Acknowledgements: Shabby Blue for the idea and the art.
                http://www.shabbyblue.net  The picture is "Dark Father"

                Warnings: Het. Read that again: HET. Unknowing incest. Mind control.

                Feedback: I crave it. It's my favorite high.

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                Paths in the Darkness
                2002 Angel
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                She sat at the viewport and watched the Anoat system fade into the other
                stars, just before they went streaky as the Star Destroyer made the jump to
                light speed. Imperial money and non- interference had talked too loudly to
                Baron-Administrator Calrissian, drowning out the voices of friendship and
                shared memories.

                She couldn't blame him too much. Being a politician herself, she knew that
                the safety of all his people came before three lives, even if they were old
                friends. But that was the coldly rational part of Senator Organa. Leia just
                watched the gray of hyperspace, hating the Baron and mourning for her lover,
                taken by the bounty hunter, and Chewbacca, slain by the same trying to
                rescue his life- oath-friend.

                She would not be afraid. She refused the fear that clutched at her, clawing
                at her belly with icy paws, raising cold sweat on the back of her neck. She
                breathed deeply, forcing the fire that burned across her forehead to ease
                into gentle warmth. She was not afraid.

                Screaming nightmares of the torture droid on the Death Star had become a
                rarity in the last year, but now, she was in Vader's hands once again, and
                she doubted he would be as lenient this time. She knew he had spared her
                then, hoping to obtain the information without harming her. Truth drugs and
                Force-induced pain had been nothing compared to what she knew of standard
                Imperial interrogation procedure. Without the rank conferred by her birth
                and senate seat, she was no more than an ordinary prisoner.

                The door behind her slid open, and Vader filled the frame, almost as if she
                had summoned him by her thoughts.

                "Good evening, Princess. I trust your accommodations are comfortable." He
                entered, looming in the semi-darkness of the room.

                "Lord Vader." She did no more than acknowledge him. Courtesy was the last
                weapon she had, and she knew how to wield it to devastating effect.

                "You are wondering why I did not leave you behind, in the care of the
                Baron-Administrator."

                Leia cocked a delicate eyebrow at him. She had been thinking as much, but
                would never admit it.

                "You are far too dangerous to be free, little Princess. A small-time crook
                like Calrissian, the Empire can afford to ignore. You, however, are a
                figurehead, and a rabble-rouser. Young women in the Core imitate you. Young
                men go out to die for you. Men like my son."
                Vader paced a bit and stopped too near her for comfort. "Young Skywalker
                came for you, Princess, yet again. Do you love him?"

                Leia pretended to ignore him. She would not give him a nanometer. "Luke is
                dead?" she asked, showing no grief at the suggestion, no shock at the
                implication he was Vader's son. Inside she clamped down on both of those
                emotions, telling herself there would be time after she escaped to absorb
                everything.

                Pleased that she had pieced it together, Vader inclined his head a fraction.
                "Not dead, Princess, but hibernating until the Emperor can decide what to do
                with his new prize. If he will not turn, he will be broken and turned." The
                large black glove cupped her chin. "I asked you a question."

                She stared at the bulbous eyes of the insectile mask and remained silent.
                Vader felt her hatred, her anger, and smiled under the mask. She had
                tremendous Force potential. He had opened her to it on the Death Star when
                he used it against her. In time, she could become a most formidable enemy.
                Or a valued apprentice. A nudge she could not sense opened her wider to the
                darkness.

                "No matter. I heard your declaration to the Corellian. It would please me
                to have you dine with me tonight, Princess. A guard will come for you at
                1800." He strode to the door, and paused before leaving, "There is no
                information you possess that I do not already have, Princess, so torturing
                you would be pointless. Please make yourself comfortable as a permanent
                guest of the Emperor." He stopped as the door began to shut. "And myself."
                The clang cut off the hoarse rasp of his breathing, and left Leia in
                shocking silence with her own thoughts.

                Alone, Leia sank back to the seat near the port, trembling. Luke was taken
                too. Her last hope faded into the grey of hyperspace. She could bear this.
                She could. She stilled her fingers from their twisting. Luke was Vader's
                son. This last crashed in, and there were no tears, no shock great enough.
                She stared, unseeing, frozen in place until the guard came for her.

                She was silent through dinner, her plate barely picked at. Vader, of
                course, ate nothing. As the servant took the last dish away, she looked
                straight across the table at her jailor.

                "I want to see Luke."

                "As it pleases you, Princess." Vader rose and loomed over her, offering to
                hand her out of the chair.

                Leia would have scorned his touch, but breeding and manners had been
                ingrained since before she could walk. She took his hand automatically, but
                did not use any of his strength to rise. Nor did she protest when he tucked
                her hand into his arm, her escort rather than her captor. She carried
                herself stiffly, touching him at no other point.

                The walk was interminable. Deep into the cargo holds, the Dark Lord led
                her. The carbon block stood upright, Luke captured in mid-leap. There were
                none of the tortured warding gestures of Han. A fluid economy and elegant
                grace were evident in every angle. Had it been a statue, Leia would have
                been impressed by the sculptor's skill.

                As it was, she reached out a hand, barely kept from trembling by sheer force
                of will, and laid it alongside the metal-covered cheek of her friend. The
                tears she felt stinging her eyes, she did not let fall. She would show her
                captor no weakness. But she was tired, so tired after the day and its
                shocks. There had been too many, and her control was faltering. She
                stroked Luke's frozen face and turned to Vader, her face composed.

                "Take me back to my quarters."

                Wordlessly, Vader offered his arm, and just as wordlessly, Leia took it.
                She had been too well raised to refuse courtesy. She did not shudder when
                the huge black glove covered her hand. In her quarters, Vader released her,
                and bowed slightly.

                "I bid you good-night, Princess. I will have fresh clothing brought to you
                at the beginning of the daycycle. I would be honored by your presence on
                the bridge at 0800."

                "My thanks for the courtesies you have extended to me, Lord Vader." She
                looked at him for the bare minimum that her position required before turning
                back to the port.

                He turned, and let the door hiss shut between them. He paused, and let her
                relax, then sought her through the Force. Very good. Her anger, fear,
                hatred, uncertainty, and guilt over Skywalker's fate would all make her more
                pliant. For now, he would leave her.

                Leia stripped to the skin, tossed her clothing into the robovalet and stood
                under the sonics until her skin vibrated. She was too tired to plot out
                Vader's game. She would think about it when she was fresher. A drawer in
                the robovalet stood open, and a white nightdress awaited her. Soft koth
                material slid over her, draping her from neck to ankles. She caught sight
                of herself in the mirror. She had lost years, looking no more than fourteen
                in the childlike nightdress and her hair in two long plaits from her shower.

                She stretched out on the conformalounge and pulled a light blanket over her.
                Sleep came quickly to the exhausted girl.

                Vader sat in his meditation chamber focusing on the princess. He felt her
                slowly relax under the sonic shower, and then fall asleep soon after. He
                waited until she reached the dreamstate. Then, he began altering her
                dreams.

                She lies quietly on her bed in the great palace of Alderaan. It is the
                gossamer draped four- poster she has slept in since her twelfth birthday,
                when she moved from a child's bed to a woman's and acquired her first lover.
                But she knows she is not waiting for Eril tonight. Tonight, she is
                awaiting her destined lover.

                When he comes, she knows him. Tall and handsome, his dark eyes bore into
                her. He lies beside her, naked and magnificent, stroking her with large,
                gentle hands and whispering sweet words in many different languages.

                He does no more this first night than lie and stroke her, calling her the
                love-names: "ak'ush'ah" Female Beloved in High Corellian, "lirala,"
                Beautiful Flower in Old Alderaani, "sssskra" Bright Scales in Listiklan.
                She speaks some of them, and the knowledge of the rest bursts upon her.

                He kisses her just once, lightly and vanishes.

                Leia stirred and came awake, the memory of the kiss still lingering on her
                mouth. She could not remember the dream, save that it had left her aroused,
                and missing Han more than ever. She wrapped her arms around her body,
                imagining he was there to hold her. Her forearms brushed her erect nipples,
                sending a light tingle through her. She rubbed a little harder, her arousal
                increasing, and gently pinched one until it was hard.

                Her breath caught a little, and she ran a slow hand over her belly, almost
                purring at the sensation. The silky skin of her inner thighs was
                exquisitely sensitive, and she scraped her nails over it lightly, before
                running her fingers into the wet cleft to probe and collect the moisture.
                She ran her fingertips around the rim before plunging two deep in inside.
                Her thumb found the tight nub of her clit, and she dug in as deeply as she
                could, imagining Han's big hands on her body. Right there, the sweet spot
                she'd been searching for. Leia gasped as the explosive climax wracked her.
                She took a couple deep breaths, and rubbed again, wanting another while she
                was still at the peak. The second flooded her small hand, and the third
                left her panting. Now she could sleep.

                Leia slid her fingers gently out of her body, wiping them on the ruffle at
                the hem of her nightgown. She rolled over and pulled the cover up over her
                shoulders, settling in with thoughts of her spacer to comfort her.

                Vader smiled, the effort hurting his face, long unused to the motion. The
                turning had begun. She still believed it was her pirate lover, but the
                dreams would change soon enough and she would know better. Her sensuality
                was yet another tool he could use against her. Perhaps depriving her of her
                outlet would facilitate her change. He raised the partial pressure of
                oxygen in his chamber a little higher and prepared to sleep himself.

                Leia awoke to a persistent chiming from the robovalet. It had been
                programmed and now stood open, presenting her with a grey dress that looked
                suspiciously like an Imperial officer's uniform. The message screen
                scrolled with a notice from Vader: "Please accept this with my compliments."
                Her white jumpsuit was nowhere to be found. Leia cursed him for
                reprogramming the robovalet without her knowledge. She assumed he had set
                the alarm as well. The wall-chrono read 0730. She had time for breakfast,
                but the foodsynth adamantly refused to take programming, delivering only a
                nutrient drink and a ration bar. Even this was good quality, better than
                what she got at the rebel bases.

                She glared at the dress in distaste. The alternative seemed to be going out
                in the nightgown, so she changed. She stared in the mirror. It was tight,
                and high collared like an officer's uniform, but ended just below her
                bottom. Matching panties, and high boots, also an officer's, completed the
                outfit. She looked, she snorted at the thought, she looked like a dancer
                about to strut out and strip to "From Star to glorious Star," the unofficial
                Imperial anthem. Carefully, she piled her hair into a neat bun and was
                ready when the escort of stormtroopers came to take her to Vader.

                They led her to the observation deck, where Vader stood reviewing the crew
                of the Star Destroyer. The troopers stood in precise lines, flanked by
                officers. The review went on and on as they demonstrated their squad
                maneuvers and some of the troops were decorated for bravery. Leia, long
                used to monotonous senate sessions, endured.

                The next portion of the review took her through the fighter bays, row on
                endless row of TIE fighters, all gleaming pristinely. They made the rebels'
                ragtag snub fleet look shabby and old. Leia winced at the thought of
                sending her pilots up against them.

                They ended in an office, Vader's she assumed, and she sat quietly, as he
                reviewed the stack of datacubes that demanded his attention. She watched as
                he sent holo-messages, dispatched data pads and couriers, imprinted cubes
                and sent them out. Apparently, even sith-lords weren't immune to red-tape
                and bureaucracy. After several hours, Vader looked up at her.

                "If you are hungry, Princess, please avail yourself of the food-synth." He
                gestured to the wall.

                "Thank you, Lord Vader. Shall I request anything for you?"

                He did not dignify the gibe with an answer. It was a known fact he did not
                eat publicly. He watched in his monitors, head bowed to his work, as Leia
                went to the food-synth and got a meal. She had requested the nutrimix be
                shaped as raw vegetables with a side of what looked like nerf steak .
                Austere, yet functional.

                She sat quietly and ate. He pretended to work, mostly observing her. She
                was a lovely young woman, something about her strangely familiar. The calm
                with which she controlled herself spoke of tremendous power. She would
                indeed be a valuable asset.

                "Princess, did you know you have the potential to be a Force user?" he asked
                very suddenly.

                Leia looked up, startled, then regained herself. "No, my Lord, I did not.
                Is it very common then, Force talent? Does that mean you plan to kill me as
                you did the Jedi Order?"

                "No. You will not be Jedi Nor will you be Sith. I will teach you to use
                your power, free of the dogma."

                "Why? Why would you do such a thing?"

                "Because, little princess, the Emperor wants my son. I will risk much to
                save him from that and overthrow my master. But I am not powerful enough
                alone. I had intended to use Luke to gain the throne. But you present a
                second, more secure option."

                He rose and began to pace. "My son is a dreamer, an idealist. He has been
                tainted by the Jedi. But you, Princess, you have no such taint, and you
                seek power."

                Leia raised her head to protest, but a sharp hand gesture cut her off.

                "You want power to make the galaxy free, to make it into what you think
                would be best for its people. I know what would be best. I would end the
                injustices of Palpatine's reign and make you my strong right hand. You
                understand politics, and power. My son does not. He will be useful in
                training others, but you were born to rule."

                "You'll use us to gain power and then kill us as you did the others," Leia
                spat.

                "My name commands much respect, Princess, and much fear. But yours inspires
                devotion and love in addition to the respect." Vader continued as if he
                hadn't heard her. "How much more would yours command were you no longer
                Princess Leia, but Empress Organa?" Carefully, almost casually, he dangled
                the ultimate prize before her.

                Like a Corellian longfish, she circled it warily, seemingly uninterested.
                "With you directing my rule?"

                "With me as your advisor. There is a great deal you do not understand about
                running the Empire, Princess. I would help you learn that, even as I would
                help you learn to use the Force. In years to come, my son will take my
                place. The children of two Force users would be powers in their own right."
                He bounced the bait back into her line of vision.

                She struck. "I will learn what you have to teach." The hate on her face
                did not quite show, but he heard the unspoken threat of "when Luke and I are
                strong enough, we will kill you."

                "Excellent. I will prepare a training schedule for you. Your quarters are
                now adjacent to mine." He walked to the other side of the room and palmed
                open the door. "However, it only opens from this side. For now, you may
                remain here, or enjoy your new quarters." The faintly sardonic tone was not
                one she normally associated with her captor, but Leia answered in kind.

                "I'm sure they will be most pleasant. Especially compared to the
                alternative." She turned and left, letting the door slide shut behind her.

                Vader sat quietly for several minutes, reaching through the Force, sensing
                her. She paced for a few minutes, then sat on the bed to brood. She was
                still yearning for her pirate: a petty criminal, Force-blind, and unworthy
                of her. She would understand this in time.

                He turned his attention to the datapad and began outlining her day's
                schedule. It would be grueling, and harsh. She was slim, but not a
                soldier. She would have to train mind and body before she was useful to
                him. A preset signal alerted him she had fallen asleep and was now in
                dreamphase.

                Vader palmed the door to his own meditation chamber and sat down, immersing
                himself in the Force to penetrate her dream.

                He comes to her again, the sheer white curtain billowing in the light
                breeze, half shrouding him as he walks to her bed. She lies bare before
                him, her body, her secrets, her innermost desires. His nudity reveals
                nothing except his body.

                She looks at him admiringly as he lies down beside her again. Eager to take
                up when they left off, she kisses him, but he stops her, only to take the
                lead himself.

                Eril had taught her the Seventy-Two Kisses, but this lover seems intent on
                expanding her education. From bare brushes, light as glowflitters' wings,
                to intricate dances of the lips and tongue to fierce passionate kisses that
                seemed to wring her very soul from her, he knows them all.

                Drained, wanting, almost desperate, she reaches for him, only to find he has
                become as insubstantial as the curtains. He is gone with only a soft
                "Leaina, lirala," to mark his passing
 

                Leia awoke, her baby name echoing in her head, her mouth afire and her
                passions running high. This time she remembered a tall lover, older and
                dark. Bringing up Han's face, the way he had looked when they had made
                love, she stroked her breasts, tugging lightly at her nipples.

                Vader watched on the monitor in his meditation chamber, allowing her to
                become more aroused. Then, as her hands slid past her waist, he paged her.
                "Princess, come to my office at once. We will begin your training." Less
                than half a minute later, he pressed the button that opened the door to her
                room.

                Leia, coolly composed, took her seat opposite him. Her thwarted arousal did
                not show but Vader could sense it humming around her like an angry red aura.
                It would feed her power. This little one could be most dangerous once
                properly channeled.

                "Yes, my lord?" she asked, giving no sign of the fact she had slept, dreamed
                or been interrupted.

                "Close your eyes, Princess. Think of nothing. Just listen." The hiss of
                his respirator slowed. He entered her mind, without her knowledge and flung
                the floodgates of her sensitivity even wider than he had before. "Listen to
                the universe around you. Feel all the life."

                His low voice was almost a whisper. "Let it slide through you, inside you.
                Make it a part of you. You are a part of it. That, Princess, is the
                Force."

                Leia lay open before the onslaught of life as she had before her lover. She
                envisioned embracing all the life, taking it into herself, as she had taken
                Eril years before, and Han not so long ago. A thought occurred and she
                brought up those memories, focusing on them sensing every nuance of her
                lover in a way she had not known when it occurred.

                Vader watched, not interfering until he realized she was about to fling
                herself out into the Force in a search for her lover's essence. He stopped
                her.

                Barred from her desire by the darkness, Leia's eyes snapped open. "What are
                you doing?" she snarled, half rising.

                "Protecting you from your own folly. You do not have the skills to see the
                past or the future, nor yet to seek out another across the light-years.
                These will come in time. For now, be content to learn what I teach." He
                began the formation of a training bond, the first he had undertaken to make.
                He had suffered two, one with Obi-Wan, and the second with his own master.
                Now he brought the memories back and began tying the Princess' mind to
                his.

                "In time, you will learn everything. The Force is more than knowledge and
                defense as the Jedi teach. It is power unlimited, Princess. Like all
                power, that which you use," he seized the inquisitive probe she had sent
                bumbling against his shields, "can be turned back on you."

                Leia cried out as the probe, hardened as strong as her teacher's armor,
                shoved back into her own mind. There it lodged, sending out tendrils she
                could feel, ensnaring all her senses. She did not give a vocal cry, but the
                thought //ah mother it hurts// reached Vader.

                //All bonds do, Princess.//

                She flinched when she realized the voice had not come to her ears. //Bond?//

                //A Training Bond holds master and apprentice together, no matter what side
                of the Force they use. You will hear my thoughts, and I yours, when we wish
                it. Now we begin your shielding lesson, so the Emperor cannot read you like
                a datapad.//

                Time passed. Leia was surprised that the trip from Anoat to the Imperial
                Center was taking so long. Vader informed her that he'd been given a new
                assignment, and that he would deliver not only the Emperor's prize, but a
                cadre of intractable Imperial officers as well. They would be publically
                tried, discredited and executed. The round-up and travel would take several
                weeks.

                Leia threw herself into her studies. Mornings, she exercised alone,
                stretching and toning, building strength. She practiced saber drills with a
                wooden model. Vader would leave some information for her to learn or a
                Force puzzle for her to solve. In the afternoons, he directed her
                meditation in an hour he carved from his schedule. In the evenings, they
                worked together on basic exercises; shielding, levitation and focus.

                It frightened her that she was becoming accustomed to his presence, that she
                worked to gain his approval as well as to learn. In morning meditation, she
                had taken to reminding herself of Alderaan, of Bespin, of the Death Star.
                The meditation focused her hatred of her teacher and gave her more power for
                the training sessions.

                "Today, Princess, we begin your lightsaber. It should feel comfortable in
                your hands, and radiate in a color that is pleasing to you. You will build
                it under my supervision. The Force will guide you."

                Creating the casing came easily, to Vader's surprise. The princess was
                moderately skilled with tools, and was ready to select the crystals far
                earlier than he'd expected.

                She read the scrawled directions carefully, the spidery letters dancing
                across the page in near illegibility. Setting them aside, she meditated in
                front of the box of crystals, open and waiting. Vader watched as silently
                as he could. He held his breath as she reached out and selected a pair of
                purple crystals from the box.

                He breathed shallowly, saying nothing as she moved to the workbench and
                quickly assembled the mechanism. He'd not done nearly so well when he had
                built his first. There was no hesitation, no fumbling. Her delicate hands
                flashed among the components, holding, tightening, and aligning.

                She turned to him, and ignited the saber, calling forth a purple beam of
                pure energy. He let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He'd
                seen more than one padawan injured or even killed when an improperly-built
                saber exploded. She had taken the first step.

                "Very good, little princess. Tonight, we add saber practice to your
                exercises."

                Leia found she enjoyed saber practice with real sabers a great deal more
                than she had liked training drills. There was something thrilling about
                holding her own against the black-armored giant that excited her, helping
                her feel the Force even more powerfully.

                Vader praised her lavishly for a job well done, and she found herself
                working even harder to earn more of his approval as the weeks passed. He
                taught her the katras of the old Jedi Order, ones he still used in his own
                practices. She improved, and he marked her progress. She was indeed
                deadly, and her size gave her the advantage by causing him to underestimate
                her more than once.

                On this particular day, they had finished their usual practice. Leia had
                turned for a drink, and Vader looked her over. Tremendous changed had
                occurred in the Princess in the time she had been with him. No longer the
                spoiled princess or rebel leader, she had been honed into a lethal weapon of
                darkness, and she never even knew it.

                Her shoulders and arms showed slim curves of muscle instead of the softness
                he had seen on the Death Star. Her legs, too, curved sweetly. The changes
                had not taken a toll on her figure, well revealed through the close-fitting
                workout suit.

                He had continued the erotic dreams, and his avatar had begun making love to
                her nightly. He was familiar with every contour of her now. He continued
                to thwart her release except in her dreams. The caged sensuality deepened
                her, plunging her deeper into the anger and aggression of the Dark. He
                turned away from his pupil who was still drinking from the room's
                waterspout.

                Leia saw the opportunity she had been waiting for. The instant Vader's back
                was turned, she was across the room with her saber out, striking for his
                undefended neck.

                So smoothly she never saw him turn, Vader parried. Not practicing now, he
                harried her about the chamber, forcing her to fight in earnest. His
                breathing never altered, and she could not sense anything from him.

                "Your feelings betrayed you, Princess." Vader's voice was level. "They
                came to me through the bond before you yourself had made the decision."
                Leia parried frantically, trying for a riposte, only to be instantly
                disarmed and knocked to the floor. Her saber clattered to the far side of
                the room. Before she could clamber after it, a red saber sparked a few
                inches from her throat.

                "I am your master, little princess." The voice raised every hair on Leia's
                body, and she shivered. "You will not continue with such foolishness. You
                will proceed as we planned. The day will come when you will defeat me. It
                is not, however, today."

                The red lightsaber flicked away first one strap of the training halter she
                wore and then the second, never touching her skin. A third slice cut it
                down the front, to fall away The casual arrogance undid her more than the
                fact that she was now helpless and half-naked in front of her captor.

                The red energy blade circled one breast, so close she could feel it sizzling
                the short pale hairs of her body. "You do not require this for training,
                Princess." Vader's tone was not angry, just coldly factual. "Should you
                lose to me again, I will remove it. Am I understood?"

                "Yes, my lord," she managed, holding her ground and not drawing away from
                the hideous threat.

                "I think, little one, you will begin addressing me as ?Master'. I am a mere
                teacher no longer."

                Leia set her jaw firmly against the words and glared.

                "In time, perhaps." Vader powered down his saber and left her lying on the
                floor.

                Leia sat up as the door slid shut, the halter remaining on the floor. After
                retrieving her lightsaber, she went and got a towel from the rack and
                knotted it around her chest, giving her some shred of dignity for the walk
                back to her quarters. Vader was seated at his desk, busy as usual.

                "Most inventive, Princess. You show great resourcefulness in all
                situations. Please find proper attire. We are meeting the shuttle with the
                renegades soon." He was as cool as if he hadn't just threatened her with
                mutilation not an hour before.

                The rest of the evening was a dreary review of doomed men. Leia exhibited
                no boredom or impatience as the event wore on. She meditated standing,
                turning the latest Force-puzzle over in her mind. When she was dismissed to
                bed, she went willingly and slept hard.

                He comes to her again, this time, the breeze is a steady wind, whipping
                the curtains around him. His hands are possessive, almost rough, as he
                caresses her. The kiss is instantly invasive, with no teasing or subtlety.

                She squirms, aroused almost in spite of herself, the harsh treatment
                frightening and exciting her at once. She gasps as three fingers ram into
                her with no preparation. He thrusts them, twisting, as her pained moans
                begin to take on a different tone.

                He kisses her hard, his teeth fierce on her mouth, his tongue a slick
                invader demanding she yield. When he pulls back, the wild light in his dark
                eyes is terrifying. The harsh kisses move down her throat, turning into
                sharp bites. Fastening his mouth at the base of her throat, he sucks hard,
                biting at her creamy skin, working his fingers even harder, adding a fourth,
                and reveling in the sopping wet sounds they make as they alternately fill
                and abandon her.

                She screams her orgasm, presenting her throat and angling her hips for
                better penetration. The fingers are gone, replaced with his cock,
                impossibly large, walking the laser-width between pain and pleasure as he
                takes her.

                His hands grasp her slim hips, tipping them for maximum depth, so tightly
                she knows he will bruise her. She pushes her upper torso off the bed, using
                a rebound move from her training, to throw her arms around his neck.

                She worries at his earlobe with her teeth, biting as she climaxes. She
                twists in his lap, fighting his guidance as he tries to lift and lower her
                on the thick shaft. His greater strength wins out, and he clutches her to
                him, pounding as hard as he can, taking no thought for her comfort. She is
                in tears when he slams her down, impaling her as hard as he can and shouting
                his orgasm.

                He kisses her tears away, and buried deep inside her, strokes her to one
                last shattering climax. She lies limp and quiet in his arms as he leaves a
                second love bite on the other side of her neck.

                "Mine, Leia. You are mine." He moves lower to bruise her soft breasts with
                his mouth, the marks of his ownership red-purple on her fair skin. "Mine,
                Anakin's. Not Eril's, not Luke's. Mine! Not your pirate's. Anakin's.
                Say it!" The relentless assault of the mouth continues.

                "Anakin's," she says, almost too softly. "Yours."

                He pushes her to the bed and looms over her for one last searing kiss.
                "Mine!"

                 Leia awoke shaking. Her arousal was acute, but fear of her lover was not
                fading. She felt a slight sting at the base of her throat, and looked in
                the mirror, opening the high neck of the koth nightgown. The two marks
                Anakin had set on her remained.

                Distressed, she showered, setting the sonics to the highest setting. As she
                stepped out, she sensed Vader's presence.

                //Come to my chambers for morning meditation, Princess.// The doors slid
                open and she dressed hastily, the grey uniform dress skimpy, but its high
                collar a welcome disguise. She padded barefoot to Vader's meditation
                chamber and watched as the top half lifted away like a monstrous jaw
                opening.

                He sat in the great chair, watching her. She looked impressed, but not
                frightened. This was good. It was not yet time to reveal himself, but it
                was time to take the relationship to the next level.

                Leia stepped inside the meditation chamber, and stood before her teacher.
                She was not afraid of him any longer. Her arousal from the dream remained
                and she caught herself wondering what lay under the codpiece of his armor.
                She shook the thought from her and dropped to the floor to sit in basic
                meditation position.

                Vader touched the young woman's mind and drew her into the Force, wrapping
                her in the Darkness he served, the Darkness she embodied without realizing
                it. Her frustrated sensuality was rampant, and he drew out the images of
                her dreamlover, casting them to the fore.

                //You cannot even wait until you are Empress and have retrieved your
                Corellian.// Vader taunted. //You conjure a lover of dreamstuff and mist
                like a foolish child.//

                //And you have abominable timing!// she shot back.

                //If you are so hungry for pleasures of the flesh, it is because you are not
                meditating enough.//

                //What would a blasted borg like you know about it?//she challenged.
                //What's under that armor anyway? Are you a man or a machine?//

                //I am man enough, little one.// Vader stoked her desires until they were a
                raging furnace. She glowed like a nova, scarlet and crimson in her need.

                //Prove it!// Leia could not believe she had thrown such a challenge out to
                Darth Vader of all people. But she had and there was no taking it back.

                "So I shall, little one," Vader rumbled, drawing her out of meditation.

                Leia watched with horrified fascination as he opened the fasteners of the
                codpiece and pulled it aside to reveal himself. Sitting on the floor,
                almost between his feet, she had a close view of the cock that rose before
                her: long and thick, and pasty white. A prominent purple vein pulsed on the
                underside, leading to the head.

                Long deprived of any release, driven beyond the edge of complete
                rationality, Leia leaned in and traced the vein with her tongue. She felt
                the pulse and tasted its leathery flavor from the armor mingling with a
                faintly male taste from his body. Leia tipped her head, looked up into the
                insectile mask and gave a half smile before lowering her mouth over the
                head.

                So long, so very long since another had touched him. Vader was not
                surprised that he came erect under her touch. He was, after all, a man.
                But the sensations she was awakening in him belonged to another time,
                another life. They belonged to the long-dead Anakin, whom he had revived to
                serve as his dream avatar for Leia.

                The mouth that worked its slow, careful way along his shaft was all wrong.
                Leia was dark and petite like his lost Padme, with a faint resemblance
                around the eyes and nose. But Padme had never been so skilled at this,
                never so adept at the arts of the flesh.

                He basked a moment under the princess' mouth, letting her suck him in as far
                as she could manage. A small hand wrapped around his shaft, unable to close
                around his thickness, and moved. She drew the head in as far as she could,
                and he barely refrained from shuddering as she flicked a glowflitter-light
                tongue across the taut ridge on the bottom.

                When she swallowed him again, this time taking him within three fingers of
                the base, he came, for the first time in twenty years. It shocked him,
                washing away his fears of inability, his wariness of old injuries.

                Leia swallowed, letting the warm salt trickle down her throat, a testament
                to a job well done. For a brief instant she entertained the thought of
                closing her teeth hard, and not letting go. Perhaps she could kill Vader by
                making him bleed to death, or at least incapacitate him long enough to
                destroy him with a lightsaber. But Palpatine would merely raise another
                attack dog to fill Vader's position, and the Rebellion would be doomed.

                Instead, she licked him clean, before closing the codpiece.

                "Do you realize, little one, what you have done?"

                "Yes, my lord." Leia was shocked. At herself, at Vader, and most of all at
                the fantasies now crowding her mind. Sucking her master had only left her
                even more desirous and unfulfilled. She wondered what his cock would feel
                like inside her, how his armor would feel against her skin.

                "I think you will meditate alone this morning. We have inspection at noon.
                You will accompany me. You will train alone after that. We will meditate
                together tonight." Vader's voice revealed no desire, no anger, no pleasure.
                "You have a choice to make, Princess. I will expect your decision during
                the second meditation. Go to your quarters and meditate there. You cloud
                me from the Force."

                Irritated at such a curt dismissal, Leia stalked to her room and undressed.
                She found the Force easiest to access when she was naked, bared to the
                universe. She sat in the basic position and cast out into the energy field,
                searching for those she knew. She ignored the grey mass of the
                stormtroopers and their officers. There was Luke, cycling in his slow
                hibernation. She passed him with barely a touch, one he would take for a
                frozen dream. Vader's darkness drew her even closer to him, warm,
                comforting velvet, ready to enfold her.

                //Even here you seek me, little one? Very well. Let me show you the path
                we are on.//

                As a child on Alderaan, Leia had learned to ride. Once, she had gone alone
                into the woods of her family's private preserve and become lost. Her father
                had found her, sitting straight and proper on the back of the equaa, at a
                place where six paths met.

                Now, she stood with Vader, seeing the multitude of futures before her. Down
                one path, she could see herself as Empress, Vader serving her as he had
                Palpatine, Luke at her side as her consort and protector. That was the way
                Vader was directing her, and this path stood out in stark brightness
                compared to the others. Down other paths, she saw herself with Han and her
                heart gave a pull in that direction. In one, she saw beautiful children.
                On another, she merely fell by his side, their bodies decaying together to
                nourish a great forest. Others, she saw herself alone, all the power hers.

                //Yours to choose, little one. Your pirate does not understand the Force,
                and he will fear you and the children for using magic he does not
                comprehend. See.// On the path with the children, she looked further,
                seeing death, heartbreak and pain. She buried herself in her work and Han
                crawled into a bottle, until they could no longer bear each other. Violent,
                drunken quarrels, harsh words and many bitter tears lay along that one.

                //I am a master of the Force. Will you trust my judgement? The future is
                always in motion.// The mind-voice was seductive, lulling her into trusting
                him. He guided her toward his plan.

                She took the step onto that path, turning her back on the other options. A
                side path caught her eye, dark and mysterious, and she detoured to explore
                it.

                //Oh, my little one, be very certain you want that road. It leads to the
                Emperor's Throne, but the way is not so clear.//

                Impetuously, she chose it. She would take the throne, but on her terms.
                Vader's dark laughter rang around her as he loomed before her, impossibly
                tall, the codpiece of his armor seeming to pulsate with dark fire. She
                reached out to grasp the fire for herself--

                Leia slammed back into her body, and opened her eyes to her rooms. The
                wall-chrono said it was nearly noon, and she dressed quickly. The troops
                were used to seeing her in the pseudo-officer's dress. She eased into it,
                aware of how aroused the morning had left her. Every touch of cloth on her
                skin felt impossibly magnified, each whisper of air a caress.

                She stood alert, inspecting the troops, at Vader's side. The endless
                review, every day, bored her. When she was empress, she would not do this
                more than once a year. She caught the thought then let it go. Why all
                this work if not for the ultimate prize?

                She trained all afternoon, deflecting stun bolts from remotes, tumbling,
                going through katras. The physical exercise took her mind from her need,
                allowing her some respite. But she still ached. The memory of the dark
                fire played endlessly as she stretched and sparred. She saw herself
                reaching for it again and again.

                The chrono beeped a reminder that she needed to clean up for evening
                meditation. She showered, sonics blasting away the sheen of sweat and oil.

                When she went to the robovalet, it stood open. Her usual grey dress was
                there, but so was a black garment. She did not hesitate or waver. She
                stepped into the black, fastening the closures that drew it skin-tight on
                her body. Her breasts were pressed up and together. Her slim waist was
                shown up to best advantage. The high-cut sides made her legs look longer,
                but the back slipped into the cleft of her bottom, separating the cheeks.
                The pressure from the slim piece of leather between her legs had her soaking
                wet before she finished fastening it.

                She would have relief tonight, from the Dark Lord of the Sith himself. Leia
                caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The severity of the outfit
                demanded an equally severe hair-style. She pulled her hair into a tight bun
                and admired the results. She slid the matching stockings up her legs, and
                smoothed the long gloves up past her elbows.

                Leia walked into Vader's meditation chambers on his summons. His back was
                to her, and his helmet was off. She stared at the scarred, corpse-white
                skull for only a moment, understanding at last the path she had chosen. As
                she came to him, he turned to face her. She did not look into his face, but
                only at his feet.

                She knelt between them, ready to meditate. His gloved hand reached down and
                lifted her to face him.

                The mild, middle-aged man before her could not possibly be black-armored
                nightmare that had stalked her dreams since childhood. His eyes were sunken
                in a badly scarred face. She looked into them.

                "I am here, my master. I understand the path I have chosen."

                Vader pulled Leia into his lap to straddle his legs, drawing her in close
                to his face. She could hear some of the life-support machinery. She lost
                herself in the warm brown of his eyes.

                "Do you really?" No longer mechanically amplified, his voice was not so
                resonant or terrifying.

                "I do. On this path, I am yours."

                "Excellent, little one. You can still turn back. If that is your desire,
                leave now and we will not speak of this day again."

                "No, Master." She slid gloved hands over his chest, their blackness lost
                against the great black bulk of him. "There is no turning back, only
                branching paths. That is what you showed me this morning."

                Her eyes never left his as she unlaced his codpiece, and drew out his
                flaccid cock. Her hands were gentle, easily bringing him erect. She arched
                her back enough to let her breasts spring free of the confining top.

                "You want me, Master. I have brought you back to being a man instead of a
                machine." Her throaty voice dropped even lower as she reached back to open
                the fasteners. "I require a man in my life."

                The leather peeled away as quickly as it had gone on. Vader's hands never
                left the arms of his chair. She knelt atop him, wearing the gloves, feeling
                only their soft leather, as he would feel her touches through his own.

                She dipped down, her nether lips barely kissing the head of his cock. She
                shuddered, her eyes locked with his. A second kiss, and then she engulfed
                him, impaling herself feeling every millimeter of him.

                "As you require a woman, Anakin." The dark eyes, the ones that had burned
                for her in her dreams, burned for her now in reality. He was huge, filling
                her beyond full, making her bite back pain at the size of him. She moved
                anyway, feeling the leather of his armor against her skin, feeling herself
                swell, becoming erect and aroused. She ground herself against him, and
                screamed his name as the weeks of frustrated release rolled through her.

                The extra dampness made motion easier, and she rode him now, the thickness a
                welcome invasion, battering her to a new orgasm in the space of seconds.
                Her eyes never left his. They had made love for weeks in her dreams, and
                the reality was not so different. This was her Anakin.

                The lover that had comforted her in her grief.

                The one that had relieved her in her sleep, while frustrating her by day.

                And thought was lost as she climaxed a third time. The large gloved hands
                came around her, holding her to him, pinning her almost painfully against
                the metal and leather of his armor as he thrust upward for the first time,
                burying himself as he reached his own orgasm.

                Unembarrassed by his lack of staying power, Vader let Leia crouch over him,
                still staring into his eyes.

                "Mine you are, little one, and mine you shall remain, even as Empress."

                She tipped her face up, seeking his pale lips. "Yes, Anakin," she
                whispered, the words flowing against his skin. She brushed his lips, and he
                pressed her close for his first kiss in two decades.

                He was hers, until she no longer needed him.