Soft music filled the high-ceilinged fountain-filled room, mixing the flowing sounds of the water with ethereal notes to make a relaxing atmosphere. With her eyes closed, Shara moved in fluid motions while standing atop a slightly raised pedestal. The fluid motions turned into stretching and balance exercises, a technique her mother taught her to aid in meditation. During her time in the Temple, she always had enjoyed this specific atrium, closed off from the others, which allowed music to be played through hidden speakers.
Wearing a modified bodysuit that was separated into a top and bottom and her sandals and robe laid at the bottom of the pedestal, she looked like some alien creature with incredible flexibility and strength despite her average height and small frame. She enjoyed being in the halls and atriums of the Jedi Temple, feeling as if she belonged there, as if she were a Jedi. Even the importance of her visit, to see her Master and friend Yoda, made her feel a little more important as well. Although she may be the daughter of the newly elected Senator of Corulag, in the Jedi Temple none of that meant a thing.
Shara closed her eyes, raised one foot to fit against her knee, hence standing on one foot, and stretched her arms out on each side of her body. She breathed deeply and focused inward, feeling through the minimal connection to the Force she had to all the living things, and even non-living things around her. She felt the water play against marble fountains, flowers reaching for light through frosted windows, and even a few small bugs lighting on green leaves and taking their feed of food from the plants. She concentrated so deeply on what surrounded her that she missed the soft shuffle of a small being with a cloak too long for its body. Upon finally hearing this sound, though, she turned in the direction it came from and half-bowed half-curtseyed. "Master Yoda," she said in a proud and confident voice, "it is good to see you again." She stood up straight and opened her eyes.
The little green being looked up at her with expressionless eyes and visage and nodded to her, "Good to see you, it is, Naitel. Been long, it has."
Shara smiled and stepped down from the short pedestal. She kneeled on the floor, reaching eye level with the Master, "It is nice to be back. I have always enjoyed being here. You will be pleased to know that I have kept up my exercises and my skills have advanced, Master."
Yoda simply nodded and patted the ground with his walking stick, "Sit, you shall. Tell about your absence, you will," he said with a tone that she had learned to know as a welcoming friendly gesture. She sank to the floor, crossing her legs and began to tell her Master and friend of her time in school, in diplomatic training, and in her learning of the ways of the Naitel.
**********
Anakin smiled up at his Master, "Master Obi-Wan, I never have taken you for a man to have deep feelings for a woman, but I stand corrected."
Obi-Wan looked down at his apprentice and smirked, "How have you come to that conclusion, young Padawan?" he said in a calm tone.
Anakin shook his head, "It's obviously you care about her deeply. I understand that you have been friends for a long time. But I don't need the Force to know that the way you looked at her.....that's not the way a friend looks at another friend."
Obi-Wan smirked again, "What would you know about that sort of thing?" He rolled his eyes and said quietly, "What would I know about that sort of thing?"
Anakin smiled at him and patted his Master on the shoulder, "Don't worry I won't tell her. Who knows, she might feel the same."
He shrugged and looked off into the distance towards the Jedi Temple, his face grimming, "That would be nice, I'll admit. But I can't offer her what she deserves."
The young apprentice looked up at him with a curious look, "Why is that, Master?"
Obi-Wan sighed and still looked towards the Tower, "Something that Master Qui-Gon never told me, but I felt it, was that at one time he was fearful of leaving his mark, his legacy. Many Jedi get married and have children, but for others it is not their path. I've never believed it has been my path, and even seeing Shara again, I am still not convinced. But she deserves to have someone who loves her at her side, to be her husband and to raise children with. I can't offer that."
Anakin nodded, "If it is not your path, there is nothing you can do. I am sure, if she felt that way, that she would understand. I am under the impression she spent a good bit of time in the Temple with you. If so, she knows the consequences of being a Jedi, and I'm sure, as well, feeling for a Jedi."
Obi-Wan patted him on the back, "One time Master Qui-Gon told me I was a wiser man than he. Sometimes I think you have that trait as well, young Padawan." He smirked to himself and shook his head, "Actually, I'm afraid that if Shara felt the same way and she found out abut me, she would try to get away from me because she knows how important being a Jedi Knight is to me."
"Tell her then, Master, and see. She may have changed."
"No," he said as he shook his head. "I can't. And if I ever get the courage to, it has to be when the time is right." He turned to Anakin and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't let this get to me."
"Maybe you should," Anakin said as he shrugged. "I was wondering...How did a person like Shara, with such small ability in the Force, get to be trained in the Temple?"
Obi-Wan straightened himself and nodded, "Ahh, glad you asked that. It seems hundreds of years ago a group of Jedi and normal people colonized her home of Corluag. Eventually they moved to different areas of the planet, setting up in tribes or families. After years of integration and such, for reasons unknown to anyone, children born of these groups retained Jedi-like powers without having Force strength. Dependent on the area, different powers were bestowed upon these people. The name for these people were the Naitel and the powers happened in each of the tribes. Shara descends from these people and it has carried down through the matriarchal side."
Anakin nodded at his words and listened carefully, "So what are her powers, Master?"
He continued, "She has been given the gift of past, present, and future seeking. Usually the Naitel do not have Force power, but Shara had some and the Naitel Council on Corulag insisted on sending her to the Temple. It caught Master Yoda's attention, and he pushed to allow her admittance. She was given leeway, being the daughter of the Governor of Corulag, and she came and went, but all that time, Master Yoda helped her control her powers. That is most likely who she is visiting now."
Anakin's feet bumped the steps leading into the Temple. He had paid so much attention to his Master that he didn't notice as them came upon the Jedi Temple.
Obi-Wan turned around quickly, eyeing a market nearby, "Lets go there before we go in. I want to see if they have flowers."
"Flowers, Master?"
"Yes, flowers. I want to get her some."
Anakin just smirked and chuckled slightly as he chased after his Master once again.
Yoda stopped and felt through the Force towards Shara and all around the room, "Seen Obi-Wan, you have."
She nodded and looked away, "Yes, I called to him through the Force, and he found me. It was a nice reunion."
Yoda nodded and walked to the other side of her, "Feel for him, you do. More than friends. Felt it last time, I did, only less mature, less overall." Yoda looked into the air, "Tell him, you must."
Shara turned her head quickly to Yoda and almost yelped, "Master, I usually never question your requests of me, but tell a man I haven't seen in 10 years that I care about him more than the friendship we had before is out of the question. It's totally unreasonable."
Yoda looked up at her, his face growing dim, and spoke in a grim tone, "Reasons, the heart has, which reason knows nothing of." He lowered his face and began walking again, "Important to a Jedi, love is. As any good feelings in the Force. Weakness or strength, it may be, depending on the heart and mind, it does. Make sure your strength it is."
She blinked absentmindedly, trying to take in what her Master was trying to tell her. She shook it off and came to, "Master Yoda, I don't think I'm getting what you're trying to tell me."
He nodded and sighed softly, "Looked into your future, have you?"
Shara smirked, "I have tried not to. I don't mind doing it for others, but...I feel like I am abusing my gift if I do."
Nodding again, this time turning back to her with a look that seemed to bore into her soul. She shivered under his gaze, frozen in the sitting stance she now took, "Long life, bitter and lonely, you shall be, if what needs to be said isn't. Tell him you must."
Shara sighed and jumped at the sound of another voice joining the group.
"Tell whom what, Master Yoda?" the deep voice spoke behind her.
Turning around, she smiled at Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Nothing. I'll tell you later, Ben," she said quickly as she turned around, blocking any attempt Yoda would make to speak, but of course, he didn't speak. She realized this was up to her now, but the time was not right.
Anakin came up behind Obi-Wan with a small bouquet of flowers. He bowed to Master Yoda, who was now standing off to the side, seemingly staring at a fountain, and then to Shara. Handing the flowers to Shara, Anakin said with a smile, "Master Obi-Wan thought you would like these. He says they are your favorite, although I have never seen them before."
Her face brightened and took the flowers in a tender grasp, "Yes they are my favorite. And I don't think you have seen many flowers in your life, have you Anakin?" She smelled them and smiled again, "Sorry, these things just come to me. Thank you, both. I'm surprised you still remember."
"I wouldn't forget," Obi-Wan finally replied with an amused grin, a touch of blush to his cheeks. He held out his hand and pulled her up with a soft tug, in the momentum turning her around slightly. As she looked out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little green Master was gone. She turned full circle and shook her head.
"Well, he certainly makes an exit," she commented spryly.
"That he does," Obi-Wan replied. While she was turned around, he surveyed her slightly, surprised at himself for doing so. Shara Lotarei had definitely grown up. He knew she would always be a pretty girl, but now she was a beautiful woman that any man would be proud to care for. At least he was confident in that. "Anakin has some meetings to attend for the rest of the day, and I have some free time. Would you like to take a walk around the atriums?"
She smiled and nodded, entwining her arm with his outstretched one. She turned to Anakin and smiled. "If I remember correctly, any meeting for a Padawan is always.....educational, to say the least. I hope you don't get bored to death," she said with a touch of sarcasm.
"They always are," he replied with a smile. He bowed, saying "Good day," on his way down, turned and walked away.
Shara turned back to Obi-Wan, "You know we have a lot of catching up to do. I don't think today will be enough." She fingered the stone around her neck absentmindedly, "Would you consider coming to a ball tomorrow night that is being held for father?"
"Of course I would," he replied softly. The couple walked out of the room, Shara stopping to put her boots and robe on and grabbing her cloak.
Wearing a modified bodysuit that was separated into a top and bottom and her sandals and robe laid at the bottom of the pedestal, she looked like some alien creature with incredible flexibility and strength despite her average height and small frame. She enjoyed being in the halls and atriums of the Jedi Temple, feeling as if she belonged there, as if she were a Jedi. Even the importance of her visit, to see her Master and friend Yoda, made her feel a little more important as well. Although she may be the daughter of the newly elected Senator of Corulag, in the Jedi Temple none of that meant a thing.
Shara closed her eyes, raised one foot to fit against her knee, hence standing on one foot, and stretched her arms out on each side of her body. She breathed deeply and focused inward, feeling through the minimal connection to the Force she had to all the living things, and even non-living things around her. She felt the water play against marble fountains, flowers reaching for light through frosted windows, and even a few small bugs lighting on green leaves and taking their feed of food from the plants. She concentrated so deeply on what surrounded her that she missed the soft shuffle of a small being with a cloak too long for its body. Upon finally hearing this sound, though, she turned in the direction it came from and half-bowed half-curtseyed. "Master Yoda," she said in a proud and confident voice, "it is good to see you again." She stood up straight and opened her eyes.
The little green being looked up at her with expressionless eyes and visage and nodded to her, "Good to see you, it is, Naitel. Been long, it has."
Shara smiled and stepped down from the short pedestal. She kneeled on the floor, reaching eye level with the Master, "It is nice to be back. I have always enjoyed being here. You will be pleased to know that I have kept up my exercises and my skills have advanced, Master."
Yoda simply nodded and patted the ground with his walking stick, "Sit, you shall. Tell about your absence, you will," he said with a tone that she had learned to know as a welcoming friendly gesture. She sank to the floor, crossing her legs and began to tell her Master and friend of her time in school, in diplomatic training, and in her learning of the ways of the Naitel.
**********
Anakin smiled up at his Master, "Master Obi-Wan, I never have taken you for a man to have deep feelings for a woman, but I stand corrected."
Obi-Wan looked down at his apprentice and smirked, "How have you come to that conclusion, young Padawan?" he said in a calm tone.
Anakin shook his head, "It's obviously you care about her deeply. I understand that you have been friends for a long time. But I don't need the Force to know that the way you looked at her.....that's not the way a friend looks at another friend."
Obi-Wan smirked again, "What would you know about that sort of thing?" He rolled his eyes and said quietly, "What would I know about that sort of thing?"
Anakin smiled at him and patted his Master on the shoulder, "Don't worry I won't tell her. Who knows, she might feel the same."
He shrugged and looked off into the distance towards the Jedi Temple, his face grimming, "That would be nice, I'll admit. But I can't offer her what she deserves."
The young apprentice looked up at him with a curious look, "Why is that, Master?"
Obi-Wan sighed and still looked towards the Tower, "Something that Master Qui-Gon never told me, but I felt it, was that at one time he was fearful of leaving his mark, his legacy. Many Jedi get married and have children, but for others it is not their path. I've never believed it has been my path, and even seeing Shara again, I am still not convinced. But she deserves to have someone who loves her at her side, to be her husband and to raise children with. I can't offer that."
Anakin nodded, "If it is not your path, there is nothing you can do. I am sure, if she felt that way, that she would understand. I am under the impression she spent a good bit of time in the Temple with you. If so, she knows the consequences of being a Jedi, and I'm sure, as well, feeling for a Jedi."
Obi-Wan patted him on the back, "One time Master Qui-Gon told me I was a wiser man than he. Sometimes I think you have that trait as well, young Padawan." He smirked to himself and shook his head, "Actually, I'm afraid that if Shara felt the same way and she found out abut me, she would try to get away from me because she knows how important being a Jedi Knight is to me."
"Tell her then, Master, and see. She may have changed."
"No," he said as he shook his head. "I can't. And if I ever get the courage to, it has to be when the time is right." He turned to Anakin and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't let this get to me."
"Maybe you should," Anakin said as he shrugged. "I was wondering...How did a person like Shara, with such small ability in the Force, get to be trained in the Temple?"
Obi-Wan straightened himself and nodded, "Ahh, glad you asked that. It seems hundreds of years ago a group of Jedi and normal people colonized her home of Corluag. Eventually they moved to different areas of the planet, setting up in tribes or families. After years of integration and such, for reasons unknown to anyone, children born of these groups retained Jedi-like powers without having Force strength. Dependent on the area, different powers were bestowed upon these people. The name for these people were the Naitel and the powers happened in each of the tribes. Shara descends from these people and it has carried down through the matriarchal side."
Anakin nodded at his words and listened carefully, "So what are her powers, Master?"
He continued, "She has been given the gift of past, present, and future seeking. Usually the Naitel do not have Force power, but Shara had some and the Naitel Council on Corulag insisted on sending her to the Temple. It caught Master Yoda's attention, and he pushed to allow her admittance. She was given leeway, being the daughter of the Governor of Corulag, and she came and went, but all that time, Master Yoda helped her control her powers. That is most likely who she is visiting now."
Anakin's feet bumped the steps leading into the Temple. He had paid so much attention to his Master that he didn't notice as them came upon the Jedi Temple.
Obi-Wan turned around quickly, eyeing a market nearby, "Lets go there before we go in. I want to see if they have flowers."
"Flowers, Master?"
"Yes, flowers. I want to get her some."
Anakin just smirked and chuckled slightly as he chased after his Master once again.
Yoda stopped and felt through the Force towards Shara and all around the room, "Seen Obi-Wan, you have."
She nodded and looked away, "Yes, I called to him through the Force, and he found me. It was a nice reunion."
Yoda nodded and walked to the other side of her, "Feel for him, you do. More than friends. Felt it last time, I did, only less mature, less overall." Yoda looked into the air, "Tell him, you must."
Shara turned her head quickly to Yoda and almost yelped, "Master, I usually never question your requests of me, but tell a man I haven't seen in 10 years that I care about him more than the friendship we had before is out of the question. It's totally unreasonable."
Yoda looked up at her, his face growing dim, and spoke in a grim tone, "Reasons, the heart has, which reason knows nothing of." He lowered his face and began walking again, "Important to a Jedi, love is. As any good feelings in the Force. Weakness or strength, it may be, depending on the heart and mind, it does. Make sure your strength it is."
She blinked absentmindedly, trying to take in what her Master was trying to tell her. She shook it off and came to, "Master Yoda, I don't think I'm getting what you're trying to tell me."
He nodded and sighed softly, "Looked into your future, have you?"
Shara smirked, "I have tried not to. I don't mind doing it for others, but...I feel like I am abusing my gift if I do."
Nodding again, this time turning back to her with a look that seemed to bore into her soul. She shivered under his gaze, frozen in the sitting stance she now took, "Long life, bitter and lonely, you shall be, if what needs to be said isn't. Tell him you must."
Shara sighed and jumped at the sound of another voice joining the group.
"Tell whom what, Master Yoda?" the deep voice spoke behind her.
Turning around, she smiled at Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Nothing. I'll tell you later, Ben," she said quickly as she turned around, blocking any attempt Yoda would make to speak, but of course, he didn't speak. She realized this was up to her now, but the time was not right.
Anakin came up behind Obi-Wan with a small bouquet of flowers. He bowed to Master Yoda, who was now standing off to the side, seemingly staring at a fountain, and then to Shara. Handing the flowers to Shara, Anakin said with a smile, "Master Obi-Wan thought you would like these. He says they are your favorite, although I have never seen them before."
Her face brightened and took the flowers in a tender grasp, "Yes they are my favorite. And I don't think you have seen many flowers in your life, have you Anakin?" She smelled them and smiled again, "Sorry, these things just come to me. Thank you, both. I'm surprised you still remember."
"I wouldn't forget," Obi-Wan finally replied with an amused grin, a touch of blush to his cheeks. He held out his hand and pulled her up with a soft tug, in the momentum turning her around slightly. As she looked out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little green Master was gone. She turned full circle and shook her head.
"Well, he certainly makes an exit," she commented spryly.
"That he does," Obi-Wan replied. While she was turned around, he surveyed her slightly, surprised at himself for doing so. Shara Lotarei had definitely grown up. He knew she would always be a pretty girl, but now she was a beautiful woman that any man would be proud to care for. At least he was confident in that. "Anakin has some meetings to attend for the rest of the day, and I have some free time. Would you like to take a walk around the atriums?"
She smiled and nodded, entwining her arm with his outstretched one. She turned to Anakin and smiled. "If I remember correctly, any meeting for a Padawan is always.....educational, to say the least. I hope you don't get bored to death," she said with a touch of sarcasm.
"They always are," he replied with a smile. He bowed, saying "Good day," on his way down, turned and walked away.
Shara turned back to Obi-Wan, "You know we have a lot of catching up to do. I don't think today will be enough." She fingered the stone around her neck absentmindedly, "Would you consider coming to a ball tomorrow night that is being held for father?"
"Of course I would," he replied softly. The couple walked out of the room, Shara stopping to put her boots and robe on and grabbing her cloak.