Rating: No violence, no language, slight PG-rated sensuality.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.
Author's Notes: Please accept my apologies if characters are a bit OOC in this AU. Also, know that I limited the ending on purpose.
Characters: Luke, Mara, Anakin.

Mara was twelve when they met.

She was at her first soirée of any significance and had been delicately swathed in layers of expensive imported fabric, all of which had been fitted together to show off her as yet mostly unformed feminine figure to best advantage. Her red hair had been swept up, with a few delicate curls coming down the side of her face to craft an image of perfect imperfection. For someone of her youth, she was an absolute vision. She hated it.

Curtsies and honeyed words. That was what her entire night had consisted of. She had smiled at people as her father whispered to her of their lack of trustfulness, and she had complimented people whom her father told her would just as soon put a knife in her back. He had never liked these parties himself, but he told her they were a necessity. The Kenobis were one of the most well-known families on Coruscant; they were staunch Knights and had been for generations.

Of course, Mara was not actually a Kenobi in name, even if she was one in blood. Her mother had died while giving birth to her, and her father, Obi-Wan, had given Mara her mother's maiden name to serve as her last name. It had somehow set her apart from the other Knights, though she could not pinpoint the reason for such. Maybe that was part of why this party was putting her in such a foul mood.

There was only so much smiling she could do before she said something she regretted, and so she finally slipped off to a balcony to get a breath of fresh air.

She was surprised and more than a little irked to find someone was already occupying the balcony. She nearly left and probably would have done so had her curiosity not made her pause. For some reason, the young man in front of her was leaning over the balcony railing at almost a ninety-degree angle. Given the slightest push, he would likely fall.

"What are you doing?" Mara asked skeptically. She had not meant to speak at all, but now that she had, she was committed to at least a brief conversation.

The young man straightened and twisted around. "Oh!" he said in surprise.

Mara's eyes instantly narrowed as she recognized him. He was a Skywalker. They were a member of a group called the "Lords"—a group that stood in strict opposition to the Knights. In other words, he was her enemy.

There was a time, her father had told her, when the Force had been thought of in terms of black and white, light and dark. But the lines had blurred somewhere along the way, and teachings had merged together and even split apart, such that while the teachings of Lords and Knights were often different, they had many similarities as well. But the Knights, her father had said, were on the better side. She wondered what the Lords told their children.

"I'm surprised you didn't sense me," she said dryly. "I thought you Skywalkers were supposed to be strong with the Force."

The boy seemed unfazed by her comment and sat back on the balcony, perching himself there precariously as he said, "You're Mara Jade, right?" As a Force user, he could likely save himself if he started to fall, but it still made Mara nervous.

"Yes," she said. Her tone was decidedly uninviting.

"Luke Skywalker," he said, holding out a hand for her to shake. His dirty blond hair was too long in the front and hung down in his eyes. His tunic, though it had no doubt been well-pressed before he arrived at the party, was somewhat wrinkled. His propensity to hang off balcony railings was no doubt at fault for that.

She ignored the hand and gave him a hard look. "Why are you bent over the balcony, Skywalker?"

In spite of her frigidity, he grinned back at her. "Come here!"

She slowly walked over to him in high-heeled shoes that had already begun to pinch at the toes, watching as he twisted in place to peer over the railing once more.

"Look there," he said.

She allowed herself to bend over slightly as she observed where he was pointing. On a balcony some ways down, a man was gesticulating wildly as two others—likely servants, from the look of them—dabbed at him with cloths.

"So he poured some punch on himself?" Mara asked, unimpressed.

There was a gleam in Luke Skywalker's eyes as he straightened and shook his head. "Not exactly. Someone poured wine on him . . . but it wasn't his fault."

"What an excellent use of your powers," Mara said as she crossed her arms. She supposed she should not be surprised by his immaturity. Though he was perhaps her age, if not a little older, he was a Lord, after all.

"He deserved it," the boy said, unaffected by her dry tone. "A few months ago, a Rodian beggar came up to him, asking for assistance. He spit on the Rodian and knocked him down."

Mara raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

"The Lords believe in justice," he said firmly. There was a glint of pride in his blue eyes now. "We try to right wrongs when we see them." He tilted his head and gave her a nod. "I'll see you around, Mara."

And then, after giving her a slight bow, he disappeared through the balcony door and returned to the party.

Mara was left staring after him, feeling almost as if her entire world had been turned upside down. Maybe the Knights and the Lords were not that different after all.

Luke was fifteen when the sight of her started to make his heart pound.

They met frequently at parties of various kinds, always going out on the balcony whenever one was available. Luke never made any secret of his desire to see her, but she always feigned disdain for him and declared her wish was only to escape that refined world of smiles and schemes for a brief time. But he knew she enjoyed their meetings.

As Luke grew older, the demands of his position as son of a prominent galactic figure dampened his playful side, but he nonetheless always attempted to draw a smile from the red-haired beauty when he could. And a beauty she was.

As she matured, her body began to gain the soft womanly curves that boys of Luke's age were always crowing about. She made an enchanting picture, no matter what she wore, but Luke was particularly fond of seeing her in green. It matched her eyes and made him think of the forest. She was no wild animal, but there was something untamed about her spirit despite her ever-present poise. Perhaps it was the fire that raged beneath the surface.

On this night, she was venting her spleen about some dignitary or other, and he found himself unable to heed her words. Instead, he was watching how her eyes sparkled in the starlight, like brilliant emeralds set in fine porcelain.

"Are you even listening, Skywalker?" she asked, narrowing those two gems that had caught his attention.

His heart inexplicably pounded at this glimpse of her fire, and he wondered what it would be like to trail his fingers through her hair. Would it be as soft as it looked?

Swallowing, he forced himself to respond. "You know I hang on your every word, Mara."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm certain you do."

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be someone else?"

She gave him a wary look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if we weren't supposed to be enemies? What if I was just an ordinary guy . . . and you were just an ordinary girl?"

"You might as well be wishing for Tatooine's two suns, Skywalker. You and I will never just be ordinary. Not with our heritage." She gave an obvious look down at the lightsaber that hung at his belt.

Luke smiled and touched a hand to the hilt. "My father gave this to me recently. He said I'm old enough to carry one around now."

"It's supposed to serve as a warning to others of how dangerous the Skywalkers and the Lords can be, no doubt."

"Yeah. But I don't want people to see me as dangerous. I wish . . . I wish they could see me as a friend. Someone who could help them."

"Don't be naïve, Skywalker. Your father's known throughout the galaxy for what he has done for the Republic. The common people will always see you as above them."

"Your father's well-known, too," Luke said. "I heard they were once even friends."

"If they were, that's long past now."

"Do you consider us friends, Mara?"

The young woman looked away. "I don't have any friends."

"You have me," Luke said, moving toward her and taking one of her hands. It felt so warm in his, and he wondered what it would feel like to thread his fingers with hers. Would she let him do it?

She tugged slightly at her hand, but he refused to let go. "I can't afford friends, Skywalker."

Luke opened his mouth to respond, only to pause as the feeling of a new presence intruded on the edge of his awareness. He did not even bother reaching out to the Force as he turned.

"Luke," Anakin Skywalker said sternly as he stepped out onto the balcony. Then his gaze moved to rest on Mara as he gave a stiff bow. "Miss Jade." There was no mistaking the chill to his voice.

"Mr. Skywalker," Mara said, curtseying.

"I believe your father was looking for you," Anakin said, though the Force indicated to Luke that it was a lie.

Mara looked at Luke and gave him the barest of nods before she walked away.

Luke watched her go, an odd sort of yearning in his heart.

"I know that look."

Luke turned toward his father. "What look?"

"Luke, nothing can come of your friendship with Mara Jade. I know you think you've been discreet, but I've been aware of your clandestine meetings, and I'm sure others know about them, too."

"We're just friends," Luke mumbled, looking away. He could feel his father's gaze steadily upon him, but he refused to meet his eyes.

"I'm leaving soon," Anakin said abruptly, drawing his son's full attention. "The Chancellor needs some assistance in the Outer Rim. The problems with the Trade Federation are growing worse."

"Is that why you gave me your old lightsaber?"

Anakin smiled. "That's one of the reasons. You're growing up and becoming a fine young man, Luke." He sighed, his eyes going to the balcony doors. "But even so, that young woman who just left us is not meant for you. When she comes of age, she will be married off to someone for the purpose of increasing her family's prestige."

"You don't know that," Luke said, his temper flaring up. "She wouldn't marry someone she didn't care for."

"Yes, she would, Luke. You may not quite understand yet, but one day, you will. Your mother has tried to shelter you from this world as much as she can, so you may have been able to convince yourself that if you want something hard enough, you can get it, but it's not that easy. If you cultivate a relationship with a Knight, it's going to be difficult for the both of you."

"How do you know?"

"Because your mother's father was a Knight."

"What?" Luke asked in surprise. He had not heard this before.

"She may not be able to touch the Force as we can, but her father was a Force user of some renown. When we fell in love, I thought your mother and I could conquer any trial before us. In some ways, we have, but there are days when her tears cannot be dried."

Luke, who had seen his mother on such days, gave a sad nod. "Why is that, Father?"

"Because her family disowned her. They refuse to speak to her in public, and they avoid being in the same room as her when they can. She left one world for the other. You can't merge two worlds together, son. Sometimes, I wish I could return her to her family. She loves you and your sister so much and would never give you both up, but discarding one family for another is not an easy thing."

Luke considered what might happen if he left the Lords and joined the Knights, but saying goodbye to his family was nigh inconceivable. Forcing Mara to leave hers seemed just as impossible.

"But was it worth it?" Luke whispered.

Anakin chuckled as he got a distant look in his eyes. "You know it was."

Mara was eighteen when Luke asked her to run away with him.

"What?" she asked, staring at him in stupefaction.

"Run away with me. We can escape all this, move to some out-of-the-way planet where our parents will never think to look for us. We can be whoever we want to be—not just who we're supposed to be."

"You're delusional, Skywalker, if you think we could hide from our fathers forever. They would tear the galaxy apart to find us."

"That's not exactly a no . . . ."

Mara met Luke's crystalline blue eyes for a moment before glancing away. She would be lying if she denied the fact that the very idea of running away with this kind and handsome young man had made her heart skip a few beats. "I can't. I'm engaged, Skywalker."

"What?" he whispered, his chin dropping and hanging in the air loosely, as if he had lost all ability to work his jaw.

"I will be marrying the Chancellor."

Luke's face twisted in disgust. "But he's so . . . old!"

"It will help my family," Mara said, trying to ignore the twist in her gut. In truth, the thought of marrying Chancellor Palpatine was scarcely more palpable to her than it was to Luke. "With all the upheaval caused by the Trade Federation and the systems that have seceded from the Republic, the Knights need some stability. He holds a lot of power, and they think he'll only gain more."

"But what about what you need?" Luke asked, a definite note of desperation in his voice. "I've heard rumors about the Chancellor. You can't get in bed with such a demon. There is no way his hands are clean in all this."

"Maybe," Mara said with a helpless shrug.

"I need time."

"Time for what, Skywalker?"

"Time to prove that the Chancellor's hands are as dirty as I know they are. Give me two weeks to expose him."

"What makes you think you can succeed in two weeks where everyone else has failed?" Mara asked in desperation.

His eyes blazed with blue fire. "Because I'm doing it for the woman I love."

"Luke . . ." she whispered. It was the first time she had called him by his first name aloud.

He grabbed her hand and tugged her up against him, embracing her tightly and pressing his face into her hair. "You have to let me try. I don't care what everyone else says. We can make this work, Mara."

"You're a fool, Luke."

He laughed into her hair. "I know."

She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. "We aren't going to be able to meet like this anymore when I'm married."

"You're not getting married," he promised. And then he gently put a hand on the back of her head and brought his own face down to meet hers. His breath ghosted her mouth briefly as he hesitated, waiting for her consent. Then she closed that last inch and pressed her lips against his.

He sighed against her mouth, one hand twisting in her loose hair and the other pressing her closer to him. His lips were gentle as they caressed hers, and soon, he was kissing her harder, deeply and desperately, as if he feared this might be his only opportunity to drink from her lips.

She was beginning to feel lightheaded when he finally broke away, his chest heaving with gasping breaths. "I love you, Mara," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I have to go."

And then he fled, leaving her staring after him, her fingers pressed against her lips. Words fell from her mouth of their own volition: "I love you, too, Luke."

When Luke finally met with Mara on a balcony again, it was on her balcony two weeks and one day after their first kiss.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said. His gaze fell down on his gloved right hand and then flinched away. He hoped Mara failed to notice it.

"I've been delaying the wedding," Mara said, her eyes searching his face. "I expected you yesterday."

"I had some problems," Luke said, swallowing. He felt as if something was pressing against his chest, making it hard to breathe, yet he attempted to put on a blank mask.

Unfortunately, it was far too difficult to disguise his turmoil from another Force user, and Mara asked him: "What is it?"

"Let's just say that no one ever has to worry about Chancellor Palpatine ever again," he said hoarsely.

Mara's sharp intake of breath was audible. "You didn't . . . ?"

"No, it wasn't me. My father . . . my father killed him."

Her eyes were wide with shock. "What happened?"

Luke shook his head. "I was a fool. I couldn't find the evidence I needed, even with Artoo and Threepio's help, and I got desperate. Yesterday, I snuck into Palpatine's personal chambers through the balcony. He was sitting there, like he was waiting for me. I brought up my lightsaber and ignited it, and then . . ."

"Then what?" Mara asked when he paused.

Luke grimaced. "He laughed at me. He told me that if I had the guts to strike him down, I should go ahead and do it."

"You didn't try?"

"Of course not. I couldn't kill a man in cold blood. But I was desperate, so I goaded him to get him to fight me."

"What did you say?"

Luke flushed in embarrassment. "I told him that I stole your first kiss."

"That was both brave and stupid," Mara said, shaking her head. "He's very protective of what he thinks is his."

"So I learned. He pulled a red lightsaber out of nowhere and came at me like something possessed. I thought I was good with a saber, but he . . . well, I can see now that I need a lot more training."

"What happened next?"

"He cut . . ." Luke began, looking down at his hand. But he could not finish, and so he changed what he was saying. "My father came. He knew that I had snuck out, and he could no doubt feel me through the Force. I was so stupid. Palpatine could probably sense me coming from a mile off."

"Your hand," Mara said, staring down at the black glove. "Why are you covering it?"

Luke wished he could retreat into himself. "I'm . . . I'm no longer whole, Mara. Palpatine, he . . . he cut my hand off. And then I was suddenly this frightened little boy. I told myself I wasn't good enough for you. I stared down at . . . at it, and then I fell to my knees. I didn't know what to do anymore. I was ready to die."

"Is that when your father came?" Mara prompted.

"Yes. He entered the scene like a madman, lightsaber blazing. 'Nobody hurts my son,' he said. And then he and Palpatine were embroiled in this bitter battle. The way they threw words at each other made me think that maybe . . . maybe they used to be friends. Or maybe they just knew a lot about each other. I don't know. But my father was so mad that I don't think an entire army of Knights and Lords could have defeated him. He plunged his saber into the Chancellor's chest, and Palpatine just . . . smiled. 'Well played, Ani,' he said. And then he collapsed to the ground."

"Dead?"

"Yes. My father and I snuck back out the balcony after he hacked into the computer systems and erased all the security footage. When we jumped into his speeder, he said, 'You foolish boy.' And then he hugged me." Luke shook his head, remembering how baffled he had felt. He could not even recall the last time his father had hugged him. "Then we went to a med center to get me outfitted with a new hand." He ducked his head. "I kind of went into shock after that. It was all just . . . a lot to process. This experience . . . well, it made me feel a lot like a child."

"We've both been forced to grow up too fast," Mara said softly.

"Yeah," Luke mumbled. "Everyone will find out soon that the Chancellor is dead. I only hope . . . I hope that my father's role isn't discovered."

"And yours," Mara added.

Luke gave a halfhearted nod. It was his fault the man was dead, and it weighed on his conscience. Even with his father's reassurances that Palpatine was as corrupt as they came, Luke could not wipe away the feeling of guilt that had latched onto him. He had acted recklessly. He should be held accountable for his foolishness.

"Luke," Mara whispered, placing a hand on his arm.

With an effort, Luke lifted his head to meet her stunning green eyes, and for a moment, he lost himself in them. "What?" he asked when he found his voice.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving me."

"Mara—"

But she tugged him to her, cutting off his protests with a searing kiss.

He remained stiff and unresponsive at first, but he slowly melted into her, his lips matching her fervor. He groaned against her mouth and then broke off, gasping and pressing his forehead against hers.

Mara took a moment to catch her own breath, and then she pulled back slightly, holding a hand out for him. As he took it, she pulled him to the edge of the balcony and then let him go. His father's empty speeder still hovered where he had left it.

Mara leaped up on top of the balcony railing, causing Luke's heart to jump into his throat. "Be careful, Mara. What are you doing?"

"Getting a breath of fresh air," she said with a rare smile. She reached her hand down, extending it. "Run away with me."

Luke stared up at her. A sliver of hope was growing in his chest. "But what about your family?"

"With the Chancellor gone, I have the feeling tensions will be easing. Maybe it is time we start thinking about ourselves. We can face the galaxy another day."

Smiling with pure joy, Luke took her hand and hoisted himself up to perch on the balcony railing. "All right. I'll come with you."

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading! Feedback is always welcome! :) I'd like to take a moment to put a plug in for a new epic fantasy novel (On Wings of Air) my writing partner and I are coming out with under the collective pseudonym "J.L. Griffin." The eBook is already up on pre-order for Amazon. On Wings of Air is about a prince of wind and a princess of earth and how they try to bring their peoples together despite their ancient enmity. We would love your support!