Across The Stars // Star Wars (Sequels)

✰Chapter 4✰

"Raven?"

With my eyes still closed, my brows etch into a frown.

"Raven, wake up."

My eyes shoot open and I sit up. Breathing heavily, I look around the room and realise every single one of the other girls are gone. Their beds empty and all their belongings, gone too.

"Raven," the voice returns and I look to my right, finding a man in dark robes sitting on the bed adjacent to mine. He tilts his head to the side slightly as he watches me. "Good, you're awake."

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" I ask him. In the dark, I search for my Lightsaber and I find it on the nightstand next to my bed. I ignite it and hold it out in front of me. The man's lips curl into a thin smile before he rises and takes off his hood, revealing his messy hair and the thin scar that runs down his face.

"I'm Anakin. And I need you to know something," he says.

"What?" I'm almost afraid to ask, but I do it anyway.

"The Dark Side is calling. I know you feel it every day. When you chose your Lightsaber, the Force sent you to the light blue one. But you don't know why," he says to me.

I shake my head. "I don't," I whisper.

"I can show you," he says, holding out his hand. "It is your destiny."

I wake up with a start, letting out a troubled gasp as I sit up in bed. My hair and shirt are drenched with sweat and I have trouble calming my breathing. I sit with my head in my hands for a few minutes until I've stopped shaking enough to get up. I throw my blanket off of me and get out of bed, silently fleeing the building.

I walk around the island for what feels like hours and I'm horribly cold, but I don't want to go back to sleep. I keep going over the dream. My destiny. What is my destiny? Who was the man? How does he know which Lightsaber I picked?

I eventually give in to the questions and walk all the way to Master Skywalker's hut on the other side of the island. I knock on his door and for a minute, nothing happens. I knock again and instantly, the door swings open, revealing Master Skywalker, his face etched with tiredness.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, Master, but I need your help," I say, wrapping my arms around myself as tears threaten to spill.

He narrows his eyes at me before stepping aside. "Come in," he says softly and I hurry inside. He takes a robe and drapes it over my shoulders and I realise I'm still horribly shaking. I sit down and rub my hands against each other until the feeling in my fingertips returns. "What happened?" he asks, breaking me from my thoughts.

I swallow thickly. "I had a dream," I say. "I don't know what happened but I was in the sleeping accommodation. I was alone at first, I thought, but there was a man. He sat on the bed next to mine and he talked to me about my destiny. That he knew why I picked the Lightsaber that I did," I tell him.

"Did he tell you his name?" he asks.

I frown, struggling to recall what he had said his name was. "It was vague... Anikan-"

"Anakin," Master Skywalker cuts me off, nodding solemnly.

I look up. "Who is he?"

His blue eyes hold a grim look and a sigh escapes his lips before he begins to tell me everything. The whole story. His parents. His sister. The Sith. The Dark Side. Vader. All of it.

By the time he finishes, I'm staring at him with wide eyes. "My grandfather was Darth Vader?" I whisper, horrified.

Master Skywalker nods. "Yes, his blood runs through your veins. And through Ben's. And through your mother's. And through mine," he says. "That's why you have been feeling this pull to the Dark Side. And that also why I needed you to stay away from it. You are so strong with the Force, you and your brother both are. That can be dangerous."

"Why did I pick the light blue Lightsaber?" I ask.

"Its blade is made of Lignan crystal. A crystal that is very popular in the Dark Side of the Force. A lot of Sith weapons were powered by this crystal," he tells me.

"Then why did you have it in that chest? You shouldn't have done that!" I say, almost accusingly.

"It was a test. I hoped desperately you would pick another, but at least now we know you need to resist the pull to the dark even more," he says.

I lower my eyes. "Master, I'm afraid," I whisper almost inaudibly.

"You'll be alright, Raven. We'll make sure of it," he says. "We'll spend more time meditating and I'll teach you how you can fight that pull."

I nod. "Thank you," I say softly.

"You should get some sleep. We're starting early tomorrow," he says, patting my shoulder. I push myself up and say goodbye before heading back to the sleeping accommodation. When I close the door, Jaz sits up in bed.

"Hey, you okay?" she whispers.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. Go back to sleep," I say.

"Okay, good night," she says.

"Good night, Jaz." I lie down in bed. I don't sleep, though. I just lie on my side, staring at the wall while my mind is tormented by thoughts. What if something happens and I turn? What if I snap one day?

By the time the sun rises, I have already gotten up. I help Master Skywalker set up breakfast and I shove a bread roll in my mouth before any of the others can even get to the building. I avoid Ben and the others for the rest of the morning by meditating on the cliffside. I focus on nothing but the sound of the crashing waves below.

"Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony," I whisper to myself. "Death, yet the Force."

"Raven," a voice breaks me out of my trance and the pebbles around me all drop to the ground. I turn around and find Ben standing behind me, keeping a slight distance between us.

"Hey, Ben," I say, running a hand through my dark hair.

"I've been looking all over for you. What are you doing out here?" he asks, walking up to me and sitting down.

"I needed some alone time," I say. "My head's been a mess."

"How so?" he asks, lifting up a pebble with the Force and letting it float in between us.

I sigh, debating on whether or not to tell him about my conversation with Master Skywalker. "Do you know who our grandparents are?" I decide to ask.

Ben shakes his head. "Mom never talked about them, and I was too young to ask," he says.

I nod. "Yeah, me too. I had a dream last night, but it felt just as real as you are right now," I tell him. "About our grandfather. His name was Anakin Skywalker, but you probably know him as Darth Vader."

Ben's eyes widen. "Darth Vader is our grandfather?"

I nod. "He turned to the Dark Side and became one of the most ruthless members of the Sith ever known. His blood is ours which is why we keep feeling this pull to the Dark Side. My Lightsaber is made of a crystal that the Sith use as well," I say. "I'm afraid, Ben. I can't turn to the Dark Side. That's not who I am, and it's not who you are, either."

He shakes his head and pulls me into a hug. "We'll keep each other on the right path, Raven. I promise," he says softly.

I tightly hug him back. "I promise too. Thank you."