Pawn of Darkness

Chapter 12

The dark figured cursed to himself and spun around in disgust. She had done it. She had embedded herself in his life so far he would never simply go away now. He felt her slipping further and further from his grasp and he was practically helpless to do anything about it. He would never be able to carry out his plan without her. He had to find a way to rid himself of the dreadfully righteous Master Kenobi. He had to. Nothing would matter if his plan went astray. His life would be over completely. He had given up so much in order to be with Arianna again. He had given up his life in a sense. Now he was merely a shadow, hiding and waiting. Before he would have simply made her bend to his will with a wave of his hand. It wasn't possible to use Arianna that way any longer. She had become suspicious of that years ago. Damned people around her telling her of things she did while in his control. The poor girl had almost convinced herself she was crazy. He had had to find a new way to exhibit his will on her and it was a way that had been working fine for years until now. Now she was being pulled in two different directions and he was afraid if she was left to her own decisions, her loneliness would win out and she would choose Kenobi over him. Her loneliness had caused him more problems than he cared to think about. He had finally found her someone to ease her discomfort but Talius had not been good enough for her.
His pet, his daughter would betray him. He could not allow that. She was his flesh and blood. She was a part of him. And it would soon be time to reveal to her that it was him leading her to her destiny, him not the light side of the force. The force had never intended them to live in the light. He had made a mistake years before in not seeking others like himself, instead letting himself and his family be corrupted by the damned Temple and the fools within it.
Now he needed to work. He needed to work on Arianna before it was too late. With a flutter of the darkness he settled in to wait once again.

Arianna raised drowsy eyes and smiled at the sight before her. Obi-Wan was beside her, laying on his back, one hand draped across her hip, the other resting on his bare chest. With a contented smile, she let her eyes slid shut again and fell back to sleep.

She crouched, poised to move on the edge of a roof, looking over at the window in the next building. Her hands braced around the reassuring cold, black metal she held. She raised the rifle and drew in her breath to aim.
" Anna ! " the voice from behind her startled her and she almost lost her balance, claiming it again only just before toppling over the side of the building. It was at that second the gun flew from her grasp and skirted across the rooftop.
She spun towards the voice that she knew so well.
" Anna, what are you doing ? " Obi-Wan asked, shock racking his voice.
" You don't understand. Just go back to the apartment and wait for me, I will explain everything when I get there. " she told him.
" You will explain it to me now. " he said, forcefully.
" I am following the path the force has set for me. I am fighting the dark side just like you. I only do it in a different way. " she said, lowering the gun a bit.
" By killing. That is not the way. " he shouted.
" How would you know where my path lies. " she answered back in the same tone.
" Anna, this is of the Dark side. You kill people. You take lives. " he continued.
" And what is that you do ? Do you not kill people ? The difference is you kill people at random based on their ideas. I kill people based on their actions. " she cried, shying away from the look of contempt and disgust in his eyes.
" I am a soldier. You are nothing but a murderer and I will not let you take another life. " he spat angrily as his lightsaber flew from his hip into his hand and ignited in a burst of blue light.
She took a step backwards and almost tripped realizing she was at the edge of the roof. She had no where to go. There was no escape. Obi-Wan continued to advance on her. Lightsaber still poised. The second she was close enough he struck, sending her spinning over the side of the roof and plummeting to the ground.
The instant before she landed, she found herself standing at the bar in her apartment.
Obi-Wan sat across from her, with a concerned look marking his face.
" What is it, Anna ? What do you want to tell me ? " he asked, breaking the silence.
" I.. I " she stammered before squaring her shoulders and swallowing hard. " I am an assassin. "
The look of shock that covered his face was heart-wrenching.
" An assassin ? What are you talking about ? "
" I kill people for money. " she explained. " But I don't just kill at random. I only take jobs where my targets are drug smugglers, dealers. I don't just kill anyone. "
His eyes turned from shock to anger in an instant.
" How could you do this ? How is it possible that I never knew this ? " he asked, his voice tight with fury.
" I hid it well. I knew how you would feel about this. I knew you would be self righteous and indignant. "
" Self-Righteous and Indignant ! What you are doing is of the Dark side. You have turned, Anna. " he shouted, standing from his stool.
" I have not turned. I may fight a different way than you do, but our goare tre the same. " she insisted.
Obi-Wan reached to his belt and extracted a pair of binders. " I am taking you back to the Temple for judgment. " he said, quietly.
He walked closer to her and the instant before his hands were on her, the room flashed out of existence.
Darkness surrounded her. The familiar terror filled her. Her hands clutched tightly to her sides in fists.
" You know he will never understand this. " the same, gnarled hissing voice told her.
Arianna closed her eyes and tried to block the voice from her head. " I will work this out. I will make it work. " she insisted.
" There is only one way to work this out. There is only one way to deal with this. If you let him live, they will all know where you are. They will come for you. "
" They didn't come last time. " she persisted.
" There is only one way. "
Arianna thought about the last two dreams and knew he was right. There was only one way. It was the only way she could remain hidden and continue doing the work the force had set before. It was the only way.
Suddenly, she was on the roof again, looking over. This time it was her apartment she looked onto. Her gun aimed she waited for a moment until Obi-Wan stepped out onto the balcony. She took a breath and pulled the trigger.
Arianna woke with a start, sitting up abruptly and searching around in the darkness to orientate herself. Obi-Wan stirred beside her and reached his hand out to touch her leg.
" Are you okay ? " he asked, drowsily.
She rested her hand on top of his and gave him a weak smile. " I'm fine. I guess I just had a bad dream. "
He shifted and sat up beside her. " I'm sorry. Is there something I can do to help ? Do you want to talk about it ? "
Arianna shook her head emphatically. " I just want to forget about it. " she answered.
He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. " Then let me help you to forget. " he smiled, as he leaned down to kiss her.
Arianna let herself be pulled down to him and lost herself in the feel of him around her, burying all her dark thoughts back into the place where they belonged.