Memories - Ch. 5-5

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Anakin looked up from the holonovel he was reading, glancing quickly at the chrono. He stretched and yawned, then scratched at his head for a moment. He stood up from his chair and walked from the room, looking up and down the hallway for a moment.

Then he walked down the hallway to Sannah's door. He paused for a moment, and then rapped twice on the door. "Sannah? Have you gotten back yet?"

When no answer came from the far side of the door, he opened it, and stepped into the room. His mouth dropped open as he saw the mass of holonovels spread around Sannah as she lay in the middle of the floor. In one hand was a half-eaten meatroll, the other manipulated the controls of the holonovel right in front of her. Her eyes are fixated on the mechanism, part of her lower lip caught between her teeth.

He shook his head, and looked around again. "Did you buy all of this?"

Sannah made a small sound.

Anakin frowned and said, "You had this much money?"

She made the sound again.

Walking forward, he crossed over to her and then knelt down beside her. He then opened a box, noticing it contained two more meatrolls. He gave her a quick glance. "If you eat this much, you won't have any room for dinner." Picking up one of the meatrolls, he continued. "I'll help you out."

She made the sound again.

"I can have some, right?" he said.

She acted as if he had not spoken. He frowned for a moment. Then he reached out and physically nodded her head and in a higher pitched voice, said, "Sure, Anakin."

Taking a bite out of the meatroll, he watched her for a moment. A quick shake of his head and another bite of the meatroll and then he said, "I wonder if anything could break her concentration."

Popping the last bite of the meatroll into his mouth, he stood up and walked from the room, returning to his own.

A short while later, his door burst open. Sannah stood there, her hands on her hips a scowl decorating her face. "Anakin!" He glanced up to look at her as she pointed towards him. "You took my meatroll!"

Anakin smirked at her. "Nope. I ate it right there next to you."

She blinked hard, her stance and posture softening. "When?"

"While you were reading. I asked if I could have some."

"What did I say?"

"You said, 'sure, Anakin,'" he replied.

She stomped her foot and advanced further into his room. "You're lying!"

Before Anakin could reply, Mara came up behind her. "Sannah, you're back. Did you get the chale?"

Sannah grimaced slightly and dropped her head, clasping her hands together.

Anakin tilted his head slightly, watching her actions. Suddenly a thought came to him and he said, "Hey, did you use the chale money for yourself?"

Her head snapped up. "No!"

He arched an eyebrow. "Then give it back."

She dropped her head back down, tucking her chin against her chest. "I... I... I will, later..."

Anakin stood up and walked closer to her. "I'll tell you though. If you end up saying 'I did use the money' things will go worse for you. If you did, you should tell us now."

"Wait," she whispered.

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest, and stood over her.

Sannah looked up at him, her eyes edged with tears. Then she glanced over at Mara for a moment before returning her attention to Anakin. "I used the money on myself."

"Hey!" he yelled.

Sannah yelped in fear and then ducked behind Mara, wrapping her arms around her waist. "You said you'd be nice to me."

"No I didn't," Anakin replied. "I just said I'd be meaner to you if you didn't tell us the truth."

Mara placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Let me handle it from here, understand?"

Anakin looked down and saw the fear in Sannah's eyes and then sighed. Mara wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders and then lead her back down the hall to her room. Anakin watched them disappear and then walked closer to the room. He leaned against the wall across from her room and waited.

A short while later, the door opened and Mara stepped out. She glanced back into the room and then closed the door. She then focused on Anakin where he leaned against the wall.

"So," Anakin began. "Did you yell at her?"

Mara smirked at him. "I told her that I'd set her up with a small stipend. That should let her be able to get anything she wants."

Anakin blinked hard, and then scratched at the top of his head. "That's it?"

Mara nodded. "Yes."

"She won't learn her lesson that way."

Mara shrugged her shoulders, saying, "Ask your uncle about forgiveness sometime."

He frowned for a moment. "But you're extra nice to her."

She shrugged her shoulders again. "She's lost her memory-and if you've not noticed there's not a lot of other folks on this planet that have yellow eyes." She thought for a moment and then speared him with a glare, her green eyes boring into his. "You have to be nice to her to." Then Mara walked away from him, calling out over her shoulder, "I'll make everyone dinner soon."

Anakin watched her go and then turned back to Sannah's door. He stared at it for a moment and then lowering his head returned to his own room.

After dinner, Anakin walked out of the apartment. As he neared the elevators the doors opened and Jaina stepped off. She turned a bright, infectious grin on him. "Hey Anakin."

"Bye, Jaina," he replied.

"Where are you going?"

Anakin got onto the lift and pressed the button that would take it to the ground floor. He grinned at her and said, "Demon hunting."

The doors closed on her confused expression and it took him down to the ground floor. He walked over to the grocery store and picked up a few items; after making the purchases her quickly went to the temple and broke in. He walked up the stairs, wandering the halls, admiring the blue glow of the moonlight as it shone through the wide windows.

Finally he turned a corner and came to a stop. Tenel Ka stood there, her face impassive as she stared out the window. The ornate sword sheathed and her hand rested on its hilt.

"So," he began. "You're here tonight as well."

She did not respond.

"It looks like Eyrl doesn't know that you do this."

She still did not respond.

Anakin grinned slightly. "So, are you hungry?"

She finally responded. "A little."

"I see," he said with a smirk. Then he reached into his bag and pulled out a snack food. He held it aloft and she turned to stare at him.

"What's wrong?" Anakin said.

"Unwrap it for me."

Quickly, he the wrapping off the snack and held it out to her. She took it from him and bit into it.

"Where did you get that sword from? Is it real?"

She did not respond.

Anakin sighed. Then he heard a rustle behind him-but before he could react Tenel Ka had drawn her sword and swung the sword hard. The hard clang of metal on stone echoed down the hallway.

Anakin turned to find Sannah standing there fear etched onto her face as she stared at Tenel Ka. The sword's point was pressed tight against the wall and a brown drape was wrapped around it, part of the cloth still covering Sannah.

"Sannah?"

Sannah stepped back a few steps, her hands coming up to her mouth as she turned away from them. "I... I thought I was going to die..."

"What are you doing here, Sannah?" he asked.

She twisted back around and stuck her hand out towards Anakin. "I came to scare you!"

Then she looked towards Tenel Ka. "Who is she?"

Anakin shook his head. "You just got what you deserved."

Tenel Ka held her hand out towards Sannah, saying, "Come here."

Sannah took a hesitant step forward and Tenel Ka placed a hand on her head. Sannah frowned at her. "What are you doing?"

Tenel Ka stared at her for a moment and then shook her head. "Nothing."

"Anakin," Sannah began. "She's dangerous. Let's get out of here."

Anakin chuckled. "Dangerous? Anyways, I don't know where this curtain came from, but you need to put it back."

"But it's a bother."

Anakin held it out towards her. "Clean it up."

Sannah groaned but took the curtain. She then turned and took a few steps away from them. Then she stopped.

"What's wrong?" Anakin asked. "Go home already."

Sannah slowly turned to look at him again; fear once again causing her eyes to shine. "I'm scared. Come with me?"

He sighed and glanced towards Tenel Ka. "I'll be going with her."

Without waiting for a reply, he started walking towards Sannah. Then to his surprise, Tenel Ka called out, "Anakin..."

He turned to look at her.

"Be nice to her."

It took an effort of his will for his mouth to not drop open. He wondered for a moment, if Tenel Ka and Aunt Mara were collaborating.

"Hey! Hurry up!" Sannah called out from behind him.

He watched Tenel Ka for a moment longer. Then he turned away as Sannah yelled again, "Come on! Let's go."

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