Chapter Text
Kitster shut the door to their shared quarters and bent to press his ear against the keyhole, motioning for Anakin to stay silent. Both young men held their breath, but only one understood the reason for such odd behavior; Anakin was left in the lurch, staring at the back of his best friend’s head in utter bewilderment. After a long and frightfully tense pause, the shorter man turned to face his bunkmate. His expression was pinched, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration - the silence had stretched on for too long when Kitster finally sighed and steadied himself.
“Anakin, you know I wouldn’t say this unless there were incredibly dire circumstances, but unfortunately we have found ourselves in incredibly dire circumstances. You need to put whatever you cannot bear to part from into a bag and run as far as you can from this place, as quickly as you can manage. I fear greatly for your personal safety should you still be within the walls of the keep come sunrise.”
“Wh-What the fuck are you talking about? Why did you come back to our rooms so early? I thought you were going to be busy tending to the needs of the Count and Lord Palpatine this evening. I- I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“I was serving them tea just a few short minutes ago, I swear it,” Kitster half-whispered. His shoulders were hunched forward and he stepped away from the door as if he was afraid of being overheard. “But I was sent out of the room when his Lordship steered the conversation towards a matter of personal business. ”
“What kind of personal business could Lord Palpatine have with the Count that has you urging me to flee the keep and my contract?” Anakin questioned. Panic started to roil in his gut. Kitster had been indentured to the Count shortly after Anakin and his Mother, when the boys were both children. He was the only other servant near Anakin’s age and they had become close confidants over the years. Anakin knew the other boy would never suggest he commit such a heinous crime unless Kitster was seriously concerned for his friend’s wellbeing.
“Your contract is exactly the issue, Ani. I lurked in the hallway to listen for a moment because I’m not an idiot and- and you were right when we spoke earlier this evening. You were right about the way his Lordship was looking at you. The way he was only accepting wine from your decanter and food that you served personally. He's offered to buy your contract from the Count at whatever price he demands . He intends to take you away to Coruscant with him in the morning, when he leaves with the rest of his retinue.”
“Fuck,” Anakin hissed. The panic had evolved into full-blown terror; he didn't want to leave but he certainly didn't want to wait around and discover what Lord Palpatine wanted with him. “You’re right, I need to get out of here. The way his eyes never seemed to be able to stop wandering while I served him dinner made me feel physically ill.”
“Gather your things quickly while I keep an eye on the corridor. You’ll have to sneak out the back and over the roof of the stables; our Master has twice the guards posted near the front gate for his Lordship’s safety.”
“Double fuck.” Anakin ran a hand through his tangled curls and grabbed for his threadbare knapsack. Luckily there wasn’t much for him to pack. His Master had provided him two basic tunics and one extra pair of woolen trousers in the last year, which Anakin tucked into his bag beside the worn book of ballads his Mother had left him after her death. The knapsack wasn’t very full, but it felt heavy in other ways as he tugged the straps over his shoulders. With a final shake of his curls to get them out of his eyes, Anakin smiled sadly. “I’ll miss you, Kitster. You likely saved my life, and for that I will be forever in your debt.”
“I’ll miss you too, Ani, but I’ll sleep easier knowing that you’re far away from here - and even farther away from his Lordship.”
“Thank you again for the warning,” Anakin threw his arms around his only friend, his best friend, and squeezed tightly for a moment. He refused to let the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes fall before he was outside the castle walls. He pulled back and squeezed Kitster’s shoulders once more for luck. “Be safe.”
“You too.”
With a final nod, Anakin ducked out of their quarters and disappeared into the darkness of the autumn night.
“Shit,” Anakin muttered, hiking his knapsack a little higher against his shoulders to block the chilly breeze. “I should have taken a knife and one of the Count’s old cloaks; it’s not like I’ll ever be going back and it’s not as if he ever wears the damn things. They just sit in his spare wardrobe gathering dust.”
The forest gave no reply, and the young man remembered just how alone and helpless he truly was. There hadn’t even been time for him to steal a bit of food from the pantry - a fact which Anakin’s stomach insisted on reminding him every fifteen minutes or so with quiet, uncomfortable little rumbles.
If he weren’t so afraid of being found and dragged back into Lord Palpatine’s withered clutches by the hair, he would have whistled a bit to chase the chill and fear away. But he was not about to find out what the handsy old man had truly wanted by purchasing his contract from the Count, so he stayed resolutely silent. Or at least he had resolved to stay completely silent until the howling started up.
Already wary of being followed and recaptured by the Count’s vassal knights, Anakin had been wandering through the forest proper for several hours, paying little mind to where he was in relation to the packed dirt road (which he had chosen not to follow since it offered few places to hide from other travelers). His attempt at avoiding discovery had led to his becoming very lost in the dense foliage. As he berated himself internally for being so stupid and not paying nearly enough attention to his surroundings, the distant howling of wolves grew closer.
Anakin began to walk faster.
“Fucking hell-” the boy’s breath stuttered uncomfortably as a pair of yellow eyes glinted in the near distance - too near. “Oh no. No, no, please, no.”
A few more pairs of eyes joined the first and Anakin turned in the opposite direction without another thought, breaking into a sprint as the howling grew steadily louder. He could barely breathe after only a few minutes, each gasp and pant taking an incredible amount of energy to complete as he pushed his body to its very limits. The muscles of his legs burned as he ducked and wove through the underbrush, his natural athleticism still not enough to save him from his pursuers. Scratches littered his hands and wrists from pushing away tree branches and covering his face when they wouldn’t budge in time to let him pass.
He was just about to break away from the edge of the forest and into a clearing when one of his bootstraps pulled loose. The dangling leather thong tangled around a protruding tree root and Anakin screamed in a mixture of terror and pain as he crashed to the ground. Sparks of pain gave way to a roaring fire that licked through the joint of his twisted ankle and spread up the length of his calf. The howls of his pursuers turned to low grunts and pants, their yellow eyes forming a ring around his prone form. The young man flipped onto his back and struggled into a sitting position, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He tried to tug at his leg and pull the strap loose but it only worsened his injury; he cried out sharply.
Anakin slowly realized that he was not going to escape the wolf pack, allowing panic overtake what remained of his rational mind. His chest ached as he struggled to get enough air with every heaving gasp. His limbs trembled as he lowered himself back to the ground to wait for death's embrace.
Before his vision grew truly spotty and clouded by darkness, Anakin could have sworn he saw the angel meant to take his soul away. Its shadowy body dropped out of the sky as it spread two large black wings in front of Anakin, protecting him from the circling predators. His strange angel snarled, a low and dangerous sound, and the pack whined sadly in response. The sound of his reaper’s deep rumbling growl was the last thing the boy heard before his lungs finally gave out and he collapsed into the welcome painlessness of death.
Anakin’s first thought in the afterlife was: Death is surprisingly comfortable and smells a bit like green tea.
As his mind and body continued to rouse slowly from unconsciousness, he realized that he hadn’t died at all - but he certainly hadn’t been returned to his Master’s keep, either. Anakin’s back was propped against something soft and a warm blanket had been draped over his front. He blinked his eyes open, the light of a roaring fire illuminating a cozy but unfamiliar room. An equally unfamiliar man knelt beside the chaise lounge where Anakin lay, a box of medical supplies upended before him. The boy jerked back in surprise and winced when the muscles in his left ankle protested.
“Don’t struggle, dear one, or you’ll aggravate your wound.”
“M-My wound?”
The stranger smiled and glanced down to where his chilly hands were cradling Anakin’s calf and foot as gently as if his body were made of glass. The joint of his left ankle had been carefully wrapped with clean linen bandages, tucked tightly to keep it from moving on its own. “You must have twisted it in your hurry to escape the wolves, my poor, pretty little fawn.”
Anakin paled, remembering his mad dash through the dark forest, the sounds of wild wolves drawing ever closer as he struggled to breathe, every step burning through him, his muscles cramping as he pushed them beyond their limits, the sudden catch of his boot, the ground coming up to meet him - he was pulled from his spiraling thoughts by the stranger, who gently propped his foot against a cushion and took one of Anakin’s hands into both of his own.
“Breathe, pet. In, and out…”
Anakin focused on the sound of the stranger’s calm, steady voice lulling him back from the edge of hysteria. One of the man’s cold thumbs rubbed back and forth across the thin skin of his palm. The sensation was hypnotizing and he focused on it so intently that his breathing naturally returned to normal after a moment or two.
“Th-Thank you,” the boy blushed, once he had fully recovered. “I don’t know how I made it out of the forest alive."
"I found you curled up on the ground with your rather shoddy bootstrap tethering you to a tree."
"And the wolves?"
"What wolves, pet? You were totally alone when I discovered you, and I thought it would be best to bring you here and treat your injury. I hope that my actions were not out of line."
"Of course not!" Anakin reassured him. He made an attempt to sit up and the stranger shook his head, pressing him back into the comfortably overstuffed chaise.
"You need to rest. You've been shaking like a leaf and you're likely still in shock."
"I thought that death was close at hand when I fell," Anakin bit his lip. When his host waited patiently for him to continue, eyes fixed on Anakin's face with almost inhuman intensity, the boy took a deep breath, "There was an entire pack of wild wolves chasing me, and I might have been able to escape them if I hadn't gotten caught by that tree root. The last thing I remember was probably a hallucination; it couldn’t have been real, and it made no sense. I just-”
“Humor me, pet,” the stranger encouraged. “Tell me what you think you saw.”
“A huge, dark creature fell from the sky and…” Anakin nibbled at his bottom lip for a second time as he gathered his thoughts. “Well it sort of growled back at the wolves. After that I must have passed out, because I don’t remember seeing the pack leave or the creature disappear. I was laying on the ground dying and then I was waking up here, in your study.”
“This is my sitting room, actually. I just happen to own a rather startling amount of books. Too many to fit into a library and study, it would seem.”
“You must be incredibly well read,” the boy teased. His host chuckled. The sound was low, throaty, and significantly more chilling than his pleasant tone of voice; it sent an unbidden shudder down Anakin’s spine.
“There isn’t much for a solitary man to do around here except read and improve his intelligence.”
“That must be so horribly lonely,” Anakin sighed. The boy leaned forward and reached unconsciously to run his free hand through the stranger’s silky auburn hair. When he noticed what he was doing he yanked his hand away, the flush on his cheeks already two shades darker than before. The stranger only smiled warmly back at him and he had to avert his gaze. “But I digress. We were discussing the wolves.”
“Right, yes,” the older man murmured. “From what you described, it is very likely that you were rescued by the vampire who haunts this forest.”
“V-Vampire?” Anakin squeaked, eyes wide. He let his head fall back against the velvet pillow for a moment and he shuddered a second time, more visibly. “And to think, I ran off on my own without any kind of weapon to protect myself.”
“We have spoken enough of beasts and monsters for one night, I think. Let us talk of something else for a while; perhaps get to know one another. For instance, what should I call you, pet?”
“Anakin Skywalker,” the boy answered automatically. “And may I ask the name of my gracious host?”
“I am Lord Obi-Wan Kenobi and this is my family’s castle. You are welcome to stay for as long as you like, but you must stay of your own free will. If you’d like to leave I can make those preparations as well.”
Anakin considered his options, brushing aside the stranger’s slightly odd way of phrasing things in favor of a potential job opportunity. “If you don’t mind lending me this lovely chaise to sleep on until my ankle is mended enough to walk, your hospitality would not go unappreciated. I could work off my debt once I’m healed if that would please you, Milord.”
“The- I- You expect me to let you sleep on the chaise ?”
“Well I wasn’t-”
“Oh, my silly little fawn,” Lord Kenobi shook his head as he stood. Fond exasperation practically oozed from his every pore. “What kind of host would I be if I let you, an injured and vulnerable guest, sleep on a chair in my sitting room?”
“Well I didn’t-”
“No, no, no. Come here.” The older man scooped Anakin into his arms in one swift movement, pulling a gasp from the startled boy. Obi-Wan turned to statuary with his guest pressed tightly against his chest. “Have I hurt you, Anakin?”
Anakin gasped again, more softly. He'd experienced a strangely primal rush of emotion when Lord Kenobi said his name for the first time - it felt like being slammed against a rocky shore by heavy waves, dazing him. “N-No, I was just a bit surprised, that’s all.”
“Good. I would hate to cause you pain, pet, and you must inform me at once if I even come close to doing so. Now, hold on tight. I’m giving you my finest set of guest chambers.”
Obi-Wan's long-dead heart clenched violently at the guileless expression on his young guest’s pretty face as the boy stared up at him. He carried Anakin down the winding castle hallways until they reached his most lavish and comfortable set of guest rooms. He managed to push the door open without jostling Anakin’s ankle as he maneuvered them into the bedchamber. The vampire filled with an immense sense of pride when the human’s eyes widened appreciatively and his heartbeat hastened at the gesture.
The far wall was taken up almost entirely by a large mahogany four-poster bed, surrounded on three sides by a heavy blue velvet canopy. The fourth curtain was pinned open, allowing the user to climb in and out freely. Obi-Wan deposited Anakin on the very edge of the huge downy mattress and kept one hand on his shoulder under the guise of helping him balance.
“These will be your rooms for as long as you’d like to stay, little fawn.”
“Th-The whole room? Just for me?”
"Not just this room. Through the door on the left you'll find a fully functional privy. If you'd like the bath filled feel free to ring for Cody or Rex; they take care of my household affairs."
"I couldn't possibly-"
"You can and you will," Obi-Wan did his best to keep his eyes from flashing and making the words an order. Even the thought of putting Anakin under thrall without his prior knowledge or agreement was abhorrent to the mannerly vampire.
"I didn't mean any offense, Milord. It's just..."
“Don't worry about a thing, pet. I intend to provide only the finest for one such as you.”
The boy’s pretty blue eyes widened and his hands twisted in his lap, “Oh no, Milord! I’m not anything special. I’m only a servant, please don’t-”
“Hush, Anakin.”
He watched as the boy stiffened and then went totally lax, letting his weight fall into Obi-Wan’s steadying grip. There hadn't been any hypnotic suggestion in his tone, so Anakin's reaction had been entirely voluntary. Entirely natural.
Interesting.
“You are under my protection so long as you stay within the borders of my family estate. Once you pass the front gate and enter the forest, I cannot promise your safety. Whatever reason you had for being in the area of the forest where I found you, I care little and I will not demand any sort of explanation. I am happy to have you here for as long as you are willing to stay.”
“Why are you being so kind?”
The boy’s voice sounded delicate, as if a harsh breeze would shatter him like glass candy, and Obi-Wan nearly offered to give Anakin the world right then. If only to make him smile. If only to make that pained, desperate look behind his eyes - which spoke of such misery, too much misery for one so young and beautiful - disappear for a moment.
The vampire had to steady himself before he answered, afraid of showing his hand (and his quickly growing attachment to Anakin) prematurely. He wanted his little fawn to stay, of course, but he wanted to be truthful as well. “You were right before, when we were in the sitting room. I have a very solitary life, and it would bring me the greatest pleasure to share a piece of it with you. I have more money than I know what to do with and so few people come my way… Your presence here would be not only an honor but a great balm upon my soul.”
Anakin inhaled, a sound that would have gone completely unnoticed by human ears but rang like a churchbell through Obi-Wan's very being. The boy leaned forward - unconsciously or consciously, Obi-Wan would never know - his lips parted sweetly. They hung open for a single perfect moment and then, “I would be happy to stay for as long as you’d have me, Milord.”
“Please, call me Obi-Wan.”
“I suppose we’ll see if I can remember not to use your title,” Anakin grinned. The sight was beautiful. More brilliant than any sunrise the vampire had seen in his short life as a human. “I’ve been a servant all my life, Milord, and old habits die hard.”
“You are not a servant within these walls, pet,” the vampire damn-near purred. “You are my cherished guest. Now, the hour is late and you are injured. I shall fetch you a fresh set of nightclothes and water for your basin before retiring to bed myself, and I shall see you again tomorrow evening. Unfortunately I have work to attend to in the afternoon and will likely leave before you wake.”
Obi-Wan tried not to preen at the look of disappointment that briefly flitted across Anakin’s face before the boy nodded. “Thank you again, Mi- Obi-Wan.”
“Of course, little fawn. I am so happy to have you.”