Tesselated Fate Chapter 1: Prologue, a star wars fanfic

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Tesselated Fate

ROTS AU. What if events happened differently, yet much the same? Would Anakin's destiny be any different? Or do all roads lead to his fall?

The motivation behind this story is varied. First and foremost, like any normal person, I vainly wish that ROTS had ended differently. That's hardly a unique wish.

I also wanted other subtle plot variations - namely, more of Padmé's perspective. More dialogue between her and Anakin. Between her and anyone, really. Her character & script were SO shortchanged in that movie. Basically, I'm aiming for more intimate character development & drama all around.

I do tend to favor dialogue over action, but rest assured I've included both in this story.

90% of the details are canon, give or take. I've done my best to research everything, but sometimes A) there's no info so I invent it, or B) I just don't like the info so I change it. That's what FanFiction's all about anyway. ;)

So enjoy, and please be kind! I get the feeling the SW crowd is a tough one to please... *gulp*

(The cover art for this story is from my Deviant Art collection. Retarded FanFiction won't let me paste the link... just search for "juliesally100" on DeviantArt dot com. It's good for a laugh or two.)

Prologue

A pair of delicate hands traced the balcony railing, brushing away the last flecks of daylight as the sun set over Varykino. They stopped at the farthest point overlooking the water and a pair of dark brown eyes drank in the restful scene. Even in the fading light, the colors surrounding her seemed no less vibrant, no less saturated with the life-giving exuberance she felt every time she came here.

Two more days, Padmé sighed to herself. Just two more nights of sleeping alone before I'll have him like a warm boulder next to me in bed.

As usual, her request for leave had been last-minute. At no point during their marriage had Anakin been able to provide more than a week's notice. Bail and the other senators began to assume it was the mental toll of war that periodically drove her to Naboo's lake country. They were partially right, she supposed – the war was responsible for these clandestine rendezvous, but not for the reasons they suspected.

The only ones who knew the truth were those who accompanied her on each impulsive trip, Dorme and C3PO. While her handmaiden managed the turmoil well, mastering the art of packing Padmé's luggage in under half an hour, the protocol droid was another matter. She often resorted to powering him down to keep him from tripping over Dorme in his haste to prove useful. He came in handy as a diplomatic interpreter, but where grace and agility were concerned, Dorme was the uncontested winner.

Both had been excused early that evening. Neither could provide her with anything the balcony couldn't. All she wanted was to lose herself in the sweet scent of flowering vines, to close her eyes with her feet planted exactly where she'd stood nearly three years ago in Anakin's shadow. To feel him lift the scalloped edge of her veil and press his mouth to hers with tenderness that belied his age.

To convince herself, just for a moment, that it had only been yesterday, that husband and wife had never spent so much as an hour apart. That nothing, and certainly nothing as ugly as war, had or ever would separate them.

A few unruly curls tickled her cheeks as she inhaled the soft breeze. The illusion was almost complete, she thought with a pang of bittersweet nostalgia. If she focused just a little more, let her mind drift over the mirror surface of the lake, she'd open her eyes to find him standing there, as clearly as if she could reach out and touch the masculine lines of his body.

With a mournfully passionate sigh, she watched the vision fade and felt the bliss slowly drain from her veins. This was as it should be, she told herself. Fabricated reality was no place to linger once your soul had been soothed. Stay too long and you faced the risk of losing yourself – and your mind – in the fantasy forever.

That was precisely what she feared had happened when she turned to see a figure in the doorway. A figure whose broad shoulders and disarming smile belonged to only one man.

Leaning back to brace herself against the railing, Padmé pinched her eyes shut, panicking. Snap out of it Padmé, she silently barked. You're still imagining him. You'll open your eyes and see… he won't be there anymore.

Except he was.

I've lost my mind. I'll never be able to tell dreams from reality again…

"Are you going to stand there blinking all night, or do you intend to hug me at some point?"

Before she could recover from the shock of hearing his voice, Anakin had closed the distance between them with four long strides. Her senses drowned in smooth, cold leather as her face buried into his shoulder, the sudden shock of his fierce embrace making her gasp for air.

"What are you doing here?" the balcony spun like a carousel around her. "You said it would be two more days…"

A chuckle rumbled against her ear. "I can leave and come back in two days if you'd prefer," he teased, running his human hand up her neck to caress her hair. "Far be it from me to inconvenience a senator. I know how tightly you keep your schedule."

Any retort she may have had was smothered by a kiss that left her reeling even more. Steadying herself against his arms, at last she gazed into the blue eyes she'd longed for daily for the last five months. Far too long, she thought with an ache she still felt now. Their longest separation yet.

"You're hardly an inconvenience, Ani," she laughed. "But this has never happened before… usually it's just the opposite."

"I know," he murmured while kissing her forehead. "Maybe this is a taste of things to come. With my last mission so successful, maybe the end of the war is closer than we think."

"You have no idea how badly I want to believe that," she sighed.

"Then believe it."

The smile in his voice made her look up, arching an eyebrow uncertainly. "What are you saying?"

His smirk was even more disarming than she remembered. "I have a feeling, that's all. Obi-Wan and I have watched the landscape of this war change for almost three years. We both sense its turning point approaching."

Padmé frowned slightly. "Turning points can go one of two ways. I'm afraid that isn't very consoling."

"Have a little faith," he brushed her cheek, planting a finger on her lips to gently silence her worries. "It's not wise to doubt what the most powerful Jedi in the universe tells you," he added with a roguish smile.

"My apologies. I hope the consequences won't be too harsh," she whispered playfully.

"Oh, there will be consequences milady, but I wouldn't call them harsh."

Padmé's feet lost contact with the ground as Anakin swept her into his custody, locking her securely against his chest without a backward glance to the lake.

The bed he soon deposited her on felt softer than it had the previous night. The faint glow of the nightlight seemed softer too, falling over the lean form of her husband and each breathtaking move he made. It briefly shone on a new scar running down the side of his ribcage, a sight that made her pause until his lips found her neck again.

Her mind never could hold onto a sober thought at times like this. The longer they'd been apart, the shorter those thoughts lived. And five months was a new record… it would be a while before her capacity for rational thinking returned.

And so a small voice went unheard, drowned by the tidal wave of desperation that flooded everything in its path. A voice that tried feebly to warn her of where she was in her cycle, that her waking temperature had only begun to rise that morning. That unlike during all his other visits, the window for conception was wide open.

Only hours later did she hear that voice. Waking to find Anakin's chest rising and falling with gentle snores, she rolled onto her back and stared unblinkingly at the ceiling.

It was only one time… the odds of it happening have to be low, right? After all, it can take months for couples to conceive. She glanced back at Anakin's sleeping form and swallowed against the lump in her throat. Then again, I know girls who who'd be the first to tell you that one time is all it takes…

Sleep was fitful for Padmé until dawn finally arrived. The only thing she woke feeling certain of was that Anakin deserved two weeks of bliss and relaxation. If that meant burying the ever-mounting dread in the pit of her stomach, then she would bury it until the point his ship vanished from the sky.