Chapter II
Ten Years Later…
It is early morning in Theed. At the palace, a young boy is looking out from a balcony. He has brownish-blond hair and blue eyes, just like Anakin. He gives the city a gleeful smile before running inside.
The boy runs into the royal bedchamber, where Anakin and Padme are fast asleep in a king-sized canopy bed. He immediately jumps onto the bed, and starts repeatedly pushing the king.
"Dad! Wake up! We have to go!" the boy- obviously Prince Luke- urged his father. "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad…"
Padme is the first one awoken by her son's chanting. "Your son is awake," she said to her husband.
Anakin yawned. "Before the twin suns rise, he's your son." he remarked.
"Dad!" Luke yelled. He then smacks Anakin in the face.
"Ouch!" the king yelped.
"You promised!" Luke whined.
"All right, I'm up!" Anakin assured him. "Not so hard, next time…"
"Yeah!" his son exclaimed and skipped out of the room. Anakin gave his wife a kiss before following Luke.
The pair went up a staircase, which led to the palace's roof. Anakin and Luke went to the edge of the wall and looked out into the city… and the rest of the galaxy.
"Look, Luke… everything you see before you is our kingdom." The king told the prince. "A Jedi's time rises and falls like the sun. One day, Luke, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the second Jedi King."
"And this will be all be mine?" Luke asked in awe.
"Everything on the planet," Anakin replied.
The prince looked out towards a very large lake, where there were glowing lights.
"What about that pretty place in the lake?" he asked.
"We've had some… disagreements… with the creatures of the lake," Anakin answered uneasily. "You must never go there, son."
"But I thought a Jedi could do whatever he wants!" Luke said, confused.
"There's more than being a Jedi than getting your way all the time," Anakin told his son, as he walked towards the staircase.
"There's more?"
Luke and Anakin were now outside of Theed, in the countryside. They could see a nearby group of shaaks- large mammals with tiny legs- grazing in the grass.
"Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance," Anakin explained. "As a Jedi, you must understand this balance, between life and the Force. You must respect all creatures- from the powerful nuna, to the grazing shaak."
"But Dad, don't we eat the shaak?" Luke asked.
Anakin sighed. "Yes, Luke, but let me explain- when we die, we become one with the Force. The Force helps the grasses grow, and the shaak eat the grass. And so, we are all connected in the great Circle of the Force."
A/N: See the end of the chapter to how I came up with the "circle of life" alternative. It wasn't exactly my idea…
"Good morning, Master Anakin!" a voice called out. Anakin and Luke turned around to see C-3PO walking towards them.
"Good morning, 3PO," the king greeted the droid.
"I'm checking in with the morning report,"
"Fire away,"
"Well, the faumbaas aren't taking orders well, but you know how well they listen…"
Luke quickly got bored with C-3PO's rambling. He spotted a butterfly floating nearby, and tried to pull it towards him with his Force powers. It didn't work out too well, and the boy only accomplished falling over backwards onto his father.
Anakin looked down at his son and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Force pulling," Luke replied.
"Let an old pro show you how it's done…" Anakin whispered. He then said, "3PO? Could you turn around?"
"Of course, sire." C-3PO replied, and turned his back.
Anakin and Luke crouched down low to the ground. "Stay low to the ground," the king told his son.
"What's going on?" C-3PO asked.
"A Force-using lesson," Anakin simply replied.
"Oh, all right… it's just- FORCE USING?" C-3PO shouted. "Master Anakin, you can't be serious…"
Anakin motioned C-3PO to turn back around, and he obeyed, muttering, "This is so humiliating…"
"Don't make a sound…" the king whispered to Luke.
"What are you telling him?" C-3PO asked, and turned around. He didn't see the king or the prince anywhere. "Master Anakin? Master Luke?"
Suddenly, an invisible force pushed the droid backwards, and onto the ground. He looked up to see Anakin give Luke a high five.
At that moment, a small droid, looking like a tiny metal box popped up from the ground. "C-3PO. News from the underground," it announced in a monotone.
C-3PO listened to the droid and stood up at once. "Sire! Gungans! Outside of Theed!"
"3PO, take Luke home," Anakin ordered.
"Dad, can't I come?" Luke whined.
"No, son," Anakin said, before running away.
"He never lets me do anything…" Luke complained.
"Oh, now young Master, one day you will be the Jedi King," C-3PO assured him. "Then you can chase those slimy primitive amphibians from morning till dusk."
If you were wondering, I got the "Circle of the Force" idea from a rumor heard on a year before Episode 3 came out, and… this was said to be the title. I'm not kidding. Thankfully, it was only a rumor…