Chapter 4

“ Well, good morning, Anakin. Here is your breakfast. I thought after breakfast, we will try and get you up and out of bed. How does that sound?” Vanessa looked over to the bed and saw that Anakin was trying to sit up on his own.

“ Um . . . good morning. Owww! I am still hurting in the ribs and the right leg, but that sounds great to me. Boy, it seems like my muscles are feeling very sore.” Anakin moved slightly up onto his right elbow, but then, had to lay back down on his back because of the sharp pain in his side. That was the side that was mostly wounded in the crash that happened over a week ago.

“ That is because of the broken ribs that I told you about a couple of days ago, when you were trying to lay on your right side. Please be careful of your right leg, because you do not want to pull out any of the stitches.” Vanessa came over to the bed and helped Anakin sit up against the head board, so that way, he could watch her fix their breakfast.

“ Um . . . I do not have my clothes . . . Oww! Can I ask you some questions that I have for you?” Anakin looked down and noticed that he did not have anything on. He pulled the covers further up over his hips, as he felt Vanessa pull up the pillow behind his back.

“ Oh. Well, I had to make you some new clothes. You can put them on, after your sponge bath. Sure, go ahead and ask. I do not have anything to hide.” Vanessa went back over to the fireplace and began cooking the eggs, bacon, mushrooms and potatoes.

“ Ok . . . um . . . how long have you been here with me? Why are you the only person that I have seen, since I have been here . . . Oh, wait. I did see very little of the people who brought me here. Oh and there was an older lady too.” Anakin watched Vanessa cook their breakfast.

“ I have been with you the whole time and will be here until you leave the planet. As for the other people, they only come in here to bring me things that I need. Doing it this is way is a lot better than working in the hot fields or the equally hot kitchens.” Vanessa cracked the second egg and began mixing it up in the bowl, before pouring it into the small frying pan.

“ Wow. Um . . . you know, you really do not have to stay here the whole time with me., now that am feeling a lot better. I believe I can now start taking care of myself.” Anakin remembered that he had seen her before, but realized that it was in a vision, that he had seen her, a couple of weeks ago. They were very much in love with each other. They are soulmates and he could not be without her.

“ Um . . . yes. I do have to stay with you and if I do not, my Master could expel me from the village. I would have to go and live in the forest.” Vanessa looked very scared, when she realized that if he told her to leave, then she was about to go to her death.

“ Your Master . . . Are you telling me that you are a . . . .” Anakin stopped talking, as he felt a cold chill run down his spine, as he remembered his time as a child.

“ Yes, Master Skywalker. For you see, I am a slave, and my Master is Lord Phyllyp Melrey. He is the one who found you and brought you here. There are about twenty slaves living here in the village.” Vanessa noticed there was a change on Anakin’s face, when she mentioned the word slave.

“ I see. You do not look like any slaves that I have seen or even know.” Anakin noticed that Vanessa was dressed really nicely and even smelled clean too.

“ Ok. Why would say that for? You see, my Master treats all of us very well. We are not forced to work a job. We are assigned to do things and we do get our freedom, so it is not like we are slaves our whole lives.” Vanessa put the food onto two plates.

“ Am sorry if I have offended you. That is a good thing, and I do know what it is like to be a slave. You see, I used to be one. The only difference between us, is that my slavery would have been for life, and there really was no freedom for me. So, how do you get your freedom?” Anakin took the plate that Vanessa handed him.

“ Really? You were a slave? So, where are you from, and are you free now? How did you get your freedom? We have two ways: one is, when we reach the age of twenty-five, then we are free, if we have not gotten married.The second way, is mostly for the women. She has to marry a free man and he has to free her." Vanessa sat down on the stool and began eating her breakfast.

“ Yes, I was a slave, but I was at the age of nine, when a Jedi Knight named Qui-Gon Jinn found me. He bought me or really, I should say, he won me from my Master. It was then, that Qui-Gon gave me my freedom. I am from a planet called Tatooine and my mother is still there, as a slave.” Anakin took the fork and began eating his breakfast.

“ Tatooine. I never heard of the place. You sound very sad, when you mention this Qui-Gon Jinn. Did something happen to him? Why is she still a slave and you are free?” Vanessa took another bite of her egg mixture.

“ That is because it is in the Outter Rim Territories of the galaxy. I call it a giant ball of sand, because it is a huge desert planet. As for Qui-Gon, he was killed shortly after I was free. The reason why she is still a slave is because Qui-Gon could not get her freedom, because my ex-Master would not let her go. Why have I not seen your Master?” Anakin took another bite of his food.

“ Oh. Am so sorry to hear that, about your friend. He has stopped by here a few times. Each time, you were sound asleep. At the moment, he is away visiting families in different villages. Well, if you are finished here, let us get you dressed and moving around some.” Vanessa finished her food and put her fork on the plate. She also noticed that Anakin had also finished his breakfast too.

Vanessa helped Anakin get dressed and then very carefully, helped him to get to his feet. They carefully walked outside the hut, so that way, they could get some fresh air. While they were walking around outside the hut, Mrs. Heydi came to the hut. She changed the bed sheets and also brought them some clean water and the pain medicine. Twenty minutes of walking around and even meeting some people of the village, Anakin was finally back inside the hut and in bed. After taking some pain medicine, he began to drift off to sleep.

Vanessa cleaned up the hut and she even opened up the windows, so that way, there was fresh air coming inside. Once she was finished with all the cleaning duties, she closed the shear curtains, before going over to her cot, laying down on it and going to sleep, until it was time to get lunch ready.