Dreams
Summary: In dreams, he cannot escape…short vignette.
Timeframe: Before ANH, after ROTS
Archive: In the unlikely event that someone would actually want to archive this – ask and I'll say yes. Just let me know where it's going.
Disclaimer: All things recognisably Star Wars belong to George Lucas. I just like making up my own stories. ALL HAIL LUCAS!
A/N: This was a bit of an experiment for me. It just kind of popped into my head during Physics (such an odd time to get this idea), and wouldn't go away. I really like this fic, and I hope you do too.
In the dark depths of his dreams, he is no longer safe.
He is no longer safe from his subconscious memory, no longer safe from the guilt of terrible deeds long past.
No longer safe from her.
In dreams, Vader is haunted by her presence, and he is unable to escape.
She stands before him, and it seems as though she wears a black veil, her figure blurred but decipherable behind the fabric. He runs to her, crying her name in joy (Padmé! You're safe!), but as he reaches her, he sees that she wears no veil, that it is a curtain separating them.
He tries to push through to where her shadow stands behind the cloth, but he cannot reach her. He draws on the Dark Side to blast the veil apart, but it only sways slightly and remains uncompromising.
And then the sound of sobbing fills the empty air; he can hear Padmé crying (or is it him?) and he begs her to let him through, begs her to help him. But her only response is You tried. Just that: you tried, over and over again between the tears until he falls to his knees.
A pressure builds at his throat; he can't breathe but he can, and he scrabbles at his neck to loosen the nonexistent fingers (this is what I did to her), but his throat only constricts more.
He can see her shadow through the curtain, and all he can choke out is Why? And everything is still and he can breathe again, and he can hear tears, not the sound of crying, but tears.
No words. Only tears.
And then a whisper that is silent and deafening at once – "I loved you."
The curtain falls, pooling black fabric, and she has disappeared.
Vader awakens.
He can go about his business, ignoring his night-time visions, pretending all is well and that he enjoys the power he wields.
But in dreams, he cannot escape.
Fin