Thank you for the support, you guys! I'm sorry that this chapter took longer to upload - I've just got so many other stories to update and since finals are only two days away, I've been out of my mind with studying and stuff. Seriously. School will be the death of me. *sighs*
Anyways, I'll just take this time to reply to any guest reviewers/comments/future concerns -
Guest Reviewer Demoness - Maybe making this a slash story will be more interesting for you, but I don't mean to make this story a slash one whatsoever. It's not that I hate on slashers/femslashers or whatever, but I've never really written slash and I don't plan on writing it. Plus, I'm more into bromance (the platonic kind) rather than slash. However, I've been told that my own bromance stories lean heavily towards slash but again, that's never intentional. I'm sorry if I offended you (or any slash supporter, for that matter,) but don't expect any ObiAni from me any time soon.
With that said, please enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Two. True Bravery
Part two of chapter two
Obi-wan watched from behind the stands as each and every knight marched into the wide arena. A large, cheerful crowd of people were sitting in the stands, all applauding and yelling out to the participators.
Obi-wan hadn't seen so many knights gathered in one place before – their capes fluttered in the wind and they all wore solemn, serious expressions on their faces. Sitting at the very center of the stands, of course, was King Palpatine. Obi-wan caught sight of Ahsoka and Padmé sitting alongside the king. Padmé gave Obi-wan a small smile before turning to the arena.
He entered the arena, wearing the same, humorless expression on his face. "Knights of the realm," he started, clasping his hands together. "It's an honor to welcome you to Coruscant. Over the next three days, you will put your bravery to the test. And, of course, to challenge the reigning champion, my son, Prince Anakin."
The knights all turned to look at Anakin, who, for once, looked uncomfortable. Obi-wan watched as Anakin gave the other knights a subtle, quick, sideways glance before turning back to the king, who was giving further instructions.
"Only one can have the honor of being crowned champion, and he will be rewarded with a prize of one thousand gold coins." The king gestured to a medium-sized chest placed in front of his seat in the stands. A servant opened the clasp of the chest to reveal the prize.
"It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature," Palpatine continued, "whether he is a warrior indeed…or a coward." With that being said, he lifted his hand. "The tournament begins!"
The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause as the knights all bowed their heads in respect and left the arena. Obi-wan nimbly stepped out of the way for the knights and turned his head to look at Anakin, who was standing beside the king.
"I trust you will make me proud," Obi-wan heard the king say to the prince. Anakin nodded wordlessly.
For a second, Obi-wan felt pity for the prince—it couldn't be easy, living to those expectations. He watched as another knight entered the arena. The knight stood in front of Anakin, swinging his sword threateningly around his wrist.
In the next second, the knight dove at Anakin. The prince quickly ducked out of the way and used his shield to push the knight away. The next few moments were tense—Anakin blocked the blows in efficient, tight movements and slashed at the knight's shield.
Obi-wan sighed and leaned against one of the stands. The knight didn't have a chance.
Sure enough, the knight was shoved down to the ground and Anakin was the victor of the round. The next few matches came 'round quickly—Obi-wan watched as countless knights were quickly defeated and moved up to the next round of the tournament.
One particular knight caught Obi-wan's eye as he undid Anakin's armor—a strange, almost blue-skinned man was slowly dominating over the other knights. Obi-wan felt a strange chill go up his back. He frowned to himself. He wasn't quite sure why he felt so spooked by the knight—he looked normal enough, (or at least, as normal as a blue-skinned man could be,) but there was just something about him…
"Knight Cad Bane looks rather handy with a sword," Obi-wan muttered as Anakin, too, turned around to watch the knight. If Anakin heard Obi-wan, he didn't show it.
Cad Bane, named as the victor of that particular match with the other knight, threw off his helmet and advanced to the training grounds where the other knights were taking off their armor at their tents.
Obi-wan held his breath as the blue-skinned knight stopped in front of them. "May I offer my congratulations to you today," Cad Bane said coolly, gesturing to Anakin.
"Likewise." The prince replied shortly.
"Hope to see you at the reception this evening." Cad Bane continued, taking off his gloves. He gave a single nod to the prince and then walked in the other direction toward his own tent.
Obi-wan and Anakin wordlessly watched the knight. Finally, Obi-wan mumbled, "Creep."
He heard Anakin give a small, light chuckle. Surprised, he turned to Anakin. The prince managed a small smile. For a second, the two young men were silent as they came to an agreement. Obi-wan was surprised to almost feel…happy. Maybe Anakin wasn't that bad—
"Er, for tomorrow, you need to repair my shield, wash my tunic, clean my boots, sharpen my sword and polish my chainmail." Anakin said quickly, looking away and taking off his gloves.
Obi-wan sighed as the prince walked away. He was probably wrong—Anakin was a prat.
•◊•
Obi-wan was using the Force to help him with his chores when Qui-Gon walked into his bedroom. He quickly dropped his hand to his side, causing all of the items to fall to the ground.
"Are you using the Force again?" Qui-Gon asked indignantly.
Obi-wan quickly shook his head. "No," he lied.
"What's all this, then?" The older man asked, gesturing to the abandoned bits of armor and cloth on the ground.
Obi-wan gave a small shrug in reply.
Qui-Gon sighed and, casting another disproving look at the ground, said, "I just came to tell you that supper is ready." With that, he closed the door.
Obi-wan exhaled and looked up at the ceiling. He needed to be more careful whilst practicing the Force for these sorts of things.
He stretched out his arms and walked out of his bedroom to join the physician for supper.
•◊•
"Knight Cad Bane of the Western Isles, my lord." Cad Bane said formerly, bowing his head. The knights were all standing in a line, each one waiting to greet the king and the Lady Ahsoka, who was standing next to Palpatine.
"I saw you fighting today. Very aggressive." The king said, impressed.
"As my lord said, 'to lose is to be disgraced.'" Bane replied silkily.
"I couldn't agree more," the king nodded, shaking the knight's hand. "Knight Bane, I present the Lady Ahsoka, my ward." He gestured to the younger girl, who gave the knight a small smile.
"My lady," Bane said smoothly, bowing before Ahsoka.
"I saw you competing today." Ahsoka said, clasping her hands in front of her.
"I saw you watching." Bane replied. "I understand the champion escorts my lady to the feast."
"That's correct." Ahsoka replied, lifting an eyebrow.
"Then I will give everything to win." Bane said, and with another bow, he walked to the other side of the room where other knights were extending hands to congratulate him on his victories.
"Anakin," the king murmured in acknowledgement as the prince bowed before him.
"Father." Anakin nodded and turned to Ahsoka, who was smiling smugly at him.
"They all seem rather impressed by Knight Bane," she said lightly, looking sideways at the group of knights that had crowded around Cad Bane.
"They're not the only ones." Anakin replied, giving Ahsoka a meaningful glare.
Ahsoka feigned a sympathetic smile. "You're not jealous, are you?" She asked.
"I don't see anything to be jealous of." The prince retorted with an eye-roll. With that said, he walked to the other side of the room.
Ahsoka made a small, incredulous scoffing sound and looked sideways at her maid, who was trying hard to not smile. "Could Anakin be any more annoying?" She asked Padmé, rolling her eyes. "I so hope Knight Bane wins the tournament."
Padmé smiled lightly. "You don't really mean that." She said.
Ahsoka shrugged. "Yes, I do."
Padmé simply giggled and shook her head.
•◊•
Obi-wan walked into the armory the next morning. Sunlight filtered through the windows, shining down on numerous swords and shields and spears.
He was about to fetch Anakin's armor from a table in the room when he heard the sounds of…where those snakes?
Obi-wan turned around quickly and whispered, "Hello?"
He wandered around the room, looking uneasily at the door and walls. "Is there someone there?" Obi-wan asked, lifting his voice.
Another strange, hissing sound rang through the room. Obi-wan frowned and turned around quickly, only to come face-to-face with a shield. The shield was a bright, yellow color with green snakes painted over the metal.
Obi-wan took a few uneasy steps towards the shield. He examined the snakes and gasped as one of the snakes' red eye blinked. He rubbed his eyes and stared hard at the snake. Did that really happen? Were the snakes…alive?
He extended his hand towards the metal and was about to touch the snake when a sword suddenly pointed at his chest. Obi-wan quickly looked up to see Knight Bane glaring down at him.
"Can I help you with something, boy?" He asked coldly.
Obi-wan swallowed. "No," he replied. "I…I was just…um…gathering my master's armor." To prove his point, he walked over to the table and gathered Anakin's armor in his arms.
"Then, you'd best be on your way," Bane replied with bared teeth. Obi-wan felt a chill run up his spine but managed to give him a small nod.
"Of course," he said quietly and walked out of the room. Obi-wan tossed an uneasy, nervous stare at the door of the armory before heading to Anakin's chambers.
Surely, the snakes on the shield weren't alive…right?
•◊•
"You did this all on your own?" Anakin asked, staring at the armor with a confused, bewildered look on his face.
Obi-wan clasped his hands behind his back and replied, "Yes, sire."
Anakin stared at the manservant incredulously. "Well, let's see if you can get me into it without forgetting anything."
Obi-wan did as he was told—he quickly assembled the bits of armor over Anakin. Once he was finished, he took a step back and crossed his arms, impressed with his own work.
Clearly, the prince was rather surprised with the sudden progress as well. "That was much better," he said, looking over at Obi-wan. He quickly cleared his throat, and, returning to his usual swagger, added, "Not that it could have gotten any worse."
"I'm a fast learner." Obi-wan shrugged with a smile.
"I hope for your sake, that's true." Anakin smirked.
"Good luck." Obi-wan simply replied, deciding to brush off the comment.
Anakin didn't reply. He simply gave another bewildered look at the manservant and walked out of the room. Obi-wan followed after him. The two walked to the arena, where the crowds were already gathered on the stands. Obi-wan quickly stopped behind the stands and watched as Anakin walked out to the dirt ground of the arena.
He allowed himself a small smile as Anakin thrust his helmet into the air, triggering a roar of enthusiasm from the crowd.
"Is it my imagination, or are you beginning to enjoy yourself?" A familiar voice asked from behind Obi-wan.
The young man quickly turned around to face Qui-Gon, who wore a smile on his face.
Obi-wan sighed and grinned at the ground. "It…it isn't totally horrible all the time." He managed to say.
A/N: No, this won't be a Cad Bane x Ahsoka or Anisoka, as I've said in the previous chapters. Nope. Definitely not Cadsoka - I loath that ship. -.- (No offense to any Cadsoka shippers out there - I just don't really like it.) This chapter definitely wasn't as long as the other chapters, but I'm in a hurry today and I needed to update something.
Ahsoka: ...you NEEDED to update something? You updated two of your stories yesterday!
Me: I know, but I just...*sighs* I dunno, dude - I just have this weird urge to keep writing and updating stuff. It's so annoying...it keeps me busy.
Ahsoka: *sighs* You can say THAT again. Seriously - I'm beginning to feel a bit scared for you.
Me: *smiles maniacally* I'm totally normal. I need to keep writing to keep going. If I don't, I'll go insane.
Anakin: SHE WAS LOOKING FOR WOODWORM OR SOMETHING THIS MORNING!
Me: YEAH, THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE MOST ACTIVE IN THE MORNING!
Ahsoka: As you can see, prolonged exposure to writing has driven her insane.
Me: I AM NORMAL.
Anakin: That's debatable. Please review, give constructive criticism if you have any, and don't flame. Bye!