Author's Note: Hi everyone! I finally got there, free of my writer's block! Sorry that it took so long, but man, there were some things wrong with what I'd planned in terms of the story. Characters weren't acting like themselves and plot points were getting buried under confusing passages. It was not a fun thing to figure out, but now it is and I am happy with it.
I hope it was worth the wait and thank you for your support and patience!
Disclaimer: Star Wars is owned by Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd. The following work is not intended to add to, promote or distort this series. This is a work of fanfiction, and the author does not profit in posting. This is simply a writing exercise written for fun.
Padme was proud of herself. She watched with a slight grin tugging at her lips as Rush Clovis stomped out of her door. She'd put her foot down most sternly, having not only slapped the outspoken man, she threatened to never speak to him again if he ever attempted such antics.
First the kiss and then the invasion of privacy! Still convinced that she didn't hit him hard enough, Padme harrumphed and sat down on her sofa, replaying the scene in her mind.
She knew he wouldn't report her behavior to the authorities, that would injure his reputation as much as hers. But she also knew he wasn't quite done with her yet. That gleam of worry in his eyes said as much to her. But why is he worried? She wondered, her eyes drifting towards the door to her bedchamber...
She'd caught him rummaging through her room for something, though what that could be, she didn't understand. All of her important, confidential information was locked away in her office. What could he have hoped to gain in here? She wondered.
So, to be sure nothing was stolen or tampered with, Padme worked through both of her dressers slowly. She turned some things over, and yet found nothing.
So she stood upright and moved over to her next dresser. This one housed all her fancy slips, stockings and her military grade clothes. But, once again, everything was intact. So she brought a finger to her lips, tapping them nervously as she thought. And then her eyes turned towards the only two drawers she kept locked.
Anakin's drawers.
With a slightly trembling hand, she reached for her pocket where the key to them was kept. Only she and Anakin had access to these drawers. Oftentimes he would leave a change of clothes there for his overnights, and she would hold on to his dirty clothes, washing them herself one morning or another. It was one of the few tasks she took pride in as his clothes were some of the best kept in the Order, she'd noticed, and she knew it wasn't from his lack of roughhousing. Clothes were something she enjoyed and keeping his under the best of care was something she excelled at.
But those thoughts were pushed aside as she pulled the top drawer open. Inside, she found Anakin's brown and black overshirts and white undershirts, still folded as she'd last left them. Below them was his spare lightsaber, a blade that glowed orange and did not have the length of his regular weapon, but he kept it with her none-the-less. He'd even shown her how to use it, just to be sure she could should the time call for it.
He really is a good husband, Padme mused with a smile as she ran her hands along the blade's hilt, even if he has his flaws... he does his best.
She then began to close the drawer, but stopped when she noticed something out of place in one of the corners. There, she found a small, folded-up piece of linen.
Reaching for it, she began unfolding it, one square at a time until it became apparent what she'd found. It was a handkerchief etched with the initials RC. Rush Clovis! Padme realized, especially as she recognized the design on the handkerchief. It was layered with small stars and twisting ribbons of purple and green. The design was lovely, one of her favorites, as she'd made it herself back when they were together.
He knows! She gasped as she panicked and stepped back.
Unsure of what to do, Padme reached up to close the drawer, but didn't have the control over her trembling limbs to do so. What am I going to do?
She was dumbstruck a moment, figuring that Clovis intended to expose Anakin's affair to the order. It was known to many senators that Jedi who struggled with the code often were sent to another planet for seclusion and meditation. Anakin had yet to be sent, but the threat had been made several times. Though, if the fact that they were married ever got out, both of them knew he'd be expelled.
Then there was her career.
The other idea was that Rush intended to blackmail her to protect Anakin, which was why he'd been so cocky before. Which left her with no other option than to comply and be sweet to him.
So rather than waste any time and have one of her maids spot her dismay, Padme dashed into her walk-in closet and grabbed her stash of her dark shifts and clothes. Then she began ripping all of Anakin's stuff from the drawer, including his lightsaber, which she deactivated by removing its focusing crystal. She quickly set her own things up to look just like his.
It wasn't much, but it might fool a few investigators.
Already she was forming a plausible explanation in her mind as she buried Anakin's clothes into the safe in her closet, on top of all her spare cash and a passport. Lastly, she put the golden focusing crystal in her pocket, noticing that the gleam inside of it was strangely brighter than usual.
By the time Sabe had entered her room, Padme was completely collected.
Rush Clovis sighed as he meandered towards the starskiff that was to take him back to Scipio for the investigation. He knew it would be around a month before he could see Padme again and that worried him. It seemed his tipster had been accurate.
Nearly three days ago, he'd been sent an anonymous collection of data that detailed a list of peculiar observations made on the senator. She'd been seen in the late hours with an unexpected guest, one Anakin Skywalker. When Rush saw the profile, he near panicked. He could live with the idea of Padme loving another. In fact, he hoped that for her, he really did... Though he hoped to reclaim her heart quite a bit more.
But he could not stomach the idea of her risking her career over some overzealous Jedi.
Padme was admirable, brilliant and pure. She made all decisions with a pristine sense of duty that he could only aspire for... and he often failed to meet her caliber when he tried. Miserably, he realized with chagrin.
Many people still associated him with his horrific deeds turning against the Republic, and he couldn't blame them, but he also knew that it was pointless to hold him accountable for those things the rest of his life... not when he could do some good. Or, at least he hoped that was the case.
That was why he was glad Padme was to assist him with these investigations. He could still do some good by warding her away from that Skywalker guy. Even if his exploits on Scipio were a total bust, if he could protect her career by getting her away from that man, he'd done one good thing for the galaxy. Of that he was certain.
That was why he'd left his handkerchief in her drawer. Though he hated the thought of it, he was desperate to scare her away from Skywalker. Desperate to get her to start thinking about what this could mean for her future.
Something deep inside told him that she was the galaxy's true salvation.
He hoped and prayed that his bold move would be enough to ready her for the impeding discussion he wanted to have with her. And it saddened him to have to wait nearly a month to have it.
So, with a deep sigh, he sat down in his seat between two investigating clones and one senatorial assistant from Rodia. Good luck, Padme. He wished as they departed into space.
Luke and Leia landed on Naboo very safely with Luke at the controls. Jar-Jar merely smirked as he appraised Luke's ability, comparing him to his father as though the man weren't an evil monster. And that was refreshing, despite knowing what would become of him.
The three of them disembarked happily, wide smiles on all of their faces. "Thank you Uncle." Luke reached out to shake the Gungun's hand, but Jar-Jar would hear nothing of it, choosing to embrace the man warmly before capturing his sister up in his arms too. The two laughed along with their newly found 'uncle' as he wished them well before meeting up with the chief of security for the palace. The twins watched the two men a moment and proceeded to their first destination: the Lake Country.
Jar-Jar had informed them that Padme's family had owned a large estate out that direction, and that she personally had her own private section that she frequented whenever she returned home. Knowing that this would be a very likely place to attack her, the twins resolved to set up their own surveillance and connections in the area.
Thanks to their discussions with Jar-Jar, Luke and Leia had acquired one of the Gungun's swoopbikes, which allowed them to traverse the space much faster than by public transportation. With their satchels strapped to the sides of the bike, Leia drove while Luke napped on her back, having still been exhausted from his tenure on the floor in their supposed mother's apartment. It never ceased to amaze her how easily Luke tapped into their bond, even while sleeping, he unconsciously leaned into each turn as Leia made them, making the drive as smooth as if he were awake. Part of her wondered if she was as attuned.
Leaving the outskirts of Theed took no time at all as city melted away to a fortified wall and then to endless fields and forests. The planet was beautiful, and Leia wished her brother could witness all of it, though she figured he'd probably see it all later on their way back. Following Jar-Jar's instructions, the young warrioress steered the swoop bike into a small valley, taking all the turns at well beyond the speed limit. 200 clicks and hour was hardly an issue for her. I am a Skywalker, afterall. She smirked proudly as she zipped past yet another lollygagging speeder on the dirt road.
The humans inside of that ride had a few things to say to her as she passed, not that she cared.
With a devilish grin on her face, Leia ripped through the next corner easily, finally spotting the Lake Country. Jar-Jar had told her it would talk about three hours to get there, but Leia could only smirk as she realized they'd only taken an hour.
Slowing her bike down, Leia scanned the horizon with her eyes and the Force to find the water speeder dock. There were several restrictions on the use of many high-powered vehicles over the lakes, as the upscale Nubians wanted to protect this precious resource and the creatures that lived there. She knew she'd be abandoning the swoopbike about now anyways, simply because she and her brother could not navigate this area on their own.
"Time to wake up sleepy-head." Leia called to her brother as she coasted the bike through the yellow reeds of Naboo's tall grass. "We're switching rides now."
Luke grumbled a minute before replying with "five more minutes mom..." This brought a chuckle to Leia's face as she parked the swoop next to the large, wooden building that sat upon the first of the many lakes.
Removing her helmet, as she never took safety lightly, Leia stopped to regard the area. Simply gorgeous. She decided with a faint smile. All around her were tall grasses lined by tall trees. Large creatures could be sighted grazing on the far plains as the burbling lakes and rivers reflected the sun's light gently into her eyes. The sounds of birds flying in the distance could be heard, even as swamp insects hummed away contentedly.
"What a sight." Her brother commented from behind her as he blinked his eyes awake, "I wonder if this is where we would have grown up."
Smiling widely, Leia nodded, "I'm sure it is... mother comes here all the time, remember?" Luke nodded, waiting a few more moments before breaking the spell of the lakes and standing up to collect his things. Leia followed shortly after.
The people of the area must have been wealthy, because both the inside and the outside of the water speeder dock and rental service were positively beautiful. Narrow, bending and twisting wood decorated almost every aspect of the shop, and the people inside were well clothed and, perhaps, a bit too well fed.
Luke and Leia smiled at the middle-aged woman running the desk, her gray and blond hair twisted into an intricate bun. But she, in taking in their Jedi inspired garb, had difficulty smiling back.
"How may I help you?" She started with a slight nervousness in her voice, "Masters Jedi?"
Luke turned to Leia for a moment before his sister answered for them, far better at playing any sort of talking game than her brother. "We were hoping to book a ride out to this address." She informed the woman as she placed a DataPad that Jar-Jar had given her during their space flight on the desk. The woman collected the small note-keeper into her hands and read the Gungun's note quickly.
"This is the Naberrie Family residence." The clearly very tired lady responded, "I'm not authorized to allow any onto that isle without her prior permission."
Leia nodded, understanding, "We have Senator Amidala's permission. We're two of her bodyguards at the moment." The woman suddenly dropped the DataPad down low and gawked at her.
"Jedi guards again!" She nearly cried out, "Tell me! What will it take to get Nute Gunray away from our beloved former Queen?! There were already security officials here to check her home out earlier this week. Now Jedi!" Luke suddenly addressed something she'd said that he didn't like.
"Who were these officials?" He inquired carefully, pouring his good intentions into the Force.
The woman obeyed his suggestion, "They were... a couple of servicemen. Two human males and a Togruta female... They'd come to update the security at the residence." Luke swallowed, relieved that their enemies hadn't intruded upon their mother's home, but not liking that someone had regardless.
You feel that, don't you? Luke checked with Leia, who nodded slowly.
Someone's up to frame our mother for something. Leia replied, The question is what.
Leaning forward and pouring even more good emotions into the Force, Leia smiled and asked of her, "Would you have security footage of these three? They might be the ones we are looking for."
The woman suddenly laughed, Sarla was her name, "I doubt it... I know those three well and they work in all the buildings. Everything's right as rain with them." Luke and Leia both nodded at her, realizing that she was right in her assumption, but not willing to relent.
"Then you wont mind giving us their image, simply so that we can officially remove them from our list of suspects." Luke interceded, regaining his control over the woman.
She smiled at him warmly, her eyes glossed over strangely, "Absolutely."
While she turned about to collect the photo, Luke and Leia sighed. They'd found their mother, most probably. Now guarding her was proving to be a real challenge. I'm starting to understand father's over-protectiveness of her. Luke admitted. Leia merely nodded.
When Sarla returned with the data, Leia inputted the image into her DataPad and thanked the woman graciously. The image was exactly as she said, three unsuspecting maintenance workers doing their job. Luke and Leia turned to one another, still not liking this. Something about them did not seem right. Soon after, they were booking their speeder towards their mother's residence.
Anakin sighed as his ship landed over Mandalore. In a matter of moments, he would be opening the Twilight's hatch and allowing his Padawan inside. They had very little time to waste before the Darklighters' trail would dissipate and he really wanted to prove he was an only child.
The hyperspace jump from Mandalore to the Naboo would last only about seven hours, but it was still long enough to give the Darklighters an even greater lead, and he would not stand for that.
Clearly Ahsoka could sense his anxiousness as she awaited his arrival beside Duchess Satine Kryze and her nephew Korky. Crossing her arms over her chest, the young Togruta stepped forward nervously as Anakin exited his restoration project. And her sudden fear brought his compassion back from the depths of hyperspace.
"Hello Snips." Anakin greeted warmly, surprising Ahsoka back into her usual self, "I hear you've done quite an excellent job here."
Smiling widely, Ahsoka informed him, "Only thanks to your teachings, master." That compliment widened Anakin's grin just a bit more, "I hear we have a new mission... one that is extremely confidential." Her master nodded, his eyes turning towards the approaching monarch.
This was not their first meeting, but Anakin felt he knew the Duchess well enough not to have to be too formal. She was a very regal woman, decorated well at all times, despite the fact that her light blond hair sometimes became very unruly. She had bright blue eyes that showed her shrewdness in the political arena, and a narrow face that showcased all her expressions clearly. She was very beautiful, kind and respected, and loved deeply by none other than his former master Obi-Wan.
But only he really knew about that.
"We must thank you for loaning us your Padawan, Master Jedi." She began cordially, "Ahsoka's services have done Mandalore well..." She then turned back to Ahsoka with a pure-hearted smile, "We welcome your return, Padawan Tano."
Korky then stepped forward, "And more lessons too... I feel you are a great teacher." The assemblage of students beside him all nodded and grunted in agreement.
And Ahsoka smiled widely at them, "Thank you all." She said with Jedi poise that would make Master Windu jealous. And then she turned back towards Anakin. "I'm ready when you are, Master."
And Anakin smiled at her, uncrossing his arms before turning back towards the duchess, "Duchess." He nodded respectfully, to which she nodded back.
"May the Force be with you, Master Skywalker." She replied gracefully.
It took hardly a minute on the ship for Ahsoka's perfect manners to fade away. As soon as the door closed, she promptly changed her stride to that of a younger learner and bounced beside her master eagerly, "So... what is our mission?" She wanted to know.
Anakin sighed and shook his head, "That sure didn't last long." He teased her, making the girl puff her face out in frustration. They walked a little ways farther, entering the cockpit as they did. Artoo waited for them eagerly, bleeping and blooping away in binary as they sat down.
"Well..." Ahsoka pressed as Anakin keyed in their launch codes. He still chose to ignore her out of sheer brotherly love. And she couldn't stand it much more.
"We are tracking down two unknown suspects." Anakin finally told her as Mandalore began melting away into the background of the ship.
"Unknown suspects how?" Ahsoka wanted to know, staring at him slyly as she did.
Anakin swallowed his frustration, "Well, for starters... they are operating on two very vague aliases... their original identities have yet to be determined..."
The young Togruta waited a while before she pressed, "And?"
"And..." Anakin tried to pull himself together, not liking sharing information that felt like a lie, "Master Yoda seems to think that one of them is my brother."Silence... silence was all he heard.
As they cleared Mandalore's farthest moon, Anakin glanced over towards Ahsoka, noting the shocked look on her face. Her jaw was hanging open as she attempted to collect words. "You're brother?" She fathomed with an astonished voice, "Do you even have a brother?"
Chuckling to himself, Anakin nodded, "A stepbrother and nothing more... I've no living blood relatives-"
"-That you know of." Ahsoka cut him off as she usually did. Though this irritated Anakin, he shrugged it off and continued to set the computer for hyperspace.
As the hyperdrive warmed up, Anakin corrected her, "He isn't my brother... I can tell." He then sighed and turned to Ahsoka seriously, "We just have to prove it." She noted his candor and nodded back to him.
"But what if he is your brother?"
Anakin paused, trying to find an answer inside himself, but every cell in his body kept insisting that wasn't the case. "He isn't." Was all he could say. As they made the jump into hyperspace, Artoo suddenly beeped something out at the two of them.
Ahsoka had been trying to learn binary so she could talk to the droid more efficiently, but even she had to inquire, "Come again?"
Anakin, however, was seated in the pilot's seat with a look of sheer dumbfoundment on his face, "No, Artoo, he is definitely not my son." Ahsoka sniggered when she heard that, missing Artoo's reply, "What do you mean, how do I know? He's older than me by, I dunno, seven years." Again Artoo responded to Anakin's incredulity with a series of beeps and whistles. And Anakin could only laugh.
"Yes, Artoo, usually the parent has to precede the offspring."
As Ahsoka fought with her chuckles some more beside her equivocally amused master, Artoo continued to state his case. "Well," Ahsoka replied back, "We all know that Threepio tends to make mistakes." Anakin nodded in agreement.
"Guess I'll have to tune him up when we get back." He added with a laugh, "Jason Darklighter... my son... how absurd!" There was a pause before Artoo added more of his opinion, to which both Jedi could not help but laugh out loud at, "No way Artoo!" Anakin replied as he fought off his chorlte, "There isn't a possibility in a long series of possibilities that Jaina Darklighter is my daughter... they're married."
Artoo continued to attempt at being helpful while arguing with his master, Ahsoka seated nearby watching the stars fly by as she laughed on at this unusual debate. "Wow, Skyguy," She found the strength to comment, "You're some bang up father... must have screwed that one up the first day." Anakin rolled his eyes.
And, the ever helpful Artoo added his take on the situation. His bleeps and bloops were more reserved, as if sensing, somehow, that he was in rough territory. "Ah..." Anakin teased him, "So they are in disguise... imagine that." Ahsoka continued to chuckle into her hand, trying hard not to insult the reliable droid.
But Artoo would not relent to his master's sarcasm, nor the Padawan's laughter, and he asserted his opinion in his most final intonations. And his normally obedient master replied in kind, "Artoo, it is physically impossible for a man like myself to have two, fully grown, adult kids... that happen to be older than me." That final note had Ahsoka breaking down in laughter while her master continued to argue with the droid, "Time travel is impossible Artoo, you know that." The bleeps and bloops returned, "NO, I am not having a mathematical debate with you about time travel."
More beeps and squeals as Artoo's voice waned. "And take that into consideration!" Anakin shot back at the droid, starting to grow tired of his incessant persistence, "You're reliable source is Threepio... he has a flawed subroutine that I wrote into him when I was eleven titled 'Anakin is awesome'... why do you think he has so many occasional errors in association judgment? That's probably what happened."
This time, Artoo relented, but only a little. He trusted his friend Threepio more than he let on.
"Fine!" Anakin agreed to the droid's proposal, "If you're right, I'll by you that new soldering arm you've wanted so badly..." again the droid added in more requirements, "And extra RAM." Ahsoka could only chuckle at the sight of them arguing, before she added.
"Aren't Jedi forbidden to have kids." Anakin deflated a bit in hearing that.
He shook his head and replied with an exasperated, "Please don't start Snips."
Even as she chuckled along side him, Anakin found his mind going. After Artoo's outrageous suggestion, he found himself wondering if it was so impossible to count Jacen Darklighter as his brother. It would make more sense than son, at least, he laughed to himself.
Zion had watched anxiously as his mother boarded the pitiful little ship that had nearly pulverized itself upon entering the atmosphere. He was astounded as he watched the young Darth Vader exit the ship with that familiar gait, yet act so warmly towards his beloved mother. His expression was one of pride, something Zion had always kept to himself about his family. There was always something to be proud of... even his father was a great man.
Father, he mused to himself, wondering if it was almost more important he look after him. Zion knew that Anakin Skywalker would keep his mother safe, he had no doubts in his mind about that. But his father was another person to worry about.
In terms of stature, he wasn't all that important right now. But that didn't mean Zion would not want to watch over him. He was only human, not Jedi, and he was prone to make mistakes as much as the next unguided soul. And he was likely to become a target as things progressed in this war. Especially of that Demantis character that was so adamant to cause trouble. Zion had already wagered that everyone breathing in this time was a probable casualty, regardless of their significance, affiliation or location.
Taking a deep breath as he stared at his mother's petite form disappearing into the hold of the small ship, Zion steeled himself for the most important decision of his life. Mother or father? He wondered, Now I'm starting to feel like those damned Skywalkers.
But the tenderness of Skywalker could not escape him. Had the world been ideal, would he have been under Luke's instruction? It only seemed just. The idea even brought a smile to his face.
Yet, that smile was forced to fade as a dark shadow slid past his peripherals. Suddenly, he was very aware of a very cold presence in the Force.
The swishing of the waters was, perhaps, the most relaxing part of their journey. It comforted Luke exponentially as he napped inside the gondola speeder, allowing his sister to enjoy the view while he rested. As far as he could tell, she seemed content in surveying the slowly changing landscape, dreaming of what it would have been like to grow up here.
And through her eyes, this area was truly magical. She could see herself hiking and playing all over the place with her brother, her mother never far... and maybe even her father. A smile grew on her face as she spotted some rapids in the distance, knowing, somehow, in her heart of hearts that those rapids would have been a topic of dissension between her parents. Or perhaps both would agree on forbidding them and Luke and Leia would sneak off one day to prove to their parents that they were quite capable of navigating them. We would have been trouble makers. She was certain.
Luke smirked, would have been?
"We are almost here, Mrs. Darklighter," Their heavily tanned gondola driver informed her as steered the speeder to the left. He scowled a moment beneath his sweaty beard and reached for his handkerchief to wipe more perspiration away. "Perhaps you should wake Mr. Darklighter."
Leia smiled and nodded, "Thank you, sir." She replied, having already forgotten his name. He'd introduced himself once when they'd first boarded in the town that was across the way from Varykino Island, but Leia had become so entranced by her experiences that few other things remained in her mind. He'd been recommended as Amidala's choice driver by their original guide down the lakes. Apparently he was one of few locals with access to the large estate.
The driver smiled back at her and nodded, "My pleasure, Mrs. Darklighter..." He then nodded as they reached the large estate belonging to the Naberrie Family. "If there is anything more I can do for you, please," he pulled out a card, "Just give me a ring."
Leia took the card with a grin, noticing her brother was already stirring to life. She knew he was a light sleeper, but she as really starting to worry about him. "We will."
When it became time to disembark, Leia led the way while Luke carried both their packs. The driver had made a comment about his lacking a gentleman's approach, and Luke had worried that he'd blow their cover if he didn't react. So, they hopped onto land and climbed the stone steps towards the main house on the island, hoping to discern where was most frequented by their mother.
The estate was clearly very private, as there was no reception desk here, nor any other houses. Those who came to this particular isle were obviously in search for solitude. The walls themselves were very warm, and the plants made the many open spaces feel more isolated and inviting. What they were really looking for were not the accommodations, but rather the sensation that belonged to their mother in the Force.
This place was expensive, especially for Luke, who still viewed luxury through a peasant's eye. In many ways, he was overwhelmed by the luxuries his sister had once taken for granted on Alderaan. She was actually amused by how much he fought to understand what he'd been deprived of as a child and was surprised when he appeared relieved not to have any of this in his history.
"Well..." Luke commented dryly as he realized he needed a bit more oomph in the Force, "I guess its a good thing no one can feel our presence out this far." Leia chuckled as she reached out with her instincts, following her far better tracker of a brother as they meandered towards the farthest end of the villa. And, suddenly, he stumbled.
And Luke never stumbled.
Leia immediately launched forward, resting a worried hand on her brother's shoulder, "Are you all right?" He shrugged and shook his head, clearly catching his breath.
"I'm fine..." he told her, trudging onwards with their packs. Leia watched him a moment, then shrugged herself before taking off after him. Swiftly, she stole her pack and stared him down. But in staring, she noticed something particularly disturbing.
"What?" He finally pressed, clearly getting a little irritated in his exhaustion.
At first she didn't reply, and when she did, she stuttered, "You... you look older... like you're in your fifties or something." But, even as she gawked in horror at her brother's astounded expression, Leia felt a bit of fire well up in her chest, "You're presence almost disappeared from me and you dare ask me 'what?'"
Luke rolled his eyes, trying to not let on that Leia was starting to age too, with new lines appearing on her face, "It didn't disappear. It retracted."
Leia's eyes went wide as she heard that, processing all the possible reasons her brother's aura would pull inward, "You're still hurt? And you've been pushing yourself at level?" Luke sighed, stopping to turn and face his sister with a pained expression, "You... don't do that! Obviously somethings wrong and your body is starting to react to it." She ordered him with her fear in her eyes.
"I'm fine." Luke assured her, staring at her with his icy blue eyes intent.
Leia sighed and marched on after her escaping brother, practically stomping with each step. "You're not fine! You're body is trying to heal itself... and you're pushing the envelope." Choosing to ignore her, Luke rounded the corner at the end of the Villa and spotted the place he'd been looking for: their mother's home.
And his jaw dropped at the view she had.
Unlike the patios, her's faced directly into the beautiful lake. In the distance an island could be seen, and it appeared that the lake was calm enough, one could even swim to it. The home itself was of classic Nubian design, with intricate patterns carved into a light brown stone and windows that had iron cross-beams painting pictures. There were several doors out and most of them were window like. And the home was fortunate to have enough outdoor seating for even Leia to host a banquet.
"This place is beautiful." His sister commented, forgetting her argument with her brother. Luke nodded beside her, dropping his pack as he surveyed this outdoor space. And as he did... he spotted what was likely the first of many pinpoint cameras. His eyes almost missed it hidden inside a potted plant. Carefully, he reached for it and pulled it free of the soil.
It was small, like a needle with a tiny little glass orb a the end. He turned to Leia to present his discovery. She paled at the sight of it.
"We have work to do." He told his sister.
Author's Note Part II: Yaaay! Clovis is gone for a good while! And I mean it! Though I must ask what you all thought of his character change? He struck me as a very fallible human being, and I felt I wasn't conveying that so well before. Either way, I'm glad to be free of his drama for a while to focus on more Skywalker stuff... and next chapter should be very heartwarming for those of you who enjoy that stuff!
Rest assured, those of you who really want to see him gone... he's gone for a long while!
Also, this chapter has literally one of my most favorite scenes thus far! I bet you can guess which one too. I wrote it a while ago, trying to come up with something that would make the accusation that Luke is Anakin's brother more plausible to him and I think it was hilariously successful. If something seems outrageous to someone, you only have to point out that it isn't the craziest idea out there and leave it to Artoo to innocently do that. I hope that section had you all laughing out loud!
I must admit that getting this to you all was very difficult, as my computer crashed and I almost lost everything... It seems I have a lot of bad luck right now, so we'll see if I have any more delays in my posting. I sure hope not, as I am super excited to get through to the first episode of the clone wars series I'd planned to cover in this story (that is in actual order).
Again, thank you for your kind words and support during this difficult stage of story writing. I certainly hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hearing your reactions to it.
Till the next time!