Disclaimer: Star Wars and all associated characters, plotlines, and worlds (good and bad) are property and copyright © of George Lucas (aka The Richest Man in Hollywood). This is purely for fan entertainment only.
Also a warning… this fanfic is rated MA for adult themes. I have also officially crossed over into "Obidala land"… in other words, if you're offended or otherwise do not like the pairing between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, then please don't read further to spare yourself the irritation. Otherwise, enjoy!
Chapter 9- Diplomatic Games
He watched as her back rose softly in a natural rhythm, her breathing regular. His eyes traced the curves of her back, her shoulder blades, and the small of her back near where the covers hid her bottom. He wished he was learning them with his hands, but let her rest. He didn't dare move, as her arm was draped across his chest.
It made Obi-Wan smile, remembering her finally giving into the exhaustion that plagued them both. His mind strayed, thinking of the delightful look on her face when he… oh yes. He grinned.
Ruminations of their delicious time together brought him back to his original train of thought, the one he had started before studying her posterior. His Oath meant dealing with the fact that one day, he would lose her. For whatever reason, he would not spend the last of his days with Padmé. He was not capable of seeing the future the way his young Padawan had been, but it did not take a genius to realize that Jedi typically outlasted their loved ones and it was going to be very difficult to hide from the Empire together.
He had already started formulating plans on where he should leave her, and when, but they were beginning to break his heart to carry through. He did not want to consciously make the decision to leave her after this, but knew it would be better for her safety if she did not have the Jedi on Darth Vader's most wanted list around.
He knew it well- if his Apprentice found him again, he would not let him escape. However, he also felt that Darth Vader's pride would not allow him to use his Clonetroopers to capture him. It would always simply be between the two of them. Now, more than ever, his duty was to protect Padmé.
Another thought had disturbed him since he had learned of his Apprentice's transformation to his mechanical body. He did not know whether he still held the same mastery of the Force and whether he had yet learned how to completely control his mechanical body. If Lord Vader found them in the next short while, they may still have a chance at survival.
But not if he found them together. Especially like this. It would be better if somehow he did not recognize Padmé for herself, and thought she was Sabé instead. He was not sure how they would pull that one off, as Vader intimately knew Padmé's Force signature better than he knew his own, likely.
She stirred, turning on her side to face him. Her smile lit up her face and he was once more reminded why he was incapable of leaving her just now, and why his Apprentice had tried so hard to save her. The irony in it made his heart ache. "Did you sleep well?" he murmured to her.
Padmé tightened her arm about him in a quick hug. "Yes, and for the first night in quite a while, I did not have a nightmare." Her smile broadened in appreciation. "It was your doing."
He shook his head, laughing. "No, Padmé, you did that on your own. Meditation can never hurt." He hoped she hadn't seen the seriousness in his eyes before he had governed it back to its mask.
"What's wrong?" Too late. She frowned.
He brought a hand up to his beard, stroking it pensively. "Nothing." He would tease her with it, hope she forgets.
She tickled her fingers across his ribs, where her hand still laid. "Tell me the truth." She urged.
Obi-Wan sobered, admitting, "I'm rather like my Apprentice, I've realized." He did not want to tell her of this, but she did have a way of soothing things over.
Padmé sighed, looking away. "I knew this was a bad idea."
He touched her chin, turning it his way again. "I didn't say that." He said softly, caressing her face. "I'm just realizing how easy it is to get attached to you." He smiled down at her. "And not in a bad way…"
She was not reassured. "I don't want the same thing happening to you. You were always the champion of democracy, the only thing truly left to inspire us of the way things used to be. And should be."
"Padmé my views have not changed on the democracy, nor about the Dark Side. I won't turn down that path." He vowed.
She rose from the bed, searching for a robe to cover herself. "I'm just worried." She turned back to him, bending down to kiss him. "It's rather new to me. I realize Ani.. Darth Vader… will always be a part of our past, but it can still be somewhat sensitive at times." Her eyes misted. "And I don't want to lose you, too."
He grabbed her hand, squeezed it. "I'm afraid it will be the other way around."
She squeezed his hand back. "We'll see…" she brightened, trying to change the subject. "We have plenty to do, after all, I was going to write more letters and you promised me you would teach me how to better defend myself."
He grinned, remembering many blaster battles in the past, and her spirit in them. Teaching her Jedi combat forms would be… interesting.
Their arrival on Alderaan was quiet. As expected, Senator Bail Organa and his wife as well as several other ranking officials came to their platform to greet them formally. Darth Vader walked out of their shuttle beside Commander Appo, and gestured for him to lead the troops out, demonstrating their strength. He let them demonstrate their ceremony and watched everyone's reactions. They all proceeded as should be expected. Senator Organa did not appear to be harboring any grudges against the Empire openly.
His next glance was to Senator Organa's wife, who was holding the bundle he had noticed before on the holoscreen. So this was their child… he steeled himself against a flood of emotions, remembering that his own child would be about the same age, had it lived. He took the surge of emotions and reached out with the Force, searching for any Force sensitives or Jedi. Most immediately, he noticed the presence of the infant. The Force was strong in this one. But his curiosity would have to wait.
After the procession, he waited for the formal salute from the Senator. He introduced himself, and his wife, and finally, "And my daughter, Leia."
Darth Vader nodded, finally voicing his curiosity, "Leia. Is she yours, or did you adopt?" the question sounded hollow coming out mechanically, yet he still felt the need for the formalities. They were not openly hostile, he still needed to be somewhat diplomatic. It came to him that this would have been the best role for his wife, he had never been good with the diplomatic pleasantries. But it would still be useful, learning the background of this child so strong in the Force.
The Senator appeared almost alarmed at the questioning, feigning insult at the question. "She is our daughter, Lord Vader, and that is how we will raise her."
Very interesting, he's hiding something. He ignored the indirectness and continued his line of questioning. "She is rather young; your wife has healed well from her childbirth." His thoughts strayed to his own wife, who would have been freshly healed from childbirth as well. He should have been coddling his own son now, or holding a daughter to his shoulder, cooing her to sleep. And now he would never even know the sex of his own child. She had taken that knowledge with her to her fiery end.
He had meant it as a compliment, yet the Senator's wife appeared affronted. This would never do, this is why he had stayed away from politics and from these silly games. What use did a Sith Lord have for these games? He would never play them again; if they did not want to do things his way, they would not do them at all! The Senator interrupted, inquiring politely, "What is the purpose of your visit to Alderaan? How can we be of service?"
He got to the point of it. "There is a Jedi that is taking refuge here." He stopped, gesturing to Appo, who brought out a holodisc of the current laws that he knew his Master was about to allude to. "It is illegal to harbor Jedi, were you aware of this, Senator?"
The Senator nodded. "If there is a Jedi here, we would not allow it. I am not aware of one, you must know more than me about it."
A perfectly acceptable answer. Yet this man had been to Mustafar, if Commander Appo had reported correctly. "And the punishment for harboring Jedi is death." He looked over at the young infant. "Death of your entire family."
The Senator again nodded. "I am aware, Lord Vader." He paused, looking at his wife. "I am not aware of any Jedi. If they are here, they have come of their own accord and not alerted me of their presence. I cannot detect them."
Darth Vader turned away, gesturing again to Commander Appo. They began their search. He tucked the information about Leia into the back of his head, to be looked into after they had found their target, Bene. And he reached out with his feelings, looking for his old Master as well. Perhaps Senator Organa had shuttled Obi-Wan from Mustafar.
The time had been spent rather productively, for a change. Obi-Wan had spent a good first part of the day demonstrating ways for her to stand while shooting the blaster, how to hold her head, ways to hide and still be able to see what was going on. He was ever patient with her, as she knew he had been with his Apprentice.
And she had gotten time to write her letters, although at first she was not sure who she was writing them to. She kept them bound together, more of a journal than letters. She had finally ended up writing letters to her children whom she knew she would never meet. The thought still weighed heavy in her heart, thinking of the children she had suffered months to bring into the world. Now, she would never see their little faces as they grew, know their first words, or even the sound of their little voices. She would never know their fascination at learning new things, never get to feel them cling to her legs in a hug. Never hear them call her mom, nor run to cling to Anakin as he returned to join them after coming home from the Temple. He would always have a place in her heart, as they would.
She laid down her pen, turning to Obi-Wan who had been serenely meditating the entire time she had been doing her writing. She watched him for a moment, noting how still he could be, how relaxed he appeared. She knew, though, from what little of a bond they still shared, that he was all inner turmoil. She had learned to detect it even when he was trying to hide it from her. She was not sure whether he knew or not, but surely he did- as she could not obtain any connection without his consent. She was no Jedi, or even strong in the ways of the Force as he was.
Padmé watched as his brow knotted, finally expressing emotion. She joined him at his side, rubbing his shoulder. "Come on, let's go out into the village and get something to eat."
Obi-Wan opened his eyes, his clear blue eyes not reflecting the turmoil within. "Are you sure? I do not know how much the villagers know."
She nodded. "We need to find out some way or another." She sighed, "Beside that, I think we could both use the break."
He returned the nod, and they left their home. She let him lead her through the maze of the treetop village, searching for a public gathering. They found one soon enough, and ventured inside to an empty table. Everyone inside turned to them, murmuring amongst themselves, then returned back to what they were previously talking about.
They ordered food, taking the recommendation of the local tavern maid, who had eyed them quite a few times before ordering. She returned to talk, sitting down beside Obi-Wan. "So, who're you two and where are you from?" She prompted, getting straight to business.
I thought they didn't ask questions? Obi-Wan smiled at the woman, gesturing to himself and then Padmé in turn. "I am Ben Kenobi, and this is my wife, Tiané." He paused for a moment, deciding which planet they would be from. "We are from Tatooine." He chose it because he thought she would not know where it was, nor remember it.
Sure enough, "Oh." She moved on, not bothering with Tatooine. "What brings you here?" she gestured to all of those in the room. "Everyone has a story to tell, whether they're hiding from someone, tired of the Clone Wars… mostly hiding."
Padmé chose to answer this one, "We're starting over, and picked somewhere that we hoped would be off the beaten track." She paused, letting this information sink in to the inquisitive tavern maid. "Since the Clone Wars are over, and Palpatine has assumed his role as Supreme Ruler over the Republic, we thought it would be best to stay out of their way." This much was true without giving too much away.
The maid nodded, leaning in to talk softer. "Aye, I would stay away from that one, too." She laughed, then sat back again. "Most here are trying to get away from their past. There are some that adore the Republic and the Jedi, particularly Master Obi-Wan and his 'andsome Apprentice." She erupted into giggles, and Padmé paled. "That one was enough to make me faint away, he was." She eyed Obi-Wan curiously. "Wasn't Kenobi Master Obi-Wan's last name?"
Padmé was glad that the maid was looking at Obi-Wan, for she could not control her face as well as he. She looked down quickly, hearing him answer, "Why yes, it was… I hope we're related in some way, he's an admirable man."
The maid smiled at the answer, "Aye, he's got quite the reputation, he has. They say he was the greatest Jedi that ever was." She sighed a bit at that, "But I'm sure that Darth Vader has found him, he's found nearly all the Jedi, they say." The woman looked wistfully away. "And probably got Anakin Skywalker as well." Padmé wanted to hide, the woman had no idea how close to the truth she actually was. She wanted to hide from all the reminders of him, but tried her hardest to keep her composure.
Obi-Wan found her hand under the table and squeezed it. "Yes, I'm sure he has." His heart nearly broke as he said it, "Anakin Skywalker is dead, I'm sure."
The barmaid again sighed deeply, as if losing Anakin was a personal blow to her, then continued. "I'm sure that Queen of his misses him the most." She jabbed Obi-Wan playfully with an elbow, sharing her gossip. "Everyone who is anyone knows that she was pregnant by him." She chortled, "It was written all over their faces, all of the gossip channels talked about it."
Padmé grabbed the table, her knuckles turning white as she clenched it, searching for support. The maid turned to her, "What's wrong with you, miss?"
Padmé stood up, getting ready to flee. She was not as ready for this as she thought she was. "I am feeling ill." Was all she could get out.
Obi-Wan rushed to her side, his arm going about her to support her. He sent calm, loving feelings to her, trying to calm her. "Excuse us, we'd best be going." He set a few coins on the table. "This is for the food we ordered." He rushed her back to their home.
Thanks to everyone who has been faithfully reviewing! And a special thanks to Lemon… you're the first to notice about some of the song titles, I actually draw some of my inspiration from the music from the movies, especially Episode III. I hope I can continue to live up to expectations with this story:)
