From The Ashes//anidala

22

FROM THE ASHES

Chapter 22

"Anakin!" She cried in joy, pulling herself to him as he touched her bloodstained lips with his own.

"Anakin!" Obiwan almost laughed, crawling toward him. "I knew you could do it."

He pulled himself off Padme's lips long enough to respond."I wasn't so sure, Master. I couldn't have done it for myself. I did it for you, and for Padme, and the babies."

Padme was weeping. "I'm so sorry, Anakin, can you ever forgive me? I was so terrible to you, and now I know exactly how you felt. Everything that happened to you also happened to me." Anakin was touched but saddened by this. He didn't know what to say, so he only hugged her. "Anakin, they killed my mother, so I killed them, and not just the ones who did it, everyone around them."

Anakin was glad to hear her understand, but pitied her and was compassionate. "I am sorrry about your mother, I am sorry you had to go through that."

"You know, every time I did something bad, he had threatenened me that he was going to kill the babies!"

"I knew it was something like that."

"So, it's like what happened to you, I had to do it to save the ones I loved. But I still hate myself! Now I'm even blind like you. I can't help thinking this is what I deserve..."

Anakin put one of his black gloved fingers to her lips. "That's enough talk like that. Let's get out of here, there may be more of them." Her confession and apology meant more to him than he could say, but this was not a time or place for a deep discussion. As he helped Padme to her feet, he glanced once more at the body of Gerapaline. After hearing what Padme had just said, he regretting his brutality a little less. "I'm going to put this mask back on, so don't be surprised when you don't recognize my voice. If there is more gas or a trap ahead, it will do no good for me to go down while trying to rescue you. I'm not interested in going blind again, and if I go do, who's going to fly home?"

"You're right, Anakin." Obiwan walked toward him. "Do you think that you can show me the way, like I did for you when the babies came?"

"I was thinking the same thing." came the voice from the mask. "It will be hard for me to concentrate that deeply in the force while still keeping my mind on getting us out of here, but I'll do my best to see for you. It's going to look kind weird since I have this mask on, and maybe you should keep a hand on my cape in case I loose my concentration."

"I got it." He said, bravely taking a handful of the long black cape. Anakin picked Padme up and carried her, her long, now tangled and dirty hair flowing downward along with her tattered and bloodstained skirt. She put one arm around Anakin's shoulders and used the other to keep her dress closed. They left the room of doom and headed down the hall.

Anakin was very apprehensive, trying to see, hear and sense anything that might be ahead. For Obiwan and Padme, a new breed of fear had set in. While they were locked in a small dark room, it hadn't really hit them that they had actually lost their eyesight, now that sad fact became as overwhelmingly devastating to them as it had to Anakin. "I don't know if I can do it, Anakin." Obiwan said, sounding less confident than Anakin had ever heard him. This upset Anakin very much. Obiwan had always been there for him, had always been strong, had always had the answers. If he wasn't sure, Anakin was worried. He was going to have to be the one to take charge and be strong, because he had to.

"Can you see what I'm showing you?"

"A little bit, it comes and goes."

"That's because I can't completely clear my mind to concentrate on it under these circumstances. Keep holding onto me, and follow my footsteps and my voice. I won't leave you."