Traitor

6.

I was woke up with a shake and Anakin above me. I just groaned, turning over onto my back. I hated being woken up by anything that wasn't natural. Loud sounds and people forcefully waking me up always put me in a terrible mood. This better be more than important. This had to be something life-threatening like the planet was being blown up or something.

"I think Padmé and Austus snuck off together." Anakin states, looking worried for some reason.

"Why would you wake me up to tell me this? Austus is perfectly capable of babysitting Padmé on his own." I try rolling back over, but he begins talking again.

"It's just, they didn't leave a note-"

"I don't care, dude. He may not always think with his head, but he wouldn't put her in any danger. If you're so bothered by this, go find your little girlfriend Padmé." I say bitterly. I feel kind of mean and weirdly jealous in a selfish way. I understood it was his job to protect Padmé, but he shouldn't underestimate Austus's abilities. Even if the endgame was a betrayal.

I had reported to Dooku the night before, and he seemed proud that I had gained their trust. He told me to continue to have their trust, so that's what we must do.

"Okay." Anakin looks slightly upset of my words, he begins to leave but I stop him.

"I'm sorry," I sigh, "I'm just not a morning person."

"Clearly." Was all he says, "Are you going to help me find her or not?"

"I will." I get up and put my Mandalorian helmet on, grabbing my blaster out from under the pillow. I'd rather be safe than sorry, even if this was one place their couldn't have been a threat.

We found them having a picnic, laughing together in the field. Austus was standing on top of a creature in his full black suit. Padmé seemed amused by his antics. When she saw us, she greeted us.

"You're welcome to join us if you'd like!" Padmé exclaims, standing up to hold out the basket of goodies. Austus gets up from where he falls off the creature and walks over to us.

"You didn't tell us you would be out." I state where Anakin didn't have too, "You could've gotten lost or worse- killed. You can't leav-"

"I will not stand her and listen to you go over what could be. I'm safe, happy, and alive." Padmé stands up for herself, glaring at me, "I understand your concerns, but please, do not worry about what ifs. I refuse to be coddled." It took everything in me not to talk back to her Highness. I had a job it was to protect her. Acting like a spoiled teenager about it wasn't going to help anything. She could've been hurt, seeing Anakins side now. Or maybe it was just Anakins side...Was I forming this opinion just because he thought it was best?

"Yes, m'lady." I say, as she turns to Austus.

"Escort me back." Austus nods at her request and they start walking back.

"She'll get over it." Anakin tells me, then follows after her.

-

It was later that night when I heard a knock on my door after dinner. I was expecting Austus to be their when I opened - but come to think of it, he loved to barge in mostly. He once walked in on me in my underwear. All he said was, 'nice', and turned back around, closing the door behind him. The person behind the door was Anakin.

"Hi?" I answered, confused.

"I... wanted to talk." He states, "If this is a bad time-"

"No, it's okay, come in." I open the door wider, and he walks in. I go over and sit on my bed.

"I want to apologize for what I said when we first met... Taking your gun from you... It wasn't right." He tells me, looking down, "I'm sorry. As a Jedi, it was wrong to assume all Mandalorians were murderers. You... and Austus... seem like decent Mandalorians." He looks back up at me, "I've just been thinking about it. You hopping on the droid, caring for Padmé, being comfortable to share things about your past with me - You're truly brave, noble even." I feel a pinch of guilt in my chest. None of it was true, none in the slightest. I didn't care about Padmé, it was all for show, it was all a lie, even my past.

"It's okay, I'm sorry for saying you're just a Padawan. You're more than that. You'll be a great Jedi Master one day." I smile up at him.

"Thank you for saying that." He smiles back. It goes quiet for a moment, and I feel my face blush. I was thankful it was dark, "I've always felt insecure about being one still. It's just not fair to me, I know everything their is to know."

"I wouldn't doubt it." I tell him, "Take a seat." We begin to talk about different things, things we liked, things we didn't like, things about the consuming war, things about peace, my Mandalorian heritage, his Jedi missions and the council, my family, his family, Austus, Padmé, Obi-Wan, we talked about so much for just one night.

As we talked, I felt something. I didn't know how to describe it or what to do with it, but my stomach was churning. We both fell asleep on the bed. Mind you, we weren't touching. I felt happy too, I hadn't talked to anybody like this since-

Hayl Strun. Maybe that's what I felt. Maybe it was just my stomach churning because my conscious knew I was betraying him. It felt that way, it really did. I knew he was gone. I knew I'd never see him again, but in our flame, we wanted so much from each other. We wanted to leave Death Watch together. It was our plan, but he wouldn't go with me. That hurt more than anything ever has before.