𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 ⎯ 𝕠𝕓𝕚-𝕨𝕒𝕟 𝕜𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕓𝕚

CHAPTER X. rejection

"And how do you know that?" he challenged back. "You heard them, they don't even like me being here!"

"There's much for the Council to look over, believe me. Occasionally, people make erroneous claims about ideas that may not be entirely right. Don't let anyone bring you down, and that includes yourself as well."

He appeared captivated by my words. It appeared to be productive, as shown by his facial expressions and thoughts running through his mind. As the gears turned in his mind, he absorbed every word I said, putting it to good use.

"I know you will be something special in the future Don't lose hope," I added.

"Yes!" Anakin responded with optimism.

"Jewel," Qui-Gon interrupted our conversation, stepping near us. "Head to the ship, the others are coming here soon. I need a moment with Anakin."

I nodded and departed, leaving Ani to board the ship alongside Obi-Wan and R2. I could sense Obi's thoughts spinning too, his mind was too focused on everything not going "his" way. He sort of looked cuter when his frustration showed on his face, rubbing his chin.

"Are you all right?" I whispered to him, waving my hand in front of him to get his attention.

"Qui-Gon seems so determined with Anakin being the right unity among us," Obi-Wan lectured. "It doesn't make sense for him to have so much hope. It can backfire much more unexpectedly than what we may think."

Anakin and Qui-Gon's chatter brought my attention to them, seeing Anakin smiling and agreeing with much of what Qui-Gon said. Obi-Wan seemed to be more conflicted on such, but I figured he might ease if I intervened physically.

I sneakily stepped to his side and brushed my fingers in his hand, his head slowly looking at me. For a moment, he was close to holding my hand but restrained himself and brushed his finger back on my palm elegantly. I could hear him sigh and close his eyes, looking down in ashame. 

"I'm sorry too if it means I'm telling you you're wrong about all this," he softly told me.

"It's okay," I turned to face him now. "I'm only trying to find the right solution to all these matters. Plus, we know how we both get. Especially now with how we confessed 'the truth'."

I detected a shift in his emotions. He seemed to be bending to my words, so I brought him into the ship with us, back to the room where we shared the kiss. I embraced him lightly and got a hold of his robes, his arms closing my back and leaning his head down a bit.

"Don't let yourself get carried away," I whispered in his ear, standing on my tiptoes. "Especially toward your own Master. Please?" 

Obi's lip twitched into a thin smile and answered back, agreeing in a soft voice. His eyes trailed over my face, from how he was mesmerized and I traced his features on his face.

Afterwards, he placed his hands on my face and rubbed my skin with his two fingers. Seems like he can be caught in a manner of love, but I can't judge at all, can I?

"I promise, love," he started, whispering to me. "I won't act out. Unless you want me to."

We both laughed at his statement for a second, and he kissed my lips briefly, savoring the little second we had together. He was gentle with all his kisses and made sure to linger the touch with his unique ways.

The others joined us on the ship, and we were all reunited in the cockpit. Captain Panaka, a handful of troops, guards, officers, and even Jar Jar made their way in. Maybe if things didn't work out in the end, I know Obi-Wan wouldn't abandon me nor would I.

Who knows what will happen. But I'm only hoping nothing terrible could tear us apart.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

The pilot and Anakin were talking over the buttons he saw on the ship. Anakin seemed surely bright for someone his age, especially with the connection he had with the Force. Just from how he was, it would be an advantage for him to hold with the right training. He may lead to good things in the future.

"I cannot fight a war for you, your Highness, only protect you," Qui-Gon addressed Queen Amidala. 

My attention focused back on the discussion the rest of us were planning to go upon the approach back to Naboo. We were only escorting them, in a way, but not interfering with their conflictions since it can stretch to Jedi business. 

"Jar Jar Binks!" Queen Amidala shouts for Jar Jar.

"Mesa, your Highness?" he responds.

"Yes. I will need your help."

As time drifted past from the discussion, Captain Panaka, the Queen, and the other handmaidens and troops left the ship. Anakin was occupied with Padme for the moment on how excited he was to see her again. 

It appears that the two have been growing increasingly closer to one another since they saw each other. Their colors seemed to transform the moment they began conversing.

Eventually, we arrived at the Gungan swamp. The troops began unloading the ships while Obi and I made our way to Master Qui-Gon to provide him with the latest updates.

"Jar Jar is on the way to Gungan City, Master," Obi-Wan tells Qui-Gon as we approach him. 

"Otoh Gunga," I added. "Remember, I studied a lot under Master Windu, so..."

Obi-Wan observed my subtle gesture, as I delicately pointed to my head. Master Windu certainly kept me occupied during the initial years of my training. It only seemed like yesterday I had been either crammed in the library or training for most of the day.

That's when I noticed the Echo Sense drawing me over to Master Qui-Gon's saber. It was strong, definitely more than any other patch I've encountered. It was quite peculiar how it suddenly formed this time, unlike in the past.

"Is there something wrong, young one?" I heard Qui-Gon's concern when he saw me gazing at his saber.

I glanced into his eyes and politely inquired if I could have a chance to examine his saber. Welcome to Echo Sense business.

He handed it to me with some notice of wonder while I concentrated on the patch.

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐢-𝐆𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐡.

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧. 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧.

The vision came to an end, and I returned the saber to Qui-Gon with a sense of unease. It was a lot thrown in my head but I calmly took a deep breath and looked at Obi and Qui-Gon.

"I saw who the Sith is."