Barriss Offee had many regrets.
She regretted her actions as a Padawan; framing her best friend was probably the worst thing she had done in her youth.
She regretted hiding. She regretted falling into her false ways, pretending to be someone else on that backwater moon, molding beads for hours on end. She could have been fighting, helping in the war. She could have been useful.
That was what she regretted the most. She had had a whole life, a whole galaxy in front of her, and she had thrown it away. She had renounced the Jedi, been tossed in prison, released, and then had fled. She had fled. Instead of trying. Trying to be anything more than a backstabbing ex-Padawan.
One thing she knew she didn't regret was placing herself between that Sith and Leia Skywalker. That girl had a million chances ahead of her, a life, a galaxy, and Barriss could see Leia was not going to throw it away as she had.
So as she lay on the ground, clutching Ahsoka's hand, watching the clouds drift, feeling the life drain out of her, she forgave herself for all her selfishness, all her stupid decisions. She met eyes with her friend and smiled.
~
Ahsoka sighed, reached forward and closed Barriss' eyes. She placed her hands over the gaping hole in her chest and adjusted her hood, tucking away the few strands of hair that had shown themselves. There. She could have been sleeping.
"We're in need of a stretcher and a blanket," Ahsoka said into her wristcomm after a moment. She didn't watch as they took Barriss away. No one seemed to want to get near Kaivo's body, and neither did she, so she Force-pushed him to the edge of the forest.
The base was quiet and the sun low when Rex joined her outside. He took her hand wordlessly, and they watched the sun set together. Ahsoka barely noticed when Leia appeared at her other side.
"What happens now?" The little human asked when the sun had disappeared behind the trees. Ahsoka sighed and put an arm around her.
"Kaivo is gone, but the Empire he commanded isn't. We've still got fights ahead of us." She looked down at the top of her head. "But for now...I guess we try and move on."
A/N
And that's the end of this book. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with it!! I'm considering doing a sequel, but for now I think I want to finish the other stories I have going and explore writing in my other fandoms. Seriously, thank you. I never expected to get past 5,000 reads!!
May the Force be with you.
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When She Was Gone
Fanfic"Your Padawan was weak, like you. So I killed her," said the Togruta, circling Anakin's interrogation chair. Anakin finally looked at her in disbelief and horror, tears in his eyes. He stared into hers, begging them to return to ocean blue. But it w...
