Chapter 2: A Deeper grasp

I do not have any pairing for Azalea in mind, I'll mention something from the past, but that was all I was planning. If you have any suggestions, feel free to suggest! Keep in mind this will end at the same time as the wizard war 2. Also, read the one-shot for a better grasp on Azalea, who goes by Freya Potter there.

By the way, I am trying to include everything that should be, and I have tried to make how the Jedi work as close to Canon as I could. If dialogue seems OCC, feel free to give me pointers to improve.

Song: Dig a Little Deeper

Azalea woke up the next morning with a start.

It was the time she wanted to wake up, but she had been suddenly woken up due to a nightmare which was a little disconcerting. Azalea sighed: this was the first time in a long time she had had a nightmare, and the first time she had had one here.
When she had nightmares, it was always the same one. It kept cruelly playing before her over and over again. The deferent light from spells, the people dying and their screams.

As she sat up, Azalea decided to ask one of today's teacher about preventing nightmares if she had mediation. She just got scared and upset because of them, and sometimes she lost sleep over it. It wasn't the nightmares that woke her up and waked her up on time. No, the nightmares didn't do that, the force did.

Ever since she had started learning how to use it, she would just think about the time she wanted to get up, and sure enough, that was when she would wake up. It had taken almost the whole time she had been there to be able to do that.

Azalea got up grabbing her clothes for today, and then she headed to the shower. Not many people had showers in the morning, which was one of the reasons Azalea did. After her shower, she used the bathroom and then returned to her room.

When Azalea re-entered her room, she brushed her hair and braided it. she didn't braid much, just a little bit, then the rest was loose. After putting her three necklaces back on, Azalea grabbed her Lightsaber and then she went downstairs for breakfast.

Breakfast and dinner were always hard times for Azalea: she wasn't really one for conversation, and she didn't really have anything in common with the others. It was always a relief when she had eaten enough she could go; Azalea had never had a big appetite, and with all the punishment she had faced spells she had been hit with, she just got an even smaller one.

When she finished eating, Azalea got up and went to find today's task list: she might as well start now. Even though she knew she had lessons today, there was still a good chance she would have some jobs to do, first.

As it turned out, she had four lessons and one task. It sounded like a lot, but it was nothing compared to the previous day. As she read through where and what she was doing, she noticed her task was going to the Chancellor with updates on what was happening with training Jedi to rise against the Sith. She noticed Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was going as well; she supposed that was planned so they could go together. Then she noticed her book lesson was with Anakin Skywalker: that wasn't going to go well, he seemed to hate her guts so she was not sure how a lesson would go.

"Well, that's going to go well," Azalea muttered darkly. She knew he distrusted her along with two of the masters, but he also seemed to dislike her… no, she would as far to say he hated her. After all, why else would he glare at her in hallways? Shove her out of the way to get through a doorway first? Azalea didn't expect everyone to like her, but she thought this was a bit extreme considering she had barely spoken ten sentences to him.

"Azalea, why are you out here?" asked one of the many Jedi Masters, (and Mistresses, though they were to call them masters, which confused Azalea as master was for males and mistress was for females,) Jocasta Nu. Azalea turned around to face her.

"I ate my fill, and now I am seeing what I am needing to do today," Azalea said quickly.

"Oh. And you don't want to talk to the others?" Master Nu asked in surprise. She knew Azalea was almost thirty, but normally that didn't stop people her age talking with others.

"No; I don't really have much in common with them," Azalea admitted. And that was true of most cases: the favourite typic was makeup or how hot some boy or man was. Azalea didn't know any of the names of these boys, but that was because she didn't pay much attention, and who was close was always changing. Then, of course, the things the males talked about never interested her: but that was expected as males were males.

"Ah, you sure? There are quite a few who do talk about different things," asked Jocasta. All right, she didn't know that for sure; but with the number of people there were, there would some sort of chance, wouldn't there?
"Yes, I am, thank you. But I am perfectly fine with it all, really. Thanks for worrying though," Azalea said smiling. Then she walked off to see if there was anything new on the HoloNet, before going to get ready for her first lesson.

As Jocasta walked off, she muttered shaking her head, "Strange girl."

Azalea's first item of the day was her lesson with Master Mace Windu: that was a lesson to help her with learning to fight with the Lightsaber. She did already know how to use it, but she was still a beginner so lessons would not hurt, and no one knew everything.

Anyway, everyone had different styles, and different styles suited different people; so, to find or create the right one for Azalea, and she would need to learn different styles.

When it was almost time for her lesson to start, Azalea went down to training room four; according to the to-do list that was where she was needing to go for her lesson. The training rooms were all pretty basic. They were a plain room with chairs around the edge and soft area for fighting on in the middle. It was a very good set up, really.

Azalea arrived a bit before the lesson was supposed to start. This was planned: Azalea wanted to have some warm-up practice. After placing her bag down on a chair, she pulled out her Lightsaber and started some practising. The first things she did were sideward cuts, starting off slow and getting faster and stronger. She then did stabs, followed by downward and upward cuts. After that, Azalea stopped for a rest. It was good timing too because right then the door opened; and two people came in: one Azalea was pretty sure was Master Mace Windu, but the other one to her surprise, was Master Yoda.

"Young Azalea, how are you?" Master Yoda asked, nodding at Azalea.

"Well thank you," Azalea answered quietly.

"Very good! So, Yawn tells me you have been improving quite fast; how about we start off with a duel to see? Only disarm though, Padawan Azalea," Master Windu said.

"Yes, of course; I'd be delighted," Azalea said politely. Though, she suspected she was trying a little too hard with the buttering up.

"Very good. Yoda, would you count in?" Master Windu asked Master Yoda.

"Yes, I will," Master Yoda agreed. Then he said, "Prepare your Lightsabers."
Azalea and Master Windu both did that. "On the count of three, start. One, two, three!" Master Yoda counted in.

Exactly on the count of three Azalea and Master Wandu started fighting. Not being a real fight, Azalea knew she had to use a slightly different fighting style; as it wasn't a fight to the death or until someone decided to run away, it was to be fought until one of their Lightsabers was taken from them. Being Jedi though, it was not just what cuts you used, it was also how you incorporated the force into it, and how strong your grip was. Being new to it all, Azalea still highly relied on her grip as she was very forgetful with using the force.

Mace started off with a slightly diagonal downward cut nearby where the handle of the Lightsaber was. Azalea quickly withdrew her Lightsaber away from where Master Wandu was aiming, then she jumped to the side away from Master Windu's Lightsaber.

Azalea quickly followed up with the same strike Master Wandu had tried earlier. This caused Lightsaber to meet Lightsaber, and suddenly they were both putting all their strength to try and push the other off balance to try and strike the Lightsaber out of the other's hand.

After a few minutes of this with nothing changing, Azalea tried to concentrate a little bit on Master Windu's Lightsaber. After a little more, Azalea formed a plan; but she knew it would be hard to pull off, and would quite likely result in her defeat. But, if she could do it, it would quite likely result in victory for her; and it would be useful for real fights as well.

Azalea using a bit of the Force and her strength forced Master Windu back, then focusing very hard, she used her other hand to touch one end the end of the Lightsaber and with it held crossways, then she put everything she had and went to strike the bottom half of Master Windu's Lightsaber. However, Master Windu had recovered very quickly, and he quickly moved his Lightsaber away and used an upward strike. Azalea tried to stop the move and counter with something else, but she wasn't fast enough, and the Lightsaber was wenched out of her hand and was flung against the wall, causing it to turn off. That was a safety feature.

"And over," Yoda said, marking the end.

"You got great ideas, and an unusual fight style, which will work in your favour. If you can utilise your tactics, you will have a good chance against any foe that comes your way. However, I have a few things that can help with your reaction time and help give ideas for moves. However, you might want to work on using the Force a bit to help hold your Lightsaber in place; because it is a very light model. Which is good for swift attacks and quickly withdrawing from an attack, but it means it's easy for someone to bash it out of your hands. I can help you with that, too," Master Windu said impressed.

"Really? You think so? Thank you! and that would be great," Azalea said shyly, though she did sound very surprised.

As Yoda watched Mace show Azalea some exercises and tactics, he thought about the move Azalea had tried: it was a very good idea that would need a lot of practice, but it would be very handy; especially when it was her move. He hadn't seen one like it before, so he thought that Azalea had created it. But then he started thinking about one part of it; the part where she touched the Lightsaber with her bare hand, and held it there for almost a minute, without even flinching in pain. How did she do it? Was it the force, or was it something else? One thing was for sure, Yoda would be consulting the force when he went to go and meditate.

Due to his musings, he didn't even notice Azalea leave. The only reason he became re-aware of what was going on was that Mace prodded him while asking, "Yoda? Are you still here?"
"Yes, sorry, young Mace: I got lost it my musings. It is a thing of getting old, I fear," Yoda said.

"Did you see that tactic she's made up? It was a masterpiece; I swear. But what I don't understand, she touched the blade, that would at the very least leave a mark on her fingers, and there was nothing! I saw her hand, and it was undamaged. How did she manage it? None of us, including Skywalker and Obi-Wan, have managed that," Mace said, shaking his head.

"I know, pretty incredible. The Force can't help us with finding out who she is, but we must find out soon, otherwise she'll get drawn in by the Sith, or we shall meet our downfall if it is not already too late," Yoda said.

"Yes, I agree. What next for you, Yoda?" Mace asked, changing the subject to something easier to understand.

"It is time for me to meditate and get answers to some questions. What about you?" Yoda asked back.

"I have to oversee a lesson myself, now. May the force be with you, Yoda," Mace said.

(Library.)

Azalea had very slowly trudged to the Library. She had one more lesson, her task and then lunch. Her next lesson was the book lesson with Anakin and she was not looking forward to it. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact Anakin hated her guts and he was her teacher for this one.

As Azalea walked, she could not help but feel smug. The move she had thought up was quite the masterpiece, and the key to it which was not obvious was her magic and The Spirit of Spring. Being the Spring Spirit and channelling her magic through her hand, she was allowed to freely touch her Lightsaber without any pain, because strictly speaking, she was a spirit.

Master Yawn had been very impressed with her abilities to wield a Lightsaber, and despite how hard she tried to assure him she had no prior tutoring, he did not believe her. Which was fair enough, considering that was the truth: before she came here, she had started to learn to become a Jedi, from her brother's future son. How ironic, really: she was learning to be a Jedi from her Nephew, he did not know that. Maybe if things went well this time, she would tell him.

There were a lot of tables in this room as well as a lot of books, but that was expected because of it being a Library. Most were bench like tables with lights hanging over the top and a bar stool to sit on, but there were a few square tables and huge round tables. The square tables though had numbers on them. And that wasn't just to make them stand out, they did have a purpose: to mark what table the lesson was at. Azalea didn't know what kind of lesson she was about to walk into, but if she had to guess it would be to do with books. Each numbered table was square shaped, and a distance away from each other, too.

However, Azalea was in for a surprise when she reached the table she was headed for. Anakin Skywalker was not waiting for her, instead was Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the most knowledgeable masters alive.

"Ah, Miss Azalea; right on time," he said upon seeing her.
"Yes, I am here," Azalea said a little dazed. She was still a little surprised about it being Master Kenobi waiting for her, and then the fact she had walked as slow as possible and she was still on time. She was relieved it was him: she'd defiantly survive the lesson.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here instead of Anakin, aren't you? Well, I had to fill in because he has been kept away: something came up which kept him from coming," Obi-Wan said, seeing the surprised and confused look on Azalea's face.

"Oh, I hope nothing too bad has happened," Azalea said very honestly, much to Master Kenobi's surprise. Anakin and all but verbally showed his distrust and dislike of her, and yet she still seemed very genuine about her concerned that something bad might have happened to her. It made him even more wary of her.

"Anyway, sit down," Obi-Wan said, shaking himself out of his stupor. When Azalea was seated, he said, "Right; so, everyone is happy with your progress and thinks you could maybe think about the Knight exam soon. Which means you have this lesson. As part of becoming a Jedi Master, which you presumably want to be, you need to have started a book."
"Yes, I do. Book?" Azalea asked, looking puzzled.

"Yes. It can be on anything as long as it's related to the Jedi or the Force. So, a history book, a Lightsaber method book, or the Force's connection with something. This book," He said while pulling out a book from the top of a pile on the table. "This book is a book you can leave it here and add stuff to it for as long as you live. Just write your name where it says on the front, and it will be activated."
He handed to Azalea and she took it. As she opened the first page, she saw where it said to write her name. She asked, "Do I need to show it to you when I have written in it?"
"Only what you've written to the Master who you're having the lesson with," Obi-Wan said, finding it an odd question. It wasn't an odd one to ask, it was the way she asked it.

"Okay," Azalea said. Then, she picked up a nearby pen, and very shakily, wrote her name. Obi-Wan found the amount of time she spent writing a very long time. He noticed she wrote a letter that looked suspiciously like an S, which would have to be a middle name or surname: either that or Azalea was not actually her name, which was possible.

"There. Anything else?" Azalea asked as she shut the book and put the pen down.

"Yes. What do you know that might be of use or note?" Master Kenobi asked.

"Is there anything on the Sacred Magics or the Spirits of the Four Seasons?" Azalea asked.

"There is something on the Spirits of the Seasons, I'll show it to you. I believe it's a book anyone can add to. But nothing on the Sacred Magic. What is it?" Master Kenobi asked looking interested.

Azalea suddenly went very quiet and soft as she spoke. "I-i-t i-s magic, plain and s-simple. There are sev-seven Scared Magics. Charms, Transfiguration, Light and Dark Arts, Elemental Magic, the last th-the Force is part of. Then the other thre-three are Ancient Magic, Mind Magic, and Alchemy. They are very powerful. Before I came here, I went to a school, where I learned about them; while I was there, I fought in a war. Basically won the war, too actually. But did they even give a simple thank you? No, I was just a glory seeker: the only good thing was it gave me good reflexes. Then when they discovered I studied the Dark Arts, they said I was evil, and then I was exiled from my home. I am not sure why the hate the Dark Arts so much; it is just as important as all the other magics, even if evil people mainly use it. That is why I hide from others, that is why I avoid meals as much as possible. I can't stand that happening again, I just can't," Azalea said, shaking the more she spoke. She started to cry as she finished speaking.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry: is that really why you came here, to find somewhere where you'd be accepted? Not to find shelter?" her teacher said, feeling sympathy with her. It was a pretty hard thing she had to go through. Now though, he had more of an understanding of her distantness.

"Ye, yes, that is true," said Azalea quickly, trying to calm herself down before she caused a scene.

"Well, I understand now. Thank you for sharing. We better get moving, though: The Chancellor wants us for lunch and it's almost lunchtime. I'll show you that book I mentioned before when we get back," Master Kenobi said, glancing up at a huge clock.

"That's not very nice," Azalea said laughing slightly. She knew what he meant, but she was just playing.

Master Kenobi stared at her for a few seconds before he worked it out and laughed too. "I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall in a few minutes: I have to go and get a few things anyway," he said, getting things moving.

"Okay: I'll go and take this book up to my room," Azalea said, thinking this was a good idea.

They move got up and went off to get stuff and drop it off. As Obi-Wan entered the room they kept all the notes for the government in, or just the 'Paper Room,' Yoda accosted him.

"How did the book lesson go?" Yoda asked.

"Well; it went well. I know you are thinking of pushing her to do the exam, but it is not right: and I won't let you do it, especially not when we are not one hundred percent sure if she works for the Sith or not," Obi-Wan argued.

"Yes, I know. I don't like this as much as you, Obi-Wan, but hurry them through we must and hope it's not a bad choice. Some will survive, and the chance of winning will be stronger, too," Yoda pointed out. He knew it all, but unfortunately as for as Jedi were concerned, if there was a sacrifice for the greater good, they better do it; it was their motto and tradition.

"Very well, then. When will you set the exam?" Obi-Wan asked begrudgingly.

"I will have to finalise it with everyone else; we all have to agree on a date. Normally, we would wait a little longer, especially with how long she's been among us, but we need more people to fight against the Sith: us they are rising fast, and with the small amount of us there are, we need to train more Knights. There are ten in mind including her," Yoda said sadly.

He didn't want or like rushing people into this, but there were a very small number of Knights because a lot were killed in the battle on Geonosis; so they needed to try and build up numbers if they even wanted to have a chance at defeating the Sith; and Padawans were not allowed to go into fights like the one on Geonosis.

"Yes; but I suppose that is war; it does seem wrong setting those ten people up to most likely die. Now, where are these papers?" Obi-Wan asked. He was never one for paperwork!

"Just here," Yoda said, waving his hand to a stack of paper sitting innocently on the end of the desk.

"Right; better get going I suppose," Obi-Wan said, supposing he better; Palpatine didn't like it when they were late!

"Yes; the Chancellor does not like lateness," Yoda nodded. Then he said, "May the Force be with you. I must send a message to young Anakin to ask if he's coming today."
"Okay: may the Force be with you," Obi-Wan said, nodding. Then he left.

He had been talking to Yoda for so long Azalea was waiting for him. Then he supposed it wasn't so surprising considering she probably just walked up to the top floor dropped the book off then came back down.

"Are you ready?" Master Kenobi asked.

"Yes, I am," Azalea answered, though she as though she was distracted.
"Let's go: Chancellor Palpatine is very hospitable, but he doesn't like lateness," Master Kenobi said. Azalea nodded, then they left the building.

"Apart from not liking people being late but being hospitable; is there anything else to know about him before we get there?" Azalea asked as they walked down the street.

"Not really; but do watch your manners," Obi-Wan said; but he didn't think she had a problem with being rude or anything, she seemed a polite enough woman.

"Doesn't it go with the title?" Azalea asked. She sounded a bit more relaxed than earlier, Obi-Wan noted.

'Interesting,' he thought.

"Yes, you would think so," Master Kenobi said, keeping things going.

"Why do you think the really bad, bad guys get followers so much easier than the good? I was overhearing some people talk about it over breakfast; this is not the only place it happens," Azalea asked softly.

"I don't know; to be honest. Maybe to the greater population power is appealing, and maybe they offer it to them? From the people I know who have been offered to join the Sith, including myself; power is what they offer. What about in your experience?" Obi-Wan said. From things Azalea had said she had some experiences with people being offered places with dark people. As soon as he asked, Azalea looked like she was about to cry.

"I was offered to join the dark once; a different dark side, but still one," Azalea whispered. "And that's what I was offered: power, glory; everything I could want, and everything I didn't have. But, I refused: I believed that if I did my best in helping the light's saviour defeat him, I would get respect. That's all I wanted: respect. At school, I was always the unpopular girl at school: always chasing after my adoptive brother; always making sure he was happy, had his homework done. That took up most my time, so I was always cramming in homework at every last possible moment.

"No one ever supported me though: I was a good student who was good in class and learnt fast; they all knew I had to look after Harry, but they never tried to help. Only one teacher ever stopped to help me, make sure I was travelling okay. Not many liked him, which was understandable, but he was good to me. He helped me out, and treated me well: I guess he was a mentor," she stopped for a moment.

"To be honest, he was more of a father to me then my adoptive father or my true father ever was. I, I, I was so upset when he died of snake bite. If I was a bit faster, then maybe, then maybe," Azalea said, actually crying. She didn't mean to be telling Master Kenobi all this, it just happened. Then she said, "Sorry; remembering everything that happened, it's just upsetting."

"Even if that wasn't your relationship, you saw him as a father, didn't you?" Obi-Wan guessed. He was beginning to suspect she was just a sad case and not a Sith.

"Yes, that is true. Only four people in my time at school and before tried to help me, and they made sure I was okay: my mentor, Severus, another teacher, my grandfather, my brother and my mother, who I have not seen for years. Everyone else; it's ' you are a fame seeker, and a useless girl,' 'oh, is Harry alright?'" Azalea said bitterly through her tears.

"I'm sorry you had to go through it all. Why were you adopted though?" Obi-Wan said honestly. He meant every word he said. He did too, notice the inconstancy of what she just said to what she originally told them; but Azalea was slowly becoming more forthcoming, so he hoped she would eventually tell her.

"I accidentally hurt my brother when we were playing; and my father never liked me anyway: always criticizing me and beating me up when I did something wrong: so, I had to go, I lasted as long as I did due to mother. I wasn't in an Orphanage for very long though, but the ones who adopted me were not really adoptive parents for me; they treated me normally, but that was it; they didn't really watch out for me. They would always 'forget' to do something with me and then I was always left with their son who was three years younger than me, and I was eight.

"Then after we were attacked, he developed several back problems and a couple of mental issues. My mother loved me though, and she was very upset when my father sent away, but she couldn't do anything. My brother did too: but he was only five when it happened, he probably doesn't even remember me," Azalea said, sobbing slightly.

"That is probably true, but you never know?" Obi-Wan said, trying to get her not so in the dumps. He did think the family that adopted her were very irresponsible: an eight-year-old shouldn't have to look after a child young then them with mental problems; that just wasn't right. He did notice the inconsistencies in what she just said and what she had told them in the first place, but he didn't want to push his luck with getting that out of her.

"Yeah; maybe," Azalea said, sounding a little happier.

As they stopped outside a rather huge building, Master Kenobi said, "An elevator trip and we're there."
"Wow! I'm glad I'm not afraid of heights, then," Azalea said, trying to lift the saddened mood she brought over them.

"Yes, that is good considering he lives on one of the top floors," Master Kenobi said, then they went inside the building.

Fini. Right, keep in mind what I said earlier. By the way, I am sorry for keeping Azeala's story secret, but if I told it straight out, half the plot would be given away. Also, this is not Anakin bashing! He simply does not trust her and as a result tells himself he does not like her (Maybe that is the truth?).

Also, she is not quite as she seems! Apart from her history, what is she hiding?
I REPEAT! I DO NOT GIVE A STUFF WHAT PEOPLE THINK! I WRITE FANFICTION'S FOR MY OWN ENJOY MEANT! IF YOU DON'T ENJOY THIS, CLICK THE BACKWARD BUTTON TWICE! For everyone else, thanks for reading!