A.N. Hi everyone :) Sorry to keep all waiting so long, but I'm back now. It's starting to get a bit dark now… Not sure whether that's good or bad from a writing point of view. Ah, well. Enjoy.
I wake in the dead of night, with one thing certain in my mind.
Something is wrong.
It takes me another few seconds to work out what. Anakin is gone. But his side of the bed is still warm, so he can't have been gone long.
What's wrong? I wonder as I sit up. I don't have to wonder any more – I can see him slipping round a corner down the corridor, wrapped in a dark dressing gown. I pull on a gown and a pair of slippers and stand up. Whatever's wrong with him, I need to help. That's what marriage is for, right? If he needs me, I'm there for him.
Soundlessly, I follow him down the passage. He's bent over, his back ridged, and as he turns to me, I see that his brows are drawn together in pain, or anger, or something else – something I can't identify. What's the matter with him?
Slowly, I come and stand beside him. He doesn't look at me but keeps his eyes straight ahead.
"What's bothering you?"
"Nothing."
Finally, he turns to look at me, smiling like it's true, nothing really is wrong, but it's so clearly forced it scares me a little. He touched the pendant around my neck.
"I remember when I gave this to you."
"How long will it be until we're honest with each other?"
The question hangs in the air. How long?
Forever?