Flaws of the Jedi

The Fallen, The Escapist, & The Lovers

Astoria's POV
I awoke in a round room with my hands bound behind my back by Force-proof cuffs. I managed to stand and looked around the room. It was made of some sort of dark grey metal and was mostly bare, the exceptions being a faint light overhead in the ceiling and a metal door to my current right.

Great... I thought to myself My parents' classic torture room format....

I began walking around the room for possible secret exits, but to no avail. My parents really thought this through.

I paced back to the center of the room where, once there, I heard the metal door creak open. Once it was fully ajar, it revealed my Father, his eyes appearing to glow yellow in the dim lighting of the room. I remained silent as he took a step inside and slammed the door shut behind him. I noticed a silver, cylindrical object in his hand with a button on the side - a whip. I froze in place, wanting to move, but fear keeping me glued to where I was. I wanted to cry, scream, run, anything, as long as it kept me away from him. But I couldn't. I was frozen in fear as he took steps closer... and closer... and closer... until he was about four feet from me.

"Hello, darling," He said in a cold tone with a smirk on his face, "How've you been?"

I said nothing.

"The silent treatment, eh? That's fine... the quieter, the better," He said, pressing the button on the side of the whip, revealing its long, blue rope. I flinched simply upon seeing it.

"S-Stay away from me..." I managed to squeak out, despite my jaw being clenched from fear.

"Ah, so she speaks... wonderful." He smirked again, then took another step closer. I tried to move back, but I was still paralyzed with fear.

Then, all that could be heard in the room was the crack of the whip and my cries of pain...

Narrator POV
It had now been seven hours since the Casino mission... since Astoria had been taken. Ahsoka tried not to, but she had passed out in Anakin's arms four hours earlier. Anakin managed to stay awake an hour later than her before falling asleep as well. Obi-Wan and Kanan had fallen asleep in their rooms, wanting to be left alone. Ezra didn't get a single second of sleep.

'How could they all sleep while she's missing?' He thought to himself 'She could be hurt... or worse...!'

He paced back and forth in his room, unable to sit still or think straight. He knew he wouldn't be able to do either until he knew she was ok.

Dawn was beginning to emerge and Ezra still hadn't gotten a single second of sleep. He decided to walk around the Temple's court yard garden for a bit to clear his mind. It was only when he had actually gotten to the center of the garden where a bench sat surrounded by roses and poppies and daisies and such that he remembered this was one of Astoria's favorite places to go with him to just relax. He froze in the center, then continued to pace after a moment.

He felt like sitting still at the moment would kill him. Like it would get her killed.

He just wanted her - needed her - to be ok. Just until he could get to her.

Then a thought occurred to him, halting his pacing. He has an X-Wing. He could easily use it to go in search of Astoria. Before he could even give it a second thought, his feet were carrying him quickly to the hangar.

'Don't worry, Astoria... I'll find you...'

Narrator POV (Temple)
Ahsoka awoke in a panic, sitting up straight in her and Anakin's bed, glancing quickly around the room. When she managed to return herself to reality, she sighed with relief that it was only a nightmare.

Soon after she had sat up, Anakin had awoken. He looked to her and asked if she was alright as he sat up and rested an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah... I'm alright..." She told him, "It was only a nightmare, Ani.. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure there's nothing else wrong that scared you so badly?" He asked her.

She managed a faint smile and said, "I'm sure," as she then moved a bit closer to him.

He held her a little closer as she did so. When she was closer, she wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head on his chest. He held her very close and started to lightly rub her back to comfort her. She smiled a little more, this one being in no way forced. She relaxed a little in his arms and stayed close.

After a few minutes, Anakin brought one hand up to her chin and gently lifted her head so that she was facing him. He smiled at her, then softly kissed her. She gladly returned the kiss and held onto him a little bit tighter as he held her closer while they kissed slowly and softly.

They both smiled a little as they continued to kiss, gradually kissing each other a bit faster. She held onto him a bit tighter and his hand moved down from her back to her waist. She blushed a very little bit as it did.

After a few moments, Anakin moved his hand further down to the bottom of her shirt and gently pulled up on it a bit. Ahsoka blushed a bit more. He smirked a little and momentarily broke the kiss as he lifted her shirt from off of her torso and gently tossed it aside, revealing her upper undergarment. They both blushed quite a bit, but continued to kiss as he held her closer.

Narrator POV (Torture Room)
The following afternoon...
Astoria sat up against the wall of the room, hardly able to move as nearly every motion sent pain throughout her. Her sides, torso, and back all burned and stinged from being whipped. She had bruises all over her arm, chest, torso, and legs from being punched and kicked around. She was bleeding in many places, some of which being critical, such as her wrist, chest, and very low on her throat; though none of the cuts were deep enough to kill her, they caused extreme pain. She wasn't conscious enough to hear what he said, but she saw her Father's lips moving as he spoke to her, seemed to chuckle, then walk out of the door... leaving Astoria there, alone.

'Master Kenobi... Ahsoka... Ezra... someone, please hurry...'

-[So sorry for the extra long wait on this chapter!! I've been having a few issues in real life and haven't been able to focus long enough to sit down and write this chapter, but I've finally managed to do so! I hope you all enjoyed the mix of emotions in this chapter, because I enjoyed writing them! It's something new I'm trying out: One chapter, many emotions! Anyways, hope you enjoyed; byyyee!!]-