The Color of Truth: The Places in Between
Chapter Twenty-Four
Padmé was becoming a bit obsessed over the private life of our daughter. Rightfully so. She recalled a childhood of being raised by an overly-assertive and ambitious mother and explained she was trying to be proactive and caring. If I weren't around, she would most likely demand Leia listen and follow her advice. Instead, we had reached a compromise. We would share our experiences with our daughter but ultimately allow her to make up her own mind.
If things didn't work out as Leia hoped, then lesson learned. This wouldn't be the first or last time she believed she was in love.
She'd made the announcement to us early this morning. Apparently, she and Jaxson had shared their similar feelings late last night. Leia insisted Jaxson had made the confession first, although she quickly expressed her own sentiments afterward. She was over the moon and despite her mother's misgivings, I had encouraged Padmé to at least appear happy about the news.
What I hadn't informed her yet was the fact that just after morning meal while I was headed toward the sap lines, the young man himself had stopped me. He wished to speak with me about his intentions.
His intentions! He and my daughter had known each other barely a month! Wasn't it a little early for them to be discussing long-term plans?
Despite the shock he had to have noticed on my face, the young man informed me that he wasn't going to stay on Dantooine much longer. He believed he was meant for a loftier existence; to live in a bustling city, and wished to somebody become a business owner. Perhaps on Correllia, he had told me. I absentmindedly nodded my head in understanding, at least until he announced that Leia was going with him.
Over my dead body! I shouted inside my head.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm," I told him instead. "There's not much to do on Dantooine unless you're interested in agriculture. But some of us enjoy the solitude and more sedate lifestyle."
"That's because you're old," Jaxson explained without even a trace of a smile.
Insolent youth.
"A place like this is fine for those who are winding down and are unable to do much anymore. But young people like Leia and me –we long for excitement and adventure! We need to be in a place where things happen and there are interesting places to go and new beings to meet!"
I understood his viewpoint. At one point in my life, when I was a young padawan, I felt exactly the same way. I longed to go on missions, to see the universe with my own eyes, to experience the variety of other beings and cultures. The one difference was that I hadn't convinced someone else's underage daughter to go with me! I had to think of a reasonable excuse for her not to go!
"Leia isn't an adult yet," I reminded him. "And by the way, how old are you?"
"I'm twenty-one, but Leia is far more mature than I am."
Jaxson grinned as if he was proud of himself for admitting that fact, when it was rather obvious. The boy had his head in the clouds. There was nothing wrong with ambition, but not when it put my daughter's health and happiness at risk.
"She wants to go with me, and honestly there's very little you can do about that. Not with her powers. Any attempt to keep her here would be futile and you know it. I've invited her to come with me and plan on leaving by the end of the week. She wanted me to tell you."
Somewhere in there was a veiled threat. Jaxson may be delusional but he had our daughter convinced otherwise and most likely, there was very little we could say to change her mind.
I had a vision myself, and it wasn't of pursuing life's pleasures. It was of running my 'saber through this little bastard's heart. Of course, that would only turn him into a martyr in our daughter's eyes and she would hate me for doing it before leaving us forever.
Jaxson had been correct. There was very little we could do to stop them. Leia knew how we felt, she knew what we desired. While I felt as if she were abandoning the Jedi and her family, she probably was dreaming of starting one of her own.
Oh, Leia. It's too soon for that! You're about to make a huge mistake and I'm unable to protect you from the pain you're going to feel!
"You're going to do what you think is right," I finally decided to say. "Although I could argue multiple reasons why it's a bad idea. If you're so dead set on leaving, I wish you would at least wait a year. Leia will be eighteen then and at least society will see her as an adult."
"I actually brought that up," Jaxson claimed. "But she wouldn't hear of it. She's as excited as I am about getting off this rock. We're leaving at the end of the week, like I said."
Without another word, as if he believed he had the final say, Jaxson walked off. With a flick of my hand, I could slam his body onto the solid trunk of a nearby tree to at least incapacitate him for a short while. Perhaps I could claim it was an accident, though there were now numerous workers in the forest who would most likely witness the attack.
Time. What I needed was more time to convince Leia this was a bad idea. I just didn't know how to go about it! The end of the week was three days from now and I stared at retreating form of Jaxson and watched my only daughter run to him and cling to him. She smiled as he delivered what he thought was a successful conversation with me, I realized I needed advice and knew exactly who to go to.
I discovered Qui-Gon in his room, which was where he spent the majority of his time these days. His nose was stuck in a text, as usual, apparently absorbed in what appeared to be a historical reference to the time when Tatooine was once a rainforest.
"Master?" I announced so as not to startle him.
"Have a seat Obi-Wan. First allow me to finish this chapter."
I did as he suggested and sat down on a wooden chair with a natural fiber mesh seat. His private room here reminded me of the one we had shared back on Coruscant. Slowly, he had begun filling it with a variety of plant specimens he'd discovered during his walks through the woods. Some were even in bloom under his caring and watchful eye.
"All right," he announced after a few minutes. "Fascinating stuff, although I think Tatooine favors the sand. It seems to suit it better. Now, what may I do for you, my Obi-Wan?"
His mood appeared to have improved, although there was still the burden of loss hidden deep within his eyes.
I shared the conversation I'd had with Jaxson and waited again patiently while he mulled over the information. Whenever it came to personal advice, my Master always took his time. He had never been one to blurt out random thoughts.
"You have no choice but to let her go," he confirmed.
"I know and that's what's bothering me. I'd much rather she stay, but she's almost an adult now and needs to make up her own mind and live with the consequences of her own mistakes."
"You believe this is a mistake." It wasn't a question.
I couldn't disguise my look of disbelief. "Of course I do! She's still a child! She doesn't know anything about the universe or love!"
"Did you?" he asked me bluntly.
"I knew a little." I wasn't about to tell him exactly how much, but during my days in the Temple as a young Padawan, I'd done my fair share of experimenting.
"If you're talking about you and Padawan Tachi, that was nothing but innocent exploration and discovery, as most younglings participate in. You knew nothing of real love until you met Padmé Amidala. By the way, what does she think about this news?"
I hung my head and stared at the paneled floor. "I haven't told her yet."
"I see. You're afraid she's going to be upset about it."
"Upset? She'll be livid! And most likely will either confront Leia or Jaxson – maybe even both - and make things much worse than they already are."
"This is a difficult situation, Padawan. My advice is that you.."
"I hope you're not about to say meditate on the Force about it," I groaned. I'd expected that answer from Yoda, but not my own Master!
"That's exactly what I was going to say," he responded sternly. "But unlike the Council, I would advise it not only for you to find peace with the situation, but to seek out a solution to the problem! Perhaps there's something about Jaxson you haven't discovered yet. In time, I'm certain his true self will begin to show.."
"We don't have time to wait for that!" I argued. "They're leaving the system in three days!"
"Center yourself, Padawan," Qui-Gon scolded.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly while focusing on the silent eddies of the Force. Immediately, the exercise calmed the frustration stirring inside.
"Very good," my Master stated after I'd recovered. "If I were you, I'd do everything within my power to find out more about this boy. Discover if he's telling the truth about what happened to his father. If the evidence speaks otherwise, surely Leia will see him with clearer vision. She's a level-headed young woman," he told me, "despite her present blindness. Have faith, Obi-Wan."