The Senator And The Jedi

Chapter Eighteen: A Presence

Ahsoka

Ahsoka sat in a corner of the decorative trim on the roof above her bedroom, meditating in the light of the setting sun.

From this particular perch, she could hear everything around her. There would be the occasional spurt of laughter from Ryoo and Pooja as they chased one another down the long halls of Varykino, and sometimes the clattering of the pots and pans down in the kitchen from the steam exhaust vent on the wall nearby. The brightly colored birds native to the region twittered around her, pecking eagerly at some crumbs she had scattered for them earlier.

But she was tuning it all out.

She had several pressing concerns to deal with, all of which were related in some form or another to the Lux and Annina situation. She was going to need all her concentration to untangle everything.

The first thing that worried her was the fact that Ryoo and her sister were still so intent upon making Annina's life miserable, when the war was already lost. Ahsoka had chosen to surrender any possibility of being with him. He was happy with Annina, anyways.

Right?

Either way, it would never work. She was a Jedi, and she had the Code to follow. Even if Anakin had always said that compassion, an essential part of a Jedi's life, was just another term for unconditional love, relationships were out of the question...

Weren't they?

But the more Ahsoka thought, the more she was confused. She had chosen her path, but it wasn't too late to turn back yet. Lux was slipping through her fingers, and if she wanted to make a move, she was running out of time.... And she was becoming more and more torn between the boy she loved and way of life she had always lived.

She sighed in frustration. Once again, the enigma of her feelings towards Lux Bonteri was clouding her mind completely, not allowing for any clairvoyance as to what she could do about it.

"Detach, detach, detach," she said, repeating what had become her personal mantra over the last couple of days.

Suddenly, she felt something in the currents and whirlpools of the Force around her change. She could sense a familiar presence, one that had always been a comfort to her when she was in trouble. But it wasn't supposed to be here...

"Master?" Ahsoka whispered, shoving all her emotional clutter back into the depths from whence it came. The feeling that he was nearby was stronger than it had been last time, and she had to make sure her reflections wouldn't be open to the probing of another Force user.

She wasn't imagining it – Anakin was definitely here, and close by, too. She would guess he was even in the building.

Well, she thought, a slight smile appearing on her face, then there's nothing to do but to look for him.

And so, she grabbed onto the awning just below her and swung herself back into her room, landing gracefully like a cat. She darted to the doorway, but was once again forced to pause to remember how the old wooden door opened.

Ahsoka stuck her head out into the hallway, looking down one end of it to the other. She reached out with the Force, but gently enough so as not to alarm her Master. She suspected that when she had thought she felt his presence back on the ship, he had been trying to hide, and it was very possible that the same applied now.

Though why he was trying to hide from everyone – and her, his own Padawan, on top of that – she didn't understand.

She could feel nothing to the right, so, moving silently across the carpeting, she headed down the left end of the hallway. She couldn't tell how close Anakin was, because he was somehow refracting his aura in the Force away from him like lights off a mirror. But she knew it was coming from that general direction.

A few twists and turns later, she found herself in an unfamiliar part of the mansion. But she could sense that she was getting close to her goal.

This was apparently where extra bedrooms and suites could be found to accommodate large amounts of guests. After all, she had heard from Padme that the Naberries loved to throw big parties with lots of invitees.

But, as of now, there was no one inside them. Which would make them the perfect hiding spot for someone who didn't want to be noticed.

"Well, time to start opening doors," she whispered. "Okay, let's see where you're hiding..."

The first door she tried was locked; so were the second and third. It was traditional in Naboo culture to leave the doors to occupied living spaces unlocked to let in friendly spirits. Those that weren't being used were locked to keep away the unfriendly ones.

So that meant no one was there... But there was one more door before she reached the dead end of the hallway.

Carefully, Ahsoka turned the handle. It turned easily, and, not hearing anything, she stepped into the room, leaving the door open.

"Hello?" she called softly. She couldn't see very well in the dark – someone had drawn the curtains. "Is anyone there?"

There was no answer, but Ahsoka refused to be deterred. Then she stepped on something made of cloth, and knelt to the ground. Pressing the garment – it felt like a woolen, Jedi-issued shirt – to her face, she inhaled deeply.

Yep, that's him. That's Anakin, she thought, her sharp Togruta sense of smell immediately recognizing his familiar scent of motor grease, leather and dried herbs.

Suddenly, a tall shadow was cast over her. She stood quickly, dropping the shirt, suddenly very aware that someone was blocking her path to the door.

But her Master's presence suddenly localized itself. It was now emanating from one specific point...

"Hey, Snips."

*Oooooh, the return of Anakin Skywalker... I wonder what'll happen, since he's ben here this whole time, and Ahsoka might not necessarily have been shielding her thoughts about Lux, because she didn't think she was in the presence of another Force user. 

And he might not be the only Force-sensitive who could have picked up on it... >:}

But how could he be here? Wasn't this supposed to be a solo mission for Ahsoka? Hmm, this leaves us with more questions than answers...

So, there you have it. A nice little doubles update for you guys who are always so patient and willing to wait without complaint on each new chapter. I'm so grateful of that. And besides, I'm on my break now, so I'll have plenty of time for updates on all my stuff in the next week.

Now, I'm gonna go off and work on an update for SOTE and maybe TISS later tonight. And fangirl and cry about the Doctor Who episodes and the 50th Anniversary Special I just watched somewhere in between those two XD

Bye!

PS: The DW theme song compilations for 9, 10 and 11 make for REALLY good writing music... It's what I'm listening to right now haha!