Princess of Darkness

Chapter 20

A/N: Warning: This is when it gets very dark, and is not for the faint of heart. There will be some, okay quite a bit of, graphic torture, and general darkness.

Some dialogue is not mine, and is from ROTJ

"No! No! Son of Hutt!" Lily swore. Luke ran in.

"What's going-" His eyes found the Destroyer. "Is that-?"

"The Executor, our lovely father's flagship, which has us in a tractor beam. Make sure you have your lightsaber, but we won't win if we fight."

"We'll surrender, then. We don't need to die today." Luke tried to keep his tone light, but worry sank in. 

Not ready. Definitely not ready. Ran through both minds. What was said aloud was different.

"Hey, we'll get through this. We always do." He tried to reassure. The unspoken words were  If we don't, we won't be alive to see it.

"This is different. We both almost died last time, when Ruby was only there for half the fight. There's undoubtedly going to be a ton of Stormtroopers, and we're definitely going to be taken to the Emperor. Even that's not the scary part! What if we die, or fall, or-" Luke cut her off.

"We won't, simple as that. Us Skywalkers are to stubborn. I won't let either one of us be alone, I promise.

But saying it didn't make him believe it. 
***

Above them, the fallen Skywalkers sensed the pair. 

Good. Vader thought, an emotionless smirk playing at his lips.Soon, they will see the Emperor, and embrace their destiny.

Slowly, tediously, the ship landed in the hangar.

Luke and Lily stood on the ramp, and squeezed each other's hands as a last attempt to soothe the other. They struggled to contain their raging emotions. The ramp lowered, revealing Vader, Ruby behind him,  and at least a hundred troopers. Whether it was because Vader thought they would be a threat or just because it might be a good show was in the air.

"Seize them." Vader commanded in his cold tone. Six trooper rushed up, pulled their arms back roughly, cuffed their wrists, and held on to each elbow. The remaining two flanked the pair, and Lily stiffened instinctively at the blaster trained on their heads. They were shoved forward and pushed to their knees at Vader's feet, who was now examining their lightsabers. "Young ones." He acknowledged.  "It seems you didn't put up much of a fight."

"Fighting is a Skywalker thing. Suicide isn't." Luke said.

"Didn't seem that way on Bespin."

"Things change." Lily spoke. He didn't respond. Lily took the opportunity to search his face under the hood, desperately looking for a moment of humanity, a glimpse of Anakin Skywalker. She found none, yet the resemblance between him, herself, and Luke startled her. He still had the same set in his chin she had seen Luke have, the same hair color Luke had, albeit with specks of gray. His face held dozens of little scars, the most prominent over his eye, most likely from a vibroblade or lightsaber. The most noticable, and possibly the most intimidating was the eyes, which used to be the brightest blue she and Luke had both inherited, though Lily's had dimmed from the knowledge she wished she didn't have. No, these eyes held the flames from the lava, the heartbreak and betrayal of a man she had as a father. These eyes were hateful, red bleeding to gold like the fiery planet where a simple choice could have changed everything.

Leia still said nothing as the troopers hauled hr siblings to their feet, nothing she walked with her father as they were taken to the cells. Nothing as her father went back to examining the three new lightsabers.  
***

It took thirty-six hours to get to Coruscant. It was the quietest thirty-six hours Lily had ever known. Luke and her had been separated, and she spent the entire time meditating, trying to get answers where there were none. They communicated through the Force, discussing their plan. They had decided they couldn't prepare for what they couldn't predict. 

Finally, the ship came out of hyperspace and they were lead to a shuttle. Vader's shuttle, where he and Leia already waited. Lily was controlling her shaking, just barely, and Luke wrapped his arms around her protectively, trying to reassure without words. 

"I hope for your sake you are prepared to accept your destiny." Vader spoke to the silence.

I'm sure we have. Lily thought. Just not in the way you want.

The rest of the trip passed in the silence, and the silence remained on the planet, all the way to the throne room.

"Welcome, Lord Vader, Lady Ruby. Young Jedi." He said the last bit as an insult. "I'm afraid I have a mission for you, but I will call for you when the project nears completion. Unless, of course, your troublesome children will cooperate without persuasion?" He directed to Luke and Lily.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific." Luke mocked slightly. Lily fought a smirk. They knew exactly what he was talking about. 

"Fulfill your destiny. Join the Dark Side with you father and sister.

"No." They answered in sync.

"Very well, then. Vader, Ruby, you leave now." They bowed and left. "I will give you one last chance to make this easy on yourself, Skywalkers. Turn."

"Never." Lily said simply.

"We are Jedi, like our father was before us." Luke added, and watched as more malice and hatred grew in Palpatine's eyes. 

"So be it, Jedi." He snarled. His hands sparked-quite literally-to life, and he was shooting lightning at the once still pair. 

Their bodies immediately fell to the floor in agony. Force, how was it even possible? But there was so little they knew, much less understood about the Light Side, and the Dark Side was a whole new realm.

The cries of pain subsided with the jolts as they fought for breath.

"Believe me, Skywalkers, if you don't give in, by the time you'd do anything to make the pain stop, my offer will have long expired, and you will beg for death long before you meet your pitiful end." He growled.

Lily vaguely remembered being dragged to a cell, and hitting the cold stone floor before falling unconscious, her final thought being Palpatine's words.

She couldn't help but think they were directed to her.

A/N four chapters left, I wonder how they'll get out! Well, I know, but you don't.

Since this book is coming to an end soon, I would love to know your favorite moment in the book, comments, please?

Bye!