Princess of Darkness

Chapter 23

Lily had never been good at meditation. She simply didn't have enough patience. It was always Luke's strong point. However, after her vision, she continued to meditate, hoping for answers on how to save her family. She couldn't help but notice that the Dark cloud wasn't affecting her focus whatsoever. Wasn't the Dark Side supposed to muddle a Jedi's vision? Had she already fallen, without her even noticing? No, even if she had, she would never, ever, help Sidious. She felt him approach.

"The sphere. That is what made Luke fall?" It was more a statement than a question.

"You figured it out. Yes, it has the power to corrupt even the most pure souls. I do wonder why it had no affect on you. Perhaps it has to do with your parallel lives?" Lily's blood ran cold, though she made sure it didn't show.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Her voice wavered at the end. 

"I think you do. That's why you meditate constantly, to see if any of those lives can help you now. Though it seems none of them were this stupid." As he spoke, Lily felt herself being lifted by the chains. She opened her eyes. She never told anyone, even Luke, about the visions, or the lives, and yet this...monster knew. He knew she knew of thousands of alternate paths.

She was so lost in thought she didn't see the lightwhip go up, or down, but felt the electric shocks wrap around her torso, the tiny teeth biting her skin. A scream tore through her, and at that moment she realized how little she actually cared about anything. Luke had abandoned her, her friends abandoned her, her masters refused her calls, and she couldn't save her family. They may as well have been dead. She knew she was going to be stuck in the stone prison.She wasn't foolish enough to think she could take on all of them. The whip struck her again.

HELP ME! She sent to no one who was listening. Was the only reason you kept me alive was so I could die here? The whip had left welts on her stomach and lower back. It came down faster and harder, again and again, leaving cuts that burned. Another one cut her jaw.

Sidious moved behind her, smirking evilly, seeing all the scars and bruises covering her. The whip struck her back several times, leaving deep gashes. She felt the whip wrap around her legs, leaving spiral burns. 

It became too much, and she dropped to the floor gasping, welcoming the darkness that promised sleep.
***

This continued for nearly two more months. Lily had no way of measuring time, the sessions longer, more brutal, and more frequent.

Every time a  fatal wound was inflicted, which was surprisingly often, Sidious would heal it, ever so slightly, to keep her from Death's clutches. He stopped releasing the chains after the first two weeks of Luke's fall. 

When he walked to the girl, the chains no longer had to spring to life, and neither did the sparky girl they contained. 

Lily Skywalker barely moved anymore, every time she did caused more pain, and she was left with flinches, and cries of pain. She was barely recognizable, the three months of torture and captivity taking their toll. Her hair which had already been long, was nearly to her knees, unruly and caked with blood and grime. Her lips were chapped and bloodstained from splitting. Her slender frame had shrunk more, her ribs visible through her tattered clothes that hung off loosely. Her face was sunken in, and scars, bruises, burns, and welts littered her body. 

The most noticeable was the eyes, the eyes that used to hold such a strong fire, only intensified with every insult, curse, or swear, held only a firm resignation, yet still managed to contain a spark to light a rare insult. 

All Skywalkers had a very bright Force signatures, and Luke and Lily used to have nearly identical ones until the boy turned to the Dark. Now he had a similar one to Leia, and Lily's had dimmed, covered by a cloud of Darkness, trying to seep out the last bit of life she had, and extinguish the last bit of light in the galaxy. But the girl was still holding on, even if the once-lethal Jedi was as dangerous as a fly.

Sidious had grown frustrated with how little of a reaction he got as he walked to her. No fear, no trembling, just the same blank stare. He decided to do something different. 

"Your spirit is broken, no matter what you try to perceive." She said nothing. She never responded to his taunts. Pressure built up in her ankle, and she shut her eyes, preparing for what came. Crack. The bone broke. He continued up her leg, and the other. She barely so much as whimpered. She couldn't help but gasp and cry out when he started breaking ribs.

He continued breaking every bone, resulting in ragged breaths and an even more painful position. "That will make this especially fun." He pressed against her shields, for the first time in a long time, and they broke almost immediately. Lily whimpered at the snap of her mind. Sidious delved into her mind, and manipulated the Force around her, and in her, adequately. 

All of Lily's cuts and scars, from any and all of her lives, from long before the Rebellion to the ones that hadn't even happened yet, opened again. She felt every fiber of bone break again. She felt Luke and Leia's betrayal, the heartbreak and sadness it caused her. The months of torture came back all at once. The hours of electricity, the sting of the whip, the new injuries being added every second intensified, making past pain seem like a tickle compared to this.

"Please." Her voice cake out weak and broken. "PLEASE!" She screamed. Her voice cracked. Sidious paused his relentless attacks. "I'll-I'll do any-anything you wa-want, j-just make it stop." The chains let go, and she fell to the floor with a whimper, on her hands and knees, silently crying. Blood pooled beneath her.

"I will say, Skywalker, I'm almost impressed with how long you lasted. Shame, you have seem to forget my words." They echoed back to her. By the time you'd do anything to make the pain stop, my offer will have long expired. He bent down and snatched the girl's jaw, lifting her head painfully. "Too. Late." He released, and she fell back to her hands and knees. Sidious stared at her, making sure none of her injuries were life-threatening before leaving, satisfied. 
***

Months passed. At the end of every session, Lily begged for death to come. She wanted it to end. Hope was lost. 

She had well and truly given up.

A/N: MY POOR CHILD. I am so evil. I feel so bad. 

Next chapter will be the last (Wait, what?!) and then important information on book two.

Bye!

(Also, I never expected this book to be as dark as it is? I don't know how that happened, but...)