ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀɴᴀᴋɪɴ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴜɴʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴀʙʟʏ ᴇᴀꜱʏ. I hadn't imagined when I'd arrived this morning just how easy it would be to sit and talk with Anakin again, like no time had passed. Even with a ten year age gap and ten years' worth of time between us, we were instantly friends again--laughing and talking, an old relationship rekindled.
I told him about all of my training and time on Padmé's security detail, both of which were things he was immensely curious about. He wanted to hear all about my adventures with Padmé throughout the years, and on top of that, my training with Kera. Back ten years ago, I'd never told him about my abnormal ability, so telling him about it now had him immensely intrigued. With the amount of practice I'd had using the Alter side of the Force by then, I was even able to use my ability to show Anakin some of the trips I'd been on with my sister, procuring him a mindless illusion to witness firsthand.
But just as fascinated as Anakin was with my journey, I was equally fascinated with him. He recounted dozens of adventures he'd been on with Obi-Wan--situations they'd found themselves in and ridiculous ways they'd managed to get out of them. They'd been through a lot together... so much that it made my heart ache a little. I missed those days with Kera. Not only that... I missed those days with Obi-Wan as well.
'Those days.' I said it like it was some sort of extravagant, endless adventure. Truthfully, I'd only spent a small percentage of my life knowing Obi-Wan, and an even shorter amount of time physically with him. 'Those days' were nothing more than a short mission that had ended only in despair and heartbreak.
But as miniscule and somber as 'those days' had been in my life, I did find myself missing them. I found myself missing him.
No. I forced all of my thoughts of that away. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of things like that. Not now, on this critical mission; not here on Coruscant, the capital; not with Kera around, and definitely not with Obi-Wan around. Those feelings were in the past. They had to be. For my own sake... and for the sake of others. I would never allow an incident like the one back on Tatooine or with Darth Maul to happen again.
"Emmy?" Anakin bent his head to try and look into my eyes, which were angled downward, distracted. "Emeré, you seem out of it."
I instantly realized what I was doing and shook my head, snapping out of it. "Oh. Sorry." I forced a smile onto my face. "I guess I'm just a little tired. The journey here was..." I forced a small yawn, "a little exhausting."
Anakin smiled. "If you need to get some sleep, I'm sure Obi-Wan and Kera won't mind. There's more than enough of us here to protect Padmé--er, the Senator--for the night."
I beamed. Anakin was already becoming the same great friend to me as he had been ten years ago, back on Tatooine. Even when I wasn't being completely honest... being completely myself... he was here for me. I missed that--connecting so well with him. Thanks to our rough upbringings, he understood me in a way nobody else did. Ten years ago, we'd bonded over similar pasts. Now, we were connecting again.
I couldn't say the same for me and Obi-Wan. I still had yet to be alone with him, but any time I found myself even in the general vicinity as him, it was unbearably awkward. I tried to keep a distance from him, but sometimes, being distant wasn't an option. At one point, around midday, Kera had instructed us and Anakin to do rounds together. The tension had been so oppressive I hadn't said a single word... not even to Anakin.
Obi-Wan continually tried to break the burning awkwardness in the room, but usually only ended up making it worse. We'd both changed so little, yet so much, in ten years. We were recognizable, yet unrecognizable. I missed talking to him--so much that it hurt--but it wasn't an option. Not to me.
I sighed in the present as I heard the elevator doors hiss open. I sensed Obi-Wan and Kera entering the room, returning from the nightly rounds and discussion with Captain Typho. I smiled weakly at Anakin. "Thanks, Ani, but I'll be okay. At least for tonight, after everything Padmé went through today, I'd like to be here for her."
He nodded gravely. "Just don't overdo yourself, okay? I can sense your overwhelmedness. It's a lot. Even Jedi need to take breaks sometimes."
I wanted to respond, but before I could, Obi-Wan approached, Kera right on his heels. "Captain Typho has more than enough men downstairs," he announced. "No assassin would try that way."
"Any activity up here?" Kera queried.
"Quiet as a tomb," Anakin replied ominously, shaking his head in disdain. "I don't like just waiting here for something to happen to her."
Obi-Wan sighed at what I could only assume was the audacity of his apprentice, and picked up a small hand-held device that tracked R2D2's sensors in Padmé's room. He tried to turn it on, and frowned when all that resulted was a beeping noise and a black screen. "What's going on?"
Anakin shrugged. "Ah, she covered the cameras. I don't think she liked me watching her."
I caught Kera's eye, but almost immediately had to look away, trying not to smile.
"What is she thinking?" Obi-Wan demanded of no one in particular, walking in the direction of Padmé's room.
"Leave her be," I insisted, grabbing his shoulder to stop him. I felt him immediately tense, and I quickly dropped my hand, blushing furiously. I self-consciously moved my hair in front of my face, blocking his view from my cheeks. "What I mean to say is, Master Kenobi, she programmed R2 to inform us if there's an intruder."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at me, his eyes boring into mine. His gaze was so intense it took all I had to not look away. "There are many other ways to kill a senator... Master Naberrie."
"I know, but we also want to catch this assasin, don't we, Master?" I raised an eyebrow at him in return.
"Emeré," Kera said warningly.
I blinked, reassessing. It was almost as if I'd blacked out for a little bit. I was much closer to Obi-Wan than I remembered being... almost as if we'd subconsciously moved closer to each other in the heat of our little squabble. Kera was grabbing my arm just above my elbow, keeping me from getting much closer.
"You're using her as bait?" Obi-Wan realized, blinking once in surprise.
"In Emmy's defense, it was Padmé's idea," Anakin said suddenly, and I jumped. I'd nearly forgotten he was there. That was starting to become a bad habit of mine... and one of the reasons I hadn't wanted Obi-Wan on this mission. No matter how much I tried to ignore the man, he always seemed to draw my attention, focusing me in on him no matter what else I wanted to pay attention to.
"Yes," I tacked on, trying to force myself to speak. "Don't worry--no harm will come to her. She's my sister, after all. Anakin and I can sense everything that's going on in that room."
I could sense Obi-Wan's apprehension, and knew Anakin could as well. "Trust us," he pleaded.
But for once, Kera was on Obi-Wan's side. "Obi-Wan is right. It's too risky," she insisted, backing him up.
"Besides," Obi-Wan went on, "your senses aren't that attuned, my young apprentice."
I scoffed, and before I could stop myself, I retorted, "And yours are?"
"Emeré!" Kera had had it this time. She tightened her grip on my arm and pulled me over to a corner, just like I was her young apprentice again. Obi-Wan's eyes followed me, blazing. Anakin was looking away, but even from here I could see the hint of amusement on his face. Kera blocked my vision of the two of them before I could see any more. "Emeré, are you a Jedi Knight or a Youngling? I don't know what you've been doing these past couple of years on Naboo, but on Coruscant, and especially in your old Master's presence, that kind of behavior is not acceptable!"
I shook my head, angling my eyes toward the ground. Now I really did feel like her apprentice again. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"Hey. Look at me." Kera caught my eye, her brown eyes sparkling with sadness. "What happened between you and Obi-Wan? Last I knew you two were good friends. When you left each other-"
"That was ten years ago," I replied, probably a little too sharply. "Things change."
Kera held my gaze for a couple of moments longer. Then she sighed deeply. "If you say so."
"I just... haven't seen him in a while, okay? We've both changed. It's like we don't know each other anymore."
"Doesn't seem to be that way with Anakin," Kera pointed out. "You two hit it off almost instantly-"
"What is this, interrogate Emeré day?" I demanded, glaring at my mentor. "Look, I was glad to see all of you, but all relationships are different. Shouldn't you be glad I'm not as attached to Obi-Wan anymore? The whole point of me staying on Naboo was for me to keep my distance from him and the others. Shouldn't you be glad I-"
"Attachment is one thing, Emeré. Friendship is another." Kera glanced meaningfully at me.
But you don't want to just be friends, do you? That little voice spoke up. You want more.
I wanted to bang my head on a wall. That voice hadn't shut up for ten years... and now, being back with him again... it was harder to ignore it than ever.
"Alright. I understand." I forced back another angry retort and nodded at my mentor. "I'm sorry I lashed out."
Kera nodded with a small smile, touching my shoulder softly. "This isn't the Emeré I know. Get some sleep tonight, okay?"
I swallowed, remembering a similar comment from Anakin earlier. "I will. I promise."
"Are you girls done over there?" Anakin called suddenly. Kera and I turned to see both Anakin and Obi-Wan staring at us with bemusement and confusion in their eyes.
I took my leave from Kera at once, walking swiftly over. I bowed to Obi-Wan immediately, avoiding looking him in the eye. "I'm very sorry for my comment earlier, Master," I told him. "I realize now it was highly inappropriate and offensive."
Obi-Wan nodded gratefully, but I detected a little reservation and annoyance flickering off him even with my apology. As far as I figured, he had a little pride that I'd wounded. Good. Let him see how it feels. "Thank you for your apology. It is accepted. For now, however, I think we should focus more on the situation at hand. Your sister."
Kera approached from behind me. "Have you decided about the covered cameras?"
"With all due respect, Master," I cut in, "even if you have decided you want her cameras to be uncovered, we should wait to have this discussion until tomorrow morning, wouldn't you agree? Waking her now would just be disrespectful."
I finally caught Obi-Wan's eye. His blue eyes seemed to bore into mine, sprinkled with frustration and something else I couldn't understand. "I would deign to disagree, Master Naberrie, but you know her best."
"One night with covered cameras won't be too big of a problem," I replied, trying to take Kera's advice and keep my cool.
"Respectfully, I have to agree, Master," Anakin put forth. "Padmé knew what she was doing. Besides. As long as enough of us are awake to sense what's happening in there-"
"Exactly." I cut over Anakin. "She's had a long day. She needs her sleep. I'd rather not wake her now over something so trivial."
"Trivial?" Obi-Wan looked like he was about to blow a fuse. "You call your sister's life trivial? You-"
"I would not even be considering this if I thought there was even a remote chance she would get hurt in the process," I snapped. "Surely you should know that by now, Master Kenobi."
His cheeks flushed with anger; I saw his mind working as he wondered what on earth I could be referring to. I cocked an eyebrow, challenging him.
Telling him about the day I'd saved my sister's life had been so hard... yet his reaction had made my whole day. How good he'd made me feel that day, how sure of myself I'd felt after that. That reaction was what had led me to feel so confident in myself over these last ten years where I'd tried to get a grip on my ability. And now, here he was, throwing it aside like it was nothing. He probably didn't even remember anymore, I wouldn't put it past him...
"You mean..." Obi-Wan said slowly. "Mos Espa..."
He surprised me. He knew. Impossibly, he remembered.
"Took you long enough," I said coolly.
"Naberrie..." he sighed, exasperation lining his features.
"As much as it probably pains you to admit, I do have what it takes to protect my sister," I snapped at him. All chances of me regaining my composure had gone out the window. Now, it was taking all I had to now slap him across the face. How could he? He'd said he'd understood. He'd said he'd stand by me, no matter what. Now, here we were, ten years later, and the circumstances had flipped completely. He'd almost forgotten. He wasn't here for me. He hadn't been... not even for my Knighting ceremony, the biggest day of my life. He didn't even trust me now, as a Jedi Knight.
Obi-Wan shook his head, his eyes narrowing. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
"Keep on telling yourself that, Ben," I sneered, "because that's sure what it sounded like to me."
I knew this was a bad idea. I knew working with him was just going to bring back bad blood. But I'd let it happen. I'd let my overwhelming desire to see him again win over my common sense and Jedi intuition.
I'd hoped he was the same. He even looked remarkably the same. But in these past ten years, he'd changed.
And so had I.
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The tension deepens!! I hope you all don't hate me too much :) I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter and trying to keep up with Emeré and Obi-Wan's bickering. They are trying so hard to hate each other, bless them :)
On another note, I noticed about a week ago that Rational (the first book in this series) was number one in the obiwan tag! I checked again today, and it is still there! That is unbelievable to me! I know a lot of people who interacted with that book to get it to number one are probably not reading this right now, but I couldn't have gotten here without you guys. Thank you so much for reading, voting, commenting and supporting me and this series. It means so much, and I never thought when I first started this series that that would happen. So thanks :)
Anyway, coming back from that tangent, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you did, any votes or comments would be much appreciated! Thank you guys again so much for reading, and I will see you in the next chapter.
~ ᴋᴀᴛᴇʟʏɴ ~