Mistaken: Chapter Five

Within a couple of hours, we had packed the necessary rations and clothing and hopped aboard Padmé's private yacht. While awaiting clearance from the docking station, we both discussed where to start looking for this mystery saboteur.

"Why not visit the source? Why not go straight to Dathomir and ask them about her?"

I wasn't sure whether she was joking or not, but the tower had just cleared us for takeoff and we focused on breaking free of Coruscant's atmosphere first before continuing the discussion. Once released from its gravitational pull, I set the autopilot to cruise and spun my chair around to look straight at her.

"Dathomir? Because I'm not fond of being a rancor appetizer, that's why."

She smirked at me, which gave me a clue she'd actually been teasing. "They only sacrifice men who are untrustworthy or of no use to them. You, my dear, would be quite a prize." She smiled then and leaned forward for a quick kiss. There was no such thing as one of those where she was concerned, however. Every time I tried, I would lose my self-control and indulge myself. Padmé never seemed to mind and hummed through her smile afterward.

"Thanks. I think. I'm not willing to take such a desperate measure yet," I noted. "The Sisters aren't very fond of Jedi. I'm not sure they'd appreciate me stopping by for a chat."

I'd been considering every system I knew of that had a reputation for having connections with the Dark Side of the Force. There were a couple the Jedi knew of, but these were heavily populated. If this woman was so intent on making our lives miserable, she would require solitude and quiet in order to focus that much power. With that in mind, there was only one planet that would suit her needs.

"Then where?"

"Korriban," I answered.

Without further question, Padmé entered our destination into the computer and began to read its specs. "The original homeworld of the Sith species and a sacred planet for the Sith Order, Korriban houses the tombs of many ancient and powerful Dark Lords of the Sith, and contains immense dark side power."

She took a moment to look at me with a concerned brow. "Are you sure? That doesn't sound like such a nice place to visit."

"Look at this way," I countered. "If you were a rabbit being hunted by a fox, where would you hide?"

"Someplace the fox couldn't get to," she replied.

"Or dare go." Other than Dathomir, a planet such as Korriban wasn't too popular amongst the Jedi. "Let's give it a try, shall we?"

That little light-hearted comment earned a look of displeasure from my wife. "Obi-Wan," she chided me. "Please be serious. This is a dangerous situation and we are dealing with an equally dangerous individual."

Humor had always been one of my favored weapons when dealing with anxiety. Some of my colleagues believed I joked when I was feeling overconfident when it was actually the other way around. It was my way of coping, and I'd done it since I was a child. Laughter always eased the tension. However, she was right. This was no joking matter.

"My apologies," I said before I winked at her. "Let's prepare for the jump."

She settled in her chair and scanned the data. "Horuset System in the Outer Rim. We'll parallel the Empress Teta and Daragon Trail trade routes. We should make good time, but we're still looking at least 48 hours of flight."

Even though she had warned me to be serious, I was feeling suddenly giddy. Even though we were dealing with things out of our control, we were once again alone, together, with no one to interrupt us. "Whatever shall we do with all that time?" I asked, waggling my brows up and down in a suggestive manner.

Padmé chuckled and inserted the coordinates. "You're hopeless," she teased. "Prepare for lightspeed."

This ship was remarkable. During a few of my past missions, I'd ridden in prisoner barges and even a couple of slave galleons. I'd paid my dues. This vessel…this was luxury, as was the woman lying next to me. I'm not sure why the Force had chosen to bless me, but indeed that's what it felt like.

The engines were so quiet, not even they disturbed us as we relaxed in the sleep cabin. I wondered if the thing could make its way the entire 48 hours without supervision because lying next to her was all that I wished to do.

Our lovemaking had been tender and sweet with no hint of humor. Instead of using my wit to release tension, I had expressed my deepest and truest emotions. No longer would I hide anything from her or keep any secrets. She deserved my best and that's exactly what I was going to give her.

Finally, I drifted off to sleep, lulled by the purring of the engines and the sounds of her breathing. In my dreams, I relived every touch and each sigh that had escaped her lips. I held her close and promised to keep her that way. Our lives may be troubled, but in sleep, they were absolute bliss. Everything was perfect except for the fact she kept kicking my shins.

There's always a moment when you wonder what is real and what is in your dream and it takes some time to figure it out. I realized by the third strike that Padmé was asleep, but was thrashing about violently. Apparently, she was having a nightmare and I attempted to wake her gently. After a second failed attempt, I spoke her name loudly, causing her eyes to open wide before she jumped from the bed and flew to the other side of the cabin, taking a defensive position.

"What's the matter?"

"You! Don't come near me! Don't you touch me!"

What? "What's going on?" Slowly, I rose from the bed but kept my distance. She looked as panicked as a cornered tusk-cat.

"You're never going to hurt me again! I'll kill you if you even try!"

"Padmé, please." This was ridiculous! What exactly had she been dreaming about?

I took one step toward her and she rushed toward the vanity. When she faced me again, she was brandishing some type of hair ornament that was pointed on one end. There was no mistaking that she was planning on using it to defend herself if needed.

Her eyes were wildly glancing about, perhaps looking for an escape. However, I was blocking the only exit. There was no way she was leaving this room without talking to me first.

"I'm not going to harm you," I calmly spoke while maintaining my distance.

"That's so typical of you, Obi-Wan. You're such a liar! That's exactly what you said the last time and look! Look what you did to my face!"

Her free hand flew up to her right cheek and confusion was added to her frightened expression. With careful steps, and while keeping one eye on me, she returned to the vanity and gazed into the mirror. Eventually, the weapon was placed back on the table and she leaned forward to take a better look.

"I don't understand," she said in a ghostly whisper.

This was all my fault. I shuddered when I finally came to the obvious conclusion. This was the witch's doing. In my slumber, I had protected myself but had neglected Padmé. I was prepared to guard her physically. In fact, I would sacrifice my own life to save hers, but I'd been unprepared for a mental attack. What a fool I was.

"I'm sorry," I stated while taking a few steps in her direction. "It was just a nightmare, most likely brought on by our Dark Force friend. I should've been prepared for it. I'm so sorry, Padmé."

Awareness came upon her like a clearing sky with the reappearance of the sun, and she spun round to stare at me with frightened amazement. "It was so real."

She then quickly took the time to look at her arms and legs on both sides, apparently looking for evidence that was not there.

"We were so happy, married, making a home together. And then something happened during a mission and when you came home, you started beating me. You never would tell me why. I tried talking to you, but that only made it worse."

I'd heard enough. Without further pause, I lunged forward, took this beautiful creature in my arms, and began kissing her. I pressed my lips onto her scalp, her forehead, cheeks, ears, neck, shoulders, and finally her mouth before I pulled away to speak to her.

"I would never lay a hand on you in that way. Never."

"I know," she whispered in reply before a tear rolled down her cheek. "Oh, Obi-Wan. What are we going to do?"