Turns of Fate

Chapter 10

" The Council suspects foulplay." Obi-Wan told Anakin. Luke had gotten hungry after a few hours, prompting Padme to serve him a lunch. For some reason, it was strange seeing his pregnant wife taking care of a teenage boy.

Twins. Anakin thought. He wondered if Luke had a twin, and then wondered why he thought of it in the first place. Padme, after getting checked at the hospital, had the medics examine her baby to ensure that the fall Luke induced in order to prevent her from being stunned had not injured the baby. The medics then informed her that both children were fine.

Twins! Anakin was the father of twins! He was so in awe that for a while, when Padme told him this, he could hardly believe it. Twins! Two of them! He was the father of two!

But the problems have not changed. This just meant he had more at stake. He thought of Luke's words. They were warnings, no doubt. Husband and Jedi, maybe. But Father?

And now he was sitting here, in Padme's apartment, watching her feed Luke and thinking that someday she might be feeding his son at the same age. Assuming at least one of the twins was a boy. But then Luke warned Anakin that Obi-Wan was coming, which reminded Anakin that he should get dressed in his Jedi uniform before anyone notices.

" Even you have to admit." Obi-Wan said to the younger Jedi, " This whole affair is bizarre. The Chancellor gets abducted with no trace of struggle so soon after we destroy General Grievous, and then his kidnapper wants Luke, of all people, in exchange for the currently most powerful man in the galaxy." Anakin sighed in frustration, but his mentor went on, " We know that Luke has ill-opinions of the Chancellor–"

" And they are well-warranted!" Luke called from the kitchen table.

" We know that after meeting Luke, the Chancellor has little reason to favor the boy–"

" He would not harm a child."

" I'm not a child!"

Both Jedi ignored him. " And the timing of this whole affair conveniently allows the Chancellor to keep his emergency powers."

Anakin glared. " What are you saying? You think the Chancellor abducted himself?"

" Oh wow!" Luke looked at Padme. " He is smart!"

Obi-Wan glared back at Luke. " What are you saying?"

" I'm saying I thought Skywalker was an idiot." Luke took a mouthful of lunch. " Because he actually likes that creep."

" I think," Padme bent over the table, resting on her elbows, " That it is very odd that you think he is a 'creep', as you call him. What makes you say that?"

Luke just glowered.

" Luke, is there something you sensed from the Chancellor?" Obi-Wan suddenly asked, while Anakin released his irritation into the Force. He hated how everyone seemed to be doubting the good man.

The boy's expression dimmed. Obi-Wan rose from Anakin's side to sit down next to the teen.

" Luke, if you have something to tell us...it would be best to say it, right now. You are among friends here."

Luke simply took another bite.

Anakin sighed. " When you become my padawan, I expect you to be more forthcoming."

" Ah, so you are taking him as your padawan?"

Anakin grinned. He thought about the strange dream he had the previous night. Luke and he were playing chess, but what really stood out in Anakin's mind right now was that Luke had kept calling him 'Dad', throughout the entire dream. It was as if the Force was telling him something, telling him that he should take Luke as his padawan. After all, taking a padawan was like adopting a child. A Jedi child.

It seemed right.

Of course, he could not tell Obi-Wan that. Not in front of Luke, who, Anakin knew, would probably somehow use this to his own advantage somehow. The rascal.

" Obi-Wan, he doesn't even know how to hold a lightsaber."

" I do too!"

" Oh really?" Anakin held his out. " Show me."

Luke cringed away from the lightsaber. " I'm not touching that."

" It is not even on! What are you scared of?"

Luke was grinning, but the light in his eyes was anxious. " I'm not touching that." He repeated.

Anakin leaned back. The boy was afraid. He could feel it. It was as if the mere act of touching the lightsaber would be disastrous. Luke, why are you so scared of this?

Luke ducked his head down. He could tell the boy had heard.

" You will need to go to the Jedi Council to ask them to assign him to you." Obi-Wan told Anakin. " I can stay here with Padme while you go."

" Very well." Anakin glared at Luke. " You will learn to wield a lightsaber. No padawan of mine will be lacking in such an essential skill. Come along, finish up. We're going."

Luke easily became his old intolerable self on the way from Padme's apartment, but that instantly died down when they were facing the Council. For all the boy's insolence, he seemed to know when enough was enough when it really counts. And when one is facing Yoda, well, nothing more needed to be said.

As Anakin listened to the rest of the Council interview the boy, he was transported back to the first time he stepped into this room. Nervous, despite Qui-Gon's reassurances, remorseful for leaving his mother behind, and afraid of the new world with its new people, he had been much less joyous that day than he had imagined he would be. All his life, he wished he had been a Jedi. He thought becoming a Jedi would mean he would fulfill all his other dreams. He never realized that in exchange, he had to give up things he did not even realize he had.

Luke was the most subdued Anakin has ever seen him. He stood facing the Council next to Anakin with an air of determination. For a while, the Council simply stared at them, which was even more unnerving then when the Council fires tough questions. Anakin could wager that he would even rather have the Council get angry with him (which has happened on occasion) than this morbid…silence.

" You wish to take this boy as your padawan?" One of the masters finally asked Anakin.

I thought I made that pretty clear…" Yes Master."

Another silence.

What is going on?

" You are very well-trained, when you came here, Luke." Said Master Windu. " To the extent that you may even qualify for Knight."

" I have never used a lightsaber." Luke replied.

Another silence, this one stretching even longer. Anakin wondered if the Jedi Masters were communicating with muscle vibrations. They certainly were not looking at each other.

" The lightsaber brings you pain." Yoda observed. " Much sorrow, I sense in you."

Anakin turned to Luke at this. The youth's face had hardened into a mask, and his eyes glinted like cold steel. He saw the boy's jaw clench. All of the sudden, he did not seem like Luke. He seemed like…a ghost.

What is it, Luke? Is Yoda telling the truth?

Of course Yoda was telling the truth. The old Jedi was exceptional at figuring people out. Anakin recalled how the old Jedi had told him he harbored much fear. At the time, Anakin had not understood what the Jedi was saying. It was not until much later, when he began dreaming of his mother, suffering, that he ultimately realized what fear meant.

As a Knight, he has become much wiser. Fear leads to anger, and anger leads to hate. Similarly, sorrow leads to despair, and despair leads to…

Death.

Luke, this vibrant young lad, dying? He could hardly believe it, but even more, he could not stand the thought.

" Do you wish to train with Knight Skywalker?" Asked another master.

" Yes." Luke replied readily.

Silence followed this again. Anakin resisted the urge to place his hand on the boy's shoulder. The Jedi Council would gauge that as a sign of weakness on Luke's part, and Luke is anything but that.

" Who was your old master?" Asked yet another master of Luke. " Was he a Jedi?"

" Yes."

" But not of the Order."

" He was not a Dark Jedi. The situation was complicated."

" Hm." Yoda contemplated this answer. " A purpose, you have here; for that reason, brought you here, the Force has. Lightsaber skills, you are not here to learn. A mission far greater, I sense in you."

Anakin looked at Luke again, wondering if the boy understood what the old Jedi was saying.

" I have a mission." Luke replied. " I just don't know what it is. The Force is guiding me but lightly. I do not understand it."

" But train with Skywalker, you feel you should?"

" Yes."

" And train him as a padawan, you feel you should, Knight Skywalker?" The old Jedi turned to Anakin.

Anakin bowed. " Yes Master Yoda."

Master Yoda shook his head. " Two of you together; much trouble, this will bring! However, the will of the Force, I sense this is."

" I agree." Said Master Windu. As the others also affirmed, Windu turned to Anakin.

" Train him well, young Skywalker. He has learned much, and yet has much to learn. Learn well, young Luke, for Skywalker has much to teach you."

And so it was settled. Luke was officially declared Anakin's padawan, and Luke left to accept his padawan uniform. As with all new padawans, he will go to the Rotunda Chapels, where he will meditate for the night before joining with Anakin in the morning. The two actually parted without much words—Luke seemed unsettled and Anakin was distracted by Yoda's first observation. Much sorrow, I sense in you.

Two hours ago, he would not have believed Luke had any sorrow whatsoever, as naive as that sounded. After seeing him at the Council, Anakin realized there was more to this boy than he first assumed. Whatever his mission was, it was probably safe to guess that it was responsible for that sorrow, somehow.

Well, at least Yoda had not made a big deal out of it.

" With his own uniform, your padawan will no longer steal from my padawan, I hope?" Ferus said to Anakin as he washed his face with cold water.

" I will try to get him to behave." Anakin muttered. He then thought of the strange telepathic link he and Luke had the night the boy had saved Padme. " I have not had much luck before, but once we are bonded…more than we are already, anyway, perhaps things will turn out for the better."

" More than you are?" Ferus frowned. " What do you mean?"

Anakin was not sure if it was wise to reveal this to the other, but he was honestly baffled. " We spoke. Telepathically. In a way that…seems impossible, actually."

" It could be because he is your cousin." Ferus folded his arms.

" You think so too?"

" He looks a lot like you, acts a lot like you, and he comes from Tatooine. Unless all the humans on Tatooine look and act alike, I would say there is a decent chance that he is your cousin."

" My mother never mentioned having any siblings." He shook his head. " Or any cousins. She might have forgotten, young as she was." He sighed. " It is strange," He confessed to his colleague, " Suddenly being the one wishing others would follow the rules for once."

Ferus smirked, but graciously said nothing.

" I am going to be one of those boring thick-headed Jedi."

" Somehow, I doubt you can even if your life depended on it. In fact, you life has depended on it before, and you still failed." Ferus pointed out. " It just so happens that Luke is far more untamed than you are, and for once you actually see how such wildness can cause harm." Then, kindly, he added, " I think you would be a great master to him. You understand him far more than I do, that is certain."

" Thanks." Anakin blinked uncertainly.

" Though two Skywalkers together." Ferus said with a flat expression. " That would be either miraculous, or disastrous."

Yoda said that too! Anakin thought indignantly, but Ferus was already walking away.

Anakin flew back to Padme's apartment, where it was Obi-Wan's turn to be fed.

" I take it all went well?"

Anakin groaned.

Obi-Wan frowned. " What is it, Anakin?"

" It's something Master Yoda said. It has been on my mind ever since."

" Oh? What did he say?"

" He said he sensed a great sorrow in Luke. Then he started talking about the mission Luke had." Anakin took off his cloak. " The fact that he said it would not have mattered as much, if it weren't for the fact that Luke looked like he became an ice statue."

" Struck a nerve, Yoda did." His master said after a thoughtful pause.

" Don't go adopting his grammar patterns, Obi-Wan."

His mentor scowled. " Well, since he will become your padawan, I have no doubt that you two can sort this out. Whatever troubles him, you can solve as long as you talk to him."

" If he would stay still long enough." Anakin replied, sitting down at the kitchen table beside Padme and Obi-Wan.

" I wonder what troubles him." Padme murmured, eating a slice of fruit. " He seems like such a carefree boy. Perhaps his playful nature is a compensation."

" I think that too." Said Anakin. " And I cannot believe he really does not know how to use a lightsaber. I think he shocked the Council with that one. The Jedi Masters were stone-silent for what seemed like minutes."

" With the number of times Luke has struck me speechless, I am not surprised." Obi-Wan rose. " I best be going now. Anakin, congratulations. Now you can appreciate all the trouble you caused me."

Anakin grinned wryly. Love you too, Obi-Wan. " So I will."

" Goodbye, Padme."

" Goodbye Obi-Wan. Be sure to come visit soon."

" I will. Take care."

And then it was just the two of them.

Anakin gathered his wife to him, all cares suddenly forgotten.

" Your very own padawan," Padme murmured with a grin. " And a fantastic child at that."

" Mmhmm." Anakin buried his face in his wife's hair, smelling the fragrance. He kissed her on the top of her head. " I cannot believe I am the father of twins."

" Double the trouble. And with a padawan too."

" At least Luke knows already."

His wife stiffened suddenly. " How does he know?" She asked. " How is it possible that he knows, when not even Master Yoda knows?"

Anakin stepped back. " I do not know. However, I am certain he means us no harm. I think he has demonstrated as much."

" No, that is not what I was worried about." Padme shook her head. Her eyes looked calculating as she stared ahead. " You said that he was whisked from Tatooine?"

" Yes."

" And his surname begins with an 'S'."

" He might be a cousin of some sort."

Padme frowned. " Does the Force normally just whisk people away from places and deposit them elsewhere?"

" Not that I know of. Why are you asking all this?"

" I was thinking about Luke's odd dislike of Chancellor Palpatine." She felt her stomach protectively. " And you mentioned that he was able to predict things, like your appointment to the Council…and yet he does not know how to use a lightsaber? Anakin, if he really is a fifteen-year-old boy, don't you think it is odd that his mastery of the Force is so unbalanced that he can predict the future, and yet not know one of the most basic skills of a Jedi?"

" He was taught in a non-traditional manner, Padme. Something that will be rectified, but it is possible that his master did not train him in all aspects the same way we do." Anakin watched as she pondered on this. She then raised her head to kiss him on the cheek.

" It must be the mother in me." She said strangely. Anakin took her hands.

" You are beautiful." He told her. " You are so beautiful, you have no idea what you are to me."

She smiled at him. They kissed. And Luke was forgotten.