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Dust and Bones

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Luke's POV
I followed Vader through the halls of the Death Star until we found ourselves in a part of the large station that was more secluded than the rest. There weren't even any troopers patrolling nearby.

A few moments later he waved his hand and the door ahead of him opened. I continued following him and walked through the opening seconds after he did. It only took me a moment to realize we were now in his bedroom-slash-office. And I knew it was his based off of the shelf of brown liquor that feeds into his drinking addiction, there was a small picture of my mother on a table near the corner of the room, and the black sheets that covered his bed. Black like his soul.

There was also a fish tank, which was an odd and unexpected addition, but I didn't think much into it.

After Leia and I both entered, he closed the door behind us and turned to face our direction, "Your bedroom?" I raised a brow, "At the very least buy me dinner first." I couldn't stop myself from making these comments no matter how hard I tried to.

He didn't say anything, instead he slowly took his helmet off as he walked towards his nightstand and set it down once he had it fully off. His long blonde hair had been tied in a bun with stray curls flowing over his features, "Leia," He addressed my sister as he removed the bun so his hair would drop down to its normal length, "Anything to report? Besides the obvious." He side-eyed me, before drifting his eyes back to her.

I turned to look at her and she slowly shook her head, "No, I couldn't find Yoda, nor did I find any more bases," She kept her eyes on the floor as she nervously played with her fingers, "I'm sorry." She added low.

She didn't sound afraid of him, but disappointed —probably in herself. Who knows, he most likely expects perfection, he seems like the type.

Vader strutted towards my sister and I tightened my fists together, thinking I was going to witness the abuse I believe he inflicts upon her to keep her in line. Plus it's not a secret to what Vader does to the ones who don't follow through with what he asks for — I'm surprised the imps still have anyone left alive. But every midichlorian in my body froze with shock when I watched him place his hand gently under her chin and lift her gaze to his.

"Chin up my daughter, you did your best," He said calmly and I blinked in surprise.

She sighed, "No I didn't, because if I did then—"

He cut her off when he leaned down and kissed her temple in a way that reminded me of the nights Aunt Padme or Uncle Ben used to kiss us before bed, "How many times do I need to tell you to stop searching for perfection? It does not exist."

Leia looked up at him with deep love in her eyes that was nearly hidden by the amber glow, "And how many times do I need to tell you that it does? You're looking at it." She smirked and I had to hold in an eye roll, she sounded a lot like him when he was younger. So cocky and arrogant, it's a good thing I didn't get those traits and that's what makes me better than them.

(Luke obviously has those traits lol but he hates associating himself with Anakin/Vader in any way.)

He chuckled quietly as he dropped his hand down with a head shake. I watched them both with an expression I'm sure could be categorized as dumbfounded. I have never seen them interact before, I have only ever dealt with them separately, and this is not what I expected it to be like.

So caring and he even gave off a loving ambience... I have always imagined their relationship as strict with zero ounce of affection and that she was forced into obedience with no room for sway because he was too unfit to really love or be a parent. I believed he raised her as his soldier rather than as his daughter.

And I will be standing by that belief.

I'm convinced this is a manipulation tactic to use against me — to display parental love, knowing I have a craving for it. I know neither of them can or want to kill me, so really they've resulted in trying to bring me to their side. Obviously I've always said no and Leia does not like to be told no... ever, and that's how I lost my hand.

I cleared my throat and the small laughter they shared slowly died as they both turned to look at me, "Sorry to ruin your moment, but I would really like to get this started, I have places to be. And I am also going to need you to tell me where exactly you put my mothers remains and why you moved her in the first place."

Vader snapped his eyes back to his daughter, "Leave us." He lifted his hand to open the door as he shooed her out, "Eat something."

She knitted her brows in annoyance, "I'm not hungry."

"Just do as I say for once and go," He used the force to shove her closer to the open door and her expression of annoyance grew, "Before you get sick again."

Sick?

Leia breathed in a sharp inhale before shooting me a warning glare, basically saying 'Try anything and I will hurl your carcass into space'. I gave her an innocent smile in return and she quickly left the room with attitude in her steps.

Vader waved the door closed behind her, "She's very protective of you," I commented.

He nodded slowly, "She is my child." He said as he placed his hands behind his back and walked towards me, his heavy steps echoing in the room.

"Are you sure? I'm kind of leaning towards us being Devin's," I used one of the things I learned from being in the past to irritate him; mom's first kiss and his sworn enemy because of it.

He paused in his steps and tilted his head, "You really are trying my patience, Luke. Devin was a useless scum who thought he was good enough for my wife, may the bastard Rest In Peace." He spat the last of his words. His tone was dripping with more hostility than I was expecting, leading me to believe there is much more to that story than what I know so far.

"Yeah well that useless scum probably wouldn't have killed her."

He took a step closer with rage in his eyes, his right hand raising like he was ready to snap my neck with it. But after a few deep breaths, he slowly lowered his shaking hand, "I will make you regret it you if you say something like that again," He turned and went straight for his liquor shelf—what a typical father-like response, drink to bring yourself more patience with your child, "And to answer your question earlier," He said as he poured the liquid into a clear glass, "Rebels went after her, they believed that having the remains of Darth Vader's dead wife would give them some kind of leverage." He explained as he slowly drank from the glass, his hand still shaking with anger from my earlier comment. I can only imagine how much self-control he must be having right now — my words were harsh, but rightfully so.

"But how did they know?" I asked, "No one knows you used to be Anakin Skywalker and no one ever knew of your marriage."

He smiled as he chuckled into his glass before taking another drink, "A rumor of Darth Vader having a deceased wife whose body was hidden in the depths of Mustafar spread around the galaxy, thanks to one of my officers who now knows what it is like to be burned alive."

I thought to ask about the Rebels...but then I thought it would be best if I didn't know.

"You should have seen the Rebels' faces when they put it together though," His wicked smile widened and he never took his lips away from the glass, "All it took was one to recognize who she was by looking at the stone figure I made of her. But the word never got out," He snapped his amber eyes to me, the menacing glare in them made me feel uneasy, "And I'm sure you can imagine why."

I took a deep breath, "And where did you put her?"

He narrowed his eyes, "I'm not telling anyone where she is, not even you," He chugged the rest of his drink and made a grimace before he swallowed it all.

Anger coursed through my body, "But she's my mother, I have a right to—"

"It was odd," He interrupted me, his eyes staring off into space through a small rounded window, "Seeing her that way..." His voice was low like a whisper, "It's hard to believe that what I saw used to be the sweetest and most beautiful person in the galaxy. And now she is just dust and bones." He looked down at the glass in his gloved hand and twisted it, a deep sigh exiting from his lips.

I breathed a sigh that matched his and silently cursed him for making me almost feel sorry for him, "Look, obviously I didn't come here to talk about her remains seeing as I didn't even know she was moved until after I surrendered myself to Leia."

He snapped his gaze up as he placed the empty glass on the table next to him, "She mentioned you saying that you were ready to listen?"

I slowly nodded, "I want the truth, the full truth about how she died. Start to finish, not a single thread of truth out of place."

Vader came closer to me, a small smile tugging on the corners of his lips, "There is no room for lies, Son. You see, because I will not be telling you, I will be showing you exactly how it all happened." He quickly cupped my face and brought our foreheads together.

The last thing I remember was a bright white light and a mind-splitting headache, followed by the words — Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise?

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(Y/n)'s POV
"Not jealous, my ass," I groaned through my teeth as I shot the Queen a death glare from below. She was far away so she appeared blurry and small to me, but I could easily make out who she was with that shiny crown on top of her head illuminating under the sun.

One of the Zygerians pushed me back against a pillar by my neck while another started to cuff me to the pillar, "Quit moving," He sneered.

'I'm coming down there.'  I heard Anakin's angry voice echo.

'Do not blow your cover,' I said back quickly and sternly, 'We need to find the colonists, so just have a little faith in me Master.'

"Why do you even need to cuff me?" I said to the Zygerrian, "It's not like I'll be putting up much of a fight, look at me." I even still had the damn collar around my neck, "At least give me a sliver of a chance."

He laughed as he eyed me up and down before dropping the one shackle he had in his hand to the floor, leaving me with only my left wrist connected to the pillar, "You could be free of all chains including that collar, and you would still have no chance." He gripped my jaw and pulled my face close to his, "It is a shame though, such beauty to be wasted." He brought our lips close and I had to hold in a gag.

"Please don't make me vomit, your breath smells like a sewer." I boldly insulted him, causing him to pull me forward and slam me against the pillar for all to see, causing a roar of excitement from the crowd that had built up in this small amount of time.

"This is going to be very entertaining," He mumbled with malice, "I wonder if it will take its time with you, or better yet," He leaned his lips close to my ear for a whisper, "Saves you and feeds you to the others." He cackled as he walked away, leaving fear in my heart behind.

Yes I was terrified, I had no idea what I was up against, but I needed to put on a brave face and put my training to use. I can't always be the damsel in distress.

"Welcome everyone," The Queen spoke loud and her voice carried throughout the entire arena, "Thank you all for making it to this last minute event, but I had just come to realize how long it has been since feeding Aura." I could hear the wicked smile in her voice as she carried on talking about how I'm just serving number one and that there will be much more after me.

'Nothing binding you is force repressive.' My Master shouted through our connection.

I wanted to roll my eyes, does he think I'm that dumb? 'I know,' I held my wrists up so he could see that was already free from the single shackle that had binded me. Everyone else has their attention on the Queen, so I know no one of importance noticed that I was already out of the shackles, and I quickly put my hands behind my back to hide my freedom. Now the only issue is the collar, that is something I can't seem to take off.

Although Anakin is a far distance away, I could still see him and feel him as if he was right next to me. And as I looked in his direction, I could feel it in my soul that he was looking right back and soon I started to hear what sounded like a fast heartbeat beating against my eardrum, but it wasn't mine.

"Raise the gates!" The Queen yelled, snapping me out of the spell I was in.

I quickly looked over to the large gate that was rising up. My palms grew sweaty as I stared into the eerie darkness of the pit, and eventually the gate came to a sudden halt, signaling it was open fully.

I took a step forward, nearly tripping over the shackles on the floor. I was waiting anxiously, just like the day I laid stuck in a cave staring into the darkness, wondering what was going to appear and kill me.

The crowd grew quiet when movement could be heard, followed by a screech. I then took a step back with wide eyes when the creature creeped out of the darkness...

'What the hell is that?' I took another step back, hitting my back against the pillar.

'A Krykna'

As soon as his horror-filled words passed through my mind, the creature locked its attention on me. The blood in my body ran cold when it screamed a sickening screech and started dashing into my direction.

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