'I'll head to Monylaz's tomorrow for you. Don't worry yourself, Sol.'

'Thank you, Beru.'

Placing a cup of water on the table, Beru slipped into the seat opposite the almost trembling woman. The lenses that had nearly jeopardised five years of hiding were sat in two round pots. Leia's and Sol's brown irises simmered in the liquid that kept them moisturised, but Sol wasn't sure if they were serving their purpose anymore.

Sol looked to the cavern that contained the pipes that dug deep into the sand. Running around the structures, were Leia and Luke with Owen chasing them. In Owen's hands, was a long stick that he held at the ready as if to strike at them. But he never would, and the sound of the twins' laughter and squeals ensured everyone that the chase was harmless.

With bright smiles, Luke and Leia pretended to be scared of their uncle. Without the brown lenses, Leia was able to see freely and blaze her purple eyes around unapologetically. It made Sol feel horrible for making her daughter wear the irritating things. When she saw how the redness faded from the whites of Leia's eyes after being rid of them, Sol didn't know if she could bring ask Leia to wear them again; especially when they still somehow brought the attention of storm troopers. 

Sol watched the little girl squeal when Luke turned and sacrificed her to Owen, and the woman couldn't believe how easily things could have changed after today's events.

'I thought they would have taken them,' Sol said as she turned back to Beru and saw that she was already looking at her.

'But it's you that he's searching for.'

'I know, but I can't help but wonder...'

'I understand,' Beru saved Sol from finishing a difficult sentence. 'Every mother fears losing their children.'

'No, it's not in that sense,' Sol shook her head and looked into her cup. 'Well, it sort of it Now that the Jedi Order is gone, and we've been living on our own, I realise what was so wrong with the Order.'

Sol hoped that Beru wouldn't ask her to elaborate. It felt taboo to speak about the dead in such a way, but without their forever-watching eyes, Sol felt like she should speak her mind. But she spent her childhood and her early twenties believing that it was forbidden to speak of anything that was against the Jedi Order. Even after their eradication, Sol still struggled to talk without tense shoulders and in hushed whispers.

'What was wrong with it?' Beru asked with raised eyebrows. 'I thought the Jedi were accepting and peaceful?' 

'They were but... when a child showed signs of being a wielder of the Force, they were taken when they were extremely young. Some being barely two years old were indoctrinated into the Order and trained to be warriors and swore their lives to the Jedi faith,' Sol explained and with a glance at Luke and Leia, she continued with hesitancy. 'I'm glad that they can live how they are and if they do show Force sensitivity, I'm sure that Obi-wan will want to train them. They won't have to swear to a faith, and they can have the Force for enlightenment and peace. But then again, if Vader finds them, he could... train them in the ways of the Sith.'

'He won't find them, Sol. This was one mishap and you handled it.' 

Beru leaned forward and looked at Sol with intensity. She could see that the woman was working herself up over the encounter with the storm trooper. Sol had travelled to Mos Eisley and Mos Espa many times with Leia and Luke and had returned safely every time. It was only from an unfortunate involvement with a chase that the trooper noticed Sol, and somehow identified her lenses. It had to be a one in a million chance, and Sol was dwelling over it to the point of crumbling into a pile of nerves.

'Sol,' Beru called, and the woman looked up from her gaze on the table. 'You will not be a target unless you make yourself one. To everyone, you are just a mother who lives in the desert. If you believe that, then everyone else will, too.'

Sol was surprised by Beru's ability to see what Sol didn't. Beru was a voice of reason and without the knowledge that Sol had of the Jedi faith, Beru held a realistic view of the situation. If Sol wanted to keep Luke and Leia away from the Empire, then she would have to blend in and act as if they were just like any other boy or girl on Tatooine. They were no one, and the Empire didn't need to know them. 

'Thank you, Beru. I don't know what I would do without you.'

'I wish Owen would feel the same.'

The two laughed.

--- 

The suns were setting while Obi-wan was making his way home. On his Eopie, the man kept his hood over his head to create some relief from the heat. The horizon held waves created by the searing temperature and the sand sat still without a breath of wind. 

After five years of travel, the Eopie Obi-wan used every day to get to and from the harvesting plant was struggling in its walk. With slow steps and a sagging neck, the Eopie hobbled its rider across the desert and Obi-wan noticed how much more sluggish his transport had become as of recent.

'It's alright, girl,' he reached down and patted its furry neck. 'I think it's time you retire.'

I wish I could retire, he thought to himself. Retire from the thoughts that troubled him almost every minute of the day.

As his Eopie made it through the gap in-between some dunes, Obi-wan looked to where the house should be. He was looking forward to putting his feet up and asking how Sol and Leia's day went in Mos Eisley. Even after a hard shift, Obi-wan looked forward to seeing Leia's bright smile and her recount of the day's adventure. When she rolled the eyes that she shared with her mother at the mention of her brother, he saw how much of Anakin's attitude had passed onto the brunette child.

But instead of seeing the distant domed-roof and sandy walls, Obi-wan's gaze was drawn to something much more terrifying. 

About a mile away from the complex was a carrier ship. With a tug of his Eopie's reins, the animal was given a moment of rest while in the shade of the dunes. Obi-wan grabbed at the binoculars that hung from his utility belt and brought them up to his aged eyes. The horizon appeared in sight with information about the focus and settings of the binoculars, and its user adjusted them to centre on the ship. 

The crest of the Galactic Empire was what first scared Obi-wan. Its round shape with the six-edged symbol in the middle was known across the galaxy, and Obi-wan had hoped that he would never have to see it so close to his home. 

As he panned the binoculars away from the ship, he spotted the white armour that he knew meant nothing but trouble. A group of four storm troopers stood together with holograms displayed from two of the soldiers' arms. The blue writing and diagrams were too distorted through the binoculars for Obi-wan to decipher what they were looking at. He watched them exchange some words, before the four went to head towards the complex that was Obi-wan's destination. 

'Blast,' he cursed as he pulled his binoculars away and reattached them to his belt.

Should he go to the moisture farm? He couldn't see the speeder at the complex, so he hoped that Sol had stayed at farm after dropping off Luke. But would he make it there before she left? He could transmit a message to her, but it would still take a while for him to get there on Eopie.

'Hey, you!' 

No matter what his decision was, Obi-wan was caught. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw the owner of the voice that called out to him. 

From over the risen path between the dunes, two storm troopers made their way towards him with their blasters in hand. Their helmets threw Obi-wan back to his time on Utapau, where his own clone legion turned on him during the dreaded Order 66. He had barely had the chance to defend himself when they fired upon him, and he couldn't help but feel that he was about to be faced with a similar situation.

'Hello, there,' Obi-wan decided to say and pulled his Eopie to face the approaching soldiers. The animal rolled its head at the tug of its reins but was stabilised by Obi-wan's comforting palm.  

'Dismount the animal,' one trooper ordered after they stopped in front of Obi-wan and his Eopie.

'I'd rather not, officer-'

'It wasn't a request. Get off the animal, now.'

 So rude and uncivilised, Obi-wan thought.

To avoid conflict, Obi-wan swung his leg from the Eopie's side and dropped to the sand below. He stood in front of the storm troopers who clutched at their blasters. Obi-wan didn't fear them, but he was concerned for the purpose of their presence in the desert. They never searched outside of the cities, because that was where fugitives would frequent; especially at Mos Eisley's cantina. 

'Identification?' one storm trooper held his hand out and Obi-wan willing pulled his card out of his pocket. While his details were read, the other storm trooper sized Obi-wan up and tried to find anything damning about him.

'Why are you travelling through here?' the trooper asked.

'I live in these parts.'

'Do you live in that complex?'

Obi-wan followed the finger that pointed to his house near the carrier ship of storm troopers. He appeared to squint and feign a struggle to see that far into the distance. While the troopers waited for his answer, he thought carefully about his response and analysed what they could possibly want with his home in the Jundland Wastelands.

'I do not,' he said and turned to see that his identification card was being held out to him.

'Do you know who does?' 

'I do not.'

The storm troopers exchanged a look before they both eyed Obi-wan. His identification card hadn't flagged anything, and he appeared to be just a simply desert dweller. With floppy hair and an untrimmed beard, Obi-wan wasn't suspicious in looks. But to be in the Wastelands in the evening was strange, as it was known for scavenging Jawas and dangerous Tusken Raiders. No one would dare pass through the dunes to what appeared to be open desert, and if the complex wasn't his home, then where was he traveling to on an Eopie?

'We're looking for a woman and two children. They were seen in the closest city today and the woman was of a suspicious nature.'

'Suspicious? How suspicious can a mother and two children be?' 

'That's none of your concern. Do any children live out here?'

'Not that I know of, but I must say, those Jawas can sometimes be mistaken for-'

'Enough of this,' the storm trooper grabbed some restraints from his thigh pocket. 'We're taking you in for questioning, Ben Kenobi.' 

'You will not take me in for questioning.'

'We will not take you in for questioning...'

'You will leave here and return to Mos Eisley saying you found nothing.'

'We will leave here and return to Mos Eisley saying we found nothing.'

Putting away the restraints, the two storm troopers turned away from Obi-wan and continued on the path through the dunes. Obi-wan watched them go and took hold of his Eopie's reins to calm its fidgeting head. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he already had done, and the backs of the storm troopers that headed for the carrier ship were a sign of sanctuary. The Jedi mind-trick had done its purpose, but the situation was far from being out of the danger zone.

He picked up his binoculars again and looked at the carrier ship. Last time, he saw the storm troopers gathered together. Now, he saw them at the door of his home with two standing outside of the wide-open door. 

Obi-wan tried not to panic and thought of everything in the complex that could compromise his and Sol's true identities. He knew that Sol always kept her lightsaber on her as well as her identification card. There was nothing that could direct the storm troopers to their location, and Obi-wan could think of nothing that could change the tides of their exile.

But there was one thing that Obi-wan had forgotten that they still had in their possession. As the two storm troopers that had broken into their home appeared in the doorway, Obi-wan peered through his binoculars at the object in one of their armoured hands. Its black hilt and silver base caught the sunsets and appeared almost glowing. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't in the hands of a storm trooper of the evil Empire. 

Obi-wan slowly lowered the binoculars from his eyes. His jaw had dropped and the fine lines beside his eyes were deeply etched into his skin. A burning sensation simmered in his chest and as the storm troopers headed back to the carrier ship, Obi-wan was hit with the endless possibilities that could now occur.

The Empire had Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber in their possession, and they had found it on Tatooine, after seeing a suspicious woman and her two children. Obi-wan greatly feared what would come next.

---

Leia leapt out of the speeder before Sol could even turn off its engines. Her small feet landed with a soft thud in the sand before she headed for the door of the house that was conveniently already open. Her calls for Obi-wan at the sight of his Eopie sounded and Sol exited the speeder at a much slower rate.

The suns had set, and the night was about to settle for its stay. The heat lingered, but the gentle coolness was welcomed by all living things of the desert. Sol was glad to be back at the complex before the night completely took the dunes, and she was eager to see Obi-wan almost as much as Leia was. Some of his calming aura and words of wisdom was just what she needed, and with the combination of Beru's promising hope, Sol was sure that she would be able to sleep that night. 

But when she saw that Leia had stopped before the living room's stairs, Sol questioned her ease.

The house was trashed. Drawers were pulled open and cupboard doors were hanging on their hinges. Grain was spilt onto the floor and blankets were screwed up into balls. Sol could only see the kitchen and living room, but she assumed that the bedrooms were in a similar state. And in the middle of it all, on the sofa, was a slumped Obi-wan.

'Is Uncle Obi drunk?'

Sol ignored Leia's obliviousness and slowly stepped around her daughter. She was careful of the broken drinking glass that had been swiped off the kitchen counter and she made her way down the steps. She didn't need to tell Leia to do the same, as the girl stuck closely behind her mother. While Leia watched her feet as she stepped, Sol's eyes didn't leave the defeated man in the corner. 

His hair flopped over his forehead and his arms sat crossed over his chest. He sensed the two people who drew closer having heard the speeder pull up outside. Once Sol was next to him, Obi-wan looked up to her with a look that she knew all too well.

'What happened?' Sol didn't want to ask, but it would be wrong not to.

'His lightsaber,' he answered almost immediately. 'They found his lightsaber in the trunk.' 

She wanted to act like she didn't know what he was talking about. How much she would have loved to be ignorant to who Obi-wan was saying had trashed the house. But Sol couldn't be naïve nor unwilling to understand, not when five years had passed.

Sol sat on the opposite cushion of the sofa. Leia stood quietly and made the move to place her small hand on Obi-wan's bicep. It made the man turn and see the bright eyes and brown hair of Leia Skywalker. He did his best to appear happy to see her, as he truly was, and uncrossed his arms to take hold of her hand. She sensed his troubles, whether it be from her social awareness, or from something she didn't understand, and she gave him a close-lipped smile. 

'Maker...' Sol leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. She let her face fall into her palms and shakily exhaled.

'I... forgot we even had it,' she mumbled. 'We should have gotten rid of it.'

'We couldn't have done that, Sol.'

'And look what's happened by keeping it,' Sol said humourlessly, pulling her head out of her hands to look at the man across from her.

Obi-wan didn't know what to say. Anakin's lightsaber had sat in the trunk in the corner since they arrived on Tatooine. It had been placed in there and had slipped their minds with all the other worries they had experienced in their time on the desert planet. But at the thought of disposing of it was something that Obi-wan was reluctant to do.

Although his ex-Padawan had lost many lightsabers over his time as a Jedi, the lightsaber that Obi-wan had taken from Mustafar was the one that Anakin had attempted to keep for the longest time. After many scoldings, Anakin finally started to treasure his weapon, and now, it was about to return to his possession.

'What's a lightsaber?' Leia looked back and forth between the distraught adults. Sol looked to her daughter, remembering her innocence to the subject, and straightened up in her seat.

'Leia, could you go to our room, please? Maybe start tidying some of your things, okay?'

'Okay, Mummy...' 

Leia absently went to the room she shared with her mother. Sol watched her go before turning back to Obi-wan. She saw the storms in his eyes that were always present, but they were now vibrant with a raging hurricane. While Sol dreamt of what could have happened if the events on Mustafar were different, Obi-wan neglected to think about the planet at all. It was his biggest regret in life, and Sol never tried to help him find a way to cope with his grief. It would be impossible to find peace with the fact that he left the man he considered his brother to die, and Sol knew that Obi-wan dealt with his grief in a different way than her.

'Obi,' she called and was careful with the way she worded her question. 'Why didn't you kill him that day?' 

Obi-wan's head raised and the lines on his forehead were as prominent as his frown. Sol tried not to shuffle in discomfort from his stare. It was a question she had wanted to ask, but never found the time or strength to. She didn't like to see Obi-wan troubled or frowning, and she still believed that she would never be able to let him kill Anakin. Obi-wan's kind smile and harmonious eyes were what Sol had found safety and solitude in, and to see Obi-wan upset was like seeing an angel cry. 

'The same reason why you still believe there is still good in him,' he answered after a brief silence, and Sol said no more.