Among the Temple students who had arrived there at a later age than was customary, doubts sometimes arose about the correctness of their choice of path. After all, it was not for nothing that the Jedi Council tried to accept children under the age of four for training so that they could not influence its decision themselves. While this may not have been entirely fair to the candidates, it did save them from many problems, such as dissatisfaction with the Order's life, which was not particularly abundant, and its strict rules. In this case, the student simply did not know any other way of life than that of the Order and involuntarily considered it the only possible and acceptable one. The situation was worse for older children who had already had a chance to live in the big world and see other ways of life. In particular, they learned the concept of home and family, which the Order would certainly never give them, given the prohibition on attachments and personal relationships. Although there were also advantages in such situations, for example, the fact that the apprentice came to the temple of his own free will, feeling the desire to voluntarily become a Jedi, not because he was selected by the Temple, but because he followed the call of his heart, which was guided by the Great Force itself. However, wasn't it she herself who showed such children the way to Coruscant? Yes, probably, but only if they had continued to follow her call. Alas, this was not always the case. Often, knowing only what others had told them about the Order, the older students did not have a completely accurate picture of it. Their imaginations painted beautiful pictures of interplanetary flights, beautiful swings of lightsabers and feats that resounded throughout the galaxy, creating the illusion that this was what a Jedi's life consisted of. And when they learn that all these attractive benefits are accompanied by a very strict and almost ascetic lifestyle, in the form of a strict daily routine, mandatory clothing and a system of restrictions, they sometimes express a wave of protest. After all, unlike at home, the apprentice was not allowed to do very much: leave the temple alone and without warning, have any personal belongings other than those provided by the temple, openly show their emotions and feelings, or visit their relatives except for one day every six months. The list could go on and on, and to that you could add meagre food and gruelling training. Not to mention the complex and boring spiritual practices and theory classes that sometimes took up almost the entire day. In general, as is already clear, such an order is not to everyone's liking, and it is not what ambitious children expect when they enter the temple. All of them, without exception, believe that all skills will come easily to them, and some do not need to learn anything at all, because they already know everything. Only a few are willing to spend whole days in the training hall for the sake of real success, beating their hands until they are bloody and calloused, and sitting in a meditative position for several hours to achieve a state of complete detachment for at least five minutes. and at night, when the teacher falls asleep, sneak into the library and study particularly difficult lines from the holocrons until they lose consciousness. Then they fall asleep with their heads on the table and wake up in the morning with a triangular imprint on their foreheads and a wealth of new knowledge. It was precisely these students that the mentors loved, respected and held up as examples to others. And it was precisely these students that Anakin Skywalker could not be counted among. From the very first moments of his arrival at the Temple, this little upstart from Shili managed to cause a lot of trouble for both his seniors and juniors. His peers also got their share, having to listen from morning till night to:
"Come on, why can't we swim here? When will I get my pocket money? What do you mean, you won't give it to me? No, I don't agree! Stop! Why are we being fed this disgusting food? Where's my favourite fried porg?
And so it went on day after day for almost six months. Everyone was tired and extremely fed up with reprimanding him. Even the extremely patient and indulgent Master Yoda often couldn't help himself, occasionally expressing his dissatisfaction with Skywalker's behaviour:
"One thing, young Skywalker, you must remember: you must honour and respect our rules. Otherwise, you will soon be sent to the service corps.
This rebuke briefly brought Anakin to his senses and prevented him from acting out, because those who were sent to the service corps were usually considered unworthy of training at the Temple. This was considered the worst nightmare for younglings, who feared it and tried with all their might to avoid it. But his restraint usually lasted only a few hours, and then he would start again:
"Ugh, I'm not eating this porridge! It's disgusting! It looks like the breakfast Rancor eats, and he's eating it for the second time!
After such a statement, not only did his appetite disappear, but so did that of at least half of the group of students. But everything changed as soon as a thin orange-brown figure appeared in his field of vision, folding her thin arms across her chest and looking at him with dissatisfied blue eyes. At that moment, as if by magic, all the nonsense immediately disappeared from Anakin's mind, and his face became serious. And when she approached him, sat down next to him and began to ask him about his day, he was completely transformed. Straightening his back and propping his cheek with his hand, Skywalker began to recount in detail what he had learned recently, trying not to miss a single detail. The rest of his companions watched this spectacle and were simply amazed at how one person could change so dramatically just by seeing another. Concrete and definite. And indeed, only this girl, only she, Ahsoka Tano, apprentice to the reserved but very kind and responsive Master Plo, knew how to tame the difficult temper of Anakin Skywalker. Only in her presence did he begin to behave decently and kindly. No one else could influence him like that. And every time they had the opportunity, they would retreat somewhere in the recreation area and talk for hours about everything under the sun. Both of them, having come to the temple as adults, had many common problems and thoughts. They always had something to discuss. Sometimes they talked about home. Anakin remembered his mother and wondered how she was doing in her homeland with her new husband, based on the short messages he received from Shili. Asoka often thought about her father, whom she had not seen for a long time. She missed him and sometimes, in particularly difficult moments, she almost burst into tears. Skywalker, unable to bear the pain in her eyes, would gently hug her shoulder and ask her not to cry, and then, when no one was around, he would give her his favourite Tail. Ahsoka would hold the toy close to her, and rare salty drops would fall on her oval ears. Anakin's friends, seeing this tender friendship, secretly laughed at them, and one of them, Ferrus Olin, who was a couple of years older than Anakin and particularly quick-witted, once said mockingly, looking straight at them:
"Well, you two, aren't you tired of hugging yet? Maybe you should just get married?
These words made Ahsoka almost laugh, but Anakin, on the contrary, frowned and, furrowing his brow, took a step towards Ferrus:
"Yeah, right, I'll marry you! Just let me grow up first!
"I'll give you permission," Ferrus replied, not giving an inch. "But how will you get around the Code? It's unlikely that Yoda will agree to be your best man, and Vindou to bring you the rings. Besides, I'm not eager to carry the train of your beautiful elderly bride's dress. It's too high a price to pay for expulsion from the Order.
That was too much, and with his face red with anger, Anakin stepped towards Ferrus and, waving his arms, pushed him against the wall with the Force, causing him to hit it and fall. Then he sat down on top of his opponent, grabbed him by the hair with one hand and began to beat him in the face with the other, choking with rage and almost hissing in his face:
"Don't you dare say that again! Do you hear me? Who am I talking to? Never say that again!
Asoka stood up next to them and began to pull them apart, dragging them in different directions.
"Oh! Here comes the Chosen One herself!" Ferrus said mockingly. "You think he needs you? As if! He just wants to stand next to you so that your exclusivity will shine on him, and then he'll dump you and find someone younger!
"What did you say? Shut up, Goldilocks!" Anakin became angry again and kicked Ferrus hard.
Ferrus was equally offended, understanding that the nickname was partly justified. The fact was that Olina's dark blond hair had several golden strands, which involuntarily made him resemble the heroine of a famous fairy tale.
"Shut up, mama's boy!" Olin immediately flew into a rage. "They took you away from your mother, and now you've found a new one, and a famous one at that!"
Asoka could no longer stand it and approached the brawlers again, trying to shout at them, but they were so caught up in the fight that they did not hear her at all. Finally losing patience, the Togruta grabbed each of them by the shoulder and, using the Force, pulled them apart. The boys, confused about what had happened, rushed towards each other again, but both crashed into Ahsoka, who was standing between them, causing her to stagger and fall to the floor, hitting her head on one of Jakasta's flower pots, which she had placed all over the temple as if she were at home, something that had often been the subject of criticism from her superiors, but had always been forgiven in memory of her past merits. However, Asoka was not about to reproach Jakasta or admire her now; she was not about to do anything at all, as she had hit the pot and immediately collapsed to the floor, spreading her arms out to the sides. On her right temple, near the white and blue montrall, there was a bloody abrasion, from which a red trickle ran down the protrusion. Her eyes were closed and she showed no signs of life.
"Asoka! Asoka! What's wrong with you?" Anakin cried out in despair. Togruta did not answer him, just continued to lie motionless on the floor.
"It looks bad," said Ferrus, who was just as scared as him.
"You'd better keep quiet, or if she dies, I'll kill you!" Anakin directed his helpless anger at him.
"What happened here?" an authoritative voice rang out above them. Both boys froze in terror, but were even more frightened when they realised who had arrived at the scene.
***
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