episode one, scene one: the runaways.
It was raining when she met him for the first time.
Or--more adequately--it has rained on every special or important moment she would ever spend together with him, just neither of them knew it yet. But even before him, would always rain when something important in her life was about to happen. It was like a type of sign that told her that her life was about to change. For better or for worse, but there would be a change coming at her.
She should have known it the second the first rain drops of the night started falling onto the cold asphalt of the street. Above were cruisers and buildings illuminating the sky. Most people didn't walk, even less when it was night time. But she hated the rain. She hated the rain because she didn't have a place to keep warm like most other people in town did. She didn't have a home, and lived on the streets, surviving off what she could scavenge from dumpsters and the pity offerings people would give her. Her parents had abandoned her on the streets a long time ago and, coincidentally, it was also raining that day. She was only six when she was left on Coruscant all by herself, and needed to learn how to survive on her own.
She should have suspected something was going to happen when it started to rain.
It was as if the skies were reflecting her mood, only her mood was permanently gloomy. She never had anything to smile about. She was a street rat; a no one who had no parents or a family who loved her. All she really knew about them was that they abandoned her when she was a small child. She couldn't remember anything about them, not even their appearance, but she knew that she hated them. They had left her at the mercy of the streets when she was only six years old.
Of the few things she knew about her past was her name.
Her name was Belén, and she wasn't from Coruscant. She couldn't recollect the memories of her home planet. But she didn't concern herself with that. What she most worried about on a day-to-day basis was finding ways to stay alive.
There had been a dark hole consuming her heart ever since then, a hole she never thought anyone would help her destroy.
It all started when she met him.
She sat in a dark alley of the planet Coruscant, with her knees pulled up to her chest, trying to retain body heat under a piece of cardboard that stuck out from a dumpster to shield her from the rain. It wasn't working too well and she shivered madly inside her torn up clothes that didn't cover up much from the harsh weather.
"I should be used to this." She muttered to herself, words that were reassuring, but also scolding at herself. Her long blonde hair draped over her face and arms in a second attempt to conceal herself from the pouring rain a little better. "This isn't the first rainy day I've spent out in the cold and I'm sure it's not the last either." She continued telling herself reassuringly. But her own words served as no form of consolation. She was feeling colder and colder with every passing minute, and she thought she was probably on the verge of hypothermia.
She heard her stomach grumble loudly and she looked down at herself, pressing on it with the palm of her hand to see if she could make it stop. She hadn't eaten in days.
She had no energy to move.
Through the blonde curtain of her hair, she saw a dark shadow turn the corner that lead into the alley and then she saw the person who the shadow belonged to. She got a sense of fear beginning to grow in the pit of her stomach when she realized a pair of yellow colored eyes watching her. The shadow grinned upon seeing her, sending shivers down her spine. She felt a bad feeling that was now firm in her stomach and it told her to run away. As the person got closer and closer to her, she used the force to give him the notion that he should ignore her, that he should turn around and keep walking past the alley. But it didn't work because he didn't turn to leave.
It was another thing she knew about herself, but this one was something she had learned over the years. The force was with her, and she knew that if she would have had a family, she may have grown up to become a Jedi. Belén remembered seeing the Jedi temple in the distance. It was a building standing tall and proud in Coruscant, easily visible from any part of the city. Belén had imagined on various occasions what her life would have been like if she had been taken there, to the temple, to join the Jedi order. She would have friends, a family, people who would actually love and accept her.
The Jedi were also people she looked up to. They had been blessed with the powers of the force, and they had been protecting the galaxies for centuries.
But then there was the Sith. The Sith were an organization of former Jedi who had chosen the path of selfishness and turned evil because of it. Belén had never felt the presence of a Sith before, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling and she imagined it had everything to do with the dark shadow that was approaching her.
The person--or being--was clad in black from head to toe, the only contrast with that darkness was a glowing yellow of his eyes. He paused for a moment and said into a holonet communicator on his wrist, "I found the girl, my lord." His voice was low and menacing, but full of respect towards whoever he was talking to. Belén furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion. Why would anyone be looking for me? She thought to herself, taken by surprise at the shadow's words. She had always thought herself as nothing special--a nobody. But now someone was looking for her. That must have made her important somehow.
Confused, she watched him continue to inch closer to her, his boots splashing around the rain water as they touched the ground. She got back up on her feet to run away, but she felt a strong force throw her against a brick wall, further into the alley. She was cornered, with nowhere to run and the panic rising in her made it even harder to think straight. She hit the cold wall harshly and fell to the floor with a thud, wriggling around in pain. Her hands went immediately to rub a sore spot on her body.
"What do you want from me?" She asked him through gritted teeth, looking up at him with masked bravery. But in reality she was terrified.
He said nothing and continued walking in her direction. Belén got on her feet as quickly as she could, and while still placing a hand against the pain on her shoulder, she used the other to push him back with the Force. But she knew she was too weak to fight him and that she wouldn't be able to hold him off for too long. He smirked at her, knowing her defeated, and pulled the hood of his black cloak down to finally reveal himself to her. He was a horrid faced monster with blistering red skin, lips as black as the night sky above, large black horns bulging out of his forehead, and a thick prominent bears on his chin. He pulled a device from the inside of his cloak and she heard a whooshing sound followed by a silent humming that accompanied a bright red light.
Her blue eyes watched in amazement as it dawned on her. It was a light saber.
She had heard about light sabers and knew they existed, but she had never seen one in person. She knew that the Jedi used all different kinds of colors for their sabers, depending on what kind of person they were, and their abilities. But there was one color they steered away from, and that was red. Red was the color of the Sith when it came to light sabers. The sound and the light emanated off it kept her in something of a momentary daze.
He brought the blade of the saber close to Belén's face and gave her a warning, "Don't resist, or you'll die, little girl."
The young girl nodded her head in fear and followed him out of the alley. The door of an air speeder parked nearby opened up and he gestured for her to climb inside. She lifted one foot in the air and pretended she would step inside, but instead she used all her strength to push him back, away from her. He fell to the ground a few feet away, but she made a run for it before he could even respond. Belén knew that there was a very high chance that she would die now, but she needed to take that risk.
"Shit." She cursed to herself as she ran down the streets of Coruscant at night. The only light available for her to see where she was going came from the dim street lights. Up in the skies, the streets were still visibly busy with passing speeders and cruisers. But down on the ground, the streets were fairly empty. "I'd better hope I can escape now, or I'm dead." She told herself, running down the street. The only sound she could hear along with her own thoughts were the sound of her ripped old boots hitting the wet concrete and she forced herself to go faster with each step.
She was running for her life, and she knew it, not even caring about the burning sensation in her lungs and the numbness that was slowly taking over her tired legs that were begging for rest. Belén looked back to check for anyone following her when she crashed into something that sent her tumbling to the ground. She looked everywhere, dazed to see what had happened when her eyes met a pair of beautiful blue eyes, the most beautiful she had ever seen. She had to give her head a shake a few times in order to clear her thoughts because her mind had been clouded by such a handsome young man. "Are you alright?" He asked me in a concerned voice as she got back on her feet. From the moment that her eyes met, she felt a tingling in the pit of her stomach, like a premonition. The force was strong with him, and she was able to tell that he wasn't a Sith. He was a Jedi. Belén immediately knew she could trust the handsome stranger.
Her eyes went wide with fear as she focused her gaze on something in the distance behind him. It was the familiar speeder of the Sith who had just moments ago tried to abduct her. He was speeding down the street and coming closer to them with every second. Not wanting to leave the young man alone, at the mercy of an evil Sith Lord, she grabbed a hold of his arm without even asking and ran into the nearest alley with him in tow. "What is-" He began to ask her, but she silenced him by clamping a hand over his mouth to prevent him from making any noises. Her heart was beating madly against her chest all the while.
"Shh!" She whispered to him, breathless. "Look...I'm sorry for kidnapping you. It's just that I couldn't just leave you out there with an angry Sith roaming the streets. He's angry because he tried to kidnap me and I escaped and I didn't want him to end up taking it out on you. He can probably sense our presence." She explained to him nervously, still with her hand over his mouth. He only stood there motionless, not doing anything to push her away. His blue eyes only watched her, observing every detail of her face as though trying to decide if he should trust her or not. For the time being, it seemed like he was trusting her.
Belén took her hand away from his mouth and looked up into his icy blue eyes. She had to look up at him because he was a bit over a head taller than her. He was very tall, at least a whole foot taller than her, and he had to look down to make eye contact with her. He wore a dark brown Jedi outfit, borderline black. If it weren't for the fact that she could feel that he was a good person, she might have thought otherwise because only the Sith dressed in black, and his robes were a close enough color. His dirty blonde hair was cut not too short, with a small braid coming down the side. "How did you escape a Sith Lord all by yourself?" He asked her in a whisper, rather surprised.
She replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know. The Force helped me. It always keeps me safe." A small smile formed on her lips. It was the first time she had genuinely smiled in a long time. And it had been a handsome stranger to bring about a smile onto her face in one of the darkest of her times. Everything about him was so pleasant to her eyes, even in the dimly lit alley and the darkness of night. She was certain that there could not be anyone better looking than him.
His eyes widened a bit and he spoke in a tone of surprise. Although the first sentence was low, as if he had been talking more to himself than to her. "I knew I sensed someone with a strong presence of the force in them. I sensed that you were in trouble and you needed help. What's your name? I'll have to get you to the Jedi temple and ask Obi-Wan to speak with the council. If the Sith wants to harm you, we need to keep you safe." As his own words registered in his brain, he asked her another question. "Do you know why he wants you?"
She sighed and shook her head, "My name is Belén, and I have no clue why they want me. I'm just an orphan who lives on the streets."
His face lit up with a grin at the sound of her name. "Belén. That name means house of bread."
"Well, I definitely don't have any bread, in case you were craving some." She joked.
They saw the speeder go right past them and out of reflex, he pulled her further into the alley, bragging a hold of her hand as he moved with lightning speed. He pulled her to him and held her close, her body in front of his and his arms around her to shield her. Now he was the one with a hand clamped over her mouth and the other at her shoulders. She was trapped against him, not that his close proximity did anything to bother her in the slightest. What she did feel was an unbearable heat in her face from a blush that was creeping up on her in crashing waves. When she realized that she was still being searched for by an evil Sith Lord, it finally sunk in for her and her eyes widened. She thought it sweet that he had offered to protect her--well, he would talk to the Jedi to give her protection--when he could have ignored his feelings and abandoned her like everyone else had.
After a few moments, his arm that had been around her shoulders subconsciously shifted up slightly and was restricting her air ways, since he was covering her nose and mouth. He didn't realize it until she brought both hands up to try to pry his arm away. As she did that, she managed to choke out, "Excuse me...I can't breathe."
"Shit--I'm sorry! I was just really concentrated on being quiet so we wouldn't get found." He exclaimed, jumping back away from her. Her hands went to her face as she tried to regain her breathing.
"You have a strong grip..." She commented, trailing off in her sentence as an indication that she didn't know what his name was, and that she wanted to know it. He already knew hers after all, and had yet to offer her an introduction.
"Anakin." He introduced himself, extending his right hand for her to shake. She took a look at his hand for a second before shaking it. Belén thought that even his hands were perfect with long, slender fingers covered in a skin that was ever so slightly tanned by the sun. He shot a charming smile in her direction while they shook hands for a bit longer than normal. He finished his introduction adding his last name. "Anakin Skywalker."
She looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes, smiling like a goof. He smiled back at her and they remained in their handshake, under the stars and the heavy rain for what seemed like an eternity...until she sneezed, ruining the moment. When she realized this she frowned, and it was also then when she realized how cold she really was. Anakin's smile dropped instantly, concern adorning his handsome face. He quickly slipped off his cloak and set it over her shoulders, covering her up completely. It was much too big for her, since he was much taller than her and she knew a large portion of it was going to drag on the wet floor. She shook her head and told him through shattering teeth, "Don't do this for me. Now you'll be all wet."
Belén wasn't used to people doing nice things for her, and she didn't know exactly how to react. But she knew that she didn't like it. From what she had learned on the streets, most people who did something for someone, would later want a favor in return. She knew it was probable that it wouldn't be the case with Anakin, but she still didn't want to owe anyone any favors. And his cloak wasn't exactly of much help anyway, seeing as they were both standing under the pouring rain and the cloak was as equally drenched as her clothes. But it was the intention that counted.
He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, shaking his head with a chuckle at the sight of how hesitant and confused she was looking. She had no idea how to react to people helping her. Now that there seemed to be no imminent danger to them, he decided to take things lightly, and said with humor in his voice, "I can endure a bit of rain, Bel." Again, she blushed at the way he quickly was acting with so much familiarity towards her. He was even giving her a nickname, though she attributed that more to the fact that her name was rather hard to pronounce. Most people thought she said Bell End each time she said her name. "But you can easily catch a cold in this weather and we wouldn't want that." If she could blush even more, Belén thought she would explode.
The two walked together down the empty streets outlining the outskirts of the big city in Coruscant. From a distance, she could see the large building of marvelous architecture that was illuminated by candle light on the outside. It was a place that held a sacred feel to it, and she knew exactly what that place was. She knew it right before Anakin even told her, "That's the Jedi temple." And she nodded her head. "That's where I've been living since I started my training, and its likely that you'll be living there too...depends on what the council decides." He clarified at the end.
That meant that it wasn't certain that she would be allowed to stay there, even if the force was strong with her.
They were a ways down the street when they heard a voice behind them. "That girl belongs to us." The Sith Lord said menacingly. "Give her to me." He commanded, stepping out of his black colored cruiser. Still, Belén had yet to understand why they wanted her. She had nothing special to give them.
"She's coming with me." Anakin stepped in front of me, shielding me from view as he refused to let me go with the Sith Lord. His hand reached for his light saber that clung from one of the loops on his belt with lightning speed.
"If you won't surrender her voluntarily, I'll have to take her by force." The yellow eyed Sith warned. "I can easily destroy an arrogant padawan learner like you."
Belén stood behind him, peeking around him, but staying safely protected by him. Anakin said nothing in response and instead a whooshing sound was heard and a blue glow of his light saber lit up the night. Immediately after, another light saber broke the silence and Anakin lunged forward into battle. Out of fear, Belén ran back to the safety of the alley where they had been hiding moments earlier while the two others fought.
All she could hear from the safety of the alley were the sounds of light sabers crashing into each other. The fight lasted several minutes in between insults, grunts, and some yelling that accompanied the sabers. Her heart raced madly in worry for the young man she had just met. She wanted to help him desperately, but she didn't have any idea how.
Finally, she heard an angry scream followed by the sound of something or someone hitting the ground. Full of worry, she gathered her courage to peek around the corner of the alley's entrance when she saw Anakin standing over the Sith Lord victoriously, pinning him down with a foot on his chest. He was holding both sabers in his hands and looking down at the monster menacingly. She was surprised to see the expression on his face. When she met him, he didn't seem to her as though he could have a dark side to him. But yet that look on his face and that anger in his eyes sent shivers down her spine.
The sabers came close to the Sith's neck as Anakin growled, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
"Killing me would be against the Jedi code. You know that. Please..." The Sith pleaded in utter fear that those would be his last moments alive.
Stepping out of the alley and onto plain sigh, she called to him, trying to get through to him, past his urge to kill the Sith lord. "Let him go, Anakin. Let's just get out of here." She pleaded. Belén took some cautious steps in his direction and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.
Anakin took in a breath and nodded in agreement with her. He let the light sabers close and the bright light they radiated disappeared from sight, leaving them once more in the darkness. He removed his foot from the Sith lord's chest and said through gritted teeth. "Fine, get out of my sight. But I'm keeping your saber." He stated. It was the logical thing to do, considering that handing it back would probably earn him a death sentence. Belén didn't doubt one bit that the Sith were highly vengeful. The cowardly sith nodded, grudgingly accepting defeat and got up quickly, scurrying towards the only thing he had left, the glider. Before he could climb into it, Anakin warned, "Leave the glider too."
With that said, the sith lord turned and scurried off into the night.
-
here's chapter one for you all. i know its super long (bc i did a lot of editing and adding of stuff). but i hope you like it. thank you so much for reading and supporting my fics. it really means alot to me.
the story starts off around episode ii, but the gif at the top is anakin from episode iii because he's my fave looking like that. he makes me feel all sorts of things, and he's bae as hell. especially when he's angry.
anyway, enjoy the gif and the update. have a great week!
-clary xx