Warning: One brief reference to drug use. No one actually does any drugs, just mentioned the flippant possibility of a character smoking something.

Chapter 46 - The Proposition

Anakin didn't know what to make of his Great Grandmaster. On the one hand, the man was trying to be warm and friendly. On the other hand, his taste in food was weird. For their first luncheon he served them a very bitter tea, and these little sandwiches that were so tiny, they'd never be able to fill a boy his age, let alone any of the adults. Little Abigail, maybe, but she was still upstairs with her nanny.

"Here." Qui-Gon whispered.

Anakin looked and saw the man covertly passing him a little white packet. The type that, he recognized from the Temple Canteen. They contained a powdered sweetener.

Anakin took what Qui-Gon was offering, then watched the man casually rip five of them open and pour them into his own cup at once, when Dooku looked away. Anakin did the same before he could look back. It improved the taste of the tea dramatically.

"And that was when…" Dooku's story was interrupted at its climax.

"Grampa, Grampa," Abigail called as she ran in. Siri and Obi-Wan followed her in.

"Woah, Abi. There you go." Qui-Gon caught her and swung her on his lap. "Here, try this." He offered her one of those tiny sandwiches off his plate.

When everyone turned back to Dooku, the former Jedi had a look of affronted shock. His eyes were big and his forehead crinkled. "Grandpa…" he whispered. "Padawan, you encourage such familiarity?" He said that last word like it was, one of those things adults like to pretend kids don't know about.

"Of course. It's not going to hurt her, she's two," Qui-Gon defended.

"Still, teaching respect should never be put off. Little one, you can call me Grandmaster Dooku." He poured some creamer into a cup for Abigail.

"What do you say?" Qui-Gon coaxed.

"Tank you, Gramp-mass-TURD Dooky," Abigail tried to say. Unfortunately, she really enunciated the last part of the long word, relieved to be nearing its end.

Anakin, along with Obi-Wan and Siri, winced to hear her butcher the proper title. Qui-Gon, on the other hand, had a big smile on his face and looked like he was enjoying it. Dooku's eyes went wide, and he gasped.

"And that's why she calls me Grandpa." Qui-Gon chided.

"I see," Dooku hummed. The old man blinked a few more times at the Youngling. Then he turned to follow the other's conversation.

"Anakin has been studying for his trials. Perhaps, later on, we can all help him study," Obi-Wan shared.

"Yes, Master. I brought flash cards, so you can just read them to me," Anakin said.

"Flash cards?" Dooku's face made another confused expression. "Surely with a Master of your own, you wouldn't need… Padawan, have you been neglecting him?" Dooku eyed Qui-Gon.

"Not at all, Grandmaster. We're letting him develop his study skills. Master Yoda says it'll be good for him in the long run."

At Yoda's name, Dooku winced. "Yeah, it does sound like one of the old turd's plans."

The other adults looked both shocked and offended, but Anakin and Abi laughed.

Encouraged by their reaction, Dooku turned to Anakin and offered, "I was on the squad to form the trials several times. I will give you a practice trial later, and we can see what you need to work on from there."

"Oh, thank you sir."

"Now, I shall give you a tour of the palace." Dooku moved to stand.

***x

"This painting is by Au-Feller. He demonstrates, which style, Padawan?"

"Oh uh…" Qui-Gon was surprised to be quizzed. "Umm. Impressionistic, Early Sith Wars, I believe."

Dooku smiled, "Yes, very good, Master Jinn."

Qui-Gon was sure he hadn't seen Dooku smile so much in years. He didn't know what was improving his Master's mood so much. When he had first told him what changes the council was allowing, with Obi-Wan and Siri especially, Dooku had asked if Yoda was smoking swamp grass from the Sulis Sector. Why he was so specific, Qui-Gon will never know. But then it was a common reaction around the Temple. Temple guards searched the Council room twice for "Mind altering substances," after the news got out. Qui-Gon was just glad his Master was softening up.

"And Knight Kenobi, this next one should be an easy one. What is the painter's style?" Dooku moved on.

Qui-Gon looked at the next painting, and his mouth split open in surprise. To him it did not look like an easy one. "Uh…" he was about to say so, when Dooku stopped him.

"Now, Padawan, you've had your turn."

Dooku's eyes went back to Obi-Wan, who had been fingering his new beard in thought. "I'd guess, impressionistic as well."

Dooku winced, "Ooooh, no. I'm afraid not. This one is Twi'lek Realism. You can tell because that architecture is clearly Old Twi'leki. But that's okay. We can't all be Prodigy Quiz Team champions, can we?"

Qui-Gon reached out to tap Obi-Wan on the back, supportively.

"This one is actually one of my favorites. The artist's focus on portraying the horrors of war in the civilian perspective, it's chasmic!" Dooku went on.

"But it's wrong," Anakin's quiet voice took them all by surprise.

"Huh?" Dooku's eyebrows merged. "What do you mean it's wrong?"

"The ship." Anakin pointed up at the painting. "It has too many gun turrets. I've seen images in the archives. Besides, it would never be able to get through hyperspace like that."

"Oh, uh…" This time it was Dooku left speechless. "It's the artist's view. Portraying the impression of a vicious army invading their planet, with all their guns at the ready."

"I thought you said it was Realism," Anakin pointed out.

This time Dooku really was speechless.

Qui-Gon saved him. "It's common for these styles to merge. Artists often took inspiration from older works, even in their attempts to create a new piece altogether."

"So, you were right all along, Master." Anakin patted Obi-Wan's back.

"What an interesting lesson. Thank you for sharing that with us, Master Jinn!" Dooku found his voice again. Qui-Gon distinctly felt him release feelings of frustration.

***x

Later that day, Anakin was sitting in the study, or the lounge. Anakin wasn't sure. This big house of Master Dooku had so many rooms and each had a funny name, but the man seemed to remember them all, so Anakin tried to use the correct one.

"No. That's not how it happened at all," Obi-Wan argued.

"I remember it. I remember like it was yesterday," Qui-Gon insisted.

"Your memory is failing you, old man." Obi-Wan bit back.

Anakin had one of his books open in front of him, and he knelt down to look in his bag for another book. He was studying, while his Master and Grandmaster were arguing over details of a tale they were trying to tell. Dooku walked up on him, quite unexpectedly from behind, and it made Anakin jump.

"Oh don't let me startle you. I was just noticing… Master Clive Staples. I have an old bust of him in the conservatory, if you want to see it."

"Thanks, Master. I'm just trying to find my cliff notes version, so I can understand it." Anakin described his problem.

"Oh yes. Ever the Academic, he can be a little long-winded and difficult to understand." Dooku rubbed his chin. "You know it wasn't until I read his tales for younglings that I was fully able to grasp the ideas in his thesis."

"Tales for Younglings?"

"Yes, he wrote several. They aren't common reading in the Temple Creches, but I do have a copy." Dooku stepped towards the door to the hall and waved back for him to follow. Anakin looked up towards Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, neither of which were noticing them. He looked back to Dooku, and decided to follow the man.

Down the hall, Dooku continued their conversation, "You are almost a Padawan, Anakin. Are you excited?"

"Yes I am. Perhaps later, I can show you my lightsaber. If Master Obi-Wan says it's okay."

"Perhaps, we shall." Dooku paused and turned to look Anakin in the eye. "Have you thought about your braiding ceremony? The choice of what Master to accept a braid from is a big one, for any youngling."

"Obi-Wan is my Master." Anakin was confused. He didn't know why Dooku was bringing this up.

"He was put in charge of you, yes. You were an Initiate then. Padawans always get to choose their Masters. It is a long tradition of the order."

This idea was a new one for Anakin. He hadn't thought about changing his Master before, but then if what Dooku said was true… He had a lot to think about.

"Just consider it. It will benefit you to be trained by a real Master. One with experience in the fields you are interested in pursuing." Dooku interrupted his thoughts to suggest. "Master Jinn has a lot of experience in both negotiations and combat type missions. And though he now specializes in Ataru, he was trained in Makashi style as well. He teaches his apprentices very well, as I'm sure your Master can attest."

Dooku paused to smile at him. "Come this way. I have the books in here." He stepped into a room and emerged with a small set of holobooks, which he handed back to Anakin. "Now shall we go see if the others have resolved their dispute?" He led Anakin back to the room they came from.

***x

Hello,

And we find out what Dooku's alternative reason for inviting them over is. As I stated in chapter Eight, to Dooku, Qui-Gon is the perfect Padawan who never messes up. When he accepted Qui-Gon facing the Council's punishment, in that chapter, he did so after confirming the man would still be eligible for a Padawan after. And while he knows the council had other ideas when they put Obi-Wan and Anakin together, he also knows the council has no justifiable reason to interfere if the boy were to request to do things differently. They don't usually pair an Initiate with a Master, so when the Initiate becomes a Padawan, while they may have understood all along that the same Master would take him, in reality that Padawan must choose his Master, or the match will never work.

And while Qui-Gon has been able to accept his new role as grandmaster recently, Dooku was not a part of those lessons. As I hoped my short Qui-Gon Pov section here showed, he is completely unaware of any of his former Master's plans.

In the next chapter I hope to be able to finish this visit, and we'll find out if Dooku's meddling will have any effect.