4: Awkward Conversation

Mr. Ashwood served his wife and daughters the night's meal. It was spaghetti and mashed potatoes—the girls' favorite—yet neither of them seemed to enjoy it much that night. They kept exchanging mistrusting glances when they thought the other was not looking and when eye-contact was made, they would smile innocently and glance back down at their plates.

Their mother was the first to notice this. She asked if the two had gotten in to a fight today, for come to think of it, they had both kept to themselves and stayed in their rooms all day. Her daughters assured her that nothing had happened but it was Lilly who saved their skins from further interrogation.

"Emma came in to Sunday school today with a cold..."

"Oh of course! I thought you two were acting a bit tired. You should both stay home from school tomorrow and rest," Mrs. Ashwood told them. So it was with that that Arden and Lilly shared one final glance, the older one not sure whether to be appreciative or even more suspicious. She remembered what Obi-Wan had said about waiting until tomorrow afternoon to investigate about Vader. How would they manage this if Lilly was home too? At least Arden got out of school earlier so they might have had a chance... not anymore.

After dinner, Arden approached Lilly before they went into their bedrooms. She made sure their parents were nowhere to be seen before whispering,

"I know you're up to something." Her eyes bore into those of her sister, filling the thirteen-year-old with anger. What an idiot, if she's so sure why hasn't her Jedi pal done anything about it yet? She will get what's coming to her tomorrow.

With a sudden thrust of her forearms, Lilly shoved the brunette into the opposite wall, sending a resounding thud throughout the hallway that surely their parents would have heard if they were not out on the deck. Arden gaped at her little sister, whose eyes were now almost brown. Her chest ached, as did her back which had narrowly avoided the large potted plant to her right.

"Lilly," she said with confusion.

"Good night, sister." The blonde shut the door behind her and left Arden all alone in the dimly lit hall. She saw her door open a crack followed by Obi-Wan sneaking out and helping her up. The Jedi asked her if she was alright and what had happened.

"I wish I knew."

Vader nodded when his apprentice told him what she had done. Any remorse she normally would have felt was gone with that simple head movement. He told her that she had done well yet it was merely a warm-up for tomorrow's proceedings. Was she ready for what must be done?

"I can kill her, Master," she told him with confidence. Outside of the window, a chipmunk raced about like mad on a branch. Vader walked up to the window, opened it, reached out and grabbed the small animal with a snake-like accuracy. He held it out for his pupil.

"Show me."

She knew what he was asking, and it would have been easy enough had the creature not at the last moment looked up at her from her open palms and squeaked quietly. Her brow furrowed but she could feel the dark will of Vader, so without a further doubt, she took hold of the rodent's neck and pinched it until she could hear the pops and cracks of vertebrae and arteries. It gave her a satisfaction she had never experienced—a feeling of superiority and control that Lillian Ashwood could have never possessed. If this was what it felt like to end a small animal's life, she imagined how good it would feel to end her sister's.

Darth Initria smiled at her Master hopefully and saw a mixed expression playing upon his face. He informed her she had done well but she had hesitated for too long. That she would need more practice, and that tomorrow they would sneak out of the house and search for larger prey. For he reminded her, there was a very large difference between killing a rodent and a fellow human. She nodded and said that in a few moments, when her parents were in their room, she would go out and get him some food. He thanked her and for those few minutes, they sat in the thick silence.

After she heard the rumbling of the Jedi's stomach, Arden was aware for the first time that Obi-Wan hadn't eaten a thing all day! She went to her door and heard her mother and father come back from outside talking out in the hallway. Finally, when she heard them shutting their bedroom door, she waited just a moment more before asking Kenobi what he would like to eat.

"Oh, I'm not picky," he told her with a smile. So, sticking a head out her door first much like the Jedi had just done, Arden crept out into the hallway and made her way towards the kitchen. Before opening the whicker door, she heard another person rummaging through something. Arden ducked behind the sofa near the entrance to the kitchen and shortly found her sister tiptoeing out with an armful of assorted foods. Her first reaction was annoyance; there would surely be hardly anything left for Obi! Yet then the more shocking realization hit her. This meant that Lilly really was hiding someone in her room too... either that or she just suddenly had a craving for an entire day's worth of food, which Arden doubted. She stepped to the refrigerator and pulled out what her little sister had left.

Kenobi's eyebrows rose when Arden came back in. "Oh dear, I couldn't eat all that!" he said playfully but his tone soon changed when Arden set the food down on her desk and told him what she had seen Lilly doing.

"It is certain then," he sighed. "Lilly has been hiding Vader in her room and he has already begun to train her, against you I fear."

Arden remembered the strange incident in the hallway and felt herself quite compelled to agree. She asked what they could do? Obi-Wan told her that tomorrow would be the day of the dark ones' attacks or he wasn't a Jedi. He also told her that since Lilly had received a head start on physical training, they would need to work through the night. The girl quickly nodded, eager to be taught by a Jedi Master. In the movie, he had beaten Anakin, so maybe that luck would hold true in real life as well.