The Senator And The Jedi

Chapter Eleven: Meeting The Naberries

Ahsoka

As soon as they got back to Varykino, Ahsoka and Lux split up and headed to their rooms, with the intention of changing into something more presentable. Ahsoka changed back into her Jedi combat suit and cloak from the lightweight maroon sundress she had been wearing.

The cloak still smelled like Lux.

She sighed happily. I am never going to wash this again, she thought.

Ahsoka couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. Although it had been brief, in the moment, it had felt so right... And, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't convince herself otherwise. She wished that it had lasted longer, and part of her was even going so far as to hope that it would happen again.

"No, Ahsoka," she told herself aloud, pulling herself from her thoughts. "I can't do this. I can't hope for ... well, it, to happen again. It's not the Jedi way. I've already decided where I want my life to go. It will not happen again."

And so, with this resolution in mind, she walked out of the room, and down the hallway towards the sitting rooms where the Naberries were gathered.

But, even so, there was nothing to stop her from reliving the kiss as many times as her heart desired...

As Ahsoka walked into the rooms where the get-together was taking place, Padme ran over to her, grabbing her arm with an excited expression on her face.

"Ahsoka, I can't wait for you to meet everyone." She turned to the group of people sitting around the room, chatting. "Mother, Father, Sola – I'd like you to meet Ahsoka Tano. She's the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, and a dear friend of mine."

A middle-aged woman stood up, and walked over to take her hand. Ahsoka could tell by her expression that she was a kind person who laughed plenty. "Welcome to Varykino, Master Jedi. I'm Jobal, Padme's mother. I certainly hope you enjoy your stay."

"Please, Ahsoka is fine. And thank you." She looked around the room, but she didn't see Lux anywhere. "Is the Senator down yet?"

"No," said the only man in the room, whom Ahsoka assumed was Padme's father. "Ha! And you'd think a young man like Lux Bonteri would take less time to change than a lady!"

There were a few chuckles from Jobal and the other woman in the room, but Padme looked mortified. "Father!" she scolded, before looking back at Ahsoka. "That's my father, Ruwee Naberrie. He's notorious for making bad jokes, and thinks himself funny as a result."

More laughter. Ahsoka smiled as Padme herded her to a low chair. She could get used to the company of these people.

"I'm Sola. Padme's my baby sister," said the other woman who hadn't spoken before. "And my two daughters should be coming right about..."

"Aunt Padme, Aunt Padme!" came a little girl's cry, right on cue.

Two girls ran into the room. One of them had curly golden-brown hair, and looked to be about five, and the other had dark brown hair and eyes like Sola. Ahsoka estimated that she was about seven or eight.

"Can we make joopa berry cakes tonight?" asked the younger one, and her sister nodded in approval. "Please? Please? We haven't seen you in forever, and that's what we always do when you come visit!"

"All right, all right!" she hushed them. "Perhaps tomorrow, girls. I'm very busy doing work with the Queen and Senator Bonteri."

They looked disappointed, but Padme smiled, taking one of each girl's hands in her own. "Now there's someone I'd like you both to meet: this is Ahsoka Tano. She's learning how to become a Jedi Knight from Anakin Skywalker."

Two pairs of eyes widened, and the older of the two stepped forward. "I'm Ryoo, Master Jedi," she said, and although her words were spoken shyly, she was clearly a smart girl who had learned proper etiquette.

"I'm Pooja," piped up her curly-haired sister.

Ahsoka bent down on one knee so that she was at their eyelevel, smiling gently. "It's nice to meet you both. And I'm not a Master yet, I'm just a Padawan, so neither of you needs to be formal with me. You can just call me Ahsoka."

A few moments later, Lux walked downstairs. As he was acquainted with the Naberrie family, the two girls pulled Ahsoka down the hallway. "Where are you taking me?" she asked with a laugh.

"Daddy's going to be here soon," said Pooja, "and he told us he's bringing some of our aunts and uncles from his side of the family, and our cousin."

Ryoo suddenly brought the Jedi Padawan and her sister to a halt. She put her small hands on her hips, and Pooja mirrored her expression with crossed arms. For a moment, they looked Ahoska up and down with the kind of skepticism only ever seen in children.

"I like you," Ryoo said, narrowing her eyes. "Pooja likes you. You're trustworthy. Therefore, we're going to need your help."

"Whatever with?" Ahsoka asked, now understanding that they were both perfectly serious. "What's going on?"

The doorbell suddenly rang, and the two girls looked down the hallway towards the heavy wooden front door as Dorme went to answer it. "You'll see soon," said Pooja quietly, before the two scampered off to greet their extended family.

Ahsoka sighed, before following suite. Just what have I gotten myself into?

*HEYYYYYY EVERYBODY!!!! I'M ALIVE!!!

I am SO sorry I've been MIA these past two weeks. I have discovered that my friend was right when they told me that the grade of school I just came into a few weeks ago has like A TON more homework. I've been up to my shoulders in assignments and homework and stuff, and I haven't had a lot of time to myself. 

Also, I had the WEIRDEST and MOST HORRIBLE combination of procrastination and writers' block. It was sort of like I was separated from my ideas by a see-through wall, and I could see them and think about them and come up with new and interesting ways to include them in my stories... But I couldn't grab hold of them and turn them into written chapters. So yeah, that was mainly why I didn't update anything.

BUT IT HAS BEEN OVERCOME, so enough ranting. It was just scary and I don't want it to happen again. It's probably how Luke Skywalker felt when he was exposed to all those ysalamiri... *COUGH COUGH* DARK FORCE TRILOGY REFERENCE *COUGH COUGH*

Well, I don't really have much to say about this chapter, and I'm sorry that I'm leaving off on a semi-cliffhanger here. But it works best with the story, so you'll all just have to wait for the update... MWUHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Bye.