25 Days of Christmas in a Galaxy Far Far Away

Chapter 15

Ahsoka, Anakin, and Padme finally get a chance to relax on Naboo...except that 'relax' isn't a word in Anakin's dictionary.

This is a continuation of Day 4.

Naboo never really had a proper winter. Sure it got cold, and autumn had left fallen leaves of orange, red, and brown, but it never snowed. Even now, with Ahsoka, Anakin, and Padme unpacking at the lake house, not a cloud was in the sky and the sun shined brightly, despite the crisp breeze.

For Padme, who had spent her whole life growing up on Naboo, and Anakin, who had been there on multiple occasions, for multiple reasons, the weather and scenery were normal, but Ahsoka had only been there once, and she had spent a majority of the visit trapped in a facility with the blue shadow virus.

Now she could truly observe the planets beauty, and it left her breathless. The lake was blue as ever, reflecting the surrounding trees and hills. Once her bag was completely unpacked, she rushed out onto the small beach, enthusiastically beckoning for Anakin and Padme to follow. They followed, both holding beach chairs and a few snacks. When Anakin reached the sand, he stopped and used the force to float everything that he was holding to where Ahsoka was standing. When Padme noticed he had stopped she turned around and gave him a confused look.

"Come on, Anakin!" She encouraged with a wave of her hand, setting up the chairs and taking a seat. "The lake looks beautiful from here."

"But there's sand," Anakin groaned, giving the beach a disgusted glare.

"Master, it's beach sand, it won't kill you," Ahsoka added, picking up the sand and letting it spill through her fingers. "It's actually kinda soft."

"No," Anakin protested. "I hope you don't mind me taking the boat out."

"Anakin, we're here for Christmas, shouldn't we be spending time together relaxing."

"What she said, Skyguy," Ahsoka shrugged, but Anakin turned and headed towards the docks nonetheless. He hopped into the boat, turned on the engine, and took off without a second thought. "There he goes..."

Padme rolled her eyes as Ahsoka sat next to her in the amended beach chair Anakin had brought out. "He better be back by dinner."

"With Anakin, you never know," Ahsoka giggled, munching on a pear the Padme had brought out. It sure was peaceful at the lake, much better than being stuck at the Jedi temple.

When Anakin got out to where he wanted to be on the water, he could barely see the lake house, it was just a speck along the horizon. He couldn't see the bottom of the lake either, it was far too deep. Something about it made him wonder what was down there. Letting his curiosity get the best of him, as always, he put the boats breaks on and lept over the edge.

The first thing that he noticed was how warm the water was. He'd been to Naboo many times, but not once had he been swimming. Of course, he had swam on other planets, and never once had he been in water this warm. For a moment, he was certain that it was warmer than the surrounding air.

Diving under, he also noticed how clear the water was. It was the perfect spot for snorkling, had it not been so deep. That was the other thing, the water's visibility let him see how deep down the ground was, which he estimated was, well, he had no good guess. He still couldn't see that far, the water just got darker and darker until all that remained was a black hole-like thing. Anakin really had no better description of it. The thought of what lurked beneath only terrified him slightly.

Of course, as soon as an eel, or maybe a really thin fish, probably double the length of the boat Anakin had rode out in appeared from the depths, he became a lot more terrified. So much so that he swam to the surface as fast as he could, lept in the boat, which teetered slightly at his rushed movements, and put it in the fastest gear. The ride back to the dock took him half the time that it did to come out, which wasn't much of surprise considering that Anakin was enjoying the first time.

He didn't bother to tie up the boat when he arrived, what was the worst thing that the small waves along the lake could do? When Anakin reached the beach, he found Padme and Ahsoka walking his way, chairs folded and food packed up.

"Anakin, you look..." Padme considered a word to describe the Jedi's expression, but failed.

"Petrified?" Ahsoka suggested. "Soaking?"

"Your lake is filled with deadly, enormous fish," Anakin mumbled, shivering slightly as a cold breeze passed him.

"Oh good, Ahsoka and I were going to go fishing, maybe we'll catch something nice," Padme gave Anakin a smile that warmed him up quite a bit. "Want to join?"

"Uh, by deadly, enormous fish I mean double the size of the boat. But yes, I'll come." The three began to head down a path lined with trees and bushes back towards the dock.

"The only fish that size are in the middle of the lake! Why did you go that far out?"

"Because I wanted to, uh, explore." Anakin was expecting some snarking response from Ahsoka, but heard nothing, not even an unconvinced laugh. Turning towards her, he found her gaze focussed on the lake, shock written all over her face.

"Why is the boat floating 50 feet away from the shore?" The togruta asked, turning towards Anakin accusingly. Apparently small waves could do alot more than he had thought.

"Look, I can explain..."