Jedi Apprentice – Skywalker's Rescue
Chapter 4
Obi-Wan Kenobi rushed through the Temple halls, refusing to let his panic break into an outright run. He'd barely taken a step through the Infirmary doors when a nurse caught his eye and, before he could ask anything, pointed him in the right direction.
Obi-Wan swept past several rows of beds, each enclosed by curtains, until he found the one containing his Padawan.
"Anakin!" he called out, causing the boy to visibly wince.
"Master…" Anakin said in a small voice.
Anakin sat on the bed as a young Rodian healer tended to him. His sandy hair was disheveled, his nose bloody and swollen. He'd been stripped down to his undershirt and Obi-Wan could see that his arms had more than a few bruises and red welts. There was a tear in his pants below one knee.
Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. He knew the burns left from a low powered training saber when he saw them.
"What happened?!" Obi-Wan demanded. He'd thought they'd reached an understanding. He'd thought things were getting better, not worse.
When Anakin hesitated, Obi-Wan pressed, "Was it that boy again?"
"No," Anakin shook his head, "Me and him actually get along now. We're friends, even. Last week we had to do this project together in Galactic History class and…" He was talking fast, a desperate attempt to distract Obi-Wan and delay the impending judgment.
Obi-Wan let Anakin ramble for a moment more before his patience reached its end.
"Anakin," he cut in, "You know very well that training sabers are only to be used for sparring under supervision of a Master. Fighting is strictly prohibited!"
As he said the words he could practically hear his conscience laughing. You hypocrite! he accused himself, Didn't you do the exact same thing, and you were older then than he is now!
Obi-Wan's face was a mask of steel. He answered the accusing voice, but at least I had the good sense not to get caught!
"But Master! I wasn't fighting! We were practicing! We got a little carried away, that's all," Anakin protested. It was a thin lie and Obi-Wan could tell that Anakin knew it.
"Practicing. Outside of class. Using full force. That, my young apprentice, qualifies as fighting," Obi-Wan said.
Noises from a room across the aisle distracted Obi-Wan from his lecture. He took a half-step back out of Anakin's room and caught a glimpse of an older boy, several inches taller than Anakin, sporting the same variety of bruises and burns. From the way he was whimpering from the pain it was clear who had won the fight. A teacher, presumably the one who had found them, spoke with Mace Windu.
The two finished talking and Mace noticed Obi-Wan watching. As he walked over, Obi-Wan braced himself for the confrontation.
Mace stopped and took in the sight of Anakin for a moment. He sighed and shook his head slowly before addressing Obi-Wan, "Take care of your Padawan, Kenobi. We'll talk about this in the morning."
Obi-Wan opened his mouth to respond but Mace was already walking away. Anakin watched the brief exchange with wide eyes. A dark cloud seemed to pass over his features.
Obi-Wan asked again, in a calmer tone this time, what had happened but Anakin only kept his head lowered and sullenly refused to say a word. The atmosphere was tense as the healer finished treating Anakin and gathered her supplies. She gave them instructions to come back in a day to change the bandages and then left them alone.
The quiet stretched out. Obi-Wan reached out to Anakin through the Force but the boy was cut off from him. He was getting the cold shoulder on all fronts.
"Come on then," Obi-Wan finally said.
They walked slowly back to their quarters. Anakin was limping slightly. Obi-Wan kept slowing his pace but Anakin seemed determined to trail a few steps behind him.
It didn't take long for Obi-Wan to cut through the silence hanging between them. If Anakin wouldn't speak, then he could very well listen.
"If you're going to become a Jedi, Anakin, you must learn restraint. You must never strike out in anger. It's natural to feel anger, but using those feelings to lash out at someone will not only hurt those around you, it will hurt you too. It's not the Jedi way. We must not let our emotions control us."
As Obi-Wan spoke, he had the distinct feeling that he was reciting a lecture that he'd received himself years ago. He now truly believed those words and he wanted to help Anakin to believe too. He would keep trying until the boy finally understood.
By the time they made it to their quarters Obi-Wan had run out of lectures. The door slid closed behind Anakin and Obi-Wan thought that maybe now that they had some privacy, he might be willing to talk.
"Anakin, do you want to tell me what happened?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Does it even matter?" Anakin responded with an unfamiliar bitterness.
"Of course it matters," Obi-Wan said, a bit more forcefully than he'd intended.
Anakin's frustration and resentment had been simmering every step he took from the Infirmary and now it burst out of him, "No! It doesn't matter!"
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan tried, but Anakin's hands were balled into fists and his eyes were fierce.
"Nobody wants me here! You don't even want me! You only made me your Padawan because Qui-Gon made you promise before he died! You only kept me because you felt guilty! You don't care about me at all!" Anakin yelled.
His fallen Master's name being used against him like that caught Obi-Wan off guard. He felt a flash of hot anger, and then just as quick, a flash of shame for letting a child's words hurt him that badly. He clenched the pain tight inside himself and when he spoke again there was a tone of command in his voice.
"You will not speak to me like this! Go to your room and do not come out until you can control yourself enough to have a civilized discussion."
Anakin's eyes flashed but he spun around and stomped off to his bedroom. The door slid closed and then the small apartment was quiet.
Obi-Wan paced back and forth before stopping himself. He sat on the floor in their common room and closed his eyes to meditate. He let himself sink into the Force but words kept swirling through his mind.
"You only kept me because Qui-Gon made you promise!" Anakin's voice cut at him.
Does he really believe that? Obi-Wan thought. If I don't believe in him at all, then why would I do all this?
"…because Qui-Gon made you promise…"
Then Anakin's words were replaced by that familiar scene from his nightmares. Qui-Gon, looking weaker than he'd ever seen him, lying in his arms. "It's too late…Obi-Wan…promise me you will train the boy."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan had said without hesitation. He would have promised Qui-Gon anything.
When Obi-Wan opened his eyes again it was late and Anakin still hadn't emerged from his room. He went to knock on Anakin's door.
"Anakin," he called, "It's time for dinner. Come on out."
"I'm not hungry!" came a defiant yell.
Obi-Wan sighed. If Anakin needed more time to cool down, then he would wait. Without saying anything further, Obi-Wan left to fix himself some food. An hour passed and still no sign of his apprentice.
He stood outside Anakin's closed door. He didn't hear anything. Anakin, surely exhausted from the day's events and the emotional turmoil on top of it all, had probably fallen asleep.
Maybe it was for the best, Obi-Wan decided. They would start fresh in the morning.
…...
TBC!
Preview: How does Anakin handle his latest conflict? A) He quietly reflects on his actions and apologizes to Obi-Wan, or B) he takes drastic action!