My Unfortunate Fate

bonus chapter 1

This chapter is set in 27BBY, near the end of chapter 3, and follows Anakin as he goes to meet y/n for the first time.

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The hallways of the Jedi Temple, though they felt more peaceful than those of most other buildings in the galaxy, or on Coruscant, were still a bit unfamiliar to the lone teenager who roamed them. He'd only begun his Jedi training five years prior—or was it six? He didn't keep count, but it wasn't very long. Most Jedi were brought to the Temple before the age of three years old, too soon to remember their past.

Not Anakin Skywalker.

And that proved a great challenge for him. He still thought of his mother, now, though he knew he shouldn't. The Jedi way of detachment forbid it, like it did any other relationship between a Jedi and another person. Jedi were peacekeepers, protectors, servants of the Force; not personal bodyguards or hoarders of their power. The will of the Force was not the will of a Jedi's emotions.

The Jedi Order was flawed, and Anakin recognized it. He didn't have the same devotion to the Order itself than some other Jedi--like his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi--but he still held an oath to it, which meant letting go of his personal feelings and attachments. That didn't make it any easier, though.

Sometimes, he thought of Padmé Amidala: the then-Queen of Naboo, who he'd met on Tatooine. She looked like an angel; and she acted like one, too. She was kind, generous, understanding, but still held her ground in the face of opposition. Anakin felt she'd treated him more like a person than many other people did, at the time. Sometimes, he thought he loved her.

But he'd push the thought away as fast as possible. As much as Anakin would like to resent it—to find a loophole somewhere in their reasoning, he knew Jedi weren't allowed to love. Attachment was forbidden, same as possession. Sooner or later, he'd have to actually accept that.

Obi-Wan wasn't with him. He'd told Anakin that he'd be investigating something in the Coruscant Underworld; or the Lower Levels. Anakin didn't really believe the claim all that much. They'd just returned from another mission, and Obi-Wan seemed in a hurry to get back to Coruscant; and the Temple. What he wasn't sure of was why.

Before he left the Temple to do who knows what, Obi-Wan had given Anakin a task, simple as could be. The task was to meet someone: the Jedi Padawan he'd have to train with, while her master was off-world. He believed it was a girl, just from the name, and it made him a bit uneasy. A good majority of Jedi were male; and many human.

Anakin Skywalker didn't spend much time with girls, or women in general. Of course, he grew up with his mother, and knew Padmé, but they were both in the past. They had to be. And at the Temple, he spent most of his time with Obi-Wan, who could be quite difficult at times, especially regarding feelings. He was the closest thing Anakin had to a father, so there wasn't much room to think about him romantically.

Not that he thought of anyone in that light. At least, he wasn't supposed to.

Anakin lingered on the name, and almost said it aloud: y/n y/l/n. He didn't know who that was, really, but he felt like there was more to it. He felt like he would know the name's owner soon enough, and that was true. In fact, Anakin was on his way to meet her right now.

He wasn't nervous. Or maybe he was, but he told himself not to be. There was no reason to be nervous, or worried in any way: but it felt unusual for Obi-Wan to leave Anakin to do something on his own. He never did that. Obi-Wan Kenobi was protective of his Padawan; worried that he'd somehow wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time and get himself killed.

Anakin thought it was ridiculous. How could someone be protective of him, to the point where he'd hold him back all the time? It was overkill, even though Anakin knew how reckless he could be sometimes. The boundaries were too restricting for him.

With one last careful step, he arrived at the door. Anakin took a deep breath, and with it, pushed back any anxiety that'd been growing inside of him. There was something behind that door, something important; he sensed it. His heart was racing, but he didn't know why. For once, Anakin Skywalker had no idea what was going on with him.

He knocked at the door. The knock was quick, sharp, and louder than he'd anticipated. Anakin winced, realizing that he wasn't in control as he'd usually been. There was something clouding his judgement, something lingering in the air, tensing the Force around him.

The door opened after about a minute. A girl appeared before him, one he'd never met before, with an unfamiliar face. They looked at each other for a moment in silence, as if considering something, and Anakin surveyed her. Judging from the girl's height, appearance, attitude, and the tight-knitted braid thrown over her shoulder, he knew she was his age; if not a bit younger. She was the person he was looking for.

"Hey," the girl said, "you're Obi-Wan's student, right?" Her voice was soft, and she sounded happy that Anakin was there.

He had to calm himself down, and that made his lips grow into an unconscious smile. He almost stammered out a response, but instead managed to say, "That would be me." Anakin felt a bit more confident this time, so he went alongside his master's wish, and furthered the conversation. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Still constantly pulling himself back to the present, Anakin couldn't help the feeling that this girl was important.

Little did he know, that was the time he met the love of his life.