AN: Wow. Can't believe I'm already half-way through with this. I'm rather proud. Anyways, this is probably one of my favorite chapters and introduces another OC that will be important in the sequels.

Chapter Twelve: Greensleeves and Scruffy-Looking Nerfherders

Six year old Jane walked proudly amongst the many booths of the hotel's convention center with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. This was her first time on Corellia since the beginning of her apprenticeship, and she was happy to be home.

She carefully brushed a piece of non-existent lint off of the green sleeves of her robe. After a lot of begging, pleading, skillful negotiating, and a good dose of puppy-dog eyes, the Council had given in and let Jane wear the Corellian green. However, the deal was that only the sleeves of her robe could be green; the rest of the body had to remain the original brown. Jane did not mind; the two colors worked well together and it made her stand out of the crowd.

After Qui-Gon found the booth he was looking for, he gave Obi-Wan and Jane permission to walk around by themselves.

"Just don't leave this floor," He said. Both nodded.

Jane soon found the over-crowded room to be stuffy and overwhelming and stepped outside. Having arrived at the hotel only an hour beforehand, Jane hadn't had enough time to explore. Keeping Qui-Gon's words in mind, she began to explore the other rooms on the floor.

She found a small 5-star restaurant, the ballroom, and—to her utter delight—a room full of musical instruments. Jane loved playing music as much as she loved listening to it, though she rarely had time for it. Taking advantage of this free time, Jane settled herself down on the bench of a large instrument covered with long ivory buttons called 'keys' and began to play.

She was in the middle of the melody of one of her favorite songs when she heard an irritated voice from behind her.

"Hey! Get away from my piano!"

Jane turned to see a boy not too much older than her with messy brown hair and blue eyes scowling at her.

"I didn't know this was yours," Jane responded.

"This is my practice room," The boy said angrily. "And I ask that you please be careful, Little Miss Greensleeves. Many of these instruments are very delicate."

"Sorry," Jane said, standing up. She was already starting to dislike the boy, but it was instantly hate when he called her 'Greensleeves'. No one insulted her Corellian green.

The boy eyed her.

"What was that song you were playing, if you could call what you were doing that?" He asked.

Jane felt herself fill up with anger, and with a bit of bitterness, told him what the song was, a rock song by a favorite band of hers.

"Not a classic, then?" The boy said, an eyebrow raised and his nose wrinkled.

"Could be one day," Jane pointed out. "However, in regards to my playing skills, I may not be a concert pianist, but I'd like to see you do better."

The boy sat down on the bench, closed his eyes… and then proved Jane wrong. He played a long, complicated piece that Jane knew instantly within the first notes. Jane felt a bit of jealousy arise in her; how was this boy so good? He couldn't have been more than eight years old.

When he finished dramatically, the boy gave her a crooked grin and held out his hand.

"Jace Solo, musical prodigy and concert pianist."

Feeling a need to protect her ego, Jane responded: "Jane Mago, child genius and youngest Jedi Apprentice in history."

"Explains your ridiculous get-up," Jace threw back. "What exactly are you? A Temple Jedi or a Corellian?"

"Corellian, and proud of it, thank you very much," Jane said coldly. "So, what exactly are you doing here?"

"My father's business has a booth at the trade convention," Jace said. "You?"

"I'm here with my Master and fellow Padawan to meet with a business executive," Jane said proudly. "About important, top secret matters. In fact, my Master is calling me right now, through the Force. So if you'll excuse me."

This was a lie, but Jane really wanted to leave with most of her dignity intact. She reentered the convention hall and found Obi-Wan.

"Back so soon?" He asked, an eyebrow raised. "I expected that you would have made a new friend by now."

"I made something, but I don't think it was a friend," Jane said, not meeting Obi-Wan's eyes. Obi-Wan decided not to press and rub her head lovingly.

"Ah, there you two are," Qui-Gon said, noticing his apprentices as they approached, laughing about something. "I have someone I want you to meet."

He brought the two Padawans over and beckoned over a tall man with graying dark brown hair and twinkling blue eyes.

"Denn, these are my apprentices, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jane Mago," Qui-Gon said, a hand on each Padawan's shoulders. "Obi-Wan, Jane, this is my friend, Denn Solo."

Both apprentices bowed and said 'Nice to meet you'. Denn smiled at both of them.

"Your Master here has been talking my ear off about you two," Denn said. "And I have someone to introduce you all to as well, except I don't know where he-ah! There he is! Jacen! Come here, son!"

Jane barely had a chance to look over her shoulder when she heard a voice say, "Yes, Dad? What is it?"

Jane felt her frustration rise again, but refused to let it show as the boy stepped in front of Denn.

"Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Jane, this is my son, Jacen," Denn said, ruffling the boys hair affectionately.

"Please, call me Jace," Jace said, trying to get his father's hand off his head, that infuriating lopsided grin back on his face. Then he noticed Jane and the grin dropped. "I guess we meet again."

"Oh, you two have already met?" Qui-Gon said.

"You could say that," Jane and Jace said at the same time. They glared at each other when they realized that they spoke simultaneously.

"Well, that's good," Denn said, obviously not seeing the glares. "You two will be spending a lot of time together over the next few days."

Joy, Jane thought bitterly.

And it only got worse from there.

"I don't like him," Jane said that evening, running a brush through her hair as the three Jedi prepared to leave for the party they were going to attend that night. "He's an arrogant jerk."

"Jane," Qui-Gon said warningly. "I'm not saying you have to be best friends with Jace, you just need to be nice to him."

"I'll do my best, but know that he feels the same way about me," Jane said, fixing a ribbon in her hair. "It's for the best, I believe."

"And why do you say that?" Obi-Wan asked, pulling his boots on.

Jane turned to him with a smart-aleck grin.

"Because if he liked me, that would mean I'd actually have to have a conversation with him."

Jane was enjoying herself at the party, which was taking place in the ballroom she found earlier. She had skillfully managed to avoid Jace most of the time with a few awkward words spoken here and there; his tone implied that he had been given the same warning Jane had. She didn't care, though.

However, that didn't last long.

She was browsing the food table when she noticed a wizened old man with shaking hands. The man's plate tipped over, what little food was on it toppling to the floor. He tried to bend down to pick up the spilled food, but Jane was there before he could. The man kept whispering apologies, embarrassed.

"It's fine, sir, no problem," She said. She was about to stand up when she heard a familiar voice.

"-and it's always like she's got something to prove. She's not even that pretty, you know. And her taste in music is horrendous."

A whiny girl's voice complaining about something responded to Jace and Jane rose to her feet after hearing the pair step away.

"Nerfherder," She whispered. "That complete, utter, scuffy-looking nerfherder!"

The old man, who apparently was going deaf, frowned at her and said, "What did you say?"

"Never mind," Jane said. He'll just pay for that comment later.

And to her pleasure, that moment came not an hour later. Jane and Jace joined a discussion with Qui-Gon and Denn about music, as the two men had been complimenting the party's musicians when both children were seeking their respective guardians. Jane discovered that Denn was as passionate about music as his son was. And, as she already suspected, she discovered Jace was a bit of a music snob; he believed that classical music was the best, and everything else was just plain wrong. His father disagreed.

"They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Denn said. "Music is the same way. Whatever type of music it is, as long as you feel it, is beautiful."

"Exactly," Jane said, a grin on her face. She turned to look at Jace briefly, batting her eyelashs innocently. "The taste of music of one might speak to their soul, but will be horrendous to the ears of another."

She had the immense pleasure of watching Jace's face turn white, then red as he realized her choice of words. Jane promptly excused herself and walked away, smirking.

"Jace has a hard time making friends," Denn explained to Qui-Gon after Jace stalked away, looking flustered. "He's always traveling, always surrounded by the same people. Gets his schoolwork done quickly, then locks himself in his music room. Won't play anything other than music; what kind of eight year old does that?"

"Are there not children of your colleagues on board?" Qui-Gon asked concernedly.

"The only child his age on the ship is the daughter of one of my colleagues, and Jace tries to avoid her at all cost. Personally, I don't blame him. The girl's a nightmare. Other than that, he has one friend here on Corellia, the son of my best friend growing up. And he and his cousin, my sister's daughter, are really close. But my sister and brother-in-law's work doesn't allow them to visit often. I feel like I'm failing Jace as a father."

"I know what you mean. Jane's situation is similar," Qui-Gon said with a sigh. "She, Obi-Wan and I are frequently on missions, added to the fact that she is on a different level intellectually than other children her age, she just can't make friends her own age. She prefers to be with Obi-Wan and his group of friends than make her own set. When I ask her why, she just shrugs and says it's easier for her; doesn't have to pretend to be something she's not."

"I really hoped they would hit it off," Denn said, staring down at his drink in thought. "Eh. Who knows with kids? Maybe one day they'll be friends."