The Tragic Jedi | Anakin Skywalker

𝓢𝓬𝓮𝓷𝓮 𝟔𝟔

❈✱❉✤❈✱❉

The next morning, as Astrid laid in bed, she stared at those magnificent mountains in the distance for a long, hard minute before she forced herself into a sitting position. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she pushed the covers back using the hand of her uninjured arm and, gritting her teeth against the pain, moved her legs over the edge of the bed. 

Her injured leg gave a spasm of pain at the movement, and black dots danced temporarily across her vision. Astrid swallowed as she fought back the wave of nausea that overcame over her. With another shaking breath, Astrid slowly slid herself off the bed and gradually put weight on both of her legs. 

She quickly grabbed the bedpost for support when her injured leg wobbled at the pain that flared within the gunshot wound on her thigh. Her breathing was ragged as she reluctantly relinquished her grip on the bedpost and took a shaky step forward, wincing as another bout of pain rushed up her leg. 

Tears pricked her eyes. 

 She took a few small steps forward before she began to feel incredibly lightheaded. Astrid started tilting to the side when she felt a pair of arms catch her around her waist.

"Let's lay down for a bit, yeah?" she heard Cleo suggest in a soothing tone by her ear, and Astrid nodded and allowed her to lead her back to the bed. 

Cleo eased Astrid back down on the bed, and Astrid winced as her leg throbbed with pain. 

"You haven't eaten or drinking anything in a while," Cleo explained. "That's why you felt lightheaded when you started moving around." She pushed a bowl of sliced up apples and peanut butter into Astrid's hands as she ordered, "Now, eat."

With a begrudging look in Cleo's direction, Astrid bit into an apple slice. The sweetness of the apple exploded on her tongue. After she'd eaten the entire apple slice, Astrid asked, "Where exactly am I?" 

Cleo's lips tugged into a smile as she replied, "You're in Bail's summer house just outside the capital city of Alderaan. Nobody should find you here." 

"Who knows I'm here?" Astrid asked tensely, suddenly losing her appetite. 

Cleo noticed the worried look in her eyes and assured her, "Only Bail, me, and Padmé." 

"Senator Padmé Amidala?" 

Astrid remembered meeting the Senator of Naboo when she'd agreed to help prove Ahsoka's innocence in her Senate court trial. Padmé was Anakin's friend. A sudden wave of grief washed over Astrid at the thought of Anakin's name. 

Cleo nodded, oblivious to Astrid's sudden turn of mood, and replied, "Yes, Padmé Amidala. She and Bail are trying to form a resistance in secret against the Empire." 

Astrid couldn't help her flinch at the word 'Empire'. The Republic's new name-- their new government-- caught her completely off guard. 

Astrid began to sink back into despair as she remembered the hopelessness of their situation. The Republic was an Empire now, and the Jedi were gone. The peacekeepers of the galaxy were no more. There was nobody to stop the Empire and Chancellor Palpatine-- now Emperor Palpatine.