Chapter # 2
Luke and Leia Skywalker were you typical eight year old children. They went to school and had people to call friends. They were fairly similar with regards to their thinking patterns, each of them different in their own way though.
Leia had become accustom to being more fair and proper, she loved her academics and was a straight A student. While Luke was a bit more rebellious and enjoyed flying speeders and his Jedi training. He did ok in school getting average grades but did not go above and beyond like his sister.
They both got along relatively well. They would always abide by their guardian's rules and would not question what they were told.
They were very obedient and very well behaved children. They lived with their primary care taker Obi-Wan Kenobi also known as Ben Kenobi. As far as they had known Ben had taken them in as infants after the death of both of their parents. They did not know that much about the detail surrounding their parents other than their father was once a Jedi Knight and that their mother was an esteemed senator for the Galactic Republic. They also knew that been Kenobi known to them as Master Kenobi was extremely close to both of their parents at one time.
Each child knew of Master Kenobi as their great mentor and wise teacher. They did not know the specifics of his lifestyle prior to their birth but trusted that he was a wise and well educated human being.
The twins had never lived anywhere other than the desert planet of Tatooine and had never left. They would occasionally go to visit their Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen that were descendants of their late grandmother on their father's side Shmi. They would usually stay with their Aunt and Uncle on weekends then would return to stay with Obi-Wan during the week for attending school and for their Jedi training.
The twins were very knowledgeable when it came to the history of the Jedi as well as the Jedi teaching. Each child knew the basic foundations of battle and had created and acquired their own lightsabers.
The twins also used their Aunt and Uncle's sur names as opposed to their own by the request of Master Obi-Wan so that the current sith lord, Darth Sidious would not pick up on their presence.
They were known on Tatooine primarily as Luke and Leia Lars not Skywalker, they had asked to use master Kenobi's sur name but he quickly rejected stating that the sith would easily pick up on his name.
…
The twins attended a public school and were able to maintain a bit of independence that way through their social lives.
The twins attended the small yet prestigious Mesalak Academy and where in the third grade.
They were currently learning about the Jedi Purges that had happened shortly before they were born.
That was supposedly their father's cause of death, according to Master Kenobi. The children wanted nothing more than to tell their classmates that they knew and were training with a real life Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. But per Ben's request they keep his true identity along with their training a secret from the public. The twins also loved to attend the local pod races in town in the decently sized city of Mos Espa. Luke had wanted to participate in one of these races ever since he could walk but had been declined not only Master Kenobi but also his aunt and uncle.
Today the twins were on their way to a race and Luke was signed up to participate. He had not told anyone other than his sister and they had fooled Obi-Wan into thinking that they were going to be staying late at school for the upcoming science fair. They were to be home by 6:30 in the evening and not a minute later.
The twins had planned this accordingly knowing that the pod race would end at 5:30 giving them just enough time to have their green pal and goofy alien friend Watto drop them back off at their hut that they shared with Obi-Wan during the weekdays.
It was a piece of cake of sorts or at least in the twins mind. Because they would generally have Watto play the part of one of their school friend's parents dropping them off at home after a long playdate or special school function.
Obi-Wan however, did not seem to mind this as long as the twins came back at a reasonable hour.
"Luke, Luke?" a young Leia Skywalker called in the empty halls of their school.
Luke Skywalker who had been working on his latest speeder model in art class heard his sister's calls and quickly packed up his backpack.
He had stayed after class not playing attention to the bell that had wrung nearly ten minutes prior.
"I'm in here, I'm coming sis" he called back.
He then sprinted out into the hallway to find a perplexed Leia staring back at him, "Luke? We best get going if we ensure to be on time for the pod race. Watto is waiting for us." She stated.
"I know I just got stuck on this project you know. Art class is about the only place I can be creative around here other than our training with Master Kenobi and all."
"Yeah I know what you mean, I feel the exact same way about English class Luke, I love to write and read. Mainly read, but writing is still a passion of mine."
"Oh Leia, don't start. I know you're a genius with all that stuff and its cool it really is but I just don't do well with it."
"I know Luke and I apologize, it's really just a hobby of mine, honest."
"That's ok Leia, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Now what do you say, should we get to that race?"
Leia then offered him a shy smile, "You bet." She then encircled her arm around her brothers then they both headed outside towards Watto's speeder.
….
Watto was a plump green alien known as a Toydarian junk dealer in Mos Espa. He owned his own parts shop and did in fact own slaves at one point in time but then later decided to do away with the tactic and just hire common folk and pay them a semi- decent salary. He knew the Lar's twins quite well. He had formed a relationship with them after meeting them two years prior. He knew their uncle Owen Lars and his beautiful wife Beru and would occasionally do business with them and help them supply stock on their moisture farm. As far as Watto knew, the Lars twins belonged to Owen and Beru and would occasionally sneak away to have some fun as many children did. He did not mind keeping their secrets as long as they did not become to mischievous.
Luke and Leia had also begin to work in Watto's auto repair shop on the weekends only for short time increments in order to make some extra money. Watto was also quite unaware of the children's link to Shmi Skywalker, he also did not know that the twin's uncle (in Watto's mind the twin's father) was the son of Cleigg Lars the late husband of Shmi Skywalker.
Just then, Watto was broken from his thinking patterns as the young pair of twins climbed into the back of his speeder.
"Hey Watto, what's up?" Luke questioned the alien with a smile.
"Hey Watto, how have you been?" Leia added.
"Hey, Hey, Hey well if it isn't my little rascals? Are you guys ready for the big race?" Watto questioned the twins.
"You bet we are, I've been pumped for this thing for two months now ya know." Luke added as Watto began to drive away from the school.
"You mean like two weeks Luke." Leia corrected her brother. Which only earned her a nudge in the arm from her brother.
"So you guys tell your folks or that secretive guardian of yours about any of this?" Watto questioned.
"Um well… not exactly. Neither of them will let us ya know and I just want to have a little fun without a grown up breathing down my neck." Luke stated.
Leia then chuckled, "Yeah, as much as I am all for abiding by the rules, I can't help but sometimes think that Luke and I are a bit to sheltered in and well if breaking the rules every once and an while means that, then so be it." She added.
"Yeah Leia's usually the goody two shoes out of this bunch but when even she thinks something is boring and too strict you know you've gotta bend the rules a bit." Luke stated offering his sister a devilish smile.
"Yes Luke, I know I can sometimes be by the book but it's for my own well-being and yours too for that matter."
"And that's why I love ya sis." Luke added as he swung an arm around Leia's shoulder.
"So who will be racing today?" Watto questioned the twins.
"Both of us will" the twins answered in unison.
"We decided that it would not be fair if just one of us was to participate in the race so we decided that we both will participate. We will each be navigating our own speeders." Leia stated.
"Yeah we thought about operating our own speeder together but decided it would foster more independence on both our parts if we did this separately." Luke added.
"Very good children, I am most impressed by your mature thinking patterns." Watto added as they approached the city of Mos Espa.
They then began to approach the massive stadium where the pod race would be held.
All of sudden all the conversation in their speeder went quiet when the twins realized that they were going to be participating in their first pod race in less than an hour. Both Luke and Leia could feel the knots in their stomachs begin to form.
….
Anakin Skywalker sat in a seat in the middle section of the massive pod race stadium in Mos Epsa. He had finally traveled back to his home planet deciding that is was the only true way too keep his identity concealed from the public. He had spent the last eight years practically scouring the galaxy, searching an endless amount of planets both on the outer and inner rim for his children and or Obi-Wan Kenobi's presence.
He also now owned his once shared apartment with Padme on Coruscant and claimed that as his primary residence. However, he only spent seldom time there because of the fact that Darth Sidious his former master inhibited the planet of Coruscant most of the time. Also being in the apartment also brought back too many unwanted memories of his now deceased wife and their lifestyle before he had turned to the dark side.
Anakin had come to his former home Mos Espa in search of something. This planet along with city also brought back many unpleasant memories regarding his mother's death and his life in slavery. He had sworn almost eleven years prior to this point that he would never return after his actions taken against the Tusken Raiders at their encampment. Tears once more began to form in Skywalker's eyes at the thought of his mother's death.
He then tried to distract himself with the main reason he had come back to this place. He had been having a strong sense of two force sensitive children on the planet of Tatooine.
He thought of this as a god sent of sorts, this could be the answer. These two children could perhaps be his twins. He had no real idea of who they were, how old they were or what they looked like. But he figured he could give it a try. He was recently plagued with non-stop nightmares, never ending anger and sadness. He needed some hope, he needed an escape from reality.
He figured he would start with Mos Espa and watch a pod race in order to clear his mind. This was one of the more positive memories of his life. Now thirty years old. Anakin was ready to rid his mind of all the negative things he had once experienced in his young adult life. He tried not to think of his mother's death, his time in slavery, the death of his wife that he still to this day believed he was the cause of, his betrayal to the Jedi and the Republic, his service to Palpatine, his murdering of Jedi younglings, and the Tusken Raiders even though they had tortured his mother. He was ready to put all this behind him and begin to think of the positive things in his life.
Anakin was ready to move on, and even after eight long years of searching, he was determined to trace the end of the galaxy and back if that would mean finding his two children.
He would not stop until he found any kind of sign of life of the one thing he believed still held high relevance in his life. He was deeply hurt that he had already missed eight years of their lives, however this just pushed him further in his obsession with getting to them. He still did however, still hold a bit of hate in his heart for his former master Obi-Wan because he did know that regardless of not knowing that Padme's children were also his, he knew his former master held a vital role in the disappearance of his children and he was determined to make his former master pay for this one way or another.