Saga Change of Heart - Obi-Wan/Asajj Locking down with an announcement!

Title: Change of Heart
Author(s): Jennifer_Lyn
Timeframe: post-RotS
Characters: Obi-Wan, Asajj Ventress (yes, you read that right)
Genre: Drama (I refuse to call this a romance!)
Summary: [jedi mind trick] You don't need a summary. [/jedi mind trick]
Disclaimer: Hiya Uncle George!
Notes: This was going to be an answer to the Dare challenge. *sigh* It has recently morphed into its own full story. Poodoo! I have never intended to write anything even remotely similar to this. It's just too weird and yet some force (or Force) compells me. I can't wait to see the reactions on this one.


Part 1

Two fiery, golden orbs of light sank beneath the horizon as Obi-Wan Kenobi left the cantina. He walked swiftly through the dusk, all his senses attuned to the being trailing behind him. After passing his destination, with the intention of throwing his tracker off the trail, he ducked into an alley between two buildings. Halfway through it he stopped and, sighing, turned around. He set his shoulders and called out toward the end of the passage.

?You have been following me for a week now. Why don?t you show yourself so we can both get on with our business??

A grey-cloaked figure appeared from around the corner. Obi-Wan had been sensing its presence in the Force since its arrival two weeks ago. Aware of his precarious situation, he had come to Mos Espa in hopes of keeping his true mission on Tatooine hidden.

?Your shields have been slipping a bit the last two days.? He informed the figure. ?So, you are a Grey One. I had thought you an agent of the Dark side, but I see there is much Light in you as well. The Force is with you.? His hand was ready to reach for his lightsaber at a moment?s notice, but he took a confident stance. ?Come forward then, what is your purpose here??

The figure moved toward him slowly. Obi-Wan could sense its fear, but noted that it was not fear of physical danger. It was fear of rejection and it carried with it the lingering taint of lost hope.

?Come, come now. I?m a busy man. Can?t be standing here all night waiting for you to get your courage up.? He taunted the figure a bit, anxious to solve this little mystery.

The being was directly in front of him now and slowly pulled back its hood. Shoulder-length, black hair framed a pale face and tattoos shown at the edges of the feminine features. Obi-Wan was struck by the loveliness of her face before recognition set in and he scowled.

?Ventress.? He said, his voice neutral despite his inner turmoil.

?Please, Kenobi.? Her voice was a hiss in the night. ?I do not come to bring you harm.?

?Then why, by the suns, are you here?? the volume of his voice raised slightly in the fading light.

?I come to speak with you and seek your forgiveness and your blessing.? She bowed her head deferentially toward him.

?My forgiveness? My forgiveness?? his voice was sharp as glass. ?Why, after all this time, would you want or need that??

?Please, Kenobi,? her voice was pleading. ?May we speak somewhere else? Somewhere other ears won?t hear??

It was the note of desperation in her voice and a sincerity in her he did not remember hearing before that caused him to lead her quickly and quietly to his small room above the cantina. When he spoke his words were polite but his voice carried a biting tone.

?Alright, Ventress. You have my full attention and there are no prying ears so please tell me, why would you want my forgiveness now??

A look of pain passed over her features and she hesitated slightly. He felt the Force move around her and felt her struggle between frustration and calm. The turmoil stilled somewhat as she pulled on the Living Force. Then she began to speak softly, not trusting her own voice.

?I?ve come to realize what a fool I was. A true and utter fool. After I healed from our last encounter, I left everything behind. The Dark side, the Light side, even the Force itself for a time. When the Republic fell, I saw the error of my ways. I should have stayed.

 

Watching Ventress ask for forgiveness is kind of like watching Vader make a fruitcake for Yoda--I'm very intrigued. You've kept your usual wonderful way with characterization and description alive in this piece and I on for the ride. You know, since ROTS, Obi-Wan has been quite the ladies man bringing the girls back to his hermit hovel.

Looking forward to Chapter 2.
PS, nice tie-in with the other story and the presence in Mos Espa.

 

Nice work. I liked the tie-in with the other story, and the setting, and the whole concept really - it'd never have occurred to me that Asajj would change her ways, but you explain it very believably.

?You remind me of him, of my Master. He had a similar force of will and I haven?t seen anything like it before or since.?

Ventress' devotion to Dooku always struck me as a major facet of her character, and it's great to see that brought out.

Will follow!

Nem

 

I can't believe I'm actually thrilled by the fact that you are writing an Obi/Asajj story. But after your Dare response, I'm hooked. And I already can't wait for more.

 

oqidaun: *sigh* It seems I have been nabbed. This is the second story I've written where Obi-Wan has a woman at "his place" and I'm betaing a third. I cracked up when I realized that I have a pattern here. Glad you're taking the chance. This could get really weird.

JediNemesis: I hadn't intended tie-ins originally, but now that their here I plan on using them. Oh and I don't know if everyone is aware of this or not, but Ventress trained under a Jedi that was marooned on her home planet who was killed long before Dooku arrived. He's the Master I'm referring to here.
*runs to see what kind of edit can be made to have that make more sense*

lindemacil: Welcome aboard! Buckle your seatbelts. This is going to be a bumpy ride! Actually, it's probably going to go quite smoothly.

 

Those comics with her in them rocked! Man... loved that Republic one that had her history in it. Dooku never accepted her as an apprentice anyhoo (Dark Rendezvous has him stating that), but by jove...she was awesome in those stories!

Seeing her asking for forgiveness I can understand, especially the way the last Obsession comic ended. I was sooooo glad too!

Can't wait for more! Thanks so much for digging further into this!

 

Interesting! I shall try to keep up with this.

 

Kynstar: Ya know, I glimpsed at the Obsession stuff once, but never read it. I'm working on very little for her characterization so please forgive any inconsistancies. And you're welcome, it's my, um, pleasure, yeah that's right, this is fun. Right?

obi-ew: Thanks for checking it out!

I think I need to really get over the idea of this being so weird. Sorry folks, I'll get back to work on it and stop jawing about the absurdity of it all!

 

Asajj's master was Master Narec...

 

widow_skywalker: Thanks! I'm going to edit that in somehow.

 

Interesting, most interesting. I was a little thrown off at first, but it all works. Great job!

 

VM: Thanks for checking it out!

I made a couple of edits and improved the dialogue a wee bit to make things more clear and give a little more umph to stuff. I'm writing a couple things at once, so bear with me if it takes a little while to get the next chapter up!

 

Wow that was original Master!
Ventress a pupil of Obi Wan's- now there's a phrase that you don't see often, heck, who am I kidding! In my limited experience, I've never seen this approach before, so it'll be v. interesting to see what you've got planned for the nxt update.
Which, FYI , *waves hand* WILL be up SOON *pouts hopefully*

 

Now this was certainly..refreshing! lol!

I really enjoyed this, seeing Ventress ask for forgiveness..

I admit it felt kind of strange..

but you made it all so very plausible, and of course, your writing is lovely as usual. I am so excited to see this is only the beginning!

Please do PM me with updates. I can't wait to see where this goes.

Thanks if you can!

 

Hmmm...now why am I suspicious of Asajj?

Obi-Wan completing her training - now that's exciting. Can't wait for more!

 

Stella_Ripple: Padawan! So glad you checked in! Don't you dare try the mind trick on me young lady! You will get your wish, but you must be patient!

JOINME: Of course I'll pm you updates! Oh, and before I forget. Here:
[image=http://www.extemporania.net/images/other/fun/tissues.jpg]
You're gonna need them.

Kelia: Suspicious of the one who tried to kill them? Now why would you think that?

 

Here's the next part. It may be a little while before this gets updated again unless the ideas flow a little better. I'm kind of frustrated with it. I reserve the right to edit freely at a later date!
Hope you all enjoy it!


They spent the night at the inn and in the morning made the long journey back to Obi-Wan?s home beyond the Dune Sea. They spoke very little during the trip, each lost and uncomfortable in their own thoughts. When they arrived, Obi-Wan showed her into the small house carved directly into the rock. She had stopped moving forward and he turned to see what held her back. She was laughing softly.

?Is there a problem, Ventress??

?No, Kenobi, no problem. It?s not quite the Jedi Temple is it?? she smiled at him.

?No, it?s not.? He said coldly.

?Oh, I do not mean to offend, Kenobi. It reminds me of where I?ve been living, too.? Her laughter faded and her tone turned deadly serious. ?The Empire does not just hunt down the Jedi now, they are hunting all Force users.?

?Yes.? He said, his voice thick with sarcasm. ?I had heard something like that.?

He nodded curtly and led her into the sparsely furnished home. They spent a quiet time preparing and eating their evening meal. When that was completed Obi-Wan took her outside to work through their first meditation together. He found that could not open up to her. Lingering doubts about her purpose here meant that his shields remained firmly locked down. She was a bit more willing so they did make a little progress. He could sense her innocent intentions, her fear of the task she had given herself and a lingering anger at the Separatists and the Empire. By the time they were finished Obi-Wan felt a bit more at ease with her presence and began to plan her training in greater confidence.

The long journey, not just from Mos Espa, but from across the galaxy had left Ventress physically fatigued and mentally weakened. Obi-Wan?s prodding around in her loosely shielded mind combined with her own intensity during the meditation had done nothing to help that situation. She did not realize how much the recent events had worn on her until she dragged herself to the bunk Obi-Wan had made up for her in a small, curtained area next to his sleeping quarters. When her head hit the pillow it took mere moments for her to fall into a deep sleep.

The following morning she woke up to a pair of hard hands shaking her body. Her eyes flashed open and she pulled back in disorientation, preparing herself for battle. The clouds of sleep faded and realization of where she was set in as the man before her came into focus. She reflected that he had quite a handsome face before the mists finally cleared from her mind.

?Rise and shine, Ventress. For the Jedi it is time to meditate.? Obi-Wan had a wicked grin on his face.

?It is still night, Kenobi. The Jedi may be up, but I?m going back to sleep.? She groaned. She hadn?t been tormented like this since she was a youngster on Rattatak with her old master. He had been infuriating in the early morning hours as well. It must be a Jedi trait.

?Ah, but you intend to walk the Jedi path, so up you get. And it is not so far from dawn as you think.? He chuckled.

He continued to pull and chastise until his weary guest was out of bed. They stepped outside into the chill of the desert night. A long shiver went down Ventress?s spine despite her warm cloak and she looked over to find Obi-Wan quite comfortable in just a tunic and leggings. He laughed when she glared at him.

?It is a Jedi method of keeping warm. It involves some deep meditation techniques. There is one for keeping cool as well, though you must be very careful not to confuse them. I will teach them to you in time. First we must review what you have learned. Remove that cloak and stretch, Ventress. The suns will rise soon enough and then you will have no worry of being chilled.?

?I do have a first name, Master Kenobi. I wouldn?t mind if you would use it.? She offered.

Her use of the honorific surprised him, but he was not to be her

 

You tried to sneak this by me? Where was my PM?
I like the connection you made to your other story through the use of "Ben", pretty cool.
Additionally, it's interesting to see Ventress taken down a few notches--the fatique, etc... and the short discussion on the Empire and hunting down all Force users. She's really been left high and dry in all of this. Poor girl.

This has got a lot of potential, don't abandon it. If you're hitting a wall, PM me. There's evil to be had here.

 

I could have sworn I left feedback on this already! YIKES! Anyway, I'm loving this!

 

are you kidding? I thought that was a great update!

So Ventress is making herself comfortable on Obi's home now and...looks like she's a little attracted to him lol. They're on first name terms now. And he's going to teach her a few things..I wonder if she'll be teaching him a few things too? And how the Empire would feature in all this.. if two Force sensitives are in the same area.. I wonder if that makes their detection a lot easier?


I can't wait for more!

 

Oooh,new postie!
Very interesting, funny how comfortable obi wan and ventress are becoming with each other lol. But seriously, good job on showing this new, more obidient side of ventress- can't wait to see the lesson plans of Master Ben

 

oqi: Sorry! I was a bit embarrassed the way this was going. Now that I'm on a better track (thank you!) I think I may actually start liking this!

VaderLVR64: Thanks muchly! You're probably thinking of my dare challenge entry, same characters!

JOINME: I'm glad you liked it! You will have to be patient, m'dear. I'm in the process of reworking the rest of the plot, but I'll let ya know when there's more up!

Stella_Ripple: Padawan! Glad you liked it! Now go get to work on your own stuff so we can get you in here!

 

Oh that was funny! Not the Jedi Temple...

Poor Asajj! She juz wanted a few more mins (or hours) to sleep! Loved that whole bit there!

 

I'm enjoying Obi-Wan calling the shots here, I just wonder how long Asajj will put up with it.
She doesn't strike me as the submissive type...at least not for long!

Hope the creative juices start flowing again, this is a great story.

 

Thank you noble readers!
I am locking this thread. Why, you may ask? Because it is about to get a major, major overhaul.
Thanks to the guidance of my wonderful Evil Master, oqidaun, I've got a bigger, deeper story to tell.
I'm hoping to have the first, revamped chapter up within a week. Wish me luck!

EDIT: This will probably be gaining a new title, too. PM me if you want to be notified when it's reposted!
Thanks for reading!