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Anakin had spent the day
listening in on discussion between Boss Nass and the Queen, and was quite
ready to relax now that they were done. He had heard enough about preservation
of wildlife in the swamps and plains, but he still waited outside the Throne
Room until the Queen emerged, without her handmaidens.
As she passed,
he made sure it wasn't Sabé, then fell into step behind her. "Fruitful
discussions, Your Majesty?" he said softly.
The Queen gave
a tiny yelp of surprise, then realized it was Anakin and turned to smile
at him. "I'm sorry Anakin, I didn't see you there. Yes, very fruitful discussions."
Skywalker nodded,
and continued, "I was wondering, Your Highness, if you were planning on
visiting Coruscant more often now that things on Naboo are in good order."
The Queen looked
him in the eye, a curious expression on her pale face. "My work is never-ending
here, Annie," she said, calling him by his childhood nickname, "but I would
like to spend more time on Coruscant... as my duties allow. I will let
you know."
With that,
the Queen continued on down the hall, leaving Anakin grinning to himself.
Obi-Wan and Iryshi had a
conventional ceremony, Naboo style, two days later. Kenobi watched Iryshi
as she walked toward him down the aisle between two sets of benches, hair
braided and put up into an elaborate style that looked like something Amidala
would wear. Iryshi was dressed in a beautiful beaded white dress that trailed
on the floor, partially because it was made that way, partially because
she was so small.
She stopped
next to him, linking her arm in his, and they turned to face Mace Windu,
who had come to Naboo for the occasion.
Windu smiled,
and said, "Do you both swear that you will love one another until either
becomes one with the Force, no matter the circumstances?"
As one, they
answered, "We do."
Mace smiled
again. "Observe that you have both taken these vows. Observe that you are
now as one. Observe that this ceremony is now over."
They grinned,
turned to face the audience, and the applause was deafening.
Three days later they left
for Coruscant. It was a bit of a shame, Obi-Wan reflected, that they didn't
stay longer, but Iryshi was ready to continue training, and Mace had to
return to the Council.
Anakin was
dissapointed to leave Amidala so early, but promised her he would return
soon. Obi-Wan only hoped his younger friend would have the chance.
Iryshi rolled a heavy canvas
scroll out onto her sleeping pallet, pouring over the ancient text in earnest.
She translated the antiquated script with confident speed, absorbing the
archaic Jedi legend with all the eagerness of a new trainee.
There was once
a Jedi Master who had eight trainees.
Eight...
He taught them
the ways of the Force, to master its complexity and its simplicity, its
rules and its boundaries. He showed them to manipulate its limbs, to reach
into the minds of others, to see things others do not see.
As he was training
them one day, he was struck down by his own student, defeated by his own
protege. As he lay in the field--
The field?
--dying, he
looked at the trainee who had cut him down, and, with a wise smile, forgave
him. The Jedi Master's body disappeared, and his spirit became one with
the force, and the other trainees, the healer, the prophet--
Prophet?!
--the historian,
and the others all cast out the murderer. He was banished from the planet
for all eternity, to wander among the stars without destination, to seek
what could never be found: the forgiveness of his peers. His people. His
friends.
And the others,
still on their peaceful planet, disbanded, unaware that their own master
had forgiven his murderer.
She dreamt, that night, of
battle. Of screams, death, blood, defeat, and triumph. She dreamt of the
howls of dying creatures and tortured beings, of a dark energy that would
encompass all. She saw a single man standing in the midst of it, wearing
a black cloak that hid his features, and laughing. Laughing cruelly, a
high, murderous sound, as he struck down more, killing and maiming and
torturing, one by one.
Obi-Wan awoke in the middle
of the night to a knock at his door. He stood and opened it, to see Iryshi,
hair matted and eyes wide, her cloak wrapped tightly around her small form.
"What is it?"
he asked, stepping aside to let her in. She entered, then turned to collapse
against him, her head pillowed on his shoulder. He held her to him, and
noticed her heart was beating wildly. She must have run the entire way
from her room to his.
"I had a nightmare,"
she finally whispered somewhere near his ear.
"Most people
just drink a glass of bantha milk and forget about it," he said softly.
"Tried that,"
she said, with a touch of humor. "This was the kind of nightmare that's
not to be ignored."
He eased her
into a chair, and sat in one across from her. "Tell me," he whispered.
Iryshi stifled a yawn. After
she had told Obi-Wan of her vision, he had called Anakin to his room. Skywalker
now sat in the chair next to her, eyebrows raised and jaw hanging open.
"She saw all that?" he managed to choke out. Iryshi nodded.
"All of it.
In crystal clarity. I left nothing out."
Anakin shook
his head slowly. "I can't believe it," he said softly.
Iryshi nodded
again. "I'm used to visions, but this... This was more devastating, more
cold, than anything that's come before."
Obi-Wan took
her hand gently, and did his best to smile. She smiled back, slowly, and
stood. "I... should be going back now... Have to get my rest... Although
I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."
Obi-Wan stood
too, not releasing her hand, though she was pulling away from him. "Stay,"
he said. With a smile, he added, "It's a long walk."
With a knowing
grin, Anakin headed for the door silently. Watching him go, Iryshi started
to smile, and came back to Kenobi.
A muffled scream, and Obi-Wan
was awake again. Iryshi sat straight up, skin pale and eyes wide. The blankets
on her side of the bed were tangled, and she was sweating.
Kenobi held
her as she started to weep again, stroking her hair. "I'm calling a meeting
of the Council," he whispered.