The Lucky One (a Star Wars fanfic)

Chapter 41

Rider's pov

"Rider?" Obi-Wan asks after a few minutes of flying in silence, his loud voice cutting through the silence I had grown accustomed to causes me to jump.

For a few seconds I wonder why he might have said my name, but then, while filling with dread, I realize why he said my name. He wants me in cuffs.

With a heavy sigh I stand up much too quickly, the sudden dizzying rush of blood to my head almost causing me to fall back onto my seat, but I barely remain standing, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible so that I can sit down again.

Slowly, I stumble towards him, my feet dragging across the floor, unable to lift them up to walk normally. As I approach him, I feel the fear and panic begin to set in. I start breathing deeply with the hope that it will help calm me down and keep my hands from shaking, but it doesn't help at all.

After what feels like hours spent walking, I stop in front of Obi-Wan, turn my back to him, and put my hands behind me as I try to brace myself for having the force ripped away from me.

After a few seconds of mentally preparing myself for having cuffs on, I realize that I still don't have them on.

"Rider, I'm not going to put cuffs on you," Obi-Wan says after a few more seconds of me waiting for him to put the cuffs on, his words shocking me.

A little hesitantly, I move my hands and turn around to look at him.

"I don't understand. When I wasn't a Sith you insisted that I be in cuffs, but now that I actually am a Sith, you aren't going to put me in cuffs? Why?" I ask in a whisper, so confused by his actions.

"I saw what you did back there, the way you rushed in to save a Jedi from Sidious. Do you have any idea who the Jedi is?" Obi-Wan says with a small smile.

"No. I just saw that he needed help and since I had the chance to save him, I took it," I say quietly, feeling a little embarrassed for knowing who the Jedi is.

"You saved Jedi Master Mace Windu, one of the highest ranked Jedi on The Jedi Council," Obi-Wan says, absolutely shocking me.

"A-are you serious?" I ask in shock, not believing that I was fortunate enough to save the life of such a high ranked Jedi.

"Yes," Obi-Wan says with a smile.

Feeling too exhausted to keep standing I sit in the seat behind Obi-Wan since it is much closer than my original seat.

Once I am sitting, I say with a smile, "Thank you, Master Kenobi, for trusting me enough to keep me out of cuffs."

"You have earned it, Rider," Obi-Wan says, his praise causing me to swell with happiness. I never thought that there would be a day that Obi-Wan trusted me, and now that it is here, it seems so unreal.

After a minute of silence that I spend thinking of how I saved Windu, I whisper, "I feel like a monster. I killed a man today, and the fact that I did it to save Master Windu doesn't help much. I never wanted to hurt anyone, but now, I'm a murderer. I deserve to be treated like a Sith because of this, not with the kindness you have shown me."

Once I am done talking I expect Kellan to say something, but he doesn't, making me feel even more like a monster. If the person who has always comforted me when I needed it most finally doesn't know how to, my words must be true.

A few seconds later, Obi-Wan stands up and begins walking towards me. Against my will, I shrink back in my seat, memories of when I was in The Temple, so afraid of him, flooding into my mind once again.

He sits in the seat beside me with a kind smile, helping me feel a little safer.

After looking at me for a few seconds, he says, "I know that doing so isn't helping very much, but you have to keep reminding yourself that you killed Sidious for a reason, and if you hadn't, Master Windu wouldn't be alive right now. He is alive because of you, Rider."