Chapter Thirty-Eight
Aalea suppressed a yawn. The late afternoon sun beat down on her head and the noise and dust from the bazaar was giving her a headache. She looked over to where Nadira, Badalah and the handmaidens were clustered about a stall which was selling fabrics. They were trying to decide on the perfect choice for Nadira's wedding-night gown.
"Jedi Aalea," Nadira cried out in her high clear voice. "Come and tell me what you are thinking of this one."
Aalea sighed and moved closer to the stall.
Nadira held up a piece of fabric which, as far as Aalea could see, was so sheer it was practically invisible. If Nadira meant to wear that on her wedding night she might as well be naked. But Aalea kept that to herself.
"It's very nice, your highness," she said instead.
"Then I shall take it," Nadira announced to the leering stall keeper. He bowed his head and, grinning, cried out a thousand blessings from Sera, the Great Lover, to light upon her highnesses' head as Badalah counted out the coins to pay for it.
The stall keeper's assistant carefully wrapped the fabric and handed the package to one of the handmaidens who, along with the princesses' guards, were practically covered in boxes, parcels and packages.
Fortunately for Aalea, as Honorary Bodyguard, she was exempt from having to be a royal pack animal. She carried nothing but her lightsaber which was clipped to her belt. Because the capital was still suffering under a heat wave, Aalea had left her robe in her quarters, but she had finally gotten her Jedi uniform back and was wearing that.
She put her hand on her lightsaber. She had been so shaken by the events of yesterday, it wasn't until she was walking with Badalah to her quarters that she had thought to ask what had happened to it when her clothes had been removed. Badalah had assured Aalea she had quickly locked the lightsaber away before the princess could get her inquisitive little fingers on it.
After Aalea had settled into her quarters and returned to Nadira's chamber, the princess had been so distracted by the shopping trip Badalah had planned to purchase items for the wedding, she had completely forgotten all about her order that Aalea tell her everything about Obi-Wan. Which had suited Aalea just fine.
Nadira and her entourage moved on to another stall. As Aalea followed, keeping close to the princess for she took her duties as bodyguard very seriously, she found her thoughts drifting back to yesterday. Before Obi-Wan had returned to his aggravating lecturing of her about Jedi decorum, she had been struck by the frank concern in his eyes. She had never seen that look in his eyes before, at least not when he was looking at her.
Then another thought occurred to her. He had probably only been worried that if anything were to happen to her as his acting-apprentice it would reflect badly on him with the Jedi Council. Aalea nodded her head firmly. Yes, that was it. Nothing more.
"Jedi Aalea," Nadira called out again, her voice trembling with excitement. She and the rest of her party were standing in front of a nondescript little stall which, unlike the others, had no garish banners advertising its wares. An old woman sat huddled in the darkness of the booth, her wrinkled face peering out from under a dusty gray hood.
"Yes, your highness?" Aalea said as she moved closer.
Nadira held up a tiny golden vial. The liquid inside it glistened in the sunlight.
"Do you know what this is, Jedi Aalea?" Nadira asked breathlessly, her green eyes bright.
Aalea shook her head as she gazed at the vial. It seemed to glow with a light of its own.
"It is called the Attar of Love," Nadira whispered. "Very rare. Very expensive. We are lucky this one even has it."
Aalea was already growing suspicious as to the properties of the liquid in the vial. Certainly its name did not bode well.
"That's very nice, your highness," she said cautiously.
"I am going to make a gift of it to you."
"Thank you, your highness, but that's not---"
"You are going to find it most useful when you and Jedi Obi-Wan finally stop playing this silly game with each other."
"Game? Your highness, I'm afraid I don't---"
Nadira looked keenly at Aalea. "You are wondering what game I am speaking of, are you not? It is the silly game which men and women have been playing with each other for thousands of years. Is that not so, Badalah?"
"Yes, poppet, that is so."
"This silly game of Jedi Obi-Wan pretending he does not care for you and you pretending you do not care for him," Nadira said as she shook her finger at Aalea. "That is the game I am speaking of."
Aalea's eyes widened as she looked back at the green-eyed princess.
"I have been observing of the look in Jedi Obi-Wan's eyes when he looks upon you and the look in your eyes when you look upon him," Nadira went on. "I am hoping you two are not thinking that just because you are of the mystifying Jedi you are so good at the hiding of your feelings that one such as I could not be observing of them."
Aalea sighed deeply. She did not understand why Nadira was so insistent there was anything between her and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan was a fellow Jedi, padawan to Master Qui-Gon and, while they were on this mission, her acting master. Beyond that he meant nothing more to her. Why couldn't Nadira see that?
"Your highness, I'm afraid you are quite mistaken. Obi-Wan and I are not playing any kind of game with each other. We're not hiding any feelings and, I can assure you, there is nothing between us. Certainly nothing like you're suggesting."
Nadira crossed her arms, titled her head and looked at Aaela for a long moment.
"I am seeing you are still living in two pieces, Jedi Aalea. I will therefore keep the Attar for you until you are finally of one piece."
Aalea didn't know what to say to that because, once again, she had no idea what Nadira was talking about.
The princess turned away from her and began haggling with the stall-keeper. Aalea couldn't follow any of it because, as she had learned during their shopping trip, Sylvonna had a unique trade language which consisted of a number of bewildering hand signals.
As Aalea watched in fascination, the old woman and the young princess exchanged a rapid-fire sequence of gestures. At one point the old woman fiercely shook her head at Nadira. The princess stamped her foot, her green eyes blazing. The two exchanged another heated series of hand motions. Finally, the old woman held up four gnarled fingers. Nadira glared at her, then quickly nodded.
She turned to Badalah. "Pay this one."
Badalah did so and then, to Aalea's surprise, the old woman immediately pulled down the shade to her stall, closed it and went scurrying off into the crowd. Badalah carefully placed the vial into a large cloth bag she was carrying.
"Why did she leave?" Aalea asked Nadira.
"I told you, Jedi Aalea. The Attar of Love is very expensive. That one has just earned enough to live on for the rest of the year."
"Well, your highness, if it's that expensive, I certainly can't take---"
Nadira shook her head and frowned. "You must take it. It is an act of treason to refuse a gift from the royal family. However, I will wait until you are of one piece before I offer it to you again."
Nadira then smiled and squeezed Aalea's arm.
"When you wear the Attar of Love, Jedi Aalea, and Jedi Obi-Wan breathes of its scent, I promise you, it will make him very happy. He will then make love to you in such a way as to make your toes curl." She winked at Aalea. "You will see."
Aalea sighed heavily. If Nadira thought she was ever going to wear that perfume or let Obi-Wan do anything to her that made her toes curl, or anything else on her anatomy curl, for that matter, the princess was gravely mistaken.
"Your highness," Badalah said, "it is time for us to return to the palace. You have not yet had your nap."
Nadira pouted and was about to stamp her foot, but Aalea could see by the look in Badalah's eyes that Nadira's temper tantrum wasn't going to work.
"All right, Badalah," Nadira said sulkily. She lifted her head.
"I am thinking we shall be returning to the palace," she announced imperiously to the guards and handmaidens.
Thank the Force, Aalea thought as they walked back to Nadira's private shuttle. Aalea was hot and thirsty and tired and all she wanted to do was soak in a nice cool tub for the rest of the day. They'd been out shopping since early that morning.
They climbed into the shuttle and, as it took off towards the palace, Aalea wondered how things were going for Obi-Wan on Tarkasia. At least he didn't have to spend all morning shopping with a spoiled princess, she thought grumpily.
To be continued...