Two years ago today I posted the first chapter. Goooood times.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
The Naberries were especially miserable when the time came for the Skywalkers to go back home to Coruscant. No one wanted to let go of Luke so soon after they finally met him again. Anakin, however, was as anxious as ever to get back to the galactic capital—to begin Luke's Jedi training.
Life quickly went back to the hum drum routine of a Jedi Master and Senator couple. Anakin was all but ready to get back to business, as his wound gradually healed and his pain eased. His overly-tender and loving wife could no longer find any excuse to stay home with her reviving husband. Padmé could not escape any confrontation at the Senate for much longer. There was too much waiting to happen…
"Padmé!"
Padmé snapped out of her daze and straightened herself in her seat. She was sitting behind her grand mahogany desk in her public office at the Executive Offices Building. Looking up she found her old friend and smiled.
"Bail, what a pleasant surprise."
Bail Organa chuckled, but the joy didn't reach his eyes. He came to sit in one of the chairs in front of his colleague's desk. "I hope your trip to Naboo was delightful."
"It was…" Padmé smiled at the thought, unable to choose the right words, "it was very nice. I enjoyed it."
"A good escape?" Bail chuckled.
Padmé shook her head, "You have no idea…"
Bail clapped his hands together and stood up, "Well, it's a busy day, must get back to my—"
"Excuse me?" A knock was heard at the door.
Bail—interrupted mid-speech by the bodiless voice behind him—frowned and turned around. Padmé too got out of her seat, "Come in."
The voice belonged to a man whom Padmé once trusted. He came into the room and stood in the doorway.
Bail and Padmé both looked at him in silence.
Firmus Piett clasped his hands together and pursed his lips awkwardly, "I can feel the tension in the air."
Padmé took a step closer but Bail put an arm in front of her.
Piett put his hands up in a yielding manner. "I mean no harm here, I just wanted to explain myself to you before you heard it from another source."
"What," Padmé sneered, "that you've been playing double agent to the devil himself this whole time?"
Piett frowned, "Now, now, my old friend—"
"You were never my friend!" Padmé cut him off, stepping closer to the mole against Bail's protests. "You used me, you spied on me!"
"I never meant to hurt you!"
Padmé gasped, shocked with his gall to come up with such a lie. Firmus Piett—her lifelong friend in the Senate, one of the only few she could ever trust—had the audacity to tell her that he never meant to hurt her!
The next thing she did was an action she never imagined herself doing in a hundred years.
She slapped him.
She slapped him across the face with such force that his entire head went spinning and he lost his balance.
She smiled unrepentantly at him, the palm of her right hand stinging with triumph.
Piett took a moment to regain posture. He looked back at Padmé, all sense of civility between them diminished. "I'll have you two know that I signed the papers this morning. I officially joined the Socialist Party, and the planet of Axxila did along with me."
Without another word, he turned and left through the double doors of Padmé Amidala's office.
Padmé shook her head and turned back to face Bail, who still remained standing near her desk. He was laughing.
"I can't wait until you tell Anakin about this, Padmé. I didn't know you had that in you."
Luke didn't know what Anakin had up his sleeve. Right now his father was talking—no, plotting—with his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke was left to wait outside the High Council chamber doors, nonchalantly wondering if his Force-forsaken training would ever actually begin. A part of him—however small—feared that Anakin's training would not amount to Vader's (no matter how vigorous or life-draining it might have been). At least Vader made Luke strong…what if Anakin couldn't do the same?
Little did Luke know, his mind would constantly revolve around the glory days of Vader's tutelage. In Luke's mind, Anakin Skywalker was a valiant hero and prodigious Jedi. But for some reason, heroes could never be as good as villains.
"Are you Luke Skywalker?"
Luke snapped out of his ponderings and noticed a boy—probably about the same age as him—standing right in front of him.
"How long have you been standing there?" Luke narrowed his eyes at the rather short brunette boy.
The boy smiled admiringly, "You're Luke Skywalker, you should be able to tell me!"
Luke continued eyeing the boy very suspiciously. He was dressed in normal Jedi attire, and a Padawan braid hung from behind his right ear. Luke knew the boy shouldn't be dangerous, but then why didn't he notice him standing right in front of him? It's not like Luke was lost out in the endless space of his own thoughts... He shuddered to think that his once-refined sensing abilities lost their sharpness.
"What do you want?" Luke snapped at the boy, now annoyed with his own incapability to feel the presence of a mere Padawan boy.
The boy didn't seem fazed, as he continued smiling. "My name is Corran Horn, I heard that Master Skywalker was going to begin training you as a Jedi," the Corran boy bowed his head, "I just wanted to welcome you to the Order."
Luke rolled his eyes, doubting that such an unorthodox welcome was shared by many others of the Order. Luke didn't like how this boy was acting so friendly with him. He narrowed his eyes at Corran, "No one ever said I was joining the order."
This finally seemed to weaken Corran's smile. "Oh, well either way, if you ever need anything, you can usually find me trailing behind Master Secura or pigging out in the mess hall—"
"Master Secura?" Luke interrupted, "as in Aayla Secura?"
Corran nodded like a grinning idiot.
This somehow heightened Luke's respect for this Corran boy. If he had a master like Aayla Secura...
"I don't know what you know about her," Corran said, "but she's a great master."
Luke mentally scoffed. He knew a lot about Aayla Secura. Not all of them good... But then again, Luke's understandings of good and bad were slightly skewed from everybody else's…
"Of course, well, I mean no disrespect to my master," Corran fumbled through his words awkwardly, "but I can't imagine what it must feel like to have Anakin Skywalker as your mentor, let alone your father!"
Luke rolled his eyes, "Wanna switch?"
Corran chuckled nervously, probably fantasizing a life with Anakin Skywalker as his teacher, as many of the other Padawans often did.
"Well, I'll just leave you alone now," Corran smiled. "I'm sure you have a busy life, out there slaying monsters and going on dangerous adventures and whatnot."
Hah, Luke scoffed. I wish.
Corran left and soon after Anakin and Obi-Wan came out of the council chamber.
Anakin rubbed his hands together excitedly and smiled, "Ready?"
Just before Luke could answer, Obi-Wan interrupted.
"Anakin, I don't know what you're thinking. This boy can't train as a Jedi!"
Both Anakin and Luke looked up at the old Jedi Master in shock.
Obi-Wan smiled, "Not without looking like a proper Padawan, at least."
Obi-Wan made Luke get a whole wardrobe of Padawan attire. Whenever Luke tried to pick out something black, Obi-Wan would just hold out his hand and shake his head.
"No blacks."
"Why not?" Luke would whine.
"Your father wears enough black for the both of you. No blacks."
Luke hated the idea that he had to wear these drab robes, not to mention that they couldn't be black! He stuck to gray, as he would go nowhere near to brown and light beige. (This turned out to be rather difficult as most of the clothes Obi-Wan found for Luke were hand-me-downs).
Luke crinkled his nose in disgust.
Hand-me-downs.
For all of Luke's life he had whatever he wanted no matter what the price was. Vader got him the best of everything because he had an endless supply of money… Plus, Luke wasn't overly against the idea of stealing either.
Now Luke was being brought to a world that shunned worldly possessions and wore the lamest garments Luke ever laid eyes on. Getting the braid was the last straw.
"I'm not getting the braid." Luke said.
"You have to get the braid," Anakin replied.
"No, I don't have to do anything. It's enough I'm going through this stupid Jedi initiation with the clothes and the lightsaber and the other mindless Padawans. I'm not getting the kriffing braid too."
Anakin sighed, "What if I promise we won't cut your hair?"
Luke ran a hand through his unusually lengthy blonde hair nervously.
"No."
Anakin rolled his eyes, "You're such a girl."
Luke absentmindedly played with his new lightsaber, now hanging by the hilt from his belt.
He felt Anakin come up to him, "The day is still young. Do you want to go practice your new toy with me?"
Luke raised an eyebrow amusedly at his father. "But you don't have a lightsaber."
Anakin pulled out a long silver hilt from his sleeve, "Oh yes I do."
Luke's eyebrows popped up, "You finished it!"
Anakin chuckled and ignited it, "Blue and brand new."
Luke smiled, "Looks like you'll want to take it out for a test run."
Anakin shrugged, feigning non-interest. "I guess. But I think now is as good as a time as ever for you to finally show me what you got…"
Luke's eyes almost fell out from his head, "You wanna spar?!"
Anakin laughed, "No, no! What would the other Masters say if I let you duel me on your first day?"
Luke glowered at Anakin.
This only caused him to laugh harder and slap his son's back, "Come on, we'll start with the remotes."
