ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ𝔸𝕃 ➵ o. kenobi {my only hope; book 1}

【 NINETEEN 】

    ɪ ꜰᴇʟᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪ'ᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴛʀᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ ʜᴏᴜʀꜱ by the time Anakin came to get me. He found me practicing my technique in front of a long, body-length mirror, breathing heavily and swinging harshly. I'd only accidentally broken a couple of things, but, buried in my deep thoughts, I hadn't cared too much. All I cared about was the fact that the moment we stepped off this ship, everything would change.

"Am I going to learn how to do that?" Anakin pondered, having crept up on me from behind as I practiced a rather complicated saber spin. I didn't jump, but my heart skipped a beat, and I quickly sheathed the lightsaber blade before I could do any more damage.

"Goodness, Ani, you scared me!" I told him, a smile on my face.

He frowned. "But I thought Jedi were never scared."

"Oh, everyone is scared by something, Anakin," I told him, crouching down to reach his level. "Even Jedi." I giggled and tucked a stray locket of hair behind his ear. "Besides, I was deep in thought, and not reaching out with my senses. I suppose that's something I have to get better at."

Anakin nodded. "Well, anway, Captain Panaka and Obi-Wan told me to tell you that we're almost there, and that you should make your way to the front of the ship at once."

I smiled, and got to my feet. I held out my hand for the little boy's. "Well, thank you for informing me. Would you like to join me?"

Anakin's face burst into a bright smile. "Yeah!"

Laughing as he grabbed my hand, I led him through the ship toward the cockpit. "I'm sure you'll like Coruscant. Besides Naboo, it's where I grew up," I explained. "And it's far warmer than it is in space," I tacked on, taking note of his icy cold hand.

"That will be a relief," Anakin joked.

"And you'll get to meet a ton of other kids your age," I explained. "All with the same types of abilities and experiences as you."

Anakin gaped. "Really? You mean... there's more kids with the same past as you and me?"

"Well, maybe not the exact same past," I told him. "But all are similar. These kids were taken away from their families at a very young age too. A lot of them miss their homes as well, if they remember them at all. But you'll all find a way to move past it together. One of the first things you'll learn about being a Jedi is that attachment can be very dangerous."

Anakin gasped, as if finally understanding something. "Is that why you refuse to admit that you like Obi-Wan?" He exclaimed, far too loudly.

"Anakin!" I hissed.

"It's true!" He protested. "It has to be, right?"

I wouldn't admit it to him. I wouldn't admit it to anyone. That would only make the day that I had to leave him harder.

"No," I said sharply. "I don't."

Anakin stared at me thoughtfully, but when I shot him an icy glare, he finally backed down. "Alright. Fine. Sorry."

I sighed. "No, it's not your fault," I told him. "It's a touchy subject for me. Jedi don't get attached to others, and I don't like it when people assume that I do."

"Oh," Anakin said.

Thankfully, we were spared from continuing that horrible conversation as we reached the cockpit. As the doors hissed open, a familiar view greeted me out the windows of the ship--the plentitude of sky-reaching buildings, encompassed by a vast metropolitan grid and ships and speeders flying in every direction.