Chapter 8: Vision of Bittersweet

Young Anakin was… way too energetic. Zarya didn't know what she was expecting, exactly, but an adorable child barely older than her, talking a mile a minute and constantly jumping from one subject to another wasn't it.

Maybe she had pictured him to be more dramatic? Prone to bursts of anger? Talking about creating a galaxy wide empire in the name of peace? Granted, from what she remembers from the movies, his fall to power and greed was gradual, so no one would see red flags around him just yet.

It was just incredibly weird to stand next to an 8 years old Darth Vader who had an aura of childish innocence following him, talking like they knew each other since forever. Their current subject of conversation was a debate on if it was better to have a droid with a personality or one without, and for the first time since the young boy decided they were friends at first sight, Zarya felt the need to add her own opinion I between his rambling. It was definitely a first for her, even among her lost friends.

"No but - hear me out. A droid with a personality is more unpredictable, its loyalty could shift for reasons of its own, or do something that it wasn't meant to do. You have way less control on them than if it was just a robot with a specific programming," she argued.

"You mean as unpredictable and independent as a live person?" Anakin gave her an amused smile when Zarya could only open her mouth and close it again, finding no argument against that.

"There's more than enough of those around," she finally managed to get out, ignoring his snickers." No need to add to the pile, even less if they are more dangerous than regular people should they choose to harm someone."

"But this one won't be dangerous though, look at him!" He gesticulated towards the mess of wires and metal parts of what would soon become C3PO. "I'm creating him so he can help mom around, the last thing I want is for him to hurt anyone. He's going to be super smart and listen to orders, while still being himself!"

"You just want to make things interesting and annoy people," she deadpanned. "There is no other reason you would give him a rambling tendency and his dramatic flair.

"Not true!" He was hiding a smile, the little shit.

"My, I'm glad to see you two get along so well," sais Shmi as she entered her son's room, observing the children squabbling over the powered down droid that Anakin was working on. Zarya couldn't help but smile at the calm feeling that always seemed to accompany her.

"Sure! I mean, she's pretty cool, for a six years old—"

"Hey! I'm seven!"

"— Plus, we've got to get along if she stays around for a while. I'd hate to argue with her all the time."

If the annoying higher power had anything to say about it, she'll be around him for longer than he expected, unfortunately for her.

"We were arguing just now, no?" she pointed out.

"Yeah, but not meanly, like when Greedo does it…"

Wait, wasn't that name familiar?

"Ani, you have to stop antagonizing him," Shmi protested.

"I never do! Anyway, he's just like most people around here, mean and selfish. You're lucky you found us first, you could've easily knocked on the door of someone who would have left you outside to starve or something," he added.

Zarya hummed noncommittedly while Shmi gave her son a look for his lack of tact. Yep, luck. Aaaaaaallll luck, nothing to do with aforementioned higher power. Aka most likely the Force. It was strange that he didn't feel the pull thing like she did, wasn't he supposed to be super strong in the Force? The feeling had calmed down a lot since Anakin arrived, probably from his master's shop, but still ever present, which confirmed Zarya's theory on who, exactly, she was being led to. Maybe it was one-sided?

"Or was it because you followed that feeling, that thing in your mind that just, pulls you towards things? I kinda feel it on you, it's weird."

And she spoke too soon.

"A… pull?" she inquired. Anakin's answer was to shrug, distracted by the wires he was connecting.

"Ani was always a special child," Shmi answered in his stead. "His instincts are better than most, it has gotten him out of all kinds of trouble in the past." She looked amused at the sheepish look the boy hid by bowing his head, letting his hair hide his face. "Well, I'm going to make dinner. Ani, would you mind setting blankets and pillows on the sofa in the living room for our guest? We can't have her sleep on the floor, can we."

"Ok! The ones on the shelf in the closet?"

His mother threw a yes over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen, leaving the children alone once again. Anakin continued tinkering on the droid while Zarya thought about the implications of the force that connected them, wondering what it wanted from them. A trick to bring her in the plot, contrary to her first desire to avoid it, maybe. Or, it could be less about her and more about Anakin. He is the Skywalker, the main character so to speak.

'I swear to whatever god there is, if this is a trick to make us fall for each other down the line, I'm going to throw myself inside the first volcano I finds on Mustafar, mark my words.'

"You know," Anakin interrupted the silence. "You're kind of weird for a kid."

"How so?"

"You talk like an adult, with big words and stuff. And you don't act like a kid either."

Wow, if he could see that in less than an hour, she really had to work on pretending to be a real child instead of a reincarnation.

"I had a peculiar childhood." She left it at that.

"Really? I couldn't tell."

Eight years old and already sarcastic? She might actually start to like this one.

Unless he becomes a Sith. Then she's running away as far as possible, which is pretty far considering the number of planets she could find refuge on in this galaxy.

(( ))

Everything had been just fine since she came here. Nothing had happened while in Anakin's company, and so she had slowly started to relax from her previously tense position. It was confusing to her, since the Force (yes, she did finally accept that The Force was a thing now.) had been so insistent on her getting here, yet nothing had happened. No answers, no leads to its reasons, nothing. She had jumped when he first took her hand to take her to C3PO, but nothing happened to justify her apprehension.

She had learned a lot about him, this planet and their situation in the short time she's been in his company, which was not surprising considering the way the kid barely stopped talking about everything and anything. Zarya only added her own two cents when he asked her something, content to listen instead.

What she had forgotten to consider, is how she had quickly made a habit of avoiding to look people in the eyes earl on to avoid the onslaught of thoughts and memories she is hit by when doing it since her ability came. So, when she helped him arrange the make-shift bed in the living room, which was tiny but surprisingly pretty in its simple furnishing, she was caught by surprise when she accidentally looked in his sky-blue eyes.

They weren't young children anymore, nor slaves, but adults, free and content. They were standing on top of a cliff, overlooking a never-ending ocean with a gigantic tree just behind them, casting shade on them and shielding them from two burning suns. The heat around them was unforgivable, yet the shade and specks of water from the sea that reached them kept them cool. The ledge was so close, they should have been wary of their position, but it wasn't menacing to them. It was more tempting, inviting them to make the decision themselves, to take the last few steps together and jump into the waiting waves bellow.

Side by side, they looked toward the horizon, a feeling of calm and excitement surrounding them. As if nothing else could reach them. Without a word, they glanced to each other, a smile coming naturally to their face. Anakin reached in the pocket of his dark brown tunic, taking what turned out to be a cylindrical device made of metal. He casually threw it in the air, and Zarya watched as it descended in slow motion, forming an arc that shouldn't be possible with gravity alone, only to land right in her waiting palm.

The children came back to reality suddenly, with the uncomfortable sensation of waking up from one of those free-falling dreams. Eyes wide, they were still looking in each other's eyes, searching if the other knew what was going on. The only thing left from this… vision, was the feeling of belonging that lingered.

Her current predicament didn't matter anymore, she was not stressed, nor worried about what would happen to her in the near future. As the silence stretched and they looked at the other, brushing each other's thoughts and feelings without any fear or barrier, they knew one thing for certain; they were connected in a way they won't ever experience with anyone else.

"Do you know what's happening?" Anakin asked. "I mean, I'm used to weird things happening around me, but this…"

"I have a vague idea," the girl admitted, for the first time unwilling to lie.

"Tell me? I'm sure what you have is better than my soulmate theory."

That got a snort out of her, which he tentatively answered with a grin.

"What! How else do you explain this mind reading thing?" he insisted while giggling.

What a weird kid she was stuck with. Smart for his age, yet still dreaming of fate and flying towards the stars. Even now, she could still see him entirely, every hope and dream. She knew it was the same from his side, yet she was ready to bet what he saw was less pure and innocent. Frighteningly enough, he was closer to the truth than he believed. Or at least, the closest thing from this universe she knew of.

All of this didn't change the fact that she didn't belong, in a way. She wasn't supposed to be here, even less be connected to him in any way. Nor did it change the fact that she was an 18 years old (19? She's already been here for more than a year.) in a child's body, with vague memories that came with having lived a life before this one. Luckily, he couldn't yet dive deep enough in her mind to find that out. Should she tell him? How would he take it, would he even understand?

Maybe it was a conversation better left for another day. Right now, sharing the little she knew without throwing herself under the bus. She sighed.

"What do you know about the Jedi knights?"

(( ))

She'd explained to him what she knew of the Force, telling him it's this kind of energy that is present in every living being, and that it connects them. She theorized about how it has a will of its own, and decided to connect them in a stronger way than most. That he and her were sensitive to the Force and could feel it and even influence it in a way most couldn't, just like the Jedi. Zarya kept it dumbed down, not to give him a hint that she knew more about it than what was more or less common knowledge, should you ask the right people.

They had to stop when Shmi called them for dinner, and they kept a light conversation while eating, mostly the small family asking Zarya about herself and her past, to which she answered as truthfully as she was comfortable with.

As soon as they were dismissed for bed, the children took back all the blankets and pillows they'd placed on the sofa and ran back to Anakin's room, creating a pillow fortress while talking quietly and laughing in between. She hadn't truly felt like a child until that moment, so carefree and unhurried compared to the orphanage.

The subject came often back to the Force, and Anakin even started rambling on and on about how they could become Jedi together, going on adventures and saving as many people as they could, while waving around swords made of light and using magical powers. She smiled indulgingly through it, feeling bittersweet about the idea. Picking up on it, he quickly changed the subject.

"You know, I had never seen an ocean before," Anakin suddenly confessed. They were both lying on their back on his bed, surrounded by their pillow fort, only accompanied by the small light of what would act as an eye for his droid. "It's way bigger than what I imagined. There was so much water, it seemed like there was no end to it!"

Well, he was from a desert planet after all, and had yet to leave it in this period of time. Neither had she, technically. But maybe… just maybe, it wouldn't do any harm to share a part of her past. Just so she could erase the longing expression on his face.

"Close your eyes," she decided before hesitation kicked in. "I want to try something."

Without hesitation, he turned his head toward her, shutting his eyes just before she did the same. Now, she didn't know how to control any of her newfound abilities, and she'd never done anything like it before, but she was going to trust in his own strong connection to the force.

She thought back long ago on a vacation she had went with her family at a beach, feet in the wet sand and waves approaching loudly, licking her ankles before receding. She pictured the blue-green of the ocean, the song of the seagulls and the caress of the salty wind, remembering as many details as possible.

"I can see it," His voice was quiet, almost reverent.

A smile came to her face, unknowingly mirroring his own.

So could she.

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It's been months, I'm so sorry! I'll try to post another sooner, but unfortunately, no promises!

Thank you to every new follower, and those who left a review too! (OldWorldVulture, Love Stories00 and Mads-Chikistorm, my most constant source of encouragement)

Well those two bonded fast. Tell me, what do you think each element in the vision represented? Also, do you want to see more of them on this planet, or should we jump right into the first movie? Leave a review!

Until next time,

-Maginary

*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Star Wars related, only my OCs*

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