Promise - Anakin Skywalker

.14

Anakin had to admit, though he'd made fun of Obi Wan for getting such a reckless Padawan, he was beginning to enjoy her company himself. She was no doubt entertaining, spunky, fierce, and she reminded him of himself at the same age- a freakin' badass.

He could tell she was dying to destroy the droids that followed behind them, as well as the ones they sensed hidden in the cells of the monastery's dungeons. He wanted to teach her patience, but it was hard for him to stay calm too.

"Go for it, El," he said, not able to contain his feeling any longer. As expected, Ella ignited both of her lightsabers and went to town on the droids. "You even remembered to destroy their weapons first, good for you." She looked at him with a satisfied smile, and he returned the look.

All of a sudden, he ignited his lightsaber and stabbed it behind him where he sensed a droid. It let out a groan and then fell to the ground with a series of clanks. He turned to large metal door where the source of a potent smell oozed from. "It's in here," he said to Ella, both of them plugging their noses.

He punched the switch next to the door and it immediately slid open. Anakin gagged upon smelling an even stronger whiff of the Hutt's smell. From one of the dark corners a small green huttlet slithered into the newly exposed sunlight. It let out multiple squeaky sounds as it saw them.

"It's smaller than I expected," Anakin said aloud.

"That just makes our lives easier," Ella replied. Both of them could not take their eyes off the small creature.

"The size does not make up for the smell," he said to her, "you get to carry it."

"I, for one, think he's cute! He's just a baby!" Ella exclaimed innocently, peering down to have a closer look.

"Just wait until you see what he'll grow into," Anakin said darkly, images he wished he didn't remember appearing in his mind. He started to walk towards the exit as soon as the huttlet started to scream.

"Shut up! I tried rocking you-! Ouch! Don't bite me ever again, got it?!" Ella scolded the baby, still inside its cell.

"Lets go, Ella!" Anakin called. She came running out with the screaming hutt in her backpack.

"You owe me, Skywalker!" She called out as she jogged to catch up with him.

They backtracked until they were back outside where a starship had landed. Rex talked with a hologram of Obi Wan, projected from R2.

"Anakin, did you locate Jabba's son?" Obi Wan asked urgently as soon as he and Ella approached R2's holoprojector.

Ella jumped into view, holding the huttlet with a bright smile on her face. "We sure did, Obi Wan!"

"It looks like the Separatists are the cause of his abduction. Smells like Count Dooku to me," Anakin added.

"Are you sure it's not Jabba's son you're smelling?" Ella joked.

"Both of them smell like shit," Anakin grumbled under his breath. Ella wheezed and began to laugh loudly.

"Anakin!" Obi Wan scolded him sharply. He then sighed, "I bet Dooku is using this to get Jabba to join the Separatists."

"There's another problem," Ella said, "the huttlet is really sick."

"I'm not sure we can get him back to Tatooine alive," Anakin added, feeling bad about making matters worse. "This could backfire on us. I still don't think dealing with the Hutts is a good idea."