Chapter 3

There was a sound of a rooster crowing, off in the distance, followed by a couple of horses neighing at each other. There was one sound that caught Anakin’s attention. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to look around, for the sound of someone humming. Slightly turning his head, to the sound that he was hearing, the figure was standing by what looked like a wash stand. It moved and it looked like they were cleaning something out, but with a slight movement of his head, he started to feel a very sharp pain begin to go through his head, which caused him to moan out load.

“ What? Oh, good. You are finally awake. Oh, please, don’t move. Here, let me get you some water.” Vanessa turned towards the bed, when she heard a moan and was very glad to see the young man was finally awake.

“ Where . . . am . . . I? That . . . would . . . be good.” Anakin tried to talk, but his voice only came out as a whisper.

“ You are in Thalassa, in the village of Lord Phyllyp Melrey. Here, let me help you drink some water.” Vanessa came to the bedside and helped Anakin raise his head up, as she helped him take a couple of sips of water.

“ R2 . . . where . . . is . . . my . . . R2 unit droid?” Anakin laid his back down and closed his eyes in total pain.

“ Um . . . it is right over there, in the corner. It is very badly damaged.” Vanessa pointed over to the corner, where the droid stood.

“ Oh . . . man . . . poor . . . R2 . . . my head is . . . hurting me.” Anakin tried to look at the droid, but the pain would not let him move his head.

“ Please keep your head still. I need to go and get you something for the pain.” Vanessa held him still for a couple of seconds, before moving away from the bed and heading for the door.

All Anakin could do was close his eyes, as he heard the young lady walk out of the hut. Vanessa hurried across the compound, to where the kitchen is located and walked right into the building.

“ Hey, Vanessa. It has been a while, since I have seen you. So, what is up?” Allyson looked up from a pile of potatoes that she was peeling and cutting up for dinner.

“ Hey, Allyson. Is Mrs. Heydi around?” Vanessa looked around the room ,trying to find the older lady.

“ She is out back, getting some herbs for lunch and dinner.” Allyson watched her cousin hurry out the back door of the kitchen and into the herb garden, that is located behind the building.

“ Mrs. Heydi, I need your help, please. The young guy that was wounded . . . Well, he is now awake and his head is hurting him really badly. I was hoping that you could fix up something that will help with any kind of pain that he is having.” Vanessa came up to the older lady.

“ Hello, Vanessa. Well, that is very great news. Sure, I can fix you up something to give him for the pain. Go back inside the kitchen and get some of the soup that I am making and take him some. I will stop by with some for you, along with the pain medicine when I have it made.” the older woman stood up and put what herbs that she had in her hands, into the small basket that she had with her.

“ Ok, thank you. I will do that.” Vanessa hurried back into the kitchen.

When Vanessa walked into the room, she noticed that it was empty. Going over to the washer, she found a bowl and a spoon. Grabbing the ladle, she went over to the huge pot of soup that was simmering on the stove and put the ladle into the soup. She poured the ladle full of soup into the bowl. When she had the soup, she left the kitchen and headed back to the hut. Walking into the hut, Vanessa noticed that the young man was asleep or that is what she thought.

“ I . . . smell . . . something good.” Anakin winced, as he moved his head towards the young lady, as she walked back into the hut.

“ Well, I brought you some of Mrs. Heydi’s homemade soup.” Vanessa came over to the bed and put the bowl down on the nightstand.

“ Um . . . thank you . . . I . . . am . . . a little hungry.” Anakin looked up at the young lady.

“ You are welcome. Here, let me help you sit up. It may hurt just a little bit, because of the broken ribs that you have. Mrs. Heydi will be stopping by, with the pain medicine, when she gets it made up, ok? Let us get some of this inside of you. Oh, by the way, my name is Vanessa.” the young girl finally introduced herself.

“ Owww! Thank you . . . for your . . . help. It is . . . nice to . . . know your name. . . I am . . . Anakin . . . Skywalker . . . Oww!” Anakin tried to say, but he was really hurting badly enough to move to sit up in the bed.

Vanessa leaned slightly forward and wrapped her arms around Anakin and gently helped him to sit up.

“ Well, it is very nice to meet you too, Anakin. I have noticed that you have some kind of weapon that I have never seen before.” Vanessa sat down on the stool that she had brought over to the bed, so that way, she could take better care of him, when he was running a very high fever a couple of days ago.

“ Where is . . . my lightsaber? I will be . . . in trouble . . . if I . . . lose it again.” Anakin looked around the room, but did not see the weapon anywhere.

“ A lightsaber? Um . . . what kind of weapon is that?’ Vanessa grabbed the bowl off the night stand.

“ It is a . . . weapon of a . . . Jedi Knight . . . That is . . . what I am . . . a Jedi Knight . . . So, where is . . . my weapon?” Anakin took a bite of the soup that Vanessa held up to him.

“ Oh, my. You are a Jedi . . . We were always told that you guys are just myths.” Vanessa got another spoonful of soup and moved it to Anakin’s mouth.

“ Vanessa, I brought the pain medicine and a bowl of soup for you. Well, hello there. It is so great to see that you are finally awake.” the older lady came into the hut and put the jug down on the dresser, and walking out of the hut, before anyone could say anything to her.

“ That was Mrs. Heydi. I put your lightsaber right here in the nightstand drawer.” Vanessa nodded to the drawer of the nightstand that was right next to her.

“ Ok . . . I believe . . . I have . . . had . . . enough soup. I think I will have . . . the pain . . . medicine now.” Anakin looked at the young girl’s face and he saw that she had such beautiful brown eyes.

“ Ok. Here, let me help you to lay back down. Once I give you the medicine, I do need to give you a sponge bath.” Vanessa put the bowl down on the nightstand and stood up from the stool.

Going over to the dresser, Vanessa grabbed the cup and poured the medicine from the jar that the older lady had sat down on the dresser.

“ Ok. I want you to drink this all gone, while I get the water bowl filled with the hot water, so I can give you a bath.” Vanessa came back to the bed with the cup Then, she remember that she had to help him drink the medicine water all gone.

“ Thank you . . . Now, I am feeling . . . slightly sleepy.” Anakin’s eyes were beginning to close on him.

“ That is good. Do not try to fight it, Anakin. Go back to sleep and I will give you a sponge bath/ This way, you cannot feel any pain that I might cause you.” Vanessa watched the young Jedi Knight drift back to sleep.

Thirty minutes later, after giving Anakin his bath, Vanessa went over to the small cot, laid down and drifted off to sleep. She slept, while Anakin slept, and that is how it had been for the past week.