Summary; Warning; Dislaimer: See First Chapter.
Finally, an update! I've had a lot of trouble lately, especially with my computer, but I apologize. Moving along with the plot, stretching the time out some, and inserting some characters from the SW world - Garen, Yaddle, and Siri (next chapter) are all canon characters. Go to Woookiepedia and look 'em up if you're curious. I'm also straightening some mistakes out as I go, but nothing very major. Just me being picky.
We're up to Qui-Gon and Anakin being in the Council, where Yoda and Mace test Anakin, by the way. This chapter is a little longer than usual.
Please review. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.
"You were attacked?" Qui-Gon repeated in credulously, and Obi-Wan nodded. Anakin was sleeping in the other room, leaving the two Jedi to discuss the issue at hand that night. "And where is the young woman?" the Master asked, and his Padawan looked a bit embarrassed.
"She refused to come to the Council with me," he admitted. "I escorted her back to the Queen's quarters, and made her promise not to leave them for any reason."
"Good advice, my Padawan," the man agreed, nodding as if to himself. "So, Palpatine is under suspicion," he mused, chin in hand. "Hm…this is getting very sticky, my young pupil. And then this attack…for what reason would they attack a handmaiden of the Queen? You are certain you were not the target?"
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan assured him. "They said that the young woman is trouble, and they were sent to take care of her," he repeated, and Qui-Gon made a noise in his throat, thinking. "Perhaps as a warning to the Queen?" Obi-Wan suggested, but Qui-Gon shook his head.
"I doubt it," he replied. "If they were sent to deliver such a message, there are other ways to send it. But to attack a handmaiden, especially once you revealed your lightsaber…I would say there were powerful incentives for a successful murder," Qui-Gon decided. "Someone in power, perhaps. But without proof, there are many enemies of the Queen that might have a handmaiden killed."
"Reli does not trust Palpatine," Obi-Wan added. "And doesn't think the Queen is experienced enough for this crisis. She also said she had the feeling she wasn't where she was supposed to be."
"Did she now?" the Master asked curiously. "Yet she is weak in the Force – not to have been chosen for training."
"Excuse me, my Master, but neither was I," the young man offered. "After all, I was taken from the Temple because no Master thought I was able to be trained properly."
"Good point," Qui-Gon admitted with a wry grin. "It is possible her power has grown, but not enough to be a threat – certainly not one to warrant a murder. If she was, I would have sensed her strength immediately, no matter what the circumstances."
"What should we do now, Master?" Obi-Wan asked. "Do we go to the Council?"
"Not yet," the man told him, shaking his head briefly. "I have enough trouble with the Council over Anakin." He missed a frown cross his Padawan's face, and continued calmly. "And to insinuate that someone is trying to send such a message to the Queen is to accuse any of the opposing Senators of this. And if it does have something to do with the young woman herself…Obi-Wan, is there something you're not telling me?" Qui-Gon asked suddenly, catching the pupil off-guard.
"What, Master?"
"How did she defend herself?" Qui-Gon pressed. "You told me she fought several of the attackers. With what?"
Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, and then described Reli's makeshift lightsaber to his master. After a moment, the Jedi surprised his Padawan by bursting into laughter, completely amazed.
"I see. She is a very talented young woman, then," the Jedi chuckled, and eyed his Padawan. "Very well. Obi-Wan, I want you to keep an eye on her while we're in Coruscant. See if anyone else will reveal themselves. I'll discuss this with the Council tomorrow."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan agreed, bowing slightly as he retreated into his room.
Lying on his back, he stared up at the ceiling hours later, unable to find sleep. Meditation hadn't helped either, and the Padawan felt himself growing frustrated and tired. Closing his eyes once more, he took a deep breath and reached out with the Force. He felt the boy sleeping in another room, while his Master was either meditating or asleep as well – it was hard to tell sometimes.
Sitting upright, Obi-Wan shook himself when the fight returned to the front of his mind, and took another deep breath, this one of exasperation.
"Why does she affect me so strongly?" he asked himself, rubbing his hand over his face with a yawn. "I am of the Jedi Order – it is forbidden to have emotions like these. And yet…it feels natural to be with her."
Frowning at his thoughts, the Padawan got to his feet and paced the small room briefly before lowering himself to the floor, legs crossed in the customary meditation stance.
"If I can't sleep, I can at least relax," he reasoned, sinking into a trance.
Reli shot awake with a gasp, sitting bolt-upright in bed and sucking air into her legs. Sweat shone on her face, and her hair clung damply to her neck. Glancing at the bed next to her, she sighed in relief when she saw Rabé was still peacefully asleep. Letting her feet touch the ground, Reli wrapped a robe about her and stood up, moving to the window and shifting the curtain aside just enough to see out.
The sight took her breath away for the second time that morning. The awe-inspiring image of a sunrise in Coruscant was almost legendary, and the silhouette of the Jedi Temple seemed to glow with an inner power as the sun's rays framed it. Watching it, Reli became unaware of anything else as the sky seemed to catch fire, shining so fiercely she was forced to shut her eyes for a moment. When it passed, she leaned against the window with a sigh of pleasure, wishing she could always experience such joy.
Unbidden, the Jedi code flashed into her mind, and warnings against longing and love pressed themselves into her skull, almost as if they were trying to wrap themselves around her head and catch her thoughts like a net. Shaking her head, Reli pressed her palm to her forehead and closed her eyes with a sigh, leaning away from the window and standing still for what felt like a long time.
Finally, she moved away, the dream that had frightened her so becoming a clear and vivid image all-too quickly.
"I don't want it," she thought desperately, trying to dispel the images from her mind. "It's not real…it's too much."
Knowing she would be unable to fall asleep, Reli allowed herself to sit on the floor beside her bed and meditate, one of the few habits she had kept from her days as a youngling in the Temple.
"Did you not sleep well, my Padawan?" Qui-Gon asked with faint amusement. The young man strode into the main room grumpily, hand to his head and sighing before briefly glaring at his Master.
"No, I did not," he said through clenched teeth. "First I could not sleep, then my meditations were interrupted at dawn by something."
"Something?" the Master repeated quickly, at once on the alert. "What do you mean, by something?"
"That's just it – I don't know!" Obi-Wan said in aggravation, taking a seat and reaching for something to drink. "It was like a pounding in my head, only sharper…it was something in the Force."
"Hmm…"
"What?" the Padawan demanded, knowing when his Master wasn't telling him something. "What are you thinking, Master?"
"Just that it's rather unusual, isn't it?" Qui-Gon prodded. "What emotions did that pounding carry with it, Obi-Wan? Think – if it was indeed through the Force, it must have had something with it."
"Pain," the young man replied, after spending several minutes in silence thinking. "But not as if it was wounded…pain in the heart. And fright – a great deal of fright," he added, watching his Master carefully. "What could it mean?"
"I don't know," he replied, and abruptly switched gears. "I'll be at the Council for most of the day – Anakin will be with me. I'll tell someone at the Temple to expect you eventually."
"Why?" Obi-Wan asked, perplexed.
"I'm sure Reli hasn't seen the Room of a Thousand Fountains," Qui-Gon said with a grin. "Perhaps one day while we're here, you can show her."
"How long do you think we'll be here, Master?" the Padawan asked in surprise, and Qui-Gon shrugged.
"Possibly a week, maybe longer," he told his Padawan. "The Council needs time to discuss this new threat, as well as Anakin. And now, with this matter at hand and the Senate debates…it may go on even longer."
"But our job was merely to escort Her Majesty to Coruscant," Obi-Wan protested. "Not stay throughout the discussions."
"Who knows what fruit the Senate may bear?" the Master asked calmly. "Everything will happen in its own time, my Padawan. Practice patience. And tourism."
"Reli, there seems to be someone here for you," a guard announced not long after she had risen. The Queen, along with the handmaidens and Panaka, had already departed for the day's Senate hearing, leaving the young woman to have the apartments to herself, something she had looked forward to.
"What?" she asked in surprise, looking up from a statue she had been inspecting. She wore the throne gown once more, her hood drawn back since there was no need for it.
"He requested to see you," the man continued patiently. It was obvious he thought it was a waste of time delivering messages to the handmaiden, though, and she reluctantly moved towards him. "If you'll be so kind?" he hinted, gesturing for her to go into the main room. Not bothering with her hood, Reli shot a glare at the man before stepping past him, having already decided who her visitor must be.
To her surprise, it was a stranger wearing robes of green and black, their face partially hidden and their gender disguised by the outfit.
"You wished to see me?" Reli asked warily, her hands already resting inside her sleeves.
"Yes. You are a former pupil of the Jedi, are you not?" the person asked. The voice was low, harsh, but not that unpleasant, and chills ran down the handmaiden's spine for apparently no reason.
"It is customary for a visitor to introduce themselves," she said haughtily, wrapping her lessons of court and nobility around her like a shield.
"It is customary for a handmaiden to be subservient to their betters," the visitor replied, and Reli narrowed her eyes. The guard in the room shifted slightly, but seemed to anticipate no immediate threat.
"State your name and business, or leave," Reli demanded. "I do not have the patience for cryptic messengers."
"My business is with the former pupil of the Jedi," the stranger repeated. "One who is weak in the Force itself, yet channels it in her subconscious."
"Speak plainly."
"Foretelling is a thing of myths and legends," the person informed her. "However, Jedi are able to use the Force to become extra-sensitive to their surroundings, and predict, if you will, the outcome of certain events."
"What has this to do with me?" Reli persisted. She suddenly grew very cold and felt very small, fear gnawing at her insides like a parasitic worm.
"Physical strength in the Force means nothing when it comes to mental abilities," the person continued. "You have strange dreams, Reli Taviran – I know it. There is no use in denying it. And they will come to pass, rest assured of that. How is it you were able to discover Qui-Gon's destination on Tatooine, if you were asleep outside?"
Reli gasped at this sudden show of personal knowledge, and a violent terror swept through her, almost knocking her off her feet.
"Get out," she ordered, her jaw set to keep herself from trembling. "Remove yourself from the Queen's chambers this instant, or you will pay."
The stranger merely laughed quietly, as if knowing something that Reli was ignorant of.
"You will regret this," they promised. The two figures remained locked together with their gazes for a long moment, and Reli grew aware of sweat trickling down the back of her neck. She shrieked when she was suddenly blinded by the Force, her senses completely cut off from her, and sank to the ground, her body shaking violently.
Hearing a yell from the direction he was headed, Obi-Wan quickened his steps, and broke out into a fast jog when he heard a second shout, followed by blaster fire. Gripping his lightsaber, he raced down the hall and was surprised when the door to the Queen's apartments opened without hesitation or identification. Rushing in, the Padawan froze when he saw Reli on the ground crying, and a guard looking incredibly disgruntled, his weapon having obviously been fired.
"What happened?" he demanded, striding in and looking around. There were several carbon scoring marks on the wall a few inches away from the door, but no other signs of a fight.
"I'm not sure, sir," the guard replied, recognizing the Padawan. "Some stranger came in, asking to speak to the handmaiden. I didn't understand what they were talking about, but the handmaiden suddenly yelled and fell back. The person moved forward, and I ordered them back. When they didn't, I fired. But the person suddenly seemed to disappear, and I hit the wall instead."
"What were they wearing?" Obi-Wan pressed, crouching next to a trembling Reli.
"Green and black robes, sir. I've never seen them before," the man told him. "I could identify the robes, but not the person. Their outfit and hood hid all identifying marks."
"Are you all right, Reli?" Obi-Wan asked gently, turning his attention to the distressed young woman. She only continued to shake as if in a seizure, and he put his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Reli?" he repeated, and stared at her. Using the Force, he prodded slightly towards her, and realized that she had somehow been shielded from her senses.
"What's the matter with her, sir?" the guard asked, standing a few feet away. "I've never seen any of them lose control like that."
"I'm taking her to the Temple," the Padawan said grimly, pulling her to her feet. "Do not tell anyone this, understand? The Queen is not in danger."
"If you say so, sir," the guard agreed, deciding to let the Jedi deal with it. Glancing at Reli, he frowned slightly and gestured to her. "I think she's trying to talk, sir."
"Reli, it's Obi-Wan," he began, before realizing how futile that was. Thinking, he took her hand and put it to his Padawan braid, letting her trace it. He saw her visibly relax in a moment, and sighed with relief when it was obvious she recognized him. Taking her gently, he strode from the chambers in determination, guiding the young woman with him.
The Padawan hailed transportation to the Temple, feeling it easier than trying to maneuver the streets of Coruscant, and led Reli up the Temple steps carefully, not wanting to cause any further injury. He was met by several younglings who were playing just outside the main gates.
"Obi-Wan!" an elder boy greeted him, before realizing something was wrong.
"Fetch a Healer, quickly!" Obi-Wan ordered, hand firmly around Reli's waist. She had fallen perfectly silent, trusting in the Jedi's guidance, something which unsettled Obi-Wan a bit.
"Of course," another nodded, and two sprinted off in the direction of the training areas.
"What happened, Obi-Wan?" the first boy asked, falling into step beside him and reaching out to touch the young woman's arm before the other Padawan shook his head in warning.
"I'm not sure," the young man replied shortly. "Is Master Yaddle here, Garen?"
"Not sure – why?" he asked. "Master Rhara is, though."
"Master Yaddle is proficient in Healing," Obi-Wan said in exasperation, entering the Temple and being met a youngling.
"Master Yaddle requested to see you and the patient," the child repeated, before running off in embarrassment.
"Looks like luck's with you, Obi-Wan," Garen Muln said in amusement. "Want some help?"
"I'm all right. If you see Master Qui-Gon, tell him I'm here," the Padawan instructed, and his friend grinned.
"Sure thing. Good luck," he called, jogging back to his training while Obi-Wan guided Reli to the chambers Master Yaddle usually occupied. They arrived in a few minutes, and the Jedi Master who served on the Jedi Council remained sitting as he approached.
"An interesting you have to tell, I see," she commented, gesturing for him to come forward. "Shielded from the Force, she has been?"
"She is Force-sensitive, Master Yaddle," Obi-Wan began quickly. "Her senses are blocked, however. All of them."
"See that for myself, I can," the Master said dryly, and leaned forward to place a hand on either side of Reli's head. The young woman jumped and tried to run, but Obi-Wan held her firm while the Master concentrated on the healing. The Master was the same species as Yoda, and had mastered countless obscure Jedi teachings while serving as head of the Librarian's Assembly, and he was confident she would be able to heal Reli. If not, no one could.
"Is she all right?" he asked anxiously several minutes later, when the Master suddenly released Reli. Yaddle remained silent as Reli gasped for air, as if she had been drowning, and whirled around with wide eyes to see Obi-Wan peering at her.
"Obi-Wan!" she cried, burying her face in his robes without a moment's hesitation. "I knew you…I was scared…they…"
"It's all right," he assured, patting her on the back a bit awkwardly, and noticed the Master looking bemused. "Um…this is Master Yaddle, of the Jedi Council," he continued, and Reli turned away from the Padawan in abrupt embarrassment.
"It is an honor to meet you, Master Yaddle. I am Reli Taviran," she introduced herself, bowing deeply.
"Premonitions you have," the Master said suddenly, and Reli jerked upright, her face pale.
"Master?" Obi-Wan started, but fell silent when he was waved at impatiently. Yaddle leaned forward closer to Reli, her eyes narrowing as she inspected the worried young woman.
"Intelligent, Force-sensitive – empathetic," Yaddle added quietly. "Attuned to the Force, you are. Untrained and untried, but there is potential."
"Master Yaddle, I was rejected for a Padawan on Almas," Reli stammered, obviously troubled. "I can't be trained anymore."
"Said nothing about training now, I did," the Master corrected her smugly, sitting back in satisfaction. "Right I am – know that you do."
"But –"
"Something dark, you see," Yaddle said quietly, and Reli's mouth snapped shut. "Not to be known – know you do."
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