Sailor Moon: Redemption
BY Dragonfang33
Chapter XX
The Knight and the Princess
Location: Lita's Apartment, that night
Lita sat against the door to her bedroom, the memory of the night's events flashing through her mind. At one point she thought she'd found her prince charming, only to discover that he'd murdered her parents in cold blood.
"How could he?" Lita asked herself, as she tried to fight off the strange attraction she felt. She remembered what it felt like when her boyfriend had dumped her in favor of the popular new girl, she remembered that sting of betrayal all too well. But when she gazed into that man's eyes she saw some one who also knew that feeling.
"No," Lita continued, "why should I feel anything toward him." She raced over to her bed, and almost at once began crying. Whether she wanted to admit it or not she did love him.
Location: Anakin's Apartment, that night
Anakin knew deep down that Lita had every right to hate him, but her wrath was nothing compared to how much he hated himself at that moment. Anakin slid down the wall, as he thought back to that day on the plane, wondering if he'd acted differently Lita would still have her parents. But then he remembered why he spared her to begin with, the look on her face that day was one he knew all too well, it was the same look he'd had that day on Mustafar, her tears were the same his beloved Padme had shed before he killed her because of a lie. But now, he once again knew what it meant to be in love, though he could never admit it to himself.
Anakin gazed out the window, as the rain began falling, he saw Lita's image in the rain from a few hours ago, he saw the hatred that burned in her eyes, but he could also sense a feeling of betrayal and confusion, feelings he knew all too well. In a way he loved her, as she loved him, though at the moment both were too proud to admit it.
Location: Juban Middle School, Tokyo Japan, the next day
"So Lita," Serena asked, "Who are you taking to the dance?" Lita was still distracted by the events of the previous evening, and didn't catch the question.
"I'm sorry," Lita replied, "could you say that again?"
"I asked who you're going to the dance with tonight?" Serena asked again
"Well," Lita's face went red, her hope had been to ask Anakin to the Annual Flower Dance, but after discovering his secret, she wanted nothing to do with him, even though her heart said differently.
"I'm going with Michael Wood," Lita blurted out, Serena and Amy almost fainted.
"You're kidding," Serena shouted, "he's the hunkiest guy in school."
"I know," Lita replied, blushing, "and he looks so much like my old boyfriend." Suddenly Lita noticed a figure from the corner of her eye, it was Anakin.
"If you'll all excuse me," Lita growled, as she stood up, and stormed off.
"Sheese," Serena asked, "What's her problem?"
"Long story," Anakin replied, "a story that should never have happened to begin with."
Location: Juban Middle School, Gymnasium, that evening.
The dance was in full swing by the time Lita entered the gym, she wore a black dress embroidered with a large red rose, and a bright gold necklace. The music of Backstreet
Boys blared through the speakers, as Lita awaited the arrival of her date. The sounds of rain and thunder filled the gym as the storm that was building finally broke. Lita's heart beat with excitement, when she saw Michael Wood enter the room, but her heart soon broke in two when she saw two other girls enter with him.
"Michael," Lita asked, with tears building her eyes, "Who are they?"
"My real dates," Wood replied, "as if I'd take someone who won't last a week to the most prestigious event of the school year." He pushed her aside, and continued to insult Lita till he was sure she was crying before taking his two dates to the dance floor, to dance the night away.
Lita bolted from the dance, and almost at once slipped in the mud, never before had she been dumped so quickly, the rain that now poured from the sky served to hide the tears of a broken heart, the only thought that ran through Lita's mind was the thought that she'd never find her knight in shinning armor.
"Excuse me miss," a familiar voice said from behind her, Lita froze for a second, and turned to find Anakin standing behind her, his brown robe and shoulder length hair flowing in the breeze that blew across the city, his face illuminated by the occasional flash of lightning. Slowly Anakin extended his gloved hand to her. At first the memory of that horrible day so long ago made her want to run, but something deep within made her take his hand. As the music of Trisha Yearwood's Georgia Rain, echoed through the evening, Anakin Skywalker and Lita Kino shared a simple dance in the rain.
Georgia Rain
By Trisha Yearwood
Barefoot in the bed 'a your truck
On a blanket lookin' up
Half a moon peekin' down at us
From underneath the clouds
Teenage kids sneakin' out again
Heard the thunder rollin' in
We were fallin' the moment when
It all came pourin' down
The memory of that horrible day suddenly faded from Lita's memory, as she gazed into Anakin's blue eyes, and instead of them dancing in the muddy courtyard, she envisioned them dancing in magnificent palace, herself in a bright white gown, and Anakin clad in the bright white armor of the Knight she'd dreamed of since she was a little girl. A Knight and his Princess, yes that what it felt like to Lita. Was it possible that her prince charming was the very same man who had killed her parents?
The Georgia rain
On the Jasper County clay
Couldn't wash away
What I felt for you that day
Just you and me down an old dirt road
Nothin' in our way
Except for the Georgia rain
Cotton fields remember when
Flash 'a lightnin' drove us in
We were soaked down to the skin
By the time we climbed inside
And I don't remember what was poundin' more
Heart in my chest or the hood of that Ford
As the sky fell in, the storm clouds poured
Worlds away outside
Anakin Skywalker had all but forgotten what it was like to feel love, or to even touch another human being. A single bolt of lightning illuminated Lita's face, and for the first time, Anakin felt like he was reunited with his beloved Padme. To gaze into Lita's eyes rekindled the spark that had once been the real Anakin Skywalker, a man who had once taken in all life with a twinkle in his eyes, a man who was willing to sacrifice his life to defend those he loved. In that simple thunderstorm, a small flame burned within a dead soul.
The Georgia rain
On the Jasper County clay
Couldn't wash away
All the love we made
Just you and me down that old dirt road
No one saw a thing
Except for the Georgia rain
"Is this heaven," Lita asked herself, as she looked into Anakin's eyes, "I've never felt so comfortable dancing with a guy before, if only he could be my boyfriend, this would be a dream come true." For that single moment two broken hearts were mended in the energy of the Force, and were made whole again.
Screen door flappin' in the wind
Same ol' house I grew up in
Can't believe I'm back again
After all these years away
You fixed your Daddy's house up nice
I saw it yesterday when I drove by
Looks like you've made youself a real good life
What else can I say
"I'm sorry," Anakin said, a tear forming in his eye, that simple saying caught Lita's attention, "for what I did to your parents. I was simply a soldier who was following orders." Lita's mind didn't want to believe what she'd just heard, but her heart told her that he was telling her the truth.
"I can't ask for your forgivness," Anakin continued, "but at least tell me your name."
"Lita Kino," Lita replied, "but what happened then doesn't matter, not now." She took Anakin in her arms. Lita had waited her entire life for the moment to know a night like this, and she wasn't going to let her pride ruin it.
The Georgia rain
On the Jasper County clay
Couldn't wash away
The way I loved you to this day
The ol' dirt road's paved over now
Nothin' here's the same
Except for the Georgia rain
The music faded in the background, as Anakin and Lita stood there staring at each other, and what had just transpired. The day before Lita couldn't stand to even look at Anakin, and now she was willing to share a dance with him. Suddenly, Anakin felt a tremor in the Force.
"LITA DUCK," Anakin shouted, as he pushed Lita to the ground, just in time to avoid the assassin's shot. Anakin activated his lightsaber, just in time to see a crimson saber engage. A Sith Acolyte emerged from a tree near the front of the school. Lita reached for her transformation stick, only to find she'd left it at home.
"Don't worry," Anakin said, "I won't let anything happen to you, not this time." The two warriors crossed swords, flashes of lightning illuminating the two warriors as bolts of Sith Lightning, and Lightsabers crisscrossed the sky in front of Lita. Then with one swing,
Anakin cleaved the Acolyte in half.
Lita simply looked at the warrior that stood before her, a smile of confidence across his face, his cape and hair blowing in the breeze, his golden sword glowing brightly in the night, and the small amount of moonlight that managed to break through the storm clouds illuminating his face. No, this wasn't the man who had killed her parents.
"I'd better be going," Anakin said, as he deactivated his lightsaber.
"Wait," Lita said, "please dance with me again, I, I, really believed that you would spend more tonight with me." Anakin froze in his tracks.
"You believed in me?" Anakin asked, confused, it had been so long since he'd heard those words.
"It's funny," Anakin said, with a smile that he hadn't used for so long, "I haven't heard that from anybody for a long time, and after yesterday, you were the last person I'd expect to here it from." For a brief second they gazed at each other.
"If you must go," Lita said, sadly, "at least tell me your real name." Anakin looked at Lita confused.
"I know Darth Vader isn't your real name," Lita continued, "it would make me so happy if I knew who you really are." Anakin turned and began to walk away, leaving Lita standing in the rain for a brief minute before he replied.
"Anakin," Anakin said, placing his Jedi Robe over Lita's shoulders, "my real name's Anakin Skywalker." Lita touched the robe softly.
"Anakin," Lita said to herself, "will you?"
"Walk you home," Anakin answered; extending his gloved hand, "it would be my pleasure." That night two figures left a simple school dance, when they first met they were enemies, but now for one the past was left where it belonged, but for the other the past still all too much alive, but for Anakin Skywalker and Lita Kino it didn't matter, for that one night they were a Knight and a Princess.
Stay tuned for Chapter XXI: Second Crystal
PS: Sorry this one took so long, but I wanted it just right, PSS: Sorry if I seem to be rushing, but I had this chapter outlined for a very long time.