A/N: First off my apologies for how long it took me to get this chapter posted. I did not intend on it taking quite this long however it took me a while to get it right (not to mention the fact that I've been super busy with end-of-the-school-year stuff for both my boys). This is a filler chapter between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones and I really did some research for it (check out The Jedi Path by Daniel Wallace...its a really interesting read); I hope it works. As always a big thank you to all those who have followed my story. I hope y'all are still out there! Enjoy!

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ColdOnePaul: Thank you for your support! :) I hope this chapter meets your expectations...and I am looking into your last idea. :)

Guest 1: Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying it. Their reunion will be in a couple of chapters. There are ten years between the two movies. ;-)

Owlfur: No apologies necessary I assure you. :) I'm thrilled you have enjoyed the story so far. If by little pictures you mean the story "avatar," I use a website called "Doll Divine." Its just something I have fun playing around with and sometimes I like having a picture of what I see in my head. :)

Guest 2: Thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy the story. :)

Three years later ...

"You promise to return, though?"

"Yes. I'm only asking for, at the most, a year's absence. I have decided to follow Master Qui-Gon's advice."

"But why? Forgive me for my confusion, Kat, but I know you've never had any desire to be a Jedi. Why do you now feel that you need to seek out this mysterious Master for training?"

"My thoughts on that have not changed. I do not wish to become a Jedi but Qui-Gon's words too closely mirror what my father said all those years ago. I feel something is coming and I'm afraid if my Force-sensitivity were discovered by the wrong people I could unknowingly fall prey to their plans. I would feel better if I have some knowledge and control over it." Padmé pressed her lips together in thought and Kat waited patiently.

It had taken time but she had eventually decided that Qui-Gon's advice needed to be followed. In the three years since the Battle for Naboo and her first encounter with Jedi she had felt the Force pulling at her more and more. At night, after everyone had gone to sleep she had taken to pulling out her father's lightsaber in her chambers and trying to replicate the moves Obi-Wan had shown her during that long ago trip home from Coruscant. She had fought it for as long as she could but that pull she was feeling had to be answered. Telling her friend - and queen - that she needed to leave for a bit had not been the easiest thing she'd ever done. Not because she thought Padmé would try and stop her but because taking such a step was daunting and there would be no going back.

"I don't like the idea of you just disappearing for a year but if this is something you feel you must do then I will not stop you. I've always known there was something different about you, something you carried that I couldn't quite understand. I do not want to know what your father or Qui-Gon mentioned to you nor what you feel may be coming, I know what darkness hides in this galaxy. Just promise to return before the end of my second term. I've heard the rumors that the people want to change the laws to allow me to stay on the throne for life but that cannot be allowed to happen. I will need your support."

"Of course. I will not stay away longer than a year. I don't know if this Bel Sa-Vin will even agree to teach me anything so I may be back before you hardly know I'm gone. If I don't return within a month promise me that you will not tell anyone where I've gone and why. This is not something I want to be common knowledge."

Padmé smiled and gave her a tight embrace. "I promise. I will miss you immensely. Please be careful. I've heard the Devaronians are not the most friendly towards outsiders."

"Somehow I doubt Master Sa-Vin has set up shop amongst the natives."

The trip took a few days and Kat was relieved when she felt the transport ship come out of hyperspace. Being confined within a ship was something she would never be able to tolerate well. Once they'd landed she shouldered her pack and quickly made her way down the ramp. At the bottom she looked around, at a total loss as to what she needed to do next. Master Yoda had told her who to seek and where but had neglected to give her any clue as to where exactly she'd find this mysterious Jedi Master once she arrived on Devaron. Perhaps if she made some inquiries she might get some direction. She strolled through the small town, taking in the sights with interest. This was obviously a community that clung to its existence in this sector, much like many of the settlements in the Outer Rim. There were a few other species mingling with the native Devaronians but for the most part this looked like a location that didn't attract much off planet attention ... which was probably why a Jedi Master that wanted to disappear chose it. Something compelled her to stop at a small market stall near the edge of town. The Devaronian female looked up at her with curiosity in her eyes.

"Can I help you, missus?"

"I hope so," Kat replied, giving the woman a smile. "I am looking for someone."

"Could you be more specific?" There was a hint of annoyance in the voice.

"I'm looking for a Bel Sa-Vin. I can't give you a description of what he looks like but he probably keeps to himself much of time. He may be an older human." The Devaronian eyed her skeptically for a moment and Kat tried to keep from fidgeting while she waited. Finally the female nodded slightly.

"You're out here looking for someone and you don't even know what he looks like?" she asked, a touch of scorn in her voice. Kat simply nodded. "I believe I know of whom you speak. If it is the man you are looking for you are right that he keeps to himself. I don't see him above once or twice a year when he comes in for a few supplies. How he survives out there I don't know. I've heard he lives up in the hills at the base of the Krominins." She gestured towards Kat's left. "It's at least a day or two that way. If you're crazy enough to venture out there I wouldn't do it without plenty of supplies. Never know what you might encounter."

Kat's heart sank a bit but she swallowed back her disappointment. Someone wanting to stay hidden wouldn't be living right in the heart of town after all. She gave the Devaronian another smile.

"Thank you for your help. Where would you recommend I purchase what I need?"

"There. Tornac will have what you need." She paused, as if deciding to continue with whatever was on her mind. "You be careful out there. You don't look like you're used to being in the wilds."

"Thank you. I will." Kat gave her a nod and crossed the street to the small shop that had been pointed out. The male Devaronian eyed her just as curiously as the female had but he helped her find what she felt she needed and before long she was on her way out of the town, plunging into the trees that seemed to be threatening to overrun the settlement. She was nervous, she'd never been on her own before and she'd certainly never trekked through the forests of an unknown planet, but she had made the decision to seek out Master Sa-Vin and apparently this was the way she had to go to find him.

The Devaronian had been right. Kat reached the foothills of the Krominins in the early afternoon of her second day. After a day and a half of hiking through dense forest, rock hopping or wading through streams, she was glad to see brighter sunlight ahead. The trees thinned and she surveyed the landscape before her. Green, boulder strewn hills slowly grew in size, rising up until they merged into the rocky mountains ahead and above her. She took a deep drink from her water pouch and started up the path that ran into the hills. How she had ended up right where she needed to be in order to find the path she didn't know; it had almost felt like something was pulling her in the right direction. As the heat of the day bore down on her the path's incline got steeper and steeper and she could feel exhaustion trying to settle on her shoulders. Master Sa-Vin had picked his spot well, she couldn't imagine anyone venturing out this far in order to bother him. The sky was beginning to darken when she passed through a narrow corridor between two large boulders and came upon a small open space against the face of one of the mountains. A few small huts sat in the clearing, smoke curling out of the chimney of one. Kat took a deep, relieved breath and slowly approached, not sure what she would say.

"I have been waiting for you."

Her head jerked up and she saw a tall figure emerge from the shadowed doorway of the main hut. The Jedi tunic and robe were tattered and worn, his gray hair and beard were long and shaggy, but she could sense the Force around him. It reminded her of what she had felt around Master Qui-Gon and Master Yoda. She swallowed and took a few more steps towards him.

"Welcome, Katavé Diaanti."

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"So you are here to be trained." Bel Sa-Vin's voice was low and gentle, carrying the faint accent of Chandrila. She looked up from the bowl in her hand and met his pale eyes.

"I do not wish to become a Jedi. I come on the recommendation of Master Yoda and Master Qui-Gon. They felt, as I do, that my Force sensitivity could make me a target for those hiding in the shadows. I come seeking some training, yes, but mainly knowledge so that I am less likely to fall prey to those wishing to do ill."

He pressed his lips together thoughtfully. "There is wisdom in what you say. Lack of knowledge in the ways of the Force can make it easy for some to fall prey to the temptations of the Dark Side. The Dark Side is selfish and focuses on individual wants and desires. They feel their power comes from emotion and so it can be easy for someone to unknowingly lose themselves if they don't know how to reach inside and release those emotions into the Force." She nodded a bit at his words. "How did you come to know Master Yoda in such a way that he would send you to me?"

"When the Trade Federation blockaded my home planet of Naboo Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi were sent to negotiate. There ended up being no negotiations and they helped the Queen of Naboo escape to Coruscant to plead our case to the Senate."

"The Senate is useless."

"I cannot disagree with you there. They could not - or would not - help us and so we returned to Naboo to fight the Trade Federation. We were successful though Qui-Gon lost his life during the fight."

"Fell on the battlefield did he?"

Kat shook her head. "No. I am not exactly sure what it was but Qui-Gon said they believed it was a Sith. He insisted that he and Obi-Wan would take care of the man - he was a Zabrak. He wore all black and wielded a dual bladed red lightsaber." Master Bel narrowed his eyes as she spoke and she could sense him trying to read her thoughts, trying to see what she had seen.

"A Sith." The word was uttered in a whisper and she shivered. Qui-Gon had, of course, mentioned them but to hear the word uttered in such a way sent a trickle of fear down her spine. He focused on her again. "If the Sith have returned then there are dark times ahead."

"That is what my father always told me."

"What happened to the creature?"

"Obi-Wan killed him."

His eyes widened a bit. "This Obi-Wan is a Jedi Knight?"

"He is now but at the time he was still Qui-Gon's Padawan. The Council granted him the promotion on Naboo. It was right after that when Master Yoda spoke to me about finding you, though he merely gave me the name of the planet on which to find you."

"Yes, when I left the Order I did not want anyone to come find me. I wanted to be left alone and out of the politics in the Core. I felt there was something hiding and gaining strength, just waiting for its moment to strike. The Council would not listen to me. They felt that if there was any potential danger they would be able to sense it. Finally deciding that I wanted no part of whatever trouble was to come, I left and found a place where I could mediate and learn more about the Force."

"Then I am sorry to have disturbed you."

"It is quite alright, child. You say your father told you dark times were coming? How would he know that?"

"My father was training to be a Jedi. After his Master was killed he felt there was more behind what had happened. The Council didn't agree with him and he decided if they could not take him seriously then he was not where he belonged. He left, married my mother, and went into hiding. Whatever it was he felt worried him enough that he didn't want anyone to know he had been a Jedi."

Bel Sa-Vin sat back and observed her for a time. She wasn't uncomfortable under his scrutiny, Qui-Gon had done the same, but there was more hanging in the balance this time. Kat truly hoped he would agree to help her.

"Jedi are always surrounded by the Force - we feel it, we breath it, we taste it. It gives us purpose in a galaxy that seeks to pull us in many directions." He looked her in the eye. "Force, Knowledge, and Self-Discipline - these are the three pillars of the Jedi. They encompass all the Jedi do and reinforce the tenets of the Jedi Code. Though you will not become a Jedi and will not need to follow the Code, knowing and understanding these pillars is essential. Even partial training will be hard; I will ask and require a lot from you. You might question your decision rather quickly."

"I did not expect it to be easy. My mother would always tell me that which does not kill us makes us stronger. If what I need to do will help me grow strong enough to resist the Dark Side then I am prepared to do it."

He nodded. "Very well. We will start in the morning."

Nothing had prepared her for Master Bel's training. She did not complain, this was what she needed, but that certainly didn't make it any easier. Kat ended her days exhausted, falling onto her mat and fully expecting to never be able to rise from it again, but she always arose the next morning eager to begin again. Where she found the strength to keep going she did not know. Perhaps it was the Force working in her, pushing her further than she thought possible. Perhaps it was just sheer will power and the desire to make her teacher proud. Whatever it was it grew stronger as time passed and she met each new challenge with more and more confidence.

Each day started with meditation, which she found a bit difficult at first. Being still had never been something she did easily. Master Bel had some hard words for her after watching her struggle for a few days.

"Meditation is the key to aligning your mind and body with the Force. If you cannot remain in control of yourself you will never be able to reach out and use the Force to command your environment." After that it did not take her long to learn how to still her body and find peace within herself. In stark contrast to the meditation, he had her running up and down the hills, climbing trees, and many other exercises that made her realize the training she had received on Naboo before joining the Queen's retinue had been extremely lax. It took quite some time for the aches and pains to fade.

"You have to know that you can count on your body to do what you need it to do in any situation," Master Bel told her over and over.

She enjoyed learning about the Force, learning about the abilities it could give her. The first time she was able to move some small rocks without touching them she couldn't help but give a squeal of pleasure. As she learned to reach out into the Force she started being able to sense other living beings and she began seeing flashes of what, according to her Master, could be visions of past, current, or future events. Sometimes she saw her parents and moments from her childhood. Other times she caught glimpses of Padmé going about her daily business. She even saw Obi-Wan with a blonde teenage boy that she assumed was Anakin. These visions were comforting to her and she welcomed them. What wasn't so welcome, and always left her with a sense of unease, were the visions that had to be from the future: white armored troops, rivers of lava, a menacing figure surrounded by a cloak of darkness. She always came out of these feeling sick but there was nothing her Master could say except the Dark Side clouded everything and what she saw might not come to pass. Another ability she found amazing was when Master Bel handed her one of his books and she had a sudden flash of visions in quick succession of several different people. She looked up at him in confusion, not sure what she had just experienced.

"It is called postcognition. By drawing upon the Unifying Force you are able to see who all had handled the object you are holding."

"I truly saw everyone who has touched this book?" He nodded with a small smile on his lips. Kat looked down at her hands in amazement.

However, without a doubt learning to use her lightsaber was the most thrilling part of her training. Master Bel started her out holding a stick, which she balked at for a time. She had held a lightsaber and her father had shown her enough to keep the possibility of dismemberment at a minimum. However that was what she was told to use and so for many days she was running through the cadences he'd shown her with a stick in hand. He showed her the different forms, explaining the benefits and weaknesses to each one, and had her run through each many, many times. After some time she found that she preferred Niman over the other forms. It combined some of the aspects of all the other forms but it allowed her to mainly use Soresu, which she liked for its reliance on patience, while integrating Force powers into a fight. Kat was well aware of her weaknesses, she was small and lacking in strength, so knowing that she could call on the Force to help in a fight was very comforting.

Not every moment of every day was consumed with her training. Kat found that she really enjoyed sitting by the fire with Master Bel and listening to him recount things from his past: his own training, the many missions he had been sent on, his life within the Jedi Temple. Though she had spent some time with Obi-Wan he had never delved into what life was actually like as a Jedi and she found it fascinating. She also liked getting to know Master Bel better. He reminded her somewhat of Qui-Gon, quiet and thoughtful, though she caught glimpses of what could only be called a mischievous twinkle in his eyes on occasion, especially when he would push her during her lightsaber training. He also had a dry sense of humor that would pop up at the most unexpected of times. She liked him and hoped they might develop something like what she had witnessed between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

"Did you know my father?" she asked one evening.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid I did not, child. I left the Order probably thirty years ago. You father would have either still been a Youngling and under Master Yoda's instruction or a very young Padawan and off planet with his Master." She nodded, expecting such an answer, but she had been curious. "If you are any reflection of him then he was a strong, wise, and determined man." A surprised smile crossed her face. It was the first time he had complimented her.

"Thank you, Master."

"It is a shame your father left the Order but since doing so lead to your very existence, then perhaps he made the right decision." Her puzzlement was clear and he stared into the fire a moment longer before continuing. "The future is clouded. The Dark Side has hidden much from view but I have seen that you have a part to play in the future of the galaxy. I can't say what that part will be but it was destined for you."

As the months passed Kat found herself climbing to the top of the nearest peak many nights just to meditate. She liked it up there. There was always a gentle breeze and the stars spread out above her like an endless blanket. The more she learned how to reach out with the Force the more she sought out one particular person. She knew she shouldn't and tried to convince herself that she did it merely to make sure that he was alive and well. It took time but eventually she was able to sense him. This was unlike the visions she would have when meditating; those were almost like she was watching something on the Holonet. When she would purposefully seek him out - and find him - within the Force it was almost like she was there with him. She could see him, hear his words, even sense his frustrations occasionally. It brought equal amounts of comfort and pain.

Obi-Wan.

She was being foolish, she knew it. She might not be a Jedi but he most definitely was. During her months with Master Bel she had learned what the Code required of the Jedi and knew it was pointless to keep fantasizing about him ... but she still couldn't stop herself.

"The Council sometimes asks too much of the Jedi." Kat didn't move from where she was seated on the mountaintop; she had known Master Bel was approaching. He sat on a rock slightly behind her, remaining silent for a while. This was the first time he had sought her out and she knew he had something he wanted to tell her.

"You once told me that Qui-Gon Jinn mentioned there were parts of the Code that he didn't not particularly believe or adhere to. He and I share that sentiment, as do others in the Order. The Code is needed to keep Younglings and Padawans focused on their training, to keep them from anything that might distract or lead them astray. However once a Jedi has become a Knight, and certainly when they are a Master, I believe there should be some leeway granted in some circumstances." Kat finally stirred and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Are you saying they should be allowed to break the Code?"

"I wouldn't necessarily put it like that. Take your father for example. If he had not felt the Council were ignoring what he was sensing, would he have stayed?" She thought about that for a bit. Would he have stayed and ignored the love he had felt for her mother?

"No. I think he still would have left because he couldn't deny that he loved my mother. Though now I realize that he never truly abandoned what he had been taught; he still lived by the principles the Jedi had ingrained in him."

"That, child, is exactly what I am talking about. Finding love did not hinder his connection to the Force nor did it lead him to the Dark Side. Perhaps if the threat of being expelled from the order for falling in love had not hung over him he would have stayed." He stared into the sky thoughtfully. "As long as an attachment does not become obsessive and all consuming, clouding judgment and making one take drastic measures to cling to another then perhaps a Jedi would not be in danger of falling to the Dark Side. If it is a true merging of heart and spirit how can that be wrong? Think of all the potential Jedi that have not been born because of this restriction. How much stronger would the Order be, especially if two Jedi or Force-Sensitives had a child?"

Kat could think of nothing to say. It was clear her Master had sensed where her thoughts sometimes lead her - or rather to whom they lead her. Was he saying he thought Jedi should not be forbidden to love and marry? As long as it did not make them afraid to lose the one they loved? She wasn't sure what to think about this.

Master Bel chuckled softly. "Of course, it might take a strong hit against the head to get some Jedi to realize this." He grew serious again and drew her gaze to him. "I believe your time here is done, Katavé."

She jerked at his words. "What?"

"You have been here a year and have learned that which you need. The knowledge you have gained will keep you from unwittingly falling into temptation and the skills you have gained will keep you safe." She could only gape at him. While she hadn't exactly lost track of time she had been quite content. "Your presence is needed elsewhere now and you need to return to your life by your Queen's side. I feel that change is coming. A darkness veils everything but I can still sense that things are moving in the shadows and will not wait much longer before revealing themselves."

"Master Bel ... you feel I am ready?"

He stood and pulled her to her feet as well. "I never took a Padawan as the Force never placed one I connected with before me. I would have been proud to take you as my apprentice and lead you to become a Jedi. Trust your instincts. You are wise and have an inner strength that will serve you well." He patted her on the shoulder. "I do not know if our paths will ever cross again, I have no desire to return to the Order or become ensnared in the twisted workings of the Republic. I will miss you, Kat, but I will keep an eye on you from here." He enveloped her in a warm embrace before heading back down the mountain. Kat closed her eyes as his words sunk in, taking a deep breath to calm herself. After a moment she looked up into the night sky.

Yes, it was time to go back.