Chapter Ten

Four Years Later..............

"Denali! Wake up! You can't be late for this mission!" Master Fisto said as he pounded on my bedroom door. How he even got into my resting chambers, I had absolutely no idea. I yawned and sat up, stretching my arms and running a hand through my messy hair.

"Coming, Master." I said as I stood up.

It had been four years since I had come to the Jedi Temple, four years since I had started my training as a Jedi apprentice, four years since Master Kit Fisto had willingly accepted the job to train me in the arts of the Jedi Code. It had been a very eventul four years, if I do say so myself. Within those long four years, I had created my own lightsaber.

My lightsaber was single-bladed, made of the strongest materials, and had a three and a half feet long white blade that glowed brightly. To me, it was the most beautiful weapon I had ever seen in my whole life. And I had seen many weapons when I had been part of that gang on Alderaan, but none could compare to my lightsaber.

I quickly changed out of my sleep-wear and into my regular clothes. I slipped on my black leggings, then pull on my white skirt over top that reached my mid-thigh, then my utility belt, next was my white tank-top and white sleeve-less utility vest that went on over that, my slick black leather boots, and then attatched my lightsaber to it's rightful spot on my belt.

Next was my hair. That was a whole other story. I sat down in my chair infront of my mirror, brushing through my long, thick, wavy curls. I quickly pulled them back into a long braid that reached my waist, then stood up. I looked at myself in the mirror. Smirking, I walked out of my room. Master Fisto was sitting at my table, drinking a cup of coffee as if he hadn't been freaking out about being late earlier. Steam rose up from the white mug in his hand.

"Like it?" I asked him as I sat across from him. He gave me a smile, which I gladly returned even though I was usually crabby in the mornings.

"It's great. But we really should be going. Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi are probably waiting for us." he said as he stood up. He set down the mug and quickly walked out of my resting chambers. Knowing that I hadn't had anything to eat for breakfast and that I would be tired if I didn't get anything into my body, I quickly took a swig of coffee from the pot that was set on the table. Setting it down and wiping my face, I quickly ran out and followed my master.

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"Do you think they forgot about the mission?" Obi-Wan asked as he paced back and forth in their ship. It had been four years since he had seen Denali, and to be honest, he was slightly nervous. He wondered how much she had changed, or maybe she hadn't even changed at all. Would she remeber who he was? Or had she forgotten?

"Relax, my apprentice. Here they come now." Obi-Wan's master, Qui-Gon, said as they looked down the docking ramp of the ship. Two people were walking up towards them, one being Master Fisto, and the other.....

'Woah.' Obi-Wan thought as he looked at Denali. She had changed enormously since the last time he had seen her. Her hair had gotten longer, she had grown a foot or two, and she....well.....looked more like a woman than the little girl he had met and defended all thoughs years ago. He and Denali made eye-contact and she smiled.

'I'll take that 'Woah' as a compliment.' Denali thought back to him. Finally realizing that she had heard what he had thought, he returned the small smile as well.

"Master Jinn, it's a pleasure to see you again." Denali said with a smile as she hugged her old friend. Qui-Gon hugged her back, a huge smile on his face. After a moment, he took a step back.

"My, my, my, you haven't changed a bit." Qui-Gon joked, causing them all to chuckle. They stepped inside the ship, where the crew were preparing to take off. People were bustling about, prepping the engines, making sure all decks were secure, the usual drill. Denali had learned during her time with Master Fisto that the best thing you could do at a time like this was stay out of people's way.

"We will be taking off soon." one of the soldiers on board informed us.

"Excuse me, Masters. But I think I should go and meditate til we reach our destination." Denali said, looking directly at Master Fisto. Realization appeared on his face and he nodded in agreement. He knew that she had been having strange visions lately, she had told him about each one. Many of them would contain people from her past, but one person seemed to always be seen the most.

And that was Zeffan, the red-skinned Zabrak that had been a part of the Rancor Slayers.

"Just be back by the time we arrive at the Trade Federation Base." Master Fisto said, then winked at her. She knew that when he winked, it meant that if she found out anything important, she was to go straight to him and tell him every detail. Denali bowed respectfully.

"Yes, Master." and with that, she walked toward the private chambers of the ship. Her boots clicked against the floor as she began to walk faster. She needed to find out was Zeffan was up to. She knew, even when she was in the Rancor Slayers gang, that he was bad knews. She just hoped that she was wrong.

The private chambers on the ship were where the crew and Captain usually slept or ate their meals. Denali assumed that since the ship would be taking off soon, she would be alone.

She was definately wrong.

"Why are you all of a sudden so jittery?" a voice behind her said as she heard the door to the private chambers close. She turned around and saw the familiar face of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even though he had grown up over the years, he still seemed the same to her. She gave him a small smile.

"What do you mean?" she asked him as she sat down in one of the officers' chairs that surrounded a white porcelin table. He pulled up a seat beside her, sitting down and looking at her. He stared at her for a second and she smirked.

"Still trying to sense my emotions?" she asked with a chuckle.

"I'm getting better, I can sense that you're.......excited?"

"No." she answered, a smirk on her face.

"Hopeful?"

"Nope."

"Betrayed?"

"Absolutely not." she said, trying to contain her laughter as a look of mock-defeat appeared on Obi-Wan's face. He chuckled along with her as they learned about what eachother had done within the four years they hadn't seen eachother.

"Has it really been four years?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yep." Denali said. She quickly sealed off her mind so that he couldn't hear her thoughts.

'I've been keeping track ever since we said good-bye.' she thought. A strange look appeared on Obi-Wan's face again.

"Can't hear my thoughts?"

"No."

"Good." she said with a chuckle.

"Why don't you want me to hear your thoughts?" he asked her.

"There are alot of things about me that you don't know." she answered simply.

"And you don't want me to know?"

"Exactly." she said with a smirk as she crossed her arms. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, causing her to laugh even more. Then a voice over the intercom system announced that they were approaching the Trade Federation base. Denali stood up quickly.

"Well, this was fun." she said with a smile. Obi-Wan smiled back.

"Yes, yes it was." Obi-Wan agreed as they put on their dark-brown cloaks and began to approach the bridge.

'If only he knew how I felt about him.' she thought to herself, making sure to close off that part of her mind so that he couldn't sense her deepest and most secret thoughts.

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Well, four years is quite a long time if you think about it. Let me know what you guys thought about the time difference in the comments and don't forget to smack that vote button and follow if you've enjoyed this story!!! Thanks again for reading, guys!!! :D

~Madness