How to Disappear (Anakin Skywalker x Reader)

Naboo

Your body belonged in that image, stitched into the back of his eyelids to see when sleep overcame him. Vader sat with that picture seared into his mind all day. He kept you there in a shield between the bones of his ribs. It was there he could protect you.

As the days passed, his body felt more like a shell. A ghost that roamed the halls of his ship, wandering in search of something. The Emperor had noticed too, reminding him of his place in the galaxy: a living machine built to serve the Empire. After that, Vader became more careful putting his suit on, accounting for the growing red lashes on his back. He thinks you probably look more alive than he did.

Vader lives like that for a while. Awaiting your next visit becomes a fantasy he clings to. Maybe you were out there appearing to others. His gut twisted at that. He hoped he was the only one. Had you interfered in any of his endeavors? Were you mediating with the rebels?

His thoughts hungered for answers. With each venture across the galaxy, he kept his eyes open for glimpse of you. Every shade of blue sent his blood ablaze, thinking maybe this time it will be your face. It never is.

On Naboo, he walks through the streets, the Emperor trailing behind. Stormtroopers formed a line to their sides as they march toward the palace. It's different than how he remembered it. The peoples' expressions are set into a solemn stare, moving mechanically. Gone is the bubbling chatter that roamed the streets long ago. They are dressed in expensive gowns and shiny jewels, repelling like magnets as Vader nears. Naboo had flourished under The New Order, mostly because it was the Emperor's homeland. It came at a cost though. The people were slaves to power and gifted riches for their compliance.

Shadowing Vader is the Emperor who holds a smile to his face. The march was meant to strengthen ties with the people until eventually they made it to the palace to meet with the royals. Not that they had any power either. Anything to keep up an illusion.

A cry startles the crowd. Vader pauses the march as the stormtroopers point their blasters in the direction of the sound. Furious hands part amid the crowd, scratching to the front of the clearing. It is a woman, wearing a shaggy dress that is torn at the hem. Her grey hair is tangled in sweat with a thin layer of dirt covering her arms and legs. There are bruises under her eye swelling from damage.

"Have you seen my daughter?" She pants, wide eyes staring up at him through the line of troopers.

Beaming from a little device clutched in her hands is a hologram of a girl. She looked young with a smile across her lips and warm eyes as if she had been caught mid laugh. On her shoulders hung Jedi robes that looked too big for her body. What catches his attention is the Padawan braid sat behind her ear. Vader walks closer to get a better look but before he has a chance, the troopers are clutching her arms, dragging her away. She fights against them, and he calls out for them to wait. They stop for a moment, just enough time for him to get a good look. The Emperor shouts over the crowd and then the woman is being carried away. Tears leak down her cheeks as she screams into the helpless crowd. Her feet dig into the ground but it is no use.

Vader wants to shout out and demand they stop but he knows he cannot overrule the command of his Master. They kneel her against a wall and one shoves a blaster into her head. Her figure gets buried away in the crowd who push and shove to get out of the way. His feet are already moving when he hears the shot fire. Cries of children carry down the street, wailing into their mother's arms.

Vader guards his force presence for the rest of the walk, holding a defensive shield over lurking thoughts. Who was the girl in the hologram? She appeared to be a Padawan, but he could not recall seeing her around the Temple. He would remember a face like that, especially those eyes. They tied around a knot in his head, never quite fitting into place. Perhaps she was a relative of someone he had met a long time ago.