Chapter Forty-Nine

It was later that night following the disaster at the banquet. Obi-Wan had returned from searching for Ishan, but had not found the young prince. Ishan's father had then contacted the Jedi Council and angrily informed them Obi-Wan had encouraged Ishan to run away.

As a result, both Aalea and Obi-Wan were standing at attention in the palace's communication center in front of a holographic image of Yoda which was being transmitted from Courscant.

"Fix this you will," Yoda said sternly, his eyes regarding Obi-Wan with displeasure.

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said.

"Find the prince. Repair the peace."

"Yes, Master."

Yoda then glanced over at Aalea. He looked at her for a moment, then abruptly broke the connection. His image faded.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, then exhaled it sharply. He lowered his head for a moment.

"It's not your fault," Aalea said gently.

Obi-Wan didn't respond at first. Then he looked over at her.

"No, Aalea," he said. "It is my fault. I should have seen Ishan was planning to run away."

"How could you have possibly foreseen he was going to do something like this?"

"Master Qui-Gon would have," Obi-Wan said dejectedly, shaking his head. "He's always telling me to keep my attention on the here and now. If I had, I would have seen how terribly unhappy Ishan was about this wedding."

"You're being much too hard on yourself, Obi-Wan," Aalea said.

Then, surprising even herself, she reached over and squeezed his hand.

Obi-Wan glanced down at her hand, then looked questioningly into her eyes.

Aalea quickly drew her hand away.

"I'm sorry, Master. I shouldn't have done that."

"No, it's all right," he said. "Thank you, Aalea. For being supportive, I mean." He gave her a small smile.

Two smiles in one day, Aalea thought. That had to be a record. Then she recalled his comment earlier about having sensed she was in trouble.

"Master?"

"Yes, Aalea."

"You said earlier you sensed I was in trouble. What did you mean?"

Obi-Wan frowned slightly.

"I just sensed something was wrong. That you needed me."

"Through the bond?"

Obi-Wan's eyes widened and Aalea was just as surprised as he that she'd brought up the subject of their Force bond. In the ten years since Obi-Wan had forged it, neither had ever spoken of it to the other.

"The bond?" he repeated slowly. "You're still shielding against me, aren't you?"

Aalea shifted her feet and glanced down quickly.

"Yes, but so are you, right?" She looked up at him from under her lashes.

He didn't answer her right away. Aalea waited as a flurry of expressions swept across his face.

"Yes, I am," he finally said. "I mean, I am now. I wasn't earlier but only because I was worried something might happen while I was gone. I though it best to maintain some kind of contact with you. For the sake of the mission, you understand."

Aalea mulled over that for a moment. She noted Obi-wan was watching her closely and that some emotion she couldn't quite read was in his eyes.

Then he looked away, adjusted his robes and checked to make sure his lightsaber was clipped securely to his belt.

"I'm going to go look for Ishan," he said.

"Master, it's very late. You should get some rest. There are people searching all through the capital. They'll find him."

Obi-Wan sighed, then nodded.

"You're right. But, if they haven't found him by morning, I'm going to keep looking. I know you don't think it's my fault, but I can't help feeling responsible."

Aalea didn't know what to say. She'd had no idea Obi-Wan was so hard on himself. It must be a terrible burden, feeling responsible for things one didn't have any control over.

She wondered if it came from his having been Qui-Gon's apprentice all these years, trying so hard to live up to his master's expectations, wanting so much to be worthy of him. Aalea too wanted to be seen as worthy in Qui-Gon's eyes but, she suddenly realized, she would never be under the same pressures as Obi-Wan. He was Qui-Gon's padawan and the Jedi Master's expectations for Obi-Wan were much higher than they would ever be for her.

Aalea also wondered if this was why Obi-Wan took himself so seriously and was so overly concerned with things such as decorum and correctness. She knew that Qui-Gon had almost not chosen Obi-Wan as his padawan and that there had also been a painful incident in their past when the two had parted ways for a bit. Perhaps Obi-Wan was still fearful he would do something to justify Qui-Gon's initial misgivings about him. Aalea felt a sudden wave of sympathy for him.

"I'll help you look for Ishan tomorrow," she offered.

"No, I'll do it. Stay close to Nadira. You may be of some comfort to her. She likes you very much."

Aalea shrugged.

"Sometimes she gets on my nerves and she's terribly spoiled but," and Aalea sighed, "she does have a good heart."

Obi-Wan laughed softly.

"Yes, she is and she does. Come, I'll walk you to your quarters."

Aalea tried not to stare at Obi-Wan as they left the communications center. Two smiles and a laugh in the same day. Was this the same Obi-Wan she'd spent the last couple weeks with? Obi-Wan the Stoic. Obi-Wan the Solemn. Aalea shook her head. Maybe diplomatic disasters brought out his good side.

To be continued....