The Five Sense of Dormé
Voice
By: Jody
Author's Note: This tale takes place in the same universe as my tale 'Little
Star'.
----
I don't want what I did
I had a change of taste
But maybe someday
Yeah I’ll see you smile
As you call my name
Start to feel
And it feels the same
And I know that maybe someday is come
Maybe someday is coming…
----
Upon stirring awake the Sith Lord was a little disorientated for he could
hear the sound of a woman’s voice singing. For a moment, Vader thought
he was home, where he often awoke to the sound of his mother humming as she
prepared breakfast for them both. But at the sound of a soft hiss and the
sight of the light mist that floated through his bed chambers, Anakin knew
he was far from Tatooine. Vader also knew that he was far from being that
mischievous little boy who always enjoyed the peace that came at the sound
of his mother’s singing.
Even so, the gentle lilting voice continued singing and Anakin couldn’t
help but listen. He promptly realised that it was Leia’s caregiver,
Lady Dormé, whose voice he heard. His daughter’s nursery was
next to his private chambers and with his consent, Dormé was permitted
to visit the baby at anytime, even at this late hour.
Silently, he rose from his bed and got dressed before departing for the nursery
nearby. Using the Force Vader opened the door ever so slightly, so he could
listen to her voice better without interrupting the reverie of the moment.
Though he couldn’t understand the lyrics of the song, Anakin was certain
that it was a lullaby of some sort.
The opening of the door was far too small to permit him a proper visual,
but it didn’t mean he couldn’t picture the petite woman cradling
his daughter, while her voice gently lulled the baby to sleep. A smile crept
onto his scarred features at the thought as he couldn’t help but lean
against the door and close his eyes.
Her voice indeed was soothing, haunting even, stirring emotions within his
heart the Sith Lord believed had long since died with Padmé’s
passing. While normally such thoughts would have frightened him, or at the
very least caused him much guilt and sorrow, in that moment, he was too lost
in mysterious lullaby to notice.
Vader could almost imagine what sort of legend Dormé was telling his
little princess and how beautiful it would be. Though he couldn’t understand
the words, he imagined that the former handmaiden was speaking of beautiful
lands filled with life and joy. And of a little princess who enjoyed running
through the tall grass, dancing to the sound of melodious birds.
His smile widened at the thought, for he had already begun to have a palatial
lakehouse built on Delaya for his little girl, so that when Leia was older,
she would be able to run free without having to always be confined to her
daddy’s ship. Neither would Dormé be forced to always remain
here as well. He never considered the possibility that one day Dormé
might wish to depart from her duties as Leia’s guardian. In fact, the
more he thought of Leia’s future, the more important the former decoy’s
role became.
Now, for the first time as he found himself enjoying the sound of Dormé’s
voice and the haunting melody, Vader envisioned a future with her in it. He
imagined her not as Leia’s caregiver or nanny, but as his— Anakin
frowned at the thought as his eyes snapped open in response. Moving away from
the door, as quietly as he could, Vader tried to force himself to erase the
secret fantasy harbouring in his thoughts.
Returning to his bedchambers, Anakin struggled with the revelation that her
haunting voice seemed to have awakened. He never allowed himself to consider
Dormé in any other light than as Leia’s caregiver. To do so would
only encourage thoughts he didn’t want to dwell upon and yet at the
same time longed to as well.
Leia did see Dormé as her ama, after all, and in many ways, Dormé
was the baby’s mother. The former handmaiden did care and love Leia
as though she were Dormé’s own, so was it really any surprise
he too would come to regard her as his daughter’s mother as well?
But Anakin knew there was more to this than just the powerful connection
between his princess and her nanny. Dormé had a way of reaching out
to him in a way that no one else ever had, nor ever would. She also seemed
to have a way of making him open up and reach out to her as well.
Nevertheless, the thought never did reach beyond that point as the hour was
late and the young Sith Lord was exhausted from a long day of training. As
much as he was both loathed and eager to figure out this unexpected revelation,
it wasn’t long before he was returning to his bed with the intent of
rest.
However, while his eyes grew heavy and his thoughts grew distant with the
onset of slumber, Dormé’s singing continued to reach his ears.
Even in slumber, her voice filled his dreams with peace while his soul was
haunted by unspoken messages of love.
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