I wake up in disappointment to see that Anakin is not lying next to me. Yes, I know we're only friends but it was still incredibly comforting to have his arms around me last night. Although I'm by no means helpless, it was nice to be in the safety of his embrace.
Part of me wished that I could stay in his arms for the rest of my life.
I get out of the bed hastily and make my way through the lodge in search of Anakin, not bothering to stop by my room and change for the day ahead. Searching for him is easy as I simply have to follow the direction that amplifies my feelings of power.
Thanks to our connection, I find him in no time at all. He is standing on the Balustrade meditating. His eyes are closed in concentration as he attempts to find peace. I can feel the pain he is desperately trying to get rid of. I decide now isn't the time to disturb him so I turn to leave,
"Don't go." He says with a broken voice, his eyes still closed.
I stop in my tracks. Of course I wasn't going to leave now.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb you." I tell him honestly.
"You're not disturbing me. Your presence is soothing." He replies. His kind words make me smile. I quickly compose myself before he can sense my feelings.
There is a brief pause before I decide to bring up last night.
"How did you sleep?" I ask. Considering the fact that he didn't wake me through the night, I assume he slept more peacefully than usual.
He opens his eyes and turns to face me. "Good, after you came in. Thank you again for everything. I don't know how I used to get by without you." He smiles graciously.
I was happy to know that I was impacting his life so positively. No one should have to deal with things alone. While ever I was in his life, he would always have me to lean on.
"Of course." I pause. There was more I wanted to ask but I needed to be careful with my words, "These nightmares, Anakin. What aren't you telling me?"
He clenches his jaw. I feel bad for pressuring him to talk about it, but we needed to get to the bottom of the issue. The sooner we had it sorted out, the sooner he would be able to sleep peacefully again.
"I saw my mother. I saw her as clearly as I see you now. She's suffering, (Y/N). She is in pain. They're killing her!" He takes a deep breath to control his emotions, "I know I'm disobeying my mandate to protect Padme. I know I will be punished and possibly thrown out of the Jedi Order, but I must go. I have to help her! I'm sorry, (Y/N). I don't have a choice." The pain in his voice is unbearable.
I process his words for a moment. He's planning on directly disobeying the Council by going to Tatooine. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much trouble he'll get himself into. The fact that he is willing to risk everything he had spent 10 years trying to achieve tells me how important it is for him to find his mother.
"I understand." I take a step toward him, "When are we going?"
His head shoots up and his eyes widen in surprise. I didn't hesitate at all before agreeing to go with him. I will not let him do this alone.
"We aren't doing anything. I have to do this alone, (Y/N)." He tries to reason with me. I thought by now he'd know better than to waste his time on this.
"But you don't have to. You're not alone, Anakin. Not while I'm here." I take both of his hands in mine, "We're doing this together."
His tear-filled eyes meet mine.
"I can't let you risk everything for me. You could get kicked out of the order or worse. I won't let that happen to you." His tone becomes harsher yet more protective at the same time.
"I'm going with you, Anakin. You can't stop me." I say with a slightly hostile demeanour.
"What about Master Obi Wan? I don't think he'd agree with this." Anakin asks, giving up on trying to reason with me.
I don't understand why he is only now starting to worry about what his Master will think. A minute prior he was happy to get kicked out of the Order as a consequence of his decision.
"I guess we won't tell him, will we?" I offer him a sneaky smile, "We do, however, need to tell Padme."
"Tell me what?" Padme says on cue.
Anakin and I turn to face her. I didn't even sense her coming toward us and by the looked painted on his face, I don't think Anakin did either. She looks beautiful for someone who just woke up. Her hair is perfectly styled and her nightdress is without any creases. Anakin looks to me, visibly overwhelmed by how to tell her.
"We're going to Tatooine." I start, "We being Anakin and I. He's been having nightmares, visions more like, of his mother in pain."
"We know we're disobeying our mandate by going, Padme, but I have to save her. You will be safe here while we're gone. If an enemy knew of your location here, they would have made a move by now." Anakin reassures her.
Padme stares straight ahead with furrowed brows. I can sense a million things going through her mind right now. I only hope she will understand.
"I'll go with you." Padme suggests, leaving me both stunned and relieved "That way you can both continue to protect me, and neither of you will be disobeying your mandate."
"That could work." I stroke my non-existent beard in true Obi Wan fashion.
"But you wouldn't be here on Naboo. Wouldn't us taking you away from here still be going against orders?" Anakin pitches in.
"Not exactly. We'll still be protecting her, just in a different setting to what is expected." I pause. Anakin's inability to meet my eyes tells me he still isn't convinced. "Doing what the Jedi Council says, that's one thing. How we go about it, that's another."
His head shoots back up and I realise I have actually gotten through to him.
"Who knew you could be so wise." He nudges my shoulder.
"Don't get used to it." We both laugh.
Artoo appears before us and begins beeping excitedly.
"Of course you can come." I say to the droid, matching his tone of excitement. I crouch down to the ground to be level with the loyal astromech.
"Since when can you understand droids?" Anakin asks, bewildered by my new-found skill.
"I've been teaching myself bits and pieces since we got here. Artoo and I have been bonding." I explain.
Artoo beeps to back me up. I believe he says something along the lines of "it's true". I'm still not quite fluent in droidspeak. Anakin smiles at us both cheerfully, my efforts to learn the language clearly impressing him.
"When are we leaving?" Padme asks.
"Today." I answer before Anakin can. I need to get him to his mother sooner rather than later.
"How about we all pack and meet at the dock in an hour?" Anakin plans.
We agree with his decision. Anakin goes off toward his room while I wait behind with Padme. I wanted to speak to her for a moment.
"Thank you, Padme." I say before she, too, leaves the room.
"It's okay, (Y/N). I remember how much Ani loved his mother back on Tatooine. I would hate to be the one to stop him from getting to her." She explains. "I am surprised that he agreed to let you go with him though"
"How do you know it was my idea? Maybe he asked me to go." I don't understand why I became so defensive over the subject.
Padme laughs, "Tatooine isn't the type of planet he'd willingly take you to, (Y/N). Besides he's too proud to admit when he needs help."
"It's not that he needs my help," I explain "I just don't want him to have to go through this alone."
"Well if I know one thing about you, (Y/N), it's that you will stand by his side no matter what."
Every word she said was true. I would always have his back, no matter what. That's what friends are supposed to do though, right?
"I'll see you in an hour." She smiles before turning to leave.
I'm not sure how long I was zoned out in thought before she said that.
I stay standing on the balustrade for a moment, taking in the marvellous sight before me a final time. I was beyond grateful for the opportunity to go on this mission. My life had changed because of it. I take a deep breath of the natural air before returning to the shelter of the lodge.