Anakin Skywalker AU Romance

Chapter Thirty-Five

Kyah watched the doors close and felt a strong silence swallow the room as she turned back and hung her heavy head.

"Glad we are, to see you safely returned, Master Paladin." Yoda began and Kyah nodded a little.

"Thank you master." Her voice was barely audible as she spoke, twisting her hands in front of her.

"Tired, you must be, after your sleep, invaded has been. Hmm?" He added seeing the physical signs of exhaustion plain on her face and in her sinking posture. Kyah nodded again, not bothering to speak this time. "Get this over quickly, we should, so you may rest." He decided as his colleagues nodded.

"As I'm sure you've noticed, Senator Chuchi made a point of visiting us in person to plead your case." Mace Windu said, frustration clear in his voice. "And, though the Senate cannot influence decisions that this council makes about internal matters, we have taken her opinion under advisement." He added with a sigh.

"And the opinion of the Chancellor I'm told." Kyah added, glancing up and seeing Windu's anger boil just a little hotter,

"Yes." He admitted begrudgingly.

"What was his opinion, if I might ask?" Kyah held his gaze a moment longer, before looking back down, finding it too hard to maintain eye contact when he was so pointedly upset with her.

"The chancellor believes that the results your disobedience produced, shine a light on this council's blindness to the apparent possibility of success." Obi Wan spoke before Mace Windu could. "He thinks it was our mistake for underestimating you." the energy in the room shifted as those words hung in the air, "He also thinks we should let him throw you a parade to celebrate such an accomplishment." Obi Wan added as an afterthought, having to hide the smile on his face with a hand stroking over his moustache.

Kyah's eyes widened in dread, "Oh, please no." She said quietly, looking to Obi Wan, and there was scattered laugher from the council. Most of the members seemed far more relaxed than she would have expected, based on the energy in the room, though, now that she was in here, much of that seemed to be coming from a select few.

"This council agrees that your results were impressive." Mace Windu said, taking back control of the room, "But there is still the matter of your blatant disobedience." He spoke harshly towards her.

"Yes master." Kyah nodded, pulling at her sleeve and twisting it around her fingertip.

"You not only ignored a direct order, but actively fought against your own master in your desperation to go." Mace Windu said, his voice rising in anger as he spoke, "Had you simply come to us instead with the information you used to find young Skywalker, we might have been swayed in our decision and offered you reinforcements." He said and Kyah audibly scoffed without meaning to.

She immediately straightened herself out again once she realized what she'd done, but it was too late.

"Something funny?" Windu asked, leaning forward in his chair as his eyes narrowed.

"No Master." Kyah shook her head quickly.

"The floor is your's master Paladin. Please, enlighten us." he spoke harshly.

Kyah clenched her jaw and cursed her lack of control, "I just... respectfully master, you never would have given me the okay to go, and if I had come to you first, I never would have made it back to my ship." She shrugged, speaking honestly, if not a little insensitively.

"You know this with perfect certainty?" Mace Windu looked almost impressed by her audacity.

"Do you deny it?" She challenged him, surprising herself with her own boldness, as she looked up to meet his angered gaze, "If I had come to you after Ankain was taken and asked you to let me go after him with no real leads and very little chance of finding him, would you have let me go?" She asked and this time Windu scoffed.