It did not take long for things to change around Fortress Vader.

For one, there was a long slew of mysterious demotions. All those who looked at or got close to seeing Leia were immediately rounded up and never seen again. With all of the Purge Troopers who had previously brought her breakfast dispatched, Reva was forced to schedule specific intervals in her usual schedule in order to bring her meals. This seemed to annoy her greatly, as she was more or less always in a foul mood.

At the same time, strange clothes began to appear practically overnight in Leia's room. They grew increasingly elaborate and difficult for Reva to put on. Both of them silently agreed that this was an inconvenience to both of them.

"Why do I have to wear it if he's just gonna keep me locked up in here?" Leia demanded angrily. It had been days since she last talked to Vader, perhaps a week since she last saw Ben. These days, the only person allowed to come in and see her was Reva.

"Well, on the off chance that he does decide to let you out," Reva said, "At least you will look the occasion."

Leia stomped her foot and put on a small tantrum, wanting her old clothes with color back. She especially missed the green jacket and gloves that Ben had bought for her on Daiyu, but at the moment they could not be located (she did not put it past Vader to "accidentally" lose them). However, no amount of whining or crying could make them reappear in her closet. Reva also did not respond well whenever she asked her to be let outside or to speak to Ben and Ahsoka.

"Stop asking me," she would snarl. "You are being very difficult. I have no control over that."

"But I'm so bored!"

"I am not your servant," Reva snapped. "It is not my job to entertain you, only ensure that you are fed." With that, she turned and left.

As the days went on, Leia grew more and more anxious. Every hour felt painful, and every day that Vader was gone on a mission yet refused to let her leave the room was a slap in the face.

The only saving grace was that, just as Vader had promised, the food did improve. Instead of the rehydrated powdered paste and steamed vegetables, Leia woke up to fragrant five-blossom bread and denta bean buns, a slightly less scary version of the Mustafarian bread rolls that also had red beans in it. Just as she requested, her meals now came with steaming cups of Mintea. On one particular occasion, Leia woke up to see Reva presenting her with bowl of fresh chilled starblossom cut into small chunks. Her eyes gleamed with recognition as she reached for the fruit of her home planet.

"Vader has returned from his latest mission," Reva informed her. "He will see you later today."

Leia scowled. There was always a catch, in the end.

Yet despite announcing his arrival early on, Vader did not arrive until much later. It was almost dinnertime when Reva knocked on her door and instructed Leia to follow her. Together, they took on the endless long staircases and finally arrived at the designated room. Reva nudged Leia towards the door, then turned away and left.

Leia took a deep breath before pushing open the obsidian door.

She did not know what she was expecting. When she walked in, she saw a tall figure clad in black sitting on a chair while peering at a holoprojection of some distant planet pensively. After a few seconds, his eyes roved over to her direction, and he shut it off. She fidgeted with her hands nervously, wishing the black dress that he had made her wear had pockets to hide inside.

"Come closer," he said, and she winced at the sound his breathing made through the vocoder. Vader motioned at her and she slowly walked towards him until they were about a foot or so away from each other.

"You can come closer than that," he said, annoyed. Leia reluctantly took three more steps towards him.

Now that they were face to face, she could finally get a good look at him, or at least as good as the dim lighting permitted. She stared at the motherboard on his chest with its eerie flashing display, the hard leather gloves on his hands that concealed his robotic arms, and the smooth durasteel helmet that covered his face. She peered at the ridges that were supposed to imitate the shapes of eyes. In the silence, she could hear a faint constant humming, undoubtedly from the many mechanical parts that made up his body. Altogether, it looked very uncomfortable and bulky and did not permit for a great range of motion.

"Why are you not talking?" Vader asked. Leia stared back at him. "Say something."

Leia opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

"Speak."

"Why won't you let me leave my room?" she asked immediately.

The electromotors in his hands whirred and clicked. She did not know if the silence was a good or bad sign. "You have already been granted permission to leave."

"Yeah, to talk to you," she said. "But you kept me locked in there while you were on your trip."

Vader stirred slightly, and she read the motion as an indication of annoyance. "There is no need for you to leave while I am not present."

"What if I'm bored and I want someone else to talk to?"

Vader stared at her coldly. She stared back, challenging him. She waited for him to grab her and threaten her with his lightsaber again for this impertinence.

"Do not talk to anyone. You may speak to me or the Inquisitor. But speaking to anyone else is strictly forbidden."

Leia frowned. "But-"

Vader raised his hand, silencing her. Leia glowered at him as he stood up and turned around, his long cape trailing after him. "Let us not waste time and breath arguing over trivial matters. That is not the purpose for which I have summoned you." Leia reluctantly followed along behind him as he began to march out of the room.

"I wish you would talk normal," Leia said wearily.

Vader froze, but he recovered quickly and continued his brisk walking.

"It is a rare occasion when I am able to withdraw from my personal obligations, so I would advise you to not tarry," he informed her, then paused for a second. "Hurry up."

"I'm trying," Leia snapped as she chased after him on her shorter legs. Vader stopped and slowed his pace to about half-measure.

As they walked through the hallways of Fortress Vader, Leia noticed that all the Purge Troopers refused to make eye contact with her. All of them averted their eyes or acted as if they did not see anything. The only sounds in the entire hallway were the loud shuffling of Vader's boots on the smooth glassy obsidian floors.

"Stay close to my side," Vader said, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her until she was close enough that his cape partially covered her. She did not think it particularly hid her, but he seemed rather intent on ensuring that no one else looked at her, so she complied.

"They will all be terminated later," he informed her as soon as they were out of hearing range.

"Terminated?" Leia asked. "You're not going to kill them, are you?"

"Of course I am," Vader said coldly. "No one must know of your existence."

Leia frowned, feeling more isolated than when she was in her room.

"Come. I want to show you something."

Eventually, they reached a security checkpoint near the exit. Vader simply waved his hand indifferently at the Purge Troopers stationed there, who immediately parted and bowed their heads upon his arrival. Leia felt uneasy as she looked at their weapons, feeling as if she was being escorted to her own execution. However, Vader did not turn around and command the firing squad to shoot her. He just dragged her along with him, indifferent to their surroundings.

Soon, they came across an Imperial spacecraft with no visible markings. Leia wearily looked at it, wondering if he was planning to enter orbit and then eject her to die in the vacuum of space.

"Get in," Vader said absentmindedly, and Leia obeyed. As she entered, she saw in the cockpit that there were two seats, but when she sat on the copilot seat her head barely came above the navicomputer dashboard. Vader frowned, clearly having not anticipated needing to prepare a booster seat. He turned around and walked out the cockpit, leaving her there.

Or maybe, he's planning to blow it up while I'm stuck here? Leia thought. There are so many different ways he could kill me, I wish he would get it over with instead of keeping me in suspense.

Several minutes passed. Leia started to unbuckle the seatbelt, but found that it had been childproofed. All she could do was wait and hope Vader would come back.

After a while, Vader returned looking slightly annoyed and holding what looked to be an adjustable cushion. He helped her out of the seatbelt and placed the cushion underneath her, allowing her to finally see over the dashboard.

"Now, let us depart," he said coolly.

With that, he began to start the ship's engines and prepared to enter Mustafar's atmosphere.

It was strange to her, watching this cold and merciless commander calmly adjusting the switches on a dashboard and calibrating the navicomputer. The way his hands lovingly lingered on the lever after he pulled it, how naturally he seemed at ease as they entered orbit and he steered them out of the path of an approaching satellite. In another life, she imagined he would have made an excellent pilot.

"We are about to enter lightspeed," he told her. "However, the navigational system must finish its computations first."

She stared at him. "Why is it taking so long?" she demanded, deciding to be difficult on purpose.

Vader leaned back, and she watched as he absentmindedly fiddled with the temperature controls and universal altimeter.

"It is imperative that no errors are made. That is why."

"But if we are traveling at lightspeed, doesn't that mean we can just smash through anything?" Leia asked, still trying to provoke him. Of course, this was a rhetorical question. Every child of Alderaan knew the answer to this logical fallacy, which was that the ship's durability would not be enough to withstand the collision force.

Surprisingly, Vader fell for the bait.

"As you may have learned, if Organa has been teaching you correctly...force is a combination of mass and acceleration. This is a smaller spacecraft, therefore our mass is not of concern. However, traveling at lightspeed is an incredibly high velocity, and thus any collision would be disastrous."

"Oh," Leia said. "But Daddy said acceleration is not the same as velocity," she frowned. "If we're moving at the same speed, how can we be accelerating?"

Vader paused, as if he had not expected her to understand the terms he mentioned.

"Indeed. However you must remember that we are not moving in a straight line. We are constantly changing our direction, therefore we are accelerating."

He turned and peered at her through the hood of his helmet.

"Do not refer to Organa as your father anymore. He is not of any significance to you at this stage in your life."

Leia glared at him. "He raised me. I think that is very significant."

Vader waved his hand indifferently. "That was before you found your true purpose. I have something much greater in mind for you now. Soon, you will come to see what I mean."

Finally, the navicomputer finished its calculations and they entered hyperdrive. Leia watched with slightly blurry eyes as they hurtled rapidly through space, wondering where he was planning to take her.

Once they pulled out of hyperdrive, Leia rubbed her eyes and saw that they were stationed at a high vantage point that looked down upon the Galaxy, from which several masses of distant planets and stars could be seen. She attempted to locate her planet, but everything was so overwhelming and she could not tell left from right.

"This," Vader said, "is our Empire."

Leia stared and began to look more closely at everything before her.

She could see each one of the Core Worlds, buzzing and thrumming proudly as millions of inhabitants went about their daily lives breathing, crying, laughing and indulging in all life had to offer. There was the Inner Rim, where colonization first started, and the Expansions to which it had slowly spread through a combination of tenacity and lust for power. She could see the sparkle of distant stars winking slowly at her, the multicolored swirl of nebulas from which life could either go out or be born anew. She watched as various comets whizzed past them, shining brightly with their tails thrust forwards. She could even see a glimpse of the Unknown Regions, where various hyperspace anomalies such as magnetospheres and gravity wells could only safely be viewed from afar.

Everything before her belonged to, or was meant to, belong to Vader.

"You mean your Empire."

"You are my heir," Vader replied simply. "All that which is mine, will soon be yours."

Leia blinked. From end-to-end, everything before her eyes was Empire-ruled, Empire-owned. She stared and watched as Imperial spacecrafts moved back and forth, surveying the area and maintaining their control over this side of the galaxy.

"What are those?" she asked.

"Those are the colonies which provide important materials and supplies to the Empire. Including the manufacturing of various arms and weapons. They are essential to our ongoing efforts against the Rebels, and without them, our Empire would not be able to maintain its strength."

"How do they work so fast? Are you using slave labor?" Leia asked suspiciously.

Vader stared at her as if he was debating the pros and cons of Force-choking her and turning the ship back around.

"How observant you are. Indeed, we do employ various forms of labor. However, one might say that in every contract, there is an agreed forfeiture. These people agree to forfeit certain personal comforts for the greater good of society. The people who work in these colonies are under a stricter lifestyle, but in exchange they receive the benefit of personal security and the Empire's protection."

"That is a dictatorship," Leia glowered at him. "My Father would never approve. He hates slavery. He thinks it should be abolished. He is working to secure a vote against it."

"Ah," Vader said, "Democracy. How idealistic." He paused. "There was time when I, too, believed in it. I was young and foolish. I believed that the Senate would be a sufficient mechanism against the dangers of corruption."

"But it is," Leia insisted. "That's what the Senate is for, isn't it?"

"No," Vader said coldly. "The Senate exists to further their own interests. That is their true purpose. The improvement of their territories is merely a byproduct of their authority, rather than their actual intention."

"But how does that make your Empire any better, if you allow corruption like slavery to exist?"

"Because all of these people are working together for a shared purpose, a shared goal. How are nations created? By a people with a common idea and common values. By giving themselves over to the Empire, they are given the sense of unified identity that they crave and are less prone to infighting. They fuel the Empire which protects them and ensures they have a job and are fed. They are not enslaved by some rogue Rebel insurgents to prolong their petty struggles, and they do not have to worry about any economic instability. There is no tension behind the inhabitants of different regions, or the members of different species. All of them are united by their obedience to the Empire, and all are rewarded for their diligence by the graciousness of our protection. That is the difference."

Leia frowned, remembering something her father had told her.

Remember, Leia. A benevolent dictatorship is still a dictatorship. Tyrants often attempt to disguise themselves as something else, but at the end of the day they cannot hide what they truly are.

"It's not fair."

"It may not be your definition of just. But it is necessary to keep the peace."

Leia glared at him.

"You are cruel," she said, "And a tyrant. I will never agree to this."

"Perhaps my actions have made me a tyrant, but I am also a fair man. You will find that I can be rather agreeable at times. I believe you will come around, sooner or later."

Leia glared at him and wished she could steal his lightsaber and smack him in the face with it.

"What about my planet?" she demanded. "Where is Alderaan?"

Vader made a vague motion, seemingly uninterested in pointing it out clearly to her.

"Take me there," she said imperiously. "I want to go home."

"All of this and more belongs to us. There are far more interesting worlds to see than that which you mistakenly call home. Do not make such tiresome requests of me. I advise you to forget about it."

"But I want to go there!"

Vader sneered, annoyed.

"The entirety of the Galaxy is soon to be under our control. Why do you linger upon an insignificant terrestrial world?"

"I don't want a Galaxy, I want my home," Leia whined.

"You do not have a home," Vader snarled. "Your only home is with me now."

"Why? Why do I have to stay with you?"

"Because you are my daughter!" Vader shouted.

"You're not my father," Leia glared at him. "My father isn't a tyrant. He would never excuse slavery and corruption."

"I am your only real Father. You will cease mention of that traitor to the Empire immediately. Forget everything about Organa."

"No!"

"You will."

"I won't!" Leia shouted, scrunching up her face at him. "He is my real father, not you!"

"Lies and deceptions," Vader snarled. "I see Obi-Wan has poisoned your mind. I will see to it that he is punished accordingly."

"You leave him alone! He did nothing!"

"Do you not see that he is the one who turned you against me? Why else do you always disobey and argue with me?"

"You did that yourself!"

"How? I am your father, what other reason do you need to listen to me?"

"Maybe if I loved you, I would!" Leia yelled.

Enraged, Vader finally stood up and drew himself to his full height, towering high above her.

"I am a fair man, but my patience is not limitless," he sneered. "Our time for today is over. I am afraid I will have to discipline you for this impertinence."

Leia trembled, feeling a prick at the corners of her eyes as they grew hot and wet. She watched him silently as he set a course to return to Mustafar, ignoring her and focusing only on the blinking dashboard in front of him. The silent descent back into Mustafar's hazy, corrupted atmosphere was long and unbearable.

Once they landed, Vader practically pushed her out of the cockpit and seized her hand. She tried to pull it out of his grip and he squeezed her wrist cruelly, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Let go of me!" Leia shrieked.

"To your room," Vader snarled, and when she did not stand up fast enough, he growled at her again. "Go! NOW!"

Leia let him yank her towards her room and roughly push her into the unlit darkness. Once she was inside, she heard the door slam loudly behind her.

"You will stay in there until your punishment is over," Vader said coldly. "Do not hold your breath waiting for food. There will be none."

Leia crumpled to the floor and wept angrily.

"OBI-WAN!" Vader snarled, almost throwing the door off his hinges as he stomped into Obi-Wan's cell.

Obi-Wan barely stirred awake just in time to roll out of the way of Vader's lightsaber. He did not even have the energy to speak, just gasped and looked up at Vader as he stood above him, radiating pure fury.

"You have brought a scoundrel under my roof," Vader snarled, "An impertinent brat who does not understand authority or respect!"

Obi-Wan opened his mouth, but could not form any words. Vader seized him by the hair and pulled him up, yanking cruelly. He let out a cry of pain.

"I am tired of your mind games, old man," Vader growled. "But I see that words can only go so far. To someone who is fluent in lies, the threat of pain is merely an empty promise. You require a stronger motivation."

With that, he grabbed him and pulled him closer to himself. Then, with his free hand, he brought his lightsaber down, searing directly into the flesh of Obi-Wan's leg, provoking a cry of pain. Obi-Wan immediately began to sob and shake, screaming uncontrollably as he felt the laser cut through blood and bone.

"This is all your fault, Obi-Wan!" Vader screamed as he continued to push his sword harder. "You are the one who keeps sabotaging me, driving her away from me...was it not enough that you let me fall into the hands of the Darkness, that you punished me for reaching out to you by cutting off the arms with which I used to protect myself? How much longer will you force me to suffer?" he cried as Obi-Wan struggled and gasped in his arms. "Everything, everything always comes back to you!" he snarled. "Why do you keep tormenting me?"

He let go and Obi-Wan fell onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Disgusted, he kicked the bloody severed limb away from him, and Obi-Wan let out a faint cry of horror.

"I hate you," Vader spat. "You are the worst thing that ever happened to me. I wish I had never met you."

Obi-Wan expected another barrage of insults but instead, Vader threw down his lightsaber and sank to his knees.

"No matter what I do, she refuses to respect me," he hissed, "I have tried everything I can to make her listen to me. But she will not obey."

Obi-Wan watched warily from a distance as Vader trembled angrily, his entire body shaking with both fury and sorrow.

"You are a coward, but everyone loves you. They come to you of their own will instead of shrinking away from you. They would never reject you. Yet they hate me. Why do they all love you but not me?" he demanded, sounding like a petulant child throwing a tantrum. "I am her Father, she should be listening to me and thanking me for everything!"

Obi-Wan debated his options. He could die if he chose wrong.

Slowly, he crawled over to Vader and put his arms on his shoulders gingerly. Vader did not throw him off. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around him, trying his best to offer whatever comfort he could with his old, broken body.

"She hates me," he whispered hoarsely, and for a second, he almost sounded like himself. "She hates me...what do I have to do to make her love me instead?"

"Give that to me," Vader snapped at Reva and she silently handed him the tray. "I will go talk to her myself."

"Fine," Reva said, crossing her arms, "But don't expect her to listen to you."

"She will," Vader sneered, "It is in her nature."

It was below him to perform such a task. However, he considered himself a patient host. After marching up to the marble door and knocking on it loudly, he waited a moment and then announced himself.

"You may come out now, I have brought you dinner. I have decided to end your discipline early."

Silence.

"Your punishment is over. You do not have to remain there anymore."

No response.

Vader knocked loudly on the door again. When Leia did not come to him, he pushed hard on it and swung it open.

All he saw was darkness. Leia had not turned on any of the wishing globes or lamps that he installed for her. All of the furniture was in the same place, and none of the toys had been played with. He frowned, confused. He reached out with his hand, trying to sense her life sign through the Force.

Suddenly, the tray in his hands was lifted into the air and before he could react, it flipped over and smacked him in the helmet, disorienting him. He swiveled around, and there she was, arms crossed.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded angrily.

"Take it back," Leia said simply. "I don't want your food."

"My offer is not an option. I have ordered you to come to dinner, and so I expect you to come with me. As long as you are under my roof, you must obey me."

"No," Leia said. "If you are going to treat me like an ungrateful brat, then I might as well act like one. I don't want any of your gifts. You can take them all back right now."

Vader stopped moving, incredulous. "Do not speak to me like that," he said, desperately trying to gain upper hand of the situation.

"I don't have to be respectful, you're not my real father," Leia replied, then splayed out her hands in front of her.

Normally a force field this weak would not have any effect on him, but in his shock he did not have time to react to it. Vader was caught off guard and stumbled backwards, right back into the hallway.

"Now get out of my room," Leia said imperiously. "My Daddy says I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

With that, she slammed the door in his face. Too stunned to respond, all he could do was stare at it in shock. After a while, he decided to leave. Vader turned around and made eye contact with a smirking Reva.

"Not as easy as it looks, is it?" she drawled.

"Leave!" he snarled. She immediately turned and marched away, thankful for her increased job security.