Ch. 14

It had been hours since the Sith's followers had taken Han; Padme, Anakin, Luke, Leia, and Obi Wan sat in a row against the wall, staring at the opposite wall in front of them. They had talked, the children had run around, they had tried to make the best of the situation, but everyone (the twins included) had found that the moment asked more for quiet retrospection than for failed attempts to rationalize.

Padme hugged her knees and stared at the scar over Anakin's eye, suddenly feeling a deep respect for him and Obi Wan. If this was the sort of situation they had to deal with routinely, even if it was one of the extremes, she had no idea how they handled it. She had always wondered why Anakin would sometimes be so angry or so frustrated, especially back when she had first married him. But suddenly, she understood. That was during the Clone Wars- the situations had been almost this intense daily. She had so many emotions pent up inside her in the current moment that had she been Force sensitive she herself might have been inclined to choke someone to death out of sheer frustration. She knew now why Obi Wan constantly warned Anakin, and himself, to contain their emotions, to rationalize the situation, to be calm… she had been in a lot of tight places in her life, and a lot of difficult and highly dangerous situations, but this was the longest and the most intense of any danger she had ever faced. Even when she had been under a threat of assassination, she had at least been at home and trying to go about her job and her daily responsibilities. But, she realized now, these sorts of problems were the Jedis' daily responsibilities, and she suddenly had a newfound respect for her husband and her friend. She kept staring at Anakin's scar- he had never told her how exactly he got it, but now she knew why- because he knew that she shouldn't know, she didn't want to know- he always said that his time with her was time to be happy, and forget his work, and now she understood why. She had always liked the scar, thinking it made him look wiser and handsomer, but now she really respected it- well, him, she thought to herself, smiling at Anakin. She leaned on to his shoulder and he absentmindedly put his arm around her.

Obi Wan sat with his chin resting on the fingers of his right hand, as he distractedly drew circles in the dirt floor of their prison with his left. He had tried to meditate, but he hadn't been able to, his mind was far too cluttered and refused to clear. So he sat thinking about the situation, trying to figure out how to best escape with all of their party alive and well, Han and the Wookie included. He felt deep empathy for the family next to him, understanding that the pain he was feeling must be magnified tenfold in all of them. He admired Anakin for using incredible restraint and sagacity in the moment, simply trying to comfort everyone else and quickly containing the anger that sprang to him. Obi Wan was currently thinking about how much Anakin had matured since they'd last dealt with such a difficult situation, and this fact boosted his confidence that they would be all right. Five years ago, Obi Wan knew Anakin would have jumped to attack the Sith, as he had in the cave on Geonosis, and that would have been the end…but now Anakin was a father and a husband, and a loyal Jedi Master, and something in him had changed that led him to deal well with the situation- he was now thinking about those around him and the consequences of his actions, and for the first time Obi Wan really saw him as a Jedi Master.

Anakin studied a crack in the roof very intently, having lost all train of thought over the past few hours, and could think only about how it reminded him of Master Yoda's head. His attempts at forming a plan of escape had completely abandoned him, as had any thoughts about the situation. If he thought about the events of the past day, he only got angry, and he was trying very hard to be calm and peaceful. Meditation was never an option for him in such a stressful time, though he knew it should be, and so after he had counted the gray hairs in Obi Wan's beard he had taken to studying the ceiling. The crack above Obi Wan reminded him of Padme's hair when it was curly, which he loved, and the crack to the left of Leia's outstretched hand looked like his light saber. The Yoda crack was above Luke's feet, where… wait, why were Luke's feet up in the air? He suddenly focused his attention on his son, who was tottering around on his hands, sticking his feet straight up in the air. Leia's hand stretched towards Luke and her eyes were closed. Had Obi Wan's eyes been open he might have questioned what in the name of the Force the Skywalker twins were doing, but Anakin and Padme hardly gave it a second glance, being used to such random displays in their household many times daily.

Luke and Leia, having grown extremely bored with the adults' silence, had been carrying on an intense bout of gambling through Force talking to one another. Luke had bragged about his ability to walk on his hands, and Leia, knowing that he wasn't the most coordinated boy in the world, had bet him seven hundred credits that she could push him over without even touching him. Little did Luke seem to realize, Leia didn't have seven hundred credits to give him anyway, so she would win no matter what. What Leia failed to see was that Luke did not have seven hundred credits either, and thus the bet was moot. However, Luke had managed to remain on his hands for over a minute, at least a minute in Leia's own particular timetable, and she now had her hand outstretched trying to push him over without touching him. Realizing it simply wasn't going to work unless she used the Force, she scrunched up her face and closed her eyes, trying to look like her daddy when he moved big things with the Force. Luke sniggered to himself, knowing that he was winning the bet, though he suddenly felt his legs swaying and knew he would soon fall over. When he fell into his sister's lap, neither could decide whether it had been her Force push or his own lack of balance that had caused it, and thus reverted to writing their names in the dirt with their fingers. Throughout this entire exchange, neither child made a sound, and the grown ups hardly even realized what was going on.

Suddenly, thunderous stomping just outside the door interrupted their thoughts and all of them turned their heads quickly to stare at the door. Anakin pulled his children to him and stood in front of them and Padme, so that anyone who wanted to hurt them would have to go through him first. Sidious burst into the room, followed by twenty of his followers, his light saber ignited in front of him.

"You're coming with us," he said, as his followers pulled Anakin and Obi Wan towards them, leaving Padme and the children.

"NO!" Anakin screamed, refusing to take his hand from Padme's and gazing longingly into his children's eyes. "No, no…" They ripped his hand from Padme's and pulled he and Obi Wan away as they struggled violently.

"Anakin," Padme cried, tears now falling from her eyes. "What's happening?"

"I'll save you, Padme," Anakin yelled. "I'll save you, I'll…"

"Why are we being separated?" Obi Wan demanded, straining with all his strength as a whole group of Sidious' followers surrounded him. "What are you going to do with us, with them?"
"Come on," growled Sidious, and he brought his light saber up to the backs of Obi Wan and Anakin so that they could not struggle anymore.

Tears fell down Anakin's face, as he looked at Padme and his children, so alone in the room. He and Padme shared a long and desperate gaze, and the twins sat watching their father be taken from them, crying. Suddenly, the door was slammed shut, cutting off Anakin's view of his family.

'It will be all right, Anakin,' Obi Wan assured him through the Force. 'This way, we will be able to escape…without them, it's easier, you know that, and then we can save them from the outside, which will prove more successful. I promise you, my friend. You will not lose them.'

Anakin just stared at Obi Wan, grateful for his reassurance and also his presence there, helping his family, but he still felt devastated. At least before they were all prisoners together, at least he was with his family and knew they were all right. Now, he wasn't sure what Sidious planned to do with them… Obi Wan was right, they had to escape, and they had to do it fast. Sidious himself shoved Anakin and Obi Wan into another room, darker and smaller than the first.

"We will be back for you," Sidious warned them, as he locked the door. "Soon."