"That's not good." He heard himself saying.
Anakin speed up, keeping one eye on the padawan parallel with him. The padawan had obviously seen Anakin because they speed up also. The person ran low to the ground, the activated lightsaber held forward at the side. Anakin caught a glimpse of the holonet droid following behind the other padawan.
The two padawans' reached the one set of stairs at exactly the same time. Anakin activated his lightsaber and instantly the two began to duel. The person he was dueling was female, she was about the same age as Anakin, only a little shorter. She had long black hair tied up into a high ponytail and a slim, fast body. She wore only her black pants and a thin black tank top under the vest, obviously she had had the same idea as Anakin.
The two fought all the way up the stairs, their blades becoming a blur. The girl was good, Anakin had to admit, she never blocked his attacks directly but either jumped out of the way or defended with an attack causing Anakin to have to change his attack to a block. They spun around and around as they went up the stairs, each trying to get the upper hand, but neither receiving it.
When they were up the stairs a thin, straight wall broke the two apart. They kept running, each with their sabers still activated. Every now and then a large hole in the wall allowed a quick glimpse at the other. Anakin ran slightly bent, sweat beginning to drip from his body. The girl ran low, sweat sliding down her body.
Abruptly the wall ended and the two rounded on each other, their lightsabers becoming a blur of color. They kept running as they dueled, each getting closer and closer to the finish, to winning.
Anakin raised a hand to call upon the force, trying to slow the girl down, only to find that she had done the same. They stopped their running and concentrated on forcing the other back with the force, their hands practically met as they pushed against the others power.
All of a sudden both were thrown back from the other, their combined power causing the force to back fire on them selves. Anakin slammed back into a wall, losing his breath. He saw that the girl had also hit a wall, he watched as she slowly slid to the floor, panting for breath. Struggling to rise Anakin tried to get to the finish line, he could now see it, a small door that blinded right in with the wall. The only reason he could see it was because he could sense it, thus know where it was located.
As he headed toward the door so did the girl, Anakin grit his teeth and willed his legs to go faster. They did but only just so, they were beginning to shake under the strain. He reached the door at exactly the same time as the girl. They both went through at the same time, each having used the force to open it.
When they were through the door Anakin had to shield his eyes from the blinding light. He slumped back onto the wall and breathed heavily, his still activated lightsaber clutched in his hand. He heard the girl lean against the wall also, he breathing hard and labored.
"Well done Anakin!" Obi-Wan said clasping his padawan's shoulder.
Anakin opened his eyes slowly and looked at his master.
"Who won?" He asked.
Obi-Wan frowned, not in anger but in thought and surprise.
"Actually it was a flat out tie." Obi-Wan smiled again. "Adeana sure did give you a run for your money!" He said.
"Adeana?"
Anakin turned to look at the girl, she was standing in front of Mace Windu and was nodding her head as he spoke to her, his common frown still on his face.
"You were a little sloppy when it came to fighting up the steps Adeana, we will have to work on that." Mace was saying. Then Anakin saw him break out into his very uncommon smile. "But I'm proud of you, you did an amazing job!"
Adeana looked up at her master and smiled slightly, she still looked worn out from the maze.
"Thank you master." She said.
"Don't think me! Your the one who worked for it." Mace said.
Adeana's smile widened and she nodded her head.
Mace walked over to stand next to Obi-Wan, Adeana trailing along behind.
"Good job, Skywalker." Mace said. He turned to Obi-Wan.
"I must say you have trained him well."
Obi-Wan snorted. "Me, train him? It's more like the other way around, I merely guided him and gave him a few words of advice now and then."
Anakin laughed.
"A few words? Master, every chance you get you go into one of your hour long speeches!"
"It's not like you ever listen to them." Obi-Wan countered.
Changing the subject Anakin spoke again.
"What kind of test was that?" He asked to no one in particular.
"One testing your reaction to new things and your adaptation to new environments." Mace Windu answered.
"Well it sure was a neat idea." Anakin said, just now beginning to breath normally.
He looked past Mace's shoulder to look at Adeana. She was looking him straight in the eye, neither frowning nor smiling. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, more of a gray than anything else. She seemed to be sizing Anakin up, pondering him as if he were a stray dog.
Anakin was just about to say something to her when Obi-Wan slapped him on the back.
"You had better go get washed up. You positively stink!"
Frowning at the statement Anakin nodded and broke his eye contact with Adeana. He walked away with Obi-Wan, not noticing the significant look the two masters gave each other.
"She's powerful, isn't she." Obi-Wan said out of the blue.
Having been deep in thought Anakin jerked his head up and nodded.
"Yeah."
Obi-Wan looked at his padawan.
"Did you even hear what I said?" He asked.
Anakin shook his head.
"I didn't think so."