Love and War
Chapter 35
Location: Unknown
Anakin walked towards the light. He didn't look back. He didn't dare look back. The Eye was right. If he hadn't come to his scenes he would have become one with the darkness. There would have been nothing left of him then. He would have become nothing. He was sure his essence would have been gone completely.
However, the light was proving to be no better than the darkness. The light was as barren as the dark. There were no landmarks or signs of life. Even the ground was made of light. There was nothing as far as the eye could see.
Then, something caught his ear. It was a hard to make out a first. It sounded like a chime. A trickling sound that reminded him of falling water. However, soon the sound grew louder and seemed to be coming from everywhere. The chime sound gradually grew so loud that it was overwhelming. Anakin reached up to cover his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth against the sound, but nothing he did seemed to drive it out. He groaned in agony and dropped down to a knee and wrapped his arms around his head.
"AAAA! STOP! STOP IT!"
Yet, nothing could stop the sound. Anakin thought he was going to go mad, but then it stop. It was completely silent. Anakin rose up and removed his arms around his ears and saw that standing in front of him was a woman made of light.
She was beautiful and shining and giant. She was three times bigger than a normal human being. Her body was pale and white and seemed to glow like a star. Her hair was a prism of light and shone with all the colors of the rainbow.
"Come with me, child and I will grant you peace."
"Who are you? What do you want?"
The woman raised her arms and said, "I am Sanctuary. I will grant you peace."
Anakin was skeptical but her aura was so pure and light unlike the Eye that was all darkness and hate. The woman's Force-presence was airy. It made him feel lightheaded and almost disembodied. It was hard for him to focus. He shook his head to try and clear his vision, but dreaminess he felt wouldn't lift.
"Peace? What peace?"
The woman opened her arms and said, "Accept my offer of peace and I will free you of pain, misery, confusion, hate and despair. You will be free of those feelings and you will become one with the Light. One with Sanctuary."
"I-I don't know. I don't even know if this is real."
The woman offered him her open hands and said, "Take my hand and it will be."
Anakin felt the giant woman's gaze bore right into his soul. He felt a part of him wanted to believe this woman. He wanted to believe that she could save him. That she could somehow take away his guilt; his pain. That she could somehow purify him and wash away his sins. He reached up and took her hand and light began to pour out of her and into him. At first, it started at his fingertips but then slowly it began to spread and travel down his hand and then his arm. His body was becoming one with the Light. His sighed and closed his eyes. He wanted so desperately to be free of his pain, misery and death.
Yet, as the Light began to creep along his face he suddenly felt a cold chill. The Light. The Light wasn't warm like he thought it would be. Instead, it was cold and unfeeling and numb. He didn't feel free. Instead he felt nothing at all. The feeling of emptiness was somehow worse than the feeling of hate from the Eye. At least with the Eye he felt something, but with the woman, with Sanctuary, he felt nothing at all.
He opened his eyes and gritted his teeth before pulling away.
"NO!"
He staggered back and glared at the woman with a look full of vile. "You tricked me! You aren't sanctuary. You're nothing! You're light has nothing." He shook his head and said, "You don't want me to feel anything at all."
The giant woman of light rose up and pointed at Anakin with an accusing hand. She towered over him like a goddess and said, "You dare turn your back on peace? On sanctuary? I would have freed you of your misery and pain. I could have freed you from hatred and despair. You have shunned me and for that you will burn."
"Come on!" shouted Anakin. He drew his lightsaber and said, "I'm not afraid of you!"
The woman of light shot a ball of white fire at Anakin from the palm of her hand, but Anakin managed to dodge her attack and used his lightsaber to cut off her hand. The woman wailed in pain and her severed hand dropped to the ground and disappeared into a beam of light. Then, miraculously her empty stump regenerated with a pulse of white light and was restored.
"You squander my gift, child. I will waste no more time on you. Go, live with your sins."
The woman of light then vanished in a flash. She had completely disappeared. Anakin collapsed onto the ground and deactivated his lightsaber. He started to cry and held his head in his hands. He had no idea where he was or why these beings were haunting him. All he knew was that he couldn't lose himself. He couldn't give in. He had come too far to not continue his path. All he knew that he had to survive. He had to escape. He had to forfill his destiny where ever that maybe.
Determined, he rose and began to walk the featureless plain. However, instead of walking in the darkness or the light, he chose to walk in narrow edge in between. He felt safe there. On the edge he could walk unseen by both the Eye and the false deity. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he had to go forward.
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"Between the shadow and the light. It's a narrow place between the all consuming darkness and the bleak light. It's a test. A thing you Jedi call a trial."
The sun had set and it was nightfall. Thrice was leaning against a tree. Master Yoda had already settled in for the night and was sleeping peacefully in a nest of leaves. Obi-Wan and Thrice were still awake. They watched as Anakin's body slept in the circle of green fire.
He spoke in a soft voice. "What happens next?"
Thrice stared off into the distance and absently rubbed the cut on the inside of her arm that she had made for the ceremony. Her eyes shone red in the dark. It was quiet. The only sounds they heard were of the animals in the night.
"He will find a door, a doorway to—."
Obi-Wan reached out to stop her hand. She hadn't realized that she had drawn blood. He took her hand and pulled out a disinfectant spray from his belt and bandaged her arm. She winced as it stung her cut, but then he bent down to give it a kiss when he was done.
He could tell from her expression that remembering was not a pleasant experience. He wondered what prompted her to undergo such a trail. Thrice moved to sit closer and he tucked her head under his chin while he gently caressed her as they both lay down. They were both tired and needed sleep.
Yet, before Obi-Wan fell asleep he heard a familiar voice call to him. "Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan, my friend."
He rose up and saw the misty figure of Master Qui-Gon's ghost standing in front of him. Obi-Wan was startled and slowly approached him.
"Master Qui-Gon? Is that really you?"
"Yes, Obi-Wan. It is me."
He shook his head in disbelief and said, "Master Yoda said you'd found a way to keep your consciousness after death, but I found it hard to believe."
Master Qui-Gon said, "Believe, my friend. It's true. It is how I am speaking to you now. Come. I have much to tell you."
Obi-Wan said, "I can't. Not now. Anakin is in danger. I have to wait and see it through."
Master Qui-Gon had assumed Obi-Wan would obediently follow him and had turned his back. He paused and looked over his shoulder.
"Anakin is beyond your help, Obi-Wan. What I am about to teach you will help you forfill your part in destiny. Even beyond the grave. This way you can guide Luke as I will guide you."
Obi-Wan contemplated what Master Qui-Gon was offering him. It was a chance to learn more about the Force than any other Jedi before him. No other Jedi had ever been able to keep their individuality within the Force beyond the grave. He also could not sense any deceit in his former-master's ghost. Though, he was reluctant to leave. He knew he could do nothing to help Anakin during his quest, but he also wanted to remain vigilant with Thrice at his side. He turned to look at her. He bent down to brush away a stray lock of raven away from her face and leaned forward to kiss her head before he left.
"Alright. Let's get this over with."
Master Qui-Gon did not miss the way Obi-Wan treated the young woman sleeping under the tree. It wasn't like Obi-Wan to be so openly affectionate. He sensed that he had deep feelings for the young woman and it troubled him.
As they walked together, Master Qui-Gon said, "Who is she?"
Obi-Wan paused and for a moment he didn't think he would answer. A second later, Obi-Wan turned around and grinned. "She's my wife."
Master Qui-Go was appalled. He strode forward and said, "Obi-Wan, this is no time for jokes."
"I'm serious."
Qui-Gon shook his head, but no matter what he did it didn't make any sense. This was so unlike Obi-Wan. He had no inkling that this sort of event would happen. He looked up and wondered what the Force was going on. He thought he had seen it all. He thought the Living Force had shown him the way.
"You broke the Code."
"In a manner of speaking."
Qui-Gon turned to him and said, "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Obi-Wan drew his sights inward and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't think he'd be in a position to explain himself in front of his dead master. Life was sometime very strange.
"I was order to wedding Lady Thrice by the Jedi High Council. It was an alliance between the Order and her people so that we could gain more support against the war with the Separatist. At the time I agreed to the arrangement because the benefits seemed to outweigh the inconvenience. Though, over time my feelings for Milady grew."
"And the High Council approved of this? But why you?"
Obi-Wan smiled and said, "Milady's people wanted a strong candidate, someone on the Jedi High Council. They had debated the issue without me while I was away on mission."
Qui-Gon couldn't help but smirk. "So you where the strong candidate on the Jedi High Council. I knew you'd become a great Jedi, my friend. However, you can't let this go on any farther. My assumptions about Anakin were wrong. He is not the Chosen One that was prophesied. It is his son. You must train him when the time comes."
Obi-Wan narrowed his brow and said, "I'm not leaving my wife."
"You cannot become attached, Obi-Wan. You know the risks. The fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. You must train Anakin's son."
"And what about my son?"
If Master Qui-Gon could still breathe he would have gasped. Never in a million years did he think Obi-Wan would someday have a son. He had hoped that Obi-Wan would see reason. He hoped that he would eventually see that being attached to Lady Thrice was wrong. He hoped that his desire to be with her was only fleeting and was a symptom of the war. A child however complicated things. He knew that he would feel responsible for any progeny. Obi-Wan was a dedicated man and he had no doubt that he would want to be a dedicated parent. Yet, Qui-Gon knew that he could not afford the luxury of parenthood. He had to remain a Jedi and train Luke.
"You are a Jedi, Obi-Wan. Our path is hard and dangerous. You can't afford any luxury."
Obi-Wan made a fist and said, "Jinn is no luxury. He is strong with the Force. He will one day become a great Jedi."
"Don't let your feelings cloud your judgment, Obi-Wan."
"I can't abandon my wife and son."
"Let go your feelings."
"I can't. We're bonded."
A look of sheer disappointed fell onto the dead Jedi Master's face. The look he had felt like a knife in Obi-Wan's heart. Master Qui-Gon was like a father to him. His disappointment hurt, but he could not abandon his family. He loved Thrice too much. There were many things wrong in the universe, but he knew that his love for her was not one of them. The bond they shared was not only a form of intimacy, but one of strength. He relied on her just as she relied on him.
"There is nothing short of death that can sever the bond between us now. Besides, I plan to up hold our vows."
"You made a vow to the Jedi first."
"I'm sorry, Master but I cannot do as you ask."
"Then so be it. May the Force be with you, my friend."
Master Qui-Gon then faded away into the night. His ghostly form dissipated like vapor and in seconds he was gone.
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TBC
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LostSoul, I'm glad you like the Challenge. I'll be writing more about it next chapter. I really appreciate your reviews. Thank you.