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Chapter Text

Vader's POV   

Ugh. Yet another boring, unproductive day. Vader thought to himself, leisurely tapping his fingers against the armrest of the lavish throne he was seating in, as he waited for the next candidate to be brought before his dais. 

His Master had ordered him to marry. According to him, it was about time for him to start thinking about his future. The Empire’s future. And the only way to do that, was for him – his immediate successor - to produce an heir. A legitimate one. 

Of course, at first Vader didn’t take him seriously. He had far more pressing matters to attend to than diving between some random girls’ legs, like hunting and exterminating the ever growing Rebellion or commanding the Imperial fleet. 

Unfortunately however, that was not how his Majesty saw things. 

With each passing day he kept pushing his apprentice harder and harder to get the job done. And when even after resorting to all available means of persuasion Vader still failed to present him with a proper candidate his patience had finally reached its limits, which ultimately got him to where he was now – the throne room of the Royal Palace of Theed, located on the beautiful planet of Naboo, watching countless women desperately trying to catch his eye, identically to the ones he’d encountered during the previous five excruciatingly long auditions that had already been conducted on various other planets. 

However, in all honesty, it wasn’t the wasted time that bugged him the most in this whole situation, but the fact that he was oblivious to Sidious’ motives behind any of this. After all, if the man wanted him to have a bride so badly, wouldn’t it be easier to just pick the girl himself and then lock the two of them up alone in a bedroom until he finally got her pregnant? Not that the Sith could really complain, that it wasn’t the rout his Master had opted for. He highly doubted he’d find someone of his choosing to be even tolerable. 

And so, although the question ‘why’ still lingered somewhere at the back of his mind, just as he was expected to Vader continued to sit in that throne room, pretending to care as yet another rich prick presented his daughter or sister to him.  

They all looked almost identical to one another, to the point where he began to suspect some of those men were bringing him the same girl several times to higher their chances, dressed in very revealing outfits, with their breasts on the verge of popping out of the tight corsets and stupid seductive smiles plastered to their faces, which in most cases looked extremely forced and desperate. 

Definitely future empress material. Vader snickered internally, rolling his eyes as he waved off yet another candidate. 

On a basic level he understood why they were all here though, pathetically striving for even the tiniest bit of his attention. After all, it wasn’t like they had anything to complain about. He was far above average in terms of height and looks, which was of course a nice bonus, however considering the golden crown on his long, blonde locks and the amount of money he had in his bank account, he could have as well been a disgusting Hutt and they would still come to grovel at his feet if he as much as snapped his fingers. 

Obviously, it wasn’t like he expected someone to be here for his amazing personality or something, especially that after years of tirelessly building his reputation of a bloodthirsty monster on the Holonet it was fairly clear to anyone in the Galaxy, that he didn’t have one, but it would still be nice if they treated him like it for a change. 

As he rejected yet another girl Vader took the opportunity to peak through the door to see how many more of them he would have to go through before just like the last four times he could dutifully report he had found no one of interest, only to discover at least a few hundred of them still tirelessly waiting for their turn. 

Let. This. Day. Be. Over.  

Padme's POV  

Padme Naberrie couldn’t breathe. Not even so much because of the tremendous amount of stress she was feeling in that moment, though it certainly wasn’t helping either, but because of the awful torture device, her mother affectionately liked to call ‘a beautiful dress that will nicely accent your curves’, complimented by a pair of extremely uncomfortable high heels. And although she and her parents were standing in the seemingly endless queue to the audition room only for a few short hours now, she could already feel her feet threatening to fall off.  

Her mother and father on the other hand, completely oblivious or rather ignorant of her distress, were full of energy and excitement, just like before every audition and meeting with a potential partner for her, which more often than not made her suspect that they absolutely couldn’t wait to get rid of her and earn a couple credits along the way. Especially given the fact, that they were tirelessly and unsuccessfully trying to marry her off to literally any rich, eligible bachelor, that portrayed even the tiniest bit interest in her, ever since Padme turned sixteen. 

Before every meeting, they always lectured her on how to act and what to say, paying extra attention to make her understand what she had done wrong the previous time, however despite their best efforts she never seemed to quite hit the mark.  

Either she wasn’t polite enough or pretty enough or young enough and to be honest, at this point Padme genuinely wasn’t sure where the problem was anymore.  

All she knew was that when yet another potential suitor ultimately rejected her, she would be severely punished, although the things she would be forced to endure were never quite framed that way. Entire days without food to slim her figure, beatings and humiliations to shape her character into something a little bit more desirable to men... every single one of those merely another lesson she had to learn, to one day finally end up with an expensive ring on her finger. 

And yet, after three long years of this ordeal, there she was – still unmarried.  

Not that there was much she was missing out on. Almost every man she had ever encountered was equally awful and dull, always interested in one of four things: a maid, an incubator for his children, a trophy, or a combination of all of the above. Most of them didn’t even care enough to remember her name. Others simply kept comparing her to their mothers. However, there were worst cases. Two of them actually – Paolo and Faust. 

Palo was a young, not so bad looking, wealthy artist from the countryside of Naboo. For their meeting he had invited Padme to spend a few days at his house. Everything was going great at first. He was sweet and respectful, showering her with compliments and affection. And for a while she thought that maybe it was the man she could one day actually fall in love with.  

However, as soon as she started getting comfortable around him, he began getting a little bit too touchy.  

When she politely pushed him away, telling him they should wait until marriage, he didn’t like her answer very much.  

She didn’t remember exactly what happened after, as before she knew it her head had already hit the stone, cold floor and her whole world went black, but the next time her eyes opened she was lying in a hospital bed with a serious concussion and extensive damage to her arms and ribs, which she could only assume meant that Paolo didn’t stop at just slapping her. 

What’s even more interesting, on the same day she had woken up he came to visit her, saying how glad he was that she was okay and that he hoped she had learned her lesson, as he would hate to have to teach it to her again, since apparently he still fully planned on going through with the betrothal.  

Luckily for her though that ‘next time’ never came, as her parents got so mad he had damaged something he hadn’t yet paid for that they called off the entire thing. 

Faust on the other hand was an elderly gentleman, well known and highly respected across Naboo for his position as a member of the Queen’s Council. However, throughout his many years of service there were also numerous bad rumours surrounding him and his... specific tastes.  

Padme had heard many of them herself, long before she was old enough to be considered a marriage material for him and although the allegations against him were never confirmed, she knew for a fact, that she was going to be his fifth wife, as well as that the previous four had all disappeared under unexplainable circumstances.  

None of that however managed to discourage her parents from setting her up with him and even though the thought of a man old enough to be her grandfather touching her still made her skin crawl, Padme had to admit that during their first few brief encounters, which were all conducted under heavy supervision, Faust seemed extremely pleasant to be around. 

After the short introduction period he had expressed his extreme interest in having her as his wife and so, under the condition of restraining from any physical encounters until he actually sealed the deal, it was decided that while he proceeded with the legal agreements and courting, she should start spending her days alone with him at his estate. Which was when the things had taken a drastic turn for the worse. 

The memories she had from her time there were quite blurry in her mind, as the first thing he’d always have her do, right after she arrived at his house, was to drink something he called ‘the numbing tea’ and then... well, the activities varied depending on the day, but it would always start with the man dragging her half-conscious body to a room he kept hidden behind the closet. 

Even despite the dazed state she was in, Padme distinctively remembered the first time he had ever shown it to her - seeing the binders, gags, whips, knifes and whatever other objects his fucked-up imagination could ever possibly come up with.  

Fortunately though, since after what had happened with Paolo, she was being regularly checked for marks, he was too afraid to jeopardize his chances of marrying her to actually use any of his gear on her, but apparently immobilising her against the bedpost and then forcing her to watch him playing with it himself was doing the trick for him just fine. 

When Faust was done having his fun, he would usually join her in bed, where with her head on his lap she would drift off to sleep, while listening to him ramble about his previous wifes. 

You should have seen it, darling. They were misbehaving so much. They deserved to be punished. But you won’t end up like them, my sweet. No, you’re going to be a good girl for me, won’t you?  

The worst part was, that he was also the closest one to actually marrying her. All it would have really taken were a few more signatures. However, the day the final agreement was about to be struck, he unexpectedly died of a heart attack. 

And yet, despite all those terrible experiences, Padme would have gladly go through every single one of them again, if it meant she would get to avoid meeting the person she was about to face next, as the man in question was none other than Darth Vader himself – Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces, adopted son of Emperor Sidious and heir to the throne.  

To be his wife would be a huge honour. Or at least her parents saw it that way. She on the other hand was completely terrified.  

Everyone knew about Vader’s reputation – he was devastatingly handsome, sure, but he was also a merciless butcher, who left a row of corpses behind him, those of the innocent bystanders and enemies of the Empire alike, wherever he went. Not to mention, that as a Sith, he allegedly possessed some kind of inhuman abilities, that in the past had helped him slaughter the legendary Leviathan scouring the waters of the lake Paonga, which during the fight had bit off his right arm. Or at least so she had heard. 

Of course, Padme was aware, that the chances of him actually picking her were extremely slim, as he had probably encountered hundreds of far more beautiful girls than her, however she still couldn’t help but to be afraid of what would happen if he did end up choosing her.  

What is he even looking for in a wife? She wondered, letting herself drift off for a while, if not to relieve her ever growing anxiety, then at least to kill the time, as she awaited her turn. Is he judging the candidates by their looks? Maybe he has a type? Or maybe he looks into their minds to find out if their character is good enough? I’ve heard that it’s one of the things he can do with his Sith magic.  

The queue was getting shorter and shorter by the second. There were now only three girls left in front of her. 

Force help me.  

The first one was dragged out by the troopers, screaming how beautiful their babies would look like, which her parents not only quite loudly ruled as utterly pathetic, but also used her example to instruct their daughter on what not to do. 

The second and the third girl just ran out of the room crying.  

Which meant it was Padme’s turn now. 

Chapter Text

Vader’s POV 

A girl just ran out of the room crying. Again...  

Vader sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration as he wondered for probably the hundredth time that day what atrocities had he ever commited in this life to deserve this torture, swearing that if even one more of them attempted to pull a stunt like that, the next person bolting out of that door would be himself. 

After all, they had absolutely nothing to be so emotional about. By rejecting them he was actually doing them a huge favour.  

The Imperial court was no place for the weak and if they couldn’t handle a simple rejection, they would have certainly crumbled under the pressure of being an Empress. And besides, knowing his temper, the Sith highly doubted he would have been able to stand having a woman like that as a wife without strangling her for more than two seconds, let alone his whole life.  

Suddenly, the doors opened again and, used to this ordeal by now, Vader braced himself for another hopelessly awful encounter, however this time, as his eyes landed on the girl before him, his breath hitched in his throat and his heart started to beat a little faster.  

She was easily the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her long, chocolate hair were tied in a fancy updo, with a few loose curls running down the sides of her face. The dress she was wearing was an exquisite red piece, tight in all the right places, nicely accentuating her curves and finished with a corset pushing up her breasts, that he would have absolutely drooled over if it wasn’t so obviously causing her discomfort. 

The only thing he couldn’t see well were her eyes, which she had casted down, whether in respect or fear he wasn’t sure. All he knew, was that he absolutely hated her for depriving him of the pleasure of looking into them. 

“Welcome, Lord Vader” a male voice suddenly resounded through the room, causing the Sith to finally notice, that he and the girl weren’t in fact alone in the room. Slightly in front of her, looking smug as ever, stood an elderly couple, who, as he assumed, must’ve been her parents “My name is Ruwee Naberrie and I am a high ranked nobleman from Theed.”  

Force what a braggart. Who asked? Vader groaned internally, barely able to contain himself from snapping at the man to quit yapping about his insignificant self and get to the point, restless to find out anything there was to know about the girl he would soon get to call his own, but he figured such an act would only make him look bad in her eyes. 

„Along with my wife Jobal, we would like to present to you our daughter - Padme”  

Padme... A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. His lips curved into a slight smile, as he imagined how wonderful it would be to try it out on his tongue. 

“How old are you, Padme?” the Sith blurted out the first question that came to mind, absolutely loving the way her name rolled out of his mouth so naturally, as if he had been born to use it. 

However, before she could utter even a single word and thus for the very first time grace him with the sound of her voice, which, as he sadly realized, he had yet to hear, for some reason her mother jumped in to answer for her. 

“She’s nineteen, my Lord” she said cheerfully, like she had just done him and her daughter a huge favour, but little did she know, that the only thing she had really managed to do was to get on his nerves. 

„Did I ask you?!” Vader snarled, watching with great satisfaction as both the woman and her husband cowered before him in fear, but whatever disciplinary actions he was about to take next, he quickly gave up on, the moment he saw Padme tense at his tone behind them „Guards!” he called out and almost immediately two troopers came running in to the throne room. 

“Yes, my Lord?” they asked simultaneously. 

„Escort the elderly couple outside. I would like to have a word with the girl alone” he said, feeling his anger spiking up once more as the two still somehow managed to find the audacity to protest, but fortunately their meagre attempts did absolutely nothing to stop the troopers from swiftly removing them. And as the door closed behind them, Vader was at last left completely alone with Padme. 

Poor thing hadn’t moved a muscle for the entire time, too afraid to infuriate him further. 

„They won’t be disturbing us any longer” he stated, clearly startling her, despite his voice regaining its calm tone „So, Padme, tell me something about yourself” he asked, hoping that if she started talking, it would help to discharge the tension. 

“What would you like to know, my Lord?” she asked in return, finally letting him hear her angelic voice, that he longed to listen to every minute of every day for the rest of his life, however her question had also completely thrown him off the tracks.  

The others, as completely annoying and inferior to her as they were, had prepared entire speeches, emphasizing their interests and values, which even under stress, they were able to recite perfectly. And yet, perhaps because she was expected to stay quiet and look pretty, while her parents did all the talking, she didn’t. 

„I don’t know. What you like, what you dislike. Anything you wish to share really” he said with a gentle smile tugging at his lips, knowing perfectly well, that whatever she was about to say would not influence the outcome of this meeting, however also not wanting to come out as desperate or uninterested in her as a person. 

What is there to consider? I’m asking for basic information about her, not resolving the Galaxy’s poverty. The Sith thought to himself, feeling increasingly tired of waiting for her to respond, but at the same time determined to give her as much time as she needed. Especially that after today he would have forever with her to spare. 

„Well, I-I enjoy sitting near the waterfalls of Naboo, my Lord. I love the sound of water. It’s soothing” Padme finally answered, her voice barely above a whisper and right after she took a deep, calming breath almost as if uttering those few words had cost her a great deal. 

In that moment Vader realised something was off. The way she was acting, made it more than obvious that she didn’t really want to be here. Was it possible that her parents had forced her to come, then? He knew that these sort of situations – forcing a girl into marriage, still happened on some worlds, however he had always assumed Naboo was far too progressive for that. 

Determined to get to the bottom of this, he stood up from his seat and slowly advanced towards her. 

Once she was within his reach, he put one of his hands on her shoulder, ignoring the way his whole body shuddered in pleasure at the contact, while with the other he gently cradled her chin and guided it up, so he could look her in the eyes as she answered the question he was about to ask. 

„Padme I will ask you something right now and I would like you to answer honestly, okay?” he said with a disturbed expression on his face, which she would have seen if she wasn’t so stubbornly refusing to meet his gaze “Do you even want to marry me?” 

„It is every woman’s dream to be your wife, my Lord” she responded cautiously, her answer worthy of a most skilled politician. 

„You didn’t answer my question. Do you want to marry me, Padme?” he insisted, already knowing what her answer would be, but regardless needing to hear her say it out loud. Because if she didn’t, the Sith highly doubted he would ever find the strength within himself to let her go. 

„No” she whispered, still not daring to look him in the eyes. „I do not wish to offend you” she added quickly, terrified of the consequences he might draw for her response „I just don’t want to get married at all”  

„What do you want then?” Vader asked genuinely intrigued and glad that he had finally managed to get an honest answer from her, even if it wasn’t the one he would have liked to hear. 

“I’ve always dreamed of becoming a senator. One who would actually listen to the needs of the people and help make the Galaxy a better place. I was already signed up for a Legislation Programme, but since I was still technically a minor my parents made me drop it. Now they’re just trying to marry me off to every entitled man that seems to be interested and when I fail...” she stopped herself, realising too late that she had probably said too much. 

„When you fail what?” he tried to probe further, gently stroking her cheek to let her know it was okay to tell him, however she just closed her eyes and began rapidly shaking her head. 

Internally swearing to grant the scumbags that had dared to hurt an innocent Angel like her a long and painful death, Vader wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, where he continued to hold her until he felt her body finally starting to relax. 

“Would you like to be free of them?” the Sith asked suddenly, causing her head to shot up in an instant and her eyes to finally look directly into his.  

“What do you mean?” she whispered, her gorgeous, brown orbs, now widened by confusion and glassy from the unshed tears.  

“I’m offering you a way out. Come with me, become my wife and I guarantee no one will ever hurt you again” he said with conviction so strong, it made Padme instinctively try and turn away, but before she could do that, the Sith swiftly captured her head with both of his hands “I will grant you a position far greater than a simple senator. A power to make the Galaxy a better place, just like you told me. With me you will have the life you’ve always dreamed of and more” he promised, having never meant anything more in his life and ready to promise her whatever else it took for her to accept his proposal. Because if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that he was definitely not taking ‘no’ for an answer. 

„Why?” she asked and Vader smiled victoriously, knowing he had her right where he wanted her. 

Because the Force seems to be singing each time you look into my eyes. I don’t know how I have lived this whole time without you, Padme. All I know is that we were written in the stars. You were destined to belong to me just as I was destined to belong to you, my Angel. My love. My Padme. The Sith wanted to say, to scream for the Galaxy to hear, but instead he had opted for: 

„Because I want to” he stated simply, unwilling to reveal just how much power she held over him. „And you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and believe me I’ve seen a lot” he added, making her blush, as if no one had ever called her beautiful before „So? What’s it gonna be?” he asked, smiling reassuringly as he waited for her to answer. 

She seemed hesitant at first, probably fearing all of his promises were just some kind of a nicely veiled trap, but after only a short while she finally made up her mind and a small ‘alright’ escaped her lips. 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV  

Shortly after she accepted Lord Vader’s proposal, her parents were summoned back into the throne room, so that her now fiancé could personally break the news to them and well... to say they were both absolutely beside themselves with joy would have been a huge understatement. 

Once they finally calmed down enough to hear out what else he had to say, Vader instructed them to take her home, so she could pack her belongings and stated that he would be there within the hour to retrieve her, which, if she were to be completely honest with herself, to her sounded worse than a sentence. 

Because the truth was, that even though driven by a temporary lapse of judgement or carried away by the heat of the moment as she might have been Padme agreed to this marriage out of her own free will and now, that it came time to face the consequences of her decision... she just wasn’t sure how to feel about the whole situation.  

On the bright side, there would be no punishment waiting for her at home today and perhaps, if the Force was willing, she could even finally get a praise from her mother, which, if her memory served her right, would be a first. 

On the downside however, she was now engaged and would soon be married to none other than Darth Vader himself.  

And while she was grateful that she had managed to land herself a fiancé, who was not only the appropriate age for her, but also incredibly attractive, it didn’t change the fact, that he was still the most terrifying person in the Galaxy and no one was to tell what he’d do to her once he finally had her all to himself. Especially on their wedding night... 

Calm down, Padme. You will just have to obey him. He won’t hurt you for obeying him, right? Unless he is into this sort of things... Force, what had I gotten myself into?!  

„I can’t believe it!” her mother’s excited squeal ripped her out of her thoughts „My daughter, the wife of Darth Vader!” she exclaimed, throwing herself onto her favourite armchair with a wide grin, that had yet to leave her face, since it appeared after the audition “How did you manage to convince him to pick you? He couldn’t have gone for the looks, I’m sure he’d seen thousands of more beautiful girls...” 

I guess that’s it in the terms of praise. Padme thought, internally cursing herself for being so naive as to think that her mother could ever muster at least one sentence without belittling her. However, oddly enough she noticed her words did not get to her as much as they used to and actually, instead of bringing her down, for once filled her with need to defend herself. 

“Well, actually he said...” she tried to intercept, but her newfound confidence quickly dissipated, once she realised her mother did not pay any mind to what she had to say for herself. 

“Don’t even think about messing this up. As soon as you’re out of that door whatever he says is law. Understood?” she barked, jumping onto her feet far faster than a woman her age should have been able to, to jam her index fingers into her face, just like she always did during a scolding. And just like always all Padme could do in response was to obediently nod her head. 

„Oh, stop it Jobal. Leave her be” her father waved her off before she had the chance to accidentally gouge her eye out with her sharp, manicured nail “I’m sure Padme knows better than to refuse her husband. Now, she should probably focus on packing. We wouldn’t want to keep Lord Vader waiting, would we?” he asked rhetorically, raising his eyebrow to signal it was time for her to leave. 

Once she was finally up in her room, Padme decided that before she would start packing, she should probably use the opportunity she was given to change into something, that at the very least let her breathe freely. 

After carefully considering her options she settled on a simple, light blue dress with long sleeves and exposed shoulders, in which perhaps for the first time in her life as she later examined herself in the mirror she had to admit she looked... beautiful. And at the back of her mind she desperately hoped that Vader would think so too. 

Just as Padme placed the last neatly folded dress inside of her suitcase and closed the zipper, she heard muffled voices coming from downstairs – three of them to be exact, which could only mean her future husband had arrived to collect her. 

I probably shouldn’t keep him waiting. She figured, feeling a jolt of anxiety running down her spine at the thought of leaving with him, but regardless, after once again checking her appearance in the mirror and finding nothing amiss, she swiftly grabbed her luggage and hurried downstairs. 

The voices got louder and louder with each step she took, which helped her to determine, that Vader and her parents were having a quite heated conversation in the living room. Taking this wasn’t a very good sign, she quickened her pace, getting there just in time to see him slowly rising from one of the armchairs, with his back turned to her and his fists tightly clenched at his sides, before he yelled: 

“Who the fuck do you think you are to –” the Sith Lord stopped mid-sentence, alerted to her presence by the loud creak of a floorboard she quite unluckily stepped on, and at once turned in her direction, allowing her to see the expression on his face, which looked as if extreme fury and utter admiration were battling each other for dominance. 

Oh no, was he about to say ‘make me wait’? Have I really managed to anger him already? Force, we haven’t even been engaged for a full day. Bravo me.   

„Padme, you’re here” he stated with an obviously forced smile on his lips, before gesturing to her suitcase „If that’s all you need, then we will be leaving. Say your goodbyes. I will wait for you outside” he said, already halfway to the door, through which she was sure that once she stepped out as well, she would be met with a severe punishment.  

Vader’s POV  

Just as he had promised, Vader showed up at Padme’s house exactly an hour later.  

The building was a typical tenement one could find on every corner of every city of Nubian design, which wasn’t exactly what he would have expected ‘a high ranked nobleman from Theed’ to live in, however he presumed that a tragic loss of over fifty percent of the Naberrie’s fortune due to the man’s gambling addiction and a couple of misplaced investments over the past few years might have had something to do with this. 

Yes, I admit it. I’ve ran a background check on her. It isn’t a crime to want to know as much as possible about your future wife. The Sith mentally reassured himself, even if just to ease his conscience, that what he had done didn’t make him a creep, as he walked up the stone steps to the front door, which Padme’s mother opened for him only a couple of seconds later. 

After the initial exchange of pleasantries, the woman quickly led him to the living room, where his future father-in-law was sitting splayed on the couch with a lit cigar in his mouth, filling the relatively small space with the disgusting smell of smoke. 

„Lord Vader! It is so lovely to have you here!” he greeted him, without getting up from his seat, which in most cases would be considered rude, but the Sith chose to ignore the blatant disrespect, excusing his behaviour with the man’s lame leg, even though it had not prevented him from standing before, when he and his family were waiting several hours in line for the audition. “Padme will be down here in just a minute. Please sit with us” he said, gesturing to one of the armchairs with a big smile plastered to his wrinkled face and although it was the last thing Vader wanted, he was aware that if he refused, he would be the one who would come off as rude. 

And so, given that his fiancée wasn’t here yet, holding back a scowl, he took a seat. 

„We are so happy that you’ve decided to marry our daughter. She will be a wonderful wife I assure you” 

Asskisser. The Sith muttered in his thoughts, while the man continued on with his useless yapping, but he had to admit he was right about one thing – Padme would be wonderful. Perfect even.  

Almost completely tuning out the sound of his annoying voice, he began to imagine her standing next to him wearing a stunning wedding gown and then lying next to him in his bed after she let him rip it off of her...  

He didn’t know how long he had spent immersed in his little daydream, however no matter how much time had passed, he was ripped out of it far too quickly, when one of her father’s sentences finally managed to get through to him. 

“She has never been touched by a man so you will be her first. I personally took care of that” he said, proud as ever, and although it kind off pleased him to know he would get to be her one and only partner, Vader couldn’t quite shake off the unsettling feeling creeping down his spine at thought of what could her father have possibly meant by ‘personally taking care of that’. 

„She is also very obedient. She will follow your every command. If not feel free to punish her. The harder the better” he said, casting a quick glance at his own wife, who without a word dutifully nodded along. 

WOW, that man’s a pig. Vader thought to himself as his hands slowly started to clench into fists. 

Padme deserved so much better than these people - willing to sell her for whatever little money they could get for her to fix their financial problems. She deserved better than this makeshift of a home. She deserved better than this life. And he intended to give her better. Right after he finished showing that son of a bitch just how good he was at extracting punishment. 

„You approve of me mauling your daughter?” he growled, wondering how many times his sweet, innocent Angel had met the end of this man’s hand, as he slowly started to raise from his seat. 

„Well, of course. It is very important for her not to question you. You will be her husband after all. If she has to learn it the hard way then so be it” he stated casually, as if they were simply discussing the weather, which only caused his anger to spike further. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are to –” Vader stopped mid-sentence, alerted by the sudden creak of the floorboard creak somewhere behind him, which could only mean one thing... 

He turned around in the blink of an eye and although the anger he was feeling due to her father’s words still burned brightly deep within his chest, it was quickly drowned out, as soon as his gaze fell on the petite frame of his future wife. 

The Sith didn’t think it was possible for her to look even more stunning than before and yet there she was – standing in front of him in a beautiful, light blue dress, this time respectively covering up her cleavage, but instead teasing him by revealing the bare skin of her shoulders, that practically begged for him to touch it. 

However, the tremendous need to leave this awful place along with the monsters inhabiting it behind, successfully dissuaded him from succumbing to this temptation. And so, after somehow finding the strength to force a smile on his lips, he told Padme to say her goodbyes, already being halfway to the door himself. 

Chapter Text

Vader’s POV  

As Vader and Padme made their way to his shuttle through the narrow, dimly lit streets of Theed, the Sith couldn’t help but notice, that ever since they left her house his fiancée seemed to be extremely on edge – keeping her gaze intensely fixed on the ground, jumping at literally every sound or move he made and generally being eerily quiet. 

Did I do something? Or maybe it was something I said? Perhaps she wanted to stay at the house a little longer and feels like I rushed her out? He wondered, knowing for a fact, that he made the right call to take her out of there, far away from those horrible people, who had been abusing her for years. 

However, as abstract of a concept as it was to him, perhaps she had gotten so used to their abuse, that she simply learned to accept it as something normal and look past it, deluding herself into thinking she was loved by her parents regardless of their actions. And believing she owed them love for it in return. 

„Hey, are you okay? You seem troubled?” the Sith finally decided to ask, too desperate to find out what was wrong to continue playing this little guessing game, and at the same time, he put an arm around her shoulders just in case she needed some comfort. 

“What?” she mumbled, startled as if he had ripped her from some place deep within her mind, while visibly flinching at his touch, however, realising immediately that this probably wasn’t the reaction he was looking for, she quickly rectified herself and pressed her body closer to his side „No. I mean yes. I mean... I’m fine”  

„Are you sure?” Vader tried to probe further, tempted to simply reach into her mind to try to get the answer himself, but quickly abandoned the idea, figuring that reading her thoughts would be too much of an invasion of her privacy. Besides, judging by the incoherence of the ones already slamming into his shields like a battling ram without his interference, he highly doubted he would have been able to catch anything more specific. 

„Yes” she responded way too quickly and to be honest, he was quite offended she thought she could fool him with such a blatant lie, however, with no way to force her to talk, he decided not to push the matter further. After all, it was entirely possible that her odd behaviour was all due to nerves and because of his own insecurities he was simply blowing this whole situation way out of proportion. 

So, recognising he wasn’t entitled to know every single one of her thoughts and accepting that if whatever was troubling her concerned him, then sooner or later she would share it with him, the Sith silently continued to lead her towards his shuttle. 

“I’m sorry you had to wait for me for so long” she whispered after several long minutes, having finally mustered the courage to speak, however, apparently not enough to look him directly in the eyes as she did so.  

“What? What are you talking about?” he asked, confused as to what in the name of the Force could she possibly be referring to, since the only time he could think of, when he had to wait for her and could actually be pissed about it were the years, months and days he had lived unaware of her existence. 

„Well... you seemed to be really angry at the house. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to displease you. I promise that –” a terrified sob ripped out from her throat, before she could finish her sentence, completely shattering the illusion of composure she had crafted for herself. 

“Wait. Hold on. You think that I was angry because of you!?” he exclaimed surprised, perhaps a little louder than he should have considering the fragile state she was in, immediately stopping in the middle of the street and pulling her against his chest, which she quickly snuggled into without answering his question, desperate for even the tiniest bit of comfort, before the brutal punishment that she was sure was about to follow.  

“Padme...” Vader muttered softly, stroking her hair and back in a soothing manner “You weren’t the one who angered me. It was your parents. They were saying some nasty things about you, your father even went as far as to give me his blessing to beat you if you stepped out of line and I just...” he hesitated, feeling his anger rising once more simply by recalling the conversation, and since he was sure the emotion definitely showed on his face, he decided to just drop the subject, so that he wouldn’t risk scaring her further “You know what? It doesn’t matter anymore. All that counts is that right now you’re here with me and no one will ever lay a hand on you again” 

“Oh... Well, I feel stupid now” she said, letting out nervous laugh, as she quickly wiped away her tears with the end of her sleeve and, to his disappointment, stepped away from him. 

„Don’t. I understand that my reputation may startle you a little, but I assure you, you have absolutely nothing to fear” the Sith offered her a small, comforting smile and, unable to keep his hands to himself, put his arm right back around her shoulders, before they both resumed their walk to his shuttle. 

Padme’s POV  

Nothing to fear. Sure. Better said than done. Padme huffed in her thoughts, figuring it was best to keep comments like that to herself, as she graciously allowed her fiancé to continue leading her towards his ship. 

Although she technically had no reason to doubt his words, as thus far he had been nothing but pleasant to her, she had seen this exact same pattern of behaviour far too many times before to believe this would last for long.  

Vader was simply too good to be true and given his reputation... there was literally no way that a man such as himself, who, if only given the order, could ruthlessly slaughter thousands of innocent people without as much as a second thought, could be so completely different outside of his professional life. He might have hidden his true colours well for now, but she was sure they would come out sooner or later, especially in the confines of his own home. 

Where does he even live? Padme let her mind drift off to a more mundane topic, quickly realizing that she was so convinced he wouldn’t pick her, that she had never actually thought to consider what her life would look like if he did. Will I be allowed out of wherever he’s taking me or will he lock me up only for him to see? If he locks me up, will I even be allowed out of my room? Or will it be our room? Will he expect me to sleep with him? Well, that’s a stupid question of course he will. That is the whole point of marriage, isn’t it? But what about after I get pregnant? What will he do to me then? And what will he do to the baby? What...?  

“We’re here” her fiancé said suddenly, his voice successfully snapping her out of whatever dark place in her head she had wandered into along the way, so deep that she didn’t even notice, when they reached their destination. 

Doing her best not to let her abashment be known, Padme took the hand he had offered to help her climb up the ramp and followed him to the cockpit, where, as she was asked, she sat down in the copilot seat, while, to her surprise, Vader took care of the controls. 

For a moment she had been tempted to ask him, why he was the one flying, as she always assumed people in his position of power considered performing a task such as this themselves to be highly beneath their station, however she quickly abandoned the idea, fearing she might accidentally offend him. 

„Where are we going?” she decided to ask instead, although she figured a more accurate question would be ‘where are you taking me’. 

“First, we need to get to my Star Destroyer, which is currently stationed above the planet’s orbit. Once we do, my crew will set course for Courscant, where we will stay at the Imperial Palace until the ceremony, that will take place there in exactly three weeks' time and then –” 

“Three weeks?!” she exclaimed, for a split second forgetting all about the rules her parents instilled in her throughout her entire life, especially the one about never interrupting her husband, when he spoke, too occupied with the way the cockpit suddenly started to close in on her to care. 

“Hey, I know it’s soon, but you have nothing to worry about “ Vader assured her in an attempt to calm her down, clearly concerned about her reaction, especially that, as of now, she had also started to shake “Everything is already being taken care of, so we will simply use this time to get to know each other a little better”  

And although what he had said or the comforting smile he offered her right after did little to ease her worries, unwilling to make a scene in front of him or any of his men that might wait for them on the ship, which they were getting extremely close to, Padme forced herself to take deep breath, then another, and so on, until she finally stilled in her seat.  

A whole legion of stormtroopers had gathered inside of the hangar to welcome their superior and his new bride aboard upon their landing, all of them standing at attention in neat rows on either side of the shuttle creating a wide pathway for them to follow, which as per imperial protocols Padme crossed walking slightly behind her future husband. 

However, as soon as they finally made it out to a more secluded area of the Star Destroyer, with no more prying eyes around them, Vader was quick to completely abandon those and with her hand firmly locked in his started leading her towards his private quarters.  

She was honestly amazed with how much practised ease he was able to traverse through the literal maze of tangled corridors and elevators, as she herself had lost her orientation after merely a few turns. 

So, relying entirely on him to get the both of them to their destination, Padme decided to dedicate her time to admire the ship’s interior and, although she had never been particularly interested about what did a battle cruiser look like from the inside, she had to admit that the reality was... disappointing to say the least. 

Seemingly endless grayness dominated all around, almost to the point where if it wasn’t for the small, black, mouse droids occasionally passing through, she would have begun to question if she hadn’t suddenly gone colourblind. Moreover, considering how indistinguishable the corridors were from one another she couldn’t stop wondering how it was possible that the troopers, especially the new recruits, weren’t getting lost here like all the time. 

Or were they... She pondered, imagining fresh out of school cadets arriving to a briefing late, because they had mistakenly walked into a few storage rooms on their way there, extremely grateful, that at least she had a guide, who knew where he was going. Or at least he seemed to, because after all, she had no actual way of telling if he hadn’t taken a wrong turn or two. 

“Here we are” he said suddenly, drawing her attention to a door at the very end of the corridor they were approaching, which, to her surprise, was completely devoid of any kind of a control panel.  

However, before she had the chance to inquire about it, Vader simply waved his hand in front of it and just like that... the door opened.  

“What the –“ she muttered under her breath, hopefully quiet enough for him not to hear anything, as she tried to figure out whether what she had just witnessed happened due to some sort of an extremely advanced facial recognition system or the use of her fiancé’s mysterious powers. 

No one knew exactly what a Sith such as himself could and couldn’t do, however Padme had heard many rumours surrounding the topic.  

Some claimed, that with a mere thought he could take complete control of any person’s mind and force them to do whatever he wanted, including eagerly confessing their deepest, darkest secrets, which as she could only imagine must’ve been quite useful during interrogations. Others, although agreed that he did have some kind of mental powers, said they were limited only to reading people’s thoughts.  

Among other abilities, he also allegedly had telekinesis, which he often used to crush people’s throats or snap their necks, foresight, allowing him to see an oncoming attack before it even happened, as well as some kind of movement enhancement and once she had even met a man, who swore he saw pure lightning coming straight out of his fingers. 

Yet despite their other unbelievable statements every single person she had ever encountered could agree on one thing he did possess – a burning red blade, able to cut through almost anything, including the bodies of his enemies, as easily as one would have through paper, that he always carried clipped to his belt.  

Not that it really mattered at this point whether any of this was true or not, because regardless of the answer, nothing would have changed the fact that she had already agreed to marry him or chased away the unsettling suspicion bordering on certainty, that once that door closed behind her she would most likely not be able to open it on her own. 

So, having not much of a choice Padme stepped through the threshold. 

The interior of his quarters matched the aesthetics of the rest of the ship almost completely – its colour palette was limited to cold tones of whites and greys, the equipment, consisting of only the basic necessities, looked like it was practically never used and the only thing bringing the smallest bit of life into the space was a massive transpairsteel window, providing a great view of the stars. 

“This will be your room” Vader stated, pointing to a door located at the end of the corridor connected to the main living area. “In case you need anything mine is just the next one over” 

“Okay” she said, nodding her head to show she understood, silently hoping that a need like this would never arise, as she’d much rather limit their interactions to a minimum.  

“Now, if you don’t have any questions, I’m afraid there are some... things around the ship, that I need to attend to” he informed her, moving closer to her with each word he spoke, until she ultimately found herself in his arms “I should not be long though. Probably an hour or so. Do you think you’ll be fine until I get back?” he asked, tenderly brushing a loose curl away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. 

“Yes, you don’t have to worry about me” she answered, her lips curling into a smile that did not quite reach her eyes, as she desperately tried to keep herself from trembling - something she knew she couldn’t allow herself to do if she didn’t want Vader to realize how much his closeness bothered her. Although, if she were to be honest with herself, what really did was how good it felt.  

A stranger shouldn’t affect her the way he did. A butcher shouldn’t make her feel the things he did. She shouldn’t melt under a monster’s touch. And yet... 

“Good” her fiancé muttered, staring at her with such intensity that he might as well have been drilling a hole straight into her soul, while his fingers glided over the bare skin of her exposed shoulders, sending an involuntary, but at the same time extremely pleasant shiver down her spine “And Padme... I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner here, you can roam these rooms as you please, but unfortunately once I leave the door to my quarters will remain locked. I’m sorry. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it” 

“It’s okay” she reassured him, her voice shaking slightly, whether due to his ministrations or an impending anxiety attack, caused by her worries being confirmed, she wasn’t sure.  

“And besides, even if there was a way for me to leave it open, I would have still strongly advised you to stay here, as it wouldn’t exactly be safe for you to explore the cruiser all on your own. Don’t get me wrong, the clone troopers wouldn’t hurt you. They have their orders. However, not all crew members are clones and I have very little control over their actions” 

“And... if the door remains locked for me, then it remains locked for them as well?”  

“Precisely” he smiled, taking her hand in his, before bringing it up to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles “Be good. I’ll be back soon” 

Chapter Text

Vader’s POV 

Now, that he had Padme safely locked up in his quarters, the Sith directed his steps towards the transmission room, from which he would contact his Master and report, that at long last he had managed to find a suitable bride for himself. 

Suitable indeed... Vader smirked, the slight tingling in his fingertips a constant reminder of how wonderful it felt to touch her bare skin. True, for now it might have been just her shoulders, however the experience had given him a sufficient foretaste of the pure, unbridled ecstasy he would get to feel once he moved on to the more intimate areas of her body. 

A primal part of him purred with excitement at the thought, igniting a spark of possessiveness in his heart, that with each new image of her popping up in his head quickly burst up into flames, so strong and all-consuming that he began to wonder if perhaps he should refrain from informing his monster of a father of her existence.  

Padme belonged to him now after all and it was entirely up to him to decide if he wanted to share her with the world or keep her all to himself, locked up forever, just like he saw her dreading it in her mind during their journey back to his shuttle.  

Of course, she would most likely be resistant at first, however, judging by the way she reacted to him in his quarters, he was sure it wouldn’t take much time for her to grow to love every second of her captivity. So much so, that the idea of ever escaping his warm embrace wouldn’t even cross her thoughts. 

Sadly though, as much as that prospect enthralled him, the Sith knew all too well he couldn’t act on those urges, as first it would be wrong for him to break the promise he had made to her not so long ago about giving her the life she had always dreamed of, and second he wanted her to stay by his side not because he had forced her to, but because she wanted to. 

And besides, he wasn’t naive enough to think he would have been able to actually hide her away from Sidious, who by this point had most certainly already been informed about her by his own agents. Or at least he wouldn't have been able to keep her hidden long enough for him to die. 

Although the day he would finally kill his Master and take over the throne was fast approaching, Vader was aware that the only way he would ever succeed was through being patient.  

Play the part of his dutiful servant, methodically replace the most important members of his councils and court with your own men, wait for the poison slowly seeping into his veins to weaken him enough to not be able to put up much of a fight.   

Three simple steps of a plan he could not risk to jeopardize just because he wasn’t able to hold his own selfish desires at bay, set in motion the very first time Sidious had dared to raise his hand against his mother, although the day he had truly signed his death warrant was the one he mauled her so badly that she ended up in a deep coma. 

The countless doctors he’d brought from all around the Galaxy, all unanimously advised him the same thing - to pull the plug, claiming that there was absolutely no chance that she would ever wake up from her state. Yet, despite their predictions Vader simply couldn’t bring himself to give up on her. Refused to acknowledge that she was not coming back. And he would continue to do so, for as long as her heart was still beating in her chest. 

There was a way to bring her back. He knew there was. And one day he would find it. He had to. 

With a particularly nasty scowl threatening to take up permanent residence on his face, caused by the prospect of the upcoming conversation, that he wanted nothing more than to be over with, so he could go back to his quarters or rather the Angel residing within, Vader flipped the switch to request an audience with his Majesty the Emperor and immediately after, just as he was expected to, lowered himself to a kneeling position. 

“Ah, Lord Vader” the man greeted him the moment his holographic image materialised over the transmission table, judging by his expression clearly enjoying the view of his apprentice groveling before him on the floor, where according to him he rightfully belonged “Any luck this time?” 

„Yes, Master” he admitted, careful not to let his possessiveness over Padme and everything that concerned her show in his voice. 

„These are some splendid news, my boy” Sidious said in a tone so utterly patronising, that he could have as well been praising a toddler for sleeping through the night without pissing himself “Do tell me more about her” he demanded, leaving him no other choice, but to oblige, even if that was the last thing he wanted to do. 

„Her name is Padme. She’s the only daughter of a high ranked nobleman from Theed – Ruwee Naberrie. Five years younger than me. And very beautiful” he said, purposely keeping his answer short and generic, especially in terms of her appearance, so the old degenerate wouldn’t get any ideas. 

„And what made you choose her over all the others?” the man asked, clearly suspicious of his apprentice’s sudden change of heart, considering how opposed he had been to the idea of taking a wife and how many candidates he had already rejected. 

„The moment she entered the audition room I received a vision - her in a wedding gown. The Force couldn’t have made the choice more obvious than that” Vader dutifully recited the lie he had come up with prior the meeting, as he highly doubted his Master would have approved of the real reason he had picked Padme as his bride. 

A true Sith did not concern themselves with such trivialities as love, especially not at first sight, believing the only way to achieve true fulfilment was through power. Other people existed merely as tools to serve their needs, which if they so pleased could entail indulging in acts of passion, however once their desires were sated, whatever partners they had taken were to be tossed aside like insignificant playthings they were. 

And Vader knew for a fact, he would have never been able to view his soon to be wife as anything less than a divine being from heaven. His Angel. His own form of beauty. The woman he’d spend the rest of his life with until they were nothing more than two lone starts in the sky. And be grateful for it for every single second of that time. 

„You have done well, my apprentice” Sidious stated suddenly, catching his attention once more „When you reach Courscant I’d like you to bring her to me. Immediately” he demanded and fortunately for him ended the call, before the Sith had the chance to say something he would have later regretted. 

Sidious POV 

“Naberrie’s daughter, huh?” the man muttered to himself, the moment the holographic image of his apprentice dispersed into thin air and he was once more left alone in the privacy of his office. “Well, isn’t that a fortunate turn of events...” he trailed off, recalling the all too familiar image of the petite, brown haired girl in his mind. 

She was certainly a fine specimen of a nubian beauty, with her long, curly hair and big, doe eyes, although for his taste... lacking in some areas to say the least, but then again it wasn’t like she had to be particularly gifted to serve her purpose – one that had been set for her before she was even born. 

Almost twenty years ago, shortly after an exceptionally strong four years old Force sensitive got into his possession and it became clear that the boy was far too opinionated to remain loyal to him for long, Sidious decided that the best course of action would be to use him to create his own replacement. A perfect apprentice, untainted by the burden of free will, that he could shape the way he saw fit, originating from not one, but two powerful bloodlines – Vader’s... and his own. 

However, for that to happen, first he needed to father a daughter. 

He had carefully selected his targets – five highborn, married women, each one from a different planet and with a unique set of physical features in case the boy one day came to have a type, whom he then kidnapped and surgically implanted with a fertilized female embryo, before sending them back home with no recollection of what had happened, so they wouldn’t even think to question that the father of their little girls could be anyone other than their husbands. 

On Naboo his choice fell on Jobal Naberrie. 

Sidious had to admit that it had been extremely hilarious to watch her and her husband trying to figure out what in the name of the Force could possibly be wrong with their daughter, that they couldn’t get rid of her, despite offering to literally anyone, that could take her, when in fact the reason they continued to fail to marry her off was that he had either paid off or killed every single one of the candidates.  

Because the girl had to wait for him to come. 

And true, the idea with organising the auditions might have been a bit of a long shot, as he had absolutely no guarantee, that his apprentice would end up choosing one of his daughters, however he figured it was still worth it to try, as after all the best way to force someone to do something was to convince them it was their choice to begin with. 

Worst case scenario, he would just have to get back on his promise and pick a bride for Lord Vader himself. 

However, even now that his plan has finally started to fall into place, there was still one thing he couldn’t understand – why out of all five girls he had fathered and personally made sure his apprentice encountered only the last one piqued his interest. 

Padme Naberrie wasn’t anything special. Just like the other ones she wasn’t Force sensitive herself and was merely predisposed to create offsprings that would be. She had the most common female traits possible. So, why her?  

The boy’s version about the vision he had received seemed too far-fetched to be true, but maybe... Wasn’t this what he was counting on? For something in them to call out to him? 

Not that it really mattered anyway. 

What mattered was that in just three short weeks one of his daughters would be married to his apprentice and hopefully bare his child soon after. 

And the remaining four would make exceptional practice targets for his bounty hunters. 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

The room her future husband had given her was nice, even a little bigger than the one she had at home. However, the grays that covered every inch of the walls and carpeted floors, combined with the stark white sheets and almost complete lack of any decorations except for a single mirror and a few empty shelves made it seem a little bit too cold for her liking, especially considering the fact that she had spent her entire life surrounded by vibrant colours so characteristic of her world. 

There was one thing she did like about it though – a wall length, transpairsteel window, allowing her to look into the endless abyss of space, while falling asleep. 

Or at least it would have allowed her to do so if only sleep actually wanted to find her. 

“Why can’t you just be quiet?!” she groaned, burying her face into a pillow as her mind, with nothing but free time at its disposal, instead of letting her rest continued to drag her down a spiral of grim thoughts concerning her future. 

Her husband-to-be, apart from being the heir to the throne, was also the Supreme Commander of all Imperial Forces, so more often than not he would be gone tracking down and exterminating whatever enemies of the Empire foolish or unlucky enough to end up on his radar, but where did she fit into all of this? 

Would she be left at the Imperial Palace or some other estate he normally resided in with nothing else to do, but await his return or would he take her with him, so she could warm his bed after a long day on the battlefield? 

Despite the lack of experience in the act itself Padme knew for a fact, that some men were extremely sex driven, while others saw it as purely procreative. The question was – which one was Vader and, which option would she be more disappointed with, considering how good their little encounter from not so long ago made her feel, even though he barely touched her. 

Then of course, there was also the matter of his overall treatment of her. 

Although he seemed extremely offended by her father’s approval of him using corporal punishments on her to enforce obedience, considering his widely known violent nature, it was entirely possible that the reason behind it was not his averseness to the act itself, but rather the fact that the man dared to assume he needed his blessing to do with her as he saw fit. The latter sounded far more likely, especially that, after all, every husband beat his wife... 

Right? Padme wondered, still desperately chasing after the elusive relief of sleep, but the truth was, she actually didn’t know, as growing up she didn’t exactly have many marriage role models and had no idea what a relationship of that kind should look like. 

She did however distinctly remember her own mother being beaten constantly, whether it was for an oversalted meal or a minor sign of disrespect, especially early on in her marriage, when instead of immediately owning up to her mistake and apologising, every now and then the woman still somehow managed to find the audacity within herself to talk back. But, when the punishment ultimately followed never once had she heard her complain, so she just... assumed that this was the norm. 

Besides, even if it wasn’t, why should Vader be any different? He was the next ruler of the Galaxy after all and had every right to demand perfection. Which she clearly wasn’t. 

However, just as she was about to curl herself up into a ball and start bawling her eyes out over how stupid she had been to ever agree to any of this, a sudden hiss of the entrance door, followed by the sound of footsteps coming her way that reached her ears successfully distracted her from continuing to agonize over her fate. 

Is Vader back already? She thought, momentarily freezing in her spot on the bed, when seconds later a series of loud knocks echoed through her room, as if stillness could somehow protect her if it wasn’t in fact her soon to be husband waiting on the other side of the door.  

Fortunately though, whatever mental blackout she had fallen into passed relatively quickly and, realising just how ridiculous she was being, Padme immediately scolded herself in her thoughts. 

Well, that was a stupid question. Who else could it be possibly be? He’s the only one who can open this Force damned door. 

“Padme?” he called out in a concerned voice, probably worried if she hadn’t fainted or something, while still continuing to knock and, fuelled by the prospect of him getting angry at her for making him wait so long for no apparent reason, she practically threw herself at the door panel to let him in. 

“My Lord” she greeted him with her eyes casted down, too afraid to meet his gaze, before an apology for her tardiness finished forming in her head. However, the moment she finally gathered her courage to look up and say it, there was no anger present in features. Quite the contrary actually – his handsome face was brightened by the most radiant of smiles and the way he stared at her... as ashamed as she was to admit it, made her grow weak in the knees. 

„I just wanted to make sure you’re okay and ask if perhaps you’d be interested in dining with me” he said, and as if on cue, her stomach growled loudly, which, in all honesty, wasn’t that surprising considering the last time she actually ate anything was the night before the audition, as her mother didn’t want to risk her getting bloated for the occasion. 

„That’s very kind of you. I will gladly eat with you, my Lord” she responded as casually as she could with her cheeks surely burning up bright red, naively hoping that by some miracle he did just not hear that, even though he would have to be completely deaf not to. 

„You know you don’t have to refer to me as ‘my Lord’ when we’re alone?” her fiancé asked, to his credit deciding to spare her any additional embarrassment by commenting on what had just happened with something along the lines of ‘someone’s hungry’, however she wasn’t sure if she wouldn’t have actually preferred it if he did, since instead he basically informed her that she had already managed to fail his expectations regarding the nature of their relationship. 

„Oh, I’m sorry” she said quickly, having learned from experience that the best course of action in those types of situations was to immediately beg for forgiveness, even if those same experiences taught her that men of power generally enjoyed their women treating them as superior, which was what got her into trouble in the first place. 

„No, don’t apologize –” 

„I’m sorry” she squeaked before she could stop herself and, to hopefully hide the panic rapidly rising within her at the thought of the consequences he’d draw not only for her disobedience, but also for interrupting him, she let out a nervous laugh right after. 

To her surprise and relief however, Vader didn’t seem to mind at all. Quite the contrary actually – he chuckled softly, shaking his head in surrender, most likely deeming her as a hopeless case, that would come around eventually and moments later simply offered her a hand. 

Extremely happy to have been let off the hook so easily Padme took it without a second’s delay and let him lead her to the living area, where a small table was already set for two people. 

„The Emperor wants to meet you as soon as we land on Courscant” her fiancé said suddenly, after they sat down, causing her to immediately lose her appetite, even if she had managed to take only a few bites. 

Of course, she was aware that she would have to meet his Majesty sooner or later, as after all, in three short weeks he would become her father-in-law and it would have been strange if he hadn’t seen his son’s chosen one at least once before then. However, considering she hadn’t really had time to grow fully accustomed even to her own future husband yet, she certainly would have preferred it happen at a later date. Much later date. 

“Alright” she muttered, desperately trying and miserably failing not to let her anxiety show on her face. 

“I know. I’d much rather avoid it too, but I can’t refuse his wish” Vader explained, sounding genuinely as displeased with this turn of events as she was and fell quiet for a moment, most likely waiting for her to say something, but after a while of complete silence he must’ve realised that was not going to happen and instead decided to just change the subject „Maybe we should talk about something else? Perhaps there is something you’d like to know about your future husband?” he offered, wiggling his eyebrows in a playful manner. 

Well yeah, there are plenty of things I’d like to know. I thought about you quite a lot over the past couple of hours. But most of my questions would probably offend you.  

„Is it true what they say about you on the Holonet?” she decided to ask, purposely not elaborating what exactly she was referring to, to leave herself the option to back out in case he didn’t like the question. 

„And what is it they say about me?” he countered, grinning, as if he wasn’t perfectly aware that the articles she had read were by all means not about his bubbly personality. 

“W-well...” she stuttered, unsure of how to get out of answering this without meeting the back of his hand, internally cursing herself for being so foolish as to think he would not find a way around her silly precautions and drive her straight into a corner. 

„Force, relax. I’m joking” Vader laughed, but did not look even the tiniest bit amused. More like he just didn’t know what else to do in this situation “I know what you mean. Is it true that I’m a bloodthirsty monster, uncapable of human emotions? No. Do I kill people for sport? I do not enjoy killing, but sometimes it is necessary to ensure the safety of the Empire’s citizens. I would never purposefully harm anyone innocent. You don’t have anything to worry about. I will never lay a finger on you” he said and even though Padme knew she should not let her guard down around him, as all of this could have as well been a well calculated lie, meant to lure her into a false sense of security, she had to admit, that with how sincere he sounded, it was extremely hard to stay wary of him.  

„If not killing, then what do you enjoy doing in your free time?” she asked, partially out of obligation, since it was fairly obvious he wanted her to talk to him and partially because, well... she was just curious. 

„I don’t really have much of that and when I do my activities usually narrow down to either tinkering or flying. However... very recently I’ve met this amazing girl that will hopefully change that”  

Padme was never once to blush easily, having heard every single compliment and pick-up line know to man a thousand times over, but the way he said it – with his voice practically dripping with yearning, while looking at her like she was the only woman left in the Galaxy, made her cheeks burn bright red. 

And the worst part was that judging by the way the corners of his lips curved into a smirk the bastard was not only perfectly aware of the effect his words had on her, but was also absolutely pleased with himself for it. 

„My turn” 

“I didn’t know we were taking turns” she said, perhaps a little bit too boldly, however with how charming he was being, it was all too easy to forget who exactly she was talking to. 

„Well, you asked me a question. It is only fair I ask you one as well. These are the basic rules of making a conversation” he stated, winking at her like he had just beaten her in a game she didn’t know she was playing. 

“Alright, ask away” 

„Have you ever had a boyfriend?” he asked what normally would have been considered an innocent question, however the subtle way his tone shifted from flirty and playful, to one underlined with possessiveness and jealousy, gave her the impression that this conversation wouldn’t end very well if she gave him an answer he wouldn’t like. 

„W-well, as you may know, I have been close to marriage with several other men – ” she stuttered, watching with horror as his eyes narrowed more and more with each word she spoke. 

„Were they chosen by you or your parents?” Vader interrupted her harshly and she couldn’t help but notice how he tightened his grip on his utensils, especially the knife, he was currently using to cut into a piece of meat on his plate. 

„M-my parents...” she whispered, unable to take her eyes off his hands, hoping for her own good, that she was just imagining things. 

„Then they do not interest me. I was asking about someone you chose and wanted to have a relationship with” he stated a little calmer this time, looking at her in a way, that made it crystal clear that he would not let this go until she gave him an answer. 

However, as much as Padme wanted to do so, even if just to appease him, with how little say she had in the matter of potential suitors, especially in the past few years, she couldn’t really remember anyone she had ever consciously bestowed her feelings upon, except... 

„In eighth grade there was this boy named Rush Williams. He didn’t come from a wealthy family, so my parents didn’t exactly approve of him, but he was very handsome and sweet and when he asked me to be his girlfriend with a lollipop ring I just couldn’t say no. We dated for about a year before we had to break up due to him... moving away. Why did you ask?” 

„I just wanted to know who is it I have to brutally murder the next time I visit Naboo” he stated coldly, which instantly caused Padme’s eyes to widen and her face to paler by at least a few shades. 

She had been so terribly scared of what he would do to her if she didn’t give him an answer, that the thought of what could she possibly be sentencing whatever boy she named to didn’t even cross her mind.  

„I’m joking, silly. Relax” her fiancé laughed, his voice taking on a playful tone once again, however she had no illusions that this sudden change was nothing more than a feeble attempt at damage control, after he realised how much he had scared her. 

„Oh, okay” she responded anyway, knowing better than to question his sincerity and laughed as well, though in her case it came out as more of a nervous chuckle than anything else, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that Vader didn’t buy it.  

„I’m sorry” he said, immediately rushing to her side and after lowering himself down to his knees, so that he could be on the same level as her, gently cradled her hand in his “It was stupid. I was stupid. I knew you were on edge with this whole marriage thing and I was trying to lighten the mood a little but I see this didn’t work out very well. Do you want to keep talking? I promise I will stick to answering questions now” 

„Actually, I think I would rather retire. It’s been a long day” she said, praying her rejection wouldn’t set him off, but at the same time knowing she wouldn’t be able to pretend to want to be anywhere near him for long, especially if he tried to touch something more than just her hands.  

„Oh, okay” her fiancé muttered, sounding as if she had just punched him in the stomach, however at the moment she really couldn’t find the strength within herself to care about him or his hurt feelings „Allow me to at least accompany you back to your room” he asked and if only to get out of this situation faster, she agreed.  

Once they finally reached her room, Vader planted a small kiss to her forehead, bidding her goodnight and as the doors closed behind him Padme could have sworn she heard him say ‘idiot’. 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

Judging by how deeply unsettled the dinner with her fiancé had left her, Padme would have thought, that she would be far too busy replaying its events over and over again in her head, while she nervously waited for Vader to burst through the door, looking for a way to alleviate the sting her rejection had left him with, to be able to sleep a wink that night.  

Yet strangely enough, all it really took was for her to just close her eyes to be suddenly awoken up by the sound of gentle knocking on her door, while the chrono on her nightstand showed several hours later.  

“Go away” she groaned and feeling completely unprepared to welcome the new day just yet, as a sign of protest, decided to cover her head with a blanket in hopes of muffling the noise at least a little bit until whoever was here to rip her out of the sweet embrace of sleep finally took the hint and gave up.  

Unfortunately for her though, it quickly turned out that it would not be the case as after a short while the knocking not only did not stop but on the contrary, became increasingly louder.  

And so, recognizing that there was no point in deluding herself that the person outside of her door would be kind enough to leave her alone, with her eyes still half closed, Padme dragged herself out of bed to open the door, which unsurprisingly revealed none other than Darth Vader. However, from all the things he could have said or done in this situation she certainly didn’t expect him to just burst out laughing the moment his gaze landed on her. 

“What’s so funny?” she barked annoyed, with the nastiest of scowls twisting her features. 

Who even is this guy to first wake me up at the crack of dawn and then to just laugh at me without a reason? Oh right, I forgot. My future husband.  

„I see you had a good nap” he wheezed out, having finally calmed down enough to talk, but instead gaining a stupidly self-satisfied smile on his face, which as she couldn’t help but notice only widened the moment his gaze seemingly by accident drifted down to her chest... 

Oh, Force. The realisation of what could have possibly amused him so much hit her like a splash of ice cold water and Padme instantly lunged herself towards the mirror. Only to be completely mortified by her own reflection. 

Her nightgown was all crumpled and one of its straps had slid off her shoulder, almost revealing her breast, her hair were all tangled and messy, creating what was basically a one, big bundle atop of her head and her face bore a thick, white streak of dried drool. 

„Force, I look like I’ve been thrown into a tornado!” she exclaimed, her face turning a bright shade of red from embarrassment. 

How compromising. You certainly do not show yourself like that to a total stranger, even if in just a few weeks he is going to be your husband. She thought to herself, feeling her eyes already start to sting from the oncoming tears, as she quickly pulled up the fallen strap, wiped up her face with the end of her sleeve and frantically grabbed the nearest brush, only to start quite painfully tugging at her hair in an attempt to detangle them. 

“Hey, relax” Vader muttered soothingly, coming up from behind her and gently took the brush out of her hands, so she wouldn’t accidentally hurt herself with it „Even with your hair a’la wookie you are still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen” he said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, before starting to comb her hair himself, paying attention to each and every curl. 

“You really think I’m beautiful?” Padme whispered, finding herself suddenly doubting his words. 

Even though he had called her that many times before and in doing so, never once had he sounded even the tiniest bit insincere, after what she had seen in the mirror today, it was extremely hard not to let all of the hurtful things her parents had been pestering her with for the better part of life, that she had stored away at the very back of her mind and heart to resurface. Especially the one her mother had said to her shortly after they returned home from the audition... 

„Of course. Like every angel” her fiancé responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and although the stories she had heard about those mystical creatures were far from pleasant, to be called one was still considered to be a huge compliment.  

After all, according to the legends, angels were once the most beautiful creatures in the entire universe. They lived in peace on the moons of Iego, until one day their home was discovered by humans, who, enchanted by their beauty, decided to seize them for themselves.  

With the use of long forgotten magic they had put a curse on them – as long as they obeyed the commands of their new lords and masters, which they announced themselves as, the angels would keep their astonishing looks and eternal youth, however, with each order they defied their bodies would began to wither further and further, until they finally turned into nothing more than dust in the wind. 

Unfortunately, the human’s attempt to subjugate them failed spectacularly, resulting in extinction of almost the entire species, as the angels proved to be extremely difficult and unruly creatures.  

There were only a very few of them, that had happily embraced their new roles and lived for many years, dutifully serving their masters, until ultimately following them in death, leaving behind numerous offspring, whose descendants allegedly still walked the Galaxy to this day,. 

Or at least that was the version of the story she had heard throughout her entire childhood, each night her parents were in a good enough mood to put her to bed. 

“I’m... not an angel” she said in barely a whisper, as if rejecting the name could somehow protect her from exhibiting the traits associated with it, which in her current predicament would only bring her unnecessary pain. 

Vader, however, whether aware of the true reasons behind her response or not, clearly did not let it discourage him and like the true flirt she had come to know him as, after putting the brush down, he spun her around so she could look him in the eyes and with a soft smile on his lips said: 

“Could have fooled me” 

„So... what exactly brings you here? I’m sure you didn’t come here just to compliment me” she asked, deciding it was probably for the best to change the subject, before the warm, tingly feeling his words had stirred within her could turn her mind into mush, leaving her completely at the mercy of him and her own body.  

„Would it be so bad, if I did come here just for that?” her fiancé countered with a cocky grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, as he sharply pulled her closer, so that she was now fully flushed against him „But you’re right. I actually came to tell you that we will be landing on Courscant within the hour and ask you to get ready” he stated, running his hands up and down her back, making it extremely hard for her to focus on what he was saying “Also, the meeting with the Emperor might take a while, so it would be good if you ate something too”  

„O-okay” she stuttered, the dizziness caused by the amount of contact between them suddenly seeming insignificant compared to the sheer terror that gripped her heart at the reminder of her upcoming meeting with the Emperor of the Galaxy.  

„Don’t worry. It will be fine” he muttered, leaning into her ear and brushing the side of her face with the tip of his nose, which surprisingly effectively managed to distract her from her rapidly rising anxiety “I need to go now. There are some things on the bridge that require my attention. I’ll come back to collect you shortly before we land so please be ready by then” he asked, before planting a quick kiss to her cheek and heading out of the room. 

Padme put in a lot of time and consideration into picking her outfit for the day, aiming to look elegant and regal, but not like she was trying too hard. 

Eventually she had decided on a floor length, flowy, light blue skirt, hanging low on her hips and a matching tank top with long bell sleeves and a v-cut cleavage, while her hair was done half up, half down and decorated with a delicate, silver headpiece. 

I do not want to sound braggy, but I look pretty spectacular if I can say so myself. She thought cockily as she examined herself in the mirror for what was probably the hundredth time, incredibly grateful to have an opportunity to redeem herself so quickly after the complete disaster that was her appearance this morning.  

“I wonder what Vader will say now” she giggled, remembering how even at her worst he had still managed to find the words to make her feel like the most beautiful woman in the Galaxy.  

And judging by the sudden hiss of the entrance door she had just heard, she wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.  

Impatient to see his reaction Padme rushed to meet him in the living area, however as soon as his eyes landed on her instead of the absolute adoration she was expecting to see, his facial expression twisted into something that she could only describe as a wild mix of shock and anger. 

„What in the name of the Force are you wearing!?” her fiancé exclaimed, and the tone of his voice, so completely different from the one he had used when addressing her so far, was enough for her to start backing away from him.  

„I-I-I don’t know” she stuttered, utterly terrified of his sudden outburst “I thought I look presentable” she added quietly, feeling all of her previous self-confidence flying right out of a window.  

„Presentable? Presentable?!” her fiancé yelled, jumping to her so fast Padme didn’t even have time to as much as yelp before his hands roughly gripped her shoulders and yanked her towards him “No... You look fucking stunning. And that’s the problem” he said, this time a little more calmly, however something in his eyes – a certain kind of mad glint, giving her the impression that at the moment he wasn’t exactly thinking straight, still made her shiver in fear of what he would do next. Hurt her? Or maybe quite the contrary... 

“W-what do you mean?” she prompted quietly, unwilling to set him off, but also unable to stand this suspense, this tension, this uncertainty a minute longer. 

“Do you have any idea just what kind of a person you’re going to meet? What he might do to you if you catch his eye?” Vader whispered, avoiding her gaze as if even a fleeting glance could reveal to her everything he had ever been forced to witness and suddenly... it all started to make sense. 

What she had previously mistaken for a mixture of shock and anger wasn’t in fact any of those things at all. He was afraid. Terrified even. And if Lord Vader – the number one terror of the Galaxy, heir to the imperial throne and the Emperor’s adopted son feared his own father so much, there must have been more to the man than the eyes could see. 

Despite his extremely high status as a public figure, the Emperor didn’t really do much public or media appearances, but whenever he did, he always seemed to be a kind and trustworthy person. One you could turn to with whatever problem you had. One that would always offer a helping hand or at the very least a shoulder to cry on. It was almost like he had some kind of aura around himself, making people cling to him like flies and latch onto his every word. 

For this reason, it never really occurred to her that he – a man old enough to be her father or grandfather even, might want to do something to her, especially considering that she would soon be his son’s spouse... 

“You have to change. Now.” Vader commanded as he suddenly began all but dragging her towards her bedroom “Find something, anything that will cover you more. Preferably with long, baggy sleeves, wide skirt and a high collar. The less skin you show the better” he said and Padme certainly didn’t have to be told twice, before rushing towards the closet. Because if the man was indeed as bad as her fiancé claimed, she definitely didn’t want his eyes on her. 

Chapter Text

Vader’s POV 

Calm down, it’s going to be okay. Vader repeated over and over in his head in unison with Padme, who he could hear loud and clear silently praying for the exact same thing, as they walked together down the wide corridor leading up to the throne room, where the Emperor was already awaiting their presence. 

As per his request his fiancée had changed into the most modest thing she could find – a heavy, black, floor length gown with a high neckline, beaded with sparkling, silver crystals, designed to look like starry sky at night. To his disappointment, she still looked breathtakingly beautiful, however now at least she wasn’t about to give Sidious a chance to hang his eyes on any particular part of her body for longer than would be considered appropriate.  

Even though it wasn’t widely known to the public, to him it was no secret what were to happen to any pretty, young girl reckless enough to get herself within the arm’s reach of his Master or occasionally, if they were truly unlucky, catch his eye in a picture on the Holonet.  

Vader had already lost count of the number of times he had witnessed a girl being literally dragged towards Sidious’ private rooms never to be seen again, and the very few who by some miracle did manage to get out of there alive never came back the same. 

However, the unluckiest one of them all turned out to be his own mother.  

Unlike the others, his Master didn’t pick her simply out of need for a new bedmate, though he certainly couldn’t complain about finding use for her in that department as well, but because the man desperately wanted to gain leverage on Vader.

And the worst part was, that at first he didn’t even notice. 

As the naive four-year old boy, brought up on stories about brave knights and true love, that he was, he was genuinely under the impression, that by landing a single glance on the beautiful slave girl from the slums of Tatooine, Sidious had fallen madly in love with her and then, right after marrying her mere days later, out of the goodness of his heart decided to adopt her only son as his own, so they could all be one happy family together. 

He had spent months practically kissing the ground his brand new dad walked on, eagerly engaging in every activity he had prepared for him and carefully listening to every  single word he said as if he was some kind of an ominous oracle. However, his illusions quickly dispelled when, for the first time in his life, he failed an assigned exercise and the man finally dropped the act of a kind father and mentor.  

In a voice completely devoid of even a semblance of warmth, so different from the one of the man he thought he knew, he had ordered Vader to strip down to his underwear and kneel on the ground in front of him. Once he obediently did as he was told, Sidious pulled out an energy whip from his robes and brought it close to his skin, letting him feel the heat radiating from its cord, so the prospect of the oncoming punishment could fully dawn on him, before he proceeded to use it to administrate twenty lashes to his bare back, each one of which he had to profusely thank him for. 

When he was finally done with him, Vader was reduced to not much more than a bloodied mess, laying flat on the cold, hard floor, unable to get up on his own or move at all for that matter, while his stepfather, or rather Master as he demanded to be addressed from then on, completely unbothered by his state simply left the room, mercifully granting him what turned out to be a few precious moments of peace, before he came back, dragging his poor mother by her hair and forced him to watch as he extracted her the exact same punishment. Twice. 

From that day on, there hadn’t been a single time when he had failed Sidious’ expectations, whether it was on the battlefield or in his overall behaviour towards him, and she had not had to share the consequences of his actions. Which, as he grew older, he understood were not limited only to torture in the sense that he had to endure. 

I can either spend my night in the training room with you or in bed with your mother. The choice is yours, boy. The man used to say, dangling her wellbeing in front of his nose like a bone to a dog, whenever he felt like he wasn’t trying hard enough and worst of all – most of the time this tactic worked on him like a charm. 

With the sickening prospect of the woman he loved most in the entire Galaxy being forced to suffer even a single second of this monster’s touch because of his own weakness, against all odds Vader pushed through his limits, slowly moulding himself into the perfect weapon his Master could wield however he saw fit. A mindless killing machine, unburdened by the shackles of compassion and remorse, that he could unleash upon his enemies. 

Sadly, despite his Master’s best efforts to strip him off of his humanity, every now and then the last remaining bits and pieces of the kind boy his mother had raised would come to light.  

One of that times was, when Sidious had sent him to wipe out a supposed Rebel hideout, which in reality turned out to be an infirmary full of defenceless, force sensitive infants.  

Vader didn’t remember exactly what happened after he had returned from that mission with no bloodshed to report, only that he had woken up in a medical facility well over a week later, with hazy glimpses of excruciating pain and the smell of charred flesh, missing his right arm below the elbow, while his mother, lying in the room right next to his, was in a deep coma. 

And although he knew she would have been extremely disappointed in him for this, every second he had spent by her side, holding her limp hand in his and staring at her closed eyes, that he knew she might never open again, he had spent wishing he could just go back to that fateful day and slaughter every man, woman and child in that infirmary. 

However, the forever present guilt and regret weren’t the only things Vader had carried out of this experience. There were also the two promises he had made to himself the very same moment he had found out about everything that had happened. One – that he would never defy his Master again, until he was finally strong enough to repay the bastard for all the suffering he had caused him. And two – that he would never become anything like him. Not as an Emperor and certainly not as a husband. 

“Don’t worry. It will be okay” he said, squeezing Padme’s hand reassuringly, as he heard her mentally repeating all of the tips and instructions he had given her prior to their arrival. 

Bow deeply upon entering. Don’t speak, unless asked a question. Don’t let him see his comment made you uncomfortable. Don’t move away if he decides to touch you. Don’t take anything I say to heart...  

In response his fiancée simply smiled at him faintly, half-heartedly reciprocating the gesture and although it was quite obvious that she didn’t believe him Vader couldn’t really blame her. Because if he were to be completely honest with himself, he was the one, who at the end of his sentence silently added ‘I hope’.  

Padme’s POV 

Upon entering the throne room alongside her soon-to-be husband, Padme was extremely surprised to discover it was as different in style from the palace architecture she had been used to as one could be – without decorations, plants, stained glass windows, or any widows at all for that matter, the only source of light being dimly lit scones sparsely placed on the walls, which combined with the heavy, onyx slabs lining every inch of the floor and walls, made the space seem enveloped in endless shadows. 

However, as her eyes darted forward to where a majestic throne stood proudly on a high dais, she realized that the minimalistic decor was most likely international, so that absolutely nothing would distract attention from the centre piece of the room. Or more importantly a lone, dark figure sitting on it. 

From the place customarily designated for various visitors coming in for an audience with his Majesty, that she and her fiancé had stopped in, due to the poor lightning Padme couldn’t exactly make out the details of the man’s face or at least the parts of it that weren’t obscured by the heavy hood he was wearing, which extended from the clearly expensive robe covering the rest of his body, however she could tell he looked oddly... frail. Certainly not what she would have imagined a person arousing fear even in the Galaxy’s most terrifying enforcer to look like. 

“Ah, Lord Vader, my boy. How good to finally have you back and with a bride no less” the man’s raspy voice echoed through the room, and the sheer, raw power emanating from it alone was enough to make Padme’s knees buckle under her, almost as if they instinctively knew that her place was beneath him. 

Bow deeply upon entering. She reminded herself, gracefully following the instruction she had been given. 

“No need to be so shy with me, my dear. We’ll soon be a family after all and I can barely see you from over there. Why don’t you come closer and let me have a good look at you?” he requested and although, remembering everything her fiancé had told her about his father, shortening the distance between them was the last thing she wanted, knowing better than to refuse his wish, Padme reluctantly obliged. 

She had made it about half way, taking one hesitant step after another, before her anxiety finally got the better of her and she risked casting a quick glance back at Vader. That, however, quickly turned out to be a huge mistake, as instead of finding his comforting presence right behind her, she saw that the man remained in the exact same spot he had stopped in, motionless and expressionless, clearly having no intention to follow after her anytime soon like she had assumed he would. Which made her realize that from now on she was completely on her own. 

With not much else of a choice, but to keep going Padme swallowed the lump forming in her throat and slowly made the rest of the way to the Emperor, who in the meantime had risen from his throne and descended the steps of its dais to find himself on the same level as her.  

“There. Much better” he cooed, taking the liberty to place both of his wrinkled palms on her shoulders as soon as she got within his reach “Aren’t you a pretty little thing... Why are you all so covered up though? I’m sure you must be extremely hot in this dress. Did Lord Vader made you wear it?” he asked and while the question was clearly addressed to her, the tone he used was so utterly patronising, that it sounded as if it was asked to a dog rather than a human being. Which made Padme feel like in fact she wasn’t the one, who was supposed to answer. 

“What can I say, father? I like my things to be mine and mine alone.” Vader stated simply, his voice taking on a barely audible darker note as the Emperor’s hands on her body slowly began to wander lower. 

Such possessiveness... Padme heard a whisper roll through her thoughts, however to her absolute horror she realized, that the voice used to do so was not her own. It was his.  

A sharp intake of air immediately rushed into her lungs, but the desperate cry for help she intended to use it for, didn’t even have time to finish forming in her throat, before the man’s mental talons brutally tore themselves into her mind, completely depriving her of the ability to control any of her actions, so long as it remained trapped within their tight grip. 

Be calm, my dear. Everything is okay. We wouldn’t want to alarm your future husband now, would we? The corners of his lips twisted into a barely noticeable smile, as the man started to run his hands up and down her sides in a soothing manner, further encouraging her to follow his mental command and truth be told, she didn’t even have to give it too much thought, before her previous panic began to subside and her body slowly relaxed against him. 

“She’s a bit skinny. You’ll have to fatten her up a little, if she is to have a healthy baby” the man chuckled, casually continuing on with the conversation, as if he wasn’t actively in the process of taking over her mind, little by little replacing her thoughts and will with his own. 

I bet you just can’t wait for him to fill you up, can you? To have his child growing inside of your womb. And then the next one. And the next... The Emperor’s voice echoed through her mind once more and Padme dutifully nodded along, having never agreed with anything more in her life.  

Yes, after all that’s what you’ve been made for - to have your legs spread for him... NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! A thought of her own suddenly managed to pierce through the fog of whatever spell he had put on her, but unfortunate that little display of defiance didn’t mean her consciousness had broken out from under his influence completely and soon enough she felt his mental talons running across the surface of her mind, the sheer tenderness of the gesture slowly lulling her right back into a state of complacent. 

And although her instincts were practically screaming at her not to give in, Padme wasn’t sure if she could find the strength within herself to fight. Because what was even the point? She was no match for the Emperor anyway and knew perfectly well, that it was only a matter of time before the man ultimately forced her to relinquish control. 

Why make it harder than it needs to be? Especially that his presence in my mind feels so right... Especially that my presence in your mind feels so right...  

“Do you know, my dear, that you will actually be his first? Lord Vader may be fearsome on the battlefield, but if I may say so, in the bedroom department he’s rather green. I know it probably will be your first time as well, however regardless I hope you’ll do your very best to please him. After all that’s what you want most, is it not?” 

What are you waiting for, my dear? Tell him what you truly desire. It’s not that hard. You still remember how to use your voice, don’t you? It works just the same as before.   

“I-I...” she stuttered, desperately trying to formulate a response – one that her mind would come up with on its own, but the only one actually coming to her lips was the one he wanted her to give. 

I’m starting to lose my patience, girl. I demand an answer and I demand it now. Just stop fighting me already and admit it – you want nothing more than to please him and bear his children. Go on. Say it. Say it!  

“I want nothing more than to please him and bear his children.” she finally choked out, unable to resist him any longer, however the pure, mindless bliss that came over her immediately after, wrapping the entirety of her being like a warm, fuzzy blanket, made her question why she had ever tried to do that in first place. 

Desperate to never let this feeling pass, and instinctively knowing that the only way to achieve that was not through compliance, but complete surrender, Padme allowed herself to sink deeper and deeper into her own mind, until it finally turned into a blank piece of paper, ready to be filled by the ink of the man’s will.  

Yes, you’ll serve him well. From now on he is your lord and your master... but do not forget, who is your Emperor. Perhaps once he’s done with you, you could come to me.   

The prospect alone was enough to send a pleasant shiver down her spine, causing a spark of desire to ignite deep within her core – one she had absolutely no intention to stifle. Especially not when she could feel her body practically begging for friction, inching closer to him seemingly out of its own volition. 

Yes... You’d like that. Wouldn’t you? You’d love to serve your Emperor.  

His hands moved to the flat surface of her stomach and Padme hummed in content as his thumbs slowly started to circle over its cramped muscles, so wonderfully close to the place where she needed him most, while his mesmerising voice kept replying over and over like mantra inside of her head. 

You’d love that. You’d love that. You’d love that... I’d love that.

“Enough” a low, commanding snarl suddenly echoed through the room and just like that the Emperor’s presence completely withdrew from her mind, leaving Padme to fall straight to her knees, as the realization of what had transpired here over the past several minutes came crashing down on her. She felt violated. Dirty. Broken. Sick. All of those things at once. She couldn’t believe that for even a split second she was willing to... That she wanted... 

“I think you’re forgetting yourself, boy” the man stated, sounding strangely pleased with himself, almost as if he was waiting for this to happen “I understand you might not like someone else playing with your toys, however as your Emperor and your father –” 

“No, I think you’re the one forgetting yourself, father” Vader interrupted him, practically spitting out the last word “You’ve had your fun, but as my bride Padme belongs to me – body, mind and soul and you have no business touching what’s mine so thoroughly” 

“And so the kitten has finally showed it’s claws” the Emperor commented, his sickly yellow eyes glowing from beneath his hood with something bordering on excitement and anticipation as he returned to his place his throne “Fine. For now you can take her away. However, after you’re done with her I expect you to come back here to me, so I could remind you a thing or two about respect. Dismissed.” 

Vader didn’t have to be told twice and soon enough he was already halfway out of the room, carrying Padme’s now trembling form in his arms. 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

“Padme... Padme... Padme!” the sound of her own name being repeatedly called out by Vader’s concerned voice, as he hurriedly carried her through the palace corridors, reached her ears, however to her it was... muffled, as if it was coming from someplace deep under water. Or perhaps she was the one beneath its surface? Drowning... 

I’d love that. I’d love that. I’d love that. She saw the scene play out over and over again right before her eyes, resulting with her initial trembling turning first into quiet weeping and then, very quickly, into full on sobs. 

Because even though in theory she was aware that none of it had been a choice of her own, Padme still couldn’t help but feel utterly disgusted with herself for allowing that sick and twisted man to plant his own fantasy so deep within her subconsciousness. Burning it in, forever marking her as his. 

“Padme?” she heard her name being said again – quieter this time, almost intimate, the word conveying both worry and a desperate plea for a reaction, while her body was gently lowered onto a mattress.  

Unfortunately however, in her fragile state, her mind began to play tricks on her and convinced her, that neither the voice speaking to her nor the bed she was being placed on belonged to her fiancé. No... they were both the Emperor’s. 

“NO!” Padme screamed the moment her back touched the soft surface, her survival instincts completely taking over her actions, as she practically lunged herself off to escape, but to her dismay before she could get away a pair of strong arms swiftly caught her and pulled against a solid chest. “No! Let me go! You won’t make me!” she screeched, thrashing in the grip that held her like a wild animal, unwilling to go down without a fight. 

“It’s okay, Angel. It’s me. It’s Vader. You’re safe” he whispered soothingly into her hair, sounding so awfully similar to the man he claimed to be, that it physically hurt her, however, she had been led into a false sense of security once before and she’d sooner die than fall for the same trick twice. 

No matter how hard she fought though, the hold he had on her body remained strong and unyielding, allowing her to tire herself out, until she finally believed where and with who she was. 

“I can still feel him. In my head” she whimpered quietly, desperately needing to get that burden off of her chest. 

“I know” Vader replied, without judgement and without pity, simply accepting what she had said. Accepting her. And not letting go. Which she couldn’t have been more grateful for. 

“Can he still hear my thoughts?” she asked, terrified of what the answer might be, as the very last thing she wanted was for the Emperor to know about all of the vivid images of their... mutual activities, that against her will, even now, were still plaguing her mind. 

“No. Don’t worry. He’s too far away” her fiancé muttered, clearly intending to calm her down, but the way his voice audibly broke during the last sentence, instantly gave away that there was more to his answer than he was letting on. 

“Can you?” the question prompted by the unsettling suspicion that began to bloom within her at his noticeably odd choice of his words hung in the air between them like an executioner’s blade ready to strike her down at any moment for what felt like an eternity, before that one, simple word she had dreaded to hear the most finally slipped from his lips. 

“Yes” he admitted, successfully shattering what little dignity she thought she had left.  

After all, it was one thing to be ashamed of imagining herself in bed with another man, as she could keep trying to convince herself, that it was not of her own accord and an entirely different to have her future husband see those visions with his own eyes. Especially that the man occupying her thoughts was his own stepfather. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry” she mumbled over and over again, but the crushing awareness that no amount of apologising could ever make up for her transgression quickly caused her body to start wracking with a brand new wave of sobs and her words blended into one unintelligible jumble of sounds and hiccups. 

Why can’t he just go away? Why can’t he leave my thoughts alone? I would never want his hands on me let alone touching me so intimately... But you did. For a while you were willing to let him do whatever he wanted to you and you would have thanked him for it. A traitorous little voice – the very same one, that had accompanied her through almost every single moment of her life, whispered in her head and she only cried harder, unable to deny that, as always, it was right.  

The Emperor might’ve touched her without her consent, put her under his spell to make her more agreeable to his advances, but that still didn’t change the fact that she had enjoyed every second of it. And maybe... Vader shouldn’t have intervened. Perhaps being taken by him was already more than a pathetic nobody like her deserved. 

“Padme, enough!” the sound of her fiancé’s voice, firm but not reprimanding, suddenly snapped her out of her self-tormenting episode back to the present “Listen to me. It wasn’t your fault and don’t you ever dare doubt that for another second. This man is sick and twisted and unfortunately has a way of getting into people’s heads. If you keep overthinking it, the next time you see him you could as well be begging him to come right back in. And when he does he might not be willing to let go of you so easily” he said and although the sole prospect of spending the rest of her life as the Emperor’s mindless puppet should have been enough to arouse her fear, what truly terrified her was that this was no empty threat. 

The man was extremely powerful, Padme had already experienced that much on her own skin and knew that whatever he’d set his mind on doing to her, he would succeed. 

Today she might’ve gotten lucky because Vader was there to protect her. But no one was to tell what would happen if the next time he wouldn’t present. And considering that, as unfortunate as it was, the Emperor seemed to have taken a personal liking to her, there definitely would be a next time. 

Her fiancé was simply stating a fact. A certainty. A fate set in stone if she did not heed his warning. 

However, how in the name of the Force was he expecting her to even attempt to do that when even now, without any interference on the Emperor's part whatsoever, she still couldn’t throw him out of her own thoughts?  

“Can you do the same?” she asked in barely a whisper, as an idea suddenly popped into her head, and judging by the expression that immediately after twisted Vader’s features, she could tell that he didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking. 

“Yes, I can” he answered with a trembling voice a moment later, avoiding her gaze, most likely so he would not have to look her in the eyes when she deemed him a monster “But Padme believe me I would never –” 

“That’s not what I meant” she cut him off, before he could fully fall into what she knew would be a long rant about his unwavering respect for her and her autonomy, seeing now how he could have misinterpreted her question “I know you said you’d never hurt me and I trust you to keep your word. All I want is for you to erase his presence. To replace him. Please. I won’t be able to do this on my own.” 

“I...” he hesitated, clearly not liking that idea either “Okay. Close your eyes” 

Unable to express just how grateful she was for the relief he was about to grant her, Padme wordlessly complied to his request, trying her best to remain calm and non-resistive as she felt his fingertips gently brushing against her temples. 

Hey, Angel. She heard his voice resounding through her thoughts, while his soothing presence washed over her senses like a warm breeze.  

I’m here now. It’s okay. I won’t let him hurt you ever again. You’re safe. You can relax. With each word he spoke Padme felt a mellow sort of fog engulfing her mind more and more, until suddenly she started to find it extremely hard to stay awake.  

Very good. Just like that. He praised her as her breathing slowly evened out and her body leaned heavily against his. Don’t fight it. Let the sleep take you. You deserve the rest.   

Before she fully drifted off into the sweet embrace of oblivion, Padme felt herself being lowered back onto the mattress and a pair of soft lips pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. 

Vader’s POV 

Looking down at the petite form of his future wife, sound asleep due to his own influence, the Sith couldn’t help but feel absolutely disgusted with himself for what he had just done.  

Starting from when he was still nothing more than a little slave boy from Tatooine, he always believed in free will and now suddenly there he was – freshly withdrawn from his Angel’s mind, after having enforced her with commands she was in no way able to refuse. 

I’ve done it for her. I didn’t want her to suffer. Vader tried to justify himself, arguing that after all that was exacty what she had asked him to do, entrusting that the things he’d make her do would be what was best for her, however, even though he had the best of intentions, he was also perfectly aware that at the moment she was in no state to make those kinds of decisions. I should have refused. Especially after what happened last time.  

Despite his ongoing streak of successful interrogations and the whispers about him supposedly penetrating the minds of his enemies to force them to surrender the secrets they so fiercely guarded, the truth was that apart from today he had only ever used that particular ability once before. Completely on accident. On the person he cared about most.  

Vader was still merely a youngling of a Sith apprentice when it happened. Still fairly new to the teachings of the dark side. Still inexperienced with controlling his anger.  

He and his mother were having a private conversation on one of the balconies of the Imperial palace, overlooking the vast city below, which at the time was one of the very few places they knew about without any wiretapping.  

Its details had long since faded from his memory, but she was begging him not to follow through with the mission his Master had recently assigned him, most likely regarding some kind of a genocide, just for her sake and something she had said sent him flying into a fit of rage. 

He vividly remembered screaming to her: If you want to die so badly how about you just jump!? And the next moment, she was already climbing over the railing.  

Fortunately, he had managed to catch her before she fell and then held her down until he was absolutely sure the effects of his compulsion had completely worn off. However, the thought of what would have happened if he hadn’t, kept him awake at night for the next couple of years. 

No one should have that much power over another person.  

Today he might have reached for it only to convince Padme to fall asleep, but who was there to tell if one day he wouldn’t decide to use it on her the way Sidious had intended? Like he had already done to so many girls before her... 

“Welcome back, my apprentice. I hope you’re prepared for our lesson” his Master smiled sadistically, watching with sick satisfaction as Vader fell to his knees before him, with his head bowed in complete submission the man had long since beaten into him. “Look at you – grovelling at my feet, like the good, little slave you are. The position suits you so well” he cooed, putting a hand on his head in a manner that by an untrained eye could've been mistaken for caring, if only he didn't use it to push it even lower right after. 

“I eagerly await your punishment, my Master, as I know very well, that I deserve it” he recited dutifully, having been through this routine a thousand times over already. 

“Yes, you do...” he trailed off, sending the tiniest jolt of energy through his body – merely a tease of what was about to come, but enough to make him flinch “And what have you done to deserve this?” 

“I’ve shown you an inadmissible lack of respect by interrupting your assessment of my bride, which I had no right to, as even though she is mine by name, just as every single thing in this Galaxy first and foremost she belongs to you” Vader forced the words he knew the man wanted to hear to fall from his mouth, absolutely hating how much he had to humiliate himself for his entertainment and barely holding back his urge to vomit, yet regardless doing his best to keep his face and voice as neutral as possible.  

“Well said, my boy” the praise he offered him didn’t even have time to properly resonate in his ears, before a wave of Force lightning surged through his veins and the room filled with the sound of his screams. 

The gruelling torture of a punishment dragged on for hours without end, every excruciating second of which Vader had spent perfectly conscious thanks to his Master skilfully regulating the level of pain he was inflicting on him, maximizing the amount of suffering he was causing him to the absolute fullest, while simultaneously keeping him at the very brink of slipping away. 

“I hope this experience will discourage you from repeating this sort of reprehensible behaviour in the near future” Sidious stated, at long last deciding that he had had enough fun for the day and stepping away from the smoking mess of burned clothes and charred flesh crumpled on the floor, that a few hours prior had been his almighty apprentice “After all, you know how much I despise to hurt you, my boy” 

Bullshit. You practically get off on it you sick bastard. The Sith thought, but what actually left his mouth, as agonizingly slowly he forced himself back to the kneeling position, was an obedient: “Yes, Master” 

“Good, you may go now” he said, waving his hand as a sign of dismissal and as fast as his numerous injuries allowed him to Vader practically rushed to the exit, anxious to get back to the gorgeous woman he’d left sleeping soundly in his bed, however before he could actually walk through the door, Sidious called after him “Ah, my apprentice, I have almost forgotten. For our next session we will go back to our standard form of punishment”  

What?! He exclaimed internally, flipping his head around to meet the sickly yellow gaze of the man he was forced to call a Master and a father in an instant, naively hoping that perhaps due to his pain-dazed state he had simply misheard what he had said. That if he steps out of line again, the only person to suffer the consequences would be himself. However the sheer cruelty and hunger for violence he found in there, quickly dispelled that hope, freezing the blood in his veins better than any memory of his freshly tortured mother currently flowing to the forefront of his mind ever could. 

“You should have never showed me that you care about her” 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

The next morning Padme awoke snuggled up against the warm body of her future husband, who she had heard coming back into the room at some point during the night and after letting out a pained groan fall straight onto the bed without even taking off his shoes.  

At the time however she had been far too tired to really do anything about it, so, with only a few seconds to spare before the merciless clutches of sleep dragged her right back into the realm of oblivion, she had done the only thing that came to her mind and simply scooted as close to him as she possibly could. The rest he had done all by himself. 

His right arm was wrapped around her torso, pulling her against him so tightly that there was absolutely no gap between their joint bodies, which he then guaranteed even more by entrapping her legs with his own. With no way for her break herself out of the prison of his embrace, his left arm could focus solely on her head, holding it close to his steady beating heart, while his fingers weaved themselves into her bushy curls. 

And although normally the intimate position she had found herself in should have completely abashed her, especially considering that the man she with was practically a stranger to her, Padme couldn’t help but wish he’d never let go. That she could stay with him like this forever, feeling his touch on her body and breathing in his scent, which as she had just noticed weirdly reminded her of... 

“Vader, why do you smell like a fireplace?” she murmured groggily, tilting her head slightly upwards to try and look him in the eyes. 

“Don’t worry about it, Angel. It’s nothing” he responded with a hoarse voice, dismissing her concerns and while it was quite obvious something was wrong, Padme didn’t get a chance to probe any further, as in hopes of distracting her, her fiancé began to roam his hands all around her body.  

And Force did it work. 

In a matter of seconds Padme had completely forgotten that there was even a question to begin with, too absorbed with all of the foreign sensations his caresses were causing her to feel. Especially the one growing between her legs.

“Mmm, don’t stop” she whimpered, arching her back like a tamed Lothcat, as his left hand once again dived into her hair and started to gently knead the skin of her scalp. 

“Needy, aren’t we?” Vader chuckled, a subtle note in his tone revealing he hadn’t been expecting just how well would respond to him. Perhaps even a little bit too well... 

“Only because it’s for you” she countered, shifting uncomfortably in his grip as an odd kind of pressure began to build in her lower abdomen – one she somehow knew this little bit of friction between them would never be able to alleviate, and before she could truly think about what she was doing Padme had already found herself climbing on top of him. “I’ll be so good for you too” she whispered, letting out a small, satisfied gasp as her most sensitive area made contact with the rock-hard bulge in his pants. 

And yet, despite feeling the evident manifestation of his arousal quite literally digging into her, when she leaned forward to kiss him, to her surprise, Vader pushed her away. 

“Angel, stop. We can’t” he said, the sobering sting of rejection hitting her like a bucket of cold water, making her suddenly feel extremely self-conscious about herself and her current position. 

What in the Force’s name was I thinking?! She squealed internally, blushing like the virgin she was as she frantically dismounted his hips, unable to stand the feel of... him for another second and, deciding that the best course of action right now would be to just remove herself from the uncomfortable situation, proceeded to make her escape, even though she knew that the farthest place she could actually go to was the fresher. 

Unfortunately, that attempt proved to be miserably unsuccessful, as before she had managed to even get off the bed, her fiancé, clearly having no intention to let her save whatever dignity she had left, grabbed her arm and pulled her back into his embrace. Although, to his credit, he was careful not to make her touch... that area of him again. 

“Padme, there is absolutely no reason to be embarrassed. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just...” he frowned, clearly finding himself at a loss for words, that would best explain why he did not appreciate a woman throwing herself at him without hurting her feelings. “I know it might feel like you want me right now, but the things Sidious and I, purposely or not, had imprinted in your mind might still affect you and if we were to do this now I... I guess I’d feel like I used you” he admitted, his voice shaking as if he regretted he’d let the situation go even this far and Padme immediately felt like slapping herself. 

She had been so consumed by him and his touch, that the thought of her actions being dictated by anything other than her own desires hadn’t even crossed her mind. However, now that he’d mentioned it, the memories of the events from the night before, that up until now due to his influence had remained buried under a heavy cloud of blissful forgetfulness, resurfaced:  

You want nothing more than to please him and bare his children. The Emperor had said and she accepted it as her divine revelation. Furthermore, she would have been more than happy to get on to it right then and there if he hadn’t instead directed her attention to himself. 

You’re safe. You can relax. Vader had said and although she knew he meant well, what if it had accidentally caused her reservations towards him to reduce? True, she had found him attractive before and some of their interactions had made her feel warm inside, but certainly not to a point where she was actually ready to just drop down her panties for him. 

And that made her question if the choice to get so close had really been hers to make. 

“I-I’m sorry” she apologised, not sure what she was even saying sorry for, but also having no clue what else she was supposed to do in this situation. 

“Right, as if having you so close was such a chore” he said playfully, before his face suddenly darkened from an emotion Padme was not quite able to name. “Perhaps now is not a very good time, however one day I will come to have you and when I do rest assured it will be the most magical night of your life” Vader promised her, his voice laced with the same emotion she previously saw on his face, which she had now finally identified as pure, insatiable lust. 

“Those are some pretty big words. I hope you will get to live up to the expectations” she challenged, knowing fully well that it was probably not the best idea, considering that not even a full minute ago he’d informed her that the desire she felt towards him might be the result of brainwashing, but she just couldn’t help herself – the urge to try and get him to snap was simply too irresistible “Does that mean I will also have to give you my best performance?” 

“Well, it would certainly be nice if I was not the only one making an effort” her fiancé laughed off the question, sadly too smart to fall into her trap “However, as long as I get to be with you I’m sure the night will be unforgettable regardless” he stated, brushing a loose curl behind her ear, already back to his sweet and charming self.  

“Vader?” Padme asked tentatively after a long while of comfortable silence, slowly dragging her index finger along the lines of his well-defined muscles. 

“Yes, Angel?” he prompted, her heart fluttering at the use of the nickname he’d given her. 

“Is it true what he said? That you’ve never...?” 

“It is” he cut in, already knowing what the rest of her question was about to be “And I’m not ashamed of it. I like to think that I was simply saving myself for someone special” 

“And you really think I’m that person?” she whispered shyly, too afraid of his response to look him in the eyes.  

Vader however quickly grabbed her chin, pointing it upwards until she finally met his intense gaze and confidently answered: 

“Definitely” 

For the next few days, Padme spent almost all of her time preparing for an engagement party the Emperor insisted on throwing for her and Vader. Or more accurately – simply informed them about it taking place in a week’s time and demanded their attendance. 

And since, as far as she knew, the media had not yet been notified of the identity of Vader’s fiancée, only that he had finally managed to find one, which meant this solemn occasion not only would be their first official appearance together, but also the time she would be formally introduced to the public, there was obviously a lot of pressure on her to make the best impression possible. 

First and foremost, she needed to stand out from the crowd, like a priceless jewel in the centre of the future Emperor’s crown, drawing all eyes and cameras onto herself the moment she stepped into the room. So, it was decided, that although the official dress code for any Imperial gathering required wearing different shades of either red or black, her dress would be made into a flowing river of silver. 

She would have probably immensely enjoyed the time she’d spent working on it with the seamstress, trying out different styles and fabrics to choose the ones that fitted her best, if it wasn’t for the Emperor, who, apparently having nothing better to do, had been accompanying her in this task almost the entire time. Not to mention, he had been the one making the final calls in terms of the design, which in the end caused it to be a very bold, yet still undeniably gorgeous, piece. 

When she wasn’t taking care of her dress, Padme spent her time getting familiarised either with a whole lot of reading materials on the royal protocol and etiquette, that she had been assigned, or the engagement party’s guest list complete with names and titles to memorize, both of which his Majesty then thoroughly tested her on. Every. Single. Evening. 

And as if having to repeatedly find herself in his close vicinity wasn’t bad enough, during the times of their meetings, Vader – the only person she knew could keep her safe from him, always seemed to have an extremely important, last-minute task, requiring his full, undivided attention, almost to a point where she began to suspect that the Emperor was finding it out for him on purpose, just so he could have some alone time with her. 

Princess Trios of Shu-Torun  

Senator Organa of Alderaan  

Senator Mothma of Chandrila  

Duchess Kryze of Mandalore  

Governor Tarkin of Eriadu  

Representative Clovis of...  

The names listed on the datapad before her second by second started to blend into one, big cluster of randomly placed letters, which her eyes simply skimmed over instead actually read them, as utter exhaustion from a whole day of hard work aggressively gnawed at her every cell, threatening to send her right into the realm of blissful unconsciousness if she as much as blinked for a millisecond longer than she should have. 

“Having a hard time staying awake?” Vader chuckled softly into her ear, having sneaked up to her from behind just in time to prevent her from slipping off her seat. 

“Is it that obvious?” she asked groggily, leaning back into his warm chest with a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, which only widened as he put a steaming hot cup of caff right in front of her on the desk. 

“Why won’t you just take a small break, Angel? You deserve it” he suggested, the offer sounding as alluringly tempting to her as if he’d once again used his mind magic on her, which in fact she really wished he did, because then that annoying little voice of reason in her head would have never forced her to reject it in favour of continuing to prepare herself for a meeting she had absolutely no desire to attend. 

“I can’t” she said, looking longingly towards their bed, where she could vividly picture herself curled up into a ball under a fuzzy blanket, peacefully resting by her fiancé’s side. “The Emperor is awaiting my presence in less than two hours and I still have over a hundred of those stupid names left to memorize” a frustrated huff left her throat as she buried her face in her hands, unable to stand looking at that Force damned datapad for another second without screaming. 

“Listen, Padme, I’ve been meaning to ask you...” Vader started, tracing soothing circles on her back “How do those ‘meetings’ of yours look like exactly?” 

“He hasn’t touched me if that’s what you’re concerned about!” she snapped at him a lot more harshly than she probably should have.  

After all, she knew his question wasn’t dictated by some sick kind of manly jealousy, but by genuine worry about her and her safety. However, it also touched on something Padme was not yet ready to admit, even before herself – a truth that in fact... she wasn’t sure. 

She did not remember him doing anything to her, but could she really trust her memory, when with a power like his, he could have easily altered it to suit his needs? It did not take him a lot of time and effort to convince her she wanted him more than anything else in the Galaxy, so what was there to stop him from planting this idea in her head, that they’d been simply talking when in reality... 

Force, each night when she was finally allowed to go back to her room she spent forever in front of the mirror, inspecting every inch of her skin to make sure there were absolutely no marks there that she couldn’t explain. 

However, she quickly realised that, whether baseless or not, those doubts were no excuse to vent on Vader “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that” 

“Don’t worry about it” he said, understanding as always. She really admired that quality about him.  

Before she got to know him better, Padme assumed that he would be this controlling type, easily falling into fits of anger, whenever she wouldn’t act the way he wanted her to. And yet he had surprised her in this aspect, always seemingly knowing what she meant and what to say, almost as if he was... Oh right – reading my thoughts.   

“Hey, don’t blame me. It’s not like I’m doing this on purpose” 

“You know, the least you could do is not react to them out loud” she said, in her mind quickly adding ‘asshole’ at the end of her sentence. 

“Okay. In that case I will pretend like I didn’t just hear that” Vader said with a bemused expression and right after they both burst out laughing. However, her own laughter soon turned into groans, once she remembered she should probably get back to work now. “You know you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, right?” 

“But I do” she slammed both of her hands on the desk, spilling a few drops of her mostly untouched caff “You were the heir to the Galaxy, ever since you turned what? Five? You’ve already had multiple occasions to earn your place. To show that you belong where you are. And I’m a nobody, who just came out of nowhere with no qualifications or experience whatsoever and people will suddenly be expected to bow to me like I’m your equal. I guess... I simply want to show them I deserve it” 

“If it was about what everyone deserves the Emperor’s body would long be rotting in a dumpster on some backwater planet in the Outer Rim and you would be marrying a much better person than I am...” Vader paused, taking a deep breath to steady the notable trembling in his voice “I guess what I’m trying to say is that you have to decide where you belong and then simply act like you do. The others will play along” he said and although Padme did not appreciate him being so terribly self-deprecating, she had to admit that his statement really got to her. 

Because, after all, why should she care about what anyone else thought about her, when at the end of the day it was entirely Vader’s choice who to marry and make his Empress? It did not matter in the slightest if before all this she had been a princess or a pauper. Now she was his and if he accepted her the way she was, then sooner or later so would the Galaxy.  

“And what do you think you deserve?” she asked, noting that previously he had purposely omitted himself.

“I don’t know” he answered, brushing a loose curl behind her ear “But I know what I want to deserve” 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

The grand ballroom of the Imperial Palace was packed to the very brim, as literally anyone of even the slightest note in the Galaxy appeared to have shown up to celebrate the royal engagement of the Emperor’s successor and the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces – Darth Vader to... his lovely bride. That was the only thing Padme had been referred to as all evening, which was increasingly starting to get on her nerves. 

This whole party had been organised in their joint honour and yet everyone here treated her like she was nothing more than some kind of a sparkling decoration meant to adorn Vader’s arm.  

“She is absolutely gorgeous, my Lord. You have a wonderful taste in women” some low-ranking officer, whose name Padme had already managed to forget, commented, just like the countless others before him – never addressing her directly, talking like she wasn’t even there and acting as if a couple of fake smiles and compliments could magically get them into her fiancé’s good graces.  

Her fiancé... what a weird way to already call a man that she’d known for only a week. Whom in two more it would be even weirder to call her husband.

However, no matter the name, right now she wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to be here with her in his place. 

In this crazy mix of bodies twirling on the dancefloor, envious glances, backhanded comments, the chime of glasses and deafening music reverberating in her ears he was her rock and her refuge.  

At all times one of his arms was tightly wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his warm side and thus ensuring he was the only one in her personal space, while the other held onto a champagne flute Padme hadn’t seen him take a sip from once. She on the other hand... 

“Maybe we could go dance?” she suggested, figuring that if the room around her kept spinning then perhaps so should she. 

“Are you sure you’ll be able to stay straight on your feet?” he asked teasingly, evidently humoured by her drunken state and then even more by a displeased pout that spread across her face. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” she responded, confidently taking a step forward to show him how wrong he was... only to instantly trip over her own heels. 

“I think you do” her fiancé chuckled, catching her with ease and pulling her back to his side before any of the guests could notice something was off. “How about I take you to the balcony to get some fresh air instead?” he proposed, already gently nudging her in that direction and recognising that was probably for the best, as although all she really wanted to do was to was to numb her overwhelming anxiety, at the rate she was currently going, she was on the right path to overdo it and make a complete fool of herself, Padme did not resist. 

The indescribable relief, brought by the brush of the sobering cold night’s air she felt on her skin the moment she and Vader stepped out onto the balcony, was enough to cause an involuntary moan to tear from her throat, overshadowing everything else to the point where she hardly even noticed when her body began to shiver and her teeth started to chatter.  

Her fiancé though was another story. 

“Forgive me. I completely forgot your dress was designed to look pretty rather than to keep you warm” he apologised and like a true gentleman he was, draped his own cape around her shoulders. 

“Well, it’s a good thing I have you for that then” she countered, the words falling from her mouth faster than her mind could actually process what she was saying and when it finally did it was already too late to take it back. 

Way to go, girl. Padme thought, internally cursing herself, the alcohol and whatever bubbly feeling this man’s presence made her feel inside as she leaned against the marble balustrade and stared out into the sky, too embarrassed with what she had said to look him in the eyes. 

Vader however didn’t seem to be bothered at all. Quite the contrary actually... 

“Always” he whispered into her ear in a low, seductive voice, as he came up behind her, pressing his palms against the balustrade, effectively entrapping her between his body and the stone, however still allowing her enough space to move or slip away if she wished to do so. 

Little did he know, escaping from him was the last thing she wanted to do tonight. 

Surrendering to desire pumping in her blood Padme spun on her heel to face him and the look she saw in his golden eyes, devouring her very self with a mixture of complete adoration and untamable lust, only fueled her to go forward.

Her body pressed into him fully. Her arms wrapped around his neck. Her fingers weaved into his hair.  

And yet for some reason, his hands remained glued to the balustrade. 

“Vader?” she whimpered, confused as to why he wasn’t responding to her advances when she could both see and feel just how much her wanted her right now. 

“Force... You have no idea what I would give to touch you” he muttered, seemingly more to himself than to her, showing a disappointingly admirable amount of restraint for someone with literally nothing in his path to stop him from getting what he desired, while at the same time not having enough of it to simply move away. 

“Why won’t you then? I’m right here” she said, drawing a sharp hiss from his throat as she wiggled her body back and forth, partly because she had hoped that feeling the friction between them would prompt him to give into his yearnings and partly because with how much pressure was building inside her she simply couldn’t stay still anymore. 

“I don’t believe it would be proper, my Lady. There are a lot of people here that could see us” he responded, regretfully casting his eyes towards the door leading back to the ballroom, where hundreds of people, completely oblivious to the intimate scene they could witness if they had only glanced in the right direction, were still twirling on the dancefloor. 

“And why would you let that stop you?” Padme challenged, having no idea what in the name of the Force had compelled her to say something so incredibly bold. 

Perhaps it was the alcohol talking or maybe whatever this was had been sitting somewhere inside her for a while and only now had she found the courage to actually pursue it. Not that it really mattered anyway. The die had been cast and what happened next was entirely up to her fiancé. 

“I see...” he muttered, a devilish grin curving his lip as his hands finally rested on her body “Would you like them to watch me touch you, Angel? Have them see you coming undone on my fingers? Would it turn you on? We can put on a show for them if you want...”  

His lips ghosted along the exposed skin of her neck. The tips of his fingers almost imperceptibly brushed against the sides of her arms. However, even this little bit of contact was enough to turn her thoughts into mush, rendering her unable to formulate a coherent response. 

And so, with a pathetic whine breaking from her throat, Padme only tugged at his tunic. 

“Well... who would have thought an innocent little creature like you could possibly have such wicked fantasies. I certainly had no idea” he chuckled, yet his words held no trace of mockery. 

He wanted this, perhaps even more than she did. The desire practically dipping from his voice already told her that much. He was simply toying with her. Like a predator sometimes did with their prey right before sinking their teeth into their flesh.  

“Vader, please” she whimpered, as the pressure building in the pit of her stomach began to grow unbearable and after grabbing at his hand in an act of desperation, forcefully guided it to where she needed it most. 

“Whatever my Angel wishes” he whispered, eagerly surrendering to her request and Padme felt excitement buzzing in her blood, as his fingers dived in through the leg slit of her dress, gently caressing the skin of her thigh, before moving on to trace the rim of her underwear. 

However, just as he was about to slip them in further someone behind them suddenly cleared their throat. 

“My Lord?” a stormtrooper inquired with a hint of hesitation, likely aware of what he had just walked in on them doing. 

Okay, who am I even kidding? He would have to be completely blind not to figure it out. Padme shrieked internally, the shame of being caught in the act colouring her cheeks a furious shade of red. 

For all her bold words, this was a very vulnerable moment for her and she did not have the slightest desire to share it with anyone other than Vader. 

Moreover, if they were to be left alone again, she would be lying if she said she’d be willing to continue where they’d left off. The mood was just utterly ruined. 

“What?!” Vader snapped at the unwanted intruder, his voice shaking, just as the rest of his body. 

“I-I’m sorry to disturb you, s-sir, but the Emperor d-demands your presence. I-Immediately” he stuttered, cowering in fear under the Sith’s furious stare, most likely expecting to lose his head for literally cockblocking his superior. 

“Tell him I’ll be right there” he snarled through his teeth and although it was quite clear that as he spoke in his mind he was brutally murdering both of the men, he made no move to actually act on it. 

“At once, my Lord” the stormtrooper blurted out, extremely surprised he’d get to make it out of this alive and scoured away to pass on the message without a moments delay, unwilling to give her fiancé a chance to change his mind. 

Before Vader ultimately bid her goodbye to go see what his stepfather had in store for him, he suggested that for the sake of appearances it would be best if she returned to the ballroom and waited for him to get back there, to which, although the prospect of being left alone in a crowd of two-handed strangers, ravenous to get into the good graces of the next Emperor made her skin crawl, Padme reluctantly agreed. 

Lucky for her, however, without her fiancé present by her side not many people were especially eager to approach her, as, after all, what was the point in sucking up to the person, whose relevance would be limited solely to being an incubator for future heirs. 

She was actually just about to go look for the bathroom, even if simply to take a small break from just standing there like a post only to be continuously ignored by her own guests when she suddenly heard someone calling her from behind. And surprisingly not by her title. 

Curious to see who it was, Padme turned around and almost collided face first with the chest of a tall, handsome man around her age, with short, black hair and yellow tattoos on his temples, who she did not recognise. At least not immediately. However, who could really blame her? After all, she had not seen him in years.  

“Rush!” she exclaimed with a bright smile spreading across her face, as she came in for a hug, extremely happy to see at least one person here that she was actually familiar with “Force, what are you doing here?” 

“Well... You’re looking at the official representative of the Banking Clan” he announced, proudly puffing out his chest. 

“But I didn’t see your name on the guest list” she stated confused, her mind quickly going through the list the Emperor made her memorize, which only solidified her conviction that the name of the representative in question was ‘Clovis’, not ‘Williams’. 

“Yeah, I’ve changed it to my stepfather’s after my mother remarried, and he adopted me. That’s why I had to move away from Naboo” he explained curtly, and Padme felt a bit ashamed for never bothering to find out what had happened to him, even if her decision wasn’t entirely unjustified. 

Right before his move their relationship had been going through quite a rough patch, so when he left without so much as saying goodbye, she took it as a sign he simply didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore. And decided to honour his choice. 

“That must’ve been very difficult for you. You know, with such a big jump up the power ladder” 

“I could say the same about you, Lady Vader ” he stated teasingly, however something in the way he said her new title, sounding almost like he was spewing an offence to the Force itself, didn’t entirely sit right with her. 

“Oh, please. Not you too” Padme groaned, covering her face with her hands, deciding to ignore the odd feeling his tone had aroused in her, as even if it did seem a bit off, the last thing she wanted right now was for their conversation to go on the official side. “I still can’t get used to the sound of that” 

“Sorry, I had to” Rush laughed with the exact same boyish grin on his face, that she used to love so much back when they were still together, causing her to slip straight into the state of security she had always felt around him. “Hey, I was wondering...” he started tentatively. “Would you like to get out of here for a moment, so we could catch up somewhere a little... quieter?” 

“That’s actually a really good idea. I could definitely use a break. How about we go to the gardens? I know a place there that –” 

“I was actually thinking more about the sitting room connected to my quarters in the East Wing” he said, quite rudely interrupting her sentence, to which she wasn’t sure if he had been listening to in the first place. 

“Oh, I don’t know” she hesitated, mindful of the small, red light that went off in her head. “Vader will probably be back soon, and I wouldn’t want him to –” 

“Come on, Padme. Don’t make me beg you. After what happened between us you owe me that much” he stated, impatiently extending his hand to her, one she knew she should have immediately rejected, as, after all, it wasn’t exactly proper for her to be completely alone in a room with a man that was not her fiancé.  

However, Rush had always possessed the ability to play on her emotions, exploiting her guilt and good heart to get her to do exactly what he wanted her to. And this time was no exception.  

His words hit their mark perfectly. 

Back when they were still in school, thanks to her good looks, the boys in their class had been practically killing each other for a chance to go out with her and when the word got out that the esteemed title of her boyfriend had gone to Rush, whom they considered to be the most undeserving of it of them all, to get rid of the competition they all collectively decided to start bullying him. 

Smelly sandwiches were being left in his jacket and locker. Nasty messages were being passed to him during lessons. He was often pushed on the corridors and beaten behind the school grounds. And for a really long time he didn’t care. 

That, however, changed the day Padme accidentally let it slip to one of her friends, that he wasn’t exactly wealthy. 

He had always been very insecure about his material status, doing absolutely everything in his power to hide it from every single person he knew. So, when all of a sudden everyone started to call him ‘poor boy’ and he found out that she was the cause of the leak... it was safe to say he went feral. 

It only went downhill from there, ushering their relationship into the so-called ‘rough patch’ and ever since Padme had wanted nothing more than to atone for her deed.  

Which was why, against her better judgement, she decided to take his hand. 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

“So... how have you been, Rush?” Padme asked, wrapping her arms around herself in a clear sign of nervousness and discomfort as her gaze swept around the room she’d been brought to. 

Just like the rest of the Imperial Palace its interior design, although undeniably tasteful and elegant was kept in a minimalistic fashion, which meant no extravagant patterns adoring the walls and floors, no unnecessary decorations cluttering the space and no crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. 

If they had come here during the day time, sunlight pouring in through the row of floor-length windows to her left would have been more than enough to illumiate the room, however now, with the moon shining high in the sky, this role was instead served by the flames burning bright in the fireplace to her right, in front of which stood two large, plush sofas separated from each other by a glass table, and a few scones sparsely scattered along the walls, though their light seemed to have been purposely dimmed, most likely to create a somewhat cozy mood. 

“Well, you know, I didn’t have it easy. After all, I was just a poor peasant from Naboo amongst the children of the elite” he started, and it took absolutely everything in Padme’s power not to roll her eyes. 

She had always hated it when he would fall into a self-inferiority tirade about how bad he had it in life, because while it was true, that his family was on the lower end of the financial pyramid, no one on Naboo was ever actually poor.  

He had a house to live in, a bed to sleep in, food to put on his plate, running water in the tap, clean clothes to wear and did not have to work to earn any of it, which was already far more than some of the children from planets far in the Outer Rim could say for themselves. But that had never been good enough for him. He had always wanted more.  

“No one had especially high hopes for me – not my teachers, not my peers, not even my own mother” he continued. “But then I proved them all wrong. I was so brilliant that my stepfather named me his successor over his three biological sons” 

“Wow... You two must’ve been really close then” she mused, genuinely impressed by his story, however since she didn’t know much about the Banking Clan's structure and heritage customs, kept in mind to take his words with a little bit of reserve. Especially that Rush had always had a habit of exaggerating things. 

It was, after all, entirely possible that his stepbrothers had been offered a place at their father’s side and simply refused, uninterested to follow in his footsteps or had established their own bank branches and did not need someone else’s... 

“Not really” he said, oblivious to her scepticism and hence going on uninterrupted. “However, as long as I exceeded, he always made sure to give me whatever I wanted”  

The corners of his lips curved up in a smile that might have indicated he was recalling a pleasant memory if only a predatory sort of gleam, that caused a cold shiver to run down her spine hadn’t suddenly appeared in his eyes. 

“The only time he has ever denied me was when I literally begged him to marry you” 

“What?” she whispered, instantly on edge, but nevertheless trying to keep her composure. 

That unfortunately got a whole lot harder after she realised that her only way out of this room would require her to get through him first.  

“I’ve never forgotten you, Padme. And I know for a fact that you’ve never forgotten me, because otherwise you would have never agreed to come here with me” he cooed, clearly meaning to soothe her like one would a little, scared animal, so it would not try to scurry away as he approached to touch it.  

Which to her horror, ever so slowly, he began to do.  

“Rush, I’m sorry if my behaviour gave you the wrong idea, but, as you very well know, I’m engaged” she said, hoping the mention of her marital status would bring him to his senses and dissuade him from... whatever he planned to do to her without needlessly resorting to using her fiancé’s actual name, which in this case the man before her would most likely perceive as a threat. 

A threat they both knew right now she had no means to carry out.  

Because as utterly terrifying as Vader might be, he wasn’t here.  

“Right... How could I possibly forget the Lord Big and Scary” he sneered, rolling his eyes as if her fiancé’s existence was merely a small inconvenience in his way of getting with her – a goal she finally understood he would stop at nothing to achieve.   

And so, with her hopes of de-escalating the situation gone, Padme finally started to back away. 

“Come on, darling. We both know his interest in your relationship ends on putting his brat into you” he continued, strangely unresponsive to her retreat, which given that it was a clear sign of rejection, she had expected would provoke a rather explosive reaction.  

Or at least she had thought it to be strange, until she realised that the reason behind it was, that there was no point in doing so as she was on the right path to where he ultimately wanted her anyway – his bedroom. 

“You have no idea what you’re talking about” she spat, aware that in her current situation acting docile probably would have been the smarter thing to do, but regardless unable to stifle the embers of rage that his statement had sparked in her heart. 

Of course, she hadn’t expected him or anyone in the Galaxy for that matter to think a man like Vader would marry for anything other than his own, selfish goals: to provide himself with a legitimate heir to one day inherit his throne, and as a nice bonus, a pretty face to make his nights more enjoyable, as before she had gotten to know him she herself had assumed the exact same thing. 

However, Rush of all people – a man about to force himself on a woman, who he had lured to his quarters with a false promise of reconciliation between two old friends, just because he had deluded himself into taking her compliance for consent, had no right to judge her fiancé or his supposed motives. 

“Please, don’t tell me you’re dumb enough to believe he actually has feelings for you” he groaned, looking at her as if he couldn’t decide whether she was actually that pathetic or merely putting on an act for the sake of some elaborate joke that he just didn’t get. 

And although Padme was extremely tempted to start arguing in defence of her relationship, feeling a tremendous need to prove she wasn’t merely a lovesick fool, too caught up in her own fantasy of the man she had picked for herself to see that he was in fact a piece of crap, unworthy of even a minute of her time, she answered him with silence, seeing no point in trying to change the mind of someone far too self-absorbed to comprehend what she had with Vader. 

Especially that even she didn’t quite know what it was. 

“Oh, silly... You’re in for a heartbreak” he cooed, his tone condescending as ever – similar to this a parent would have used to lecture their child that no, that handsome lifeguard hadn’t fallen madly in love with them because of their brand new tooka bathing suit.  

Which as she thought about it, even back when they were still in school, was the exact role he desperately wanted to impose on her – someone significantly lesser than himself both in physical strength and intelligence, who would look up to him as he lead them through life, so he could appease his own inferiority complex. 

A role Padme absolutely refused to play into. 

“Stop” she demanded in the most Empress-like tone she could muster, however seeing that Rush was starting to get dangerously close and knowing that if she did not want to continue down the path to his bedroom, which she certainly did not want to do, she would soon run out of space to evade him, the confidence she had managed to ignite within herself quickly dissipated both from her voice and her posture. 

“I saw you two, you know? On the balcony...” he continued, completely disregarding her feeble demand, which considering their current power dynamic they were both aware she was in no position to make. “How this man-beast trapped you against the balustrade. How he shoved his filthy hands underneath your skirt. Bet you loved that, you little butcher-fucker” 

The way he kept insulting Vader, as if the atrocities he’d committed at the Emperor’s orders were somehow incomparably worse than what he intended to do out of his own, free will angered her more than any nasty name thrown her way ever could. 

Unfortunately, however, at the moment Padme had far more pressing matters to worry about than lecturing him about morality and double standards. 

“Rush, back off! You’re too close!” she shrieked, shuddering as her back finally met a wall. And his body pinned her to it. 

“But...” he trailed off, tracing his thumb along her lower lip with a victorious grin on his face, as he pushed his groin into her, letting her feel just how much it enthralled him to have her like this. 

Cornered. Defenceless. Completely at his mercy. 

“I’m sure you’ll love when I do it even more” he muttered in a low voice, his eyes darkening with desire as the tips of his fingers brushed against the bare skin of her thigh and quickly wandered up to the rim of her underwear, the exact same way Vader’s did on the balcony. 

Only this time there was no one around to stop him from slipping them in further. 

“Rush! Rush, no!” she screamed, flailing her arms in an attempt to push him off of her, however her scream was muffled by his mouth clamping over her own and her arms he’d caught and pinned above her head, leaving her with nothing else to do but to close her eyes shut and brace for the imminent, unwanted intrusion. 

An intrusion that to her surprise never came. 

Instead, his weight was suddenly lifted from her body to the accompaniment of a furious roar ringing through the room. 

Vader’s POV 

As it turned out the matter of utmost importance for which Vader had to immediately abandon everything (and everyone) he was doing was, in reality, just a last-minute military board meeting regarding the distribution of a brand new Tie Fighter model, that his Majesty ultimately didn’t even attend and that could have just as easily taken place without his presence too. 

Seriously, it’s almost as if that snake sensed I finally started to enjoy myself at that stupid party and took it upon himself to ruin my mood. The Sith grumbled in his thoughts as he stormed back to the ballroom outrageous forty-five minutes later.  

However, if that was truly the case, then the Emperor was going to be deeply disappointed, as after the wonderful little encounter he had on the balcony with his breathtakingly stunning fiancée the man could have literally dragged him through mud and he still would have come back here with a smile on his face, having already promised himself that as soon as he found her again he would steal her away to his quarters and continue right where they left off. 

Ugh. Simply thinking about it made his pants feel far too tight to contain his excitement...  

Which unfortunately quickly died down when, after a quick sweep of the room, he discovered that his Angel wasn’t present among the guests. 

And although of course he was aware that there could be a hundred different reasons behind her absence, instead of trying to rule out the most obvious ones by checking if she hadn’t just wandered off to the gardens or the bathroom before jumping to conclusions, overcome by a bad feeling Vader immediately assumed the worst. 

What if Sidious had purposely lured him away from Padme so he could have some alone time with her himself? 

At first glance the thought seemed completely preposterous. After all, even considering that the bastard had taken a particular liking to her, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t had plenty of opportunities to get with her before, so why would he pick tonight of all nights to do so? 

However, nearly everything else – how in the past few days he’d gone to great lengths to keep her as close to him as possible, how he’d summoned him under a falsely important pretence and left to Force only knew where right after he’d shown up, indicated that this was indeed the case. 

“Trooper, has anyone seen my fiancée?” he asked, coming up to the party’s chief of security, having figured it was a much better course of action, than going out of his mind with worry while frantically continuing to look for her on his own. 

“I believe she left a while ago, accompanied by representative Clovis of the Banking Clan” the man reported dutifully and while Vader was relieved to hear that it wasn’t in fact his Master, who she had left with, the information that the trooper provided still set off alarm bells in his head. 

He was fairly certain he had never heard this name before in his life nor had his Angel ever mentioned she personally knew any of the guests, so the question was – why would she be willing to just leave with this Clovis person? 

“And no one thought to go after them?” the Sith snarled through his teeth, truly astonished how this soon-to-be corpse could just stand there, acting like everything was in perfect order, while the betrothed of his future Emperor was missing. 

“W-well...” he stuttered, cowering under the furious stare of his superior, both of them aware that the answer to his question was far from what one could call satisfactory. 

“Where did they go?” Vader asked with a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, unsure why he was still entertaining this conversation, when it was fairly obvious that the man wouldn’t be able to tell him that either, but alas foolishly hoping that a person who had managed to claw their way up to such a high position couldn’t possibly be that incompetent. 

Foolishly indeed... 

“I’m... not sure, sir” the trooper choked out, perfectly aware that the best-case scenario was that he had just said goodbye to his job and worst – his head. 

“You’re not sure?! Do you have any idea how serious of a security breach this is?!” he yelled, drawing the curious gazes of everyone around him, however he hardly cared whether he was making a spectacle out of himself or not. 

Because the real spectacle would start when in just a few moments the imbecile before him along with every single guard on duty that night would one by one fall victim to his merciless blade. 

“S-sir, I j-just got a c-confirmation from the surveillance s-staff, that t-they both went to the r-representative’s quarters in the E-East Wing about t-ten minutes...” the man stammered, having frantically typed something into his datapad, unknowingly postponing his and his colleagues’ execution by an additional hour or so, as before he even finished his sentence Vader had already bolted out of the ballroom, refusing to waste another second on him when every fibre of his being told him that his fiancée was in great danger. 

Sprinting through the corridors of the Imperial Palace towards the East Wing, Vader did his best to prepare himself for what he might find in the representative’s quarters, going through countless different scenarios – from an innocent catch-up between old friends to a violent assault, preceded by drugging, however all of those preparations went to shit, when, as he ran up to the door, he heard Padme’s terrified scream coming from the inside. 

“Rush! Rush, no!” 

That name... I know that name... A low snarl reverberated through his thoughts – not his own, but that of the beast that had long laid dormant in his heart and now, awakened by his rage, was slowly clawing its way to the surface, to aid its master in his quest to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.  

And to punish the fool that had dared to try and take it for himself. 

However, greeted by the sight of his Angel pinned to a wall by a man much bigger and stronger than her, with his mouth clamping over hers and his hands invading the areas only he had the right to touch the moment he burst inside, the Sith realised that ‘punish’ was too gentle of a term for what he was about do to this son of a bitch. 

In his case ‘obliteration’ seemed far more fitting. 

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” he roared, ripping the man off of his defenceless fiancée with what to the naked eye could have appeared to be a simple flick of his wrist, when in reality the said ‘flick’ had been merely an extension of the merciless Force grip Vader had tightened around his throat.

The gurgling sounds coming from it as he struggled to breathe during the glorious few seconds his executioner allowed him to just dangle in front of him, right before violently hurling him to the ground with a loud thud had been like music to his ears. 

One that he knew would pale in comparison to the sound of his screams when he would soon start to dismember him, making sure to pay extra attention to the most... eager part of him, before moving on to his less sensitive limbs. 

However, as he began to approach his prey with his infamous red blade already burning bright in his hand, his Angel unexpectedly blocked his path. 

“Vader, no” she whimpered weakly. The poor thing still hadn’t had time to recover from the attack and probably wasn’t thinking straight. 

“Get out of my way, Padme” he demanded, perhaps a little harsher than he should have, considering the trauma she had just suffered, but the beast within him had already been unleashed for good and it wasn’t easy to stifle its bloodthirsty cravings. 

Once he was done ripping that poor excuse of a man to pieces, he would have plenty of time to comfort and take care of her, for now, though, he really needed her to move, or he’d risk taking his anger out on her too. 

“Please... You can’t do this” she insisted, having clearly heard the warning note in his voice and yet for reasons beyond his understanding consciously continuing to plead for mercy for the scumbag who mere minutes ago was about to rape her. 

Because, that was what was about to happen... right? She didn’t want it. He heard her yelling at him to stop. Unless that was just his mind playing tricks on him. After all, she did willingly come here with him...  

“I said get out of my way!” he snarled, taking a step closer to her with his lightsaber still switched on in his hands, desperately wanting her out of his sight before the beast could convince him to do something he would later regret. 

His Angel, however, perhaps because of the deep trust she had developed towards him or just a complete lack of survival instinct decided to stand her ground, effectively pushing his restraints to its breaking point with a single, hard: “No” 

How dare she oppose your order?! Make her pay! Make her regret! The beast growled, unleashing the slithery tendrils of the dark side to coil around her throat, poised to choke that unacceptable defiance out of his soon-to-be wife if only he said the word. 

And yet, no matter how – as ashamed as he was to admit it – alluring of a vision it was in his current, fury-engulfed state, Vader still couldn’t bring himself to hurt her. 

So, he figured that if he wanted to get through and she didn’t want to move, the next best way to resolve this little conflict of wills would be to simply move her himself. 

“What are you –“ she squeaked, as her feet suddenly floated off the ground, but the Sith didn’t even give her a chance to finish her sentence before hurling her all the way to the other side of the room and, as gently as he could, dropping her onto one of the sofas, hoping that this little demonstration would successfully dissuade her from trying to interfere again. 

“Now that we have this all sorted out...” he trailed off with a predatory grin on his face as he once again began to advance the representative, who in the meantime had managed to get himself back on his feet. 

“Why won’t you try fighting like a man without your magic tricks” he challenged and as utterly foolish of a suggestion as it was on his part, Vader had to admit that actually getting his hands dirty for a change did sound tempting...  

“It would be my pleasure” he chuckled, tossing his weapon aside and immediately after landing a solid blow straight to the man’s jawline, sending him right back to the floor, which he then quickly followed with few powerful kicks to the ribs. 

When it became clear that Clovis would not be getting back up on his own, to make the fun last a little longer the Sith grabbed him by the collar and as if he were nothing more than a mere duffle bag threw him against the nearest wall. The impact must’ve been painful, but this move had given him enough time to rise to his feet before his opponent could close the distance between them once more. 

“Both of you stop this!” Padme screamed, as he broke through the laughably pathetic guard the man had brought up and resumed the extremely enjoyable process of remodelling his face. 

“You don’t have a say in this!” he snarled, snapping his head along with all of his focus towards his fiancée, who only further infuriated him with her attempt to interrupt their little fight (if it could even be called that), yet he was pleased to see that, having apparently learned her lesson, she at least did so from a reasonable distance. 

Meanwhile, using his opponent’s momentary distraction to his advantage, Clovis finally managed to land his first blow. 

However, he didn’t get the chance to enjoy this small victory for long, because having drawn the Sith’s attention to himself once more, he was soon enough sent flying across the room and landed straight onto the glass table, shattering it on impact. 

“You should accept that Padme has other interests than you” the man coughed out weakly, his body most likely already giving out from the numerous injuries he had sustained, now compounded by multiple puncture wounds caused by the sharp shards that had pierced his skin. 

“And why would she be interested in a lowly banker when she can have the next Emperor?” Vader snorted without even a shred of insecurity in his voice, for why should he – the heir to the throne, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces, the Dark Lord of the Sith, not to mention one of the most powerful Force users to ever live – feel insecure in comparison of a being so far beneath him?  

He approached him. Slowly. Deliberately. Like an executioner drawing near the gallows.  

Then he mounted him and dealt a blow. And another. And another... 

The world around him completely melted away, leaving only him, his victim and the beast purring with delight in his ear at every one of his tortured screams and every sound of a breaking bone. 

He had been so utterly consumed that he failed to sense that Padme, in her attempt to pull him off had come too close, until his elbow, drawn back in full swing to deal yet another blow, collided with her face, sending her falling flat onto the floor. 

Having forgotten all about his previous murderous cravings, Vader immediately found himself by her side, staring with horror at the damage he’d done – a big, purple bruise already beginning to form on her cheek and a trickle of blood dripping from her nose. 

However, what broke him the most was how she flinched away from his touch as he tried to comfort her. 

“Padme. Angel. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It was an accident. You know I would never hurt you, right?” the Sith kept muttering over and over again, wanting nothing more in that moment than to take her into his arms and never let go, yet each time he got close enough to so much as reach for her, she just kept recoiling from him 

“Don’t touch me!” she shrieked, her gaze fixed in horror on his hands, which as he only now realised were covered in the warm blood of the man for whom, no matter what had happened here today, she once had feelings. 

“You hurt her” Clovis spat out along with a few of his teeth. “You fucking monster you hurt h –“   

If before his death the man had managed to finish his sentence, the blood gushing from his lungs, crushed to a pulp by Vader’s will, effectively drowned it out. 

This final act, however, although marking his victory, brought him no satisfaction whatsoever as a split second later his Angel’s terrified, blood-curdling screams flooded the world around him. 

Chapter Text

Vader’s POV 

Having been able to do nothing but watch the love of his life completely falling apart right in front of him with no one else to blame but himself, and then with her state deteriorating by the second having been forced to call in the medics and hold her thrashing form down while they sedated her, Vader thought that the worst of it was already behind them. 

He’d hoped that once she finally woke up, the shock she experienced due to witnessing the brutal murder of the man, who moments prior had tried to assault her and getting caught in the crossfire of their fight would have long worn off and they could have a calm conversation about what had happened, in which he could explain why he reacted the way he did, convince her the man got exactly what he deserved if not less and of course apologise for what he’d accidentally done to her. 

However, the moment Padme opened her eyes and saw him leaning over her, she was immediately overcome by a fit of hysteria so severe, that the Sith had no other choice but to call in the medics again, who, when after a hell of a struggle finally made her slip back into blissful unconsciousness, reluctantly suggested, that perhaps the next time his fiancée came to her senses, it would be for the best if he wasn’t present in the room. 

And although acknowledging the fact that he was the one causing his Angel distress absolutely broke him, recognizing he had no right to make this situation about himself and his feelings, he had decided to not only follow their advice, but also take it a step further and withhold himself from seeing her completely, until she decided she was ready. 

For two whole excruciating days he went on holding firm to his resolution, limiting their ‘interactions’ to reading her medical reports, graciously provided to him by her assigned doctors and occasionally brushing past her door to be able to pick up on some of her thoughts in hopes of understanding what about him and his presence was bothering her so much to trigger such explosive reactions. 

And what he had found broke him even more. 

Clovis was laying on the cold ground, his face disfigured beyond recognition, his massacred body spasming as his own blood gurgling in his throat slowly made his world go darker and darker...  

It would not be long now until all life fleeted from him completely.   

However, even in those last few moments he had left in this world, there would be no peace for him. Not with the dark, menacing figure looming over him, determined to make him feel nothing but pain and suffering until the very end.  

“This is what happens when someone dares to touch what is mine” the figure said, its voice – his own voice, Vader realised – booming through the room, as he pressed his merciless red blade into his groin, where the still perfectly innervated remains of his dick were practically begging to be scorched off just like the rest of his former length, forcing his vocal cords to produce more of the delightfully agonized gurgles.  

“It’s all my fault. I should have never come here with him” Padme wept quietly, huddled in the corner of the room, watching the body of the man she once had feelings for convulse one final time, before stilling forever.  

“You’re right, my Angel, you shouldn’t have” his imitation spoke, having finally dealt with the now cooling corpse, turning his full, undivided attention to his fiancée, who he began slowly advance towards with the sort of glint in his eyes, that betrayed the beast within him hadn’t been sated yet.  

“He might have touched what did not belong to him, but you are the one that allowed it. And you would have let him do much more than that if I wasn’t here to interfere. Which makes you just as guilty as he was” he cooed, his voice jarringly gentle compared to his words, sounding similar to as if a butcher was trying to soothe a little, scared lamb by calmly explaining how he would soon slaughter her.  

“I’m sorry” she choked out a terrified sob, a desperate plea for mercy pouring from her eyes along with a torrent of tears, but unfortunately, none of it made even the slightest impression on him.  

“I know you are, Angel...” he muttered, kneeling before her now trembling form “But that still doesn’t change the fact that you deserve to be punished. You understand that, right?”  

Padme did not answer, at least not right away, and he didn’t push her, patiently waiting for her to accept the inevitable consequences of her inexcusable behaviour, thereby agreeing that she indeed deserved them, as after all there was no point to a punishment if the one being punished did not see themself as the sole reason behind their suffering.  

And so, he continued to wait, using the time provided to him by her indecision to best prepare her for the oncoming pain, stroking her hair in a reassuring manner or brushing away the fearful tears she had shed until finally, with a single nod, she surrendered herself to his judgement.  

“Good. I hope this experience will help you remember who you belong to” his imitation said, pressing a delicate kiss to her lips, which she practically melted into, desperate to feel all the comfort he was willing to offer her, before he’d assume the role of her punisher, but when he finally pulled away... his face began to glitch.  

Faster than Vader could blink it kept changing its features from his to Clovis’, from Clovis’ to Sidious’ and from Sidious’ to those of several different men, young and old alike, that the Sith had never seen before, but it did not take a genius to figure out that they must’ve been all the others, who had ever harassed or assaulted his fiancée.  

“Let’s get started, shall we?” the figure asked, his voice a chorus of all of their voices at once.  

However, when he grabbed Padme by the throat and hurled her halfway across the room... When he began to advance her again, while his hands fumbled with the fastening of his pants... When he lowered himself on top of her half-conscious form... his face remained Vader’s and Vader’s alone.  

Unable to watch the rest of her nightmare play out without succumbing to the overwhelming urge to barge into the room and shake her awake, which as he was sadly aware would only worsen the situation, Vader forced himself to flee from the door, stopping only when he could no longer pick up on her thoughts and then emptied the contents of his stomach into the nearest trash can. 

Was this really how she saw him now? As her next abuser? A man who tricked her into believing he was different from the ones who came before him when in reality the only difference between him and them was that in not even two full weeks she would be bound to him for life? 

But then again... what else did he expect after how far he had gone that night? 

There is a way to fix this, you know? The beast within him – the very same embodiment of the dark side that had got him into this mess in the first place, having somehow slipped free from the chains he had bound it in the darkest corner of his heart, mused into his ear. A small wave of your hand and she will forget all about it...    

Never. The Sith growled, shoving it back where it came from without a moment’s hesitation, knowing full well that the longer he allowed it to fester, the higher the chance that despite everything he stood for he would give in to its insidious whispers and choose the path of least resistance. 

He’d stalk into her room when she was sound asleep to spare her unnecessary distress and himself the trouble of suppressing the fight she’d surely put up against him. 

Pressing his fingers against her temples, he’d delve into her mind and although he wasn’t as experienced in this technique as his Master was, so the intrusion would probably wake her, the fear that would settle in her eyes upon seeing him leaning over her in those few short moments of consciousness would quickly be replaced by confusion and then... whatever warm feelings she had for him before. 

One small act of expediency – that was all it took for a bright smile to adorn her lips as she recited her vows of undying loyalty and trust... for not a single flinch of contempt to run through her body as he laid her on their bed and made love to her until the morning... for their relationship, and by extension their lives, to be perfect.  

However, what good was his ‘perfect’ if by going through with this he would only prove himself to be the monster she had him for? If after each wonderful night spent with her, he would wake up knowing what he was doing was no better than forcing himself up on her with brute force?  

No... If he wanted to keep her, he needed her to make the choice to stay out of her own, free will and for this to happen he first had to convince her that he was nothing like the men she currently associated him with, nor would he ever be.  

The question was – how in the name of the Force was he supposed to even attempt to do that if the best he could offer her at the moment was his word, which after what she’d witnessed there was no way she’d take, and the only person in the Galaxy that could vouch for him was... 

That’s it! He exclaimed internally as a very promising idea popped into his head.  

At the best possible time at that as just a few seconds later his comlink suddenly buzzed with a message from one of Padme’s doctors, wishing to convey that she had requested to see him after lunch. 

Padme’s POV 

The coppery smell of blood flooded her nostrils, as her head, thrown back by the blow she had just received, dragged the rest of her body to the cold, hard floor of what from the remote place of her ex-boyfriend’s attempted assault on her in the blink of an eye had changed into a murder site. 

All because of her very own fiancé. 

He was by her side in an instant, mumbling words of what she could only guess was an apology, as due to the increasing ringing in her ears, she couldn’t quite piece them together, while his hands practically shot out to touch her. However, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that Vader meant no harm and merely wanted to comfort her after the accidental injury she’d sustained, the sight of fresh blood covering the said hands made it almost impossible to perceive them as anything other than an impending threat. 

“Don’t touch me!” she shrieked, recoiling from him before he could reach her – a move she almost immediately lived to regret, as crushed by her rejection her fiancé decided to crush something else... 

Whatever happened next or in the several hours that followed was extremely blurry in her memory, most likely because of the strong sedatives she’d been pumped with.  

The only thing she did vividly remember was waking up in her bedroom alone with Vader and falling into a fit of hysteria so severe that after just a few minutes he had her put right back to sleep. 

The next time she came to her senses the only other person in the room with her was a doctor, who informed her that she had been unconscious for over twenty four hours and was prohibited from leaving the bed for at least another day, as well as that Vader had decided to refrain from visiting her unless she specifically asked to see him. 

To say she was relieved to hear that would have been a huge understatement, however, just because her fiancé had been gracious enough to spare her the burden of his presence, it did not mean that another particularly unwanted guest would grant her the same courtesy. 

The Emperor barged into the room without so much as a knock merely four short hours after she had regained consciousness with a handful of documents he wished to go through with her and although she would have never dared to admit that out loud she had been exceptionally grateful for his visit, as no matter how uncomfortable it still was for her to be in his close vicinity, for the entire duration of it she had been on such high alert, watching for even the smallest signs of the man trying to influence her with his mental magic, that the horrific events from the night before plaguing her every waking thought and dream hadn’t crossed her mind once. 

His presence, however, which in itself was a rather rare occurrence, never lasted long and so for the two consecutive days she’d spent building up the courage to finally confront her fiancé, most of her activities revolved around wallowing in the overwhelming guilt of being responsible for a man’s death, whether by being tormented by nightmares or coming up with countless different scenarios of what could have been if only she hadn’t been so foolish to come to those blasted quarters or... agree to marry a man, who she had known from the start was nothing more than a ruthless beast. 

Too bad it’s too late to take any of it back now. She grumbled in her thoughts, nervously glancing at her bedroom door, which Vader was about to walk through at any moment now. 

If it was entirely up to her she would have gladly continued to avoid him forever as the prospect of being anywhere near him again was no more appealing to her than coming face to face with a gundark, but whether she liked it or not their wedding day was fast approaching and as his wife, well... she would have no other choice but to let him as close to her as one could get, so it was in her absolute best interest to be on at least civil terms with him by then. 

“Hello, Angel” her fiancé greeted her as he tentatively stepped into the room, most likely expecting his presence to trigger another panic attack. 

“Hello, Vader” she responded calmly, but for all her previous preparations to this meeting her body still tensed at the sight of him. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked and although he would have to be blind not to notice the discomfort he was causing her, apparently unable to stay away he began to approach her regardless. 

“Much better, thank you” she said with a forced smile, watching him take a seat on what used to be his side of the bed, close enough to reach for her if he wished, but thankfully, far enough to still be considered respectful. “I wanted to apologise for my behaviour. I hope we can put this unpleasant incident behind us” 

The line she had prepared beforehand and now half-heartedly recited almost made her gag, especially at the use of the term ‘unpleasant incident’ in relation to the gruesome murder he had committed right in front of her just a few nights prior. 

“For Force’s sake Padme, can you not –“ her fiancé raised his voice in irritation, but the sight of her flinching at the sudden outburst made him quickly bite his tongue and lower his tone. “Look... I will not lie to you and say that I’m sorry for killing that bastard, because if I were put in that situation again, I would have done the exact same thing without a second thought. What I am sorry for, however, is that you got hurt in the process.” 

His eyes fell to the still faintly discoloured spot on her cheek, that until recently had been ‘adorned’ by a large, purple bruise from a close encounter with his elbow.  

“The day I met you I made a promise, that I unfortunately wasn’t able to keep, but you have to believe me, Angel, that it will never happen again” he swore with a passion that could move even the hardest of hearts and while hers was no exception the fact that his words didn’t even graze the core of the problem, effectively stopped it from fluttering back into his waiting arms. 

“This is not about that you hurt me, Vader!” she exclaimed, marvelling at how someone so emotionally intelligent could at the same time be so damn oblivious. “This is about me finally seeing with my own eyes that all of the things I’ve heard about you were not so far from the truth after all. You almost killed him with just your bare hands, and then finished him off without so much as looking in his direction –“ 

Her voice broke along with the laughable makeshift of composure she had crafted for herself, giving way to the overwhelming panic caused by the horrifying awareness that the monster she saw that fateful night was sitting at an arm’s length from her on the bed. 

“He was about to rape you, Padme, and suddenly I’m the monster for stopping him?!” Vader yelled, the name he must’ve overheard in her thoughts causing him to lose whatever restraint he had been so carefully trying to keep around her. “What else was I supposed to do?! Stand by and enjoy the show?!” 

His words, so full of anger and unconcealed resentment, pained her far more than any physical blow he could have ever inflicted, mainly because she knew that he wasn’t entirely in the wrong. 

She didn’t even want to begin to imagine what her ex would have done to her if he hadn’t shown up to her rescue when he did, and she would, of course, be eternally grateful for it, however, what he had done that night went far beyond just rescue. 

No... anything that happened after he’d ripped the man off her wasn’t about rescuing her or even about her at all, for that matter, because if it was he would have stopped when she asked him to.  

It was about possession. Some sick sort of claim he believed he had over her, that Rush had dared to violate and thus deserved to be punished.  

Made an example of so that his mutilated body would serve as a deterrent for many years to come for anyone foolish enough to even attempt to take what belonged to him.  

And although having one of the most powerful beings in the Galaxy as her madly devoted protector should have, in theory, made her feel secure, all she could feel was dread at the thought of the day when in his madness he would finally deem her a threat to his so-called claim and turn into her captor instead. 

He will protect me from the world, sure. But who will be there to protect me from him?  

“You don’t need anyone to protect you from me” he stated, completely forgetting that she didn’t particularly appreciate him responding to her thoughts out loud, however, seeing her annoyed expression he continued to speak before she could scold him. “I understand that you might not believe me right now. I understand that you might see me as yet another ruthless man, who had lured you into a false sense of security with his silver tongue. But if you only give me a chance I know I can change your mind”  

“How?” she asked sceptically, deciding to let his increasingly habitual slip-up slide for the sake of avoiding an argument. 

“Get dressed and I’ll show you” 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

“Vader, what are we doing here?” she asked, feeling herself slowly starting to wish she had never left her bed as she continued to trail after him through the corridors of what appeared to be a long-abandoned wing of the Courscant’s Medical Facility. 

Far from prying eyes, where no one will hear your screams... She thought half-jokingly, hoping to coax at least a slight chuckle from her disturbingly quiet fiancé, which would significantly brighten the somber atmosphere of this place, but, to her disappointment, all he’d offered her in return was a cryptic “You’ll see”. 

And although those three short words did little to satisfy her growing curiosity, the way he said them – without sparing her neither a reassuring smile nor even a passing glance, in a tone not only far from dismissive but also holding a certain note of surrender as if he had never intended for anyone other than himself to see what was hidden within those walls, and yet, deeply convinced that it would earn him her trust back, felt like he had no other choice but to show it to her – did give away that whatever it was it couldn’t be anything good. 

However, even if she’d had some suspicions on what could possibly await them behind the code-protected blast door they’d walked up to, that made Vader so uptight, none of them would have come even relatively close to what, or rather who, she saw the moment it stood open before her. 

It was an elderly woman, hooked up to all sorts of medical equipment, who, if it wasn’t for the rhythmical rising and falling of her chest, Padme would have easily mistaken for a corpse. 

Her cheeks were unhealthily sunken. Her skin was so pale as if it had never been touched by a single ray of sun. Her muscles had long since atrophied from lack of movement leaving her limbs pitifully thin. Her hair, although neatly placed in a side braid, were sparse and grey. 

And while like every sensible human being she, of course, deeply sympathized with her and her condition, it was extremely difficult to properly care about it when the question of what her fiancé wanted to achieve by bringing her here made it so that the only thing she saw when she looked at her was a meticulously set tra – 

“Hi, mom” he said suddenly, swiftly debunking her assumptions about his nefarious schemes, and without waiting for his fiancée to recover from the shock of the unexpected revelation, headed straight towards the woman’s bed.  

His mother?! This is his mother?! Padme exclaimed internally, her eyes widening as she finally began to notice the resemblance between the wasted old lady before her and the beautiful, young Empress she had occasionally seen on the holoscreen in her living room back when she was still just a little girl. 

The story of how their graciously reigning, lone Emperor had fallen madly in love with her – a commoner from some backwater planet in the Outer Rim – after a single glance and then, against all traditions, decided to elevate not only her, but also her bastard-born son, whom he immediately adopted and crowned his heir, had been one of her absolute favourite fairytales. 

Unfortunately, however, unlike in most of this sort of stories, they weren’t meant to live their happily ever after for long, as only five years later the Empress suddenly fell very ill and passed away – an ending whose veracity she didn’t even think to question, even after meeting the man in person and seeing with her own eyes just what kind of a sick and twisted person he really was. 

And now... she was here. Alive. 

“I’ve brought someone very special with me today. Her name is Padme and we’re getting married in a little over a week” Vader continued, gently taking his mother’s hand in his, as he sat down beside her, and then cast an expectant glance back at his fiancée, silently asking her to join him.  

“What happened to her?” she whispered, feeling her heart breaking at how unresponsive she was, despite her own son talking to her the entire time, as she cautiously took a place next to him. 

“My father happened to her” he answered, practically spitting out the name as if any familial connection he had with that man, even if it was just on paper, repulsed him more than anything else in the world. “He wanted to shape me into his very own, subservient killing machine, more monster than a man, and when I tried to resist... she suffered the consequences” 

“I’m so sorry” she muttered, instinctively reaching out to comfort him as he hung his head, as though it were his own choices and not the Emperor’s cruelty that had caused his mother to end up like this. 

“Thank you, but I haven’t brought you here to arouse your pity” he said, gently pushing her hand away. “I wanted you to see her, because who I am today all comes down to her. I’ve spent a good portion of my childhood watching my monster of a stepfather subjecting her to all kinds of abuse, and the only way for me to finally make it stop was to forge a beast within myself” 

His face hardened, a glint of something dangerous flashing in his eyes as if the mere mention of it had summoned that very beast to the surface, so it could formally introduce itself to its master’s chosen one. 

“A beast that has been my constant companion ever since, taking the reins whenever I proved too weak to make a decision that needed to be made. A beast ready to commit even the most heinous of atrocities to protect what I hold dear. A beast whose whispers I chose not to heed just one, single time and well... you see the results” 

With a light nod of his head, Vader gestured towards his mother – a woman who’d been in a coma for over a decade now, and even though he was not directly responsible for her state, judging by the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes not a single day had gone by in all that time that he didn’t blame himself for it. 

“The beast, however, remained, skilfully nurturing the worst in me to pull me deeper and deeper into the dark side’s embrace, and although I did my best to control it, when I saw you pinned against that wall something inside me just... snapped” her fiancé said and while none of what he had just revealed excused his actions that night, Padme did have to admit that as the memory of him throwing himself at Rush flashed before her eyes, fear was no longer the only emotion swelling in her heart. 

Now, glimmering in its vast abyss, there was also the faintest flicker of understanding, allowing her to finally look past what he’d done and delve deeper into why he’d done it. 

On a superficial level his outburst seemed to have been all about possession, and while to some extent that was true, as it was more than clear that Vader considered her his, it wasn’t because he believed he owned her, but because she was the first woman since his mother that he had dared to open his heart to.  

And so, given that he had already lost her to a ruthless, unscrupulous man, it was really no surprise that when he saw that pattern about to repeat itself he just... acted. 

“Don’t mistake this for me trying to justify myself by claiming insanity” her fiancé added quickly, apparently oblivious that the thought was nowhere near her mind. “Anything I did that night I did out of my own volition and like I’ve told you before I do not regret it in the slightest. I just want you to understand that although what’s in here” he paused for a moment, taking her hand in his and placing it over his heart “might scare you sometimes, it will never, ever, turn against you” 

“Because you’re afraid of becoming to me what your stepfather was to your mother?” she asked, finding herself having mixed feelings about his whole explanation. 

“Partially, yes. I’d rather die than become someone even remotely similar to him. But also... I know all too well what it’s like to be forced to stay by someone’s side – to pretend you’ve accepted it and perhaps even grown content in your position, while in reality you’re just bidding your time until you can finally find a way to break free. And I don’t want that for you. For us”  

Vader’s POV 

This is it. All or nothing. The Sith thought, trying his best to appear calm, despite the sweat generously pouring down his back, as he waited for Padme to process everything he had said, painfully aware that he had already laid all of his cards out on the table and now whether she chose to let him back into her heart, where he knew he was destined to belong long before he was born, or be lost to him forever, rested entirely in her hands. 

One more chance, Angel. Please. I don’t think I can survive, if with one stupid outburst I’ve ruined the wonderful future we had a chance to build... 

“Vader?” his fiancée’s tentative whisper suddenly reached his ears, and his whole body stiffened in anticipation of her final verdict. “Promise me this will never happen again” 

“I swear on my life, Angel” he vowed instantly, overcome by a wave of relief so profound he felt as though for the first time in days he was truly able to breathe. However, that relief was quickly drowned out by an even stronger, irrepressible need to feel her body against his, having been deprived of the pleasure of it for far too long. 

Without wasting another second the Sith swept her into his embrace, revelling in her warmth, her softness, her smell, as he all but melted into her touch. And if in that one beautiful moment the Galaxy around him suddenly ceased to exist, he wouldn’t have even noticed, for he was already holding his entire world in his arms. 

“Can she hear us?” Padme asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over them, as they both took a moment to simply enjoy each other's closeness. 

“I like to think that she does” he answered, having spent years reviewing countless studies conducted on former coma patients, who, after waking up, claimed to have been aware of everything that was happening around them, with some even going so far as to be able to perfectly recall entire conversations that took place while they were still in deep sleep.  

And while, of course, there were a few exceptions, especially among the more severe cases, Vader wanted to believe his mother wasn’t part of that small group. 

“You have a wonderful son, Mrs –” 

“Skywalker” he interceded, preventing her from addressing his mother by any name connected to the monster, who in the short time they had spent living under one roof had caused her more suffering than she had experienced in her whole life. “Her name is Shmi Skywalker” 

“So... does that mean your name is Vader Skywalker?” she asked confused, only now that this new piece of information she’d been provided clicked into place realizing that she had somehow never given much thought to whether Vader was his first or last name. 

On one hand, he had introduced himself to her as Vader, so it seemed natural to use it as his first name. On the other everyone in the Galaxy referred to him as 'Lord Vader' and her as 'Lady Vader', which would suggest it was more likely a last name.  

And yet, despite all the questions swirling in her head – which he absolutely didn’t blame her for, as the technicalities of the Sith names weren’t exactly common knowledge and hence quite difficult for outsiders to grasp – the most prominent of them all was whether it meant that she, too, would soon bear the name Skywalker. 

“No, that just sounds stupid” he chuckled, opting to reply only to the one that had actually left her mouth, though, he had to admit that ‘Padme Skywalker’ did have a pretty nice ring to it. “I had a different name once, but I accordance with the ancient custom, I was forced to abandon it for the Sith one my master gave me, when I stepped onto the path of the dark side. However, there is no distinction between a first and a last name in those. There is only the name you are given with ‘Darth’ or ‘Lord’ as a prefix” 

“Can you tell me what it was?” she asked, with the sweetest pleading voice she could muster and the most disarming puppy-dog eyes he had ever seen, while for a little extra encouragement one of her delicate hands came to rest on his thigh, so very close to his... 

“Perhaps one day” he choked out, his voice tight and far too high-pitched for someone unwavering in his decision, however, struggling to keep his head from handing over the reins of thought to his ‘other head’ it was still a better response than just caving to her wishes. 

That name didn’t belong to him anymore. It belonged to a little kind-hearted boy with a loving mother and big dreams to one day see every corner of the Galaxy. A boy he allowed Sidious to destroy, so that a bloodthirsty monster could rise from his ashes. A boy whose remains he had kept safely locked away at the very bottom of his dark heart for all those years. A boy whom, no matter how much it pained him, after all he’d done, he could never be again. 

To reveal it to Padme would be both an act of cruelty – for how could he condemn her to a life of knowing there once was a man so much more deserving of her heart than he was, and yet being forever unable to know him – and desecration of his memory, because a boy so pure did not deserve to be associated with a man so corrupted. 

Unfortunately, however, despite all his grand talk about what big and scary monster he was, Vader knew that deep down he was still just a man, and men had their weaknesses. 

Aren’t you a clever little thing, my Angel. Already worked out the perfect way to get whatever you want from me. The Sith thought, unsure how much longer he’d be able to keep his former name from falling from his lips if his fiancée’s hand stayed where it was, or worse, moved slightly to the side... 

“One day” she agreed just a few short seconds before he was about to break, undoubtedly aware that getting her way was quite literally within reach, and yet, wary of his reluctance, decided to put her wishes aside and retreat nonetheless.  

And to think she tried to convince me she wasn’t an actual Angel... He mused, almost regretting that he was already so madly in love with this woman, because right now he would have gladly fallen in love with her all over again. 

“Do you think she’ll ever wake up?” she asked after a long moment of him just staring at her in silent declaration of his feelings, as, most likely unable to stand the intensity of it she shifted her own gaze away from him and back to his mother, who, as ashamed as he was to admit it, he had already managed to forget was even in the room with them. 

“As long as her heart is still beating in her chest I will never lose hope that she will” he replied sheepishly, fighting to hold down back a hot, red blush, worthy of a hormone-raging teenager caught ‘in the act’ by his parents, from rising to his cheeks. 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

“No! No! No! This is all wrong!” a frustrated roar echoed through the fitting room, followed by a loud thud of a sketchbook slamming against one of the walls.  

And although, as it was soaring towards it, it missed the future bride’s head by only a few inches, almost giving her a heart attack, she didn’t dare to move even a single muscle off of her place on the pedestal, having seen firsthand that mild bruising from a light flying object or two was a relatively good deal in comparison to provoking the wrath of the person who threw it. 

“I think it looks just fine, Kylie” she said, hoping to at least slightly calm the designer, whom she had gotten to know quite well over the course of the past few days and whom, under different circumstances, she might have even considered a friend. 

She was the youngest out of eight siblings, born to a couple of poor farmers from Tal, who regarded their children as just another pair of hands to work. Knowing she wasn’t cut out for a life as mundane as this, she had made it her goal to excel to the top of her class as soon as she started school, so that she could apply to the Imperial Academy on Coruscant right after graduation. 

Unfortunately, all of her grand plans went south, when shortly after the start of her first school year it turned out that she had a severe case of dyslexia. 

Feeling utterly defeated, Kylie began pouring her feelings out on the paper in the form of drawings and sketches which, following a string of various interplanetary contest wins, eventually landed her a full-ride scholarship at a prestigious academy of fine arts on Corellia.  

In her final year there, she met her current husband – Damien, who by pure chance happened to be the heir to a failing fashion company with absolutely nothing left to lose by entrusting the position of his lead designer to his brand-new girlfriend. 

This decision proved to be a huge success and within just a few short years Kylie not only helped him bring his business back to its former glory but also became one of the most famous and sought-after designers in the whole Galaxy. 

“Fine?! Fine is not good enough! I need marvellous!” she yelled, looking around the room for some more things to throw, but luckily for Padme and the whole group of seamstresses working on her dress found nothing within reach. “I’m sorry, my Lady. I know, it’s your wedding. But this is the most important dress in my entire career, and it has to be... perfect”  

Poor girl. She thought, not even wanting to imagine the kind of pressure she was under. 

Of course, Padme was nervous too. After all, she was the one, who would have to walk down the aisle with the entire Galaxy watching and judging her every step, but no matter how much they’d tear her down it still wouldn’t change that it would be her finger Vader would put the ring on.  

That one day it’d be her wearing his crown and carrying his children under her heart. 

For Kylie on the other hand their opinion was everything, for if the dress she designed for the future Empress would get trashed by the public, her whole career would be over. 

She didn’t try to comfort her anymore though, knowing there was nothing she could say to make the designer feel even a little bit better and that the best thing she could do for her right now was to just let her focus on her work. 

The fitting session continued for another two hours, punctuated by Kylie’s occasional temper tantrums and, at one point, a visit from one of the Emperor’s aides, tasked to assess the progress of her work, which his Majesty would normally handle himself if he weren’t ‘unfortunately’ unavailable due to a sudden and extremely urgent trip off world.  

“Okay, now walk for me and let’s see how that train is presenting” the designer commanded, practically bouncing to see her creation in its full glory and Padme didn’t need to be told twice, especially after so much time of being forced to stand as still as a statue.

As gracefully as her numb legs allowed her to, she stepped down the pedestal, causing quite a stir amongst the seamstresses, whether out of admiration for her dress or the prospect of finally going home, she wasn’t really sure, but in any case, everything now hinged solely on Kylie’s opinion. 

“Ah, beautiful!” a shriek of excitement ripped from her throat, and the room immediately filled with approving murmurs. 

“So, does that mean we’re all done?” the bride-to-be asked hopefully, anxious to get back to her room, where her fiancé was likely already awaiting her. 

“Almost...” the girl replied, awfully suspiciously drawing the word out, however, Padme had not time to dwell about it, as at a mere flick of the designer’s wrist the seamstresses swarmed around her to help her get out of the dress.  

Once she was finally back in her normal clothes, Kylie unceremoniously grabbed her hand and, without bothering to say goodbye to her staff, all but dragged her into the private office in the back of the fitting room, that currently served as her workshop here at the palace, where, in the very center, stood a single mannequin, dressed only in a set of sexy lingerie, perfectly matching the style and colour of her wedding dress. 

“What is this?” Padme asked, trying to wrap her mind around the extremely bold piece before her, in which she had a felling she’d feel even more exposed than if she were actually naked. 

“Let’s call it ‘the finishing touches’” the designer giggled sinisterly “Lord Vader can thank me later” 

He certainly will... She mused, figuring that if the mere thought of wearing this in front of her husband on their wedding night was making her cheeks flush, then when her dress hit the floor Vader would drop dead on the spot. 

“You’re back late” her fiancé said the moment she finally slipped through the door to their bedroom. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d start to think you were cheating on me” he added, and although the comment was most likely supposed to come off as playful, the slightest hint of jealousy he failed to stifle in his voice combined with the sour expression on his face made her wonder if that thought hadn’t in fact crossed his mind. 

“I’m sorry, Vader” she apologised, hastily making her way to the bathroom to change into her night gown, however, leaving the door slightly ajar so she could keep talking to him. “The fitting session ran really late and then I still had to go check on the flowers...” 

“Instead of your excuses, I’d much rather hear how you’re going to make it up to me” he stated, his tone leaving no doubt as to the exact kind of compensation he was thinking about, and when she came back to the room she saw him lying on their bed, propped up on his elbow with his chest completely bare, lazily tracing his finger over the empty, cold covers of her side of the bed in a silent invitation for her to join him. 

“I’m sure I could think of a way or two” she giggled, eagerly climbing in next to him to give him the overdue attention he craved, however, what she had forgotten to take into account was that Vader, being a Sith, was not one to wait for something he wanted to simply be handed to him. 

As soon as she’d found herself within reach of his touch-starved hands, she was immediately made captive of his embrace, where with no hope (or desire) of escape, she had no choice but to surrender to the vicious assault of his lips, indulging in her neck to his heart’s content. 

“When will I finally have you all to myself?” he mumbled in-between kisses. “I feel like I rarely see you these days” 

“Patience” she sighed, finding it increasingly difficult to put together a coherent sentence the longer he spent latched onto her. “In just two short days I will be your wife, and then you will have me one-on-one for an entire month”  

It would have been such an alluring vision – just the two of them, free to delight in each other’s company, undisturbed by absolutely anyone or anything – if only their alone time wasn’t personally mandated by the Emperor himself, to ensure their focus would remain solely on the task of producing an heir.  

And although Padme had no doubt that her then-husband would do his very best to make the whole process extremely enjoyable, its prearranged, clinical nature completely robbed it of its magic and instead made it feel like a chore. 

“I know, but patience was never one of my strong suits” he declared, and had she not been so utterly distracted by his hands – one lazily caressing the inner part of her thigh, the other tracing the roundness of her breast with his fingers occasionally straying to brush against her hardened nipple – she would have outright laughed in his face. 

Ever since she agreed to give him another chance there hadn’t been a single moment they were together – whether in private or in public – when his hands weren’t somewhere on her body, which, of course, wouldn’t bother her in the slightest as she craved his touch more than anything else in the world, however, combined with his constant martyrdom about having to wait until marriage for not only their first time being intimate but also their very first proper kiss, all the while he was the one who had stubbornly insisted on it in the first place, was slowly starting to get on her nerves. 

“Vader...” she whimpered, struggling to pull away from his grip on the assumption that if she could have what she wanted then neither should he, but her efforts didn’t faze him in the slightest (if he had even noticed them at all).

“I never imagined that a wedding could keep a bride so far away from her husband” he continued to complain, slowly shifting from toying with her neck to nibbling on her earlobe along a path marked by a trail of small pecks.  

“What am I supposed to say?” she bristled. “I’m the one running around like crazy from dusk til dawn, overseeing the preparations for our upcoming wedding, which will be just...  so, so far from the one I always dreamed of for myself anyway” 

“How did you envision it?” her fiancé asked, displaying an astonishing amount of interest in hearing what she had to say for a man seemingly completely lost in the act of touching her. 

“A small chapel, by one of the lakes of Naboo. Just me and my charming prince, basking in the light of our love as we vow to be with each other forever” she confessed with a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “A little tacky, I know, but at least back when I still thought I’d have any say in the matter, I just somehow couldn’t picture this day being any different” 

“Actually... I think it sounds romantic” he whispered, his eyes locked on her lips as he slowly ran his thumb over them, making Padme shudder with hope that perhaps this was the moment he’d finally break under the weight of his desire and let her get an actual taste of him at last.  

“Vader...” she prompted, drawing her face even closer to his own to make it even harder for him to resist the temptation, however, much to her dismay, his determination to save their very first kiss for their wedding, proved to be stronger. 

“You’re a cruel, little creature, my Angel” he muttered, pressing a light kiss to the tip of her nose, before utterly bidding her goodnight. 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

The stem of her wedding bouquet made entirely of white roses interspersed with pearls matching the ones woven in her dress felt like a lifeline under her fingers, keeping her from being dragged into the abyss of her own anxiety, as she waited for the massive double doors before her to open, signalling it was time for her to make her way down the aisle – a journey which, according to nubian tradition, her father was supposed to accompany her on, so that when they finally reached the altar he could symbolically hand her over to her husband’s care. 

His Majesty, however, had his own vision for her grand entrance, and in that vision there was simply no room for a decrepit old man by her side... 

Whether it was truly the case, or if the idea came from a certain someone with a particular dislike for her father, who seeing the opportunity to spite him had pulled a few strings to get it into the ear of the right person, Padme honestly couldn’t be sure, especially after seeing the wickedly delighted grin adorning her fiancé’s lips as he conveyed the news to his soon-to-be father-in-law, but either way, the man absolutely lost it when he found out. 

He began to yell like a madman, demanding the plans to be changed. Threatened he’d go to the press and tell them just how much their future Emperor respected his wife’s culture. Berated her for being so quick to forget where she came from and allowing her fancy new family to mistreat the one that had brought her into this world so horribly. And eventually, having run out of words to get his way, resorted to physical violence.  

Watching him make a move on Vader, which she was sure a brutal retaliation would follow, Padme couldn’t help but avert her gaze, however, was immensely surprised when instead her fiancé simply informed him that the tradition of handing his daughter over to her husband’s care had already been completed when he had come to collect her from their house after the audition and that it was a concession enough for him and his wife to even be invited to the wedding. 

The silent implication that this could also change very quickly if he continued on with this behaviour, was enough to make her father let the subject go and now, at least to her knowledge, he and her mother were waiting for her in the chapel along with the rest of the guests. 

And truth be told, she preferred it that way, as had he been here with her right now, she’d be forced to listen to his unasked for, last-minute comments instead of focusing on calming her nerves. 

No need to be nervous, my dear. This is your big day after all. The Emperor’s voice suddenly resounded in her head, sending a shiver of disgust down her spine. 

And here I was, thinking that being alone in the room would spare me unasked for, last-minute comments. She grumbled internally, a split second before it hit her that his Majesty was probably still listening, however, even if he was, he apparently didn’t care enough to react and continued like he hadn’t heard a thing. 

Put on a big smile, girl. It is time for you to come to your husband. He said, and Padme drew a sharp breath through her nose, for as if on cue, the doors to the chapel began to open.  

Vader’s POV 

One glance – that was all it took for him to confirm that the threshold of this chapel has just been crossed by a divine being from heaven, who by some miracle had decided to step down to the realm of mortals to grace them with her presence. There was simply no other plausible explanation for how someone could be so breathtakingly beautiful. 

What did I ever do in this life to deserve this? The Sith wondered, watching a soft smile playing on her lips, barely visible beneath the sheer veil covering her face, as with every step she drew closer to the altar, where in a matter of minutes, he would have the honour to take her as his wife. 

“Citizens of the Galaxy!” the Emperor’s voice boomed through the hall, marking the start of the ceremony, as soon as his Angel took her place across from him. “We have gathered here today to bear witness to the union of my right hand man and heir, Lord Vader and his beloved fiancée, Padme Naberrie” he paused for a brief moment, seemingly to let the crowd cheer for the happy bride and groom, before moving on with his speech, however, noticing the peculiar emphasis he’d put on the word ‘beloved’, the Sith immediately recognized he was fishing for a reaction. 

Specifically, a reaction that would allow him to learn a little more about his feelings for Padme. 

He already knew that his apprentice cared for her – that much Vader had already revealed the day he had brought her to the Imperial Palace, which he still deeply regretted – but what he really needed to find out was just how far that ‘care’ extended, for only then he’d be able to determine whether it made him easy to control... or dangerous. 

Nice try, old man. But you’ll need to do much better than this. The Sith snickered behind his well-crafted shields, careful not to let his cockiness get the better of him and inadvertently let even the tiniest glimpse of emotion slip onto his expressionless face.  

Especially since, as much as he hated to admit it, the word did manage to stir up some turmoil in his mind. 

He’d known he was hopelessly in love with Padme from the moment he first laid his eyes on her. His Master had to have some suspicions about the true nature of his feelings or else he wouldn’t have bothered to plan this little scheme of his. However, up until now it had never crossed his mind to question if she knew how he felt about her. 

She must know I’m in love with her. I already told her as much, didn’t I? He thought dismissively, but after a quick sweep of his memory, it occurred to him that he, in fact, did not.  

He had never dared to utter those words out loud. And as pathetic as it was, the reason behind it was that he – a Sith Lord – was too scared his Angel didn’t reciprocate those feelings.  

“Lord Vader?” the Emperor asked, snapping him out of his thoughts, in which he’d apparently gotten so lost in that he didn’t notice that in the meantime the man had already managed to get to the vows. “Do you vow to take this woman under your care; to shield and protect her from all harm; to be there for her in the time of need; to keep her days carefree and her nights warm and to provide for her and your children until death do you part?” 

“I do” he answered with the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice, feeling like this wasn’t exactly a standard wedding formula, however, having had little to no prior experience with weddings, he couldn’t really say anything for sure. 

“Padme Naberrie? Do you vow to fully submit yourself to this man; to listen and obey to his will, accepting it as superior to your own; to cater to his needs and to those of his progeny, which you will bear and raise, until death do you part?” 

“I do” she muttered without much enthusiasm or conviction and although it absolutely broke him to see her so subdued on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives, he honestly didn’t blame her for being unable to muster those within herself, for while he could still have some doubts about his own vows, he had no illusions that hers were in fact not the standard wedding formula. 

“It is now time for the rings!” the Emperor announced, and a small boy – most likely a child of some high-ranking officer – immediately hurried towards them, carrying two simple, golden bands on a plush pillow. 

“With this ring” the Sith started, taking the smaller of the two bands in his hand. “I, Lord Vader, take this woman to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part” he recited dutifully before slipping the band onto her finger. 

“With this ring, I, Padme Naberrie, take this man to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part” she repeated half-heartedly, mirroring his movements as she did so. 

“Then, it is with a great honour that I pronounce you husband and wife. Lord Vader, you may kiss your bride” his Master declared, and with that, the moment he’d been yearning for over the past three excruciatingly long weeks had finally arrived. 

His fingers trembled with anticipation as he pulled back the veil covering Padme’s face, allowing himself to savour its flawless beauty for a few wonderful seconds before cupping it in his hands and crashing his lips against hers. 

The kiss was far from what would normally be considered appropriate at such a formal and, more importantly, public event. It was long, desperate and all-consuming, with both of them pouring all of their pent-up desires and frustrations into this one simple act of passion. 

So, this is what heaven tastes like. He thought, groaning as his tongue slipped into his wife’s mouth and began exploring its sweet depths, while the Galaxy cheered him on. 

However, the longer he spent latched onto her, revelling in her taste, her smell, her softness, the way her body answered to his in every way that mattered... the more those cheers began to fade in his ears, until finally the only thing he could hear was the buzzing of his own blood and the sinister whispers of the beast within him trying to coax him to throw her onto the altar, hitch up up her dress and, with no care who was watching, take her right then and there. 

And quite honestly, with how turned on he was at the moment he probably wouldn’t have even put up too much of a fight before succumbing to his body’s dictations. If only a certain someone hadn’t decided to bring his little... display of affection to an end first. 

How about you save something for the wedding night, my boy? The Emperor’s voice reverberated in his head, and Vader immediately jumped back from his wife almost as if he’d been burned, realizing with terror that, driven by an overwhelming need for more intimacy, he had unwittingly lowered his mental shields, so that they could become one not only in the flesh but also in the Force and consequently left his mind wide open for anyone to enter. 

How long has he been in there? Why didn’t I sense him come in? What could he have possibly found in there before he alerted me of his presence? The Sith shrieked internally, scrambling to put all of his defences back in place, however, seeing a frown of concern starting to form on Padme’s face – a result of her taking note of his distress – he’d decided that there would be a day to worry about all that tomorrow, as today they deserved to focus on celebrating the marital bond they had just made. 

Chapter Text

Padme’s POV 

The tulle skirts of her dress billowed around her like the churned waves of a stormy sea as Padme twirled on the dance floor in the arms of her newly wedded husband during their very first dance, while their esteemed guests, ravenous for a new topic of their never-ending gossip, carefully watched their every step. 

Little did they know, however, that one would soon be handed to them practically on a silver platter, for when the dance was finally over and it came time for the bride’s father to take over in order to, as tradition dictated, symbolically signify that although she now belonged to another man, she would forever remain bound to the one who gave her life, Vader completely disregarded the man’s extended hand and began leading his wife straight into the next. 

Not letting him walk me down the aisle, though degrading of course, was at least explainable by aesthetic reasons. But this? This is just a blatant slap in the face. Padme had told him when he’d informed her of his intentions, reluctant to make a scene over three easily endurable minutes of her discomfort, however, the Sith clearly had no such qualms. 

What kind of husband would I be if I allowed my wife to find herself in the arms of a man who, throughout her entire life, treated her not like a daughter but a piece of merchandise he could sell to the highest bidder, just for the sake of appearances, and on our wedding day of all days? He had asked in response, yet it couldn’t have been more obvious that what he had actually wanted to say was that handing her over was not an option and if she had thought differently for even a second then she must’ve completely lost her mind. 

And so, having no desire whatsoever to start an argument on behalf of her father, who in the past nineteen years had done nothing to earn that title anyway, Padme had decided to play along. 

Apart from the subtle cues given to them by their wedding coordinators, desperately trying to signal them to get off the dance floor already or at the very least change partners, which the newly wedded royal couple conveniently ‘missed’, she and Vader had managed to dance on completely unbothered for several more songs, until regrettably one of the aforementioned coordinators finally gathered up the courage to approach them and say that it would soon be time for the cake cutting and that they really needed to take a break to mingle with their guests a bit before then. 

Which, judging by the way they immediately hemmed them in – the men of power forming a tight circle around her husband to offer their most heartfelt congratulations for ‘snatching himself such a pretty little bird’, while their wives busied themselves with gushing over her, surely realising by now just what perks befriending the future Empress could bring – had been exactly what they’ve been waiting for. 

“Your dress is absolutely stunning, Lady Vader. You must tell us your designer” 

“What products do you use for your hair? I’d love to have curls like that” 

“Lord Vader is such a lucky guy to have a beautiful girl like you all to himself” 

“You’ll be with him for the first time tonight, right? Are you nervous?” 

“Try not to think about it too much. If you want my advice, just lay still and let him do his thing. No matter how much it hurts” 

“Oh, don’t even get me started, darling. My first time hurt like hell. And do not listen to the lies they tell you. It doesn’t get better with time.” 

“The true secret lies in knowing how to fake an orgasm. It doesn’t help with the pain, but at least it makes it last way shorter” 

They all talked over one another, bombarding her with questions they had no real interest in hearing her answers to, and completely ignoring the follow-up ones that Padme tried to ask them, until eventually, their voices began to merge into one big indistinguishable din, closing in on her from all sides. 

Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. She pleaded soundlessly, desperate for something, anything, to save her from their suffocating throng from which she was starting to feel extremely lightheaded, when all of a sudden... 

“Ladies, can I steal her away for a moment?” asked a blonde woman, whom Padme could have sworn she’d seen before, but for the life of her couldn’t put a name to the face, exuding an aura of such unquestionable authority and respect that no one, including Padme herself, had dared to utter even a single word of protest, when she unceremoniously grabbed her hand and began leading her away. “Come on, let’s get you to the restroom so you can freshen up” 

“Thank you” she mouthed almost inaudibly, however, judging by the slight smile that curved the corners of her lips her new-found acquaintance must’ve heard her. 

“Are you okay? You looked really pale there for a second” she asked, as soon as the restroom door closed behind them. 

“Yes, I’m fine. Just got a little bit overwhelmed, that’s all” 

“Well, I’m not surprised. They jumped on you like a bunch of starved hyaenas” the woman chuckled, deciding to seize the opportunity at hand to fix her bright red lipstick in the mirror and without tearing her eyes off it said: “My name is Satine by the way”  

“The Duchess of Mandalore...”  

“The one and only” she said, loudly smacking her lips, before finally turning to face her. “Yours is Padme, right?” 

“It is” she confirmed, grateful that the Duchess had made the effort to learn her actual name instead of addressing her by her new title like everybody else. 

Because if she were to be honest, as much as she didn’t mind being ‘Lady Vader’, the fact it entailed being constantly treated as a fancy piece of her husband’s property instead of her own individual person was becoming increasingly tiresome. 

“So, Padme, a bit of friendly advice – do not listen to what those bitches told you” Satine said, smirking at the way her interlocutor’s eyes widened at the use of such blatant vocabulary. “They are just jealous cause their own husbands are twice their age and have their fat bellies sticking out more than the length of their dicks in full erection” she paused to make an ostentatious gagging gesture. “Yours on the other hand looks like he’s been carved by an artist with a chisel. Trust me, you will be fine” 

“How can you be so sure?” 

“Experience” she stated with a reassuring wink, however Padme must not have looked very convinced, because only moments later the Duchess came closer to her and put both of her hands low on her sides. “It’s all in the hips. You push them forward when he comes in and backwards when he retracts” she explained, guiding her through the moves until she fell into a steady rhythm. “Very good. Once you get used to the feel of him inside you, you can add a little bit of kissing and hair pulling. Works every time” she smiled, giving her ass two quick pats, before letting go of her completely. 

“That’s really it!?” the soon-to-be non-virgin asked, finding it hard to believe that something everyone, including herself, had been stressing her so much about could truly be this simple. 

“Yeah. Take it from someone, who’s already had two goes at this marriage thing – it’s really not that hard to please a man” the woman said nonchalantly, the piece of information she had just provided immediately clinking into place in Padme’s memory – the case of the two husbands of the Duchess of Mandalore... 

It had been a Galaxy wide scandal a few years back, so much so that even she, with her Holonet access severely restricted by her parents, lest their valuable daughter accidentally pick up any progressive ideas about marriage, had heard about it. 

The whole story started with the planet’s then-ruler – Satine’s father – suddenly falling very ill, which other clans and houses of Mandalore saw as the perfect opportunity for a power grab, consequently beginning a civil war. 

The Kryze family, from which the Duchess descended, fought valiantly, holding back the enemy forces for a substantial period, but eventually a small division of them had managed to sneak past their defences and assassinate her father in his own bed. 

Since at the time of his death the man had no official male heirs, in accordance with the law of succession as his eldest child it was Satine who inherited his crown, however, given that she was both a woman and known for her pacifist beliefs her ascension to the throne sadly did nothing to deter the ones seeking it for themselves. 

Left with no other viable way to stay in power the Duchess was forced to turn to the planet’s second most powerful house – House Visla – which in exchange for their help demanded their alliance to be sealed through marriage between her and their chief. 

A marriage that, unfortunately, wasn’t meant to last, as only a few short weeks after the revolt had finally been suppressed the newly crowned Duke was killed in a suspicious bombing of his war camp, orchestrated by an unidentified group of terrorists. 

For which, of course no one would have thought twice to blame his pacifist-minded wife – now made widow – if it wasn’t for the fact that not even three full days after his body was put in the grave Satine had announced her engagement to a handsome off-worlder by the name Obi-wan Kenobi, who, if the rumours were to be believed, both before and during her marriage to the Visla chief could most often be found lurking near her or her chambers... 

Some gossip channels still liked to occasionally revisit their story, presenting ‘brand new’ evidence that ‘beyond a shadow of a doubt’ could confirm the conspiracy theories that had been circulating about them for years, however, as far as anyone was concerned, the Duchess was found innocent of all charges and was now living in an extremely happy and successful marriage. 

“Thank you, Satine. This really means a lot” Padme said, feeling a whole lot better than she had upon entering the restroom. 

“Don’t even mention it” she answered with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Now, come on. We should probably get you back to your party”  

The reception continued for a couple more hours, providing both the guests and the newlyweds a variety of attractions, ranging from performances of the Galaxy’s most talented artists to typical wedding games like the bouquet or garter toss and culminating in an incredible illumination show, to the tune of excellent food and seemingly endless alcohol, however, as those attractions drew to a close, the once full tables began to clear and the bottoms of the glasses show, the guests were forced to find a new source of entertainment. 

And, after all, what could possibly be better than moving on to the highlight of the night... 

“Get them!” someone shouted and like soldiers on command everyone still present in the ballroom surged towards the unsuspecting bride and groom, lifted them high into the air, and, with no regard for their protests, in a merry procession began to carry them to the specially prepared room where the happy couple was meant to consummate their marriage. 

Which, as it turned out, was a task they were all very eager to help with. 

The men split into two divisions – one responsible for relieving the bide of her dress and the other tasked with holding her down on the bed with her legs pushed up high and wide – while the women took it upon themselves to remove the groom’s pants and push him on top of her. 

However, all of their desire to bear witness to whatever acts of passion that were about to transpire here quickly evaporated the moment the deadly red beam sprung to life from Vader’s lightsaber. 

Getting the hint that the Sith wished to be left alone with his wife, with fervent well wishes and last-minute performance tips on their lips they all obediently hurried out the door, yet judging by the sounds coming from beyond its barrier, the threat of an imminent decapitation was not enough for them to give the couple complete privacy. 

“So... I guess we should start undressing now?” Padme half-asked, half-suggested, strongly discouraged by the prospect of having an audience, even if they were to be deprived of the visual part of the show, however, knowing all too well what was expected of them tonight, unsure what other choice did they have but to get to it. 

“Yeah, I guess” her husband muttered under his breath, not only sounding less than uninterested in the activity they were about to engage into but also making absolutely no move to remove any of his clothes. 

“C-can you be the one to go first?” she asked nervously, figuring that perhaps his lack of action stemmed from the assumption that since she was the one who had brought it up then she should also be the one begin by taking her dress off.  

Which, although she was well aware that in their current predicament could prove to be rather helpful, as, at least from what she had heard, most men tended to find a spectacle of this sort extremely arousing, with how much her hands were shaking she highly doubted she’d be able to even attempt to do, let alone manage to arouse someone in the process. 

Please... she added in her thoughts, feeling as if she were about to shatter under the weight of the silent, drawn-out stare he’d offered her in response, yet Vader merely turned on his heel and headed straight to a small cabinet filled to the brim with various liquors, from which he pulled out a bottle of amber-coloured liquid and took a generous swing. And then another. And another... 

He’d downed over half of its contents, before he spoke at last. 

“This is so sick” he mumbled, sounding not so much drunk like she thought he would considering the amount of alcohol he had just so quickly consumed, but rather oddly subdued, as he slumped his back against the nearest wall and, with his face buried in his hands, let his body slide down to the floor. 

“What is?” she asked softly, having every intention to approach and comfort him in this clearly volatile state, however, she hadn’t even fully gotten off the bed, before his surprisingly explosive response made her stop dead in her tracks. 

“This!” he shouted, flailing his arms around like a madman. “Look at us, Angel! We’re being treated like a pair of animals – thrust together into a cage and expected to just... mate with each other” he spat, gazing at her with such utter revulsion etched on his face that it almost shattered her heart. 

Because, while on some basic level she understood where he was coming from, as, after all, it wasn’t like she was especially thrilled to have sex with him right now either, setting aside their less-than-ideal circumstances, what was meant to transpire between them in this room tonight was still something she thought they were both on the same page about wanting to do, and yet now that she was right here ready for him, he looked like he could barely stand being in the same room as her. 

Which, as she’d realised, he would have probably already left if it wasn’t for the crowd gathered outside. 

“Well, the whole point of this marriage was for me to conceive...” she whispered, her voice quivering with a hurt she would have never imagined herself capable of feeling on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life.  

“Who the fuck cares?!” he snapped, springing to his feet and striding towards her so fast that Padme barely even had time to flinch before his hands clamped on her arms. “You’re my wife, for Force’s sake, not a broodmare and I refuse to subjugate our intimate life to anyone’s twisted schedule” he proclaimed, boring his eyes into her own with such intensity as if he could transfer all of his rebellious passion to fight for their right to want straight into her heart with that single stare. 

However, the only thing that truly rose within her in that moment was shame for allowing herself to take his reluctance so personally, when this was the same man who over the past three weeks had spared no effort to show her he valued her far beyond what her body could offer him, repeatedly putting her comfort and autonomy over his own desires... 

Desires she knew he had for her because she felt them in his every gaze, every touch, every kiss... 

And yet, one single look of revulsion pointed her way was all it took for her to forfeit all capacity for critical thinking and jump straight to searching for blame in herself, when in reality, the only thing his reaction had to do with her was the rage he felt on both their behalves, directed at the people who had destroyed what was meant to be their ultimate act of devotion by reducing it to a tawdry adult show staged for their amusement. 

“So, what are you saying?” 

“I’m saying we should just both get comfortable and see what tomorrow brings” he replied and after quickly kicking off his boots, flung himself onto the bed beside her. 

“And are you sure, you’re not mad about...” she hesitated, not knowing how best to word both her unfinished question and the assurance she wanted to give him that she would not oppose if in spite of everything he wanted them to do it, however, as the perceptive man that he was, her husband understood what she meant to say without her needing to spell it out for him. 

“Padme, no one performs well under pressure and my dick is no exception. So, even if I wanted nothing more than to have sex with you right now, I highly doubt I would be able to” he stated in a deeply grave tone, before erupting into laughter, in which she was very quick to follow.