Disclaimer: Melody and all other random characters mentioned belong to me. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi belong to Mr. George Lucas. All songs (chapter titles) in this story belong to Nightwish.

Chapter 1: Wish I Had an Angel

The lower market plaza on Coruscant was bustling just like any ordinary day. People milled about the stalls either perusing through or selling the wares. A hefty Twi'Lek woman called out to several people on the street, holding out some of the fruits from her stall. Soon she was busy with one of the men who came over. Too busy to notice the hands which grasped several choice fruits from the stand before vanishing through a hole in the stall's wall.

In the alley formed by the Twi'Lek's stall and another, a short, slender figure slipped into the darkness further down the alley. She glanced behind to make sure no one followed her before increasing her pace. Her long, disheveled hair was filthy having not been washed in the past few days and hung around her face, sticking up in some places. But there was no real reason to try to keep it clean since the streets were not very kind to those living on them. All she could do was make sure it stayed out of the way while she struggled to live.

Hiding the fruit inside her tattered cloak, the girl was stopped by several other larger figures. The one in the center, a Corellian teenager with dark blue hair, stepped closer to her, asking,

"All right, what do you have today, Melody?"

'Oh, no...what does Deluca want now?' Melody thought as she took a step back, trying to hide what she had. 'Why can't they just leave me alone?' She turned to run, but a Rodian stood in front of her path, brandishing a vibro-blade. Gasping, the girl swallowed and stepped back towards the others, looking from them to the Rodian. 'Just give them what you have...and they might go away.' With a small sigh, she dropped the fruits to the ground and stepped away to allow room for the larger boys to see.

After glancing at the fruit, the Corellian clenched his fists and glared at her, demanding,

"What is this! You should be getting money from the stalls, not some moldy fruit! We're going to teach you that lesson if we have to pound it into your skull!"

Staring at him with wide eyes, Melody cringed, thinking, 'Oh, gods, he's going to hit me...I have to...get away...' Opening her mouth, a high-pitched scream left her throat. A force emitted with the scream crashed into the Corellian and three others behind him, knocking them into the stone wall. Surprised, she blinked at what just happened before remembering the boy behind her. Turning the other way, she faced the Rodian and thought, 'Please...work again...' She screamed again, watching him fall to the ground before leaping over his body.

She ran into the busy streets of the plaza, not even bothering to look behind to see if they were following. Melody knew that they would be up and running soon, and she wanted to put as much distance between them and her. The plaza was an excellent place to disappear, and she would definitely make use of that fact.

"Where is she?" "Over there! Get her!" She heard their shouts and tried to add more speed to her run, but she only managed to trip on uneven ground. Sprawling on her side, Melody winced when she moved her legs to push her body up. Looking up, her panic-filled eyes searched the crowd for someone…anyone who would help her. 'Please…please someone…help…' she thought, since yelling in the constant din of noise was pointless.

A pair of boots partially hidden by a long, brown robe appeared at her side, and she glanced up when a soft voice asked,

"Are you all right?"

Her eyes met with a pair of piercing blue eyes set in a mature face. A trimmed beard framed his face while long, ginger-colored hair was half-tied behind his head. He was very tall, broad-shouldered and had the air of a master warrior about him. But his eyes also held a kind look as he gazed at her.

Bending down, he offered her a large, calloused hand, and Melody gripped his palm as he lifted her to her feet. Then, she heard the sounds of the boys and managed to limp behind the man into the shadows of another alley. She hated having to hide as she did, but there was no way she could fight all of them.

XXX

The tall man watched her vanish into the alley before turning his attention to what he sensed was the cause of her fear. Crossing his arms inside the long, loose sleeves of his robe, he waited as the boys came to a stop in front of him. They looked a little confused, but he felt their thoughts were on finding someone, no doubt the girl.

"Is there something you boys need?" he asked, his voice no longer soft, instead almost commanding.

"Yeah, did you see a girl come this way?" A Corellian with blue hair queried, a little bolder than his comrades.

"There are many girls in the plaza," he told the boy, staring right at him.

"Deluca, there she is!" one of the other boys yelled, his finger pointing past the tall, robed man.

He heard a small intake of breath behind him and knew the girl's fears were with these boys. Moving in front of the alley slowly, the robed man made a small gesture with his hand, saying,

"You don't need to deal with her anymore today."

Deluca, the Corellian, stood almost stunned by his words, but he turned to his comrades and said, "We don't need to deal with her anymore today." Then, he and the others turned and vanished in the main part of the plaza.

XXX

Watching all of this, Melody's eyes widened even further when the tall, robed man turned to face her hiding place, saying,

"They're gone. You can come out now."

Instead, she retreated further into the shadows, a little wary of the man who dismissed Deluca and his gang without lifting a finger. Well, he had moved his hand, but that was all really. Then, it suddenly dawned on her what he was. The long, brown robe…his hand gesture and suggestion to the boys…and a silver cylinder hanging from his belt drew her attention.

He seemed to notice her concentration shift to his belt, and he moved his robe so she could see better. It was a lightsaber. Melody had seen only a few of these crafted weapons, and all had been in possession of Jedi. Yes, he had to be a Jedi.

Looking back up at him, Melody moved slowly out of the alley, still favoring her right foot. She winced at the pain felt whenever she tried to put her weight on it. Then, as she glanced down to inspect her leg, Melody heard him state,

"My name is Qui-Gon Jinn. What's yours?"

Biting her lower lip, she murmured,

"My name's…Melody."

"If you'll allow me, Melody, I can have a look at your injury."

Flicking her eyes up to him, Melody swallowed softly as she turned her leg towards him. She watched Qui-Gon bend down and place his strong hands around her lower calf. It felt strange, like a flow of warmth moving down over her ankle. Wobbling slightly, Melody placed a hand on his shoulder to steady her body. He looked up at her and smiled, and she swallowed, feeling the blush creep over her face.

"Well, Melody, it appears your ankle has been sprained," Qui-Gon said, rising to his full height which was even taller than she thought while lying on the ground. "You'll need to treat it soon. Where is your home, Melody?"

Lowering her eyes, Melody shook her head, not wanting to say to this kind Jedi that she made a living on the streets. Then, she felt his hand on her shoulder, making her look up into his gentle blue eyes again.

"You know, I have a padawan who is just about your age, Melody. Would you like to come to the Jedi Temple to meet him? We could also have your ankle treated by one of the physicians," Qui-Gon told her, smiling.

Her eyes widened as she stared at him, wondering if what he said was true. But why would he lie? After all, Qui-Gon was a Jedi Knight. Blinking, she nodded her head, whispering, "Yes…please, I'd like to…go with you…Mr. Jinn, sir."

Still smiling at her, Qui-Gon said, "Please, just call me Qui-Gon." He bent down a little and carefully scooped her body into his arms. It surprised Melody, but she was actually relieved at not having to walk on her hurt ankle. She didn't know how far the Jedi Temple was, but it had to be a pretty long way from here. Slowly, Melody leaned her head against his shoulder, exhaling a long breath and closing her eyes. Soon, exhaustion took over, and sleep descended on her as Qui-Gon strode through the plaza at a steady pace.