Chapter 5

When I woke up, it was late in the evening. Blood stained the sleeve of my shirt. I quickly got up and changed into the green gown I was planning on wearing to lunch. I looked through the window for Padme and Obi-Wan. I didn't want to disturb them... actually I did. But they weren't there, so I decided to enter the lounge.

"Leena, you're awake!"

I gasped, and nearly tripped on my own feet.

"Anakin, what are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you..." He replied. "Obi-Wan and Padme went to dinner. We were invited, but I said I would stay and wait for you. Make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine." I said, not exactly warming up to him. I thought about what I had heard Obi-Wan say earlier. Could it be true that he isn't always looking at Padme? No. He was just trying to find a way to stop thinking about me, to get me out of his mind so he could focus on her. Are they married?

"Do you want me to cook something?" He asked. "I learned how to cook. Obi-Wan taught me how to make spaghetti."

"Thanks. That would be nice." I said, only because my stomach was growling so loud, Obi-Wan could probably hear it, even at the restaurant. I wish I could stop thinking about him.

Anakin set off to work. I helped him by finding the noodles and by getting vegetables for the sauce. I didn't know how funny he was! Even in this dark, depressing time, I was laughing hysterically. I threw a limp spaghetti noodle at his face. Pretending to want me to try the sauce, he 'accidentally' spilled some on my nose.

I made some garlic bread, and we were ready to eat. Romantically, Anakin lit a few candles and put on one glass of champagne for each of us.

"This looks great." I said. "I haven't eaten very well lately."

"Neither have I." Anakin said. "It seems, the older Yoda gets, the worse his cooking becomes."

"Age matters not, when to cooking it comes." I said, mocking the ancient Jedi Master. He laughed.

"It does if you're Yoda." Anakin said. "I think we should find out where he comes from, that way we can discover if his native cuisine is really so awful."

"Yeah." I agreed, shortly. I took a bite of the spaghetti, and to my surprise, it was delicious. I had never eaten something that had tasted so good. "This is amazing!"

"Obi-Wan learned from Qui-Gon, who learned from..." I waited to hear the secret. Anakin's brow furrowed in concentration. "Well, I'm not sure who Qui-Gon learned from. I've never asked."

"Well, we can interrogate Yoda about that too." I joked. He laughed again. I like it when he laughs. It makes me feel good about myself, which is something pretty amazing.

For a moment, we ate in silence, enjoying the plentiful flavors. I had never had champagne before. At first, it tasted disgusting.

"What is wrong with this?" I asked, scrunching up my nose in disgust.

"You've never had alcohol before, have you." Anakin stated. "It's an acquired taste."

I looked confused, I guess, so he explained.

"An acquired taste is something you grow to enjoy. At first, it is the most awful thing, but then you begin to like it more and more, until you can't imagine why you never liked it before."

"Kind of like love." I said.

"Yes, in a way." He said, thinking.

"Why are people so blind?" I asked, setting down my fork. "Why can't they see what's right in front of them?"

"Sometimes, people don't want to. They might be wrapped up in something else. Other times, they're not ready."

"But it still hurts." I complained.

"What happened?" Anakin asked.

"Nothing." I replied. Then, wanting to escape the spotlight I asked, "Do you love Padme?"

"Padme?" He asked. He thought for a moment. "No."

"Really?"

"Well, I can't imagine life without her. She is one of my closest friends. But do I love her? Would I want to spend the rest of my life with her? Would I want to marry her? No."

"Are Jedi allowed to marry?" I asked.

"Yes. And no." He replied... he always seems so deep in concentration. It's cute. "It's frowned upon by the Order. If nobody asks, they're not going to say. It's hard, because we are encouraged to love, but forbidden any sort of attachment."

"But love is attachment," I said. "Friendship is an attachment."

"You're right." He said. "But part of being a Jedi is being able to ignore those attachments so they can't be used against you."

"That's impossible."

"Not for everyone. Some people take it so seriously, they ignore their human halves. They forget what makes them human, and they function well as a Jedi for the most part. But in many cases, a Jedi is called to compassion. Something that can't be understood unless you recognize your humanity."

"I get it." I said. "But the Order contradicts itself. Very faulty."

"Yes."

Behind us, the doors whizzed open, and Padme and Obi-Wan walked in.

"Anakin, you cook?" Padme asked in surprise. "You never cook for me, I'm offended!"

"Well, Obi-Wan has a rather large pocketbook. You can live off of him."

"I guess." Obi-Wan shrugged. "How are you feeling, Leena?"

"Much better." I said. "It seems all I needed was some good cooking, and interesting conversation."

"Interesting conversation? From Anakin?" He asked.

"Well, master, it seems that there is hope for me." Anakin said.

"No." Obi-Wan disagreed. "Conversation doesn't make a good Jedi."

"But it makes a good, loyal, honest person." I said, defending Anakin. "Isn't that what a Jedi is?"

I hope he noticed the friction I put between us. Is it possible that he was catching on from earlier?

"Are you done with dinner," Padme asked, breaking the eerie silence. "Or can Obi-Wan and I join you?"

"I'm done." I said, even though I still had food on my plate. "You can have the rest of mine."

"It's alright I----" I broke up Padme's sentence.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening, Anakin. The food was great."

"I'll see you later then?"

"Yes." I said, walking away.