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It's two years later now, we're going to be fast forwarding in this chappy and in the next, so yep!

Anakin, Lexi, Nave 11 / Ana 15 / Obi-Wan 27 ( The rest I'm sure you can figure out or wooteva. )

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"Light in the Shadow"

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Chapter 7

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( Two years later... )

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Screams. They were screaming. It pained her ears and, afterwards, left them ringing. They sounded so small, these screams; so alone. So forlorn.

Who were they?

Who?

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Ana sat up in bed with a gasp that filled the room. She looked around uneasily, cold sweat trickling from her brow. Her stomach was roiling, and with quick steps, she raced to her bathroom and proceeded to empty out last night's dinner.

Struggling for breath, she sat on the cool tiled floor, her hands held before her, shaking. Before she had woken up, only seconds before, images of Younglings strewn about the temple halls had assailed her. They were all lying so still...so motionless and though they did not look dead, she knew that they were.

She brought a hand to her forehead, blowing out a pint up breath. Nothing was going to happen to them, right? The Younglings would be fine. But teachings from her classes in the days that she was a Youngling came back. Force visions...how they often led to reality. The dream she had could never lead to reality could it? How could the Jedi ever let themselves suffer such a fatal blow?

She shook her head, feeling dizzy. She brought up the last of her dinner and leaned back against the smooth bathroom wall tiredly. The dream meant nothing...it was just a dream...

And yet the pain felt so real...so staggeringly real...

"Ana?" Obi-Wan's cautious voice drifted from inside of her room before he appeared in her bathroom doorway. His expression immediately washed into great concern. He knelt beside her, frowning. "Padawan, what happened? Are you sick?"

Ana closed her eyes, feeling very tired. "I think so..." This was the only response she could muster.

She faintly recalled being moved before she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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"She had a mild fever, but it has gone down now. I suggest letting her rest for at least a day before putting her through any rigorous training."

"Do you know what caused this reaction?"

"..well, something seems to have stressed her to a point of physical exhaustion. I do not know her thoughts so you will have to ask her yourself, if anything is bothering her, that is."

"Yes, thank you very much."

"It was certainly not a problem, Obi-Wan. We've all had our fair share of over-exertion. She has probably just been pushing herself too hard."

"Yes, you might be right..."

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Ana opened her eyes slowly, blinking to adjust to the light.

"Good morning," the voice of her Master greeted.

She turned her head to look at him, offering a tiny smile. "Morning...what are you doing in my room?" she asked with some confusion.

Obi-Wan sighed. "We're in the infirmary. You were sick."

Ana sat upright suddenly, the headrush following soon after. She hunched over, shaking it away. Obi-Wan stood beside her bedside now, leaning over her.

"Be careful. You're fever may have gone away, but you still need rest."

Ana let out a small whimper, shaking her head. "I had a horrible dream, Master. I wish I had forgotten it," she whispered.

Obi-Wan sat down next to her, frowning. "What was the dream about?"

"The Younglings...they were all dead." She could sense her Master's disbelief. "But it was so real! I could feel the pain, and I could see the carnage as plain as day. Something terrible happens here..."

Obi-Wan watched her with a grave expression. "Padawan-"

"Please, don't tell me it was just a dream," Ana interrupted, looking up at him tiredly, "I'm not saying it wasn't one, and I'm not saying it was a Force Vision. I just...it felt like reality...like the future. But I also felt something there, something in the background of it all...a thread of light that led away from that...to something else..." She sighed. "I'm so confused..."

Obi-Wan did not know what to think of his padawan's dream. He placed a comforting arm around her shoulder, letting the silence craddle them. "I would not worry over it, Ana...the Force often offers us many strange things...and revelations. But all of the Jedi, you, and me, we will never let anything happen to the Younglings. And nothing will ever change that."

Ana listened to the determination in his words, and believed. He was right. The Jedi would never let anything bad happen to the Younglings. They would be fine. And her dream was only a dream.

She hugged her Master close, resting her head on his chest. "Thank you, Master."

"Anytime, Padawan."

Ana stayed in his warming embrace for a long while, sleep creeping up on her with silent feet. She thought about her past. All the Jedi classes and training before seemed like a blur. Ever since she'd been placed under the guidanceship of Obi-Wan Kenobi though, time seemed to slow and she didn't feel as rushed to be something important, to get somewhere, to be someone. Obi-Wan's presence calmed her frustration to bring on the future. He taught her to live in the moment, and accept things as they came.

To her, he was the greatest Jedi she had ever met.

She cared about him; so much so that a silent fear had awoken deep inside of her heart...

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Nave-Aumry entered the infirmary, a pretty bouquet of purple and white flowers in one hand. She looked about some before spotting the room Ana was being held. She entered after giving a gentle knock.

Ana sat on her bed reading a rather thick book. She looked up curiously as Nave came in. "Hey! Oh wow, you brought me flowers." She smiled. "I'm not really sick, you didn't have to."

Nave rolled her eyes at Ana's modesty and handed the flowers over. "Take them anyway."

Ana took them without complaint and looked back up at her friend. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Just got back from lunch with Anakin. It's too bad Lexi is out on another mission with her Master. He loves to keep busy." She said the last part with distaste.

"Yes." Ana sighed. "I think she gets a break when she returns from this next one though."

"That's good, she needs break," Nave murmured before turning some, "I was just dropping by to make sure you're all right. I have to go now." She rolled her eyes. "Lightsaber practice."

Ana grinned. "Good luck, and thanks."

Nave saluted her with a smirk and left. As she walked through the halls to the training room, her thoughts wondered onto Anakin for the fifteen time that day. They'd had a conversation at lunch, and it had brought something out from deep inside of her. Something that she had been aware of, but always too cautious to bring it forward.

They'd been talking about the Jedi cause, Nave had commented sourly, and Anakin had gotten on to her about her constant negativity. It wasn't that she never acknowledged the good in things, it was just how she saw certain matters, and to her it was a truth, if not a more examined side. To her, it felt like everything had a dark purpose, something wasn't right.

She remembered seeing the Supreme Chancellor once. He'd personally sent for her Master, Kel-Dor, to congradulate him on the important victory of one of his missions, and her Master had brought her along. She could still recall the ominous fog that seemed to settle itself around the senate building, getting thicker as they entered the Chancellor's office. It wasn't like it was an overpowering sense of darkness, it was very subtle and scattered. Nave knew that she'd always had heightened senses for the Dark Side.

She'd been suspicious of Palpatine at first until she realized that many people contained these dark auras...even Jedi. Irritated by her confusion, she ignored these things and went on with life. Every person had a dark side, it was just more pronounced in some.

Now she questioned these things. She was eleven years old and getting smarter by the day. Her natural curiosity to understand brought her to many disturbing conclusions. Ones that she used to tell her Master until she realized they only brought him discomfort. She stopped telling and kept them in her head.

It would be a while until she had the guts to say in her mind that the Jedi were fools...

She'd been hurt by Anakin's rebuke, but he'd good-naturedly told her that he was kidding, and that he loved her anyway. All whilst slinging an arm around her shoulder and hugging her with a grin. The word 'love' stuck inside of her mind though. And now she couldn't rid herself of it.

When she remembered her Jedi training, her blood boiled, and she became irritated. Why should the Jedi deny themselves love? The one thing that wasn't physical, but spiritual. Love was something of the soul. Jedi already purged themselves of so many necessities, couldn't they be allowed one smidgen of happiness?

She found that most Padawans lived for their Masters, and in turn, Masters lived for their Padawans. She'd heard all too often of the heart-crunching pain a Master or Padawan suffered when either died and left one alone. That person had been their soul reason for existence. If not to make the Galaxy a better place for them. In reality, all Jedi were selfish to some extent and each loved in one way or another.

The Order was silly to her. The Order did not make sense...

Maybe she was just too young to understand.

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TBC...

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Sankish for reading our shtory! Lol. You're too kind.

-Aryll & Alley