Star Wars- A Jedi's Journey One: The Padawan's Struggle

Chapter Seven

Adam, Letha, June and I stood mostly in silence, breaking it only to wish one another luck with a duel. That was when Aaron came to us. "Aaron!", Letha exclaimed happily. Aaron was greeted by enthusiasm from all of us, before Adam, Letha and June made their best attempt to overwhelm him with questions. "It's amazing, he's such a good teacher", Aaron said, before taking my arm. "Now, we have to check your next match, Aayla. They have just got the matches for the second round". Then, he pulled me along with him - again. "You could just ask me to follow you", I whined. He loosened his grip on my arm, but didn't let go, probably thinking it was fun to try to pull my shoulder out of its socket. At least he hadn't grabbed the arm, that had been injured just a few days before. "Your...", he started, stopping only to push past a large group chatting loudly. "Your next duel is due to begin soon and...", pushing past yet another group. "You didn't even know", he accused. He was right- I hadn't thought to check the program again. I really should have, as it turned out, I'd be participating in the first duel of the next round. "First again?", I asked. "They don't want to give you a longer break than all the others, so yeah", Aaron replied with a shrug. We went by the board of names too quick for me to read who my opponent was. I tried to slow, but Aaron didn't let me. "That's not important right now. Your duel is due to begin in-", he said, before being rudely interrupted. "Youngling Moon! There you are! Is it your goal to be notorious for a lack of an ability to be on time?!". That came from the humanoid knight with the peculiar accent. They looked at me as though I was a lunatic. "No", I replied dumbly. How was I supposed to explain myself? No, sorry. I just forgot time? The knight tsk'ed at me and waved their hand towards the big door in a dismissive motion. "You know what to do". I walked to the door, entering into the arena once again.

...

My heart plummeted, when I saw the silhouette on the opposite side of the room. They were big enough to crush me under their boot. Yellow eyes gleamed with anger so bright, I could see it from the opposite side of the room. I shivered. It was the Youngling, who had thrown me to the floor. The Youngling, who'd not thought twice about reaching for their lightsaber. The Youngling had seemingly developed a hatred for me within the span of a day - less than a day, actually. Splendid. That was the moment The Force decided to remind me that a certain general was watching. Just splendid. I was about to be made into gooey mush. No, they're not allowed to severely injure me either. I sensed, with a tremble, however, that they might still try. I just had to make sure, they didn't get a chance to do it. They stepped into their circle. I stepped into mine, while busy trying to fight off the sudden dryness in my throat. I refused to look away from the Youngling. Their stare certainly didn't leave me either. We looked at eachother like we didn't trust each other enough to look away. I supposed they reciprocated my icy feelings towards them. Even if their feelings towards me seemed to burn all the way from their core. Our bows were equally shallow. We didn't break eye contact, and I understood the age-old tradition. I understood why we had always been taught to look at our upcoming opponent, when bowing. Without the announcer having even uttered a single syllable, we both called our training sabers to us. They did so with a scary scowl in my direction. I'm done. The thought echoed through me, as unstoppable as the tides. I briefly considered yielding, but that would simply be embarrassing. "Oooh, such eagerness", said the speaker. Not a good sign. "On the sun-side we have Youngling Esteban Starrl". Esteban raised his training saber above his head and the crowd roared. It sounded deafening in my ears. The crowd was certainly playing favorites. I liked my odds less and less, the gooey mush seeming more and more like my way to go. I bore my nails into my palms, trying to ignore the rising fear in me. "On the moon-side we have Youngling Aayla Moon. Really? Couldn't have her on the sun-side?". Really? Couldn't pass the bad joke? A few giggles and whispers rose from the crowd. I readied myself for the platforms to rise again. "Take your positions". I bent my knees, willing myself not to stumble, when the pedestals rose. It worked, and I found myself standing securely on top of a pedestal taller than any I had been on during my first duel. On a platform not far from mine, stood Youngling Starrl. He glared daggers at me, and I tried to shoot back a stare with equal intensity, but felt myself shrink underneath the Youngling's unwavering anger. I'm supposed to try to impress the masters - being a coward is probably not the best way to do that.