The Bittersweet Mission

A Little Break

     Ahsoka arrived at the top of the hill on the outskirts of the city at sundown as the note said. It had taken some persuading to get Anakin to let her out for a walk, though she knew he suspected something was up. He finally let her go upon Padmé's insistence to let her have some space, and she left.

     By the end of the lunchtime meal, the four of them had managed to narrow down potential spies to Mark or Doll, which they found a bit unnerving. They could only hope that no one had given away too much information or lacked too much knowledge about any subject.

     Lux was waiting for her when she arrived, and he turned around when she reached him.

     "I'm surprised you showed," he admitted.

     "Do you doubt me that much?" She asked teasingly.

     He chuckled. "No, I just didn't know if you'd be able to get away."

     "It did take some persuading. I never said what I was doing, but Padmé finally convinced Anakin to let me leave."

     "Is everything okay, Ahsoka?" he asked more seriously.

     Despite the fact that she had already checked the area and sensed nothing, she looked around again before sitting down. Lux followed suit. No one and nothing appeared to be anywhere nearby. She could feel that they were safe.

     "Apparently the Sith have taken a force-sensitive child, and my master and Padmé are here to go through with some deal to get the child back. It's still a baby, so they needed someone to care for it for a few years still."

     "So Anakin and Padmé are pretending to be the ones to take care of it?"

     "Yes, at least for the rest of the week."

     "And you're pretending to be their servant?" he asked, leaning back.

     "Temporarily," she admitted as well. "It really isn't a big deal, but it's difficult to remember to keep up appearances."

     "Well, no one should have to be a servant," he stated.

     "Well, it was either I be a servant or I didn't come at all. I didn't want to stay at the Temple."

     "Still," Lux said bitterly, more to himself than to her.

     Ahsoka sighed quietly. "It's only for a few more days. I don't have to do a thing except protect Padmé if need be, and my master already has that covered. He won't let her out of his sight."

     Lux listened as she spoke. Then, his brow furrowed. "Is your mas—Anakin... close... to Padmé?"

      Ahsoka nodded absentmindedly. "They've always been close."

     "No, I mean... close?"

     "Oh," she looked down at her cloak, lekku turning a deep blue. "It's not really my place to say who is close and who isn't."

     He nodded in reply. "My apologies, I didn't mean anything by asking."

     "I know you didn't," she paused, then said, "For this week, they have to be close."

     Lux glanced around, then decided to be a little more daring. "You didn't have to be a servant, you know. You could have come with me and we could have pretended to be close... like old times."

     She chuckled slightly, and he was glad to see that his comment did not have a negative reaction. "I didn't even know you would be here. It's a little late now."