Due to Dormé’s small size, she was able to find her way out of the large building. Though she was still shoeless, she had a different dress on, one that was long and white. She hadn’t noticed it until she was outside and nearly tripped over herself. With a slow steady gait, she made her way to the home where her best and only friend lived.
She heard the crashing of dishes and stiffened, but wasn’t about to stop. She knew all too well what was happening, knowing it was worse than anything that she went through with her parents in Uriash.
Battered and bruised by the beatings suffered after Dormé’s capture and covered with new burn marks, the end results of his training, the boy finally retreated to his bedroom for the night. As he waited for his father to depart for bed, Anakin, now curled up on the floor, wondered what became of his new friend. He hoped she was okay, and hoped she was safe. But just when Anakin could feel his father’s Force signature retreating down the hall he could hear the soft voice of his friend calling his name.
Knowing the secret exit in Anakin’s own room, she sneaked through the bushes and to the door. ‘Anakin?’ she whispered, not knowing if he made back to his room yet.
‘Dormé? Dormé, you shouldn’t be here!’ he whispered back in pained tones. It hurt to move, but knowing his friend was near gave him the strength to stagger to his feet and slowly make his way to the side door.
Though it was difficult to make out the form of her friend, Dormé could tell as he moved toward her that he was in pain. He was in pain and earnest in his suggestions that she didn’t quite understand.
Like a dream, she shone with the light of the moon cast behind her. It was beautiful, almost unnatural and in spite of his pain, Anakin smiled to the sight. ‘My father is in a terrible mood—maybe I should join you outside instead,’ he added deciding they couldn’t make nearly as much noise out there as they could inside. The last thing he wanted was to wake up his father.
Too relieved that she could see him again, she gave him a hug. She let out a shaky breath before releasing him.
Her embrace was readily met, though he couldn’t help but wince as his body throbbed to the touch. The comfort found by it far overrode it and soon he was carefully joining her outside. Her words were difficult to make out because of their language barrier but Anakin understood enough and he shook his head.
Even though he winced, she couldn’t help hugging him. ‘You’re hurt! I’m sorry—’ Her expression grew sullen.
‘I’m better now that your here,’ he quickly added noting her concern. ‘You didn’t hurt me—in fact you helped me,’ he pressed on.
‘So scared, scared for you,’ she tried to say.
‘I was scared for you too. I didn’t know what happened—my father was so angry,’ Anakin confessed in apologetic tones. ‘I tried to stop him from sending you away but—he’s a lot stronger than me,’ Anakin said softly.
Looking up into his eyes, she said, ‘I’m sorry—I wanted to stop him. I don’t want hurt you again—I had to go—to leave that place—’ She tried to explain the place she ended up in, but it was difficult. ‘I’m sorry I stole food—’ she added, hoping the missing food wasn’t an additional reason for his father’s anger. ‘I was hungry—no food anywhere else unless I stole it—’
Anakin didn’t like the sound of this place and frowned. The people there sounded mean but soon Dormé was apologizing for stealing food and the young boy touch her cheek. ‘You didn’t steal; I gave you that food. You were my guest—my friend.’
She leant into his touch. ‘My—’ she pointed to her jaw. ‘It’s better because of you,’ she said, noting how he had helped her the night before.
He was happy to notice that her jaw looked a lot better now. Even more touched to learn that it was his help that made it happened.
Dormé tentatively touched one of the more prominent wounds on his cheeks. ‘I just wish that I—I wanted to help—to run away at least.’ Though she was also unsure about the new place, she knew that she would have to go back there if he wasn’t going to leave with her and find some place, anyplace where they wouldn’t have to face abuse.
Anakin smiled shyly as he shook his head. His cheeks burned at Dormé’s touch, but Anakin didn’t look away as he held her gaze. ‘You’re here now and that is all I really want,’ he confessed in soft tones.
It then occurred to him that she most likely hadn’t had a chance to eat yet either. With this in mind he turned back to step inside. ‘Let me get some food for us both—I need some bandages too but I won’t be gone long. My father is in bed, so it’s safe for now.’
She sneaked in behind him, slowly closing the door, hoping his father wouldn’t come back. She wasn’t sure if he was asleep because she didn’t understand what he meant but followed him through the room to where the other door was, about to continue following him.
At first, Anakin thought that Dormé was waiting for him outside. Though a part of him feared for her safety, a greater part of him was so relieved that Dormé was near. With great care, he led the way to the kitchen and was soon carefully collecting what he could. His arms were in a quite a state from the wounds suffered.
‘I’m sorry. I think I may need your help,’ he confessed as his fingers badly bruised and burnt shook violently in his attempt to make them some jelly sandwiches. He hated having his friend helping him with something so simple, but Anakin didn’t trust himself not to make noise, especially if he dropped one of the jars.
It was a bit of a struggle with his wounds and she wanted to do what she could to help. She made a gesture to be quiet when he said he needed help, though she was smiling.
Anakin smiled at Dormé’s gesture and despite himself, almost snickered. He quickly covered his mouth to stifle the sound, feeling incredibly clever and sneaky with his new friend.
After they prepared their meal, Anakin managed to pour them some juice, though spilling a little in the process.
Dormé quickly moved to clean up the spilled juice so his father wouldn’t find out and be angry with him.
‘I’m sorry my hands are shaky,’ he confessed in sheepish tones.
‘Don’t worry,’ Dormé said softly as she cleaned up. ‘My hands were shaky too sometimes...’
‘Maybe we eat outside? At least that way we don’t have to whisper,’ he explained softly. ‘And then I can show you some of my father’s flowers he grows. Normally I’m not allowed into the gardens but sometimes I sneak out at night because it’s so pretty—and peaceful.’
She remembered where the fresher was and sneaked in to relieve herself before finding the medicine and bandages for his wounds. Then she exited to follow him outdoors. Before touching her food, Dormé set about tending his wounds in the very same manner he bestowed on her the night before.
As they eventually headed outside Anakin found himself under the careful care of his dear friend. It was both touching, and humbling to experience her gentle calloused fingers tending to his wounds. It was something Anakin knew he’d never forget for as long as he lived.
Dormé was incredibly conscientious not to hurt Anakin, for she had been his patient the night before and learnt well from him. Once she was finished, she eagerly tucked into her food, having not eaten since the last time she was over. The food, rushed as it was, filled Dormé’s aching stomach once again and also gave her more energy, in spite of how exhausted she was. ‘I like your house,’ she said softly. ‘It’s nicer than where I came from—Uriash...’
Anakin blushed to Dormé’s words and was incredibly grateful for her assurances, and kindness. He was even more so when she gently tended to his wounds. Anakin briefly wondered if it was humanly possible to experience such kindness or love, or if all of this was just a beautiful dream.
Anakin didn’t realize how hungry he was until he took his first bite. Anakin was grateful that his friend enjoyed the sandwiches and soon he was shyly reaching out to touch her knotted hair. Gently he moved to pass his fingers through her hair. Carefully, he undid the knots using his fingers as though they were a brush. Anakin loved the feel of her long hair in his fingers and was soon carefully undoing the knots until her long locks were soft and smooth once more. For the first time, he felt at peace and despite having finished doing her hair, Anakin couldn’t help but continue; it just felt so nice.
Dormé had never had anyone care for her the way Anakin did. He was so gentle and tender in the way he administered the untangling of her hair. She studied his eyes, his bright, blue eyes in the moonlight, wondering how someone as nice and good as him could have such a horrible beast as a father. Why should someone as wonderful as him have to put up with so many struggles?
He enjoyed the way she watched him intently even more, but didn’t understand what it really meant. He wondered what he had done to deserve such a kind friend and realized that he didn’t want to challenge fate by considering such things. Doing so might mean she’d leave him forever and never return. ‘I’ve heard of Uriash before—my father has blankets from there, I think,’ Anakin admitted in shy tones. ‘I’ve never been there what’s it like?’ he asked in curious tones.
‘Blanket,’ she repeated, putting to mind the word and remembering that it was what they slept with the night before. ‘Oh...I—’ She stopped short, not knowing the word in Basic. Instead she made the sewing and stitching motion with her hands. ‘Large building, many children,’ she said, trying to explain the factories she had worked many hours in since the age of five. ‘Very small—’ she added, not knowing the word for stitching or embroidery.
Anakin furrowed his brow as he tried to make sense of it. Her motions made him think of building things but when she pressed on about the blankets his eyes widened. ‘The factories? You worked in the factories, making blankets?’ Anakin said in shock. ‘You and many other children? But you escaped it right?’ he pressed on feeling protective of his dear friend.
‘Very warm blanket,’ she said, smiling in her gratitude for being able to use it. ‘Very easy to sleep when warm.’
‘So where do you stay now? Where do you sleep?’ he asked softly. But as she spoke of her mother’s words his expression softened.
She nodded to his questions and tried her best to explain the place she was brought to. ‘Many girls in the room and not many beds, but no floors—no sleeping on the floors, I mean. No one talked to me...’
His eyes widened as she spoke of her new home. It didn’t sound like a very nice place and it troubled him to know that no one ever spoke to her. ‘It doesn’t sound like a very nice home,’ he admitted softly. ‘I wish you could stay here, but I don’t want you to be hurt,’ Anakin confessed sadly. He wished he was a better boy so that his father wouldn’t be so mean to his friend—or at least know that his friend was not bad like him.
Thinking more about her hometown was not very pleasant. She didn’t want him to think badly about her, but even her mother had said. ‘I’m bad—my Ama said so. I don’t mean to—’
‘My Dad says I’m bad too—that I’m weak,’ he admitted softly before pulling Dormé into a tight hug. ‘But you’re not bad! You’re the nicest person I’ve ever known.’
When he spoke of his father, tears came to her eyes. ‘No, you’re good and nice, Anakin!’ she exclaimed, hugging him back tightly, even though she knew he was injured.
Her embrace made his wound throb but the affection he found in it made it worthwhile and soon he was readily returning it. ‘You’re my best friend Dormé and I love you!’
When he expressed his love, she bowed her head, wiping her tears away. ‘I want to love you too, but I don’t know how. I’m sorry!’
‘I thought you did—I mean, you healed my wounds, Dormé, and you became my best friend even though I’m not always good—I thought that was what love is—isn’t it?’ he asked in shy tones.
‘It is?’ she asked hopefully, now beginning to recognise it in his eyes.
Gently he reached out to touch her cheeks to wipe away the remnant tears.
She leant into his touch, finding such comfort in it that she had never felt before.
‘I think you actually taught me that, what love is, because you’re so kind and no one is every like that with me,’ he confessed.
‘No one is like that with me, too,’ Dormé replied, now far more cheerful about it. ‘I love you a lot, Anakin. I want to protect you—and not let the bad people hurt you anymore...Can we go? Can we go away from here? And find a better place?’ she asked again, thinking her idea might go over better now.
Anakin grew hesitant. He knew what his father was capable of and knew what would happen if they were to attempt to escape him. ‘I can’t, I’m sorry,’ Anakin confessed softly. ‘My father will find me—he’ll use the Force to locate us and then he’ll kill you believing that somehow it would make me stronger,’ he admitted in sad tones.
‘If he killed me, would you be able to escape?’ she asked, her wide eyes pouring into his. She would freely give up her life if it meant that Anakin would be freed.
Anakin’s eyes widened in horror to Dormé’s suggestion and silent he shook his head. ‘No, you can’t die Dormé. If you do—I’d never be able to escape, not him—but,’ he blushed a bright red as he bowed his head and swallowed hard. ‘I can handle physical pain, I’m used to it—but it would hurt too much—you can’t die, I won’t let him hurt you,’ he stammered softly before biting his lip. It was hard to explain what he didn’t understand and soon he silenced himself as he hugged Dormé instead.
‘But just be my friend always,’ she said, her voice softer now.
‘I will always be your friend, Dormé—I will love you forever too,’ Anakin said in sincere tones as he pulled her into a tight embrace.
‘I will come every night—if that’s OK.’
‘I would like that,’ he said. He smiled and shyly kissed her cheek like he had seen others do before.
She placed her hand to her cheek in shock to the action, but couldn’t say she was opposed to it.
Her reaction to his kiss caused Anakin to silent panic. He quickly apologized believing somehow he had offended her. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have. I’ve just seen grown—ups do it before—people who loved each other and thought—I won’t do it again,’ he apologized again fearing she’d not want to be his friend now.
‘I didn’t know what it is—’ she tried to explain as she reached for his hand. ‘I never—no one ever did that to me before—only—’ She used her free hand to feign a slap to her cheek.
Anakin’s expression softened. ‘Oh—me too,’ he admitted in shy tones. ‘I’ve never kissed before either. I’m sorry I should have asked first,’ he confessed. He blushed to her kiss and soon was pulling her into a tight embrace.
When she noticed that her friend was getting sleepy, she suggested, ‘Maybe we should get some sleep,’ even though she wanted to stay awake and talk with her friend. Her concern for his welfare overrode her desire to get to know him better in that moment. She was so grateful that they were able to understand each other better, in spite of her lack of skill in Basic.
He nodded in agreement before taking her hand and guiding her to his bed. ‘You sleep here tonight, it’s warm and soft. Much better than that place you have to stay at’ he said with a kind smile.
She shook her head when he offered her the bed. ‘I don’t want you to be in trouble!’ she whispered.
Anakin grabbed his blanket from under the bed and wrapped it around himself with the intent of sleeping on the floor as he always had done before.
Kneeling next to him, she pulled his hand into hers, saying, ‘If you sleep on the floor, then I do. If I sleep on the bed, you do, OK?’ she insisted.
‘But you can’t sleep on the floor! You’re my guest and my friend!’ he said in determined tones. Anakin however, soon discovered that Dormé could be just as stubborn as him and reluctantly agreed to sleep on the bed with her.
Carefully, he drew back the blankets and motioned her to get comfortable, ‘I’ll tuck you in!’ he said with a shy smile. He, on the other hand, decided to sleep on top of the blankets using his usual blanket at a cover. It didn’t stop him from holding his friend near and playing with her long hair. He hoped there would be many more nights like this one.
She was glad when Anakin finally agreed to share the bed with her. ‘Much warmer,’ she said softly, giving his cheek a kiss just as he had kissed hers earlier. She eagerly wrapped her arms around him and fell asleep quite contently.
Once he was curled up next to Dormé, rest came swiftly and soon Anakin was sleeping soundly in his friends arms.
The days went by and Anakin found himself always looking forward to his friend’s arrivals. Today, however, he had something special for her. Or rather he had something that he wanted to share with her because it wasn’t his own to keep. His father had no patience for a child who couldn’t read, but for Anakin, reading didn’t come naturally. The sight of new books did give him hope that perhaps his father hadn’t given up on him. He also thought it was something his friend would enjoy doing as well.
Anakin soon discovered that his friend’s new home was even worse than the one she ran away from. Though he was unable to save her from that life, it didn’t stop Anakin from attempting to make her time with him even better. By day, he continued his fierce training, but was learning how to heal his broken bones using the Force. The dark side wasn’t without it price and in spite of his increase in skill, Anakin’s temperament grew stormier. It seemed that only when Dormé was near could he relax and unwind. Tonight, however, he was in unusually good spirits even though his father was infuriated by his son’s inability to learn how to read and made Anakin pay for it in blood.
You’re the reason the Sith are no longer powerful! It is fools like you that ruin all my plans! You are nothing but a living failure! Do you hear me? A failure!
It still hurt to breathe. It was another reminder of his ribs that had been broken and half-healed. The bacta took care of the gouges and burns, but the bones were still a tricky matter. Once he bandaged his chest, Anakin made some sandwiches and juice. Upon setting them on the floor of his room, Anakin then collected his books and returned to set it all up for them both. Just knowing Dormé would be here soon made him smile. Anakin couldn’t way to show her the books he had yet to learn how to read. If he couldn’t read them, he hoped that she could.
Upon her arrival, he could immediately tell that something was wrong. There was blood all over her hands and the sight of brought unshed tears to his eyes.
Her days spent at the scary place were not nearly as kind as her evenings with Anakin. Thinking about Anakin and looking forward to night fall was the only thing keeping Dormé from trying to run away somewhere else. The ladies in charge of the place she lived at used all the children for the worst work, just as it was in the factories, but provided the orphans with clothing, food, and a place to stay. The young ones were unaware that the orphanage put on a lovely façade, appearing to outsiders as a clean and well—to—do place where the orphans received education. It was only a select few, those who were the most photogenic that were chosen for such things.
As exhausted as Dormé was at the end of each day, she always sneaked out to see her friend. She longed for a future that seemed like a dream where she wouldn’t have to sneak away and where they would be able to play all the time without being afraid. Tonight when she arrived, her hands were bleeding from her day’s work and for this reason, she didn’t hug Anakin.
‘Please come inside, Dormé. I’ll get some bacta for them, OK?’ he said softly as he slipped his hands around her and give her a hug anyway. Anakin could tell she needed it more than usual.
‘OK,’ she replied as she hesitantly returned his hug. When he tended to her wounds, her expression fell. ‘I’m sorry—’
Anakin gently shook his head to Dormé’s apology as he gave her a loving smile. For him, it was an honour to be able to help though it broke his heart to know she was suffering as she had. Soon he went to the fresher and returned with bacta and bandages.
Gently he approached to carefully tend to her wounds. ‘What happened? What did they make you do?’ he asked in concern.
Dormé explained the type of work she had to do and the many reasons that she had not done things correctly. ‘It’s harder after a few hours and they don’t seem to understand that,’ she said.
‘They’re mean and I don’t like what they’re doing to you, Dormé,’ he said in concern.
‘Mean or not, I have to stay there or else they would take me to the court—’ Dormé replied sadly. ‘That’s what they threaten us with. If we misbehave and are back on the streets and they find us again, we’ll be in worse trouble.’
Anakin’s eyes grew wide in shock when Dormés spoke of having to go to court. ‘They’d really do that? But that’s slavery! I thought slavery was wrong and people would be punished for it,’ he confessed remembering a discussion he had overheard between his father and a young man who was training to be a senator. ‘I won’t let them do that to you, Dormé. I swear it!’ he said in determined tones.
‘We have to find a way to stop it! Even if it means running away,’ he said softly. He was willing to take the risk if it meant that his friend would be safe and happy. He fell silent then for a moment before speaking up again. ‘We have to find a way to get you out of there,’ he said in concerned tones. ‘You can’t keep doing this,’ Anakin said sadly.
‘I don’t want to go anywhere if I can’t see you,’ she replied sadly. ‘I don’t want to go far away and not see you again!’ She threw her bandaged hands around him, giving into her tears as she cried and held him close. ‘I don’t care what they do, so long as I can still see you!’
Her tears tore at his heart and Anakin held onto her tightly wishing he knew of a way to make her life a better one. Dormé was a good girl, someone who had done nothing to deserve the awful life given to her. It was then that Anakin realized that he had to find a way to stop it, even if it meant killing the people who treated her and the other children badly. ‘It’s OK, Dormé, I’m not going to do anything that will keep us from being together,’ he whispered as he ran his hands through her dark hair. ‘I’m going to find a way to stop them from hurting you and the others. You don’t deserve this and I will find a way to make sure it ends!’ he said softly as he tightened his embrace in spite of the pain it caused his wounds.
The comfort she found in his embrace filled her with love and confidence, two things which she had lacked her entire life until she met him. With him, she felt as though it didn’t matter what happened, so long as they were together, she would be able to find both peace and happiness. The feeling of his hands in her hair was also incredibly soothing and for years to come she would unconsciously try to mimic the action, so as to feel closer to him in spite of the distance between them.
Anakin admitted that his father was trying to teach him how to read better. ‘He says I’ll never learn how to read or write—but he still gets me these books,’ Anakin explained as he showed them to Dormé. ‘But I thought if I can’t read them, perhaps you can and maybe you could show me how to read,’ he said in hopeful tones. ‘Or at least help me understand the words better.’
She looked over the books he brought, though she wasn’t able to make out what any of it meant. ‘Some of the older children go to the school in that place,’ she said, ‘but most of us work instead.’
He soon discovered that Dormé like himself didn’t know how to read. Though her words made Anakin hate her keepers all the more, the possibility of being able to learn how to read with his friend caused Anakin to smile. ‘Well then perhaps we can teach each other then? I can tell you how my father shows me how to read and maybe you’ll be able to learn how to read. And then you can teach me, OK?’ he said in hopeful tones.
Her eyes lit up for a moment when he mentioned running away. ‘Together? You mean it? But what about your father? I don’t want you hurt!’
‘If he comes after us, I’ll stand up to him—I’ll kill him even,’ he said realizing in that moment just how much he meant those words. It was then that he realized he would kill anyone who ever tried to harm or hurt his friend. But he didn’t speak of his plans aloud as the thought frightened him though Anakin couldn’t say why—his father encouraged such thoughts because of the power it held. He didn’t want to be like his father. But if it was done to protect Dormé, to ensure her safety and freedom, it couldn’t be wrong, could it?
Anakin’s protestations and assurances that he would do whatever it took to gain, restore, and preserve her freedom meant so much to Dormé that she could only express her gratitude through her hug, even though her hands were hurt and his body ached. She wished she could do the same for him and hoped that one day when she was older and stronger, so that she would be able to help him. She didn’t think of death, dying, killing or being killed in the same way an adult would, or the permanence of it. It was hard to put those things in perspective when one had only known pain and suffering since he or she was born.
In Anakin’s mind, death wasn’t something permanent. He had been taught that it was a weapon a means of breaking one’s enemies. It was about judgment and sacrifice. But if it meant his friend would be safe and free, then killing others was something else entirely; it was a gift, one that was his to give. Burying such thoughts, Anakin brought up the books he was learning to read and carefully taught Dormé everything that his father had tried to teach him. Though he wasn’t able to learn as he should, Anakin was thrilled to watch Dormé catching on. It was as though he were giving her a gift that had been meant for her all along.
She listened intently and tried to mimic the sounds, memorising which sounds went with which characters. It seemed much easier for her to catch on than for Anakin, but she also noticed he seemed to confuse a few of the characters, which she helped remind him which was which. They got through the first page of one of the reading materials before they were both too sleepy to continue.
As much as she enjoyed learning how to make sense of the characters and learning what was written on the pages, she enjoyed seeing Anakin’s joy in the small successes more than anything else. As for the contents of the book itself, it was about how to retain control over other people. It was an instruction book on rather dark things: control and manipulation.
Anakin was disappointed to discover that it wasn’t a very nice book and apologized for it. ‘I guess it’s one of my father’s studies on the Sith,’ he confessed sadly.
‘I was hoping it would be one with stories like some of the children’s books he’s tried to make me read. Tomorrow I’ll have better books for us,’ he promised in hopeful tones.
When they were tired, he suggested they rest before they both got headaches from trying to think too hard. Gently pulling back the covers of his bed, Anakin let Dormé climb under before taking his blanket and joining her though he slept atop the sheets.
Dormé agreed, also not wanting Anakin to get a headache, for his body already ached in other places. She wasn’t fully aware of it, but there were places on her body that she had not injured, but ached, due to those Anakin felt.
Each night, she would kiss his cheek and tonight, she accidentally got him on the lips, which made her cheeks warm.
She leaned in to kiss his cheek just as Anakin was going to kiss her cheek and instead her lips met his own. His eyes widen and his cheeks warmed. Anakin rather enjoyed the way her lips made his own tingle and his heart skip a beat. A soft gasp escaped his lips as he grinned sheepishly at her.
‘I liked that—do it again,’ he murmured softly as he reached out to touch her cheek before leaning in to lovingly peck her lips as she had done to him.
Dormé was surprised to hear that Anakin liked it and before she knew what was happening, they kissed again. She buried her face in his neck and held him close, relaxing into his arms. It was here that she truly felt home.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered, ‘for being my friend.’
Cat and Mouse by Cariel, BetaReject