13 - Rough and Tumble

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Avery POV:

As I was idly scanning through crates of fruit in the kitchen, I instantly dropped the box when my ears were attacked by a thunderous crash that came from another room. The crate's lid snapped open, and the assorted fruits rolled in every direction of the tiled floor.

As a result of the shock from dropping the crate, I held both of my hands up beside my head in a defensive manner, as if someone was pointing a gun at me. My eyes were wide with fear, I turned around and almost screamed when I heard running footsteps approaching the entrance to the kitchen.

To my relief, and slight annoyance, it was only Luca who came rushing into the kitchen with his sword out and ready. When he saw that no one else was in here, the hostility in his eyes faded as he smiled at me, "You alright, Princess?"

I huffed and rolled my eyes, "You almost gave me a heart attack, bucket brain." I threw a random fruit from off of the floor at him.

He laughed and easily caught it in his free hand, before leisurely taking a bite out of it, "So, where's the fire?" He asked with his mouth full, referring to the loud crash that in all likelihood, everyone in the palace heard.

I shrugged, "How should I know? I was in here when it happened." I bent down and began picking up the fallen fruits, which I'll now have to throw away.

He tossed his own fruit in the waste bin and came over to help me pick up the rest that were on the cold floor. When we were done, I heard another slower pair of footsteps enter the kitchen.

Luca and I both shot our heads up at the same time, in fear that it could be some sort of perpetrator that may have caused the loud crash.

But it was only Aero, causing both of us to sigh in relief. Luca stood up, "Where have you been, man?"

Aero scowled harshly at Luca, as if he was some sort of parasite, "I've been trying to find (y/n). You know, since I'm her guard?" I wore a stunned expression at how passive aggressive he was being; for what reason, I didn't know. He's been so quiet and moody today and I have no clue why, it's so unlike his generally cheerful energy.

Luca blinked at his unanticipated response and chuckled, "Did someone spit in your coffee cake or something?"

Aero rolled his eyes and pushed past him, pulling out a map of the palace from his pocket, "No. Now let's just focus on finding (y/n)." He spread the scrolled map flat out on the table.

I rose an eyebrow over at Luca, asking with my expression what the deal was with our friend. He shrugged, telling me that he was just as lost as I was. We both silently walked over to stand beside Aero and look at the detailed map that was spread out on the large island table.

"I heard the crash." He began, and paused as his mind seemed to piece his next words carefully, "I also heard fast movements from up above. I think someone—most likely a criminal—is in the vents. For what reason, I'm not sure."

Luca's brows furrowed, "How could they be in the vents? Wouldn't all the air prevent them from moving around, or something?"

Aero sighed, "Not in this case. You're thinking of supply vents. Those are the vents where conditioned air goes from the air conditioner, travels through the ductwork and exits out the supply vents. This palace has exhaust vents. That means the exhaust air is deliberately removed from the building envelope and rejected to the environment. This building's ventilation systems are equipped with exhaust fans that work to draw air out of the buildings from strategic locations where low quality, moist or polluted air is likely to accumulate."

A dumbfounded, and impressed expression fell upon my features at his loaded explanation, which he gave as if it was the simplest knowledge to ever exist. "It's a good thing you're our brainiac." I praised, ruffling his hair.

For the first time today, I saw a faint smile beginning to appear on his lips from my praise as he looked over at me. It was nice to see my friend smiling again.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

He tapped his fingers rhythmically against the paper map, lost in thought. I watched his features change, as he appeared to weigh our limited options. He sighed again, "There's no use in overthinking our next strategy, considering we don't have much information about this situation to go off of. But as of now I think we should just find our Queen. She's our first priority."

That made me smile again. I admired his loyalty, and dedication to his job. It also seemed to bring out his normal self again. I clapped my hands together once, "I'll grab my blaster!" I said cheerfully.

They both turned their heads in surprise, "You have a blaster?" Luca asked.

I scoffed and walked past them both, "Of course I do, being a Princess doesn't mean I have to be helpless. And besides, someone has to protect you two." I smirked at them.

We all left the kitchen and grabbed whatever supplies and weapons we thought would be useful for this enigmatic situation.

In the back of my mind, I had a bad feeling that this might have to do with (y/n). Although, I thought it was funny and honestly kind of cool; it's only been a day, and there's already way more excitement with her and Anakin here. And I doubt this will be the only exciting thing that happens while they're here.

(y/n) POV:

Anakin just saved my life.

I should probably be happy, or thank him, or feel relieved that I've been granted the ability to live to see another day.

But in reality, I was pissed. I don't know why I suddenly got so angry, but I remembered all of our conversations over these long, last few days. All those times he's said he didn't care about me, that he hates me more than I hate him, and the many moments he's ignored me and treated me with contempt. Yet, as peculiar as it's been, he's recently shown snippets of kindness to me, and for once we've bonded in our conversations like actual—dare I say—friends.

And for what? Just so he can look me in the eye again and tell me that not one part of him cares about me?

He's such an ass. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been doing these nice gestures lately just because the Council is making him. Or, for all I know it could be something as cruel as to make me think he cares, only to then say it was a joke and make fun of me for thinking that we were becoming friends.

Well, I'm done. I'm done humoring him, and being the fool in his stupid jokes.

Anakin eventually backed away from me and used his hand to grab his lightsaber that used to be in both of mine held against my chest. He turned his head to the side, closed his eyes, and I could tell he was trying to sense where the person is that dropped the boulder from the ceiling vent.

His eyes opened after seconds of silence, and he sighed as he looked back down at me, "Whoever was just here seems to have migrated to another part of the palace. They should still be in the vent tunnels, but we need to hurry and locate them before they cause harm to anyone."

"Great." I spoke in a mundane voice without reciprocating eye contact. I used my hand to shove his arm that was on my shoulder off of me, and coldly stormed past him.

I heard him scoff in surprise, "Where are you going?" He asked from behind me.

I stopped walking when I got to the end of the hall. Clenching my fists, I spun around, then unclenched them as I slowly turned around. "I'm going to find this person." I spoke like it was obvious.

He rose an eyebrow, clearly not reading the room or my emotions, "By yourself?"

I crossed my arms, "Yes by myself. If I die, then I die. Not that you'd care, I'm sure it'll be one less inconvenience for you." I spat indignantly, watching his features shift as he became absolutely mystified. I turned forward in the direction I was going, and rounded the corner to the next hall before he could respond.

That last part was probably too dramatic, but I didn't care. He obviously doesn't care, so why should I? I get bitter so easily, which is probably something I should work on since I'm a Queen that will inevitably have to deal with people like him. But all I wanted to do now was find whoever tried to kill me, and stop them before they got to anyone else.

Then a harrowing thought crossed my mind; what if this person tried to kill me because they knew my identity?

The urgency to find them increased along with my heart rate. I jogged through the halls and used what I learned over the years to track the moving life force in the vents. Should I even be doing this by myself? Yes, I'm a Jedi, but I'm also the Queen and potentially the target of whatever peculiar thing is going on right now. Now that my anger has evaporated and my mind has cleared, this doesn't seem like the smartest idea.

I groaned as I hit another dead end, and rerouted my path back to the center-most area of the palace. I ended up in the ballroom once more, and I stopped running to catch my breath and focus.

I then began to remember one of my more interesting meditation sessions with Anakin, where he was teaching me how to concentrate properly to be able to pinpoint one's exact location with the force. Of course, I hardly paid any attention to what that hot-headed twat had to say.

But nonetheless, I was a bit more diligent that day because I thought the topic of the lesson was pretty cool. Now all I needed to do was remember exactly what his instructions were, or at least the parts that I listened to.

Flashback (2 years ago)

I zoned out, thinking about lunchtime, while Anakin was rambling on about who knows what. It wasn't even lunchtime, it was past that, and as usual he kept me behind longer than he was supposed to. All I could think about was food.

Suddenly I felt something hit the side of my head. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down to see my comlink—which I had taken off before our session—next to me on my meditation mat. I furrowed my brows and looked over at Anakin who was glaring at me.

"What was that for?" I asked, referring to the comlink that he just threw at my head.

"You're not paying attention." He rebuked.

I scoffed through my nose, "Well maybe I'd be more attentive if you weren't holding me hostage from all the food." I griped. My stomach growled again at the mention of eating.

He rolled his eyes, "Quit whining, we're almost done. I need your focus for the last part of this lesson, because it's vital knowledge if you ever need to use the force to track someone down." His blue eyes were strict, giving me the implication that I would regret not listening.

I sighed, "Fine. What is it?"

He closed his eyes for about ten seconds, give or take, prompting me to raise an eyebrow in confusion. He then opened them again, "If you clear your mind of all things, and make room for one, and only one person, you can use that mental image to locate them by connecting with the force."

I nodded in understanding for him to continue. "Just now," He began, pointing behind me to the door, "I could sense Obi-Wan's exact location. He's in the Council room, sitting in the chair at the very left edge."

My eyes widened in surprise; I didn't know that force users could do that. A small smirk formed on his lips when he saw my reaction, "There's only two rules when it comes to tapping into this kind of power; obviously, it's not a toy. Don't use it unless it involves saving someone's life or locating an enemy. The second rule is, don't push yourself too hard if you ever try this. Our nervous systems can't handle too much of this kind of power, so there's no telling what could happen if we go too far." He shrugged, making me believe that he's never gone too far with this before.

I nodded at the information that was just thrown at me. I don't know if I'll ever need it, but at least now I can finally get some food.

Flashback ends

I sighed and rubbed my temples; the problem is, I don't know what he meant by 'don't push yourself too hard.' Even after he scolded me on not paying attention, he still ended up giving a subpar explanation.

I closed my eyes and concentrated. The other issue is that I don't know who—or what—is in these vents, so I can't exactly picture it in my mind. I'll have to go based off of sounds and vital signs.

After even just a few seconds of focusing, I was beginning to understand what Anakin meant. My head, mainly the frontal lobe, was getting hot as if I had a fever. It was like every nerve of my head and face was starting to boil. But I didn't stop yet, because my concentration was actually working. I could feel a life force nearby above me, but I didn't know exactly where yet.

Shapes and colors were forming in my subconscious, pushing me to focus harder as the image was becoming clearer. It was like I could almost feel it. I just needed to go a little bit further.

The fever-like heat had now traveled to the rest of my body, making it feel as if my nerves were on fire, even though they weren't. But the pain was hardly there, because the image painted in my head was now clear. I saw a man, in ragged clothing. He looked like he could be homeless, or maybe some sort of worker who wasn't treated well. He was, as I suspected, in the ceiling vents on his knees, staring down at something intently. When the last piece of this enigmatic puzzle fell into place, a wave of dread washed over me, replacing the fire with cold ice in my bones. My eyes shot open, I came back to reality and now began to feel the pain from how hard I pushed myself, just like Anakin talked about. I knew where the man was, which made my mental image even more eerie.

He was right above where I stood.

I didn't need to look up, I got down and somersaulted away, then pulled out my lightsaber and ignited it as I quickly spun around to face the person when had just fallen from the vent in the ceiling. I remembered what Anakin had said about not turning your back on your enemies, and for once I planned to listen to his advice. It's a good thing I did, because I was able to use my lightsaber to deflect a laser beam from what I assumed was a small blaster.

I stood in a hostile position, ready to strike but then hesitated when I saw the guy again. He hardly looked as if he was in a position to fight a battle, minus the blaster in his hand. Just as I saw him in my mind, he merely resembled that of a creepy homeless man.

I narrowed my eyes, and pointed my blue blade at him, "Who do you work for?"

His hair-raising gaze moved to my lightsaber, and he smiled creepily, "A Queen and a Jedi? So the rumors are true." He chuckled, making me pull my weapon back slightly in confusion. What rumors? Do people already know about me?

He then raised his blaster again, keeping his wicked grin, "The King will be very pleased."

My eyes widened as I realized then what he meant, and I felt the familiar ice cold dread shake me to my core.

Alastair....Does he know I'm here?

I was quicker than the guy in front of me who then pulled the trigger, and I began moving in a circle around him deflecting a fiery sequence of lasers.

As I held my lightsaber out to block another, I swiftly brought my free hand up and used the force to fling the blaster out of his hand, causing his shot to go up in the air and shoot the wall, creating a black smoky mark on it.

And then from behind me, I saw a blue ring being shot at the man and he suddenly fell to floor. I looked behind me in shock to see none other than my sister holding a stun gun pointed straight at him, and a blaster held in her other hand. Next to her was Aero, and Luca. When did they come in? I was so wrapped up in the scrap with this supposed intelligencer that I didn't hear anything.

"Girl, what happened to your nose?" Avery asked as she put down her stun gun.

I blinked, and furrowed my brows in confusion. I lifted my hand up to my nose, and gasped when I saw a crimson red stain my fingers. A nosebleed must've been an after-effect of using the force for too long, and pushing myself too hard, just like Anakin warned me about. I don't think it's anything too serious, though.

I then let out a nervous laugh, "Oh, it's fine. Everything's fine, I just um—we had a little rough and tumble." I offered, referring to the now unconscious man on the floor.

Everyone seemed satisfied with that answer as they all nodded in understanding. Aero sighed, "I'm sorry that none of us were here to help. Although, it looks like you handled yourself just fine." He smiled pridefully. Yesterday I told him how I've never been in a real battle before, or even a small fight like the one just now. So he knows that this is a big moment for me, that I did this on my own without letting anyone else do the work for me.

I smiled back at him, at all of them. I don't care how easy this probably would've been for any other Jedi, it still felt so liberating to know that I accomplished this on my own. Yoda will be so proud when I tell him.

Avery walked towards me and linked my arm with hers. She pointed at our two guards, "Bonehead one, and bonehead two, grab his body and put him in a cell for questioning. I'll take the weapon, and get (y/n) cleaned up." They both smiled amusedly at her nicknames and then did as she instructed.

She sighed as we began walking back to my room, "You should've at least came to us for some help. I know you can handle yourself, but it's only the first day and that was already a close call." She gave me a serious look.

I nodded in understanding, "I know and next time I will. It's just....I needed to blow off some steam. I can't help but feel like Anakin is messing with me. These last few days he's actually done some pretty nice things, but then he always says that he hates me and doesn't care about me. And it shouldn't even bother me since I feel the same about him, but it's annoying because he keeps confusing me by going back and forth."

When I was done talking, I heard her snort through her nose and begin to laugh, so I looked over at her in confusion. "You obviously need to get out of your Temple hibernation hole more often. Anytime a guy acts like that, it means he does care about you, but he's too prideful to show it or put it into words. And it sounds like Anna Banana falls right into that category." She smirked, and seemed entertained by this whole thing.

I laughed at nickname, and then thought about her words, Anakin has rarely shown me anything but his rude, strict side. But then I remembered what Yoda said to me before we left yesterday; "More than you know, he does for you."

What could that mean?

Alastair POV:

"He did what?" I demanded angrily to the servant who was cowering in front of me; the same one from last night.

"He w-went to Alderaan t-to kill her." He stuttered.

I groaned in frustration and picked up a random vase that was next to me, and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces and causing the servant to flinch in fear.

"Get out of my sight. I want to be alone." I commanded, and instantly, the servant scampered out of the room like a rat.

I sat down and ran my fingers

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