[UNEDITED]
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"Rise Lord Vader."
- Emperor Palpatine
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"You're gonna need me on this one Master." Anakin said as he walked side by side of Obi-Wan and Oriel towards where Obi-Wan would make his departure for Utapau.
"Oh, I agree. However it may turn out just to be a wild bantha chase." Obi-Wan tried to ease his thoughts.
"Then how about I tag along? It would be a nice getaway." Oriel tried to bride him, linking her fingers with his, giving him the sweetest smile.
"Oriel." He said in a warning tone. "We've been over this, you're in no condition to fight Grievous." He tucked a lock of her orange hair behind her ear as he took her beauty in as much as he could.
"You can't just bench me for another seven months Obi." She looked up with puppy dog eyes wanting nothing more than to accompany him on his assignment.
"Well, if all goes well on Utapau and I capture Grievous, then the war will be over and you won't ever have to be benched again." He moved his hands up to hold her biceps lovingly.
"Okay." Oriel sighed defeatedly. "Come back to me. Please." She begged.
"Of course darling." Obi-Wan assured.
"Promise?" Oriel asked holding out her pinky which made Obi-Wan chuckle.
"I promise." He secured his pinky around hers and brought it up to his lips.
"Alright lovebirds, break it up before someone sees." Anakin interrupted them and gestured for them to continue walking, which they did, however Oriel decided to let them have a one on one chat while she watched from a pillar.
It warmed her heart to see Obi-Wan and Anakin have a civil conversation and it almost appeared that they were apologising.
Maybe things will get better. No. Things will get better. She told herself as she watched the two men bow each other goodbye.
Obi-Wan met Oriel's gaze one more time and she blew him a kiss goodbye which made him smile before he walked off into his Republic Cruiser and not once did she take his eyes off him until he was completely out of sight.
"Come on, Padme wanted you over for dinner tonight. I'm sure I can sneak you out of the temple just this once." Anakin told her, putting a hand on her shoulder and guiding her back inside.
"It would be my pleasure." Oriel would be lying if she said that this wasn't exactly what she needed to get her mind off things.
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"Ani? Ani!" Padme said concerningly from across the dinner table.
Anakin's eyes had completely lost focus as his forehead started to dot with sweat before he dropped his fork making it clatter against the glass table. It was like he had fallen unconscious.
"Anakin are you alright?" Oriel asked more calmly for Padme's sake. She gently pushed the force around her to grasp onto Anakin's force signature and bring him back to reality.
"Obi-Wan was here. Wasn't he?" Was all he said.
"Uh . . . well, yes he came by this morning, but Anakin are alright?" Padme stuttered over her words, surprised by what was going on however Oriel recognised the symptoms.
"You get them too?" Oriel asked softly.
"Yeah. Seems to be a common thing now days." Anakin replied a little to bluntly for Oriel's liking.
"What's wrong with Obi-Wan? Is he alright?" A slight panic started to crawl its way into her body as she thought of all the different possibilities.
"He's fine." Was all he said. "Why was he here?" He asked Padme.
"He's worried about you. He says you've been under a lot of stress." She replied taking his hands in hers and Oriel almost felt jealous she couldn't hold Obi-Wan's like that then.
"I feel lost." Anakin spoke after some thought.
"Lost? What do you mean?" Padme let go of his gloved hand to cup his cheek but he still only looked towards his dinner plate.
"Obi-Wan and the council don't trust me." He said, his breathing becoming heavier with his frustration.
"That's absurd Anakin. We trust you with our lives." Oriel objected and everything she only spoke the truth.
"I didn't mean you Oriel. Your one of my best girls aside from Padme." Anakin said, also speaking truthfully. "But Obi-Wan and the others . . . they lie. Its all they ever do!"
When Oriel looked into his eyes, she saw an all to familiar tight. The usual chocolate brown irises were laced with a wicked yellow and she'd be lying if she said it didn't scare her.
"That's not true Ani! Obi-Wan loves you, possibly more than I do." Oriel tried to keep her cool but it was hard when Anakin spoke so sourly about her husband.
"If that was true than why didn't he tell me about your pregnancy? He doesn't love me and I'd be reconsidering whether he loves you!" Anakin yelled standing up from his seat now and all Padme could do was look at the two argue in horror.
"How dare you! Obi-Wan was doing that to protect me!" She slammed her hands on the table, standing up as well.
I swear to the maker, if I had that darksaber now.
"And don't you ever insult him again when he busted his ass for twenty long years training your fantasy filled brain and you can't even stop to say thankyou!" Oriel didn't want to hear what foul thing Anakin had to say next so she grabbed her glass of win and drenched him in it leaving him speechless.
"I'm sorry Padme, really. Dinner was good but I must get going now." She said biting her tongue to try and not let her anger get directed to Padme but she too just sat there speechless.
"C'mon JC, lets get out of here." She told her droid that was waiting by the elevator as she flipped her hood up to hide her face as she made her way out of the building.
When she got back to the temple, she ran down the halls in attempt to not have to speak to any by passers. When she reached her quarters, she let JC in a made sure to lock the door behind her before collapsing on her bed.
"What's going on JC?" Oriel sobbed to her droid that was beeping comfortably towards her and she couldn't hold the tears in any longer.
"Why is my life falling apart? I thought that my child would make everything better but ever since then, things have just gotten worse!" She cried into her pillow and she felt a little robotic hand nudge her side.
She looked up and saw that JC was holding our a handkerchief for her.
"Thanks buddy. It seems you're the only person who seems to care for my wellbeing at the moment." She sadly smiled taking the handkerchief and wiping her eyes before blowing her nose.
"Why don't you take a break and charge up a little while I take a nap. After all I'm not needed in the library until midnight so I still have a couple hours to myself." Oriel patted the little droids head and wrapped her cloak tightly around her, to lazy to get under the covers and soon drifted off to sleep.
"My mentor taught me everything about the force. Even the nature to the dark side." The sly voice of Chancellor Palpatine interrupted Oriel's sleep.
"Learn to use the dark side of the force and you will be able to save your wife from certain death." He continued as a foggy image of Anakin and Palpatine grew.
"You're the Sith Lord." Anakin said igniting his lightsaber but that was all she saw until the image faded away.
"Please don't." A deformed looking Chancellor begged as he shook on the ground.
"I need him!" Anakin's voice demanded to Master Windu who held his lightsaber dangerously close to Palpatine's neck.
Master Windu just ignored Anakin and lifted his lightsaber, getting ready to bring it back down upon the newly discovered Sith, but Anakin couldn't let it happen, for the sake of his wife.
"No!" He yelled and unsheathed his own saber, pulling it upwards and straight through the flesh of Master Windu's arms making him scream in pain which brought a wicked grin to Palpatine's face.
"Power! Unlimited Power!" He cheered allowing the dark force to send electricity though his fingertips, electrocuting Windu and the vision transformed again.
"Henceforth, you shall be known as . . . Darth Vader." Palpatine announced as he stood tall above a kneeling Anakin who looked distraught.
"First I want you to go to the Jedi Temple. We will catch them off balance. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy." The Sith Lord instructed his new apprentice and the image merged into a familiar face.
Her husband.
Obi-Wan was riding a boga across the rocky mountains sides of Utapau when Palpatines voice echoed through her head.
"Execute order sixty-six." He spoke and seconds later a Republic cannon bolt came whistling towards Obi-Wan and crashed into the rocks underneath where he was riding, knocking him off the boga and into the vast depths of the canyon.
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Oriel gasped awake, sitting up straight as she frantically looked at her surroundings.
Her room was pitch black and silent however she did not feel alone. An unsettling blanket of darkness and pure evil had filled every corner of her room, sucking out all the air.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
It was only a dream. Right?
"JC get up." Oriel ordered as she remembered her droid was in her room and it immediately blinked on.
"I want you to go to the hangar and get my ship ready, set the coordinates for the Utapau system." She instructed and it beeped in response before rolling out of her room.
"I'm coming for you Obi-Wan, don't you worry." She said to herself as she looked around the room for her lightsaber.
Oriel took a deep breath, trying her hardest to clear her mind, and then exited her room, making her way to her ship however she stopped when she walked only a few steps in front of her.
The hallways were empty.
To empty.
However they were not quiet.
Bone chilling screams echoed from the main entrance as the familiar sound of war and blaster bolts bounced on all four walls.
But in the distant she could see the slight flashes from blasters being fired and this was what made her freeze.
There was no red from the trademark colour of the Separatists.
But blue from the blasters of the Grand Army of the Republic.