Bloodline [Star Wars]

Eighteen

"I mean, we can try. How long have you been here for?" I asked.

"I'm one of the originals. I was kidnapped at age 10, I'm 17 now. Ladon wasn't born evil, but one day a two or three years ago Kylo came to visit and convinced him to turn to the dark side. It was only then that Ladon started to kidnap more kids, as many force sensitive kids that he could get his hands on. Ladon originally adopted me and trained me and about 15 others in the ways of the force. More recently, he's been trying to force us to use the dark side, and will physically punish us if we disobey. But don't talk about this with anyone that you don't know, because as I said, most of them are with him."

"Alright, we won't, but don't you think that we should get out of this closet now? I don't want to do anything suspicious." Poe said.

"I agree, let's continue with the tour for the rest of the day and then we'll talk with Master Luke tonight." I decided that sneaking around for the rest of the day would be an immediate red flag for Ladon.

"Ok, I think that we should go check out the younger kids classes now. Just be sure to watch your emotions so that the instructors can't sense your fear."

We all nodded and followed him from the stuffy storage closet. The hallways were all colored in the same manner, and I lost track of which way we had come after taking several turns. We finally reached the main hallway and a staircase that presumedly led up to the classrooms. Colton led the way confidently, and was greeted by many kids our age in the hallway. Rey walked right behind him, and was fiddling with the stray hairs that had managed to escape her elaborate hairstyle. I knew that this was one of her nervous habits, but her face only displayed a calm look. Finn, on the other hand was repeatedly wiping the sweat from his hands on to his pants. He smiled tightly when I glanced at him, and I struggled to contain my laughter.

We took a left turn into the first classroom, and I saw about fifteen kids from the ages of five to six starting at rocks that had been placed in front of them. Most wore expressions of frustration and focus, and there were one or two that simply looked bored.

"Ah, Colton and our guests, I'm pleased to see you. These young padawans are working on using the force to levitate these rocks. Feel free to give any advice out, most of them appear to be struggling." An older man with graying hair spoke with a smile.

I now understood why some of the kids looked bored. This was probably the task that I had hated most when becoming a Jedi. "Well, I completely understand where you guys are at. You've probably been doing this for awhile with no success, and are now bored out of your minds," I earned some smiles from the kids and laughed at their expressions," but only one thing ever helped me. First, I closed my eyes. Then, imagine reaching out towards the rock with your hand and picking it up. Of course, don't actually do it, just imagine you were."
I stepped back next to Colton and and Rey and watched them try again.

All of the kids closed their eyes and sat up straighter. We stood in silence for a few minutes before anything happened. Then many of the rocks began to raise. Some didn't make it that far, but there was a satisfying noise as they fell. Many of the exhausted kids opened their eyes with new energy, and grinned at me. I couldn't help but grin back, and the five of us began to applaud for them.

"Thank you very much for you wise words, Master Amara. We appreciate the help very much."

"Anytime." I responded.

Colton proceeded to bow respectfully to his master before leading us out of the door. "You were great back there," he said to me," I have never seen anyone get a result like that after only saying a few words!"

"I just hope that I could make their day a little brighter."

"I'm sure that you did. Anyway guys, I think that's enough for the day. We could go hang out outside or in a common room until Master Luke and Ladon are done with their meeting." Colton said.

Rey spoke for the group, "Going outside sounds good, thanks for the tour. I have a feeling that we should plan out what we are going to say tonight carefully."