Until the Twin Suns Cease to Shine [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 4: Boonta Eve

Author's Note: Hi, guys! I know you all must not like me right now, seeing as I haven't uploaded in a while. Please don't kill me! Then I won't be able to upload at all. I have been super busy with musical rehearsals, homework, and dance class, not to mention everything my siblings have going on. Anyway, here is the next chapter. Hope you like it!

Chapter 4: The Boonta Eve Race

Sarah woke the next morning to complete darkness. She was stiff and sore all over, most especially in her neck. Stretching as far as she was able, she looked at her surroundings - or tried to, seeing as she was in a dresser. That made her wonder. What in the Outer Rim was she doing in a dresser? Shouldn't she have been in bed? And why weren't Shmi, Anakin and the others looking for her?

The truth hit her like a ton of permacrete bricks. She remembered everything that happened the day before. She also knew what day it was - it was Boonta Eve, the day of the Podrace. Once again, tears began to stream down her face, and again she had no idea why she was crying. It wasn't like her to get emotional, but that was exactly what had been happening this past week. She tried to stifle another sob, but it was no use. Suddenly she froze; she could've sworn she'd heard voices coming from outside. Carefully, she pressed her ear up against the wooden door of the dresser and listened hard, the tears now falling in complete silence.

She had been correct - there were multiple voices, all in the same worried tone. Fear and anxiety pressed upon her, crushing her until she could hardly breathe; these were not emotions that she personally felt, but ones that she felt emanating from the others in the room.

"Are you sure she isn't in bed?" asked a young woman. It was Padme, her voice tight with anxiety.

"She was there when I checked last night, but she isn't there now," insisted an older woman that Sarah recognized as Shmi. She felt a surge of pity for her guardian; of all the people out there, Shmi's worry had been the strongest.

"I don't know what could've happened," said the voice of a young boy - that had to be Anakin. "She couldn't have gone that far, could she?"

No one answered his question. Inside the cramped, dark confines of the dresser, Sarah silently listened to the hurried footfalls of the humans, droids and alien pass her hiding place multiple times without stopping once. She wondered how long they had been searching for her, and she began to worry that perhaps they wouldn't find her - the door had been locked from the outside the night before, and nobody would be able to hear the cries of a seven-year-old human girl from the inside of a wooden dresser. Her worrying turned into pure fear as her mind whirled with horrifying images of what might happen to her when suddenly all the noise stopped.

She blinked a few times, then pressed her ear harder against the door. Silence. Then she heard it - slow, quiet footsteps advancing closer and closer to where she hid. She scooted to the back wall as she heard the lock click, then the door swung open with a creak.

Bright, harsh sunlight poured in, blocked only by the tall, dark shadow of a man. Squinting against the sudden brightness, she heard the man sigh and felt relief flood through him. "It's all right, I found her," called the deep, welcome voice of Qui-Gon Jinn, and the others all sighed in relief. He then turned back to her, concern now coloring his tone. "Are you okay, Sarah?" he asked. Sarah couldn't speak, so she merely looked at him and nodded mutely.

He frowned at her but said nothing. He didn't have to; she could feel his worry increasing by the second, but now was not the time to be thinking of what had happened last night. Anakin had a race to get to. Qui-Gon helped her out of the dresser and she was immediately bombarded by worried people. Finally after the fussing was done she ran to the room she and Anakin shared to get herself ready for the big day ahead.