Okay, here's the next part as promised. I just wanted to take a quick
moment to thank those of you who have left reviews during the rather
difficult time this site has been having. I'm sure those of you who are
authors realize how important feedback is to help keep one inspired : )
Sideous glanced towards the knight as he made a final adjustment to one of the monitors that gave him access to certain rooms within the palace, via some very strategically placed holocams.
The knight was approaching consciousness, but the lingering drugs in his system prevented him from being fully aware of his surroundings. Sideous smiled at the haze he could sense surrounding the young knights mind.
He looked back to the monitors as the queen and the two Jedi came into view. Adjusting the audio slightly, he honed in on their conversation. He listened for a moment then turned away to approach the knight.
He cupped the side of the young face as glassy eyes, still clouded with drugs partially opened. He watched as the heavy lids drooped closed, and struggled to open once again. Frowning, as the boys eyes rolled slightly, the Sith abruptly drew back the hand cupping the face and delivered a vicious backhand.
A slight trickle of blood from the corner of the mouth and a deep furrowing of the boys brow was followed by a soft "Mmmmmmph," as Sideous roughly grasped the boys chin, bringing them faced to face again.
He watched closely as those eyes opened. There was a hazy confusion there, but the boy was conscious at least. "Much better," Sideous smiled as he gently pet the vivid red mark left by his hand.
Satisfied the knight was at least semi-lucid Sideous moved to the head of the metal table on which the Jedi was placed. Reaching underneath the table to a small control panel, he activated the switch that would rotate the table from the horizontal position it was now in--to a vertical position. The table could rotate a full 360 degrees, which may come in handy later, but for now the knight was in an upright position facing the monitors. Perfect.
As the table came to a stop the youth's head lolled forward, and he issued a small moan as the weight of his body exerted pressure against the restraints binding his wrists.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After seeing the Queen to her quarters, Qui-Gon led his weary padawan back to their own set of rooms. He noticed the very huge yawn that escaped the boy as they entered the common area. It seemed the day was finally catching up with his padawan.
"You should already be asleep, padawan" he said with just a hint of reproval in his voice.
"I know, I'm sorry master. I guess I was just a little excited."
"Well, you look dead on your feet now. Come......off to bed with you." Qui- Gon guided him to his room as he spoke. He waited patiently as the boy changed into his sleepwear and climbed into bed.
Sitting on the edge of the bed he began to adjust the covers. "Master, you don't have to tuck me in" the voice was heavy and sounded on the verge of sleep.
"Well I want to make sure you stay in bed this time young man. No more wandering around the palace," he smiled affectionately at the boy and ran his hand over the spiky hair.
"Oh," Anakin yawned around the word. "Wanted to tell you....saw chancellor palpatine..earlier."
When the boy didn't continue Qui-Gon prompted further. "Yes, the Queen told me that he was staying in the West wing. I hope you didn't bother him Anakin, he's a very busy man."
"No. He didn't see me." Anakin's eyes were closed now and the words were getting slurred. "He....went...through...waterfall."
Qui-Gon frowned. Surely he hadn't heard those last words correctly.
Waterfall?
Obviously the boy was more tired than he thought. He looked down at the now sleeping padawan and reached out to reposition the wayward braid.
Sitting there, watching the boy sleep conjured up many images of doing the exact same thing.....with another. How many times had he done this very thing with Obi-Wan? His mind was drawn back to a particular night, now 9 years past.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His body was a mass of aches and pains. His limbs felt extremely heavy, but when he tried to move them, he found he could not. Lifting his head seemed to require an exorbitant amount of strength.
He was aware of voices and activity around him, but it all seemed so distant. Once again he could feel the force all around him, but it lingered just out of his reach.
He thought he remembered waking before. Yes, he had heard voices then also.....familiar voices. But that had to have been a dream. He hadn't seen or heard from Qui-Gon in over a year.
As if on cue from his thoughts, he once again heard the familiar baritone. He could hear the voice, but it was hard to concentrate on what was being said. He tried to focus and pull himself free from the fog....to no avail.
Suddenly, he felt a cold hand cup his chin as his head was lifted. He blinked a few times and narrowed his eyes, adjusting to the light before him. His eyes widened though, as that familiar voice uttered the word, "padawan."
Looking to that voice, he only vaguely registered that he was seeing the images on a monitor. His entire focus, all that he could muster anyways, was on that familiar figure. So much so that it was another moment or two before he took note of the young boy that was being tucked into bed.
He felt a twinge of remembered hurt as he watched the scene before him. His master had done the same thing for him many times throughout his apprenticeship.
~Yes, but the difference is, he wanted this one. He never wanted you.~
He was not entirely sure if the thought was his own. It hurt regardless however. Since he could not move, could not look away, he had no choice but to watch the scene before him.
He watched as his master--he found he could not, even after all this time refer to this man that he loved as a father as anything other--fawn over his newest padawan. Though he could not clearly see Qui-Gon's face, he could see the tenderness in the man's actions as he sat with his apprentice.
Distantly, he heard a curse and the cold hand that still held his head up, was pulled away. He struggled to keep it up as he picked up on part of the conversation on the screen before him.
He thought he heard something about....a waterfall? There was a disturbance somewhere near, but he could not take his eyes from the screen before him. He watched as Qui-Gon reached out to adjust the boy's braid. That image alone seemed to call upon a reserve of memories. Memories of himself waking to find his master watching over him.
~He never loved you~
//No// Never had he seen that look of love and tenderness that he was witnessing now directed at him.
~He never wanted you~
//No. He never wanted me. He rejected me over and over again.//
~You were a constant disappointment to him~
//Y....yes. Nothing I ever did was good enough// That one really hurt, and he felt both his heart and his throat constrict at the thought. He had always tried so hard to make his master proud of him. Nothing ever seemed to work. In his minds eye, he saw only coldness and disappointment shining in his master's eyes when they regarded him.
With a heavy heart he watched on as Qui-Gon merely sat and watched over his sleeping apprentice. As the time stretched and Qui-Gon still remained, he finally stopped struggling against his exhaustion and let his head fall forward. He did not need to see anymore of that.
As he tried to sink back into oblivion to get away from the hurtful thoughts and images, he couldn't quiet the part of him that wondered why? Why couldn't he love me like that? Why?
~Because you weren't worthy~
//SHUT UP!// As dazed and confused as he was, he finally sensed that all the thoughts he was having may not entirely be his own.
~Now, now, young one......you do know where anger leads don't you?~ Sideous grabbed a fistful of the knights hair and pulled. Once they were face to face he continued. ~It leads directly..to..ME~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(flashback/memory sequence)
Qui-Gon adjusted the covers surrounding Obi-Wan as he sat on the edge of the bed. The boy had just been released from the healers after recovering, barely, from a blaster wound to his abdomen. Their previous mission had not been a success to say the least.
Although the boy had been hurt before, this was the first time he'd had to face the very real possibility that his padawan might not pull through. He had sat vigil for 3 days while the boy floated in bacta, then at his bedside for two more until he regained consciousness. And now, thankfully, the boy was home and in his own bed.
Qui-Gon's eyes lingered on the young innocent face, now slackened by sleep. He had no idea how long he sat there, just watching the boy sleep, relishing the simple pleasure of being able to do so.
After some time he was pulled from his reverie as he heard a small sigh. It was followed by the flutter of lashes as blue-green eyes still cloudy with sleep slowly opened.
He smiled gently at the puzzled question in that gaze. Placing his hand atop the boy's forehead he spoke softly, "Shhhh...everything's all right, young one. Go back to sleep."
He was rewarded with a small trusting smile as the heavy lids once again drifted shut. His large hand moved to cup the side of the peaceful face. He noticed the slight tremble in his hand, and he closed his eyes briefly. Silently, he thanked the Force for bringing this boy into his life, and for allowing him to stay.
He had never been more afraid in his life than he had the moment he had felt the bond he shared with Obi-Wan flicker and start to dim. He had frantically dove into the bond, grasping for the reassuring light that he had come to rely on. He could feel that it was touch and go for a while and he held on tight, fighting to keep the bright presence close to him.
He knew the final decision was not his. If Obi-Wan chose to let go, there was nothing he could do about it. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he remembered the softly spoken words his padawan had spoken upon waking.
" I will never leave you, my master. I'm yours for as long as you will have me"
(End memory sequence)
Qui-Gon opened his eyes to see not Obi-Wan asleep before him, but Anakin. Though he had come to care for Anakin, and would probably love him as time wore on.............nothing could replace his Obi-Wan. Oh, but how he loved that boy. And he would find him, if it took him the rest of his life to do so.
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Sideous released his hold on the young knights hair and stepped back. He was not at all happy with the turn of events.
Somehow, the Skywalker brat had seen him enter the secret passageway. It infuriated him to no end that he had not felt the child's presence..at all. Thankfully, the master hadn't given the child's sleepy words any merit. Still, something would have to be done.
He turned his attention back to his knight. He had underestimated the young man, a mistake he would not make again.
"What do you want, Sith?" Sideous frowned at the steady defiance he read in both the young voice and eyes.
His tone was quite mocking as he answered, "I should think that would be quite obvious." With that he let his eyes rake down the length of the young body positioned so vulnerably in front of him.
In his eyes he let the lust he clearly felt shine through. Lust not for the body before him, though that package was far more enticing than it had any right to be, given its current condition. No, the lust he felt was for the young mans very soul.
He smiled coldly at the look of disquiet that descended upon the knight.
"You see, you owe me an apprentice my young friend."
"Do I?" said the knight as his chin rose defiantly. "Well, I really wish I could help you, but I'm afraid I've already been there, done that. You'll have to look elsewhere."
The knight looked very unsettled when Sideous actually laughed and said, "Ah, but I'm afraid I have my heart set on you." A pause and then, "You will be mine....or you WILL die."
The knight seemed to visibly center himself before responding. "Then I shall die, for I will never call you Master."
"Brave words, my young apprentice," Sideous said ignoring the glare from his captive at the title. "But we shall see. The night before us is long, and my means of persuasion can be quite convincing."
To Be Continued.....
Sideous glanced towards the knight as he made a final adjustment to one of the monitors that gave him access to certain rooms within the palace, via some very strategically placed holocams.
The knight was approaching consciousness, but the lingering drugs in his system prevented him from being fully aware of his surroundings. Sideous smiled at the haze he could sense surrounding the young knights mind.
He looked back to the monitors as the queen and the two Jedi came into view. Adjusting the audio slightly, he honed in on their conversation. He listened for a moment then turned away to approach the knight.
He cupped the side of the young face as glassy eyes, still clouded with drugs partially opened. He watched as the heavy lids drooped closed, and struggled to open once again. Frowning, as the boys eyes rolled slightly, the Sith abruptly drew back the hand cupping the face and delivered a vicious backhand.
A slight trickle of blood from the corner of the mouth and a deep furrowing of the boys brow was followed by a soft "Mmmmmmph," as Sideous roughly grasped the boys chin, bringing them faced to face again.
He watched closely as those eyes opened. There was a hazy confusion there, but the boy was conscious at least. "Much better," Sideous smiled as he gently pet the vivid red mark left by his hand.
Satisfied the knight was at least semi-lucid Sideous moved to the head of the metal table on which the Jedi was placed. Reaching underneath the table to a small control panel, he activated the switch that would rotate the table from the horizontal position it was now in--to a vertical position. The table could rotate a full 360 degrees, which may come in handy later, but for now the knight was in an upright position facing the monitors. Perfect.
As the table came to a stop the youth's head lolled forward, and he issued a small moan as the weight of his body exerted pressure against the restraints binding his wrists.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After seeing the Queen to her quarters, Qui-Gon led his weary padawan back to their own set of rooms. He noticed the very huge yawn that escaped the boy as they entered the common area. It seemed the day was finally catching up with his padawan.
"You should already be asleep, padawan" he said with just a hint of reproval in his voice.
"I know, I'm sorry master. I guess I was just a little excited."
"Well, you look dead on your feet now. Come......off to bed with you." Qui- Gon guided him to his room as he spoke. He waited patiently as the boy changed into his sleepwear and climbed into bed.
Sitting on the edge of the bed he began to adjust the covers. "Master, you don't have to tuck me in" the voice was heavy and sounded on the verge of sleep.
"Well I want to make sure you stay in bed this time young man. No more wandering around the palace," he smiled affectionately at the boy and ran his hand over the spiky hair.
"Oh," Anakin yawned around the word. "Wanted to tell you....saw chancellor palpatine..earlier."
When the boy didn't continue Qui-Gon prompted further. "Yes, the Queen told me that he was staying in the West wing. I hope you didn't bother him Anakin, he's a very busy man."
"No. He didn't see me." Anakin's eyes were closed now and the words were getting slurred. "He....went...through...waterfall."
Qui-Gon frowned. Surely he hadn't heard those last words correctly.
Waterfall?
Obviously the boy was more tired than he thought. He looked down at the now sleeping padawan and reached out to reposition the wayward braid.
Sitting there, watching the boy sleep conjured up many images of doing the exact same thing.....with another. How many times had he done this very thing with Obi-Wan? His mind was drawn back to a particular night, now 9 years past.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His body was a mass of aches and pains. His limbs felt extremely heavy, but when he tried to move them, he found he could not. Lifting his head seemed to require an exorbitant amount of strength.
He was aware of voices and activity around him, but it all seemed so distant. Once again he could feel the force all around him, but it lingered just out of his reach.
He thought he remembered waking before. Yes, he had heard voices then also.....familiar voices. But that had to have been a dream. He hadn't seen or heard from Qui-Gon in over a year.
As if on cue from his thoughts, he once again heard the familiar baritone. He could hear the voice, but it was hard to concentrate on what was being said. He tried to focus and pull himself free from the fog....to no avail.
Suddenly, he felt a cold hand cup his chin as his head was lifted. He blinked a few times and narrowed his eyes, adjusting to the light before him. His eyes widened though, as that familiar voice uttered the word, "padawan."
Looking to that voice, he only vaguely registered that he was seeing the images on a monitor. His entire focus, all that he could muster anyways, was on that familiar figure. So much so that it was another moment or two before he took note of the young boy that was being tucked into bed.
He felt a twinge of remembered hurt as he watched the scene before him. His master had done the same thing for him many times throughout his apprenticeship.
~Yes, but the difference is, he wanted this one. He never wanted you.~
He was not entirely sure if the thought was his own. It hurt regardless however. Since he could not move, could not look away, he had no choice but to watch the scene before him.
He watched as his master--he found he could not, even after all this time refer to this man that he loved as a father as anything other--fawn over his newest padawan. Though he could not clearly see Qui-Gon's face, he could see the tenderness in the man's actions as he sat with his apprentice.
Distantly, he heard a curse and the cold hand that still held his head up, was pulled away. He struggled to keep it up as he picked up on part of the conversation on the screen before him.
He thought he heard something about....a waterfall? There was a disturbance somewhere near, but he could not take his eyes from the screen before him. He watched as Qui-Gon reached out to adjust the boy's braid. That image alone seemed to call upon a reserve of memories. Memories of himself waking to find his master watching over him.
~He never loved you~
//No// Never had he seen that look of love and tenderness that he was witnessing now directed at him.
~He never wanted you~
//No. He never wanted me. He rejected me over and over again.//
~You were a constant disappointment to him~
//Y....yes. Nothing I ever did was good enough// That one really hurt, and he felt both his heart and his throat constrict at the thought. He had always tried so hard to make his master proud of him. Nothing ever seemed to work. In his minds eye, he saw only coldness and disappointment shining in his master's eyes when they regarded him.
With a heavy heart he watched on as Qui-Gon merely sat and watched over his sleeping apprentice. As the time stretched and Qui-Gon still remained, he finally stopped struggling against his exhaustion and let his head fall forward. He did not need to see anymore of that.
As he tried to sink back into oblivion to get away from the hurtful thoughts and images, he couldn't quiet the part of him that wondered why? Why couldn't he love me like that? Why?
~Because you weren't worthy~
//SHUT UP!// As dazed and confused as he was, he finally sensed that all the thoughts he was having may not entirely be his own.
~Now, now, young one......you do know where anger leads don't you?~ Sideous grabbed a fistful of the knights hair and pulled. Once they were face to face he continued. ~It leads directly..to..ME~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(flashback/memory sequence)
Qui-Gon adjusted the covers surrounding Obi-Wan as he sat on the edge of the bed. The boy had just been released from the healers after recovering, barely, from a blaster wound to his abdomen. Their previous mission had not been a success to say the least.
Although the boy had been hurt before, this was the first time he'd had to face the very real possibility that his padawan might not pull through. He had sat vigil for 3 days while the boy floated in bacta, then at his bedside for two more until he regained consciousness. And now, thankfully, the boy was home and in his own bed.
Qui-Gon's eyes lingered on the young innocent face, now slackened by sleep. He had no idea how long he sat there, just watching the boy sleep, relishing the simple pleasure of being able to do so.
After some time he was pulled from his reverie as he heard a small sigh. It was followed by the flutter of lashes as blue-green eyes still cloudy with sleep slowly opened.
He smiled gently at the puzzled question in that gaze. Placing his hand atop the boy's forehead he spoke softly, "Shhhh...everything's all right, young one. Go back to sleep."
He was rewarded with a small trusting smile as the heavy lids once again drifted shut. His large hand moved to cup the side of the peaceful face. He noticed the slight tremble in his hand, and he closed his eyes briefly. Silently, he thanked the Force for bringing this boy into his life, and for allowing him to stay.
He had never been more afraid in his life than he had the moment he had felt the bond he shared with Obi-Wan flicker and start to dim. He had frantically dove into the bond, grasping for the reassuring light that he had come to rely on. He could feel that it was touch and go for a while and he held on tight, fighting to keep the bright presence close to him.
He knew the final decision was not his. If Obi-Wan chose to let go, there was nothing he could do about it. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he remembered the softly spoken words his padawan had spoken upon waking.
" I will never leave you, my master. I'm yours for as long as you will have me"
(End memory sequence)
Qui-Gon opened his eyes to see not Obi-Wan asleep before him, but Anakin. Though he had come to care for Anakin, and would probably love him as time wore on.............nothing could replace his Obi-Wan. Oh, but how he loved that boy. And he would find him, if it took him the rest of his life to do so.
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Sideous released his hold on the young knights hair and stepped back. He was not at all happy with the turn of events.
Somehow, the Skywalker brat had seen him enter the secret passageway. It infuriated him to no end that he had not felt the child's presence..at all. Thankfully, the master hadn't given the child's sleepy words any merit. Still, something would have to be done.
He turned his attention back to his knight. He had underestimated the young man, a mistake he would not make again.
"What do you want, Sith?" Sideous frowned at the steady defiance he read in both the young voice and eyes.
His tone was quite mocking as he answered, "I should think that would be quite obvious." With that he let his eyes rake down the length of the young body positioned so vulnerably in front of him.
In his eyes he let the lust he clearly felt shine through. Lust not for the body before him, though that package was far more enticing than it had any right to be, given its current condition. No, the lust he felt was for the young mans very soul.
He smiled coldly at the look of disquiet that descended upon the knight.
"You see, you owe me an apprentice my young friend."
"Do I?" said the knight as his chin rose defiantly. "Well, I really wish I could help you, but I'm afraid I've already been there, done that. You'll have to look elsewhere."
The knight looked very unsettled when Sideous actually laughed and said, "Ah, but I'm afraid I have my heart set on you." A pause and then, "You will be mine....or you WILL die."
The knight seemed to visibly center himself before responding. "Then I shall die, for I will never call you Master."
"Brave words, my young apprentice," Sideous said ignoring the glare from his captive at the title. "But we shall see. The night before us is long, and my means of persuasion can be quite convincing."
To Be Continued.....