Padmé,

Like I said before, if you want to call me Ani, go ahead. I gave you permission. I really do not care if you call me that. I will only allow you to call me that or my mother. If you do not want to call me that, that is fine by me too.

Obi-Wan is 35 and I'm 19. I'm sorry if I took your comment too negatively…it's just that I'm a little tense with everything that's been happening….my training with Obi-Wan, the attempt on your life, the protection assignment.

I'm not exactly sure what my brothers and father do…yes, they are moisture farmers, and they do harvest water, but they also grow plants in some cave somewhere, and they sell their plants to different customers throughout the galaxy. I didn't stay that long, so I don't know very much about it.

Your point about Owen's view is well taken. I do know that people have different points of view…and that's what's so hard sometimes. Take the Senate for example….you NEVER get anything done because of the different points of view. I don't think the system works. We need someone to make everyone agree, and then things would get done.

It's worse than frustrating! Obi-Wan's overly critical, and like I said before, he NEVER listens. You sound as if you still see us in separate age categories, as if I'm not grown up yet. I am grown up now! Obi-Wan still treats me like I'm the 9 year old that I was when he first started training me, and practically EVERYONE treats me like that. I HATE it!

Yes, it would be neat if you could see my fish, except I don't think Mr. Follow-The-Code-Exactly would allow it. It's not part of our mission; so Obi-Wan probably wouldn't let us go to the Jedi Temple so that you could see my room.

Well, no matter what, we will get to the bottom of this…we will find out who your killer is. Yes, I can sense everything going on in your room….and I…Obi-Wan's looking at me so I'll have to finish this later.

Well…I barely talked to Owen. At least he was nicer that Rhun. He seemed to be all right, but I don't think he wanted me to leave so soon. At least he was nice to me…if I got to know him well maybe we could get along pretty well, but the only thing is he didn't seem to like Jedi and our Force Sensitivity very well. He told me it didn't seem to be practical enough for him. My family owns a moisture farm, and they farm all the time. Force Sensitivity is hereditary, but not every child born to a Force Sensitive parent is Force Sensitive, and it happened that I was the only one that was Force Sensitive.

Wow, your people must have liked you well and thought that you did a really good job if they tried to amend the constitution so that you could serve another term. (I heard that they tried to do this). It seems like you have good politicians coming from your planet…I heard they did the same thing in the Senate for Palpatine,…the Senators extended his term, but I know they gave him extra terms. I'm glad that you took the Senator position. I'm sure you're doing a fine job.

Do you think Count Dooku is behind the attempts to kill you? Obi-Wan and I have been discussing it. Hmmm…..I don't know. Count Dooku was once a Jedi Knight, but he quit the Order 10 years ago….as a matter of fact, he quit at about the same time I became Obi-Wan's Padawan…right after the Naboo Invasion, which is a little strange. He was one of the oldest and most well respected Jedi. Obi-Wan has told me a little about Dooku. Did you know that Qui-Gon was Dooku's apprentice? I'm not sure if he would do something like that or not, but if you think that he might be behind the attempts, well then maybe he is.

Well whoever is behind the attempts, we will find out, I promise you. I don't care what Obi-Wan says about it not being part of our mission. He needs to realize that sometimes it's better to imply more into the mission then what the Council assigns us. It would be stupid to protect you without knowing who was behind the attempts…..if we found out who was behind the attempts, we could STOP that attempts.

I'm…..touched that you would think of me – worrying about me not being able to see my mother, whether or not I would make friends, and if I was lonely. I won't lie to you. Actually, I did struggle with all of that. That is part of the reason that I was so glad that Palpatine has been such a good friend. He helped me through those times. It took several years before any of the other Padawans would talk to me. I had a hard time making friends, and I felt like Obi-Wan resented having to train me. He didn't recognize the fact that I have real feelings. Finally, we did talk about it, and things got better for a while. Now things are starting to get worse between us again. It doesn't really work to talk to him – he just doesn't listen to me. He doesn't understand where I'm coming from. He doesn't understand how I could have feelings for my mother because he never knew his parents. He doesn't understand how I could have feelings for anyone at all….because Jedi just aren't supposed to have emotions. I can't help it – I do anyway. It does no good to try to tell him because he just yells at me for not being able to do what every other Jedi is able to do – live a life without emotions. I'm not able to live a life without experiencing emotion, but I can fake it. I have had to do that the last few years, and I think that I've tricked him.

Well, I'm glad things worked out for you in the Senate with Bail – but still – your example isn't the same thing. You're not with someone who has no idea how you even function and what your deepest thoughts are – because he does not understand these things, nor does Obi-Wan want to. He thinks that how he is should be how I am….and so…..it's just not going anywhere. I'm not saying that I haven't learned anything from him….and I guess he does think that I'm ready for the Trials. If he really thinks that I'm ready, why doesn't he try to put me through the Trials? He has a lot of talk, but nothing is being done.

Thanks. I just hope that my mother is safe now.

Thank you for telling me about your real family. So….you were adopted and now you know who your birth parents are? You are real royalty. Wow…..I guess that…..nevermind. Do your parents expect you to find someone else who is royalty to marry? I don't understand how that whole thing works….do your parents have an arranged marriage for you?

So you have a sister – Sola? If she has kids, then I would guess that she is married, right? Is her husband someone who is royalty from another planet, or is he a normal person….and do you parents like him? And how did he propose to her? I'm really glad that you have a sister and that you've gotten to know her.

In all my years of Jedi training, I never heard of this Royal Force thing that you're talking about. I can see what you're saying -- it must be very different than our Jedi Force. I know nothing about it, but if it has anything to do with emotions, like what you said…then the Jedi would be against it. No wonder they don't want anyone to learn about it. What does it do?

I wish that I could meet your family. Your nieces sound neat….the younglings at the Jedi Temple are a lot of fun to be around. I've had to baby-sit some of them before, and so I got a chance to play with them. Your parents are going to have to be told about the attacks. Do they know about the landing platform or what just happened with the centipedes? You don't have to tell them much, but I think they should know. They have a right to know because they are your parents. Since I'm in charge of your protection, I am suggesting that you tell them. You don't have to mention me at all – if it helps them feel at ease. They might get worried if they learn that a Jedi is protecting their daughter.

You never mentioned your adopted brother Gwydion to me before. I'd like to know more about him and maybe meet him someday. After all, he is still your brother even if you are not biologically related.

Maybe some day I will talk to my brothers again – just not right now – not with Obi-Wan and the Council wanting to put me through the trials. I don't want to do anything that would make them against me. I'd like to contact my mother, but I think that's off limits right now – the Council is so worried about attachments…and I can fake one, but if I were to have contact with two people that I care about, I don't know if I could be able to maintain the cover on my first one. I don't know if I'll be able to do that anyway. I'll probably give myself away sometime soon…..but I can't help it. You better not contact my mother. If you do, the Council would know that I put you up to it. Until I can make sense out of these dreams – I don't know if they are just nightmares or if they are some sort of Jedi vision. I think they might be a Jedi vision, but there's nothing I can do about it now. I have to go with you to Naboo for your protection.

What do you mean that you can't trust Chancellor Palpatine? Obi-Wan and some of the other Jedi are giving me a hard time because of my friendship with him. They even slandered him as some sort of sick joke just to test me. It really made me angry. They don't like him because he's a politician. I should note that Obi-Wan feels the same about you as he does about Palpatine. The Chancellor was there with you when you had problems with the Trade Federation. I know he did everything in his power to help you and your people. He's the type of person who likes to help and serve the people of the Republic. That's why he doesn't like Count Dooku. Count Dooku is selfish. But all that aside, Chancellor Palpatine is my best friend right now. I've told him everything that has happened in my life, and he has always been there to listen to me. He is very understanding, and he never yells at me when I tell him about mistakes I've made. He's the most encouraging person I have ever met. I meet with him whenever I can when I'm on Coruscant. He's just a nice guy who has a big job. It must be hard to be the Supreme Chancellor of the Senate. Maybe it's just that he's tired and under a lot of stress when you talk to him. You told me that you think there's something not right about him. On this point, I don't think you could be more wrong.

You wrote:

"Why would Obi-Wan not want us to be by ourselves? What does the attachment rule have anything to do with it? Is it because we were friends ten years ago? I can't understand why that would be a problem. There's nothing wrong with us being friends, especially since we're still friends, at least I hope we are."

My response:

It's….complicated. No, there would be nothing wrong with us being friends…I don't think Obi-Wan or the Jedi Council would mind that. But certain people in the Jedi Council are convinced that……that I would break the Jedi Code and then worse stuff would happen. They don't trust me; some of them are convinced that I'm going to be a Sith someday. It makes no sense, but they think that if there is any possibility that I could break the Jedi Code it will definitely lead to me turning evil. There's more to it than that, but it would be best if that is all I say for now. I'll just say this, though – I think that they are worried that if we get to become friends that we might become more than friends if we are alone together. As I said before, Jedi aren't allowed to have emotions of any kind, and if I developed any sort of feelings for you beyond just being a good friend, then that would be an attachment. They are trying to rid me of all attachments, though they will never be able to. Sigh……I might be in danger of saying too much here….but you asked. The problem is that I already have an attachment for you, and they know it. When someone becomes a friend of mine, then they are not just a friend. I care about their well-being – it's hard to explain. I don't expect you to be able to understand. I admired you and cared for you ten years ago, and I've never been able to get rid of the "attachment." Obi-Wan and the Council know this. I think they are afraid of this attachment being built up more.

All right, I'm back now……

Wow……almost as soon as Obi-Wan and I started talking, we both sensed that there was danger in your room, and we ran in. I hope we didn't wake you too much, but it was important that you knew that someone made another attempt on your life. Those Kouhuns looked pretty nasty. Aren't they a form of giant centipede? I read about them once and found out that just one sting from their stinger is enough to kill a full grown human. You bet that in an instant I had my lightsaber out and I killed those two centipedes with one blow. Then Obi-Wan noticed the droid thing at the window that had delivered the centipedes, so he actually jumped through the window! Did you see that?

As soon as I saw Typho and Dorme rush into your room, I went outside to find a speeder. It didn't take me long to find one…..but it took a little while to find one that actually worked. Anyway, I jumped in and went to find Obi-Wan. I saw him…and then some Bounty Hunter started shooting at him, and he fell. I flew the speeder to a spot directly under Obi-Wan, and he fell in. After that we went on this wild chase. Obi-Wan was about to kill me…he doesn't like flying that much, and then he started turning green and he threw up. That didn't stop me though…..I didn't even slow down because of him. I LOVE flying, especially flying fast. The assassin kept trying to lose me, but it couldn't….and Obi-Wan thought I was crazy. He kept yelling at me, and then we went right through the section of the planet that had power couplings. It takes a really skilled pilot to be able to maintain control after going through a power coupling, but I was able to do it. At one point…by using the Force I KNEW that the assassin would be at a certain place at a certain time, so I turned the speeder and went in the opposite direction that the other ship was going in. Obi-Wan REALLY yelled at me then. He wouldn't let me explain, so I just stopped the ship at that spot and I jumped. I landed on the assassins ship and I held on tight. The assassin tried to shoot me, and tried to speed up really fast or slow down suddenly, but I managed to hold on. I lost my lightsaber, but Obi-Wan saw me and caught it (probably with the Force.) During the struggle for the assassin to get rid of me, a gun accidentally went off and hit the ship's engine. The speeder crashed to the ground, but I jumped off of it in the last second. I hit the ground hard, but only got a few bruises. My landing hurt, but I started running after the assassin the second I got on my feet. I saw the assassin go into this bar type place (we landed in a REALLY bad section of Coruscant). I was just about to go inside when Obi-Wan caught up with me and gave me my lightsaber back, and then we went inside.

That place was terrible! I swear…the worst people in the galaxy were all gathered together in that bar. All the people there were low lives and druggies, and the place was dirty. There was Death Stick smoke all over the place, and oh….I did NOT like being in there. Obi-Wan told me to go look for the assassin while he got a drink. That made me mad. The assassin must have recognized us because it went right for Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan sensed it and cut off the assassin's arm and then Obi-Wan and I dragged the assassin out of there. I was GLAD to be out of that place because it was starting to make me sick, and I did NOT like those people inside of there. We laid the killer on the ground and we questioned her. I finally got angry and yelled at the creature…and it started talking. It said he was hired by a Bounty Hunter….but then Obi-Wan and I heard this noise, and the next thing we knew the assassin was dead. We looked around and noticed some person with strange armor and a jet pack leave quickly. After Obi-Wan and I looked at the body, we noticed a strange dart that neither one of us had ever seen.

Obi-Wan and I then went to the Jedi Temple to report our findings. Mace Windu (head of the Jedi Council) told Obi-Wan that he was to find out where the dart came from and to identify who had hired that assassin. Obi-Wan then pointed out that you still needed protecting….and you'll never guess this….but Mace Windu told me that I was to handle that! I could not believe it! The Council actually gave me an assignment on my own, and it was the assignment of protecting you! I then said that getting you to leave Coruscant would be difficult since you were the leader of the Loyalists. Mace Windu told me to go to Palpatine for help. I'm to take you to Naboo, and we are to travel as fugitives.

I did as the Council asked and I went to Palpatine. I explained the entire situation to him, and he listened to me, just as he always has. He was pleased that the Council finally gave me an assignment on my own. He's always told me that it would happen eventually. He told me that he would give you an executive order to leave…so I assume he has, am I right? Well towards the end of our conversation he told me that I was the most gifted Jedi he has ever met (as he has often told me), and that he was confident that I would become the most powerful Jedi ever….even more powerful than Mace Windu or Yoda. That man always knows the right things to say…he's always been pushing me to achieve my greatest.

Now that I have this assignment on my own, there are a few things that I feel I must clear up with you. I will try to leave you as much privacy as the job of protecting you will allow. Obviously I'm not going to follow you to the bathroom or showers. I'll stand guard at the bathroom door…because I have to do that. I also might sometimes sleep on the floor in your room….if I think there's reason that you might be in especially high danger. But if you go on any dates with anyone, I'm going to have to go with you to make sure that the person you're going with isn't going to kill you or something. I know it would be awkward, but I have no choice. You're especially going to be in danger with dates…because someone might try to kill you if they think they can be alone with you. Again, it's for your protection. I hate doing this, but I have no choice.

One more note of understanding….I'm not a psycho. I won't hurt you in any way, and I certainly won't touch you in any way. You'll have to trust me on this. I know you're probably going to feel uncomfortable with me being so near you all the time, but you're going to have to try to trust me. I won't rape you or anything stupid like that. I'm against sex before marriage, and I would never hurt a girl like that. I would never hurt a girl period. I just want you to know that I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I'm just here to protect you.

Okay, so do you have a boyfriend, are you engaged, or do you have a husband? I need to know so that I know who you trust and who you don't trust. I'll also need to know so that I can research them. I don't want to have to deal with them….but if you do have a guy….I need to know. I can guess that you will probably have a boyfriend sometime in my protection services….. and I don't see how any guy your age would not want to take you out on a date….so if you DO have a date sometime….remember that I have to come along. I really don't want to get into your private life, but as I said in my last message, I have little choice. I'm going to try my VERY best not to annoy you or cause you too much discomfort. If you and a guy start making out, I don't know what I'm going to do….because technically I'd HAVE to be there to make sure he doesn't murder you. But I do know you a little, and I do know that you have good judgment, so if you let me know ahead of time, I can kind of leave the room so that you have a little more privacy. I'd stand outside the door, but I don't want to ruin your fun.

Another thing; you should tell all your friends and those close to you that you are being protected by a Jedi Knight…but only your close friends. This is so you don't worry them if they go looking for you and can't find you because I've taken you with me on a mission.

Well what did you think of our little meeting? You haven't changed THAT much since I last saw you. If you hadn't told me in the last message, I would have recognized you. You probably wouldn't have been able to recognize me though….since I was only 9….and now I'm 19…and I've changed a LOT from when I was 9…..and you haven't changed THAT much since you were 14. Yes, you've changed some, but I still could have recognized you. So what do you think of me now that we've met?

As for me…just so you know…..I haven't had any girlfriends or anything. Since I started the Jedi Training when I was 9…..I lost almost 10 years of the training that most Jedi get…so they had to intensify my training to make up for those years, plus at the same time learn what I was supposed to be learning at that time. It wasn't too bad. I just had very intense training…but I managed to catch on. I'm better than any one else my age now…so I guess I'm doing pretty well. The training came easy for me. However, due to the amount of it that I had to learn, I never had time to really get to know a person of the opposite sex, nor would I have been allowed. I have wanted to have a girlfriend as far back as I can remember, but I never tried to get to know anyone because I knew that Obi-Wan would take me before the Council…and I might even get expelled…not that I would let that stop me from having a relationship. It was mostly because of my training…..my training took up most of my time, and I didn't feel it was right to have a girlfriend when I couldn't devote the time that she deserved to her. I feel that the girl deserved more than what I could give her. I've had a ton of crushes, but I never approached any of them because I knew I would never be able to give them my time while still in training. I feel that the best relationships are the ones founded on friendship. I want to be my girlfriend's best friend…and I want to like the girl for who she is on the inside, and not because of her body. I don't think enough people really KNOW each other in relationships. I need to find a girl that would accept all that, and would pretty much feel the same way I do. I am also, as I have already said, against sex before marriage….but I also don't want to see the girl naked, or half naked, or anything like that. I don't want the girl seeing any part of me that is usually covered up with clothing. I'm just not the lusty kind of person. I would like to find a girl that could accept that. I don't want you to get the idea that I don't like romance. I do…but it has to be done tastefully. I would like to put my arm around a girl, to kiss her on the lips, to hold her hand, and to hug her….and that's as far as I want to go… ….until marriage. I also would like to go on walks with her. I have TALKED to girls to try to get to know them, but I've never gone out with anyone. None of the girls I have ever talked to fit. Maybe I'm too picky. Oh well, I just CAN'T go against my standards, and I won't. Yeah, I know you're probably thinking I'm weird and that I'll never find anyone. Eventually I will….I'll just have to look real carefully.

And you hit something…I'm actually not allowed to have feelings like that for a girl. Attachment is forbidden in the Jedi Order. I never fully understood that rule because love in its purest form is the essence of the Jedi Code. We are supposed to have compassion for others, yet we're not allowed to love anyone romantically. I believe that compassion is agape love…..which should be the kind of love in romantic relationships…..so you might say that we are encouraged to love. Jedi are not allowed to get married, and if they do, they are expelled from the Jedi Order. I don't think that's fair at all. A person cannot help falling in love….and I believe that there should be no rule against love. It's just not fair. That's one rule that I am very willing to go against…

At any rate, we will be leaving VERY soon, so pack your things; I don't know how long we'll be gone.

I also wanted to let you know that I think you're very brave and strong….about not letting your attacker control your life.

Sincerely,

Anakin