DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS!
Chapter 8: Still Missing
" ' I'm floating in the dark forest, as though underwater, as the light of the moons falls down on my bare shoulders. I'm wearing a flowing black dress that sways gently in the breeze. I close my eyes and inhale incense and greenery from the surrounding forest. I feel content, completely at peace, as though this place is where I belong. The sound of rushing water greets me somewhere in the distance and we consider going over. Just the two of us.
Who 'us' is I don't know. And I don't look to see immediately who it is. I didn't even know I wasn't alone until now but it doesn't seem to bother me. I just know that I'm safe. I feel so serene as the wind softly caresses me.
Then I realize it's not the wind that I feel but a man, standing behind me. I'm not afraid of this man although I can't see who he is. I just stand in my calm stupor as he grips my arms in his hands and pulls me close to his armoured chest. "Rex." I breathe, leaning back into him as his arm slides around my waist and his breath tickles my neck so softly that I let my eyes close for a moment as allow his arms to wrap more securely around me.
I reach up to feel for Rex's short, almost bald, blonde hair but he takes my hands in his before I have the chance. "I'll protect you." Rex's voice murmurs in my ear before pressing the palm of each of my hands, one at a time, to his lips. "Don't let go." I say but it's not 'really'. It's my voice but it sounds far away. Like it's happening at another place at another time.
"Never." Is the reply I get and I slowly turn around, wanting to see Rex's face but as I turn a hand comes gently over my eyes. "Trust me." Rex says and I do. Completely. Or atleast I think I do; but I don't dare to contemplate my feelings as Rex draws me blindly closer than ever before. "Rex-" I murmur before our lips meet in the softest kiss I've ever experienced, which slowly grows to become more passionate.
But as it does so, I hear something clatter to the ground next to me. I open my eyes, a dark shroud blocking Rex's face from view as I look to see what fell, and spot a Clone Trooper helmet with Wolf marks and a T-visor on the front; but then I notice a strange mark I've never seen on Rex's customized helmet before.
A six-pointed star, every other edge longer that the other, like on One-Shot's cheek, is printed in bold blue and black.
I jump back, not knowing whether to expect to see Rex's face or One-Shot's but I come to find it is neither.
"No!" I whisper in horror as those dark blue eyes stare down at me in hate, a psychotic look on his sinister face, as I back away as quickly as I can and suddenly trip over the helmet. "Stay back!" I shout at Skywalker as he brandishes his lightsaber and starts toward me, ingiting it slowly with that dark looks that seems to be moving in on me to where I find it difficult to breathe. I want to get up and run but I can't seem to will myself to do so.
"Please, leave me alone!" I cry in tears now and pick up the helmet and throw it at Skywalker, who slices it in half with ease. I watch the helmet roll in slow motion, one side with the blue wolf marks, the other with the six-pointed star, as Skywalker bears down on me with his lightsaber... ' "
I wake up with a violent jolt, to find someone standing over me in the darkness. I try to shove them away but they've got a tight grip on me and shake me. "Eris! Eris are you alright?" Barriss calls to me as though I'm deaf and I wave her away irritably as I sit up, resting my elbows on my knees as I try to catch my breath. "I'm fine! I'm fine!" I say coughing slightly, breathing deeply to return my heart rate back to normal.
"Sir, what happened? Is something wrong?" Captain Clicker says, snapping awake at the disturbance. "It's nothing!" I say getting up quickly which makes me sway slightly on my feet so that I have to brace myself against the wall. "Just a-bad dream." I mutter, rubbing my sore eyes as they adjust to the dark night were only a blue light from one of the moons of Naboo lights the forest.
Kind of like in my dream.
"It could only be a dream-" Barriss says after a moment, waving for Captain Clicker to go so he can tell his dazed men everything is alright. "Or it could be the force trying to warn you of something." Barriss continues and I shake my head and roll my eyes. "I had the feeling you'd say something like that." I mutter, kneading my temples as a dull ache begins to set in and I head outside for some fresh air. "Well, maybe it would help if you told me what happened in your dream." Barriss suggests carefully and I tense immediately as I lean against a collum outside of the temple with my back to her.
There were some very controversial moments in my dream that I fear could hurt those involved if I tell it to the wrong person.
"Nothing-Well, not nothing-It's just that-"I begin glancing around to be sure that the Clones are not in earshot. "I had a dream that I was caught between two people that I've-come to have feelings for. But that's not the scary part. Then Skywalker came, and-" I pause, shivering at the memory, not really sure how Barriss, being a fellow Jedi, would react to the part Skywalker plays in my dream.
"Yes?"Barriss prompts and I give myself a shake. "I don't know-He attacked me. That's when I woke up." I say uneasily but I feel a little better getting it off my chest. "You are still harboring fear of Master Skywalker. Why?" Barriss asks and I rub my arms against the chilly air. "You could say our first meeting wasn't very-pleasant."
"What do you mean?"
"He tortured me-" I blurt finally, not turning around, but I can feel Barriss tense-Apparently torture is not the Jedi way. "To find out where Ahsoka was. I knew nothing. But he didn't stop. He wouldn't have either if it weren't for Captain Rex." I confess, feeling slightly warmer thinking about how Rex had looked after me. "Your experience must have affected you more than you realize. This nightmare must be telling you something." Barriss states wisely.
"Or, I just had a bad dream and need to get over it." I sigh, turning to go back inside as the lighting begins to turn from dark blue to a purple as the sun begins to rise, casting orange-pink ribbons of light across the sky. "Besides, it's morning and we need to train."
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BARRISS:
"Alright-
"Alright Just-
"Okay Eris you need to-
"Stop!" Barriss cries out finally, halting Eris's staff using the force when she nearly brings it down on Barriss's head. "What?" Eris shouts angrily, casting the staff to the floor in her frustration. "You said attack didn't you?" She asks as the Clones look on, still feeling a bit battered after Eris's last training session. They'd been instructed to throw rocks at her while Eris was blind folded, armed with the staff to try to deflect the rocks using the Force. Captain Clicker's men didn't stand a chance despite Eris's little amount of training and they're still a little weary of her unpredictable nature.
Barriss didn't need the force to tell that the source of Eris's aggression was her dream. "Eris, you mustn't fight in anger. Your power comes from your emotions. You could do much damage if you don't learn to control them."
"I-I know." Eris says in defeat, taking a seat on the grass next to her staff. "It's just-I feel like I should be doing more. Ahsoka is still missing and we still have nothing! It's been nearly a week since we got here and the men are bored out of their minds! And I'm driving myself crazy with all this Force business!"
"The most important-and difficult-lesson a Jedi must learn, Eris," Barriss says gently, kneeling down beside Eris. "Is patience. You've mastered meditation; But calm is most difficult to master when you are awake." Barriss tells Eris who nods, her spirits seeming to lift slightly. "Now, try again."
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ERIS:
I can't help but feel completely drained for the next few weeks. I continue to have my strange dream every night and every night I awaken, panting and sweating, just as Anakin Skywalker 'kills' me. However, ever since that training session with Barriss after I first began having this dream, my skills have increased tenfold. My skills almost match that of Barriss's in that I our battles can last for hours on end. I've also become much more agile and I think I've become much more physically fit. I'm finally getting comfortable enough with my outfit that I'm often seen without the long skirt.
Barriss insists that I begin training with a lightsaber, learning to deflect blasts, but I declined-Much to the relief of the men who I suspect want to have no more part in my training after what happened last time. Of course, Barriss has been bothering me about this for some time now and it finally wore down on me-So I agreed that tomorrow I will practice with the lightsaber. "Don't worry," Barriss told me.
"Most younglings start practicing with the lightsabers as young as twelve years old-That's when I started anyways." She said and gave a dull smile as I continued to twirl my staff in fancy battle patterns. "How old are you?" Barriss asked curiously and I found I had to think about that for a moment. "I-I don't know." I said, losing concentration on what I was doing and ended up losing my grip on the staff, sending it flying into the tree-Just above Gal's head.
"Hey!" The Clone called out angrily as I continued to think. "I was eighteen but-I think I turned nineteen-two weeks ago?" I said almost like a question, shocked at how much time has gone by since all of this happened. I can't really ask how long I've been gone since I still don't understand the logic of this world.
Touring the city made me feel better with Eris and the Clones there to help identify the strange creatures and how things basically work in the everyday life of such creatures; But lately, Barriss has been very strict on my training and never leaves me bored. I'm either meditating, practicing with the Force, or working on my fighting skills. I haven't really been keeping track of the time. "Wow, I can't believe I've been gone so long-" I said feeling numb as I wrench my staff out of the tree in a faraway stupor. I excused myself to go to.
I'm not sure why I wanted to be alone so badly when I suddenly felt like being on my own was the last thing I should do; But as if I had no control over myself I was already headed to the one place I knew I could be alone.
It takes a bit of hiking to get there but It's well worth it.
Armed with nothing but my staff, I now head through the dense forest for the river I came across a while ago when Barriss had me go through an obstacle course through the jungle. The river sparkles and an amazing waterfall rushes nearby. The forest itself is beautiful and I've wished many times that I had my cell phone so that I could take a picture of it. I often come here to meditate. This is something I've grown quite accustomed to.
I sit for several minutes when I hear a rustling noise behind me-somewhere in the greenery. Without opening my eyes, I take a breath and reach out with my mind, trying to see what it is. When atfirst I get nothing, I resume my calm; but before I can get too comfortable I hear it again. Louder. It almost sounds like someone his running around in the bushes-
And they're watching me.
Giving up on trying to find them with the Force I get to my feet and calmly turn around, leaving my staff on the ground. "Who's there?" I ask as though I'm answering the door to my house. I don't want to show whoever it is that I'm really afraid. The person hiding in the bushes stirs and I begin to make out a figure. "Show yourself!" I command and use the force to summon my staff when the stranger steps into my line of vision. I take a stance and then freeze when the figure comes into view.
It's Ahsoka Tano.
PLEASE R&R! MORE CHAPTERS IN THE FUTURE! :D
~THE SCRIBE! :D
