Chapter Three

She stood in the shadows of the doorway, watching with a small smile on her face as the little family huddled close. The smile changed, grew, as the man known as Anakin Skywalker made a leap of faith, a step toward redemption, and offered for the Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi to hold his son.

Kenobi took the child ever so gently and held him close, smiling despite his tears.

The other Jedi Master, the one called Yoda, rose from his seat in the corner, where he had been blocking the ripples in the Force caused by the birth. It had been his burden, his task, to try and keep such a joyous shout of new life from the ears of the Emperor.

Had he known the Force was already on his side, had taken steps to see to it that Sidious never even heard a whisper, maybe the little green one would not have taxed himself so much. However, he had not known. Perhaps it was best this way. Now there was no way, save for the voices, to suggest she had even been a part of it.

And besides, what were these voices but echoes of memories in the Dark Lord's mind? No one would ever know. She allowed for another smile.

Stepping carefully to the side, she allowed the Master to leave the room, soon followed by the young woman the others called Sabé. She walked by, didn't even glance in her direction.

Well, neither had the great Jedi Master Yoda. This gave her pause. Once, this would have made her smile. As she had walked the Jedi Temple in silent contemplation, she had enjoyed the fact that the supposedly powerful master didn't even know she was there, that only the reckless and fated apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, occasionally noticed her presence.

However, a Darkness had fallen. The Light was fading. Perhaps she had let it fade too far, to too great a degree, if Yoda could not sense her.

She turned back to the smiling faces of the Skywalker family. Her grin returned and in contentment she stood leaning against the door, looking in. It had not taken much to make this moment possible. In fact, she had thought it would be much harder. But apparently, like nearly everyone else, she had underestimated Anakin's chance at redemption. Oh well. No harm done with that now.

Intending to leave, no longer wanting to intrude upon this family's solitude, she turned to go. And she just might have, might have kept her silence, had a small light not flickered beside her and taken form.

The spirits that pass on, that become "one with the Force," rarely touch this existence again. It was rare that they take a form, one which they had left behind, unless necessary. This light took a form now though, no doubt so it could look with human eyes upon the family in the room.

A tall man with broad shoulders, long gray hair and knowing eyes raised a bushy eyebrow and smiled.

"You know, you really shouldn't tamper with people's lives like that."

The spirit moved from within the hallway to the light shadows just within the little doorway. The sunlight spilled in through the window and touched the bed, leaving the other two in shadows.

Better this way, better not to be seen. Her part in this was over.

The two watched, smiling.

She shrugged. Wasn't 'tampering' with people's lives what she did?

"Probably not."

The other chuckled and looked his companion up and down. So, she had taken on a female form. Not unusual. Her height was probably no more than Padme's, her figure strong and fit. But her hair and features continued to change. They shifted from many different colors and shapes, never resting for long on one. Only her eyes never changed. Where there should have been irises and pupils, there was nothing but infinity. Her gaze held steady as she stared at the little family.

Had there not been that smile upon her shifting lips, not a small gleam to her presence, her eyes, or lack of, would have made her look sinister. Dark.

But then, he had seen her that way before. That, too, was not an uncommon sight.

"Have you no shame?" he asked her jokingly. "Aren't you even a little remorseful about what you've done?"

"My actions brought this family back together. Why should this bother me?"

He rolled his eyes slightly. It was his place to be patient, but there were times that she could test his limitless tolerance. But then, she was always like this. Questioning, wondering, even when she already knew everything.

"No. Undoing what was done, what so many suffered to have happen. The Jedi that had died, the innocent who had suffered. Anakin was not meant to be redeemed just yet."

She shrugged again, weighing the worth of his words. She thought of the way things would have been different had she not whispered in Vader's ears. How the years, dismal and endless in their sorrow and their grief would have stretched out. How Padme would have withered and died, how Vader would have soured on the inside, how the Darkness would have eroded away the memories and the dreams.

She shut her eyes for just a moment, blocking the vision of the family from before her and seeing into a future that now would never be. Yes, she could see the twins, grown, and the things they faced and felt due to a man who had not been there to see their birth.

Well, none of that would happen now.

"Let others write this story to end in anguish and despair. I can only offer so many happy endings. Let this be one of them."

The other spirit nodded in accordance. "Look at them. They are so happy. Look at Skywalker. See the way he looks at his children, how his son and daughter gaze back at him. The wonder in their eyes. The pride and joy in Padme's. You did the right thing."

"I do not regret the galaxy as it has been created, or what happens in it. Conflict and suffering is all a part of life, and of death. But I could not leave Anakin Skywalker to suffer that way, with redemption so far off, because his life was not entirely of his own making. He will be held accountable for the things he has done. But there is no reason he should suffer for the things I have inflicted upon him. Besides, I hardly doubt you would ever let me hear the end of it, Master Jinn."

The spirit beside her, known in life as Qui-gon Jinn, turned only slightly from his vigil of the Skywalker family to reply. "And what about the Balance?"

She continued to frown, momentarily making wrinkles on her translucent forehead. Then it passed and became merely a turning down of the lips. Different people frown in different ways, and as her face was composed of all faces, it constantly switched in both features and expressions.

"There is Balance still. Anakin has not failed, and I have not truly interfered by changing his fate. The corruption of the Light was destroyed. Soon, the Darkness will balance out. It is in their hands now. And I trust them not to fail."

What emerged from Qui-gon in reply was a deep, heart-felt laugh that would have rocked the rafters of the small cottage, had he been in a physical form. Instead, the breeze turned warmer and Obi-wan paused in his adoration of the Skywalker boy. He appeared to be listening for something, but when he didn't hear it again, he brushed it aside and looked back down at little Luke.

Jinn continued to chuckle, even as he saw the frown on her face deepen. She was not used to being laughed at. Except, of course, by Palpatine, and his were ludicrous laughter of a deranged mind.

He shook his head and turned to her, an astonished look on his old, now young, now middle aged, now old again face. "You made a mess of thousands upon thousands of years of planning the destiny of the Chosen One. And now, you leave it to them," he waved a hand in Anakin's general direction, "to fix everything?!"

She gave the former Jedi Master an indifferent shrug.

"I am not responsible for the Jedi, or the Sith or this Empire or the Republic or this war or that disease. I do not make history. If I had had my way from the beginning rather than the ancient Jedi Masters, things would be very different. Including that Jar Jar character whom I would've roasted over an open pit." That bought on some deliciously wicked ideas and she chuckled to herself. "Ah well. Seems we can all dream."

At this, the Jedi Master frowned. "That's the Darkness talking." He reprimanded.

"Do not frown at me, Qui-gon Jinn. No harm done. It was merely a whim, and I did not act on it."

Qui-gon cast a glance at Anakin and Padme and a small doubt bit at him. "And was this a whim?" he asked her, quietly, wondering. Worrying.

She turned away from the spirit and looked upon the Skywalkers. They looked so happy. So content. "And what if it was?" she replied just as softly. "It was not ill conceived. There is still Balance and Anakin is happy. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"More than anything."

"There, you see?" The smile faded, vanished. "I am not such a cold-hearted being, am I? Now," she turned away from the doorway and back down the hall, leaving Qui-gon to stand vigil alone. "I think I should allow Skywalker and his family some time alone."

"You're leaving?"

Turning back, she found him watching her, that knowing look in his eyes. "I am never truly gone." She simply replied. "But, yes, for the moment, I am leaving. There is another such as Skywalker who needs me to - how did you put it? - 'tamper' with his life."

"You should not leave, not now." Qui-gon said. "They need a guide, someone to help lead them through what is coming. I cannot be here for them always."

"That is Obi-wan's part in this." She pointed with a shifting hand to the Jedi in the room, still kneeling beside his friend, both of them now talking quietly amongst each other as Padme fed the twins. There were no tears now, and no smile either. But he was happy. She knew that as well as she knew thousands of light years away that another child was weeping, alone in the dark. "Have faith, for without it, that family over there would not have gotten as far as they have."

"True." Jinn smiled at his former apprentice, feeling pride and love. The son of his teachings had done well. "I am glad that they have found peace. I am grateful for that. But," he admitted to her, "I am afraid their story is far from over."

It was her turn to laugh. "Their story? This is not Anakin Skywalker's story. It is not yours, nor mine, nor anyone else's. Do not be confused, my friend. This has barely begun."

A small smile tugged at the Master's lips. "You are right, of course." But the smile soon disappeared and Qui-gon was solemn again. "Answer me this, before you go; will they know more pain in their lives?"

She stopped the shadows from swallowing her and cast one last glance over her should.

"We all will. No one is above ills in this existence. Myself included. It is hard to be Death and Life and Light and Darkness and Balance all in one. It is hard to be someone and everything when you are Chaos within Order. Even I know sorrow and joy." She shrugged and the shadows moved closer. "And Anakin will know it too. But I will watch over him, and be with him." She paused a moment and that playfulness, which had disappeared but always returned, as it seemed to be a prominent part of her shifting personalities, made her wink. "And I will continue to make his life interesting. I would not want our young Skywalker to get too bored."

Qui-gon merely chuckled in reply. "I am beginning to see your mean streak."She laughed in return, smiled once more at the family that was her charge and let go of form. The Force was still laughing to itself as it faded away within the shadows.

End

Anakin and his family's story continues in Rebirth of the Light: The Years That Followed, which can be found under my name.

Caslia