Healing Hurts (Anakin Skywalker)

Chapter 4

Anakin was... restless. Again. Obi-Wan secretly swore that was Anakin's natural state - restless. Not fearful, not peaceful, not brave. Just restless. The younger jedi's leg shook rapidly up and down, the force of it gently shaking the floor. That was until he began pacing. And then complaining. And then he was back to sitting on the bench outside the chambers, bouncing his leg up and down uncontrollably.

"Calm yourself, Anakin. They will be out for us shortly."

"Why didn't they want you there?" Anakin paused for a moment, his heel temporarily hovering in the air. "They never remove a single member from a discussion. Not that I remember anyway."

Obi-wan sighed and leaned his back against the back of the bench. "I'm unsure. Perhaps they just wanted to make sure you didn't leave."

"Or they didn't want you knowing something. This is weird. Didn't you see the way they were looking at each other?"

"No. Who?"

Truthfully, he did. But Obi-Wan didn't want to agitate Anakin any further. He was already on edge more than he'd ever seen him, and Obi-Wan definitely did not want to push him to his limits more than he had to.

Anakin crossed his arms and turned to face the window beside them. "They know something," he said. "Plo Koon, Yoda, and Windu. They know something and they're hiding it from us both. What if she's here? On Coruscant?"

It was only a cheap shot. The jedi knight had seen the girl's home - it looked nothing like any of the apartments on Coruscant. Wooden bed frames, manual doors, wooden floors. Even the girl's clothing was unlike anything he'd ever seen. There was no way that she was on Coruscant.

"I'm sure we'll be finding out soon enough, Anakin. Try not to worry yourself further."

"She's sick. What if she's dying?"

"Then we will simply have to trust the force. If you are meant to find her, perhaps all of our questions will be answered."

The two grew quiet from there as the air grew heavier with each passing minute. The older jedi closed his eyes, attempting to meditate through the tension. He'd encouraged Anakin to do the same, but there was no calming the man. Not then.

What felt like hours had only truly been 45 minutes. The chamber doors opened, and the temple guard gestured for the two to go inside. Obiwan returned to his council seat, while Anakin returned to the center of the floor. The inside of the council chamber was tense as well, as though the council themselves had become tense.

What the hell is going on?

It was minutes before anyone spoke. Once again, it was Grandmaster Yoda who began the conversation. The small green jedi master slowly stood from his seat to face Skywalker. He placed both hands on the cane in front of him, and bowed his head only slightly. Anakin could sense remorse from the old master and began to grow more restless than he had been before. He clenched his fist again, trying to mentally prepare himself for the disappointment to come.

"Real your visions are. Ill the girl is. Find her you must."

Anakin paused for a moment, his hand unclenching. "I... what?"

Mace Windu glanced around the council before nodding in agreement. "Her name is Havena - you already knew that. But what you do not know is that her father was once a Jedi. One well known to all of us in this room."

Plo Koon released a nearly-unnoticeable breath before speaking. "She was hidden away for her safety."

"Who? Who is she?" Anakin could feel his heart racing in anticipation. Finally, after all of these years... he was going to know the truth of the mystery girl who had been plaguing his dreams for so many years.