Note: Italics is thoughts, unless specified otherwise i.e flashbacks or visions. / is timeskip
Warning: Mentions of PTSD and panic attacks
ALEXA'S POV
Force knows how many days had gone by.
She dragged her feet along the earthy ground. Her body felt heavy, like the weight of the world was resting on her shoulders and there was nothing she could do to get out from under it. And in some ways, it was.
An overwhelming emptiness in her heart lingered. A shear of nothingness that somehow takes over and grasps her soul tightly. Threatening to kill her. It was like she had a gaping hole in her heart, slowly causing her to bleed out. But still, she lives on. Treading through the never-ending forest.
Her eyes were red and sullen. Bags had long formed under her eyes, giving her a sickly look. They had run out of food days ago, or was it weeks? She had no idea; it could be years for all she knew.
She hadn't slept for what felt like weeks. But her drowsiness didn't stop her, didn't prevail. Though she had long lost the ability to differentiate whether she was asleep or awake. The two states both felt so real all the way down to the physical pain experience in them.
It had been ages since Alexa conversed with the company, though they didn't seem to take any notice. She had taken to actively avoiding them; well as much as she could.
She was always on guard, always waiting for the company to jump out at her, to turn on her and attack. After all, she had been friends with some of the clones that had turned against the Jedi Order, that had turned against her. No one could be trusted. It was like she was trapped in an endless state of nightmares and memory.
Alexa looked around the forest as she walked. It looked dead, dark and hopeless. The only sounds were the ones the company were making. Slowly, her sight became hazier and hazier as they ventured deeper into the cursed forest.
/
THIRD POV
"Air. I need air," Bofur gasped out, stumbling around as if drunk.
"My head, it's swimming. What's happening?" Oin asked as he leant against a tree for balance.
"Keep moving. Nori, why have we stopped?" Thorin asked, weaving through the company to him.
"The path... It's disappeared!" Nori muttered, standing on the edge of a cliff. At his words, Thorin looked from Nori to the path before him; well lack of path.
"Wha's going on?" Dwalin grunted, Nori's words passing over his ears. The enchanting aura of Mirkwood muddling his mind.
"We've lost the path!" Oin replied, updating him.
With every passing moment, the Dwarves steadily got louder and louder as they bickered about what to do between themselves. Their noise almost certainly alerting anyone or anything of their presence and whereabouts in the forest.
"Find it. All of you look. Look for the path!" Thorin commanded as he stood at the edge of the cliff, looking for the path. His tone breaking the Dwarves from their bickering, they all began searching for the Elven path.
/
Hours past as the company walked on. Cautious not to wander too far from one another as they looked for the path. Oin groaned he was getting too old for this.
"I don't remember this bit. None of its familiar," Balin said, leaning against a branch as he gathered his bearings.
"It's got to be here," Dori responded, walking around the corner from Balin.
"What hour is it?" Thorin asked, his face dark, brooding.
"I do naut know. I do naut even know wha' day it is," Dwalin replied, a scowl on his face.
"Is there no end to this accursed forest?!" Thorin groaned, his deep voice echoing around the company.
Whilst this was all happening, Bilbo had sat down. Much to the chagrin of Dwalin, who was glaring at the Hobbit from where he stood.
A white substance was on the tree beside Bilbo, covering it like a mesh. Curious, he reached out to touch it. Plucking it with his fingers, it shook. The motions creating a wave which went through all of its surrounding neighbours. He repeated the action several times, watching as the material wobbled. A sense of dread suddenly hit him, making him stop.
/
Rather stupidly, the company proceeded on through the darkening forest, following an invisible path. This went on for hours. The company trudged along, the fallen leaves crunching under their sturdy boots.
Alexa plodded behind at the back. Her hood was up, concealing her face and her caliginous eyes. She watched the Dwarf in front of her closely, though the Dwarf carried on, not knowing he was under scrutiny.
For the life of her, she couldn't even recall the name of the Dwarf. It was muddled, clouded and far from her reach; the forest had poisoned her mind and clouded her vision.
She scoured her brain for answers, though none came to her. Only questions. Endless questions. Where am I? What system am I on? Who are these Dwarves? Why am I here? WHERE IS THE JEDI ORDER?!
/
"Look. A tobacco pouch," Ori called, picking up the small bag.
"There's Dwarves in these woods," Dori continued, taking the pouch from his brother.
During this, Bilbo had taken note of their discussion and had watched, frowning as the scene unravelled. He had looked at Alexa, though as if sensing it – which she probably did - she had snapped her gaze at him, her eyes dark, hooded, suspicious. Unnerved, the Hobbit had quickly averted his gaze.
"Dwarves from the Blue Mountains, no less. This is exactly the same as mine," Bofur claimed, grabbing the bag from Dori.
"Because it is yours. Do you understand? We're going around in circles. We are lost!" Bilbo tells them, noticeably frustrated with the company around him.
"We are not lost. We keep heading east," Thorin argued,
"But which way is east? We've lost the sun," Oin piped up,
"I thought yer were an expert," Dwalin grunted, his words sparking an argument with the Dwarf.
"The sun. We have to find... the sun. Up there. We need to-" Bilbo says, clearly the only one left with a clear mind. Well, as clear as you could be in Mirkwood.
Bilbo's train of thought is cut off by the clamouring of Dwarves. All squabbling between each other, having a bone to pick. Having enough of the Dwarves, Bilbo takes ahold of the tree before him and begins climbing.
Incoherent whispering echoes around the company. Though only one hears it, as the rest are too busy bickering with one another. Durin blue eyes scan the forest around them as whispers fill his ears.
"What was that? Enough! Quiet! All of you!" Thorin yelled over the fighting. His deep baritone voice instantly making the company silent.
"We're being watched," Thorin continued, whispering the words.
— Time Skip: Back in time a few minutes —
ALEXA'S POV
The Dwarves quarrel at each other's throats around her. With hooded eyes she watched them. The only reason she had stuck with the group was because she didn't know how to get out of the forest. If she did, she would have ditched them long ago.
She sighed; she really needed to get back to Coruscant, to the war. But these Dwarves were too busy fighting amongst each other when they should be trying to find a way out of this cursed place. The sight of a brown cloak caught her attention. Turning away from the bickering Dwarves, she scans the forest.
"Allie, where are you?" a disembodied voice called.
"Allie?" the voice called again; a twig snapped not far away from where she was standing. Turning her head over in the direction of the snap, her breath got caught in her throat. It couldn't be?
"Ben?" she asked in an undertone, not believing her eyes. She watched as the cloaked figure walked between the trees, their back turned to her. But she knew it was him, she just knew it. She watched as he travelled deeper into the forest, before disappearing behind a tree.
"BEN!" She yelled, excitement coursing through her.
She rushed towards him, not caring that she had left the company behind. Jumping over a stray branch, she ran towards the tree she had seen him at. But he wasn't there. It was like he had disappeared into thin air. Twisting her head this way and that, she frantically searched the forest for him. But to no avail. Tears welled up in her eyes, a sense of gut-churning disgust pulsed through her body.
It was only then that the dwindling logical part of her brain registered that he had never been there, and was just a figment of her imagination. It was all her imagination. Everything. Turning around, she couldn't see the company, and worse she didn't recognize any of the trees that surrounded her.
For the life of her, she couldn't remember how she got to where she now stood. It was as if she had lost grips on where she was and was lost in a memory. Like her mind is not even where she actually, physically is. It felt so real. Like she had just woken up and doesn't know how she got to where she is now.
Calling out for the company, her voice comes out in a hoarse whisper. There's no way they would ever hear her. Everything felt so far away and yet so close. What was happening to her?
A child's laugh echoed around her as if taunting her. Shaking her head, she gyrates around, looking for the source. Nothing but darkness and decaying trees stared back. The laugh sounds again, but this time closer. Her eyes catch a glimpse of movement from the right, but as she turns towards it nothing is there.
Her breaths come in gasps, and she gets the feeling like she's about to blackout. Her heart hammers wildly inside her chest; her thoughts scatter and accelerate all at once.
The ground begins to spin, she squats down, trying to make everything slow down. An intense wave of sickness crawls up her throat, waiting to come out. She wants to call out to the company, tell them to come find her, but the company is too far away, it's too far away, too far away.
"You said you would protect me," a small voice says softly. Peering from her prone position, Alexa's foggy eyes stared towards the owner. A gasp leaving her lips as her eyes cleared. It couldn't be! But it was.
"Seren?" Alexa whispered, not quite believing her eyes.
The young girl hadn't changed a day. She was as beautiful as the last time she saw her; minus the gaping hole in her chest. Seren was wearing her standard younglings' outfit; a long dark brown robe with light brown trousers. Dangling around her neck, she wore a necklace that she had crafted herself. It was the symbol of the Jedi Order.
As a reflex, Alexa's fingers travelled down to the very same one around her neck. The cool metal pressed against her chest, as she grasped it through her tunic. She's not real
"You said you would protect me!" she repeated, her voice thick with emotion. Tears ran down her small blue face. Alexa broke at the sight, tears of her own trailed down her cheeks.
"I-I,"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?!" Serene cried as a blue light erupted from her chest. Causing the young Twi'lek to let out a blood curling scream.
"SERENE!" Alexa screamed, her voice cracking. Unable to do anything as she watched the light die in the girl's eyes. Before her limp body was discarded carelessly to the side.
"You could have saved her Alexa. But you didn't, because you're weak. You always were!" Anakin spat, releasing a crazed, manic laugh. His eyes burned a fierce sulphuric yellow, as he raised his lightsaber over his head. Still shaking from Serene's death, Alexa scuffled around trying to unhook her lightsaber from her utility belt.
"It could've been different if you joined me," he cackled, swinging the spitting blade down towards her head.
"Alexa look out!" She heard someone yell, their voice hazy in her ears. Her head snapped up; her eyes foggy as she looked where Anakin once stood. It wasn't real
"ALEXA!" the voice yelled, followed by grunts and war cries. Something black and hairy flashed before her eyes.
Not a second later a sharp pain erupted in her stomach, causing her to release her deactivated lightsaber, dropping it to the forest floor. Her body went limp, falling to the ground. Ignoring the shouts around her Alexa let the overwhelming call of sleep claim her. Her dwindling conscience only just registering a furry body before her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
AN: I can't believe I did this to ma girl. But, Order 66 was a very traumatic event for the Jedi who survived it. So, her reactions/experiences are only natural/expected.
Also, what did you lot think about the whole 'Alexa has Seren's necklace' thing. Did you like it? Or did it just fly over your head?
