Love in the Dark

Chapter 15

Padmé's arrival on Alderaan in an imperial shuttle had caused quite the panic. She had been met by Bail Organa himself, as he had come out to the landing platform, leading some of his men behind him. As the shuttle's rail came down, he advanced, a grave and wary look on his face.

"What is the meaning of-" he had started saying, but trailed off when he recognized the familiar face behind the uniform. Bail went straight up to her, confusion and relief mixed in his voice. "Padmé! What in the world-!"

"I'll explain inside." She had told him.

Bail ordered his men to hide the shuttle while the two friends disappeared inside the building.

The two senators sat down, Bail handing his friend a hot cup of tea.

"What happened on Coruscant?" he inquired, worry still present in his voice. "Padmé, we thought something had happened to you. We thought you might be dead."

"I was tracked." Padmé sipped on the hot water. "I failed the mission and put every one of us in danger by doing so."

"It's alright. We'll survive to live another day and in the end that's all that matters." Bail sighed and smiled at her. "I'm glad you're back."

Padmé smiled, but she looked down, remembering Anakin. "I'm glad to be back too."

Bail poured himself some tea. "How did you manage to escape? And how on earth did you get in possession of one of the Empire's ships?"

Padmé gripped her cup tightly in her hands. "Would you believe me if I told you I was chased by Darth Vader and lived to tell the tale?"

Bail put the cup he was holding down on the table, looking at the woman with big eyes. As Padmé didn't waver when their eyes met, the Senator scoffed in disbelief. "I would now. Tell me what on earth happened over there."

So, the rebel told her friend and colleague what had happened up to when she almost fell to her death.

"Before we continue," Padmé said, "you have to promise to keep what I'm about to tell you to yourself."

Bail didn't hesitate. "I promise with my life."

Padmé cleared her throat and leaned forward towards him: "We have an ally inside the Empire."

Bail's eyebrows furrowed. "What? How? Who?"

"Do you trust me Bail?"

"Of course."

Padmé looked into his eyes with a fierceness he had almost forgotten his friend could possess. "Anakin Skywalker." And as the words left her mouth, it was like a wave of cold water had crashed onto him.

"Anakin-? Padmé! What in the world happened to you on Coruscant?!"

Padmé sighed; she had expected this type of reaction.

"Have you lost your mind? I thought Anakin Skywalker was no more."

"I thought so too, yet he saved my life. He's well alive and ready to fight more than ever."

Bail got up from his seat, almost knocking over the table in the process. "So, he saves your life and that's it? Suddenly he's to be trusted? Need I remind you everything that he did?"

"I know. I'm not naïve. I got a taste of it first-hand." Padmé said with sarcasm and bitterness. "But Anakin never was a bad man."

Bail looked at his friend in disbelief. "Tell that to his victims. Tell that to the countless others he slaughtered without a second glance, without a second thought."