If Hate Leads to Suffering... | Obi Wan Kenobi

Act I. iii

Xaela awoke to the door sliding open. She knew before opening her eyes that it was an unreasonable hour, and Anakin's steady snores meant that it wasn't him. She focused on the pattern of the intruder's footsteps towards her and when she smelled the familiar cologne she mumbled.

"What do you want, Master?"

She heard him stop.

"You're a light sleeper." He said and Xaela lifted herself off of her stomach and onto her elbows to look at him.

"I share a room with Tinker Boy and his nighttime terrors." Her voice dripped with sarcasm and Obi-Wan turned to Anakin, who had passed out on top of the machinery he was working on.

He looked back at Xaela and told her to get up, it was time to train. Xaela didn't understand why he was just asking her, and an uneasy sense flooded her so she didn't move. She just stared at him.

Her Master noticed this and comprehended her hesitation.

"It's for a zero distraction environment." He assured her. "But if you're not comfortable we can always kick Anakin out of the gymnasium tomorrow morning."

Xaela, too tired to catch his joke, shook her head.

"Right now is fine." She complied and got out of bed to throw on her robe and grab her belt.

"Bring your lightsaber." Obi-Wan said and Xaela grabbed the new weapon off the desk. Anakin had taken apart her old one for a project and she was forced to make a new one, although she kept the same crystal, knowing how much it meant to her Master.

The gymnasium was empty. Each step they took echoed off the large walls and Xaela felt the calming atmosphere that was never there during the day. Jedi Knights and Masters and Padawans and the occasional Younglings constantly flowed in and out to train, but right now it was just her and her Master.

He led her to the centre of the floor and handed her a long piece of cloth.

"Hold this." He said and dropped it into Xaela's hand.

Her Master then walked to the edge of the gymnasium and stood with his back to the wall. He wore a small smile as a training droid flew down beside him. It was the same one that Master Yoda used for the Initiates. Xaela noticed that her Master had given her a long piece of cloth to use as a blindfold, she looked up at him.

"A bit juvenile, don't you think?" She asked but placed it on anyway, darkness replacing her eyesight.

"Trust me." She heard him say, but Xaela focused on the training droid, to see if it moved.

When she felt a sense from behind her, she unsheathed her lightsaber and swung behind her to block an oncoming blast.

Multiple training droids.

"I want you to redirect the shots back at them." She heard Master Kenobi walking around, and she could tell he was using his footsteps to distract her.

Xaela kept her mind on the droids that she could feel, spinning around and blocking their blasts. She split her focus on each one of them, singling out two at a time. One that fired, and one that she would hit with the redirect, all the while trying to sense if any others were aiming or firing. Her division of focus kept her constantly moving, on her toes, and pretty soon she completely lost track of her Master.

She didn't hear his voice or his footsteps, so when he had come up behind her and pulled the blindfold off, Xaela placed her lightsaber at his throat on instinct.

The green light illuminated his face, but he did not flinch.

She turned it off and caught her breath. Obi-Wan was impressed.

"Incredible as always." He said and Xaela smiled.

The training droids flew away and shut down. Xaela took a seat on the ground for a second and Obi-Wan stared over her. She looked at her Master, and was about to speak when he piped up.

"Xaela, I want you to take the Jedi trials." He looked down at her. "I think you're ready."

The Padawan's eyes widened.

"Uh..." she trailed off. "I-I don't think so."

"You're not confident?" Her Master raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms.

Xaela shook her head and Obi-Wan looked at her for a second before he nodded his head and turned around. He walked a few feet away and turned back to her, took his lightsaber out of his belt, and ignited the blue weapon.

Xaela was confused.

"Get up." He said and she listened. "We're going to fight."

"Master I-"

"Do not disobey me." He warned and Xaela sighed inaudibly.

She unsheathed her green saber and stared at him, waiting to see who would make the first move.

It was unclear who did. The fight was a blur of attack - dodge - block - roll - strategic swerve - dodge - attack - attack - block - high ground - run - block - attack. The motion of the lightsabers, the clash of the two Jedi weapons, and the heavy breathing between Master and Padawan were the only noises besides the squeak of their shoes on the hardwood floor. Xaela pushed herself passed her limits. She would not disappoint him, especially not while duelling with real sabers - not the training ones he made her and Anakin use.

Her foot locked on the ground, refusing to let Obi-Wan push her any farther back. Her leg muscles resisted him as his body weight leaned into the two lightsabers, both of them drawing closer in hopes of pushing the other back. The crystal hues around them started to burn and they both realized they were in a dead lock. No one would back down. And no one would win.

They both turned off the lightsabers.

Their muscles ran nearly limp without the pressure of holding the other off, and chests heaved as they sweat.

"I could not beat you." Her Master acknowledged, voicing his pride in her.

"And I could not beat you, Master." Xaela retaliated.

"If a Master cannot best their Padawan in combat, they are no longer an apprentice." He wiped his forehead. "Xaela, you deserve to be a Knight."

"As much as I appreciate that, Master, I don't think the Council would be in my favour. They're just waiting for me to snap and turn to the Dark side." She sat back down and Obi-Wan moved beside her and bent down to her level.

"You are not Hamarshka's Padawan, you are mine." He reminded her. "If the Council lets an unreasonable fear distract them from the fact that you are quite possibly the most hardworking and dedicated Padawan I've met, then they are not true Jedi."

Xaela smiled at his praise.

"What about Anakin?"

"Do you really think Anakin works that hard?" he teased and Xaela laughed.

But he was right. Her Master was rarely - if ever - wrong, and this was no excuse. They Council most certainly trusted Obi-Wan, and if he had full confidence in her and them, Xaela would take the trials.