Chapter Thirty

Boing.

Boing.

Boing.

Boing.

"Could you please stop acting like a child and put the rubber ball down?" Dooku hissed across the room at Denali. In one of her fights she had previously been in, the person she was up against had had a bouncy-ball in their pocket. As they fell to the ground in defeat, it flew out of their pocket and right into Denali's hand. She knew that she was going to need to to try and stay sane while jailed with Dooku, so she kept it. The Jedi Master glared at him, holding the ball in her hand.

Boing.

Dooku growled under his breath and rolled his eyes as Denali smirked evilly, continuing to bounce the ball against the cell wall.

"Of course you wouldn't listen." Dooku mumbled.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of me not caring about your comments." Denali told him as she switched to throwing the ball up to the ceiling, then catching it in her hands. Dooku grumbled again, but Denali didn't care about hearing it.

Boing.

Boing.

Boing.

Boing.

Boing.

"For the love of all that is sane in the universe-" Dooku began to shout, but immediately stopped when the sound of voices could be heard from the hallway. Their eyes widened and they both quickly jumped to their feet. Dooku was up and at the door before Denali could get there, considering the fact that she was badly injured.

"-is she, Hondo?" 

That was Anakin's demanding voice. 

"Ani!" she shouted as she used all of her strength to get to her feet. She hobbled over to the cell door and body-slammed Dooku out of the way. The Count fell to the floor, flat on his butt. He glared up at Denali as she stuck her hands through the spaces between the bars. Foot steps could be heard, along with the sound of Anakin saying her name. Within seconds, two other hands interlaced with her own and she looked up.

Anakin had changed so much since the last time she had seen him. He had become more of a man and changed his outfit, he had obviously been knighted. But she could still tell that it was her best friend. Tears of joy began to fill her eyes, realizing that she was safe. Anakin smiled and laughed happily as he squeezed her hands gently. She laughed with joy as well.

"Denali, you're okay." He said. But it didn't really sound like he was talking to her. It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. He took a deep breath, almost as if he was trying to keep himself from crying with pure relief. 

"Are my padawans okay? And Boba? Are they still on Alderaan?" Denali asked quickly. It had been days since the last time she had seen them, they were probably worried sick about her. Because she knew she was definitely worried about them.

"The Council sent my padawan to pick them up and bring them to the Temple. Sekhmi and Chewie are going to be fine-"

"What about Boba?" Denali asked Anakin even faster. She held onto his hands tightly like he was her personal flotation device in a sea of confusion. The only thing keeping her alive. "Is he okay? Where is he? Did he go with the other two?"

"Boba is still on Alderaan with Danik." a different voice said before Anakin could speak. Denali couldn't see who it was, but she could tell from his voice. His voice was soft, yet filled with reassurance. To the normal ear, he would've sounded like any other Jedi Master. But when Denali heard his words, she could tell that they were filled with concern and love. Just like she had known it was Anakin when he had spoken, since he had grown attached to her in a way that was forbidden.

"Obi-Wan?" she whispered. Anakin stepped to the side, revealing her secret husband. He was wearing a different outfit, just like Ani. But his handsome face, beard, and caring heart were still the same. She knew that those qualities would never change, no matter how annoying it was to kiss him and get a rug-burn on her face at the same time from his whiskers.

Obi-Wan took her hands in his own gloved ones, wanting to hold her in his arms. He looked into her eyes, seeing just how much pain she had been in the past few days. Deep circles from the lack of sleep darkened the skin beneath her eyes, bruises covered most of her body. Her long blonde hair was in its messy braid, hanging down her blood-covered back. Her left leg was obviously broken, or at least sprained, and there was a thin red line on her neck, looking like a rope had been tied around her throat.

The man tried to hide his anger, but he couldn't help sending a death-glare to Hondo. He glanced at Dooku, who was still on the ground, then back to the evil pirate without letting go of Denali's hands.

"Why is it that the Count is perfectly fine, while our Jedi friend is beaten and battered?" Obi-Wan snapped. Hondo held his hands up in mock-surrender.

"That is her own fault. If she had fought better-"

"She wouldn't have fought if you hadn't kidnapped her in the first place!" Anakin growled, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Denali knew that he was going to erupt if he didn't calm down quickly.

"If she had just accepted-"

"If she had accepted your invitation, that wouldn't have changed this matter one bit. She would still be locked up here against her will." Obi-Wan told Hondo.

"And where would the profit be in that?" the pirate leader asked as he folded his arms.

"You little-" Anakin started and was about to punch the scoundrel in the face, when Obi-Wan quickly put one hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Let's just get these two out of here and go." Obi-Wan told his previous apprentice and was about to open the cell door. But before his finger could touch the green button, Hondo quickly smacked his hand away and stood between the Jedi and Denali, causing them to let go of each other's hands.

"No way, Jedi. These two aren't going anywhere until I see the credits. We have a deal." Hondo reminded them. "If you decide to take these two before I see the cash, then I'll have no choice but to execute you all."

"Go ahead and try, sleamo." Anakin hissed in anger again. But, thankfully, Obi-Wan was slightly more level-headed in this situation and stopped his padawan before he could do anything too crazy.

"We'll wait for the Republic to send the money in exchange for these two. But in the meantime, we want some medical supplies so that our friend can heal from her injuries." Obi told him as he held his hands behind his back. Hondo smiled evilly.

"Then why don't we have a drink to celebrate."