Awoken by a bad dream, Fawnrielle groaned as she rolled over in her small bed.
Ever since that day, it seemed every time she closed her eyes, she found herself standing in the garden again. Every time was different though, but somehow would always end up the same: in failure. Some times she would be running towards the sound of the screams as the castle would slowly shrink in the distance until she couldn't see it anymore. Some times she would just be frozen onto place as her mother screamed out her name.
The girl laid on her back in the pitch black darkness of night waiting for sleep to wash over her again.
Just as she was slowly feeling herself drifting back, she jolted back up as she heard a loud thud coming from the deck right below her.
She almost screamed in fright, clutching her knees to her chest.
The droid next to her bed instantly awoke as well. He chirped as he rolled towards the passage to the lower floor.
"R2 wait!" She whisper-shouted at him in the darkness.
The droid chimed again as it looked back at her then started down the corridor.
She waited a few moments in complete silence.
Holding her breath, she tried to focus her hearing to the deafening silence, in the search of any sign of an intruder.
"Oh hello, R2." She finally heard a voice in the distance as the droid whistled in happiness.
She sighed as she recognized the voice to be Anakin's.
She threw the covers off her body, dragging herself out of bed.
She walked cautiously to the lower deck, wrapping her shawl around her frame.
The lights in the kitchen were dimmed as Anakin sat at the table whilst looking at something on the electronic device before him. His tall hands were wrapped around a steaming mug as he read.
Sensing her approaching, the boy lifted his head to meet her eyes. "Oh I'm so sorry, I hope I didn't wake you?" He apologized, frowning, as he got up from his seat.
The redhead yawned as she slowly walked towards him.
"Oh no, I couldn't sleep long before that." She told him, forcefully closing her eyes before blinking rapidly as she tried to get her eyes accustomed to the light again. The boy before her was dressed with an ample shirt and trousers made of a thin, beige linen.
"Me and R2 heard a noise, what happened?" She asked him.
Anakin let out an awkward laugh as he scratched the back of his neck. "I sort of took a tumble, I didn't want to open the lights to not wake anyone… You would think that with Jedi senses and all that I wouldn't be so clumsy but.." He confessed shyly.
"Yes you seem to do quite a lot of tumbling, don't you?" She smiled back at him as she brushed past him to go sit at the table.
"Now you're just being mean, my Lady." He pouted as he watched her, playfully crossing his arms over his chest.
She hugged her knees to her chest as she looked at him still standing there. Shaped by the shadows created by the dim light, she could see the outline of his body through his clothing.
She patted the seat next to her, inviting him to sit down again.
"What were you reading?" She inquired, nudging her chin towards the gadget as he settled next to her.
The boy closed the device. "Oh, just looking up some information." He said before leaning onto his elbow, resting his chin in his hand and angling his body towards her. "But tell me, if I didn't wake you, how come you're not sleeping?'
Fawnrielle sighed as she leaned her head back on the backrest, looking at the ceiling. "Nightmares." She simply answered. "What about you?"
He nodded in understanding. "Well, ever since a child, every once a while I seem to find myself having extremely light sleep." He explained simply.
The truth is, Anakin's sensitivity to the force made him all too well aware of the world around him. Since there is no off-switch for his talents, the boy often found himself dreaming about disturbances in the force or premonitions. Some nights all he could hear were screams, genocides, the births and deaths of stars. That night he had drifted into peaceful sleep before being awoken by just another troubling dream.
"I made this tea, I find it helps me sleep better." He said as he showed her his mug. "Would you like some?" The boy offered.
The girl turned her head towards him, looking into his blue eyes. She couldn't tell if it was just the shadows, but she could see the dark circles stretching down onto his cheeks. She gave him a small smile. "Sure. That would be nice."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the boy promptly got up to prepare it for her.
The kitchen counters being behind her, she turned her body so she was now sitting on her knees on the bench, her elbows and head resting on the backrest as she watched the padawan. She observed his tall and lean figure moving about. Observed as the hem of his shirt exposed the toned skin of his stomach as he reached up in the cupboards. Observed through the thin fabric as the muscles of his shoulders contracted underneath. Smiled as she starred at the adorably dorky little ponytail that started at the middle of the back of his skull.
She sighed as she kept on looking. He was such an attractive young man, yes despite the hair. She had only dated boys briefly before, oh they were silly little affairs, stolen kisses in the garden, blushing over studies. But the feelings she was feeling now were new. He wasn't just a boy, and she wasn't just a girl anymore.
She must have been starring for a few solid minutes when Anakin turned around, his eyes meeting her staring ones, her beverage in his hand.
He smirked at her as he cocked his head to the side, giving her a quizzical look.
Feeling her cheeks flushing from being caught gawking, she instantly turned around, sitting back properly on the bench.
Anakin chuckled to himself, he thought it was the most adorable thing. Somehow every time he looked at her he felt intrigued, he wanted to know more, wanted to know everything. He just felt this urge, this rush of questions flowing through his mind, through his body, to know everything about her, every thought… every inch as well.
He was cautiously walking back to the table with the hot tea in his hand when he felt it again, the familiar lighting bolt crawling under his skin.
The heat in the girl's cheeks was rapidly taking over the rest of her body in embarrassment like she was being showered in lava. "Actually, would you care for some fresh air?" She spoke rapidly, as she got up with equal speed.
Caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't seen the boy was now standing next to the table as she sprung up from her seat.
"Fuck!" Anakin swore under his breath as her shoulder knocked into him, sending the mug and it's contents sprawling across the floor.
Quickly realizing her mistake, the redhead stopped sharply mid-movement, wincing as the mug hit the floor.
But it didn't. The Padawan had caught it with the force before it did.
She slowly turned around to face him, shame plastered across her features.
Half of his shirt was now damp as he just stared at her, eyes wide in surprise, one hand in the air controlling the mug. "There seems to be something wrong with the gravity between us." He said pleasantly.
The girl brought a hand up to her mouth, completely oblivious to his comment, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "I am so sorry." She said trying to keep her eyes from darting down to his abdomen where the shirt now clung to his toned stomach.
"Oh don't worry my Lady, it'll dry." He gave her a small smile as he settled the now empty mug back down on the table. "I do agree about the fresh air though." He stepped back a little. "That tea was quite hot." He informed her as he nonchalantly lifted his shirt to inspect his skin.
Fawnrielle froze for a second, staring again, was he doing this on purpose?
She bit her lip, trying to focus. "Did it burn you?!" She asked worriedly.
Anakin frowned as he ran his fingers over the area. He winced in pain, sucking the air through his teeth.
Now more worried and embarrassed than ever, she promptly leaned forward to examine him. "Anakin! I'm-"
"Gotcha!" The boy suddenly exclaimed as he flicked her nose upwards with his finger. "I'm only toying with you." He smirked at her proudly. "Doesn't hurt one bit."
The girl stepped back instantly as she looked up at him in frustration. She lightly slapped him across the stomach where his skin was still exposed. "You are terrible! I was worried! I thought I boiled you alive!" She whined.
Anakin hunched over from her slap as he laughed.
He watched her as she folded her arms across her chest, waiting for him to be done.
He pouted back at her "Aww, please don't be mad at me." He begged before offering her his elbow to take. "Let's go for a walk now, shall we?"
She rolled her eyes at him before wrapping her hand around his arm. "What about the mess?" She asked.
"Oh, R2 will take care of it, right buddy?" The boy replied as he grabbed his cloak from a seat nearby.
The small robot chirped in disapproval like a teenager groaning at the idea of doing a chore.
"I've never seen an astromech with such personality." She commented, looking back at R2 getting to work as the pair started to make their way to the back of the ship.
"He is one of a kind indeed, I trust him with my life as well." He told the girl.
She fell quiet for a moment as a look of concern washed over her features.
Anakin read her face for a minute before speaking up just as they reached the door. "Don't worry about your droid, I'll get working on him as soon as possible." He gave her a smile.
She reciprocated it, nodding in appreciation.
The door before them hissed as it slowly lowered down. The cool air entered the ship brushing their faces as they walked down the ramp.
Stepping down onto the soft grass, the boy retrieved his arm to put on his cloak. "Where to?" He asked the girl.
Walking forward into the night, Fawnrielle shrugged before turning back to look at him.
The moons were shining brightly over the meadow, basking everything in shades of blue.
"Whichever way doesn't matter, but I am not going back to the forrest." She warned.
Anakin chuckled at that, approaching her as they walked out from underneath the shadow of the ship. "And why is that?" He questioned.
"The woods are scary." She shivered, grimacing.
"I would protect you, of course." The Jedi apprentice simply answered, smiling at her.
She rolled her eyes at him playfully. "Of course you would."
The boy took offence at that, stopping her by gently grabbing her elbow. "Whatever do you mean by that?" He asked, brows furrowed.
She let out a small laugh, endeared by his concern. "Oh Anakin I'm only jesting."
"Are you sure?" He prompted again, raising a questioning eyebrow at her.
She paused, calming her emotions as she looked into his blue eyes. "Yes" She answered sincerely.
The boy's happy expression quickly returned as they both resumed their aimless walk.
They walked in silence for a while enjoying the peacefulness of the night.
Peace, that was something Anakin rarely got. Between the constant buzzing of coruscant, traveling on battleships or fighting the enemy, he rarely got a moment of quietness. Being a Jedi was absolutely everything he had dreamt of, don't get him wrong, he absolutely loved the constant action… but also enjoyed these rare moments just as much.
Whilst Anakin looked at the stars above, lost in thought, Fawnrielle looked at the grass bellow, running her fingers along the long herbs and flowers.
She had always loved to tend to the gardens at home. The proof was in the botanical paradise that outstretched from behind the castle. Her grandfather had tended to it before her and it was hers now. She loved to spend her days in there, reading, making sure all the different flowers and plants were happy. She had even managed to grow some of the rarest flowers from the galaxy. She sighed as she realized most of it would most certainly all been walked over and destroyed when she would come back.
She plucked one of the many bell shaped indigo flowers that were growing all over the meadow. "You know." She spoke up as Anakin turned to look at her. "I think you would look most dashing-" Their walk came to halt again as she reached up to his face. The boy watched carefully as she placed the stem of purple flowers gently above his right ear. "Like this." She smirked at him in satisfaction. "Compliments the braid." She pointed to the small lock of hair that was trailing from behind his left ear and onto his shoulder.
He gave her an amused look, bitting his lip as he stared down at her.
The moonlight was hitting her pale skin making it almost glow in the darkness. His eyes trailed from her collarbones, up her neck to her lips.
"Are you mocking me?" He squinted at her, finally meeting her eyes.
By now she was smiling wide. "Oh I would never tease a mighty Jedi knight!" She exclaimed with a sarcastically horrified look.
He squinted furthermore, a grin slowly forming on his lips as a thought crossed his mind. "And I would never do this to a Lady." He announced as he quickly brought both hands up to her face, reaching for her hair.
He rubbed his hands wildly through her vibrantly coloured mane, messing it up as she let out a surprised shout.
She fought his hands off her as he roared with laughter.
She stood there, infuriated as the young man pointed a finger at her face, hunched over in laughter.
He didn't think it would work this well. "You.. look… like an electrified Wookiee!" He said between coughs of giggles.
She gasped. "How dare you!" She slapped him across the arm.
He kept laughing as he took as step back, holding up his arms in defence. "You're definitely not as strong as one though."
"Oh yeah?" The girl taunted. "Why are you stepping back then?" She reached forward slapping him again, an evil grin on her face.
"Woah woah woah." He couldn't contain his laughter as he blocked her ongoing assaults, still walking backwards, away from her. "You're deranged…"
"Come on Jedi!" She shouted, ignoring his comment. "Fight me like a man!" She lunged at him to push him.
He easily dodged her attack, jumping backwards.
His eyes widened as he saw the girl now charging at him.
He quickly spun around and sprinted through the tall grass away from her.
She chased him as he taunted her, only dodging her at the last minute.
"I will catch you I swear!" She yelled, while Anakin was having a grand old time.
This was way more fun than getting chased by droids or bounty hunters. It was like playing hide and seek with a kitten.
He paused in front of her. "Alright catch me then." He provoked her.
Just as the girl moved forward, he darted across the field.
Fawnrielle tried to pursue him as fast as she could, but quickly lost him after a minute.
"Come back!" She shouted as she panted, her breath forming small clouds of fog as it came into contact with the cold night air. "I'll be nice I promise!" She sing sang playfully.
She waited for a moment in her spot, squinting her eyes as she searched through the darkness. When she couldn't see the Jedi's figure in the distance anymore, her smile faded as her heart started racing.
"Anakin?!" She took a few more hesitant step forward. "Anakin?! Where are you?!" She continued walking, not sure if she should keep forward, stay in place or walk back to the ship.
She was halfway between the cruiser and the edge of the forrest.
He wouldn't have gone into the woods, right?
He knew she didn't want to go back there, joke or not.
She stood there for a few minutes more, looking around, calling his name out.
Her breath quickened as worry washed over her.
What if he needs help?
No, nonsense, he's a jedi, he can handle himself surely.
She swallowed thickly, feeling suddenly dizzy. She watched as the tree line started swaying in the distance.
"Anakin!" She yelled frantically. "Anakin this isn't funny!" She took a step back, feeling the air thicken in her lungs.
She stared at the flowers around her. There she was again, in the garden. Unable to move. Unable to help. Unable to do anything.
She blinked rapidly, losing balance. Everything spun around her. "Anakin!" She was now crying his name out.
Maybe this was just another dream, it sure felt like it.
She tried to wake up, but couldn't.
She fell down in the grass, clutching her knees to her chest, trying her best to breathe as she felt her chest shrinking on itself.
The darkness of the night engulfed her as her vision suddenly blurred with tears. She felt the cold wind hitting bitting at her back.
She stayed there, unable to move, for what felt like an eternity, until a hand touched her shoulder.
She jumped, almost rolling out of the way in fright.
"My Lady, are you alright?" Anakin asked softly as he kneeled down next to her.
She looked up at him, eyes wide. She blinked, then again. It took her a solid moment to recognize the boy through the darkness and the tears.
"I- I don't know what happened.. I- One minute- one minute I was fine and.. then I couldn't see you. And then…" Fawnrielle stuttered, trying to make sense of what had just happened as she wiped the tears away from her cheeks.
"Hey hey, it's okay now." He shushed her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing to comfort her.
She relaxed into his side as she tried to bring her breathing back to normal.
She slowly came to understand now what her dreams meant. She was just a coward. Faced with adversity, her whole systems would just shut down. She was helpless. She couldn't even save her herself, let alone her loved ones. This is what this was all about. But worse now, because she knew it was the truth. Her body had reacted that way, because it knew it was utterly useless.
She was never the brave kind, that was a fact. She was never the one to squash the bug or jump in the water first, she knew that. But she had hoped that at least she could be brave when it truly mattered? She felt as if the whole world had shifted now. Everything was a threat that she couldn't face. She thought about all the things she would probably be too scared of doing even if it was a life or death situation. Now it was worse. Not only did doing nothing meant failing, but doing something would fail as well. That was the problem. What would she have done, back then? Run to the house? Fight off the attackers? She was just as strong as a twig…And then there was Anakin, a fearless Jedi who jumped out of moving speeders…
Looking down at her, the boy raised his other hand to try and brush her hair back into place after having messed it up earlier.
The girl scoffed between two sniffles. "I must look absolutely ravishing." She said as she raised her hands to brush her hair as well.
The young Jedi leaned backwards to get a better look at her.
He pursed his lips, squinting in thought as he scrutinized her for a moment.
When he was finally done making up his mind, he turned her shoulders so she would face him. Now kneeling in front of one another he tilted her chin upwards.
Just as Fawnrielle had finally calmed her beating heart from the previous events, the Jedi was now making it thunder again in her chest as he touched her.
Leaning slightly forward, Anakin gently brushed back the hair that was falling into her face behind her ear before chasing the wetness away from her cheeks with his thumb.
He sat back to admire his work as he brought a hand to his chin, reflecting. "Mmm." He pondered, before his eyes widened in illumination.
He reached to the side and plucked a small flower from the ground. Leaning back in, he placed the flower gently through her hair, just as she had done to him earlier.
"Here, now you look most dashing." He whispered back to her as his blue eyes locked with her brown ones.
The girl blinked rapidly, forgetting to breathe for a moment as he looked at her. There was just something in the way he stared at her, the slight scowl on his brow, his blue eyes peering right through her. Every time he laid them on her, she felt them warming her skin like the sizzling touch of a lightsaber. And his lips,
fuck, his lips.
Hypnotized by him, she felt his slender fingers run through her hair as he ever so slowly lowered his hand from her face. She felt shivers crawl up her spine as it came to rest on her upper arm. She could feel it's warmth through her clothing.
She watched as his eyes quickly darted down to her mouth then back to her eyes.
His thick brows furrowed as he swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down his throat.
He found himself fighting with his own thoughts and desires again for the billionth time since meeting her. The temptation had never been greater. He thought it had been hard to control himself with Padmé… That only seemed like a silly crush now. No this was much worse. Padmé had never even let him get even remotely close like that. In that moment he could almost count the freckles that dusted Fawnrielle's cheeks. Illuminated by the night sky he could see every subtle colour variation in her irises, could see the light bouncing off her Cupid's bow, the glossiness of her lips. One kiss couldn't hurt right? Just one? It wasn't giving in so much as just satisfying his curiosity right?
The girl starred at his lips just as he did hers as they parted slightly. She realized only then just how much closer he had leaned in as she felt his breath on her face.
They both froze there, suddenly realizing that if none of them stopped what was going to happen. It washed over them like a cold shower in the morning.
But both didn't dare move for a moment, almost daring one another: you go first.
Anakin closed his eyes forcefully before throwing his head back to look up at the sky.
"The stars are absolutely gorgeous here aren't they?" He spoke up, shattering the bubble that had enveloped them for a minute.
But the girl's eyes stayed glued to his lips. "Uh?-oh- yes. Yes they are." She stuttered.
"There's so many lights on Coruscant, we can never see them like this." Anakin said as he looked back down at her, leaning slightly backwards. "Would you lay down with me and watch them for a while, my Lady?" He asked the girl softly.
She nodded shyly, finally peeling her eyes off him.
Both shuffled in the grass as they laid down side by side.
Once settled comfortably, Fawnrielle spoke up. "Anakin?" She called.
The boy turned his head towards her. "Mm?"
"You can call me by my name, you know." She added, turning to look at him as well.
Their arms were both rested against each other's, every part of their exposed skin tickled by the herbs beneath them.
"Oh, I would like to, but I'm afraid I'm technically not allowed." He told her.
"Oh." Fawnrielle simply said as she turned her head back to the sky only to turn it back towards the boy again. "Well, no one has to know…" She gave him a small tentative smile.
He smiled back. "Mm.. I suppose you're right."
They stared at each other for a moment again, both their faces illuminated by the three moons floating above them.
Anakin's finger brushed the back of her hand as he looked back up at the night sky.
"So… Tell me about this world, your world." He asked as he lifted his free hand to place it underneath his head.
"Mmm. Well, it's quite a small planet. Much smaller than Coruscant. It was unoccupied for a really long time even after being discovered. Only maybe 300 years ago, Coruscant started exploiting the resources on it. My ancestors immigrated from there when they started colonizing it. It's much retained it's very wild and rural aspect. There's not much that's interesting here besides the minerals, really. There's not much to do either, I was brought up so that I could one day take over the trade." She explained. "What about you, do you remember your homeworld?"
Her thoughts drifted momentarily to her brother: he certainly didn't… but then again, already she could tell Anakin strayed far from the conventional route.
"I do actually.. I was discovered quite late by the Jedi order… Almost too late, in fact. I was 9 when I was found… It was totally by accident." He smiled recalling the memory. "This queen from Naboo crashed on our planet, on Tatooine that is. If you don't know Tatooine, well there's not much to know. It's just sand, sand, sand.. And criminals.. I was born a slave and my mother as well. Until this queen and her two Jedis, Master Qui-on Jinn and my now master, popped out of nowhere, quite literally… I helped them repair their ship so they could leave. That's when Master Jinn realized I was force sensitive." He sighed. "He was supposed to be the one to train me but died shortly after, it was his wish that Obi-Wan train me… And I guess the rest his history."
"History?" She scoffed in amusement. "Your life is so much more interesting than mine."
"Oh come on, I'm sure there's interesting parts about yours." He said as he propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at the girl.
She pursed her lips, shrugging. "No, not really no…Well…" She frowned. "I suppose it is now…" She sighed as she looked away.
"We'll find and we'll punish who did this, I promise." The young Jedi told her.
She looked up at him. "I thought Jedis didn't seek revenge?" She asked.
"Revenge? No. Justice? Yes." He explained.
Through the darkness, she could feel the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke.
She rested a hand against his chest. "Thank you, Anakin. Truly." She said almost in a whisper. "I fear you might be my only ally in this." She let her hand fall back.
"Of course not, Fawnrielle." Her name in his mouth sent a shiver down her neck. "There's my master- your brother, that lady from the village and the senate of course! It might not feel like much, but it is already more than nothing." He tried to convince her.
The girl sighed, closing her eyes momentarily. "That's all beautiful, Anakin, but these people are only my allies because of what I possess and I what I mean monetarily to them, not my person. If I died, it would only be harder to regain control over the resources on this planet, nobody would actually care."
The young man frowned at her in the darkness. "That's not true."
"It is… You're being naïve if you can't see it. I'm a pawn. Sure I'm a Lady but the people who had the friends and the connections were my parents, not me. I'm not important to anyone. I'm sure anyone on this planet, especially my workers would probably assassinate me the first chance they had if it meant taking control of the company…"
Skywalker laid back down on his back, slightly defeated by her words. He knew it to be true, but he refused for it to become the only truth. "I'm certain everything will fall into place. Once we get the bounty hunters under arrest, you will have your time. I'm sure you will make a splendid job with the company. I find you to be quite charming so I'm sure you won't have any problems making your place."
The girl stayed silent for a second. She admired his tenacity and bravery, something she wished she had. "I suppose you're right" She simply said.
"And besides, you already have a pretty powerful friend…" He added. "Me."
She gave him a small appreciative smile for his comment. "Of course."
The pair kept chatting for a while, talking about politics, their views of the world, Anakin's fantastic Jedi adventures and Fawnrielle's mundane slices of life. They laughed, argued, bantered, flirted, all whilst comfortably snuggled in their bed of grass. The cold wind had stopped and little insects everywhere around them were singing soothing lullabies. Anakin had wrapped his cloak around the both of them as they faced each other, engulfing them in a cozy little cocoon.
Surely enough their conversations became sloppy and nonsensical as fatigue settled over them. Comfortably cuddled together for warmth and comfort, soon, the pair found itself drifting gently to sleep, there, in the middle of the meadow…
