I woke up feeling dry, sweaty and thirsty, but as I slowly came back to consciousness, I felt no real pain.

Who took me then? Why didn't they hurt me?

Did they think I was dead? Should I lie here, and pretend to be?

But wouldn't they have checked for breath, a pulse?

Am I dead?

No, you don't think when you're dead, do you?

Am I still in the middle of nowhere?

Thoughts such as these buzzed through my brain as I shook it for an answer. The sun baked my skin, so I must've been stripped of my robe. Without checking to see if I was alone, I slowly slid my left hand over to where I kept my lightsaber.

It was gone.

Now fear flooded my heart again.

Someone – or something – had taken me.

I allowed my eyes to open, and felt my forehead being to sweat.

I turned my head to the left, and noticed that I was eye-level with some sort of shelf with mugs and bowls on it.

I frowned, more curious now, than afraid.

Are the sand people this civilized?

Then I heard footsteps – that sounded like someone descending stairs – and I went rigid again, eyes closed, breathing soft and minimal.

The footsteps stopped by whatever I was lying on, and I felt a warm, rough hand feel my forehead. I collapsed inward, trying to figure out whose presence I was feeling.

It was familiar, yet strange.

Next, in the physical, I felt a damp rag being placed on my forehead, and a soft humph sound.

Whoever it was, they were quite gentle, and seemed genuinely concerned for my health and welfare.

This was a good sign.

I fluttered open my eyes, pretending as if I had just awakened, having no idea what to expect would meet my gaze.

Heart-penetrating, searching gray-blue eyes were suddenly staring back at me.

And I passed out all over again, for real this time.

………

"Miss Keelee," I heard a gentle voice coaxing, "oh, please, do wake up."

I inhaled deeply, tiredly, and turned my head.

"Mmmrrrmmph," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and sitting up slowly.

"Oh, thank the Maker!" I heard a slightly robotic voice say gleefully. "Master Anton, she is indeed alive," it continued. I heard clanking and whirring as whoever or whatever it was must've walked from the room.

Wait… Master Anton? Anton? That's who has me held hostage?

Oh, great. Kasen was right? I groaned inwardly. I'll never hear the end of this.

I heard heavier, more human footsteps returning, much like the ones I had heard earlier, and I stared up at the ceiling.

This was awkward.

"Keelee," a warm voice said. "How are you feeling?"

I turned to face Anton Flasgo, grinning sheepishly. "Okay, I guess… a little embarrassed, if anything." A Jedi is not vain, I heard Master Windu say inside my head.

"What on earth were you doing last night? One of my banthas got loose so I had to come after it… it almost squished you. Why were you in the middle of the desert so late in the evening?" Anton frowned, the dark circles under his concerned eyes hinting at a definite lack of sleep.

"I was…" I swallowed, trying to think of some way to lie.

But this man had not only apparently rescued me from being bantha fodder, but then taken me into his home and watched over me until I woke up.

I suddenly found it very hard to be dishonest.

"I'm thirsty," I said, my voice scratchy, my throat dry.

He handed me a mug with lukewarm water in it, and I swallowed it gratefully.

"Now, can you tell me, please?" He stared at me, waiting patiently.

"I…" I sighed.

His eyes pleaded on.

"I lied to you," I blurted.

"What?" he frowned, confused.

"We both did, Kasen and I both did." I suddenly jumped off of the table he had me resting on, and was pacing about the room. "You think we're married, Kasen's aunt and uncle think I'm his Padawan and they don't even know they're related to him…"

"Wait, wait; slow down. Did you say the word Padawan?"

I nodded, swallowing hard.

"You're Jedi?"

I nodded again, grimacing this time.

"My name really is Keelee Sarai, I was honest about that," I assured, "but Johl is Kasen's last name. Kasen Johl was Master Kit Fisto's Jedi apprentice, until his very recent death."

Anton nodded, but I could tell he was confused.

"Maybe I should start from the beginning?"

He nodded again, resting his hand on his chin as I had seen Obi-Wan do so many times. It made a lump rise in my throat, but I forced it down quickly.

So I told him about my twin Keeloh and I being rebellious Padawans who couldn't just stick to the Order since we knew we were related and therefore were very naturally attached to each other.

"But you're human," Anton frowned, "what's wrong with being attached to your sibling – especially your twin sibling?"

"You don't understand the Jedi code, obviously," I laughed good-naturedly. "Attachment is like, the number-one forbiddance in the Order. You just can't do it."

"How is that even humanly possible?" Anton was aghast.

"I don't think it is," I winked, "but the Masters seem to think it works, so they indoctrinate us with impossibilities from the time we are infants."

I continued, as he shook his head, to explain my attachments to Masters Qui-Gon Jinn (up until his death) and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. I tried my best not to tear up when I mentioned his name, but failed miserably.

"The most—shameful—thing to do—is supposedly to leave the Or---Order," I hiccupped, trying to control my crying. "But I think what Anakin did was worse."

"What did he do?" Anton's handsome face was wrinkled with concern.

I told him the ugly story, in all its gruesome detail. He closed his eyes and shook his head, as if it were the most terrible thing he'd ever heard.

It probably was.

"He killed those children?"

"Yes. We don't know why he did it." I went on to explain how I had escaped the siege with nothing but my life and my lightsaber, and how I had met up with Kasen, and finally how we had snuck aboard the Nubian ship to hitch a ride here, to Tatooine.

"You two are very brave, especially being so young," Anton half-smiled sadly.

I felt a twinge of hurt at being called young, but I forced it down. Just because I felt forty-seven years old didn't mean I was no longer sixteen.

"I miss them," I said, after telling him how the Masters hadn't returned, and neither had Anakin.

"So, it's true that there's a Jedi Master on Tatooine?"

"I'm not sure," I sniffed, "but I dreamt about him – Obi-Wan – last night, and that's why I was wandering the desert. I thought I was close to finding him, but then I heard your bantha, I guess, and freaked out."

"You were wandering around the desert in the middle of the night, by yourself, because of a dream? Is this an encouraged behavior among Jedi teenagers?" Anton's eyes twinkled, and I guessed that he was teasing me.

"No," I admitted, "but I'm not like most Jedi teenagers."

"I can see that." He smiled, and I knew he was just being kind.

"It's bad, in a lot of ways," I frowned. "I guess. But since the Order has basically fallen apart, with the loss of so many leaders and teachers, I'm sort of floundering in my belief system. I don't know what to stick to, and what to change. I'm not in a very good place these days."

I saw Anton nod, and I felt in some strange way that I could trust him.

"I almost killed my best friend yesterday," I whispered.

"You what?" This seemed to concern him more than me wandering around.

I nodded, crying openly again. "He said something that really tipped me off, and next thing I knew I had him pinned down and had my lightsaber out and turned on…"

Anton's blue-gray eyes widened. "Now I'm really glad I took that thing!"

"I am not proud of my actions, Anton." I looked down, feeling shameful again.

"I didn't mean it like that…" he frowned.

"How old are you?" I asked, looking up suddenly.

He laughed; a natural laugh that came from his heart. "I'm nearly twenty."

I nodded, taking in that information.

That makes him nearly four years my senior…

That would be too old for a husband, wouldn't it?

I almost laughed at myself, but I realized that Anton would ask me why.

But then, I don't know anything about human relationships, really. I've been stuck inside the Jedi Temple for so long that I don't know how to lead a normal life.

"Normally, Jedi girls let their hair grow long," I found myself saying out of nowhere, "but that was another impulsive action on my part."

"You cut it?" Anton frowned, seeming sort of amused by this.

I nodded. "…With my lightsaber."

"You should probably leave that thing at home from now on, huh?"

I frowned.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That's just how I deal with things."

"What do you have to deal with? I am just talking." I was annoyed.

I felt as if I were the annoyance, however.

"I don't know," he shook his head, creasing his brow as if I had insulted him.

"I'm sorry," I apologized softly. "I'm very abrupt."

"I hadn't noticed."

The teasing twinkle was back in Anton's eyes as quickly as it had left.

I smiled.

Now we stood awkwardly in his dining area, staring at each other.

"I could take you home if you like," Anton offered, motioning with a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the door.

"Sure," I shrugged.

But I was nervous.

I really didn't know what I was going to tell Kasen.

………

"She was asleep for a very long time," Anton was explaining to Nova and Yahni, and Kasen, too -- but Kasen's eyes were on me, and they were aflame.

And it wasn't with adoration.

"I'm going to explain to Lana that she isn't feeling well today. Kasen, would you like a ride to work in my speeder?"

Kasen nodded, jaw firm. "Sure, Anton - I'd like that."

Anton nodded politely to Yahni and Nova, who thanked him for taking care of me. Kasen gave me a hard look, one that declared we'll talk about this later.

"Yes, thank you, Anton," he was saying, keeping his eyes on me even as they walked outside into the newly-risen suns.

And then they were gone.

………

By noontime, I was going crazy.

I had tried so hard just to sleep, to take advantage of this down-time, but the dreams just kept coming, leaving me tossing, turning, restless…

Nova was busy getting food and supplies in town, and Yahni was far off, working somewhere, I didn't know where.

I was now sitting in the cave-home alone.

And it was unnerving.

So, being the impetuous, rebellious Padawan I've always been, I slipped on my tunic, clipped my lightsaber to my belt, slid a lidded strap-mug full of water over my head and made my way out into the Tatooine sunshine.

Despite the roving tales of the vicious Tusken Raiders and their gaffi sticks I had recently heard from Yahni, I continued to trudge on through the desert. The sun was high in the sky now, beating down on my head hot enough to make me sweat.

After traveling a few kilometers, stopping only a few times to catch my breath and wet my throat with the now-warm water, I was closer to the caverns than I had been the night before.

My heart thudded with anticipation and excitement, and not a little fear.

I could actually make out the tops of them, the entrances to the inside, and it drove me forward.

I could barely see, the suns were blaring so brightly in the otherwise empty sky.

But it would be worth it.

I trudged on, ignoring the heat and the blinding suns-light and the weariness of my small frame. I pushed past all of my stubborn physical limits, reaching deep inside my core, tapping into the strength of the Force.

Help me, I heard his voice again.

I walked on.

………

Somewhere along the road, I had fallen. I was lying in the middle of the sand, and my skin felt as if it were on fire. I didn't know how long I had been there, but it had to have been a considerable amount of time. The line between consciousness and darkness wore very thin, and I recognized how far the sun had dipped in the sky.

And then I heard the rustling.

Please, please be Anton's naughty bantha…

But the guttural grunts and yelps and animal snorts told me it wasn't.

Before I could stop myself, fear for my life took over my senses, and I let out a scream. A Force scream, so loud it echoed across the expansive nothingness of the desert and rang against the nearby cavern walls as it made my throat raw and mouth dry.

I heard new sounds, and felt a ripple of fear in the Force.

This time, it was not my own.

I felt a surge of power, a shrewd confidence from deep within that I had never before experienced. I felt as if I could fly.

But it was a fleeting, ugly feeling, and lasted only a moment.

In the next breath, I had collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap.

………

I awoke with a start, fearful that I had been kidnapped. I slowly regained complete consciousness, feeling for pain or injury all throughout my tired body.

When I found none, I wondered absently how I kept falling into these messes.

I tried to sit up, but fell down within a moment, weaker than I'd ever felt.

I heard a rustling, but didn't dare open my eyes, didn't dare move or even breathe.

I fell into the Force, searching it for life-signatures.

What I found shocked me more than anything in the universe could have.

Master Obi-Wan?