Author: Elizabeth Wilde (aka Aloysius)
Title: Passage
Distribution: Anyone who has my fic already, anyone who asks for it, .net/wilde
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the SW characters or any of the songs used. Tanilea and anyone else you don't recognize are, however, mine. Go me! Don't sue, k?
'Ship: Qui-Gon/other, Obi-Wan/other, Anakin/Amidala
Classification: general (little bit of everything)
Summary: A story spanning from 13 years before The Phantom Menace to just before A New Hope. It tells the story of Tanilea Jamelle and involves all the major players from Phantom Menace.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Songfic. Also, I had only seen Phantom Menace since that was the only of the prequels released when I wrote it. So all the "Jedi aren't supposed to love" crap hadn't been brought to light and I was hazy on the details of training and where the young Jedis lived. So I made it up. It's my cannon now, biatch! Also, there are suggestions of adult content and violence, though nothing explicit.
Spoilers: Up to A New Hope.
Feedback: to
Date Finished: Uncertain. Sometime in 1999, I believe.
When I close my eyes, I still can see your smile.
It's bright enough to light my life out of my darkest hour.
Please believe it's true when I tell you I love you.
~Gloria Estefan "I See Your Smile"
Tanilea Jamelle could remember quite clearly the first time she laid eyes on the man who would later become her true love, though at the time she had not known he would be. Her master Lanar Idlea had brought her to Coruscant for the first time since taking her as a Padawan learner. Just shy of her thirteenth year, Tanilea found the large city full of fascinating people and places both enchanting and overwhelming. "So many minds!" she had exclaimed upon first seeing the massive capitol through the ship's viewport.
With the patient smile the Padawan would come to know so well over the next decade, Master Lanar nodded. She was a tall woman, always in good humor. Tanilea thought she was exceptionally beautiful with her flowing blond hair and violet eyes. Lanar always told her Padawan that she too possessed great beauty both inside and out, but when Tanilea looked upon the older woman, she could not believe it. Her own raven hair and midnight blue eyes did little to compensate for the fact that she always felt too small: too short to be imposing, too slender to seem capable of fighting. The situation grew no better as she aged either. "Many, many minds, Padawan. You have already begun to learn to shield yourself from the flood of thoughts. Use what you know. It would hardly do for you to have a nervous breakdown so soon, would it?"
Tanilea had laughed and focused on complying to her Master's request. To her surprise, the barriers fell into place easily, her newly-garnered training already becoming a part of her.
"Master Qui-Gon Jinn will be meeting us when we land. He has recently taken on a Padawan as well. The boy is close to your age. We thought it might be nice for both of you to have someone to talk to about the changes you are going through," Lanar explained quietly, feeling as much as watching for Tanilea's reaction.
"I would like that very much," she replied sincerely. As much as she desired to become a Jedi, it was hard leaving the temple where she had grown up, the only home she remembered. Talking to another in the same situation seemed a welcome diversion. Tanilea listened to the ship as it was piloted to a textbook landing. She felt it powering down, before that sensed the landing legs extending. "We've landed." On the way out of the ship, she held Lanar's hand. The Master was her only link to anything familiar, and Tanilea had no intention of giving her up until she was sure of herself in her new surroundings.
As they descended from the ship, Tanilea saw a tall man and a lanky young boy waiting on the landing pad. The few streaks of silver in his long hair made the man appear just a bit older than Master Lanar, though he appeared to be every bit as kind-natured. His smile put her at ease almost at once. The boy, on the other hand, seemed quite nervous and fidgeted under their gaze. Tanilea instantly liked him, regardless of his demeanor. Something in his blue-green eyes made her smile. It felt good to smile after the days of worrying over their arrival. Lanar smiled and gently embraced the man. "Master Jinn, it is wonderful to see you. And a pleasure to meet you..."
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," the boy replied with a small bow. "Nice to meet you." Obviously Master Jinn had given him at least a small lesson in etiquette before the meeting.
"And what is your name, Padawan?" Qui-Gon asked Tanilea.
The usual nervousness she felt around authority figures was oddly absent as she replied, "Tanilea Jamelle, Master Jinn. Pleased to meet you."
"I am pleased to meet you as well," he answered with a small smile.
Obi-Wan stuck out his hand to her. "Hi. I'm Obi-Wan."
Tanilea smiled and took the offered hand, noting with no surprise that he was almost a foot taller than she. "Tanilea. You can call me Tani if you want. Most people do."
He nodded, filing the information for future use. "Call me Obi."
The name seemed to fit the care-free personality Tanilea sensed about him. "Alright."
Before she could say anything more, Lanar placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come, Padawan. There will be time for more talk later. Let's at least get our luggage to our rooms, hmm?"
"Yes, Master." She smiled once more at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, then followed Master Lanar into the ship. "They're nice," she observed with pleasure.
Lanar began freeing their luggage from the storage compartments. "Very. I have known Master Jinn for some time. His Padawan seems to be a fine young man as well. I hope the two of you will get along."
"We will." There was no question in Tanilea's mind that they could be anything save best friends. "Always."
"You're sure of that?" Lanar asked, handing Tanilea her suitcase.
She paused for a moment, thinking. Something, perhaps the Force, whispered the answer in her ear. "I'm sure."