Secrets of Spring

Azalea, a new, talented and quick-learning (What else would 240 years of living give you? Even if at this point in time, most of it hasn't happened;) padawan at the Jedi temple has a lot of questions about her, and people want to know the answers. Like, the force does not know what or who she is. How? Who is she? Why does she know so much more than they expect? Just how many secrets is she hiding? Unbeknownst to all of them, Azalea is here on a mission, and is determined not to fail! (End.)

Note 1; the force: From watching the last Jedi, I got the impression the Force is kind of a living force shared between everything. So, I thought, why can't anybody use it? but people such as Obi-Wan and Yoda have a natural connection with it; and some, like Anakin have a strong connection with it, and are naturally very powerful. Then, you can have normal people being able to learn how to use it a little bit, and people with a small connection, being able to use it as well. But I am going to have the potential does depend on how determined the one learning is. So, I guess it's kind of like magic theory. Everyone starts off the same, so everyone will have a bit; but some people of more than others, so they have the ability and in some families, everyone has it, except for a small number.

Note 2; Characters: if characters are acting out of character, please correct me. I don't have books handy. I may PM you and ask about what I could do to fix that.

Note 3: this is set a year and a bit before Revenge of the Sith. I did a bit of research on ages people would be, and for this I am using what I came up with, but then giving a year or two. Can always make people older and it still makes sense and fit in!

Note 4: Azalea is a fem!harry.

Note 5: I am not sure how good this is, so if you don't like it, I won't mind that much.

Note 6: the two different summaries are from different points of view to give a different viewon the story.

Chapter 1: Where it all Begun

A youngish Padawan named Azalea walked back to the Jedi Temple as the sun began to go behind the hills and the city.

It had been a long, hard day for Azalea, and she was glad that it was over. She liked being a Jedi, but sometimes the long days, the heat and the tasks; really got to her. Today was just one of those really hard days, and she could safely bet that there would be many more to come.

She had been a Padawan for two weeks now, and a Jedi for four, almost five weeks! She was learning fast, though; which didn't surprise Azalea: if it weren't for the fact she had personal problems holding her back, Azalea would have been the brightest girl in her class, back when she went to school.

Azalea might not have a natural connection with the force like the Masters: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda have, but she could use it reasonably well. She was learning to use it better every day, too; but you'd expect that. Azalea enjoyed every moment of her unhindered learning, and she would strive to learn everything she could and be the best she could.

As Azalea reached the entrance of the temple: a Jedi Knight who was guarding the door (and looking very bored,) said to her, "Your Lightsaber, please: just to make sure you not a Sith."
"Here," Azalea said, pulling it out. She then turned it on and a light blue laser beam came out. She was looking forward to when she got upgraded to Jedi Knight level: then she wouldn't have to prove she was a member of the temple as she wore a special badge. The security had been even worse when she was a Trainee: she had to wait until a master was free to come and say she was allowed in. But fortunately, she wasn't one for long. She had found as a general rule; Trainee level was mostly for children under fourteen; so, anyone older would not be stuck at that level for long.

"You may continue. How was your day?" he asked. Being on door duty he didn't really get the chance to talk to anyone, and he was bored stiff.

"It wasn't too bad; I'm very tired now, though," Azalea admitted.

"That's good: at least you haven't been on door duty all day; it's as dull as ditchwater. Have a nice day," he said.

"I guess I have that to look forward to! Bye, have a nice night," Azalea said laughing a bit, then she proceeded to the task area to sign off what she'd done before heading to dinner. She had to sign off at least three things every day otherwise she'd get into trouble, and maybe even get kicked out. That was yet, another con of being a Padawan.

(Upstairs)

"Does the force say anything different about Padawan Azalea, Yoda?" Obi-Wan Kenobi asked Yoda.

"No, it doesn't. It still says nothing; it can't read her at all," Yoda said simply. He was surprised about this: this was the reason for these meetings; they didn't know much about her and they didn't trust her.

"I don't understand: how can she hide from the force?" Anakin Skywalker asked. Anakin had been accompanying Azalea through her tasks until a couple of weeks ago; when she had been deemed ready to go out on her own. He thought she was nice enough, but he and the other two were suspicious of her because of that. She seemed the right sort to be a spy from the Sith.

"I suppose she has something to hide and she is determined to hide it from us; some people can do that. Very rare, but not impossible: and if she's a spy like we fear, she would want to hide that, and she then acts distant as a result," Yoda supplied. Then he recalled chat they had with Azalea when she was first brought to them. Yoda remembered she seemed distant even then:

"So first of all: what's your name and age?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Azalea and I'm twenty-five, nearly twenty-six," the girl responded in a strong foreign accent, looking slightly to the side. No one made much attention to this, as she was probably feeling uneasy.

"Okay. Azalea what?" Obi-Wan asked. Surely, she had a last name?

"Just Azalea," Azalea said simply and softly.

"Why did you come here?" Yoda asked, seeing she wasn't going to tell them. When people were searching for shelter, the Jedi Temple was not normally the first place they would try.

Azalea said revealing a neckless with the Jedi symbol on it, "My great, great, great grandfather was a Jedi. My Grandfather said that since great, great, great grandfather died, they kept hold of the neckless because they believed if someone needed shelter and wanted to learn the ways of the Jedi, this would be the key for that. So, when our village got attacked, grandfather basically threw this at me and said to go to you: he said you would give me shelter."
"I see. Do you want to learn how to be a Jedi?" Yoda asked, already knowing what her answer was.

"Yes, I do: I don't want to be helpless when friends and family get attacked," Azalea answered firmly.

"Very well, that will be arranged. For now, how about you go downstairs and start learning things from the texts?" Yoda said.

"Okay; thank you," Azalea said respectfully. Then she got up and started her way downstairs.

"I don't understand though: she said she was twenty-five, and yet she knows to know about as much as you two do. Not about Jedi things, of course. Though, she does know a surprising amount about the Jedi," Anakin said. In the time where he accompanied Azalea, he often ended up being asked something and Azalea would always know the answer. It made him feel very uneasy. Even if she was around three years older than him, he still felt he should know that, as he had been a Jedi longer.

"Some people find comfort in books and learn fast. However, her many great-grandfathers might have left scrolls or some dairies, too. But, that's just something we all have to accept: everyone's different. However, it is good she did know quite a bit, otherwise, it would have been hard to convince the other masters to let her do the training," Yoda said wisely.

"We need to keep our eyes open and try to persuade her to talk to us: until she does, remain vigilant we must," Obi-Wan said honestly.

"We better do that, then. By the way, Yoda: why have you kept our meetings about her just between the three of us?" Anakin asked, agreeing to leave the subject of the mysterious Miss Azalea, even though it was only begrudgingly. He was surprised other Jedi masters weren't present: and this was their fifth chat about Azalea.

"I feel if this is kept between as little people as possible it will be better, especially when the likes of Yawn don't share our suspicions," Yoda said.

"I feel the same. Shall we go and make sure no one's causing trouble at dinner?" Obi-Wan asked. With all the teenagers, there was always quite a bit of trouble caused at dinner, lunch and breakfast. Everyone was pretty good the rest of the time, at least.

"Yes, good idea," Yoda said; then they left the room and went downstairs to join dinner.

All parts of the Jedi temple were ornate; inside and out. The colour scheme was brown, cream and white, which everyone liked because it didn't stand out too much, but it didn't look too drab. The temple was three floors high, but it was huge outwards. The top floor were mostly rooms for people who lived there to stay in, the second floor was mostly training rooms and offices, the first floor was the same, plus the Library. And the ground floor had everything else on it.

The Main Hall on the ground floor had a very shiny floor, which meant a popular pass time was sliding up and down on it. Fortunately, not too many ornaments and bones have been broken while doing so: which was a worry considering there is a wooden china cabinet down one end. Obi-Wan suspected it would be moved soon, just in case. He was surprised it hadn't been moved already.

As they reached the Main Hall, Anakin said after quickly checking the time, "I'm heading home now: I'll see you later. Maybe the force be with you both."
"See you Anakin; may the force be with you," Obi-Wan said.

"Goodbye, young Skywalker; and safe travels," Yoda said. Then, Anakin left the temple.

As the two Jedi masters proceeded towards the meals room, an apprentice called Jilly came up to them. She said, "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course, Young Jilly: why, though?" Yoda asked.

"It's about that odd new girl: Azalea. As you know, the walls up the top are very thin, and the rooms are very small; and I have the room next to Azalea. Anyway, I often hear crying in the night, and it started just after she arrived. One night, I got up to see where it was coming from, and it was coming from her room. I do hope she's alright. Apart from being a bit odd, she seems nice enough," Jilly said; not wanting people to get hurt if it was avoidable.

Jilly liked doing unusual things with her hair: today it was done like a ribbon when it had been done in a bow. Her unusual hairstyles put quite a few of the masters off; Obi-Wan included.

"Thank you for telling us; we will certainly look into it," Obi-Wan said nodding.

"Thank you. If I can help, please let me know," Jilly said, then she walked off.

"Does this change things, Yoda?" Obi-Wan asked as they moved forward.

"No; we will take it into account, but we can't let our guard down. Nor forget our aim to discover what she is. Until then, we have to keep Anakin from going after her," Yoda said. Anakin could be a bit impulsive and if he lashed out and acted on impulse, it could be deadly for the person who was being lashed at.

"Yes, we will. Mind you, from some of the looks she gives us, I don't she trusts us, either: I suppose it's a mutual distrust," Obi-Wan said, as they entered the meal rooms.

"Befriending is often a good way of getting people to tell you things. We can't be too obvious though; because if she is working for the other side, that will get passed on," Yoda said. After all, she didn't talk that much about her life before here, and there were a lot of people who abused their children; so, she could be from a bad home.

"We better stop talking now, or they will get suspicious," Obi-Wan said, referring to the greater population of Jedi. Or more particularly, the fifteen to twenty-five aged ones.

"Yes, that would be wise. Where is Miss Azalea? Surely, she would come to dinner," Yoda asked, after looking around.

"Let's ask one of the other masters if she's come at all. But there is still plenty of time before dinner is over," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"True; but today was a busy day for the Padawans; I would have thought most would be at dinner as soon as it started," Yoda said wisely.

"I guess," Obi-Wan agreed. Then he argued, "We might have missed her though, she is very normal looking."
"Not likely; she might be normal looking, but sit's away from the rest, she does," Yoda said, getting the last words.
Then the two served themselves up some food. As they sat down, Jocasta Nu asked, "I trust your days been good?"
"It hasn't been too bad," Obi-Wan said.

"I agree, it has not been bad. What about you, Jocasta?" Yoda said.

"No, my day hasn't been too bad, either," Jocasta said, nodding.

"Did Miss Azalea turn up for dinner?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Oh yes! She did, but she can't have been here for more than five minutes. I arrived about… seven minutes after dinner started, and she was leaving. I was very surprised so I asked where she was going. She seemed surprised that I asked, but she said she was going to meditate. Very odd girl, that one: which means you want to keep an eye on her," Jocasta said. She was a tiny bit surprised they were worrying about Azalea: they normally left Padawans to the lower ranked masters.

She was sure everyone was fine and no one was plotting against them; but still, it was better to be safe than sorry, considering the story Azalea gave them. She seemed harmless, and the force was saying she was, and still is: but you never know? Especially when the Sith were liable to steal Jedi right under their noses, and Obi-Wan and Yoda didn't trust her.

"Yes, very," Yoda agreed.

"She's going well with her training though: Yawn is very impressed with her training. She is very quick to learn; and Yawn is worried mind you: because she seems to favour the more ruthless, head-on style that the Sith use," Jocasta said, shaking her head.

"That's is very unusual. Does she have training tomorrow?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, she does: with Mace. He'll be able to give you a full report on it," Yawn said, joining their conversation. Because of the unusual way she came part of the Jedi, she wasn't really anyone's Padawan at the moment.

"I will have to watch that; I would to see it for myself," Yoda said. He wanted to see her fight for himself.

"It's worth seeing. I wish she would talk to someone: I can tell you she is not very confident and always seems surprised when someone compliments her. She tries to hide her talents, and yet, she seems to strive to be the best," Yawn said. Azalea's confusing personality drove him insane! He especially was worried as she was his responsibility.
"If we keep trying to get her to open up; she'll have to eventually. No one can keep quiet forever," Yoda said. Then he said, "Don't try too hard though: for some people that has the opposite effect."

"No, they can't. And good idea," Yawn agreed as he yawned, causing everyone to laugh.

(Late that evening.)

Azalea fell back into her bed with a deep sigh, her light brown hair going in all directions. She did then put her hands over her face and softly groaned. It was very much a tradition that Azalea did when she was tired and she had just lied down.

The room she had was not very big, but it did what she needed. There was a few cupboards and a bed: but that was all she needed. She was a loner, and she didn't have much; so, it was perfect. It was cozy, and she liked being cozy.

After lying on her bed for a while, Azalea sat up so she could get changed for bed. She had already done what she needed in the bathroom, so it was just a matter of getting changed.

Azalea sighed tiredly: it had been a long day and she was over it. It wasn't that she didn't like hard work as a general rule; it was just she had worked hard her whole life, and she was tired of it. But, she wasn't going to stop, she wanted to get seen as a person of note, and she wanted to get an upgrade: and the quickest way for both those goals was to work hard. It didn't help she readily noticed Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Anakin Skywalker didn't trust her, so she was worried about them attacking her.

Azalea sighed for the third time in the space of ten minutes, then she begrudgingly got up from her bed and went over to the cupboard and took off her necklaces. She took off the one with the Jedi symbol and a cross and placed them on top of the cupboard. Then, she took off another neckless which had a dark symbol on it. She placed that under her pillow. She didn't want people seeing the symbol as it wasn't a light one: it was not the Sith symbol either, but it was very similar to the one of the Sith, so she didn't want people to jump to conclusions. Especially when she already knew people were suspicious of her.

Azalea then brushed her hair after undoing her braid. After that, she stared in the small mirror in her room. Her face was looking healthier than it ever had, and her onyx eyes were very tired looking. Only then Azalea realised the extent of her tiredness.

After that, she got changed and went to sleep, as nothing else was left to do. This night, she was too tired to think of the past, so she didn't end up crying as a result. However, she did feel bad she didn't pray before she went to sleep, which she normally did.

Things will be a bit slow and might seem a bit odd because I just randomly decided to change the plot slightly.

BY THE WAY! I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT YOU THINK! I'LL THANK YOU AND BE PLEASED IF YOU LIKE IT, OTHERWISE, REVIEW WHAT EVER YOU LIKE!