Disclaimer: I doth not owneth.
A/N: -ducks from readers who are currently pelting me with bananas for updating so late- I'M SORRY! I'm so incredibly sorry. You guys have been AWESOME, absolutely SPIFFIN' AWESOME, and this is how I reward you? A REALLY OVERDUE UPDATE? Aahhhhh I'm so sorry. See, the thing is, the end of the quarter is pulling up, which means all the teachers are frantically cramming in last minute tests, and thus my live has been on overload. I just didn't have time.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING AND REVIEWING, though. I'm just sooo….grateful.
From Bud to Bloom now officially has over 200 reviews. You guys are THE BEST. Free cookies and hot chocolate for all. With extra large marshmallows. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Part One: Budding
The party had turned stale and dry and dull in its last stages. Most of the guests had left by now, and still no attack had been made.
Anakin had spent the last thirty minutes sulking and seething silently in a corner. Ali had disappeared almost an hour ago, claimed by some brainless rich nobleman with an annoying accent, who had asked if he could "haff this dah-nce with the luvely lay-deee." The last Anakin saw of her was in Ryan's arms, waltzing to some infuriatingly bright tune. She had flashed Anakin an apologetic smile and then gone to back to smiling into the exchange student's stupid brown eyes.
The atmosphere was stifling and stuffy, and Anakin had had quite enough of giggling noblewomen approaching him for a dance. He was. Not. Interested. How many times would they have to ask to understand?
The most awkward refusal of the day, however, would have to go to Sera. She had come prancing up to him, her chest popping out of her dress, and asked him to dance with a huge smile. He had muttered something about using the restroom, and then ducked away quickly, leaving the ballroom. After the Ali incident, he didn't want to risk waltzing with the busty blonde. What if it was an upbeat tune? What is she DID squeeze out of the dress, thus knocking him out effectively? Spying a balcony exit down the hallway, Anakin decided that'd be a good place to "use the restroom".
He walked briskly toward freedom, his stride lengthening as the tantalizing taste of fresh air beckoned. Stooping down so as not to bump his head on the entrance door, Anakin straightened, brushed his hair out of his face, and breathed a sigh of relief. And then he looked to his left and realized he wasn't alone.
"Hey Ani," she said, grinning slightly. Ali shifted her weight guiltily, like a child caught in the act of thieving a cookie. Her hair was down, all the clips that had pinned it atop her head gone. It fell in a cascade of glorious red waves down her back, each individual strand catching the moonlight and tempting his fingers. A single, pure white, delicate flower was tucked behind her ear, woven into the thick locks of hair. "Got kinda stuffy, didn't it?"
"Only a bit," He replied, smiling back. He reached out and gently lifted a soft, smooth curl of the beautiful tresses, quirking an eyebrow questioningly.
"It was getting too heavy and the pins hurt my scalp," she said sheepishly as a way of explanation. She scuffed her toe on the balcony floor, and he noticed that they were bare.
"No shoes either?" He asked.
"Have you tried walking in those things?" Ali said passionately. "Not only did I look like a fool, but it hurt too!"
He laughed out loud, marveling at how pretty she looked—almost nymph like, with her wispy satin dress and hair aflame, barefoot—dainty, fleeting, and ethereal.
She smiled back at him, and thought about how incredibly handsome he looked. Her Ani had truly grown up, towering a good six inches above her, lean and muscled. He was still in that lanky adolescent stage, but he would grow to be a beautiful Jedi Knight. A sort of pride washed over her, a sense of satisfaction at how well he had developed—from a cute, somewhat unsure little boy into the tanned, confident young man that was before her.
"We should get back soon," Anakin said.
"Can't leave the Senator unguarded for too long," Ali nodded in agreement. Yet neither moved, and a silence fell between them.
They stood there together, leaning against the sculpted column balcony railing, looking out to the wonders of the stars. The moon shone brightly that night against the dark canvas of the night sky, sending silvery rays down to the couple. The balcony view was beautiful, white marble and pure as the elegant trellis flowers that crept up the side.
Anakin felt it then, in the pit of his stomach, in the depths of his heart. It was inevitable, he realized—something that should've happened years and years ago, that he kept denying. His heart was pounding, his breathing quickened.
"Hey Ali?" He whispered hoarsely, turning towards her.
"Yeah?" She replied, just as gently. Her eyes were so bright, so very green, framed with dark, long lashes. She could outshine the night sky full of its glistening, sparkling stars.
"Don't hate me for this, okay?" Anakin breathed, watching as those lashes fluttered and her rosy lips parted slightly. He placed a finger under her chin and tilted that lovely face upwards.
"Okay," She murmured.
So he kissed her, a soft, sweet brushing of their lips for just one moment, one second that would be burned into their memory forever. And then he pulled back, almost immediately, regretting his weakness, cheeks flaming.
Another silence fell, this one much more horrible and stiff and devastating. Both knew what they had just done was utterly forbidden. Now Anakin knew what Adam and Eve felt like in that old tale of the Garden of Eden. He threw a quick glance at his friend's face—she was white and drawn and pale, her eyes dilated.
Anakin couldn't take the stillness anymore. Someone had to break it, to talk about what just happened.
"Look, Ali–"
"We should get back." Ali said firmly, not looking her best friend in the eye. She ducked out of the balcony door and quickly started down towards the ballroom. He followed suit reluctantly.
They had barely entered the now empty ballroom when Padme, on the far side of the room, uttered a piercing scream. All the Padawans (the only people left now) looked to her at once, and saw that the large window that she was standing by had been smashed open, showering the Senator with glass. The tinkling sound would have been almost pleasant if it weren't for the dark connotation it came with. The attack had come.
"Senator!" Ali screamed, running over to her. Anakin cursed himself inwardly for leaving Padme's side, if only for minutes. He wanted to join his friend in helping Padme, but he was stopped by the entrance of a tangle of mechanical limbs.
Droids came pouring into the ballroom, flooding it as the guests had flooded it earlier. The pods rolled to a stop—unfolded—and began shooting at the Padawans, who quickly activated their lightsabers to block the onslaught. A dim part of Anakin was amazed that Sera could fight in her choice of clothes. The other areas of his brain was frantically looking for Ali to make sure she was alright, and also trying to deflect the shots at the same time.
Ali kept running, dodging attacks, to the Senator, who was weakly pushing herself off the ground. Padme was worse for the wear—she had a cut that was bleeding quite badly on the arm—but still alive.
The redhead watched, horrified, as two dark figures slid inside the ballroom window, smooth and flawless as silk. Assassins. A pair of them. Only the professionals could move with such elegance and fluidity. It was a brilliant idea, to bring along droids, who would distract the Padawans from the true danger. Ali yelled out loud as the left one unsheathed a blade and deftly flecked it towards the Senator's slow moving form.
Concentrating her energy, Ali closed her eyes briefly and flung out a blast of wind which rippled through the air, never pausing in her strides. The current swept the incoming blade away from Padme's form, and the knife wedged itself into a nearby wall with an ominous thud.
The first assassin ran to meet the Padawan in a swift blur of motion. Pushing off the wall, it shot towards the redhead at an amazing speed. It moved like a through the air with grace and ease, ending with a level kick to Ali's head that would definitely leave a mark. Ali didn't even have time to react before the stars of pain rang inside her head. Then the thing pummeled Ali again and again, in the stomach, on the joint that connected her shoulder to her neck, dislocating something. She gave a cry of pain. Then he kicked her in the back of the legs behind the knee, and she felt herself collapse.
"Ali!" Anakin yelled with alarm as he watched his friend crumple. With three swift slices, Anakin left the droid in shatters and raced towards the girl, his heart pounding with worry.
From her position on the floor, Alianne had a perfect view of the other assassin, who had drawn his own blade. His back was to the redhead, and Padme was up against the wall, with nowhere to run from him. The two were too far away for Ali to take action. With a desperate cry, Ali focused all her energy, ignoring the throbbing pain from her cheek, and threw a fireball—much like the one she had previously aimed at Sera—at the assassin's back.
She could've cheered. It went straight through the air, despite her dizziness, and was soaring right towards the square of his back….when he moved aside, last second. Fear welled up in Ali's stomach. It seemed as if time slowed. Ali could see Padme's huge brown eyes widen, the blood drain from her face. The brunette gave a little gasp, and sidestepped quickly—but not quick enough. The fiery orb grazed her arm. A howl of anguish tore through the air and Padme clutched at the wound, the smell of sizzling flesh pungent in the air. Ali moaned at her stupidity. How could she have done something so rash? Padme was right behind the killer! And then the world spun crazily before it went black.
A/N: short chapter, I know, but I just…couldn't write anymore. Idk, losing my writing drive…stress and school and sports have just been KILLING me. Review, please? You guys rock, you are my inspiration.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL WHO REVIEWED LAST CHAPTER!