Star Wars: Grey

Ch: 23

Ashlyn shortly disappeared, leaving only Nadia and I in that dark void. Nadia looked me over, her eyes landed on the sabers on my belt before she looked at the ring on my finger...barely paying me any attention before she looked towards my Padawan braid.

"Padawan...." Nadia stated, her tone a little cold...well...a lot cold. It sent shivers down my spine. "Tell me...what do you know of the Dark side...?"

"Ashlyn brushed upon it...though not by much." I stated as I thought about it. She mostly taught me Light side or neutral abilities.

"Then not much...." Nadia seemed to say as she turn away from me as she looked into the void around us. "She was a Jedi...even being a true Grey Jedi...she still adhered to the Jedi Code...to an extent. She rarely ever used the Dark side when she was alive...and you...." She turned back to me, her eyes a deep Sith yellow as the darkness returned to her aura. "You killed her...something I could never do."

Ashlyn...I thought about the red haired girl. Are you sure Nadia's your friend...?

Nadia then took one of her sabers off her belt and lit it...a crimson red blade emitted from the silver-gold hilt. "Tell me...have you ever fought a Sith...?"

I took a step back from her in slight fear at her menacing blade. A Sith...she was a Sith.... "With help." I informed her as I thought about the one on Tatooine who'd attacked Qui-Gon.

"He wasn't a true Sith...he was only the apprentice." Nadia seemed to tell me.

"H-how...?" I started to ask only for her to interrupt me.

"We are in the Force, little Padawan." Nadia told me, slight anger within her voice. "I could see the fight...and it wasn't much of one...even with help...you still had to flee...against an apprentice no less." She paused, letting me take in her words before she continued. "Here you'll have no extra help...and I...I'm a Lord of the Sith of old...I'm Darth Etral." She then pointed her lightsaber at me. "Now bare your blades, Padawan...and let's see just what you know."

I instantly took hold of my lightsabers, their blades emitted their bright blue color. I caught Nadia's saber with one of mine...she quickly pushed me back with the force before I could swing at her with my other saber.

As I recovered, I looked at her with slight confusion. I thought we were just sparing.

"Sith don't play by the rules." Nadia quickly told me. "Neither do I...and neither should you. Only those that die do, remember that." She then ran after me, only one saber in hand even though there's another one on her belt.

I caught her blade and we danced once more. I could feel her hatred as it fueled her strikes against me. She quickly overpowered me and one of my sabers fell from my hand, leaving me with only one saber left...but it wasn't much of a fight and I didn't even have enough time to call my saber back to me as I had to get ready for Nadia's barrage of blows.

Luckily and miraculously, I caught nearly each one...if only barely. Although...Nadia's final strike sent my other saber flying from my hand. She then twirled her saber around, as if for momentum, before I felt a searing white-hot pain slice into me.

~~~

I quickly sat up, my breath caught in my throat as I looked around the dark room. I pushed the cover off of me and I quickly stood from the bed before I started to pace the room. My breathing heavy as I paced...my nerves were jumbled together. My eyes landed on the dresser which still housed my sabers and wedding ring. I then placed my hand along my sides as my mind slowly caught up with what had happened.

"Nova...?" I heard a concerned voice state from the bed I had just left. I turned up to face him. "Are you alright...?"

"Y-yeah...." I hesitated in saying. "It was only a dream." Which it was...but it was so much more than that. Obi-wan didn't believe me but he also didn't comment on it either.

"Come lay back down." He told me as he patted the place beside him. "We have a busy day tomorrow."

"R-right...." I told him as I remembered. Tomorrow...tomorrow we're going back to Coruscant seeing as how there's no other reason for my being here. Ashlyn was the reason we'd come here...and her absence is the reason we were leaving. The Jedi Council called us back to the Temple...they also know all about me...me and Ashlyn and the Grey Jedi. This fact was only known by the council...well...the council, Kala, Obi-wan, Anakin, Pamdé, and myself. No one else knew the truth...which was probably for the best.

I slowly walked back over to the bed and climbed in, laying right next to Obi-wan. I covered up and he wrapped his arm around me. I tried to relax into his warm embrace but my mind didn't want to quell. It was still swirling with thoughts...about Ashlyn and Nadia.

How were they friends...? How did they meet...? Ashlyn's a Jedi and Nadia's a Sith...they're mortal enemies. Sith are the enemies of the Jedi...and I'm a Jedi....

My worry seemed to gnaw at my mind...preventing me from going back to sleep. So I just looked out the window as I watched the moons; Ohma-D'un, Rori, and Veruna, as they danced across the night sky. I even watched as Naboo, Naboo's sun, rose up across the horizon which painted the sky in all sorts of beautiful colors.

Color's I'll miss as I head back to Coruscant. Coruscant may have a sunrise like Naboo...but each one is different just as each planet and every star along the sky is different. In all the Galaxy, the Universe...nothing occurs twice...and each sunrise and sunset is as different as the ever changing tides.

From this moment on, everything is different...everything is new...but alas...it must remain the same.

I got up from the bed and dressed up in my cream colored Jedi robes. I called my lightsabers to my hands and placed them along my belt. I looked at my ring which adorned the dresser. I took a silver necklace chain from the dresser and threaded the ring onto it. I then placed it over my head before I hid the necklace under my Jedi robes.

With one final glance back towards Obi-wan, I left the room.

Time to see this new day....