Redemption

CHAPTER THREE:

 "We must speak to the Council. I'm afraid there is a matter that has become much more urgent." Opal turned away and looked to a terrified Anakin Skywalker, but not before she was pulled back into the grasps of Obi-Wan. "Not so fast, Opal Stone. You're coming too."

Opal despised being the student to someone prominent on the Jedi Council, and she loathed having to actually converse with them. They'd never done anything to benefit her since her parents had been killed and had basically left her to fend for herself. Master Windu had been beneficial to her growth when she'd trained under him, but Plo-Koon and Yoda were the only ones she really trusted with the things that were important, when she was most in need of guidance.

"You'll be fine." Obi-Wan whispered, nudging her shoulder in a friendly manner like they normally did whenever the other was nervous. "Just try not to be so.. you."

"Gee, glad to know you appreciate me Obi-Wan." She mused softly, lifting her eyes and meeting those of her Kel Dior Master sitting across the room. Her face immediately went stoic of any emotion as she entered the room silently behind Qui Gon.

"Impossible. The Sith have been extinct for a millennium!" A-Kia-D'Mundi, one of her fathers oldest friends exclaimed. The two of them had hated each other since she'd made fun of his skills with the Force when she was twelve, remarking that even a youngling could do better.

"I have been taught much by Master Plo about how to identify a Sith Lord, and I agree firmly with Master Qui-Gon. It indeed was a Sith Lord."

"Miss Stone, with all due respect, you are not qualified to speak in favor of Master Qui-Gon." Opals blood boiled as she turned to one of the other council members who sat to her right, his hands folded neatly in his lap. "You are still a Padawan, just like your friend Kenobi is as well. I suggest you do not speak."

"I have been given the ability to speak since you let the murder of my parents slide." She hissed angrily, storming past Obi-Wan as Qui Gon screwed his eyes tightly shut and exhaled loudly through his nose. The Jedi Council had the tendency to stick their noses where they didn't belong, bicker far too much and far too long for any kind of problem that needed a solution, and she was growing tired of the ineffectiveness of it. "I am so SICK of being treated like a child! When are they-"

Obi-Wan appeared on the staircase opposite of the door as she emerged, and he threw his arms outward to wrap them around her waist. He didn't miss the way her body melted into his own or how she softened at the familiar embrace she found herself in. "You have to learn how to let go of your anger, Opal." He whispered, stroking his fingers through her hair as she buried her face in his neck. "You know what it leads to. I don't want to see you head down a path of destruction."

She pulled away from him and swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's so hard. Master Plo has been aiding me in this for years, but it really hasn't worked." Opal whispered, her voice cracking as she tried to hold back tears. "Please, Obi-Wan, help me."

He took a deep breath and nodded before pressing the ghost of a kiss against her brow. "I will do all I can to help you heal, Opal. You mean a great deal to me, and I want all the best for you. I will help you with whatever you need."

And in that moment of intimacy, she felt a small piece of the wall around her heart fall, and it was all because of the boy with the blue eyes who made her feel powerful.

***

Opal couldn't help but smile as Anakin held his head up high, despite the pure fear that was coursing through his veins. "Anakin, I promise you will be alright." She whispered, kneeling down beside the young boy and resting a hand on his shoulder. "Qui Gon, Obi-Wan and I are going to do all we can to train you. Even if the Council says we can't."

"Why would you disobey the Jedi?" He replied. "I thought you were all on the same side."

The blonde froze at the boys words, her heart pounding erratically against her sternum. She had dedicated her life to the Jedi in memoriam of her parents, but she knew somewhere deep inside her heart that her beliefs were greatly different then the rest of the Councils. "We are, but when somebody allows murder to slide, it may or may not sway some people to believe otherwise. I've dedicated my life to the Jedi Anakin, and I won't ever forget what I've been raised to believe. Always fight for what you believe in."

She felt Obi-Wan's fingers gently graze hers as they left the young boy behind in the Council room and he motioned for her to follow them. "The boy will not pass the Councils test, Master. He is too old." Obi-Wan said. "When Opal and I started as younglings, she wouldn't have made it in if it weren't for the death of her parents."

That was true. Had her parents not died, she would've never had the opportunity to become a Jedi in the first place. She would've never met her best friend, and she would never experienced these feelings he made her feel every time they were together. "Obi-Wan is right, Uncle." She replied. "Despite your words, I do not believe the Council will allow Anakin to continue into his training. We will have to defy them if we wish to make him a Jedi."

"Anakin will become a Jedi. I promise you."

Opal admired Qui Gon for the same reason Obi-Wan admired her. They both held that fiery devotion to do what needed to be done for the greater good, and even when told no, they still did it anyways. "Do not defy the Council, Master. Not again."

"I shall do what I must, Obi-Wan. That's not just in my blood, it is also in Opal's blood too."

She was glad for the red dusting across the sky to welcome the dusk, the glow against her cheeks was enough to hide the growing blush on her face. "Master, if you would do what you were told, you would be on the Council. They will not go along with you this time."

"You still have much to learn, my Young Apprentice." Qui Gon turned towards Opal who was standing behind them, her brown eyes locked on Obi-Wan leaning against the railing. The emotion flooding her eyes wasn't unnoticeable. "Opal, dear, could you leave us for a moment?"

"Of course Uncle."

Qui Gon turned back to his apprentice, crossing his arms as he watched the young woman vanish behind a set of doors. "Obi-Wan, I can see the way you look at my niece." Obi-Wans eyes widened slightly as he turned towards the man beside him. "It is clear that she means much more to you then just a friend."

"You know the Code, Master. Jedi are not allowed to fall in love, even if it is with another Jedi. Opal and I both know that to break the Code means to be expelled from the Jedi Order. We've both dedicated our lives." His tone softened considerably. "She means a great deal to me, yes. I would not call it love."

"Do you think you could ever fall in love with Opal?"

Obi Wan pursed his lips before allowing his eyes to fall to the ground. "In all honesty Master, I already feel an incredible need to protect your niece. I would not be surprised if I give my heart to her in years to come."

***

Opal leaned against the doors outside the Council Room, her eyes closed as a familiar melody began playing inside her head.

"I believe that one day, Opal, you will fall in love." Lorelei Stone whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Don't let it fade away because of who you become."

"Are you alright, Opal?"

Her eyes flashed open as she met Obi-Wans concerned gaze. Always so concerned for me, you magnificent man. "I'm fine, Kenobi." She mused, lightly nudging him as they followed Qui Gon into the Council Room. "Please hold me back if I lash out."

"I promised I'd help you recover from the hatred you feel." He replied. "I don't intend to break that promise."

"The Force is strong in this one." Opal leaned against Obi-Wan, her eyes unwavering from the men who continued to speak of Anakin's training.

"He is to be trained then?"

Her heart sank as her former Master shook his head firmly. "No. He is too old." All of those reaffirmations to Anakin, telling him everything was going to be okay, every single thing she had said just felt like a lie. Everything around her began to fade as Qui Gon continued talking directly to Yoda and Master Windu. Tears blurred her vision as she struggled to focus on Master Plo, but found black spots dancing across her eyes as her chest began to constrict. Breathe Opal. Breathe. He whispered across their Bond.

Had Obi-Wan not actually grabbed her hand to calm her down, she would've never heard the words leave Qui Gon's lips. "I will train him then."

"A Padawan you already have, Qui Gon. You can not take another." Qui Gon turned his head towards the two Jedi Apprentice as they stepped forward.

"Obi-Wan is ready for the Trials. You know that first hand that Opal Stone is as well, Master Plo. She may be my family, but I have no immediate influence on her. Surely you must understand this."

Opal forced a small smile as she walked towards her Master, the only father figure she had known throughout most of her teenage years. His eyes met hers as she knelt down and bowed her head. "Master, you said yourself that I was ready for the Trials. That is why you sent me to my Uncle to confirm that your thoughts were true." Obi Wan's eyes softened as she turned to glance at him. "And I will be forever grateful that you did."

"He is head strong, and he has much to learn of the living Force, but he is capable. As for Opal, I believe the same goes for her. Both of them work extremely well together and have been friends since they started training years ago. They are ready."

Mace Windu gave a small nod and leaned forward on his knees. "Now is not the time for this. The Senate is voting for a vote of new leadership, and Queen Amidala is returning home. That will put pressure on the Trade Federation and could lighten the confrontation. I want all three of you to go with the Queen to Naboo and find her attacker. This could be the clue that will unravel the mystery of the Sith."

Opal turned from the Council for the first time and felt no rage for the men in that room as they exited the Temple speaking in hushed tones. Obi Wan turned his head, pressing a hand against his chest to calm his erratic heartbeats from staring at the woman beside him. His eyes flickered from her long black lashes brushing against the bottom of her stunning brown eyes, which were filled with the need to run away from her problems. Her delicate cheek bones only accented the paleness of her skin, her blonde locks gleaming in the sunlight from the windows around them. Just looking at her made him feel a barrage of feelings he was unfamiliar with. "You ready to be magnificent, Harmony?"

"When did you start calling me that?"

"When I noticed it was as beautiful of a name as you are a person." She hid her face in her hands and shook her head, desperately trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Flatterer.

"As long as I've got you by my side, I could take down the world with just a snap of my fingers."