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      "I SERIOUSLY cannot believe you managed to convince me to come back here," Araminta grumbled as Anakin landed the ship on Coruscant. She shifted in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. Anakin looked over his shoulder from the pilot seat, sending her a puzzled look. "Forgive me for not wanting to see Windu again," Araminta added, not bothering to hide her distaste for the Jedi master in her tone. She'd only seen him once in the five months she'd been with Anakin and Obi-Wan, but her decision of not liking him still stood strong.

Considerable time had passed since the young assassin had been beaten and then turned into a reformed bodyguard– though turned was hardly the right word in her opinion. It was no secret that, even after months of time spent together, Araminta held no compassion towards the man she protected, and his padawan who never left his side. She was no hero, no volunteer, she had done this to survive. And, so far, it'd been paying off.

"Yeah, well, I don't think he wants to see you either," Anakin shrugged, standing up and strolling past Araminta, though she didn't miss the edge to his voice. The Adanei girl just smirked.

"Are you two okay?" Obi-Wan asked, coming to stand beside Araminta's seat. Araminta almost rolled her eyes. She'd become used to Obi-Wan monitoring her and Anakin, as the two often clashed over useless, trivial conflicts.

"Why wouldn't we be, master?" Anakin said, quickly, but the energy was still present and Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

"Skywalker's just pissed cause he woke me up too early this morning," Araminta said, slyly, looking at the man she'd attempted to kill not too long ago. The Jedi furrowed his brows at her, and she shrugged.

"You held a knife to my throat!" Anakin exclaimed from the back of the ship where he was pulling on his overcoat.

"You should know better. It was one of the first warnings I gave at the beginning," Araminta defended herself, her voice calm and cool. She got up out of her seat, reaching for the knives she'd set aside for the flight.

"First warnings," Anakin sneered.

"Yeah," Araminta snipped. "Don't surprise me because I have over a decade of training automatically set to kill."

"Yeah, I remember," Anakin said, disgruntled, a white scar visible on his throat as he swallowed. Araminta always tried to avoid looking at it, for it was damage she had caused, a reminder of what she hadn't been able to do and what had landed her in the situation she was stuck in.

"Good," Araminta responded, turning away.

"Who sleeps with a knife under their pillow anyway?" Anakin muttered under his breath.

"Who sleeps with a lightsaber on their waist?" Araminta fired back, easily hearing the insult, as always with Anakin's frustrated mutterings. The boy whipped around to face her, eyes glinting, while she merely gave him an innocent look.

"I told you not to do that–"

"And I told you not to wake me suddenly–"

"You nearly killed me–"

"We've been there, done that–"

"Alright, you two, enough," Obi-Wan scolded. Anakin sent Araminta a small glare, which the girl shrugged off, but both of them had silenced. "We aren't even meeting with the Council. We're here to protect the senator."

Araminta just hummed in response, sliding a knife into each of her boots, then the two sheaths on her hips, the nimble blades being her preferred weapon. "So, who's this senator we're meeting?" Araminta questioned, approaching Obi-Wan as he slipped into his own coat– though it looked more like a flowing robe.

"An...old friend," Obi-Wan told her, slowly. "Someone Anakin and I met a long time ago. We've been assigned to protect her."

Araminta furrowed her brows, but accepted the answer nonetheless. The girl slid her arm band – a piece of fabric, really – up to her shoulder, adjusting it so that it covered her brand. Anakin looked at her out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't feel the need to explain herself.

The brand made her a target, even more so now that she was no longer a part of Octavian's ranks. Keeping it hidden protected her from those who didn't know her actual story, and helped her avoid detection from any Octavians sent after her. Thus far, she had had no run-ins with her former master or teammates, but she rarely let herself relax. And, as far as she knew, no one outside of the room that fateful day knew she was an assassin under Octavian's name.

The trio headed outside into the familiar city, Araminta's eyes once again scanning the lively surroundings in ways she was still learning to appreciate. They headed to the first floor of the building, entering the elevator without a word, Araminta being forced to jog to catch up with her small size.

As the elevator ascended, Anakin shifted uneasily next to Obi-Wan, adjusting the collar of his shirt and running a hand through his hair. Araminta looked at him irritably. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, leaning forward so she could see around Obi-Wan, who noticed his padawan's off demeanour as well.

"You do seem a little on edge," Obi-Wan remarked.

"Not at all," Anakin dismissed, and Araminta easily picked up on the lie, a skill she found herself quite gifted with after years of training with Octavian.

"I haven't felt you this tense since we fell into that nest of gundarks," Obi-Wan continued, sounding fond of the memory. It was one that Araminta didn't share with the two. The memories she did were merely street fights and robberies, nothing as dramatic as facing vicious creatures in the five months she'd been present.

"You fell into that nightmare, master, and I rescued you, remember?" Anakin said, teasingly. Araminta looked at Obi-Wan for his reaction, wondering if that was indeed what happened.

Realisation washed over the older man's face. "Oh, yes." Obi-Wan chuckled to himself, and Anakin grinned, the student and master laughing together for a few moments before the elevator went silent again.

"You're sweating, Skywalker," Araminta observed after a few beats of silence. Anakin glanced at her, looking annoyed. The Adanei girl didn't entertain his glances, and instead asked, "So, this old friend? What're they like?"

"I haven't seen her in ten years," Anakin told her, and Araminta pursed her lips at the boy's tone, which was tainted with longing and an undertone of excitement.

Araminta didn't have time to say anything else as the elevator stopped at the appropriate level. The doors slid open to reveal a creature dressed in robes, his eyes positioned on slight stalks.

"Obi? Obi!" he squealed, running forward to Obi-Wan. Araminta thought the creature was going to go in for a hug, but instead stuck to frantically shaking Obi-Wan's hand. "Mesa so smilen to see'en yousa!" Araminta looked to Anakin, as if he would provide an explanation as to why this creature held such authority, judging by the way he dressed and where he was.

"Good to see you, Jar Jar," Obi-Wan said, politely, leaving Araminta even more confused. Anakin and Obi-Wan had never mentioned a Jar Jar before.

"And whosa this?" the creature – Jar Jar – asked, his beady eyes focusing on Araminta who had taken her place right beside Obi-Wan as usual.

"This is my bodyguard, Araminta," Obi-Wan introduced the girl, who just nodded in greeting, used to being introduced in such a way. Jar Jar grinned down at her.

"A while back she tried to kill us so don't play too nice with her," Anakin interrupted, stepping past the creature. Araminta pressed her lips together, biting her tongue to stop herself from snapping at Anakin. Jar Jar's smile fell in an instant, looking at Araminta with his lips turned down.

"Don't worry, I'll only kill him if he keeps talking like that," Araminta murmured as she followed after Anakin.

"Senator Padme!" Jar Jar called, stumbling ahead of Anakin and Araminta. A woman on a balcony turned around, her hair pinned up intricately. Araminta observed the woman carefully, concluding this was the 'old friend' Obi-Wan had mentioned. The group of four walked towards the centre of the room. "Mesa palos here! Lookie, lookie, Senator. Desa Jedi arriven," Jar Jar added, gesturing with his hand to the three newcomers.

The Senator was accompanied by a man as she walked forward, her face breaking out into a smile as she neared the four newcomers. Obi-Wan bowed, politely, while Anakin stood back. Unsure of what to do, Araminta simply ducked her head for a moment, before looking back up.

"It's a great pleasure to see you again, milady," Obi-Wan greeted, shaking the Senator's hand.

"It has been far too long, Master Kenobi," the Senator stated, before her eyes focused on the girl stood right beside the older Jedi. "And who is this?"

"This is Araminta Solarii– my bodyguard," Obi-Wan introduced her again.

"A bodyguard? I wasn't aware you needed one," the Senator said, sounding unsure.

"Well, neither was I," Obi-Wan replied, and Araminta held back her smirk.

"Ani?" the Senator suddenly said, having finally noticed Anakin hanging back. Obi-Wan moved out of the way to let Anakin step forward, inadvertently placing Araminta right beside the padawan. "My goodness, you've grown," the Senator remarked, looking the boy up and down.

"So, have you. Grown more beautiful, I mean," Anakin said, his eyes flicking from the floor to the Senator's eyes. The woman looked completely caught off guard, and Obi-Wan sent his apprentice a look. Araminta made a puzzled face at the pleasantries between the two. "Well, f-for a senator, I mean," Anakin tried and failed to correct himself.

The senator just grinned, as if that would diffuse the tension. "And you'll always be that little boy I met on Tattoine." She turned away, heading in the direction of an arrangement of seats and a table in the middle of the large, empty space.

"Ani?" Araminta asked in disbelief.

"Shut up," Anakin hissed.

"No way." Araminta smirked, before clearing her throat loudly. "He's not wrong though, senator," she spoke up. The senator turned back around to look at her. "You are quite something," the Adanei girl added, with a suave smile.

"Call me, Padme, please," the woman said, smiling genuinely.

Araminta arched an eyebrow, looking to Anakin, smugly. He elbowed her in the side, and she responded by nabbing one of his pressure points. The boy grimaced, clenching his jaw. Luckily for him, Padme had turned away and didn't see his discomfort.

"Our presence here will be invisible, milady, I can assure you," Obi-Wan told Padme as the two Jedi and the reformed bodyguard stepped forward to take a seat in the centre of the room.

"I'm Captain Typho of Her Majesty's security service," the man accompanying Padme finally spoke up. Araminta regarded him carefully, her natural instinct to size someone up in case they became an opponent in the near future, especially those with a fighter's disposition. The brunette took a seat, leaning into the comfortable seat. "Queen Jamilla has been informed of your assignment. I am grateful you are here, Master Kenobi. The situation is more dangerous than the senator will admit." The captain gave Padme a pointed look.

"I don't need more security," Padme retorted, Araminta's respect for the woman growing a little more. "I need answers." She turned to look at the three assigned to watch over her. "I want to know who's trying to kill me."

"We are here to protect you, senator, not to start an investigation," Obi-Wan told her, sounding adamant. The older man always did follow the Jedi way strictly, something that Araminta often found herself frustrated by.

"Solarii will find out who's trying to kill you, Padme," Anakin said abruptly.

"I will?" Araminta piped before she could stop herself.

Anakin only continued, "I promise you."

"No, no, I will not and we do not promise," Araminta said, quickly, looking to Obi-Wan for help in controlling his hormonal student.

"Araminta is right. We will not exceed our mandate, my young Padawan learner," Obi-Wan chastised his apprentice. Araminta hoped that it would work. Protecting Obi-Wan was enough of a task, she did not need to go tracking down an assassin; especially if there was the possibility it was someone she could have trained with.

"I meant that in the interest of protecting her, Master," Anakin persisted.

Araminta rolled her eyes, letting out a long sigh. "I'm sure you did."

"You're one to talk," Anakin snapped, his head turning to look at her. Araminta was hardly fazed by the look and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We will not go through this exercise again, Anakin, and you will pay attention to my lead," Obi-Wan scolded. Araminta tried not to let her expression change, as she knew the last time Anakin had spoken out of turn and acted recklessly was saving her skin from the Council. The thought that she still owed the boy for that haunted her.

But Anakin did not yield. "Like Solarii?"

"What?" Obi-Wan and Araminta said in synch, both staring at the young Jedi in confusion.

"Follow your lead? Do everything you say?" Anakin said, a taunting undertone to his voice. Not one to anger easily, Araminta merely arched an eyebrow.

"I'm only here because of you, Skywalker," she retorted. "In case you've forgotten."

"Oh, believe me, I haven't," he said, bitterly.

"And if I were to stop following and doing whatever your master says, I'd be dead," Araminta continued, sounding like how one would explain a basic concept to a child, which she knew would get under his skin. "You would know that, too."

"You of all people would know how to track an assassin," Anakin said, and Araminta clenched her fists, the mark on her shoulder feeling exposed despite the fabric covering it. "We can and will find the killer. It's in our mandate," Anakin concluded

"We will do exactly as the council has instructed," Obi-Wan interrupted him, firmly. Anakin pulled back, perhaps realising he'd gone too far, especially in front of high authority figures such as the senator. "And you will learn your place, young one."

"Perhaps with merely your presence the mystery surrounding this threat will be revealed," Padme spoke up, breaking into the silence that had taken over the room. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." Padme stood up, and everyone followed, with Araminta immensely caught off guard by the customs. "I will retire."

With that, she walked off, followed by her handmaiden. Araminta watched her go, not missing the look in Anakin's eyes.

"I know I'll feel better having you here," Typho said to the three. "I'll have an officer stationed on every floor, and I'll be in the control centre downstairs."

"It's overkill," Anakin grumbled once the captain had walked off with Obi-Wan. Araminta sent him a glare, as she was the only he could be talking to aside from Jar Jar, who had aimlessly wandered off.

"Trust me, it's not," Araminta told Anakin, bitterly. He looked at her curiously, confused by her tone. "Like you said, I of all people would know," Araminta hissed out. Anakin's eyes widened, as if he maybe hadn't expected the remark to sink in.

"Araminta, you're with me," Obi-Wan, always the saviour, swooped in. "Let's check the security." Araminta gave Anakin one last burning glare, before turning on her heel and following after the man she'd been assigned to defend.

"Your padawan's an idiot," she said, snidely, as they took the elevator back down a few floors.

"Sometimes," Obi-Wan agreed cautiously. "You have not known him as long as I have but... he is more than what he seems."

"What? Hot-headed and impulsive?" Araminta asked as the elevator stopped. They came to see more than enough men fluttering about. "Doesn't seem very Jedi-ee if you ask me," she added, tongue-in-cheek.

Obi-Wan looked at her curiously. "You speak of the Jedi as if you know them." A dark look crossed Araminta's eyes.

"I know you," she snipped.

He simply narrowed his eyes. "Tell me."

"Do you order me to?" Araminta said with a small smile.

"No."

"Then you're not getting answers."

They passed in silence, ducking in and out of corridors and going up and down more levels, Obi-Wan occasionally asking the guards questions. For the most part, the senator seemed very well protected, from anyone planning to strike the building, at least.

It was only when they reached their final floor check, did Araminta speak up again. "When I was child... my mother said if the Jedi ever came to me I shouldn't go with them."

If Obi-Wan was surprised at getting an answer from the assassin he didn't show it. "Did she tell you why?"

"She said if I did, I'd have my humanity stripped away," Araminta replied, coolly, the red stone at her throat feeling heavy. "What's your rule... about attachment? About feelings?"

"You think us cold," Obi-Wan realised.

"Of course, I do," Araminta responded. "You do remember who Octavian is, do you not?"

Obi-Wan's eyes darkened. "I do."

"Then there's your answer," Araminta concluded with a shrug, knowing very well the answer was hardly the sentimental one her mission had probably expected. "There's nothing down here, and more than enough men," she added.

"You're right," Obi-Wan agreed. "Let's head back up and check in on Anakin."

"And hope he hasn't joined the Senator in bed," Araminta jeered as they headed back for the elevator. Obi-Wan didn't seem amused. "Joke. Okay, relax," she added, hastily. "You Jedi are so stiff," she said to herself in Adaniean.

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      "CAPTAIN Typho has more than enough men downstairs," Obi-Wan announced as he walked back into the room with Araminta at his side. Anakin turned to face them, his eyes catching the assassin's, but she ignored him completely. Obi-Wan removed his overcoat, discarding it on one of the plush seats as he walked forward to meet his padawan in the centre of the room. "No assassin will try that way."

"You'd be surprised," Araminta remarked. Obi-Wan shot her a look, to which the Adanei girl lowered her gaze, but didn't take her words back. "Any other assassins try anything up here?" Araminta asked Anakin, her words sharp as she put her hands on her hips.

The young Jedi swallowed hard and shook his head. "Nothing," he responded. Araminta nodded her head once. "I don't like just waiting here for something to happen to her," Anakin sighed. Obi-Wan ignored his apprentice's concern, instead checking the device in his hand that showed the footage recorded by the cameras set up in Padme's room.

"What's going on?" Obi-Wan asked in confusion, furrowing his brows as he looked down at the device.

Anakin just glanced back at the senator's closed door. "Ah, she covered the cameras."

"Probably didn't like the idea of you watching her," Araminta scoffed, hardly surprised by Padme's choice. Anakin whipped his head back around to glare at her, only earning a smirk from the bodyguard. "She's pretty, way out of–"

"I don't–" Anakin cut her off, before getting cut off himself by Obi-Wan, who walked between the two teenagers. He slipped the device back into the pocket of his shirt.

"What is she thinking?" he wondered, aloud, referring to the senator they were assigned to protect. Anakin bit the inside of his cheek and turned away from Araminta with a heated glare.

"She programmed R2 to warn us if there is an intruder," he informed his master.

"And in the time it takes for us to get to her from the warning, it'll be too late," Araminta piped up, recalling the training she had endured since she was a child and her own experiences in the field.

"Shut up," Anakin snapped.

"She's right," Obi-Wan told his apprentice firmly, Araminta giving Anakin a smug look. "There are many other ways to kill a senator."

"I know," Anakin relented. "But we also want to catch this assassin, don't we?" He questioned, rhetorically, glancing between his master and the young assassin. Araminta realised a moment after Obi-Wan.

"You're using her as bait." The older Jedi crossed his arms, looking thoughtful.

"It was her idea," Anakin defended himself, though he still looked sheepish of his master's reaction. "Don't worry, no harm will come to her. I can sense everything going on in that room," Anakin reassured the two sceptical people in front of him. "Trust me," he added as Araminta arched a brow.

"It's too risky," Obi-Wan retorted, looking back at Padme's door. "Besides, your senses aren't that attuned, my young apprentice."

"And yours are?"

Araminta let out something between a gasp and a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand as Obi-Wan slowly turned to look back at his apprentice. "Possibly," he said, very calmly.

The older Jedi turned away, and Anakin turned in the other direction, wandering onto the balcony overlooking the city. Araminta stayed in the centre of the room, tapping her foot impatiently. She met Anakin's eyes again, noticing the dark crescents engraved under them.

"You look tired, Skywalker," she said, nonchalantly, though there was an underlying tone of concern. Anakin turned to her, the usual hard look he had when he regarded her was weaker as she slowly made her way over to him.

"I just don't sleep well anymore," he admitted, not meeting her eyes anymore. Araminta was quiet for a moment, not wanting to mention how she'd heard the boy crying out in his sleep every couple of nights, likely due to her Adanei hearing. She wondered if he knew that.

"Why not?" she asked, cautiously, though she had heard him calling for his mother in particular.

He often got up afterwards, as well. Araminta had followed him once; it was one of the first nights she'd spent with the pair, and had taken her knife just in case, having thought perhaps there was an intruder. Instead, she'd seen Anakin stand by himself and cry in the moonlight, and she had left in an instant, feeling too ashamed and afraid of his reaction for spying on him in such a vulnerable state.

Since then, she'd kept the knowledge to herself, hearing him every couple nights, but staying still. She wasn't about to let him know. He was far from her favourite person, but she liked to think she wasn't that spiteful.

"I don't know why I keep dreaming about her...my mother," Anakin replied, licking his lips nervously. Araminta wanted to say how she sympathised with him, but she couldn't find the words, her throat tightening at the thought of her own parents' fate, or merely the thought of opening up.

She knew Anakin must be homesick, missing those he had left behind, but she could also tell that the boy wasn't telling her the full truth. Not that she had expected it, of course, he'd already told her more than she had ever expected. They hardly talked outside of battle and banter, and despite the five months they had worked together, they knew nothing about each other.

The things Araminta did know were gathered bits and pieces from gossip and overheard whisperings, but the one that stuck out was that Anakin was somewhat of a prodigy, stolen away to the Jedi order when he was nine, with the looming title of Chosen One. She treated the concept with a grain of salt, hardly believing in such Jedi things and the concept of light and dark.

"You probably miss her," Araminta suggested after a moment, trying to resolve the problem rather than get sappy and emotional. She wasn't even sure how she'd do that with Anakin. "So, Padme?" Anakin's vulnerability disappeared, instead replaced by the look of frustration and annoyance he often wore in Araminta's presence. The girl huffed, seeing that the moment had passed and they were back to their usual banter. "Don't give me that look, I see the way you look at her."

Anakin looked defeated, knowing Araminta had figured it out. "She's nice," he admitted, sounding desperate to move on to a different conversation topic.

Araminta smiled, though it wasn't friendly, and tilted her head to the side. "Cute. But keep it in your pants, Skywalker." She patted his bicep and made to turn around on her heel.

"What would you know?" the boy called after her.

Araminta wheeled back around to face the padawan. "What?"

"What would you know about emotions?" Anakin elaborated. Araminta narrowed her eyes as she approached the boy, feeling herself anger.

"Why do you ask?" she said, voice dangerous.

"How can you claim to know anything about emotions when you spent years killing for money?" Anakin hissed, in that same superior tone he always used against her, like they were so different when he was the one who had considered her a victim.

"I know how to control them. I know how to channel them into my actions to make myself stronger instead of letting them run wild and mess with my head," she hissed, her lips pulling back as she spoke. Anakin looked down at her carefully, Araminta sighing out her nose, composing herself. "And that's more than you can say for yourself," she concluded. She turned away again, only making it a few steps before Anakin took a hold of her wrist.

Araminta whipped around, swiping his hand off of her and painfully twisting his wrist. In a second, she had her other hand raised, one of her many knives against his throat, the action almost instinctual. Their eyes locked, Anakin actually looking caught off guard by Araminta's actions, but she didn't remove the knife just yet, eyes cold as they stared down Anakin's gleaming ones.

"You underestimate me," she said, calmly. Despite their great height difference, Araminta still managed to control the situation, the padawan stilled at her knifepoint, staring down at her, unable to avoid the blade if he went to swallow, hanging above the scar she had last inflicted.

Anakin opened his mouth to say something, before he and Araminta whipped around to face the senator's door in synch. The two teenagers sprinted towards the entrance, which automatically opened with their presence. Anakin had already lit up his lightsaber and slashed at one of the organisms poised to attack Padme. Before he could get to the second, Araminta's knife had found its way through the strange arthropod, pinning it to the wall.

Anakin looked at her, whose knife had been against his throat mere moments ago. Neither of them managed to say anything, as Obi-Wan arrived a second later. He scanned the scene quickly, before his eyes caught sight of something outside the window. Araminta looked over as well, just as Obi-Wan shot forward and smashed through the glass.

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[ edited '23 ] this is where the fun begins, let's go

this entire first act is very heavy-handed and existential about araminta's place in the story and amongst the order tbh, but it all has its place

also is now a good time to mention that anakinta are incredibly slowburn? because they 100% are

vote and comment <33