Back again. Wow! So sorry for the long wait. Aryll got an incredible case of writer's block. xx;
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And, ah yes, I just wanted to put rights on the character Nave-Aumry Zarrah. She is not of my creation, and ninety-nine percent of her is all "Isyss.'" Uhmm, just go to "www. Isyss. deviantART. com" That is her art site, and stuff, and where you can find her.
The reason why I say 99 percentis because 1 percent was my random imagination, i.e., the stuff about Nave-Aumry's master and her sensitivity to the Dark Side. I don't know the whole Nave-Aumry background, so some of the stuff I just make up. Lol. Hopefully Asia won't mind too much.
But really, check out her site, it's kickarse.
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Other than that, I have pictures for the characters new ages and stuff.
19 year old Mariana Star now looks like this: www. djfl. de/ entertainment/ stars/ galerie/ m/ milla(underscore)jovovich/ milla(underscore)jovovich(underscore)025.jpg
15 year old Lexxa Lysk now looks like this: www. starmania. com / CourtneeDraper/ images/ Cdraper. gif
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"Light in the Shadow"
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Chapter 8
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( Four years later... )
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A whole week to herself! Fifteen-year-old Lexxa Lysk could barely believe it. After the last year of strenuous missions she was back at the temple and without her master's supervision since he had another assignment to attend to off world.
Lexxa made her way to the training rooms and stopped at the holoboards to read the announcements.
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Fencing tournament in two weeks. All padawans interested in competing, please sign up with Master Bondara.
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Lexxa smiled. The annual fencing tournament was always a cause for great excitement around the temple. She was usually one of the first to sign up, along with Anakin.
Anakin… Her thoughts swayed in her friend's direction and she welcomed the warmth that accompanied them. It had been several months since she had seen him.
She was brought out of her daze by slightly raised voices. Anakin's was one of them. Curious, Lexxa stuck her head into the training room.
Anakin and Qui-Gon Jinn stood in the middle of the chamber, facing each other. Anakin was fixing Qui-Gon with a defiant stare.
"That was three months ago, Master!" Anakin was saying.
"Anakin, do you want complications?"
"I'm perfectly okay, Master. Ask the healers if you don't believe me. Besides, you know I'm fine. You're just too overprotective."
"Is that so?" Qui-Gon asked, a smile jerking at the corners of his mouth.
"Yes," Anakin replied firmly, "I even beat you yesterday."
"That was luck."
"Master? Aren't you the one who always says there is no such thing as luck for a Jedi?"
"Well, I wasn't going at you without restraint," Qui-Gon presented another argument.
"Yes, but you are a Jedi Master."
"Not yet, Padawan. The council has not made it's final decision."
"Oh, blast the council!"
"Anakin," Qui-Gon warned but Anakin wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed beyond Qui-Gon on Lexxa who stood quietly in the doorway.
"Lexi!" Anakin called, delighted to see her again.
Qui-Gon turned around. "Ah, Padawan Lysk. I presume your last mission was successful?" Qui-Gon asked smiling kindly.
"Yes, Master Jinn, it was," Lexxa replied, bowing respectfully.
"That's very good. I suppose I should leave you two then. Anakin, we will continue this discussion later," Qui-Gon said before leaving the room.
Anakin scowled at the closing door before turning his attention back to Lexxa. "I've missed you."
Lexxa nodded, suddenly feeling quite awkward. "I've missed you, too," she murmured. Anakin had grown since the last time she had seen him. He was a couple of inches taller, his body was even more toned, and there was that mature look in his eyes. "Anakin, why doesn't Master Jinn want you to participate in the tournament?"
"He does," Anakin answered with a shady look.
Lexi tilted her head to the side giving him a look.
"Some nasty stuff from a mission three months ago," Anakin disclosed.
Lexi met his sky blue eyes with her concerned ones. "Anakin…you got hurt?"
"It wasn't the first time." Anakin grinned. "I totally saved the mission though."
Lexxa smiled softly. "So are you planning to get into the top four this year?"
"I'm planning to win," Anakin said nonchalantly with a cocky lopsided smile.
Lexxa laughed, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "So sure of yourself, are you?"
Anakin smiled back. "You should start practicing."
"I'll start right now if you're not too worn out?"
Without another word the padawans pulled out their lightsabers and faced off.
After ten minutes of pushing each other around the training room, Lexxa decided to make her move. She locked her blade with Anakin's and then came out of the lock with a jerky sideways motion making Anakin's arm go back in a slightly wider arch then he would have liked. Lexxa jumped at him with a forward kick, knocking Anakin's lightsaber out of his hand. The saber went higher then she had planned, so she jumped for it. Anakin, regaining his concentration, ducked forward and hit Lexxa's knees knocking her off balance. He had miscalculated his move, however, and ended up on his back instead of on his feet at the end of the roll. Lexi landed next to him on her knees.
Lexxa fell back into a lying position and giggled happily. Anakin joined her.
Suddenly, Anakin fell silent and turned his head to look at Lexi. She faced him as well. Their eyes locked and she felt a shiver go down her spine. She turned her eyes away from his pure blue ones.
"It's been so long," Lexxa murmured. She dared to look back up at him. They lay there in silence staring at each other as they contemplated the feelings that ignited in both of them in the moment.
Anakin tensed. He shot up into a sitting position. Lexxa followed trying to blink away her confusion. "Ani, what's wrong?" Neither realized that Lexxa had called Anakin by his childhood nickname.
Anakin didn't stop to explain as he jumped to his feet and called his fallen lightsaber to his hand with the Force. Lexxa followed suit, still confused. "Anakin, what's wrong?"
Anakin shook his head vehemently. "Nothing. It's nothing really!"
"Anakin, something is bothering you, please tell me!"
You're so beautiful, he thought sadlyas hegazedat her, too beautiful. "I'm…I'm just a bit…I've been working really hard lately I…I forgot…I was going to meditate in the gardens," Anakin stuttered, tripping over his words pathetically as he searched for a way to get out of this awkward situation.
Lexxa threw her arms around him in a warm hug.
"Lexi?" Anakin asked, perplexed. He had pulled away from her, but hadn't let go of her waist.
"I just haven't seen you for too long," she whispered, embarrassed.
Anakin smiled and pulled her back close too him. Lexxa looked up at him so that their noses were almost touching.
"Padawan Skywalker? Padawan Lysk?"
The two young padawans jumped away from each other and swung around to see who had intruded on their private interlude.
"Master Kenobi!" Lexxa squeaked. This wasn't going to be good.
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Obi-Wan had planned on getting an hour of practice in before his Padawan would show up to spar with him. He couldn't help but look forward to all their matches because they seemed to learn something from one another each time they fought, even after all of these years. What he didn't plan on was his intrusion on a very intimate moment between Ana's two best friends.
He cleared his throat. "Padawan Skywalker? Padawan Lysk?"
The two jumped from their close embrace and Lexxa let out a startled yelp of his name.
"What is going on here?" he asked, brows raised in curious interest.
Both seemed to fumble around for a moment, before Lexxa blurted out a sentence, "We were just sparring, Master. The tournament is coming up and we just wanted to be prepared."
Obi-Wan gauged Anakin's fervent nodding and blinked. "Prepared?...Indeed. What I saw did not look like preparation of any sort."
Lexxa looked crestfallen.
It was Anakin's turn to butt in, "Really, Master Kenobi. We were just sparring and Lexi-ah-Padawan Lysk tripped, so I had to catch her or she would've planted her face into the floor," Anakin nodded with a smile, seeming to believe that was a very good reason. Well, it seemed that way in his mind, but he cringed inwardly when he said it aloud.
Obi-Wan rose a brow. "Really? You must think I have the brain of a Bantha if you expect that to work," he muttered, blue-gray eyes gazing at them piercingly, "I should think the Council would like to hear of this latest development."
"No!" Lexi burst out desperately, "Please, don't, Master Kenobi. It won't happen again. We promise."
"And how am I to believe this?" Obi-Wan interrogated.
Lexi's mouth opened and closed as she fished for words to otherwise persuade him.
Anakin stepped out in front of her suddenly, his look one of strong confidence. "Don't bring her into this. This is between me and you."
Obi-Wan blinked, "Excuse me?"
Anakin frowned. "Ever since you laid eyes on me, you've never liked me. And now you're just trying to do something else to make things worse for me. But not this time, don't drag her into this."
Obi-Wan was the next to frown. "I don't know what you're talking about, but you drug Lexxa into this yourself."
"You know exactly what this is about," Anakin said darkly.
Obi-Wan returned Anakin's weighty stare with calm indifference, but a muscle twitching in his cheek gave away his true emotions. "You seem focused on the past, Padawan Skywalker. Now has nothing to do with my previous ties to you. Now is the two of you breaking a rule of the Jedi Order."
This time, Lexi stepped out from behind Anakin, her face completely earnest. "Please, Master Kenobi. We promise this will end here and now...you must know how we feel in some way? Would you expel your padawan?"
Obi-Wan's head rose sharply at her words, his blue-gray eyes swirling into an almost muddy color. Lexxa Lysk was the cunning one. He would not say it aloud, he would not say that of course he would let his padawan go with a warning. Instead, he let out an exasperated sigh and with a turn of the heel, left the room. He stopped at the doorway, looking back at them sternly. "It must stop now...if I find you again, you will be expelled without a second thought."
Lexi nodded hurriedly, and bowed. Obi-Wan regarded her for only a moment before disappearing. Lexi's shoulders slumped automatically as she let out a relieved breath. "That was close." She looked over at Anakin and frowned.
Anakin's head was down, his eyes glowering at the padded floor. "It's not fair..."
"Anakin," Lexi murmured in concern, reaching for his arm, but he moved away before she could grab his sleeve. He did not stop as he walked away, and then he too disappeared out the door, leaving Lexi to stand alone in the middle of the floor.
"Oh, Ani..."
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Ana was in the kitchen making some Corellian honey tea when Obi-Wan next entered the apartment. She was bringing down two cups when he appeared in the kitchen and sat down at the little island in the middle of the room. She looked over her shoulder at him, her long wavy locks spilling down her back. She had to blow a piece of her bangs out of her eyes to get a clear view of him.
"What happened to you? I waited in the Training Room, but you never showed up," she said more in question than irritation. She wasn't really bothered by his absence, she expected it sometimes. Obi-Wan was always away talking to Yoda, or some other Jedi Master, or who knew what. She turned away, blinking at that thought. She'd never really bothered to ask just what he did do when he was gone...
Obi-Wan sighed, taking his cup as she set it down before him. He took a sip before speaking, "Sorry, I had a bit of business to sort out. I promise it won't happen again."
Ana quirked a smile, drinking from her cup. "It's all right. You're not stressing yourself, are you?" she asked interrogatingly, her hazel orbs eyeing him suspiciously.
He grinned at her, making her heart squeeze a little. "No, Padawan. I am fine."
Ana nodded, drinking some more, preferring not to say anything. The word Padawan took the odd feeling from her chest as soon as it had come. She was a Padawan...and he was her Master. That was that.
"Is something wrong?" Obi-Wan asked, his bearded chin rested on an upturned palm as he gazed at her curiously.
Ana smiled and shook her head. There was a mild silence before she spoke. "The years just seem to have flown by. I'm caught a little off guard," she said sheepishly, her shy smile falling away to a bothered frown. "..I don't want to be a Jedi Knight yet..."
Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. "Why not?" Ana was only one mission away from an up in her ranking. Soon, he would be without a Padawan again. He was even thinking about taking another Padawan under his wing...but he didn't know if any other would ever be able to elicit the respect he had in Ana.
Ana sighed, looking off to the side. "You've just been such a great Master...I don't want it to end yet." She laughed weakly at her sentimental tone. "I'm sorry."
Obi-Wan watched her with a calm, sympathetic expression. "I know how you feel, Padawan. But I wouldn't worry, we'll be just as much of a team as we have always been."
Ana smiled. "Yeah." She finished her tea, wondering if Obi-Wan was right. Would things still be the same? She stood up, going to the sink. She knew the answer to that question...and she wouldn't say it, not even in her mind.
Her Knighthood would only act as a sort of obstructing bridge to the one thing she truly cared about.
Her hazel eyes glanced over at her Master, who was sipping the rest of his tea quietly.
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TBC...
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Sorry for the wait, we're going to try and start the day to day updating again. So another chapter should be up by tomorrow.
Thank you so much for reading!
-Aryll & Alley