Chapter 4

"I cannot stop you from leaving. But I do wish you would be careful and let me know if you need any help. I will also need to have at least some idea of where you are intending to go, especially if one of the others asks me. I cannot just say that I have no idea where you are going or what you intend to do. It may not be safe just yet."

Luke just stared at her for a moment. 'I really did not expect this to be so easy. Maybe she knows what is at stake. I really cannot afford to have her change her mind. I may have delayed too long already, due to my indecision.' "I have to get going. I will let you know where I am as soon as I know where I am going. Do not worry. I can take care of myself. I will see you again, just as soon as this is all over…"

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Reaching the village, he could only hope that he was not too late to save these people who had been so good to him. 'Especially Maria. Especially after all that she has done for me,' he thought, attempting to increase his speed.

Maria. He was closer to her than to anyone else. 'If anything has happened to her…' He tried to shake that thought off. He could not allow the past to repeat itself. He would try to save them, if it was not too late already.

Young man, be careful. It is not your fate to die yet. There will be another here soon, looking for you. Do not fear him.

Startled, he stopped running, nearly tripping. He had felt threats coming before, but never had he had the sensation that someone was speaking directly to him. What did it mean?

'Do not fear him,' it had said. 'Him? Him who?'

You will know when you see him. Do not be fooled by another.

There it was again! Just when he had been about to tell himself that he was hearing things and to start running again! 'My senses have failed me this time. When I woke, I had a bad feeling that something would happen, yet I thought that it had simply been regret that I was leaving them all behind. My senses were trying to tell me that danger was approaching, yet I ignored it and the others are suffering the consequences!' Now he knew for sure that someone was after him. 'Should I head back and try to help them, one last time? Or should I continue on my way and hope that they do not find out where I am and catch up to me? And who is it that I should not fear?' Sighing, he tried to forget about the last time that he had wandered away from a village he had lived in. He could not afford to take the time to relive hearing the screams and seeing the smoke that had risen, separating him from all that had been familiar and taking away his childhood innocence. Instead, he resumed running, hoping that he had made the right choice, not knowing that another person, the one he had seen so briefly, was thinking the same thought…

-?!?!?!?-AN: To SoloKenobi: Hehe! Ever notice how the 'main men' (ex.: Luke and Han...) in Leia's life have a bad habit of NOT telling her whenever they decide to simply wander off...alone?!? It seems that, for once, Luke has decided to break this little habit... Does that mean that he has finally decided to grow up? Or is he simply desperate...for Leia's permission, as his only family? Or is he seeking reassurance that he has made the right decision? Hmmm.... Think more on this, we must... (smiles at you) By the way, congrats on being the only reviewer this time around... -?!?!?!?-