Rise from the Dark

~7~

Padmé

I'm in the kitchen making drinks while Anakin is in the living room with Luke, fascinating him with his lightsaber. It's strange seeing a red blade rather than blue. I hear light footsteps behind and turn around to find Leia.

"After all this time, it was him?" She asks, almost a hint of disgust in her voice.

"Yes." Is the only word I mutter.

"you could have told me years ago." she goes on to say, the volume of her voice rising.

"No Leia. I couldn't." I turn away from the angry face of my daughter and carry the drinks over to where Anakin was sitting on the couch with Luke. Anakin lets the red light disappear, much to Luke's dissapointment, thanks me for the drink and shuffles over, making room for me on the couch. I hesitate but I take the seat next to him.

"Luke, Leia, now I'm sorry I habve kept this from you for so long but he's here now, this is your father." I feel nervous just saying these words so as I talk I pick at my nails. Anakin notices and puts his hand on mine. It makes me smile that he remembers small things like what I do when I'm nervous.

"I like daddy," Luke says and he throws his arms around Anakin.

"Remember Luke, mum says he's a bad person." Leia grunts. She stands in the corner in a stance of attitude, acting a lot older than her age. She is so like her father.

"Forget what I said Leia, just come and meet your dad." I say, regretting having said what I did five years ago. "And that was a long time ago, Daddy just did something very good." He destroyed the Sith Lord, something no Jedi had been capable of. He destroyed the imperial empire and regained freedom for so many planets. Has he redeemed himself?

"I already met him." She says coldly. I shoot a glare at her. "Ugh fine." She walks up to Anakin and just stares into his eyes for a minute, like shes trying to work him out. And unexpectedly she starts crying and does the same as Luke, entering into an embrace from her dad. I see how much it takes Anakin by surprise but how much it means to him. "You're finally here for me. Promise you won't leave!" She cries.

"I don't think mummy wants me to stay princess." his eyes squeeze shut, taking in the moment he's sharing with his daughter.

"Well you can stay for a while, while you sort out where you are going to go."

"Thank you Padmé ." He says appreciatively.

"Why haven't you come to see us before? Did you not want to meet us?" Leia asks Anakin. She is sitting on one of his knees and Luke is on the other.

"Of course I wanted to see you. There has not been a day for eight years where I haven't thought about you and your mother."

"Then why didn't you come?" Luke asks.

"I wasn't allowed." Anakin's head bows and he starts to play around with his robes. He's also nervous.

"Luke, Leia, can you go and play in your rooms for a while, I'd like to talk to daddy on my own if that's okay?"

"Okay mummy," the say in unison, hopping off Anakins knee. Leia skips into her room while Luke put's his arms out pretending to be a ship.

"They're beautiful Padmé." He says to me, keeping an awestruck expression on his lit up face. "She looks just like her mother,"

"Yeah well she has the arrogance of her father, let me tell you." I laugh.

"Padmé I'm so sorry--"

"You don't have to do any more apologising."

He walks over to me and takes my hands in his.

"I have thought about you every day since we parted, regretting every decision I made. All I wanted to do was save you and I was fooled to thinking the dark side could give me that ability. I love you Padmé and I've been dying inside, every day missing you more."

"I've missed you too Anakin, but you're not the man you once were, you're...you're Vader--"

"I've been trying to destroy Vader. I'm finally free from the monster I became, I just need you to know that I want Ani back too. And I think I'm finally finding him. In you." hes steps closer to me again and so  I take a step backwards, hitting my palms to the side of my head.

"No. No Anakin you can't just waltz back into my life and expect things to be the way they were." My voice wobbles and cracks as I talk. My throat is dry and my body is shaking. It's Anakin I see before me but a part of me fears him.

"I know that. I just want to ask for a chance to prove to you that I'm still Anakin." I sigh as he says these words. "I've just got you back Padmé, I've finally met my children. Please don't take that away from me again."

"I suppose there's no harm in trying to sort this out. But the minute any harm comes to Luke and Leia that was your cause, you're out."

"Seems fair."

I can't help myself and once again I hug him. "Please make this work. I don't want to lose you again either," I whisper.

"I promise this will work. I love you." He whispers back. But I can't bring myself to say it back to him. Because I don't love the man before me. But hopefully the one I do will make an appearance soon.