32 BBY, Coruscant
Even blinded by the specially-made helmet, Starlet could sense everything around her. The room, the plants in each of the four corners, the significantly larger ancient droid in front of her, and the glowing green blade of the training lightsaber in her hand. She had thrown herself into her training over the past three months, ever since that horrifying vision. Even with this very day being her twentieth birthday, she would much rather sink herself into fighting this droid than deal with anything else around her. Not that she wouldn't mind company. She just didn't particularly need it.
"Miss Starlet?" Huyang, the ancient droid employed by the Jedi Order, tried to get his pupil's attention. Truthfully, Starlet had sensed the three beings at the door. She was simply too engrossed in her training to care until Huyang said something. "There are people here to see you."
With a deep sigh, Starlet retracted the lightsaber's blade and hooked the hilt onto her belt. She removed the helmet, gently placing it on the small shelf on the wall. Hoping to get this interaction over with as quickly as possible, she walked to the door, pressing the button on the wall to open it. Standing there patiently was Master Qui-Gon, as well as his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. They also had an extra person with them, but the girl hardly cared. Of all people the intruders could've been, she was at least happy to see Qui-Gon.
"Hello, Master Qui-Gon! Obi-Wan! Nice to see you. What brings you here?" The words spilled out of her mouth like water rushing from a waterfall. Starlet may have been happy to see the Jedi Master, but she would still rather get back to training. It had been her comfort since her premonition, and she very much wanted to continue.
Qui-Gon allowed himself a smile. He knew fully well that Starlet wanted to get back to training as quickly as possible, so he instead gently led the girl out of the room, prompting the door to close behind her. She needed to open up to others again, and he was willing to draw this out as long as he could. "Nice to see you too," he began, bowing slightly. "Starlet, there's someone I would like you to meet. A new potential Jedi-in-training, straight from the desert planet of Tatooine. Meet Anakin Skywalker."
Now he had Starlet's attention. The boy next to the Jedi Master looked surprised to see such a small person wielding a lightsaber. He must have been about nine years old. Would the Council even let him be trained? That said, Starlet knew Qui-Gon's game here. She wanted to train, and he wanted to draw her out of training for a while. She was determined to get her way. "Greetings, Skywalker," she said, quickly and curtly, with a slight bow for good measure.
Anakin was confused. Why would he be interested in meeting this diminutive trainee? "Master Qui-Gon, why are you introducing me to a toddler?" he asked, sounding perhaps a bit ruder than he meant to.
Starlet was shocked. Couldn't he just keep that one to himself? If there was one thing she was self-conscious about, it was her size, especially compared to her actual age. "Hey, I might not look like it, but I'm more than double your age, kid. Watch your mouth." The hurt was plainly evident in her voice. She felt insulted, and she was going to make sure this not-so-little brat knew it.
And she immediately felt bad about her tone, seeing the similarly hurt look on the boy's face. He could never have guessed that she was older than she looked. "Oh," was his simple reply. Anakin was obviously embarrassed at his own lapse in manners. So he switched to asking about Starlet. "How long have you been here?" he asked, doing his best to sound as genuinely interested as he now was.
Well, he sounded genuine. That deserved an answer. "About a year now. I just turned twenty."
The incensed look on Anakin's face told Starlet that she had absolutely said the wrong thing. "Twenty?!" he shouted. "Wait, didn't the Council say I was too old to be trained?" That was it. He had been brought in front of the Jedi Council at the age of nine, and told he was too old to train. Now there was a twenty-year-old who looked closer to four who had been accepted just a year before?
Qui-Gon could sense the tension growing between the two. Both of them had had their feelings hurt in different ways. He knew he had to explain the situation to Anakin, as well as lessen his fear of rejection. "Starlet's circumstances were so incredibly unusual that they made an exception. Just as I believe they will for you, Anakin."
"If you say so, Master." Anakin was thankful for the explanation, but he still wasn't convinced that the Council would ever change their minds about him.
The Jedi Master sensed that all welcomes had officially been worn out. "Well, I suppose we'll be going, then," he announced reluctantly, wishing he had gotten Starlet to socialize longer. "So long for now, Starlet. May the Force be with you."
Starlet bowed in respect to Master Qui-Gon. "May the Force be with you as well, Master. I'm sure I'll see you around, Anakin," she added with not-so-subtle venom in her voice. Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, she quickly turned and ran, headed for her quarters. Even training wouldn't console her right now.
"Nice to meet you, too!" Anakin called after Starlet, seriously regretting his earlier attitude. He turned toward Qui-Gon. "Master, I insulted her. Will I get a chance to tell her I'm sorry?"
"You will have a chance to apologize to her soon enough. I promise." Qui-Gon could only really hope that he was right as he watched Starlet run toward her quarters.
"I hope so," Anakin admitted. "I feel really bad about it." There was another question on the boy's mind. He had to know. "Do you really think the Council's gonna change their mind?"
"Don't count on it," Obi-Wan snapped quickly. Qui-Gon shot his Padawan a sharp look of irritation before beckoning the small group to leave.
Starlet kept running, tears running freely down her cheeks and occasionally falling to the floor below. She had never felt like this before. Why exactly did Anakin's words hurt her so much? Sure, she didn't like being reminded of her size, but it was a fact that she looked significantly younger than she really was. And he really did seem sorry about what he said, but he hadn't actually apologized. Why did that bother her to the point of crying?
So lost she was in her own thoughts that she barely even noticed when she hit the floor. She had run headlong into someone else, who had merely stumbled backward a few steps. Looking up, Starlet saw a young woman. Or was she? Her age was hard to decipher, covered in a bright orange-and-red robe. Either way, she looked quite embarrassed to have run into someone so much smaller than her. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there!" Her voice was gentle, clearly having noticed the apparent age of the girl she had run into. Seeing Starlet's admittedly drab uniform, the young woman perked up a bit. "Wait, are you a Jedi Padawan?" she inquired, her voice still soft and comforting.
"Not a Padawan technically," Starlet began explaining while picking herself up, "but I'm in training." She decided that this new person seemed much friendlier than Anakin. Maybe a bit more socialization wouldn't hurt. "I'm Starlet! What's your name?"
There was a look of contemplation on the woman's face as she made a decision on how much to reveal. "I'm Padmé," she began, "one of the Queen of Naboo's handmaidens." Padmé knelt down to the apparent child's level. "Sorry again for bumping into you. You're really well-spoken for someone your age."
Ah, this again. At least this 'Padmé' was still pleasant about it. Starlet was certainly getting tired of explaining her situation to people. "Well, I just turned twenty a few days ago," she explained.
Padmé's eyebrows raised in surprise. She wasn't entirely sure if she believed this girl. "Twenty? Really?" She did her best to hide her incredulity.
Starlet steeled herself for the full explanation. She started quickly, then slowed down by the end. "I age five times slower than normal. No one knows why. I'm not even sure I want to know why." That was that out of the way. But Starlet sensed that her two recent encounters were connected somehow. "Say, have you met that Skywalker boy?" she asked, adding a bit of venom to the name Skywalker.
"Anakin? Yeah. What about him?" Padmé was confused. Why did Starlet seem to not like the boy?
"He was kind of rude to me earlier. He called me a toddler." An eyebrow raise from Padmé prompted an eye roll from Starlet. "Yes, I know I look like one. It still hurt." Starlet put her back against the wall, quickly sliding down into a sitting position.
Padmé knelt down next to Starlet. She now fully believed that this girl was as old as she said, but she clearly possessed a child's emotions. The Jedi-in-training needed comfort. Besides, maybe she could set the record straight between Starlet and Anakin. "Hey, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. He's really sweet once you get to know him. I would know." Padmé watched for the girl's reaction.
Starlet responded by looking deep into the handmaiden's eyes. "If you say so." Or… was she a handmaiden? The little Jedi-in-training sensed something in Padmé's mind. The older girl hadn't been fully truthful when she introduced herself, even if it was for her own safety. Starlet lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. "Queen Amidala."
Padmé, the fourteen-year-old girl who was also the disguised Queen of Naboo, was shocked. How had this girl figured that out so quickly? "How did you know?" she asked, matching Starlet's low volume. You never know who might be listening in, and it seemed like the apparent child had figured that out as well.
Still keeping her voice quiet, Starlet revealed her thought process. "I'm really bad at controlling my telepathic abilities. Also, you're… really nice. Regally so," she added with a wink. Starlet stood up once again, soon followed by Padmé. "Thanks for talking to me," she said with a respectful bow, her voice back to its normal volume. "I've been training practically non-stop for the last three months. I needed someone to talk to." She really did feel better after her conversation with the 'handmaiden'. However, she really wanted to get back to the training room. Starlet had had enough socializing for one day.
"My pleasure!" Padmé said honestly. She found Starlet fascinating, and maybe together they could find out why she aged the way she did. The false handmaiden hoped she would be able to spend more time with the little Jedi-in-training. "Just… don't tell anyone who I really am, okay?" she added, lowering her voice again. "I do this for my security. There are bad people in the galaxy who -"
"Who want you dead?" Starlet finished Padmé's sentence without even looking at her. She had seen it in her new friend's mind without even trying. She really needed to learn how to control her telepathic Force abilities. "Sorry," she said, a bit ashamed of herself for her lack of control. "I should get going. I'm sure you have more important things to do than talk to some random Jedi-in-training who looks like a toddler." With that, Starlet began running toward the training room, not looking back once.
"Starlet!" Padmé called after her little friend. "Don't go! I… I was enjoying the conversation…" After a few seconds, the disguised Queen of Naboo dejectedly walked back to her own quarters. The conversation may have been cut shorter than she would've liked, but something told her she'd be seeing Starlet again.
The door to the training room opened, and Starlet walked inside in silence. Huyang observed the small girl as she retrieved her helmet from the shelf on the wall. "Welcome back, Miss Starlet," the ancient droid began, oblivious to the emotional rollercoaster she had just been through. "Did you enjoy your little adventure?"
Standing in front of Huyang, Starlet responded by unhooking her training lightsaber from her belt, holding the hilt in a ready position. "Just start the program," she requested simply, pressing the ignition button. The brilliant green blade ignited from the hilt. Starlet may not have been able to see it directly, but the Force allowed her to sense its position regardless.
Huyang blinked in confusion. Starlet was acting rather strange, even compared to a few minutes ago. Regardless, she had made a request, and he was going to honor it. "Very well, miss." The ancient droid, for possibly the millionth time in his nearly twenty-five thousand year long existence, started the advanced training program. His second, smaller pair of arms were revealed, and beams of light shone from his four hands. Starlet readied herself, and began swiping at the beams of light with her lightsaber, just as she had done many times every day for the last three months.
She couldn't possibly have known just how much her life was about to change.