Here are two things you need to know:
Mia- Mia is a Jedi who was born deaf and uses the Force to hear in the sense she can feed the sound into her brain through it. She was also trained alongside Anakin and they both are fluent in sign language as a result.
There are a few triggers because I really don't want to affend/upset/trigger any one of you lovely readers.
There are mentions of PTSD resulting from events from Revenge of the Sith. There is a short abusive relationship in only Chapter 9 but mentioned very rarely later on. Chapter 20 and on will have brief and non-graphic mentions of child abuse that happened in the past, before this story.
There will be occasional swearing but it's still within the T-rating.
Italicized text means signing/signing while talking
Bold Italicized text means dreams or flashbacks.
August 5th, Three days post Galactic Empire
Anakin Skywalker watched from the balcony stories above the streets, above the grand precession. The streets were crowded with people, standing on the sides of the street as the capsule surrounded by people passed by. Anakin watched the young woman, pale and lifeless inside the casket. Dressed in a brilliant blue dress, her favorite color, her long chocolate curls splayed out and adorned with blue ribbons and fresh flowers. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks as he watched the body of his beloved wife—long gone now—turn the corner.
Later today, he would visit the grave site, long after everyone had left. He could cry more then.
"I put them down for a nap," She spoke softly from behind, "Finally," She added, sounding exhausted.
"Thank you," He murmured hoarsely, his voice almost breaking. He didn't turn to look at her, unable to bare letting her see him cry.
"I'll make you some tea, come out when you're ready," She told him before she turned and walked into the next room, her footsteps growing quieter and quieter.
Mialera—Mia, she preferred Mia—Rosslyn walked into the kitchen, her heart heavy. She knew Padmé and they were fairly close. Anakin and Padmé never knew that Mia knew they were married and that was why Mia always took time to check up on Padmé and see how she was doing.
Sighing, the young girl—barely twenty-one—filled up the kettle, placing it on the lit burner. Slumping against a counter she bowed her head, exhausted and confused, depressed even. Her long, wavy black hair fell, covering her face. Her hands roamed over the simple red and orange dress, smoothing out the wrinkles in an attempt to distract herself.
The gentle tapping of the rain on the roof went unnoticed to her, the sounds around her completely tuned out. She wasn't sure how she'd found herself in this position, one minute, she's stowing away in the Nubian starship of a Senator with her former master to stop her friend from causing more harm to the galaxy. Then suddenly, in a flash it seemed, Padmé was dead and Anakin was stuck in the deadly balance between the dark side and the light side, struggling to regain some sense of balance. Then there were the twins, Luke and Leia. She promised to help him out, but she didn't know the first thing about children. When they were padawans Obi-wan would make them "volunteer" at the crèche, but that didn't prove to be of any help now.
Soft vibrations echoed through the floor, making Mia turn her attention to Anakin just as he walked in, stretching her senses out to hear him.
"Hey," She whispered.
"Hey," He echoed miserably, not facing her. He knew better, he knew that it was easier for her if she could see who she was talking to, read their lips along with hearing through the force.
Then she noticed he was turning the stove off, the steam of the kettle dying down. It must have gone off and she hadn't noticed. Frowning, Mia moved to make herself some tea, something calming perhaps. Anakin turned to face her, making her look up to see his red eyes and the dark circles under his eyes.
"What's your plan?" Mia asked him, her face thoughtful and her hands moving purposefully, deciding that a distraction was what he needed.
His eyebrows furrowed together, confusion etched on his face. "Where are you going to raise them?" She continued, not bothering to physically voice her thoughts, "Away from the Empire and Sidious, obviously, but how are you going to find the money?"
He sighed, "Padmé and I set up a few savings accounts, in case we had to disappear, from the order, from the Republic. It was a safety fun, if we wanted to run away."
Mia frowned, wanting to ask if he'd have bothered to say goodbye before disappearing.
"There's this planet," He continued aloud, hands falling to his sides, "It's called Verron, way out in the outer rim. Neither the Separatist or the Republic had any interest in it, it just went unnoticed for the most part. It's a safe place to live, I'm going to buy a house for us and get a job as a mechanic."
"You thought a lot about this," She surmised aloud.
Anakin nodded, looking a little guilty even. "We had to have a plan for last minute if something happened," He explained, hands moving fluidly again, "Verron was just one of the places we had in mind."
Mia nodded, approving. Gathering some of his courage, he asked her: "Will you come with me, make sure they are safe during the day?" He asked her, "I need someone to protect them when I'm not there."
"Of course," She answered, not even having to think about it. Anakin was her friend, she'd follow him and Obi-wan anywhere.
There was a long silence before Mia noticed another, very familiar, presence. It was shielded but she would know it anywhere.
"Do you feel that?" Anakin asked her as she moved, rushing towards the nursery, Anakin on her heels.
The cries of a baby reached her ears through the force. She found Leia, still in her crib, but Luke was missing. "Take care of her, I'm going after him," Anakin called as he disappeared.
Mia looked in the direction he disappeared to, the balcony. Picking up Leia, she soothed the newborn.
Anger boiled in his blood as he jumped off the balcony onto an empty speeder down below, turning it on with the force. Obi-wan was back and this time not to kill him but take his children away. Firing through the air, he forced the speeder to go at high speeds, chasing after his master and the precious force signature that had already become so close to him. He found himself at a space port. There were hundreds of ships and Obi-wan could be in anyone, with Luke in his hands. Rushing through the crowds, he pushed himself to run faster than thought possible. Then he spotted it, a beat up red star-fighter, raising in the air, Obi-wan and Luke inside. A guttural sound escaped through his throat in desperation as he looked for a ship he could take. In minutes Obi-wan would me a jump for hyperspace and he'd never be able to track him after that.
He barely made it to a fast ship—fast but not fast enough—before his heart dropped. They were long gone now and he couldn't sense them anymore. Leaning against a nearby pillar, he slid down, despair and anger sinking into him. His hands found themselves gripping his hair in frustration. He felt cold and hot at the same time, sick. He could throw up he felt so sick. This was what betrayal felt like and he'd gotten to know it very well over the last few days.
How could Obi-wan do this? A brother, a father-figure, a friend had betrayed him and it didn't seem to stop. How had things gotten this twisted?
Standing up slowly, still feeling like he could vomit at any moment, Anakin walked out. He felt numb as well as sick. Thoughts were barely passing through his head. The heat of summer still made him cold, shivering even.
He didn't feel he could trust anyone. He barely trusted Mia and only because she had save his life. He would have died by the hand of his former master.
He barely made it to the hotel room—more like apartment—where they were staying. Mia walked in to see him but the look on his face, miserable and full of despair, made her questions die in her throat. Turning, he moved to his room, unable to face anyone. Closing the door, he fell onto the bed, facing the ceiling. He barely noticed the tears leaking through his eyes and streaming down to his ears and into his hair.
"Anakin?" Mia called.
Wiping the tears off, he moved to open the door. She stood there, her grey eyes watering up and her lips turning down. Suddenly she pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug. He stood there for a moment, motionless and shocked, before wrapping his arms around her.
"Why'd he do it?" He asked to nobody in particular, his voice breaking.
She just held on tighter, not having an answer to that. After another moment, she pulled away and looked into his tired eyes. "You need to get some sleep," She told him softly.
"I don't think I can," He mumbled, hands moving slowly, "What if he comes back for Leia?"
"You just get some sleep, I'll stay up and watch her," Mia told him, before verbalizing: "We'll find him again, I promise we will."
He answered back with a chocked sob. Silently, Mia placed her hand on his heart, pushing him back until he was sitting on his bed, telling him she'd make some tea to help him sleep. He fell asleep from exhaustion before the kettle even went off.
August 6th, Four days post Galactic Empire
He found himself in a dimly lit hallway. The lights flickered as he walked past, looking for some sort of clue as to where he was. The further he walked the dark it got. The hallway seemed to never end. Then a piercing scream filled his ears.
"Anakin!" She shouted.
"Padmé?" He called, looking around, trying to find where he voice came from.
It was Padmé, she was in danger and she was still alive. Suddenly he found himself running down the hallway, trying to reach the never ending screams, calling for her.
"Anakin." Another voice called to him from the distance.
He kept running, running and running, he had to find her.
"Anakin!" "Anakin!"
Both voice calling for him. Confusing him.
"It's a nightmare, you need to wake up!" The voice called, making him turn around. Suddenly his world was shaking and he couldn't grab anything to hold onto.
He opened his eyesto see Mia, standing over him and looking very worried. "It was a nightmare," She told him, "It wasn't real," She assured him.
"It was a nightmare, it wasn't real," He repeated, whispering it over and over again like mantra.
He was back in the loaned apartment, Padmé was gone, Luke was gone, the entire Jedi Order was gone and in the place of the Republic was an Empire he'd had a hand in creating. He felt so numb, it seemed so surreal. His nightmare seemed realer than this twisted reality.
He turned, seeing it was near dawn. "We need to get off world, before anyone comes looking for us." Anakin stated numbly, "We'll need new names."
Mia nodded, "Give me a few hours, I'll have new papers for us and I'll get us some tickets. You just spend some time with Leia, I'll take care of it," She told him.
Anakin nodded numbly. He'd have to get money from one of the multiple accounts he and Padmé had created, all under a different alias.
"One of the accounts I created is under the name of Anku Moslov," He told her, "Keep Leia's name."
Mia nodded before leaving, a small purse with money hanging off her shoulder. In the meantime Anakin kept himself busy with watching Leia as she slept, or feeding her at one point. There was the diaper change, which he had trouble with but, somehow, managed. Sometime after lunch Mia came back, bringing with her a folder full of papers—birth certificates, ID cards, and passports to take them to any planet, no restrictions. She took the name Mia Lilkov. Along with that she had two tickets taking them to Verron first thing in the morning.
August 10th, One week post Galactic Empire
A young man dressed in all black strode into the room confidently. Out of the corners of his eyes he watched the shadows suspiciously, wondering what his master could want. Invitations into large and grand rooms like this usually meant punishment. That was something he could handle, that he had handled as long as he could remember.
At the end of the room sat the newly self-appointed Emperor. The hood of his cloak hung low and little of his face could be seen. Still, there was a lot of damage that could be seen, even with so much of his face hidden.
Never pictured him as a vain man, the young man thought to himself with well hidden amusement.
He met his master ten feet in front of his throne and kneeled, his head bowed low. He waited patiently for his master to speak but silence stretched on. That wasn't uncommon, the old Sith lord was big on dramatic pauses and grand speeches. Still it continued to stretch on into time and the kneeling man began to feel his leg muscles twitch with the desire to move.
"Darth Brutus, rise," The Sith lord spoke.
He stood and awaited punishment. Still, nothing lurked in the shadows and Darth Brutus resigned with the belief this was one those punishments. Instead of fighting to his last breath and receiving a good dose of Sith lightning he'd be starved for Force knows how long, forced to fight while he was weak and receive daily tortures at the hand of his master. Nothing he couldn't handle.
"Darth Vader is a traitor and in his place you will rise. Your mission is to hunt down all the surviving Jedi and destroy them. In your quarters you will find the files of every Jedi believed to be alive and you will hunt them all down. Have your ships ready to leave in three days' time."
The young man nodded mutely. His master expected silence and respect, a lesson quickly learned in his youth. Bowing lowly he murmured one parting sentence: "It will be done."
With that he left the large throne room aboard the large ship equipped to carry His Majesty—there came that sarcastic edge in his thoughts, always a problem in his master's eyes—and made his way to the small quarters he had the privilege of calling a temporary home.
August 18th, Two weeks post Galactic Empire
It had taken Anakin a week to spot a house in a small town nestled between the mountains and a lake. The house had four bedrooms, and was near a small meadow where Mia thought Leia might like to play when she got older. Anakin had also secured a job as a mechanic at a local transportation center.
Mia was surprised at the size of it. She'd thought it'd be a cramped little house and while it wasn't huge it was comfortable. As she walked down the short hallway she noted the kitchen, hanging off to the left through an archway. The living/dining room was a comfortable size. She noted the small bedroom off to the side, next to the stairs. Anakin followed slowly behind, Leia in his arms. With one head jerk he gestured for her to go up the stairs. On the second floor she found three bedrooms.
"This one's yours," He told her, signing with his free hand before opening the door.
Stepping in she found a fair sized room with two windows looking out towards the north where the sun rose in the sky and stretched south.
"I need to put her down for a nap," Anakin mentioned aloud, walking out and across the hall to Leia's room.
It was sparse, just a crib and few blankets and stuffed animals, along with diapers. Furniture was just one more thing they'd have to figure out.
"I'm going to go out, get some basic supplies," Mia murmured, standing in the doorway.
Anakin turned to her, "About that," He started, signing with both hands now that Leia was in her crib, snuggled in a pink blanket, "I created a new account, under both my name and yours."
She looked at her, her eyes widening slightly in shock, "You didn't have to do that." She told him barely managing to sign, unable to actually speak.
Anakin smiled slightly, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Mia, you need access to money, how are you supposed to buy things like food?"
She nodded, "I suppose I should probably get beds too," She added with a wry grin.
The corner of his mouth tilted up in a crooked smile, "Yeah, that might be a good idea," He muttered with dry sarcasm.
By the end of the night, all they had was food, kitchen ware and beds. Anakin planned on buying more furniture the next day, but for now they had the essentials. It took some time for them to get set up, from things like buying furniture to figuring out raising a baby.
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