MasterMind

Chapter 11

"Anakin, troubled you look," Yoda said.
Anakin sensed something was wrong, but he didn't know what. For once, he wasn't causing the problem. He was trying to sense where the trouble was coming from. He found the source...and his eyes widened.
Atathum?!
"What is it, young Skywalker?" Yoda asked.
"Can you excuse me," Anakin asked as he stood up.
Anakin turned to face the whole room full of the Jedi councliers. They all gave him a worried look, but eventually, Mace Windu nodded his head, allowing Anakin to leave. He ran out of the room down the hallway. He used the force to sense where the darkness was coming from. He kept running until he ran into someone else who was running, and they both fell down. Anakin looked up to see who he ran into.
It was Atathum.
Atathum looked at him, sprang upwards and ran the opposite way. Anakin jumped to his feet and ran towards Atathum.
"Atathum! Wait!" He called.
Atathum was force running; so was Anakin. Anakin was determined to catch up to Atathum and ask him what was going on. Finally, after running for a minute or so, Atathum was cornered and Anakin approached him.
"Atathum, what's wrong?" Anakin asked.
Atathum murmured something.
"What did you say?" Anakin asked.
"I said: You don't understand," Atathum replied.
"What do you mean?"
"You don't know what I've seen, heard, you won't understand."
"Maybe I will."
Atathum's voice distorted. "Oh trust me," he turned and looked at Anakin, his eyes looking like a sith lord with inverted eyes, "you won't."
Anakin took a step back. "Atathum...you...your eyes..." Anakin stuttered, horrified by his friends status.
Atathum's eyes went back to normal. He took a breath like he had been holding his breath for a minute. He looked at Anakin. He mouthed I'm so sorry, and he ran past him. Anakin spun around. He squinted. He could've sworn he saw a figure besides Atathum, but when he blinked, the figure was gone.
"Anakin!" Obi-wan's voice called.
Anakin sighed and turned towards his master.
"What was that about?" Obi-wan asked.
"The truth is, master," Anakin began, his mind quickly jumping to Atathum's Sith eyes and voice and that figure, "I don't know."
                                                                        *~*~*~*
Anakin couldn't sleep. He stared at his ceiling for at least an hour until he finally flung his legs over the side of his bed--the sheets were changed already from Atathum's stapling--. He stood up and grabbed his waistcoat by using the Force. He threw it on and stood outside. Coruscant was chilly. Good thing I'm wearing my waistcoat. He moved his hands behind his back and held them. He closed his eyes as he started to meditate. His mind started to clear up. He felt good about himself and imagined his mom saying how proud she was of him.
His mom.
I'm sorry, mom. I will free you. Anakin thought.
He stopped meditating. Anytime he thought of his mom, he just couldn't concentrate on anything.
Not since he started dreaming.
"Anakin?" Obi-wan asked, standing a ways behind Anakin.
Anakin turned and looked at his master.
"You're up again," Obi-wan pointed out, walking up towards him.
Anakin nodded.
"Something bothering you?"
Anakin nodded again.
"Do you want to tell me?"
Anakin contemplated. He shook his head.
"Is...I don't mean this to hurt you, but is this about your mom?"
Anakin paused and held his breath. He nodded slowly.
"What is it this time?"
"I couldn't sleep, and I went to meditate to relieve the stress...but...it...didn't work."
"It's just a dream."
"But I wasn't sleeping. I was as wide awake as I am now from the start!"
"Daydreaming."
Anakin looked down at his bare feet. They were cold from the freezing marble deck.
"Maybe you should go back to bed. I'll be in the main room if you need me," Obi-wan said.
Anakin didn't disobey. He walked back into his room. Obi-wan left through his clean machine door. He threw off his waistcoat and stood beside his bed. He didn't want to sleep, he wanted to know if he could do anything, but he sat on his bed anyway. He sat like that for a bit until he went under the covers, freezing because Corscaunt was so cold at night. He grabbed his braid and moved it away from his head. His head rested on his pillow. He stared out into the busy horizon the rest of the night.