Anakin

  We were taken to a small room where they made us get in a small carriage that would take us to our death. They placed shackles around our wrists and chained them to the car.

  "Don't be afraid." I told her, her honey eyes met mine and they were trying to tell me so many things at the same time.

"I'm not afraid to die." She confessed. My eyes surely glimmered as I heard her soft and delicate voice spoke. She paused for a second as if she was finding the courage within herself to let her emotions out and say what she has been meaning to say. "I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life."

I frowned, I was not able to fully believe the words that were leaving her mouth. "What are you talking about?"

"I love you." There, she said it. The three words that I have begged the heavens to hear.

My eyes opened wildly and my lips parted open, I felt the frown on my eyebrows dissipating too. Her words made my whole body soften, suddenly, the weight of worry vanished and the hope that I thought I had killed all those moons ago in Naboo came back. "You love me?" I was unable to hold her gaze remembering the heartbreaking words that both of us said. "I thought we had decided not to fall in love, that we would be forced to live a lie, and that it would destroy our lives."

A thin line of tears filled her hazel eyes as I spoke but a tender smile appeared on her lips. "I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway." Lana commented and I didn't say anything, instead, we started to lean closer to one another as if it was a reflex. "I truly, deeply, love you." She was inches away now, her warm breath hitting my face as my eyes travelled from her mesmerising eyes to her rosy lips. "Before we die, I want you to know."

  In that moment, our lips collided. It was no longer a 'stolen' kiss like the one from the lakes, but one where all the spoken words were said, where the pair of tears hiding in her sight fell and made it salty. She tasted sweet as if she was still telling me everything her heart was hiding again, her mint and roses scent filled my nose. We didn't break the kiss until the sunlight hit us, letting us know that we were no longer by ourselves, but in front of everyone else.

  The audience, that seemed to be the entire population clamoured as we were placed in front of big columns where the guards chained our hands above our heads.

  I felt my Master's vibrant gaze on me as my back made contact with the rock. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd got my message." He said.

"I retransmitted it just as you had requested Master." I paused as the insect like creature placed my hands up. "Then we decided to come and rescue you." Obi-Wan looked at his still chained hands and sighed.

"Good job." He commented sarcastically as I rolled my eyes and sighed as well.

  The audience cheered again, excited to see us die as the Archduke, the Viceroy and the Count walked out at a balcony with the bounty hunter right beside them, where they announced the beginning of the executions.

  Then, three gates opened, where three beasts walked out, growling and roaring. The one placed before Obi-Wan was an Acklay, the one before me was a Reek, and the one before Lana was a Nexu. The three of them were deadly, but the fact that she's still playing to be Padmé is gonna have terrible consequences. "I have a bad feeling about this." I said as my eyes were glued to the animals. I felt my heart beating in my ears as my breath raced.

"Just relax. Concentrate." Obi-Wan said loud enough for Lana to hear him too, but I was too stressed to realise what she was doing.

"What about Allana?" I asked.

"She's a Jedi too, besides, she seems to be on top of things." He told me in order for me to calm down, when our eyes met he pointed at something behind me.

  When I turned around I saw her, and she was literally, on top of things. She managed to climb the column and apparently freed one of her hands from the handcuffs. I couldn't help it, a small smile and chuckle left my lips. The youngest Naberrie never ceases to amaze, ever.

  This time was when things started to get complicated. Each beast attacked us and we started to fight as we could. When the Reek ran towards me I jumped and placed the chain around his horn, when it tried to pull away it pulled the chain as well.

  I turned my head towards her to check if she was managing. The Nexu was trying to climb the column too and she started to hit it with the chain. The problem was that if she used and made obvious the training she possesses, she'd blow her cover. I think that in a time like this, maintaining her 'identity' is not the ideal. The Nexu was faster and it scratched her back. It ripped her clothes letting everyone see her arm, abdomen and back. She screamed in a way I've never heard before, it was heartbreaking to listen to it. She made clear the pain she was feeling and how bad her injuries must be burning.

  "Lana!" I screamed as I tried to get the Reek to turn around but like it happened with the Shaak back in the meadows of Naboo, I lost my balance and was being dragged by it bacause the cain was still around his horn, sand getting everywhere inside of my robes. I screamed as I tried to stop the beast with no use.

  When the Reek finally stopped the echo of the Nexu whimpering made me realise she had done something. I started to use the Force on the beast before me and as I felt in giving in, my eyes travelled to the girl in the white suit who was trying desperately to free her other hand from the handcuffs. 

  The Reek finally gave in and I jumped on it to ride it. I directed it towards the Nexu and we left it out of the game when the honk hit it. Allana was finally able to free her hand and then she looked down at me. "Jump!" I yelled and she did as I said landing right behind me. Her hands went from my shoulders to my waist as I turned slightly around to see her. "Are you alright?" I asked. She didn't answer, she just kissed my cheek, quite close to my lips in response. She's alright. "Hyah!" I yelled and the animal moved faster.

  Obi-Wan was struggling to run away from the Acklay, but he managed to run towards us and jumped into the little ride. He placed himself behind Lans and we tried to escape, but then, a bunch of destroyers surrounded us.

  That's when I, and surely the others felt it. The presence of an ally. The sound of a lightsaber echoed behind us. I managed to turn the animal around to see the purple light of Master Windu's lightsaber in the balcony. The hope opened a window again. Suddenly, the green and blue lights of different lightsabers made their way through the crowds. Some of our fellow Jedi were already in the arena, waiting the command to attack and defend.

  And that order arrived when hundreds, if not thousands of battle droids ran inside. We were still riding the animal when three Jedi approached us. Among them, Adi Gallia, Lana's Master. They threw us all a lightsaber and as I freed Kenobi, Allana freed me.

  Something nearby exploded, and made us fall down from the Reek's back. When our feet hit the ground we turned on the laser swords and started to deflect the blaster's shots and destroy every droid that approached us. Lana managed to kill the driver of a carriage and ran towards it, she was going to gain ground by doing so, therefore, I ran towards her and jumped on the back of the car. She attacked from the front as I did from the back.

  Her violet lightsaber moved in all directions deflecting blasts but she didn't see the destroyer approaching from behind. The droid's blast hit the animal that she was riding, making the carriage fall down, taking us with it. Her saber fell off her hand, just like mine did, but we managed to get them back and we used the car to protect our backs as we continued deflecting the blasts.

"You call this a diplomatic solution?" I asked with a smile. She giggled, and smirked as her eyes met mine.

"No, I call it aggressive negotiations." She said and my smile grew bigger as we continued to defend ourselves. Then she ran away, spotting something a couple meters away. A Padawan, maybe two or three years younger than us was about to be killed due to the amount of droids around him. I ran behind her and we destroyed almost every single droid in our way. She saved him and we started to gather up with the rest of us. The rest that were left.

  When all the Jedi that were left made a circle in the center of the arena, surrounded my droids they stopped their fire, we placed our weapons down, not because we were giving up nor to place our guard down, but because of the exhausting constant fight we were having.

  "Master Windu, you have fought gallantly, worthy of recognition in the archives of the Jedi Order." Dooku started to speak. When he paused my eyes travelled to Lan's back. Three scratches, one underneath the other. The back of her white shirt was now covered by her scarlet red blood. "Surrender, and your lives will be spared."

"We will not be hostages to the bartered, Dooku!" Windu answered in response.

"Then...I'm sorry old friend." After those words left his mouth, the droids aimed at us again. We all placed our swords up to defend ourselves when something echoed in in the place.

"Look!" Allana called everyone's attention. When we looked up we were able to see tons of Republic ships that started to shoot every droid they were above of. The droids started to fire to them and to us, and the battle resumed. Moments later the ships created a perimeter around us and we all hopped on different ones. Allana seemed weak, tired, the cuts on her back quite deep, but she kept pushing so I extended my hand to help her get inside. She kept on deflecting blasts like the rest of us while the ships took us away.

  We were in the air when other ships tried to take us down. "Hold on!" My Master commanded us in order not to fall. We did as he said and I saw something that could be helpful.

"Aim right above the fuel cells!" I ordered and they did like I said and it was a successful shot.

"Good call my young Padawan." Obi-Wan congratulated me. Couple minutes later we saw how the Trade Federation tried to scape. "Attack those Federation Starships! Quickly!" He ordered and the pilots sent the rockets that made it harder for the ships to get away.

  After more minutes of flying, and after we managed to scape the huge smoke and dirt cloud we flew into, we spotted a speeder being escorted by two intelligent droids.

"Look over there!" Allana said as she pointed at it. "It's Dooku! Shoot him down!" She ordered.

"We're out of rockets miss." The pilot informed.

"Follow him then!" She commanded. "We're gonna need some help!" Lana said couple seconds later, as my eyes were glued to the speeder, and she might be right but there was no time.

"There isn't time!" Obi-Wan said as if he had just read my mind. "We can handle this!"

  Suddenly the droids disappeared from our view and we started to get shot from behind. The pilots did everything they could to avoid them, but when one blast hit underneath the ship it shook it so terribly that Allana and a clone fell down.

  She screamed as she fell and I tried to reach her hand and I felt our fingertips touching but it was too late, she was out of my reach.

  "Lana!" I screamed as I saw her rolling down the sand and ending up unconscious. "Put the ship down!"

"Anakin!" My Master called my name as he placed himself before me. "Don't let your personal feelings get in the way!" He told me, then he turned back to the pilot. "Follow that speeder!"

"Lower the ship!" I yelled in an attempt of getting down and going to help her.

"I can't take Dooku alone! I need you! If we catch him, we can stop this war right now! We have a job to do!"

"I don't care! Put the ship down!"

"You will be expelled from the Jedi Order!"

"I can't leave her!"

"Come to your senses! What do you think Allana would do were she in your position?!" He asked and I stood quiet, meditating my answer, knowing very clear what she would do.

"She would do her duty."

  I stood quiet again hoping that she was alright as we saw how Dooku entered a hangar, seconds later, our ship got to the place where we hopped off and ran inside while we heard how our ship exploded no long after we entered the place.

  We were now face to face, finally. I was angry, angry because of all the lives that were taken away, for all the brothers and sisters that were no longer with us and because the woman I love could be injured badly.

"You're gonna pay for all the Jedi that you killed today Dooku." I said.

"We'll take him together. Go in slowly on the left." Obi-Wan told me, but I was just too angry lo listen.

"I'm taking him now!" I screamed and ran to the man in front of us.

"No, Anakin, no! No!" Kenobi yelled behind me.

  When I was about to get to him, he attacked me with what seemed and felt like lightning, pushing me against a wall and leaving me weak. My eyes felt heavy as I heard my Master fighting against the Count. I tried to get up multiple times but my body just didn't respond, better said, it couldn't.

  I was laying there until I heard Master Kenobi screaming in pain and falling to the ground. I saw how Dooku raised his sword above his head to kill him, so I jumped, with all the pain in the world and stopped his deadly thrust.

  "Brave of you boy." The Count said with a smirk on his face. "But I would have thought you had learned your lesson."

"I am a slow learner." I commented looking deep into his brown eyes.

"Anakin!" My Master called and threw me his lightsaber.

  I started to attack him but he quickly did the same and I lost the ground that I had previously won. He kept our little dance going on for a while until he destroyed one of the sabers, the green one. Good, that was not my colour.

  Our fight kept on going when I cut one of the light tubes, making the palace's lights turn off and on. When I was about to hit him from a side, he pushed me slightly backwards and cut off my right hand, just to throw me away afterwards.

  I groaned as I flew in the air and when my head hit Obi-Wan's leg, my eyes closed, the pain that flooded my body was too overwhelming. When I opened my eyes again everything was blurry, I closed them again feeling extremely tired, but the feeling lasted a second. Kenobi started to get up, and he helped me stand, as she ran inside.

  "Anakin!" She screamed my name. Her saber on her belt, a blaster in her hand. Her clothes and hair were a mess. The white fabric of her shirt and pants had stains of scarlet red and orange from the sand and blood. I whispered her name as she hugged me. Her arms around my neck and my hand on her waist. She hissed, letting me know my touch on her back hurt.

"I'm sorry."

"It's nothing. You, your-"

"I know, I know." She placed my good arm over her shoulders to help me stand as we were taken to a ship to fly back to Coruscant.