Healing Hearts

She had just finished a steaming, delicious bowl of Pashi noodles, a new food that had been introduced to the temple menu and was all the rage, when teen messenger handed her a datacard. She nodded to the messenger and read the card. It from Master Yoda and he requested her to meet him in one of the lightsaber training room in a few minutes. She found it strange that he had not told her this in person, but she reasoned with herself that he was probably in a meeting or something that was far more important than her.

She put away her bowl and walked over to the training room. It was a standard, white and bare room, lined with padding along the walls and mats stacked against a far corner. There was no one in the room or even in the hall. Sarafire checked the time to see if she was late or early, but for once in her life, she was just on time. She decided that Master Yoda must have been held back in whatever meeting he was in and she would just have to wait.

Five minutes went by with no a sound to be heard. The stillness in the room was getting to her. She began to wonder if she was in the wrong room so she checked the data card again. No, she was in the right room and at the right time. She made herself take a deep breath and reasoned he must have been late for a good reason and this could not be helped.

Another five minutes went by and her nerves were being severely tested. She was not very patient and waiting in an empty room with really no idea of what she was doing there was getting to be too much. She got up and began to past the length of the room when she heard a voice she very much feared.

“Oh you. Great. I was sent to fight against you?”

She turned around and confirmed her suspension. Oh yes, it was Partin Marleon, the bully of her age group. All the other kids either hated her, or openly supported her and privately envied her. Partin was the only other Jedi in Sarafire’s class who could fool anyone she wanted. In reality, Partin was a stuck up brat who got her way through threatening, whining, brown nosing, and other methods that the Jedi were suppose to ban all together. Yet, she managed to win the approval of the teachers and fool them into thinking she was just talented. She was talented alright, talented in being a jerk.

Partin was fairly strong in the Force, but she was somewhat weak in lightsaber skill. Matching only ability, Sarafire should have win every fight with Partin, but she never did. There was one simple, sad and unfair reason. Sarafire was too scared to beat Partin. The two girls were rarely put together, but when they did Partin started a long line of threats, names, and taunts that would destroy all confidence in Sarafire and would allow an easy victory for Partin. Sarafire loathed the other girl for this fact. She could always think of great comeback after the battle, but never during. Her mind would go blank and words would stumble in a pitiful way.

“So I hear that you failed your classes and now Master Yoda is trying to see what part of farming you would be best in. Is it true?”

Sarafire opened her mouth, but couldn’t think of anything to say right then. She didn’t want to let the girl know what was really going on, but she couldn’t lie eigher.

“No, I, um well-”

She was interrupted with Partin’s next taunt.

“Oh come on, everyone knows you’re too weak to be a Jedi. You’re so quiet ad stupid. You never answer a question right in math class. Ha, you should hear what the teacher has to say about you. I heard him tell the other teachers he was going to put you back a class, you’re doing so bad!”

Was it true even when she got one question right a day or two ago? She wasn’t sure and it made the fear in her even worse.

“So any reason why I’ve been sent here? I mean, a training room? What, am I going to fight you and win again? What a waste of time. Everyone knows I could beat you in a minute.”

Sarafire hung her head and stared at her boots. It was all too true. She had been wondering the same. The last time they had been put together in a lightsaber match, Sarafire got badly kicked in the shin and it took days before she could walk without limping. It was unfair move in her opinion, but no one called it out on Partin. A spark of anger stirred at the memory of that fight. She found herself wanting to fight the red hair girl, just so she might get back and teach that brat a thing or two. She made just one mistake no Jedi should ever do in a situation like this: her angry was not shielded and Partin had picked up on it.

“What are you angry about? It’s not my fault you’re weak and can’t fight worth anything. But if you want, we can just settle this before the old dried up frog gets here and pretend nothing happened.”

She was very tempted to agree to this. She was already imaging herself beating the girl fair and square and then having the victory glow in her as she beat her again in from of the grand master. But she made no more or sign that she would agree to this plan.

“Oh come on, too chicken huh? That’s just like you to keep quiet and let the world take advantage of you. Fight like a Jedi!”

Her blood was boiling with anger. She wanted to wipe that smirk off the other girl’s face so much! Oh, this wasn’t fair at all.

“Fine, if you won’t start, I will.”

With that, a green lightsaber was lit in the hands of Partin and coming near the shocked figure of Sarafire. She took a step back before remembering to grab her own saber. She had not agreed to this and she was in trouble. The two girls started to fight each other. Partin was being very aggressive while Sarafire tried so hard to get out of the fight, but nothing worked. In nearly a minute of the laser swords flashing and sizzling, it looked like Partin was going to win and Sarafire was going to lose, panting and heart pounding with fear and shame.

“Stop you will!”

They were going to go at it, probably for the last time, when both of the girls stopped and looked around, startled. Partin had a look of shock and Sarafire just leaned over to pant, too tired to feel much at the moment.

“Partin, outside you will go, now.”

The girl made a small bow, something that stirred another flame of rage in her thin, heaving chest. Then the girl left, leaving the master and the student along. The Jedi master waited patiently for her to gain her breath back and stand up straight. Only she didn’t stand up completely straight. Her head was down in shame and her shoulders slightly slumped. She couldn’t look at the master. She was wrong to fight even if she hadn’t started it. She was also wrong in losing. She was just wrong. She decided to say something before he started a lecture.

“Sorry, Master Yoda. I know I was wrong to fight her. I didn’t start it.”

She added that last little bit to try to make herself look innocent. On most teachers, they would have believed her and understood she wasn’t the kind to start fights. She was just too quiet for that sort of thing. Yet, when she looked up, she knew the Jedi wasn’t going to buy it.

“Wrong you were, but not that way.”

Her mouth formed an “o” as she tried to understand what he meant.

“Err, huh?”

“Wrong you were to lose when no reason you had.”

She just stared at him, very lost. She had no reason to lose?