Redemption

CHAPTER FIVE:

    Opal hid in the shadows of Qui Gon's cremation, the firelight flickering in her amber colored eyes as she hid beneath the hood of her Jedi robe. A unspeakable heaviness settled in her heart as she watched the remains of her Uncle, her last living family, waste away into ashes. "Master?" Anakin's voice spoke as he tugged on her robes. "Why are you sad?"

The poor boy had been ridiculed and pulled apart at the seams since leaving Tatooine and her heart ached for him because she had been through the same thing. "I lost the last person who cared about me, Anakin." She murmured softly, kneeling down in front of her padawan. "Qui Gon was my Uncle, and he's the only family I had left who loved me."

Anakin tilted his head, his eyes flickering to Obi Wan's stiff form standing beside her. "What about Master Obi Wan?" He whispered in reply. "Doesn't he love you? I don't think you're just his friend."

Leave it to the child to be the one who noticed as much as she did. "I ask myself that question all the time, Ani. But I don't know because I don't think Obi Wan wants me to know." She paused for a moment, inhaling deeply as a new wave of tears came upon her. "I don't think he loves me like you think he does."

The child wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his face in the fabric of her robes. "I think he does, but he's very afraid." Her heart stuttered as she raked her fingers through his hair. "I think he's afraid to lose you."

She had never thought about what ran through Obi Wan's head when it came to her. Did he actually care about her? She knew there was something there, hidden deep in the crystal pools he called eyes that seemed to be engraved in her memory forever. She'd noticed a protective side to her friend since they'd reunited.

I think he's afraid to lose you.

She was terrified of losing one of the two people she had left in this Universe.

"Opal," His deep baritone murmured as he turned to her. "Are you going back to Coruscant after the funeral?" She quirked an eyebrow, turning her body away from the flames to look at him directly.

"Why on Earth would I leave you again?"

His tongue flicked out to lick at his chapped lips, his eyes avoiding hers. "Everyone does," He replied. She lifted his chin with her index finger and smiled that same smile that made his heart melt every time he saw it. "It's bound to happen again. I just don't want it to be you."

Her head spun as she relived her Uncle's death, the last words he had spoken to her directly about the impending relationship to come between the two of them. "If you love him, do not let him go."

"Obi Wan, I made you a promise that I was going to help train Anakin. I don't plan on breaking that promise. Not when you're just having to put up with me again after so long of being apart." A smile broke across his face as they both turned to a very curious Anakin.

"What will happen to me now?" He said quietly, his voice laced with fear.

"The Council has granted us both permission to train you." Obi Wan replied. "You will be a Jedi, Anakin. I promise."

***
(This is the part of the story that will begin to go off my own plot and not Episode 2: Attack of the Clones.)

"If you love Obi Wan, do not let him go."

Opal grunted beneath the force of her lightsaber, squinting through the sparks to see Obi Wan flashing that infamous smirk in her direction. It had been nearly a year since she'd lost Qui Gon and her best friend had been much more upfront, and much more flirty since. "You're out of it, Opal." He retorted. "Focus on the sound of my-"

She snickered underneath her breath as a scream left his lips, and he flew across the room and right into the training mats. "Your voice is pretty enough, Obi Wan, that it's hard to not focus on it."

"Are you ever not sarcastic?" He groaned, a moan escaping his lips as he outstretched his muscular body against the mats he was laying on. Over the course of the past year, he had begun growing out his hair and his beard to the point where it was becoming difficult to not stare at him. "Are you leaving now?"

"I have to go get the cake for Anakin." She replied, flipping her head upwards and wiping away the sheen of sweat that had gathered on her forehead. On a normal day like today, she took an hour to train with Anakin and Obi Wan took another, then the three of them had dinner together and retreated to their quarters. Today, however, was Anakin's 11th birthday and she planned on making it a good one despite the lack of his mothers presence in his life. "You can't get out of this one, Obi Wan. That boy needs a good birthday, and he already feels terrible because he's not with Shmi."

"You have a heart unlike anyone I've ever met." He replied. "Go on then. I'll retrieve the boy."

It was a heat of the moment type of decision, choosing to openly kiss Obi Wan's cheek before fleeing from the room. He stood, frozen in place, unable to tear his fingers away from the skin that was now searing underneath the ghost of her touch. He was more then aware of what the Jedi Code was, and every day he continued training Anakin alongside Opal made him more willing to break that Code of never having attachments. The woman in his life was slowly changing him, breaking apart his stoic facade and teaching to love in a much deeper way then he had ever known.

Upon fleeing the room, Opal nearly crashed into Anakin when she returned to the Jedi Temple with his birthday dessert in her hands. "Master Stone!" He cried out gleefully. Opal beamed as Anakin came rushing towards her, his braid bouncing against the side of his neck as he ran. "The Council was requesting to see you, so they sent me to find you." He tilted his head curiously as he eyed the box. "What's that?"

"It's a secret, sweet Ani." She chided, turning the boy in the direction of the quarters where she knew Obi Wan would be waiting for him. "Go to our joint quarters and find Master Kenobi. I will join you momentarily." Anakin took the box from her hands and took off down the hall, leaving Opal with her thoughts.

The Jedi Council was common knowledge to her now. Their corruption was ignored by most of the Order, including Obi Wan, but she had never made an issue of how they'd wronged her to anyone else except those who sat on it. Most of them despised her despite being one of the most accomplished Jedi in decades. The main reason why she'd gone into the Order - aside from honoring her parents memory - was because of Obi Wan and Anakin.

Opal adored training Anakin.

Hope soared through her with each day she watched his training progress and his skills sharpen. That was... when he actually had the concentration to practice them. "Master Stone." Opal winced at the name as she entered the Council Chambers, their gazes upon her as she bowed in greeting. "We have a request for you."

It was hard to not be cynical. "Wow, that's a first." Opal retorted. "Normally you ask Obi Wan to answer your beck and call because of how much I am disliked. What could be so important to summon me?"

Mace Windu shook his head, clearly disappointed in her approach as he motioned to Master Yoda. The ancient one and leader of the Jedi Order was clutching a hard drive that looked to belong to the Jedi Archives deeper in the Temple. "One of our Jedi Knights found a drive inside of the Archives containing information about the mission that killed your parents." Her heart dropped as she looked at the drive labeled Stone. "Do you wish to see its contents before it is destroyed?"

Opal pressed her lips together as she contemplated her choices. It had taken her years to forgive The Council for allowing the murder to slip past their open eyes and ears. Why would they bring this up now? Years after it had happened? "Is this a trick, Master?" She snarled, hands clenching into fists at her side "It took me years to even walk into this room without some semblance of rage because you all let it slide in the first place!"

She inhaled sharply as a memory resurface behind her eyes. It was one of her first nights alone with Obi Wan, one of the many where he'd focused on her self healing. It was so precious, so pure.. She'd never forget it.

"Opal, my dear." He whispered, leaning forward to grasp her hands in his own. "Despite all you have been through, you must be willing to let the walls around your heart fall. Allow people in. Allow me in, and you'll begin learning how to feel things again."

Opal took a deep breath and uneasily stood to her feet, oblivious to the words that were about to come from Yoda. "Hardness there was in your heart." He said. '"Gone now, is it?"

"I have been very fortunate to be working with Master Kenobi." She replied. "He has assisted in leading me away from the darkness that called in the midst of Qui Gons passing." Her eyes softened, a years worth of memories flashing behind them as she recalled the events f the last year. "He has, in turn, saved me from myself. We have been training young Skywalker for quite some time... and being his Master has made me a better person." She suppressed a wince as she felt all pairs of scrutinizing eyes settle on her. ''Obi Wan is a great man, and a great teacher. He is a dear friend."

Mace Windu stroked his chin as she met his gaze. Of all the people Opal had come across, he was always one of the ones who read her best. "We are proud of your progress, Master Stone. The way you work with Master Kenobi is spectacular. Keep it up." He turned to Yoda. "We will speak of the drive later." Bowing low once again, Opal feigned a warm smile before she turned and disappeared from the Council Chambers.

Opal was oblivious to the passing Jedi as she sprinted down the hall towards the dormitories, skidding to a stop in front of the one she shared with Anakin and Obi Wan. She wiped the sweat from her face and entered the darkened room. Obi Wan was hunched over the table speaking in hushed tones to their padawan who was alert and attentive. "Ah, there she is." He greeted. Obi stood and took her hand, motioning to the cylindrical gift wrapped in silver paper sitting on the counter. "He's already had 2 slices of cake. I don't think he can get much more hyper then he already is."

Opal flinched as Anakin popped up beside her, licking at the sugar speckled on his lips. "Can I open my gift?" He exclaimed, eyes bright with adrenaline as sugar coursed through his blood.

A melodic laugh burst past Opals lips as she nodded, leaning against Obi Wan as the child tore into the gift. His jaw dropped from shock as the lightsaber in his hands sparked to life in a mirage of royal blue sparks. ''I think it's high time you had a real, hand crafted lightsaber."

"You made this?" He deadpanned, eyes narrowing in on the engraving on the side of the weapon.

To: Anakin Skywalker
From: Obi Wan and Opal

"Do not lose yourself to the darkness. Remain in the light, and a future beyond belief, you will have."