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"Master Dooku?!" gasped Qui-Gon, carefully bringing himself to sit on the edge of the bed, "B-but you're not dead! I would have felt it surely?!"

The spirit shook its head, "I am not your Master, young one. I have merely taken this form in order to make this easier for you."

"Then who and what are you?"

"I am the ghost of Yule past…"

"Long past?"

"Your past…." The spirt held out a hand, "….come. Let us go…"

Warily, Qui-Gon took a hold of the offered hand, taking care not to startle in surprise when he felt the cool fingers clench around his own. Slowly he followed the spirt of his old Master out towards the balcony, however as the ghost passed through the railings, Qui-Gon found himself trying to get rid of the death grip on his hand. "Mas-Sir, I am mortal! I cannot fly, so I am likely to fall!"

The spirit smiled, something which the real Master Dooku very rarely did. "Nonsense. Whilst you still have a hold of my hand, you will not fall."

And with that, the spirit pulled the Jedi Master up onto the railings and down towards the ground below. Qui-Gon tensed as they quickly approached the courtyard that lay below their balcony window, however a metres from impact, there was a blinding light causing Qui-Gon to squeeze his eyes shut in surprise.

When he re-opened them, he found himself standing in a very familiar corridor. "Y-you've just brought me back to the Jedi Temple….near the initiate classes. Why?"

Dooku remained silent as they heard the joyous screams of young children, who soon appeared from around the corner, running towards their rooms. Qui-Gon tried to dodge the oncoming horde, flinching as some simply passed straight through him. The spirit then chuckled warmly, "These are the shadows of the past. They have no consciousness of us…"

"T-the past? What-" Qui-Gon stopped in amazement as a couple of very familiar faces appeared from around the corner, with one in particular, catching his eye.

"Mace…" whispered Qui-Gon in surprise as a young boy with long, dark hair practically flew past them.

Dooku smiled, "A good friend of yours?"

Qui-Gon nodded slowly, "The best…he was always there for me, usually when no-one else was."

"But I have yet to see a young Qui-Gon, running after his friends and laughing about the prospect of Yule…"

Qui-Gon sighed and began to stride up the corridor towards the training halls, closely followed by the spirit. Upon entering the halls, their eyes instantly landed on a young boy, who seemed to be making his way through a series of katas. Dooku frowned, "You are not taking a break for Yule?"

Qui-Gon shook his head, "Master Dooku wouldn't allow it…Yule was a time to get ahead of my classmates. Whilst they rested and played, I would train."

"Your Master does not seem like a kind man…"

"Master are not meant to be…they are meant to push us, teach us how to be the best."

"Maybe we should go to another Yule?"

"There is no point…" whispered Qui-Gon, "…nothing ever changed."

"That's not entirely true…"

The younger Qui-Gon blurred, aging before their eyes until he was in his younger twenties, almost ready to be knighted.

"Qui-Gon!" called out a voice from behind them, and the older Qui-Gon found himself grinning at the sight of an older Mace running into the training hall and grabbing a hold of his friend's arm. "Come on! You've got the day off! My Master talked to Master Yoda and he's given everyone Yule day off. Master Dooku can't do anything about it!"

Qui-Gon watched as his past-self grinned, half in shock and half in joy. The spirit smiled gently as Mace tugged his friend out of the room, babbling excitedly about the snow outside. "What a remarkable young man…." Whispered the spirit.

Qui-Gon nodded in agreement, "It's no surprise he ended up on the council really…"

"So why have you grown apart?"

"We grew up…"

Dooku shook his head sadly, "Maybe we need to see another Yule…"

A blinding light surrounded them once again, and this time, Qui-Gon found himself in the Main Temple Hall, where decorations hung from the ceiling and a small, green figure was levitating colourful baubles up into a tree.

"Master Yoda's Yule party…" chuckled Qui-Gon as he turned to the spirit, "…these were always the highlight of Yule."

The doors flew open and a slightly younger Qui-Gon entered, closely followed by a young, blonde man.

"That's Feemor!" Qui-Gon gasped, a large grin on his face, "…my first padawan! I didn't take over his training until his was almost a knight, but we still had a strong bond."

"Hmmph, unlike the one with your present student…" muttered Dooku, causing Qui-Gon to glare at the spirit. They watched as the hall filled up with Masters, Knights, Padawans and Initiates, all laughing and chatting.

"How peaceful…" Dooku whispered, smiling as he and Qui-Gon moved through the crowd (literally!), taking in every familiar face.

Suddenly Qui-Gon laughed as he caught sight of his old friend, Mace. "I forgot he went bald at around this time!"

The man in question did not seem too happy, especially when a young woman walked over and handed him a woollen hat. Qui-Gon found himself freezing up as the young lady turned around, "Tahl…"

Dooku frowned, "You know this young lady?"

Qui-Gon nodded silently as his past self-met up with Tahl, and began to tease her, "S-she was one of my closest friends…I cared for her."

"You mean…you loved her." Whispered Dooku gently, not even flinching as Qui-Gon span around.

"No…it's forbidden! We both knew this!"

"She didn't seem to care…"

They were surrounded by another flash of blinding light and Qui-Gon found himself in his own quarters, watching his past-self watching Tahl pace backwards and forwards. Tahl shook her head, "The boy is spoilt and arrogant, why aren't you see this?!"

Qui-Gon flinched, knowing exactly who she was talking about. The younger Qui-Gon shook his head wearily, "The other padawan started it. Xanatos was only defending himself!"

"And who told you that? Xanatos? Qui-Gon, he's manipulating you! Can't you see that?!"

There was only silence, causing Tahl to sigh. "Qui-Gon, listen…I love you, but sometimes you can be so blind!"

"You shouldn't you know…"

"Pardon?"

"Love…attachment. It's forbidden…"

Tahl shook her head, "You always do this…as soon as I disagree with you, you suddenly become the perfect Jedi, following the code to the letter. You always used to say that you didn't care what the council thought, but clearly you do…I can't do it anymore. I can't stand here and watch that brat drag you down with him. I can't listen to you denying your feelings any longer…when you come to your sense, then and only then can you contact me for one of our little…chats again."

With that, she span neatly around on her heel and practically stormed out of the room. Qui-Gon sneered as his younger self simply sighed and headed towards his padawan's room, "You kriffing fool…" he muttered softly, "…you should've listened to her whilst you still had the chance!"

Dooku frowned, "Why were you so against her love?"

"It was…is forbidden."

"Love is forbidden?"

Qui-Gon shook his head, "You wouldn't understand…take me back, I wish to see no more. Remove me from this place spirit!"

Sensing that the man was upset with him, the spirit attempted to reason with him, "I told you these were the shadows of the things that have been. That they are what they are, do not blame me!"

Qui-Gon twirled around, "Leave me!" he growled as he sunk to the ground and buried his head in his hands. It took far longer than expected for him to expel his grief and regret into the Force, but when he next opened his eyes, he found he was kneeling on the floor of his room. It was dark and silent with no sign that anything ever happened. Wearily, he climbed back into bed…just as the clock began to chime again.

The main sitting area erupted into light, which streamed through the gap under his bedroom door. His door flew open and a small voice could then be heard, "Come in you should. Then know me better, you can."