett to set the fucking course to Naboo. Have Aker escort the Senator to her chambers onboard. I do not want her leaving her room, do you understand?" The Sith barked, his head snapping to the inquisitors direction.
"Yes, my Lord. It will be done," Sobek said respectfully before turning and trudging back down the hall. Vader was seething, he needed air – clear his head. He needed to be away from her – why she would remember Eryx's words. Her own words… Her own feelings about those words… Vader's reaction to Eryx's actions was now falling into a weakness. No one should have that effect on him. Storming out the door, Vader reached the outpost's watch tower.
"Leave me," Vader snarled to the guards. Once the troopers made their abrupt exit, Vader felt the cold pierce his face as he removed his hood. His mind needed the cold to think. Why had that happened to him last night? That boy had surfaced and the darkness wasn't able to press him back. Even when he woke up, for a split second he was at peace. At peace, Vader's nose twitched while his thumb and index finger rubbed together. That thought was out of character for him, it was too dangerous even for him to feel such a way. Eryx had sensed it. Vader cursed himself, his hand clamping the balustrade. It was obvious Eryx was testing him. Yet what he'd revealed to the Senator, he almost seems to care for her. That thought made Vader's blood boil. Rolling his neck, Vader propped his hands against the wall, his eyes slowing tracking up to view the barren wasteland of the snowy planet.
That's when he sensed it, a disturbance through the Force. In the distance, he could see ice splintering like lightning zig-zagging through the sky. The main sectors of the outpost were elevated from the river basin, the security of the base was not of complete concern. Still, alarms shook his eardrums. His eyes landed upon the observation tower – the troopers racing back and forth, like a disturbed hive. When Vader looked back to the river, his jaw only moved an inch. It was the leviathan from the previous day. The Sith could identify it's presence anywhere. With one swift movement of his hand, his cowl was once again shadowing his features.
Without even a second thought, Vader found himself storming through the base to the command center. They would certainly attempt to kill it without a second thought. Potentially making it even more dangerous. However, when he sensed her presence close by – he knew she'd make things more complicated. As if on cue, Aker and Njord rounded the corner with the small senator positioned between them.
"Vader what's going on?" The Senator demanded. Her brown eyes were full of wonder, determination, attitude. The Sith's eyes narrowed at her slightly before his attention went to Njord and Aker.
"Ensure she stays in fallout sector," with that he brushed past them, until he heard her call him again. He couldn't help himself – he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Vader please tell me!" The Senator called out the plea, saying his name breathlessly. His heart lurched, part of him yearned for her to know what he was about to do…
However, baring his teeth he continued on. Not saying another word to her. He couldn't, not in front of his men. He wanted to tell her, his plan to save the creature. Yet, if the situation ended badly he did not want her to know that he gave the order for its death or even killed it himself. Trekking towards the command center, the halls of troopers in formation parted like the sea. When he entered the room, High General Fletcher and his officers were gathered around a hologram of the creature, discussing tactics to get through its practically impenetrable subdermal scales.
"I will resolve this issue," Vader announced, everyone ceased speaking – their eyes bulging from either his presence or what he had just said. The Sith was too focused to care which.
"But we have standard protocol for Lacertilia draegoensis, Lord Vader," Fletcher asserted, a sweat bead forming at the brim of his forehead.
"Are you questioning me?" Vader replied indifferently, causing Fletcher to swallow hard.
"No, my Lord… I am just stating that we usually follow-" suddenly the man was cut off, gagging, choking on his own tongue as Vader manipulated his windpipe through the Force.
"This time we will do things differently. If any hostile offensive attack is conducted, I will see it that every one of you gets demoted," Vader assured them. Every face in the room went pale before 'yes, Lord Vader' rang from all of fifteen men. Without a care, the Sith released Fletcher from the Force hold before storming out of the command center – heading towards the bottom level of the base.
Once Vader reached the evacuated levels, he could feel the vibrations from the beast's movements through the walls. Skimming his hand across the surface of stone, he could sense the creature's anger, worry, and betrayal. The Sith's hand fell from the wall as he made his way towards the hanger door. Striding past the snow speeders, he was now level with the river. Ready to have another conversation with this leviathan. When the hanger door started to slide open, Vader could immediately see the rage demonstrated through the leviathan's features. It's hood was raised, its eyes crimson-onyx. It was looking up at the base until Vader took his first step onto the ice. Immediately, it's attention was on the Sith Lord.
The creatures eyes narrowed, its scales raising even more at the sight of the Sith. The young Lord swallowed hard, the creature was upset – it's upset with me. With an open mind Vader reached out through the Force, trying to understand it's qualm with him. However all he received was a harsh stab through the Force – making even the Sith Lord flinch from the impact. It was livid, not even open to discussing. Vader nodded to himself, unclipping the lightsaber from his belt. It would put up a hell of a fight. A small smirk rose upon the Sith face, it will put up one hell of a fight.
With a slight flick of his finger, the scarlet saber hissed to life, humming its ominous melody. But then something happened Vader did not expect, the creature smiled. A true evil grin appeared across its features – its eyes becoming black, lifeless orbs. For a split second trepidation rattled Vader for a moment, Padmé's thoughts bringing forward the emotion. She compared me to this creature, perhaps an internal war was waging within this being as well.
Vader stood more than three hundred yards away, at a safe distance. Lifeless black holes for eyes pierced through his cowl's darkness to witness his golden gaze. This creature was stronger than he imagined, Vader had underestimated it.
The Sith shook his head. No. The creature was nothing compared to him. Just as the thought brushed his mind - the beast roared. The booming, piercing sound echoing off the mountainous of the basin. Vader's heart stopped in its tracks as he heard a crack from above. A thunderous wave of ice and snow crumbled from the mountain tops, ready to burry everything in its wake. It was an avalanche with the capability of destroying, burying the entire base if it completely rumbled down the mountain side. With every ounce of his strength through the Force, he twisted his feet against the ice, trying to gain footing as he brought the multimillion ton barrage to a standstill. Vader was shaking, his teeth grinding. If he let the wet snow crash, it would destroy everything. He could tell by the weight - it would entomb the fallout sector.
With hands quaking, Vader tried to weigh his options - he couldn't hold it up for much longer. That's when the ice trembled beneath him as the leviathan took a step forward. The young Lord could barely turn his head to face the monster. He wanted to ask what the hell the beast wanted – why he was doing this? Vader had never faced a creature like the one that perused him now. It's grin only amplified as it watched the Sith struggle to hold the weight of a skyscraper. He needed to do something – anything now.
"Please stop!" Padmé's voice rang through Vader's ears like bells on a hill, yet in an instant that moment turned to dread.
"Get away!" The Sith called, his eyes widening – heart pounding, she was standing under a monolith of snow. "Go!" He roared, the avalanche was weightless in his hands as his stormy blue eyes shimmered with worry. The woman froze in her tracks, planting herself in place until he saw Sobek rip the Senator from the ice before dragging her back beyond the blast doors. Another eardrum shattering roar resonated from the leviathan, determination drilled against the Sith's chest as he shifted the mountain of snow with the Force. Once knowing it would narrowly miss the base – the barrage slipped from his hold. With inhuman reflexes Vader called his saber back into his grasp just as the veil of snow made him indistinguishable.
With one propelled leap, Vader launched himself towards the leviathan – igniting his saber, colliding with one of it's massive claws. The saber sang it's desolate song as it bounced off the impenetrable talon. Impelling back, flipping in order to make himself smaller – the Sith skid across the ice, quickly regaining his footing as the creature charged. With every ounce of agility, strength, and power through the Force, Vader evaded every single one of the creature's attacks. It seemed like they fought for hours and by the time Vader began to tire, he could tell the leviathan was losing stamina as well– through the Force it felt weaker. Positioning back a safe distance away, Vader kneeled brushing the sweat beads from his forehead. Once again, the Sith tried to reach through the Force in an attempt to tame the creature. Yet its snarl became vengeful, ferocious, vicious as it suddenly charged to only dive beneath the surface of the river.
The Sith Lord was thrown off balance, slipping and sliding against an iceberg, he struggled to stay on the surface. A struggled gasp fell from his throat as his boot slid into the freezing water. The tips of his fingers latched themselves to the brim of the berg as it threatened to topple over. The subzero water was like thousands of tiny needles digging into his flesh. Vader's eyes bolted open wide as a cave of sharp fangs threatened to engulf him. Driving himself upwards with the Force, he thought he'd narrowly escaped it jaws yet he felt teeth sink into his right leg – stripping him from the air before tossing him like a ragdoll onto the unbroken ice. A true low cry of pain belted from the Sith's chest as he rolled like a tumbleweed across the ground.
This wasn't good, his vision was getting blurry. He was freezing, blood poured from his leg as his hand went to console the wound. During the fall he hadn't even realized his saber had fallen into the sea. Vader bared his teeth as the leviathan slowly pulled itself from the depths. It hardly was working, somehow managing to pull strength from midair. I'm losing, the truth hit him. He needed to do something or he would die. Vader chuckled to himself, he was sure the men were now placing bets on whether he'd live. His blurry eyes gazed down to his leg that was hemorrhaging blood, it was lucky that its serrated teeth didn't punch through the bones in the bottom half of his leg. It would be a nasty scar and a few sessions of muscle grafting but he'd keep his leg.
The leviathan stomped his front claws against the ice before letting out a roar. 'We done?' A voice echoed through Vader's skull. The Sith's breath ceased, shocked by the leviathan's voice within his mind without being invited. Struggling to get himself off the ice, Vader somehow managed to get to his feet. His golden eyes connected with a set of crimson.
'Why?' Was question Vader couldn't help but ask.
'The characterization of insanity is performing the same action time and time again, yet expecting different results,' the creature replied in the Sith's thoughts before it turned, its scaly hood falling and eyes swirling emerald.
Vader stared at the glacial giant, trying to decode what it meant as it slithered back into the sea. A pant. The Sith fell onto his back, his eyes connecting with the crystal sky. He couldn't even feel the blood gushing from his freezing leg anymore.
"Vader!" An angelic voice cried out, he winced hearing her call that name. When a shadow covered his face his eyes fluttered open to the Senator's concerned expression. Even though she was speaking, the ringing from the cold rendered his ears useless. Within the sunlight, she truly did look like an angel. Her curly burnette locks in disarray, her chocolate eyes shimmering with worry. When he saw the medical capsule, Vader's heart froze over – he forced his hearing to return.
"I don't need that," the Sith snapped, trying to drag himself off the ice yet he was slipping and sliding – there was blood everywhere.
"You've been injured – please Vader," Padmé pleaded her hands reaching towards him. He caught them midair.
"I said no, you aren't even supposed to be out here," he snapped shoving her hands away.
A hurt gasp left her lips, dejection on her facial features, "What the hell is your problem?" She bit back. All the medics and troopers around them froze. Even Vader stared at her in partial disbelief, he was too wounded to try to hide the reaction from his face.
"You need to remember your place," he barked, pain shot up his leg from the strain of his voice. Vader winced before trying to shove the pain away. "Leave us!" The Sith growled, his eyes planted on the woman before him. The footsteps seeped back towards the base, leaving them alone. "Watch yourself Senator," Vader seethed, managing to get himself off the ice to full height. "You forget who I am-"
"I don't know who you are," the woman shouted abruptly cutting him off. "I don't know what to believe, what to think! When I came over your eyes were blue, now they're sickly -molten!" She cried, sparkling gems finally breaking through the dam. Vader's jaw tightened, he hated seeing her cry. There was a small part of him that wanted to reach out and brush away the tears streaming down her face. Was it possible he truly wanted to comfort her. His body became ridged at that thought, those emotions were ones he had to ignore.
"No matter what color you see, it's always the same person behind the mask." He muttered turning towards the blast doors.
"That reply is no longer good enough," Padmé declared, her voice wavering ever so slightly. "Please, please just trust-"
"Forget finishing that request," Vader sniped, his head whirling to face her, golden eyes sending daggers, "trust," he spit the word, "you betrayed my trust. Why should I even contemplate confiding in you?" From her reaction, Vader could tell he'd hit a nerve. The Senator's features became despondent, remorseful.
"You're right," Padmé nodded, her tone delineating honesty. "You don't have any reason to trust me, nor I – you."
With a flick of his tongue the man cynically replied, "How insightful of you. Now if you are finished, I would prefer to be going."
Padmé frowned as Vader began to walk away, he barely limping even though there was a thick trail of blood oozed behind him. After watching the entire battle unfold, she couldn't help the worry that plagued her as she took in the sight of his injuries. For a moment he seemed so out of it, she witnessed him smile when he laid eyes on her. Even his hand had reached for her even if only for a second. Padmé's heart lurched for him. Did he believe that what he felt for her was weakness? What he believed and what she had witnessed showed different outcomes. It was only when he called out to her he was able to redirect the avalanche. Padmé saw it in that moment, his eyes were blue just like the oceans of Kamino.
Slowly, Padmé began to trail after him – her eyes resting upon the shattered ice. There was so much blood, she couldn't help but worry more. Biting her lip she raced forward, following after him. "Lord Vader," she couldn't help but call. He froze in an instant, his shoulders slightly loosening. "I can help," she whispered gesturing to his leg. Padmé saw the hesitation in Vader's eyes, it was unbelievable that she was able to see his face – his cloak had been torn and he'd yet to conceal himself again. That's when she realized he'd become quite the spectacle – not many had seen Vader unveiled. The surprise in some of the officer's eyes were too bold to overlook. Padmé felt the man beside her shift in place.
"We should return to my chambers," Vader intoned. For a second she heard his teeth grind and in the next he had his hand clamped around her forearm – practically dragging her into the lift. At the rate in which he was walking, she couldn't help but glance down at his injured leg. It was absolutely gushing blood. "I can't feel it Senator," Vader sighed, a moment later they were off the lift and heading into his chambers. The second the door sealed shut, Padmé was shocked by Vader's limp. He could barely place weight on his leg. It shocked her, he'd been hiding the pain so no one else could see. If he didn't trust her at all, he wouldn't have been comfortable enough to show her such a thing. Perhaps in his own way he'd had forgiven her… as she continued to forget why she'd tried to run.
With a small frown, Padmé knew he must be freezing. Vader all but through himself onto one of the barstools as she went to the fireplace. "I'm going to start a fire, you need to get warm." Her actions were automatic, with a switch she ignited the flames. When she looked back to Vader he was struggling to remove his tattered boot, his dark golden locks sticking to his neck from the sweat and melting ice. Padmé couldn't help but look at him, even injured he was beyond handsome, when he'd wince – every muscle in his arms and chest would twitch. The sight made heat flood to her core, face flush. Snapping herself from the day dream, the frustration directed towards his leg told it all – he couldn't remove his boot. "Let me," the woman whispered placing her hand over his.
Vader's eyes showed hesitation but after a moment he slipped his hand away. With a small sigh, Padmé began to unlace the remanence of his boot and when it slipped off – her heart completely dropped. Chunks of muscles were dangling by threads of skin. Cringing, Padmé tried to as gently as possible remove the excess leather, still that didn't stop Vader from having a white knuckle grip on the counter. He was quivering, it was the most in pain she'd ever seen him. "What can I get you, it keeps bleeding," she fretted.
"Head into the fresher and grab me the kit in the cabinet next to the tub. Also if you'd please run a bath," Vader whispered, Padmé blinked – staring at him in bewilderment. He said please, his voice gentle, kind. Snapping out of her trance, she nodded then quickly made her way into the fresher to run a bath. After switching on the water, she rushed to the cabinet swiping the kit from the shelf before racing to the kitchen. Padmé froze in place, Vader was hunched over on the kitchen island, unmoving.
"Vader," Padmé breathed rushing towards him. "Vader!" She called to him, fear laced through his name.
"I'm still breathing angel," the Sith sighed. With great difficulty Vader limped his way over to the fire before planting himself Infront of the hearth. All she did for the next while was watch him, only moving to switch off the water. Padmé observed as he moved with precision and grace working on his skin, somehow patching together the mangled mess that the beast's serrated teeth had left him in. With every movement she could tell how much pain he was fighting, his body only flinching ever so slightly as he glued himself back together. "Place this into the bath," the man suddenly said, his golden eyes suddenly searching for hers. Notching her head to the side, Padmé analyzed the vial of powder.
"What is this?"
"Bacta powder, it should give me a head start to heal this myself," he sighed tossing the glue aside. Even after he had worked on it for the better part of an hour – the appendage still looked mangled.
"What about Naboo?" Padmé whispered, "Will the Emperor-?"
"The Emperor will not be on planet for another week, there were other reasons I had wanted to arrive early," Vader sighed resting his back against the stone health. For the first time, Vader looked exhausted. His usual tan skin was pale, the bags under his eyes dark, his golden eyes dull. He needed time to recover, they shouldn't travel for at least a few days. "This injury will be fifty percent healed by the morning, Senator. We will leave for Naboo in the next few hours."
"Vader-" Padmé began to argue yet she was cut off by a pair of lips crashing against hers and as soon as they were there – they were gone.
"Take a bath with me," the gleam of mischief in his eyes was enough to slightly ease her nerves. Within minutes they were together, smiling, surrounded by each other's warmth.