Ben's P.O.V.

~Years Later~

"Ani... Wake up, Ani?"

I whisper as I come into her tent, she's sleeping soundly on her bed. She has a thin sheet covering her body and her dirty blonde hair is hanging off the edge. I smile at the sight of her, she's more beautiful than anything I've seen in the past seven years. It feels like only yesterday that I thought she looks like an angel, and somehow she still appears as one after all these years. I kneel in front of her when she hasn't stirred awake yet, and I rest a hand on her shoulder. I hear her sigh and lean more into her pillow but not wake up. My smile grows wider from the sound she makes, I let my fingers skim across her cheek as I whisper again, "Anakia, you need to be waking up now..."

I hear in the distance the other padawan students getting ready for their jog with Leia. Glancing behind me and out the crack of Ani's tent, I see them run as one out of the camp. The sun hasn't risen yet but everyone's physical workout starts just before it does, as well as Ani and I. Most of the padawans are still children but Ani and I are eighteen years old, we're the oldest of the students. It makes sense since we're Luke's first students. Luke at the moment is out on a mission to bring a strong force user back here to train with the rest of us. While he's gone, Leia is here to teach the youngling's, but Ani and I have a different training schedule than them. It's our own responsibility while Luke's gone to do it ourselves. I let my thumb rub against her pale smooth cheek before saying a little louder and in a stronger tone, "Ani, you must get up now. Wake up."

I watch as her eyes open up slowly, rubbing her eyes and yawning she looks around her tent tiredly. Her tent has gotten wider, more wood than tarp now, and filled with more things since her first year. She has a trunk full of dresses given from my mother, Ani's father's armor is up on a hook and she has stacks of books beside the doorway to get in. I look around and know if this was my tent, Luke would be mad at the clutter. When her eyes meet mine, I smile at her and pull my hand away from her cheek before she notices. Groaning, Ani sits up and stretches while asking in a morning tone, "Is Luke back yet?"

"No," I shake my head in regret before standing back up, "But we must start our day, mom's already outside with the younglings."

"Okay, let me get dress." Ani stands up and stares up at me as if she's about to fall asleep again, "Wait outside, I'll only be a minute."

I nod before heading out of the tent; once I'm out, I don't see any of the younglings or my mother around. They must be on their running path around the forest, I fold my arms and stand outside Ani's tent patiently waiting. I never feel impatient with Anakia, I feel as if we're the same and nothing she could do will truly annoy or upset me. She's like my other half, whatever happens to her, happens to me; whatever I do, she does. Having her as my only friend, a best friend, for seven years has that affect. However, lately, I've gotten annoyed with my parents and Master.

Leia has been so focused on the new children and teens on the camp, she's barely noticed Ani or me when we train. My father hasn't come to visit in almost half a year as well, I feel a sense of betrayal by him toward me and my mother. For Master Skywalker, he's been so busy in the past year in helping kids who are sensitive to the force that I and Ani have improved little on our skills. I will admit that we are very advance than the rest and know so much already but I want to know more. I want to continue to grow in a progressive way, as in past years. I want it for Ani too, even if she doesn't mind. As I think hard about Ani and I's training and the events in the past year, I hear her shuffling out of the tent.

"Ben... Why is your aura..." Ani speaks slowly to find the right words as she tries to become fully awake, "... So... So anxious?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it..." I mumble as I offer her a small smile, I peek down to see her in white pants and shirt. She has tan boots and a thick tan strap to hold her clothes tightly to her body. Her light saber's strapped to her hip, her hair is in a messy ponytail, the sight of her ponytail causes me to frown right in front of her. She has a few loose strains of hair in front of her face and I know without a doubt she did it herself. If my mother had done it, her hair would be in some type of braid to which I would admire through the day of our training. Ani can sense something about herself is putting me in a worse mood and it causes her to touch her chest and ask, "What... Am I forgetting something?"

"No, you're completely fine," I answer and uncross my arms to make her feel better about my mood. Looking around the empty camp I mumble, trying to hold in my aggression, "My mother did though."

"Oh... My hair." Ani blurts out knowingly and stretches for a minute to get ready for their run. She walks past me toward our path in the forest we always run together babbling like it means nothing, "It's okay... She's busy. Besides, she doesn't really do it anymore... My hair like this is fine, though. Ready?"

"Come here, Ani..." I sigh in defeat; when she's in reach I pull out her hair from the ponytail and let it hang loose. Taking the stretchy rope in my teeth, I pull back her hair with both of my hands so it's completely out of her face this time. Spinning it until it's in a bun in the center, I take the rope from my lips and tie it for its firm so her hair won't fall out as we run. Ani has her arms crossed, I can sense she's offended that I did it better than she did. I've watched my mother do Ani's hair more than she has paid attention, and I can't help but be better at it. Once I'm done, Ani shakes her head to check the tie before asking pointedly, "Now are we ready, Ben?"

I stretch for a moment and nod silently to her, but she can tell I'm not completely fine with her situation. We both jog wordlessly through the forest on the dirt path made from our daily run. I don't want to admit it to Ani but just knowing my mother doesn't fix her hair as she has in past years irritates me. I know I shouldn't be, but it only proves my point that my family is pulling apart from Ani and me. I know we're older now and have grown up but we're all Anakia has I don't want her to feel like she's alone. She doesn't act or show it, but I can sense her mind is lonely because Luke and Leia aren't always there for her anymore. I can sense her feeling better when I'm with her, but a part of her longs for the people who saved her and have become her parents in a way. As we run past a few trees and toward the lake, Ani speaks up beside me.

"Is there any word on Luke or your father?"

"No..." I let out in a breath as my hands clench into fists as we run, "Luke will probably be back in a few days, though."

"Has Leia said anything about it?"

"No, I haven't been able to talk to her in a few days."

We go back to running in silence, but I can tell her mind is overthinking everything I had just said. We both know it's been a while since we've had actual parental guidance. I can sense Ani wanting the same thing as I do. I feel the need to ask something, but the fear of Ani not liking the question keeps my mouth shut. I know it won't last long because Anakia can sense with the force of my need to ask her something. Just on cue, Ani blurts out in now a tired breath from our steady run, "What is it, Ben? Just ask me already."

"Do you- Do you think..." I let out in a huff as I slow down my pace on our jogging path. Ani glances back at me to notice me wanting to stop for a moment, and she does. We face each other and catch our breaths. When my heart rate is calm I blurt out in my most casual voice, "Do you think we should find someone else to train us?"

"What?" Anakia lets out in a confused voice, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying... Maybe we need someone else to train us." I answer in a sheepish tone from not knowing how she'll react, "Luke and my mother are too busy with the other Padawans... Maybe it's time for us to find someone else..."

"Like who? Ben, your uncle is the last Jedi in the galaxy that we know of." Ani explains, and I can tell by her expression she's not liking what I'm insinuating. I see a panicking feeling rise on her expression as she asks, "Are... Are you wanting to leave?"

"Perhaps." I let out the truth in a soft whisper and I see her face look at me in horror. She takes a step back and I take a step forward, this only makes her take another step back. She's off our usual running path in the forest now as she whispers in pain, "Are you going to... To leave me?"

"No! No." I take three steps closer to her in shock from that being the first thing she thinks of when I admitted what I wanted to do. I put both of my hands on her arms speaking with assurance, "Anakia, I meant we should both leave and find someone-"

"What if I don't want to... I know nothing other than this..." Anakia pulls away from me harshly and backs up as if I was about to betray her, "Are you going to leave even if I want to- Ah!"

"Anakia!"

I shout as she backs up from me and falls into a hole; I run to where she disappeared and look down into the hole. Searching up and around the forest, I realize this is the spot that I and Ani made a ditch to trap chewy in when we used to play hide and seek. Six years ago, Anakia and I had the "great idea" to dig up a hole to make it harder for him to find us around this area. Seeing Anakia stand up from where she fell, I put my arm down in the hole for her to grab. I can tell she's covered in the dirt now and her hair is out of her bun. Reaching down further for her to grab my hand, I call out, "Ani, grab my hand. I'll pull you out."

"Will you leave me if you find someone else train you?" She blurts out in cough while looking up at me as she leans against the dirt in slight discomfort. I stare at her in disbelief and snap with worry to her, "Anakia, we'll talk about this later. Just grab my-"

"No, Ben. I want to know now." Anakia interrupts me and I hear her voice quivering, "Are you going to leave me?"

"I won't, Ani. I won't leave you here alone."

"... But what if I want to stay... What if you find another Master?"

"Anakia..." I sigh in frustration and peer around the forest before facing back down at her. She's watching me patiently to answer, and I can sense her fear of my answer as I was with hers moments ago. I nod my head finally and put my arm down further into the ditch announcing, "I could never be apart from you, Ani. Nor will I ever leave your side. Now, just take my hand. Please."

I feel one of her small hands in mine and I grab the same arm with my other hand. I pull her up through the hole and she falls onto me. Wrapping my arms around her, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Her arms go around my neck and she hugs me tightly. I can see the vulnerability in her eyes when I pull away to look at her. At that point, I realized the reality of his family being away from her has had on her. Without my family, all she has is me in the galaxy. Anakia grasps the back of my head and I can see tears trying not to come out as she blurts out, "We stay together, okay?"

"Okay." I nod and put my hand on edge of her neck to pull her back into a hug. I feel her slightly shaken, which only makes me pull her closer and whisper in an apologetic tone, "I didn't mean to worry you, Ani. I couldn't leave you."

"Don't scare me like that again, Ben."

"I won't, I promise."