POV: Padme Amidala

I slowly led Vestara onto my ship, leading her towards the bridge. We entered and I smiled at my newest pilot companion. "Vestara, you remember Jarkael," I said with a smirk.

I watched her wince as he winked at her. I was going to kill him once his usefulness had run out, but I wanted her to know that he was here and that he had joined me as she had.

"Now, let me show you to your quarters." I motioned for her to exit the bridge, forcing her to walk in front of me.

She walked in complete silence as she neared the rear of the ship. Her terror had satisfied me beyond what I'd expected. I loved feeling fear in my pawns.

The fear she possessed meant that I had complete control over her. Then again, I'd thought the same about Anakin several years ago. He and Vestara had the same strong will. They were strong even in the face of death and that was their flaw.

Once we entered her quarters, I slammed her against the wall, pinning her arms behind her back. "Let me go!" she screamed. She attempted to kick back at me and twist her body to bite me, but I wouldn't allow it.

I snarled in her ear and whispered, "As soon as I'm done with you, child, I will be more than happy to rid myself of your presence."

I spun her around and forced her back against the wall. I stared into her eyes and began to compel her. I could see every thought, every dream, that she'd had since helping Anakin escape.

I slowly began to remove her memories one by one, causing her excruciating pain as she couldn't remember anything she cherished. I left her hanging at the night before we were supposed to capture Anakin. Once I'd finished, she slid down the wall. She whispered, "I don't want to forget…" before completely losing consciousness.

I shook my head. Such a weak child. How had I ever thought she would be any good? I swear, the Jedi had softened her since I'd last seen her.

I scoffed and took my leave. I would just wait until she woke up again before I completed the next phase of my master plan.

POV: Vestara Amidala

I slowly opened my eyes to see the alabaster ceiling above me. I wondered how I'd gotten here after talking with my mother. I don't even remember boarding the vessel we were now on.

I stood up and rubbed my eyes before blurring out of my room and towards the area where my mother was on the bridge. I sensed that she was waiting for me.

I smiled up at her as I stood beside her. "Hello, mother," I whispered.

She stared at me for a few minutes before her smile widened. "Hello, Vestara. How are you feeling?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I feel… fine. Why do you ask?"

She sighed. "You collapsed after tripping on a stairway. You fell down two flights of stairs, my love. Didn't you notice the marks on your cheek?"

She looked shocked as I reached up to my face, tracing three long scratches on my left cheek. Weird. They felt more like claw marks, but who knows what I fell on?

"Sorry," I whispered. "That sounds like me."

She smiled. "It's okay, darling. Do you remember what we were talking about?"

"Um," I trailed off, glancing away from her. "My father, right?"

She nodded slowly. "Right. I have a surprise for you, Vestara."

"What is it?"

She smiled and clicked something on her comlink. Within seconds, a boy appeared. He looked to be about my age and very handsome. "Vestara, this is your personal body guard, Dean. He's to stay by your side for the duration of our… mission."

The way she said each word scared me a bit, but I nodded. The boy bowed and my mother walked away. Dean had beautiful, neon, electric, blue eyes and he was very muscular. He had sandy, brown hair and wore a full black outfit.

"Hi," he said.

I blinked and looked up at his face. "Hi."

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Ah, we'll be sharing a room, so… would you mind showing me where we're staying?"

"Sure," I said, shrugging.

I turned around and led him back to my room in complete silence. My thoughts kept traveling back to his features and his voice. His voice… My heart melted as it echoed in my head.

As we entered my room, I noticed another bed had been placed across from mine. He set his pack down on the floor and sat on his bed, watching me.

I walked towards my bed and lay down, curling into a ball. I heard him lay back and relax. He pulled his Holopad out of his pack and began to skim through several channels at once.

I turned over and stared at him.

After an hour, he finally looked away from whatever he was reading and raised an eyebrow at me. "Can I help you with something?"

"No," I said quickly.

"No offense, but can you, please, stop staring? It's really annoying." His attention returned to the Holopad and I looked up at the ceiling once again.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little… confused. Why does my mom think I need a bodyguard?"

My eyes met his curious ones. He sighed and set his Holopad down on the floor, sitting up. "Do you know anything about the guy you're hunting?"

I shook my head. "Only the fact that he's my father."

"He's a vampire and a Jedi with a very bad record. I hear he's a drunk and, apparently, your mother created him quite some time ago. Now, the reason I'm here with you is for your own protection."

"I can take care of myself," I said, rolling my eyes. I didn't even think that was the reason my mother assigned a body guard to me.

He chuckled and lifted his Holopad again. "What?" I asked, growing angry as I sat up. He set the Holo down on the bed and shook his head.

"It's just that you fell down some stairs and were knocked out for a week. You think you can handle yourself," he scoffed. He folded his arms over his chest and smirked at me.

I raised an eyebrow. Laugh at me, will he? I blurred over to him and grabbed his arms, slamming him down onto the floor. I quickly pulled his arms behind his back, lifted him, and slammed him into the durasteel wall. He began to struggle with no luck.

"Now, can I protect myself?"

He didn't respond and I squeezed his arm. "Yes," he gasped, turning slightly to look at me over his shoulder.

I smiled and leaned forward, kissing his cheek before releasing him.

I was shocked by what I'd just done, but I decided to let it pass. He slumped down towards the floor and I extended my arm to help him up.

He surprised me by grabbing my hand and flipping me over onto his bed. "Say you need me."

I growled at him and bared my fangs as his teeth slid over my neck. "Come on, say it."

"Fine. I need you," I admitted bitterly. "Will you let go of me now?"

He smirked and leaned further over my shoulder. I glanced back at him and, again, to my surprise, our lips met. He pressed himself up against me and we both enjoyed the passionate kiss.

His arms released mine and he gripped both sides of my waist. I ran my fingers through his hair as the kiss deepened. I found myself moaning without thinking about it and I smiled against his warm lips.

He wrapped my legs around his waist during the kiss and lifted me as he straightened up. He turned us both and sat down on his bed. I put more pressure on his body and moaned again as he began to kiss my neck.

His hands roamed over my back until my comlink went off. We both stopped suddenly and I allowed the transmission to come though. "Vestara," I whispered.

"Change of plans, my darling. Instead of going to Mustafar, he will be coming to us. I want to see you on the bridge."

"Yes, mother."

"Now!" she screeched.

"All right! I'm on my way!" I yelled, hanging up.

"I'll… snatch whatever I can from the supplies closet. I'm kind of hungry," Dean whispered.

"Okay, you do that." I blurred out of my quarters until I reached the bridge.

My mother glared at me for quite some time before actually beginning to speak. Her voice was rough and angry as she said, "Don't get too attached to him, Vestara."

"I'm not."

She scoffed and slowly began to circle me. I felt my own fear building up as I knew what was coming next. "Do not lie to me, child," she growled.

She grabbed my arm from behind and twisted it. I gasped in pain as she chuckled. "Now, you won't lie to me again, will you?"

I shook my head quickly, gasping as she released me.

"Good. Now, tomorrow night, your father and I will be in the Mos Eisley Catina. He and I will be in the alleyway and I'm expecting you to arrive. Do you understand? You and Dean will be useful back up if he… resists."

I wanted to ask her why he would resist. Wouldn't he want to see me? I swallowed and nodded. She gripped my arm tighter and spun me around, forcing me to face her. "I would hate to see something regretful happen to your little pet if your part of the plan isn't kept up."

Once again, I nodded fearfully. I slowly left her, fearing that I would receive more punishment if I stuck around.

POV: Ahsoka Tano

I watched Anakin from a short distance away. We hadn't left Naboo because he was wallowing in his personal blame. He sat on the landing ramp of the ship, holding his head in his hands.

He hadn't spoken a word since he'd recovered from his pain. I looked up at Master Kenobi sadly and he frowned. He was worried about Anakin just as much as I was. "I'm going to go speak with the people of Theed and attempt to scrounge up some fuel to leave the planet. Can you keep an eye on him?"

"You do realize I can hear you?" he called out, not lifting his head.

I nodded at Master Kenobi and he quickly left, sprinting towards the city.

I began to close the distance between Anakin and me, but I grew too nervous. The last thing I wanted right now was to upset him more. "Come here," he whispered.

I watched him straighten up and focus on me. He extended his mechanical hand towards me, staring into my eyes.

I ran to him without another ounce of hesitation and he held me against his chest. "Don't be afraid of me," he whispered. "I'm angry, but I won't hurt you."

"I wish there was something I could do for you," I whispered, running my fingers through his hair. He rubbed my back slowly and kissed my shoulder.

"I love you, Ahsoka. A simple smile will make me feel better. You don't have to try to do anything to help me. Just talking to you is making me feel better. I love feeling you…"

I kissed his neck slowly. "I love you."

"I'm sorry if you're upset with me for the way I've been acting since –"

"Anakin, I understand. You don't have to apologize or explain yourself."

I sat on his leg and continued to hug him. I sighed in content as he ran his hand over my rear lek. "Once he comes back, we'll go home. I need to figure out how to get her back, but, until then, I'm going to spend some time with you…"

I smiled and nodded against his chest. "That sounds wonderful."

"I'm not going to let you out of my sight until I know you're safe," he whispered.