"It's not much," Obi-Wan said as the door slid open, "but it's better than that cell."

He wasn't kidding. Her apartment in the lower levels hadn't been much to look at either, but this room was easily less than half its size. She couldn't complain much, though. It had a window, a crisply-made bed, no debris on the floor, and no mold growing on the walls. There was even a small 'fresher attached, probably a way to keep her confined to the room so as not to upset any of the Temple residents unaware of her change in allegiance. It was indeed better than that storage closet her Jedi captors called a cell.

"I'll be honest," Obi-Wan continued, "I don't quite know what to make of Master Yo-"

Speaking became very difficult with Asajj's mouth suddenly devouring his. She gripped the back of his head and moved forward until the length of her body pushed his against the wall and held him there. A sound of approval reverberated from her throat when he began to kiss her back after his surprise had worn off. His hands molded to the curves of her hip and the back of her neck. She smiled against his neck when she released him to draw in air. His hands stayed where they were, though. "Now I feel better," she murmured.

His chest rumbled with a low laugh. "So do I." Rather than push her away, he wrapped his arms more tightly around her and breathed in her scent. "We'll have to be careful, though. It's one thing for you to steal into my chambers without anyone knowing-"

"Except Yoda, apparently."

Obi-Wan tensed for a moment, then relaxed when he realized she spoke without malice. "Except for Master Yoda. But your presence isn't a secret anymore. We can't be seen meeting like this."

"Like what?" A kiss to his neck and her hand sliding down to his chest added even more heat to her voice. "You're simply following your order to show me my new 'accommodations'. Right?" She pressed another kiss into the hollow behind his ear, grinning when the move earned her a slight tremor and a sharp inhale. "And it is a bedroom, so..." Her lips parted and moved to take his earlobe between them...

The beep of a comlink cut through her (effective) seduction and brought reality crashing back around them. She growled irritably. He let out a heavy sigh, whether from relief or disappointment he wasn't entirely sure. Either way, he answered the incessant call. "Kenobi here."

"Obi-Wan." Skywalker's voice. Asajj growled again, into Obi-Wan's shoulder this time. "Can I speak to you for a moment? In private?"

"The brat has remarkable timing, doesn't he," she said before kissing his jaw.

Obi-Wan pretended not to hear. "Of course, Anakin. I'll be right there." He met Asajj's eyes and sighed to himself. How was he ever going to reconcile those two, or at least keep them civil? He loved them both deeply, more deeply than he probably should, but their mutual animosity would always be a thorn in his side if he couldn't ease that tension. For the moment, he simply let it be. "We'll figure all this out, beloved. I'm sure Master Yoda won't let any harm befall you."

She 'humph'd. "We'll see if you're still singing that tune when I'm put on trial. But thanks for trying." She quieted his protest with another kiss, this one slower, more controlled, but no less scintillating. "Go on, before he decides to come looking for you."

He reciprocated with a gentle press of his lips to her neck. "No matter what comes of all this," he whispered, "I'll always love you, Asajj."

Anakin stopped pacing when a knock sounded on his door. He didn't want to do this, but better to get it over with now than let it fester. The door slid open and Obi-Wan stepped inside. There was a definite anxiety emanating from the Master, but he kept it from showing on his face and in his posture. He didn't say a word; apparently he wanted Anakin to break to heaviness and speak first.

Anakin let out a sound between a huff and a sigh. "I've been thinking about what you told me last night, Master," he started carefully. "I'm no closer to understanding your..." Finding the right word wasn't as easy as he'd thought. "Your choice. I can't even begin to understand why you'd choose that woman in the first place-"

Obi-Wan stepped forward, a hand raised in a pleading gesture. "I didn't choose her, Anakin," he said softly. "The Force did. I had no more control over it than she did." The way he said that made Anakin bristle; he still didn't think Ventress was as innocent in this as Obi-Wan made her out to be. But he kept quiet. "Besides, I don't think I was her first choice either."

Anakin tried to smile at his mentor's attempt at lightening the air. "I realize that this is more complicated than anyone would like, but I trust that you'll continue putting the Order first in all things. You always have. I have no right to pass judgment on you." Oh, what a liar you are, Anakin. "You've shown nothing but faith in me even when I've disappointed you" -he raised a hand to cut off Obi-Wan's protest- "and it's time that I return that faith." That hand lighted on the older man's shoulder in the age-old gesture of companionship and trust.

Obi-Wan's joy was a palpable thing through the Force, but the only outward sign of it was the relaxing of his shoulders and the smile that lit up his face. He clasped Anakin's shoulder in return. "That's...Thank you, Anakin. That's all I can ask. I know this is very difficult, especially after all my lectures about non-attachment and commitment to the Order..." He trailed off as if there was more he wanted to say but held back.

"You're my brother, Obi-Wan. I may not agree with this development, but I'm not going to hold it against you." He paused. Did he dare to think... He grinned instead. "Who knows. Maybe you'll start a revolution of sorts and lead the Council into rethinking its stance on the non-attachment order."

Obi-Wan's eyes hardened and his smile faltered. "Perhaps, but this bond between Asajj and I didn't come about for that. I can't speak for her, but I'm fully prepared to let her go should the Force demand it. I still believe in the Code and its view on attachment, and though it would be devastating for me, if the Force willed her to leave me for one reason or another, I would accept it and find a way to move on."

Anakin furrowed his brow. You claim to be so in love with the witch, yet you would just accept it if she were to be taken from you? He didn't understand that thinking. Well, he did in theory, but being so in love with Padme himself he couldn't even bear the idea that she might die before him. It seemed to go against the very principle of love itself as he understood it.

But he didn't give voice to any of those feelings. To do so would only shatter the newly-won peace between them and push Obi-Wan further away. As hard as it was, he shoved them aside and offered a tight smile. "I understand, Master. I know you'll always do what's right."

Obi-Wan's smile returned. "I strive to, at least. Thank you." He turned and left, confident that all was well between them again.

And it was...for the most part. Anakin did trust Obi-Wan. It was Ventress he didn't trust, even after their stand-off outside the Council chamber. He would grit his teeth for Obi-Wan's sake, but he'd keep a sharp eye on the witch in case she decided to show her true colors. Despite Obi-Wan's reassurance of her change in allegiances, Anakin knew in his heart that once the Dark Side took hold of someone, there was no going back. It was a fear he lived with everyday, one that had begun to grow stronger ever since Ahsoka...

No. He wouldn't do this. Thinking about the day she walked away from the Order on top of everything happening with his mentor and oldest friend was too much. Taking a deep breath, he tried to put it all aside and focus back on the tide of the war. He needed his head on straight if he were to keep himself and his men alive through their next campaign.

Asajj had spent the hours after Obi-Wan's departure mulling over her change in scenery (and accessories, what with the stun cuffs no longer a part of her wardrobe). She'd only met Yoda once before, but Dooku had spoken of him sometimes. He had seemed both deceptively powerful and a little on the crazy side to her, a combination she had since learned to be wary of. She didn't know what she had been expecting when Yoda had observed her in the Council room, but it certainly wasn't to be given back some of her freedom.

She went over a mental checklist as dusk settled over the Temple, the low light filtering through her dimmed window to create an air of solemn serenity. Obi-Wan had told her Yoda knew of their relationship, had known since the first time she had crept into his quarters. And yet he hadn't divulged the affair to anyone; she would have seen it in the other Jedi's faces if he had. He had been the first one to speak after she told them all she could of the meeting between Dooku and Sidious in the Works, and in her favor, no less. Then he had revoked her status as a prisoner (although being confined to the Temple wasn't exactly her idea of freedom). He'd even given her an actual room to stay in instead of a cell.

She didn't dare presume anything about Yoda's intentions. Although the Jedi clearly deferred to him at the end of the day, his voice was not the only one on the Council. Whatever he had in mind for her was still a mystery.

Asajj had come to no conclusions by the time the last light of day disappeared behind the spacescrapers on the horizon. Frustrated, she lay back on the bed (after tossing the pillow to the floor) and tried to sleep.

It only worked for a little while.

The only sign that she had slept at all was the deepness of the shadows and the near-palpable sense of quiet when she opened her eyes. Something had forced her awake; not in a jarring, startling way, but gently, like a distant roll of thunder. Only there was no sound. No light. There was only a pull on her psyche that she did not recognize. Curious, she stepped out into the deserted hall. The pull had grown stronger the moment her door slid open.

Asajj followed the strange sensation through the Temple, unconcerned with being seen or getting lost; somehow she knew her way. It beckoned her to the lower levels of the ziggurat where the air was almost stale, as if no one had ventured there in several weeks or more. She found herself standing outside a door, both unmarked and unremarkable. But this was where she was meant to be.

The door opened soundlessly and she stepped inside. It was like walking into a jungle. Plants of all species she couldn't name crowded the room from wall to wall to ceiling. Dark, gloomy, and misty, the only light came from scattered artificial sources embedded in the ceiling, and even then it was only barely enough for her to see by. Moisture stuck to her skin the further she ventured, but she ignored it. She also ignored the odd odor that grew thicker with each step.

What felt like hours had passed when the urge to sit overwhelmed her. It wasn't fatigue, but a kind of force like double or triple gravity that drew her down to the floor. Time became irrelevant the longer she sat there. The plants themselves seemed to fall away until all that was left was soft light and thick shadows. A kind of peace formed around her...

...until a heavy footfall caught her attention.

Her eyes opened wider at the sound and a chill went down her spine. She knew that cadence, the weight of the body she felt coming towards her.

"Does the depth of your betrayal know no bounds, assassin?"

Dooku.

Obi-Wan's eyes flew open as something snapped within his psyche. He'd tried to get a few hours of rest before taking on whatever mission the Council had for him next and had succeeded for a while. But then something happened. It felt as if a part of his soul had been cut away with a vibroblade. He instinctively reached out for Asajj though their bond only to find it silent and empty. Beloved? What had happened? She wouldn't have closed herself off from him so suddenly and without provocation.

Forcing down his mounting panic, he went to her room. Empty. The only sign she'd been there at all was the pillow on the floor. No evidence of a struggle, thankfully. He knew such a thing was next to impossible here in the Temple, but that didn't stop the thought from surfacing. Now that he was certain no such disturbance had occurred, he decided to go to Yoda. It was late, but the Grand Master was his only hope of learning the truth.

Yoda's serene voice bidding him enter was a welcome comfort when he reached the Master's door. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late, Master," he said with an habitual bow, the senior Jedi sitting with his back to the door. "But I fear that something's wrong with Asajj. I cannot feel her, Master. Even when she was cross with me and cut herself off from me, I could always sense her." Yoda said nothing. "Our bond has strengthened since it first formed. The only way it can be this quiet is..." He couldn't finish the thought. It was too hard to even think about. "I've grown used to our signatures being intertwined, Master. Now, there's nothing. It's like...a void."

Finally, Yoda 'hmm'd, though he didn't turn to look at Obi-Wan. "Blocked you of her own will, Asajj Ventress has not. Yet wrong, nothing is."

Although he was used to Yoda speaking in riddles and metaphors after a lifetime of being around him, Obi-Wan remained no more enlightened than when he'd investigated Asajj's new room. "I don't understand. Something must be wrong, Why can't I sense her?"

"Caution, young Obi-Wan," Yoda said as he turned on his cushion. "Override your judgment, your concern for your bondmate will. Alive, she is. Deep in the Force, she is. Begun, her trial has."

"You disappoint me, Asajj. As one who once claimed such hatred for the Jedi, you certainly have changed your tune."

Asajj suppressed a shiver at the coldness that enveloped her at those words. "My hatred for them was...misguided." Her voice trembled, but she forced the words out anyway.

"They were the ones who abandoned your beloved Master to die on Rattatak, were they not?"

Dooku's voice began to circle her, like some great predator toying with its prey. "They didn't know Master Narec was alive. I understand that now."

"And so they are forgiven? And so easily?" She couldn't answer that. Dooku's presence continued to stalk around her, as cold, calm, and imposing as ever. "You are a failure. You were as my apprentice, and so you shall be as an ally to the Jedi." She flinched at the word 'ally'. No she wasn't. Her loyalty was to Obi-Wan, not the Order he served. "Your fear will always be your weakness. It will consume you until your mind devours itself."

"I'm not afraid."

"Then why am I here?"

Asajj stared ahead, her back ramrod straight. She had to consciously force her hands to relax from their painful clench. The realization was simple and sudden, as was the calm that washed over her. "You're not real."

"I'm real enough." His face was suddenly directly beside hers. She flinched again. "Where did this sudden love for the Jedi come from, I wonder?"

"I know the answer to that one." Another voice, another presence, this one even Darker than Dooku's materialized from the shadows to coalesce into a solid form. "It's not love for the Jedi." He spat the word as if it were some vile thing that threatened to choke him. "It's love for a Jedi."

Anakin Skywalker approached with all the ease and deadly grace of a sandcat. Her very soul trembled, her arms following suit. He's not real, she reminded herself fiercely. He's not real... Skywalker's eyes burned into hers as he crouched in front of her. But not familiar blue ice. These eyes were a hot yellow, sickly and filled with hate. "You've bewitched him, haven't you. That's the only explanation. As if he could ever love a harpy like you."

"Ah. Obi-Wan Kenobi," Dooku mused. "I should have known. Why else would you have allowed him to escape you so many times while in my service."

Skywalker stood and joined Dooku in his pacing, trapping Asajj at their center. "He's always been your weakness, Ventress. You never could leave him alone. So you concocted this revenge against him."

The voices weren't real. The words weren't true.

They weren't.

"You're wrong," she whispered shakily.

"You put a spell on him. Drugged him. And when you had him convinced that he loved you, you pounced."

"That's not what happened-"

"A perfect revenge. Bring down the great Jedi not by force or violence, but tearing down his self-imposed repression. You made him feel." Dooku sounded almost...proud. "I confess myself impressed." Once again his face lowered down to hers, whispering directly into her ear. "Rejoin me, Asajj. You will become my apprentice in earnest. I will train you in the ways of the Sith, and together we can destroy the Jedi, the Republic, even Darth Sidious himself."

Had she been told that months ago, she would have been sorely tempted to accept the offer. But that life was no longer what she truly desired. She opened her mouth to say as much, but Dooku's next words turned her tongue to lead and her throat to solid rock. "In exchange, I can ensure that Kenobi remains at your side forever. You'll never be alone again. I as your Master, Kenobi as your slave."

Whatever temptation there may have been was instantly shattered by those words. Obi-Wan was no one's property, certainly not hers. She had endured that kind of life before; never would she subject the man she loved to such a fate no matter what. If he was stolen from her by the war or some other means, her heart would surely break, but that would be her burden to bear if it came to pass. She would not dare to insult both him and their bond by enslaving him on the pretense of love.

She snapped her head up to lock her eyes with her former Master's. Gone was the weakness in her voice when she spoke, replaced with a strength that came from deep in her soul. "No."

He didn't seem surprised. He stood to tower over her, looking down at her with tangible contempt. "Still so weak. Skywalker is right: Kenobi could never truly love someone like you."

Skywalker stepped forward at the mention of his name. His voice dripped with venom. "You think a man, a Jedi like Obi-Wan could ever look at you as something other than a pity case? He could never love you, witch! No one could ever love you. You don't deserve to be loved!"

There is always a moment just before a disaster – a storm, a groundquake, the eruption of a volcano, the detonation of a bomb – when the universe falls away and all that remains is silence. In that eerie calm, all thought and sense of self vanishes. And in that eternal moment, everything becomes as clear as the crystalline lakes of Naboo or Alderaan.

That is where Asajj Ventress finds herself now. She is at the vortex of a singularity of absolute truth. And she smiles. "There are many things I don't deserve." She spoke more to herself than to the apparitions that continued circling her. In the vowels and consonants she found a reservoir of strength she'd almost forgotten existed in herself. "Master Narec's teachings. A second chance. My life. Obi-Wan." The sizzle of two lightsabers, one of blood, the other of ice, cut through the air. She didn't flinch, didn't even acknowledge them. "But I see the truth now." Red and blue energy descended towards her in lethal unison, but she felt no fear. There was not even a need for a weapon to fend them off.

The Force did it for her.

Asajj let all of her fear, hesitation, and doubt flow away as easily as rain down a window. The Force took their place, its light and comfort filling her from head to foot. One hand lifted of its own accord. Had the Force not been with her, two lightsabers would have cut through it effortlessly. As it was, the blades stopped a hair's breadth from her upturned palm. "There is one thing I do deserve, though." The Force pushed her arm up to fling Dooku and Skywalker from her. Her own newfound confidence pulled her to her feet. "I deserve...to be loved."

Those words were all she needed. That one thought, so simple, so basic, became her strength. Memories of Obi-Wan's smile, his gentle kisses, his tender touches were her resolve. She didn't even look at her opponents as she blocked them at every strike with nothing more than a wave of her hand. "I deserve love," she repeated; it was her mantra, her lifeline, her absolution. No one, not even Skywalker or Dooku could take that from her now.

The battle was over in seconds. Asajj hadn't moved one step. With one final push with the Force and a vehement declaration ("I. Deserve. Love!"), Dooku and Skywalker were gone. Her vision cleared. The fog that had settled on her mind lifted. She found herself once more in the artificial jungle. The minute odor she had smelled upon first entering the room was now more pungent. She needed air.

It was a struggle to lift her suddenly-heavy feet towards the door. With each step her exhaustion grew. She just had to make it out into the hall and she could sit down again.

The cool air that hit her face when the door opened was a welcome relief. She breathed deeply, feeling the half-musty oxygen fill her chest. Her psyche felt like a flower blooming after a long hibernation. Her feet turned to the left, back towards her room.

One step...

Another...

The wall was the only thing that kept her upright, but even then only for a moment. The last thought in her head before sweet blackness claimed her was so absurd she would have laughed if she'd had the physical strength: The floor is actually pretty comfortable.

"What?" Obi-Wan's head snapped up at the odd thought that popped into his mind. Yoda cocked his wizened head at him but said nothing. "Asajj?" Obi-Wan's eyes brightened as he said her name, hurriedly making for the door as he latched onto her reappeared Force signature.

Yoda shook his head and stood with the aid of his gimer stick. "Always in such a rush, young ones are."

Obi-Wan followed his beloved's violet aura down into the bowels of the Temple. He noted absently that he'd never been this far under the main halls; he had no idea what lay down here. But that wasn't important right now. What was was the figure he saw as he rounded a corner.

Pale skin and a faint glint of blue from her earlobe were the only colors in the unexpected gloom. He knelt beside Asajj's still form, his panic ebbing when her pulse beat steadily under his fingers. Now that he was calm, he noticed the change in her Force signature. Rather than a slight tremble that had always accompanied the glowing strand, now it was steady. Serene. Peaceful. He'd never felt her so relaxed before.

Obi-Wan was so focused on his awe of the change in her that he failed to notice Yoda's approach.

The diminutive Master found him as he released a breath of relief and wonder from his chest, his knuckles brushing over Asajj's cheek. "Exhausted, she is," Yoda offered quietly. "But passed her trial, she has."

Obi-Wan turned wide eyes to his elder. "Trial? How do you know, Master?"

Yoda's ancient eyes crinkled at the edges, almost a smile. "Known me all your life, young Obi-Wan. Know these things, when do I not?"

Obi-Wan couldn't argue that. They both looked down at the sleeping Rattataki, different emotions swirling through them. "She should be seen by a healer."

"Not necessary, that is. Rest, all the healing she needs." Yoda lifted his endless gaze to Obi-Wan's. "All I need to see, I have." He turned away back the way they came before Obi-Wan could say a word. "Remain with her, you will, hmm? Alone, she should not be."

Obi-Wan continued to stare after the tiny Master even after he disappeared from view. I'll never understand you, Master Yoda.

Yeeeeah. A lot of stuff going on here now ;)