Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep - Being revamped!

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Chapter 17: Cautiously Optimistic

The trip back to the capital seemed to take forever and was over in an instant. They spent the time locked away in their cabin, Lord Vader having issued all his orders upon their arrival. He left word that they were not to be disturbed unless the Emperor himself contacted the ship.

His men nodded and withdrew tactfully. No one would bother the lord and his mistress.

Although it might have surprised the crew, they did not spend every moment making love. They spoke of things that they had not discussed before, hopes and dreams, plans and their pasts.

Anakin had Ree in his arms, savoring the feel of her silken curls that draped over his chest. She was warm and soft in his embrace, a solid anchor in the chaos that surrounded him. Suddenly she looked up at him and spoke of that which they had avoided so carefully.

“Do you have a plan for overthrowing the Emperor?” Her voice was quiet.

He leaned down for a kiss first, his lips tender against hers. “Of course I do,” he replied as he pulled away, his hand cupping her face.

She turned and kissed his callused palm. “Will it succeed?”

“It is a good plan,” he said evasively.

“I’m quite sure it is,” she noted dryly. “But will it succeed?”

He bit his lip and shrugged. “Let us just say that I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Ree stared up at him and her eyes filled with tears. “I won’t be able to bear it if-”

“Shhh…” he murmured as he placed his fingers against her lips. “Don’t, Ree.”

She took a deep breath and calmed herself. When she spoke again her voice was calm. “Can you tell me the plan?”

He chuckled; she felt the rumble of it in her own body. “Yes…” he whispered, kissing her once more.

“Don’t try to put me off by kissing me senseless,” she chided.

His lips quirked in amusement. “Can I kiss you senseless?”

Ree brushed his lips with her thumb. “Every time your lips touch mine,” she confessed.

“It is the same for me,” he whispered.

Then he straightened and became businesslike. “I have a meeting with my Master the day we arrive,” he said. Then his eyes met hers. “We will be alone to discuss a most sensitive matter – no guards, no courtiers, no one but the two of us.”

“And it is then that you’ll strike?”

He nodded. “I won’t have long,” he commented. “My shields are good, but he is powerful.”

“What if he senses?”

“Then I die,” Anakin said simply.

“Then we die,” she corrected.

He shook his head. “I won’t let that happen, not now,” he said. “Not when I’m so close.”

“Do you think you can overpower him?”

“If I strike quickly and hard,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “I have learned much since he became my Master.” His voice was determined. “And I’ve learned things he would have kept from me if he could.”

They were silent for a moment, each of them contemplating what was coming. Victory or death – there could be nothing in between.

“What is the first thing you’ll do as Emperor?” She asked suddenly, trying to draw him from his suddenly sullen mood and distract her from her own morbid fears.

He laughed softly and trailed the golden fingers of his right hand down her arm. “That is a surprise,” he said. “But the second thing I’ll do is outlaw slavery in all forms.” He watched her closely as he said this.

Ree gasped and tears filled her eyes once more. “But the economics of it…”

He shrugged. “It has to be done,” he said firmly. “I’ve come up with a plan to make it work. It will be difficult, yes,” he said. “But it must be done, for all those who have lived and died without ever tasting freedom.”

She sat up and then straddled him, her hands on his shoulders. “Your mother would be proud of you, Anakin.”

His eyes were haunted as he brushed the hair from her shoulders. “I’ve done terrible things, Ree,” he admitted. “She might have forgiven me, but I don’t think I can forgive myself.”

“Then you must do great good,” Ree told him. “And you will – as Emperor.”

Anakin laughed and shook his head. “So much faith in me, little one. Where do you get it?”

She took his hand and placed it over her heart; let him feel the furious beating of it. “Here…,” she whispered. “It comes from here.”


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They arrived in the capital early in the morning, the sun just beginning to rise over the vast landscape of skyscrapers that marked the planet. Lord Vader strode down the ramp, his black cloak billowing behind him.

Lady Ree followed him, her gown and cloak in purest white. They made a striking couple as they walked through the corridors of the Imperial Palace.

Lord Vader could not help but survey the Palace, wondering if he would soon be the master of it, or merely the latest victim of its current master. Time would reveal that answer, and the moment was approaching swiftly. He nodded to the guards as they entered their apartment, the Noghri right behind them. Human guards, Vader’s guards, stood outside the door.

As the door closed behind them, Ree collapsed into a chair. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It was more difficult than I thought.”

He knelt in front of her, ignoring the Noghri’s averted gazes. “You did wonderfully, Ree,” he reassured her. “I have to go soon.”

She clutched at him for a moment and then nodded, releasing her hold on his tunics. “Yes, I know.”

Vader stood and called Greelwah and Meeshram to him. “You understand your orders?”

Their eyes flickered to Ree and then back to Vader. “Yes, milord,” they answered in unison.

Ree came to stand by Lord Vader’s side, put her hand in his. Her chin came up and her bearing was regal, as if she already stood at the Emperor’s side. “You will carry them out?” she inquired. “No matter what?”

Greelwah inclined his head. “Yes, milady,” he answered in his gravelly voice. “We shall do exactly as Lord Vader has instructed.”

Anakin nodded once, satisfied that they would follow his orders no matter the outcome of his confrontation with the Emperor.

“Very good,” he replied. “I’m entrusting you with my most precious treasure,” he said warmly, his hand squeezing hers.

Ree could not speak for a moment, so contented herself by returning his grasp.

Then Anakin dismissed the Noghri, who took up their positions outside the apartment and relived the other guards. When they were alone, he turned and pulled her into his embrace. His kiss was warm and tender, too much like a farewell. She felt the tears begin to fall.

He brushed them away. “None of that,” he chided gently. “We shall soon be together, either in this life or whatever comes next.”

She nodded, unable to speak, and then rested her forehead on his broad chest.

Anakin lifted her face and smiled at her. “You should have a bit more faith in your lord and master,” he teased.

She smiled brightly through the tears that blinded her. Then she dipped into a low and exquisite curtsy, her long curls brushing the ground. “May I be the first to bow to your Imperial Majesty?”

He groaned and pulled her to her feet. “I shall return, little one,” he said. “If at all possible, I will return.”

“I know,” she said.

There was the swirl of his black cloak and he was gone.

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An hour later, Greelwah and Meeshram opened the apartment door. They bowed low and blinked up at her. “We are here to do Lord Vader’s bidding.”

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