Across The Stars // Star Wars (Sequels)

✰Chapter 5✰

"Raven!" Jaz's excited voice breaks me from my deep concentration and I let out a groan, opening my eyes. "Oh, crap, sorry! I didn't know you were meditating!" she instantly exclaims when she reaches me.

"It's fine. I was almost done anyway," I say, getting up from the ground and brushing the sand off my robes. "What's up?"

"I wanted to ask if you already made plans tonight," she says.

"No, I don't think so. Why?" I ask.

"I heard the boys talk about a lunar eclipse that's apparently happening. Wanna go watch it with me?" she asks me with a hopeful smile.

I nod. "Yeah, of course. Should be fun!"

"Great!" she beams. "I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing."

"Bye, Jaz," I say, grinning.

"Bye!" She gives me a wave before she darts off. I chuckle and shake my head at her before sitting back down.

Over the past fifteen years on this island, Jaz and I have only grown closer and closer. I don't really believe in soulmates but if I did, I'm sure that Jaz is mine. She always knows what I'm thinking even when I don't want her to know. She is the only one besides Ben who knows about the Dark Side and my family, and I trust her with my life.

I close my eyes and feel a certain warmth wash over me. The wind on my skin feels like a warm hug as it plays with my hair. Goosebumps form all over my body as I start mumbling, "Be with me and I'll be with you. Be with me and I'll be with you. Be with me and I'll be with you."

"You're getting better," a familiar voice speaks and my eyes shoot open. I find Anakin Skywalker sitting on the boulder next to me, his elbows resting casually on his knees as he watches the ocean. Over the past years, he has visited me a couple of times, but never long enough for us to have a full conversation.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, looking over my shoulder to check if I'm alone.

"Don't worry. No one can see me," he says. "And to answer your question, you called for me."

"No, I didn't," I say.

"Yeah, you did. You just don't realise," he tells me. He looks at me. "You said 'be with me and I'll be with you', but you didn't direct it at anyone specifically."

"I was talking to the Jedi," I say as-a-matter-of-factly. "Not the Sith."

"Vader was Sith. This... me," he says, motioning to himself, "Was a Jedi."

I narrow my eyes at him. "I guess that's true. Why are you here?"

He shrugs. "I've been keeping an eye on you for a few months now. Your meditating technique is really good. If you keep it up, you might not turn after all."

"I'll never turn," I say warningly.

"Oh, I'm sure," he agrees, a soft smile lingering on his lips. A short silence falls between us as I observe him from a distance.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask.

"Sure," he says.

"Why isn't this form of you old? You weren't this age when you died," I say.

This makes him chuckle. "We don't get to choose our appearance, the Force does."

I narrow my eyes. "What happened to you?"

He lets out a sigh. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"I need to know the whole truth in order to understand everything," I say.

"What do you already know?" he asks me.

"I know you joined the Sith when you were Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan. You became Darth Vader. You have two children with Padmé Amidala, Luke and Leia," I tell him.

"Do you know why I joined the Sith?" he asks and I shake my head.

"When Padmé was pregnant, I had these recurring dreams of her dying in childbirth. I knew I needed to find a way to stop that from happening. Chancellor Palpatine told me the tale of Darth Plagueis who could stop others from dying and he wanted to teach me this power." He lowers his head. "But Padmé died when she gave birth to the twins. The grief was so strong that I couldn't stop myself from giving in to the Dark Side."

I look at him and discover a sadness in his eyes greater than I have ever seen before.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," I say.

"Of course you didn't. No one knows," he says before inhaling deeply.

"You're not a bad person for wanting to protect Padmé, you know?" I ask softly. "It's just that..."

"I killed countless people including my own mentor? Yeah, I know." He chuckles darkly.

"Raven? Who are you talking to?" my brother's voice sounds behind me and I whip around, finding him standing a few feet behind me. I glance to my left and realise Anakin has vanished.

"No one," I say quickly. "I was just-"

"Avoiding me?" he asks.

"No, I wasn't," I defend myself.

He raises a brow at me.

"Okay, maybe I was. But I can meditate better when I'm alone," I say, rising from the floor. "I really think I've got this pull under control, Ben."

"You do?" he asks sceptically.

I nod. "Yeah, I think so. I've been thinking about what Master Skywalker said. He said that good people need a reason to turn to the Dark Side, and I don't have a reason. Just because I have Anakin's blood in my veins, it's not inevitable that I'll turn."

"But what about me?" Ben asks.

"What do you mean? Do you want to turn?" I ask, suddenly growing worried.

He shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. But the pull is still there. It calls to me every night and every morning," he says. "I keep hearing this voice, but I don't know who it belongs to."

"What does it say?"

"I'm not sure. I think it's a different language," he says. "But I think it's a Sith Lord."

I take a step back. Me talking to our deceased grandfather who was also Darth Vader is nothing compared to the fact that my brother has been hearing a Sith's voice, drawing him to the Dark Side. "How do you know?" I ask. "Does Master Skywalker know?"

"No, I didn't tell him. You can't either," he says warningly.

"I won't, but I'm worried about you, Ben," I say.

He lets out a breath through his nose. "Let's go eat something. I'm starving," he says, changing the subject.

I nod, my eyes lingering on him for just a few more seconds before we walk in silence to the building where we have breakfast, lunch and dinner every day with the others. Ben makes a beeline for his group of friends while I sit down next to Jaz.

"Hey, you okay? You're shaking," she asks, taking my hand in hers for a second.

I nod, scooping some of the food onto my plate. "Yeah, I'm fine," I say, offering her a smile to reassure her. She nods slowly before turning back to her food.

I glance over my shoulder at my brother, who is excitedly chatting with Jerraimi about something. I let out a breath before turning back to Jaz, who immediately includes me in a conversation about the upcoming lunar eclipse.