Chancellor Palpatine was grateful for the information and ordered Cassandra to translate anything else that might come in on the network. After the long flight from Caranda and subsequent meetings, she went directly to bed after returning to the Jedi Temple.

Her loud snores drifted all the way into the living room where Anakin tinkered with one of his projects. Perched on his shoulder, Porggy eyed the silver wire covetously and chirped.

"No. I'm not giving it to you to play with." Anakin muttered. He'd already had to clean up his shredded bedding and ruined pillow from where the Porg had made a nest in the middle of his bed.

Anakin would likely have to throw the mattress out.

Porgs weren't meant to be pets. His only option was to somehow train the bird, a task he didn't have the time for. Anakin could be called away to battle at any moment.

Twisting a screwdriver, Anakin removed a screw from the outer plate of the chef droid he'd salvaged from the kitchens. It angered him how the head cook was going to toss the droid because it no longer worked.

He had always been good at fixing things. A talent he inherited from Shmi Skywalker. His heart clenched as it always did when he thought of his mother.

Anakin was married now. He had a wife. His one regret was that his mother hadn't been present at their wedding. He also knew Cassandra missed her own mother. To spare his feelings, she rarely mentioned Madeline Pierce.

He removed the outer plate and peered inside with a light. Some wires were singed, and the motherboard had to be replaced. The inside of the droid also needed a good cleaning before Anakin could identify any other issues. He was sure he had enough spare parts lying around his quarters to repair the droid.

Unbidden Cassandra's words echoed in his head like a prophecy of doom. "When the righteous lose the light, darkness will rise."

Sighing, Anakin set the screwdriver aside and washed his hands in the kitchen. Threepio shuffled over with a cup of tea. "Master Ani, would you like me to make supper?"

"Not tonight, 3PO. I'm not hungry."

He didn't even want the tea.

"Very well, then I will shut down for the night."

In an effort to clear his head, Anakin headed for the nearest training room and ran through lightsaber forms. He twirled and parried strikes from an invisible opponent, his only audience the stark white walls and blue mats under his bare feet.

Anakin feared for his wife. Cassandra's magic was emerging in new and unpredictable ways. Emrys had abandoned his successor to figure things out on her own.

Then there was the glaring warning that streamed across every holoscreen in the Republic. "Tenebris Oritur."

Words in a dead language from Cassandra's planet: Darkness rises.

His lightsaber hummed as he sliced it through the air.

Could Cassandra be right? Had some evil from Earth made its way to this galaxy? Was it the witch Cassandra had fled from? Or a different entity altogether.

Anakin vaulted off the wall, somersaulting to the opposite side of the room, landing in a crouch.

The Darkside was at work. Anakin could feel it, an insidious presence at the edge of his awareness creeping closer to devour him and everything he held dear.

Fire ignited in his veins. Anakin's head snapped up. Whatever was coming for them he would face it and defeat it.

Anakin unleashed his fury and frustration, his lightsaber cutting a smoldering path across the floor, trailing smoke and embers. He pictured Cassandra laying in a pool of blood on the Falcon after being shot. 

Crouching beneath a magical shield, while he whirled to confront an assassin. The Red Pox almost claiming her life.

His mother dying in his arms.

He hacked and slashed savagely at his demons until he was a nothing more than a sword and the arm wielding it.

How could Anakin protect his wife, if he didn't know what was coming?

The stench of burned plastic brought him back to his senses.

Breathing heavily, Anakin gaped at the deep gouge in the floor. A chunk of mat tumbled into the opening, vanishing into the hole. He padded over and peered into the training room below. A Nautolan Padawan blinked up at him in mild surprise, her mouth hanging open.

She flinched at the rage still twisting his features.

Anakin allowed his face to relax in a less terrifying expression. "Hey, there. Went a little overboard."

The girl's liquid eyes blinked rapidly, her jaw quivering. "Master Skywalker." She turned and bolted, her head tentacles whipping behind her.

Anakin groaned in dismay. Great. He'd scared the youngling.

He sheathed his lightsaber and wiped his face and arms with a towel. Draining a canteen of water, he climbed the stairs to his quarters for a shower.

Anakin changed into a fresh set of clothes and camped out on the couch. Cassandra snored on undisturbed.

His sleep was plagued by half-formed visions of malice and death. At the break of dawn he woke panting and sweating. So much for his shower. The gray dawn twilight seeped through the windows.

Anakin went out onto the balcony and braced his hands on the railing staring out over the city. A biting gust rolled over his bare torso chilling the sweat. Ignoring the cold, he watched the traffic until the remnants of his night terror abated.

"You're up early." Cassandra spoke behind him. He turned to face her.

Her hair stuck up in every direct and there were pillow creases on the left side of her face. Yawning, the sorceress removed the blanket from her shoulders and draped it around him. "Couldn't sleep again, huh?"

"I got a few hours."

Cassandra patted his back. "You're freezing. Let's go inside and I'll brew us some tea." She tugged him inside and locked the balcony door.

Anakin placidly followed his wife through the suite into the kitchen. She put the kettle on the stove and opened the wooden box where the tea was kept. "Want the usual or something different?"

"Sapir tea." He leaned against the counter and waited for Cassandra to fill the kettle. "You don't have to do that."

"You're always taking care of me. I want to take care of you too." She placed the kettle on the stove and grinned. "That's what married couples do. Take care of each other."

"Because you're such an expert." Anakin replied dryly.

"Of course, I've been married nearly a fortnight." She teased.

He rolled his eyes. Cassandra and her jokes.

She came over and gently combed her fingers through his hair, her fingertips gliding over his temple. "Do you have any of the sleeping potion left?"

Anakin closed his eyes, enjoying her caress. "Yes."

She traced the shell of his ear. "Take some tonight. Humans need sleep to maintain proper brain function."

Turning his head, he kissed her wrist. "I will."

The kettle shrieked. Cassandra stroked his hair a final time and set the tea to steep. Hugging the blanket around him, he watched her prepare the tea. Her nearness always soothed Anakin when he was struggling.

A knock sounded at the door, shattering the relaxed atmosphere. Tossing the blanket on the sofa, Anakin answered it.

Obi-Wan waited on the other side. He looked his former student over but didn't remark on his half-dressed state. "Good morning."

Anakin's hands squeezed into fists. "What are you doing here, Obi-Wan?"

"We have business to discuss." His old master answered sweeping inside. Obi-Wan's beard was unkempt as if he hadn't trimmed it in a while. His long hair hung in limp greasy strands around his face.

The closer Anakin inspected the other Jedi, the more he saw wrong. His tunic was inside out. The sleeve of his robe was stained with some type of sauce. Obi-Wan was never this slovenly.

Anakin folded his arms, tucking the hand with his marriage band out of view. He felt the invisible weight of the ring around his finger and all the promises woven into the circle of metal.

Cassandra's spell prevented the other Jedi from seeing proof of Anakin's treachery to the Order, but he kept his hand hidden anyway.

Obi-Wan continued blithely on about an upcoming banquet the Temple was hosting for the Chancellor and his core group of Senators. "The three of us have been assigned to plan the banquet."

"Sounds like I'll be bored out of my skull." Anakin drawled, rocking back on his heels.

"Oh, you'll survive, my young friend." Obi-Wan said cheerily.

Cassandra nibbled at her bottom lip, her white teeth sinking delicately into the pink flesh. "The Council wants me to help plan some fancy hoedown? I'm probably not the right person for this."

Anakin suppressed a groan watching her chew her lip, his desire reigniting for the sorceress. He threw up a mental shield, to block Obi-Wan from sensing anything.

"Hoedown?" Obi-Wan's lips twitched in genuine amusement. "My, that sounds unpleasant. I assure you the banquet will be anything but."

Cassandra wisely changed the subject. "Speaking of politicians, what's going on with the Senator who tried to kill me?"

"Orn Free Taa has finally been arrested and is in jail." Obi-Wan spread his hands in apology. "Unfortunately, the date for his trial hasn't been set because of turmoil in the Senate."

"Typical." Cassandra muttered. "Bet Free Taa gets off Scot free."

"Who's Scot Free?" Obi-Wan asked bewildered.

The sorceress sighed exasperatedly. "No one, Obi-Wan. When's the banquet?"

"This Saturday."

"That only gives us..." Cassandra ticked off the days on her fingers and squeaked. "Six days!"

This was going to be a kriffing nightmare, Anakin decided.

A/N: Next chapter, the banquet. Not much happened in this one but this is basically the beginning of the sequel. Episode II is just beginning. I thank you for your patience with what is the longest story I've ever written. My stories have strictly been stand alone up to this point. This is my first attempt at a sequel.