A/N: This chapter is almost exclusively Ani and (Y/N) development, but I'm aiming for a very unique approach. I hope you enjoy. :)
Warm bathwater swirled around (Y/N)'s knees, whirlpools springing up at every touch of her fingertips. She sat quietly as streams of water trickled over her shoulders and down her arms, collecting in the pool at her waist. The bath was colored a translucent purple, compliments of the lavender serum Padme had added shortly before. Tiny petals tickled the surface of her skin, triggering the Empress to reach forward and wave them away.
"My lady?" Padme's voice hardly reached (Y/N), who felt as if she were submerged underwater. "My lady..."
"Hmm?"
"How was your training with the Emperor today?" Her friend asked, helpfully lathering freshly pressed camellia oils into the Empress's hair.
To (Y/N), Padme's voice was garbled, as if she were questioning her from the bottom of a pool. The royal had been spaced out for quite some time. Her brain slowly tried to piece the words in her lady-in-waiting's question together, as if she were wading through the shallow end to reach her.
Training... today... the Emperor...
Finally, like a bubble popping suddenly within her ears, she could hear her friend clearly. (Y/N) abruptly turned in the bath to face her friend, who sat outside of the tub. The handmaid had a bewildered look on her face at the sudden move.
"Padme," (Y/N) said slowly, looking at her with serious eyes. "It's the strangest thing. I can't seem to focus at all."
"What do you mean, my lady?" The girl asked, resuming her task of pouring clean water through the royal's hair. The Empress returned forward, pressing her back against the cool porcelain.
"Don't take this the wrong way," (Y/N) quickly warned, tossing a glance over her shoulder. "But ever since Anakin caught me - or maybe since he sat on the ground with me - I've not been able to think clearly."
Padme snickered slightly, a devious grin creeping onto her face. The Empress's cheeks grew warm at the accusation growing in her friend's eyes.
"I said, not in that way!" (Y/N) huffed in exasperation. "It's more like... something in me has been disturbed. I don't quite know why, or what that thing is. I feel... as if... as if I'm suspended in invisible water, with nothing above and nothing below. Sound and light are traveling to reach me, but it's just not fast enough."
Padme tilted her head quizzically.
"I've never heard love being described that way before, Your Highness."
(Y/N) stifled a small laugh.
"That's why I don't think it's love, Padme. Besides, Anakin would have to spend more time than that to earn my adoration. I'm not quick with emotion."
The Empress reached out her index finger, swirling the suds around her into a gentle purple cloud. As she returned to silence, the smile on her face slowly faded, and she felt herself sinking into the invisible water once more.
Something inside of her had certainly shifted, and it made her want to see her husband again. Perhaps, if she was lucky, he would be able to explain what was going on. Maybe something had shifted in him, too.
(Y/N) pushed agilely out of the tub, water splashing around her and onto the shiny tiles below. She welcomed the thick towel Padme draped around her shoulders, pulling it tightly as she moved into the bedroom.
The sun had set after a full day of activities, the fading light casting a pale blue glow around the room. After training, the Empress had made her way to the barn, where she was introduced to the horses, and encouraged to pick one that would become hers. Following that, she had brushed up on her archery, written multiple advisory documents for her council back in Coruscant, and spied on Anakin's senate address.
Now she tugged a silken nightgown over her head, ready for a full evening's sleep. Using a smaller towel to dab at her sopping hair, she walked over towards the large bay window next to her bed, eyes searching the darkness for her husband's tower.
Like usual, she expected to see a faint glow emanating from his room. Perhaps his silhouette would appear as he worked on whatever he kept on his desk. Unlike his view of her, she could not see into his bedroom. His tower was slightly taller than hers, putting her at a disadvantage. This was particularly disheartening now, as his window showed nothing but pitch black darkness.
"That's surprising," she whispered to herself. Could he have already gone to rest?
Such an idea hardly made any sense. Anakin never went to bed before she did. She often contented herself to sleep staring at his illuminated chambers in the distance, like a nightlight that glowed only for her.
With a confused frown, (Y/N) turned and crawled into bed, pulling the downy comforter up over her shoulders. As the dying light of day finally gave way into the consuming darkness of the evening, the Empress found herself completely alone in her room, staring at the ceiling above.
Hours must have passed, a clock ticking softly on the book case as the Empress tumbled in and out of sleep. It was early in the morning, only a few hours to sunrise, when she finally entered into an uninterrupted rest.
Across the courtyard, in the highest tower of the fortress, Anakin laid in bed, awaking slowly from his slumber. His eyes felt heavy, and his muscles were stiff as he stretched. Wiping a hand across his face, he sat up, robes slipping from his shoulders.
What time is it? He thought sluggishly, reaching for a pitcher of water on his night stand. Bringing the mouth of it directly to his lips, he took a few large swigs, water dribbling down his chin. Wiping his jaw and neck with his sleeve, he glanced around the room, now more alert.
"This is strange," he muttered through a yawn, scratching the back of his neck.
Anakin hadn't slept more than three to four hours a night in longer than he could remember. Though he had woken up a brief handful of times from nightmares during the waning night, he had slept for a cumulative six hours.
A cool breeze brushed his cheek, raising goosebumps across his skin. He was acutely aware of the temperature change, and pulled his sheets tighter around his shoulders as he sat up in bed.
What is going on?
More sleep.
More sensation.
More aware.
He shivered against the overwhelming feeling. As the silence grew louder around him, his mind began to wander, instantly falling on his wife. He climbed out of bed and moved towards the window, taking a slow seat at his desk with his blankets still pooling around him.
(Y/N)'s room was dark, so much so that he couldn't make out her figure laying on the bed. He wondered if she was sleeping well. Was this what it was like to feel like she did? Sleeping for more than 4 hours a night, being aware of what was going on? How rich it must feel to sleep uninterrupted, to be in tune with one's body and controlled in the mind.
Like a drunk separated too long from his ambrostine, he craved this feeling. An uninhibited force inside of him ached to be in her presence, so much so that he could have leapt from this very window, would he have landed in her room.
And so, Anakin was the first to arrive to their agreed upon training session that morning. (Y/N) was not far behind, though she looked considerably more tired than she had the day before. As she stretched on the terrace, he ran through moves beside her, the difference in their energy levels clear.
When their combat commenced, he was rough with her - the more he fought to get to her, the more contact was made. What made him nauseous initially now seemed to respond to his hunger, feeding and satiating it at the same time. (Y/N) was already overwhelmed by the power difference - now, sleepier than usual, she stumbled back.
Anakin shot out an arm to steady her, his hand slipping into the slit between her robes. As soon as his palm touched the flesh of her waist, (Y/N) inhaled sharply. The connection between his palm and her skin was singing, hot and dry. The Emperor seemed to want to hold on, his fingers curving gently into her hip, but the Empress fought to keep herself from pulling away. His contact seared her, like the pads of feet on broiling stone. The same powerful, isolating, floating feeling that she had felt in the bath crashed into her like a tsunami, surrounding her in a bubble that made her feel trapped. At the same time, Anakin felt wild bursts of energy. His senses increased in waves, like the first gasp of air after suffocation.
That night, Anakin slept for eight hours.
That night, (Y/N) slept for four.
The days following were filled with more heated interaction, Anakin pushing for the most he could get out of an exhausted (Y/N). Neither of them could explain the energy that entangled them, drawing them together like magnets, or stars. All the Emperor knew was that being around his wife was beginning to make him feel alive. (Y/N) knew nothing, except that she didn't sleep well anymore.
Every time they trained, (Y/N) was met with feverish contact from Anakin, him besting her in every fight just to get close enough. The more he touched her, the more she felt as if everything else became blocked out. He began to make small moments of contact outside of sparring, as well. When handing her a document, their fingers would brush. He would place his hand on the small of her back when pushing past. He would chase down a shawl that the wind had blown from her body, just to place it back on her himself.
She wanted to be concerned at the sudden increase in his presence in her life. But truthfully, it was hard to care.
She knew he wasn't touching her out of affection, but something about his skin on hers made the force within her ache, desperately searching for more when he left. She felt withdrawals on days that he was gone from the city, and could hardly deny him when he returned.
After weeks of this behavior, (Y/N) shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. As she gasped for air, fresh tears glossed over her eyes. She furiously blinked them away, refusing to cry. She had never been much of a cryer, anyhow.
But after experiencing her first nightmare, there could hardly have been any other reaction. She felt dizzy from the sudden arousal, and her bedsheets were wrinkled from being clenched in her fist. The window panes reflected starlight onto the stone sill, helping her to quickly find it. Peering up again towards her husband's tower, she let out a tired exhale when she noticed it was completely dark.
"I'm going crazy here," she whispered. "I think I should return home. Just for a little bit - until I'm well again."
Pulling on the call rope near her bed, the Empress summoned Padme to the room.
"My lady?" The girl asked, coming to the door rubbing sleep from her eyes. "It's quite late."
"That's fine," (Y/N) said absently. "Get dressed. We're going back to Coruscant."
__________
A/N: Hey my favorite and sweetest readers! Surprise chapter!!! I had so much fun writing this. I hope I'm accurately conveying what I'm trying to with their force energies. I wanted to create a relationship in which the transition from enemies to lovers feels realistic, but is also passionate, and doesn't take... *checks index*... 60 chapters.
Let me know what you guys think so far!
If you made it all the way down here, thank you so much for reading!! I hope you have the best week ever! <3