"We should give each other nicknames!" The young girl exclaimed, the absolute best idea she had ever come up with popping into her head, making her hazel eyes light up with excitement.
"Why can't we just use our real names?" The young boy asked without looking up from his book. He could never stop reading.
The girl huffed, arms crossing in mock annoyance, "All best friends have nicknames for each other!" She rolled her eyes, as if the boy was stupid.
"Alright then." He closed the book gently and hugged it to his chest, smiling all the while.
"You first! Pick one for me!" She pointed. The boy tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling as if it might contain the perfect nickname within its material
.
"How about..." He paused, for dramatic effect, "Zayli." He glanced back at the girl to gauge her reaction.
"Zayli..." The girl repeated, furrowing her brows in thought. "I like it!" She grinned suddenly. "Ok my turn! I get to pick yours!" She clapped with excitement. She raked the boy over with her eyes. Analyzing his sandy coloured hair to his bright steel blue eyes, which were currently staring at her in anticipation. A lightbulb went off in her head.
She had found his nickname.
"Ben!"
The boy scrunched up his face in confusion, "Why Ben? It's not even close to my name."
"If you take your last name and take out the letters K, O and I you get Ben!" The girl threw her arms up in the air.
He shook his head reopening his book, "I don't like it!"
"Well now I'm definitely gonna call you Ben!" The girl stood up and started to dance around the room belting the name "Ben" as loud as she could.
The boy laughed while covering his ears, his book falling closed again, "Alright! I'll take Ben! Just stop your terrible singing!"
>>>
Azaylia awoke with a lung-busting gasp. Her dream!
"Obi Wan" She thought to herself. She remembered that day as if it was only just yesterday that it happened.
It was back when she was still at The Jedi Temple, training to become a Jedi. She was around seven at the time, so that meant he would've been around nine. They were the best of friends and were scarcely seen separated from each other. Azyalia came up with a great idea for them to give each other nicknames. She thought it would be sort of nice to have something special to share between just the two of them. He had given her the nickname "Zayli" and she gave him the nickname "Ben". She didn't really know why... the name just stood out.
Azaylia smiled at the fond memory but that smile was quickly replaced by a frown. She had left the Jedi Temple long ago because of several strong pulls to the Dark Side, the last one almost ending in something she could never forgive herself for. Azaylia didn't want to cave and become a Sith so, she set off to rekindle her relationship with the Force. She had left for Tatooine without saying goodbye to Obi-Wan, feeling that he would hate her for leaving and never forgive her.
Azaylia had no clue why she picked Tatooine exactly. It was just a blazing hot dust-bowl, full of the worlds most worst criminals and bandits in the galaxy. The beginning of her new life had not been exactly ideal. She couldn't find a place to stay or any food to eat. She was hopeless. That is, until a woman named Shmi Skywalker had found her, nearly starved, and unhealthily thin. Shmi had taken her back to her home and nursed her back to health. Azaylia had been living with her ever since.
Azaylia's frown was replaced with a teeth-showing smile at the memory of Shmi's kindness. She turned to look at her holo-clock absentmindedly and soon realizes something terrible...
"I'm late!"
She jumped out of bed and quickly pulled on some clothes.
"Watto's gonna kill me." She thought, mentally groaning. As she sprinted out of her room, she banged her foot against the kitchen table loudly. A yelp followed.
"Everything alright?!" Shmi called out from the kitchen, sounding worried.
"Yep!" Azaylia called back in a pained voice, holding her foot. As she tried to walk it off, she accidentally let a swear slip from her lips, "Ah kriff."
Azaylia suddenly heard small giggles coming from the nasty table. It was Anakin. Shmi's son...and she just swore in front of him. Uh oh.
Azaylia recalled the first time she had met Anakin as a newborn. Shmi had been pregnant with him when she found Azaylia so Anakin basically knew her for his entire life. She was like his big sister.
"Laugh it up, Ani." Azaylia grimaced as the pain wore down from her foot. "And uh...let's pretend you didn't hear the word I just said...kay?" Her words seem to make him giggle more. Azaylia put on her worn out leather shoes and bolted out the door.
"Bye Zayli!" Anakin yelled but she didn't have time to say goodbye back. She had to run!
She arrived at Watto's in record-time. Breathing heavily she said to Watto in Huttese,
"Sorry I'm late."
"Ah Zayli! Well you'll just have to get me double what I want. Gotta make money somehow eh?!"
"Yes. Just..." she put her hands on her knees. "Give me a minute." She panted in Basic.
"Your minute is starting now!" Watto flew off to a back room.
Azyalia hated stealing parts from other people's junkyards. But she had to do it in order to feed her "family". She was pretty good at it considering her Jedi training, but it didn't change the fact of how much she hated it. Azaylia was not exactly a slave, like Anakin and her mother, since she wasn't born on Tatooine, but she didn't feel any different, based on how people treated her.
Come to think of it, she didn't even know where she was born originally or who her birth parents were. She remembered living alone until the Jedi had found the Force-sensitive girl and took her to the Jedi Temple.
"You're minute is up!" Watto called from the back room. "Get me some good stuff Zayli!"
>>>
Azaylia arrived back at Watto's junk shop with a bag full of parts, humming a airy tune. Hopefully the bulging bag would be good enough for Watto. She entered and made way for the parts room but stopped short when she heard a young, familiar voice.
"Are you an angel?" Azaylia's head snapped up from where the voice came from. She saw Anakin sitting on a table and talking to a girl who Azaylia didn't recognize. She looked about fourteen. The two didn't seem to notice Azaylia standing there.
"What?" The girl asked, her brows furrowed.
"An angel. I've heard the deep space pilots talk about them they're the most beautiful creatures in the galaxy! The live on the moons of Iego...I think."
"You're a funny little boy." The unknown girl laughed. "How do you know so much?"
"I listen to all the traders and star pilots who come through here. I'm a pilot you know! And someday I'm gonna fly away from this place!" Azaylia smiled at Anakin's statement. He certainly was a boy destined for great things.
"You're a pilot?" The girl asked, tilting her head with curiosity.
"Mhm hmm! All my life!" Anakin responded, nodding vigorously.
"How long have you been here?" Goodness! The girl was certainly full of questions and curiosity!
"Since I was very little."
"Are you a slave?" Azaylia's eyebrows shot up at the blunt and quite rude question the young girl had just asked.
"I'm a person and my name is Anakin!" The nine year old replied angrily.
"I'm sorry." The girl rushed to apologize, not meaning any harm. "I don't fully understand. This is a very strange place to me..."
Suddenly, a clatter arose from behind Azaylia. She saw a Gungan fighting with a droid. It finally grabbed its neck in attempt to stop the droid or shut it off.
"Hey! Hit the nose!" Azaylia exclaimed. The Gungan did as she said and the droid folded on itself and dropped to the ground with a clunk.
"And who might you be?" The mystery girl eyed Azaylia, with a hint of interest and caution.
"I'm Azaylia. Who are you?" Azyalia shot back, shifting her bag of part on her shoulder which was starting to ache with the weight.
"I'm Padmé." The girl responded with a kind smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Padmé. May I ask, what—or who is that?" Azaylia pointed to the clumsy Gungan.
"Mesa called Jar Jar Binks. It'sa pleasure to be meetsing yousa!"
"Nice...to...meet you Jar Jar." Azaylia said slowly, "Anakin, I have to go back home to help your mother with something. Shmi would like you back in time for dinner, unless Watto has some more stuff for you to do...It was nice to meet you...Padmé. Jar Jar."
"Nice to meet you Azaylia. I hope we cross paths again." Azaylia nodded and started on her way back home.
>>>
Azaylia's reading was interrupted by the sound of Anakin's voice.
"Mom! Zayli! I'm home!" She rushed out to greet Anakin and saw some familiar faces. Shmi came out from the kitchen, standing beside Azaylia with a surprised look on her face "These are my new friends Mom! This is Padmé, Jar Jar, R2D2,"Azaylia hadn't noticed the R2-unit in the shop. "and Qui Gon Jinn."
Qui Gon Jinn. The name hit her chest, hard, like blaster shot. Master Qui Gon Jinn. Obi-Wan's Master! She wondered if the Jedi had recognized her. She sure hoped he didn't, but the Jedi kept glancing at her with the warmth of seeing a old time friend. Azaylia wondered if Obi-Wan was nearby. He didn't seem to be. Maybe she would find a time to focus on him later.
"Well it's nice to meet you all." Shmi smiled warmly and speaking softly. "We were just about to start dinner...Zayli!" She turned to Azaylia. "Can you lay out some extra utensils, plates and cups for me please?"
"Yes. Yes I can." Azaylia replied and stiffly walked away to get what Shmi had asked for as Anakin led Padmé to his room to show her 3po, the droid he built to help Shmi.
Originally, the day started off as any other normal day but now...now it was just plain weird...
A/N: Look! First chapter is done! Hooray!! Can't wait to write the next chapter!!
-B