Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

49.

Chancellor Palpatine was sitting in his office when his assistant came in with Anakin Skywalker in tow. After he put away some documents that regarded a peace treaty with a mid-rim planet, the Chancellor stood from his chair and greeted the Jedi Knight as a close friend.

'My dear boy, why have you come to this depressing place in your spare time? I thought with how many missions the Order has at the ready, that you would want to spend your time on Coruscant doing more exciting things,' Chancellor Palpatine said. The older man stood beside Anakin as they looked out to the city through the window.

'I just wanted some advice, sir. I thought you would be the best to ask,' Anakin replied, still regarding the chancellor with respect despite their closeness.

'Ask way, my boy.'

As the city bustled, Anakin looked to the Jedi Temple that sat in the distance. With its triangular shape and large columns on all corners, the temple stuck out amongst the skyscrapers. It had been in the city for centuries and was only to be accessed by Jedi, clones, and those who had been granted visitations by the Jedi Council. Most can live their whole lives on Coruscant but never set foot inside the temple. Its presence held the same as the Senate building, but the Jedi insisted that they were peace-keeping warriors who held the morals of the light side of the Force, and not what the majority believed was right.

'It's about... the Council,' Anakin started, and the chancellor heard the hesitation in his voice. 'In fact, it's about the whole Order.'

'Something is troubling you deeply,' Palpatine observed, and he turned to face the Jedi who stared out to the city. The chancellor had known the Skywalker for a long time and had seen him grow from the young boy he was. From the bright blue-eyed boy who was excited to become a Jedi, Anakin had become a skilled warrior, but his eyes had darkened since his arrival on Coruscant. As an outsider to the Order, the chancellor could see that the boy had changed and that his eyes had grown stormy over time.

'I thought I would learn to overcome this. I thought that once I became a Knight that I would be satisfied with the responsibility I have. But even now, after all I've done for them, the Order still seem to watch me like I'm different,' Anakin explained. Unlike when he spoke to those in the Order, Anakin's tone expressed the frustration he felt. He didn't have to put on a front for the chancellor, because the chancellor would not judge him for expressing an inch of emotion. No matter what he spoke about with the Order, they would only focus on the fact that his emotions were present, and say that they were clouding his judgement.

'The Force should be your only emotion, Anakin,' Master Obi-wan would say. 'You can overcome anything if you set aside how you feel. You will learn this.'

'Well, you are different, Anakin,' the chancellor stated. 'You are the Chosen One; the one who will lead the Jedi into peace with the Force. That's what I have heard.'

'The Order can't be sure of that,' Anakin shook his head with a sigh. 'There's someone else. They believe she might be the one who will destroy the Sith. And if her Force signature wasn't enough of an indication, she's the perfect Jedi to do so.'

'Is this Master Yoda's ex-Padawan? Solaris?' Chancellor Palpatine raised an eyebrow at the change in Anakin's expression. As he spoke, his harsh brow line that hung over his eyes relaxed and the stone in his irises flushed with colour. Anakin's demeanour changed at the mention of this other Jedi, and the chancellor was curious about it.

'Sol... just Sol, but yes,' Anakin found himself sounding like the young woman herself when correcting her name.

'Hm. Is she a friend of yours?'

'Jedi don't have friends, Chancellor, but we are co-workers.'

Anakin was never good at hiding his emotions, but in this instance, he did all he could to keep his mind immersed in the Force. He hoped that the chancellor wouldn't notice how Anakin's gaze shifted from the Jedi Temple to Padme's apartment building.