"Lord Vader!" Padmé exclaimed before she could stop herself, causing Vader to pause in the doorway. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she registered her outburst, uncertain of why she had truly called upon him. However, she quickly thought of something. "You never answered me, Lord Vader," she said, at least attempting to cover her tracks. After all, a truly guilty person wouldn't ask their investigator to delay, right? "What do we owe this pleasure?"
In an antagonizing slow manner, Vader's hooded head turned to look at her, his concealed gaze falling even harder upon her skin as he remained silent in response to her question.
Back to normal, Padmé thought, annoyed and slightly disappointed by his silent treatment. She knew most would be thrilled to see Vader return to such a calm state, but she found it somewhat displeasing. How could she solve the mystery that was the mysterious Sith if he did nothing to assist her research?
"You came into my office," she remarked, taking a bold step forward, eager to validate her actions. "Did you require something other than to antagonize my visitor?" That seemed to do the trick; the Sith regained that edgy spark of life as his whole body shifted into defense. "Excuse me?"
He sounded offended. Good. She smiled, pleased. He wasn't the only one who knew how to pick a fight.
"Please don't be offended, my lord. It's not that I'm ungrateful," she replied, completely indifferent. Her words dripped with false respect, a tone she knew he noticed. "I just wasn't sure if this was a professional matter."
"Why would it be?" he snapped.
Padmé could only offer her warmest smile. "You tell me," she replied, raising a defiant eyebrow. "I've never seen you grace my office with your presence before." She gestured to Dormé, who stood just behind her. "We are very humbled to have you here–" "Are you a traitor, Senator?" His question cut her off, laced with traces of an underlying warning.
"Of course not," she replied immediately, keeping her mind free of any ideas that might contradict her statement.
"Then," Vader replied, "I suppose you have nothing to fear." He paused, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Only traitors have anything to fear from me."
She suppressed the urge to shiver, standing tall despite his looming threat. "Very well," she replied, turning away from him. "Then I suppose I should just thank you so you can be on your way."
That stopped the Sith in his tracks. "Thank me?" Vader paused, anger in his voice, but clearly taken aback.
"Yes," Padmé replied, turning back to him, unsure of what else to say but genuinely meaning her words. "Regarding Mr. Clovis, I mean. We truly appreciate it."
He was silent for a moment, his head cast down to the floor before he managed a growl of, "It wasn't for you."
Padmé somehow already knew this, but it didn't change the fact that, for whatever reason, Vader had done her a great service. "Still the same, thank you," Padmé replied, hoping he would accept her gratitude and move on. He didn't respond, so Padmé made sure to take the initiative. She turned back to her desk without casting him another glance.
"Good day, Lord Vader," she called over her shoulder.
The Sith said nothing in return, merely waiting one final moment before he too turned and disappeared out the door. Once he was out of sight, Padmé practically collapsed into her chair, sighing in relief as Dormé slid to her side.
"That was close," Dormé whispered, her voice trembling.
"Too close," Padmé agreed, lifting her gaze to the now vacant doorway. "Where on earth is our security?"
"I don't know," Dormé replied, dropping to one knee beside the table. "But can you please explain what's happening?"
The day dragged on at an agonizingly slow pace as the Senate slowly reverted to a weak state that could be loosely described as normal, at least in comparison to the earlier chaos. Her missing security had returned later, having been called away on "urgent matters" issued by one of Palpatine's stooges, who had undoubtedly attempted to dismiss them from the Senate grounds.
After explaining the situation to Dormé, Padmé had somewhat comfortably resumed her work or at least as comfortably as possible under the circumstances – and ensured she kept her mind engaged, preoccupying herself with matters she deemed significant, though she considered them arbitrary affairs that in no way compared to the injustices perpetrated today by the Empire.
It was true that, for the most part, she would have made Mon Mothma proud with her performance. She conducted herself perfectly in her role, appearing as if nothing was wrong and, even more sickening, as if she was pleased with the Empire's actions to ratify the "peace" within the Senate walls. She may have felt a strong urge to contact a senator or two, but she had digressed. It was only in the last hour or so, as the work hours began to dwindle, that the activity within the Senate seemed to rejuvenate – at least regarding madness. Sounds of screaming and yelling had become more frequent in that last hour alone, as it appeared that Darth Vader's mood had worsened since his encounter with Rush Clovis, and his tolerance had more or less dissipated altogether. Padmé had even accidentally caught sight of him as he passed by her office one too many times since their uncanny meeting, usually only catching the end of his black cloak dragging behind him. But even the smallest hint of Darth Vader, as much as she hated to admit it, was enough to set her mind ablaze.
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