, my young Padawan?" The platinum haired woman asked the young girl pacing back and forth inside the empty Council room, her green eyes hiding behind her eyelids as she tried to concentrate on the power of the Force deep within her.

The Padawan girl she had been training for the past seven years still continued to pace, her Master's words falling on deaf ears as the now teenage girl was still lost in her own thoughts. She ran her thumb across her upper lip, her front teeth biting down on the finger nervously as her dark brown eyes dart around the Council floors.

Master Sola was well aware of the reason behind her Padawan's jittery state, she has known Layna ever since she was a child and she was practically her second mother at this point. She knew the girl like the back of her hand, and she could sense the anxiety practically oozing out of the pacing girl.

It has been two years since the last mission Master Sola had been assigned to work with another fellow Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and they were to head over to yet another planet to work together once more for a very important mission. The only difference now is that their respective Padawans get to come along with them, as their Padawans were thirteen and fourteen, both strong with the Force and skillful with the lightsabers. They were ready for missions far more dangerous than the previous ones, to further their training even more and assess how well they would fare in life-threatening situations during missions.

Layna was absolutely excited knowing that she will be coming along with her Master on missions much dangerous than those she used to do previously, and she knew that she'll be able to satisfy her never-ending craving for adventure. But when she heard that Master Kenobi shall be accompanying them in the mission, all of her excitement faded into this ball of anxiety.

The reason why the teenage girl was pacing was because she was nervous, as she hasn't seen her best friend since two years ago. She missed the boy terribly, but she wasn't the same girl she was back then - she was now thirteen and she was officially a teenager. She's been growing in ways more than one, and she wasn't just talking about her Padawan training either. She didn't know how Anakin would react to seeing the girl he knew like the back of his hand turned into a blossoming young lady who still hasn't finished growing.

She was nervous, as she was now self-conscious of the way she looked, unlike how she was a few years ago. What if Anakin didn't recognize her when she tried to talk to him? She couldn't possibly forget the mortification she'd get if he couldn't recognize her as the Layna he knew so well years ago.

Layna didn't even understand why she cared so much about what Anakin thought. Sure, he's still her best friend but she didn't think she'd get so nervous about her best friend seeing her change so much. And she didn't think she'd be nervous seeing him again, either. He was just Anakin.

She's never been this nervous about seeing him before, it was strange. She couldn't understand why she feels like this, but she wasn't really in the right state of mind to ask herself why at the moment.

"Please stop pacing, Layna, you're giving me a headache," the young girl heard her Master say from behind her, and the girl sent an apologetic look in her Master's direction but she still couldn't help but feel anxious about seeing Anakin again for the first time in years.

"I'm so sorry Master," the brunette girl heaved out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her dark brown eyes darted to the entrance when she sensed two familiar presences nearby, her heartbeat racing as two figures entered through the doors.

The young girl felt her breath hitch as soon as her eyes landed on the blue eyed boy, unaware that his did as well. Anakin had grown, he was at least four inches taller than her now, as opposed to how they were almost the same height back then. His blonde hair, which was a few shades darker this time grew a little bit, as he needed to keep his hair cropped short. His bright blue eyes were still the same as ever, shining just a little bit brighter now as he laid his eyes on Layna for the first time in two years.

"Ani," she greeted the blonde boy, a breath escaping her lips as hers lifted into a huge smile. "Hi."

"Hi," the male Padawan flashed the younger girl a huge grin, his bright blue eyes taking in as much of the girl as possible. His eyes trailed down her face to her torso to her feet, trying to burn every single detail into his mind.

"I know that we're all incredibly happy to see one another," Master Kenobi cut in, causing the two Padawans to snap out of their little daze. "But we are a little bit short on time, and I'd like to us to finish this mission as soon as possible."

Master Sola snickered as she passed her Padawan, making her way over to the only other Jedi present. She peered over her shoulder to regard her young Padawan, who was walking towards her friend with a smile that couldn't seem to fade. "Come, Layna."

The brunette nodded, mumbling an incoherent response to her Master, who had gone ahead with Anakin's own Master, leaving her alone with her best friend. The way Anakin was looking at her made her heart race and her cheeks heat up immensely, and she felt herself flush under his gaze. "Let's go, Ani."

Anakin nodded his head, the smile he was wearing earlier still plastered on his tanned face. He kept his bright eyes on the smaller girl, studying the way she talked and reacted to his presence. "Right behind you, Layna."

Master Sola peered over her shoulder, her piercing emerald gaze studying the two Padawans trailing behind her, with the girl's cheeks bright red and head turned away from the boy who kept his eyes on the girl walking beside him.

Sola turned back around, her eyes locking with Obi-Wan's, as they exchanged knowing glances. She leaned in towards him, her lips just mere centimeters away from his ear to whisper words which cannot be heard by either Padawan. "I know you see it just as well as I do, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan scrunched up his nose, his gray-blue eyes studying the girl he considered his little sister, and the boy he has grown quite attached to for the past five years. "I just hope that this doesn't destroy them, Sola. I cannot bear to lose either one of them."

+

If there was a word Layna could use to describe the planet of Alderaan, it was fascinating. No, if she were to be completely honest, there was no word to describe just how beautiful the planet was to the Hale girl. Alderaan was a gorgeous planet comprised mostly of wild grasslands and mountain ranges, with ice-rimmed polar seas surrounding the majestic city of the planet.

Layna stared all around her, taking in her surroundings with her mouth agape, marveling at each and every structure she could see. It was the teenager's reaction every time she visited a new planet, one she hasn't been before, as she wanted to embed each and every place she has visited into her mind. She has never been to Alderaan before, but her Master has quite a few times, as the young Padawan was still too inexperienced to accompany her Master during the missions.

Anakin had his eyes on the girl instead of the area around him, studying her as she continued to digest every small detail of the planet her eyes could see. He found himself smiling as the girl began to smile at the people they passed by, her emotions of happiness and excitement radiating all around her.

The two Jedi walked ahead of their Padawan, their eyes set on the palace as this was where they headed to. They paid no mind to the fascinated girl behind them, despite sensing the positive emotions the girl was giving off.

Once the teenage girl was finished taking in her surroundings, she cleared her throat and tried her best to calm herself down, drilling into her mind that this was a mission and it was not a trip for pleasure. She straightened herself, clearing her throat as she kept her dark gaze on her Master's back. "So, who are we supposed to protect again, Master?"

Anakin let out a little huff, knowing that he probably should follow his friend's example and put on his a serious face, his eyes trained on the two Jedi walking ahead of him. He tried to ignore the sparks that he could feel whenever his arm would brush up against the fellow Padawan's as they walk alongside one another.

"Queen Mazicia Organa of Alderaan, my young Padawan," the platinum haired Master responded, as the four Jedi made their way up the palace steps, leading up to the entrance of the royal structure. "She has informed the Jedi Council of a recent threat to her life, and it was received in the form of a handwritten message. We're going to investigate whoever this individual is and protect the Queen from any attempted attacks."

The brunette furrowed her brows together, confusion written on her tanned face as she pondered why someone would want the Queen of Alderaan dead. She hasn't been to Alderaan before, nor has she met their Queen, but she was aware that the planet was peaceful and their Queen was both kind and considerate. She didn't understand why anyone would want to end the kind Queen's life, as she knew that the planet did not have any rivals or enemies at all.

"I know what you're thinking, my young Padawan," her Master's voice broke her concentration, and the brunette girl glanced up towards the two Jedi Knights who had entered through the front doors by the two guards standing right outside. She tilted her head slightly as she and Anakin follow after their respective Masters, staying a distance away from the Jedi. "But I cannot let you investigate about the identity of whoever sent that message."

A scowl quickly formed on the young girl's face, her mood quickly turning from curious to pissed off in a matter of seconds. Investigations are usually Layna's favorite part of the mission, if the mission had included investigation in the objectives for their assigned missions. Layna loved to investigate as it meant that there was going to be action wherever she went, as they get closer and closer to unmasking the identity of whoever is behind all of the disruption in the peace of the galaxy.

Layna was discouraged that she was going to miss all the action she could ever possibly hope for in this mission, especially since this was her very first dangerous mission. Since it was her first, she hoped that she could have a lot of fun and get as much action as possible, as she wanted this mission to be memorable but she couldn't do that if she was stuck doing something else rather than investigating.

"But Master, what am I supposed to do if I'm not going to investigate?" the teenage girl questioned, folding her arms across her chest as she glanced over at her friend, who had his brows furrowed in concern as well.

Master Sola and Master Kenobi exchanged glances, their eyes speaking in volumes as they seemed to read one another's mind before nodding at one another in agreement. The auburn haired man stopped midstep, whipping around to face the two teenagers as his gray-blue eyes squinted at the Padawans who had also stopped walking to focus on the Master's response.

"You are going to stay here, in the Royal Palace, to protect the Queen and serve as her bodyguard for the time being," he gestured toward the blue eyed boy standing beside Layna, the young boy's bright eyes widening slightly when his Master's light eyes focused on him. "With Anakin."

The two teenagers blurted out a one-word question in disbelief, their dark and light eyes growing wide as they realized that neither one of them was going to get any action in this mission. They turned to one another, frowns plastered on each other's faces as they digested Master Kenobi's words.

"But Master, I was expecting a little more fighting today!"

"You know I can defeat them, Master! We both know I can!"

"Shut up, you two," Master Sola hissed at the two Padawans upon hearing the whines escaping their lips, her cheeks reddening as she flushed in anger. If there was anything she hated, it was hearing people whine and complain about the things they cannot change. "If you two are given an order, you are to follow your order. Jedis do not complain about the tasks assigned to them, and they do not question these orders, especially not ones from their Masters. Are we clear?"

The younger Padawan cast her eyes away from her Master as she stuck out her bottom lip, huffing as she shook her head disapprovingly, like a whiny child who just got told that her mother couldn't buy a toy she wanted.

The older Padawan sucked in a breath, as he wasn't used to such intensity from a Master. Obi-Wan was nothing like the girl's Master, and the boy found himself admiring Layna for being able to put up with Master Sola for the past seven years.

"Yes, Master."

+

The teenage girl couldn't remember when she actually found herself enjoying a rather warm day surrounded by the smell of various kinds of flowers which gave off wonderful and unique scents. She couldn't really remember when was the last time she visited someone's garden and took in all of the sounds coming from the bugs or the birds, either. And she definitely couldn't remember when was the last time she found herself in the midst of so much luscious green plants like the ones in the Queen's garden.

Layna was seated on one of the various benches present in Queen Mazicia's garden in the Royal Palace of Aldera, her dark eyes fixated on the beautiful brunette woman tending to the velanie flowers blooming near the center of the garden, where a fountain stood. She narrowed her eyes at the woman, sensing the overwhelming amount of sadness and grief in the woman's heart as she looked at the flowers rather sadly, her fingertips grazing the petals ever so slightly.

Layna pursed her lips, shutting her eyes so as not to invade in the Queen's personal space. Being a Jedi did mean that she could sense thoughts and emotions of various people, but there were times when she could not control what she could sense. There are times when there are thoughts or feelings just so intense that she couldn't block these out, no matter how hard she tried. This situation was one of those perfect examples.

The young brunette girl sensed the woman's thoughts, which often drifted to her brother who had been murdered just a decade prior. The two Padawans were informed by the younger Jedi Master of the Queen's brother's murder on Antar 4, as Obi-Wan had been there when they had found the Queen's brother's body on the said moon.

Layna sympathized with the woman, as she knew just how much it hurt losing someone you loved and cared for deeply. She had lost her mother, the only person who had ever loved her and the only person who ever cared before Aria came along. Her mother was her everything, and to watch as her disease slowly destroyed her was absolute torture for Layna. But the moment she lost her was when everything crumbled down, and she was left with no one, and nothing but grief and hurt.

Anakin knew exactly what the young girl was feeling this very moment, his sensitivity to the Force enhancing his abilities to sense the energies around him and he was aware just how much sadness the Queen was emitting this very moment and it knew that it was affecting Layna. He didn't like feeling such a negative emotion from the usually enthusiastic girl, it killed him seeing her this way and he wanted to do something to distract her from the Queen's grief.

The boy's eyes caught sight of a nearby ithorean rose, noting how blue the petals of the flower were and soon thought of an idea. He approached the rose bush, plucking one of these roses off the bush while careful not to hurt himself on any of the thorns, before returning to his previous position at the girl's side.

"Layna?" the female Padawan was snapped out of her trance when Anakin called her name, her eyelids fluttering as she turned her head to look at the boy she's known for years. She could feel the boy's growing determination and the serious look in his light eyes was something she hasn't seen in a while.

"What's wrong, Ani?" Layna heard the boy clear his throat, before he pulled out a blue colored rose fron behind his back. The young girl's eyes went wide in surprise, her gaze flickering towards the peculiar flower then back to Anakin's now smiling face.

"This is for you," the blonde boy held the rose out to the girl, who just realized what exactly was happening this very moment. Layna's cheeks became a bright red in a matter of seconds, and she was wearing a huge smile, one that made her cheeks hurt because of how wide her smile was.

Being a Padawan, she never had the chance to experience these little things like being given flowers. This was probably the first time anyone had ever given her something meaningful like a flower, and for it to come from Anakin, her best friend, was quite surprising. She never would have expected such a sweet gesture from him, and the fact that he just did made her flush even more.

"Thank you," Layna chuckled, her cheeks heating up even more when Anakin's grin widened until it mirrored her expression and gently took the ithorean rose from her best friend's hands. She brought the flower up to her nose, taking in the pretty flower's fragrance and sighing in content as she enjoyed this moment a little longer.

Anakin's ocean blue eyes studied the smiling girl, whose cheeks were still tinted pink and inhaled a sharp breath. His thoughts drifted to the day he first met the girl in Watto's junk shop in Tatooine, where he used to work. He remembered thinking how beautiful the girl was, with her light brown hair pulled up into a ponytail with a tiny braid running down her shoulder, which he didn't understand back then, and she was wearing simple robes made specifically for Padawan learners.

Although he was well aware that she wasn't the only beautiful girl in the room, she was the only beautiful girl he found himself looking at. She had a different kind of beauty and a different kind of appeal, as opposed to the graceful kind of beauty Padmé seemed to exhibit. From the very beginning, from the very moment he laid eyes his eyes on the brunette girl whose chocolate eyes seemed to hold so much mystery, he had found her absolutely beautiful and he initially mistook her for an angel.

"Hey, do you remember when we first met and called you an angel?" Layna lifted her head to look at Anakin, and she dug up that certain memory from her mind. The tiny boy who used to be much smaller than she was, sitting on the table with a curious look on his face as he stared right back at her, awaiting her reply to the first words he ever spoke to her: Are you an angel?

Nodding, she shoved the nagging thought in her mind pointing out how her heart skipped a beat just now when she remembered how her friend has called her a beautiful creature when they first met. "You know, even until now, I wouldn't take back what I said about you being one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen."

Layna's cheeks heated up once more, her eyes flickering away from Anakin's as she couldn't bring herself to look at him in the eye when he told her that. She never will get used to getting described as beautiful by anyone, and she hated how she always ended up so flustered every time someone does. "I-Um, thank you."