"Now approaching the upper atmosphere of the planet of Naboo. Local time, 1900 hours."
The soft, droning voice woke Akya from her slumber. She picked herself up from Anakin's shoulder where his smile came to meet her.
"Did he say Naboo?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I don't know, did he?"
Akya rolled her eyes with a smile. "You're good, Ani, but not that good."
"Well, you have your answer now," he said. "But I'm not telling you where we're staying."
"Staying?" she questioned, as the shuttle dove through the atmosphere. "The briefing is tomorrow, Anakin."
"It's evening on the side of the planet we're landing on," he explained. "We can stay the night, then by afternoon tomorrow, we'll go back to Coruscant and be back in time for the briefing.
"You're reckless, you know that? Do you know how much trouble we'll be in if we're late, together?" Akya scolded with a smile.
Anakin chuckled. "I know. But I'm not going to let that happen, trust me. We've got round trip tickets." The shuttle began its grounding sequence on a landing pad on the outskirts of the capital city. The engines hissed and slowly, the transport lowered to the pad and finally came to a stop.
"I trust you."
— ★ ✰ ☆ —
"Anakin, this is... wow."
Akya stared up, mouth agape, at the practical castle by the lake just on the outskirts of Naboo's capital. It was beautiful. Built by stone all the way through and lined with rows of ivy and flowers all growing high up the walls. There were at least three balconies, all looking out upon the beautiful Nabooian landscapes and especially that pristine lake. The dark sky above them showed hundreds upon hundreds of stars and constellations Akya had yet to see, ones she planned to study for ages.
"Isn't it wonderful?" he said with a smile. She turned to look at him.
"Anakin, this is the most wonderful thing you've ever done for me. How did you do this?"
"This is Senator Amidala's lakeside home," he explained. "We stayed here when she was under threat of assassination. I asked her if I could visit with a friend, and she said yes."
"That's—" Akya looked back at the beautiful building. They had this place all to themselves for at least 24 hours. She planned to make it the best 24 hours of her life. "That's wonderful. Did she ask why? Did she ask who the friend was?"
"Naturally," Anakin replied. "I told her that I couldn't disclose that information just yet. She got a little suspicious, I think, but I don't suspect she'll tell anyone."
Akya let out a breath. "Good," she said.
"Should we go inside?"
Akya looked at him again. "Yes!"
"After you, my love." Anakin let Akya lead the way to the front door. She stepped with wonder through every room of the lake house, which was filled with beautiful furniture, tiled with what Akya would say is priceless art, and many corners were filled floor to ceiling with beautiful ivy that grew along the walls, giving the place a calming aura. Every step she took further inside made her feel more refreshed, more at peace with what they were doing.
"Let me show you my favorite place," said Anakin, holding out his hand. She took it and allowed him to lead her upstairs, through a large bedroom and onto a wide balcony whose railing was covered with vines and flowers that brought themselves onto the tiled balcony and up two pillars that held it up. It looked out upon the lake and the stars above it, twinkling just for them, as well as two out of the three of Naboo's moons shining brightly.
"I think I found my favorite place, too," she said, staring out in awe of the landscape in front of them. They took a couple steps closer to each other and embraced, both still looking out over the balcony. The moment was beautiful bliss.
"I knew you would love this," he said. "Below us, there's endless fields for us to just lie in and stare up at the stars. The grass is the softest you've ever felt in your life. This is our heaven, Akya."
Akya looked up at him and placed her hands on his cheeks. She didn't know how to thank him for all this, so instead, she brought their faces together and pulled him in for a long kiss.
Suddenly, their moment was interrupted by a small beeping coming from Akya's communicator. Anakin scrunched his brows, then looked down at the blinking light on Akya's wrist.
"You didn't turn that off?" he said, slight panic in his voice.
"No, of course not!" she said, a little stressed herself. What if someone knew? What if someone was suspicious? "What if there was an emergency?"
"Well, you turned your tracker off, right?"
"Yes. I'm not stupid."
"Who is it?"
Akya watched the lights blink in a familiar pattern, then looked up with wide eyes at Anakin. "It's Obi-Wan."
"Well, answer it! He's not going to stop."
"I know, I know." Akya pressed the blinking light on her wrist to answer the communication. "Hello?" she asked. "Obi-Wan?"
"Hello Akya," he said. "Where are you? I've been looking all over and no one's seen you all morning."
Akya glanced at Anakin. His panicked eyes told her to make something up, fast. "I'm out," she said, as casually as she could. "Why?"
"Well, since nothing is going on today, I wanted to know if you had time for some training. I want you to get your Soresu form down."
"Well—" Akya paused. "I would, Master, but the thing is, I'm out with a friend right now." Anakin elbowed her softly, telling her, don't make this sound suspicious.
"Who?"
Akya rolled her eyes at her master's damned nosiness. "Her name is Serafina," she said. "I've known her for ages, and just recently found out she moved to Coruscant. From Tatooine. We're out for the day in the upper levels of the city catching up."
She heard Obi-Wan sigh on the other end. "Very well. Have fun, Akya. I'll see you tomorrow at the briefing."
"Thank you, Master." His voice cut out, and she and Anakin were alone once again. She let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding and shut her eyes, the stress finally over.
"He knows," said Anakin. "He knows something."
"He doesn't know anything, Ani."
"How do you know?" Anakin began pacing, running his fingers through his hair. "What if he overheard you talking to me? What if he—"
"Anakin, that's impossible. The only times we ever talk about us is very far from him. The only thing that might have given him the slip is your little stunt on Agamar. You need to be careful with your emotions."
Anakin sighed loudly, finally turning back around and looking at her. "Everyone always says that to me, you know that?" he said. "'Be mindful of your emotions, Anakin.' 'Your feelings betray you, Anakin.' 'Be careful what you feel, Anakin.' Why should I? Why shouldn't I let my heart guide me through it all?"
"Because they're right, Anakin." Akya took ahold of his hands. "Though our love is very real, our feelings can betray us. We have to be careful about how we express them and how we let them guide us. Be guided by love, but not obsession or attachment. Our love must be just that— simply, love."
"What if I can't do it, Akya?" His voice trembled, lowering in tone. "What if I can't stop myself becoming attached?"
"I..." Akya looked down at their intertwined hands. "I don't know." She looked back up at his glassy blue eyes. "But I do know that there is a reason that Jedi do not form attachments, and I think we should try our best to love without them. I'm scared, too, Ani. But fear isn't a problem when you're not afraid of loss, but instead, of darkness. Because that is the greatest threat."
Anakin wrapped his arms around Akya and she did the same. After a couple moments of a warm, comforting embrace, they decided they would go down to the fields and lie in the grass— both of them had just woken up on Coruscant only hours before, and weren't tired at all. That night, Akya named every constellation and star she could and Anakin listened to the beautiful sound of her voice. He stared at her freckled face which just glowed in the moonlight and smiled. Both of them wished this very moment could last forever.
a.n.:
giving you this bc i finished writing a chapter yesterday. am i finally off writer's block? Who knows. Does it matter? No. i have so many chapters lined up. even if i published once a day, i would still have like two months before you guys caught up to me.
but anyway, don't forget to vote! i love this chapter. close call, Akya!
molly