With You

Chapter 14

The afternoon after breakfast with Anakin and Obi-Wan, Cecilia made her way to the Jedi Archives. She'd hoped to have the opportunity to visit there anyway, but upon learning that her former Master now worked there, she knew she had to.

She'd meant to search out Master Lin immediately upon arriving, but had gotten drawn into the books and was searching for a particular text on hand-to-hand combat styles that she remembered from when she was training.

"I used to have to threaten you to get you to come to the archives to study. I don't know that I'd ever have imagined you willingly coming here in search of a book."

Cecilia whipped her head around and gasped. "Master Lin!" She quickly bridged the distance between them and embraced the woman. "Master Lin, it is so good to see you!" She stepped back from the woman. "I came to see you—but then I remembered a book I'd been thinking about last year after getting into hand-to-hand combat with a nasty enemy. I wanted to find it while I was here, and—and I'm rambling. I'm so excited...and nervous... to see you, Master."

The older woman smiled and brushed a hair away from Cecilia's face, much like she did when she was younger. "It is so good to see you, child. I see you are just as energetic as you always were."

Cecilia grinned. "Probably worse."

Master Lin chuckled. "Probably. I was just finishing up here, would you like to take a walk with me and talk, my dear?"

"Yes, Master—I would love to."

Master Lin picked up her cloak from the main Archive desk and settled it on her shoulders before they left, staying in silence for a bit before the older woman spoke up again. "You always were strong-willed and independent—and strong in the Force."

"I am sorry, Master, that I did not come to you before leaving."

"You have explained yourself thoroughly in your letters."

"I know, Master—but, I still felt like I should explain myself in person—that I should apologize."

"You were a Jedi Knight, no longer a Padawan—you no longer answered to me, Cecilia."

"Still, you meant—and still mean—a great deal to me, Master. Admittedly, in hindsight, I know that at the time, I did not want to have to go into too great a depth about why I was leaving."

"And I would have known a bit too much about your reasons?'

"Yes, you would, at least in part."

"How is Master Kenobi? I understand you two have reunited?"

Cecilia blushed a bit. "I sent a message to Obi-Wan before embarking on a recent, rather dangerous mission. It was—it was meant as more of a goodbye. He decided that was not acceptable. After ten years of no contact, he rescued me."

"Of course he did." They walked in silence a bit before Lin spoke again. "I should have reached out to Master Kenobi after Master Qui-Gon's death. He was a dear friend and we all grieved in our own way. But I should have reached out to him. Perhaps I could have convinced him to reach out to you."

"Obi-Wan have enough regrets to go around for our own behaviors, you don't need to join in, Master Lin. And... you were keeping your promise to me—you didn't tell him I was contacting you. Besides, I doubt he'd have listened. He is awfully stubborn."

Lin chuckled. "Probably a trait he picked up from his former Master... or perhaps his best friend."

The women smiled at each other fondly before continuing on their walk and catching up on some of Cecilia's latest exploits since her last letter.