In•hale

The Room In The Wall

The Room of a Thousand Fountains. Peaceful in ways no one could explain.

Chalset passed through the strong and beautiful trees, the soft delicate grass tickling her bare feet as she made my way to the far back of the magnificent room. The gentle sound of water moving around made her internally calm as she climbed a tall tree next to a wall that was completely overtaken by vines that were lined with lilacs and other various flowers.

Pushing past a thick wall of leaves, she leapt onto a branch that was so heavily conceiled you would never notice it. She and Obi-Wan found it when they were playing around there about fifteen years ago. The branch led to this small hole in the wall, and if you wormed your way through that, it would open into a small space that had grass, soft glow lights that appeared as candles and everything.

When Chalset got to the hole, she scooted inside and found Obi-Wan sitting cross-legged with a pair of scissors in his hand. He was wearing a brown shirt that hung loosely over his frame along with a pair of shorts that cut off just above his knees. Because it was such a tiny room tucked into a wall, it was hot. Not nearly as hot as Tatooine but it was pretty darn warm. Obi-Wan watched as the girl tossed off her robe and placed it on the ground, leaving her in her bed clothes; a grey shirt with soft cotton black shirts.

He grinned.

"I was wondering when you'd get here. I was so seriously considering starting without you."

Chal crawled over to him, curious. "Start what?"

He twirled his long Padawan braid in one hand and with the other, held up the scissors, snipping them for emphasis. Her eyes widened in understanding. "Master Yoda was just about to do it in place of Qui-Gon when he announced me a Knight, but I requested to do it myself. I'm relieved you showed up. I nearly thought for a minute I'd have to do it alone."

She snorted. "You just wanted to hear me call you Master Kenobi when you finished."

He laughed, took her hand and kissed it, his warm blue-grey eyes locked in hers as a blush crept onto Chal's face at the feel of his lips on her skin. "I would never." he said slyly just before letting her hand go and sighing softly to himself. She scooted closer to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

This was no small deal. A Knight was one step closer to a Master, every Youngling, Padawan or Knight's dream. But it wasn't just about being one step closer. Obi-Wan would be on his own now, eligible to have his own Padawan who of course would be Anakin. This was huge and both of them knew that.

Chalset moved her hand to his back, making small circles as he took one deep breath and held up the scissors. "Here goes..." His hand hovered just next to the area behind his ear where the braid met the ends of his hair. He squeezed his eyes closed, moved the scissors into position, their blades split and ready....

And then he snipped it.

Obi-Wan held the long thin auburn coloured braid that was lined with various coloured strings that signified his achievements in his hand. He started at it. She started at it. And then he curled his fingers around it in a tight fist, his head dropping accompanied by a small tear rolling down his cheek. This braid had been his whole entire life for the longest time.

Chalset immediately wrapped him in a tight hug and he leaned heavily onto her. Under any other circumstances, he would have been overjoyed, but the fact that his Master wasn't there to see him off just covered the moment in sadness.

Chal tried her best to somewhat lighten the mood. "You have to admit, that's pretty awesome Master Kenobi. Pretty darn awesome." she said, pulling back to see a whisper of a smile on his face. "Admit it!" she beamed, punching him on the shoulder. "You do like being called that!"