Chapter 109
AN: This chapter dedicated to all the faithful readers who have been following this story. This is the chapter that many have been waiting for.
Ari ran through the forest, trees all around her, ferns and other small foliage at her feet. She did not pause to take note of it as she continued her trek. She was moving at a slow jog, the Force helping her avoid obstacles such as tree roots and stones that she might possibly trip over.
Her mind was racing faster than her pace. She knew she was quickly catching up to Luke and willed herself to go a bit faster. She needed to get to him before he went to face Vader.
As she came up to him, she found him standing near one of the large trees, almost casually. Ari realized he must have known that she was following him since she left. She had to connect with his Force signature to follow him which meant that he would have sensed her Force signature as well.
"You are just leaving without saying goodbye?" Ari asked as she came up to him. Luke shifted slightly, no longer looking as casual.
"If I would have told you I was leaving, you would have argued with me," he remarked.
"For a very good reason," she countered, putting one hand on her hip.
"Ari, I have to do this." He took one step closer to her, eyes meeting hers. She could see the determination there, but that did not help assure her.
"Luke, he almost killed you last time," she reminded him, though neither of them needed to be reminded of that.
"I know I can turn him back."
"Luke, please reconsider," Ari requested, a bit of desperation creeping into her voice. She knew it would be almost impossible to change his mind, but she would have to try.
"I have to, Ari. There is still good in him. I know it. The Emperor has not driven it completely from him." His voice carried certainty and while Ari wanted to believe him, she couldn't. She knew all that Vader had done. He had killed hundreds of thousands without any hesitation. He had allowed millions to die in one moment when Alderaan was destroyed.
The hoot of a feathered inhabitant of the jungle pulled her from her thoughts. "Then I am going with you," Ari decided, eyes defiantly meeting his.
"No, you aren't," he replied in a calm, yet firm tone.
"Yes, I am," she answered.
Luke sighed. "Ari, you and I both know that you can't go with me." He sat down on a fallen log and looked up at her. Aside from her face and blonde hair, she seemed to almost blend into the shadows, just as Luke also seemed to almost be hidden from sight.
"Why is that?" she asked, sitting beside him, crossing her arms to show that she did not like that idea at all.
"Because I have to do this alone," he replied.
"No, you don't. I could go with you and help."
"Ari, you are always a help. That is why I am asking you to stay here. To help Leia, Han and the others. You are a great leader and a great Jedi."
"There are many great Rebels among the group," she pointed out.
"But none of them are Jedi and none of them are you," he told her, reaching out to tuck back a strand of her blonde hair that had slipped out of the loose braid she was wearing. "They need you, Ari."
"Don't you need me?" she asked, pulling back a few inches from him. Did he think she could not help? That was not strong enough. She ran a hand over her face and started to move it through her hair. However, the braid did not allow it. Frowning, she reached her hand back to unbraid it. She often had it pulled back, but at the moment, it was an annoyance to her.
Luke reached out and put a hand on her arm to stop her. "I do need you, Ari." He then shifted slightly and started to unbraid her hair. It was strange, yet Ari let him. His hands were gentle and it only took a few seconds before her hair was free. Ari let out a deep sigh. She felt better already. "It looks better down," Luke remarked after a moment.
Ari looked over at him then shook her head. They had been about to go off in another direction. "How?" she asked.
Luke sighed at this. "I need you to stay here. Vader won't kill me. I know he won't. However, he could harm you. Not only that, but I need you here in case I don't come back."
"You just said he would not kill you," Ari countered.
"He will not want to, but the Emperor is another story. I do not know what he has planned, but he is here as well."
"Then don't go," Ari protested. She could feel tears in her eyes and turned her head slightly so he could not see them.
"I have to go," he told her, putting his hand back on her arm. "If I don't come back, it will be up to you then. We are the last of the Jedi, Ari. If I am unable to return, you will have to carry on the legacy. Find others and train them in the ways of the Jedi."
She couldn't stop the tears now and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. She could not imagine Luke not returning. They had close calls before, and even though she had friends who died, she could never imagine Luke like that. "You have to come back," she finally told him once she had her tears a bit more under control, turning to look at him.
"I will. I promise" he assured her, but Ari shook her head slightly. They both knew he couldn't make a promise like that. No one could. She looked up at him after a moment, only the sounds of the forest around them.
"Your path is different from mine right now. But they will cross again," he told her and gently brushed away a tear that escaped.
Ari got to her feet quickly at this. "Luke, you can't go!" she insisted stubbornly, not caring that a few more tears were falling. She hastily wiped them away with the back of her hand.
"Why not?" Luke asked slowly getting his feet. Ari had seemed to be okay with his decision for a moment, but now was once again insisting that he could not leave to face Vader. He walked over to her even though her back was half turned away from him so he could not see her face.
After a moment, Ari looked back at him, eyes still wet, but no tears were falling. "You can't go because…" she looked down at the ground for a moment, taking in a few deep breaths.
Luke gently took her chin and raised it slowly with his thumb and forefinger. His eyes met hers, blue meeting blue, searching for the answer.
Ari's gaze did not leave Luke's for a moment, even when he slid his other hand into one of his, giving it a small squeeze.
"Because I love you, Luke Skywalker," she whispered finally. It was true. She did not know when she had fallen in love with him. Perhaps she always had, but had been too young to know it. It was also a realization that hit her in a moment, yet when she thought back, she realized that she had pushed back those thoughts. She had never wanted to possibly destroy their strong friendship. However, as she ran after him through the forest, she had realized not only did she love him, but she was in love with him. Totally and completely. Ari was not a person to think of love as a casual subject, having not been a starry eyed romantic. She had never been in love before, but knew instinctively what it was when she felt it and the mix of emtions she felt upon coming to this realization. She was scared of losing Luke, of him never coming back after facing his father. She felt happiness, realizing how she felt about him and also nervous because she had not been sure how she could tell him. She had just come out and said it, as if handing him her heart. She did not know what he would say, and that worried her. She had never felt as vulnerable as she did at that moment.
Ari averted her gaze for just a moment, all these thoughts running through her mind. Then, with courage, she looked up at him at him, once again meeting his eyes with hers, searching for a hint of how he felt about this.
His eyes held many emotions from this news and Ari found it difficult to tell what each of them meant. She also sensed surprise through the Force. Her announcement had caught him off guard. While she did not know what he thought of it, when she did not get a laugh or have him pull away, she felt some hope. Maybe it was right to tell him.
They stood like that for a moment, eyes locked, only the sounds of the nocturnal nightlife in the forest. Ari felt Luke's hand tighten on her slightly. "Arianna…" he whispered. He usually called her by her nickname, and never in the tone he was using now. It caused shivers to go through her. They were not ones of dread or fear though; they were more like those of excitement.
While those thoughts went through her mind, she noticed that Luke was moving a bit closer. His hand slipped out of hers and his arm went around her waist gently, hand resting on her lower back. Then he tilted his head slightly and kissed her.
Ari's heart immediately began to race as she felt his lips on hers. She could feel everything much better than before. She could feel the temperate, humid air around her, the mostly firm ground beneath her boots. Most of all, she could feel Luke's hand on her back and the kiss that she was now returning.
It lasted only a moment, but she felt Luke pull back slightly and Ari opened her eyes, not realizing that she had shut them when he had leaned closer. Once again her eyes locked with his and this time she knew what she saw there. There was happiness, relief and most of all, love.
"I love you too, Arianna Narabe." He moved one hand and gently brushed her cheek, tucking back a small strand of her hair back behind her ear, the other still resting gently on her back.
Even though she already knew, the words caused Ari to smile and she put her arms around him, hugging him tightly, and her head resting on his shoulder. In response, he put his arms around her waist and held her like that for a moment. Neither of them spoke, but they didn't have to.
When Luke pulled back, he kissed Ari again, and then let his hands slip back to his sides. Ari felt tears in her eyes again, knowing what this meant. He still had to go. It was his destiny, no matter what happened. She pushed them back, not wanting to cry in front of him. They both had to be strong for their tasks ahead.
"I wish I could go with you," she whispered. Arguing with him would not help matters because he would not change his mind about going alone.
"We are both have to follow our destinies," he told her, taking her hand in hers again, giving it a squeeze. "I'll come back though. I promise," he told her, confidence in his voice.
Ari bit her lip and just gave a nod. She wanted him to come back and was not going to bring up the thought that this could be the last time they would see each other in this life.
"You had better make sure you are here when I get back," he told her. "Be safe."
"I will," she assured him, voice soft and gave his hand a squeeze in response.
Luke then slowly backed away from her, their fingers slipping through each other's. "I love you," he whispered, so quietly that it was almost inaudible. He stood there for another moment, just looking at Ari, as if to remember that moment.
"I love you too," she whispered back, just as quietly. She continued to look at him as intently as he was watching her.
Then as a faint breeze brushed by them, Luke was gone, disappearing into the foliage. Ari was once again alone. She knew that she could follow him, but she did not. He was right. They had to follow separate paths at this time, and he would have to walk his alone.
She went back to the log and sat down, and few more tears fell silently, not fighting them. While relieved that she had told him and ecstatic that he felt the same way, she was still worried about him.
She just sat on the log for a few minutes, looking up at the Death Star, which almost was like a moon, not a weapon of death and destruction. As she looked up at that and the other stars, her fingers gently played with her bracelet, an action she did without even realizing it. She only took a break to wipe at her eyes.
When the sting of holding back tears was no longer there, she wiped her eyes one last time and stood up slowly. She knew she had to get back to get ready for the next day. She was not doing this just for the Rebels, but for all the beings on every planet.
She glanced once more at where Luke had disappeared. "You better keep your promise, Luke," she whispered, then turned and headed back to the Ewok Village and her own destiny.