"Poisoned Heart" - sequel to A Game of Hearts - Last post up 9/6!

Wow, that was really heart-wrenching (that's a compliment )! You really portrayed Padmé's agony well, the way her feelings are torn...and the strength she is trying to grip onto. Yet, I almost feel bad for Anakin, and how he thinks that Padmé had never loved him *sigh* So sad...so sad (that's a GOOD compliment, hehe) I can't wait for the next post, Cindé !

*StarDust*

PS- Congrats on the wedding!

 

OMG Cindé! This was powerful, heartbreaking stuff! I can't wait for Obi-Wan and Anakin's confrontation and I imagine Obi-Wan rescuing Padme and the twins. Excellent!

Hoya

P.S. Congratulations again on your wedding!

 

Good heavens! It's been a while, hasn't it? But I have been working on a post. It's been hard. It won't be very pleasant to read. But...there was no getting around it. Anyway, I wrote so much I discovered it would be enough for two posts. So I'll post the first part today and the second tomorrow or the day after. There will be a scarcity of posts for a while after that...because I'm getting married in five days!!!! I'm quite nutty, of course. After things get sort of back to normal, though, I will get to writing again. There's not all that much left of this story! I'll do my best to make it end well - maybe not happily, but appropriately. )
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Threepio had switched himself off from sheer franticness. The strain of waiting had been too much for his circuitry. He was flooded with awareness again, suddenly, after a week of blackness. He found himself staring at the grim face of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Oh, my!" he exclaimed, attempting to stand. The Jedi restrained him.

"Be quiet, for just a few moments, and let me talk." Master Obi-Wan sounded infinitely weary. Threepio decided it would be wise to obey.

"Certainly, sir. I shall be completely silent."

Obi-Wan glared, and Threepio turned off his vocal mechanism. "Thank you. Now, first of all, where is that astromech droid? I need his help."

"R2-D2?" Threepio looked around the front room curiously, looking for the droid in vain. "I don't know, Master Obi-Wan. You see, I've been deactivated for quite some time, and I'm afraid I'm rather disoriented."

"Never mind," the Jedi replied, and Threepio wondered if he was right in sensing some of that human disgust in his tone. "I'll find him myself."

As he began walking towards the other rooms at the back of the apartment, Threepio called, "Excuse me, sir, but might I inquire for what purpose you need his help?"

Obi-Wan emerged from one of the rooms, frowning. "I'm not even sure. I need to find someone."

"Mistress Padmé?"

He shook his head. "No. I do want to find her, but first - first I need to find Anakin."

The golden droid flailed his arms in horror. "Oh! You don't really mean to find him, do you? Haven't you heard?"

"Yes, I know," Obi-Wan said grimly. "Probably more than you do. You have likely heard of Anakin's various atrocities on Coruscant. And of course you know how he took Padmé from here by force. What you probably do not know is that he is now keeping his wife hostage under the orders of the Emperor."

Threepio cried out in dismay. Artoo, beeping with concern, emerged from a back room and rolled up to Obi-Wan. The Jedi glanced down at him and gave a small, sad smile, then looked at Threepio again. "She will soon bear her child, and I must make sure at all costs that the Emperor does not get his hands on it. Anakin is the only one who can reveal her location; she has been hidden so thoroughly that even the most knowledgeable rumor-mongers can tell me nothing of it. Anakin is our only chance. I must find him." He had another secret hope about finding Anakin. He did not mention it, but he thought on it constantly. It was a wild, perhaps vain, hope. He stubbornly held to it nonetheless. "Padmé is hidden somewhere on Coruscant, I am fairly certain," he went on. "But Anakin may very well have left the planet."

Artoo chirped sadly. "Left the planet?" Threepio repeated nervously. He was thinking of space travel.

"He is spreading his rampage of terror." Obi-Wan could scarcely keep the emotion from his voice. "Coruscant may no longer be enough to contain his wrath." He leaned down to look at Artoo face-to-electric-eye. "I need your help. Can you access the Imperial computer system?"

Artoo let out a confident bleep. Threepio sighed heavily. He had not enjoyed these quiet, anxious days. But he preferred them, by far, over taking part in some perilous journey. It looked like his quiet days were over.

Jedi and protocol droid watched together as Artoo rolled to the apartment's computer terminal and plugged in hi

 

I'm honestly amazed you've even got the time and concentration right now to churn out a post (if I was getting married, no way would there be anything resembling a post in anything I was writing for a *long* time!)-- much less a good one, so the lateness is forgivable.

But oh, Anakin... I'm not sure what else I can say. Just... oh. And the post before that was as heart-wrenching as anything I've ever read, with the final meeting with Anakin and Padmé-- and it's only going to get more depressing from here. Wonderful posts.

 

Hmmm, the volcanos. We all know what happens next... I get sad just thinking about it! Great post, like always!


*SB*

 

You like breaking our hearts, don't ya? ,

*Offically upset for next postie*

 

Fabulous! Simply fabulous! George Lucas should hire you to write episode three.

Hoya

 

I'm back! Actually, I've been back for about a week, but I've been quite busily settling in and adjusting to being married (!) Am I finished with either thing? Absolutely not! There's still piles of boxes all over our apartment. Oh, and being married still feels weird. But good, too. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, we still haven't hooked up the Internet for our computer, so I don't have regular access yet. I do, however, have tons of ideas for this story, so I should have a new post up soon. Sorry it's been such a long wait! It's been quite a month.

 

Congrats on your marriage, Cinde! May you have many long, happy years together.

I know I've been AWOL from this story, but I am still reading it. Poor Anakin, he went downhill so fast....

Also an up so I can find it for the Awards nominations...

 

Oh, boy. Here we go. I'm very, very nervous about this post, but I don't think re-working it forever will make it all that much better, and it's been far too long since I posted. So I'm just going to stick it up here and hope it's satisfactory. Oh, here's something much more exciting - we have tickets to AOTC! For the 1 AM showing on Thursday! Can't wait to see the real thing...
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It took him a half hour?s journey to reach the mountains. He was glad for the walk, though the delay might make it harder to find Anakin. He needed the time to prepare. But prepare for what? To face a madman? How could he reason with him? He was clearly beyond all reason. Was he beyond all emotion as well? If that was the case ? he was truly lost.

In the end, he could prepare nothing, no words to say, no argument to pursue. He would find Anakin, and then ? may the Force guide him. That was all he could hope.

He began to come upon a trail, at the foot of the shortest of the mountains in the group. Footprints clearly appeared in the piles of soot. Obi-Wan began to follow them. Anakin had not troubled himself with disguising his path ? who would ever dare to pursue him? To pursue a madman...

Obi-Wan began to wonder if he was mad himself.

The smell of volcanic smoke grew worse the higher he climbed. He took short, infrequent breaths and tried not to grow dizzy. The air was thinner here as well. He glanced down at the ground again. The footprints become more and more distorted, like Anakin had been slowing down, dragging his feet. And finally coming to a stop.

He was sitting on a rock, his head down, his hand loosely holding his lightsaber. He did not look up as Obi-Wan approached. He gave no sign of noticing his presence. Obi-Wan stood there, heart pounding, and could think of nothing to say.

"Never again, never again, never again."

Obi-Wan stared. Anakin was muttering and shaking his head. What did his words mean? He hesitantly repeated them. ?Never again??

Anakin?s head jerked up and his eyes glared into Obi-Wan?s. ?What are you doing here?? he demanded, tightening his grip on his saber.

Obi-Wan took a step backward. ?Looking for you.?

?Well, you?ve found me.? Anakin looked down again, as though the conversation was over. Obi-Wan gritted his teeth. This would not be easy. But he had not expected it to be easy.

?I wanted to talk to you, Anakin.?

Anakin did not answer.

?Please,? Obi-Wan pressed on. ?I want to help you.?

?Help me?? Anakin laughed bitterly and stood up to face him. ?I already know your way of ?helping.? Denying me my full powers, taking away everything I loved ? turning my own wife against me! Oh, no,? he said, his fury rising, ?I don?t want that kind of help.?

?Anakin,? Obi-Wan said desperately, ?I?m afraid you?ve misunderstood. I only ever wanted the best for you.?

?Misunderstood!? Anakin snorted in disbelief. ?I think I understand you all too well, Master.? He spat out the title sarcastically. ?You knew what kind of powers I had; you were jealous. You wanted to control me, and use me.?

How could Anakin possibly imagine that? Obi-Wan was horrified at how distorted his views had become. There was no reasoning with him at all.

What now?

?Please listen to me,? he ventured. ?I know what pain you?re in right now.?

?You have no idea,? Anakin muttered.

?But I do know you?re in pain,? Obi-Wan went on doggedly, ?and I can help you find a way out.?

For a single moment, Anakin?s eyes seemed to flash with hope. But bitterness threatened to fill them again. Warily, he asked, ?What do you mean??

Obi-Wan chose his words carefully. ?Your wife and her unborn child are in terrible danger. You must get them away from Palpatine. I will help you do this; I will do anything to get your family out of danger. Think of it, Anakin ? you, and your family, free and far from the Emperor. You won?t have to be afraid for them anymore. You can all live in peace. Isn?t that what you want??

 

[face_shocked] Wow.

How awesome was that! I felt like I was actually there...


*SB*

 

That was so powerfully written, Cindé! Amazing! *wipes a tear* BTW, I voted this as best "inter-trilogy fic" for the 2002 fanfic awards.

*StarDust*

 

Wow!!!!!!

 

Wow!!!!!!

 

Thanks! I'm so relieved you liked the scene.

WOW! Saw Eppy II at 1:00 this morning (no, I'm not really awake yet) and my head is still spinning from it. Makes my own little Episode II fic look rather shabby, but I should have expected that. I'm still intending to finish this, of course; there's not a whole lot left. But I don't know if anyone's really interested in a new post right now. I know all I want to do right now is sit here and listen to the glorious, glorious soundtrack, especially the haunting, sweeping love theme that is so beautiful and yet tragic that it makes me want to write poetry. Ahh....<smile of pure bliss>

 

OMG Cindé I think that was one of the most powerful posts I have read in a loooooooong time. It was so sad! It was just awful what happened up there. You did an excellent job w/ that post!

 

AWESOME!!! I know how you feel, I love the soundtrack and I just want to watch the movie over and over! Later Cindé!

Hoya

 

Oh, this is so sad!
I've been waiting to read this until after seeing AOTC (fear of spoilers), but now I can only hope that Episode III will be as powerful and wonderful and sad and terrible as this story is.
I love you, Cindé! Please, post some more!

 

Post more? Oh...all right. Here goes:
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Padmé remembered spring on Naboo.

She could still see the achingly blue skies, the deep green, rolling hills. She could hear the birdsongs and the rushing waterfalls. Most of all, she remembered the smells ? the aroma of early-morning dew, the fresh grass, the heady perfume of blooming flowers...

The flowers...so strong...dizzying...

Padmé opened her eyes groggily. The odor was real. But it wasn?t flowers. In half-consciousness she had imagined the smell to be innocently pleasant. Now, more fully awake, she recognized it as the sickeningly sweet pungency of anesthetic.

But why should she be anesthetized? She had not been in serious pain of late; she remained in bed merely because she was too weak to go anywhere else. She knew, somehow, that the twins? time was coming. Soon.

Yet that was no reason for anesthetic. Trying to clear her head in spite of the mind-fogging odor, Padmé sat up in bed and stared around her. She blinked in surprise.
She was no longer at the center of the room. Her bed had been pushed off to the side. Another bed occupied the place where hers had been, with another patient. The bed was surrounded with medical droids and frighteningly complicated machines; she could scarcely make out the figure lying upon it. Now that her head was a little less blurred, however, she could make out something else she had not noticed before ? a ponderous, measured sound that resembled heavy breathing. It could not be a human?s breathing. It was far too heavy and echoing. It seemed to throb in her own small chest until she could scarcely bear it. She could not imagine why such a sound should fill her with an intense dread. She rolled in her bed, straining to catch a better glimpse of the patient. After a moment, a medical droid moved, allowing her a brief window into the body of the patient.

Padmé choked and turned away. She forced herself to quell the nausea rising in her. Her breathing turned ragged, her heart pounded. She had seen something like a vision from a nightmare ? hairless, raw, splotched with deep burns, swathed with stained bandages. No expression, no movement. The bottom half of the face was covered with a dark mask, giving the appearance of something not quite human. The eyes, the only uncovered feature of the face, were open but lifeless, staring emptily up at the ceiling. The empty gaze burned in her memory. Strangely, she felt the need to weep. Who was this pitiful, hideous creature whose grievous wounds seemed to give him the appearance of Death itself? And why was he here?

A few droids, noting that she had awakened, drifted over to her bed. She turned from them listlessly, feeling sick at the thought of another examination. A metal hand rested on her shoulder. She pulled away. The hand came back.

?Leave me alone,? she muttered, and looked to face the droid in irritation.

C-3PO?s golden face stared back at her.

She drew her breath sharply. ?Threepio?? she whispered. The droid nodded happily, then seemed to think better of it and put a finger to his oral opening. Padmé glanced quickly around to see if the other droids had noticed, but they were busy monitoring her bodily functions. Their job, she reminded herself, was to keep her from dying. Any other business had nothing to do with them.

?Threepio,? she whispered again, ?what are you doing here??

Again, he shook his head. With his voice electronically lowered, he told her, ?We are not to discuss anything, to avoid the risk of ? being discovered. Rest assured, however, that you will soon be out of danger ??

A droid at the foot of Padmé?s bed was watching the two with tilted head. Threeipo quickly silenced himself, and the droid turned away. Padmé watched the protocol droid slip quietly back to the other patient?s bed, a thousand unasked questions on her lips. She was burning to know how Threepio had managed to get here, and had no way of finding out.

Yet somehow, in spite of all the new anxiousness brought

 

Poor Padme, in such conflict. These posts are getting sadder each time.


*SB*

 

You out do yourself w/ every post you write, ya know? OMG this is so depressing. It must be so hard to write.

 

That was both beautiful and incredibly sad. I hope you find time to update soon. I'm conflicted though because I know the rest of it will just break my heart. No, ignore me, please update.

 

Oh Cindé!!! That was so sad! Please write more soon, I can't wait to read the rest! You're such a talented writer!

Hoya

 

Whew! Sorry it took so long; RL has been ugly this week. But here it is at last! Hope you like it. And sorry it's so dark and sad...
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Obi-Wan had several choices to make. None of them were easy. All of them were crucial to the life of Anakin?s wife and her child. One misstep, and all would be lost. And he would regret it all his life.

Not that he didn?t already have plenty of regrets that would last his entire life. Now, however, was not the time to ponder them.

He had been lucky in tracking the troopers who took Anakin?s body away. Luck, or perhaps the Force, had got him this far. But he could not rely on luck alone; it was too uncertain.

He had found, over these last few days of being alone with only an astromech droid for company, that his old master?s lessons kept coming back to him. Qui-Gon seemed an almost physical presence at times. He recalled now how his master always used to tell him that nothing ever happened by chance. The words rang in his ears as though they had just been spoken. Had he come this far by chance alone? Was it determined that he find the location of Anakin?s wife?

Was it determined that he should lose his apprentice to darkness?

?Master,? he murmured, pacing the tiny cubicle where he concealed himself from prying troopers, ?what does it mean? How could I have failed you so fully??

Artoo let out a soft chirp. It shook Obi-Wan out of his musings, and he forced himself back to practical concerns. Choices. He had, of course, made several choices already since Anakin?s fall. First of all, he had decided that it was more crucial now than ever before to get Padmé to safety. She would not survive long in the hands of two Sith Lords. He was surprised she was still alive now. The Emperor?s purposes were still horribly unfathomable. He could not take the time to delve into them. And he could not risk being detected by Palpatine.

Another choice he had made, partly to further conceal himself, was to go by another name. He had given the protocol droid strict instructions to refer to him only by Ben. It was a precaution. It was also a state of mind. Obi-Wan was the name of a well-respected, competent and wise Jedi Knight. It no longer seemed appropriate.

A third choice had taken several days of painful struggle. It was the last thing he ever would have imagined doing. After long denying it, though, he had to relent. His apprentice was dead. Anakin had been destroyed. There was no hope for him.

It was too horrible. Obi-Wan despised hopelessness. He always wanted to imagine another chance, another way to make things right. He wondered if he had always just been fooling himself.

Sometimes it was more than he could bear. Some days were filled with nothing but despair. Threepio did not come back with any information. He had probably been discovered. Anakin?s wife may very well already be dead. And eventually they would discover the Jedi?s presence and come for him. He would not flee. He may not even fight. Why should he even bother?

Again, it seemed to be Qui-Gon?s voice that made him think reasonably again. There was no reason to give up hope entirely. Threepio could come back any minute. And meanwhile, he should be making plans.

The droid finally entered the cubicle one morning as Obi-Wan was helping himself to the tasteless rations contained on the room?s shelves. Threepio looked quite frantic, probably from near brushes with troopers. Obi-Wan came to him anxiously, followed by a beeping Artoo. ?What news?? He felt a twinge of guilt upon the concern he felt for a droid ? one of his more reluctant choices involved erasing the memories of both of them as soon as this was over. It was simply too risky; they knew too much. He would not perform the task with pleasure.

?I?m terribly sorry it took me so long, Master Kenobi,? the droid began hurriedly, ?but it was so difficult avoiding security ??

?Yes, yes,? Obi-Wan waved his hand, ?it?s all right. Were you able to talk with

 

Geez Cinde, you outdo yourself with every post! You'd better hurry up and write the next post, I'm dying to find out what happens when she delivers the babies!


*SB*