𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

    "Hey there, little one," Padme crouches down in front of where Maya sat on the couch. She was clueless about why the girl was left alone, but then again, no child should be hearing about a rescue mission about their mother. Padme gently rests her hand on Maya's knee, a motherly smile reaching her lips, "I'm Padme Amidala."

    "Maya Skywalker," her voice was quiet. But the girl recognized the name. Her mother had told her about Padme in bedtime stories and how she was excited for her to meet the woman. "Mommy told me about you."

    "Did she?" Padme fought the tears that began to well in her eyes. She missed that girl dearly, and the mere possibility of her death was bone-chilling. "All good, I hope."

    "She said you're my aunt," Maya mumbles, scooting closer to the closest person she had to her mother right now. The girl's eyes look around the room. If Aunt Padme was here, mommy was here too, right? But she saw no one. Just an unbearably empty room. "Is mommy with you?"

    Padme purses her lips, her heart physically aching for both herself and the little girl. No one should have to go through something like this, she is too young to be without her mother. With a slow shake of her head, Padme whispers regretfully, "no, she's not."

    And Maya's lip began to quiver and her eyes began to well up with tears. Her arms latch around Padme's neck, the wet tears slipping down her cheeks and burning Padme's skin. Her voice was shaky as she cried, "I miss her. I miss mommy. I want her back. Please tell her to come back."

    "She'll be back soon," Padme says, partially to herself. Truthfully she didn't know if Astrid would come back. All she could do was pray.

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    HER EYES STARTED OUT THE LARGE WINDOW, the orange lava stream below rushing against grainy ash and stone. It was an unusual sight that Astrid had begun to grow accustomed to, and she wasn't sure if she liked it or despised it. Either way, she sat on a soft and pillowy couch watching it, hands grasping a cool cup of iced sweet tea.

    Her mind was occupied with many things, all of which made her life conflicting. The most prominent was Maya. She missed her dearly. The small jokes and silly actions she would do, the unfathomable amount of impulsiveness and recklessness she possessed, the adorable necessity she had for cuddles every time it was after bath time. Everything about that girl made Astrid's heart clench.

    She missed her daughter. She wanted to hold her again, to be with her again. Maya was the light of her life and with her gone, it was dim. Even with the small ray Vader—or now Anakin had given her, it was nothing compared to the joy Maya gave her.

    A sad sigh leaves her lips, her eyes falling to the floor before her before she tosses her head back in frustration. She felt like she was going insane. Each day passing by in this place made a small chip in her sanity and soon she was sure she would go crazy if she didn't get a breath of fresh air.

    Being stuck was the only way Astrid could describe her situation mentally and physically. Mentally, she was torn between being selfish and giving into Anakin's pursuits or leaving and helping the alliance. There was no way she could do both, it was quite literally the opposite sides of the war, and she was in the middle.

    Physically, she was literally stuck in Mustafar. She was unaware of the structure of the building, only the route from Vader's room to the training room. She was confined in one space and even then, she didn't have much privacy. Cameras were littered throughout the room, which only Vader had access to. Hell, he was probably watching her right now.

    By the time a day had passed after the confessions in the bathroom, Anakin's blue eyes had disappeared, the harsh, sinister yellow ones returning. Palpatine was to blame, a surprise call making him angrier and cold towards everyone but her. Even after that, he remained gentle and kind, he remained Anakin. But eventually, Vader had left to go to god knows where.