A/N: I would like to personally thank Lux's Sister for her part in getting this story off the ground, for I doubt it would be possible without her exemplary assistance, support, and friendship.

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A SIMPLE WAGER

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Ahsoka savored the rich scent of her hot chocolate as she held the steaming mug between her hands and sipped at it gratefully. The warmth felt good as it spread through her chest, chasing away the chill of the Coruscant night air.

"Feeling better?" Lux asked as he settled next to her on the couch.

"I am," she said. "Thank you for the hot cocoa."

"It's the least I could offer. You seemed like you were having a stressful day."

"You could say that." Although, honestly, that was putting it mildly. This whole week had been stressful, and it had ended with Anakin sending her back to Coruscant on mandatory leave, effective immediately. All because she had gotten into a disagreement with some vain, arrogant lieutenant who thought having temporary command of the ship in the captain's absence gave him ultimate authority and had started dismissing her advice and tactics, pretending she was invisible, and even going so far as to call her a…

No. She wasn't going to think about that anymore. Anakin had wanted her to "cool down" after she had given the lieutenant that black eye, and replaying the incident in her head repeatedly wasn't going to help.

At least Lux seemed to understand. Once she had finally returned to Coruscant after a painfully long flight, he had contacted her mentioning he had heard what happened and invited her over to his apartment suite for hot chocolate. She accepted, grateful to have somewhere else to spend her "time off" besides the Jedi Temple. She needed to take her mind off things, and right now, sitting next to Lux in front of a lit fireplace while she nursed a cup of hot cocoa was far better than sparring and studying. She hoped this could be a regular thing.

"So," Ahsoka said as she turned to her host, "What has the venerable Senator Lux Bonteri been up to since we last met?"

Lux simply smiled with a shrug. "Quite a lot; most of it tedious. My daily routine includes the occasional emergency conferences at the Senate Rotunda, back-to-back meetings with fellow representatives and foreign ambassadors, and attending several lavish, aristocratic gatherings to mingle and network with the influential members of society. It's not as enjoyable as it sounds. In fact, it's enough to make my head burst." He sighed heavily, and Ahsoka sipped her cocoa—she felt exhausted just imagining all that. "Meanwhile, in my spare time, I have been studying hypnotism."

"Hypnotism?"

"Yes, I know it sounds odd, but it is actually a very intriguing field of study. Are you familiar with the name 'Jakub Azaari'?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "A hypnotist, I assume?"

"Yes, but not only that. He is most generally known as 'the Mind-Shuffler,' and he's the most extraordinary stage hypnotist in the galaxy. He performs at the Galactic Theatre, here on Coruscant, and occasionally at classy gatherings to entertain the wealthy and privileged. In fact, he performed at the last charity event I attended."

"Is that so?"

"It was quite a spectacle. Especially Senator Orn Free Taa's belly dancing."

Ahsoka's eyes widened. "Seriously? The Orn Free Taa, Senator of Ryloth, belly dancing?"

Lux nodded. "As I said, a spectacle to behold. I even managed to record a holo of the whole display without anyone noticing…" He paused when he saw her mixed look and frowned. "You don't approve?"

She knew he needed a lecture about this, but shook her head. "Only if we don't watch it right now." There was no way she was passing this up.

They sat together in the living room and watched the recording on Lux's large flat vidscreen. From the audience, he had found a perfect vantage spot with an undisturbed view of the ballroom, and of Orn Free Taa and the man she assumed was Jakub Azaari. The hypnotist was standing before the Twi'lek senator, holding a small crystal pendant in front of his face, speaking too quietly for anyone to hear. Taa was watching the pendant with glazed, hooded eyes, a dumb, slack-jawed expression, and a long string of drool hanging from his bottom lip. Then the hypnotist snapped his fingers, music started playing, and the Senator of Ryloth started dancing. Without a doubt, it was truly the goofiest display she had ever seen, and one she would probably never un-see.

By the time they reached the end of the recording, it took them five whole minutes to quell their laughter before they could speak again.

"Well?" Lux finally said.

When Ahsoka could finally breathe normal, she sighed. "I am speechless. Seeing Senator Taa move like that… It was…"

"I know. It's astonishing what a person is willing to do while under hypnosis, and that's what fascinates me. Could you imagine yourself in that position?"

Ahsoka scoffed. "I don't see that happening to me."

"Funny, that's what Senator Taa said before he volunteered. He thought himself too smart to be hypnotized as well. You just saw how that ended."

Ahsoka smirked. "That might work on Orn Free Taa, but not on me. No one can hypnotize a Jedi."

He raised his eyebrow and smirked back. "Are you willing to back that statement?"

"What do you mean?"

"As I mentioned before, I have devoted some of my spare time to studying hypnotism, and through research and inquiries, I've learned that essentially anyone can be hypnotized, even a Jedi. Let me try and hypnotize you, and then we'll know who's right."

"Are you serious?"

"I am. Unless, of course, you're afraid…"

She snorted. "That you'll turn me into some drooling, belly dancing zombie? Hardly."

"That sounds very much like denial to me. Now I think you're scared."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Lux held her stare and said nothing. For moment, she thought he had dropped the subject, until he suddenly started clucking at her like a taunting chicken. Ahsoka couldn't keep from laughing.

"You're impossible," she said. "Why should I let you waste our time with this anyway? There's nothing to gain from it."

"Maybe not for you, obviously. I just want to see if all my time spent in research and inquiries bears fruit," he replied. "Alright, then. How about this: Earlier, I bought a sizable box of Corellian bonbons from the market. Cream-filled."

Ahsoka felt her brows raise. "Are you trying to bribe me?" Because it might work; there was nothing more divine than Corellian chocolate.

"It's a simple wager: you let me at least attempt to hypnotize you. If I succeed, you obviously become my hypnotized minion…" She rolled her eyes at him, but he went on. "However, if I am unsuccessful, then I shall become your personal butler for the remainder of the weekend and cater to your every whim—cook your favorite meals, massage your feet, and even hand-feed you those chocolates, one by one, like the queen you are."

She huffed. "Is that so?"

"It is."

"And if we run out of chocolates?"

"I'll buy more."

"Do my laundry, too?"

"Whole wardrobe."

"A foot rub whenever I want?"

"Unless you want a full massage…" He replied with a wink, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"Alright, Bonteri, you're on," she said. "So, what do you need me to do?"

Lux smiled wickedly. "For a start, just lean back and make yourself comfortable." Ahsoka complied as he scooted close. A round, glittering crystal the size of an egg appeared in his right hand, dangling from a long silver chain. "And just so you know, I promise not to make you do anything you won't agree with. Unless, of course, you simply can't help barking like a dog or clucking like a chicken or…"

"Just get on with it."

"As you wish," He shrugged as he dangled the crystal in front of her eyes, its facets glimmering in the light as it moved. "I want you to watch the pendant and relax," he said, his voice soft and smooth as he sent it spinning, "and as you do, I want you to listen to my words and let go…"

Ahsoka propped her arm under head as she stared at the crystal, feeling ridiculous. This was not how she expected to start her mandatory leave, even if she knew it was meant more as punishment than vacation—it wasn't as though she had been kicked off the battlefield so that she could have fun, after all. Still, she had hoped Lux had something interesting to distract her, to save her from boredom. Something instead of… this.

She sighed as Lux went on. "Watch the pendant carefully and try not to look away. Try to keep your eyes open and focus only the pendant as it spins, round and round. Ignore the room and everything else around you. Try and focus only on the pendant in front of you and my voice in the background. Only the pendant, and only my voice. Now take a long and deep breath, as deep as you can, and then exhale, nice and smoothly. As you do this, allow yourself to relax more as you lean back comfortably into the cushions of the couch and listen to the sound of my voice. Breathe in, and now exhale…"

Ahsoka yawned, almost impressed. Lux certainly learned a great deal from watching the master hypnotist, and he certainly rehearsed this induction well. It was almost too bad he couldn't really hypnotize her. If Ahsoka was going to be grounded to Coruscant for a few weeks, it wasn't as if she would need all her wits about her. She leaned back and listened, allowing herself to relax and meditate at least. Even if this whole thing was absurd, Lux's voice was soothing to listen to, and the pendant was pretty to watch.

"That's right, just relax… Watch the pendant and relax. Listen to my voice and relax. Watch the pendant, listen to my voice, and let yourself fall more and more relax. Feel free to stretch and lean back further into the chair." She did, sighing with some relief. "Very good… Allow yourself to feel more and more relaxed as you breathe in… and out, in… and out, until all your tension and worries start to fade away. You're not hypnotized yet, you're just breathing in and out and allowing yourself to relax more and more…"

Ahsoka let out another breath as her eyes lazily followed the pendant, and she began to wonder loosely what Lux had been planning. He thinks he can hypnotize her—that he will hypnotize her—but what ideas did he have in store for her? Maybe he had been inspired by Orn Free Taa's performance, and maybe he fantasized her in the Senator's place, under the hypnotist's spell. She imagined herself standing before Lux, wearing only a dumb, dazed expression as she danced like an idiot for him… It was an effort not to scoff at the image. Then again, it wasn't like that would ever happen, that she would become some hypnotized minion, bound to do what she was told. She couldn't be hypnotized; no Jedi could. She almost felt bad for letting him do this now, as if she were giving him false hope.

She realized that she had lost track of time, and that she had stopped paying attention. Lux was still speaking to her in that soft voice, still dangling that silly, glimmering crystal in front of her, and she was still watching and listening. He said something, asked her something, and she nodded lazily. She didn't know why she was nodding, but she didn't care. She felt very relaxed right now, lounging back in the couch, watching the twirling gem. There was really nothing to worry about, anyway. She couldn't be hypnotized; no Jedi could. She was just relaxing and lazily following Lux's soft, soothing instructions. Following his instructions was so simple and easy: just watch and relax, listen and relax, follow and relax…

"You are feeling very relaxed right now," he was telling her, his soothing voice somewhat softer and quieter, like an echo in the back of her head. "So very, very relaxed. You are listening to my voice, to my every word, and it is making you feel so very, very relaxed as you drift deeper and deeper. Allow your eyes to stare blankly at the pendant, without meaning or focus, and allow your body to feel more and more relaxed as you let go. As you do this, you find your entire body—your arms, legs, chest, back, neck, head—feeling nice and loose and slack, and it feels so good. You're not hypnotized yet; you're just allowing your body to relax. And as your body relaxes, your mind relaxes. All your concerns, doubts and hesitations are fading away into the background, completely forgotten. Until all you can think about is how relaxed and good you feel. Until the only words you can think of are 'I am relaxed.' Do you understand?"

Ahsoka couldn't remember what she was thinking about. She was too relaxed to remember, too relaxed to think about anything. All she knew was that she felt good. Everything felt good. She knew he asked her question, but the only answer could think of was "I am… relaxed…"

"That's right. You are so very relaxed. With each passing second, you feel more and more relaxed. More relaxed than you've ever felt. And tired, too. As you watch the pendant and listen to my voice, you are now feeling very, very tired. Watching the pendant is making you tired. Listening to my voice is making you tired. Everything is making you so very, very tired. Even hearing the word is making you feel tired; more and more tired every time you hear the word 'tired.' You're not hypnotized yet. You're just feeling tired. So very, very tired, aren't you?"

"Uh-huh…" she murmured absently, now feeling tired. Very, very tired. Too tired to really think about it. Every muscle in her body felt so relaxed and loose now, and she sank deeper into the chair. Her neck grew slack, and her heavy, foggy head tilted to one side. Her eyes were tired and drowsy, but she could still see the pendant spinning, glimmering and shimmering beautifully through the heavy mist of her vision, of her mind's eye. Nothing to worry about… Can't be hypnotized… Just tired…

"You are so very relaxed and very tired right now. So very, very tired. Both your body and mind feel so very, very tired, and you only feel more and more tired as you listen to my words. Listen to my words, watch the pendant, allow yourself to sink deeper in the soft, warm cushions around you, growing more and more relaxed, more and more tired. Allow your body to drift deeper and deeper, your mind to grow slower and slower, until you are completely and fully relaxed. Just sink deeper and deeper and deeper until you simply… drop!"

He snapped his fingers, and Ahsoka stopped thinking entirely. Her brain had stopped working. Her eyes were heavy and hooded, but they remained open, tracing the spinning movements of the pendant until it vanished from sight. Vanish yet remained, glimmering in her mind's eye.

She saw Lux smile at her, saw him rest a box on his lap, and saw him open it. "So, how did you put it again?" He asked as he popped the bonbon into his mouth. "Drooling, belly-dancing zombie?"

I might continue writing more hypnosis stories in the future. And I might also accept suggestions if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks for reading!