CHAPTER ELEVEN.

The training over the next week or so was intense. Elly - despite her adjustment to the regiment - felt exhausted after every session. Her work in the Gardens got less and less because her muscles ached so much every morning. Most days, she would lie down on the mat and try to collect herself before leaving the room. But it never really worked and Obi-Wan constantly gave her the reminder that she had to do a cool down before it would get any better.

Elly sometimes hated how right Obi-Wan was but she enjoyed spending time with him. She found his presence calming, especially after the meditation they had done the previous week. She was almost comforted knowing that the Force didn't look down on her for her feelings. It made their meditation, alone and together, so much easier but she still hid that small little fact.

But as their training increased, so did their time meditating together. The meditation helped keep her centred still. They both knew she still struggled but it helped. It got her into the right headspace and her feelings of anxiety slowly began to dissipate with his help.

The worries still lingered though. They were pushed far back in her mind but they were there. The Jedi Council expected her to return to the field soon. She had to move out with Obi-Wan on his next mission and that thought still made the pit open up in her stomach.

Especially with her returning feelings for the Jedi Master, she didn't want to risk hurting him or disappointing him. The thought that she could jeopardise his battalion and lead to harm coming their way made her feel sick with anxiety. And Anakin's lack of return from battle made her feel the same way. It had been about a week since he had left and Ahsoka said that he would not be returning for at least another day.

Despite Elly's situation with Anakin, she still cared for him. She had watched him grow up from the sidelines and Obi-Wan cared for him deeply. It mattered to her that he was safe and she hated having to wait. She had very little to distract her now that Ahsoka was busy with her own training but Elly knew that he would return safely. He was the Chosen One.

But Obi-Wan kept her busy in the mornings. Their circuit training had become more intense and somehow, Obi-Wan had become a harder opponent to beat. Part of her wondered if he had been purposefully going easy on her and so she asked.
The morning was quiet as they sat across from each other. Her face was red and sweaty and they'd just finished the circuits. Her muscles burned from the stretches and exercises and sprints but she was still ready to duel him.

"Have you been going easy on me?" She asked curiously as she turned her gaze to the man. He was sat on the bench, a cantina in hand. He raised an eyebrow and she waited to see what he'd say. She knew that he had initially not pushed her as hard as she could have been but the duelling had always been something she believed to have integrity.

"I did what I thought was best." Such a diplomatic response and Elly stared at him. That meant one thing. That he had been going easy on her. She shook her head and Obi-Wan smiled cheekily. So, Elly picked up a training lightsaber for him and chucked it his way. He caught it with ease and eyed it up before looking at her.

"Stop going easy on me, Kenobi," She responded. A grin on her lips as she moved into a defensive position. He moved into an offensive stance, igniting his training lightsaber. The low frequency lightsaber hummed softly as she looked across at him. He discarded his cloak onto the bench and moved closer to the centre of the room.

Elly loved the feeling of the lightsaber humming, it gave her a jolt of adrenaline. Then, he attacked. His lightsaber swung but she was quick to block, their lightsabers clashing as she stepped back, the force of it forcing her to do so.

The attacks continued like this as they moved away from the centre of the room and she realised what he was doing. She ducked under an attack and dipped to the side, swinging for his shoulder. However, he was quick, turning quickly and blocking as he stepped back.

She smirked as she noticed the position she'd got him in. He was stuck against the wall, she pushed forward and swung again. Their lightsabers clashing again as she pushed the lightsaber further towards him so he had no way of escaping. She was smirking at him before he then smirked back, a force sending her flying back.

A surprised yelp fell from her lips as she landed on the floor at the centre of the room, evening the playing field again. She groaned before rolling back onto her front. She grabbed her lightsaber from where it had skittered on the floor, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Okay, that was definitely cheating," She pointed out as she sat up, brushing some imaginary dust off her clothes. He chuckled softly as he walked over to her, keeping his saber ignited.

He then went in for an attack. She jumped back from it, igniting her blade as they began to trade blows again. He was relentless and forceful with each movement. She barely blocked some and a few slipped past her defence, bruises and cuts over various parts of her and him as they exchanged blows.

They stepped back and when Obi-Wan came in for another particularly harsh blow, she ducked under it and swept her leg, knocking him to his knees. He was kneeling as she stood up, a smirk on her lips. Her lightsaber still ignited as she used her force to throw away his saber that had fallen from his grip as he fell.

"Yield," She said simply. Her tone was demanding as she held the saber ready to hit him with it. He didn't say anything and the silence filled the room for a few seconds. Then he jumped at her, another yelp falling from her lips as she was thrown to the floor behind her.

The lightsaber fell from her grip as she landed on her back with a cough and groan. The wind knocked out of her as she panted softly. He then moved on top of her and straddled her waist. She tried to reach out to grab the lightsaber but he leant forward and pinned her hands in place.

"Yield," He mimicked her smug, demanding tone from only a few minutes earlier. She shook her head, trying to wiggle out of his hold. She couldn't do anything though, she was trapped. She would have to yield, well, she could or she could make herself dizzy.

Making herself dizzy but winning sounded better. So once he was in a better position, she threw her head forward. Her forehead collided with his face, particularly his nose. And his hands flew to his face as he sat up. She grinned and flipped them over, pinning his hands now as she straddled him.

"Are you gonna keep fighting me, Obi?" She asked as she pushed his hands down further onto the floor. She wasn't going to let him escape. It wasn't hard for her to put all her body weight onto him and she was sure he was trapped.

He had a grimace on his face, his head clearly spinning much like hers. She waited for his response, trying to keep focused on it as the room spinned around her. She really needed to stop using that move because she was going to give herself a brain injury but she just wanted to beat Obi-Wan.

"I... uh... Elly..." He stuttered out, his ears tinting as he averted his gaze to the ceiling. Her eyebrows drew together as she looked at him. She wasn't going to move off though, she wasn't going to fall for whatever he was doing, "I yield." He said quickly, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to ignore the feeling in his head. The surge of pride ran through her chest and she moved to sit up on him, her hands releasing his.

Then she felt it and her eyes widened, her jaw falling slack. She scrambled off him and stood up, the movement causing her head to spin more. He had a boner... over her or was it just one of those ones that appeared out of nowhere? She could feel her cheeks flushing, the heat rushing there as she forced a neutral smile onto her face.

"Are we done for the day?" Elly asked quickly. Obi-Wan sat up and nodded his head, waving his hand in dismissal. She smiled softly, "I need to go to the medbay. Check I don't have a concussion. You might want to get your nose checked." There was a sense of awkwardness to her voice but she tried to ignore what had happened. It was natural. It happened.

She couldn't say it was the first time had had gotten one during their training but it had been years. And they were young and teenagers with a lot of hormones last time it had happened. It was nothing like this.

"Yes, yes, you should go," Obi-Wan dismissed. Elly sent him a smile before she headed to the door. She could feel her stomach twisting. Those feelings that she still had bubbled to the surface again in a violent display. Her thoughts were swirling. Her feet guided her to the medbay on automatic and she explained what had happened to the droid before they took her to a room to be examined.

And then she waited. It was quiet in the room and the thoughts came rushing back in a tsunami. There was a few reasons why it could have occurred. She knew that. She may have never done it with anyone but she was aware of what made things happen. Attraction, friction or chance. She couldn't bring herself to believe that Obi-Wan saw her in a way that would bring on something like that. Friction would make sense but it had never occurred before which seemed unlikely. So it had to be chance. Surely, it was just chance.

And if it wasn't chance, then she didn't know what to think. He was her best friend. Even after they had been apart for so long, he was still her best friend. He was also the man she had loved her entire life but she couldn't think about that now. It was a dangerous path, a path to attachment that she had been told was wrong.

Although she had never really believed those rules, she could not flaunt them. Not with someone in the Order and not with him. He was the perfect Jedi. The man that everyone looked up to, adored. They trusted him and she trusted him. If she broke the Code with him, for him and if anyone found out, she would be out of the Order and his position on the council would be gone. His reputation would be irrevocably damaged and she couldn't let him be damaged goods.

He was perfect, he was kind and he did not deserve to be pushed away by the Order because of feelings that she had, that she could have ignored. So, it had to be chance. It couldn't be anything else. Anything else was dangerous.

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