Chapter 2

Kento took a step back from his wife almost tripping on the roots that had twisted themselves in and out of the ground. He brushed his short brown hair back using both of his hands. He was in shock, no something more than shock. He head raced, his heart beat faster in his chest and he felt like he had been punched in the chest by a Wookie. He didn't look at Mallie but began pacing back and forth while she watched him nervously, twisting her hands into her long brown hair. He sat down on a large boulder for a second before bouncing back up to pace again.

"Kento," she said softly reaching her hand towards him.

"How could you let this happen?" Kento yelled at her. He used a powerful force blast to turn the largest boulder into piles of rubble. Mallie was stunned; she knew he would be upset but his words stung her.

"Kento, I thought," she began but he cut her off sharply,

"Mallie, we already have enough trouble keeping our marriage a secret! How in the worlds do you think we can keep this a secret?" he manically laughed at his own words, "We'll be kicked out of the order, kicked out of the war! We won't be able to protect our friends! What were you thinking Mallie? How could you let this happen?" he spat at her. Her face changed instantly from one of dumb surprise to anger.

"Me? How could I let this happen?" she took a deep breath in before continuing her retort, "If memory serves correctly I believe you had something to do this pregnancy, Kento". Her lip quivered ever so slightly and Kento's face fell a bit but kept it's mask of anger. Trying not to let her voice crack she went on, "But I see what an inconvenience this is to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you can't go run off and be that war hero you always wanted to be. If that's what you want fine. Go. I'll leave and I won't bother you again. Don't try to find me, I wouldn't want to burden you". She finished her words in tears then ran from him, her face buried in her hands, leaving Kento behind in her wake of sadness and sorrow.

"Mallie…"

Mallie ran for some time before sitting down, under the shade of a large tree that looked as weary as she felt, and let her tears finish falling. She wasn't normally such an emotional person so she blamed the pregnancy. The greatest accomplishment she felt as a Jedi was her ability to control her emotions and so she tried to push Kento's words to the back of her mind, trying not to let them affect her. Still, somewhere in her heart Kento's words hung there like a stain and she was genuinely hurt. She weakly laughed at herself. What a fool she had been, she was just a dumb girl to really think that Kento could change that much for her. He was a warrior at heart. Her choice of following her heart seemed like a foolish idea now. If only she had been stronger, she would have been able to protect her heart so that it might not have been stolen then shattered by the very person who swore to keep it in tact. She closed her eyes, wiped her face of any stray tears then mediated. She needed to control her emotions before returning to the base, if someone even sensed her secret it could be catastrophic.

Kento searched every inch of the base for Mallie, when he returned, but he couldn't find her. He tried to seek her out using the force but couldn't sense anything but a large blur which meant she was trying to block him out. He couldn't blame her, even he couldn't stand to be around himself. Kento piled into the war room for their next debriefing for appearances but was hoping to find her there. While Master Windu started relaying the latest intel to the troopers and handful of Jedi Kento couldn't pay attention, his eyes kept scanning the crowd until he found her. Mallie stood among several of the clone soldiers avoiding his covert glances. Her expression was unreadable and something within him grew cold. Although her body language didn't reflect it Kento knew she had been crying and it was he who had made her cry. He clenched his fist around the hilt of his lightsaber until his hands held the imprints. Soon the meeting ended and the crowd started scattering, preparing themselves for their new assignments. Kento tried to get to Mallie but she quickly made her way through the crowd and he lost sight of her. He sighed inwardly before being bombarded by his friend Galen about his sudden disappearance early.

Mallie ignored the chatter from her friends, she excused herself and made a beeline for the same compartment, where earlier, things had been right, and tried to think of some type of plan. Her mind was a sea of thoughts and she could hardly swim, trying to grab onto one or two clear thoughts that might keep her afloat. Mallie figured that her best possible chance to leave without detection would be now while all the other Jedis were busy preparing. It was the only opening she could see so she knew that she had to take it. They wouldn't notice her absence, at least for a while. She started to throw some extra robes into a pile followed by a blanket and other things that could help her out until she had any real plans. She suddenly felt sick and this had nothing to do with the child growing within her, was she really prepared to leave without Kento? She shook her head, he had made it clear how he felt about this baby, so she continued to pack.

After her small pile of posessions were gathered she straightened up, arching her aching back and found herself absentmindedly toying with the chain around her neck. Maliie pulled it out from underneath her robes and removed it from around her slender neck. She found herself unable to prevent the tears that sat like a stranger on the edge of her eyes. Her eyes followed the silver path until it converged to a ring. The ring on the end of the chain was simple and beautiful, much like her marriage, she wore it under her clothing so that the others around her would not see and so that she could have a constant reminder of her love. Kento had presented this ring to her shortly after their marriage and she cherished it daily. With a heavy heart she laid the small token of her heart on the cold, lonely table. She recognized this to be the most pivotal moment in her life up to his point she did what she thought was necessary for not only herself but for the baby she was carrying. She must leave. Now.