The Silent One

Prolouge: The New Arrival

Tatooine - 35 BBY 

(Disclaimer: I have not witnessed, nor do I intend to, a live birth - forgive the gross oversimplification)

The sun bore down harshly onto the desert planet of Tatooine. The double suns combined their radiance to bake the sand and any who dared venture into it. 

In a small hut not far from the village of Mos Espa, a woman was going into labor.  

The sounds of her struggles echoed throughout the hut. A young boy sat anxiously beyond a curtain that separated him from his mother. 

Suddenly, the sounds of the struggle abruptly stopped.  

"Mom?"

Silence was the response. 

"Mom!"

"Mom! Are you okay?"

A labored voice responded from the other side.

"Yes, Ani, I'm doing fine."

"Can I please come inside now? pleeeeease?"

The woman, Shmi, let out a small chuckle. 

"Of course Ani, come inside."

The boy exploded up, and ran through the curtain, almost tripping in the process. His eyes frantically fell upon his mother, who was now holding a small child in her hands. The child's eyes were closed, and he was letting out a soft but noticeable cry. 

Anakin's eyes were filled with wonder as he stared at the child. He had always wondered what an infant looked like, but there weren't such opportunities in Mos Espa. On one hand he wanted to approach the child, but at the same time he felt afraid, scared that maybe he would hurt the child. 

Shmi saw her son's emotional turmoil from where she was laying down. She smiled slightly looking at her newborn son in her arms. Somehow she knew that Anakin would absolutely love him.

"Mom?"

"Yes Ani"

"Is he a boy? Or is he a girl?"

Shmi let out a small chuckle. "You should have asked if he is a boy or she is a girl."

"Oh ... sorry Mom." Anakin's eyes were suddenly downcast. He didn't like making mistakes.

"But Mom, what is ... it."

"It is a boy Ani, and you shouldn't call your baby brother an it."

This time Anakin didn't care about messing up his brother's pronouns. He was filled with pure excitement.

"Well, does he get a name? Or do I have to just call him brother, because that would be kinda weird ... but mayb-"

"Yes Anakin, he gets a name, just like you did."

"Well, what is it?"

"Arrelius. Arrelius Skywalker."

Anakin's face suddenly fell.

"But thats MY last name. Why does he get to take my last name. It's no fair. He can't steal my name."

"Ani he's not stealing your name. You're still Skywalker."

"I don't get it. Why does he get the same last name as me. I thought skywalker was special."

Shmi smiled at Anakin's innocent ignorance.

"Of course it's special. Its still special. You and your brother get to share it, because both of you are special."

Anakin pouted. "I still don't think it's fair."

"Anakin, he's your brother. Of course he will share his last name with you."

"...Fine."

Anakin looked back towards his brother. Something inside him wanted to go up to him and give him a big hug. He just looked so adorable. 

"Can I hold him?"

"Ani, you're too young to hold him."

"Oh..."

"But that doesn't mean you can't be a good big brother and play with him."

He immediately got up and walked towards his brother. He didn't know what to do, so he just put his finger by his brother's hand. He suddenly felt his finger lightly being grasped by his brother.

His brother suddenly stopped crying, as if he was soothed by Anakin's presense. It almost seemed as if he could feel Anakin calming him down. He opened his eyes gently, and Anakin saw into his tiny pupils. They were blue just like his, but they almost seemed to have a slight shade of grey to them. He thought they looked adorable.

"We're keeping him right Mom?"

"Of course my dear. Of course we are."

Shmi looked at her sons in front of her with great happiness. She didn't know how, but somehow she could tell that Anakin would be an amazing brother to Arrelius.

(A/N: If anybody ever reads this (which would honestly be surprising) please give me honest advice on whether or not this was good. I have no experience whatsoever with writing fiction. So please just tell me what you honestly think. Also, how was this chapter length. It was pretty sort because it was a sort of intro, but did it feel rushed? Or was the pacing fine? Let me know what you think.

Also, for the life of me I could not think of a name for this character, so I just went with "Arrelius" for now. If it doesn't fit I'll change it later. Please give me name suggestions.)