It was only because her almost-rapist's cloak clung to her body that the scent hit her nostrils like a punch to the gut when the wind began to blow. It burned and stank. Instantly, Padmé's skin began to itch, and every part of her burned as the man's touch resurfaced. She felt his eyes on her, devouring her. His hands roamed hungrily over her, touching her in all the wrong places. Her breathing became shallow as she felt the weight of his body pressing against hers, his hardness brushing against her most private area.
The sickness churned in her stomach from the taste of his saliva mingling with the warmth of her tears in her mouth. She felt everything as if it were happening all over again. It was a nightmare.
In one swift motion, Padmé threw the disgusting cloak to the ground and kicked it away. She began to obsessively rub her hands over her body, trying to erase the man's touch from her skin. The remnants of the dress she had worn were gone; the only clothing left was her bra and underwear.
The small garments did little to help, as she still felt utterly naked. Tears began to flow more rapidly from her eyes, and she let out soft cries while her hands rubbed circles on her skin. She knew nothing would erase his touch from her body– that nothing could take away the nightmare– that she was ruined.
"Senator," Vader's voice suddenly echoed, shocking Padmé more than it surprised her.
Padmé whirled around to see Darth Vader standing in the darkness of the street and immediately dropped to the ground. Acting quickly, she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms tightly around her legs, and tried to shield herself. Sheepishly, she glanced up at the Dark Lord through tear-filled eyes before looking back down, feeling ashamed.
He moved swiftly toward her, his boots crunching on the gravel, and his overall presence overwhelming as he paused. She dared not look up, even when she was certain he was squatting beside her.
"You're still intoxicated," he said, sounding more like a doctor than a Sith Lord. "And you're experiencing mental trauma." She still didn't dare to look at him, despite the fact that he had just diagnosed her. From the corner of her eye, she noticed him rise to his full height again, her breath catching in her throat as she struggled to hold back her tears.
"You– you've been following me," she stated softly, the roughness of pain still evident in her voice.
He didn't respond, but she already knew it was true. It couldn't be a coincidence that Darth Vader found her twice in one night, and it is even more unconvincing that she would survive both encounters.
Her mind struggled to find reasons why, but it fell short due to her pain and daze. Feeling his gaze on her once more, Padmé pressed her chest harder against her knees in a futile attempt to hide her body from him, hoping that her thoughts were hidden as well. "If you didn't want anyone to see you like this," he growled angrily, his annoyance palpable as he reached out his hand and summoned the fallen cloak to his palm. "Then maybe you shouldn't undress in the middle of the street."
She recoiled from the material as if it were a venomous snake, shaking her head in refusal as he tried to give it back to her.
Vader let out an annoyed sigh, brushing the cloak aside. "Senator," he growled in warning, causing Padme to avert her gaze to the ground once more, embarrassed.
She tried to stop the tears, but her efforts failed. "It's… It's his," she choked out between sobs, offering him some kind of explanation.
"Yes," Vader said with a nod. "That abomination I killed."
"It… It smells… like him," Padmé finally whispered, looking up at the cloaked figure, hoping he would understand. Vader was silent for a moment, his shoulders tensing and his head tilting as if he were piecing the actions together. He seemed to realize that the man's scent had caused her to relapse and that she wanted nothing to do with him. With evident annoyance, Vader let out a heavy sigh and retreated into the shadows. He vanished into the adjacent alley, and when he reappeared, he no longer wore his long black cloak but a shorter brown one. The brown material still concealed his features, perfectly hiding them from view. Towering over Padmé, he held out a large black cloak in front of her, offering it instead of the previous brown one.
Padmé looked at him with confusion, shifting her gaze between him and the materials. "Wh... What?"
It seemed to fuel Vader's growing annoyance; the brown cloak exposed more of his movements than the black one permitted. "If you refuse to wear his cloak, then you will have to wear mine..." Vader remarked, quickly adding, "Unless you prefer to walk home naked."
It was a decision that shocked her; she realized that Vader now wore the other man's robe and was offering his to her.
As she gazed at the black fabric, Padmé was reminded not of the man who had nearly assaulted her but of the one who had rescued her. The panic tightening her heart eased, and she found herself able to breathe more easily.
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