where the sun sails and the moon walks
Luke presses his advantage and takes another step. This time, the Apprentice maintains his ground. “I wasn’t the only one who lost someone, but I’m not selfish enough to think that the only loyalty I owe is to the dead. Leia lost her master as well. My mother lost one of her closest friends. I have to check on them.”
The Apprentice’s face is just as stony as his mask, but Luke knows what he’s feeling without having to see the emotions across his face. This close, it continues to pass between them.
“And to me?” the Apprentice asks, his voice dangerously vulnerable. “What do you think you owe me? When you came here to appease your Master—”
“I didn’t—”
“—your own so-called selfless Jedi Knight mindset!” The Apprentice shoves Luke away and the connection between them pulls taut but doesn’t snap. “Your obligation to me is over.”
(In which a Jedi has to travel to where the sun sails and the moon walks to save a boy he barely knows from the clutches of the dark side)
written for the 2023 @swbigbang
Characters: Luke Skywalker, Ezra Bridger, Leia Organa, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul, Padmé Amidala, Hondo Ohnaka, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine
Ships: Luke Skywalker/Ezra Bridger
Tags: fairytale retelling, POV Luke Skywalker, Dark Ezra Bridger/Ezra as Maul's Apprentice
It’s almost dinner when a knock sounds at the door.
Luke and Leia look up at the same time, glancing from the door to each other in confusion. “It’s not Uncle Bail or Aunt Breha,” Leia confirms as the knock comes again — louder this time, more insistent.
“I’ll get it,” Luke offers, rising to his feet as the pounding continues. He’s halfway to the door when Obi-Wan’s hand lands on his shoulder in a vise-like grip.
The old man’s face is pinched with worry, the line of his mouth in sharp contrast to the usual smile he sports. “Go back with Leia.” His warning is low and urgent. “I’ll handle this.”
“Why?” Luke asks, though he doesn’t budge. “Uncle Ben, who is it?”
He doesn’t answer, already turning towards the foyer.
Padmé’s hands replace Obi-Wan’s, soft on Luke’s forearm as she guides him back into the sitting room.
By now, the knock has been replaced by a frustrated slap. “Kenobi!” an unfamiliar voice growls. Luke shivers at the sound of it, but Padmé tenses and sucks in a sharp breath. “Open this door!”
Obi-Wan moves to the entryway, and Luke notices that his hand rests on the hilt of his lightsaber. When the door opens, there’s a moment when he’s framed by the setting Alderaanian sun and he looks like he stands taller and straighter than he has in years.
But then the glare fades and Luke can see clearly again, and the vision returns to his quiet-mannered Uncle Ben speaking in low tones to whoever is on the other side.