- CASTLES CRUMBLING (A.S.) -

- 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎 -

...and strong enough to get it wrong in front of all these people?

AS PADMÉ ROLLED DOWN the sand dune, Regina landed in a crouch to soften her landing. As soon as she set foot in the ground, Regina wasted no time in recovering. Instead, she trotted over to Padmé, who was lying where she'd landed in the sand. Crouching beside the senator, Regina shot a glance up at the transport.

To her relief, she noticed it fading from sight. They were still on course, following after Dooku. As much as she didn't want to be trapped in the sandy desert, Regina knew it was for the best. If Quillow, Kenobi, and Skywalker could capture—or kill—the count, then this war would be quite short-lived. Plus she has no doubt that she and Padmé wouldn't be stuck here forever.

Glancing around, Regina found no civilization in sight. Not surprised, Regina looked back down at Padmé, gently touching the senator's shoulder. Padmé was awake, though barely. Slowly sitting up, she took in her surroundings.

"Regina?"

As Padmé spoke, a tingling feeling developed in the back of Regina's skull: something was approaching from above.

"It's okay, M'lady," Regina soothed. "We'll be out of here shortly."

Regina could now fully sense whatever it was, and she knew that it was not a threat, probably reinforcements.

"We should get going." Regina stood to her feet and reached down, holding out a hand for Padmé to grab. As she helped Padmé stand, Regina became aware of someone approaching. Turning around, Regina spotted a lone clone, presumably one that had fallen out of ship with them.

"Are you both alright?" he asked, holding his blaster ready. Regina looked back at the clone, a plan formatting in her mind.

"There will be a ship above us within two minutes," she instructed, accidentally disregarding the clone's inquiry. "Can you call it in for reinforcements?"

The clone only paused for a second.

"Yes, Master Jedi," he said. Regina opened her mouth to correct him, but before she could, Padmé spoke up.

"Tell them to land here and we'll give instructions once we're in the air," she added, giving Regina a look. Go along with it.

"We need to get back to the forward command center," the clone suggested. He didn't say it in a contradictory way. From him, it was merely a suggestion. But both Regina and Padmé knew what dire thing was happening at that moment.

Suddenly a cold chill was down through Regina's spine and she froze. She could feel something in the Force. Skywalker was in pain. Anakin...

Snapping back to the present and out of her Force prescience, Regina focused on the job at hand.

"...You have," Padmé was instructing. "We've got to get to that hangar. Hurry!"

"Right away!" the clone replied, nodded, and turned his back, facing the direction Regina had been looking in when she'd informed him that the aircraft was coming. Meanwhile, Regina shot Padmé an appreciative look. They didn't have time to explain to the clone that she was but a Padawan and well, orders would be taken more seriously coming from a Master. Padmé smiled in return, understanding Regina's unspoken gratitude.

Sure enough, the transport came into view moments later. Upon landing, both Regina and Padmé were relieved to see that there was a decent number of clones on board, an amount that would hopefully be sufficient in numbers to secure Dooku.

That was the idea, at least, if Kenobi, Quillow, and Skywalker had succeeded in their mission. But they would be fighting Count Dooku, after all, one of the best duelists in the history of the Jedi. As Regina thought this while boarding the aircraft, a shiver traveled down her spine.

Please let him be okay, she thought.

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The flight, though short, seemed endless to Regina. Every second in the air was a second where she didn't know what was happening to her master... Or Anakin. She held onto the overhead rail, tapping her foot nervously as she relied on Padmé to give the clone pilot instructions. As they flew on, Regina's mind raced recklessly. All she could think about was Skywalker fighting Dooku along with the pain that he'd been in moments before. Letting go of the Force, Regina turned her attention to her surroundings.

Below her, the ground was rapidly getting closer as the transport had to land. 

"Here, M'lady?" the pilot asked Padmé.

"Yes!" was the senator's only urgent reply. Like Regina, she was in go-mode. As soon as the transport hit the ground of a rather tall building built into the mountainside, Regina leapt from the ship, activating her yellowish-green lightsaber as she did so.

Behind you.

Without turning, Regina relied on the Force to deflect the blasts that were being directed at her, Padmé, and the clones. But on she ran, forgetting about Padmé and ignoring the sound of an explosion behind her. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye as she raced to the open doorway and heard Padmé saying something about "Dooku," but she ignored it all.

She just had to get to him.

Regina could sense him—and her master as well as Kenobi. All she got from him was pain, more so than before. But he was alive. She raced through the entrance and her eyes adjusted to the darker interior of the garage-like building. The first thing she noticed was that the place was littered with rubble, as if someone had taken the ceiling and brought it crashing down. There was a pillar that had toppled over, and...

Skywalker.

He was slowly, but surely, getting to his feet. He was clutching his right arm and Regina knew that was the source of the pain she sensed. A long gash ran down the right side of his face, causing Regina's worry to increase. She rushed over to him, ignoring everyone else in the room. She didn't care about Kenobi, who was also badly battered from the battle, or Quillow, or Master Yoda who'd arrived who knew when.

All she cared about was Skywalker.

She nearly crashed into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, holding him close.

"Are you alright, Sitara?"

Blinking with surprise, she pulled back slightly, taking his face into view. The large gash that ran down the right side of his face, over his eye, was beginning to scab over but Regina knew it was painful. And Regina knew for a fact that his arm was aching tremendously; his hand was missing, after all. He was the one who was aching with pain, yet he asked her if she was okay?

"Of course I am," she answered, her heart pounding as she pulled him into a tighter hug than before. "The real question is are you alright?"

He buried his face in her hair.

"I am now."

Wordlessly, they clung to each other as if nothing else mattered. And it didn't matter who was watching.

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