Celestial Bonds - ANAKIN SKYWALKER - WTM

CHAPTER FOUR

The great, gloomy hold is crowded with emigrants and their belongings. To one side R2 is coming to the head of a food line holding two bowls. With one of his little claw arms, he grabs a chunk of something that looks like bread.

R2 slips a tube into a tub of mush and sucks up a large quantity. A server sees him.

"Hey! No droids!" The server shouts.

R2 takes one last big suck and heads away from the food line. The server shouts after him angrily. The little droid moves past groups of eating or sleeping emigrants and comes to Anakin and Eva's table where Anakin is sound asleep.

Everyone laughs at the cheeky droid, finding him very mischievous for someone that wasn't created to be so silly. R2 is very unique indeed.

The young Jedi seems to be having a nightmare. He is very restless.

"No, no, Mom, no..." Anakin whispers, shaking his head and trembling from the scary visions torturing his mind.

Anakin burrows in his seat in embarrassment when his nightmare is exposed.

Eva looks at him for a long moment, then she flips the arm rest, and sits closer to Anakin and wraps an arm around him in silent comfort.

Anakin smiles gratefully, not feeling comfortable to speak right now, and indulges in her familiar cold touch as if he were a starving man finally graced with a drop of water.

He pointedly ignores the pitying glances sent to him by the other occupants in the room. The pity that leaks out of them. The disapproval from the Council.

He is sweating. Eva leans over resting her hand on his arm. He wakes up with a start, then realises where he is. Eva simply looks at him. He stares back, somewhat confused.

"What?" He asks.

"You seemed to be having a nightmare." Eva informs him sympathetically. She can understand his grievance. Her nights are often plagued in nightmares too, strange scary nightmares that have her choking on her breath and she would wake with moments of forgetfulness and fear.

Anakin looks at her a little more closely, trying to see if he has revealed any of his secrets.

"Are you hungry?" Eva asks.

"Yeah," He nods.

Eva takes the food from Artoo and sets it on a make-shift table. Anakin rises and takes a seat as she places a bowl in front of him.

"Thanks," Anakin whispers.

"We went into lightspeed a while ago." Eva informs him.

Anakin looks into Eva's eyes.

"I look forward to seeing Naboo again. I've thought about it every day since I left. It's by far the most beautiful place I've ever seen..." He breathes. Despite his words, his heavy eyes show he's not talking about Naboo but rather...her.

Eva is trapped in the strong gaze of Anakin's; she stares transfixed by the familiar intensity that she sees whenever he looks at her. The stare she can feel deep within her soul. The dark glaze that has her struggling to breathe. Her breath hitches as she grows uncertain and insecure under his piercing stare.