THE SKYWALKERS: book one

CHAPTER EIGHT - Decisions

"Why am I still here?" asked Anakin. He and Qui-Gon sat across from each other on the dark ground, though Anakin had a strange feeling that he was floating—like there was no ground. He and Qui-Gon were suspended in darkness.

"Patience, Ani," Qui-Gon said softly but firmly, his eyes closed. "Use this gift that has been given to you. You are closer to the Force now than you will be for some time."

Anakin wasn't sure this strange purgatory he was in was any kind of gift, but he wasn't about to tell the old Jedi master that. Learning from this man was his last chance at redemption—his chance at setting things right. He shut his eyes, focusing on the Force flowing through him.

Memories flashed through his mind, memories of his mother and the Podrace that had changed his life forever. And he saw Padmé smiling triumphantly at him. She kissed his cheek. Then he was in a meadow with Padmé, having a picnic, and his ears were met with squealing laughter as a little boy who could be no older than two toddled after a girl who had to be about the same age. Something inside Anakin told him those were his children. He smiled, glad to see them enjoying themselves, and the pair of them ran and jumped onto his lap, making him smile even wider. Then a shadow spread across the land, turning the bright blue sky a cold, stormy gray. There was a peal of different laughter now, and Anakin immediately recognized it as Palpatine. "They will die." The Sith lord hissed. "No!" Anakin shouted.

"Anakin!" Qui-Gon had taken him by the shoulders. "Anakin, do you know why I wanted to train you?"

Anakin sat panting, trying his best to regain his calm demeanor, and he shook his head. "Because I was supposed to be powerful?"

"No," Qui-Gon smiled. "I saw a boy who was too good and brave and kind to live the life of a slave. Your mother knew it too: you were destined to do great things."

Anakin hung his head. "I've disappointed you then, Master."

"You could never disappoint me. In fact, you have proven us correct."

"Master?" Anakin looked up into Qui-Gon's eyes, searching for any sign that he was humoring him.

"You killed Palpatine. That showed great strength—to go against the man who had claimed he could give you so much."

"I shouldn't have allowed myself to be manipulated by him in the first place," Anakin grumbled.

"We were all manipulated," Qui-Gon touched his shoulder again. "And now, young Skywalker, we must work with what we've got."

Anakin nodded. "What is it you wish to teach me, Master?"

"To train your children, you will need to discipline your mind. You will need to understand the many facets of the Force. Surely your time as Darth Vader will have shown you that the Force is not black and white. There must be light and dark."

"Balance," whispered Anakin.

"Precisely. It is the key. You will not teach your children to make all the same mistakes the Jedi did with you."

Anakin liked the sound of that. His children wouldn't have to hide and sneak and keep secrets just to get around some silly rules. "They can learn to use their emotions to their advantage."

"To some extent, yes," Qui-Gon nodded. "It will allow them to be stronger when tempted with the Dark Side."

"Good. They won't go down the same path I did." But wouldn't the best way to keep them from going to the dark side be to keep them from knowing about it in the first place? To keep them from all of it—the Jedi, the Sith, the light, the dark. They could just have a normal childhood; a liberty Anakin hadn't been able to afford.