Body Not What It Seems--

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Obi-Wan had decided to find out more about this unusual band of people stuck in the middle of Shreeana's wilderness. He found it odd that Arella had never heard of this race before even though they had obviously existed on this world for some time. Even more intriguing to him was their apparent lack of any and all technology.

It didn't make a bit of sense and piqued his Jedi curiosity so that he felt compelled to find some answers. He had watched Arella wander around the small village and then take a seat by the nearby stream. Confident she was secure, he decided to seek out Mylo and do a little investigating.

The older man had been quite open about his people and their lifestyle.... but Arella would never believe it. It seemed that Arella's father was the one responsible for the primitive surroundings they now found themselves in. Obi was seated next to Mylo on a dead log along the outskirts of the encampment as the silver-haired man explained.

"Yeah, when we refused to work like dogs in the copara mines for pittance pay, Tenot convinced the government to revoke our citizenships and banish us from the cities. If you hadn't noticed by now, our looks are pretty unmistakable, so it's been near to impossible for us to sneak back. We've basically been left to ourselves out here." Mylo gazed wistfully off into the distance.

"How long have you been out here?" Obi-Wan finally asked sensing the man's longing for a life long gone.

Mylo snapped out of his reverie and looked back at the young Jedi. "Oh, I guess it's been about twenty years now. My kids have never known anything else, but I remember...," the man drifted off again. Then his jaw tightened and a look of fierce determination settled on his face. "But they'll know a better life soon. I've made it my mission."

Obi-Wan was surprised at the change of tone in Mylo. He seemed kindhearted enough, yet underneath the pleasant exterior Obi sensed he could be a fearless foe if crossed.

Just then a scream split through the air causing Obi-Wan to leap to his feet and instantly head in the direction of the stream. His hand was already searching for his saber which he had hidden in his cloak pocket while he ran to find Arella. Bounding over the small embankment, he stopped dead in his tracks.

There was Arella wrapped in the arms of Del, both trying to reel in the fresh catch dangling from the end of a fishing pole. Both were laughing uncontrollably as the fish jerked the line back and forth until finally the two managed to yank it onto dry land where it landed with a wet thud.

Obi-Wan could feel his blood pressure rise. He wasn't sure if he was more upset that he had thought her in danger or if it was because she was obviously having so much fun with another man. Hadn't she practically begged him to kiss her just the night before? Could she really be so fickle? Or was she just retaliating for his refusal to respond to her affections? The girl was utterly exasperating.

Catching her breath, Arella finally noticed Obi-Wan standing at the top of the bank watching her. With a huge grin, she greeted him.

"I caught a fish!" she declared, quite proud of her accomplishment. However, he just stood there, hands on his hips, not knowing what to say or even if he should say anything at all.

"I see," he finally muttered eyeing the twosome. Arella frowned in disappointment and turned toward her prized catch. Del looked up at Obi-Wan from beside the stream, smiled a small smile, and gave a slight nod. No words were spoken, but somehow something passed between the two men. Obi-Wan had inadvertently emanated a possessive vibe which Del picked up on, but the lavender-eyed Del was not giving up so easily. It seemed a competition had begun.

Obi made his way down the small bank and neared Arella who was crouching in an effort to free her fish from the line.

"I need to speak with you," Obi-Wan said softly. Arella glared up at him and then looked back down at the fish.

"Whatever," she replied curtly.

Obi-Wan shot a glance at Del who smiled yet again before taking his leave. "We'll have to do this again later, Ana." It took Arella a second to realize he was speaking to her before she stood up and faced him.

"Why thank you, Del. I'd love to," she gushed gently touching his hand. Her overly dramatic display caused Obi to roll his eyes. By the Force, she was aggravating!

In just a moment, Del was gone leaving the young Jedi alone with the senator's daughter. She was trying desperately to ignore him, forcing herself to examine every detail of the fish lying at her feet. After a few seconds, she gave up and sighed deeply.

"That's the first time I've ever gone fishing," she stated flatly. Obi-Wan watched her intently as she nudged it with her toe. "Mother and Father have never let me do anything that might get me..... dirty." Again, he was gaining insights into her true personality with just a few words. "Oh, well," she added, straightening up to look at him. "What did you want to talk about?"

Obi-Wan totally lost his train of thought when his eyes lighted on her face. Her cheeks were flushed from being in the sun all afternoon, and her deep brown eyes were practically sparkling with life. Her full, soft mouth caught his attention, and he found he couldn't look away. In his mind, he was wondering how it would have felt if he had indeed kissed her when he had the chance.

"Hello? Anybody home?" she said, waving a hand in front of Obi-Wan's expressionless face. He shook his head, snapping out of his daze, and could have smacked himself for being so foolish. "What did you want?" she asked again.

"I spoke with Mylo and found out some very interesting information."

"Are we getting out of here soon?" she asked eagerly. Obi-Wan felt awful that what he was going to say would most likely not be accepted by her with an open mind. However, it had to be done.

"I'm not sure, but I think you should sit down before I continue." He led her to a nearby boulder and helped her sit down. Now she was eyeing him suspiciously.

"What? What is it?"

Obi took a deep breath and contemplated how best to share his news.

"Spit it out, will you?!" she insisted, beginning to feel her ears heat up.

"Okay. Mylo said that the reason he and these others are stuck out here is because the government rescinded their citizenship and exiled them."

"But why? What did they do? Are they criminals?" Now she was starting to feel a bit frightened and it showed on her face.

"No, no, they're not criminals. He said they refused to work like slaves in the copara mines and that upset the officials..... in particular," here he paused, "your father."

It only took a few moments for the implications of his words to coalesce in her mind. Calmly, she replied. "What are you saying? That my father is the reason these people are living in poverty?"

Oh, no!... He could see it coming--- an explosion of emotional reaction-- and he hoped with all his might that he could prevent it. "I'm only telling you what Mylo told me."

"Well, how could you believe some backwoodsman's crazy story? Of course he's going to blame someone else for his own failures. It keeps him from taking the responsibility himself."

//Spoken like the truly rich and pampered,// Obi-Wan thought to himself. "Do you honestly believe what you're saying?" he spit out. How could she? Arella merely glared at him, her eyes burning with fury. "Look, your mother told me there were people that disagreed with some of your father's policies. Maybe these people are some of them."

He noticed her ears were turning red and didn't think it was a good sign. Slowly, she rose from her seat and stared him straight in the eye. Words were on the tip of her tongue, he could see, but she couldn't quite decide on what to say in response, so she merely huffed several times. Finally, her resolve melted and she looked away dejectedly. He could sense a struggle playing out within her and thought it best to leave it alone for the time being.

"I'm going to go find Mylo again," he muttered as he walked away, "to see when we might be able to get out of here. Just.... stay out of trouble, will you?" She shot him a look to kill, and he felt the daggers. Not waiting for an answer, he turned and left her standing by the stream.