Promise - Anakin Skywalker

.05

Anakin lead Ella into an empty circular room. The blinds were drawn over the windows giving the room a bluish glow. He opened up a single shade, and sunlight came streaming in.

Ella tried not to feel overwhelmed as she looked out the window. The entirety of Coruscant was a bustling city with skyscrapers higher than what Ella thought was possible. Above the buildings, hundreds of ships sped in high speed lanes that weaved through the glimmering spires. The entire vista twinkled in the setting sunlight.

"That was the only good thing about Tatooine," said Anakin. "Before I was a Jedi I was a slave on the driest, unhappiest planet in the galaxy. The only good part of my days were when I'd watch the twin sunsets with my mother."

"That sounds amazing," Ella turned back around to face Anakin. "I mean, the part about the sunset! Not about you being a slave, I- I'm sorry to hear that." She rolled her eyes. Smooth, Ella.

"Thank you, Ella." Anakin half smiled at her awkwardness. "Fortunately for us, unhappy childhoods isn't what I wanted to speak to you about. I want to give you something."

He reached into his cloak pocket. In his hands he held two metal cylinders - lightsabers. "As promised," he said as he handed them to Ella.

Each lightsaber felt perfect in her grip. They made her feel powerful and strong, like she could do anything. I'd like to see the Wampa try me now! Ella thought.

"Now I kept my promise to you, so you have to keep one for me," Anakin began. "Whether or not you get accepted into the Order, these weapons will be your life. Without them you will be vulnerable, so I expect you to keep them even if you don't get accepted tomorrow."

"Of course," Ella responded. "I'll need these to defend myself if I'm in the Order or not. The same people will still be after me."

"In the event that the Council denies you tomorrow, will you go back to Hoth?" Anakin asked her.

"Never!" Ella said. "I'm never going back to that awful place!"

"Then you need to watch your back out in the real world, okay? You're a teenage girl alone in the galaxy, people will go after you. If you aren't armed-"

Ella interrupted Anakin. "This sounds a little more personal than just telling me to watch my back. You lost someone?" His eyes locked onto hers and he gave a single, sad nod.

"Her name was Padme," Anakin said. Ella could feel the regret in his tone. "She was your age when someone killed her. That someone came out of nowhere and snatched her while she was asleep, defenseless. By the time I got there, she was dead."

"You loved her?" Ella asked. She looked Anakin dead in the eye. He softly nodded his head, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

Taking him by surprise, Ella stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Jedi don't usually hug each other," Anakin said as he still squeezed Ella's lower back tightly.

"Well, I'm not a Jedi at the moment," Ella answered. Her chin was rested on his shoulder and her arms still tight around his neck. "Don't think this means I like you or anything. You still drive me nuts. But sometimes a hug can help when the world is rough." Laughing, Anakin walked out of the room with her.

Sure they had a rocky start, but Ella thought it was safe to stay they'd gotten over it now.