CHAPTER 28: Two different Worlds

Once safely inside their ship, Qui Gon collapsed to the floor in exhaustion; Angela went over to the older Jedi and kneeled down the floor. She reached a hand out and lightly placed it on his shoulder,

"You alright?" she asked; Qui Gon who sat panting, looked to her and nodded his head; Angela sighed with relief. Qui Gon had opened his mouth to say something in return but he got distracted by a door opening; Obiwan and little Anakin ran in and kneeled right beside Angela Qui Gon.

"Are you alright?" Anakin asked; Qui Gon once again nodded his head at the repeated question.

"What was it?" Obiwan asked curiously

"I'm not sure," Qui Gon replied before pausing, "….But he was well trained in the Jedi Arts." He added; Angela looked to the floor,

"I've got a feeling this conversation's gonna get really awkward really fast…." She mumbled in her head, before she rose off her knees to a standing position; Qui Gon's eyes followed her up.

"You weren't badly hurt were you Angela?" he asked. Angela looked down on the older Jedi; deep within his blue eyes Angela saw concern. She shook her head; Obiwan quickly looked at Angela, his brows were furrowed softly,

"You're hurt Angela?" he asked; Angela shook her head

"Uh no…" she looked down at her hand, "…just a scratch and some bruising." She replied before looking back at Obiwan; Anakin who sat watching Angela spoke up,

"That looks like more than just a scratch on your head." His small voice noted; Angela raised her hand up to her right temple and lightly touched it with her finger tips; when she pulled her fingers away, there was some blood on the tips.

"Well…" she paused, "…..I've had worse…" Angela murmured quietly while looking at her fingers.

"Nonetheless, Anakin is right. That scratch of yours is going to need to be tended to." Qui Gon informed

"Uh Qui Gon sir, why do you think that man came here in the first place?" Anakin asked

"My guess is that he was after the Queen." Qui Gon replied

"What do we do?" Anakin questioned curiously, Qui Gon let out a quick sigh,

"We must be patient." He answered, "In the mean time," Qui Gon spoke, "Anakin Skywalker meet my Apprentice, Obiwan Kenobi." Anakin reached his small hand over to Obiwan and shook hands with him,

"You're a Jedi too?" he asked in awe, "Pleased to meet you." Anakin spoke; Obiwan gave Anakin a small smile then glanced at Qui Gon who laughed softly at Anakin's enthusiasm. Obiwan then softly looked up at Angela; she met his gaze while shyly smiling down at him before she slowly turned on her heel and left the room without another word. "I hope he's not thinking about what had happened earlier…" she thought to herself quietly

She walked swiftly through the ship and came to a stop in the main room; her head was now starting to hurt so she took a seat on a small couch. Angela kicked her feet up and laid out on the somewhat comfortable piece of furniture; using the arm of the couch as pillow, she rested her throbbing head and closed her eyes. She ended up falling asleep a few moments later……

It was night out, and Angela stood silently on the shore of a beautiful lake. The crescent moon and stars shone brightly above in the black sky; their lights were reflecting off the surface of the water. Feeling drawn to the lake, Angela slowly walked down to the water's edge and began to wade into the deep blue lake. The water was a bit chilly once it reached her knees, but as she descended in deeper and the water rose higher up her body, she welcomed its cool touch. Angela went no further in once the water reach her lower back; she stopped moving and for the first time, she looked down on herself. Angela gasped softly; she was completely naked. Angela glanced down at the deep blue water she stood in; reaching a hand out, she brought it under the water's surface and scooped some of it up in her palm. She brought the handful up to her left bare shoulder and poured the water on her skin; Angela watched in fascination as it ran down her arm and chest; her pale, wet skin seemed to glisten in the moonlight. A small smile came to her lips; suddenly, two warm hands placed themselves on Angela's shoulders from behind, they gently caressed her skin; then a kiss lightly touched the back of her shoulder and Angela closed her eyes softly. The lips were so soft and gentle; she raised a hand up to her shoulder and took hold on the hand that rested there; as she slowly turned around to face whoever was behind her, their fingers intertwined together. Once she faced whoever was behind her, two familiar and beautiful eyes stared lovingly down at Angela;

"Obiwan…" she whispered his name softly; Obiwan smiled softly. Angela raised a hand up to his handsome face and she lightly brushed the right side of his face with her fingertips before she began to slowly lower her hand to her side; at her touch, Obiwan reached his other hand up and took her hand; now both their hands were joined together. Angela, who had locked her gaze with his, now let her vision trace over his body; a blush rose to her cheeks. Obiwan, just like Angela, wore nothing; his broad shoulders, toned chest and abdomen was all that showed of him, everything else was hidden beneath the water. Angela lifter her gaze back up to his eyes; despite her modesty, Angela no longer felt the need to hide herself. Obiwan gently pulled on her hands and Angela took a step closer to his body; they now stood toe to toe. Obiwan dropped one of her hands and used his free hand to tilt her chin up. Then with a small smile, he leaned down and captured Angela's lips in a passionate kiss……..

Angela stirred from her sleep as she felt cool water trickle down the side of her right face. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes to see Padme leaning over her; she was dressed in her red, orange and yellow gown; Angela sighed in relief, "Oh geeze; It was just a dream…" she whispered inside her head. Angela then slowly propped herself up on her arms and rose to a sitting up position.

"Padme," she mumbled, "What are you doing?" she asked; Padme also gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh praise God! You're alright. You scared me there for a second." Padme spoke; Angela smirked softly,

"Yeah I kinda have that effect on people." She playfully murmured; Padme smiled.

"Yup, you are most definitely alright." Said Padme with a small shake of her head.

"Of course I am. Now what were you doing to me?" Angela asked curiously; Padme showed her a wet rag.

"Cleaning the wound you got on the side of your head. I didn't want to see it get infected." Padme explained.

"Oh…well thank you. That was very kind of you." Said Angela while she raised her arms high above her head and stretched.

"I'm glad I could help. It's the least thing I can do," Padme then paused for a few seconds, "…after all, if it wasn't for you and Qui Gon, that man in black might have come aboard and….." her voice trailed off, "Well….who knows what he would've done."

"I can think of a few things…." Angela murmured inside her head. "Think nothing of it Padme; it's my job to look out and protect." Angela softly explained; Padme gave her a soft smile,

"Yeah I know," Padme spoke, "You do it very well by the way." Angela laughed softly,

"Well I'd hope so." She replied. Padme laughed quietly before she rose to her feet.

"I must go, there's a private audience going on with the Queen and Qui Gon; I best be there for it." Padme explained while she straightened her gown; Angela gave her a quick nod.

"Alright….." Angela paused, "….have fun with that." Angela replied playfully; Padme gave her a lightheartedly glare before she turned on her heel and left for the Queen's room. Angela sighed softly while she swung her legs off the couch to have them now touch the floor; her boots lightly kicked something. Angela glanced down at her feet and spotted a small, opened, silver case; it looked like a first-aid kit. Leaning over, she reached down and pulled a roll of gauze out; then she glanced at her left wrist. It was still badly bruised; and when she tried to rotate her wrist in a circle, it shot a pain up her arm making her wince softly. Angela slowly began to unwrap the roll of gauze until it was a long strip; then, while holding the end of the strip on her bruised wrist, she slowly began to wrap her wrist up tightly. The room Angela was in, was dead silent; so she lightly began to hum while she continued to bandage her wrist. She was so occupied with her task at hand; she didn't hear anyone else walk into the room.

"How are you feeling?" a male voice suddenly spoke up; Angela jumped slightly before she turned her head to the sound of the voice. When her eyes landed on the figure she let out a soft sigh of irritation.

"Must you keep doing that?" She asked while she looked away from Obiwan back to her work.

"Doing what?" he asked curiously while he walked over to where Angela sat.

"You always seem to show up at the most random moments; it throws me off." Angela mumbled softly; keeping her eyes lowered at her partially wrapped wrist. Obiwan chuckled softly before he took a seat right beside her,

"Well that's an interesting concept," He began, "The great Black Rider, the defender of Naboo who is known to be able to take down the most ruthless criminals, gets "thrown off" by a Jedi apprentice. That's a top story right there," he teased, "I can already see it making the front page." Angela turned her head to look over at the smiling Jedi beside her; she had stopped wrapping her wrist,

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked dangerously; a smirk playing across her lips. Obiwan raised his both his hands up in the air in a surrendering gesture,

"Oh no, no, I'd be too afraid to make fun of the Black Rider." he answered giving Angela a challenging look; Angela laughed softly while she shook her head. Angela leaned in slightly towards Obiwan; giving her a very intimidating profile

"You best watch yourself young Jedi, I'm not one to mess with." Angela playfully warned while she pulled back slowly. Obiwan smirked and raised an eyebrow at her warning,

"Oh really?" he paused while he looked Angela up and down before he met her gaze again, "I think I can take you." He replied challengingly. Angela rolled her eyes and laughed,

"Yeah ok; you keep telling yourself that Obiwan." She replied before she looked back down at her hand; Obiwan laughed softly. Angela then once again picked up the strip of gauze and continued wrapping it around her wrist. She stopped only once more when she felt Obiwan's hand close around her hand that held the gauze; Angela lifted her eyes up to Obiwan and stared at him; puzzled by his action.

"Here," he spoke softly, "Let me." He delicately offered; Angela released her grip on the gauze and let Obiwan take hold of it. Angela extended her left hand out more to Obiwan who now began to gently wrap it up around her wrist.

"Thank you." Angela softly replied as she watched Obiwan carefully tend to her wrist. They sat in silence for a few minutes; as Obiwan was finishing wrapping up Angela's wrist, he tied a small strip of gauze into a knot so it kept the bandaging tight. Angela gasped softly at the pressure on her wrist; Obiwan quickly glanced up at her,

"Sorry…. Jedi hands….I know they're rough." He spoke apologetically,

"Oh no…I mean yes they are, but that wasn't the reason; it just feels a little weird having my wrist restrained like this." She quickly explained while she lowered her eyes from Obiwan's deep stare. Obiwan, who still held Angela by her left hand, gently placed his other one on top of it. Angela looked over at him; she noticed that his gaze was locked on the hand that he held. Then to Angela's surprise, she felt him lightly trace his fingers over the back of her hand. As she paid close attention to his touch, she realized that he was tracing her mark; Obiwan looked up at Angela,

"What's this?" he asked curiously while he lowered his gaze back to her left hand,

"It's…..my mark." She answered; Obiwan raised a curious eyebrow at her,

"What's it mean?" He asked; Angela shrugged her shoulders,

"My guess is that it represents who I am, or who I'm going to be. But honestly I'm still trying to figure it out." She replied.

"How'd you get it?" he questioned; Angela bit her lip in thought,

"Uhhh…well…" she paused, "….this isn't gonna make any sense but what if I told you it came to me in a dream." She replied,

"Well then I'd have to say that you've got some pretty intense dreams." He answered with a small smirk; Angela looked down softly as she remembered her latest dream, about her and Obiwan. She felt heat rise to her cheeks, "What was that all about anyways? Obiwan and I aren't and are never going to be…..like that." She thought inside her mind. "You don't know the half of it…" she murmured softly; Angela was staring down at her lap when she felt Obiwan's eyes watching her, so she glanced over at him. She smiled softly,

"Do always stare like that?" she lightly teased; Obiwan smiled in return,

"Uh no actually, I don't…but with you……I can't help it." He confessed; Angela felt her blush begin to redden, so she looked down,

"Oh…" she murmured shyly, then she let out a sigh, "Obiwan," she began, "….about what had happened on Tatooine," she paused for a few seconds, "…you mustn't let that change things." She explained while she glanced up at Obiwan; his brows were furrowed softly,

"What do you mean?" he asked; Angela swallowed and took a deep breath in,

"….Between us I mean. We are working together on a mission…." She paused again, "That's all that can happen with us." She spoke softly but firmly as she pulled her hand away from Obiwan's.

"Angela you can't be telling me that you don't share the same feelings I have." Obiwan spoke gently,

"Who said anything about feelings?" Angela asked quietly,

"What, so you don't care about me in anyway?" Obiwan questioned in disbelief; Angela thought about that for a second before she looked up to stare Obiwan in his eyes,

"Correct," she lied undecidedly; Obiwan shook his head, not believing her. Angela looked down,

"Obiwan I can'tcare about you." She stated

"What?" Obiwan asked,

"We live in two different worlds. It's not possible for us to be anymore than just acquaintances." She explained

"Angela," Obiwan began but Angela quickly jumped in,

"No Obiwan, please," she pleaded softly, "…just accept that fact. The sooner you do, the sooner we can forget all of this."

"And what if I don't want to forget?" Obiwan asked

"Then you are a fool." Angela replied while she turned away from Obiwan.

"Am I Angela? If I recall correctly, back on Tatooine, you were just as willing as I was." Obiwan pointed out,

"Forget about what had happened and listen to what I'm saying now; this has to stop, whatever is going on between us." Angela spoke while looked back over to him; she stared deeply into Obiwan's eyes, Obiwan stared silently back.