Raina's POV.
It had been two days since Master Skywalker- or Luke had given her the necklace. Raina still couldn't believe he had down that for her. Because of that she knew that she could never find someone who cared for her more than he did. She would be a fool to push him away any longer. So she didn't.
The past two days had been great. Raina and Luke talked much more and he would sometimes even stop by during her training sessions with Jacen just to give her company. She felt much happier and didn't feel so alone anymore.
At the moment Raina was watching as Jacen meditated. He was to meditate for thirty minutes and no longer. Each day she would stretch out the time he would meditate. Tomorrow it would thirty-two minutes.
As she sat there she felt a presence approaching. Raina looked down and focused on it. She smiled recognizing it. She looked up at Jacen and realized that having Luke accompany her would only destruct the boy.
Raina sighed and closed her eyes. She reached out to try and warn him not to come in.
'Luke?'
No answer. The connection between them wasn't strong enough. She tried again.
'Luke?'
She waited for a reply.
'Raina?' She heard his voice in her mind.
She gasped a little. It seemed familiar to talk to him this way.
'Yes. It's me.' She assured him.
She could feel Luke's confusion through the Force.
'What's wrong?' He asked.
'Nothing. It's just I don't think it would be a wise decision for you to come in while Jacen is in the middle of his meditation exercises. It may distract him.'
She felt that Luke understood.
'Your right. Well, after your done with your training come to my office. I have something to tell you.'
'Alright.' She answered.
When she felt that Luke had gone away she began to focus back on her student.
She couldn't help but wonder what Luke wanted to tell her.
Later after training Raina headed to Luke's office. She was about to knock when he opened the door.
She smiled. "Hi."
He smiled back. "Hey, come on in."
She walked in and looked around the room. He shut the door.
"So what did you what to tell me?" She asked.
He walked around to his desk and sat. She sat down across from him.
"I have some news. Two days ago I received multiple student applications."
She nodded.
"Well, I've decided it is time to accept some more apprentices."
Raina looked at him dumbfounded. "What?! Are you crazy? We don't have enough Masters!" She exclaimed.
Luke nodded calmly. "I know, but I have an idea. I'm going to turn the temple into more of an academy. At least until we have more masters." He told her.
She looked at him in confusion. "An Academy?"
Luke nodded. "We'll have different classes where we will teach multiple students, and we will offer private sessions. There will be a full schedule and different classes for different ages." He explained.
Raina thought about his plan. It made sense, but how could only the two of them do it?
"And you and I will be the only teachers?" She asked.
Luke nodded. "In time students will become knights and be able to help us in teaching as well."
Raina nodded. "I know it's a lot, but I feel that we can't wait any longer. I promised to pass on what I learned which I have, but not to the extent in which Master Yoda meant."
"I understand and I will support you." She assured him.
He released a breath he hadn't known he was holding and smiled.
"Thank you. Now, to choose who to accept." He said looking over at the small stack of applications.
Raina stood and looked through them briefly. She counted nine applications. "Why not accept them all?" She asked.
Luke stood and walked over to her. "You would be willing to teach them all?" He asked in surprise.
She looked at the papers and nodded. "As long as they are willing to learn and had the ability then why not?"
Luke smiled widely and hugged her. She laughed.
"Thank you!" He exclaimed.
She smiled and laughed. "Your welcome."
She pulled away from his grasp. "Now, I suppose we should prepare for our new students. I'll begin working on their rooms."
"There will be five males and four females." He told her. She nodded. "Got it."
Over the next few days Raina began getting four rooms ready for the new students. She gave the largest room to whichever three boys who would be have to room together.
With Jacen's help she cleared out the old furniture and cleaned the whole room. She then added any new furniture and decor. She remembered to keep it simple since Jedi who were in training were not supposed to have too much decor. They were to learn to be humble servants of the galaxy.
After Raina had finished working on the rooms she began helping Luke work on the class rooms.
Finally after about two weeks everything was ready. The new students would be arriving that day. Luke had made a schedule for both him and Raina to follow and gave it to her.
Raina sat in her room reading it.
***
7:30am-8am : Breakfast
8am-9:30am : Meditation - Master Skywalker
9:30am-11am : Levitation - Master Starlight
11am-12am: Jedi Behavior and Galactic Languages - Master Starlight
12pm-12:30pm : Lunch
12:30pm-2:00pm : Jedi History and Galactic Studies - Master Skywalker
2:00pm-3:30pm : Lightsaber Training
- Master Skywalker and Master Starlight
***
Luke had talked to her about what classes she wanted to teach. She was very grateful he had asked her before assigning them himself. Just then Jacen came and knocked on her door. She opened it.
"The new students are here. They just arrived. Master Skywalker sent me to tell you." Raina nodded and thanked him.
She and Jacen walked down to the main hall and through the doors. She and Jacen met Luke who was already standing at the top of the stone stairs waiting for the students. Artoo obediently rolled over next to Luke. Raina walked over and stood on the other side of him.
"Ready?" Luke whispered to her.
Raina looked at him and nodded.
She turned back to see the students walking up the stairs in awe. She felt a small smile grow on her lips. Soon the nine apprentices came to stand in front of them. Luke stepped forward.
"Welcome young apprentices. We have been anticipating your arrival."
He spoke with a masterful tone.
"I am Master Luke Skywalker and this is Master Raina Starlight. We will be your masters, counselors, instructors, and hopefully friends from here on. I must say I myself am very proud of you all for seeking out the life of a Jedi. The life of the Force. It is one of commitment, honor and duty." He told them seriously.
Luke smiled warmly at them all. "I want you all to have a good experience here, but I must ask of you to have patience with us. We are also learning. Even though we have completed the trials we have never taken on so many apprentices. We both ask for your patience and also your obedience. With that said we welcome you with open arms. Come."
Everyone followed Luke inside. Raina listened as the young kids talked amongst themselves. They all seemed so awed by the temple. Luke lead everyone to the center of the main hall where two ramps lead to the next level and in the middle of the room stood a silver statue. Luke had explained to her when she had arrived that it represented the Force.
The new students stood around and examined the statue. Raina and Jacen stood off to the side.
"Today you all will be taken to your dorms and will be allowed to rest and get settled. I welcome all of you to explore the temple and if you have any questions come to either me or Master Starlight. Dinner will be served in the cafeteria at 6pm. Tomorrow you will begin your classes."
Luke looked over at Raina. "At this time you will receive your daily schedule."
Raina began passing out the student schedule, while Luke continued.
"This schedule will stay the same each day. On occasion there will be changes. You will be told when the time comes up. Now, you may follow Master Skywalker who will show you to your dorms."
Raina gave the students a welcoming smile. She couldn't help but feel nervous. She needed to give a good impression to the new students. Otherwise they would never respect her as a teacher.
Before leaving she heard Luke's voice fill her head. "Don't worry. You'll do fine."
She glanced over at him and saw him give her a small smile. She smiled back and walked on.
After showing the students their rooms, Raina decided to go meditate. When she entered the meditation chapel she found Luke meditating himself.
Raina quietly sat down across from him. She was about to close her eyes, when she paused and began observe Luke. He seemed so at peace, yet she knew how stressed he had been about the new students. She could feel that the walls he usually had in place were down and he was letting the Force flow through him completely. He was in complete concentration.
As Raina studied his face she began to notice some things she hadn't noticed before. His strong jaw line, his sun tanned skin, that was probably caused by his being raised on the desert planet of Tatooine as a farmer.
She noticed how long his eyelashes were, which led her to discover the small trace of dark circles under his eyes. He most likely didn't sleep well anymore because of stress. She saw slight traces of scars on the right side of his face and wondered what he had got them from. Seeing his scars led her to observe a small dimple on his chin.
She looked down at his lips and noticed how untouched they looked. They looked soft and were pressed together gently in a calm line. She noticed small dimples next to his mouth, that gave him a youthful look.
Some how she suddenly seemed to find his looks quite attractive. He looked so seasoned, and mature, yet she could see the youth he still held. It intrigued her.
Suddenly Raina felt Luke's concentration waver and his guard went up. He relaxed again and let his guard down a bit. His lips turned up into a small smile. She looked at him in confusion.
"Is there a particular reason for your watching me?"
Raina's eyes widened. He had sensed her. Luke opened his eyes and looked at her.
She quickly looked away, blushing. "I didn't mean to disturb you." She answered, dodging the question.
She could feel his dark blue eyes burning into her as if he could see right through her.
"You didn't." He answered.
She glanced up to meet his eyes. "Your presence is calming." Raina felt her heart flutter slightly at what he had said.
She quietly scolded her heart for behaving in such a way. She had never felt this way before. Why just now? It was silly. She looked down and said nothing.
"What is it, Raina?" He asked.
She immediately felt her frustration growing. It was like he could see into her very soul.
Raina looked up in surprise. "Um. . .nothing." She answered.
"Are you sure? I sense that there's something bothering you."
"Well, maybe the fact that I don't have any privacy due to someone's belief that reading people feelings all the time, without consent is perfectly fine!" She snapped.
Luke looked taken back and began to retreat from his earlier inquiry. "I-I'm sorry. I never meant to invade your privacy. It's just. . . I have a hard time closing off my mind to strong emotions. I tend to sense them involuntarily."
Raina sighed. She hadn't meant to snap at him.
"It's. . .alright. I um. . . I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I apologize."
Luke shook his head, eyeing her cautiously. "It's quite alright."
Raina looked down. She began to say something to him, but before she could he stood.
"I should probably go. I'll leave you to your meditation." He said standing and walking towards the door.
"Wait!"
He stopped at turned to her.
Why did she want him to stay? Why did she feel guilty for hurting him?
After she had been silent for a while he spoke up. "Yes, Raina?"
Raina was pulled out of her own thoughts and realized that she had been staring.
"Luke I. . ."
He looked at her in confusion, tilting his head.
"I. . .I'll see you at dinner?" She asked deciding not to ask him to stay.
He nodded and smiled softly. "You will. I'll see you later."
Raina nodded. With that he turned and walked out.
What was that? Raina wondered. Had she actually felt flustered around Luke? Had she actually found him attractive? What was wrong with her?