Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Mister George Lucas.

A/N: I want to apologize for taking so long with this update. A big exam has come up and I've been spending most of my time studying. Besides, I believe I suffer from some sort of condition that disables me from writing short chapters, no matter how much I try to shorten them. Thank you all for the reviews, I wasn't expecting so much love with only the prologue posted, but I am most grateful to everyone who is reading. This first Star Wars adventure of mine is going much better than I anticipated.

There are some parts of this chapter I don't like, but I really hate writing transition chapters and you'll find soon that I rarely do so, so you'll realize that there is always something happening lol, which sometimes isn't that good.

I will reply to your comments in a few moments. Thank you all!

Ok, I'll stop blabbing now. Please enjoy!

The plan has changed. Somewhere along the way the plan has changed. Qui-Gon was supposed to take Anakin as his Padawan as soon as Obi-Wan was Knighted. But then, Qui-Gon died. Taken ruthlessly by a Sith. And Obi-Wan held his Master in his arms as he took his last breath, he made him a promise he wasn't sure he could keep. He promised he'd train Anakin but Obi-Wan didn't feel like he could. But he gave him his word despite the fact that he had just lost his Master. Obi-Wan Kenobi never breaks his word. He was just a Padawan but he has always been a man of honour in spite of his youth. But he couldn't, not right away. It was so hard and it hurt so much! He felt like an orphan and that's what they call them: Orphaned Padawans. That's exactly what he was and he couldn't take the responsibility.

He was bestowed Knighthood just a few days after he arrived on Coruscant after the terrible events of Naboo. The Council claimed that he had been the first Jedi to kill a Sith in centuries so he was spared the trials. But he didn't want the fame, or the recognition, or the glory. All he wanted was his Master back but he knew that would never happen. Qui-Gon was one with the Force and it was Obi-Wan's turn to make his path for himself. But it took months to accept that reality, to recover from the incommensurable loss. But he eventually did and he was a man of principle. He still had reservations that he took upon the knowledge of Master Yoda. The latter claimed that training Anakin, the Chosen One, was most likely the will of the Force. He was the one who found him in the first place, so that was bound to mean something. Obi-Wan doubted it did, the vision just came to him as he meditated, it could've happened to any other Jedi, but the Force used him because he was right there: available and open to receive its transmission. Or maybe not, maybe it was his fate. Perhaps it really was the will of the Force. But the burden of training the one who is claimed to be the Chosen One was almost as heavy as the burden of being the Chosen One himself. But Obi-Wan had given his word to his Master and he would not fail his promise. So Anakin Skywalker became Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan at the young age of nine years old, roughly four months after the death of the man who Obi-Wan thought was the most fit to train him and yet, the duty fell on him.

And truth be told, that youngling had stuck to him as iron to a magnet. During the whole trip from Tatooine, which was rather long, Anakin clung to Obi-Wan's leg, slept in his bunk, cried on his shoulder, made him play with his little pod toy. And even at the Temple, Anakin would follow him every time he wasn't on a mission, in the cantina, in the hallways of the great Temple. He even knocked on Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's shared quarters a couple of times during the night when he had some sort of bad dream, looking for comfort on Obi-Wan. He also usually could sense when he arrived from a mission and he'd search the Temple for him.

Now Obi-Wan remembered the fondness that Anakin always had for him and, even though at the time it was quite puzzling, now he felt it was very endearing. He knew too that Anakin replaced his mother with Obi-Wan and maybe that's why his Master made him promise to train him. He now believes that Qui-Gon eventually intended to not train Anakin at all and leave the responsibility to Obi-Wan even if he had survived. The connection between them was too obvious to ignore and the Council felt exactly the same way. So that was how Obi-Wan became Master to Anakin.

Now, ten years after taking his first Padawan, there he was in a turbolift, with a grown man that once was the three year old toddler he brought from Tatooine, on his way to play bodyguard to a Senator.

Obi-Wan snickered as he waited for the turbolift to reach the luxurious 500 Republica penthouse of Senator Amidala and Anakin gave him a side glace.

"What's so funny, Master?"

"Oh nothing at all. I was just remembering that time when you were five and knocked on my door because you decided to run out on Master Yoda to skip Force skill trainings. How spoiled you were," he laughed again.

"Very funny, Master. But you know Master Yoda would come after me, and my shins couldn't take more of that gimer stick of his," It was Anakin's turn to laugh.

"Oh yes, Master Yoda and his gimer stick are truly partners in crime. I believe there is no Jedi who hasn't suffered from that particular evil".

"Yeah, he caught me eventually. He sure is sneaky!" Anakin grined just as the doors of the turbolift chime open. They walked into the apartment where Obi-Wan is received by an enthusiastic Jar Jar Binks who soon lead them to the presence of the Senator, the very object of their mission.

"It's a great pleasure to see you again, milady," Obi-Wan greets as the Senator approaches the Jedi with a satisfied smile.

"It's been far too long, Master Kenobi,"

"Indeed it has, Senator" Obi-Wan takes the chance to glance at his young apprentice "This is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker," he introduces and the Senator exchanges respectful bows with the young man before leading them to the center of the room and silently inviting them to sit.

"Our presence here will be invisible, milady, I can assure you," Obi-Wan continued before being interrupted.

"I'm Captain Typho of Her Majesty's security services. Queen Jamilla has been informed of your assignment. I am grateful you're here Master Kenobi, the situation is more dangerous than the Senator will admit," Captain Typho, a trustworthy man and soldier, informed the Jedi Knight.

"I don't need more security, I need answers. I want to know who's trying to kill me," Senator Amidala took the opportunity to interject.

"We're here to protect you Senator, not to start an investigation," Master Kenobi enlightens her and the Senator can only find herself sighing in defeat.

"Perhaps with merely your presence the mystery surrounding this threat will be revealed. Now if you'll excuse me I will retire," and so Senator Padmé Amidala left the Jedi alone with Captain Typho to go over security details.

The assignment was very boring, especially for Anakin. He longed for action, adventure and he could never stand still in one place for too long. He sat on the sofa as the time came near for dusk to fall "This is so boring. I wish the Council had sent someone else, but of all the Jedi you had to the one she befriended,"

"Anakin, be mindful of your thoughts. You are too impatient," he admonished his Padawan who rolls his eyes as soon as his Master looks away.

"I'm sorry, Master. I just think security is a mission for local authorities, not Jedi. I fear we're a little over-qualified for this assignment,"

"We might be, but the Chancellor requested that we protect the Senator. I also sense something elusive about this assassination attempt, far too similar to what I sensed on that mission on Naboo and that worries me," Obi-Wan brushes his beard in thought, as he always does.

"I hope you're wrong, Master. That would mean that the Sith would be behind this… But in order to find out we should investigate. Not stay in this penthouse waiting for things to happen," Anakin huffed in exasperation.

"Your impatience worries me, Anakin. Answers will come eventually. Why are the security cameras covered?" Obi-Wan asked his Padawan who answers with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I think she didn't like me watching her. She has an Artoo unit with her programmed to detect intruders".

"This is very unwise. There are many ways to kill a Senator and not all of them include an intruder. And I have a feeling you are using her as bait," Obi-Wan uses an admonishing tone.

"Hey don't blame me! It was her idea and even though I've known her for only a couple of hours I have a feeling she's the stubborn type. I tried reasoning with her but she wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. Besides, I can sense everything going on in that room," Anakin adds with a smug smile.

"Are your senses that attuned, my young Padawan?" sarcasm poured from Obi-Wan's voice as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"And yours are?"

"Perhaps…"

The vibrations of the force shifted for a moment, it was a slight shift but detectable to one as strong in the Force as Anakin and Obi-Wan are. They both turned and ran towards the Senator's chambers and Anakin was able to cut the two poisonous kouhuns just before they bite the Senator, causing her to wake in a startle. As he did so, his Master jumped out the window grabbing the droid that transported the vermin into the Senator's room.

Finally Anakin's day was getting a lot better.

After a rather long and perilous chase Anakin and his Master caught up with the attempted assassin. They later discovered that she was a changer bounty hunter named Zam Wessel. But Obi-Wan's most intriguing discovery was the poison dart that killed her. It apparently was fabricated in a system called Kamino, just south from the Rishi Maze. A system that did not appear on the Jedi Order's archives.

An investigation was required, but protection for the Senator was not to be discarded either. And so Anakin received his first assignment on his own. He was to accompany Senator Amidala to Naboo and keep her safe, while his Master discovered the source of the threat on her life by travelling to the location where Kamino was supposed to be.

Anakin Skywalker was nervous. He was powerful with the Force and he knew it. But he had never gone on a mission unaccompanied before, that would be his first one and he feared to let his Master down. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, knew he was ready to perform his task well even though it was his first mission alone, a rather simple one, or so it seemed. And he was sure he would perform well. Despite his occasional rashness Anakin was a good Jedi, a powerful Jedi and a wise young man, or at least as wise as his young nineteen years old allowed him to be.

The Senator and her protector travelled as refugees. They didn't want attention upon themselves. With them they took two droids. Padmé's trusted R2D2 unit and the protocol droid Anakin built on his robotics class when he was only eight years old back at the Temple. He named him C3PO. It was a good droid, a little annoying sometimes, but loyal and efficient. It was Anakin's friend and even though it was property of the Jedi Order and it mainly operated in the cantina area, Anakin was always free to use it for anything he pleased and he decided to take it in his trip with the Senator.

"We'll be here for a few days…" Senator Amidala comments with a sigh. Naboo is located on the Outer Rim, meaning that the trip from the Core is quite long and tiring, especially in this refugee ship, "We might as well talk a little".

"What do you want to talk about?" Anakin replied before taking a spoon of food into his mouth and it gains him a shrug from the Senator.

"What's it like being a Jedi?"she asked after seemingly considering how to actually begin a conversation with a complete stranger. She might have been a Senator, but sometimes she wasn't the most articulate person on her personal life. Often she had had trouble relating to people.

"It's a hard life, I think. But it's the only one I know," he answers with a shrug.

"How old were you when you went to the Temple?"

"I was three…"

"You don't know your parents?" her tone was filled with something that sounds somewhat like pity. Anakin didn't like it but knew better than to show it.

"I remember my Mother very vaguely. I suppose it worked better this way, considering I was a slave on Tatooine before Master Qui-Gon and Master Obi-Wan took me to the Temple," he purposely left out the tale that Obi-Wan told him when he became a teenager: the tale that says that he has no father at all. He dreads to even think of it let alone speaking of it, the meaning of that tale is a burden he's not ready to bear as of yet.

"A slave? That's awful… and Tatooine is a terrible place. I've been there once when the Trade Federation attacked Naboo. We had to ask Coruscant for help because no one was willing to assist us. What a terrible place… all those people thought about was gambling on those frightful podraces. They seemed dreadfully dangerous," she shook her head as she remembered the awful things she went through when she was the Queen of Naboo.

"Yeah, they are dangerous. I'd love to podrace though… it looks fun," he snickered.

"You're far too reckless".

"So Obi-Wan keeps telling me. And what about you? You were really young when you became Queen," Anakin observed.

"Yes I was… I was far too young. Thinking back I think I wasn't ready. But I did my best. And now the Queen asked me to serve in the Senate and I couldn't refuse her," she explained.

"Well sometimes I think the Senate doesn't work very well… they keep talking and talking and nothing gets done. It's so unnerving! I could never be a politian, being a Jedi is much simpler if you ask me".

"And why is that?" Padmé asks "Being a Jedi doesn't seem easy at all… why would it be easier than to be a Senator?"

Anakin regarded her for a moment and thinks of his answer before he speaks. "Well Jedi do what's right, what we think is right for everyone. We don't drag problems, we're more practical. We meditate on a subject and then make a decision for the best of everyone and we don't do it if we think it's wrong. That's what the Council does. The wisest people decide what's best for people and the Republic and we do it…" he explains.

"The Senate does the same thing, but the problem is that people don't always agree on everything. And sometimes figuring out what's right and wrong can be much harder than you think. I'm sure the Council feels that way too. I don't think being a Jedi is easy at all because you can't always immediately decide what's right and wrong," she smiled.

"Well we have the Force to guide us and that's a big advantage…"

"And a big responsibility," Padmé interrupted "you keep talking about the Dark Side of the Force… what if that's the side that's guiding you?"

"Jedi don't follow the Dark Side, we follow the Light!"

"How can you tell one from another?"

"To explain this in simple terms: Light are the good guys and Dark are the bad guys".

"That's a pretty crude way to put it…" she interjected.

"It's the truth".

"What about when it's all grey? Sometimes things are dubious; sometimes you don't know which is the right thing to do. What do you do then?" she asked.

Anakin thought for some time and sighed, "I suppose we must do whatever the Force tells us to do".

"And I suppose you'll always reason that plainly," she rolls her eyes "And besides being a Jedi can't be easy because you're not free to go to the places you want or be with the people you love. At least a Senator is free to do what they want with their lives, unlike a Jedi. So overall I disagree, I think being a Jedi is probably harder than being a Senator," Anakin chuckled with amusement.

"Jedi learn to have no attachments, Senators don't".

"You want me to think you're not attached to anything or anyone? I find that very hard to believe. Imagine if you had to leave the Temple… you grew up there, you lived there all your life, so it's basically your home. Wouldn't you miss it? And Obi-Wan? He raised you, trained you… if you lost him wouldn't you miss him? You'd just be ok with it?"

Anakin furrowed his eyebrows and shuddered at the thought of losing his home and his Master, the only father he's ever had "I don't know how I'd feel. I'd just have to deal with it when it happened. Which it won't… hopefully…" his voice trailed off. The Senator clearly realized she touched a sensitive spot and remained silent, ending their discussion. Sometimes she just doesn't know when to shut up.

Only a couple of standard days later they arrived on Naboo. Their trip was filled with interesting conversations and lengthy discussions and Padmé ended up being quite fond of her Jedi protector, even though at first she thought him a bit of a brat, she then realized that despite his simplistic views he was much wiser than he appeared to be at first sight. She has also had to remind herself that he's quite a lot younger than her several times, and ended up attributing his occasional lack of maturity on that fact.

On Naboo the sun shone brightly illuminating the beautiful cityscape of Theed and after a quick visit to the Queen and to her parents house Anakin and Padmé went to a peaceful country retreat in Varykino. Anakin had never been on Naboo before and despite the many travels with his Master he was quite awed by the unusual beauty of Naboo. He looked around himself as he stood from the balcony of the house, taking in every detail of the landscape that spread as far as the eye could see.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he merely nodded as a response to Padmé's question. Everything was beautiful there. The buildings on Theed, the people, the gardens and mountains, the beaches, the sea and even the usually annoying sand. But the most unsettling thing is that he found Padmé Amidala beautiful, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. But Anakin set his thoughts aside. He couldn't and most of all he wouldn't. He had a commitment and it was not with any woman in the galaxy, not even an extraordinary woman like Padmé, it was with the Jedi Order, with the Council, with his Master and he certainly wasn't ready to break it. But the temptation was hard to resist. He had no experience in those matters whatsoever, aside from a few flirtations with a few of the prettiest of his young Padawan companions he had never really felt this way for anyone. But Padmé looked at him in such ways that were quite unsettling to him. He rolled his eyes inwardly occasionally, thinking of how silly he was being. After all they've met less than a standard week ago. But with the Force he sensed her feelings, and no matter how much he tried to ignore the warnings, they only grew as the days passed by.

And the warnings of the Force are always right. It was no lie that Padmé's care for Anakin kept growing as the days went by. She couldn't understand it herself, she had always been too focused on her work to have time to such involvements. But these days of leisure made her thoughts dwell on places they wouldn't usually. She looked at Anakin carefully, she saw the deep blue of his eyes and his manly features. She felt sensations she wasn't supposed to and she wanted this hiding to last as little as possible. They can't! He's a Jedi… he can't! It's impossible. She tried burying her immature crush and tried to not hope he felt the same, but she couldn't help it. Sometimes when she forgot to try it all returned, the languid gazes during a short silence that were broken when his cheeks blushed at least ten shades of red. She hoped his awkwardness made his less appealing but it didn't, on the contrary. It made him look less like a Jedi and more like a human being. Yet she kept trying to ignore it, for both their sakes.

Not many days after they arrive on the Lake Country Padmé took herself and Anakin to a quiet picnic. As long as she was there, even if it was against her will, she intended to fully enjoy the joys of her childhood summer home. She could use some time alone but knows Anakin would not allow it, obviously for security reasons, because over the last few days he seemed to be becoming growingly uncomfortable when in her presence. Noticing it, she doubled her efforts to try to shun her feelings.

The day was progressing well, so well that any embarrassment between them seemed to have dissipated as they engage in the most trivial conversations. At some point in the day, Anakin seemed quite dazzled by a herd of yellow shaaks that started roaming through the plains of green grass where they had been sitting for the last few hours. He stood to analyze them under the intent gaze of his protected, and in a bold and quite immature move, he decided to try to ride one of the poor defenseless animals. Despite the seemingly silliness of the act it makes Padmé laugh as he intrepidly rode the shaak on his feet. The laughing halted as he fell on the floor and didn't seem able to get up. Padmé ran to him in worry, hoping and praying that he wouldn't be seriously hurt. She knelt next to him and he seems to be unconscious. It's not often that Padmé Amidala panics, but she was panicking and all of a sudden he turned around and laughed hysterically. They playfully rolled around the grass laughing and Padmé landed on top of the Jedi.

"You scared me!" she said between snickers "I thought you were hurt," instead of answering Anakin kept laughing. But the laughter soon faltered and despite that Padmé did not move from her position. She felt comfortable, she felt safe. As Anakin's stance became more awkward, Padmé's became deeper. She leaned in carefully, closing her eyes. Anakin noticed how her long lashes touched the skin under her eyes. As she slowly leaned in her lips touched his and he closed his eyes too. Nevertheless, as soon as he closed them he opened them again and pushed himself from under Padmé and stoop up.

"I'm sorry!" she pleaded placing her hand in front of her mouth as if she had just realized she had made a big mistake. Had she? She knew she surely had! What a childish mistake!

"It's okay… I-I'm sorry too… I gotta go do… something… you know? Inside? Security…" and as he stammered his words out, he turned and left towards the house completely forgetting his mission.

Anakin paced back and forth in the quarters that had been given to him upon their arrival in the Lake Country. He ran his hand through his short blond hair and shook his head. What in the galaxy had just happened? Did she actually kiss him? She certainly had and he knew she felt attracted to him, it wasn't hard to see even if he wasn't a Jedi, but she should've known better than that! And he should've known better than to kiss her back! But apparently he didn't and at that moment he longed for the speedy end of that mission, he longed to return to the peace and quiet of the Jedi Temple, where no such things could ever tempt him.

Should he tell Obi-Wan? He was his Master and Anakin knew he could trust in him unconditionally, but wouldn't this disappoint him? Would he be mad and lecture him for the duration of a galactic standard year? Probably! Would he tell the Council?

"Oh no, please don't tell the Council…" Anakin muttered to himself as he continued pacing the luxurious room. This mission had turned out to be more troublesome than he expected. He did not love her, he didn't even know what romantic love was, but he surely liked her in a different way. But he couldn't like her, he was a Jedi.

"Attachments are forbid, Anakin…" he reminded himself aloud. What was he going to do? He had screwed up royally! His first mission alone and he managed to screw it up!

No wonder why the Council hadn't allowed him to take the trials yet!

He needed his Master and he wasn't there. If he was there none of that would've even happened in the first place, an opportunity for it to happen wouldn't even have existed. Anakin thought of what to do, he could try to send a message to Obi-Wan to talk about what happened, but he immediately shunned the idea: Obi-Wan had probably more things to worry about than to listen to his crush problems.

No, that wouldn't do. He would just have to suck it up and complete his mission. He would have to protect a Senator and stop trying to be friends with her. He would stop talking to her and limit himself to watching her from a considerable distance while he patiently waited for Obi-Wan or the Council to order him back to Coruscant. And when he was safe, in the Temple, he would decide what to do about the matter.

Please, let it be soon!

For now, he would meditate. Yes, he would release his feelings to the Force has he had been taught to do since his earliest lessons as a youngling in the Jedi Temple. And after that, he could return to his mission, but never before.

Padmé felt terrible! She shouldn't have done that and she knew it. What had gotten into her? Kissing a Jedi! She was never one to do stupid things, she did bold things, but never stupid things, yet at that moment, she felt like she was the stupidest woman in the galaxy! She had waited for Anakin to disappear from her sight before returning to the ostentatious Varykino mansion, hours had come and gone, and Anakin was nowhere to be found. She was sure he had retreated into his chambers and was probably trying to calm down. She knew she shouldn't but when she saw the panic in his face as soon as he slid from under her kiss she felt so incredibly sorry for him. She could've jeopardized his whole career and that wasn't fair… How could she ever make amends to him? She would leave him be, stay away, no more lengthy conversations and no more political discussions. The solitude of their retreat in Varykino would rise tenfold, but it was the least she could do. She couldn't make the same mistake again, she needed to detach from him not only for his sake but also for her own good. If there was something she was sure she didn't need, it would be a broken heart and an impossible love.

Padmé Amidala decided she would not fall in love with Anakin Skywalker.

Things changed considerably after that afternoon. Anakin had returned from his chambers some hours later, looking much calmer. She dared ask him what he had been doing and he simply replied he was meditating. She knew he always did that in the morning, but she thought that after what had happened he had needed to take some hours to release his concerns.

She felt alone and bored. She had no one to speak to and nothing to do. She had left her trusted friends and handmaidens in Coruscant, with reliable Sabé taking her place as Senator as she did when she was Queen. Anakin wouldn't even take his meals with her anymore. He would stay out on the balcony most of the day, meditating. During some intervals, he watched the news on the Holonet and made security rounds. Nothing but the most essential words were traded between them. Padmé was longing to return to Coruscant as soon as possible, she even considered trying to contact Master Kenobi to ask how long he predicted his investigation would last, but that would only waste his time.

But she didn't have to wait too long. Two days after the awkward events on the grass plains she heard a beeping Artoo behind her. Anakin seemed to have heard it too, for he immediately stopped his security check and addressed the small astromech droid.

"Artoo says he has a message from Obi-Wan," Anakin quickly informed the Senator, and without needing any more words the droid began playing the message.

The bluish hologram of his Master appeared and he soon started speaking:

"Anakin, my long range transmitter has been knocked out, retransmit this message to Coruscant".

Anakin started the transmission before resuming his Master's message.

"I have tracked the bounty hunter Jango Fett to the droid foundries in Geonosis. The Trade Federation is to take delivery of a droid army here and it is clear that Vice-Roy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala. The Commerce Guilds and the Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming a… wait… wait…"

Obi-Wan's image disappeared as he began being attacked by droids. Anakin's heart stopped for a second and his first instinct was to leave Naboo and head straight to Geonosis, but before he could even move a muscle the hologram of Master Windu began: "Anakin, we will deal with Count Dooku. The most important thing for you is to stay where you are. Protect the Senator at all costs. That is your first priority.

"Understood Master," Anakin replied as soon as Master Windu's hologram began fading.

"They'll never get there in time to save him; they have to come half way across the galaxy!" Amidala reasoned "Look, Geonosis is only a few parsecs away…"

"If he's still alive," he replied bitterly.

"Anakin, are you just gonna sit here and let him die? He's your friend, your mentor, yo…"

"He's like my father!" Anakin yelled "But you heard Master Windu. He gave me strict orders to stay here".

"He gave you strict orders to protect me and I'm going to help Obi-Wan. If you plan to protect me you'll just have to come along," Anakin smiled as Padmé stood to get ready to go to Theed and embark on her ship.

His Master needed him, and he would come to his aid.

Reviews prevent me from turning to the dark side… so pleaseeee!