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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Knights and Knightingales (Obi/Ani/Qui) AU - Updated 02-26 (A cliff, you don't say?)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction Stories--Classic JC Board (Reply-Only)' started by Aunecah_Skywalker, Feb 11, 2003.

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  1. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    I know I shouldn't work on more than two 'fics at a time. I guess I should have stopped myself before I started writing the first post - well, I wrote it and became incredibly depressed by it. :( This really is the first time it ever happened to me, so I'm not sure if I'm influenced by something that happened before or whether my writing really improved. :D (Hopefully it's the latter, but probably, the former.)

    Anyway, enough with the anecdote. Originally, I started two seperate stories - Propaganda of Love and Knights and Knightingales , both of which I had to stop because of time constraints. This story is a hopefully workable mutilation of both of them (and a couple of other plot bunnies that I have).

    Note: This is my first attempt at a serious novella-sized story. Since I have two more fics to finish first, I'm not going to be updating daily until I'm done with at least one of them, but I will update fairly regularly. I hope. :)

    Aunecah

    ~*~

    Knights and Knightingales
    By Aunecah Skywalker

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Part One
    Lessons of Old
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



    Chapter One ? Whispers in the Night
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    Anakin Skywalker was easy enough to manipulate. Not taught in the ways of the Jedi before his emotions and personality had already established themselves firmly, he was prone to impatience, anger, and reckless abandon. He was as fallible as he was powerful.

    But there was something about this young man that unsettled Darth Sidious. It was almost as if Anakin were exploring the fathoms in the ocean of the Dark Side that even Sidious was afraid to approach. Or maybe Anakin had lost himself in those sinful depths without even knowing it, and Sidious was worried that that would be his destiny as well.

    He didn't let any of his internal turmoil show as he swiveled around in his chair to face the miniature, blue-tinged hologram of the young Jedi that was hovering over a holopod built into his desk.

    "So they finally found out," he said sadly.

    Anakin nodded sharply. Something frightening moved in his eyes that not even the distance and static that interfered with his hologram could conceal. "I expect they have been suspecting it all along. They only found proof now."

    There was no regret or guilt in Anakin's face, only arrogance, and a certain sense of haughtiness. The confrontation after the discovery would have been humiliating at the best. If that affected Anakin in anyway, he didn't show it. It wasn't as if Anakin cared one way or another about what the Council thought anyway, Sidious mused silently. So Anakin wouldn't have cared less what the Council said. It only seemed fitting that Anakin not show any lingering after-effects.

    "Senator Amidala told them?" Sidious phrased it as a question, but it was meant to be a statement. Sidious full well knew how the Council found out, considering as to how he had personally overseen that the little fact made its way into Master Windu's ears. Anakin didn't know that; he only thought that Amidala betrayed him and went public with their little secret because she didn't want him anymore. It worked to Sidious's advantage in more than one way.

    Anakin nodded again.

    "They're not expelling you."

    Anakin gave him a crooked smile.

    A tingle of warning suddenly went off in the back of Sidious's mind, but he ignored it. Anakin was far away from him; he couldn't hurt Sidious in any way even if he wanted to. Besides, for all of Anakin's raw power, he hadn't achieved ? and probably would never achieve ? the stability of mind required to become Sidious's equal. As Anakin's close and only confidante, Sidious was going to make sure that Anakin never reached that level.

    "That's not why I called," Anakin stated just as Sidious was about to open his mouth.

    Sidious raised a placid eyebrow. "No?"

    "They are sending Kenobi and me to Gamira." He said it as if he thought that w
     
  2. Obi_Wans_love_child

    Obi_Wans_love_child Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 30, 2001
    I like Aunecah. I look forward to more when you have a chance.

    OWLC
     
  3. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    Thanks OWLC .

    Aunecah
     
  4. Arwen-Jade_Kenobi

    Arwen-Jade_Kenobi Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 9, 2002
    WHOA! I can feel the hate from Anakin there. MORE!!!
     
  5. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    Thanks, Arwen . :) Since I finished my other 'fic, I'll probably be posting every day on this one, then. :D

    Aunecah
     
  6. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    A post. :)

    ~*~*~*~

    The trip over to Gamira was as usually very quiet. In fact, Obi-Wan was very surprised that the Council was sending them to a planet, alone. It had been nearly five years since Obi-Wan and Anakin had gone together somewhere, and an year since Anakin had been confined to the Temple in all but name. The Council had felt that Anakin was getting too angry, too impatient to be able to judge the truth and the right in any negotiations, and hence they had restrained him to the Temple, hoping that his attitude would change somehow.

    They never blamed Obi-Wan for the way Anakin turned out. It should have made him feel better, but it never did; he couldn't steer clear of blame and act as if everything happened the way it did because it was in Anakin's nature or it was how the Force wanted the future to unfold. Anakin was his apprentice, and as a result his responsibility. What Anakin did and did not do reflected as much on Obi-Wan as it did on Anakin.

    He sighed quietly, staring through the forward viewport at the swirls of hyperspace tunnel that the ship, the Crimson Light, was blasting through. Obi-Wan had lost his ship, Kenobi's Blade, a couple of years ago, in another nasty incident on Geonosis. It was a one-man fighter and unlike most other Jedi, Obi-Wan would have taken the cramped cockpit of that starfighter to the endless hours of tortures in the Crimson Light. He was never the one to lie to himself, but at least he would have had the chance to tell himself that the reason he wasn't engaging in a cordial talk with Anakin was because he couldn't ? not because neither wanted to.

    Obi-Wan didn't know ? still ? where he went wrong with Anakin.

    The hopeful nine-year-old boy that Obi-Wan had met on the ship who had looked at him in complete awe for being a Jedi was so different than the cold, calculating man that Obi-Wan now saw in his place. Anakin became powerful in the Force, powerful enough, apparently, for most of the rest of the apprentices to stay clear of him. Not that they had ever been particularly fond of Anakin in the first place.

    He had come into the Temple far later than acceptable, yet he had been allowed in, because the Council had felt that they had to honor the wish of a dying man, and because Obi-Wan had been stubborn about keeping his promise and training with or without the Council's approval. Qui-Gon Jinn was not dead. He had survived, but by that time nobody had the heart to tell the young nine-year-old who was jumping up and down in excitement about being a Jedi Padawan that he had to pack up his bags and go back to Tatooine.

    And by that time it had been too late to let Qui-Gon train Anakin, because the bond between Obi-Wan and Anakin had already been initiated. Qui-Gon couldn't see why Obi-Wan refused to break down the bond. The Jedi Master was modest enough to not ask Obi-Wan for it, but Obi-Wan sat the longing desire to be called "Master" by Anakin in his eyes every time he saw Qui-Gon. Anakin was Qui-Gon's project, his dream.

    Obi-Wan sighed heavily, wondering if he did the wrong thing not to give Anakin over. He knew why he didn't "transfer" Anakin over to Qui-Gon. He knew how it was like to feel rejected ? by the first person who was supposed to love you the most and stay with you through all your trials and dangers, as per the oath. Obi-Wan followed it with all his heart, so strictly in fact, he even surprised Master Yoda sometimes ? and he had been punished easily for it. By his Master. By his apprentice.

    Sighing again, Obi-Wan slowly pulled his legs from underneath him and pushed himself onto his feet.

    An annoying habit, he realized. Every time he sat still for longer than a couple of moments, if his mind was let to wander for even a moment, it treaded into those lands of memories and specters that Obi-Wan didn't want it to go. There was nothing but pain and sorrow there, but of course his mind would go exactly where it wanted to go, despite Obi-Wan's protests. All he could do when the thoughts came was follow along with the momen
     
  7. cristalvandepol

    cristalvandepol Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 30, 2002
    Wow, I really like this story. Anakin seems so full of hate, just the way I think he'll be like in Episode III. More soon :)
     
  8. Robiwankenobi

    Robiwankenobi Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2002
    Great start to this! The way that you portray Anakin and Obi-wan here is incredible. They're exactly the way I hope to see them in EpIII. Looking forward to more.
     
  9. Red_Jedi_Knight

    Red_Jedi_Knight Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 7, 2002
    THIS IS GREAT!! i'm truly enjoying this story(not like i wouldn't) but i have to say i enjoy your writting style! you have a great way of portraying obi-wan that i see and very believible(that's right i can't spell) please keep writting!! i'm glad i caught this one as it started!
    Red*
     
  10. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    Thanks guys. :D Three new readers in one day, that too for a single post. [face_shocked] Anyway, I'm writing the next post now, so you can expect one before seven o' clock today (EST). :)

    Aunecah
     
  11. Lurkalidth

    Lurkalidth Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2003
    This is a very interesting take. :)

    Funny, but your depiction of Obi (especially his pacing around and self-doubt) remind me a lot of how Horatio Hornblower was portrayed in the books.

    I'm surprised that Qui apparently hasn't stuck his foot in it & blamed Obi.

    Looking forward to how this develops. Thanks for sharing it!
     
  12. Jedi_Nifet

    Jedi_Nifet Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 8, 2002
    Great start, Aun! You did right to let me know. I would've been very upset if I missed this.

    I think your style did improve, not that it was bad on the first place.

    Sorry, can't write much now, but I'll be reading ;)
     
  13. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    Lurkalidth : You're welcome. ;)

    Nifet : Thanks. ;) Don't worry, I won't get offended if you say something contrary to the tru - I mean, my opinion. [face_mischief] 8-}

    Aunecah
     
  14. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    And here's the promised post - ~ two hours earlier than I was intending to post it. :D

    Aunecah

    ~*~*~*~

    On one hand, Gamira was a small but prosperous planet, its true wealth resting in the untainted beauty of its nature. Unlike Coruscant, Duro, and some of the more technologically advanced planets, Gamira was a beauty to look at.

    It was an unspoken but generally accepted fact that there were few worlds like Gamira in the galaxy nowadays, and by the end of this millennium, there might be none left. It was sad to look at the plains and the forests and know that one day they would all be gone, victims of either bloody civil wars or the Fifth Galactic War.

    That, however, was the farthest concern in the minds of its people.

    On the other hand, Gamira was one of the most horrific planets to live in if you were a woman. The world was so incredibly a male-dominated society, her women suffered more horrors in a day than people under genocidal rulers did in a lifetime. Or so held the GalacticNews station of the HoloNet when Gamira joined the Republic. The media used a lot of exaggeration and hyperbole to interest the readers, but one would wonder how much of what the GalacticNews said was actually true.

    Only three kilometers from the main city, unquestionably the wealthiest part of the entire planet, was the housing complex for some of the poorest people on Gamira.

    ... 17 ...

    ... 18 ...

    ... 19 ...

    ... 20 ...

    Indula Kohl wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged herself tightly as the whip slashed against her bare back. She didn't cry out, because she was too proud to cry in front of others.

    The man who stood behind her like a hairy monster brought to life from a nightmare was none other than her father, and sometimes she felt guilty for thinking him as an "other." That, however, didn't stop her from feeling what she felt; the biggest compliment she ever gave to Father was elevating him to the level of a "significant other." Most of the time, he was just "another." Tormentor.

    ... 27 ...

    ... 28 ...

    ... 29 ...

    ... 30.

    Father left without as much as a backward glance as soon as he was done lashing at her.

    She willed herself to stay still until Father's back disappeared behind the door that he had slammed shut, and then rocked jerkily, trying to contain the dry sobs that were threatening to rack through throat.

    Then she stayed still for a long moment.

    It weren't as if she could have moved even if she wanted to.

    The pain in her back was coursing though her body like blood, easily permeating her bones that could have withstood the test of even the strongest hammer. Indula supposed she should be happy that Father had chosen to hit her only thirty times instead of fifty - or hundred, like usually.

    Slowly, Indula gathered herself onto her feet, and pulled on a shirt.

    Getting beaten by Father wasn't a good enough excuse to get to stay in bed.

    Besides, Indula mused bitterly as she walked out of the room and down the stone pathway running down the length of the housing complex, if she were to stay home on her bed every time she was beaten, she might as well have stopped going to work and stayed home permanently.

    It was a steely-gray morning, with the sun just only rising. Guma (the capital city) had yet to wake up.

    At least, it usually wasn't awake at this time of the day, but Indula had a strange feeling that today everybody was awake at this time - and this had little to do with that Father and the rest of her family weren't still snoring in their beds.

    Today was the Ikuta festival, the night on which the royal ball was celebrated at the ending of the last year of the century for the new century to be prosperous and healthy. That would explain why the young girls and boys were up and running, but it still failed to explain the shoutings and yellings that Indula could hear even from here, deep in her part of the home complex.

    "The Jedi are coming here today," she whispered to the air, remembering.

    It had never happened
     
  15. Robiwankenobi

    Robiwankenobi Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2002
    :( That was just... :( Poor girl.

    That was a very well written post. You have a great writing style. Keep it up.
     
  16. CYNICAL21

    CYNICAL21 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2001
    Wow, Aunecah - this is really gripping and well-begun. You're painting an Anakin that I'd love to throttle, an Obi that I'd love to -- well, never mind -- and a new world that is as harsh as it is beautiful, and you're building it in layers - my favorite method for developing both settings and characters. I get very tired sometimes, of cliffhangers that seem to last forever; sometimes, it's much more enjoyable to watch a story build upon a good foundation. The excitement comes later - naturally.

    Can't wait to see where this is going. Well done.

    CYN
     
  17. PadawanKitara

    PadawanKitara Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 31, 2001
    You have wonderful character development. I just have to ask why the jedi didn't put Anakin in a 5 point restraint instead of house arrest?
     
  18. Jedi_Nifet

    Jedi_Nifet Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 8, 2002
    Oh, did I offfend you? Sorry. I wrote that being half asleep. Must have said something wrong. I just meant that your writing style was good, and now it became excellent :)
     
  19. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    Robiwankenobi : That poor girl has a lot more ? things coming for her. [face_mischief]

    CYN : Thanks. :D A question on the aside: How can you write a paragraph every time you respond? Not that I mind [face_mischief], but I do wonder sometimes. 8-}

    PadawanKitara : All shall be explained in the future. But if you?re really curious, take a look at the ? title. :) It should be ? obvious.

    Nifet : No, I was just joking. 8-} It?s not possible to offend me easily. :)

    Aunecah
     
  20. CYNICAL21

    CYNICAL21 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2001
    Sorry - I have no rational response because - AHEM - I HATE PINK!!!!!

    CYN
     
  21. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    I'm not a big fan of pink either. It hurts my eyes more than the gold. [face_shocked]

    And we all know that the pink is no excuse for your inability to give a rational response. [face_shocked] 8-}

    Aunecah
     
  22. CYNICAL21

    CYNICAL21 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2001
    It's like drowning in Pepto-Bismol. :eek:

    My tendency to paragraphs is the reason that I sometimes lurk rather than respond. I dislike one-word or one-line rote replies, and I try to compose my reviews with individualistic references to the work being reviewed. It might also be that I just tend to be long-winded - as enyone who reads my work knows. :D

    CYN
     
  23. Red_Jedi_Knight

    Red_Jedi_Knight Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 7, 2002
    sad... :( *huggles to chick* i hope it gets better for her... *sniff* are you gonna make her happy soon.... maybe?? please?!?!
     
  24. Jedi_Nifet

    Jedi_Nifet Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 8, 2002
    Totally agree about pink. It looks terrible.
     
  25. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    Well, I'm posting it now because the computer's starting to act funky again and I don't want to not post because it gives up on me completely. There might be another post today. :)

    Red_Jedi_Knight : Let's see what I can tell you without giving away too much ? Nope. Can't do it. [face_devil] Then again, it isn't really a mystery, is it? I mean it's almost inevitable that she gets happy, isn't it? 8-}

    Aunecah

    ~*~*~*~

    King Durag and the queen led Obi-Wan and Anakin into the palace after the initial introductions were done.

    The queen, Obi-Wan was quick to note, hadn't volunteered her name. Before coming on this mission, he had read everything he could find about Gamira and the customs of her people, but there simply hadn't been enough information about the world as he would have liked.

    Whereas Anakin walked quietly, just barely restraining the disgust and impatience he was feeling, Obi-Wan was worried about offending the rulers because he didn't know enough about their customs.

    Of course, he didn't let any of his worry or amusement show as he listened to King Durag's running commentary about how honored he was that the Jedi had come to grace the royal ball with their presences. He talked very animatedly and was practically bouncing up and down with each step. Though Durag should be at least a decade or two older than him, Obi-Wan would never have guessed his real age if it weren't for the shock of white hair under the crown.

    Around fifteen minutes of walking through a maze of corridors, they came to a stop in front of tall double-doors. At this point, the queen quietly excused herself to her chambers and was followed by around half a dozen people. Two of the remaining people quickly walked forward to the doors and pushed them open.

    Obi-Wan followed Durag and Anakin through the doors, and was a little surprised to find that nobody followed them. Even Anakin's façade of cold stillness gave way as he felt all the presences hovering on the other side of the door, shutting it close.

    "This is the guest area," Durag explained apologetically, seeing Obi-Wan's and Anakin's surprise. "For the sake of security, we restrict everyone except the few who are to help the guests from entering."

    "Ah, I see." Obi-Wan nodded, his expression clearing.

    Durag led him and Anakin through another set of double doors that he opened with a golden key. He then motioned Obi-Wan forward, and Obi-Wan nodded slightly before entering the room ?

    "Hall" might have been a better word to describe what Obi-Wan walked into. It was large enough to easily hold his quarters back in the Temple on Coruscant and still have enough space to fit a set of corridors around it. To his right, the wall was lined with colossal mullioned windows. The silky red drapes were pulled back to allow in the twilight, which was the only lighting in the room at the moment.

    While Obi-Wan let his gaze sweep over to the large bed set in the corner against the windows and the many chairs and tables that were scattered along the floor everywhere, Durag turned on the lights.

    He then looked at Obi-Wan, fiddling with the corners of his dark cloak anxiously.

    "I hope this is to your liking, Master Jedi," he said quickly, before Obi-Wan could as much as open his mouth. He sounded as if he thought Obi-Wan lived in a castle on Coruscant.

    Obi-Wan smiled slightly, but nodded indifferently. He opened his mouth to verbalize an answer, but Durag never gave him the time.

    Beaming, he said, "The ball will start at eight o' clock at night, but the ceremony preceding it will start at five. Several friends from beyond" ? he waved his hand around to encompass the ceiling ? "Gamira will attend it, as well as the delegates from the rest of the kingdom. We will be honored if you were to attend it."

    "The pleasure is ours, Your Highness."

    "Then, I shall order some servants here immediately so that they can help you prepare for the ceremony," Durag said happily. "Meanwhile, I shall show Apprentice Jedi his room."

    Anak
     
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