Love in the Dark

Chapter 1

It was yet another beautiful day on Naboo. At the door of a big mansion, a woman was standing, her brown hair tied back in an elaborate braid. "Luke! Leia!" she called towards the house, as hurried footsteps were heard and two young children appeared.
"You're going to be late." she said, all while bending down to perfect her children's clothing.
As soon as she pulled down the ruffs on her daughter's dress, the girl skipped away towards two teenage girls, waiting further down the path. "Goodbye mother!" Leia said.
Padmé waved down to the two girls and yelled, "Ryoo, Pooja! Take care of your cousins!"
The two girls waved back as the young Leia got up to them.
Padmé looked down as she realized her son was still there, looking over at the girls, reluctant to leave.
"Mother, Luke said, I don't want to go to school...".
Padmé smiled at her son and kneeled down so she would be at his level.
"Don't worry sweetheart, you'll be fine." She searched for his eyes and stared down in the sea of blue that they were. "Just remember, don't...don't do anything that the other children can't."
He looked at her, sad. "Am I not normal?" he asked.
The woman smiled and brushed softly his cheek with her hand. "You're special Luke. Special in a way that others wouldn't understand, so you have to keep it a secret. Remember? It's our little secret."
"What about Leia? he asked, is she special too?"
Padmé hesitated, "You both are." she finally said.
Luke didn't understand why his mother looked so sad every time he brought up his powers. He wished he were normal so she could be happy.
"Now go on, before your sister and your cousins run away without you."
Luke turned away, and started going down the stairs.
"And Luke!" he heard his mother call. She was running down the stairs after him and took him in her arms.
"I love you." she said, kissing the boy on the cheek.
She ruffled his sandy blonde hair and gently pushed him forward to go after the girls.

Padmé hated sending her children off, but they had to be treated normally, as any other children.
She loved them dearly, but Luke was starting to worry her.
They were exceptional twins that she was very proud of, but every time she looked at them, she would be reminded of Anakin. It had been seven years since he had turned against the jedi, since he had betrayed his friends and everyone he loved. The wound in her heart was still wide open, and she doubted that she'd ever heal.
Leia was very much like her physically, but also resembled her father in personality. She was a strong girl that didn't let herself be bossed around. She hated taking orders, and was short-tempered. Padmé had no worries for her, apart from the fact she would probably start a fight in school (most likely to protect her twin brother).
Luke, on the other hand, was a soft, kind-hearted boy. He would always watch his sister from aback, and wouldn't say anything even when being bossed around by her. He was the opposite of Leia, in the way that he resembled his father physically, but Padmé in personality.
When he was but a child, he had shown signs of being able to use the Force. It had been Padmé's worst nightmare. She had long hesitated to send him to Obi-Wan, but she couldn't bear to let go of him and have him brought up far away from the rest of the world, living in secrecy. If he became a Jedi, he would be chased by the Sith and most likely be exterminated. And if he were found by the Sith...she couldn't even imagine losing him the way she had lost Anakin to the Dark Side. It would destroy her.
No, it was better to suppress this connection he had with the Force, at least for now. When the time would come, she would contact Obi-Wan and send him to him.
As for Leia, she had the Force too, but it was less visible. Padmé thought it was better that way, as she was most prone to let place to her anger, and act on her emotions. And Padmé knew all too well where that lead to.

"Padmé...are you alright?"
Sola, Padmé's sister, was looking worriedly at her as she had snapped out of reality again and was lost in her thoughts.
Padmé stopped her thinking and looked up to the soft looking woman standing behind her.
"Sola...it will be alright, won't it?"
Sola took her younger sister in her arms and rubbed her back affectionately.
"Of course." She smiled at her sibling, "You have two wonderful children and a family that's here for you. Let go of the past, it's been almost a decade since the fall of the Republic..."
Padmé broke away from her sister, feeling upset and reminiscent of the old times. "I know", she started saying, "I'm not the senator of Naboo anymore. All my ideals, everything I've fought for, it all went down to ashes, all because...of one man." Tears started welling up in her eyes.
Sola hugged her affectionately. "It's okay little sister. You don't have to be anyone else. You've fought enough. You've given all that you could. Just be Padmé Naberrie. Not a queen, nor a senator...just here with us."
Padmé smiled endearingly to the strong woman in front of her that was her sister. "You're right," she said, "at least for Luke and Leia, I have to be strong."
The two women went back inside the mansion, Sola still holding Padmé against her with one arm.

Padmé hadn't changed much physically, it had almost been a decade but she still looked as beautiful as before. Except if you looked closely, there was nothing regal left of her. The strong woman that had once been known as a Senator was gone. Or at least seemed gone. She had convinced herself into being an ordinary woman, here for her children, and not go on any adventures. The Empire thought her dead. It was essential that she kept a low profile. The only ones who knew she was still alive were the men who had witnessed her delivering the twins and her family. The Naboo were bound to secrecy, protecting their ex-queen. She would hardly go wandering around Theed, only going as far as the lake and the prairies near the house, where she knew she didn't risk anything.
As for where her children came from and who the father was, no one knew. Although she never told her family, she was sure they had their suspicions and that they knew it was Anakin, but they never discussed it. It was to be kept secret. And she intended to keep it that way.