Title: Dragon

Author: Emjen Enla (Fanfiction)/emjen_enla (Wattpad)/emjenenla (Tumblr)

Teaser: All told, Anakin holds his infant daughter for thirty minutes. Or how Anakin and Padmé saved the galaxy. Told in fifteen short scenes.

Rating: high PG-13/T

Canon/Timeline: AU but could be read as either Canon; begins around the end of ROTS

Dominant Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker

Pairings: Anidala

Warnings: faked extramarital affair, torture

Notes:

-Firstly, I apologize for not posting anything for over a month. I meant to do a lot of writing this Christmas break, but for some reason I just haven't been able to write. Hopefully, I've managed to get over that now and I'll be able to post again before I go back to school in a week.

-You all know how much I like Anakin and little!Leia. As much as I wanted to play with that relationship in this story, when I actually thought it through I realized it wouldn't work with this plot (Leia looks too much like Padmé to be anyone's kid but Padmé's).

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.

(15)

All told, Anakin holds his infant daughter for thirty minutes.

The med droid who delivered the twins hums softly in a corner. He and Padmé have just decided on the names when Padmé shifts Leia in her arms, fingering the baby's already dark hair. "I think she's going to look like me," she says.

Anakin's stomach sinks as she forces him to face the plans they made before she went into labor, this will likely be their only time together as a family. He and Padmé switch babies. Anakin settles little Leia into his arms and rests his forehead against hers. He fills the Force between them with love. He knows Leia won't remember him—she's much too little—but he hopes that maybe the love will last anyway.

(14)

After they fled Coruscant, he and Padmé discussed all possible plans of action before settling on the painful plan they're about to undertake. They agree that it's only a matter of time before a rebellion rises up against Palpatine and when it does, people in Palpatine's inner circle will be important. As a well-known and well-trusted Senator, Padmé is in the perfect position to spy on the new Emperor's dealings.

"I can do it," Anakin had argued when the topic had first come up. "I'm the one he wants."

"No, Ani," Padmé told him. "It's safer this way."

He didn't argue after that, because he knows she's right. Recent events have shown that he has little defense against Palpatine's manipulations. He would have turned to the Dark Side and helped Palpatine destroy the galaxy if Padmé hadn't realized what was happening when she did. Padmé's strength of belief is much stronger than his; she'll be able to withstand being in close quarters with Palpatine for a long period of time.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Despite Padmé's attempts to keep her pregnancy secret, people know about it. If the baby vanishes just after Padmé flees Coruscant, people will know that she gave the child away no matter what she says. Palpatine will know that there's some plan in place and he won't let Padmé near enough to know anything important. Therefore, Padmé needs to return to Coruscant with a baby. Leia is the better choice, because it seems like she'll look more like Padmé which will make it easier to keep the number of people who know her true parentage down to a minimum.

Does this make them cruel, selfish parents? Anakin isn't sure and he doesn't let himself think about, because he knows that once he goes down that path, he'll never be able to do what needs to be done. Palpatine needs to be stopped, and this is their best chance.

However, sending Leia back to Coruscant breaks his heart. That's why, at the end of the half hour he spends holding her, he does something horrible. Something to make sure that while she'll grow up in Palpatine's shadow she'll never be useful to him.

Anakin presses the fingers of his flesh hand to her little forehead and forces his way into her mind. He brushes by her puny, instinctive defenses like they're a breath of air, then he rips the Force away from her. He builds huge, impenetrable walls between her and the power that has nurtured him all his life, the same power that would give Palpatine the chance to twist and form her into a perversion of the love that created her.

Leia screams like she's being murdered. Losing the Force would probably kill a full-grown Jedi, but Anakin hopes Leia's less than an hour old mind will be able to take the blow and adapt.

He hopes that someday both he and Leia will be able to see this as gift.

(13)

Her name is Ikara Jenaria and she's a lie.

Anakin creates her while flying through hyperspace in his Starfighter, Luke asleep on his lap. Before Artoo left the Jedi Temple, he had the sense to make a copy of the Jedi Order's impressive identity falsification programs so Anakin has everything he needs to create a new person.

He doesn't want to do it, but in the eyes of the galaxy—of Palpatine—Leia is the child of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. Luke is not, which means he needs a mother.

According to the story Anakin formulates, Ikara Jenaria ran a small parts shop in the underworld—those kinds of places go under all the time and as a result are hard to trace. Anakin stumbled across her shop after Ahsoka left the Order, and well…things happened. She died in an underworld riot during Palpatine's take over, and one of her friends brought Luke to Anakin to fulfil her last wish. He didn't know Luke existed until then.

The thought of even pretending to have had an affair, makes Anakin feel sick, but he tells himself it needed to happen. He isn't sure if Palpatine will be fooled, but he knows this story will fool the Jedi and everyone else. That's all he needs, because if people aren't speculating about who Luke's mother is, the story will probably die down more quickly, which means it's less likely Palpatine will hear about it.

(12)

Anakin hides out for a couple months before he goes to join the surviving Jedi. That way, Luke isn't so brand-new and it's harder for anyone to be certain that he's not as old as Anakin says he is.

When they hear the story, Master Yoda and Master Windu are understandably livid. They shout at him for several hours before finally admitting what Anakin already knew; that no matter how many rules he's broken they're kind of short on Jedi right now and can't afford to punish him.

After the Council gets done with him, he gets another lecture from Obi-Wan. However, Anakin's sat through a lot of Obi-Wan's lectures over the years and this one seems a little lackluster. Anakin's pretty sure Obi-Wan's not as taken in by the lie as everyone else is, but as long as he keeps quiet about it, Anakin figures it's alright.

(11)

Unlike Obi-Wan, Ahsoka is completely taken in. She shows up at the hide-out of the remaining Jedi when Luke's about two. Once she learns about "Ikara" she corners Anakin and proceeds to scream at him about honor and tells him that she thought he was better than that.

Anakin defends his "actions" and she keeps yelling. Its several years before she'll even work with him, let alone treat him as a friend.

(10)

The rebellion slowly begins to grow as Palpatine tightens his fist. Anakin's job is far more varied than it was in the days of the Republic. He still flows orders, but he's not just taking apart droids anymore. He does everything from recruiting to stealing weapons, sometimes both at the same time.

The only thing he wishes is that he could be the one who keeps in contact with Padmé. He's not sure exactly who she's in contact with, but he knows she's passing on information to someone, because he heard about her on occasion.

She calls herself Dragon now, at least when she's talking to the rebellion. Though they never discussed her codename when they made this plan, Anakin knows she got her name from the dragon of his Dark Side, the one he told her about after they ran. At first he doesn't understand why she chose that name, but as time goes on he realizes the symbolism. Anakin's dragon almost destroyed him from the inside out, and Padmé will be dragon that does the same for Palpatine.

(9)

The worst part of the lie is when Luke gets old enough to ask where Mommy is. Anakin knows that the questions will only get worse as he gets older. He knows that eventually he'll need to tell Luke something, if only to keep the boy quiet.

But he can't do it. Lying to the galaxy about his son's mother is one thing, but he will not lie to his son about his mother.

(8)

By the time Luke is five, Ahsoka had gotten over most of her anger at Anakin, and just in time, because the two of them are given a ship and a crew and become their own self-sustaining rebel cell. Now Anakin truly is in charge of himself, sure he still needs to let Windu, Yoda and Organa what he's doing on occasion, but normally he can just call the shots.

He uses this freedom to its utmost. He, Ahsoka and their crew free slaves by the hundreds, they liberate tiny world no one has thought of generations, they help people who are on the run from dozens of corrupt rulers find safety. As a result, they bring thousands into the rebellion.

Luke rides alongside them the entire time. By seven he can shoot as well as any being three times his age. By eight he can fly better than most of the Imperial navy. Anakin and Ahsoka train him in the ways of the Force, but not the ways of the Jedi. They teach him to meditate, and lift things with his mind, and wield a lightsaber, but they don't teach him that love is wrong, they don't teach him that caring will destroy him. That would be hypocritical, because the motto of their cell quickly becomes "we care about those who no one else does."

(7)

"You're going to have to tell him someday, you know," Ahsoka says one day while she and Anakin are repairing their ship's engines.

"Tell who what?" Anakin asks, even though he knows exactly what Ahsoka's talking about. Luke is eight now and the number of questions about his mother are at an all-time high.

"Luke," Ahsoka says. "You need to tell him about his mother. I know you don't want to think about it, but he deserves to know something about her."

Anakin sighs. He knew this day was coming, but he still wants to put it off for as long as possible. "I know he does, but I just can't."

(6)

"Did my mother like starships?" Luke asks one day. He, Anakin and Ahsoka are sitting in the cockpit looking over space charts. Ahsoka gives Anakin a look that says, told you, then gets up and leaves.

Luke watches her go, then turns back to Anakin. "Well, did she?"

Anakin sighs. "Luke…" he says quietly.

Luke's lips purse together and his face darkens. "You know, last time we were at the base Master Windu told me that you don't talk about my mother because you didn't love her."

Anakin winces. That's not true. He tells himself. He loves Padmé, even though they haven't talked in eight years. He will always love her; it doesn't matter what people say about the lie he made to protect his son. Someday, they'll all know the truth.

He almost forgets that Luke is there until the boy speaks again, "Is that true?"

Now is the point where he should tell Luke the lie he told everyone else, but the words seem to be stuck in his throat. Telling Luke this seems to be crossing a line. Luke has been dreaming about his mother his entire life, to give him answers in the form of lies seems cruel and it will be doubly so once he realizes Anakin was lying.

Still is that a legitimate point, or is Anakin just trying to avoid telling the tale again? Anakin isn't sure.

He takes a deep, shaky breath and looks away. "Luke," he says. "I understand that you want to know about you mother, but you need to understand that there's a lot more going on with your mother and me than anyone knows. I would love to tell you about her, but it's not safe, not yet. As soon as it is, I promise I'll tell you everything."

Luke purses his lips again, but he nods.

(5)

Not even six months later, they're on an outer rim mining world freeing slaves. This is the biggest group of slaves the Imperials have ever assigned to a single place. If they can free them, there's no way the Imperials will be able to keep it quiet.

They plan the mission for months, enlisting the help of various other cells. Everything seems like it's going to work out and Anakin is excited. They're going to strike a huge blow against the Empire and everyone's going to know.

It isn't until he's deep in the bowels of the mining complex, being electrocuted by half a dozen of Palpatine's Dark Side toadies that he realizes it's a trap and he fell for it.

(4)

Sometime in the last eight years, Palpatine has changed his appearance to match his evil interior. He's now a hunched, black-cloaked creature with orange and red eyes. Anakin can feel the Dark Side emanating off the man, even through the Force repressor collar he's wearing. It's hard to believe, he ever trusted this man.

"Young Anakin," Palpatine says in the same grandfatherly voice he used to use. It had never seemed this fake when Anakin had thought he was a good man. "It's so good to see you again."

"Do the galaxy a favor and throw yourself off a skyscraper," Anakin snarls with as much venom as he can manage hanging half naked and injured in a containment field.

Palpatine laughs. "You don't mean that, Anakin. I'm sure we'll soon get all these lies the Jedi have been telling you straightened out."

"Good luck with that," Anakin shoots back. He's had eight years to get rid of the little seeds of darkness that Palpatine had been planting through the entirety of their relationship. Now is the test of how well he's succeeded.

Palpatine smiles again, like he knows something Anakin doesn't and draws a small, delicate knife out of his robes. Anakin forces himself to relax and remember the things the Jedi taught him about resisting torture. He expected this the instant he was captured; he'll be fine.

Right when he thinks he's got himself mentally prepared, Palpatine gives him a crafty smile and holds the knife out to someone standing in the shadows behind him. "Here, my dear, make him pay for abandoning you."

Anakin's heart stops when Padmé steps out into the open and takes the knife.

(3)

Anakin has never seen Padmé like this. For one, she's wearing black. Sure he's seen her in black before, but this dress isn't like the one she was wore when they were on Naboo together all those years ago. This dress is all harsh lines and sharp angles, it screams evil almost as loudly as Palpatine's shadowy cloak does. She turns the knife over and over in her hand like it's a toy. She seems so far from the woman he fell in love with that he finds himself starting to worry that she was wrong about her ability to withstand the Sith's evil and that she's actually on Palpatine's side now.

"Look who finally decided to show his face again," she says in an evil hiss.

Anakin tries to smile, but fails. His bravo is gone. "You know me," the words sound hollow and scared.

"Too well, unfortunately," Padmé says. Anakin makes himself look her in the eyes and almost melts in relief at what he sees there. Her eyes are still hers. They are still warm and expressive, not cold and angry. They seem to be saying, Really, Ani? You had to get yourself captured? Anakin bites back a smile. She's still there, just a very good actor.

"Well, then maybe I should update my script," he says.

Padmé snorts, even that sound seems to drip evil and scorn, she's gotten really good at this. "You could have at least mentioned the other woman," her voice makes it sound like that's the final straw, the thing that made her hate him, but her eyes look amused, like she's trying to tell him that they'll laugh about it someday.

Anakin is so happy to see her again and to know that she hasn't been corrupted by Palpatine that he can't respond for fear of bursting into tears. He wishes he could envelope her in a hug and never let her go; he's missed her so much.

Palpatine clears his throat delicately from behind Padmé, a not-so-subtle hint to get moving. Her eyes lock with Anakin's and he sees her reluctance. She doesn't want to do this.

You have to, he tries to tell her with his eyes. We'll escape later, but now's not the time to disobey.

He's not sure if he succeeds in passing on the message, or if she simply comes to the same conclusion. Either way, her eyes grow resigned and her fingers tighten around the knife hilt. "I've been waiting for this," she says and slices a long, thin mark down his bare chest.

(2)

Time fades into a blur, Palpatine comes every day to torment Anakin, sometimes physically, sometimes with the Dark Side and sometimes with his words. He's very, very good with words. As hard as Anakin tries to ignore them, there's part of him who listens and agrees when Palpatine tells him that the rebellion abandoned him and that Obi-Wan and Ahsoka don't care enough to try to save him. He has to remind himself over and over again that he doesn't want them to come here, if they come here, they might get captured too and then it would be his fault.

Still, it would be nice if someone came.

He quickly regrets wishing for that, when Palpatine marches into his cell dragging Luke with him. The boy's alive and fighting, but Anakin still feels like the galaxy has come to an end. Eight years of hiding the boy from Palpatine and it comes down to this. "I'm sorry, Dad," Luke says. "I was trying to save you."

"Very clever, Anakin," Palpatine says. "Hiding this boy from me for so long. You were smart enough to make the girl useless to me, but this one," he shakes Luke by the collar of his tunic. "This one will be very useful to me."

"Leave him alone," Anakin hisses.

Luke looks from Anakin to Palpatine and back again. He's trying to be brave, but he still looks very scared. "Dad…" he whispers.

"Be brave, Luke," Anakin says.

Palpatine laughs. "Try your best; you are both mine." Then he releases a bolt of lightning into Anakin's body.

For Luke's sake, Anakin tries not to scream, but fails anyway.

(1)

Palpatine steps up the physical torture after that, Anakin suspects that the Sith is using the bond Anakin and Luke share to aid in his plans to turn Luke to the Dark Side. Anakin tries to keep from projecting his pain as much as possible, but it's hard without the Force. He wishes he could cut off his bond with Luke so Palpatine would stop weaponizing it, but that's another thing he can't do without the Force.

Some undeterminable time—days, weeks, maybe—later, he's hanging in his containment field, trying to sleep before Palpatine comes back to continue his torment when someone enters his cell. He braces himself for more pain, but none comes, instead a soft, careful hand reaches out to caress his cheek.

He opens his eyes to see Padmé, dressed in a black bodysuit and cloak. Her eyes are determined and she's alone. Palpatine has brought Padmé along to Anakin's torture sessions several more times, but thankfully has never made her perform the actual torture after the first time. Anakin notices vaguely that this is the first time they've been alone together in eight years.

"How are you?" Padmé asks in her real voice, not the harsh one she uses around Palpatine.

Anakin shrugs and immediately winces. "Truthfully? I've been better."

"Are you well enough to fight?" she asks. "Sidious is asleep in his quarters on the top floor and I know all the passcodes."

Anakin's pain melts away as he realizes what she's suggesting. "I'm strong enough for that," he says. "But what about Luke? Do you know where he's being held?"

"Already taken care of," Padmé says. "Obi-Wan and Ahsoka showed up this afternoon. I sprang Luke from his cell and sent both him and Leia with them. I made them promise to leave immediately without waiting for us. They should be off-world by now."

Anakin nods. "Alright. Can you get me out of this containment field, then?"

She smiles. "Of course," she moves over to the wall and punches a code into the field's control pad. The field flickers out and Anakin drops to the ground.

It takes him a couple minutes to regain enough feeling in his legs to be able to stand, but once he does, Padmé pulls him to his feet. They share one desperate kiss, overflowing with eight years of long overdue love. "I love you," Anakin whispers when they pull apart.

"I love you too," Padmé says, then her lips press together as she switches her focus to the task at hand. "Are you ready?"

Anakin takes her hand and laces his fingers through hers. "Whenever you are, Milady."

Hand in hand, they leave the cell to go save the galaxy.

Well, what did you think? This was probably a little more mature than most of my stuff is.

Please favorite, follow and review!

Emjen