Storms drown on through the day, but by nightfall they grow meaner and angrier. Darkness is where the shadows come out to play, and the dark side lives to bring in Jedi from the other side. Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one, and yet still takes ord...
As the Council convenes in the lofty chambers of the Jedi Temple, Anakin Skywalker and Raina Dracarys stand before them, their heart heavy with a task they had never imagined. They have been assigned a mission, a task that would test their loyalty and their faith in the Order they have pledged themselves to.
Anakin and Raina have been charged with spying on the Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine himself. The Jedi suspect the Chancellor of a conspiracy, and they believe that Anakin and Raina are the keys to uncovering the truth, since the Chancellor has grown very fond of the two. Anakin is conflicted. On one hand, he has grown to respect the Chancellor as a mentor, a wise and encouraging guide who has helped him navigate the treacherous waters of politics and war. On the other hand, he is a Jedi, bound by his duty to the Order.
Alas, as Jedi, he is also not allowed to form intimate bonds, something both he and Raina are guilty of.
As they stand before the Council, Anakin and Raina couldn't help but feel a pang of anger at their suspicion. They have always treated them as outsiders, mavericks with too much passion and too little patience. And now they are asking them to betray the one person who has shown them kindness and understanding.
Anakin's thoughts turned to his true master, Obi-Wan. The two have grown distant in recent months, as Anakin's ambitions and frustrations have pushed him further and further away from his mentor's tutelage. Obi-Wan had become a thorn in his side, a nagging voice of caution that held him back from his true potential.
But now, as Anakin prepares to embark on a mission with his partner, he couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. He knows that he's going to cross a line that could never be uncrossed. He's about to become a spy, a traitor to the man who has taken him under his wing.
As he leaves the Council chambers, Anakin knows that he was about to enter a new world, a world of secrecy and lies. He can only hope that his loyalty to the Jedi Order will be enough to guide him through the darkness that lay ahead, as well as his love by his side.
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Raina attempts to stay optimistic about their mission, but it becomes increasingly more difficult with the thought of Padme's pregnancy looming over.
How much time will she have with him?
And how will her heart recover from its inevitable break?
But while on their mission of spycraft... the truth is revealed to the powerful Jedi Knights.
Their mentor, the Chancellor, is not who he appeared to be. Darth Sidious, the enigmatic Sith Lord who has been pulling the strings of the Republic from the shadows, was in fact Palpatine. Anakin feels a sense of betrayal wash over him. He has trusted the Chancellor implicitly, but now he realized that his faith had been misplaced. He and Raina have trusted the man for years.
Raina knows they have to act quickly, even if Anakin is a little hesitant. They report Palpatine's true identity to the Jedi Council, hoping they would take swift action to stop him. However, their relief at finally revealing the truth was overshadowed by a new dilemma that plagues them.
For even though Anakin and Raina's love is strong, there may yet be love even stronger, that of a father to his child, and with Padme's pregnancy comes increased paranoia.
Anakin is convinced that his wife would die in childbirth. He has seen it in his visions and knows that it is inevitable. But there was a glimmer of hope - Palpatine has promised him the secrets of Darth Plagueis, the Sith Lord who has the power to cheat death.
Anakin was torn between his duty to the Jedi Order and his desperate desire to save his beloved Padmé, even if her unfortunate demise would mean he could truly be with his darling Raina. If he betrays Palpatine now, he would lose his chance to learn the secrets of the dark side that could save her life. But if he remains loyal to the Chancellor, he would be aiding the very man who has been manipulating the galaxy for his own twisted ends.
As Anakin stands on the precipice of this life-changing decision, he knows that the fate of the galaxy rested on his choice. Will he choose the path of righteousness or the allure of power? Will he choose to save Padmé or to uphold the Jedi Code? The weight of the decision was almost unbearable, but he knows that he could not delay any longer.
And so, Anakin takes a slight detour, deciding to sneak into Raina's room in the middle of the night and immediately bring their lips together. The door shuts, and not a moment later, Anakin has them both naked and on the bed.
It feels wrong to be copulating so close to Padme-- just down the hall in fact. It feels very very wrong, that in the middle of it all, Raina begins to cry. Anakin comes to a halt to wipe away her tears, feeling guilty and at fault for them. He doesn't want to see her cry... he hates seeing her cry.
It makes his choice even harder.
He knows that Raina has a good heart. He knows that Raina will most likely be faithful to the Jedi... but he doesn't know the whole truth. None of them do. They don't know the truth that Palpatine holds.
They don't know the truth about Raina's mother... and it's the exact thing that makes Raina stray away from the Jedi, and begin down the dark path her father swore she would never walk.
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