A/N: Hello, my dear readers. I know I haven't posted in a looong time, and I'm sorry. I have no excuse, but in exchange, I'm posting two chapters in the next 7 days As always, if I would have owned Star Wars, things would have gone my way and I wouldn't be here, fixing it with fanfiction.
The Chancellor's office made Anakin uneasy. It was too big and, despite the large amount of furniture, it felt empty, unlived-in. The tones of black and red created an oppressive atmosphere. Also, the place now seemed to reek with the Dark Side, even from the other side of the door, making the young Knight lose his calm and focus. He prayed to all gods he knew of that the story he came up with on his way there from Padme's apartment would fool the Sith . Too soon for his liking, Anakin would be faced with the ultimate test: Chancellor Palpatine. Taking a few deep breaths, to calm himself and to conceal his feelings, that threatened to surface, in the Force, Anakin knocked on the large wooden doors. Seconds seemed to stretch like ages before Anakin saw the doors begin to move towards the inside, apparently on their own accord. Anakin knew better, though, and was certain at least two red robed guards, serving as both protectors and doorkeepers, were inside, behind the thick wooden mass.
"Ah, a very good morning to you, Anakin!" spoke the Chancellor in a tone so cheerful and so obviously fake it made the young Jedi want to empty his stomach. It took all self control Anakin possessed not to do just that when he bowed an replied with a polite "Good morning, your Excellency".
"Now, now, Anakin. There's no need for such excessive ceremony here. It's just you and me."
'And the guards' Anakin thought, but thought it better to say nothing.
"Have you spoken to the Council about my... invitation?" Palpatine was testing. He wanted to know how honest Anakin was. And how trustworthy. And not least, how loyal to his current Master. Processing quickly, the Knight decided to tell the truth. Or at least a part of it.
"I did..." he therefore responded "but they didn't believe me. They asked for proof and I figured," Anakin's breathing quickened "if I gave them evidence, they would get even more upset than they already were an they would have me Severed or banished from the planet, or both, most likely forbidding me to ever see Padme or our child again." Saying all that in a single breath, Anakin found himself gasping for air. But that didn't stop his ranting and he went on "So I kept my mouth shut. But that didn't end well either, they thought I was calling for attention and gave me an endless lecture on humility and other sh- sorry, things, but they let me stay, so I can learn. Oh, please, please teach me! Please? Pl... "
"ENOUGH!" Darth Sidious stood in all his might as his voice boomed across the office and enveloped poor Anakin in his shadow. He also seemed to have gotten three times as tall as a normal man. "Enough." this time, he was simply firm and reduced to the natural size of the aged-before-his -time Chancellor once again. "Ranting is acceptable. It does you good. Releases emotions, ventilates the brain" Palpatine chuckled slightly at his own joke "but begging? Please, it's beneath you."
'Perhaps I seemed too desperate? Was it obvious? Did he figure it out?' Anakin's mind raced. Fortunately, the politician/Sith in front of him didn't notice his nervousness and went on
"I understand you are desperate. I truly do. But if you want to learn, all you had to do was ask. Sure, I'll put you to the test, but if you prove adequate, I will take you as my Apprentice. Does that sound fair to you?"
Surprised by the question itself as well as by the direct answer it required, Anakin took his time to respond. When his delay could no longer pass as pondering, he carefully answered: "Yes... Master?" Unsure of of what title he should use, or just how reverential he should be, he formulated the appellative as a question, awaiting approval. However, no response came from Palpatine, save an almost imperceptible nod. The Sith began explaining Anakin his mission. He was to be "the Senate's eyes, ears and voice" in the Jedi Council. The Chancellor promised to pull some strings for the Knight to be promoted as Master as soon as possible.
"Master?" began Anakin. He was still unsure of the title and at the same time, the word felt bitter on his tongue. "Part of the punishment I received for being too much of an attention seeker was... um... kinda being forbidden to take the rank of Master for... hm... eh..."
"The ill is done, now spit ti out" Palpatine urged.
"Four years?" Anakin's voice was tiny and squeaky and he grimaced a guilty grin. He was particularly proud of this bit of acting, so he topped it with ducking his head between his shoulders and looking away from the Chancellor. He knew he will boast about this image of a child caught red-handed with a prank for hours. If either Padme or Obi-Wan were in a mood for listening, that is. Pride aside, Anakin noticed a growing irritation,threatening to burst into full blown anger, in Palpatine's dark eyes.
"We'll see about that" he said, his voice dangerously low. "Now go!"
Not waiting to be told a second time, Anakin bowed and turned to leave. He had all intentions to return to Padme's apartment and help her prepare her retreat speech, but it seemed his legs has other plans. He found himself standing in front of Obi-Wan's personal studio and he couldn't help himself but knock.
"Come in." Judging by the irritated tone his Master used, Anakin deduced his Master had been meditating and he interrupted. Obi-Wan was always irritable when you interrupted his meditation. He was no perfect angel, after all. Still, the tone he used indicated one of two things: either Obi-Wan already knew who was at the door and allowed himself not to bother concealing his emotions or he was truly upset and was toning it down in case someone important (like Yoda or Mace Windu) came to visit. As soon as he opened the door, though, all trace of doubt was erased from Anakin's mind and he settled for the latter. Nothing could have prepared the Knight for what was awaiting him. As soon as he saw who entered the room, Obi-Wan's anger became palpable and in the blink of an eye he had Anakin Force-pinned face first to a wall, about two feet off the ground.
"You... You ignorant, stupid, untrusting, utter FOOL! How could you not say a thing? Why didn't you tell me?" Wave after wave of insults and questions Anakin wasn't given the time to answer poured out as Obi-Wan vented his annoyance and the painful feeling of betrayal. Now Anakin understood just how much his Master was holding back the previous night and why he didn't stay to chat after he delivered his message. Anakin wasn't unfamiliar with Obi-Wan's bad side, but not even he had ever seen his Master this upset. Usually, he would call Anakin an idiot (or whatever synonym he found most appropriate) and that was about it. He would calm himself after that and go on with the morale, then they'd discuss what Anakin did wrong, then the Knight would apologize and life went on. But this was beyond usual. It took fifteen minutes for Obi-Wan to run out of insults and Anakin dared to mumble something against the wall.
"What?" snapped Obi-Wan as he turned his former Padawan on his back.
"I said" began Anakin as he took his first proper breath in some time "can you put me down and discuss as normal people?"
So Obi-Wan released Anakin, making sure he fell face first on the carpet.
"Now," said the Jedi as he gathered himself off the floor "shall we talk over a cup of tea? Or maybe chocolate?" Anakin reached for his Master's soft spot, as he made his way to the walk-in cabinet Obi-Wan called a kitchen.
"Just tea, thank you" Obi-Wan called back. He seemed calm now, but also somehow weak, empty. When Anakin returned ten minutes later, with the tea, he found his Master sitting, staring at a spot on the floor, about two meters away. He accepted the tea mechanically and moved his staring point from the floor to the inside of his cup. "I'm sorry" he mumbled, without looking up.
"What!?" Anakin expected a lecture, silent treatment or even another round of shouts, but not an apology. He was the one who should be apologizing, not Obi-Wan.
"I said I'm sorry. For shouting, for calling you every insulting name I could muster, for driving you up the wall, quite literally. I'm sorry, Anakin. I aimed for the ceiling, though. That would have been fun thing to do." The room seemed to warm up and both Anakin and Obi-Wan smiled. Still, Anakin felt he should say something, so he spoke:
"It's alright, really. You can't dump all emotions in the Force, sometimes it does you good to vent some the old fashioned way. Better like this than keeping it in, I say. And honest, I too think I deserved it. I should have told you, I don't know why I didn't."
"How's your face? It might have been funny for me, but I bet it was uncomfortable as hell to just hang there." Obi-Wan was starting to get guilty again, so Anakin quickly changed the mood, with a joke.
"My face is fine. It hurts, but let's be positive. It can't get any uglier, now can it?"
"No I suppose not." chuckled Obi-Wan.
Soon afterwards, the two friends were trying and failing to lift their teacups, themselves or each other to the ceiling, to "enjoy the view"the catastrophic results of their failure only seemed to amuse them more and more. At some point, Anakin found a moment to tell his mentor about his dream that night. He promised to think about its meaning and they went back to joking and laughing. Eventually, all the tea was gone, mostly spilled, and the Jedi were laughing hard enough to run out of breath. Anything seemed funny in those moments, but the knock on the door forced them to contain their amusement. Obi-Wan opened the door, to reveal a kid, no older than ten and obviously a boy, who had just been punished for pulling someone's hair. He was himself sporting two pigtails, secured in place by two pink ribbons. He was standing proud, attempting to compensate for his humiliation and said in a loud and official tone "Master Kenobi, Knight Skywalker, your presence is required in the Council Room." This obviously made his appearance even more amusing. In the cough fit Obi-Wan threw to hide his laughter, he managed to squeeze a "We'll be there" before slamming the door in the kid's face and once again bursting into laughter.
The occasional fit of giggles passed between the Jedi, so at any given moment, one of them was at least smiling, earning them some skeptical and many concerned looks from those they passed by. The atmosphere got more serious as the two friends approached the Council Room, worry only growing in Anakin as Obi-Wan left him alone in the corridor, to go and occupy his seat in the Council. Counting a minute after Obi-Wan entered, Anakin stepped through the door that lead him to the Room where, not a full day ago, he said the words that got him in the mess he was in. inside, he was met with twelve pairs of eyes staring at him with an emotional range varying from curiosity to concern to fear.
"We have heard many interesting rumors about you today" Master Windu spoke at last "least alarming of which being that you are the newest Sith in town"
A/N: To all those who think Obi-Wan is OOC, please keep in mind that there inside jokes between him and Anakin and that what we see in the movie is the professional face he shows, not the one he has in private, with his friend.
Love it? Hate it? Let me know anyway.
Love, Katerinna