our broken promises ~ a.skywalker

Chapter 27: The Padawan's Secrets

CONFUSION CAN LEAD TO FEELINGS OF UNCERTAINTY, FRUSTRATION, AND A SENSE OF BEING MENTALLY DISORIENTED. It's like having a mental fog that obscures your ability to make sense of things. Imagine trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle when some crucial pieces are missing, leaving you with a sense of bewilderment as you grapple with seemingly unrelated fragments of information. The irritation intensifies as your brain's natural inclination for clarity and coherence clashes with the array of contradictory signals, causing a sort of mental turbulence that hampers your ability to grasp the bigger picture.

That was how Kora felt.

She left the Senate Building more confused than how she entered. The conversation with Chancellor Palpatine had illuminated certain facets of the truth, yet the shadows of uncertainty seemed to have deepened. She was frustrated with herself; what was she missing? There has to be some type of clue yelling at her face, yet she doesn't notice it. The jigsaw puzzle in her mind was all jumbled up.

Immediately feeling down after her talk with the Chancellor, Kora decided to head back to the Temple. Maybe all she needed to do was calm her mind and find some time to draw conclusions without any personal bias -- like Palpatine had said. However, it was clearly easier said than done.

Walking up the steps of the Temple, Kora tucked her hands in her comfortable Jedi cloak. She let them rest there, allowing her shoulders to sink as well. As she passed by the guards at the entrance of the Temple, Kora felt her wrist comm buzz. She sluggishly untucked her right arm and looked at the notification. It was Cal trying to contact her.

It was late in the afternoon -- on Cal's only free day in a month nonetheless -- was he okay? Kora furrowed her brows as she accepted the comm, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"Master," a holographic image of him hovered above the girl's wrist. She instantly noticed he looked both excited and nervous. What could it be that has got him so anxious? "There's something I want to show you -- well more like tell you. Can you come to The Room of a Thousand Fountains right now?" She caught the way he was playing with his fingers.

There was a sense of urgency in Cal's voice that instantly made Kora say yes. If her padawan needed her, she'd be there in seconds. "Of course; is everything alright?"

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Yes, but ...... I don't know how to explain it. I'll see you in a few minutes?"

After she nodded, Kora ended the transmission slightly more worried than curious. Surely Cal would know better than to do anything dangerous, so logically there's nothing to worry about, right? The Jedi Temple was the safest place in all of Coruscant yet she couldn't help but feel uneased by his call.

She made haste through the long halls, simply giving respectful nods to passing Jedi. Younglings scurried by, their eyes wide with wonder, and she couldn't resist offering them warm smiles, her faith in the next generation of Jedi evident. However, time pressed her forward, leaving no room for leisurely conversations.

Finally, she made it to the entrance of The Room of a Thousand Fountains. The room was like an enormous greenhouse, several stories high, filled with greenery, flora of every sort, and fountains trickling away all throughout the large room, set up with meditative areas connected by stone walkways. It was often used as a meditative retreat, the setting so calm and peaceful that it served to soothe even the most troubled minds.

Kora used to spend hours in the room; sometimes Master Plo Koon would practically have to drag her out of it. The walls seemed to pulse with the energy of countless Jedi who had meditated and trained within the hallowed chambers. The area was the most Force-concentrated place in all of Coruscant.