The Senator And The Jedi

Chapter Twelve: The Extended Family

Lux

Lux was in the middle of telling a story from the Onderonian rebellion against the Separatists to Padme and her family when the doorbell rang.

Sola stood up, brushing off her skirts. "Ah, that's probably my husband and his family. Lux, I'm sure we can hear the rest of your story later. You're an excellent storyteller, really!"

"Of course," he said with a smile. "And thank you, but I'm nothing compared to Ahsoka. Her narrations of all the battles she's fought in are far more interesting than mine."

"Nonsense," said Jobal, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Now come; there's someone I think you'll want to meet."

Lux followed Padme, her parents and Sola into the hallway, but something made him stop dead. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he took in the sight before him. Standing a few feet away was probably one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen.

Her hair was that shade of yellow-gold that he had seen many people dye theirs to replicate the color, and her thick curls were done up in a simple headband. Her oval face was naturally beautiful, and unadorned except for a brilliant smile.

She had eyes that hovered somewhere in between green and brown, and spoke of a hidden intelligence that he could immediately tell was the same kind as his and Padme's: the diplomatic sort.

"You must be Senator Lux Bonteri," she said, her soft tone underlined by a deep Nubian accent.

"I am," he said, trying to keep his cool. "But you seem to have an advantage over me: you know my name, but I don't know yours."

"I'm Annina Akassi – now Annina Janren," she said, and her lovely smile grew. "Adopted daughter to Sola's husband's sister, and so a niece to Padme through him. My aunt has told me so much about you."

"Pleased to meet you... Annina," he said, taking her hand in his.

Suddenly, Ahsoka walked in. Lux was no Force-sensitive, but it one didn't need Jedi perception to see that she wasn't pleased at all. She stiffened, noticeably, and her white eyemarks furrowed. Shamefaced, he let go of Annina's hand.

He glanced at Padme, who had been watching the entire scene with an odd expression on her face. "Annina, this is Ahsoka Tano," she said as she walked over, Ahsoka in tow. Apparently, she was trying her best to salvage the situation. "She's the Jedi bodyguard assigned to Lux to make sure he stays safe."

"Nice to meet you, Ahsoka," Annina said, apparently oblivious to the tension. "If I may call you that...?"

"Padawan Tano, please," Ahsoka said, her words clipped.

Padme raised an eyebrow, probably remembering how the Jedi Padawan had been so quick to allow her family members to call her by her first name. But she said nothing. "Ahsoka, this is Annina Janren. She's related to us through Sola's husband, Darred, who should be arriving right about..."

As Darred and his side of the family walked into the room, he and Ahsoka were suddenly swept in separate directions for introductions.

Lux sighed, before tapping into his politician's charm and putting a smile that could have been mistaken as genuine on his face as he shook hands with Darred. He really hoped that Ahsoka didn't hate him now, but every time he thought about what had just happened, he remembered Annina's lovely face...

Ahsoka

Some time later, after a hearty supper made up of traditional Nubian dishes, Ahsoka found herself on the balcony where she and Lux had first stopped when they had arrived at Varykino. She was alone. Lux was the life of the party tonight, after all; she was just the Jedi bodyguard, and not much of a conversationalist.

She gazed wistfully out at the sky, which was indigo and speckled with stars apart from a tiny, peach-colored triangle of sunset formed by two hills.

She cupped her face in her hands, propping her upper body up using her elbows on the railing. She tried to focus on the scenery, but every time she closed her eyes she saw Lux and Annina. The latter had clung to him like a vine for the entire party, and merely thinking about it made her eyes narrow.

Suddenly she heard a quiet rustle to her right, and looked up to find Ryoo standing in almost the exact same pose as she was.

"Ryoo!" she said, looking at the girl, who seemed strangely serious and pensive. "How did you learn to move so quietly? I almost didn't hear you!"

"Anakin taught us," came a voice to her left. Pooja, in an equally stealthy fashion, had moved into the same position as her sister on Ahsoka's left. "He came here with Aunt Padme a long time ago to keep her safe from bad people."

"When was that?" Ahsoka asked, surprised. Anakin had never told her about such a mission... And yet, remembering the awe on Ryoo and her sister's faces when Padme had told them she was learning from him couldn't be overlooked.

"About two years ago," the elder sister said, looking out at the moonlit lake. "It was right before the Clone Wars started."

So Anakin came on a mission to Naboo to guard Senator Amidala? He must have still been a Padawan if it was two years ago, Ahsoka mused. But... He's never told me anything about it! He loves this planet so much: why would he keep that from me?

"You see what we mean now?" Ryoo asked suddenly, breaking the pensive silence that had begun to settle on the three.

From inside, there was a brief burst of laughter, and the Force promptly informed Ahsoka that someone – probably Lux – had just told a joke.

"What?" the Jedi Padawan asked, giving the girl a confused look.

"About Annina?" Pooja clarified.

"I think I do," she said slowly, not sure where they were both going with what they were saying. "But what in particular?"

"There's just something off about her," Ryoo muttered. "She's too perfect, too pretty, too smart... I don't like it, and neither does Pooja. We don't know much about her, but from what we could find out from Daddy she's the orphan of some family that Aunt Elina – that's his sister – was friends with. She decided to take her in, and she's been living in the house next to ours with Daddy's family ever since."

Ahsoka nodded. "And what are you proposing to do?"

"Well, we have a few things set down," Pooja said. The severity in her tone had an effect that was almost comical when combined with her sweet, little girl's face. "Do you want to hear them?"

"Well, it's not the Jedi way to engage in such things, but..." Ahsoka trailed off, a slight smile coming to her plump dark lips. "Yes. I'm listening."

*Ooooooh... Ahsoka and the girls are up to something... What could their ideas be? WHAT PLANS COULD THE TWO SCHEMING NABERRIES HAVE IN STORE FOR ANNINA?! You'll have to wait until I write the next chapter and post it!

AND THIS WAS THE PLOT TWIST I SPOKE OF!!! COULD LUX HAVE FOUND ANOTHER STEELA GERRERA IN A NUBIAN GIRL RELATED TO THE NABERRIES??? She's an OC I cooked up for this fanfic and, as we and Ahsoka and Lux and Padme will find out, there's more to her than meets the eye...

And THANK YOU GUYS!! This book is almost at 1000 reads! You are all awesome and I'm glad that people are reading this and liking it so much!

I'll try to post something again soon, but I'm really tired at the moment, (idk why...) and I'm probably going to lay low until tomorrow. But I will do my best!

LUXSOKA FOREVER!!!!!!!!

Bye.