Summary: When he is knighted, Anakin also receives a Padawan. But will she stop his descent to darkness or aid it?

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. If I did, I would have written it like this rather than writing all that soap-style fluff in Episode Three.

A/N Thanks to all those who read this. Even greater thanks to those who reviewed- you don't know how much it means to me to log on and see the 'Review alert' button in my inbox.

Gizzi1213: Thanks for your interest. Having read over the chapter, I realise that Karys is a bit too Earth-type. Hoping to remedy that- but she is meant to be a little different. Most things will be explained in the next few chapters. I also enjoy Anakin-centric fics, whether angsty or not. There will be some angst though, but I'll try to keep it down for now.

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Palpatine frowned as he looked over the reports on his desk. He was entitled, as Supreme Chancellor, to receive daily updates from the Jedi Temple. This latest one was not at all to his liking. The reports included who had been knighted, and who had received Padawans.

The fact that Anakin's name was on both lists rather interfered with his plans. Anakin was meant to be knighted, but this was far too early! And the fact that he had a Padawan showed the Jedi's trust in him. Anakin was meant to think the Jedi did not trust him so he'd turn to the Dark and get revenge.

But maybe Palpatine could work on this new fact. Although the idea would have seemed preposterous to any normal person, maybe Anakin could be made to think that what's-her-name could have been planted as a spy! He could carefully tell Anakin that maybe, just maybe the Council was getting suspicious of his private life. And he could just drop a hint that the new 'Padawan' had orders to spy on him, to report back to the Council. Oh, and lightly refer to the fact that whatever happened, she'd cut down on the already limited time he could spend with Padme.

Palpatine smiled. Yes, maybe the new situation wasn't so bad after all…

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Karys finally grew tired. Having pelted Anakin with a bombardment of questions about nearly every subject she seemed to be able to think of, she leant back in her chair.

"Finished?" Anakin asked amusedly. At Karys's nod, he continued "Better do a bit of meditation. C'mon, I'll show you the way to the hall of a thousand fountains from here. Best place to meditate, in my opinion." But as they were leaving, Anakin's holocomm buzzed. "'Scuse me for a moment," he apologised. "Yes?" An image of Obi-Wan flickered to life.
"Hello Anakin. How's Karys?"
"She's fine. We were just going to meditate."
"Meditation may have to wait. It seems the Chancellor would like to see you Anakin. I believe he heard about your knighting and about Karys too. He says he'd like to congratulate you in person."
"Ok. I'll head over there then."
"Be careful Anakin. There is a dangerous darkness in the Force, especially around the Chancellor."
"I'll be fine. May the Force be with you."
"May the Force be with you." The image flickered and died.

"Well, looks like another while sitting here all by myself then." Anakin looked at Karys as though she was crazy.
"Not yet. You're coming too. You'll like the Chancellor. C'mon. Speeder bay's along here." And with that, they left.

The ride to Chancellor Palpatine's office was dull. The redrobes in the transport that had been sent weren't very talkative, and the atmosphere was quietly tense. Karys felt it, and she did not like it. By the looks of it, Anakin wasn't having a blast either. Eventually, they got to the landing platform and Karys jumped out, relieved at first to be away from the oppressive presences of the guards. However, her relief was short-lived. The place did not stink of the dark side, but there was something she definitely did not like about it.

Anakin, however, seemed to be right at home. "Next time we come, I'll make sure we take our own speeder. And I'll drive. It's much more fun that way," Master and Padawan shared grins. Karys had heard of Anakin's amazing piloting skills and was eager to see if the rumour were real.

"It is true you jumped out of a speeder so you'd land on an assassin? And do you really do flips? And go through power couplings? Can you show me how to do it? Please?" Anakin laughed at her enthusiasm. Karys seemed to be a lot of fun. Obi-Wan was right- his Padawan really did suit him.

"Probably. After all, with this war on, you'll have to learn how to fly a starfighter and it's always best to start with things that aren't too far off the ground. Having said that, if it's just two people then there's not much to crash into in a starfighter. Well, if you're in the right place at the right time anyway. But that'll have to wait- the Chancellor may be getting impatient." At the mention of the Chancellor, Karys straightened her robes nervously (she wasn't used to wearing a robe, having simply worn a tunic and trousers until now). She'd never met a person of such high rank before, very few non- politicians ever did. Well, except for the Jedi Council. But they were almost politicians, so they didn't really count. Her thoughts were interrupted by the Chancellor calling for them to enter.

"Ah, Anakin. So good to see you again. And this young lady is…?"
"Chancellor, this is Karys. Karys, meet Chancellor Palpatine." Karys was suddenly tongue-tied. She had a reputation in the Temple for being a chatterbox, but now she was meeting the most important man in the galaxy, her voice failed her completely.

"Ah yes, I heard you were given a Padawan. Is this her?"

"Yes," Anakin replied.

"And I think 'her' might prefer being talked to as if she was actually there." Karys had found her voice, but almost as soon as she had blurted the sentence out, she regretted it. She felt her Master's disapproval through the Force, and Palpatine glared at her for a moment

"Fair enough Kayli…"

"Karys"

"Karys. Now, I'd like to talk to your Master in private, if I may." Karys nodded hesitantly in acknowledgement "You may wait here." Karys kept her face in a carefully blank mask, although her dislike and distrust of the Chancellor was now stronger than ever. The two men went into the next room, which she assumed must be the Chancellor's private office. The door closed.

Karys sighed and turned towards the window.

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"Anakin, first of all, I want to congratulate you. Your knighthood was well deserved. I have said it before and I will say it again- you are the most powerful Jedi I have ever met."
Thank you Chancellor,"
"One thing troubles me. Why don't the Council send such a promising knight as you out to fight? You belong out there, serving the Republic. Not staying at home to teach an insolent child,"
"I apologise for my Padawan's behaviour, Chancellor. It is not like her at all,"
"But why is she your Padawan? Why are you not fighting for the good of the Republic? Why aren't the Jedi recognising your unique skills and power and using them?"
"I don't know. Maybe they think…" but Anakin couldn't finish. He couldn't find the words to finish with.
"Exactly. And has it never occurred to you that, after distrusting you for so long, they are giving you a Padawan this early? Maybe it's still a question of trust. Karys may just side with the Council when it comes to your personal life. Who knows? Maybe she has been, oh I don't know, given orders to watch you?"
"But she looked as surprised as anyone when we found out we were being paired…"
"Anakin, Anakin…" the Chancellor sounded like a parent patiently explaining that one plus one equals two or something like that. "Has everything I told you gone right through? There is such a thing as acting, you know."
"But if there was deception, I'd sense it…"
"If it had been the child alone then yes, you would have sensed it easily. But if it was the council's plan, then they may have helped her a little… Of course, I may be wrong, but if I were you, I'd watch out," Anakin nodded, although none of it made sense. If Karys was interested in spying on him, then wouldn't she have asked about where he'd been going last night? Or maybe she'd wanted an excuse to snoop around…
"I'll keep an eye on her, Chancellor,"

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Karys looked round as the door opened again. Anakin and the Chancellor walked in. She sensed something about them. She could tell they were hiding something, but couldn't put her finger on it.

"Enjoying the view?" he Master strolled up to her side.
"Yes. It's spectacular from up here, you can practically see half of Coruscant!"
"We'd better go. Goodbye Chancellor. May the Force be with you," Karys copied his last statement and the two of them moved towards the door.

As they left, Palpatine smiled. Yes, the child may just be useful after all. She was a annoying little brat, and he'd enjoy killing her when her usefulness was over, but she'd be quite good for his plans for now…

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"Honestly Karys, I don't know what's got into you! Why were you so rude to the Chancellor earlier?" Anakin reprimanded her once they were back at the Temple.
"Master, I appreciate it was wrong, but there's something bad about the Chancellor. The dark side surrounds him and I neither like, nor trust him,"
"The Chancellor is a good man. He's doing his best to hold the Republic together at a time when it has become very hard to do so. Anyway, he's always been good to me. Maybe if you were a little nicer to him, he'd be nicer back," Anakin retorted. Karys could tell from his tone of voice that any more argument was useless.

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Ok, new review thing. This chapter has to get at least three reviews before I post the next one.