Odette looked to Leia and Han, awaiting the answer to her question, though the two adults seemed hesitant to give her such answers.
After moment of looking silently to her husband, considering her words, Leia finally looked back to Odette and spoke softly,
"Han and I kept in touch with Luke and contacted him often. He always gave us updates on how Ben was doing, and often...Luke spoke of you as well. How close you and Ben were and that you were very good friends. And, later...he told us that you and Ben were together, though no one other than Luke knew. He was waiting for you and Ben to come to him and tell him, rather than he telling you both that he knew."Odette was taken aback by this new information. So...Luke had known about she and Ben? Her eyes were wide and she looked down to her hands. Now, she found herself wishing Luke had come to she and Ben, told them that he knew about their relationship. Perhaps things might have turned out differently. The fact that he had known this whole time felt like someone had splashed ice cold water over her, getting hit with the cold reality of this. Taking a deep breath, she looked to Leia and Han, speaking quietly,
"We....we didn't want anyone to know...we...were afraid. That if Luke found out, he would forbid us to be together and separate us."Leia smiled softly, though it was a sad smile, as she reached out to embrace the girl once more before pulling back,
"Luke enjoyed that you both had found someone you cared for so deeply. And...knowing my son found such an amazing girl to look after him, it made me heart soar. I only wish I could have met you before all of this."In a way, seeing Leia look at her so softly, it gave Odette a warm feeling, much like one would when hearing praise from a mother. And in a way, she supposed she could think of Leia as a sort of mother to her, considering this was the mother of the man she loved so dearly. Odett found herself hugging the woman again for a long moment, and when she pulled back, she found herself entrapped in the restricting hug of the Wookie, the strength of it lifting her off of her seat with a slight yelp,
"You must be Chewbacca." Odette gasped out during the tight hug before being set back down.
"Alright kid." Came the voice of Han, stepping up. And though the man wasn't as warm as the other two, she could see a sort of fondness in his gaze,
"We need to get you somewhere these Order people can't find you. We can take you back to the Rebel base if you'd like. We could use a Jedi in this fight."Odette went quiet for a moment in thought to Han's suggestion and after a long moment of thinking, she slowly shook her head,
"I...I can't." She looked to the three of them, "I don't think I'd be able to face Ben. Not right now." It wasn't that she didn't think she was strong enough to beat him...but...the thought of fighting him, and possibly ending him, weighed heavily on her and she wasn't ready to face it. No, she needed to hone in on the Force, find herself through it and continue her training. Only then would she be able to face him.
She told Han and Leia about the pieces of the map that she and Ben had been sent on missions for a few years now to find. About how she had 3 of the 4 pieces, and had found hints to where the last piece was through some of Luke's writings. Her personal mission now was to find that last piece, go to the first Jedi temple, and continue her training in secret until she was ready to face Ben. Once they had arrived to the Rebel base, Leia offered to give her a ship for her travels, to which Odette was grateful for.
"Leia," Came Odette's voice as the four approached the ship for Odette's departure. She looked to the older woman,
"Will you keep BB-8 with you? He belonged to Ben and...I feel it'd be right for you and the others here to have. He'll be a great help and he's hard working. Brave too." She knelt, placing a hand on BB-8's head with one hand and BB-11's head with the other,
"Besides, these two have a connection. As long as you have BB-8, if you need me, you can have him track BB-11 to find me." Standing up straight, she looked to the older woman and gave her a soft smile, taking the woman's hands in hers,
"If you ever need me, send BB-8 for me and I'll be here as quick as I can. Be safe, Leia.""And you do the same." Leia smiled and the two embraced one last time.
After letting Leia go, Odette moved to Chewbacca, who roared in sadness to see her go, lifting her off her feet in another tight hug, Odette hugging the furry beast as well,
"Take care of them, Chewbacca." After she was let go, she moved to Han, and unsure how to say goodbye to the stern looking man, she held out her hand,
"Goodbye, Han. It was nice finally meeting you." Giving a roll of his eyes, Han made a gesture toward himself, to which Odette gave smile and small laugh, moving forward to hug the man.
"Stay safe, kid. I don't want to have to come after you and pull you out of some mess, got that?"Odette nodded as she let him go,
"I'll try not to." With that, she moved up the ramp, BB-11 at her heels. She paused for just a moment, looking over her shoulder at the three and BB-8, wondering if she'd ever see them again. Or if she did, who would be a victim of this rising war. She gave them one last smile, then entered the ship, closing the door and moving to the pilot's seat, taking off into the sky, her mind set on finding the map, so she could continue her training, and save the Jedi she loved.
...........................................................................................
19 | Light Side User | Jedi ApprenticeRey knelt there, the blue saber in her hand buzzing with life, her breaths coming out uneven as she tried to regain her composure after once again being forced to yield at Master Skywalker's skills in both light saber wielding and in the Force. She tried to catch her breath as she moved to it down in the grass, looking up to Master Skywalker,
"What did I do wrong this time? I've done everything you've said and still I failed."Luke chuckled,
"You did it all, yet your focus should have been on the Force, not in how to swing your saber." He allowed time for the young girl to lift herself back up from the ground before speaking again,
"That is enough for today. Go get some rest, Rey. We'll continue our training tomorrow morning."With that, Luke was off, heading to his own hut and Rey sighed, clipping her saber to her side and moving down the hill toward the other huts that she and the others had been occupying the past two months. As expected, Poe and Finn were out and about, talking and planning for when they would finally come face to face with Kylo Ren again. Leia was likely in her own hut, keeping in contact with the rest of the rebel fleet, commanding them from afar while she assisted Luke in his training of young Rey. After all, two aged Force Users were stronger than one.
Walking over, she sat down on a log beside the two males, sighing,
"Well, hopefully your planning is going better than my training?"...........................................................................................
The First Jedi Temple
Odette Kenobi
27 | Light Side User | Jedi MasterNine years. Nine long years that she had been in hiding, training and doing all she could to get stronger in the Force, so that perhaps one day she could go on to take down the First Order and bring Ben home. She missed him...so much. She didn't know what she would do once she came face to face with him again, but she knew that no matter what, she had to try. Even if her attempts failed to bring him back to the light, she owed it to the Ben that she knew to still be in him to give bringing him back to the light everything she had.
She walked through the dark passages of the small Jedi Temple, her saber lighting the way for her. She had at one point thought of adding lights to the halls to help light her way, but could never bring herself to alter the original structure of such an ancient and important piece of Jedi history. BB-11 followed at her heels as she made her way to the meditation room. Upon entering, she moved her hands back to braid back her now long blonde hair back into a single braid that went down to her waist, getting it out of her face so that it wouldn't brush against her and make her loose focus. Once done, she carefully sat down and folded her legs, closing her eyes.
She let the Force lead her, following into her and from through her, so that she could feel. Feel everything around her and upon the surface as this small planet. Sometimes she would even feel beyond this planet, though that was rare.
Just like now.
The face of a dark haired man flashed into her mind, stilling her heart for a moment, a voice echoing in her mind,
"...Od-" A pause,
"Kill the past to become who you're meant to be." She knew that voice. Knew that raven hair and features of that face. Though the expression that she had barely seen in the flash of a image was one foreign to her, at least on that face. The connection ended as quickly as it came, her eyes flying open as she gasped for breath, eyes wide. It wasn't often the Force lead her to Ben. She never meant for it to happen, and it was always just a flash. It always hurt. Each time she saw him, Ben lurked more and more in darkness, further away from the Ben she once knew. Part of her wondered if he could see her as well during those brief moments of connection, but never let the thoughts linger, for fear she would try to reach out to him on purpose.
Sighing, she stood up,
"BB-11. I'm heading to bed. Do a patrol around the temple for me?" The little droid beeped happily and rolled off, leaving Odette to herself. She made her way through the temple, to the old resident quarters and into the room she had claimed as her own, part of her choosing this room being the beautiful view from the window of green fields and exotic flowers, as well as wonderful and clear lake. It reminded her of the world she was born on, before it was attacked. And also reminded her of the trail she and Ben used to take when they wanted to be alone. She smiled softly as she gazed out the window for a moment, before moving to her bed and laying down, letting exhaustion from training take her.
.....
Opening her eyes, Odette found herself in a place she never thought she would be in again. A soft and peaceful breeze blew over her skin and hair as her blue eyes gazed over the familiar terrain. It had been years since she had seen this place, yet she remembered it so clearly. Her feet moved, taking to the edge of the lake, gazing out in confusion and concern. Why had her dreams brought her here? To the very place that was now abandoned? A place that once held such beauty and meaning, and while still beautiful, left her feeling sorrowful.
Giggles made their way to her ears, causing Odette to turn in surprise as, coming through the forest along the trail, was a young blonde headed girl, giggling and laughing as she dragged a raven haired boy along, glee and excitement in her eyes,
"Come on, Ben! Stop being such a slow poke!""I'm coming, Odette. Calm down." Came the cool voice of the young boy being dragged along, though there was hints of enjoyment in his amused gaze as he allowed the girl to pull him down the path and over to the lake's edge.
The two children, young padawans, made their way over to the lake's edge, to which Odette had finally stopped dragging Ben along, letting go of his hand and closing her eyes to breath in the fresh air and feel the Force work around her. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked over to Ben with a bright smile,
"Isn't it wonderful Ben?""Yeah, I guess it's okay."The girl laughed and shook her head, her turn to have an amused expression on her face. Instead of commenting on what he said, she looked out to the lake again,
"It can only get more beautiful as we grow. My parents used to tell me that the world is what you make it. And if you really try, you can shape the world, or even the universe, into a colorful and wonderful place." She looked to him again,
"You know, my mother used to sing me a song about it too. She had such an amazing voice." She turned her gaze back to the lake, only to hear Ben's voice speak again,
"Let me hear it." When she looked to him in question, he had his face turned away so that she could not see his expression,
"Sing me the song."Blinking in surprise, the little girl paused for a moment, before smiling brightly and giggling, giving him a nod,
"Okay."She kept her eyes on him though he wouldn't look to her as the words flowed softly from her,
I close my eyes and I can see
The world that's waiting up for me
That I call my own
Through the dark, through the door
Through where no one's been before
But it feels like home
They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy
They can say, they can say I've lost my mind
I don't care, I don't care, so call me crazy
We can live in a world that we design
'Cause every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make"Moving, the smiling girl crawled over ot where she was on the other side of him and she could look at him, a bright smile on her face,
"There's a house we can build
Every room inside is filled
With things from far away
The special things I compile
Each one there to make you smile
On a rainy day
They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy
They can say, they can say we've lost our minds
I don't care, I don't care if they call us crazy
Runaway to a world that we design
Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make"As Odette looked at him, she reached out, taking his hands on hers, her blue eyes meeting his,
"However big, however small
Let me be part of it all
Share your dreams with me
You may be right, you may be wrong
But say that you'll bring me along
To the world you see
To the world I close my eyes to see
I close my eyes to see
Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
A million dreams, a million dreams
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make"Her voice grew softer and she leaned forward to press her forehead against his, a bright smile on her face,
"For the world we're gonna make"Another giggle escaped the girl and she pulled back, only to laugh as she suddenly tackled him into the water, laughter erupting from the both of them as they began splashing and pushing each other into the water.
Seeing such a scene warmed Odette's heart, yet filled her with such sorrow, looking on with sadness in her gaze. She had sung that song to Ben many times after that day, and there had been times Ben would even join in. It was a fond memory and reminded her that, at one time, Ben was shrouded in such an immense amount of light. It made her wish she could go back to that day and keep him just the way he was. As the children's laughs continued to ring out, Odette found herself lifting her gaze to peer over them and across her, freezing when she saw a dark cloaked man standing there, watching the very same scene. She hadn't seen him before now, leaving her to believe that even though he may have seen the whole scene as well, he had just appeared to for her to see.
"...Ben?"