Author: rebelstrike21
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. The story of a small initiate and that initiate's purpose in the galaxy. Obi-Wan is Qui-Gon's apprentice and everything in TPM still happens. But Xanatos was not Qui-Gon's apprentice and did not turn to the Dark side. He was trained by another master, although Qui-Gon's last padawan, Mikel Lander did turn.
Time Frame: Pre-TPM and then fast forwards to Post-TPM
Spoilers: For TPM
Category: Angst/Drama
Disclaimers: The Star Wars universe and all of its characters belong to George Lucas, I'm making no money off of this and this is written for entertainment purposes only. Any characters that are not part of Star Wars belong to me.
Chapter 1: Too Far Gone
The rain silently pattered down on one little initiate sitting in the Gardens. The initiate sat with her back to a stone bench, her knees up to her chest and arms wrapped around. She just sat there, tears mingling with rain, staring into the darkness. The crèche master had long come out to tell the little humanoid girl to, "Come in, before you catch a cold." But still she sat on, in that same position, worrying the elderly master.
-Flash Back-
Iris just had a rough day with her lessons, all her teachers had told her that she was behind in her studies, and that she had better put her act together. Or else she would be removed from the advanced class and back to classes with her own age mates.
Walking with her head down, she suddenly found herself standing in front of the Gardens. Iris always had felt better after sitting a while in her favorite spot near a small stream. With a sudden burst of resolve, Iris walked to where she always sat only to find her place occupied by a junior padawan. She looked up to see the padawan before her give a reassuring glance.
With a smooth, cultured accent he said, "Hello, my name is Obi-Wan Kenobi." And he stuck his hand out while giving a warm smile.
-Flashback-
That was about a year ago, and the beginning to a friendship. Thinking back to that memory which had resurfaced in her mind, brought the ghost of a smile to the initiate's face.
Obi-Wan Kenobi had just gone out with his friends; Bant, Garen, and Reeft and was walking past the Gardens when he chanced a glimpse outside to see a small piteous form huddling near the bench. Reaching out to the Force, he sought out their Force signature. The Force signature was unusually brilliant but was radiating sorrow and misery. Turning he saw the head crèche master, Master Litache.
"Good evening, Padawan Kenobi." The crèche master acknowledged his presence, but did not tear her motherly gaze from the Gardens.
"Good evening to you, Master Litache. May I ask the reason as to why you are here?" he asked, tilting his head towards her, his eyes curious.
"I don't know what has gotten into that child, she has been sitting out there since this afternoon and nothing I say will make her come in." Master Litache sighed and shook her head sadly.
/Oh Force. This afternoon? I was supposed to meet Iris here this afternoon…..She couldn't have been so stubborn as to stay out here until now, could she/
"What…is this initiate's name?" Obi-Wan asked cautiously, dreading the answer.
"Iris Asher, why?" Now it was the crèche master's turn to be inquisitive.
/Sith! It IS her. I can't believe that I broke my promise. And today was her Naming Day of all days/ Obi-Wan winced at the thought.
"Oh, um…uh…no reason. I can…I can try to get her to come in." he offered.
"Thank you Obi-Wan, if you succeed in doing that, please bring her back to the crèche. She hasn't ate dinner yet." said Master Litache, as she walked in the direction of the crèche to attend the other initiates.
He slowly wandered into the Gardens, and stopped a short distance from where the little initiate was sitting, misery rolling off of her in waves. If she felt him coming, she gave no indication. Obi-Wan walked up to where Iris sat and quietly sat down next to her. By now she knew he was here, but still, she didn't say anything.
For a few moments a tension filled silence filled the air as the two sat on the wet grass, until a small dejected voice suddenly spoke up, "Wh..where were you, Obi?" Her voice sounded so crushed that Obi-Wan had to gather his courage before being able to look in her in the face and answer.
Looking down, he finally saw her small elven face. Her raven-black hair was plastered onto her face by the torrents of rain. Her normally stormy blue-gray eyes were even more turbulent than usual. Washed away by the rain, Obi-Wan could barely see the streaks that her tears left behind. And in that moment Iris seemed so much more childlike than her eight years of age. It was then that Obi-Wan realized that it could be too late to set things right. For the last week, Obi-Wan had pushed her aside in place of his friends and it was like he had taken a blade and ran it through her heart, hurting her deeply without even thinking twice.
"I-I'm sorry that I broke my promise, Iris. I..I-I was out with my friends. I know today was your Naming Day. " Obi-Wan reached out to touch her shoulder as a sign of comfort, a gesture that always calmed the little one, when she suddenly flinched away from his hand. "How about I take you out for a trip to the Coruscant Zoo tomorrow? Just the two of us? What do you say?" he gently inquired. Hoping silently that she would say yes.
Abruptly, Iris stood up and slightly bowed to Obi-Wan, leaving him confused by her actions, until she spoke in a soft and hesitant voice, "I-I apologize for taking your time Padawan Kenobi. I will not bother you again." With that, Iris turned and ran out of the Gardens, leaving a dumbfounded senior padawan behind.
It took a moment for Obi-Wan to gather his senses and run after the little initiate. When he got to the hallway, there was no sign of her. Obi-Wan looked both ways down the hallway before walking slowly back to his quarters. He never knew that Iris was just sitting in a little niche in the wall, watching him silently as the tears fell down.
/He didn't even care….h-he just walked away./ Iris unconsciously brought her knees closer to her small chin and buried her head into her hands, wallowing in her raging emotions.