I don't own the Star Wars universe. I only own Rien (pronounced Ree-n)
(This chapter takes place 4 years before Ahsoka becomes Anakin's Padawan, making Ahsoka and Rien 10, which makes Anakin 16)
Living in the dark:
Prologue: Discovery:
"I still don't see why we had to come back to Tatooine, Master."
"Calm down, Anakin. We'll be gone in two days. Besides, the only reason we're here is because there were rumors of a droid factory around here." Anakin scanned the desert around them. "Nothing. Can we just go?" Obi-Wan frowned at him. "No. The droid factory was rumored to be somewhere in the canyons."
Anakin sighed. "Forgive me, Master. It's just-you know I don't like being back on Tatooine." Obi-Wan glanced over at him. "I know, Anakin." Anakin climbed back onto his cruiser. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with so we can get back to Coruscant."
Two hours later, they reached the canyons where the droid factory was supposedly located. "Keep on the lookout. Tusken Raiders are rumored to be around here." Anakin nodded, keeping a tight grip on his lightsaber, following closely behind Obi-Wan as they entered a cave. Obi-Wan stopped suddenly, causing Anakin to slam into his back. "Master, wha-"
"Quiet." Obi-Wan suddenly activated his lightsaber. "I just sensed something in the Force. It's not a droid, but it's not a Tusken Raider either." He frowned, not sheathing his lightsaber. "Whatever it is, it might not be friendly." Anakin nodded, activating his lightsaber as well. They suddenly heard a loud thud, followed by a groan, and then scuffling noises, coupled with whimpering.
Obi-Wan signaled to Anakin, and they turned left. They halted in their tracks when they saw a young human girl, about 9 or 10, curled up into a ball, whimpering in pain. She had filthy, matted silvery-white hair and wore a dirty, raggedy old dress that probably had once been the color of brown, and wasn't even fit to qualify as rags. Her skin was filthy, but you could make out slightly tanned skin underneath the layers of clay and sand. Her shoes were nothing more than fabric tied together with leather straps. The shoes were wearing out and starting fall apart.
Anakin and Obi-Wan quietly sheathed their lightsabers, but the girl still heard them. She lept up quickly, her face hidden from them. "Stay away from me!" Obi-Wan stepped forward, attempting to calm her. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Leave me alone!" She bolted. The two Jedi glanced at one another, then sprinted after her. "We won't hurt you!" She tripped, falling flat on her face. At that point, she began throwing things at them, missing most of the time. What surprised them was when she lifted two rocks into the air, sending them flying at them, hitting Anakin but missing Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan chuckled. "Looks like we have ourselves a Force-sensitive youngling here." Anakin massaged his jaw. "Oh, that's just wonderful."
The girl finally collapsed, gasping for breath. Obi-Wan knelt down to look at her, noting that her eyes, which were clamped shut, had tears flowing freely from them. "Please don't kill me."
"We're not going to harm you." Obi-Wan tilted her face up towards his. "Now look at me." The girl began to sob. "I-I can't." Obi-Wan frowned, puzzled. "Why not?" The girl took a deep breath. "This is why." She slowly opened her eyes. They stared at her unseeing light blue eyes. "She's blind."