Thanks to shanobi and Athena Leigh. You guys are sweethearts.

Eleven: Invasions

My arms cross against my chest. "He what? He said that?"

She nods, plucked brows raised in a nearly severe concern. "I was as dumbstruck as you. I mean, Obi-Wan doesn't relish flaunting his talents, but it just doesn't seem like him to turn down such an honor, especially from a man you both respect. I even mentioned how it would reflect very well on the Temple and the Jedi as a whole, but he wasn't swayed--" She too weaves her long arms, one leg bent a bit forward. "Did he ever tell you about it?"

"No." I glance at the sealed, gleaming door, then at her face. "He never said a word."

She rests her short chin on a fist and frowns. "I don't understand. I don't understand. I tried to ride it off as nerves, and I know he can be shy at times, but this…It doesn't sit well with me at all, Master Jinn."

And from her slightly strained expression, I can tell I don't sit well with Master T'hle'a either. Force, she almost acts as if I put the idea into Obi-Wan's head.

Stifling a sigh, I address her again. "I assure you, I'm not very pleased with this information either." But at least it saved me from forbidding him to go. "I'll talk to him as soon as class ends."

She looks mollified, save for the way her charcoal eyes scrape over me, like she's weighing something within her mind.

I don't want that gaze leveled so completely on me. I can't have such scrutiny aimed at me or my apprentice. "If that's all, Master T'hle'a--"

"You never asked how Chancellor Velorum came into possession of your Padawan's essay." She informs me, half-curt, half-curious.

I say nothing, and the silence lasts a mere beat.

She breathes heavily out, then moistens her lips. "I was attending a luncheon, one of those where Jedi attendance is encouraged. You know the kind. I ended up seated beside the Chancellor. We spoke for a few minutes and he inquired about the progress in my class. I described a recent assignment that I handed out, an open topic essay. He said he would be delighted to receive a few of them to read at his leisure. I agreed, of course. Obi-Wan's was stellar, to say the least, and I asked him if it would be alright to pass it along to the Chancellor.

"Obi-Wan said it was fine, Master Jinn. I could sense how flattered he was. He said it was fine and even seemed a little excited at the attention.

"So you'll see why I don't understand that now he's had this sudden, uncharacteristic change of heart. Why he would go from excitement at the Chancellor's interest to turning down this request." Her lips purse, arms still against her chest. Two purely black orbs are keen on my face. "And you've shown me you feel the same way he does."

There's a dry lump in my throat that's quickly absorbing any trace of moisture.

She doesn't wait for a response from me. "Now, I'm not sure if this is any vital factor, but I had that initial talk with Obi-Wan less than a week before…your mission to Ejhlon." There's a grimness in her voice that I hear echoed in my head, in my own voice.

Ejhlon.

I've never heard that damned word since I was sitting beside my apprentice's hospital bed, rubbing the palms of his hands as he struggled to sleep after a dark dream.

I was never supposed to hear it again.

But she's saying it, saying it without knowing it was stricken from speech. "Or perhaps my apprentice simply doesn't want to recite it, Master T'hle'a." Heat, burning behind my ears."There is a difference between the Chancellor reading it privately and an entire group of people hearing it. He's a young man, and a room full of stuffy dignitaries probably isn't very enticing to him."

She doesn't move, not even to blink. "Or, perhaps, it isn't very enticing to you. After all, you just rejected the proposition before I could finish presenting it." She says coolly. "I'd think a Jedi Master of your stature and intelligence would recognize the value in Obi-Wan accepting the offer. It's not every day the ruler of the Republic asks a kid, Jedi or not, to speak at a highly publicized event."

"My Padawan is quite aware of his skills. He doesn't need an invitation from Chancellor Velorum to affirm them. Neither do I."

"Somehow, I don't think insecurity in Obi-Wan's talents is the issue here, Master Jinn. If it were, then I don't think Master Yoda and Mace would have allowed me to ask Obi-Wan to speak in the first place. They approved it, why didn't you?"

"Master T'hle'a, you previously mentioned our last mission. I'm sure you know that my apprentice endured a horrible ordeal. He doesn't need this stress put upon him while he's still recovering."

Her face softens. "How long will you regard him as recovering? It's been months, and you talk as if he was only released from the healers yesterday. Since he came back, I've seen him spar with you, no one else. In fact, I've never seen him anywhere without you these months.

"And here you are, standing outside the classroom."

There are things burning on the edge of my mouth, words I wish could burst out that would halt her. She doesn't know what she's talking about. How could she? How many days did she spend at the Ejhlon police station? How many nights was she awake, carefully sponging his bruised eye? How many years did she lose to barren circuits and empty routine?

How long did she sleep last night?

"You're very bold to suggest that I would do anything to hinder my apprentice's full recovery." My tone is brittle, cracked with a lethal dose of venom and the taste of lukewarm caffe, drank endlessly during my stay with him in that crisp white room. "I must monitor him, as all Masters do while training their Padawans. I don't appreciate this invasion, Master T'hle'a. And I don't think Obi-Wan would either."

"That's just it." She retorts with evident frustration. "It's only what you believe, not what you know."

My mouth is opening, but then she turns cleanly on her heel, retreating from me in silence.

I rest my back rigidly against the wall.

How many years does she have left with him?