The Jedi Code

VI : Bitter Negotiations

"Why do you have a braid?" I asked him frowning at the long braid. "I thought girls just wore braids."

"What?" Obi-Wan asked me pretending to be hurt. "Boy's can't wear braids too?"

I couldn't help but giggle at his expressions before giving him a shrug. "I guess they can," I answered with a smile to which he stopped pretending to be upset and gave me a toothless smile again.

"Because I'm just a Padawan so I have to wear the braid," he answered me as he dabbed the severe part of the wound again and I winced and bit my lip to keep from making a sound.

"What's that?" I then asked him intrigued by the unfamiliar term.

"A Padawan can also be referred to as a Padawan learner or Apprentice. It means we are a Force-sensitive adolescent who trains in the Jedi Order to one day become a full-fledged Jedi. Qui-Gon is Master and so he is teaching me so that I can one day to become a Jedi Knight," Obi-Wan started to explain as he sat up straighter in his chair as he wheeled over towards the trash can and dumped the now bloody cotton ball away and then wheeled back over and grabbed another alcohol dripped cotton ball to continued.

"I grew up in the Republic and I was known as a Jedi youngling at first, and trained in classroom settings with multiple students and a teacher. After reaching a certain age, we are apprenticed to a Jedi Knight, or like me, a Jedi Master to begin our one-on-one training. We often go on missions with their masters as part of this one-on-one training. Jedi are only allowed to have one Padawan as an apprentice at a time. Most Padawans grow or wear Padawan braids because it symbolizes our rank. After we complete the Jedi Trials, a Padawan becomes promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight and their braid is then cut off with a lightsaber," he told me as he flashed his hands in the air for effect with the part about the lightsaber causing my eyes to widen.

"With a lightsaber?" I exclaimed. "You mean they actually take a lightsaber right beside your face and just cut it off?"

"Yep," Obi-Wan told me with a nod. "Pretty wicked, huh?"

"Sounds exciting," I admitted which caused him to actually let out a laugh. "How old are you?"

"Why, I am fifteen-years-old. What about you?" He asked as he dumped the other cotton ball in the trash.

"Nine," I answered with a shrug in a somewhat bored manner.

"Sooo," Obi-Wan said as he wheeled back over with a curious look in his eyes. "Who's the boy? Is he your boyfriend?" He asked me with a smug look causing me to gag and furiously shake my head.

"Ew no," I said with a look of disgust. "Ani's my brother, we're twins."

"Oh," Obi-Wan exclaimed with a somewhat surprised look and letting out a stiff laugh. "Well that was a little awkward," he said with a slightly embarrassed look before grabbing the small tub of cream in one hand and wheeling back over to me.

"What's that?" I asked him curiously never having seen a cream such as this one before.

"Oh this thing," he said as he held it up and looked at it for a moment before dabbing his fingers in the tub and getting a bit of the white creamy looking gel on his fingers. "It's a special cream that we use in the Republic. It was made by fairies with certain powers to heal anything it comes into contact with within a matter of minutes."

"No it doesn't," I quickly argued with a frown and a raised eyebrow.

"Well, how would you know? You've never had it before, miss," he countered as he placed a hand on his hip in a sassy manner.

"Obi-Wan," I said in a stern but sassy voice back. "I may be nine, but I'm not stupid."

Obi-Wan just lets out a chuckle as he agreed with me and gently applied the cream to my injury. "You don't really complain do you?" He asked me as he dipped his fingers back into the tub of cream for a second layer.