The Fall | Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

Chapter Nine

Despite the rocky first start to the race and several other bumpy patches that caused Sylvie to start regretting letting Qui-Gon bet their lives on Anakin it seemed she had too little faith as in the end the little boy pulled through and won the race for them. Spectators began to cheer loudly. She could sense the relief coming from Padmé and Shmi but not as much from Qui-Gon and Alina who had completely faith in Anakin from the starts. There was already a large crowd of people surrounding the boy.

They rushed over to him, each of them grinning proudly. Qui-Gon lifted him up and placed him on his shoulder as JarJar clapped wildly. Shmi reached down, picking up Alina who was cheering her brother's name, looking ecstatic. "Mom I did it!" Anakin cheered.

After the race when the crowds were handing out payment for the bets Qui-Gon had gone to talk to Watto while JarJar, Padmé, Shmi, Sylvie, Alina and the two droids, 3PO and R2 were with Anakin. "Good job Ani!" The Gungan exclaimed, picking up the boy for a brief moment before setting him back down. Padmé moved forward to pull the boy into a hug "We owe you everything Ani" she said. And she wasn't wrong, without him they would still be stuck in Tatooine for force knows how long.

Once the handmaiden moved away Alina hugged her brother tightly "You won Ani! You won!" She cheered. Shmi crouched down beside her son, kissing his cheek. "It's so wonderful Ani, you have brought hope to those who have none. I'm so very proud of you"

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

"Well, we have all the essential parts we need" Qui-Gon stated as Obi-Wan and Sylvie approached him. "I'm going back. Some unfinished business it won't be long" he informed. "Why do I sense we've picked up another pathetic life form?" Obi-Wan asked. "It's the boy who's responsible for getting us these parts and his little sister" The Jedi knight responded as one of the guards handed him a lead to a second Eopie. "Get the hyperdrive generator installed" he instructed. "Yes Master" Obi-Wan said "Yes master" Sylvie echoed. "That shouldn't take long" The other padawan stated.

Without another word, Qui-Gon turned his Eopie in the other direction, taking along the second for Anakin and Alina.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Alina walked beside Anakin and Qui-Gon as they made their way to their house. "Hey" Qui-Gon said suddenly "These are yours" he handed Anakin a pouch containing the credits they had received from selling the pod. The door to their house opened with a sort squeak as the two siblings rushed inside. "Mom, we sold the pod!" Anakin declared. Their mother was sitting in a corner of their house, working. "Look at the money! So much money!" Alina said excitedly as her brother opened the pouch to show their mother the credits.

"My goodness! But that's so wonderful Ani!" Mama smiled. "And they have been freed" Qui-Gon said. "What?" Anakin asked, turning around to look at the Jedi knight. Alina also turned around, eyes wide. They were... Free? "You two are no longer slaves" Qui-Gon said with a small smile. The two of them turned back to their mother "Did you hear that?" Anakin asked. "Now you two can make your dreams come true. You're free" Mama said with a soft smile on her face. She looked up at Qui-Gon "Will you take them with you? Are they to become Jedi?" She asked. "Yes" The Jedi knight said simply "Our meeting was not a coincidence. Nothing happens by accident"

"You mean we get to come with you?" Anakin asked "In your starship?" Alina asked, there was both disbelief and excitement in her voice. "Anakin, Alina" Qui-Gon crouched down in front of them. The tone of his voice as he said their names gave Alina pause. "Training to become a Jedi is not an easy challenge and even if you succeed, it's a hard life" he stated. "But we wanna go, it's what we've always dreamed of doing!" Anakin said, grabbing his little sister's hand as she nodded along.

He turned back to their mother "Can we go mom?" He asked. Alina gave her mother a pleading look. She wanted to leave Tatooine, she wanted to see the stars and all the different planets, she wanted to be right beside her brother as they trained to be Jedi and flew starships. "Anakin, Alina, This path bad been placed before you. The choice is yours alone" Mama said. Alina looked up at her older brother who kept his gaze trained on their mother "I wanna do it" he said. "I want to as well" she said.

"Then pack your things, we haven't much time" Qui-Gon said. Anakin cheered as he ran to get his stuff, dragging his sister with him, the both of them were grinning wildly when a thought hit Alina. She stopped in her tracks. "But what about mama?" She asked. Anakin stopped as well "Is she free too?" He asked. "I tried to free your mother too but Watto wasn't having it" Qui-Gon said. Alina faltered, their mother was going to stay here? As a slave? "You're coming with us, aren't you mom?" Anakin asked, moving back towards their mother. When all that met his words was silence he knew the answer.

Alina moved towards their mother, frowning slightly, she didn't want to leave her behind to Watto. "My place is here. My future is here. It's time for you two to let go" Mama responded softly, pulling both her children closer to her. "I don't want things to change" Anakin choked out. Alina only stared at her mother as tears began pooling in her eyes. "But you can't stop the change any more than you can stop the suns from setting" Mama said "Oh, I love you" she pulled them both in for a hug which Alina gladly accepted.

"Now, hurry" she said as she pulled away. Anakin didn't hesitate as he rushed towards his room to get his stuff but Alina stayed firmly in place, watching him dash away. She didn't want to leave Ani but she didn't want to leave Mama either. How was she supposed to choose? She wanted to fly amongst the stars but Tatooine was still her home, the only home she'd ever known. How was she supposed to leave that behind? Her mind began to churn as she looked between Qui-Gon and her mother. She continued to stare at them for what felt like forever as she tried to think of what to do. Finally she came to decision.

.  . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆