EIDOLON | A. SKYWALKER

QUATTRO

"Are you going to use one of your Jedi mind tricks on me?" Adhara teased.

        The following day Padmé suggested having a picnic in the nearby meadow. So now they sat in the lush green grass, the food they prepared long forgotten. Anakin chatted with Adhara and Padmé as the two picked flowers around them.

"They only work on the weak-minded," he told her. "You are anything but weak-minded."

        Adhara rolled her eyes. If he insisted, she thought. "I was twelve; his name was Lovats. We were both attending the Royal Academy. He was a year older than I- charming, dark curly hair, dreamy eyes-"

"All right, I get the picture," he interrupted with a wave of his hand. "Whatever happened to him?"

"I believe he became a pilot," Adhara shrugged, fiddling with her hands in her lap. "Haven't seen him since."

"Maybe he was the smart one," he grumbled.

"You really don't like politicians, do you?" Padmé threw in.

        Anakin cracked a smug smile, claiming he liked two or three. But he did not believe the system worked.

"How would you have it work?" Adhara quirked an eyebrow.

"We need a system where the politicians sit down and discuss the problem, agree what's in the best interests of all the people, and then do it," Anakin stated.

       Padmé and Adhara both scoffed. "That is exactly what we do. The trouble is people don't always agree. They hardly ever do," Padmé told him.

"Then they should be made to," Anakin said.

       Adhara challenged him, asking who would make them agree.

"I don't know—someone," he groaned.

       Padmé continued to press, asking if he would be the person for the job.

"Of course, not me!"

"But someone?" Adhara quizzed.

"Someone wise."

"Sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship to me," Padmé pointed out.

        Adhara and Padmé both stared at Anakin. He tried to hold a straight face. "Well, if it works," he couldn't stop the grin from escaping.

"I think he's making fun of us," Adhara gawked. The three of them burst out in laughter amongst themselves.

       He smiled down at his hands. "Oh no, I'd be much too frightened to tease a Marchioness or a Senator."

        A mischievous grin crossed Adhara as she turned to Padmé. They decidedly picked up pieces of fruit and started throwing them at Anakin. He caught them in his hands. He further encouraged the two women to keep tossing the fruit at him.

"You both are always so serious," Anakin quipped.

"We're serious?! You clearly haven't met us," Adhara chuckled.

       Anakin began to juggle the food as Adhara and Padmé gradually added more. He lost control once there were too many to hold, and the fruit fell on his head. The chorus of laughter continued to fill the meadow.

       Adhara and Padmé watched a Shaak cross in front of them. Anakin riding on top of the creature instead of getting chased by it, like he was only a few minutes ago. The two women giggled as he attempted to stand on the creature's back. But, the Shaak bucked, and Anakin lost his balance, causing him to fall.

       Anakin's antics amused his friends until they realized he wasn't moving. Concerned for him, Adhara gathered her skirts up in her fists and dashed over to him. She found him lying face down. Dropping onto her knees, Adhara fretted, "Anakin, are you okay?"