Of Love and War Book 5: The Tragedy of Hope

Chapter 14: Echoes of Varykino

*Zelina's POV*

It was a bit more difficult than Zelina had initially planned for them to figure out the best way to discreetly get to Varykino. Thankfully, Artoo could give them some directions for how to get there to make up for Zelina not being here in literal decades and someone else bringing them to Varykino last time she was here. Zelina was also able to pay to rent a water speeder for a few days to provide their transportation. Still, the harder part was the slight learning curve for Luke to figure out how to pilot a water vessel, and for both of them to figure out a more discreet and less out in the open and obvious path to follow to the lake retreat. It would be better if no one saw them making their way out to the retreat—and they would have to figure out a plan for how to hide the rented vehicle when the staff came by to clean.

But, initially, their biggest problem was only, in part, getting there.

As much as she would have liked for Luke to be the passenger in the water speeder so he could enjoy the water and the scenery, he did have that mechanic/pilot curiosity to see how it worked and figure it out, to drive a new kind of vehicle in a new environment. So, Zelina didn't argue when he took over, relaxing in the back with Artoo, who whistled directions to them from time to time for course corrections to make sure that they stayed on the right track. Neither of them were worried about crashing into anything between their senses in the Force and Artoo's directions, so they kept from casting any lights to further lessen their visibility to anyone who may be looking out over the lake in the darkness.

Once Zelina saw the silhouette of the familiar lake house, she was able to guide Luke carefully to the small channel created by the stone wall in the water and the stone docking area. They both lifted Artoo out of the speeder onto the smooth stone surface, made sure the speeder was tied up and wasn't going to float away in the night. Then, they made their way up the stone steps and to the veranda Anakin and Padmé had shared their first kiss. They came to a stop at the railing, looking over at the lake shrouded in night with glimmers of moonlight against its surface.

"Your parents and I stayed here for some time before the Clone Wars broke out. It was the first time Anakin and myself had seen Padmé since we were children and she had been the young Queen of Naboo. We were assigned to her as protection after some assassination attempts. It was some of our best memories, and most peaceful—especially after the war broke out. It's where Anakin and Padmé truly fell in love, and where they soon got married in secret," Zelina told Luke quietly as they leaned against the railing.

Luke hung on her every word, gaze intent and expression eager after he got over the initial surprise of what she was telling him. "They fell in love here?" Luke asked, looking back over the water, listening to the night bugs and birds, the sound of the waves lapping against the stone below, the serenity and the vibrancy of life...

"Well...yes and no. Your father was infatuated with her from the first time he met her, you remember that part of the story," Zelina remarked, continuing after Luke gave a nod of confirmation. "It was a little one sided back then, and stayed like that for some time. More like a boyhood crush on a beautiful girl a bit older than him. But when they met again, both adults and in close proximity for an extended period of time in such a beautiful place, Anakin excited to be around his crush after all this time, getting to know who they'd both become over the years...well, that's when the one sided boyhood crush turned into them falling in love. It was a bit rocky, again, I've told you the parts of the story for why it had to be secret, the back and forth on whether they should or shouldn't act on it...but they really fell for each other here, this is where it became mutual. And even though they confessed elsewhere, under entirely different circumstances, this is where they came back to get married shortly after the Clone Wars started. Right on this very veranda, actually," Zelina told him quietly.