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Two days later, Padawan life didn't look quite so grim.
"Wizard! You almost can't tell you are inside!" Anakin exclaimed in awe as his new friends led him into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Even with all of the traveling he had done since leaving Tatooine, open water and forests still amazed him. The two Padawans looked at him strangely.
"You sound like you've never been here before." Suoicarg asked in confusion.
Anakin had known that someone would find out eventually. He decided that if anyone didn't like the fact that he hadn't grown up at the Temple like everyone else, then too bad. He wouldn't feel ashamed. "I haven't seen much of the Temple yet. The first time I came here was almost three and a half years ago and that was only for a day."
His new friends nodded, but didn't ask for more information. Anakin was surprised. I would've asked a ton of questions. Are they just being polite or do Padawans just expect to be told what they need to know and that's all?
At the end of the path was their destination. It was a medium sized open courtyard with low benches arranged in a circle. A crowd of about forty Padawans, with more still arriving filled most of the seats. In the middle of the space stood Lavir Ruoy.
Elbaima managed to find the three of them a free space on a bench. He explained to Anakin what was going on.
"Lavir is allowing someone to try to become a member of the Elite. This is very rare. When was the last time, Suoicarg?"
"At least two months ago. I don't think that Sliaf will succeed today."
Elbaima looked at Anakin's puzzled face. "We are confusing him, Suoicarg. She means the Padawan who will fight today."
"How did this whole Elite thing start anyhow?"
"About two years ago." Elbaima took a deep breath. "During the one of the official lightsaber competitions Lavir won very easily. Everyone was surprised because he was only sixteen and normally, no one wins so fast. The end of the contest is very long and exciting because several older Padawans are all very close in skill."
"Lavir has won every competition since then, even against the Padawans who are already over twenty years old! He has also defeated several of the Masters." Suoicarg supplied.
Elbaima nodded. "He became leader of the Saber Dueling club, of course. But he then formed the Elite. Everyone one in the Elite must be very good at dueling, but they also must be the best at something else."
"One of them is the best Healer apprentice, another is the best pilot, the best artist, one is the best at levitating herself, etc. There are only sixteen members of the Elite and half of them are older then Lavir."
Anakin thought about this for a moment while the crowd of Padawans doubled. "So, Lavir is going to duel Sliaf today?"
"No, he would just win quickly." Elbaima waved one dark hand at the center of the courtyard. "Lavir always watches the duel to assess the new person's ability against one of the Elite."
"Today, Sliaf will be fighting Htapelet." Suoicarg tapped her pastel blue nails together. "They are both about the same size and strength. Levir is careful to make sure that whoever wants to be an Elite gets a fair chance."
Suddenly the eighteen-year-old Padawan in the middle raised one arm. Instantly, everyone fell silent.
"Slaif has requested to join the Elite." Lavir announced. His voice was strong and captivating and a greenish light reflected off a single metal adornment on his brown Padawan braid. "Htapelet has agreed to test her."
Lavir gestured for both to take their places in the courtyard. They bowed to each other and activated their lightsabers. Lavir stepped away from them. "May the Force be with you both. Begin."
The lavender and yellow sabers flashed and slammed into each other. Anakin plugged his ears to block out the wildly cheering crowd. Everyone else enjoyed the battle immensely, but Anakin was bored. After eight or nine moves, Htapelet succeeded in disarming Slaif.
"Well done, both of you." Lavir said graciously and looked at the defeated Padawan. "You are quite skilled, Slaif, and I am sure that you will become an Elite next year."
The crowd cheered again and Anakin decided to leave. He didn't even bother to see if his friends followed or not. Stepping around the Padawans who were sitting on the ground in front of the benches, he had just made it to the exit when he realized someone was speaking to him.
"I said, bring me a towel."
Anakin turned to see Htapelet standing a few meters away and holding out one hand. Anakin looked down at the small stack of towels, water containers and a healer's kit resting on the ground by the nearest bench.
"Get it yourself." Anakin said absently.
Htapelet's jaw dropped and several of the nearby Padawans looked at Anakin in shock. Anakin had already continued to walk away and didn't notice.
Htapelet regained his wits. "Why do you refuse?"
Anakin gave him a scathing look. "You have perfectly operational hands and feet, however if you don't feel like walking, just levitate it."
"That would be a trivial use of the Force!" Htapelet scoffed.
"Convenient excuse." Anakin replied and left quickly.
As Anakin walked deeper into the Room of a Thousand Fountains, his anger grew. I knew it! People are all the same! I shouldn't have hoped that the Jedi would be any different!
Far from the crowd, Anakin stopped by a loud waterfall and sat in the hollow of a great tree. "I bet every single one of those Padawans would have obeyed that guy without a thought. Oh, they would be so happy to do anything for an Elite!" he mumbled incoherently to himself.
I won't be a slave to anybody ever again!
***
"Htapelet?"
Htapelet turned around as Lavir glided over to him. "How bizarre, that Padawan didn't do as I said."
"He's probably just one of the Failures and naturally resents us." Lavir rationalized quietly.
"No. He has not challenged us. I've never seen him before."
"Well, then. Find out who he is." Lavir instructed.
***
That evening, Anakin entered the apartment and projected false cheer. "I'm home." He called out. It is nice to be able to say that again! He could sense that his masters were not there, but of course one being was.
Kaely came flying to him and whistled out her usual greeting. The tiny pink droid wobbled unsteadily in the air with something white trailing behind her.
"What have you gotten into this time?" Anakin asked in a bored tone. Kaely loved to explore and he knew that it would only be a matter of time before she got stuck in or on something.
He used the Force to hold her steady while he untangled one of his tunics. He just shook his head.
"And what were you doing in my closet?" The cloth was snagged on the joint of her arm appendage.
Kaely only emitted a non-committal beep. This was just the way life was for her.
After freeing his droid and not even bothering to reprimand her, Anakin wandered into the kitchen. He knew that dinner would be soon, but as a growing boy, he rationalized that he needed a snack.
"I don't suppose you noticed any junk food during your exploring today?" He asked his tiny pink shadow.
She whistled negatively and decided to help search. They opened the cabinets and found many packages that they didn't recognize, but nothing even vaguely unhealthy.
"Sandblast it! They gotta have some kind of secret stash around here."
Giving up for the time being, Anakin went to the holo-terminal in the alcove. He wanted to search for the addresses of all the nearest junk shops. Those empty cabinets in his room were just begging to be filled with droid parts and tools. He hardly spared a glance at his bedroom's open door.
But then looked again, "KAELY!"
The miniature torture device was instantly nowhere to be found. Kaely may have been only a year old, but she knew when she was in trouble.
***
Later that evening, Anakin and his masters returned home after another exhausting lightsaber practice. Obi-wan looked around the apartment suspiciously for an ambush.
"Where is the pink pest?"
"She's hiding from me."
Qui-gon looked at Anakin sympathetically. "What did she do this time?"
Anakin groaned. "Graffiti."
Obi-wan raised his eyebrows and even Qui-gon was curious.
"I've cleaned up some of it." Anakin sighed. "She's mad that I didn't take her with me today."
Anakin wasn't surprised that Obi-wan wanted to see it, but he felt embarrassed that Qui-gon did, too. Scrawled in brown across Anakin's bedroom wall were vague pictures of stick figures and a round object that might have been a portrait of Kaely herself.
Obi-wan just shook his head. "What did she use?"
"My whole container of boot polish."
Qui-gon was practical. "Tomorrow you can fetch a roll of disposable art paper and some washable paint for our aspiring artist."
He smiled at Anakin. "Would you like some help?"
"Yes, please!" Anakin was glad and surprised. He had been dreading cleaning up the rest of Kaely's revenge.
***
Anakin strode briskly through the great hallways to his first Council lesson. Mace Windu had sent the summons to Master Qui-gon the night before. Anakin was relaxed and was finally becoming accustomed to the weight of his training saber attached to his belt. He had been rather surprised when Obi-wan told him that the Padawans were allowed to carry their sabers while in the Temple. It was supposed to promote discipline and encourage the apprentices to never forget to arm themselves while on missions. And they were only low power lightsabers anyway.
Master Windu was already in the star map room. He was sitting in a meditative pose. Anakin bowed briefly upon entering.
"Good morning, Master Windu." Anakin greeted him calmly. Now, is he going to be actually polite?
"Good morning, Anakin."
Mace smiled and gestured for Anakin to sit across from him on the floor. For a moment Anakin wondered if the Senior Council Member had sensed his thoughts, but then dismissed the idea. Anakin really didn't care if he had. Master Windu was treating him like a person, and that was enough for now.
"Each lesson you receive from us will be very different. We each have our own methods and rules for how we will instruct you. Today, I will begin with time perceptions. You may practice this on your own so long as you don't allow it interfere with your Masters' lessons. I will have you demonstrate your progress for the next three weeks."
"Time perception is a very useful manner to gain knowledge. It is most frequently used to determine the past and present, which are set. However, seeing the future is extremely difficult due to its fluid nature. To begin you must be calm. This cannot be done in the face of danger. But beware, a Jedi's visions may not be entirely accurate."
"Have you seen the future?" Mace suddenly asked Anakin.
"Maybe. I'm not really sure. I've seen images of places and other stuff while I'm awake, but it usually happens too fast for me to understand."
Mace nodded and continued his lecture. "The simplest is seeing the present. You easily do this by sensing when your Masters or a friend is in danger. In your mind you think of the person or place you wish to see as they currently exist. Through patience you may perceive a somewhat accurate view of what is about to transpire, but it will lack most major details. It is very difficult to see any details in a vision of the future."
"Today, we will focus on visions of the past. Anakin, feel this room. Let the Force carry you where it wishes. Think of a time past or perhaps someone you know."
Master Windu waited expectantly. Even seeing the past seldom gave much information. Anakin had proven to excel in so many things, Mace was curious as to how much detail the boy would grasp.
Anakin could feel the Jedi Master following his efforts. It took a second for him to realize that Master Windu would see everything that he saw. The eddies in the Force carried Anakin's thoughts and he had to cling to the room with his mind in order to stay there. Just for a moment he thought of Master Qui-gon, and a glimmering figure appeared to his right.
Anakin watched in fascination as the waves ceased and the figure became a boy. He was younger than Anakin and smiling broadly. The boy's lips moved soundlessly as he responded to an indistinct question and then he began to excitedly almost hop from one foot to the other.
Suddenly, Anakin could clearly hear the next words spoken. "Padawan, still you will be."
The Padawan's eyes sparkled as he answered, "Yes, my Master."
Abruptly, the vision ended. Anakin opened his eyes and looked at Master Windu. Is he smirking at me? Or was the vision funny for some reason? Anakin thought perplexed.
Even though he had seen it all exactly as Anakin had, he wanted to hear what Anakin thought about it. "Tell me what you saw." Mace instructed.
But all that Anakin said was. "I saw Master Qui-gon as a Padawan and he was in this room with Master Yoda. But I didn't actually see Yoda, I only could hear him."
"Well done, Anakin, you may go now and I will see you again next week."
Anakin was surprised to realize that it was lunchtime. The vision had taken all morning.
***
"What is so funny?"
Anakin looked up with a grin as Obi-wan entered the alcove. Anakin had set up a worktable against one wall and was assembling more of his lightsaber. Obi-wan was surprised to see Anakin so cheerful. His Padawan had displayed absolute contempt for the weapon.
"The lesson with Master Windu was fun, today!"
"Good, I assume you did well? What was it about?"
"Time perception, in particular, seeing the past." Anakin grinned even more. "Did you know that Master Qui-gon was a little hyper as a Padawan?"
Obi-wan stared incredulously. "It's a bit difficult to imagine."
Anakin just snickered more. Obi-wan got a sneaky look on his face. "This sounds like an excellent opportunity to teach you memory sharing!"
They sat in the middle of the alcove. It had become the most pleasant spot in the apartment. The alcove had only a holo-terminal and now Anakin's worktable for furniture, and Qui-gon had set his plants along the huge windows. Obi-wan had placed on the floor a simple, but elegant, soft rug that he'd been given on one of his missions.
"Think about what you saw, and perhaps we will be able to reconnect to it."
"Yes, Master."
For several minutes they both became composed and serious. Slowly, Obi-wan guided his Padawan on how to transfer memories through the training bond.
"Imagine that you are in the same place you saw the vision. Now, imagine that I am sitting there with you." Obi-wan followed Anakin's trail and soon saw the star map room with a frozen blur that had to be Mace Windu. Anakin was focusing almost too heavily and Obi-wan nearly startled him when he spoke again.
"Remember what you thought of while in this room and let it carry you forward."
Anakin relaxed and the memory became clearly visible and played itself out. Then Obi-wan grinned and opened his eyes.
"I am almost certain that was just before Qui-gon's first mission. No wonder he was so excited. I believe he was about twelve years old, possibly eleven but I doubt it."
"He was Master Yoda's Padawan?"
Obi-wan nodded. "He must have driven Yoda crazy with all that fidgeting." He shook his head. "Ah, I have something for you."
Obi-wan quickly went to his room and returned with a simply wrapped package. "Happy birthday, Ani."
Anakin looked at his master in confusion as Obi-wan handed him the gift. "Thank you. What is this?"
"A birthday gift. It is a Jedi tradition for the masters to give their Padawans something for their thirteenth birthday." Obi-wan explained and looked at him curiously. "You've never had a birthday present?"
"No." Anakin's slowly opened the package and carefully pulled out two ancient books. The cover and delicate pages were each covered in a protective clear sealant. He opened the dark green one first. It was filled with faded illustrations and words in an archaic version of Basic, but it was still readable. The brown book was larger and noticeably older, but the interior was still in good condition.
"Over the last three and a half years, I've come across some old Jedi manuscripts while on my missions. I donated most of them to the Great Archive here in the Temple, but I knew they already had copies of these."
Anakin looked up from the first book. "This was written just after the Sith War a thousand years ago."
"Yes and the older book is a collection of Jedi prophecies."
"Thank you, Obi-wan." Anakin said with a happy smile.
At that moment, Qui-gon entered the apartment door. They looked over at him and instantly burst out laughing.
"Am I amusing?"
"Yes." Obi-wan told him and quickly changed the subject. "Where is your gift for Ani?"
Qui-gon smiled and pulled his gift out of a sack he was carrying and placed it in Anakin's hands. It was almost too large for Anakin to hold in one hand and it was very heavy. The texture was coarse and rough and it was a dark uniform brown.
"I knew it! I just knew you'd give him a rock!"
Anakin was unperturbed. "Thank you, Master. It's beautiful."
Qui-gon was careful not to look surprised, but Obi-wan stared at him. "Ani, you are supposed be shocked and say, 'It's just a rock!'"
Anakin smirked. "Yeah, but I know something you don't." He shut his eyes and focused on the dull, ugly hunk of earth. Slowly, a line formed across its surface and the rock neatly split in half. The white crystal interior glowed and sparkled in the light acting like a prism to send beams of color all around the room.
Anakin grinned, thanked them both again and took his presents to his room. Qui-gon looked sharply at the books and didn't speak until Anakin was out of hearing range.
"We are still under orders not to explain the prophesy of the Chosen One to him."
Obi-wan only nodded and looked at his friend, daring him to disapprove.
"Very clever, I wish I'd thought of it myself." Qui-gon said with a smile.
***
Anakin was very pleased with both of his gifts. Kaely flew about the room playing in the prism colors and singing. Deciding to read the books later, he thought about what Master Windu had taught him.
Searching the present would be really great! I want to see Mom. Gotta think of Tatooine. He remembered the sand and heat, his mother's eyes and her voice. But he could not focus on anything no matter how far he reached. Whatever she was doing or feeling would not come to him. Is she just too far away? Anakin sighed in disappointment.
Naboo is really far, too. But Anakin decided to try anyway. Naboo was not quite as far as Tatooine, but hoped to receive a glimpse or vague feeling. He thought of Queen Amidala and pulled strongly at the Force. At once images slammed into him.
"Whoa!" Anakin's head reeled and he had to fight his first urge to stop all together. Slowly, he tried to process it.
An elegant room with many people.
Lots of handmaidens, of course.
There she is!
She is such a beautiful Queen.
Blue dress and hair down in long waves.
This must be some big social function.
How dare he kiss my angel's hand!
Just who does that guy think he is!
The vision ended when Anakin became jealous. Kaely chirped at him in concern. He ignored her and went to the holo-terminal in the alcove. It took an hour of hunting before he was certain that no handsome dignitaries were currently visiting Naboo. But his anxiety only increased further. He nearly jumped when he found a small holo-news report. No wonder the vision was so easy to see, she is very close. Queen Amidala was on a state visit to Alderaan.
So, that guy was some prince. Well, he can't have my Padme.
***
"You will behave, you got that?"
Kaely whistled enthusiastically as she bobbed along in the air. Anakin tugged at his swimming outfit nervously. Standard Jedi swimwear was nothing fancy. It was a close fitting sleeveless tunic made of two thin layers and pants that ended just above the knees. It was a style that fit most species. It looked a little too much like underwear to him.
Anakin had never felt so underdressed. He had seen other people clad in less, but very rarely and he hadn't really cared. But that wasn't the same when it was you. No one would ever wear so little under Tatooine's suns. It was too dangerous. Anakin looked at his bare arms in embarrassment. He had gained some weight since returning to the Temple and now was no longer so thin. All of the exercise and work he'd done over the past year had helped his muscles grow. He'd been proud of how his biceps were beginning to shape up, but he didn't want everybody to see them.
A large group of Padawans were loudly having fun in the second largest lake in Temple. A variety of smooth rocks had been carved and shaped to serve as slides and diving perches, yet they still blended smoothly into the garden's landscape.
"Try to remember that you are not waterproof, Kaely." Taking a deep breath, Anakin walked over to his friends. Suoicarg was sitting on the bank with here feet in the water. She was dressed in the same beige swimming clothes as him and all of the others, but her hair was in a simple ponytail today.
"Hello, Ani!"
"Hi. Where is Elbaima?"
"Over there." She pointed to the higher cliff over the deeper area of the water. "He wanted to dive. He's coming."
Elbaima did a flip off the rock and fell smoothly into the water. Anakin watched is awe as the older boy glided under the waves and surfaced near them. Anakin noticed with some relief that Elbaima was not ashamed that his arms were exposed. Well, if he is okay with it, then I won't worry either. Come to think of it, even Suoicarg doesn't seem uncomfortable.
"Anakin! I'm so glad you came!"
Tentatively, Anakin stepped down into the warm water. It only came up to his knees. I will not be afraid! He stayed by the rock Suoicarg was on and tried not to think about it. Master Qui-gon and Obi-wan had taken him swimming twice and taught him the basics.
It was Kaely that provided the distraction he needed. She buzzed around Suoicarg and landed on the rock beside her beeping loudly.
"This is my droid Kaely." He explained. "Kaely this is Suoicarg and Elbaima."
The teenager glanced down at the round, pink object perplexed.
"Hello." She nervously murmured.
Elbaima just looked shocked. "Greetings." He muttered.
Kaely didn't seem to notice and cheerfully returned her own version of welcome.
"Good afternoon." They looked up to see a much older Padawan, she was easily in her twenties. Anakin noticed that she had a greenish metal pin attached to her braid like the one he'd seen on Lavir. She's an Elite. he realized.
"Hello, Bonsetuc." Suoicarg said quietly. "I noticed you leader is absent from the Temple today."
The Elite answered coolly. "Indeed, Lavir and his master have been sent as liaisons to the Hapes Cluster. The Hapan ambassadors refuse to speak to any other Jedi except Master Sediced. As you know she is a brilliant negotiator. If anyone can convince the Hapans to join the Republic, it would be her." She spoke in a very important tone and elegantly waved her yellowish hands in the air.
She suddenly looked down at Anakin from her perch on the rocks. "Your master is Obi-wan Kenobi, yes?"
"Yeah."
Suoicarg's eyes widened. "Knight Kenobi is famous throughout the Order!"
Elbaima smiled and clamped his dark toned hand on Anakin's shoulder. "It is a great honor to be his apprentice. Everyone knows that he slayed a Sith!"
However, Bonsetuc regarded Anakin calmly. "I was not aware that he had taken a Padawan. How did he come to choose you?"
"It was a bit unusual." Anakin hedged. "How did you find out?"
"People talk, but there actually seemed to be some confusion. Some thought you were Master Jinn's Padawan."
"I am."
Bonsetuc narrowed her eyes dangerously. "What do you mean by that?"
"I have two masters."
The three of them stared at Anakin. I knew that it was unusual, but they don't have to act like this. Anakin thought in irritation.
"That is impossible. No one has two Masters, that makes no sense... Ouch!" Bonsetuc turned her head as Kaely squealed angrily and pulled her Padawan braid sharply. Bonsetuc swiped at the droid and scowled.
"That's enough, Kaely!" Anakin said. Kaely let go, but continued to scold Bonsetuc viciously.
Bonsetuc was obviously insulted. She turned and walked briskly away without saying goodbye.
"Ani?" Was all that Suoicarg dared to say. She didn't want to accuse her new friend of lying or be attacked by his pink droid.
"It's true. The Council themselves decided that I needed two masters. Master Qui-gon had already chosen me, and Master Obi-wan wanted me too, so that's how it is."
Elbaima and Suoicarg seemed to consider this a moment before concluding that it must be the truth. Instantly, they both became curious and excited.
"Why did you need two?"
"Master Jinn is just as famous!"
"You must be great with a lightsaber, Ani!"
"I've never heard of anyone having two masters!"
"Uh, can we go swimming now?" Anakin tried desperately to stop the questions without being rude.
Elbaima looked at Anakin sympathetically. "Yes, lets just swim."
Suoicarg nodded and pulled her legs out of the water. Anakin was a little stunned to notice that though normally her skin was merely paler then his own, her legs had turned a pale lavender in reaction to the moisture. She ran over to a nearby ledge and dived into the lake.
Someday I gotta work up the courage to ask her what species she is. Anakin stoically moved out towards the deeper water and followed Elbaima. Kaely whistled at him nervously. She had been with him while he was learning to swim and she knew how hard this was for him.
I will not let this bother me. I swam just fine with my masters. I can do this! He dove under and swam out as far as he dared. When he broke the surface he smiled proudly to himself.
A loud fanfare blared from the shore. Anakin had to fight the blush rising to his cheeks when the whole crowd in the lake stared at his little droid. Kaely flew over the water cheering and waved small rectangle of blue and white cloth with her arm attachment. Anakin looked at her aghast as she stopped to hover over him.
"Who gave you that flag!" He whispered in embarrassment and snatched it from her. Looking closer he saw the words 'Go Ani!' printed on it.
My masters are gonna get it for this!
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