"A Long Shadow"

Single-part Story

Title: A Long Shadow
Author: Cynthia Martin
Category: Angst
Rating: G
Feedback: Please. YCYMartin@aol.com
Archive: Sure
Summary: A tiny bit of sorrowful foreshadowing that's probably shorter than this summary.
Disclaimer: All characters property of Lucasfilm LTD. No money was made from this.
***************

The cold was more than cold. It was icy cruelty, it was malevolence itself. Perhaps it was even despair. It crept through Obi-Wan's limbs, reaching deep into his heart, freezing his mind and his soul. He struggled through rooms that crumbled into dust at his passage, as if this place recognized him as an agent of destruction. His eyes searched desperately for some sign of light or life, but he already knew that he was alone. There was no one to hear him, no one to condemn or forgive. Gone, all gone, and he couldn't follow.

His legs would no longer obey him, and he sank to his knees. The ruins around him were black, jagged shapes against the remote stars.

There was a faint sound, like a footfall on the broken tiles. Obi-Wan turned his head painfully as a tall figure moved through the shadows, watching him.

"Forgive me," Obi-Wan whispered. "I failed. It was beyond me. There is nothing, now."

The tall figure offered no response. After a moment, like a thread of smoke, it began fading back into the night.

Obi-Wan fought to rise, but he could no longer stir. "Don't leave me," he said hoarsely to the emptiness around him. "Don't leave me here, take me with you."

There was no reply. His words fell echoing into the void.

"It is cold," whispered Obi-Wan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Qui-Gon watched pensively from the doorway. This was no nightmare; his padawan had been falling into these trances more and more frequently, usually when he meditated alone. Qui-Gon was certain that these states, baffling and painful as they were, originated in the Unitive Force. It wasn't his place to interfere.

Obi-Wan groaned, and Qui-Gon's face tightened. Abruptly, he withdrew.

Obi-Wan's voice followed him from the room, an anguished murmur. "Don't--"

~~~~~~~~~

In moments, Qui-Gon returned, the light behind him casting a shadow into the darkened room. He knelt beside his padawan, settling his own robe over Obi-Wan's rigid shoulders.

"It is cold," whispered Obi-Wan.

Silently Qui-Gon drew his arms around the boy and bowed his head, waiting out the night.

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