Saga Fields of Gold - A Vader Songfic

Title: Fields of Gold
Author: Lovely-in-Orange
Timeframe: A few years after RotS
Characters: Darth Vader
Genre: songfic, angst
Summary: Vader keeps his promise.
Notes: Song by ?Fields of Gold? is by Sting. Thanks to VaderLVR64 for being my beta!

The tall figure, with his helmeted head and black cape stood in stark contrast to the peaceful golds, purples, and greens of the Naboo meadow. He had received a summons to meet his Master at the Emperor?s sanctuary. Visits to Naboo were never pleasant. It was a past that he both yearned to remember and hated to think of. But this time, his master had given him a ?gift? as he called it. Emperor Palpatine had other matters to attend to today and had given him spare time to ?enjoy himself? before he met with him tomorrow. Vader hated almost nothing more than spare time to be alone with his thoughts. It was another of his Master?s games? to torture him or test him.

You?ll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You?ll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in the fields of gold

Several years ago, Anakin and Padme had come here to hide from the bounty hunter who had tried to assassinate her. But here, in these fields near the lake they had forgotten about the rest of the galaxy for a while. They had walked together here, not as Senator and Jedi, but just as Padme and Anakin. Even though he had no desire to revisit the past, he was drawn by an unfulfilled promise.

So she took her love
For to gaze awhile
Upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold

Against his will, memories came back to him. He remembered her in her golden dress. She was more radiant than the sun. He remembered how she had run to him when she thought he injured by the fall from the shaak. When she discovered his deception, she had pounded him across the chest in mock anger. But then she had let him pull her into his arms with her long hair falling about him and they had laughed together. He had begun to realize then, that she returned his love for him.

Will you stay with me, will you be my love
Among the fields of barley
We?ll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we lie in the fields of gold

After the Battle of Geonosis, he ? or at least the man he once was ? had returned here with Padme. She had agreed to become his wife and they had chosen to forget the Jedi and the Senate for a while. Even now, he could not deny that the few stolen days they had here had been a treasure.

See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold

The wind blowing through her hair, the feeling of her kiss, the warmth of her body pressed against his? But no. That was gone now. Darth Vader pushed away the memories that had briefly filled him. He had a purpose here.

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I?ve broken

For the sake of a promise, he had betrayed the Jedi. He had broken his promises to them because he trusted Palpatine to keep his promise to save Padme. Betrayal was the way of the Sith and promises were tools to control the weak. Yet, he was not his master. He had never intended to break any of the promises he made out of love. And he would faithfully keep this last promise, in his fashion.

But I swear in the days still left
We?ll walk in the fields of gold
We?ll walk in the fields of gold

He stood before the grave of Padme. As a cherished queen and honored senator, she could have been buried in the most noble tomb in Theed. But her family had thought that she would prefer to be buried here, in her favorite place. They had not known why she loved this place so ? perhaps they thought it was entirely due to childhood memories.

Many times, she had talked of wanting to be here with him again in this place that they had shared so much. He, in his naivety, had promised that someday they would both return. And here

 

I don't usually read songfics but I love Fields of Gold so I thought that I would check yours out.

You have poignantly captured Vader's feelings of regret in this story.
I don't think that I will ever listen to the song the same way again.

Great job

 

Well, you already know how beautiful I think this one is! Loved it!

 

I love this song.

Vader hated almost nothing more than spare time to be alone with his thoughts. It was another of his Master?s games? to torture him or test him.

Great line! Wonderful image at the end, of everything remaining buried in that field.

 

That was so beautiful! I always wanted to read a songfic for Fields of Gold, and yours is the first I found! You did a wonderful job with the emotions and imagery.

 

Amidala66 Wow, thanks. I started out thinking this was going to be about memories, but as I wrote it I realized that promises and regrets are really a key both to the song and to Vader.

VaderLVR64 Aww, thanks again Master.

JadeSolo Thanks! I see Vader as wanting to leave the past behind and forget but not quite being able to. Poor guy.

dtdang2 Thank you! It's one of my very favorite songs too. I've always admired how Sting can put so much imagery and such a wide range of emotions into a single song.

 

that was wonderful! very touching and very sad.
it was a great idea, doing a very humanizing portrait of darth vader, mixed with the amazing lyrics of that song.
you pull it off beautifully!
my favorite part was,
For the sake of a promise, he had betrayed the Jedi. He had broken his promises to them because he trusted Palpatine to keep his promise to save Padme. Betrayal was the way of the Sith and promises were tools to control the weak. Yet, he was not his master. He had never intended to break any of the promises he made out of love. And he would faithfully keep this last promise, in his fashion.
again, very touching and very sad.
Reading things like this, make the eventual redemption of Anakin Skywalker all the more powerful.
Fantastic job!

 

Oh, by the Force!

I've got tears in my eyes just reading this fic.

Fields of Gold is one of my favourite songs of all times, and this songfic gave it yet another depth of meaning.

Thank you. Thank you for this wonderful gift.

MTFBWY,

Lauré

 

I liked it. Very good exploration of Vader.

 

obi_webb, laurethiel1138, & DaenaBenjen42 Thank you all very much for your kind comments. I was hoping I could show a little humanity in Vader while keeping him still in character.

 

Awesome job! I'm not much of a songfic person, but this fic was extremely well-done. It showed Vader isn't all machine (not yet, at least), and he try as he might, he can never forget that he killed her. Write on!

 

this was so beautiful and sad it showed that Vader really regreted his actions in the end

 

Very touching.
You've done a really nice job with this and excellent choice of song.
I like the ending. Little did he know.

Bravo!

 

Discorpor8 Thanks! I used to not like songfics either but I ran across some good ones on these boards and ended up with the idea to do this one.

Jedifalcon Thank you!

oqidaun I'm really glad you liked it. I love playing with irony.