Chapter Text
For a moment, Anakin stopped and stared, breathing in the cool and damp air, smelling the way that the smoke mixed in with the scents around him.
The pillar seemed to be even larger now that he was so close to it, the wind from the sea howling through the empty halls of what were once buildings full of life.
His steps echoed off of the stone path as he continued to walk forward, his eyes looking out at the horizon and towards the sky where the smoke rose up to the stars.
"Always looking out at the horizon, never at the present," A voice muttered, one that was strangely familiar.
"Hello?" Anakin asked as he turned around, looking for the source of the voice, his hood falling off of his face, a shiver traveling up his spine as the breeze picked up again.
"At the present, Anakin," the voice said again, the tone annoyed, but still fond. Anakin turned around and took a step back, gasping in shock.
"How did you get there?" Anakin asked the man that stood across from him. His robes and cloak looked similar to the ones that Anakin was wearing, only his hood was still up, hiding his face.
But Anakin didn't need to see his face to know that there was something that was comforting, familiar about this person's presence.
"Do, do I know you?" Anakin asked as he tilted his head slightly, curls leaning to the side as he did so.
The person standing across from him laughed, and the laughter was soft and sweet like the breeze around them, but warm like the fire in the fireplace that was not too far behind them.
"You could say that," the person replied.
"What's your name?" Anakin asked in response, a frown forming over his face as he tried to recall any names at all but his own.
He came up with nothing.
And at first, he was met with a brief moment of silence.
"Ben," the man across from him said quietly.
"Ben," Anakin repeated, the name leaving his lips feeling strangely foreign.
He had a feeling that this person was lying to him. But he didn't know why. And it wasn't like there was anyone else around to ask.
"Well, Ben," Anakin began as he looked around, noticing that the sun had grown even lower in the sky than it was before.
"I hope you don't plan to stand outside all day you know, it can get quite cold at night," Ben said, cutting Anakin off who instead responded with a grin.
But without saying anything else, he began to walk away, towards where he came from and then inside a building, where Anakin could see the light of a fire in a fireplace ahead.
"Are you coming?" Ben asked as he turned his head over his shoulder, before turning around to continue to walk forward, his cloak blending in with the shadows around him that were created by the fire dancing in the wind.
Anakin felt his face heat up, and he frowned before rolling his eyes and following him on the stone path.
It wasn't like he had anywhere else to go anyway.
"So," Anakin said as he sat down on the ground near the fire, sighing as the heat began to seep into his bones.
"Where are we?" He asked as he looked around.
The room was sparsely furnished, with a simple wooden table and set of two chairs on the other side of the room. There were some cooking utensils and storage boxes, both of which looked as if they hadn't been touched in a very long time.
"Is that how you ask someone about their home?" Ben asked in response and Anakin became flustered again.
"No, no- that's not what I meant!" He added on quickly before sighing.
"What planet are we on?" Anakin asked after a moment and looked out of a window, at the darkness that shrouded the town and the stars that twinkled down from above.
"And where is everyone else?"
"These are questions whose answers will reveal themselves to you in time, Anakin," Ben replied with a soft sigh.
"And why haven't you removed your hood yet?" Anakin asked narrowing his eyes as he became more guarded.
"I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you're afraid of," Ben replied and laughed softly.
"But as for where we are, we are at the beginning."
"Where it all started."
"Where what started?" Anakin asked as he looked away from the hood that covered Ben's face and at the fire that danced and crackled in front of him.
"The Jedi Order," Ben replied softly, a wistful smile forming on his face. But it didn't match the sorrow that filled the room, or the way that the fire seemed to not be as warm as it once was.
"The Jedi Order?" Anakin asked as he looked up from the flames and back at Ben. "What's that?"
Ben looked up at him quickly, opening his mouth before closing it again with a heavy sigh.
"It should not be surprising that you don't know, that you don't remember."
"Remember what?" Anakin asked and then shrunk back, hunching over as he clearly sensed the pain that was radiating off of Ben and into the room.
"Sorry that I don't remember," Anakin muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.
"It is not your fault," Ben clarified in a gentle tone, and after a moment, Anakin looked back up at him, the room feeling warmer once again.
"This planet," Ben began, spreading his arms out wide, the flames growing as he did so. "Is where the Jedi Order was founded."
"So..." Anakin began in response, "where is everyone then?"
"Gone," Ben whispered, the flames dying down as he lowered his arms.
"Or dead, but we cannot be sure."
"Gone where?" Anakin asked and at first Ben didn't answer, he only continued to stare.
"Into hiding. From the empire, and the emperor, who rules over the galaxy with fear and hatred."
"But..." Anakin started to reply and frowned. "Why?"
"That's the way of the Sith," Ben replied and Anakin's frown deepend.
"The Sith?" He asked, doing his best to absorb the new information that he was learning.
But instead of responding, Ben chuckled at his facial expression, which only made Anakin feel even more embarrassed.
"I will tell you more in the morning. But for now," Ben said as he pulled a fruit out from underneath his robes and handed it to Anakin with a smile on his face.
"You've had a long day, and you need to eat and rest before we continue this conversation tomorrow."