" Good morning, my sweet Younglings. Today is our last day together, for tomorrow you all will be taking the Initiate Trials, then moving on to be a Padawan Leaner in the next few days, but for now let's get ready for the day." Carah came into the room and walking up the children like she had been doing for the past eight years.
" We are going to miss you too, Carah." Padme said going over to Carah and giving her a hug.
Then, the others came up to their Dorm Master and giving her a hug.
" Um... excuse me, Mistress Carah." a voice came from behind the small group.
" Master Obi-Wan, what can I do for you?" Carah turned around to face the person standing behind them.
" I was hoping that I could speak with Youngling Padme?" Obi-Wan asked, as he looked straight at Padme.
" Um... sure. Padme." Carah nodded to Obi-Wan, before turning to Padme.
" Yes, Mistress." Padme bowed her head, before grabbing her robe from her sleeping mat.
Padme followed Master Obi-Wan out of the sleeping area and went into Carah's office.
" I'm not in any kind of trouble, am I?" Padme asked looking at Obi-Wan and that when she saw that he was alone.
" No, you're not in any trouble. My Padawan is, and I know that you two hang around together a lo,t so I was hoping that you knew where he might be." Obi-Wan asked Padme.
" Um... lets see. Since he is taking the trials tomorrow, he might be studying for it." Padme said looking straight at Obi-Wan.
" So, do you know where this place could be?" Obi-Wan asked, as Padme saw worried in the Jedi Master's eyes.
" Well, there is about four places goes to,: Memorial Hall, the Archives, the Gardens and Room of Thousand Fountains. Your best bet to find him is in the Room of Thousand Fountains, because that's where we go most of the time to study." Padme said as she tried to feel Anakin with the Force, and she felt him in the Room of Thousand Fountains.
" Thank you, Padme. I will let you get ready for today." Obi-Wan smiled at Padme before heading out of the office.
Padme went back into the sleeping area, grabbed her clothes, and headed for the refresher. Once Padme was dressed, she headed down to the dining hall and to find Anakin sitting at the table and yawning.
" Hey, Anakin." Padme said sitting down next to him.
" Hey, Padme. Are you ready for your trials?" Anakin asked, as he began to yawning again.
" Yeah, am ready. Um... did Obi-Wan find you earlier?" Padme opened up her juice.
" Yeah he did. He found me in the Room of Thousand Fountains. I fell asleep while I was studying for the trials. I take it he came looking for me and the first person he came to was you." Anakin looked over to the table where Rayn was sitting at and he was staring at him.
" Yeah, he did stop by and asked me if I saw you or knew where you were. I told him that you could be studying and could be at four places." Padme said as she began eating her cereal.
" Hey, guys. Can I join you? Rayn is being a butt head. I believe he is still jealous, because you and Anakin are still hanging out with each other, after all these years." Luna said as she put her food tray down on the table.
" Sure, you can join us. I told him that I think of him as a friend or a brother and that's all its going to be between us." Padme looked over to the table where Rayn was sitting with a small group of other Younglings so to be Padawans, and she just glared at him.
" You know, I could beat the crap out of him if you want me to Padme." Anakin also glared at Rayn.
" No, Ani. Its ok. Well, it's time for me to meditate, so I'll see you in class, in about thirty." Padme said as the first meditation bell began to ring.
" Ok, I'll see you later." Anakin said, as the three young Jedi got up from the table and went their separate ways for about thirty minutes.
Thirty minutes later, the Younglings were in their first class and only class getting ready to study for the Trials tomorrow.
" Good morning, my soon to be Padawan Learners. Well, today, you have reached the end of your years as Jedi Initiates, and you will no longer be Younglings, and can no longer remain in the Temple. All of you must pass from Initiate into a new level of service. And to reach this new level you must complete the Initiate Trials. So this is the time you should be preparing for them." Master Sabla-Mandibu said as she looked around the room.
" Master, could you give us any hints on what will be on the Trials?" Bobby asked hoping that he had every thing that he needed to pass the trial.
" Yes, am going to tell you what you need to know. The first thing is to demonstrate you knowledge and understanding of the Jedi Code and with that said Anakin could you tell us what the Jedi Code is?" Master Sabla-Mandibu asked him.
" There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force." Anakin repeated the Code back to the Jedi Seer.
" That is correct, Padawan Skywalker. Ok, the next thing you need to do is demonstrate self-discipline through meditation and lightsaber control. I would like Rayn and Anakin to demonstrate the First lightsaber Combat Form." the Jedi Master said.
Both Rayn and Anakin stood up and began to demonstrate the lightsaber Combat Form I. Ten minutes later, Anakin had disarmed Rayn, who called out Solah.
" Very good. The last thing that you need to prove is that the Force flows through you and that you are not a rock stubbornly blocking it's current. All of these things are to be expected of one who has completed the training of a Jedi Initiate, but not all of you will pass through the same place." the Jedi Seer said looking at the children that was in front of her.
" Um... what will happen it we don't pass the Trials?" Ashla asked.
" Well, there are two options. First, is you will become a member of the Jedi Service Corps, which could either be in the Agricultural Corps or the Educational Corps, and there are a couple more Corps you can look into. Then some of you may not follow either path, and regretfully, the Council may decide the path of the Jedi is not for you. And if you arrive at this decision yourself, then it's the Force speaking to you, and you are not meant to follow the Jedi Path." the Master was telling the Younglings.
" How do we get a Master?" Mari asked.
" Well, like I said before, some of you will graduate from the Initiate to Padawan. This will see you apprenticed to a Jedi Knight or Master, and it is necessary step in becoming a Jedi Knight or Master yourself. But competency at the Initiate Trials is not enough to earn a Padawan apprenticeship. You must forge a bond with a Knight or Master, and some of you will discover that the Force does not wish you to follow such a Path, with that you must Meditate on it now, so you will be prepared should such a moment come to pass." Master Sabla-Mandibu said looking at the Younglings.
" When you do follow the path of the Force? Do you find a Jedi Knight or Master to become and apprentice to them." J.K. asked.
" Ok, one way in which you can attract the attention of a potential Master is through the Apprentice Tournament. Each year the Temple holds a lightsaber contest for Padawans, which has a times included a free-for-all round or contests held underwater or in a zero-g chamber." Master Sabla-Mandibu said as she walked back and forth in front of the room.
" What happens if you pass these contests?" Rayn asked.
" Well, although the tournament winner will undoubtedly receive an apprenticeship, the tournament's true purpose is to demonstrate you individual style so that a visiting Master might assess your abilities and potential to be a good fit as his or her Padawan. But for those who aren't gifted in Combat, the Apprentice Tournament my not be the best Validation of your skills. Jedi Consular, who are looking for a new Padawans often Force tournament in favor of asking the Temple staff to point out promising scholars. The Council is generally not involved in the pairing of a Master and a Padawan. It's the Force that will act as a guide expressing itself through this bond, and rarely needs outside help. Ok we are now going over some stuff that you feel you need to work on, and we have all day to work on all your weaknesses." Master Sabla-Mandibu said as she looked at each and everyone of her students.
After four hours of studying, everyone went to lunch and while Anakin and Padme were sitting at the table talking Padme go this feeling that she was being watched. And looking over to the table where Masters Yoda, Obi-Wan and this female Jedi Knight was sitting at. It was then that Padme had a mental connection with this woman, and it was a this moment that they both realized that they were destine to be together. They looked at each other and knew it was the Force bring them together. After dinner, Padme and Anakin went to the Room of Thousand Fountains and studied until the ten minutes before the lights out bell began to rang. Anakin was staying in the dorms, so they both climbed into their sleeping mats and falling into a peaceful sleep.
Authors Note *(pages 44-45 & pages 48-49 of the book, The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force - text and Annotations written by Daniel Wallace.)