Disclaimer: I do not own anything!
The rain was torrential and cold. Amaya huddled her thin sweater around herself, shivering violently as she followed the strange blonde man up the hill. She had foolishly decided to wear her best clothes and now they were ruined. She was soaked through to the bone. So much for making an impression.
Near the top of the hill, the man stopped and turned to look at her.
"You should have dressed warmer." The man said, "It's our rainy season. It'll be like this for weeks."
"I don't own any warmer clothes." Amaya replied, somewhat defensively. "I grew up on-"
"I know." The man interrupted her, "Alfazine."
Amaya frowned, privately wondering why he commented on her lack of warm clothes if he knew where she was from.
"I'm from Tatooine, myself." The man said. Amaya nodded, unable to think of a response. At the moment, she really did not care where he was from as long as he brought her someplace warm and dry.
"Never mind, you're freezing." The man said, watching her shiver violently. "Let's go. We're almost there."
Amaya felt a surge of relief run through her followed almost immediately by apprehension as the man led her into a forest. Amaya struggled to keep up, stumbling over stones and twigs in the darkness. It was almost night and Amaya did not want to be caught alone in a forest with this man from Tatooine.
At last Amaya spotted a light through the trees, so bright it was almost blinding in the darkness. "Is that where we're going?" She asked the man, hurrying up to catch up with him.
The man nodded, "Yes, that's the temple. The padawans will be in the mess hall eating dinner around now. We'll have time to talk before evening meditation."
"How many padawans are there?" Amaya asked, through chattering teeth.
"Only 24 right now." The man replied, "But we are actively seeking to find young Force-sensitives to join."
"How young do you take them?" Amaya asked.
"Some as young as three years of age." The man replied, "Of course...most parents don't allow their children to begin training before at least five."
Amaya fell silent, suddenly grateful she had not been taken from her family at such a young age.
"Here we are." The man said as the forest began to thin and the temple came into view. The imposing structure was made of pure white stone, smoothed over and rounded to create a dome.
"It's beautiful." Amaya said, more to herself than to her companion.
The man nodded, leading the way into a courtyard filled with an array of blossoming flowers. Green vines snaked their way up the walls of the courtyard, casting shadows on the cobblestone walkway beneath.
"The padawans do all the gardening around here as well." The man said, as Amaya reached out to touch one of the rain-covered plants.
"Master Luke?" A male Quarren asked, coming to stand in the open doorway. "We've been looking for you. Lila is sick again. Ben gave her the medicine you brought for her but it doesn't seem to be working."
The man, whom Amaya now knew must be named Luke, sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "I'll be there in a moment, Hennix." He said to the Quarren, before turning to excuse Amaya. "Excuse me, I'd better deal with this first. You can wait in my study until I'm done. I shouldn't be long."
Hennix turned his eyes on Amaya as she followed Luke in, relishing in the warmth of the inside. She met his eyes, attempting to feel out his thoughts and emotions. Interest, curiosity, intrigue...surprise...Hennix recoiled as if he'd been shocked and Amaya frowned. She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again, prying her eyes away from the Quarren. She turned her focus to Luke instead and followed him down the hallway to his study.
"I'll be right back." Luke said, opening the door to his study and gesturing for her to enter. Amaya peered inside, taking in the warm dark red carpet and mahogany desk strewn with papers. Maps and drawings of different solar systems and planets were plastered all over the walls, interspersed with drawings of rocks and plants and animals Amaya had never seen before. She approached the desk, picking up a framed photograph of Luke and two others. His companions were smiling and standing in front of a spaceship. Beside Luke stood a woman, her hair curled into two buns on either side of her head. On the other side of the woman stood another man, his face handsome and mischievous.
"What are you doing?" A girl's voice asked from behind her.
Amaya jumped, dropping the photo and quickly hurried to pick it up and replace it in its original spot. She turned to look at the young woman standing in the doorway. Her skin was dark but her hair was white as snow. Amaya stared at her, not even having to try to feel the girl's emotions. They rolled off her in waves...suspicion, irritation, protectiveness...
"Luke told me to wait here until he got back." Amaya explained, feeling somewhat resentful of the girl's obvious distrust of her. "So that's what I'm doing. I'm waiting." She said flatly, pushing a strand of dark, wet hair out of her face. She was still freezing from being stuck in soaked clothes and she was in no mood to have to explain herself to this inexplicably hostile girl.
"You mean Master Luke told you to wait here." The girl replied testily, narrowing her eyes. "Who are you?"
Amaya raised an eyebrow, considering telling the girl to go away but bit her tongue. If all went well, she may have to spend a lot of time with this girl.
"My name's Amaya." Amaya replied, "I'm from Alfazine and I'm here to ask your Master Luke for a favour."
"What favour?" The girl asked and Amaya sighed.
"I'd rather not say." She replied, crossing her arms. "What's your name?"
"Voe I thought I told you to watch the Level 1s until I returned." Luke said, sounding irritated and tired. Amaya watched as Voe's eyes widened and she turned away from Amaya, suddenly looking bashful.
"I'm sorry, Master Luke." She said, "I was distracted by Lila's sickness and then-"
"It doesn't matter, I've already sent Tai up there. You can go to bed now." Luke replied tiredly, entering his study. "Goodnight." He said, closing the door on the girl.
Amaya stared at Luke, surprised by his sudden change in demeanour. He had been so relaxed and calm on the walk up. Now he was agitated or bothered by something.
"Is the girl - Lila - okay?" Amaya asked, feeling awkward, as Luke walked around to the other side of his desk and began shuffling his many papers into some sort of semblance of order.
"Oh yes, she's fine." Luke replied, sounding almost surprised by the question, as if his mind had been elsewhere, "She has a mild respiratory condition that she only discovered after moving here - likely because it's so humid here."
Amaya thought that was a bit of an understatement but made no comment.
"Speaking of which," Luke said, "Would you like a change of clothes?"
Amaya laughed, looking down at her drenched outfit. "Yes, but I can wait until after our conversation. I know it's getting late and you seem busy here so..."
Luke nodded, "Alright. Well here is the situation. I don't doubt you are Force-sensitive. I could sense it from the moment you landed on this island. You may very well be more naturally in tune with the Force than half the padawans here, in fact."
Luke paused and Amaya clenched her fists, knowing the "but" was coming.
"But you're far too old to begin training at this temple." Luke said and Amaya sighed. There it was. She had been anticipating it. In fact, she had come prepared with a lengthy argument for why she should be trained despite her age.
"What if I told you I've already trained myself." Amaya said, "My mother was Force-sensitive as well and she taught me some things. She taught me how to sense a lie, how to read a person's intentions and emotions. She even taught me how to do all the basic things like lifting rocks and summoning objects."
Amaya focused her attention on a pen on Luke's desk and easily lifted it, floating it towards her outstretched hand. "I just want to expand my knowledge. You won't have to start from the beginning with me."
Luke hummed, crossing his arms. "Becoming a Jedi is a lot more than lifting rocks." Luke said and Amaya rolled her eyes despite herself.
"I know that." She said quickly, "That's why I'm here. To learn."
Luke fell silent, seemingly deep in thought, and Amaya took this opportunity to continue her sales pitch. "You said you were actively looking for more padawans. Well I could be a new padawan. If it doesn't work and there's no way for me to catch up, then I'll leave. Just please give me the chance to try at least." She begged, desperation bleeding into her voice despite her best efforts to contain it.
"How old are you?" Luke asked at last.
"Twenty-two." Amaya replied. "But I don't mind if you place me in a class with younger padawans."
Luke shook his head, "My oldest padawans are twenty-two. Voe and Hennix, the ones you just met, are both your age. So is my nephew."
"I don't expect to be at their level." Amaya insisted, "I just want to learn anything you're willing to teach me. Anything at all."
Luke nodded, "I don't want to make a rash decision about this." He said at last, "I think that for tonight we had better get changed into some dry clothes and find you a place to sleep. Perhaps tomorrow you can join us for our daily training regime and we can decide how to move forward from there."
Amaya nodded, a feeling of adrenaline mixed with relief flooding through her veins. She had a chance. That was all she could really hope for right now. "Thank you." She breathed, hoping he could sense her incredibly sincere gratitude through the Force.
Luke smiled, "Don't thank me yet. I can't make you any promises and I don't want you to get your hopes up."
Amaya nodded, slightly deflated by his words but still unwilling to let go of her hope entirely, "I understand."
"Would you like to join us for the evening meditation?" Luke asked as he led the way out of the office and down the hall to a narrow, curved stairwell.
Amaya felt her heart leap with excitement and struggled to keep it from showing on her face, "That would be great, thank you." She replied, and Luke smiled at her for a moment before turning to lead the way up the stairs.
A few flights up they came out on a white hallway lined with wooden doors. "These are the dormitories." Luke said as they walked, "Older padawans have their own rooms. Younger padawans share bunk beds. We have some guest rooms for visiting family members at the end of the hall. I'll set you up in one of those."
Amaya nodded, staring at the doors as she passed them. Some were decorated with small painted planks bearing the names of the occupants. Amaya smiled as she recognized Hennix and Voe's names.
"Alright, this one is empty...I hope." Luke said, pulling out a large chain of keys and examining each one in turn until he found the correct one.
Unlocking the door, Luke cautiously pushed open the door and peered inside. "Yup, empty." He said, gesturing for Amaya to enter.
Amaya dropped her bag on the tiny bed, looking around the small, plain room. The walls were pure white and aside from the bed, the only furniture in the room was a small desk with a few drawers. The Jedi Order was clearly not very materialistic, Amaya thought to herself.
"I'll let you get changed and be back in five minutes." Luke said, turning to leave.
Amaya nodded, closing the door behind him. Alone at last, she let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in and sank down onto the bed, putting her head in her hands. She'd made it. Unbelievably...against all odds...
Drawing in a shaky breath Amaya tried to calm herself as memories of the past 24 hours threatened to overwhelm her. No, not now, she told herself. With shaking fingers, she struggled with the clasp on her bag. Finally opening it, she pulled out her clean, dry clothes, running her hands over them. She pulled them up to her face, breathing in the familiar scent of home.
She changed quickly, pulling a brush through her wet hair in an attempt to make her black curls less frizzy. Realizing it was impossible, she sat back down, only to jump up again when Luke knocked on the door.
"Ready?" Luke asked as she opened the door.
Amaya nodded, exiting the room and accepting the key Luke provided her with. He led her down the hall, slowing down and stopping in front of a door decorated with a painted plaque that read "Ben". Luke knocked, and Amaya frowned, sensing Luke's mood sour the longer they waited for a response. After a while, Luke raised his hand and knocked again, this time calling out Ben's name. Still more silence followed before at last Amaya heard footsteps approaching the door from inside the room. The lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing a young man about her age with somewhat long, curly, black hair. Amaya stared at him, taken aback by the undercurrent of anger, pain, and fear radiating off him. Something had happened. Something was deeply wrong.
"This is Amaya." Luke said, nodding in her direction, "She's interested in joining the temple as a Padawan so I've agreed to let her stay for a few days to sit in on lessons. I was hoping you'd show her around, get her acquainted with the others, and answer any questions she may have."
Amaya felt Ben's anger fade as he turned to look at her, surprise and confusion filling his mind. "Nice to meet you." Amaya said, extending a hand quickly.
Ben took it, a small smile forming on his lips. "You too." He said, before letting go of her hand.
"I have to go set up for this evening's meditation so I am going to leave you with Ben now." Luke said, turning to Amaya, "You can always find me after the session tonight if you have any questions."
Amaya nodded and Luke turned to Ben, "Thank you." He said, and Amaya watched as Ben's jaw hardened ever so slightly in response.
"You're welcome, Master Luke." Ben replied, and Luke nodded before turning to leave.
Amaya and Ben watched him go in silence, neither knowing what to say. As Luke's footsteps faded into silence, Amaya turned to Ben, suddenly feeling inexplicably awkward, "So...is the meditation starting soon or...?"
"We have about 15 minutes." Ben replied, "I can...give you a tour before it starts?"
Amaya nodded, "Sure. That sounds good."
Ben closed and locked his door behind him before leading the way towards the stairwell in silence. Amaya followed, searching her brain for something to say.
"How long have you been a Padawan here?" Amaya asked, as she followed him up the stairs.
"Since I was 10." Ben replied, "So 12 years."
"I'm the same age as you. Luke says that's too old to begin training..." Amaya paused, suddenly remembering something Luke had said, "Wait are you his nephew?"
Ben was silent for just a beat too long before responding, "Yes."
Amaya frowned, falling silent. There was definitely something going on between Luke and Ben. She didn't even need the Force to know that.
"22 is too old to begin training." Ben said after a moment and Amaya felt a slight twinge of annoyance at the tone of his voice.
"My mother taught me some things." Amaya said defensively, as they reached the highest floor and came out into some kind of training room. The entire floor was circular and the ceiling was made of pure glass stained with raindrops from outside.
"Like what?" Ben asked, walking into the middle of the large room.
Amaya lifted her right hand slowly, lifting a long wooden pole off a nearby shelf as she did. She floated the pole over to Ben, leaving it hovering in the air between them. Ben looked at the stick and then back at her, his dark eyes suddenly curious.
"Do you know how to use it?" Ben asked, nodding towards the stick.
Amaya shook her head. "No, that my mother refused to teach me." She said, replacing the stick on the shelf. "She said there was no reason why I should learn to fight since I'd never have anyone to fight."
Ben frowned, his mouth twitching as if he found this amusing, "What kind of fairytale world did she live in?"
Amaya shrugged, "Her own world. She lived on an island in the middle of the Iridian sea on Alfazine. She refused to have any contact with the rest of the planet, let alone the rest of the galaxy. I was 18 before I saw another human I wasn't related to."
Ben stared at her. He was definitely interested now. "And then what happened?" He asked.
"And then she died." Amaya replied, watching as Ben's eyes widened almost imperceptibly.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly.
Amaya shook her head, "Don't be. It's been a while."
"So then how did you get here?" Ben asked, and Amaya laughed.
"That is a very long story." She said, "Maybe if Luke lets me study here I'll tell you."
Ben nodded, looking slightly disappointed. "What about you?" Amaya asked, "Where are you from?"
"Chandrila." Ben replied, "But I travelled a lot when I was a child. I even visited Alfazine once."
"Which part?" Amaya asked.
Ben shrugged, "I don't know I was too young to pay attention. I remember it was pretty though...and hot."
Amaya laughed, "Why did you travel so much?"
"My mother's a politician and my father-" Ben paused suddenly, frowning, "Wait you don't know?"
Amaya frowned, "Don't know what?"
"Who I am." Ben said, and Amaya's eyes widened in utter confusion.
"You're Ben?" Amaya asked, and Ben stared at her, in shock.
"You don't know my last name?" Ben asked, and Amaya frowned.
"No...?" She replied, "Should I?"
"Wait do you know who my uncle is? Who you were speaking to just now?" Ben asked, his eyes lighting up as if he was almost excited she didn't know.
"Luke?" Amaya asked, "Is he famous or something?"
At this, Ben stared back at her in shock for a moment before bursting into laughter. Amaya frowned, bewildered, as Ben doubled over laughing.
"I'm confused. Who is he?" Amaya asked, wanting to be let in on the joke.
Noticing her confusion, Ben composed himself, stifling his laughter. "Luke Skywalker. You've never heard of him?"
Amaya frowned, thinking, "Skywalker sounds familiar. Was he a Rebel leader or something during the time of the Empire?"
Ben laughed, "Yes. Luke Skywalker was the one who brought an end to the Galactic Empire."
Amaya nodded, understanding flooding her mind. Right. That did seem familiar. "Sorry I grew up on an island that didn't keep in contact with the outside world. I didn't even know there had been an Empire until I left the island. Plus, since Alfazine was never conquered by the Empire, no one there really knows or cares very much about it."
"I thought that's why you came here. Because of Luke." Ben said, and Amaya shook her head.
"All I knew before coming here was that this was a Jedi temple. Actually, I wasn't even sure I'd landed on the right island when I arrived." Amaya said and Ben gave her a strange, almost fascinated look.
"So does this mean you're also a Skywalker?" Amaya asked and Ben shook his head.
"No, I'm a Solo. My father is Han Solo. He married Luke's sister, Leia." Ben explained and Amaya nodded, thinking back to the photo of Luke and two others on his desk. Had those been Ben's parents?
"We should go. We're going to be late." Ben said suddenly, his smile vanishing as he walked quickly back towards the stairwell. "Anyway, this is one of the indoor training rooms. I'll show you the other another time." He said as he led the way down the stairs at breakneck speed. Amaya followed as quickly as she could without tripping and killing them both. At last, they reached the bottom and came out into the hallway Amaya had been in when she'd first arrived.
"This way." Ben said, gesturing for her to follow him down a side corridor. Reaching a door at the end of it, Ben stopped and listened, before swearing under his breath.
"They've already started. Be absolutely silent." He whispered before pushing open the door enough for the two of them to slip in. Luke looked up from his position at the front of the room as they walked in before returning his attention to the floor. The room was filled with four rows of padawans of different ages all sitting cross-legged and staring at the floor. Ben led Amaya past the back three rows to the front left hand corner and quietly took a seat next to the boy Amaya recognized as Hennix. Amaya quickly took a seat next to Ben, imitating his posture and staring at the ground. She desperately wanted to ask what they should be doing during the meditation but knew it would be a grave mistake to talk. So instead she decided to do what her mother had taught her and hope that it wasn't too far off from what was expected.
Amaya closed her eyes, feeling the Force rush around her like water. She smiled, greeting it like an old friend. After a few moments, she began wading through the water, reaching out for Ben. She felt a rush of familiar life force she recognized as his own and her smile faded as she felt the fear that permeated him. Was he afraid because they'd been late? Was Luke going to be angry with him? It was a dark fear, one that verged on defensive anger and hurt. Amaya nudged him gently with the Force, sending a feeling of gratitude his way. She felt him respond with surprise and smiled, trying not to laugh.
She moved on, reaching out through the Force past Ben to Hennix. She felt his life force flow through the space liquid a warm breeze and sent a wave of happiness his way as a greeting. Once again, she was met with a wave of surprise. However, then surprise quickly turned to happiness and Hennix returned her greeting with one of his own that made Amaya grin even wider. Opening her eyes, just a crack, Amaya glanced to her right and found, just as she'd expected that Hennix was looking over at her out of the corner of his eye, a look of amusement on his face. Amaya smiled mischievously back at him for a moment before Ben opened his eyes, making eye contact with her. Amaya's smile softened into one more gentle as he stared back at her, his expression more curious than anything else.
After a moment, Ben closed his eyes once more and Amaya did the same, concentrating on her own life force pulsating within her own body. She felt the Force swirl around herself, millions of bright colours blending together. She felt the life forces of the others students, of Luke, of the birds and the animals outside the temple, of the fish in the sea off the island. She felt it all blend together, life and dark, beautiful and ugly, birth and death, and she let it wash over her, intoxicated by the feeling. It was beautiful and terrible and she loved it so much she grinned.
"Thank you everyone. That is it for tonight." Luke said, making Amaya jump. She opened her eyes, disoriented as she struggled to remember where she was.
"Nice to meet you, my name's Hennix." Hennix said and Amaya turned to look at him, remembering the Force greeting she had given him.
"I'm Amaya." She replied, stretching her hand across Ben's lap to shake hands with Hennix.
"Are you joining us?" The girl named Voe asked, walking over as the three of them stood up. "Was that the favour you wanted to ask of Master Luke?"
Amaya shook her head, "I'm going to sit in on some of your lessons and then we'll see. I don't know as much as you do so it might not work out."
"You know enough." Hennix said, sending her a friendly smile.
Amaya shook her head but smiled gratefully nonetheless. She watched as a bald young man around the same age as the others approached, smiling curiosly at her.
"Amaya, this is Tai." Hennix said, gesturing towards the boy. "He also trains in our class."
Amaya extended a hand, "Nice to meet you." She said once again, and Tai nodded.
"You as well." He replied, shaking her hand.
"I'm glad you made it." Luke said, coming to join the small gathering. "I see you'll have no problem with this aspect of the training."
Amaya frowned, suddenly self-conscious. Had he sensed her use of the Force during the meditation? Of course, he must have, Amaya thought. If she could sense all of the others in the room, it only made sense that they could also sense her. She wasn't used to being around other Force-sensitives. This lack of privacy was going to take some getting used to.
"What happens tomorrow?" Amaya asked, looking around at the other padawans.
"Breakfast is at 7 and training starts at 8." Luke replied, "Voe, would you mind if Amaya borrowed one of your training outfits for tomorrow?"
Amaya looked at Voe, half expecting her to express some sort of dislike about this plan, but instead the girl nodded. "Of course."
"Wonderful." Luke said, smiling, "Well, I'm exhausted. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep. We'll be running the course tomorrow."
The others nodded and Amaya wondered privately what running the course meant.
"We can finish the tour of the temple tomorrow." Ben said, as Luke left.
"What did you already show her?" Hennix asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Just the upstairs training room." Ben replied.
"Did Luke put you in charge of her?" Voe asked, an edge to her voice that sounded almost like jealousy. Amaya stared at the girl, confused as to why she would be jealous of Ben's role when she appeared to barely tolerate Amaya's presence in the temple in the first place.
"Yea, I don't think he wanted to burden any of you with the task-" Ben said before catching himself and turning beet red, "Not that you're a burden." He said, turning to Amaya. "I just meant-"
Amaya laughed and Voe, to Amaya's great surprise smacked Ben on the arm.
"Ow!" Ben cried, glaring at Voe and angrily rubbing his arm. "You know that's not what I meant."
"Come on, ignore him." Voe said, grabbing Amaya's arm and pulling her away. "I'll get you an outfit for tomorrow."
Amaya looked at the girl in utter confusion before twisting around in Voe's grasp to look back at the others. Ben was talking to the bald boy, Tai, looking seriously annoyed.
"Ben can be so insensitive sometimes." Voe said as they walked and Amaya turned back around, pulling her arm out of Voe's grasp. She glanced sideways at Voe, more than a little disturbed by her sudden change in attitude towards her. Based on her behaviour earlier, Amaya thought that Voe calling Ben insensitive was a little bit like the pot calling the kettle black.
"I think he was trying to say Luke wasn't trying to confer any sort of special privilege on him." Amaya said, "Luke chose him to be my guide because he's his nephew and he felt more comfortable putting that burden on his shoulders than asking one of you to sacrifice a few days of training to babysit me."
"Well then he should have said that." Voe replied testily, "And he shouldn't have said it in front of you."
"I don't mind." Amaya said, truthfully.
"You should." Voe said, and Amaya frowned, falling silent. She was not about to get into a pointless argument with this inexplicably fiery girl.
"Just wait a moment, I'll get you the outfit." Voe said, stopping outside a door bearing a plaque that read "Voe". She unlocked the door and entered the dark room. Amaya waited outside, listening to the sound of her rummaging through her things. A few moments later, Voe reappeared, holding out a thin, silky grey outfit. Amaya took it, running her hands along the fabric. It was clearly more expensive than anything she had ever owned.
"Thanks," Amaya said, "It's beautiful."
Voe laughed, "It's quite plain actually. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast?"
Amaya nodded, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Voe echoed, smiling as she closed the door.
Amaya stared at the closed door, running her hands along the fabric as she tried to process what had just happened. Deciding to just be confused, she shook her head and turned to walk back to her own room.