perfidy | anakin skywalker

ten

here we go, the last chapter !!

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WORD COUNT: 1.3K

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When Gal's eyes fell upon the frame of a small woman, she stopped in her tracks, letting go of Luke's hand. Luke continued on, too busy greeting his friends to notice his mother absence. Gal didn't need to use the Force, or even ask anybody, who the woman was: she knew it was Leia. 

When Leia ducked into a large hut, disappearing from Gals view, Gal began to look at everyone celebrating around her. She was amazed to see that there were still planets and beings thriving amongst all the chaos in the galaxy. 

"Well hi there," a young man said as he appeared in front of Gal, his hand extended towards her. He grinned widely when she smiled at him.

Gal shook his hand and said, "hello." 

Before he could ask her for her name, Luke stepped between them. "Come on," he said with a chuckle and grabbed her hand. He led her through the large group of people all dancing and hugging one another. 

Gal can swear on her life that she had never been around so much positive energy before, well, not in the magnitude that she felt in that moment.  

Luke reached forward and grabbed the hand of another woman, before placing it in Gal's hand. Both women looked at Luke in confusion before looking at the person in front of them.

"Leia?" Gal squeaked out, remembering the last time she looked down into her beautiful brown eyes as if it had only happened yesterday. 

Her face changed from her solid confusion to surprise. "Mother?" She gasped quietly in question. 

Gal nodded and remained unsure of what to do, or say, until Leia tightly latched onto her. She let out a loud sigh of relief, causing Luke to laugh. Gal wrapped her arms around her daughter and pressed a firm kiss to the top of her head. 

"Mother?" The man who and had greeted Gal earlier questioned out loud as the mother and daughter stepped apart, smiling at one another. Leia turned and smiled at the man, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards her mother. 

"Gal Skywalker," she said and she smiled before shaking his hand once again as he stood befuddled. 

"Han Solo," he said, chuckling along with Gal as she laughed at the confused look on her face. 

Feeling a warm presence behind her, Gal looked over her shoulder as the twins and Han all untied for a quick group hug, enjoying their celebration. Gal smiled widely when she saw Obi-Wan, Yoda and Anakin's force ghosts standing there in their Jedi robes, watching the celebration with small smiles. Two more figures appeared beside Obi-Wan, but they weren't force ghosts, rather just figures of her imagination: Master Adi Gallia and Master Qui-Gon Jinn.

Gal's mouth slightly dropped open at the sight of the two Master's holding hands: that's when she remembered what Adi had said about her husband dying in the blockade crisis. It was Qui-Gon! 

Adi smiled at Gal and bowed her head, earning the same action in reply from Gal.

She then turned her attention to her husband. Seeing Anakin they way she remembered him from all those years ago caused her to ache and swell with a feeling she couldn't quite place. Knowing everyone was distracted, Gal walked over to the five of them, nodding at Obi-Wan and Yoda in recognition before looking to Anakin. She hadn't seen him look so, truly, happy since they were just teenagers rolling in the meadows of Naboo. 

Gal took a seat in front of him on a small tree stump as she watched the twins have fun with their friends, laughing and swaying to the beat of the music that the small beast creature were playing. Although it wasn't the way she imagined, she finally had her family together in one place. She sighed in contempt and briefly closed her eyes as she imagined she felt two warm hands gently grab her shoulders.

Luke turned around in search for his mother once he realised she wasn't were she previously was. He stopped in his tracks when he found her sitting in front of the force ghosts of Obi-Wan, Master Yoda, and who he could only assume was his father. He knew not by his new younger look, but by the hands on Gal's shoulders and the smile on his face as he looked down at her. 

Leia looked over and saw Gal sitting down by herself, so she called for her, "mother, I want you to meet some of our other friends!" 

Gal smiled as Leia quickly adapted to the term of mother before, rising to her feet. 

She turned around and looked at Anakin. He nodded his head over shoulder. "Go spend time with them," he said, Yoda and Obi-Wan nodding in agreement with him, as well as Adi and Qui-Gon. 

"We'll meet again soon," she said, Anakin giving her an understanding smile. He knew she was growing tired. 

"Now, don't hurry back," he said, giving her a playfully stern smile.

The older woman laughed a little, and looked to her left where Luke joined her. He looked at the Jedi Master's before him with a sense of pride. Gal smiled and put her arm around his shoulder before turning the both of them around, where they were met with Leia, rushing to grab Gal's hand. 

The twins walked their mother over to a familiar gold protocol droid, who exclaimed in delight upon seeing Gal. Gal knew C3PO had had his memory wiped, but she did spend a small amount of time with him when she was pregnant with the twins; although she didn't tell him anything other than her name and a lie about why she was actually on Alderaan. 

"3PO!" She laughed and let go of her children to hug the golden droid. 

"Oh! I believe we've met before, am I correct?" He asked as she stepped back and nodded her head. "It is so good to see you again, Mrs Skywalker." 

The twins looked at each other in disbelief that their mother had known the droid that had been with them for their entire journey together. They were also delighted that their mother was able to settle in easily and relax with so many new people around. To see her so happy made not only Luke and Leia happy, but the Jedi watching from afar. 

Han introduced Gal to a friend of his, Lando Calrissian, who was rather charming, and to Chewbacca, a Wookie who apparently already had knowledge of the older Jedi from way back in the Clone Wars.

Chewbacca roared softly and tilted his head to the side as Gal laughed and shook her head. 

"I'm glad the news about me travelled far," she said to him, nodding her head a couple times in amusement. 

When her conversation with Chewbacca ended, Gal put her arms over Luke and Leia shoulders and looked between the both of them to make sure they were listening to what she had to say.

"I love you two so much, and I am so proud of the people who you have become," she told them. 

Leia ducked her head and wrapped her arms around her mothers waist. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be enveloped by her mothers robe, feeling herself reconnected with a piece of herself she felt she had lost all those years ago.

Luke smiled up at his mother and said, "we love you too. You don't know how glad we are to have you here with us." He pressed a firm kiss to her hand that was draped over him, before resting his head on Gal's shoulder, finally knowing and understanding what home felt like.

And so as Gal Skywalker reunited with her children and celebrated the fall of the Emperor, peace was the galaxy for the next few hours. It knew of no pain, no suffering, no Sith and no war for the first time and centuries. 

It was a perfect place, but only for just a brief moment. 

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I'm crying wtf