Amira recovered quickly over the next several days. One evening she found the General sitting outside watching the suns set and she joined him. He asked, "How are you feeling?", "Quite well thank you. I was thinking it was time for me to be going."
He continued to stare off into the distance, "I should go with you at least as far as Mos Eisley. You shouldn't go alone." She sat down next to him, "Thank you, but I do not wish to burden you any longer."
He turned to look at her and said, "You have not been a burden, if anything it was nice to have company. I do not receive many visitors." She smiled and said, "I welcome your escort then."
"What will you do when you get back to Alderaan?" She shrugged and said, "I really don't know. Help my brother seek out alliances. My life now will be spent fighting the Empire any way I can."
He looked at her with sadness in his eyes, "You are choosing a dangerous path.", She stared sadly off into the night, "When my brother was murdered my path was set. I only wish I had the skills he did, the mastery of the Force he had."
"Do you wish to learn your highness?" She looked at him in surprise, "You would be willing to teach me?" He nodded, "You might have to spend a little more time here but I could show you some things that might be useful."
She considered his offer for a moment and said, "On one condition General.", "What is that?", "Please call me Amira." He smiled, "Then you must call me Ben." Her eye brows rose in question, "Ben?" He shrugged, "'Obi-Wan' is a little too conspicuous these days." He stood up to go back inside, "We'll start tomorrow."
She was hot, exhausted and had a new appreciation for the stamina a Jedi possessed. Ben never seemed to tire. He corrected her stance, "No, keep your weapon a little lower. Like this." He bent his knees and held his lightsaber out in front of him, the hilt of the weapon just at waist level. She did as he instructed.
He continued, "From this position there are a number of things you can do depending on your opponents move. You can swing up." He demonstrated, "Or you can swing out to the side with one hand." He made a move to the side.
She copied him and he nodded approvingly, "Very good. Jade obviously showed you some of these moves. Did you ever spar with him?", "Yes, but not with a real lightsaber.", "He was afraid to hurt you?" She looked embarrassed, "I think he was afraid I would hurt him." To her delight he through back his head and laughed heartily.
It warmed her heart to hear him laugh; one less moment spent in sadness and pain. His merriment abated, he took up another stance, "Ok let me see you try this one, hold it high and to the side, keeping your elbow up."
She turned off her lightsaber and did not follow. He asked, "What's wrong?", "I'm a little tired.", He looked up at the scorching suns, "You are not use to the heat, let's take a break."
They relaxed against the wall of the house taking advantage of the shade it provided. She commented, "You are very good you know, at teaching." He shook his head, "There are some, including myself, who would disagree with you." She cringed inwardly angry with herself for touching on a sore subject.
"Ben, I know there were forces at work; forces that you could not have foreseen that pulled your apprentice away from you towards the dark side. Bail explained it to me. Anakin never stood a chance." She wiped the sweat from her brow, "Perhaps it was his destiny."
He shook his head, "He was the chosen one. We all believed it. He was the most powerful Jedi anyone had seen. It was not his destiny to become a Sith. We failed him Amira, I failed him."
Since he seemed willing to talk about it she continued, "How did you fail him?" He reflected sadly, "We placed him in an impossible position. I should never have gone along with the council's decision to have him spy on Palpatine." She countered, "You had to obey the council."
He turned away and shook his head, "No, I should have found a better way." She placed her hand on his arm, "Chancellor Palpatine had his claws into him too deep. No one saw that coming; not you; not Anakin; not even the Jedi Council; until it was too late."
He seemed almost on the verge of crying clearly the pain of remembering was affecting him, "If it was his destiny…to become a Sith...what about the prophecy? Who is the chosen one?"
She picked up a smooth weathered rock and examined it, "Considering everything that happened to him, meeting Senator Amidala, falling in love with her, his turning to the dark side, she bearing his children, her death…perhaps all this happened because the chosen one is not of this generation but of the next."
He looked at her taking in her words, "Let us pretend for a moment you are right, and either Luke or Leia is the chosen one, what is the point of orphaning the children. Why would Anakin have to turn to the dark side and Padame die in order to ensure the prophecy?"
She held his gaze, "If they had gone on to raise their children what would have happened? Wouldn't the council have cast Anakin out of the order for marrying and having children? He and Padame would have gone off who knows where to raise them. Anakin would still have been pulled to the dark side because the Jedi would no longer influence his life and his children would now be in the hands of the Emperor."
He looked away and Amira continued, "Now at least Luke and Leia are safe under our watchful gaze waiting the day that they can fulfill their destinies." He continued to look out at the desert, "I wish I could believe that."
"Whether you believe how it happened or not, the fact is the children are safe, we watch over them, and some day the time will be right to train them and tell them who they are. They are the hope of the future."
A small smile crept across his face. She stood up, "I am ready to continue." He jumped up and stood next to her. His eyes locked with hers and he said, "Thank you." She smiled, "For what?" His eyes were greatful,"For giving me another way to look at things for giving me hope."
The smile pulled at the corners of her mouth and lit up her face. They stood for a moment holding each other's gaze and not saying a word. Then he ignited his lightsaber, "Now let's get back to work."