The Will of the Force

Chapter 2: An Honest Conversation

'Children?' Padme saw Anakin's hand tremble slightly as he said the word.

'Twins. A boy, Luke, and a girl, Leia.' She wasn't sure how, but she sensed his elation at learning he had two children, and she also knew that he'd thought that they were dead – likely the Emperor's doing she thought darkly, feeling her hatred towards him increase as she realized the full extent of what he had done to her family. Maybe her 'sixth sense' and increased perceptive abilities had something to do with being a force ghost, she'd have to ask Qui-Gon later.

'Where are they?'

Padme quickly explained to Anakin the decision that the twins be separated and hidden from him. His anger increased exponentially, but he didn't explode until she told him that only Luke would learn the force.

'What!' He began pacing, much like she'd done when she heard the news. 'Both of my children will learn the ways of the force. It's not for anyone else to decide otherwise-' Padme was going to interrupt, but what he said next shocked her into silence 'Both of them will learn the Light side. They- they will be Jedi. But...' He stopped pacing and looked at her. She could almost see his shameful eyes through the mask as he said 'I've made massive mistakes Padme. Palpatine, Order 66, the-the younglings,' his voice became softer, miserable, as he continued 'I force chocked you. I was only trying to save you, but you died anyway. I killed you. I'm a monster. Perhaps Luke and Leia are better off without me.' He turned away as if he couldn't bear to meet her gaze.

Padme was both shocked and pleased at the self-contempt in his voice. Based on Obi-Wan's vague descriptions of Mustafar that she had caught on the journey of Polis Massa, Anakin was completely submerged in the dark side. She had been prepared to face a man that bore no resemblance to her husband. However, after hearing him talk now and bolstered by the unknown sixth sense, she had no doubt that though the dark still flowed through him, it was far outbalanced by the light. Gathering her thoughts, she spoke in a firm voice. 'Look at me Anakin,' waiting until he once again faced her, his eyes on hers, she continued. 'You made some errors in judgment, yes, but they were not entirely your fault.' He splayed his hands questioningly, so she elaborated. 'If someone was shot dead in a cantina, would you blame the blaster or the person who fired it? You were the blaster, the weapon, but Palpatine pulled the trigger. He bears much greater responsibility than you do.' She placed her hand on the side of his mask to emphasize her point. 'Furthermore, what happened on Mustafar was not your fault. Do you hear me? It was not your fault. Obi-Wan is to blame. Even if he wasn't, I know there were mitigating circumstances that day and I forgive you. For everything. You did not kill me. I don't know what did, but I do know that it wasn't you.'

He nodded in disbelief. 'How can you forgive me after what I've done?'

'When you love someone, you love their faults as well as their strengths. Their dark and their light. You love all of them. My love for you is unconditional. As long as you accept it, it will remain.' She sent waves of love, affection, and support through their bond (she was, again, surprised that she could do this. She had a lot of questions for Qui-Gon about the implications of being a force ghost). Once she was certain that he understood, she turned to the business at hand. 'Now, here's what we're going to do. Firstly, we'll go to Alderaan to collect Leia from Bail and Breha. They've got greater protection so will be the most difficult. Plus, if we get Luke first and they are forewarned that we're coming, they have a greater capacity to flee and further complicate things. Then we'll go to Tatooine and get Luke. We can have a... chat with Obi-Wan while we're there.'

'We?' Despite the vocoder, she detected a note of happiness in her husband's voice. Probing further she felt his pride and amusement over her thinly veiled disgust at his (former?) master.

'I'll accompany you to make sure you don't engage in aggressive negotiations. I think Luke and Leia are a little young to be exposed to their father's unconventional tactics and the predicaments they usually lead to,' she teased gently, her eyes sparkling.

Anakin responded with a 'Hmph,' which sounded severe yet through the force she sensed laughter that was so entirely pure it chased away the darkness for a second and Padme saw the young man she married, there clear as day. Consumed by Vader my ass Yoda she thought recalling the Grandmaster's words to Obi-Wan just before he came to her apartment.

'I'll be invisible to anyone but you,' she informed him as he called for a course change to Alderaan immediately.

'The Emperor will be suspicious if I suddenly show up on Alderaan and kill the Organas. The twins' existence must be hidden from him at all costs.'

Padme pondered this before replying 'If he asks, tell him that you have evidence of Bail conspiring against the Empire. He knows that Bail is one of his most vocal opponents. Hopefully, he'll be so satisfied with the possibility of him being removed as an obstacle that he won't think about it too deeply. And killing the Organas may not be necessary, it may be enough to simply imprison them or a peaceful solution may be able to be reached.' Privately though she thought that if those two options didn't work, she would have no objection to Anakin killing them. She had once considered Bail her closest ally, but that was before he stole her daughter from her still-warm corpse. She decided against voicing these thoughts to Anakin though, her husband was still in a delicate place with his force alignment and she didn't want to give him any reason to draw on the dark side.

'What do I do next? I can't continue to serve the Emperor, not now that I know he lied to me about your death and the twins. But I don't know whether the pro-republic factions will accept me after what I've done...'

'We'll worry about that after we've got Luke and Leia and know they're safe. Don't think too far ahead my love.' She said placing her hand on his shoulder as he stared at the port window and the ship started towards Alderaan.

Deciding to test her new abilities, she searched for the twins' force signatures. She found them both and could discern that Leia was awake and Luke asleep. She focused on sending a message through their bond, linking Anakin in. Hold on, Mummy and Daddy are coming.

Author's Note: So I decided to make it multi-chapter! I know there's a lot of talking in this chapter, but hopefully baby Leia next chapter will make up for it. I hope you enjoyed :)