All right. Let's just see where this takes us. I must warn you that I am starting to get a little writer's block on what will happen after the next few chapters. And, I was not very inspired when writing the very beginning of this chapter, but hopefully it is still pretty good. Well, enjoy!
Chapter Five
The Start of a Journey
Carissa followed Anakin and Obi-Wan back to the Jedi Temple and once again ran into the same problem. How was she going to get in and stay hidden? She was very matured in her powers, but she was not cocky. She knew that she would not be able to keep her presence hidden from a temple full of Jedi for very long. Suddenly, an idea struck her; and she hurried off to carry it out.
Obi-Wan led his Padawan up to Anakin's quarters and helped him change and lay down on his sleep couch. "I don't understand Master," Anakin whispered finally. "Nobody is able to frighten me, especially to the point of panic and terror, except this Jenna Zan Arbor."
"I don't understand it either, Padawan," Obi-Wan replied soothingly. "I just know that she is able to. Do not feel bad. She was able to intimidate Qui-Gon as well."
"Qui-Gon Jinn was frightened of her?" Anakin asked, sitting up.
"For a short time," Obi-Wan replied. "He was able to hide his feelings well, just as you are. But also just like you, he was finally intimidated by Zan Arbor. I know he never would have wanted you to fall into her hands and suffer as he did."
"What did happen to Qui-Gon when she had him?" Anakin asked curiously and innocently.
"Zan Arbor captured him to study the Force," Obi-Wan replied. "She took blood samples and did everything she could think to do as a scientist to find out what made him Force-sensitive and how he controlled it. That is one of the reasons I am so glad that you did not let on that you were a Jedi. Had you fallen into her hands, I don't know what I would have done."
Anakin was not really satisfied with the answer, and he opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything, however, a young girl burst through the door. She was wearing a black cape and cowl and a black suit underneath. The only way that Anakin knew that she was a girl was her height and her figure. Her voice would soon also add to the fact that she was a girl. She was on the verge of hysteria when she cried, "Oh! Please, help me! My house has been attacked, and… and one of my friends suggested I come to you and…!"
"Calm down," Obi-Wan soothed, leading the girl over to a chair and helping her sit down. "Now, take a deep breath and tell us what happened."
"Well," the girl started again, "my village was attacked by a group of Tusken Raiders. I don't know how many other people survived, but I wouldn't hold my breath on very many. I was with one of my friends and her older sister. Her older sister told us to leave as soon as she saw the Tusken Raiders. Then she told us to find someone who would take us to Coruscant and to go to the Jedi Temple and look for a person by the name of Anakin Skywalker. She said she once knew him a while back when he was a slave, and then he became a Jedi. I got out, but I don't know what happened to my friend, Ti-Dorria. I hope she's all right."
"Okay, calm down," Obi-Wan told the girl soothingly once again, as he could see that she was once more nearing hysteria. "What is your name?"
The girl sniffled and said, "Carissa."
"Carissa," Obi-Wan repeated. "And how did you get in here?"
"I talked to some people at the gate and told them what happened and that I had to see Anakin Skywalker. Are you Anakin Skywalker?" Carissa replied.
"No," Obi-Wan said. He motioned to his Padawan, but Anakin replied before Obi-Wan could say another word.
"I am he," Anakin said, looking at Carissa. "If you don't mind, who is this woman who told you to look for me?"
"Gwen Andiada," Carissa replied. She continued to stare at him as if she was expecting him to suddenly change into a mutant. What is she staring at? Anakin thought. As if she had read his mind, she said, "You are a lot younger than I thought. I expected a man somewhat older."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Anakin replied.
"Oh no," Carissa replied hastily. "You didn't disappoint me. Well, you didn't make me overjoyed either. It's kind of hard to explain."
"I understand," Anakin replied gently, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "But… why would Gwen have suggested that you come to me?"
"You were the only person she could trust. She knew that you would be able to help, and I think she was a little eager to see you again," Carissa replied. "At any rate, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to find her. I do hope that she's alive, but it's very doubtful. Tusken Raiders are not known to take prisoners, or if they do, they are not known to treat them very well."
"Yes, I know," Anakin said softly, his eyes clouding over. He was thinking about his mother's death at the hands of those animals.
"We will do everything in our power to help you," Obi-Wan said, startling Anakin out of his thoughts. "We must go meet with the Council on a matter right now, and then we will ask them permission to go to your village and see what we can do.
"Oh, thank you!" Carissa cried, throwing her arms around Anakin's neck; because he was the closest.
"Come, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "The sooner we obtain permission from the Jedi Council, the sooner we can leave.
"You can stay here," Anakin told Carissa. "We will be back shortly."
Carissa stayed standing and watched them leave. Then, an evil grin was pasted to her face. Phase one was complete. How gullible they were! Now, it was time for her mission to continue. She looked at a clock. It was about eight 'o clock at night. How did it get that late? Carissa had a feeling that if time could pass that quickly, the week would be quicker than she had anticipated.
Carissa opened the door softly and slightly. There was no one in sight. Good. She opened the door all the way and walked out into the hallway. They're probably all in their rooms meditating or doing whatever they do. They don't even know that I'm here! I've even succeeded in keeping them from knowing I'm Force-sensitive and knowing the real reason that I'm here. Suddenly, she stopped thinking. Sidious had warned her not to be prideful. He said that it led to cockiness and clumsiness, and she would not be able to fulfill her mission efficiently if at all.
Carissa had promised her lord that she would not fail him. She followed Anakin's Force-signature, specifically tuning into his and no one else's. She followed it, and it got stronger every second. Finally, she turned a corner and immediately went back behind it. There was Anakin and Obi-Wan all right, but there were glass doors, and everybody could see her clearly if she walked around the corner. However, it was all right. From where she was, she could hear everything that was being said in the Council's chambers clearly. She heard lightsabers igniting and the shuffling of feet. It was only one pair, however; so she knew it was Anakin. Then, she heard the little green muppet Yoda start to speak in his backwards language. "Anakin Skywalker, by the power of the Force, I dub thee a Knight."
Carissa risked a glance around the corner just in time to see Yoda cut off Anakin's Padawan braid. She knew that her two "guardians" would soon be returning to Anakin's quarters, so she ran off through the corridors and back into Anakin's quarters. Not five minutes later, Anakin and Obi-Wan returned. "We have obtained permission from the Jedi Council to accompany you back to your village and see what we can do to remedy the situation," Obi-Wan told her.
"Thank you," she said enthusiastically.
"We leave at dawn, so I suggest we all sleep well tonight," Anakin said. He saw that Carissa's gaze had moved to him as he spoke, but he noticed it lingered more on his shoulder where his braid had been. "I have become a Jedi Knight," he told her.
"That's wonderful!" she cried. "I am so sorry to have bothered you at such an important time."
"It's no trouble. It certainly wouldn't interfere with my knighting," Anakin replied.
"But I've had to cut your time short on being able to reflect and tell your friends," Carissa returned.
"Maybe so, but it really wouldn't have mattered either way. True, reflecting is good; but it is better to be helping someone. Besides, this counts as my first mission as a Knight," Anakin replied with a twinkle in his eye.
Carissa smiled, and Obi-Wan said goodnight and left. Anakin handed Carissa and pulled out a sleeping mat. At first, he had insisted that he sleep on it and Carissa take his sleep couch. However, Carissa was very stubborn and would not have it. Finally, Anakin gave up the futile argument, saying that they needed to get some rest. He took his sleep couch, and Carissa took the sleep mat.
Carissa had already planned everything out. It was true that a village had been attacked by Tusken Raiders. It was true that Gwen Andiada was Anakin's friend and lived in that village. It was true that most had been killed. Everything was going as planned. It was likely that she and the two Jedi would stay and try to remedy the situation for a while. Then, she had arranged to have one of the survivors of the village claim to be Carissa's father. The two Jedi would leave her with good wishes and a person they thought was her father. Then, she would contact Sidious and a transport would be sent to pick her up and take her back to whatever planet she had been taken to so long ago. Everything was all planned out It would be easy to carry it out. However, the question still remained in Carissa's mind. Why had Sidious wanted her to keep an eye on a Jedi Padawan to begin with? It didn't make sense, but Carissa had a feeling that everything would fall into place soon.
Well, what'd you think? Don't be afraid to tell me! I won't kill you. Besides, I need to know if I'm going to continue with this story. Like I said before, chapters will either be staying long and you'll get updates less frequently or shorter and you'll get updates frequently. It's still your choice, and I need to know! See you next chapter!