CHAPTER SEVEN.

Elly didn't see Obi-Wan in the mess hall the next morning and found herself alone with Anakin and Ahsoka. She didn't entirely mind the company of the younger pair but she missed the familiar, comfortable presence of Obi-Wan. His force signature was a comfortable presence constantly lingering at the back of her mind but she had lost that it that morning

She just hoped that they were still training. She had heard nothing to the contrary so planned on heading to the training rooms exactly as she normally would. But that was not before Anakin and Ahsoka decided to tease her a little longer.

"Obi-Wan is in a council meeting," Anakin informed. He had noticed how she looked around - almost anxiously - every few minutes. It wasn't hard to work out who she was looking for. So, he gave her some reprieve.

But the way her face fell only opened Elly to more teasing and Ahsoka smirked. She glanced at Anakin who shook his head slightly. Ahsoka pouted.

"Why does Master Kenobi talk of you so often?" Ahsoka asked. She glanced at Anakin who didn't seem all that annoyed with the question. He knew not to pry with Obi-Wan and Elly after the short but clear conversation he had had with Obi-Wan but he wanted to anyway. Just a little. He was curious to see if his master was as similar to him as he believed.

"If I knew the answer to that question, I would tell you," Elly retorted as she placed her glass down. Her gaze turned to Ahsoka and she expected some sort of reaction but the Togruta girl simply tilted her head. The corners of her lips turned up into a mischievous smile, "But we are old friends so it is logical that he has stories about me to tell." There was a little shrug as she finished. She then tapped her fingers against the table before she glanced back at the door.

"He never talks this much about his and Anakin's adventures," Ahsoka mumbled. Elly shrugged and watched as Obi-Wan walked into the dining hall. His eyes met hers in an instant and that familiar feeling of his Force presence pressed against hers. She felt the relief fill her chest.

"I have training to attend. Don't get into too much trouble without me, please," Elly said as she stood up. She took her tray back to the front and Obi-Wan met her halfway through the hall. He had a look of relief on his face and she sent him a smile.

The two walked to the training room with only a few words spoke between them. Obi-Wan could tell that she had something to say. He could feel it when he passed her room that morning but he knew they were better to speak in private. It was safer, for the both of them.

"Master Windu came to speak to me," Elly said, once the training room door had whooshed shut behind them. Obi-Wan paused and Elly took in his face for that brief moment before he spoke. His beard looked as perfect as usual, his eyes boring into hers and his oversized cloak pulled over his shoulders. He looked like the perfect Jedi.

"What did he say?" Obi-Wan asked curiously. He gestured to the bench and she moved over with him. She pulled her outer robe off before she sat down.

"He overheard my doubts and threatened my position within the Order." Her tone was soft. The words felt fragile and saying them made the threat feel so much more real. Her cloak folded over her legs and she found herself staring it down, refusing to look up.

She could feel Obi-Wan's gaze burning into her side and practically hear the cogs whirring in his brain. A frown appeared on his lips after a moment and she pushed her fingers through her hair before she folded her cloak up and placed it on the bench beside her.

"The specifics of his threat are irrelevant because it will not happen. I fully intend to fulfil the council's wishes so it is not something that you need to worry about," Elly added after a few beats of silence. Obi-Wan still seemed somewhat stunned by the confession. He had expected Elly to get some push from the Council but never that. He did not expect her position to be threatened. It was a dangerous move to make.

"Elly," Obi-Wan began but he found himself at a loss for words. He would never have allowed Windu to threaten her position in the Order if he knew. The guilt created a pit in his stomach and Elly turned to meet his gaze, giving him a little shrug.

"I'm not threatened, Obi-Wan. I fully intend to follow every order the Council gives me from now on. My position in the Order is important to me. This is where my family is, my home." Elly somehow found her own words hollow. It wasn't something she expected and yet they were. They were all truthful but she hadn't felt at home in the Order for three years. Only one person felt like home but she had long repressed those feelings.

"You should not have been coerced," He responded. Elly shrugged. Obi-Wan gently shook his head and glanced around the training room. Though, rather than trying to continue with the training. He stood up and dragged a singular mat from the side. He dropped it in the centre of the room and beckoned Elly closer, "Would you like to meditate?" He asked. She met his gaze and nodded her head. There was an odd vulnerability to that small action. She walked from the bench to the mat and sat across from him.

Her hands rested in her lap as she tried to relax. Her back was straight but her muscles relaxed. Obi-Wan sat across from her and watched as she unwound. He watched as her shoulders relaxed. Her legs lost the tension in them. Her body seemed to unravel as she relaxed into the feeling of meditation. Then he felt her presence poking at the edge of his own.

She was beckoning him into meditation with her and he mirrored her actions. His body relaxed as he allowed the connection to be made. It was surface level but he felt the rush of emotions so clearly. It was a tsunami of sadness that would have toppled him if he wasn't so well versed in her emotional volatility.

But rather than picking apart the sadness in an attempt to understand it, he helped her work through it. A helping hand as she released her emotions into the force. It flowed perfectly and quietly between them, the whole world quiet apart from the emotions they allowed the other to see.

"Obi-Wan." The soft utterance of his name snapped him out of his meditation. His eyes opened and Elly was staring back at him. There was something on her face that he couldn't quite read. He had long become adept at reading her face but this was something new, different, "Could he do that?" She asked. It took him a moment to understand what she meant and then he frowned.

"Stripping you of your position would be detrimental to us," He responded. Elly nodded and she suddenly felt like a little girl again. A girl sat in her bedroom, wondering about home, her real home. Her family and what they were like. Suddenly, she felt so vulnerable and it was uncomfortable. She had been vulnerable with Obi-Wan before but this somehow felt different.

Elly ran her fingers across her face. Her fingertips ran across her skin before she let out a sigh. A proper sigh and Obi-Wan could feel the anxiety around her signature. And yet he didn't know what to do. Everything he thought to do felt so inappropriate.

"I am nothing but an asset to the Council," She murmured and Obi-Wan nodded. It was the sad truth of it all. He opened his mouth to say something but paused before it left his lips. He knew that he couldn't say it so he didn't. His head turned down and Elly chuckled humorlessly, "Shall we train?" She asked. Obi-Wan looked up, not expecting her words but nodded.

It was easier to distract from the sad reality if she trained. If she worked herself to the bone to the point that she didn't even have to think about it. Obi-Wan's presence was enough to calm her anxiety but the training gave her something to fully distract.

By the end, she was exhausted. Her face was flushed red and her chest heaved as she finished the cool-down stretches. Obi-Wan watched, almost surprised by how quickly she had fallen back into shape but he was pleased.

"You're improving nicely," He commented and Elly smiled. Though it was more of a grimace as stretched her arms above her head.

"This is all I'm worth," She shrugged. Obi-Wan watched her for a moment before he grabbed her outer robe. He offered it out to her and she took it with a half-smile. She then threw it over her shoulders and adjusted the sleeves before she met his gaze properly. Her eyes boring into his. The ocean blue always had a way of captivating her and nothing had changed about that. He was still as gorgeous as he always had been but she pushed those thoughts down rather than allowing them to fester.

"Would you like any assistance with the Meditation Gardens? I know your droids are still malfunctioning," He asked. It was a question that took Elly by surprise. Her manual labour in the Gardens had always been frowned upon by the other Jedi. It was not work she should be doing and yet Obi-Wan wanted to help. Her smile turned genuine as she nodded her head.

"I only need to finish weeding but any help would be appreciated." The corners of her lips turned up higher as Obi-Wan nodded.

"Lead the way," He gestured towards the door and she did.

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