"Thank you for coming here," Bant told him. "I know it is hard for you." A glint of mischief lit her eyes. "Maybe I ask you to do it because I know that."

He nudged her with a shoulder. "Oh, am I your Padawan now?"

Bant's gaze clouded, and Obi-Wan realized he had made a mistake. He had reminded her of what they had come here to forget.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean-"

"Don't be silly." Bant hugged her knees. "I have to face my disappointment. Didn't you come here to talk to me about it?"

Bant had been hoping to be accepted by Jedi Master Tahl as her Padawan. Tahl had seemed to take a special interest in Bant, giving her projects to do and tracking her progress. Yet just yesterday, Tahl had taken off on a mission and told Yoda and the Council that she had decided to take no Padawan at all. Obi-Wan knew that Bant was upset by Tahl's decision.

"Yes," Obi-Wan admitted. "I know how it feels to be rejected. Even though Qui-Gon took me as Padawan in the end, he said no at first, and it hurt."

"I don't think there is any hope that Tahl will change her mind," Bant said sadly.

"There are other Masters," Obi-Wan said gently. "You have done well as a student. You will get the Master you were meant to have."

Bant brooded as she stared at the green water. "Yes, I know that is Jedi wisdom. But what do you do when you feel it is wrong? I felt so strongly that Tahl was the right Master. Do you know what I mean, Obi-Wan? Didn't you have the same feeling about Qui-Gon?"

"I did," Obi-Wan admitted. He did not know what to tell Bant. Jedi students were taught to trust their feelings. They were also instructed to be certain that those feelings were pure. That meant that a feeling could have more to do with what you wished could be, rather than what was meant to be. The feeling must rise in you like something that breaks loose from a deep place and floats to the surface, where it touches the sun.