Ja'lisa sat in
the examination room of the healers ward feeling very alone
and
very frightened. The healers had been nice enough as they tended her
injuries, but she was afraid to trust them. After all, a Master
had hurt
her, who was to say other masters would not do the same.
But then she would think about Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. They
truly had a loving
relationship. One that she could only hope
for. Maybe it was her fault
Master Dern beat her. Maybe it was
because she was not a good padawan. A
sudden chill coursed
through her and she wrapped the thin sheet that was on
the cot
around her.
The door opening caused the girl to jump and she
watched warily as Master
Nik-Ka and second healer entered. The
other healer approached, took her arm
and ran a scanner over it.
He then ran it over her ribs. Ja'lisa could not
help tensing up.
Master Nik-Ka saw this with his sharp eyes and tried to
soothe the frightened
child,
"You have nothing to be
afraid of anymore, Ja'lisa. You are safe now."
But
Ja'lisa did not if she could trust anyone. For so long the only
person
she trusted was Obi-Wan. Looking to the master healer she
asked in a quiet
but desperate voice, "Is Obi-Wan okay?"
Warm eyes gazed into hers, "Yes, Obi-Wan is just fine.
We are going to help
you. But you have to trust us. Can you do
that, Ja'lisa?"
Very slowly the girl nodded her head.
Qui-Gon was still sitting in the waiting room with
Obi-Wan, who had fallen
asleep against him. The master had his
arm wrapped protectively and was
thoughtful. He looked up as
someone entered the room. It was Mace.
Mace sat down next to his friend and asked softly, "How is he?"
The other
man shrugged, "As well as can be expected. He's having a hard
time
understanding how this could have happened. And right now,
so am I."
Mace thought very carefully before responding,
"To be honest with you Qui, I
am as well. We should have
seen this. I'm the one who pairs Masters with
Padawans, I
should have seen it!" It was easy to see that Mace was having
a
hard time coming to grips with the council's error. "But, I
promise. I
am going to make this up to that young girl."
An hour later, the healer had finished tending
Ja'lisa's injuries. He
instructed the weary child to rest. Master
Nik-Ka nodded in agreement.
"Yes, sleep Padawan. We will
talk more in the morning."
The girl replied in a sleepy, but broken voice, "I'm not a padawan anymore."
Nik-Ka considered that statement and asked, "Why would you say that?"
"My Master is in trouble because of me. No one will want me now."
Before Nik-Ka could extinguish her fears a
voice from the doorway answered,
"No, young one. It was not
you. It was never you," Mace Windu stepped into
the room and
took a seat next to the terror stricken student. He took her
hand
and went on, "in fact, I would like to sit with you, if that is
all
right."
Innocent eyes opened wide, Ja'lisa could
not believe it. Not only did a
member of the council want to sit
with her, but it was Mace Windu, a hero to
the girl for as long
as she could remember. "I...I think I would like that."
Nik-Ka looked at the scene before him with a smile on his
face. He had a
feeling Ja'lisa was going to be just fine.