Okay! Only one or two more left! I hope you like it! (P.S: I am leaving AGAIN on vacation from July 24th-August 7th. I'll try to post before then!)
They sat together, quiet and unmoving, disguised by the blanket of darkness in the room. Their hands and feet were bound to the pillar behind them, as their backs rested against the cold Alderaanian marble, sending shivers up their spines. Rowan did not recognize the chamber around her, filled with darkness and hidden monsters, but her companion did.
This was the hall from his dreams. The place in his nightmares where he would battle Anakin for the last time; where he would sacrifice all of his ideals and morals to save a little girl. A little girl he realized now was essential to his existence. Even in such a short time as their captivity together had been, Rowan had become to him like his own daughter, and he couldn't explain how or why.
There was a connection between them, a link that they shared, and not for the the first time Obi-Wan wondered who exactly were her parents and where she had come from. The question burned inside of him, just like his resolve to rescue his young companion from any harm. Palpatine had planned this, he knew, but he was powerless to change or stop it.
She shivered next to him, chilled by the arid coolness of the air and the fear that froze her muscles and veins. Her orchid reflected blue in the dim light. "Bwan, where are we?"
He looked up to the ceiling, as if it could offer any answers to their location. "I don't know, Rowan."
"Are we going to die now?"
His gaze shifted to her, and he could see the tears that she struggled to keep back, the fright that tried to keep contained. Obi-Wan rolled onto his side as far as his bindings would allow, and faced her.
"I wouldn't let anything happen to you, you know that."
She nodded, afraid to speak and to lose control over her emotions. Obi-Wan remarked at how mature she was, how she seemed much older than her five years of age.
"Rowan," he began slowly, "what was your life like before here?"
She cocked her head to the side, the fright being replaced by innocent confusion. "Before here?"
"Before you came to this place, Ro, before you met me. Where did you live?"
The little girl smiled sadly. "I didn't live anywhere."
The Jedi Master didn't understand. He tried another approach. "What was your planet like? Was it hot or cold? Were there lots of clouds in the sky?"
Her grin grew. "Once, a long time ago, they let me outside for a while! The sky was so blue, so pretty."
Obi-Wan's heart skipped a beat. "Rowan, who's they?"
A cackle crossed the air, shattering their quiet whispers. "Master Kenobi, you are finally figuring it out." From the dark, a shadow emerged, cloaked and hooded.
He rolled back up straight and watched the figure with wary eyes. "Figuring out what, Palpatine?"
The shadow drew closer, footsteps heavy on the marble floors. "Just how much of a pawn you are."
Something within Obi-Wan clenched, as a sinking feeling overtook him. "I-I don't understand." he stuttered, when really he knew that he was understanding too much.
Deformed features became visible in the pale light, the shadow mere inches from him now. The purple lips curled up into a malicious grin, taunting the Jedi. "Oh, young and foolish Jedi, your naivety still astounds me. How such a talented Jedi Knight like you can be so thick-headed is beyond me."
"You-you manipulated me."
A harsh laugh. "For years, Master Jedi." it said, snarling on the last words.
"Who is she?" Obi-Wan asked, shaking slightly despite himself.
"She is the product of the genetic manipulation of your genes with another's. A backup plan, if you will." It stepped back into the shadows, blending in with the artificial night, watching, waiting.
The Jedi Knight drew in a sharp breath. "What? How-no, that's not possible."
A flurry of movement and the creature was in front of him once more. "Fool." it hissed, "I hid in plain view of the Jedi for over twenty years. I controlled the Clone Wars. I even managed to turn the Jedi's beloved Chosen One. It was amazingly simple to put this contingency plan into action. After all," and its lips pulled back in its frightening facsimile of a smile, "treachery is the way of the Sith."
Obi-Wan turned to Rowan, the girl he now knew to be his true daughter. Her violet eyes, her blonde tresses, the innate defiance present in the curvature of her chin- this was Rowan, his daughter. What an alien term. He was a Jedi Knight- dedicated to the Code and the ideals of his organization. The voice in his mind whispered softly to him: Attachment is forbidden...
Yet he knew that he had formed an attachment. It was more than an attachment, it was pure love for the person beside him. And he knew now what this meant.
The wraith was still in front of him, eyes glowing red now in the faint light. "And now, General Kenobi, it is time for her to die." Palpatine flipped back his hood, revealing the horribly misshapen features behind the mask of dark, and the Rowan screamed. Using the Force, he undid her leg bindings and lifted her into the air, as she trashed above.
"Bwan!" she shrieked, as her eyes grew wide with fear, "Bwan!
Obi-Wan fought against his restraints in vain, as tears of anger and fear bled from his eyes.
"You can save her!" yelled Palpatine, over the girl's frightened screams.
The Jedi froze.
"Very well." said the shadow coldly, and he brought Rowan to the floor. Raising his hands to unleash his powerful Force lightning, he smiled with evil delight as he heard a painful cry from behind him. He turned to Obi-Wan, but saw that the Jedi was not the who had reacted.
It was Anakin Skywalker, who stood in the doorway before him.