A Vision in a Dream

Long days always result in exhaustion and this day in particular was not an exception. It has not been the sparring with his former Master Obi-Wan, which was indeed the most relaxing activity during the day, but the mental work. A meeting with the Jedi Council in the morning, where the next mission was supposed to be set, later that day an escort with Palpatine, who left Anakin with the strong impression of knowing something no one lese does, and in the afternoon a long meditating session with Master Yoda.

And through all of this Anakin had to be careful to keep his guards up to prevent any of this wise and force sensitive men from revealing his most precious secret. An important decision was about to be made by the Senate, which brought all representatives from every far corner of the galaxy to Coruscant. Padmé was no exception. She carefully had picked out a suit for her needs, as well as for her handmaidens, to guarantee Anakin free access for the amount of time he dared to spend with her.

But now, she was sound asleep, dreaming of some peaceful future for herself, her husband and their unborn child, which was growing inside her. One of Anakin's arms was protectively arranged around her curvy body and she enjoyed snuggling closer to him, as a soft smile appeared on her angelic face.

Her warm and joyful dreams were the exact opposite of what her husband was dreaming of.

Everything surrounding him was lifeless and rough. It was awfully hot and sweat was already running over his face. A sandy wind forced him to close his eyes and when he opened them again, a small blond boy had appeared on the line of the horizon, watching as the twin suns slowly sank lower.

Why was he there? It was far too hot still, to be outside in the desert and when the darkness of night will fall over them, it would be dangerous, too. Tusken Raiders could be hidden everywhere just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike the small human down.

Hey boy! You should go home, it is dangerous out here at night!

The young boy started to run and his feet seemed to carry him faster over the sand than Anakin's longer legs were able to. He shouldn't run around like that, all on his own. How old was he? Eight maybe, or nine? It was dangerous.

Boy, wait!

The twin suns were sunken completely by now and darkness fell over them like a black blanket. Anakin seemed to catch up with the boy, while the stars started to shine over them like millions of light balls. The wind blew heavy and a cold chill sent shivers over Anakin's body, but he tried to ignore them.

Boy!

Anakin could see him clearly now, from far away he had seemed like a child but now coming closer he realized that the boy was actually in his teens. And was that a braid dangling from his right side?

Who are you? Are you a Jedi?

The young man turned around and Anakin stopped, too. This face with the blue eyes and the dark blond hair looked oddly familiar. He, instead of answering the question, looked at their surrounding that had changed again.

Where was the dessert? The sand? Now, Anakin found himself in a round room with a large window frame and several dark red chairs in different shapes. The chairs were empty, except for one where the young man in his dark tunic sat down, watching him.

You shouldn't sit there. It's Master Windu's place.

Oddly, Anakin hadn't even realized where he was, just now that he had said it himself, he recognized the council room of the Jedi Temple.

He won't need his place.

A dark laughter filled the room soon after this words of the young man opposite him were spoken and flames erupted suddenly in the room, the window broke, the chairs burned and left something that looked like rocks on a forsaken planet.

What?

Anakin saw we the other ignite a lightsaber, startling when the red blade illuminated the angry face. But before he could even move to attack, the fire in the room consumed him. The red blade fell to the ground and a horrific screaming filled the hot air.

I HATE YOU!

Petrified to the place where he stood, Anakin wasn't able to help the shouting human who slowly burned, becoming more unrecognisable by the second. Fear and disgust thundered through his numb body and the screaming was painfully loud in his ears. He wished to help, felt the urge to help, after all he was a Jedi, but everything he was able to do was simple stand there and watch. He felt sick and his head started to spin. Pain was rolling over him, forcing him to his knees.

The burning agony the other person felt was slowly consumed by darkness and Anakin turned his head in time to see a new transformation on the young man. The burning flesh was hid behind absolute darkness, still formless, but steadily getting stronger. A sharp breathing sound, forced into a regular rhythm filled the hot air that got colder by the second. The heat was destroyed by perfect darkness.

The crumpling figure of the man got to his feet, a black armour now wrapped around his body, so that now part of the skin was to be seen anymore. Behind him a cloaked figure appeared, the hood half in the face, was the person cackling highly that another wave of sickness filled Anakin.

You are dead, Skywalker!

The dark voice of the hooded figure familiar to him, even though the yellow eyes and the ugly visage were not.

The armoured and deeply agonized figure rose again, blood was running over the floor like water in a river and the screams and cries of thousands of people forced Anakin to cover up his ears, while the old man was laughing madly.

You killed them! You killed them all! You killed you WIFE!NO! NO!

His own shouts still echoed in his ears, as he abruptly sat up in bed, breathing heavily and still smelling the burned flesh, feeling a slight pain as he himself had been burned as well. The darkness still sent chills over him and he couldn't stop trembling. Anakin forced himself to breathe deeply and gain control over his own body again.

Padmé next to him awoke and sat up, worried.

"What is it, Anakin?"

Anakin wasn't able to look at her let alone answer he question. His eyes were wide open in horror, while the crying and screaming still rang in his ears.

Padmé tried to smooth him, embracing him and it was her touch that helped to chase the images and the pain away. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to be held and sinking deeper into her arms, as she continued stroking his hair and wet face.

"Shh… that was just a bad dream, Ani."

The End