Dreams

Chapter 6.

"Anakin, please! Please, help me!" she cried, tears staining her beautiful face as she lay on the bed. Her fingers were stretched out, reaching for something ... for someone. "Anakin, please!"

I woke suddenly, jerking upright, my chest heaving and heart thumping. Glancing across to my sleeping wife, I gently, ever so gently, placed my flesh hand on her right arm. Her warmth eased my breathing, and I let out a slow sigh. She stirred, her brown eyes flickering open, so I slid back under the blankets, brushing her curly hair off her face.

"I'm sorry to wake you," I murmured, lacing my fingers in hers.

She blinked sleepily for a few moments, and I thought she was falling asleep again, but she managed to force out some mumbled words. "What's ... wrong?"

"It was a dream," I responded softly. "Don't worry about it. Just get some more rest, Padmé."

She frowned a little but slipped back into sleep, so I gently kissed her forehead before prizing back my covers and sneaking out of the room. I grabbed a black cloak on the way out, pulling it over my shoulders as I left the bedroom. I sat on the arm of one of the couches, staring distractedly out the window. Everything was still, everything quiet. The nightlife of Coruscant hummed and buzzed beneath me, but the twinkling lights only served to remind me of the stars. It was like I was sitting on a wall back on Tatooine, gazing at the night sky as it brimmed to overflowing with the flecks of white and orange light.

A strange longing for my old life gripped me, and I frowned slightly at myself. I loved being a Jedi. I loved my friends, I loved stretching myself and learning new things, and I loved keeping peace and order in the galaxy. I loved helping people, saving lives, and generally doing my bit to make things better. But that's not to say I didn't miss living with my mother. I loved her as much as I loved being a Jedi. Maybe if I hadn't left her, things would be different.

I sighed softly as images of the dream of Padmé filled my mind, and I wondered time and again what the future would hold. The same thing had happened three years ago, with my mother. Nightmares had invaded my sleep, nightmares of her suffering, of her pain. When I had finally gone to find her, I was too late. I didn't know if I could bear going through that again.

A sudden uneasiness drifted through the Force, causing me to stop and listen. It had been growing, murmuring and looming in the background until it had finally become big enough for it to break into my thoughts. Danger was pending, lurking in the darkness as it waited for the moment to strike. Something wasn't right.

My gaze shifted from staring out the window to focusing more deliberately on the Jedi Temple. Something told me the danger was slinking close to that building, slithering around and within its foundations, even daring to dash higher up than just the ground floor.

Standing up slowly, I never took my eyes off the tiny spires of the Jedi Temple in the distance. My mind flashed briefly to Padmé, but it wasn't unusual for me to leave without warning. I hoped she wouldn't mind. I pulled on a loose tunic then tucked the black cloak tightly around myself as I slipped out of Padmé's quarters.

Hitching a ride back to the Jedi Temple, I stopped outside, standing at the bottom of the many stairs. That feeling had been steadily getting worse, and I knew the threat was closer to fruition than before. I paused to listen and to look for anything that might give me a clue, but I only saw a media droid or two humming around. A thread of gold had been sewn into the horizon, whispering of the coming sunrise, but night still held the city, covering like a blanket any secret activity that may have been happening.

My keen eyes picked out sudden movement at the top of the stairs, and I watched carefully as a dark figure dropped down from the roof, seemingly unnoticed by the guards who were patrolling near the front doors. A strange feeling was tying knots in my heart, and I couldn't figure out whether it was good or not. There was something about that person .... Emotions of frustration, pain, and sadness either emanated from them or was elicited for them.

But then the danger jumped up a level, and I suddenly knew where it was coming from. Racing up the steps, I readied myself for a moment before using the Force to boost me up to a ledge above the front doors. The ledge was narrow and exposed, allowing the wind to buffet me around like a boat at sea, and the sun's rays were becoming increasingly more prevalent. I was in plain view for anyone to see, a liberty which the media droids were taking to the fullest. They buzzed around me like a hive of curious bees, and I could almost hear them asking what I was doing. If I was to answer their unasked questioned, I would have to say I didn't know. I really didn't.

Checking the thin walkway, I scanned for anything suspicious. Any dust or trace of someone having come here had long since been blown away by the howling wind, and I was beginning to wonder if I was crazy. But the warning of danger weighed on me heavily, and I was sure it originated from this place. Then I saw it. A tiny probe was sticking out from a sealing line in the wall's panel. What was that ...?

I knelt beside it, running my hand along the panel as my brain worked in overdrive to identify the small metal rod. My heart was thumping in my chest, almost in time to the tiniest beeping that met my ears. Wait ... beeping?

I carefully lifted the panel off the wall and immediately recognized what the metal rod was. It was an antenna – for a bomb. And that bomb was about to blow.

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Agh! There's a bomb that's about to blow up! What are we going to do? What happens to Anakin?

So we've had some interesting thoughts from Anakin today. He's worried about Padmé, he's missing his mother, and he's thinking about his old life on Tatooine. Where could this be taking him?

Again, I want to say a huge thanks for everybody who's reading! I appreciate it! :) Also, I'm thinking about switching back to Obi-Wan next chapter *please don't stone me for ending on a cliffhanger ending* but I'm not sure yet. (:

Happy reading! ^o^