Next chapter of Jane's story. Hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter Three: Temple Days
Jane was bored.
Insanely, mind numbingly bored.
She did not like the Crèche. The other children had their friends and favorite toys to play with; in other words, they had their cliques. There was no one to have an invigorating conversation with, nothing particularly stimulating to play with and she had solved all the puzzles within the first three hours, even the ones used to encourage Force development.
She was too smart for hanging around all day with these infants, she thought. She wanted to learn like older initiates. She had asked the caretaker if she could have a practice lightsaber, but her request was denied.
" 'You're too young, Jane,' " Jane mimicked the caretaker's voice as she punched the pillow in her crib (how insulting!) before lying on her back to glare at the ceiling.
If only I can show them what I can do, Jane thought. She turned on her side to glare at the crib bars and wrinkled her nose. She had been two when she figured out how to get out of cribs.
Suddenly, Jane grinned. She knew what she was going to do.
Jane carefully scaled the crib bars and tiptoes past the other cribs. After taking a glance behind her shoulder to check on the sleeping caretaker, she opened the door…
And smiled as she took her first breath of freedom.
Jane ran through the halls of the Temple, wanting to explore everything. She went from broom cupboard to classroom, to cafeteria, to the gardens and Room of the Thousand Fountains, the library, armory and the holographic map room.
And then she found the training area. It was a huge room filled with mats and training lightsabers. She practiced her cartwheels, handsprings and handstands for a few minutes before picking up a lightsaber.
She activated the blade. Smiling as she heard the hum, she gripped the saber in both hands and begun practicing her footwork, striking imaginary foes.
She didn't know how long she had been working with the blade, but she felt tired when she finally shut off the blade. She also felt sad. She missed practicing with her mommy…
With a sigh, Jane turned to put the lightsaber back where she found it… and came face to face with the Crèche caretaker.
Neither said a word for a minute, before Jane broke the silence:
"Yeah… I'm just going to assume I'm in trouble." She said.
"Very much so," The caretaker said dryly. "But it seems you have proved me wrong. You are not too young to work with a lightsaber. Your mother taught you, I presume?"
Jane nodded.
"My mommy and I would practice for hours. She taught me all my footing and how to grip the hilt properly."
"She did a fine job," The caretaker praised. Then he sighed. "Your mother was the best swordswoman of her class. She was much admired and envied for her skill, but all she wanted to use her skills for was to teach. I am happy to see that her love for teaching paid off. I will talk to the Council about starting your Temple education."
"Really!" Jane exclaimed happily. "No more Crèche?"
"Only for sleeping and meals until Qui-Gon can take charge of you," He looked at Jane and grinned. "I do pity him so."
The Crèche caretaker did talk with the Council, and they had the lightsaber masters test Jane. The Masters observed her footwork, how she did against remotes and an opponent. The trainers discovered that she was quite advanced for a child of her age and put her in an intermediate class with older initiates.
Jane excelled in her class and impressed her teachers. But it was only one class that met for two hours a day, which left Jane bored in the Crèche again.
When she asked if there were any texts she could study, it was discovered that she read on a very high level. One teacher introduced her to Madam Nu, who would let Jane have free run of the library, checking on the girl at intervals.
Jane studied histories and science, theology and philosophy, literature and lore from around the galaxy. She studied weapons and the art of war-craft, battles and wars won and lost. After a few weeks of spending time in the library, Jane often found herself helping other students with their assignments and frequently led Jedi to the area where they would find the information they needed if Madam Nu or one of her assistants were busy.
Wanting to learn more about military tactics, Jane would listen in on lectures given to the older students, hiding in the corner closet where she couldn't be seen. A week after she started her hiding routine, the instructor was recounting a battle that took place during the Sith war and was outlining where the troops were stationed on a map, when—without turning—he said,
"Miss Mago, if you are going to listen to these lectures this attentively, you have to do the work as well."
Jane carefully stuck her head out of her hiding place, her eyes wide. All the students in the room looked at her, surprised. None of them had known she was there. Jane removed herself from her closet and took an empty seat in the back.
She had one of the highest grades in the class.
Soon, Jane was taking an array of classes. She intimidated some of her classmates—especially when they learned she had a potential master already—and impressed others. But Jane was proud of herself, no matter what others thought of her.
To Jane's dismay, two months had passed. And she still hadn't met her godfather.