Eternal Balance: Chapter 9

By The Al Bhed Slayer

A/N: OMG I am sooo sorry, but I've had lotsa writer block lately. Now, I'm back! Whoo hoo! Lol. Okay, here's comes the fluff! R'n'R!

Wandering rather aimlessly through the structure the next morning, Akaia kept walking, unsure of where she'd end up. She hadn't slept very well the night before; the thoughts of death and prophecies weighed her down considerably. Not only that, but another nightmare plagued her mind now. It was slightly different from any she'd had: the funeral march she had seen before appeared, tortured screams filled the air, and a low, raspy voice had said, 'Soon I will have a new apprentice . . . one far younger and more powerful.' It was a haunting message to say the least with a strange, yet somehow familiar, sense of foreboding. All her dreams had been relatively the same way for a while…dark, morbid, and even sometimes disturbing. The only time she couldn't remember having them was…her second night back in Coruscant. She didn't recall much of the night, just the rain, the darkness, and Anakin. It had been the first time she hadn't felt alone. It seemed odd to her that someone she had only known for such a short time had such an impact on her emotions, especially now. All I should be thinking of is to protect the senator and interpret that prophecy…why can't I then?

"Any deeper in thought and you might run into a wall," A nearby voice informed.

Akaia stopped in her tracks, blinking rapidly as she spun around to find the very person she had been so focused on at the end of the hall. She threw him a glare. "How long have you been following me?"

Anakin shrugged with a grin. "Around five minutes." He took a few steps forward. "I was waiting until you noticed you were being followed. I didn't realize it would take so long, though."

"Well, I have a lot to think about," she answered, her gaze softening.

They started walking again, turning yet another corner. He still stared at the young woman expectantly. "Like?"

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Like…the prophecy, dying, nightmares…" She trailed off, making sure she didn't say anything she'd later regret.

"You're hiding something," he replied immediately.

She arched an eyebrow curiously. "And how would you know that?"

"Because you never deny it," he responded with a laugh. After walking through another threshold, both realized they now stood on a balcony overseeing the lake. Leaning against the stone railing, Anakin gave Akaia a mildly concerned glance. "It's not healthy to keep emotions bottled up, you know."

"And yet Jedi do the same on a regular basis," she snapped. As soon as she said the words, she had regretted it. Her stare traveled to the ground. "…Sorry. I didn't mean that. It's just-"

"No, you're right," he cut her off. "You shouldn't have to apologize for the truth."

She looked up at him gratefully. "I'm not saying that the Jedi should embrace the dark side, but they should at least understand it. They need to learn that there's darkness inside us all…no matter how deep they bury it. They can't there isn't either…I could sense it in all of them."

"You could sense it?" Anakin stared at her questioningly.

Akaia nodded, her eyes again downcast. "One of my first memories was of sensing dark emotions. That man I…hate and fear emanated off of him." She paused for a moment. "And usually all this is minuscule in Jedi. I sense that it's there, only hidden…except in one. In this person, the darkness is growing…and if they keep trying to suppress it, it will consume them. I'm sure of it."

His brow furrowed curiously. "Who?"

She lifted her gaze to his, the pain evident in her eyes. Reading her saddened expression, the answer hit him at full force. His eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. He shook his head. "No. You're wrong."

With that, he stormed back inside, leaving Akaia yet again alone, regretting all she had told him.

The day went on rather quickly and had already begun to wane. Akaia hadn't seen or heard from Anakin the rest of it, and for that she had been thankful. She had made a point to avoid him, which was working unusually well for once. But, part of her tried with all its will to make the girl go find him and apologize. Of course she hadn't gone along with it. He said it himself, she thought, I shouldn't have to apologize for the truth. Although that didn't necessarily take the guilt away. He had seemed so hurt…angry…and she had caused it.

Now, she sat alone in her temporary room, debating whether or not to go and talk to him. Would it even help? What if I just make things worse than they already are? She exhaled exasperatedly. Why am I spending all my time think of him when I should be looking for a way to decipher these dreams?

Seconds later, she stood and began out the door.

I am only doing this for my sanity, she kept reminding herself.

There she stood…behind the door…unsure of what to even say. She was certain she'd been there for at least twenty minutes. She thought about turning back; there was still time to go back to her own room, back to the comfort of her own bed and fall into a stressful sleep – if you could even call it sleep –, only to have another nightmare…because, honestly, she figured that would be better than talking to Anakin right now. No…I have to do this.

She then slowly pushed open the primitive door and stepped inside. By the time her gaze rested on the padawan, he was already staring at her, anger still evident. She made her way over, then sitting on the edge of the bed, silently considering what she should say to him.

"Anything else you need to tell me?" he asked bitterly.

He was just making things worse…she could feel how close the darkness was. She never thought it would hurt so much to see him like this. She felt helpless and knew how weak she probably seemed to him right now. She took a deep breath and met his eyes. "I'm not going to apologize. You had to hear it sooner or later. But that doesn't mean I'll let it happen."

He eyed her curiously, but stayed silent.

"Anakin, too many people care about you to let you fall to the dark side. And, as their representative, I'm here to say that it'll never happen." She gave a weak smile. "I think I'm beginning to see why we met. There is darkness in you, darkness that you may not be able to escape…Perhaps if I help you find a balance instead of burying it, we can prevent it from eventually destroying you."

Focusing back on Anakin's reaction, she found that he was studying her. "A balance?"

Akaia nodded slowly as if he couldn't understand otherwise. He continued staring at her before his lips curled into an amused smile. She looked at him, dumbfounded. "What?"

He shook his head innocently. "Nothing."

"Well, at least you're back to normal," she replied, rolling her eyes. She glanced out the window. "It's getting late."

Neither of them moved for a while. His brow furrowed. "Now, what's wrong?"

"I don't feel like having another nightmare," she replied with a hollow laugh.

"How do you know you will?" he queried.

She shrugged. "Because there's only been one night I haven't."

"And how was that night different?" he asked, curiosity taking over.

She remained silent for a moment. "…Remember that night it was raining and we stayed up talking…it was the only peaceful sleep I've had."

He thought for a moment, then moved over slightly, motioning for her to come closer. Reluctantly, she sat beside him. Just as before, he took her hand in his as they sat silently enjoying each other's company.

She hadn't realized how tired she was, but before she knew it, she had woken up from a deep sleep. She blinked slowly, opening her eyes, only to find herself curled up against her friend, one arm resting lightly on his chest and his arm wrapped around her. Too tired to comprehend anything, all she could do is smile and she closed her eyes once more. All she understood at the moment was that she felt comfortable and safe.

And that was all that mattered.

TBC

A/N - 1…2…3: AWWW. Sorry, I couldn't resist! And yay! No Padme! Anyway, to balance out the fluff, the next chapter will be sad...they head to Tatooine. Uh oh.