When Angels Weep

Chapter: 13

~~~~~~~~~~

Nic Pelléres knew from the moment the explosion occurred that something was not right. It wasn't just the fact that no one was injured, but also what he saw had been left behind outside. Convenient clues. Too convenient. Twice in the hour afterwards he'd thought he'd seen Padmé Skywalker ahead of him and twice, something had occurred to hide the woman. A man running into him and knocking him over. A woman ineptly maneuvering a speeder where it shouldn't be.

Planned? Or coincidence? He leaned towards planned, but what did he know? By the time he managed to return to the apartment building, Anakin Skywalker was back and security informed him he should report in with any information he had on the matter.

Report? With his failure to save Skywalker's family looming over his head? Were they kidding?

No way he was going to report in. He was aware of Skywalker's explosive temper. His predecessor had met an untimely death for losing track of the handmaiden one afternoon. Nic had watched the man die slowly, Skywalker's mystical powers choking him as Skywalker informed Nic of his promotion. Nic wasn't about to lose his own life in light of what he was certain Skywalker would see as an unpardonable sin. He'd lost Skywalker's family. A bit more important than just the handmaiden.

Without going to his own apartment, Nic booked transport on the first ship off of Coruscant and was gone before night fully fell. No way was he going to get himself killed over Padmé Skywalker and her children. He happened to like living.

He shuddered, imagining what it would be like to be caught by the Jedi. If he was lucky, perhaps the torture wouldn't last overlong. Nic vowed not to be caught.

~~~~~~~~~~

Her crying would not cease. Dormé watched her lady cry, those sobs shaking her entire body. For two hours, Padmé had searched and researched the lone bag she'd brought and then the small one Dormé carried. She'd taken each item out and turned the bags upside down, finally collapsing when she realized she had indeed left a treasured possession behind by accident.

The japor snippet. That piece lovingly carved by Anakin when he was still a young boy.

Padmé cried as though her heart was broken anew and there was little Dormé could do about it except pat her back and hug her. They could not go back now. It would be too dangerous. They'd be considered missing, security watching for them.

Dormé considered the vague plan her lady had laid out to her. The babies were going to safe places, given away and Dormé and Padmé would hide themselves in the Outer Rim, never staying for long in one place. Padmé didn't think Anakin would ever stop searching for her once he found her gone. He'd hunt for her until the day one of them died.

But the japor snippet. It meant so much to her lady. She'd wanted to bring it with her, a reminder for herself just like the two things for the twins. Threepio and whatever it was that Padmé had wrapped up just before they'd left. Something of Anakin's Dormé knew, but what? It was too well wrapped now in scarf and shawl. She suspected it was that lightsaber Anakin had discarded upon finishing his new one, but she supposed it could be something else entirely.

Padmé loosed herself, shook her head as she wiped at her eyes. "I'm crying over a silly trinket. My children mean more to me. It's an inanimate object. Just another...thing. I have memories. Memories and my children. That's enough." Her hands shook and her face was blotchy and slightly swollen from her tears.

It wasn't enough. Dormé saw that. Padmé was grieving now over the japor snippet. Dormé licked her lips and checked on the babies. The children were surprisingly well-behaved, sitting and making soft noises to each other.

When the first task was completed and the twins were safe, she'd make her way back to Coruscant. Then, Dormé would wait until Anakin was gone again. She knew the ins and outs of the security for the building and how tight would Anakin keep security with Padmé gone? She'd bet that he'd decide he could take care of himself and dismiss much of the staff. He was arrogant enough to believe that nothing and no one could harm him.

When it was safe, Dormé would go in, take the snippet and bring it back to Padmé. Perhaps that would make up for her stupidity directly after Mustafar.

~~~~~~~~~~

It did not take Vader more than an hour or two to realize that Tarkin didn't care where he was when meetings weren't scheduled. In fact, he could be doing backflips on the bridge of Tarkin's ship as long as he wasn't in the way of anything Tarkin needed completed. Meetings and inspections were first thing in the morning, so Vader would have all of the hours until the next morning to fill. He already had all those hours sitting empty before him. He'd already suffered through boring meetings for the day.

So why was he staying here then?

In his attempt to alleviate boredom, he'd begun walking about the ship, giving himself a tour of it. He'd discovered his starfighter in the docking bay. Many thanks to Tarkin, he knew. After a couple months of acquaintance, they got along perfectly well and Tarkin had anticipated his boredom. Anakin thought about taking his starfighter out for awhile and then gave that thought a boost further. Why not return to Coruscant?

He didn't have Artoo with him, but another droid would suffice long enough to get back home. Honestly, he'd expected to be on the Outer Rim the way Palpatine had been behaving. In reality, he was ridiculously close to Coruscant and annoyed at being told to leave Padmé for a week when he could easily make the trip here daily.

This week long excursion was unnecessary. He didn't need to be here.

And so, he informed Tarkin he was returning to Coruscant and would be back bright and early for the required meetings each day.

"Tread warily, my friend," was Tarkin's only remark and Vader knew exactly what he meant. Don't ruffle Palpatine.

Well, he decided, perhaps it was time to kill Palpatine and be done with it. Why not? He was certainly ready. He'd learned the ways of controlling the newly formed Empire and Padmé was her old self once more.

Time to take the throne, Vader thought, climbing into his ship. He'd make a brief detour by the apartment long enough to tell Padmé to ready her coronation dress and then he'd be off to get rid of old Palpatine.

Vader smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~

How soon until Anakin knew she'd left him? Padmé sat on the floor and looked at her babies. How long before Anakin noticed the challenge she'd issued by taking that game piece? It wouldn't take him long to see it once he actually looked at the game board. Keep him looking for her and as long as he did that, the children and Dormé would be safe. She stroked her fingers across little Annie's cheeks, giving a tiny frown as a wave of fresh despair crashed over her, threatening to drown her. It cut through the numbness that had begun to wrap about her, dragging away that comforting blanket.

A phantom voice, one not really there, called her name, desperate, choked. Four times it called, louder and louder.

She swallowed hard.

Too much. It was too much, almost like someone else's emotions laid on top of her own.

Padmé's fingers stilled on her son's cheek and she closed her eyes, willing herself to calm. After a long moment, she was numb once more.

They'd landed briefly, long enough to meet up with Zoras a final time to cement their identities. He was waiting on the ramp for her decision on the twins.

"My lady," Dormé said from behind her. "Their names need to be changed."

"I know, Dormé." She sighed, hearing Zoras entering the ship, and spoke without turning her head. "Leia Zantal for the girl, and Luke Skywalker for the boy."

"My lady," Dormé began, disapproving of this bit. "Skywalker? Isn't that tempting fate more than a little?"

"It's a common enough name." She turned her head. "There are Skywalkers all over Tatooine and other planets. It's too common to be suspicious."

Zoras spoke up. "I'll give, yes, another name, hmm, as well on the papers."

That appeared to satisfy Dormé and within half of an hour they were once more on their way, new identities in place. Padmé was Nura Zantal, widowed and having lost her older child to fever recently. Leia was hers. Dormé was Miral Skywalker, also widowed, Nura's sister and mother of Luke. The story was that neither of them could afford to care for their children and so they gave them up for adoption.

Zoras had thought of everything. They had this ship and enough credits to take care of immediate needs such as food and clothing yet not enough to make their story suspicious.

It would have to do.

~~~~~~~~~~

He expected Padmé to be there. It was evening and she never went anywhere at night anymore unless he was with her. But she wasn't there. Anakin went from room to room, calling out for her, for Dormé, for anyone. There was nothing out of place. Where was she?

Someone was coming up the lift, he sensed them. Security? He strode towards the main room to meet them. They were talking as they came in.

"There's got to be some clue. Search the entire apartment. We can't tell him she's--" The men paled considerably when they saw him there. "Sir. You're back." Surprise and much fear in all of them. Strange.

"What's going on," Anakin asked in a reasonable tone. He kept expecting Padmé to walk out carrying one of the twins, Dormé behind her, though he already knew they weren't here. A sliver of fear pierced through him at the hesitation of those men to speak, to tell him what was happening.

Finally, one man stepped forward. "Perhaps you should sit down, sir."

Anakin stared at him, frowning. A chill swept him. Something was very wrong, the sense of it rolling over him. He didn't want to sit down. He wanted someone to tell him what was happening. "Tell me."

They wouldn't meet his eyes, none of them. "Your wife is gone. She disappeared outside the Senate building this afternoon."

"And the twins and Dormé?"

"Missing as well. Two droids. Missing."

Nonsense. This was nonsense. It couldn't be. They were mistaken. She and Dormé had gone to visit Bail Organa and Mon Mothma. They were shopping and lost track of time. Or maybe they'd decided to eat out and were in a restaurant having a long meal. They weren't missing. His wife, his children. It wasn't possible. He'd set a man to watch them whenever they were outside the apartment, so they weren't missing. They couldn't be. There was no way they could be missing.

They exchanged long glances, fear rising in them. "Sir? They vanished. There was an explosion--"

"An explosion? Explain." His heart beat fast and wild in his chest and Anakin took a few calming breaths. If she'd been caught in an explosion, her body would have been found by now. She would have been identified.

"Outside the Senate building. An explosion tore a hole in one wall. There were no casualties, but.... You should see the footage yourself."

"I will. Why was she at the Senate building? Her term was over. Isn't she with Bail Organa or Mon Mothma? One of her other friends perhaps?" There. She was safe with Organa and Mon Mothma. They'd taken her to safety and hadn't informed anyone yet.

But why, a sly voice asked him, wouldn't they have contacted you? If she was with them, she'd let him know she hadn't been hurt.

"She did visit Senator Organa briefly. She told him she was being followed. He sent some of his security men with her, but when the explosion occurred, the men lost sight of her and the others. There was quite a bit of confusion."

Anakin sat carefully on one divan. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. "You'll find nothing here. There's nothing. I've been here a few minutes."

He barely heard them asking what he wished them to do now. Anakin answered them, giving them a course of action without hearing himself speak. His thoughts were on his wife. He'd dreamed of Padmé's death and now she was taken from him. This was the dream wasn't it? Danger to her. Some group had taken her to use her and the twins against him. Against the Empire. They'd waited until he was gone and taken them all. Professionals even.

Only professionals would leave no trace. Or had they left no trace? The men had said he should see the footage. He blinked. Had something been left behind? He needed to see the footage. He needed....

Anakin was vaguely aware of the security detail leaving him alone in the apartment.

Was Dormé dead now, he wondered. Would they find the handmaiden's body somewhere in the lower levels? And the droids. Were Artoo and Threepio's memories wiped and the droids sold for some quick credits? Anakin's mind conjured up several gruesome scenarios. His wife hurt, being hurt and crying out for him to save her. His children. What had been done to his children?

His mouth trembled, he felt his emotions begin to hurtle him towards a bottomless black chasm and Anakin let a low moan escape his lips. His family. Gone. No. "No," he gasped, clenching his hands into tight fists. Just this morning he'd kissed Padmé goodbye and held her in his arms. He could still smell the lingering scent of her perfume in the air, feel the silky texture of her nightgown against his fingertips.

Anakin gulped in breaths, trying to keep himself from dropping into that pit of despair. His gaze traveled the room without seeing any of the furnishings. "Padmé." He said her name four times, each time growing louder, as though by calling out to her, he could bring her back. He hugged himself, arms aching for her to be in them.

Tears came, hot and quick. Anakin didn't back away from this, letting them fall, letting himself feel...everything. He let himself feel, let it roll over him, facing it for....

A moment. Nothing more.

I will not give in to this. I will be calm and rational. I will be strong for her.

Anakin repeated those things to himself. A few minutes at most and his eyes were dry once more, a calm finally settling upon him. "I love you, Padmé." he whispered.

Silence descended and right then, he would have given anything to hear Shmi's wail or little Annie's softer cries.

He'd give anything to have Padmé back with him.

After a long while, he went to see Palpatine.

~~~~~~~~~~

Panic, Palpatine reflected, was every bit as good as anger. Vader's panic -- Anakin's panic -- surrounded him and Palpatine drank it in as though it was an expensive narcotic to drug him. When the truth, whatever it actually was, came out, that panic would fuel the boiling rush of Vader's anger. Such delicious power surging from the blind ire that gripped the boy. Padmé had surely run away, taking with her the handmaiden, the twins and those two droids. There was no kidnapper. Palpatine's own men hadn't yet been in place for that action.

He'd planned to send Vader on another few of these week long trips before having Padmé and the twins taken and that troublesome handmaiden left dead on the apartment floor. Then to carefully amputate a limb off of each three to send to Vader. A tiny baby foot or hand. Perhaps one of Padmé's hands. Locks of her hair. A holoimage of her crying out in pain. Anything really to bring about anger in his young apprentice.

But Padmé had beaten him. He took a few moments to appreciate how well she'd anticipated the danger to herself and her children. Bravo, he thought. She was a cunning opponent. Far more worthy than he'd thought. Not insignificant after all. There was no trace of her.

Yet.

Palpatine had every assurance that Vader would find something to keep him busy trailing after his wife and children. He'd see some clue that had been missed and wish to go after her. All those lingering thoughts of rebellion against his Master would be gone from his head for the duration of his search for Padmé.

Very well. It would be amusing to see how long that dangerous wench could avoid being trapped and returned here. Amusing as well to watch Vader settle deeper into despair at the loss of her. And the loss of those babies of course, although he didn't quite understand the appeal of those two squalling brats.

He smiled. This turn might even be better than what he'd planned himself. More so because Vader's dear wife -- Anakin's lovely angel -- had left him. She'd abandoned him, ripped the happy family apart and betrayed him. Her doing. Traitor. Yes, she betrayed him.

This could very well make Vader even more pliable, easier to maneuver.

Thank you so much, Padmé, he thought. How very...obliging of you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Bail Organa knew nothing. Anakin had no doubt of that. The man didn't know where Padmé and Dormé were. He didn't know what had happened to the twins. His story was supported by everything Anakin had found. Surveillance cameras had shown Padmé's panicked expression, her rushing from the building with Organa's men behind her and then....

An explosion, not big enough to cause damage, but enough to cause panic. In the confusion, his family was gone. He saw the cloak on the ground, the circuits from a droid and heard Organa's men calling for her. No cameras had caught the actual abduction. Someone had planned this perfectly.

And then there was the little matter of his independent security officer missing as well. Did Nic have anything to do with this? Anakin vowed the man would pay dearly if he did. All of those involved would pay dearly.

"I'm sorry, Anakin. I will, of course, put my men at your disposal. If there is anything I can do...."

Anakin looked up. The man was watching him closely, concern on his features. It was genuine concern, Anakin could feel it. "Everything that can be done is already being done. Keep a watch for her." He picked up the drink Bail had offered him and he hadn't drunk, holding it in his hands more to have something to do than a desire to take a drink.

Why had he come here? Why not wait until morning and go to Bail's office? Because, he thought, Bail is a friend. Sort of. Anakin didn't really have any friends anymore. They were all gone. Bail was the closest thing he had to a friend on Coruscant and he knew Padmé. He would worry for her like Anakin did. He felt that Bail would do what he could to help.

"They tell me all I can do is wait. I don't like waiting. I want answers now." How soon until a ransom demand arrived? He'd made arrangements to have all of the credits in Padmé's accounts available if needed. Credits didn't matter. Padmé and his children mattered.

"You should go home, Anakin. Try to rest."

Helpful advice of the sort Dormé had always handed out and utterly useless. Did people really think he could sleep with his family missing? "I can't sleep." He set the cup back down on the table. "I don't want to."

And why not? Why not try to sleep? Because of the nightmares. Anakin knew that as soon as he closed his eyes, he'd dream of Padmé and her body cold in the grave and away from him forever. He stood. "I'll see myself out."

He spent hours walking, hoping to see her and finally returned home, climbing fully dressed onto their bed and holding her pillow against him as he cried. Sleep took him before he could even think of resisting it. He did not, thankfully, remember his dreams when he woke the next morning.

~~~~~~~~~~

With each minute that passed, Padmé's heart grew heavier in her chest. She was really leaving. Leaving her husband, her Annie.

No, not her Annie, her mind reminded her. He'd ceased to be the dominant part in Anakin within...well, a couple days of aligning himself with evil. He'd become cold and calculating, casually arrogant, while at the same time loosing all restraint upon his temper so that it burst free at the slightest provocation. For those who'd known him, it would be nearly impossible to believe he could be those things he'd become. In all honesty though, Padmé couldn't say he had never possessed those sort of traits at all.

The blindfold of infatuation had fallen from her. Anakin was arrogant, even as a boy. He did calculate in his mind how to gain advantage. A slow smile here or a flirtatious glance there. He did withdraw emotionally, unwilling to genuinely talk about what troubled him.

And above all, she thought sadly, he had an explosive temper when triggered.

She sighed, then gave Dormé a quick glance, relieved to find her friend still slept and wasn't going to subject her to yet another hug meant to comfort. She should sleep too, as it was long past time for rest, but Padmé needed this time to reflect.

Twice already she'd nearly decided to turn them back, consequences or no. Why? Why consider going back after the trouble of leaving? Why consider staying with a man who was growing more irrational and unpredictable? A man who'd choked her, shoved her and was showing signs of becoming increasingly physical in his showings of temper?

Because through it all, she still loved Annie. She loved the man who'd sent her letters when he could during the war, so careful not to give away their secret. She loved the passion he showed in every endeavor, his determination, his conviction. This man had teased her without mercy on little, private matters. She loved how he'd given her life.

Her Annie had breathed joy and love into her, making her whole. He completed her.

Her sobs came again with a fresh rush of tears. Without him she was ripped apart, her pain in this necessary parting a dagger shoving into her again and again. Never ending. This pain would never go away. Padmé was split into two and nothing but reuniting with her Annie would make her whole again. There would forever be an empty place inside her heart.

Padmé wrapped her arms about herself, wishing her arms were Anakin's and that she could once more hold him to her. She loved him, the good and the bad both, but she could not live with him while he was in darkness. He'd gone too far down that road for her to even pretend to follow.

For a single second, Padmé thought she felt him with her, but then reason returned and she knew she was sitting in a small ship in the cold of space. Apart from him.

It hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~

Late breaking HoloNet news:

"Padmé Skywalker, the former Senator Amidala, is missing. She, her children, handmaiden and two droids were last seen outside the Senate building yesterday afternoon. After an explosion ripped up one section of wall, they were gone, leaving only a cloak that has been identified as her handmaiden's, and what appears to be a few ripped out circuits to a Protocol droid. Anyone with information...."