Ch. 2
Anakin and Obi Wan entered the council room, slightly late, and sat down quickly to complete the circle of council members. After a few moments of silence to let them settle in, Yoda began to discuss the issue at hand.
"Padawans, Master Skywalker's children are to become," he informed the council.
"How soon?" Anakin asked, excited but nervous for his children to move on to the next step of Jedi training so early.
"We intend to decide on their Masters today," Mace Windu told him.
"Decide, you must, Anakin, if you want to train one of your children," Yoda said, eyeing Anakin intently.
"Are you serious?" Anakin said, much like a young Padawan himself in his excitement. "You are going to let me train one of them?"
"If promise us, you can, that discipline either of them, you would as any other Master," Yoda replied.
"I will try as hard as I can not to treat them in any special way. I want them to be powerful and wise Jedi, and good people- I will not try to make the process any easier. I promise you that," Anakin said. "What I cannot promise is to stop loving them, to stop having my emotional attachment as their father. With this in mind, it is up to the council to decide."
"Maturity, have you shown in that comment, Anakin," Yoda said, impressed. "Train Leia, I think you should."
Anakin was silent for a second, letting his happiness sink in. He would get to train his little angel, the little girl who could make his heart stop…but would he be able to train her? While she was a child, he knew it would be good for both of them, but as she grew up, would he have the heart to discipline her? And to lead her through the difficulties of growing up… well, Padme could do that. And he wanted to make her a good Jedi, and so he would do what it took to make sure that happened. Yes, he could train her. He would love to.
"That's wonderful, Master Yoda," Anakin said. "I would love to train Leia, and I promise she will be treated always as a Padawan in the Temple, and as a daughter at home."
"If juggle this you can, your Padawan she is," Yoda said.
"What about Luke?" Anakin asked, eager to hear who would be assigned his son.
"There's only one of us who knows how to handle someone like Luke," Mace said, and everyone knowingly turned towards Obi Wan.
"Another Skywalker Padawan?" Obi Wan asked, in disbelief, though really he had expected it. "Don't I have enough wrinkles already?" The council laughed, and Obi Wan sighed, and was silent for some time. "Of course I will train Luke, as long as his father promises not to teach him how to play tricks on me," he eyed Anakin intently, but Anakin just looked around, refusing to meet Obi Wan's gaze. "It would be an honor, maybe I can instill discipline in at least one Skywalker."
"I am very disciplined," Anakin said, smiling. "I would have no one else train Luke, Obi Wan. You are a second father to him already. I promise he'll be good…most of the time."
"Good, that's settled then- call them in here," Mace said, and just moments later the Skywalker twins appeared timidly at the council door.
"Daddy!" The yelled, and ran in to embrace their father.
"Hi!" He exclaimed, wrapping them both in a big bear hug.
"Daddy, use the Force to move me like you did with Luke this morning!" Leia exclaimed, and she crouched down with her eyes closed waiting for him to do so. The council members eyed Anakin sternly for this abuse of power.
Anakin smiled sheepishly. "Now is not the time, Leia. I'm not really supposed to do that."
"Oh," Leia replied sadly, "Ok!" she said, suddenly cheerful again. The twins ran around the room, chasing each other, and everyone looked at Anakin, not wanting to show that they were in fact amused by his children.
"Luke, Leia, mind your manners," Anakin attempted to seem authoritative.
"Daddy, you sound like mommy!" Luke said. "I don't like it…"
At this, the council laughed, and Anakin blushed.
"Youngling Skywalkers, we…" Yoda began, but Leia interrupted him.
"Daddy, what were you and mommy doing last night when 3-PO said I couldn't go in there?" Leia asked. "I wanted you to come watch the Holo Net with me, because I couldn't sleep, but 3-PO just gave me some milk and said I should be in bed."
Anakin shrunk down in his chair, even redder in the face, and the council just looked at him, trying to contain their laughter.
"We were just, um… sleeping Leia, 3-PO was nice enough to not let you disturb us!" Anakin answered, proud of his quick comeback.
"Ok," Leia said. The entire time, she and Luke never ceased running around and exploring the council room.
"We have something to-" Mace tried, but this time Luke interrupted.
"Daddy, look at me!" Luke yelled, trying to do a Jedi flip in the middle of the room, but landing on his face. Anakin, concerned, rushed over to see if he was all right, but Luke was laughing. "I did it daddy!"
Anakin laughed, relieved that he was all right and ever proud that his son was daring and ready to try new things all the time. "Good job, Luke."
"You did not do it, Lukey, you fell on your face," Leia told him.
"Shut up."
"You shut up, laser brain," she said, and ran away before he could catch her.
"Luke, Leia, come here," Anakin said, and amazingly, they obliged. "Sit here with me, ok? We have something important to tell you."
"Ok, daddy!" Leia said sweetly, but Luke nudged her with his foot. She kicked him back, and soon they were wrestling on Anakin's lap. Finally, he pulled each of them over to one side of him, holding them just far enough apart so that as much as they struggled, they could not reach each other.
"Calm down," he said, "it's time to listen." Defeated, the twins settled down.
"Padawans, you are to become," Yoda said, getting the news out before he could be interrupted again.
"Your light saber skills and intuition in the Force, much like your father's, are extremely advanced. Now, to learn discipline and the proper ways to use your abilities, you must each be assigned a Master to teach you," Mace explained.
"So we're going to become real Jedis!" Leia exclaimed, excited.
"Yes," Mace laughed, "you are."
"Who gets to be our Masters?" Asked Luke.
"Well Luke," Obi Wan began. "I suppose that I get to be yours," Obi Wan said, laughing as he enunciated Luke's idea that it was a privilege to be his Master.
"Yaaay!" Luke yelled, and he rushed over to give Obi Wan a hug. At this, Obi Wan smiled genuinely, and hugged his new Padawan back. "It will be fun, Luke. Especially," he added, making sure Anakin was listening, "If you are anything like your father." He smiled warmly at Anakin.
"You were daddy's Master too?" Luke asked, wide-eyed.
"Yes, and I think I did a pretty good job, don't you Luke?"
"Wow, you must be old!" Luke yelled, and Obi Wan just stared at Anakin. Suddenly, both Jedi Masters burst out laughing at Luke's audacity.
"What?" Luke asked.
"Nothing, nothing," Obi Wan said, amused.
"What about me?" Leia asked, pouting and looking exactly like Anakin when he felt left out.
Anakin turned her around on his lap, so that she was facing him. "Little angel, look at me," he said. She turned to him with a big smile. "I get to be your Master," He said, completely honest in feeling privileged.
Leia, suddenly demonstrating a maturity no one had seen in her before, gave her father a silent hug. "We will have a good time, daddy," she said.
"I think so too Leia," he replied. "But you have to promise to listen to me, because it is very important that a Master be strict with his Padawan, some of the time. But we also get to have lots of fun together, as long as you pay attention when I ask you to, all right Leia?"
"Ok daddy," she said.
"Oh," he said, "And you have to call me Master."
"Ok, Master daddy," she said, and the Jedi Masters all began to laugh.
Anakin and Obi Wan then took Luke and Leia to have their ceremonial Padawan braid put in their hair. Leia was to wear her long brown hair up, and have the braid hang down (A.N. now way is a four year old girl having a buzz cut in my story- what do they do with the girls?). Luke was given a buzz cut and a braid in the classic Padawan style. Anakin looked at them, realizing how old they suddenly looked. It was the first time that he realized they were not babies any more, but children, real little people with personalities and private thoughts and ideas.
Obi Wan, sensing his friend's thoughts, put his arm on Anakin's shoulder.
"They will be wonderful Jedi, Anakin," he said. "And don't worry, they'll still be your children, always."
Anakin turned to him and smiled, trying not to show that Obi Wan had discovered exactly what he was thinking. Obi Wan just laughed, and they led them into the cafeteria to eat lunch.
"By the way," Anakin said to Obi Wan, but Obi Wan cut him off.
"At least until he's much older, Luke should still live with you," Obi Wan said, knowing exactly what was on his mind. "Unless he's on a mission with me, I don't see why he shouldn't be with you, especially because his sister will be- it would be strange to have one twin estranged from the family."
Anakin smiled, amazed at how Obi Wan always knew exactly what he was thinking. 'Oh right,' he remembered, 'the Force.' He laughed to himself, and they continued to lunch.
Padme was sitting at home writing a speech when the twins came bursting through the door, both babbling incessantly about something exciting that had happened that day. She was unable to decipher any of it, and just looked up at Anakin, and they both laughed. Suddenly, she noticed the difference in the appearance of her twins.
"They're Padawans!" She exclaimed, extremely proud but also having the same feeling of sentimentality that Anakin had felt watching their hair be braided. Tears came to her eyes, and Anakin understood immediately, and walked over to give her a warm hug.
"Why are you sad, mommy?" Asked Luke.
"I'm not, not sad, Luke," she said. "I'm just very proud of both of you." Satisfied, Luke and Leia ran into their room, nearly knocking down C-3PO on the way, to play with their toys before dinner.
"You didn't tell me this was going to happen," she said to Anakin, slightly insulted she should find out so late.
"I didn't know," he said, "I promise you, you know I would have told you right away."
She nodded, realizing this was true. "I just can't believe our babies are growing up," she said sadly, then laughed. "I don't know why this makes me sad, it's such a wonderful thing!"
"I understand, Padme, it's hard. But think about how excited they are- it means so much to them to finally be, as Leia put it, 'real Jedis,'" He laughed, and she smiled at him gratefully.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, suddenly realizing the most important question she forgot to ask. "Who are their Masters?"
"Well," Anakin began, barely able to hide his excitement from Padme. "Obi Wan is Luke's…Everyone seemed to agree that only he knew how to handle, um… a Skywalker boy," he blushed, and Padme kissed his cheek, finding it endearing.
"What about Leia?" She asked, worried about who would have such an important influence in the life of her daughter.
"Me," Anakin answered simply. Padme said nothing, tears of happiness now in her eyes, and she hugged him. He tilted her chin up towards him, and kissed her deeply.
"I love you so much, Padme," he said. "And I love the twins so much… do you know how happy I am?"
"If it's even half of how happy I am, then yes, I do," she answered.
"Now, when's dinner?" Anakin asked.
Padme laughed, "I don't know, 3PO should be almost finished making it, why don't' you go set the table?"
Anakin looked at her, furrowing his brow. "Isn't that more something for the kids to do?"
"Come on Anakin, you can do it in five seconds using the Force."
"Still," he pouted, "I can think of something I'd rather do." He approached her and picked her up, spinning her around the room.
"You know the rule Anakin, if the kids are awake, no."
"Yeah," he said, defeated, "I know the rule."
He walked over and set the table, as Padme returned to her speech. Soon after, 3PO told them that dinner was ready, and as the twins ran in rambunctiously and began to gobble up their food, the Skywalker family sat down to dinner.