Hi! The second chapter. I'm so awful about updates, even when the
story is finished prior to posting. But here it is, a month later.
Quick thanks to Kazzie, my editor, who is the nicest, most patient
person every, who catches many an error. And who reads my stories, even when there are months between my posting them. Thank you!
Oh, and the answer to the riddle? An egg.
Please Review!
Dreamscape
Eileen Blazer
Part Two
Amidala frowns as she feels cool wisps of air tickle her bare feet. Her
hands, lying by her side, are pillowed by flower petals and silk
feathers. She sits up at once, more than shocked.
"Hello Padme." A tender voice whispers. "Isn't this just like our time
on Naboo?"
The voice spirals through her ears and her heart leaps. "Ani!" She
cries. Tilting her head back, she finds him squatting behind her. "Ani, is that you?"
He nods and blows her a kiss. His gaze is warm and comforting. "You're
so lovely Padme. Isn't this perfection? Nothing but nature and the view
and us. Couldn't you live here forever?"
"It's a nice dream. If only the world allowed it."
"But it does Padme, there are no other worries." He touches the skin of
her arm. "Nothing else to think about."
"There's the Republic. And the real Naboo - we're still fighting with
the Trade Federation. They don't want to give up a few colonies that
they've stolen." His touch grows rougher, but just barely. She doesn't
mention it.
"I suppose you'd miss some people too."
"Well, I suppose-"
"I suppose you'd miss Obi-Wan."
"Wouldn't you? He's your mentor, Ani. Don't you-"
But he slams her wrists back into the ground and suddenly the flowers
aren't so soft. "You like him an awful lot, don't you Padme? Perhaps you even love him. Perhaps you wouldn't be so reluctant to abandon the
galaxy if he was offering paradise."
She gasps softly as his fingers plunge deeper into her skin. "No, I
love you Ani-"
"Really?" Disbelief drips from his words like water from a hanging
sponge. "Was I imagining all those touches - the whispers? I know what's going on; I've always known. But he won't get you, Padme. No one can have you but me."
His mouth leaps on to hers, pressing onto her lips in a painful kiss.
One hands roams down her body, forcing her close to him. "You're mine,"
he whispers. "Forever." He releases her then, and she rolls away,
sobbing.
He'd never been so cruel before. Why now?
But then a pain is shooting down her spine and her mouth drops in
shock. She manages to turn around and sees Ani holding a blaster, smoke
still dancing from the weapon. His metal fingers crunch it and toss it
aside. He begins to laugh, and suddenly the sound is muffled. Anakin's face is hidden behind a black mask and armor.
The rise and fall of his breath is clearly marked by a loud respirator,
but beneath that sound is something else. She can hear a hum, ever so
lightly. As the pain rips her apart, one startling realization runs
through her mind.
Anakin's suit hums.
******************************
"He found me anyway." The Jedi, wrapped up in deep meditation, took a
moment to respond to Amidala's voice. But when he did fully re-enter
reality he found himself facing a flushed, disturbed Amidala.
"What?"
"We came all this way, and he found me anyway. I was sleeping, or
trying to, and then I saw Anakin and he was himself at first, but then he became jealous and frightening, and oh, Obi, his suit hums!" She ran closer, demanding his embrace. Once inside his arms, she continued. "At first that was all I could think of - his humming suit, but I didn't know why. And then, all of a sudden, I remembered the desert and that sound, and...and..." Her words faltered, and Obi-Wan replaced them with his own quiet consolations.
Meanwhile, he tried to process the new information. They'd know all
along that Anakin had been creating the dreams, but had he put himself
into that nightmare too? What was that in the distance they never dared to reach?
Death, they'd always assumed. But did the stealer-of-lives have a
kindred spirit nearby - Vader?
And more importantly, could that knowledge be used to end the hunt?
"How did he find me?" Amidala asked. "How so soon? So close?"
"He was probably looking for you alone, so it didn't require as much
power as sending it to two people. I'm sorry, I didn't think about this
possibility..."
"I just want it to stop, Obi-Wan. Just make it stop."
The Jedi was determined to do just that.
**********************
Obi-Wan and Amidala made sure that Nia was sleeping soundly before
taking their own place on the beds of leaves. Sleep would be hard to find now, but the pair was nothing if not strong-willed.
There was also the familiar hesitation to return to the dream world,
but it was lessened by the thought that this time Obi-Wan, not Vader, was the one drawing them into it. It was his mind reaching across space, channeling the Force.
Perhaps now they could maintain some degree of control once submersed
in the sleepy spell.
The plan was Obi-Wan's idea. Vader was somewhere in the dream -
presumably at the end of their march. If they could confront and defeat him, then maybe he would stop the nighttime hunt.
"Please let this work," Amidala prayed before slipping away...
*************************
The Brute is already dehydrated. He searches out his water container,
but angrily tosses it away when it offers him but a few drops. "Look
straight," He mutters, cracking the whip.
Even the snap of the weapon sounds weak.
Amidala breathes deeply. She can, amazingly, recognize the world around
her as a fake one; even the sun seems to be circling the world, in
direct contradiction to every rule of space she knows.
It's a comfort to know she will wake up eventually.
Always near her, Obi-Wan, too, is examining the setting with new
insight. He raises his eyebrows and gestures carefully to the Brute.
We can attack him now, while he struggles with his shortage of
moisture. She delights at the sound of his voice in her head and sees it as a sign of good luck. Obviously, they have retained a measure of control.
Ready He tells her, and she latches onto a piece of shredded
clothing, Now! She rips the patch of cloth away, and lunges for the Brute.
The burly creature struggles against them, but is not nearly strong
enough to make an adequate stand. Amidala winds the cloth around its neck and tugs, and the ghastly head slumps forward.
Obi-Wan grabs the rope. "A bit vicious, don't you think?"
She shrugs. "It would have been worse to leave him here burning to
death. At least the end came quick."
"Indeed." He folds the Brute's arms and rests the head back – it's
against the Jedi ways to kill anything in such conditions and leave the
body disgraced. "Let's go."
They follow the hum, pretending that it's not unnerving or maddening.
The walk feels like it's gotten longer; that, or the sun's got
brighter.Squinting, they hike towards their goal.
And at last they top the mountain and stare down the other side.
A small black robot is at the bottom, not any higher that three feet.
But it begins to grow until it's twice the size of a man, and then four
times, and then it's a huge giant, its enormous eyes level with their
own.
It laughs.
"Fools. You think you can lure me to my own creation and destroy me?"
The voice is deeper, but Amidala recognizes it as the same suit Anakin
wore in her dream, and knows it's him.
"Leave us alone, Vader. We won't live in perpetual fear any longer."
"Come now, Padme, I do believe you have to deal with me quite a bit
longer. It was in the wedding vows, Darling."
Obi-Wan pulls out the whip and it bangs into the helmet, leaving a
scratch. "We're here to end your hunt."
"Ah, the traitor speaks. What's the matter, Master?" The last word is
sneered, "Haven't you stolen enough from me?"
"He's taken nothing but the pieces you've scattered across the floor.
How dare you attack him for helping us after you tore apart our lives."
"And how dare you come before me in such a blatantly adulterous
manner."
The scene shifts; Amidala and Obi-Wan are on level ground, and Vader is
life-size. He reaches for his saber. "I think we better rid ourselves
of this third wheel, Padme. He's come between us too many times. We'll
settle our marital problems alone."
The men engage in a duel, jumping this way, thrusting that way. The
rise and fall of the glowing sabers is as steady as Amidala's own heart.
Suddenly, she cries out to them "Ani, stop it!" The men freeze, though
they remain wary of each other. "Anakin," she repeats, "you know that
Obi-Wan cares about you almost as much as I do."
The armor flickers, as though it were a hologram surrounding his body.
"You tell lies. He always held me back!"
"No! He trained you when others advised against it. He taught you to be
a Jedi."
Again, the armor fades. "He stole you, and what can possibly balance
that?!"
"He didn't steal me, Ani. You deserted me."
"No!"
"Yes!" She steps forward, and her shredded clothes give way to the
regal robes of Naboo. "Why don't you start acting like a man, Anakin? Why don't you defend me and your children from the real enemy – yourself? Don't tell me that the all powerful Anakin Skywalker, who was going to stop death itself, can't control his own actions."
He clutches at his own head, dropping the saber. Out of respect,
Obi-Wan backs away and shuts off his own blade. Vader shakes his head.
"What are you doing, you idiot!" He screams at himself. "Don't let her
tear you apart." But the inner battle continues, and the black suit
starts flickering more often.
"LIES! SHE WANTS YOU TO DIE, SO THAT SHE AND HER NEW LOVER CAN
LEAVE TOGETHER!" It's an odd sight to see a warrior shout at the wind,
to curse at himself.
"No!" The Anakin in him responds. "She's right. You led me away from
her. She and my master are all I have, they wouldn't lie! They are good
people."
"I won't let you!" The hum stops, and its so abrupt everyone is
confused for a moment. During the battle it became a part of the background, an expected addition to the setting.
When they finally re-adjust, they realize that the suit is now more
gone that present. "If I must, I will banish you, boy!" Vader screams.
"Let's see you survive in this dream without my power to sustain you."
The black armor fades away permanently, leaving the limp body of
Anakin Skywalker to crash unceremoniously to the floor.
His wife rushes to his side, kneeling down and lifting his head into
her lap. She holds him, clinging desperately to remnants of the man she
loved. "You did it, Ani. You helped us defeat Vader. You can be in
control," she tells him, "you can change your destiny."
Enraptured by the passion she shows his blue eyes stare at her for a
moment, a reflection of his humanity. And there is something undeniably
good in the small smile he manages to give her. She feels hope rising
within her: perhaps they can all return to the real world together, to be the trio of friends once more.
But Anakin starts convulsing, clutching at his chest, jerking. Amidala
looks to Obi-Wan for help, but the older man shakes his head sadly.
Anakin gives them one final glance, and then is still. She makes a
small sound, trying to accept the situation.
"He's really dead this time, isn't he?" The woman cradles her fallen
love. "We won't see him again in this life."
The Jedi doesn't answer. He searches that special Force for his own
answers and nods slowly. She's half right - they won't see him again in
this life. But the mind of Vader is a vast, complex house of pains, where things are easily lost and rediscovered.
He won't tell her this, and feed her hope for something that won't
happen in her lifetime. It's better to let her find her own peace.
Something of a miracle happens then.
In the achingly hot desert, where beasts and man fall prey to the sun's
rays, where the ground is scorched until only burnt sand is left, it
starts to rain.
And cleanses them all.
*** ***
They held the service beside the river. As was a custom on Naboo, a
small box had been wrapped in ribbon and cast into the waters. Amidala and
Obi-Wan shared memories of Anakin, both as a boy and as a man. Nia,
ever the youth, insisted on collecting a bucket full of wild flowers and throwing them in the water.
As she'd reminded them very matter-of-factly, he'd need some to give
his mother when they were reunited.
The Jedi funeral didn't take place, mostly because Obi-Wan had a
feeling that the story was far from over. But he did genuflect on the grass and hope for guidance and peace in his friend's name. A smooth stone made the perfect spot for Obi-Wan to leave one of two weapons his old apprentice had left behind. He placed the lightsaber there, smiling a bit.
Then Obi-Wan heard Amidala shout for him. He tapped his hand against
the rock. "We'll finish this later," he said. "I sense important changes for you in the future, old friend."
***********************
The children had been born soon after that, not long before they parted
ways.
The decision to split wasn't as hard as one might have imagined.
Indeed, it was Amidala's idea, first approached as she stared into the faces of her children.
"His name is Lukan." She told Obi-wan, as he held the boy. "It means
promise." She held up the gurgling girl. "And this is Leia. It was the name of a great queen."
The babies, who had Amidala's slight frame and a pudgy nose that looked
very similar to one on the dirt-smeared face of a young boy they'd once
met on Tatooine, were charming little people. And, as the Jedi had
previously noted, very strong in the Force.
"I believe they signal the rebirth of the Jedi." He told her now. "It's
amazing...if the academy were still in place, they'd would have already
begun their training."
"Will you teach them?"
"No. They can't afford to learn anything too soon. We don't want any
attention from Vader. He may be banished from our dreams, but he's very
much a threat in reality."
She knew that. Her greatest fear now was losing them. "I've been
thinking..."
"Yes?"
"They aren't really safe together, are they? They'll always be
Skywalker children, always possess a slightly abnormal amount of Force in them. I may not be one of you, but I know that other Jedi know how to recognize one of their own. How long will it be until someone - a Sith - sees himself in my babies?"
It was a touchy subject. Obi-Wan couldn't deny the dangers of remaining
together, nor did he want to leave her alone.
But she already had a plan. "They mean the world to me, Obi. I won't
risk their lives for the sake of my emotions. If it's safer for them to
be apart, then that's what has to happen. I've already spoken with Bail, he offered us a place."
"Us?" He repeated softly.
"Leia, Nia and I. I want you to take my son, and watch over him. Make
him like you."
Obi-Wan Kenobi sighed, feeling more emotion than a Jedi ought to. "I
would consider it an honor, Senator Amidala." He swirled around and
caught her by the wrist. Leaning in, he asked. "Do you think it would be terribly disgraceful for a Jedi to give up his pledge for just a moment?"
She allowed herself to be gathered into his arms. "I won't tell if you
won't."
He grinned a quirky, average sort of grin, before dipping his head and
pressing his lips against hers. Her arms linked around his neck, and
for a few precious seconds, Obi-Wan felt what it was like to be a regular man.
Then they fell apart and he turned back to the children. "I've got a
good feeling about them."
** ** ** **
The real sorrow came at the actual separation.
Amidala, Obi-Wan, Nia, and the babies stood on a launching pad, one group ready to leave the planet by way of speeder, the other with a ship waiting at the end of the docking bay.
Obi-wan knelt down and took the young gungan's hand. "You have a great future before you."
The girl blushed and threw her arms around his neck.
"Sometimes," Amidala muttered, "I wish we were the oblivious ones. The
people too absorbed in their own little spheres to bother with anything
else." She was fighting back the regrets, trying to remember why she'd
drafted the plan in the first place.
Obi-Wan frowned, stood up, and raised the hood on her head to peer at her eyes. "Dala, look around you. Yes, there are the oblivious, who care only for themselves, and the helpless who can't even afford that. But we're in another group - a group that can fight back."
"Oh, that's wonderful, Obi. We get to live in fear and watch our
friends die-"
"We get the power to change things for the better. I believe that many
changes will spring up in the future; Dala, we're planting those seeds
today."
She stared hard at the ground for a long time, before smiling a
beautiful smile. It came across her face slowly, hesitantly, but it came just the same. Amidala glanced at the child in her arms, a tiny baby girl.
Leia smiled in response to her mother's wide grin. One tiny hand
reached up. A hand that could someday grow to wield a sword of freedom.
Amidala met Obi-Wan's gaze for what would be the last time. Her mouth
was curved, her eyes determined, her chin high, as though she were that
same child queen back on Naboo. "You're right, Obi-Wan. As always.
You'd think years of watching you gloat would teach me to just go along
with your wisdom the first time around."
"Think of how dull things would've gotten."
"On Naboo we have a custom," she said, abruptly changing the subject.
"Good-bye is tainted by its negative connotation. So we say 'Tre Istol
Norua Maykeen' – it's in the language of the elders. It means, roughly
translated, may our joy always unite us."
Obi-Wan let the air gush from his a slight part in his lips. "That is
much better." He shifted the boy he carried to one side, and his free
hand traced Amidala's face. Then it fell to the baby girl and tickled
her chin. "Tre Istol Norua Maykeen...was that right?"
"Yes." Amidala pulled her hood low, and wrapped a scarf around Leia.
She started to go, but pulled back suddenly and reached for Lukan. Obi-Wan surrendered the child.
She buried her face in her baby boy and whispered quietly. "Mama loves
you, Lukan. Mama always loves you."
And then in movement so garceful and fast it would rival a Jedi's
reflexes, she had thrust him back into Obi-Wan's arms and ran down the steps of the launching pad. The Jedi listened to the pattern of her feet along the cool hard steps.
Then he slung his own bag over his shoulder and secured Lukan to his
chest. "It's the two of us for now, Luke. We've much to accomplish in
little time. Have I ever told about your Uncle Owen?..."
FIN
story is finished prior to posting. But here it is, a month later.
Quick thanks to Kazzie, my editor, who is the nicest, most patient
person every, who catches many an error. And who reads my stories, even when there are months between my posting them. Thank you!
Oh, and the answer to the riddle? An egg.
Please Review!
Dreamscape
Eileen Blazer
Part Two
Amidala frowns as she feels cool wisps of air tickle her bare feet. Her
hands, lying by her side, are pillowed by flower petals and silk
feathers. She sits up at once, more than shocked.
"Hello Padme." A tender voice whispers. "Isn't this just like our time
on Naboo?"
The voice spirals through her ears and her heart leaps. "Ani!" She
cries. Tilting her head back, she finds him squatting behind her. "Ani, is that you?"
He nods and blows her a kiss. His gaze is warm and comforting. "You're
so lovely Padme. Isn't this perfection? Nothing but nature and the view
and us. Couldn't you live here forever?"
"It's a nice dream. If only the world allowed it."
"But it does Padme, there are no other worries." He touches the skin of
her arm. "Nothing else to think about."
"There's the Republic. And the real Naboo - we're still fighting with
the Trade Federation. They don't want to give up a few colonies that
they've stolen." His touch grows rougher, but just barely. She doesn't
mention it.
"I suppose you'd miss some people too."
"Well, I suppose-"
"I suppose you'd miss Obi-Wan."
"Wouldn't you? He's your mentor, Ani. Don't you-"
But he slams her wrists back into the ground and suddenly the flowers
aren't so soft. "You like him an awful lot, don't you Padme? Perhaps you even love him. Perhaps you wouldn't be so reluctant to abandon the
galaxy if he was offering paradise."
She gasps softly as his fingers plunge deeper into her skin. "No, I
love you Ani-"
"Really?" Disbelief drips from his words like water from a hanging
sponge. "Was I imagining all those touches - the whispers? I know what's going on; I've always known. But he won't get you, Padme. No one can have you but me."
His mouth leaps on to hers, pressing onto her lips in a painful kiss.
One hands roams down her body, forcing her close to him. "You're mine,"
he whispers. "Forever." He releases her then, and she rolls away,
sobbing.
He'd never been so cruel before. Why now?
But then a pain is shooting down her spine and her mouth drops in
shock. She manages to turn around and sees Ani holding a blaster, smoke
still dancing from the weapon. His metal fingers crunch it and toss it
aside. He begins to laugh, and suddenly the sound is muffled. Anakin's face is hidden behind a black mask and armor.
The rise and fall of his breath is clearly marked by a loud respirator,
but beneath that sound is something else. She can hear a hum, ever so
lightly. As the pain rips her apart, one startling realization runs
through her mind.
Anakin's suit hums.
******************************
"He found me anyway." The Jedi, wrapped up in deep meditation, took a
moment to respond to Amidala's voice. But when he did fully re-enter
reality he found himself facing a flushed, disturbed Amidala.
"What?"
"We came all this way, and he found me anyway. I was sleeping, or
trying to, and then I saw Anakin and he was himself at first, but then he became jealous and frightening, and oh, Obi, his suit hums!" She ran closer, demanding his embrace. Once inside his arms, she continued. "At first that was all I could think of - his humming suit, but I didn't know why. And then, all of a sudden, I remembered the desert and that sound, and...and..." Her words faltered, and Obi-Wan replaced them with his own quiet consolations.
Meanwhile, he tried to process the new information. They'd know all
along that Anakin had been creating the dreams, but had he put himself
into that nightmare too? What was that in the distance they never dared to reach?
Death, they'd always assumed. But did the stealer-of-lives have a
kindred spirit nearby - Vader?
And more importantly, could that knowledge be used to end the hunt?
"How did he find me?" Amidala asked. "How so soon? So close?"
"He was probably looking for you alone, so it didn't require as much
power as sending it to two people. I'm sorry, I didn't think about this
possibility..."
"I just want it to stop, Obi-Wan. Just make it stop."
The Jedi was determined to do just that.
**********************
Obi-Wan and Amidala made sure that Nia was sleeping soundly before
taking their own place on the beds of leaves. Sleep would be hard to find now, but the pair was nothing if not strong-willed.
There was also the familiar hesitation to return to the dream world,
but it was lessened by the thought that this time Obi-Wan, not Vader, was the one drawing them into it. It was his mind reaching across space, channeling the Force.
Perhaps now they could maintain some degree of control once submersed
in the sleepy spell.
The plan was Obi-Wan's idea. Vader was somewhere in the dream -
presumably at the end of their march. If they could confront and defeat him, then maybe he would stop the nighttime hunt.
"Please let this work," Amidala prayed before slipping away...
*************************
The Brute is already dehydrated. He searches out his water container,
but angrily tosses it away when it offers him but a few drops. "Look
straight," He mutters, cracking the whip.
Even the snap of the weapon sounds weak.
Amidala breathes deeply. She can, amazingly, recognize the world around
her as a fake one; even the sun seems to be circling the world, in
direct contradiction to every rule of space she knows.
It's a comfort to know she will wake up eventually.
Always near her, Obi-Wan, too, is examining the setting with new
insight. He raises his eyebrows and gestures carefully to the Brute.
We can attack him now, while he struggles with his shortage of
moisture. She delights at the sound of his voice in her head and sees it as a sign of good luck. Obviously, they have retained a measure of control.
Ready He tells her, and she latches onto a piece of shredded
clothing, Now! She rips the patch of cloth away, and lunges for the Brute.
The burly creature struggles against them, but is not nearly strong
enough to make an adequate stand. Amidala winds the cloth around its neck and tugs, and the ghastly head slumps forward.
Obi-Wan grabs the rope. "A bit vicious, don't you think?"
She shrugs. "It would have been worse to leave him here burning to
death. At least the end came quick."
"Indeed." He folds the Brute's arms and rests the head back – it's
against the Jedi ways to kill anything in such conditions and leave the
body disgraced. "Let's go."
They follow the hum, pretending that it's not unnerving or maddening.
The walk feels like it's gotten longer; that, or the sun's got
brighter.Squinting, they hike towards their goal.
And at last they top the mountain and stare down the other side.
A small black robot is at the bottom, not any higher that three feet.
But it begins to grow until it's twice the size of a man, and then four
times, and then it's a huge giant, its enormous eyes level with their
own.
It laughs.
"Fools. You think you can lure me to my own creation and destroy me?"
The voice is deeper, but Amidala recognizes it as the same suit Anakin
wore in her dream, and knows it's him.
"Leave us alone, Vader. We won't live in perpetual fear any longer."
"Come now, Padme, I do believe you have to deal with me quite a bit
longer. It was in the wedding vows, Darling."
Obi-Wan pulls out the whip and it bangs into the helmet, leaving a
scratch. "We're here to end your hunt."
"Ah, the traitor speaks. What's the matter, Master?" The last word is
sneered, "Haven't you stolen enough from me?"
"He's taken nothing but the pieces you've scattered across the floor.
How dare you attack him for helping us after you tore apart our lives."
"And how dare you come before me in such a blatantly adulterous
manner."
The scene shifts; Amidala and Obi-Wan are on level ground, and Vader is
life-size. He reaches for his saber. "I think we better rid ourselves
of this third wheel, Padme. He's come between us too many times. We'll
settle our marital problems alone."
The men engage in a duel, jumping this way, thrusting that way. The
rise and fall of the glowing sabers is as steady as Amidala's own heart.
Suddenly, she cries out to them "Ani, stop it!" The men freeze, though
they remain wary of each other. "Anakin," she repeats, "you know that
Obi-Wan cares about you almost as much as I do."
The armor flickers, as though it were a hologram surrounding his body.
"You tell lies. He always held me back!"
"No! He trained you when others advised against it. He taught you to be
a Jedi."
Again, the armor fades. "He stole you, and what can possibly balance
that?!"
"He didn't steal me, Ani. You deserted me."
"No!"
"Yes!" She steps forward, and her shredded clothes give way to the
regal robes of Naboo. "Why don't you start acting like a man, Anakin? Why don't you defend me and your children from the real enemy – yourself? Don't tell me that the all powerful Anakin Skywalker, who was going to stop death itself, can't control his own actions."
He clutches at his own head, dropping the saber. Out of respect,
Obi-Wan backs away and shuts off his own blade. Vader shakes his head.
"What are you doing, you idiot!" He screams at himself. "Don't let her
tear you apart." But the inner battle continues, and the black suit
starts flickering more often.
"LIES! SHE WANTS YOU TO DIE, SO THAT SHE AND HER NEW LOVER CAN
LEAVE TOGETHER!" It's an odd sight to see a warrior shout at the wind,
to curse at himself.
"No!" The Anakin in him responds. "She's right. You led me away from
her. She and my master are all I have, they wouldn't lie! They are good
people."
"I won't let you!" The hum stops, and its so abrupt everyone is
confused for a moment. During the battle it became a part of the background, an expected addition to the setting.
When they finally re-adjust, they realize that the suit is now more
gone that present. "If I must, I will banish you, boy!" Vader screams.
"Let's see you survive in this dream without my power to sustain you."
The black armor fades away permanently, leaving the limp body of
Anakin Skywalker to crash unceremoniously to the floor.
His wife rushes to his side, kneeling down and lifting his head into
her lap. She holds him, clinging desperately to remnants of the man she
loved. "You did it, Ani. You helped us defeat Vader. You can be in
control," she tells him, "you can change your destiny."
Enraptured by the passion she shows his blue eyes stare at her for a
moment, a reflection of his humanity. And there is something undeniably
good in the small smile he manages to give her. She feels hope rising
within her: perhaps they can all return to the real world together, to be the trio of friends once more.
But Anakin starts convulsing, clutching at his chest, jerking. Amidala
looks to Obi-Wan for help, but the older man shakes his head sadly.
Anakin gives them one final glance, and then is still. She makes a
small sound, trying to accept the situation.
"He's really dead this time, isn't he?" The woman cradles her fallen
love. "We won't see him again in this life."
The Jedi doesn't answer. He searches that special Force for his own
answers and nods slowly. She's half right - they won't see him again in
this life. But the mind of Vader is a vast, complex house of pains, where things are easily lost and rediscovered.
He won't tell her this, and feed her hope for something that won't
happen in her lifetime. It's better to let her find her own peace.
Something of a miracle happens then.
In the achingly hot desert, where beasts and man fall prey to the sun's
rays, where the ground is scorched until only burnt sand is left, it
starts to rain.
And cleanses them all.
*** ***
They held the service beside the river. As was a custom on Naboo, a
small box had been wrapped in ribbon and cast into the waters. Amidala and
Obi-Wan shared memories of Anakin, both as a boy and as a man. Nia,
ever the youth, insisted on collecting a bucket full of wild flowers and throwing them in the water.
As she'd reminded them very matter-of-factly, he'd need some to give
his mother when they were reunited.
The Jedi funeral didn't take place, mostly because Obi-Wan had a
feeling that the story was far from over. But he did genuflect on the grass and hope for guidance and peace in his friend's name. A smooth stone made the perfect spot for Obi-Wan to leave one of two weapons his old apprentice had left behind. He placed the lightsaber there, smiling a bit.
Then Obi-Wan heard Amidala shout for him. He tapped his hand against
the rock. "We'll finish this later," he said. "I sense important changes for you in the future, old friend."
***********************
The children had been born soon after that, not long before they parted
ways.
The decision to split wasn't as hard as one might have imagined.
Indeed, it was Amidala's idea, first approached as she stared into the faces of her children.
"His name is Lukan." She told Obi-wan, as he held the boy. "It means
promise." She held up the gurgling girl. "And this is Leia. It was the name of a great queen."
The babies, who had Amidala's slight frame and a pudgy nose that looked
very similar to one on the dirt-smeared face of a young boy they'd once
met on Tatooine, were charming little people. And, as the Jedi had
previously noted, very strong in the Force.
"I believe they signal the rebirth of the Jedi." He told her now. "It's
amazing...if the academy were still in place, they'd would have already
begun their training."
"Will you teach them?"
"No. They can't afford to learn anything too soon. We don't want any
attention from Vader. He may be banished from our dreams, but he's very
much a threat in reality."
She knew that. Her greatest fear now was losing them. "I've been
thinking..."
"Yes?"
"They aren't really safe together, are they? They'll always be
Skywalker children, always possess a slightly abnormal amount of Force in them. I may not be one of you, but I know that other Jedi know how to recognize one of their own. How long will it be until someone - a Sith - sees himself in my babies?"
It was a touchy subject. Obi-Wan couldn't deny the dangers of remaining
together, nor did he want to leave her alone.
But she already had a plan. "They mean the world to me, Obi. I won't
risk their lives for the sake of my emotions. If it's safer for them to
be apart, then that's what has to happen. I've already spoken with Bail, he offered us a place."
"Us?" He repeated softly.
"Leia, Nia and I. I want you to take my son, and watch over him. Make
him like you."
Obi-Wan Kenobi sighed, feeling more emotion than a Jedi ought to. "I
would consider it an honor, Senator Amidala." He swirled around and
caught her by the wrist. Leaning in, he asked. "Do you think it would be terribly disgraceful for a Jedi to give up his pledge for just a moment?"
She allowed herself to be gathered into his arms. "I won't tell if you
won't."
He grinned a quirky, average sort of grin, before dipping his head and
pressing his lips against hers. Her arms linked around his neck, and
for a few precious seconds, Obi-Wan felt what it was like to be a regular man.
Then they fell apart and he turned back to the children. "I've got a
good feeling about them."
** ** ** **
The real sorrow came at the actual separation.
Amidala, Obi-Wan, Nia, and the babies stood on a launching pad, one group ready to leave the planet by way of speeder, the other with a ship waiting at the end of the docking bay.
Obi-wan knelt down and took the young gungan's hand. "You have a great future before you."
The girl blushed and threw her arms around his neck.
"Sometimes," Amidala muttered, "I wish we were the oblivious ones. The
people too absorbed in their own little spheres to bother with anything
else." She was fighting back the regrets, trying to remember why she'd
drafted the plan in the first place.
Obi-Wan frowned, stood up, and raised the hood on her head to peer at her eyes. "Dala, look around you. Yes, there are the oblivious, who care only for themselves, and the helpless who can't even afford that. But we're in another group - a group that can fight back."
"Oh, that's wonderful, Obi. We get to live in fear and watch our
friends die-"
"We get the power to change things for the better. I believe that many
changes will spring up in the future; Dala, we're planting those seeds
today."
She stared hard at the ground for a long time, before smiling a
beautiful smile. It came across her face slowly, hesitantly, but it came just the same. Amidala glanced at the child in her arms, a tiny baby girl.
Leia smiled in response to her mother's wide grin. One tiny hand
reached up. A hand that could someday grow to wield a sword of freedom.
Amidala met Obi-Wan's gaze for what would be the last time. Her mouth
was curved, her eyes determined, her chin high, as though she were that
same child queen back on Naboo. "You're right, Obi-Wan. As always.
You'd think years of watching you gloat would teach me to just go along
with your wisdom the first time around."
"Think of how dull things would've gotten."
"On Naboo we have a custom," she said, abruptly changing the subject.
"Good-bye is tainted by its negative connotation. So we say 'Tre Istol
Norua Maykeen' – it's in the language of the elders. It means, roughly
translated, may our joy always unite us."
Obi-Wan let the air gush from his a slight part in his lips. "That is
much better." He shifted the boy he carried to one side, and his free
hand traced Amidala's face. Then it fell to the baby girl and tickled
her chin. "Tre Istol Norua Maykeen...was that right?"
"Yes." Amidala pulled her hood low, and wrapped a scarf around Leia.
She started to go, but pulled back suddenly and reached for Lukan. Obi-Wan surrendered the child.
She buried her face in her baby boy and whispered quietly. "Mama loves
you, Lukan. Mama always loves you."
And then in movement so garceful and fast it would rival a Jedi's
reflexes, she had thrust him back into Obi-Wan's arms and ran down the steps of the launching pad. The Jedi listened to the pattern of her feet along the cool hard steps.
Then he slung his own bag over his shoulder and secured Lukan to his
chest. "It's the two of us for now, Luke. We've much to accomplish in
little time. Have I ever told about your Uncle Owen?..."
FIN