「 star-crossed ⭒ anakin skywalker 」

chapter twenty-three

Our brief visit to the Queen's quarters was less than pleasant, at least for Ahsoka and me. As her newest slaves, for the time being, there was a lot of standing quietly, hoping we would catch any hint as to the location of the people of Kiros. But I was sure to keep a keen eye on the Queen- for the sake of the mission, obviously.

On the other hand, Anakin appeared to be 'proving quite resourceful' as the Queen herself put it. I don't know how he was managing to do it, but she seemed to swoon at every word that came from his mouth. As discomforting as it was to watch, the plan was working.

"I wish you to be my guest at the slave auction... and to sit at my side," she extended her hand to him.

Anakin bowed and took it, the two of them walking past us out of the room. Still dedicatedly playing the part, he didn't look at us. I presumed I was somewhat successful in suppressing whatever this feeling was, but something about the Queen's arrogant smirk in my direction told me otherwise. That, or our plan wasn't going to go as smoothly as we thought.

--

Gathered high above the arena walls were hundreds of slavers from all parts of the galaxy, hungry to see what kind of prizes the Zygerrians would offer. So many of them in one place. How this kind of ordeal still goes on under the Senate's nose is beyond me. How can they see how many innocent people are caught in this nightmare and not do more to help?

But that's why we're here. We were positioned in the Queen's private room, which conveniently for our mission, had the best view of the arena. Ahsoka and I stood by her side, opposite Anakin who was recently joined by R2, as we listened to the announcer on the stage riling up the crowd.

"Your Highness, Zygerrians, guests from a thousand worlds, our auction begins with slaves of unmatched quality and impossible quantity..." the slaver chanted. "I give you Togruta, from the Kiros system."

Oh no. Ahsoka audibly gasped as the governor of Kiros was shoved out into the blazing sunlight, the crowd howling with delight. For the first time, Anakin's façade weakened and he glanced over at us with eyes widened.

"This handsome sample represents a lot numbering no less than 50,000 beings," he continued, going on and advertising their quality to the buyers.

I scanned the crowd and noticed Rex on the opposite side of the arena. He gave a sharp nod, tapping two fingers against his holstered weapon. I couldn't tell if that meant he was ready just in case, or if he was warning us that something unexpected may go down. I guess we'll find out soon.

Anakin cleared his throat. "So... where do you keep 50,000 slaves like the people of Kiros?"

Unfortunately for us, the Queen didn't go down so easy. And even worse, one of her guards entered claiming to have urgent news. He pushed Ahsoka and me out of his way and began whispering quickly in her ear. We took this opportunity to move closer to Anakin and R2.

She flashed a sly smile as she stood from her throne and approached the balcony. "All will be revealed in time."