1Chapter one—of Nightmares, Bogeymans and Reality
"Is Master going to eat me Anakin?" Akiane stared at Anakin with wide mismatched eyes, so large he'd thought at the time they'd swallow him whole.
"Why'd you think that?" He chortled, smiling in the darkness of their little shack.
"I don't think he likes me a lot." She leant a little closer to him, whispering in his ear conspiratorially.
"Aki, Master doesn't like any of us. Who told you that he liked you in the first place?"
"I dunno." She pursed her lips for a moment. "But he's still going to eat me isn't he? He's waiting under my bed for me to sleep and then he'll eat me." Anakin snickered softly, covering his mouth with his arm, muffling the sound.
"Aki. That's not Master. It's the Bogeyman. The Bogeyman only eats bad people."
"I'm not a bad person!" Akiane shrieked at him shrilly, glaring at him in the darkness. Ah, he'd forgotten how stubborn four year olds were.
"No you're not. But do you want me to check under your bed for him?" Akiane swallowed gently and nodded, climbing off the bed compliantly.
"If you find him tell him I'm a good person." His sister hung onto his arm, tugging it desperately; Anakin snorted and ruffled her hair.
"Alright Desert Queen, just don't be too surprised that there isn't going to be anything there." Anakin crawled underneath the bed, sweeping the dark shadows with small hands. "Nothing there."
"Does that mean that the Bogeyman went to eat Master?"
"Hmm...That's probably true Aki. Though Master would probably give the Bogeyman indigestion." Akiane snickered, climbing back onto the bed and wrapping herself in the thin blanket.
"That's because he's fat and old and slimy. Bogeyman will still eat Master though." Akiane nodded confidently.
"May I ask why?" Akiane pouted at him before scrunching up her nose in an attempt to think up an answer.
"Because he's so bad and he whips us." Anakin rolled his eyes playfully, swatting her on the head lightly.
"Ani, will Master take me away?" Akiane's eyes are wide, glinting two shades of blue in the moonlight.
"Why would he? It's not like he has a lot of slaves." Anakin glanced down at her.
"I dunno, last night, the Bogeyman told me that Master was gonna give me away." Akiane peeked beneath their bed, shivering at the thought.
"And the Bogeyman also told me that we were gonna meet Jedi." Anakin roleds his eyes at her, chortling even though the thought chills him to the bone. His sister is his, and no one, especially not Watto is going to take her away from him.
...
"I win, I get the girl." The Twi'lek jerked a finger at her. Why was he pointing at her again? She'd done nothing wrong…just stared at Watto with large eyes from time to time. Akiane recoiled. She didn't want to get whipped. Watto never whipped her much but on those rare occasions that he did she'd remembered. But there was no whip. She wonders if she was going to get jelly, or maybe candies. Sometimes Jira gives her some, just never jellies. Jira said that they rotted your brain with the goo. She didn't think so, a piece or two would be nice.
"Hrmm…I win I get the credits." Watto cracks his knuckles and his nose wobbles. She thinks of jelly again. Do jellies come in the color blue? Just like Watto? She's only ever seen green and red ones. Funny though most of the good tasting candies and drinks in Tatooine that she knows of are red. Like ruby bliels. She wonders if they have sapphire bliels, the color of Watto. That's be funny. But then she'd want some, and her Mama wouldn't have the money for one, then she'd feel a little bit sad. Just a little. She can get a ruby bliel to substitute after all.
A gust of dust interrupts her from her reverie, smacking her in the face as her brother whips his pod around to avoid his engines from being cut. Akiane grins and claps her hands happily, he is her brother and her idol after all.
"Gran Shado, Gran Shado Ani, Gran Shado!" (Faster, faster Ani, faster!) She cheers for him wildly and the Twi'lek grabs her braid and forces her to sit down, she can't help but wince at the stinging sensation. Watto scowls at the Twi'lek, pudgy blue hands folded over his chest, wings flapping.
"You might want to discipline this one!" The Twi'lek scowls back at Watto.
Then comes the loud bang. She sees Anakin go down in an explosion of light, fire and smoke as someone crashes into his right engine loudly, the grinding sound screeching in her ears.
The last thing Anakin hears before his pod comes crashing down is a terrified scream that is quickly muffled.
Later that night, his sister is gone. The Bogeyman was right.
…
"A…Agnes?" Akiane eyed the darkness that spilled out from under her bed fearfully. Agnes glanced over, grass green eyes sparkling in the sliver of moonlight that crept through the slats in the female quarters of the slave palace.
"Aki? What's wrong?" Akiane bit her lip, unwilling to show any weaknesses. Agnes eyed her with exasperation and leant over towards Akiane's bunk, rough bug-ridden sheets rustling as Agnes crawled over to Akiane and her bunk.
"There's…something under my bed Agnes." Akiane lowered her head in shame. In shame that a six year old was still scared of old bedtime tales.
Agnes smiled gently at the six-year old that had bowed her head in shame before her, motioning for her to scoot further away as Agnes leant under the bed to look at the dusty floor and prodded the straw mattress with careful fingers, searching for a lump she knew wasn't going to be there.
"See, Aki? There's nothing under your bed, now don't worry and go back to sleep. You still have a long day ahead."
"But the thing is only scared of you 'Nes. I think it wants to eat me. And it said that you were gonna die!" Akiane's mismatched eyes grew wide with fear as her brain came up with more disturbing images of a shadow monster devouring her and the rest of the inhabitants in the slave quarters.
"Well, then we'll have to sleep together then. I'm right here, he isn't taking me anywhere." Agnes gently guided Akiane towards her bunk as the occupant of the upper bunk shifted and the wood groaned gently in the night, sawdust sprinkling down from above. "Not that yours is comfortable, monster or not."
"You do have a point 'Nes but your bunk isn't that much more comfy." The six year old burrowed herself into Agnes's bunk, shuffling towards the wall to make space, sticking her tongue out playfully.
"At least you won't get eaten." Agnes pinched Akiane's cheek, drawing the sheets up to their chins.
...
Sometimes, it is better to remember that the Bogeyman is real, and he...is always right.
...
A/N As per usual, reviews are loved and appreciated. Constructive criticism is also appreciated and will contribute towards further chapters.