Altered
Promises
2001 short story by Seyla Starrider Twenty-five
years before Episode IV – A New Hope “Mace Windu
frowned. ‘There is no doubt. The mysterious warrior was a Sith.’ ’Always two there
are,” Master Yoda said pensively. ‘No more no less. A master and an
apprentice.’ Master Windu nodded.
‘But which one was destroyed – the master, or the apprentice?’” -Master Windu and Yoda Episode I The
Phantom Menace Amidala looked deeply
into Anakin’s eyes while he made his vows to her as he slipped the delicate flower
shaped opal ring onto her finger. It was trimmed in gold. “My desert flower;
I never have loved anyone as I do you. No matter what you say, you’re an angel in my
eyes. You are the only one who could ever fill the other half of my soul. I will never
leave you. And I vow to be by your side, beyond forever and eternity.” Tears of joy where
streaming down her cheeks as he finished his promises. It was her turn.
Putting on his ring she stared intently in his bronzed eyes. “You saved not only my
life, but those of many of my subjects too. You did it all out of your heart, not thinking
once about yourself. At that instant, I fell in love and I knew at that moment you where
the only man I’d ever love.” Without another word
the two brought each other’s lips together, symbolizing the promise of unity they
would keep to one another even after death. Anakin passionately
kissed his wife. She was the only thing in his life that was keeping him afloat. Cause of
her, he wasn’t going to drowned himself in misery from his mother’s death. A thought drifted into
his mind, but a presence came with it too. A presence that felt strongly like his mother. It was as if she was
looking down at him, wherever she was. *May the Force be with
you, my son and daughter. * Obi-Wan grinned at
Anakin (his Padawan) and Amidala (who had been like the little sister he had never had) as
they kissed affectionately. His gaze caught Cee`li’s, who was directly on the other
side of the altar. The smile on her face
was large, full of happiness. He loved to see her cheerful. He realized how much
she meant in his life, and if she were to suddenly not be there anymore, he didn’t
know what he would do without her near. Unpredictably, his
thoughts were interrupted by applause from the few witnesses that the couple had invited.
Only close family, and friends. He joined in on the
applause. Palpatine glared down
at the newlyweds from one of the balconies. He had been training
Anakin Skywalker to be his apprentice, and everything would have worked out perfectly if
the little witch of Naboo hadn’t come back to Coruscant every so often to visit with
him. Now that the Queen of
Naboo was Skywalker’s last link to the light side of the Force, it would be only a
matter of manipulating his mind and creating an accident to break that link. Easier said than done. There was still the
matter of the accident. It would have to be so finely planned out so that Skywalker would
believe it was his fault. *But these things have
to be dealt with carefully. We can’t go off and having her ‘die’ too soon.
* remarked the senator. *The bond of trust between a master and apprentice must first be
created before jumping in on the thought. It will be just a matter of time. Then,
she’ll be out of the picture. * The wedding reception
was being held inside the Jedi Temple in the gardens. Obi-Wan had already
congratulated the couple in their marriage and greeted everyone who had come. After that he quietly
escaped from the party and walked into the foliage to a secret spot near the lake where he
went to think. It wasn’t like he was trying to be unsociable, but something in the
back of his mind kept him from celebrating. The Jedi Knight sat on
a lone rock gazing into the cool lake water. Many memories, both good and bad, had
transpired on the private grounds. Some reminiscences we best not brought up, but the
recollections didn’t stop from rushing back into his mind. A sigh came from behind
him. Turning around, Obi-Wan
saw Cee`li put her fair hand on his shoulder and then sat down next to him. She
must’ve seen him leave the gala, for even she hadn’t know about his little get
away. She was dressed up in
her usual tan Jedi robes, as he was. Her long red hair was flowing down her back creating
a hue of gentleness around her, but as his eyes got to her facial expression, concern
shown brilliantly on her face. “So, this is where
you go to break away from all of the commotion.” He looked back at the
lake. The glassy surface was still, but he knew underneath life swam abundantly. He
didn’t reply. “Ben,” she
began. She was the only one who called him by his real name, especially when she was
worried. “What’s the matter?” Not bothering to look
at her, he answered, “Something… something’s just not right.” “What do you mean?
This is Anakin’s wedding day. This can’t be about Amidala, she…” Obi-Wan shook his head.
“No, no. Ami is like a sister to me. I just have this feeling that… never
mind.” He waved off the thought. “Ben, what is it?
What are you feeling? Please tell me.” Lifting his head up,
his eyes locked on Cee`li’s as he spoke. “I fear someone evil is near. Lurking
by, waiting for the right moment.” “The right moment
to… what?” “That’s just
it, I don’t know.” Taking his hands in
hers, she countered. “You feel this through the Force?” “Strangely enough,
no. I feel this through my heart. I just don’t want either of their hearts to be
broken.” Cee`li disagreed.
“You heard their vows to one another. The thought wouldn’t even enter
another’s mind. Don’t you trust their judgment? Their love for one
another?” “I do. It’s
like I have this sense that there is a joker in the deck.” She smiled sincerely at
her best friend. “Let’s talk about this later. It’s time to celebrate for
their union together.” Obi-Wan shrugged off
the invitation. “I don’t exactly feel like celebrating.” Now Cee`li was angry.
“Ben Kenobi, this is your Padawan’s wedding day. Besides that, I need someone to
dance with. Now get up and we’ll talk about this later.” The Jedi Knight
couldn’t say no to the young woman. “Alright.” It was passed midnight,
and the reception had ended hours before. The two friends knew it
was time to depart to bed, but neither moved away from each other’s arms. Both Obi-Wan and Cee`li
sat staring at the placid water surface. Once or twice a fish or some sort of marine life
would jump out of the water into the air, startling the two. “Ben?” Cee`li
asked. “Hmm?” “I… I have to
tell you something.” The tone in her voice
frightened him. Pulling her away from him, he looked intently at her. “Cee`li
what’s wrong? You’re pale.” She bit her lip, not
knowing how to proceed. “You have been my closest friend all my life. You have always
been there for me. And…” Cee`li couldn’t go on, nor could she hold back the
water flooding into her eyes. Obi-Wan pulled her
close. He couldn’t bare to see her like this. “Shhh… don’t cry.”
He could feel his Jedi robe begin to soak up the wetness from her green eyes. It seemed
like forever until he worked up the nerve to speak once again. “Cee`li, please
don’t hold back from me. What’s tearing you up inside so that you can’t
tell me?” A muffled reply came
from her. “I’m pregnant.” The Jedi sat perplexed
for a moment trying to comprehend. He knew very well he wasn’t the father of the
child, and felt a bit betrayed. Obi-Wan scolded himself for being so in sincere. Here in
his arms was his weeping friend who wanted comfort and all he could think was that the
child wasn’t his? He didn’t know
what to say to her. All he could do was hold her tight. She pulled back and
laid her head on his lap so she could stare at the lake while tears spilled from her eyes.
“I’m about a month along.” Stroking her hair back
from her eyes, Obi-Wan whispered, “When did you find out?” “I’ve known
for two weeks. I haven’t dared to tell anyone for fear that the father will find
out.” He was about to ask who
the father was when she answered him, as if reading his mind. “I don’t
know. It was dark, and I had been walking back to the Temple when… when it had
happened.” Again, Obi-Wan felt her salty tears dampen his robe, but he dismissed it. “And now… I
don’t know what to do.” Obi-Wan continued to
brush her hair behind her ear when a thought came to him. “Marry me?” She sat straight up.
Her eyes still blood shot from crying. “What?” she choked. “Cee`li Assure,
will you marry me?” She didn’t respond. “We’ve been together so long,
and everyone will believe that the child is ours.” Cee`li whipped her
salty cheeks off. “You’d do that, for me?” “No, I’d do
that because I love you, and I wouldn’t want the tiny life growing inside of you to
be without a father. Even if the baby wasn’t inside of you, you are the only woman I
can ever picture myself being with for all my years to come.” Hope swelled in
Cee`li’s heart. She never meet any man like Ben in her life, and she didn’t want
to lose that. She had made the decision long before he even asked the question, that if he
did, she knew that he was the one. And now he finally did. “Yes,” she
answered with tears of joy streaming down her face. “Ben, you have no idea how much
this means to both me and my child. I prayed that you’d one day work up the nerve to
ask me.” He pulled her back to
look into her gleaming eyes. “I thought if I asked you, I’d lose a good friend,
that I value more than anyone I ever knew.” “No. You’d
only make the bond between us stronger. I can’t believe that you thought,” she
began to laugh with tears still pouring down her face. Obi-Wan joined Cee`li,
holding her close to him. Later that night, while
Obi-Wan and Cee`li walked back to their quarters; Palpatine was in his unlit chambers
sitting in the center of his room allowing the dark side to surge through him. Its power
consumed him, filling his inner being. Abruptly his eyes flew
open, glowing with an eerie redness, which pierced the darkness like daggers of fire. Nekorb was coming back
from the Temple gardens. The Sith got up from
the ground, flicking on the lights and unlocking the door with the Force. Then he walked
to the balcony where the busy traffic lines of Coruscant still continued even in the late
of night. The time for him to
declare himself, as Emperor was still too early in his election to become Chancellor of
the Republic. The timing wouldn’t be anytime soon in the near future, only the
preparation for it. Palpatine heard the
familiar opening of the door to his room. Following the sound of it were those of two
human feet coming towards the balcony. It was Nekorb Traeh.
The political officer only hoped that the hired hit man had the information he wanted
clarified. If he didn’t, he would be losing one of his best assassins. A week after Anakin and
Amidala got back from their honeymoon, both Obi-Wan and Cee`li tied the knot. It was the happiest day
in both of the Jedi Knights’ lives. After the wedding, the two couples departed to
Naboo, each pair in their own ship. While in hyperspace,
Anakin and Amidala were sleeping when a beeping from the comlink terminal came on. Anakin sleepily got out
of bed unwillingly and went to the terminal in the other room. Turning on the sound low so
his wife wouldn’t wake up, he pressed the button and received the call. Rubbing the sleep off
his eyes, a shoulder to head hologram of the Chancellor appeared before him.
“Chancellor Palpatine?” Anakin replied perplexed. “Good morning. Or
should I say bad night?” “No, Ami and I
were just sleeping in. But why are you calling? Not to be rude or anything.” “I wanted to know
what you thought of my offer.” Anakin became alert.
“I told you Palpatine, I’m not going back into that kind of stuff anymore.
I’ve changed.” “Yes, I see.
You’ve adapted very well to the light again. But I am still confused. When you came
to Coruscant you gladly became my apprentice to gain what life’s true purpose is, to
gain power. “Life’s
purpose isn’t to increase one’s power, but to help those in need and be
fulfilled with love and kindness,” retorted Anakin. “Love? Love is
only a children’s fantasy.” Anakin raised an
eyebrow. “Oh, really? Then why did it pull me out of the darkness and fill the other
half of me more than the dark side could ever have.” Palpatine narrowed his
controlling eyes with a sinister smirk on his face. “It won’t last, I’ll
make sure of it. You could say it will be your medal of apprehension since you are war
veteran.” “Only because you
caused the war that could’ve and almost killed my wife.” The man replied
sternly. Palpatine shrugged of
the remark. “So now that you’ve become legit, you have decided to tell your
friends the truth now?” “They don’t
and will never know what mistakes I did in the past.” A hideous laugh came
out of the Sith’s mouth. “You believe you’ll be able to keep such a dark
secret away from them, forever?” “It doesn’t
matter if you have doubt in what I believe in, as long as I don’t.” Anakin
responded. “And what would
poor Ami say if she found out? I can just see the headlines, ‘Anakin Skywalker the
‘Chosen One’ chooses the dark side’, ‘Amidala lost in sorrow over her
husbands hidden past.’ Oh, that would do wonders to your reputation, especially since
a lot of people don’t exactly hold you in the greatest of regards.” “As I said before,
I’m not going back.” Anakin firmly stated. “I know, it’s
just not the way you walk anymore,” the creature of a man sarcastically snipped back.
Suddenly his tone turned ugly and eerily deep, as if it were not his own anymore.
“But know this, one day when you need my help, and I ask you the question, you will
have to respond with the words, habeas corpus.” With the confusing statement,
Palpatine cut off the connection, leaving only static behind. Anakin clicked off the
terminal just as Amidala slowly emerged from their sleeping quarters. “Ani? Who was
that?” “No one important.
Just another spice sale’s man.” And he left it at that. Palpatine sat in
silence drumming his fingers on the expensive Kaksayykk wood desk. *If Skywalker
hadn’t gotten involved in the Naboo affair, Darth Maul would still be alive and my
plans of controlling this universe would all ready be in progress. No matter, he has more
potential in the Force than Maul couldn’t even try to work up too. There will be
another time to break the boy. I can feel it. And this next time it will not fail. * So manipulation
wouldn’t work. The Chancellor still had a plan, and knew this one would follow
through. And he’d have Skywalker as his apprentice and in his hand soon. Meanwhile, he kept
himself busy while waiting for the perfect time with his political status and getting most
of the beings on the Council to approve of him and believe he was the perfect man,
twisting all of his evil works into works of a hero. Obi-Wan pulled out of
hyperspace and into the Naboo orbit. The eerie feeling had again entered his senses while
in hyperspace. He had not a clue where it came from, and now wanting more than ever to
figure whom sent it off. Putting the incident in
the back of his mind to deal with later, he ran the pre-landing sequence. “Are we already
there?” It was Cee`li. Her voice was harmonic. He answered. “Yes,
just came out of hyperspace.” She came up from behind
him throwing her arms around his waist. “How do you think they’ll take?” The Jedi Knight turned
around to his wife and glanced at her stomach then her fearful face. “They will be
joyous. Stop worrying.” She breathed out.
“Ok, ok.” He smiled and went to
give her a long affectionate kiss when her hand pushed his face away from hers.
“Un-uh. You are not getting anything until you shave that spiky face of yours.” “But I have to
land the ship.” “I can land the
ship while you shave off that peach fuzz. Go on.” Obi-Wan sighed. He had
never been all that great at debates. He should have thought about that before he married
her, he thought as he walked out of the cockpit. “I heard
that!” Cee`li called out. A grin appeared on his
un-shaven face. *That and her capability to read my mind. “Ben! You just
don’t know when to stop, do you? Now stop thinking and shave that thing off your
face!” He went into the
refresher laughing. A
month later… Amidala was dressed in
a comfortable outfit with no make up on. It left her feeling free, yet very vulnerable.
The strange feeling made her heart pound. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t
make it slow down. A reassuring hand
rested gently on her shoulder. “You do know there is someone else with us don’t
you?” “Huh?” she
questioned as she turned to look into his eyes. “Standing with us
right now.” A twinkle in his eyes glistened as he spoke along with a grin. “What do you
mean?” “I love you mother
of my child.” Her eyes widened as she
responded. “What? You mean…” Before she could
finish, Anakin grabbed her swiftly around the waist and kissed her passionately. The two women went off
in celebration of the tiny lives growing inside of them. Leaving both the men to talk of
the past months events. What they didn’t know was this would be there last time they
would even think of each other as a friend. Anakin
Skywalker watched as his wife slept peacefully. Her face removed from all its usually
piled on pale white make up, now remain free from any at all. She,
to Anakin, looked even lovelier without the elaborate dresses and cosmetics. Her
light brunette hair was sprawled around her head, making her look like the creature he
first thought she truly was when he had met her; an angel. Tears
welded up in his soul as he watched her chest rise and fall. Tonight would be the last
time Anakin probably would be able to see his wife. He
glanced across the room where his daughter slept. She looked like a clone of her mother. Using
the Force, he mentally kissed his only daughter goodbye. He didn’t know if he’d
ever see either of them again. Taking a deep breath he brushed his lips on Ami’s
forehead. “Daddy?
Are we going?” called out his seven-year-old son. Nodding,
he turned around making his black cape swirl around him. Then quietly he left out of her
life forever. Seven years
later… Anakin Skywalker waited
patiently in Palpatine’s private quarters. Nothing much had changed since his last
visit to the Sith Lord’s chambers. It had been seven,
maybe eight years ago before, when he had dabbled foolishly in the darkside, thinking he
was destined to become Palpatine’s apprentice, but
something had changed all his evil ways. Amidala. A tear of sadness
crawled down his cheek. Barely feeling the wetness on his face, Anakin slipped off his
helmet, slapping the drop of water away as if his feelings for his wife never existed. He had killed her. It
was his fault. Her death, and his mother’s---they were both caused from his
uncontrollable anger. He had lost three out
of the seven people that meant so much in his life. Now he was on the verge of losing the
other’s too. Uncomfortable Anakin,
who now was known as Vader, shifted his helmet back on and into a better position. The now
permanent black body suit was a constant reminder of his failures. He had no choice now,
but to work for Palpatine. After receiving a
threat from the Chancellor, that he’d kill his children and Obi-Wan’s wife,
Cee`li, and their little girl, Mara, Anakin had no choice but turn to back to the
darkside, and become the Sith’s apprentice. Both he and his son,
Luke, had been on vacation on Coruscant to had some ‘father-son’ time. He had
been teaching his son how to use the Force… but those memories would never exist in
his son’s mind ever again. Palpatine had erased
all of his memories of his father out of the young boy’s mind, for extra protection
that Anakin would never be found. Replacing him would be Vader, the merciless Force user
that could kill or slaughter anyone with the approval of the Emperor. Luke had been dropped
off in front of the Jedi Temple. Hopefully someone their
had taken him. Palpatine believed that
the boy wouldn’t be a threat to his rising. Vader stared out the
plexi-glass window through his helmet. A familiar presence was near. Obi-Wan walked into the
old familiar Jedi Council room. He had been called back to his old stomping grounds
because of an emergency transmission sent by Yoda all the way to his home on Varn. The
message expressed that something was gravely a miss. Taking the
communication seriously, Obi-Wan left his wife and daughter, coming from across the galaxy
to Coruscant. Now the Jedi Knight
stood before the wise Council of Jedi Masters. Silence and purged the chamber, only to be
broken by Mace Windu’s deep voice. “Kenobi, you made
it. Has the Force kept you safe from danger?” The question was quite
odd of one, especially from the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan knew that they showed sympathy to the
man because of his loss of his good friend and nearly sister to him, had been found dead
in the Imperial Palace, and also for the loss of her son, Luke. He had been working
through the pain that was so fresh, and didn’t react on his anger and misery.
“Yes. All has been well. As best as it could be. “ “As you already
know, we have called you here cause of an emergency matter we have.” The Jedi Master
nodded to Jedi Master Adi Gallia who stood by a door behind the Council. She turned and
went inside. When she came back she had someone else with her, clothed in a Jedi
Padawan’s outfit. A memory of just a few
weeks passed stung his mind. Amidala and their
daughter, Leia, had been whisked away one night from their home on Naboo. He had called
the Theed Palace, and found a new ruler. Anakin still to this day didn’t know where
his little girl was. His wife though…
she had came back to Coruscant from where ever she was, to find out the truth of her
husband. That day burned in his soul. He could feel her heart and soul break once she saw
him as they argued in the Imperial gardens in the late of the night. He wasn’t the
same, she had said. And that he had broken the vow he had made to her on their wedding
day. “I didn’t
break any promise, just altered it a bit.” Tears had been
streaming down her gentle face. She had been where that beautiful simple blue outfit that
fit her just right. “I don’t know you anymore.” She managed to speak. Strolling over to her
to comfort her, he whispered. “Angel, I am still the same man. Come with me… and
we can still have a life together.” She backed away from
his black-gloved arm. What she did next torn
his soul out. Reaching underneath the
garment she wore, she yanked off the wooden pendant he had made her the first time they
had been in space. Then without warning, she threw it hard onto the ground, then screamed
at him with water still flowing from her eyes. “YOU ARE NO LONGER THE ANAKIN I ONCE
KNEW! THE ANI I KNEW WOULD LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR ANOTHER, GIVE UP HIS FREEDOM TO HELP
SOMEONE ELSE, AND NOT BETRAY HIS FAMILY. INFACT, HE DID! BUT THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, NOW
WASN’T IT. I CAN SEE BEN WAS RIGHT. HE DIED. I SHOULD’VE BELIEVED HIM.” With the hurtful words
she had spat out at him, Amidala had run from him out of the foliage. Anakin didn’t
bother running after his wife. Whatever happened to her she would have to bare with it.
Turning the other way to head back to his quarters when he heard Amidala scream out in
agony. The torture pulled the
Sith apprentice back and dashing towards the way were she had headed. Throwing a branch
out of the way, Anakin fell to the ground to his wife’s side. He felt for her in the
Force, but no longer did life breath in her. *NO! * his heart
screamed out. Shaking his head, Vader
shook off the nightmarish memory. It was his fault she had died. If he had stopped her and
had not thought of his anger, she would still be alive. And for the first time since her
death, he let the sadness seep out from his eyes. The seven-year-old boy
walked where he was instructed to go. Slowly he walked towards the memorable man.
“Uncle Obi?” At the sound of the
voice, the man was startled. Throwing back the
stupid hood that the people in the room told him keep up to conceal his face, the lighting
made it easier to identify the familiar man. “UNCLE OBI!” he screamed in joy.
Running to the shocked man, Luke jumped into his arms. Obi-Wan squeezed the
boy. The Jedi Knight couldn’t believe the child was alive. “Luke,
you’re… you…” he couldn’t get out his words. His hope that the
kid hadn’t suffered the same fate as his mother was answered. Putting him down on the
ground, Obi-Wan felt through the Force that the Council wanted to talk to him in private.
“Hey, Wormie.” He started. The nickname he had given to him cause when he was a
toddler, he would wiggle like a worm trying to crawl like his sister. “I need to talk
to these people here. Can Adi take you back into the room for a moment?” Luke frowned. “But
I don’t want to go back there. I want to stay with you. And Uncle Obi… they
won’t tell me what happened to mommy and daddy? What’s wrong? Are they alright?
I can’t remember what happened? Uncle Obi? Are you going to leave me too?” The Jedi Knight stopped
the child from continuing. His heart was already breaking at his words. “Shhh…
you aren’t going to lose me. I promise. I will only be a minute. Ok?” The boy thought for a
moment, as if considering the deal. “Alright, Uncle Obi.” Once he was out of the
room, Obi-Wan turned to Mace. “Why can’t he remember?” “We don’t
know. What we do know though is that his and his twin’s life are endangered. You have
already hidden the other twin safely on Alderaan. She has been secretly adopted by Bail
Organa, correct?” “Yes, of course.
We had too, for both her and her mother’s protection. But now Ami is gone… at
least Leia is safe.” The Jedi Master nodded.
“She is. No one knows that she is the daughter of the Naboo queen, and no one ever
will. Now that Luke is here though… you must take him to a safe haven.” “He can come live
with my family.” He posed. Yoda spoke up at the
idea. “Safe, he will not be. Somewhere Vader never will know, must he go.” Obi-Wan thought for a
moment. He knew the perfect place, but being separated from Luke tore his heart. It was
his only hope. “The Lars. They’re his real uncle and aunt. A single couple not
even Vader would think of ever seeing again. Amidala’s sister, Beru Naberrie` Lars,
and her husband, Owen Lars. They own a moisture farm on Tatooine. It’ll probably take
us five, maybe six standard days to get there.” “Take him
then… Adi?” Windu asked. The humanoid female
brought out the boy. Obi-Wan knew these were
the last days he’d have with Luke, and not even the young boy would have any
recollection of the memories with the Jedi Knight after he found his new home. Walking into the
agricultural office as usual. She was the office clerk at night, keeping track of all the
files and what went on across the world. From trade to tourists, she took care of it all. Sitting down at her
desk, Cee`li noticed a red light blinking on her datapad. Checking to see who
left her a message, the woman pressed the button and watched as a hologram of an old foe
appeared before her. “Hello, my dear. I
knew you couldn’t forget my face, so let’s just skip the intros. I just needed
to remind you of an old promise I vowed I would never let you forget. I have returned to
take care of you for good, and my Emperor has come to take our daughter as his own and
train her to become just like her father. Once you get this, our little dancer will be
with me. Just as so soon you shall be.” Suddenly the hologram
vanished. Without turning off the
datapad, Cee`li ran back home but she wouldn’t go alone. Jumping out from the
shadows came Nekorb Traeh. The
twenty-eight-year-old woman ran away from her pursuer as fast as she could go. She knew
she couldn’t run forever, but she had to try to get home as fast as she could. She
had to get there before Palpatine did. She shook her head as if shaking the thought away. Cee`li
leaped high over some debris, landing hard on her feet. Scrambling
back up she dashed further into the lower levels of the water-world, but was prevented
from going on any further when her stalker tackled her to the solid ground. “LET
ME GO!” the fiery red haired woman screamed out, but the shadow had her pinned down. She
struggled out of his grasp, but it did no good. His
deep and misleading voice cooed at her. “It’s no use my lady, you won’t get
away that easily. Now calm down. I won’t harm you.” He stroked her cheek but she
snapped at his fingers. Appalled
by her action, he slapped her across the face. “You witch! Dare you do it again, I
will hurt you more than the Emperor ever could inflict on you.” He
gagged her, and then tying her hands behind her back, he lifted her from the ground
towards the gloomy speeder that had trailed them from behind. Opening
up the door an evil silhouette loomed inside. Throwing
her roughly into the vehicle, the man jumped in, slamming the door shut. Cee`li
opened her deep auburn eyes, knowing at once she would regret it. A flowing cape was
draped over the senator veiled his identity, not that Cee`li Assure didn’t already
know who he really was. The feeling his presence gave her, frightened her so much it felt
like she were being enveloped in some eerie darkness that was trying to eat her alive. Even
with the Force, her heart wouldn’t slow down. “Welcome,
my dear.” Replied the rasp voice from underneath the robe. “I’ve been dying
to meet you.” A hideous laugh followed right after his comment, sending shivers of
fright through her spine. Palpatine
finally had her in his hands, and there was no way to escape this time. “Let me go! I want
my mom, you Kessel mining Hutt!” yelled the seven-year-old girl as Nekorb forcefully
dragged her to Palpatine’s chambers. “Your mother is
gone. Forget about her.” The frightened yet
stubborn little girl spat at the man. “YOU ARE LYING! MOM IS STILL ALIVE. I CAN FEEL
HER.” He stopped dropping to
his knee to her eye level before speaking. “I never said that she was dead, but the
way you are acting, I might as well do so to her. If you don’t stop your
screaming.” At the suggestion the
girl shut her mouth, not wanting to be the cause of her mother’s death. Getting up he tugged
the girl to walk at a faster pace than before. His daughter had been
taken to a smaller room of the Senator’s to rest. Her mother was with her. Now only
the Sith Lord and Nekorb stood alone on Palpatine’s balcony. “Kill Assure. She
must be exterminated to break the girl. Only then will we be able to erase her memory and
bring her to the darkside.” “As you command,
milord.” “I want to go
home,” cried the red haired girl. Cee`li held her
daughter close to her. “Shhh… I know. I know. So do I.” She used all the
might she could find within her to sound unshaken. “Don’t you worry. Daddy will
find us.” After a few moments of
silence Mara spoke up. Swollen eyes from crying stared back at Cee`li. “Mommy?” “Yes, honey?” The seven year old sat
p and pulled something out of her pocket. In the faint lighting Cee`li could make out the
thin gold necklace Ben had given Mara for her last birthday. Dangling loosely form the
chain was a small pendant shaped into circle. In the center carved in jade was the Jedi
code. On the back it said, ‘To my other love. Mara. Love your dad, Ben Kenobi.’
The stone faintly shown a lightsaber in the background. “Let’s hid this so daddy
will know where we were. Ok?” With tear filled eyes,
Cee`li took the necklace and went to closet were a tiny hole had been. She had found it
not a few hours before trying to find a way out. Putting the piece of wall back to cover
it, she turned to her daughter. “I love you Mara. I pray that the darkside will never
corrupt you. If it does, my the grace of the Force bring you back to the light.” Suddenly the door flew
open. It was Nekorb. As you can figure out,
Nekorb murders Kenobi’s wife. Mara is broken and her memory of her true parents is
erased from her mind. She grows up to believe her last name is Jade. After this Palpatine
claims himself as Emperor slowly then takes control of the entire Republic, manipulating
everyone that the Jedi are out to take over. Orders them to be purged. This time is called
the clone wars; cause Palpatine needed men at first. In the beginning he only had a few,
made tons of clones out of them, creating his own Empire. People fell to believe that
these people followed him for a reason. They are manipulated and follow him. Kenobi and
the opposing peoples against Palpatine struggle to fight the Empire in the Clone Wars.
After the Clone Wars, Kenobi hides on the planet of Tatooine from the Emperor and Empire
to keep a watch of Luke and Leia… we know there story don’t we. Well that
it’s it. If you would like to
read the sequel to this look for Altered Memories by Seyla Starrider. Cast of Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi Cee`li Assure Anakin Skywalker Queen Amidala Palpatine Nekorb Traeh Luke Skywalker Leia Skywalker Mara |