A knock on his door made Obi-Wan raise his head curiously.
"Come in." Obi-Wan called, settling down his halo in his lap.
He wondered who could be visiting him at this hour. Master Yoda and Master Windu had already been by to see him to get the full details on what Dooku had said to him while Obi-Wan was captured and then during his duel with the Sith Lord. And Anakin was still undergoing surgery to get a mechanical arm attached in place of his old arm. It had been a heavy price to pay but Obi-Wan could only hope that his padawan learned from the loss about being reckless again. Especially when dueling a former Jedi master and current Sith Lord.
The door to his medical ward slid open to reveal a familiar brunette. Obi-Wan sat up just a bit straighter in his bed as Sabé smiled sheepishly.
"Hi." Sabé greeted softly, taking a tentative step into his ward. "How are you doing?"
"Oh, well, you know." Obi-Wan shrugged. "I'm sure my pride will recover in time."
He succeeded in drawing a wider if wry smile from her.
"Well, if that's all, then I suppose I worried for no reason." Sabé teased.
Despite her light words, her eyes still flickered to his arm and leg where she knew he was still healing from the lightsaber wounds Dooku had inflicted. Her heart had almost stopped when she and Padmé had run into that dark hangar the other day and they'd found Obi-Wan bleeding and barely able to limp back onto his feet and Anakin without an arm. And Sabé knew it would be a while before she could stop seeing Obi-Wan losing his own limb in her nightmares.
Sabé walked over to his bedside and she fidgeted with the small bouquet of flowers she'd brought along.
"I wasn't sure of the right etiquette… That is, if it's all right to bring flowers for a Jedi… Or, you know..."
She trailed off awkwardly and Obi-Wan took pity on her.
"Thank you, Tsé." He said as he took the flowers from her. Sabé looked visibly relieved while Obi-Wan glanced down curiously at the blooms in his hand. They were beautiful in a delicate way from the baby blue colour of the petals to the softness of them.
"Bluebells." Obi-Wan murmured thoughtfully. Sabé nodded. "Are they your favourite?"
Sabé turned pink, but she nodded again. "I didn't know if you had a favourite, so eventually I just decided to go with mine."
Obi-Wan filed away that piece of information but he was still curious. He wondered if Sabé knew the significance of bluebells.
"Why are these your favourites?"
Sabé turned even pinker and for a moment it seemed like she wouldn't reply. Sensing this, Obi-Wan said reassuringly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"Oh, why not." Sabé sighed as she settled into the seat beside his bed. "It's not like there's much more I can hide from you."
Curious choice of words, Obi-Wan noted to himself before he blinked as Sabé admitted, "I like bluebells because they remind me of you. Your eyes… and your lightsaber."
Obi-Wan blinked rapidly before his gaze softened. Taking Sabé's hand in his own, he squeezed it gently.
"Thank you."
Regret laced his tone and Sabé smiled wistfully.
"This wasn't how I imagined the conversation going." She said quietly. "I'd thought we could pretend a little while longer before we couldn't avoid the truth any longer."
Obi-Wan gave her an answering and rueful smile.
"I don't think it's in me to hide from the truth."
"Oh, I know. Still, I could hope."
Sabé poked him and Obi-Wan chuckled although he faltered quickly. For a moment, they just stared at each other quietly, neither wanting to end the moment. But all too soon, Obi-Wan knew he couldn't ignore the growing weight on his shoulders.
"Sabé-"
Sabé shook her head. "Don't."
Obi-Wan grimaced. "Tsé-"
"Don't apologize." Sabé leant back in her chair, withdrawing her hand from his. "I'm still not sorry."
Obi-Wan's lips curved up despite himself. "Really? Even though we didn't die and now we must live with the knowledge of what could be?"
"You mean what could have been." Sabé corrected him with a small if sad smile. "We keep going in circles, but I know you cannot give up the Jedi Order. Nor do I ever wish you to."
They sat again in silence before he reached out and took her hand gently back in his own.
"I could consider it." Obi-Wan answered softly. "If I thought you would be happier, I would consider leaving it behind. But then you would have to give up your life here and your duties to Padmé, to Naboo. And I know that that would never make you happy."
Sabé nodded. They'd said the same thing so many times and said the same goodbyes before. But somehow, it still hurt. She bowed her head, waiting for him to say the words she had been dreading him to say since their return to Coruscant.
"However… if it is not too much to ask… I would be glad to remain friends."
Sabé's head jerked up and she stared at Obi-Wan. He was watching her carefully, his blue eyes twinkling with hope and a healthy dose of wariness. She didn't blame him. A part of her told Sabé that staying friends with the man she was hopelessly in love with was not a good idea. She had barely managed to move on (if they could even call what she had done 'moving on') when they'd lost contact for a decade. How was she supposed to do so if he remained a part of her life, no matter that it wasn't in the way she wanted?
And yet, on the other hand, they were on the brink of war. Whispers filled the halls everywhere Sabé went and Sabé knew Typho was already preparing for the inevitable. The flashing of her life before her eyes was bound to become a much more regular occurrence. And Sabé knew she would regret it if she found herself facing death with the knowledge that she had lived a life without Obi-Wan. She'd already tasted the feeling of that regret once before.
She had no desire to repeat that mistake.
"That would make me very happy." Sabé said softly, gazing up at Obi-Wan through her lashes.
He smiled, the same melancholy in his expression as his eyes swept over her as though he were committing her features to memory. Sabé let her eyes do the same, knowing that after today, no matter how friendly they stayed, they wouldn't speak of their feelings for each other again. They had reached the fork in the road once again, and although this time they would walk down the same path together, it was still not a path they could walk arm in arm. No matter their love for each other, they were choosing something above themselves. And to speak of possibilities any longer would only distract them.
At last, Sabé rose.
"I must get going. Padmé is travelling back to Naboo soon and there are still some things left that I must prepare."
Obi-Wan nodded.
"I will send Anakin with you to ensure you arrive safely." Because he didn't dare go along with them so soon after they had made their choice to step away.
Sabé nodded, pretending she hadn't understood his silent message.
"I will come again before we leave." Sabé promised.
She then hesitated very briefly before leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to Obi-Wan's cheek.
"See you later, Obi-Wan." She murmured.
He held her gaze as he caught her hand and brushed his lips against the back of it. She wasn't the only one prone to weakness.
"I will be waiting, my lady."
Until the day you tire of it, his eyes promised although the words never left his lips. It would only be the start of their silent messages to one another over the years to come. But it was also in that moment that they sealed their fate as Sabé smiled, her eyes conveying her response before she turned and left the ward.
Never.
It was only a few days later that Obi-Wan stood in the Jedi Council room, staring out the window with Master Windu at the city bathed in the sun's orange light.
"Do you believe what Count Dooku said?" Obi-Wan asked at great length. "About Sidious controlling the Senate? It doesn't feel right."
"Joined the Dark Side, Dooku has."
The pair turned at the gravelly voice and Obi-Wan watched as Master Yoda opened his eyes from where he'd been seated meditating.
"Mmm… Lies; deceit; creating mistrust are his ways now."
"Nevertheless, I feel we should keep a closer eye on the Senate." Master Windu interjected grimly.
Master Yoda nodded. "I agree."
Obi-Wan bowed his head thoughtfully before he returned his attention to Master Windu as the other man asked, "Where is your apprentice?"
"On his way to Naboo."
If his masters heard how Obi-Wan's voice changed slightly as he mentioned the warm planet, neither commented on it.
"He is escorting Senator Amidala home."
Master Windu nodded while Master Yoda peered thoughtfully at Obi-Wan, who missed his master's look as he returned his own gaze out the window. Staring down at the gathering below, Obi-Wan felt compelled to comment to Master Windu, "I have to admit that without the clones, it would not have been a victory."
"Victory?" Master Yoda interrupted, drawing his companions eyes back to him once again. "Victory, you say?"
Master Yoda's ears twitched and drooped heavily, matching his tone.
"Master Obi-Wan, not victory. The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen. Begun, the Clone War has."
Surprise and then grim understanding flickered across Obi-Wan's face as he returned his gaze out the window. Far below in the plaza, armies of clones marched in full armour, boarding their ships and getting ready for deployment across the galaxy. Ready to fight in the name of peace.
But at what cost?
Meanwhile, far away from Coruscant and hidden away even from those who had followed her home, Padmé Amidala stood with Anakin Skywalker. Shrouded in white, she took his one human and one metal hand lovingly in her own. In that villa beside the waters where they had first discovered their mutual feelings for each other, the former queen of Naboo and the Jedi Knight-to-be exchanged forbidden vows.
Only two droids witnessed that second, different choice was made. One that would seal the fate of the galaxy itself.
End Arc 1