YOUNG BLOOD ( A. SKYWALKER ) [1]

XII.

Three years have passed since the battle of Naboo, and a young Padawan who goes by the name of Layna Hale was now eleven years of age. The said girl was standing in the center of the training at the moment, her eyes closed as she channeled the power of the Force, drawing it to her in order to deepen her understanding of it.

Her Master, the stern platinum haired woman who was now approaching her thirtieth year, was the only one overseeing her Padawan's training for the day as she stood in one corner of the room, her emerald green eyes trained on the girl who was standing in the room's center. She had her hands folded behind her back as she could feel the girl's now calm state, and she was very well aware that it was almost time.

"Begin!"

The young girl's breath hitched as her eyes shot open, and as soon as the platinum haired woman had seen her Padawan's reaction, she threw the remote she had hidden underneath her robes and activated it. The Padawan girl had sensed her Master's movements almost immediately, and her fingers gripped the hilt of her lightsaber and pressed the button to activate it causing a beam of purple to extend from the silver hilt.

"Concentrate, my young Padawan!" The Jedi Knight yelled at the Padawan, who had her dark brown eyes solely on the floating remote in front of her. Sola could feel the girl's determination as the young girl had sensed the droid's laser fire and lifted her lightsaber to deflect it.

Layna was itching to move, and she found it extremely hard to just wait for something to happen. She knew what the purpose of this exercise was, and it was so that the young girl could practice her lightsaber skills as well as her patience. Her Master was very well-aware of the young girl's lack of patience as she was impulsive and reckless, and she knew that her Padawan preferred being on the offensive rather than the defensive. But that was not what a Jedi is supposed to be.

A Jedi only uses his or her power in defense, and will only use their powers to defend the people and all that is good in the galaxy. Sola needed to get that through the girl's head, knowing that the girl tended to act rather impulsive then think of how her actions would affect the mission.

The remote fired three consecutive shots and the girl's eyes widened, struggling to keep up as she deflected the first two that had been shot on her left then her right, but missed the last one which hit the girl's thigh. "Ow," the brunette girl hissed in pain, glowering at the droid who had just shot her thigh.

"Mind your emotions, Layna," the green eyed woman reminded her Padawan, who had begun to take deep breaths in order to calm herself down. One, two, three, the girl counted in her head as her breathing began to slow and her frustration dissipating.

The young girl had always struggled to control her emotions, she did not know how to balance these emotions as there were times when she'd let herself go but there are also times when she stubbornly refused to let anything show. There had been times when the girl had thought that not having emotions would cure her of this problem, but she knew that this much was impossible as she was only still a human. She had to feel, even if she didn't want to. She could feel, even though she knew she shouldn't.

Master Sola walked over to the remote to deactivate it, placing the remote back on one of the shelves in the corner. She nodded as soon as she felt calm envelop the girl once more, and her Padawan deactivated her lightsaber when she saw the look of approval on her Master's face. "Good, you're learning. I expect you to meditate later on as it will help you find peace," she placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder. "You're doing well, Layna."

Layna felt warmth rush to her cheeks as her Master complimented her, and she nodded, deactivating her lightsaber and placing the hilt of her laser sword back on her utility belt. She heard the all too familiar sound of the training doors opening, and she turned to see who had just entered.