A Heart Full of Stars ★ Obi-Wan Kenobi

Chapter 8

The ship landed right in front of the school, which looked like a real fortress. It would have been impossible to escape, as well as to break in.

Koral, still in the pilot's seat, observed the castle in detail while Obi-Wan, standing behind Anakin's seat, leaned towards the windscreen to get a better look. Only Siri was not at the front of the aircraft, too busy watching her favourite show.

Anakin and Koral were dressed alike: a black jacket with a high collar that ended just below their chins fastened with large buttons of the same colour, fairly tight black trousers, and a pair of thick-soled boots. They hadn't managed to hide their lightsabers in their outfits, but Koral had taken care to conceal a few knives from her personal collection.

As they stepped off the ship, they were greeted by a man in his fifties with round glasses who appeared to be the school headmaster. They looked like two normal children entering a haunted mansion, so no one suspected anything as they entered the castle.

Obi-Wan, who was staring at the screen linked to the camera hidden in Koral's collar, noticed the looks the headmaster was giving her as he showed them around, and he suddenly became worried about leaving her and Anakin almost alone in this dubious-looking school.

It had been over a week since Anakin and Koral had broken into the school and were attending classes among the other students, but their investigation seemed to be going nowhere. They had not found a single trace of the senator's son. Koral excelled in every subject and was particularly appreciated by the headmaster, while Anakin had a harder time. The young Jedi was pretending to be a 16-year-old when she was actually 23, but no one seemed to notice the deception, which made her very upset. At first glance, this school seemed perfectly normal, but Koral found the environment a little more dubious every day. The students were far too quiet, whether in class, in the corridors, or even in the dormitories. It was as if no friendships had been made. When Koral and Anakin spoke, everyone looked at them with an evil eye, as if it was forbidden to exchange any words. Koral had tried many times to ask questions to the people in her class, in order to start a conversation, but each time, the person simply glared at her without answering anything. She was now not looking for witnesses but evidence. So, as soon as she was alone, she searched every corner of the castle, looking for the slightest clue. But even there, she had not been able to find anything. The place she dreamed of searching was the headmaster's office, whom she suspected of having a link with the disappearance of the child they were charged with finding. However, the only way to get in there was to be summoned. Koral didn't mind breaking the rules and being reprimanded, but she had noticed a student in her class had gone missing after he had been summoned, the first day after the two Jedi had arrived. She didn't want to take any chances until she could find a way to camouflage her lightsaber under her clothes.

That night, after another day of searching for clues to no avail, Anakin found himself in the room they shared and resigned himself to calling Obi-Wan and Siri for backup. They had camouflaged the ship behind a nearby dune and were waiting for the investigation to progress. Koral didn't want to think about what they could do to keep themselves busy, remembering the way Siri looked at Obi-Wan. No, she wasn't jealous. Siri and Obi-Wan were both Jedi and the thought of Koral seeing his best friend, driven to break the Jedi code by this girl who was intruding on their lives, disgusted her. That was why she abhorred Siri so much: for the influence, she could have on Obi-Wan.

The transmitter began to ring, pulling Koral from her thoughts. She sat down next to Anakin, who was holding the device in his hands, sitting cross-legged on his bed. Obi-Wan soon picked up the phone, out of breath, as if he had been running to answer the call in time. The ship wasn't very big, though. But Koral and Anakin soon realized why he was so tired when they saw the lipstick marks on Obi-Wan's lips and neck. Siri arrived, completely dishevelled, and stood next to Obi-Wan, looking innocent. This was too much for Koral, who stood up angrily and yelled at Anakin to hang up. Obi-Wan's hologram tried to calm the girl down, but she wouldn't listen.

-We've spent every waking moment looking for clues, trying to solve this damn case," she cried, walking briskly from one end of the room to the other. And all the while you're fooling around in the warmth of the ship!

-Koral dear," Siri tried to reason with her. We have to keep busy! While you're conducting an exciting investigation, we have to wait here!

-Don't call me that! Excuse us for being in the most unwelcoming environment I've ever visited, for a week!

-Koral, we get locked in cellars on almost every mission," Obi-Wan replied.

-Never in haunted caves.

-Is this place haunted?" exclaimed Anakin, looking around with a sudden look of concern.

-Need I remind you that you are Jedis? There are a number of rules we're supposed to follow, including not forming any romantic attachments.

Neither Siri nor Obi-Wan knew how to respond. Mad with rage, Koral cut the call and sat on her bed with her arms crossed.

-At least they were dressed," Anakin chuckled.

She sighed, somewhat calmed by the amusing comment, and got up to leave the room.

-I'm going for a walk, call them back and tell them about the situation. We need their help," she said as she lowered the handle.

But the handle remained locked. We had them locked in.

-Anakin, we're locked in. We've never been locked in at night.

-No..." he murmured, unsettled by the situation.

The Padawan tried to turn the handle but to no avail. Anakin called back to the ship as Koral looked for another way out.

-Yes?" Obi-Wan's hologram asked, surprised that Anakin was already calling him back.

-Come. We need your help. There's something strange going on here.

-Explain yourself," Siri said reassuringly.

-We're locked in.

-The windows and the bathroom door are locked too," said Koral.

-Have you looked in the cupboard?

-How do you expect us to escape through the wardrobe?

-Maybe there's a secret passage hidden behind all your clothes.

-If there was a secret passageway hidden behind all my clothes, I would have noticed it by now," she replied, opening the wardrobe door anyway.

-So?" asked Anakin.

-There is indeed a secret passage. But it wasn't hidden behind all my clothes because I don't have that many clothes.

-Yes, you do.

-No. Just the bare essentials.

-Koral, you came with two suitcases.

-Do you want to see the secret passage or not?

Anakin got up and joined her, the transmitter still on. The light was indeed shining on the floor from a room hidden behind the wall.

-Let's go on a little expedition," Anakin exclaimed enthusiastically.

-No," Siri cut him off. Wait for us, it could be dangerous.

-We'll be there tomorrow," Obi-Wan agreed, before hanging up.

Koral and Anakin looked at each other, offended that they were not allowed to investigate the matter further.

-I feel I am competent enough to take risks. I'm a Jedi Master after all!" the girl exclaimed.

-I think you're better than Obi-Wan.

Korla smiled at him and asked:

-So we don't care what they said and we're going anyway?

-Totally," the Padawan declared.