Chapter 3: The Final Trial

Even though she put on a brave face, it was obvious how nervous Leia was.

She tried to shake the feeling off. It wasn't the Jedi way to be ruled by fear, but it was infecting her mind far too quickly for her to purge it. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what exactly this trial could be about, and what Luke had to do with it. She had several ideas, and none of them were good ones.

Her father wasn't helping either. When Leia was little, she was almost inseparable from her father. They would often sneak out of their apartment, just the two of them, and go for a bowl of hoi broth in the lower levels of Coruscant. While they were there, he'd talk to about anything that she desired and hours flew by quicker than she would have liked. Then, she got her master. Anakin had been so proud that Ahsoka had chosen her. On top of that, she was so young when she'd become a Padawan. Almost two years ahead of Luke! It should have been something that made Anakin love her even more.

Instead, he kept his distance, letting Ahsoka take over her training and focus more of his attention on Luke. Gone were the midnight trips for hoi broth, gone were the days spent in the Temple meditating and playing games with the Force. What replaced them was a respectful, silent distancing.

It had been even worse when Anakin had been bestowed with the title Master of the Order. Yoda might have been the oldest and wisest of the Jedi still alive, but it was Anakin that the Jedi chose to lead them through the trying times the Republic faced after the Clone Wars. He was doing an extraordinary job, even Leia in her bitterness could see that. It didn't make losing even more of her father even easier. Luke handled it in stride, still talking to their father when he could and grafting to Master Obi-Wan like he was a second father. Leia never had that chance. She was given a big sister that she loved with all her heart, but it wasn't the same. She'd taken her mother's last name, and Anakin hadn't even bothered to confront her about it. When she'd used it around him for the first time, she could tell there was sadness there, but he didn't say a word. A pained smile and a respectful distance was all she'd been given. It was like she didn't even know him anymore.

Even now, as Anakin looked at her, Leia could just tell that he wasn't looking at her as a father, he was looking at her as a Jedi Master.

"Proud of you, we all are." came Yoda's wizened voice, cutting through her mental reverie. "Many challenges you have both faced, and many successes you have both had."

"Indeed." Master Shaak Ti said. "Although I have not gotten to see much of either of you for these past few years, what I have seen has made my heart warm."

Luke and Leia both bowed their heads respectfully. Leia couldn't help but inwardly smirk. For as humble as Luke liked to portray himself, it was clear that he relished in this praise just as much as she did.

"We are all proud." Anakin Skywalker said, causing Leia to twitch slightly with annoyance. "And we are ready for you both to take the next step in your journey with the Force. As you are both well aware, the galaxy needs more Jedi. System after system descends into lawlessness. Having two more Jedi who are both supremely talented will only serve to make us stronger and able to protect more people."

"Still, we must be sure that you are ready." he continued. "There is nothing worse for our Order right now than to send out a Jedi before they can handle what the galaxy will throw at them."

"Who will advocate for Luke Skywalker?"

"I, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Jedi High Council, shall stand for him." Obi-Wan said, rising from his chair, flashing Luke a warm look as he did so. "This Padawan has, time and time again, displayed courage, wisdom, and a deep connection to the Force. He is ready to undergo his Trial."

"It is accepted." Anakin intoned, nodding his thanks to Obi-Wan as his former master sat back down.

"Who will advocate for Leia Sk- Amidala?"

"I, Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano of the Jedi High Council, shall stand for her." Ahsoka said, rising to her feet as well. "This Padawan has no equal with a lightsaber among her peers, and possesses a keen sense of justice. She is ready to undergo her Trial."

"It is accepted." Anakin said once again, thanking Ahsoka as she sat down before turning to his two children. "Well done, to both of you. While this was a formality, do not underestimate how important it is. You are not just an individual, you are a part of the Order. To have its consent in your journey to becoming a Knight is more important than you know."

He looked out briefly as the buildings surrounding the Jedi Temple started to cast long shadows in the early hours of the evening.

"It is late," Anakin said "so your trial shall begin in the morning. Take the night to plan and meditate and I promise you that-"

"What is it?"

Leia couldn't help herself. The anxiety got the better of her, even for a brief moment, and she could no longer wait for her answer.

"So eager, you are." Yoda said, his eyes missing nothing as he gazed over the Padawan. "Wish to know the specifics of your Trial, do you?"

She knew better to snap at Yoda, so she gave him the most emotionally neutral nod that she could.

"I wonder… Eager to learn, yes, but eager from fear or duty? Be mindful, young one. Emotions that burn hot, you have. Use you, they will. Unless master them, you can."

"I am not afraid!" Leia exclaimed, and it was the truth. If only she could know what the Trial was, then she could conquer whatever uneasiness she had. Then this would all be a nasty feeling locked far away in her mind.

Yoda looked her over before turning to her brother.

"Young Skywalker, wish to know of them as well, do you?"

"Yes master." Luke said, not even trying to hide his own mixture of curiosity now.

Yoda lowered his head, as if deep in thought before turning to Anakin and nodding.

"Your Trial is a simple one, and you both have the same task." Anakin said, looking at them with a stern expression. "Though seeming simple enough, it will test whether you are worthy of being a Jedi knight or not."

"Your task is this: you must go to the Goji District fruit market tomorrow and bring the High Council a meiloorun fruit. You will start at dawn, you have until dusk."

Leia just looked at her father for a second, not believing it could be that easy. Then she looked at Ahsoka. Her master had the same blank, neutral expression her father did. In fact, the entire council was wearing the same expression. They were watching the pair closely, looking for a sign that she was oblivious to. Clearly she was missing something.

"Father, is that it?" Luke asked, clearly feeling the same way that she did. "Just… pick up a fruit?"

"You will be given precisely the amount of money that you need in order to buy the fruit." Anakin said. "You will be able to take two allies with you, provided you can find some."

"And if you get hit with a lightsaber, you are to report back to the Council immediately. Make sure you both have them on a low power setting for tomorrow. There will be severe consequences if you don't."

Ah, there it was. That was the secret. They were competing for this fruit. This made it even more interesting. Either get the meiloorun and race back before the other could catch up, or eliminate them with a lightsaber and casually saunter back. Maybe even a combination of both. Already, Leia felt her nerves beginning to calm as plans were racing through her mind. She already knew the two people she was going to use.

"To your quarters, both of you should retire." Yoda said, beckoning towards the doors. "Speak to your friends, if you wish. But rely on the Force, you must."

"Your respective masters will come to get you in the morning." Anakin said as the entire High Council rose to see them out of the chamber. "Good luck, to both of you, and may the Force be with you."

The elevator ride back down was just as silent, but for a completely different reason. Both were hard at work coming up with a plan they hoped would get them that fruit that was now close to the most important thing in their entire lives.

Leia was trying her hardest not to chuckle. If all went according to how she thought it would, Luke didn't stand a chance.

If Obi-Wan had been surprised when he came to get Luke in the early morning hours, he didn't tell his Padawan.

Luke had been up the entire night planning over and over again what he was going to do. He'd made some holocalls and spent a good portion of his evening going over the finer details with his friend Benjen Wag. The Duros was eager for a little payback on Leia ever since she had dismantled him in a lightsaber sparring match and this seemed like as good of a time as any.

After Benjen had gone to bed, Luke had tried to drift off to sleep as well, but he just couldn't. He was too nervous and too excited. He knew Leia better than anyone besides maybe her master, and she could say the same of him. Plans and counterplans had to be decided. He could sleep once he had been knighted.

Obi-Wan didn't even say anything to him, he just nodded at the door and Luke followed, almost as if he was in a trance. His mind was miles from where he was walking, analyzing security footage he had seen on the holonet of the fruit stand in the Goji district he would buy the meiloorun from. It was a rare fruit, and this one stand was the only place around that would carry one. Luke was sure the High Council had done so on purpose. He and Leia would be on a collision course for fruit and would have no choice to confront one another.

So be it, let the best sibling win.

They arrived at one of the garages to the Temple on its east side where a speeder was waiting patiently. It was a good speeder, and Luke was pleased with how it would do. As he and Obi-Wan said their final goodbyes, the young Jedi was already planning on how he might use this in his plan.

"The speeder will take you anywhere you want to go within the Goji district, and you can use it to come back as well." Obi-Wan said and Luke nodded his understanding. This would be an excellent addition to his plan.

"Leia has another taxi herself then?" he asked.

"Yes, on the west side of the Temple as we speak, but do not focus on her, my young Padawan." Obi-Wan chided. "Focus on yourself, and do as you were told. I cannot say anymore, but know that I love and trust you Luke. I am proud of the Jedi you will become."

Luke gave Obi-Wan a warm embrace as he entered into the speeder.

"I almost forgot!" Obi-Wan called out as the engines on the speeder roared to life. "You can contact your friends as soon as you start flying. The Trial begins now. May the Force be with you!"

"And with you, Master." Luke said with an absentminded wave of his hand, but he wasn't even looking back to Obi-Wan, he was already punching information into his holocommunicator. It was time to set things into motion.

Leia had to remind herself to be calm as she surveyed the fruit market.

It seemed so peaceful, so many residents of the Republic were going about their business, completely unaware of her presence. That suited her just fine, she had gone to some trouble to be invisible whilst in plain sight. What worried her is that she didn't see her brother anywhere. The citizens strolling about were blind to him as well.

She held out a cup, begging for more spare change and tipped the hood of her rough spun cloak to a passerby that dropped a credit chip as they walked. Nobody seemed to notice beggars, even the people who gave them money. They were omnipresent, yet people went out of their way to fail to notice them. It let her be within striking distance of the fruit stand when Luke made his move.

All of the credits that Ahsoka had given her to purchase the fruit were immediately spent getting cloaks for her and her friends. Two tin cups and a mind-tricked stall owner later, and Leia was begging in the streets with Brill while Anya was watching a fruit stand.

Brill was her Nautolan friend who had a keen sense of when he was in danger. No matter what mission he and his master were on, he knew immediately when the mood in a room turned hostile. Countless times his intuition had saved his master from harm, and Leia was glad to have such a good friend on her side today. He'd let them know the moment Luke tried to do something.

Anya had a different purpose. Outside of Leia, she was one of the best duelists of their age, just as good as Luke and twice as confident. She specialized in Form II Makashi and her green, curved hilt lightsaber made quick work of any opponent she faced. She was even skilled enough that she could take on multiple opponents at once. It fit perfectly into Leia's plan.

Once Brill notified Leia that Luke was about to move, she would find the target and take them out as soon as they purchased the Meiloorun fruit. Brill would ready her taxi and Anya would hold off Luke and his goons until Leia had time to escape. If all went well, and Leia was sure that it would, she would be back in the Temple in no time, waiting to get knighted with all of her friends and family there to cheer her on. Even Luke would come around eventually. He'd pass his trials next year, this just wasn't his time.

A subtle rattle of her cup made her snap out of her reverie and look at Brill whose hand was causing the rattling. He subtly jerked his head over to where a hooded figure was making their way towards the meiloorun stand.

The trap had been sprung, and Leia looked on with pride as both of her team members moved without a signal to their next assignments. Leia herself was like a phantom, gliding between people with incredible dexterity and balance.

The seller was just finishing the transaction and handing the fruit over when Leia drew her lightsaber hilt out, holding it directly against Luke's back.

"Appreciate you using your credits, but I think I'll be taking that, dearest brother." she whispered, unable to keep a chuckle from her voice as she did so.

The figure turned around, and Leia felt her stomach do a couple of backflips. It wasn't Luke. It was his cursed Duros friend, Wenjen Bage. He was inseparable from Luke as they grew up and of course he would be the one that Luke would use for a dangerous assignment like this. There was no one else as loyal as Wenjen who would offer themselves up as bait like this.

But if Wenjen was the bait, where was the trap?

"Leia, above you!" Brill shrieked as Leia turned around with speed greater than any normal human. Even using the Force to assist her, she was only just able to turn around in time and ignite her lightsaber to block Luke's blow.

Her brother had parked his own taxi literally above their heads. She was torn between wanting to congratulate Luke on his most daring move in years and chiding herself for not seeing something like this coming. He'd just blended in with all the traffic above them.

It was too late to whine about it now. People were starting to scream and run from the fact that two lightsabers were drawn and clashing with one another. Anya and Brill both ignited theirs and moved to join their respective friends.

Luke and Leia didn't care. They were locked into combat with one another and there was a fire in Luke's eyes that his sister hadn't seen before. It seemed as though he was going to make her work for her victory before she got it.

With a flourish, Leia brought her hand back to use a Force Push to shove Luke aside and deal with Wenjen so that she could scoop up the meiloorun and make a break for the Temple. It seemed that Luke had the same idea and pushed back with equal strength. This wasn't good. They were locked into a contest of the Force, and Leia knew her brother would win eventually.

She was spared when the energy the twins were pushing at one another grew too large to be contained. The area between them exploded with a loud crack and all four of the Jedi in the area were flung backwards. Leia hit her head on the duracrete floor and saw stars swimming in her field of vision for a brief second before shaking her head and getting her senses back. This wasn't how the fight was supposed to go at all.

Luck was with her though. It seemed like she was close to where Wenjen was flung and he was groggily getting to his feet the same time she was. The two of them locked eyes and Wenjen gave her a cocky grin while beckoning her forward with a small wave of his hand.

It was over before he even knew what was happening. Weaving between the fleeing civilians, Leia reignited her lightsaber and struck out at the Duros in a series of rapid attacks too fast for the eye to follow. The first one deflected his pathetic attack, the second one swatted his saber to the side and the third gave him a nasty shock in the chest, knocking him out of the contest. The fourth and fifth blows were just because she felt like it.

"Look out!" Brill screamed from the speeder once again and Leia whirled around trying to see what the matter was, but it looked like Luke was still locked into a duel with Anya. She was doing her job beautifully. No matter what her brother tried, Anya countered his actions and it looked like he wasn't going to be doing anything more for a while. That was exactly what she needed, so what was she missing that caused Brill to give her a warning?

The revelation almost came too late. Leia realized that she hadn't seen Luke's second ally yet and the sound of an electrified net gun getting primed to fire warned her what was about to happen. At the last possible moment, Leia saw the net coming and used the Force to move the projectile slightly to the right. It didn't hit her body, but it did snare her arm down to the duracrete and Leia thought she would black out for a brief moment because of the shocking pain.

Even though she knew that she'd survived the worst of it, she was still confused as to what had happened. Leia didn't think there was a net gun like this in the Temple armory, so where had Luke found one to give to one of his friends.

Her answer came when the shooter stepped into view. A Zabrak entered her field of vision with a sad shake of his head and an apologetic shrug.

"Sorry Leia, I hope it doesn't hurt too bad."

Ryn Awld was a Zabrak bounty hunter that had tried to take out their mother once when Luke and Leia were only children, almost ready to become Padawans. Their father had stopped the assassin and when Ryn learned who he was actually sent to kill, he immediately asked for forgiveness and offered to help Anakin track down the people who had hired him. Both of the twins had taken an immediate liking to him, and the Zabrak had kept in touch ever since, becoming a close friend that was invited by for the occasional Life Day celebration.

"Seriously, Ryn?" Leia asked through gritted teeth, trying to fight through the pain. "You chose my brother over me?"

"Now to be fair to Luke, he was the only one who asked me." Ryn said with an apologetic shrug. "And before you complain about me being here, Luke asked me to tell you that your father was very specific with his instruction. You were given two allies, nobody said they had to be from the Temple."

It was true, Leia had overlooked this and Luke had won this round. She had never even thought to look for a non Jedi helping Luke out. She wasn't out yet, and still had a trick or two up her sleeve.

"Once we're out of here, I'll make sure to turn the net off." the Zabrak said as he wrenched the meiloorun out of Leia's free hand. "Just hang in there for a little while longer, Princess."

"I'll be hanging around for a good deal shorter than that!" Leia snarled as she fiddled with her trapped hand.

The entire time Ryn had been talking Leia had been poking the net for a weakness and just as she was about to give up she discovered an opening in the net. With all her remaining strength in her right arm, she shoved her lightsaber through the hole and her free hand snatched it out of the air.

Before the bounty hunter could react, Leia cut the restraints and wriggled herself free. Quicker than lightning, she drew a massive 'x' on his torso with her lightsaber and caught the falling meiloorun fruit with her now free right hand. The entire arm still stung, but she could handle the pain, especially when the end goal was this important.

"I don't know if Luke explained all the rules to you, or just the ones that helped him." Leia said with a vicious grin as her friend groaned in pain beneath her. "But that means you're out of the game."

She had no more time to gloat though. Luke saw that she had defeated his winning surprise and was looking at her with dangerous intent in his eyes. Before she could even warn Anya, Luke took a step back from their duel and held out his hand.

Leia didn't even know that this was possible, but Anya's lightsaber jumped from her grip and into Luke's waiting hand. It was a terrifying display of Luke's force abilities, and she didn't want to stick around to see what else he was capable of. She gave one last backwards glance to see Anya kneeling down in defeat before she took off running towards Brill and the speeder.

"Did you see that?" Brill muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "He just snatched the lightsaber right out of her hands. With the Force! Can you do that, Leia?"

"Just shut up and drive!" she snapped, stewing in her own thoughts. This victory had been much easier in her head, and she was entirely too close to failing at the current moment. She needed to get some distance between her and her brother in this speeder, and it needed to happen now.

Speaking of which…

"Brill, is there a reason you're not getting us out of here in the speeder?" she asked.

"I'm trying!" Brill squeaked out, desperating punching every single button he could as the speeder rocked back and forth, its engine spluttering all the while. "It says its in drive, it should be moving!"

Leia couldn't understand it either, until it dawned on her what was happening and that fact made her face turn a deathly pale shade of white."

"There is no way... " she mumbled to herself. "There's just no way…"

"No way?" Brill asked, worried at how terrified she looked.

"Luke is holding us here with the Force. He's literally stopped the speeder from moving."

Brill couldn't turn pale, but his green colored skin did get a few tones lighter when she said that. Before Leia could even look around to see where her brother was, Luke's form appeared at the side of the speeder, vaulting over the side and delivering a stunning kick to the side of her head.

For the second time in about as many minutes, Leia was seeing stars. These weren't as bad as the first ones had been, and she was still lucid enough that she could see Luke bringing his lightsaber down on Brill's throat, causing the Nautolan to yelp in pain before he too was kicked to the ground.

With a triumphant whoop, Luke urged the speeder forward into traffic, cackling like a madman. Leia felt her stomach flip again and desperately searched the area around her for the meiloorun fruit. She must have lost it when she was kicked from the speeder. Now her idiot brother was going to make it back to the Temple and pass his Trial and leave her as a Padawan. She had to act fast.

And luckily for her, Luke's speeder was still here for her to use.

Luke couldn't believe his luck. Even though his plan had been stopped by his sister, he was still able to grab the fruit and fly back to the Temple. Sure it wasn't in his original speeder and he had left his two allies behind, but a win was a win, even if it was ugly.

He was already picturing himself kneeling before the Council and being knighted for his skill when he heard a bunch of speeder horns behind him start blaring. There was some sort of commotion in the line of traffic where he had come from, and Luke had a sinking feeling he knew what was behind it.

As he was wondering exactly what the problem was, Leia's fully ignited blue lightsaber came spinning by his window and skewered the engine block on his speeder. The craft immediately started sputtering smoke and slowing down, its engine incapable of keeping up with Luke's demands.

Before he even had time to react, Leia appeared on the front of his speeder, sporting the widest grin he had ever seen her wear and begin to promptly carve up the entire engine, causing the speeder to begin to free fall.

It would have been impressive to Luke if he wasn't the one that was suffering from it. Not only had his sister found a speeder and driven it like a madwoman to catch up to him, she'd ignited her lightsaber and thrown it at a moving speeder, using the Force to guide it and keep the ignition switch on the entire time she was doing so. And then to top it all off, she'd done the leap herself, perfectly landing on top of said moving speeder and continuing to make his life miserable for the day.

He didn't have time to mope though, it was all he could do to keep the speeder level as it fell to the streets below. Honking his horn and trying to cause as much smoke and noise as possible, he was able to crash the speeder into an empty spot on a road and hop out of the speeder, Leia having jumped off roughly fifty feet behind him.

Luke didn't even bother looking to see where she was. Leia would be on him soon enough. Instead, he started running, not even fully knowing where he was going, just trusting his legs and the Force to guide him.

It seemed as though the Force was with him, and he found that there was a maglev train that was just departing, and he saw that it was going to the Jedi Temple. It was too late to board conventionally, so Luke just used the Force to vault to the top of the train and ride on the roof until he reached his destination.

He was pretty sure that he didn't even need to be Force sensitive to sense his sister jumping on after him. Her fury was almost visible, rolling off of her in waves. Luke was ready though. He'd done things today that he didn't even know were possible. He had been able to channel the Force and make himself mightier than he had ever been. He was not going to stop trusting it now.

"You've done well, brother." Leia said, giving her brother a grudging nod of respect, the wind whipping through their hair as the train below them picked up speed. "It seems you learned a thing or two from Master Obi-Wan."

"You'll find that I'm full of surprises." Luke shot back as he moved to clash with Leia. He was good, possibly better than he had ever been, but she was still a better swordsman.

Still, he was good enough that she wasn't obviously superior as she had been before today. He could hold his ground, possibly even give her a small hint of doubt in her mind.

The plan seemed to be working, and the train moved faster and faster, Leia was getting more and more frustrated. Every single attack she made was stymied by Luke. No matter what form she took, his lightsaber was always there to block her blows, even if only by a millisecond. Soon, she started swinging with more abandon. Some of her blows would surely have knocked Luke off of the train had they connected but they never did. Every single time he was able to avoid them, even if once he had to somersault over her in order to not be backed into a position he surely would have lost from. He could feel it, he was going to win. He was so close now.

The Temple came into view and both of the twins jumped off at the exact same time as if by an unspoken que. Once again civilians fled from their duel, wondering just what was going on, but neither of them cared. This fight was personal now. Beating the other person was all that mattered.

On and on they fought, to the main entrance to the Jedi Temple. Both were exhausted from their duel, but neither would let the other see just how tired they were. At once point in time, the meiloorun fruit flew from Luke's robes where he had stashed it, but neither one made a move to grab it. They could finish this trial as soon as the other one was beaten.

Suddenly, both of them found themselves skidding to a jarring stop, control of their bodies suddenly stripped from them. They both rose up in the air, their lightsabers forcibly deactivated and wrenched from their grasp. They struggled and struggled, but it was no use. Something much more powerful than they were had decided to stop the fight.

Anakin Skywalker approached them both, a look of fury and disgust on his face.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, both with his voice and in the Force. It was painfully clear to Luke who had stopped their duel now.

Both Padawans fell to the ground, gasping for breath from their ordeal. Before either could even think of it, Anakin summoned both of their weapons and pocketed them within his robes.

"Report to the Council Chambers." he said, his eyes narrowing into slits of pure, unadulterated disgust. "Immediately."

"Well who won?" Leia gasped out, still hoping to eek out a victory.

"Neither." Anakin said, not even bothering to turn around. "You both failed. Miserably."

Luke couldn't even bear to look at his master right now. He could feel Obi-Wan's look of disappointment, the cold anger he felt at how Luke behaved. Somehow, it was even worse than the fury his father had displayed when he stopped them from fighting. It was a look that said that Luke wasn't worthy of being a Jedi.

The young Skywalker didn't really feel like disagreeing with him at the moment. In fact, all he wanted to do right now was melt into the floor and never see these people again.

"High hopes for you, the Council had." Yoda said with a sad shake of his head. "Failed us, you both have. Ready to be Jedi, you are not."

"With all due respect, Masters." Leia replied, and Luke had a feeling of exactly how much respect his sister thought the Council was due. "We did exactly as we were told. We were fighting over the meiloorun fruit and that is what caused all the chaos. You told us to do this."

"Oh, told you to fight, did we?" Yoda asked, a small smirk detectable in his voice. "Aware of this, I was not."

"Padawan, you were told to bring us a meiloorun fruit from the Goji Market fruit stand." Master Luminara Unduli said. "At no point in time were you told to fight one another."

"Leia, the goal of this was to see if you could pull off your assignment peacefully." Ahsoka added gently. "As a Jedi, you will be tasked with handling all different sorts of assignments on your own, with no one to provide you guidance besides yourself and the Force. This test was designed to see if you could think about something other than your lightsaber to solve a problem."

Luke felt his cheeks burning with shame. It was all so obvious now. Of course they hadn't told him to fight his sister. Obi-Wan had even told him to listen closely to what the Council had said, but Luke hadn't. Even the offer of allies was a trap. From the moment Luke picked his team based on how they would do in a fight, he had already lost. It was a harrowing lesson, and one he wouldn't forget any time soon.

"But I did feel a connection to the Force!" Luke exclaimed. Even though he felt ashamed, he still believed the Council was being unfair. "You saw my duel with Leia. She should have won easily, but I was using the Force like never before. The way I moved, the things I manipulated, how was I not trusting in the Force?"

"Were you trusting it, or using it?" Anakin asked. "Luke, you were indeed more powerful than you have ever been, but you used the Force to help you reach the conclusion you had already come to in your own mind. That's not trusting, that's subjugating. A common mistake, for a Padawan. Not for a Jedi Knight."

"Can.. can we take another Trial?"

"No, Luke." Anakin said with a heavy finality in his voice. "Neither of you are ready yet. Perhaps next year, or the one after that. When you have proven to this council that you are ready to act like a Jedi should act, not like a child with a lightsaber, we shall see."

"But I-"

"Leia, what part of this conversation makes it seem like it is open for debate?"

It wasn't their father who had snapped at Leia, but rather Ahsoka. This experience must have been just as bad for her. It was her training that had let Leia make so many grievous mistakes, and now both master and apprentice looked horrible in the eyes of the Order.

Looking over at his own master, Luke marveled at how calm Obi-Wan looked. Of course he was disappointed, but his emotions were entirely within his control. All of his frustration was rational, not illogical. Luke resolved in his mind that going forward, he would try to act more like that, like how a true Jedi should.

"No, Master Ahsoka." Leia said with a defeated slump of her shoulders, her monstrous pride finally brought into check.

"Spend one last night in your quarters." Anakin said. "Think over what you have done. I will personally come get you tomorrow."

For the last time in what they both believed would be a long time, Luke and Leia took the turbolift down to the main floors of the Jedi Temple. And once again, the turbolift was dead silent. But unlike before, their silence wasn't born out of nerves or excitement. This silence was created by the sheer weight of the defeat and humiliation they had both suffered.

And after an event like that, there really wasn't much else to say.