All the Stars :: Anakin Skywalker

Revealed

I stayed in the room that Obi-Wan managed to get me for the rest of the day. I had to fight the urge to run across the temple and jump into Anakin's arms and apologize for everything that I'd said.

My throat was sore and my eyes burned from the amount of crying I'd done. I didn't know what to think, but I didn't want to do too much thinking. Anakin can read those thoughts.

There was a knock at my door, but I knew who it was before I even opened it.

"Would you like to join me for dinner?" He asked. "I know you haven't wanted to leave this room today, but you'll be with me. You'll be safe."

"No, thank you," I swallowed hard. "I don't think I could eat right now. I'd just be sitting and... probably crying at the table."

He nodded with a frown.

"Walk with me, then. I heard from... sources... that you like the stars. The sky is especially clear."

Sources.

I sighed. "Okay. Yeah."

"We'll go up to a spire if you're not comfortable going outside completely."

He led me up to one of the spires and we stepped out on the balcony. The warm night breeze brushed against my stinging and flushed cheeks. It felt like a gentle hand. Like his...

I fought back a sob.

"I had an idea," Obi-Wan spoke, trying to distract me. He noticed how much trouble I'm having. "Would you want to work with the younglings? Or, at least, watch Master Yoda teach them? It might do well in getting your mind off of what's going on."

"No," I quickly answered. "It would remind me too much of when I was young."

"You haven't spoken much about your childhood," Obi-Wan's voice was gentle. "You're troubled. Deeply. It's... rooted, I sense it."

"I was hurt," I told him. Suddenly feeling like I can open up to him. Suddenly feeling like I should tell him everything. I need to tell someone. It hurts keeping it pent up. "I was hurt by three men after a party in my youth. They used me, beat me, and left me on the ground. In the rain. In a back alley. Ever since... I've been so... scared. Of every man. Every single one. I'm touch sensitive, because every touch sends me back to that place. Every time someone raises their voice. But... I guess I'm used to that. I grew up with it..."

He was quiet, but nodded in understanding. I felt more impulse to tell him everything rise up inside of me.

"I was an orphan. My parents didn't want me, and the couple who adopted me didn't either. My father used me as an outlet for his anger and my mother was a drunk and druggie who got in my head. Constantly. Ruthelessly."

"I wish I could take that pain from you. It's chained you," Obi-Wan looked sad. "But, I bet it feels better to get it out in the open with someone."

"Yeah," I huffed and turned my eyes towards the sky where the stars were shining. Almost like a reward for being open with someone. "It really does."

"Come on," Obi-Wan led me down to the gardens. "I assume... you've done this in your training?"

"Force training? Yeah, a little bit."

"I'm teaching you a new kind," He stood in front of me. He went to reach out to me, but hesitated. "Are you alright with this?"

"Yeah," Obi-Wan pressed his hands to my shoulders and looked right into my eyes.

"I need you to close your eyes. I need you to take a deep breath, center yourself, then try your hardest to not think about anything. Find peace somewhere inside of you. I'm... going to show you a few things."

"Okay," I closed my eyes, then took a deep breath, and whispered softly. "I trust you."

I heard Obi-Wan move, a shadow of darkness washed over my closed eyes, and I was suddenly thrown into... a dream? A vision?

I looked down and around, but all I could see was what was right in front of me. A fuzzy image like from a movie screen with the brightness too low. So I focused on the images. I focused on the dream.

After all... I see Obi-Wan.

He was talking with another Jedi. someone significantly older than him. He called him Master. Their voices were muffled. The worried look on Obi-Wan's face told me enough. Something was wrong. Something was really wrong.

Obi-Wan had tears in his eyes when he swiftly stormed away from the man he'd called Master. The scenery around me changed and suddenly I heard a baby crying. Obi-Wan turned around and held the small bundle to his chest. I saw a glimpse of the child's face and gasped.

It's... me...

My focus stuttered, but I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. It helped me refocus.

I watched as Obi-Wan kissed baby me's head, handed me off to a stormtrooper, and watched, crying, as the ship flew away.

The images faded into black and I opened my eyes. Obi-Wan was smiling, tearfully, and held his arms open. I sobbed and tightly hugged him, burying my face into his robes.

That's why.

That's why he's always felt so comforting and oddly fatherly to me.

Because he is my father.

"I'm so sorry," Obi-Wan sniffled. "I didn't want to give you away that day. I didn't have a choice. You were so young. You were so innocent. I didn't know you'd have to go through all of that pain. It breaks my heart hearing that."

"It's okay," I choked out through another pained sob. "It's okay. Oh, my god. It's okay. I love you."

Obi-Wan's breath stuttered. "I love you too, Ellie," He leaned back and looked into my eyes. He placed his hand on my cheek. "My beautiful daughter. Who knew you'd come back to me? The chances of that are so low."

"Here I am," I lightly chuckled through tears. "I'm here now. It's... it's you and me again."

"You look just like your mother," Obi-Wan said lovingly. "She was so beautiful. You look just like her."

"But- but why?" I asked. "Why couldn't you have kept me here?"

"Before you and before I even knew Anakin, relationships and attachments weren't allowed in the Jedi community. If anyone found out about you or about your mother... a lot of bad things would've happened. I told them to take you to someplace where you would be safe. A place where no one would know about you or about who and where you came from. That's when they suggested Earth. I've known you were there all along. Your whole life... I haven't been able to see you."

"You did what you had to in order to keep me safe," I told him. "You did the right thing. You couldn't have known that all of that would happen to me on Earth. All of the pain."

"I wanted to tell you as soon as I saw you leave that ship with Anakin. But I saw how scared you were about all of this and I knew I had to wait for the right time. I tried to give you as many hints as I could without telling you."

"I was doubting where I really came from. I was beginning to think I'd been lied to."

"You were, but for your own good," Obi-Wan told me. "I didn't want to give you up. You and your mother left me on the same day. She'd only left hours after you did. She couldn't watch you be taken away. It would have broken her heart too much."

"What happened to her?" I sensed the sudden and intense drop in his mood.

"She was killed," Obi-Wan somberly mumbled. "A bounty hunter."

"That's... that's why you were so upset when I got hurt on Anakin's rescue mission."

"Yes," He frowned. "I thought I'd end up losing both of you to bounty hunters. It would have broken me."

"I'm okay," I glanced down at my arm. "I'm sore, but it's really not a bother anymore. The worst of the pain is gone."

"I wish I could say the same about everything else," Obi-Wan frowned. "The bounty hunter that held Anakin notified everyone of your return. He wants you killed like your mother. That's why you need to be under as much protection right now as possible."

"I'm okay," I hugged him again. "I'm with you."