TITLE: Page of Wands
AUTHOR: agentj
GENRE: alternative universe
CHARACTERS: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala
TIMELINE: during Revenge of the Sith
RATING: PG
WARNINGS: none
DISCLAIMER: I willingly and willfully use characters and situations copyrighted by Twentieth Century Fox and Lucasfilm Ltd. without permission, and without monetary gain.
SUMMARY: A simple decision causes a new chain of events, but will it change the fate of a galaxy...and the man destined to save it?
"Do you think Obi-Wan might be able to help us?"

"We don't need his help. Our baby is a blessing."


PART 1 - Unknown Country

The water spilling forth from the fountain was golden, reflecting the light from Coruscant's morning sun. Padmé passed her hand through the liquid ribbons, watching them dance around her fingers.

Anakin had gone before the first rays hit the veranda, saying he had duties to attend to at the Temple. Padmé had watched him speed away from their shared rooms, trying not to think about their conversation the night before.

It was virtually impossible not to. It seemed that everything which surrounded Anakin was a dream. When she first met him on Tatooine, Anakin relayed a dream to her about leading an army into war. A decade later, Anakin was besotted by nightmares about his mother's death. Now, three years after their clandestine marriage, Anakin dreamed again.

Her death.

It was ludicrous, of course. Well, it should have been. After all, this was Coruscant. Space travel was commonplace, even in the Outer Rim Territories. DNA could be extracted from weapons in a murder case in a matter of minutes. How could someone possibly die from something so simple as childbirth? To think of anyone dying in complications of childbirth in this day and age...well, it was unthinkable.

Padmé stared into the bubbling water of the fountain. She had indeed lead her people into war. Anakin's mother did in fact die a brutal death.

Padmé straightened and looked out upon the morning silhouette of Coruscant. She didn't care what had Anakin said. If Anakin's vision was true, then this was not something they should face alone.


Anakin was running late. His meditation with Yoda had been completely unhelpful in finding answers to his dilemma. The solution Yoda offered was totally unacceptable. Why rejoice in the loss of life? If that were so, why were the Jedi fighting so desperately against the Separatists in this damnable war? Let Grevious win, Anakin thought bitterly, and we'll see how much rejoicing Master Yoda does for the loss of the Republic.

Anakin walked as quickly as decorum allowed within the Temple, but he was too late. A group of Jedi was leaving the darkened briefing room. Shuffling past them, Anakin flew down the stairs desperately trying to think of an excuse for his absence, but found none.

"Master..." Anakin stopped in his tracks when Mace Windu turned from the computer projection console. "Master Windu? I—where's Obi-Wan?"

Mace's face was stoney and unreadable when he answered, "Master Kenobi contacted me this morning to inform me something had come up, and he would be unable to lead the debriefing." His eyebrow twitched, a manner Anakin had always thought was a look of the Jedi Master's disdain for him. "And where were you, Skywalker? Weren't you supposed to join him?"

Anakin licked his dry lips and looked down, feeling embarrassed and flustered. "I'm sorry, Master. I have no excuse."

Mace gave a curt nod and returned to the console, turning the rest of the displays off. "Tell me, Skywalker," Mace turned round and faced Anakin again, putting his hands in his cloak sleeves, "why Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has made a personal request to see you?"

Anakin felt his heart leap to his throat. He had more than proved his worth to the Jedi time and again, yet they continued to question his very thoughts. Now it seemed they were questioning things he had no control over as well. "For what purpose, Master?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Anakin's eyes flickered between Mace's folded cloak and his face, his stomach turning itself it knots. "I honestly don't know, Master. Wouldn't he have told the Council?"

Mace sighed and looked away, then moved past Anakin and made his way slowly up the stairs. "The relations between the Council and the Chancellor are stressed, Knight Skywalker. He seems to be telling us less and less of his plans."

Taking two steps up at a time, Anakin caught up with the Jedi Master. "But, Master, aren't we all working together to save the Republic? Why all this distrust?"

Mace stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down on the young Jedi. "Perhaps it is because the Senate will be voting more executive powers to the Chancellor today."

Feeling under extreme scrutiny, Anakin fidgeted under Mace's stare. "Is that bad?" When Mace looked rather surprised at Anakin's acceptance of the Chancellor's continuance of amassing power, Anakin quickly added, "It would mean less time deliberating in the Senate. It will allow us to take action and end this war." Finding determination in his own words, Anakin returned Mace's stare.

The Jedi Master blinked and looked away. "It has come to our attention that many senators are distressed over the state of the Republic. They fear he will not return his powers to the people once this war is over."

Anakin bit his tongue, thinking better than to voice his own opinion. So what if Palpatine kept all the powers the Senate had bestowed on him? For the first time since he learned the machinations of this so-called Republic, things were being done. The Jedi were being dispatched to do something, not sit around and talk about codes and principles and ancient prophecies.

Instead, Anakin pointed out the goal. "This war will be over soon, Master Windu. Once we find and capture General Grevious."

Mace's eyes reflected inward, and silently he nodded, as if making a personal vow. His eyes refocused on Anakin, and he spoke, "If you see Master Kenobi before the Council meeting, please let him know I wish to speak to him."

"Yes, Master."

"May the Force be with you."

Anakin mumbled the blessing response in return as Mace parted. Lifting his comlink, Anakin turned privacy off and discovered there was indeed a private message from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine requesting to see him. Strangely, there were no messages from Obi-Wan.


Obi-Wan sat in the common room of his quarters, his arms crossed on his chest as he stared fixedly outside the window at the ever-moving Coruscant traffic. Padmé had retreated some time ago, but the Jedi Master found it impossible to move after her departure.

It was all too much to take in. Anakin. Padmé. Marriage. ...Child. And there had been more, she said. Unspeakable things. She did not elaborate on that enigmatic statement, and Obi-Wan realised that for the past thirteen years, he had been living with a complete and utter stranger.

No, Obi-Wan acquiesced, not a stranger, but a fool. Obi-Wan had been the fool, letting his expectations and feelings get in the way of what was plainly unfolding before him. He knew how Anakin felt about Padmé. Whenever her name would crop up in the news, whenever her photo appeared on the HoloNet, whenever he was in her presence, Anakin became completely captivated and reduced to a gibbering idiot.

Obi-Wan expected Anakin would do the right thing. Anakin was a Jedi, as Obi-Wan had pointedly chastised the boy time and again. He ought to know better. Do better. Be better than everyone else. He had to be. He was the Chosen One.

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan looked down into his folded arms. Long ago, Anakin surpassed his master and nearly every other Jedi in his abilities. He continued to tap into uncharted territories of the Force. There was no stopping him.

Despite all of his accomplishments, however, Anakin was a myriad of flaws. He was a dichotomy of opposites: in the midst of battle he would be unwavering and unbreakable, yet his eyes would meet Obi-Wan's as he sought his next move. Anakin would know the answer before the question could be put forth, yet never have an opinion of his own. As a Jedi, he was to follow the will of the Force; as a man, he sought to control things beyond his measure.

Could Qui-Gon have been wrong? The voice of doubt always lingered at the back of Obi-Wan's mind. As in everything he did, Qui-Gon had been stubbornly assured he was always right. Many nights, Obi-Wan lay awake trying to find the answer. In the end, all Obi-Wan could do was look at Anakin and simply know Qui-Gon hadn't made a mistake.