I really struggled with this chapter for some reason, and I can't get the ending right. D:
Please let me know what you thought, as usual :3


"Do you think you're ready for this, my dear?"

"As ready as I can be for a ball." Asajj and Obi-wan were both seated on a special transport arranged to carry the Jedi to the party. It was packed with other Jedi as well, all of them in neat, clean Jedi Robes, traditional planetary clothing, or even suits and ball gowns, for those who were rather fond of dances.

Both she and Obi-wan had opted for "neat clean Jedi robes". Her robes were brand new, female cut, midnight blue, and spotless, as she hadn't had the chance to spill anything on them or singe them yet. Obi-wan wore a set of white robes that looked fairly new, although he'd confided that they were the same ones he'd worn last year.

Anakin, to both of their surprise, had a suit. Aayla had donned a festive red gown that clashed horribly with the bright blue of her skin.

"Don't be nervous, Asajj." Obi-wan said suddenly.

"Nervous? Me?"

"I feel your anxiety. It won't be that hard, I promise. I've been coming to this ball every year for quite some time now, and it's the same every year. The polite conversation, who dances with who, and the disgusting Corausantian wine in the toast. I suppose I'll mix it up a little, since you're here and we'll be dancing, but really, nothing to worry about."

"Oh no, only the fact that I'll be at a ball with people who used to be on the opposite side as me and will all be giving me the cold shoulder. And only the fact that I've never danced before in my life and all of these people will be watching me. And after I do horribly I'll probably be sent back to see the psychologist. That's all."

"Come on, it won't be that hard. I'll help you out." The transport landed, and the Jedi started slowly filing out into the grand ballroom of the Senate.

The ballroom was massive, and the ceiling was high and arched. The floor was polished tile, the walls stone, and the ceiling glass, or some similar substance, but Asajj guessed that there was a forcefield above it, because glass was simply so easy to penetrate. Here I go again, thinking everything in terms of infiltration… Beams of wood and crystal criss-crossed the ceiling, and all of them were wrapped in festive garland. Gold lights and more garland were strung around the walls.

Against the left wall was a raised platform with a band of quite a few humanoids and even more instruments. Across the room from it was a large clump of round tables; chairs were pulled around them, and there were already a few politicians seated and discussing things there. Along the far wall, there was only one thing- a long, narrow table, with hundreds and thousands of wine glasses standing in rows, each of them filled with a golden orange liquid. The room was lit with chandeliers, very fancy, shiny ones, and Asajj's first thought was that she would not be standing under one because it would be far too easy for someone to send one crashing down upon their victim.

The band was already playing, and there were many people dancing. Oh Force, that meant she was expected to dance. Plus, with Obi-wan leading, she'd have to be careful not to let him linger too long under those chandeliers, because her master had a nice bounty on his head, and she was not about to let him get himself killed.

"Kenobi. Chandeliers are death traps. Avoid them." She muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

Obi-wan just gave her this… look, like he wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, or whether he should take her seriously or be amused. "Death traps?" he whispered back, curiously.

"They look like it'd be easy to kill someone with. I don't want to stand under them."

"I'll try to stay away from them then, for your sake." The corners of his mouth were twithing upwards, but he was doing his very best to stay serious. "Shall we?"

"Gladly." They'd made their way to a fairly empty place on the floor, which was a hard task at this point. Most of the Jedi were pairing off and beginning their dancing, although a few were speaking with senators. Anakin Skywalker, she noticed, was dancing with a young brunette in a burgundy gown, who was far more graceful than he was. Aayla had wandered over towards the band, maybe she was… Obi-wan was offering her his hand.

"What do I do here?" she whispered

"Right hand on my shoulder, left hand in mine." He responded, glancing over his shoulder. A few people were pointing and whispering already. They began their dance, Ventress concentrating on the pattern she'd learned. And then she stepped on something. She didn't have to look down to realize what it was, because she could tell from Obi-wan's face that it had been his foot.

"Sorry, sorry." She whispered. They danced on, but things did not improve. She mussed up the pattern several times, ending up stepping away from him or worse still, stepping on his toes again. "Sorry master." "Sorry." "Sorry, I-"

"It's alright." Obi-wan winced as she once again managed to step on his foot. "I just thought you'd be a little better at this. That's the fourth time, and we've only danced one song."

"Do you want to sit down?"

"A break would be nice, yes."

"Oh, Master Obi-wan!" Suddenly a voice called from behind them, stopping them mid-way to the tables.

"Senator Amidala, lovely to see you." The brunette who had been dancing with Skywalker had come towards them, smiling warmly at Obi-wan.

"Padme is fine, there's no need… for formality…" She finished weakly. She'd noticed Ventress for the first time.

"Padme, this is my new apprentice, Asajj." Ventress dipped her head politely.

"Oh. Asajj as in…."

"The Asajj Ventress, yes." Anakin cut in, joining the group. "Obi-wan's adopted her into the Jedi order. For some reason, he's training her."

"What do you mean, 'for some reason'?" Obi-wan asked.

"Not much of an age difference for Master and Padawan, is all Anakin meant." Padme responded smoothly. "So I'd like to personally welcome you, to both the Republic and to our annual ball."

"Thank you Senator." Vetress replied. She really didn't know what she was saying or doing, so perhaps it'd be best if she kept the talking to a minimum.

"Just think, Anakin. You and Obi-wan will be on the battlefield with Ventress soon- only on the same side."

Anakin snorted. "Don't I know it. I've already got my hands full rescueing Obi-wan, but now I have to help him look after his Padawan, too? I've got my own apprentice to handle already."

"You don't rescue me that often, Anakin." Obi-wan said rather defensively.

"I wasn't aware he ever rescued you at all." Asajj breathed, glancing at her master. Oh, so even you have your brushes with trouble, hmm Obi-wan?

"It seems I'm quite a magnet for trouble. Although admittedly, I'm usually stuck in more dangerous mission than anyone else in the whole Temple, except for perhaps this one." He nudged Anakin. "With you on our side, though, my life just may be a bit easier."

"More than a bit." Asajj asserted. "If you're ever in trouble, I'll be helping Skywalker with the rescuing."

"Perfect!" Anakin beamed. "You rescue Obi-wan, and that way I can concentrate on saving the rest of the galaxy. After all, what else does Obi-wan have Padawans for? Right Master?"

"Oh absolutely. It's not like you learned everything you know from me or anything like that."

Padme glanced across the room. "As much as I love talking with you, I really hae to go- you klnow how it is, being a Senator. Every social event is a business meeting. And I'm fairly sure Bail is motioning me over. I'll see you later in the evening, Master Obi-wan, Asajj…" She gave Skywalker a rather significant glance. "Anakin."

"Goodnight, Senator." Anakin responded in a perfectly gentlemanly way.

"Care to dance, Skywalker?" Shaak Ti grinned.

"Well, this is a ball. Might as well." Anakin grabbed shaak's offered hand with a shrug, and the two whirled out onto the floor.

"Could they be any more obvious?" Obi-wan muttered.

"What's that?"

"Oh. I'm sure you noticed that look between Padme and Anakin."

"What about it? Are they…"

"There's something between those two. I don't know if it's just chemistry, or if they have a whole secret relationship. But it's something." Kenobi shrugged too. "Unless one of them tells me, I won't intrude. Care to dance again?"

"I'll try."

The whole next song, Asajj's eyes were on Skywalker. He finished dancing with Shakk and then moved on to a Twi'lik sh didn't recognize, then to a blonde senator several years his senior. His glances, however, were all across the room, to where Senator Padme was speaking with this Bail and someone who was presumably his wife.

With her focus shifted, she messed up her own dancing even worse. Obi-wan had learned to avoid her feet, moving out of the way with quick little steps, but the overall effect of their dance was simply not good.

And then it happened. The song was drawing to a close, and Ventress spun outwards away from Kenobi. She barely bumped the long, narrow table, but regardless, it wobbled dangerously. The song reached a great crescendo of brass and string as the table fell over. It moved in almost low motion, and Ventress managed to catch it with the Force, but accompanying the grand chord of music was the sound of thousands upon thousands of wine glasses hitting the tile floor and shattering.

The very last notes of the song were interesting. A few of the musicians played anyway, but most trailed off, as did all the talking. There was dead silence, except for the occasional shift of glass, which was followed by the tinkle of more glasses breaking. The entire room was staring at her.

Asajj ran again. The door back to the transport had people standing around near it, so she opted for ducking among the tables. Anything to get out of public eye. She had ruined Obi-wan's social reputation, most likely, as well as made an absolute disgrace of herself and the Jedi order she now represented. She had destroyed any chance of this upcoming 'toast'. Finally, with the crowd in an uproar, she managed to slip into the ladies room.

It was quite a while before Aayla found her there, leaning against the far wall. "There you are. What on earth are you doing in here? Me and Egghead have been running around outside looking for you!" She stuck her head back out the door. "I found her!"

"Why were you looking for me?"

"He wants to talk to you."

"Tell him to go jump off a cliff."

Aayla opened the door a bit. "She says to go jump-"

"Not literally!" Ventress snapped in reply. "I don't want to talk to him right now."

"Why not?"

"Because I have ruined his reputation with just about everyone here."

"Just come out." Obi-wan's voice floated through the door. "I don't want to pass everything through Aayla."

Asajj sighed. "Very well then." The ballroom was partially empty at this point- it appeared a lot of people who had been staying only for the toast- to be polite, few people actually enjoyed the taste- had gone home. There were still a quite a few couples dancing, however, and even more people were chatting around he tables.

"Don't do that to me." said Obi-wan.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to knock over the-"

"Not the table. You just run off like that, I thought you'd gone outside. These are dangerous streets if you aren't armed."

"I can handle it Kenobi. I may be your Padawan, but you have to remember that I have years of experience with fistfighting."

Obi-wan looked sort of disgraced by the mention of fistfighting, but continued anyway. "If you wanted to get lost of the streets of Corausant, it'd be easy."

"Point being?"

"What if I never found you?"

"Get a new Padawan, end of story."

"But I like the one I have currently, thank you. Come on, you don't have to hide." He actually likes training me. That has to be a first, someone who enjoys my company. Master Ky always said I was tolerable. But tolerable isn't the same as "I enjoy your company enough to train you." He was training me so that he'd have a native on his side, and because I had talent. I get the idea Obi-wan's doing all this simply out of fondness. Oh dear Force, he's fond of me. Aayla may be right. He just may be an egghead.

"I am not hiding. That said, I do not wish to go back into the view of many people who hate me." So inotherwords, she was hiding.

"Come on, they don't hate you!" Aayla interjected. There was a slight pause. "Ok, so maybe they do. But they don't hate you any more than they hated you before." Another silence. "Ok, ok, so maybe they hate you more than they did before. But only a little." Obi-wan and Asajj watched her for a moment. "Ok, so maybe more than a little. Maybe more like-"

Obi-wan elbowed her. "You're not helping."

"Fine, geez. I'll leave then." Aayla whisked away, red gown swishing. "Egghead."

"Really, please come back and dance again. I need a partner."

"There must be someone willing to-"

"Long story short, I'm trying to avoid a certain duchess that I'm afraid will ask me to dance."

"Decline."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's not polite."

Ventress sighed. "You know I'm a horrible dancer."

"Yes, my feet quite remember that. I don't really understand though. I thought you'd be a wonderful dancer."

"What on corausant made you think that a woman who grew up on a savage planet and then trained as a sith assassin would be good at ballroom dancing?"

"Our duels." She stared at him blankly. "When we fought, you'd match my every move, to block my saber. Sometimes you were on the offensive, but when you went on defense, it felt like a dance. Like I was leading and you were keeping up, perfectly in time to block every strike and without a foot out of place. You're very graceful, really. I think you're focusing too hard on getting the feet right and not thinking about just… flowing." There was another pause. "I'm sorry. That was a lot."

"You're right though." As usual. "If I let go… and reached to you through the Force…"

"You'd be fantastic."

She offered him her hand. "Shall we?"

"absolutely, my darling." Obi-wan took her proffered hand in his, then gently laid his other hand on her side. He stepped very slowly at first, but now that she was feeling cues from him, sensing which direction he would step and mathing it, Ventress was starting to pick up on this whole waltzing thing. The Jedi she was dancing with seemed to sense her comprehension, because he sped up the pace of his steps. She easily felt it coming and kept up nicely.

They managed to waltz their way onto the floor easily, hands still clasped. Before Asajj could even realize it, she was dancing. She was dancing well. She was dancing with Obi-wan Kenobi. Who would have thought this would happen?

"Excuse me. Mind if I cut in?" A short, blonde woman with big blue eyes had tapped her shoulder, obviously wanting a turn with Obi-wan.

Too bad.

"Yes, I do mind, sorry." Ventress responded, before briefly taking the lead and whisking Kenobi away from the aqua-gowned woman.

"Ventress!" he objected, though only once they were out of hearing range, she noted.

"What?"

"You were supposed to let her cut in."

"She asked if I minded. I do mind."

"Yes, but it's polite. It's just a social expectation."

"I was very polite. I said sorry and everything." She purred. "And what's the point of asking first if I have to just hand you over regardless of what my answer would be?"

"I suppose you're right. And I didn't really want to dance with her, anyway. You, my dear, are a far better partner."

The song ended, and there was a quiet time while the band switched out their sheet music. Anakin too this opportunity to wander over.

"What'd you guys miss the bus, or what?"

"Indeed we did. We'll have to try to get an air taxi, although it'll probably be a while."

"You can ride with me. I pre-scheduled one because I knew Padme would want me to stay late. I mean, Senator Amidala." Obi-wan rolled his eyes. "And since when can you dance?"

"I've always danced at this ball, Anakin."

"No, her." Anakin jerked his head towards Asajj.

"Since Kenobi taught me just a few minutes ago."

"Why are you even here?" Anakin asked, looking rather confused.

"I'm a Jedi now. Or have you forgotten?" She teased.

"But you're a Padawan. Padawan's aren't required to attend, you know."

"We aren't?"

"Why do you think Ahsoka's not here?"

Ventress glanced at Obi-wan. "But I thought…" he was flushed slightly, but perhaps it was just from dancing. "I mean… I wanted to experience a real Senate event."

Anakin shrugged. "Suit yourself." He snorted slightly with laughter. "Suit… I'm wearing a suit… pun…" Realizing that neither his master nor Asajj found his pun humorous, he muttered a hasty goodbye and returned to Padme, sorry, Senator Amidala.

"You told me I was supposed to be here!" she hissed to Obi-wan as the music started again.

"Erm… you are the proper age to be here. And also I never told you that you had to come, only that you were invited." She gave him a scathing look. "Alright, so I just wanted a dance partner." He admitted, flushing again. He's rather… adorable with that sheepish look. Well, more adorable than usual anyway. Wait. Since when do I use the word 'adorable'? To describe anything? I really hope I'm not going soft, living with all these Jedi.

"I suppose that's a forgivable excuse." She purred, her hand finding his shoulder.

"And you are, as I hoped, a marvelous dancer, my dear." There was a note of relief in his voice, as though he were glad she wasn't upset that he'd "tricked" her into coming to this ball. How could she possibly be upset when he'd just wanted to dance with her? His arm wrapped a little tighter than necessary around her side, pulling her a little closer than necessary.

"I learned from the best there is." The very best, master.

They stayed until the end of the party, mostly because they were waiting for Anakin so they could ride home with him, but said Jedi noticed that neither of them danced with anyone else the entire evening. After all, why would they?

Asajj Ventress: 1
Waltzing: Thousands upon thousands
Obi-wan Kenobi: Infinity