Author's Note: This is the last chapter of this story. I'd like to thank everyone for reading it & especially for your comments. I do also have more Star Wars stories that I will be posting very soon.
Kuniren stared at his room in the Jedi temple for what he wondered would be the last time. He was ready to go; being a Jedi, he owned nothing of his own, so there was nothing for him to pack. He was simply waiting. He could have gone out to a common room to say good-bye to everyone, but he didn't feel like it. He hadn't really felt like doing much for the past two days - ever since Master Skywalker's children had been born.
No, that wasn't entirely right, he told himself. If he were honest, he hadn't felt like doing much ever since the girl had been born (even though there was only about a five minute difference in their birth times). But her arrival had been the one to make him think - to make him wonder about himself.
He'd been elated when he'd first felt her come into the world - felt them both. The sensation was so recognizable as the opposite of what he'd felt when the temple had been attacked that it had been impossible not to feel joy. But he'd also felt the immediate spike of fear from their father which centered on how the girl perceived the Force. And even after his master had conquered that fear, he'd remained concerned, all the way up until the last time Kuniren had seen him, yesterday evening, when he'd left the temple, saying he would return today to collect him for their journey to Naboo.
His master had been here the day before, to ask Master Yoda many questions, all of them about the girl. Kuniren had been with him the whole time; nothing was kept secret, but the more time he had to think about it, the questions Master Skywalker had asked bothered him. Some questions were, of course, simply odd, such as when he'd asked what would have happened to Leia's Force-sense if her mother had died at birth, her father had turned to the dark side, and she and her brother had been taken to separate planets to be raised. The old master had, of course, replied, that there was no way to tell; several possibilities suggested themselves. The most obvious, according to him, was that she might likely have died of shock. Alternatively, he said, she might have lost her mind, or if she were very strong-minded, simply shut that part of herself down in reaction to the pain. He thought it extremely unlikely that she could have come through such a birth unscarred (though he kindly added that if her father had turned to the dark side, appearing to have no Force-sense would serve her well as protection from him). Master Skywalker had nodded, and Master Yoda, as he was in the habit of doing, naturally asked why he'd wanted to know. To which his master had replied that if a possible answer could have been 'nothing would have happened,' he would have had someone to ask for help with her. They then began talking about his need for help, which was the part that bothered Kuniren. It bothered him because he knew that Leia Skywalker's Force-gift was the same as his own. And if Master Skywalker, who was the most powerful Jedi living needed help with a baby like him, how would his own parents have possibly coped?
The problem was, this provided the logical answer to a question he'd long asked himself. Though he no longer had any physical memory of his parents, what he did have were the emotions associated with his leaving them - courtesy of his Force-gift. And though it seemed to him that they'd been sad about his leaving, he knew they'd felt a great sense of relief, as well. Relief, he thought, to be rid of someone so difficult; a baby who would tune into someone's passing mood and assume it as his own.
Kuniren was so far into his own thoughts that he failed to notice a presence at his door until the visitor knocked. He jumped, startled, and before he could say, 'come in,' the door slid aside to reveal his master standing there, a grave expression on his face.
"Aren't you coming?" he asked softly. "I thought you would be downstairs already."
He glanced up at him, then away.
"I don't have to come," he managed to make himself say.
He heard his master sigh, then felt him kneel down beside him and clasp him by the shoulder. The man started to speak, stopped, was silent a moment, and then finally said, "Well, if you choose not to, I think you owe me an explanation. Don't you?"
Put that way, he had to admit his master was right. He'd waited till the last minute to make the offer. Even though his master would be better off without him, he needed to know it wasn't a child's whim. Except that he could think of no way to put it that would not end up insulting Leia.
"I'd just be in your way," he tried saying, though he knew that was lame. So lame, he could almost anticipate the response: In your way how?
But his master didn't say that. Instead, he took him by both shoulders and said, "Is that what you felt when you looked at my feelings about it?"
Kuniren was silent. He hadn't actually sought out his master's feelings; it would have left him too broken-hearted to know for a fact that he was unwanted.
"I know full well you didn't," Master Skywalker told him. "So do it now. That's an order, padawan."
Kuniren looked up at him, hoping for a reprieve, but he met only the fierce stare of his master. His eyes seemed to look right down into his soul, and he was reminded of his first contact with him, and how it had felt as if he were something slightly more than human. Reluctantly, he reached out, braced for what he knew must be coming ...
And met only his master's love for him. The shock brought tears to his eyes. He blinked and looked away, embarrassed.
"What made you think you were unwanted?" His voice was quiet, but it was evident that if it was a person who'd made him feel that way, that person would be very sorry indeed.
"Yesterday," he mumbled. "When you were talking to Master Yoda."
His master was silent for a long while. Kuniren finally chanced a glimpse of his face out of the corner of his eye - he was chewing on his lower lip, his brow furrowed, lost in thought. But he glanced up before Kuniren could look away.
"About my daughter," he said. Kuniren stared at the floor. His master sighed again. "I could try to guess your reasons, but I might be wrong. It would be better if you just told me."
Slowly, hesitantly, Kuniren did, beginning with the difficulty his master had described to Master Yoda and ending with his own conclusion about his parents. When he finished, his master closed his eyes in pain.
"I don't know your parents," he said softly. "So I can't tell you that you're definitely wrong about what you felt. I can tell you that your conclusion about their relief isn't the only possible one - they could easily have been relieved that you could be trained by someone who understood your talent, for instance.
"But I do know about me," he continued. "And it isn't just that I want you to come. Before the babies came, that might have been all it was, but now, I really need you, because I think Leia needs you. She needs someone who can show her how to separate others' feelings from her own. I think you can do that, if you're willing. Are you?"
Kuniren was so stunned he was unable to say anything. It was definitely something he could do; why hadn't he thought of it himself instead of wallowing in self-pity? There was no age-threshold for that kind of learning. He felt his cheeks flame with embarrassment.
"Of course, you won't have to spend all your time training a baby," his master went on, ignoring his discomfort. "Master Yoda has given us an assignment to work on while we're there." He paused a moment for impact, then said, "We're to trace Palpatine's origins to see if we can find where he started his study of the Force."
The boy couldn't believe it - a real assignment, possibly even a dangerous one. And a family, one he'd truly been invited into - one where he was wanted. He wasn't sure about his master's interpretation of his old family's relief, but it seemed to matter much less now. Still unable to speak, he gave his master a hug, which was happily returned. Then they left his room, and he didn't look back.
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Master Kenobi and his friend (and Master Kenobi's padawan) Lige rode with them to the spaceport and saw them off. He found out there from Lige that the two of them had an assignment as well - they were to make sure a superweapon found on the old chancellor's computer had never been built, or if it had, to make sure it was destroyed. After that, they were actually going to join them on Naboo to help in their quest. So, though they all said goodbye, they knew it was only for a short time. They boarded their ship, it blasted off, and Coruscant was left far behind. Kuniren watched it recede into the blackness of space, then went to their cabin to join his new family.
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The life of the Chosen One continued, though the telling of this part of it is now over. He remained a Jedi all his life, and his children did as well, though the code was much changed by their day, and families were openly permitted. After a long time had passed and their grandchildren grown, Padme Amidala finally passed on to become one with the Force. Her husband's empty clothes were found beside her body, the expression on her own face peaceful and happy. Anakin was never seen again, and some say he lives still. Whether or not this is true, he is the only Chosen One in history to survive his destiny and lead a full and satisfying life.