Body Not What It Seems--

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Arella wandered back into the heart of the small village and surveyed the inhabitants carefully. The children were all running around playing tag and laughing while some wrestled and tickled one another. A slight chuckle escaped her lips as she watched suddenly realizing how devoid of friendship and family her life had been so far. As an only child of a high ranking government official, she had been quite sheltered from the 'commoners', as her parents called them. Seeing the happiness on these small faces despite their lack of material possessions gave way to a surge of jealousy and disappointment inside Arella's heart, and somehow she knew.

Deep down inside not only her mind but her very soul, she knew that Obi-Wan had been right. Her father had something to do with these people's situation. And although she wasn't quite ready to place all the blame on him, she was certain his hand was in it.

Specific words and attitudes he had displayed over the years popped back into her mind, and it all fell into place.

Now, looking again at the people going about their daily routines of survival, Arella felt ashamed of herself.... her advantages.... her position.... her parents. Why, if these people knew who she was, they might kill her on the spot. And she wouldn't blame them if they did. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Obi-Wan speaking with Mylo in front of the man's humble dwelling. The young Jedi noticed her and offered a quick smile before reverting his attention back to the older man.

Obi-Wan had been wise to hide her true identity. In fact, he had been right about a great many things, and for some reason it irked her. She hated being wrong, but she especially hated to be wrong when it came to him. Something in her wanted to impress him with her intellect and wisdom instead of her looks or position as in most relationships she had experienced up until this point in her life. But try as she might, she just kept falling flat on her face when it came to him. He wasn't a typical male that could be flattered with a bat of her eyes and cajoled into 'seeing things' her way. He was mature and strong-willed, not to mention ruggedly handsome.....and... and utterly exasperating!

* What are you doing?!* she screamed silently to herself. * You have to get a hold of yourself, Arella,* she ordered. Suddenly, she felt a small tug on her tunic and turned around to find Kaylee, Mylo's young daughter, looking up at her with a huge grin.

"Will you play with us?" the girl asked. Arella looked beyond the girl and saw a group of anxious faces awaiting her response. They actually appeared as if they might cry if she turned them down, so she accepted the offer. Little did she realize she had just entered herself into a mad game of hide and seek.

Being unfamiliar with her surroundings, she kept close to the clearing and managed to outwit the children through several games. Eventually, however, her turn to be 'it' came and she had to be the seeker. Covering her eyes, she counted out loud to one hundred and then began her search. Little did she know that a new player had entered the game.

One by one, she began rousting out the hiders, much to their delight and many giggles. She found herself laughing, too, and having such a good time that she didn't want to ever stop. She was still in the forest searching for any remaining players when she heard a rustle in the brush nearby.

*A-ha! Think you can escape me, eh?* she said to herself as she made her way quietly to the source of the noise. Passing by a tree on her way, she never even realized what hit her. An arm appeared out of nowhere, wrapping itself around her waist, the other around her mouth to stifle a scream. Her assailant then spun her around to face him, and the stunned look in Arella's eyes caused him to laugh heartily. He dropped his hands from her waist and mouth not expecting what came next. She angrily raised her hand and smacked him as hard as she could across his face.

"Ow!!! That wasn't necessary, now was it?" he exclaimed as his hand quickly came up to his stinging cheek.

"How dare you!!" she declared vehemently. "How dare you scare me like that, Obi-Wan Kenobi! What were you thinking?!"

"I was only playing! Good grief!" The young Jedi stepped away from Arella, still holding his face. "You sure do pack a whollop!"

Arella couldn't help but laugh when she saw the surprised look in the Jedi's green eyes. She doubted he had ever been smacked by a girl... for any reason. "What were you doing out here, anyway?" she asked, making her way closer to him. She reached up and touched his hand, urging him to move it so that she could see his face. He did so reluctantly, and she winced when she saw the bright red handprint blossoming on his cheek.

"I saw you playing with the children. You looked like you were having so much fun, and I just thought I'd join in." He looked straight into her eyes then. "I didn't mean to scare you, honestly, I didn't." He gently reached up and took her hand that was lying on his reddened cheek and held it in his without losing her gaze. "Forgive me?" he asked in a whisper.

Something was happening. Arella wasn't sure what it was, but it was happening nonetheless. She glanced down at their joined hands, then back up to his eyes, only to find him focusing on her mouth. It only took a second to realize what exactly was on his mind, and Arella had no desire to keep him from getting what he wanted. She found herself being pulled toward him closer and closer by some unseen force, and even if she would've tried, she couldn't have stopped what was about to happen.

Obi-Wan felt his breathing quicken along with his heart rate, and licked his lips in anticipation. He couldn't help himself. Still holding one of her hands, he used his free one to tenderly caress her silken cheek and push her hair gently behind her ear. She made no move to get away, which he took as a sign to continue in his efforts, so leaning in ever so closely to her face, he pressed his strong lips to hers and lost himself in the feel of her.

After a few moments, Obi-Wan opened his eyes and backed away ever so slightly. Arella slowly opened her eyes and wobbled a bit on her feet. Obi-Wan put out his arm to catch her and smiled at the effect he had apparently had on her. Pulling her back into his arms, he looked down into her deep brown eyes that were sparkling and whispered into her ear.

"You never answered my question. Am I forgiven?" His enticing accent stirred something within her, but her own stubborness fought against being suppressed and finally won out. Looking seductively up into his brilliant green eyes, she inched in nearer to his mouth before turning to whisper back into his ear.

"I'll think about it, Jedi," she replied before turning around and leaving him in awe by the tree.

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Arella emerged from the woods with a satisfied grin on her face and didn't even realize she was being watched.

"I was just about to come look for you, Ana. I thought maybe you had gotten lost."

It was Del standing before her with his usual smile. He seemed to pop up quite frequently, it seemed. It kind of gave Arella the creeps.

"Oh, no... I'm fine. I was just--" Del's attention was suddenly averted and Arella stopped talking as Obi-Wan stepped out of the forest and turned bright red at seeing Arella and Del watching him.

"Good day," he offered sheepishly passing them without looking at their faces. Arella felt her face heat up once Del glanced back at her and gave a curious raise of his silvery eyebrow. Obi-Wan continued on into the encampment without looking back.

"Well, looks like you enjoyed your game of hide and seek." He couldn't help but snicker at Arella's obvious embarrassment and wasn't ready to concede. "Would you care to go for a walk?" Del asked holding out his arm.

Arella hesitated, glanced at the retreating Jedi, and finally grabbed Del's arm in acceptance. "Sure. That sounds great."

Del led Arella around the tiny village and along the stream she had fished in earlier. She asked him loads of questions about his life and he happily answered them, telling her stories of his youth in hopes she might be impressed. She listened raptly, but not because of her interest in him. She wanted to find out more about these people and how her father had effected them.

"So you've been out here your whole life?" she inquired sincerely.

"Yeah, but that's all going to change soon," he replied with a knowing grin.

"What do you mean?" she replied curiously, somewhat disturbed by the look in his eyes.

"I mean that we won't be stuck out here much longer. My father has been working with some others on a plan to get us out of here and back into the cities where we belong."

A strange dread began to form in the pit of her stomach. "What kind of plan?" she added.

Del hesitated and stopped walking. "I can't tell you right now, but I can tell you that we have lots of help from people like you.... your kind... from the cities. In fact, in a day or so, a good friend of the family will be coming here to give us word on what's been happening back there. He's been a great help to our cause. I think you'll like him."

He grabbed her hand again and took off for the village. "I sure hope Mom has dinner ready because I'm starving!"

Arella's mind fought to make sense of all that was happening. Could Obi-Wan be right again about these people truly being part of the movement against her father? But they were so kind and seemed incapable of being cruel. She was confused, and what was worse, she just had a bad feeling about the whole deal.

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Night came soon after dinner and sleeping arrangements were made for the visitors. Arella was to share a small hut with an older couple that had no children. Obi-Wan refused to sleep inside another hut away from Arella and chose instead to sleep right outside of her dwelling. Mylo had balked at first, but Obi-Wan insisted.

"I'm responsible for her safety, Mylo. I assured her parents I would take care of her."

Respecting the young man's devotion to duty, Mylo patted him on the back. "Well then, Ben, we'll keep the outside fire burning, and I'll bring you an extra blanket."

"Thank you, sir." Obi-Wan began to make himself a somewhat comfortable spot on the ground while everyone else retreated into the warmth of their small abodes. He was still fidgeting around when Arella appeared in the doorway. He finally sensed her presence and turned to look up at her. She had on a simple long-sleeved sleeping gown of white and her hair was pulled over to one side in a thick braid of gold.

"Are you all settled in for the night?" she asked softly.

"Almost," he replied with a slight smile as he plopped down on a blanket. "There. Now I am."

Arella stayed there as if waiting for something, and it took a few seconds for Obi-Wan to realize she wanted to talk to him. "Is something wrong?" He sat up straight and his concerned frown wrinkled his brow.

Arella moved to sit next to him and looked around to see if anyone was listening or watching. Satisfied that no one was, she decided to talk, but in a low whisper.

"You know, you don't have to sleep out here like this. It's really not necessary."

"Just doing my job," he replied.

"And today, in the forest... was that part of your job?" she asked shyly.

Obi-Wan was stunned by her question and stumbled over his own words of response. "Um... ahem," he nervously cleared his throat. "No, not quite." He felt a little ashamed. "I... I shouldn't have taken such liberties. I apologize for my behavior." He was still avoiding Arella's gaze, and she suddenly felt silly and decided to change the subject.

"You were right," she stated quietly.

"Excuse me?" he said a bit confused.

"You were right about everything... as much as I hate to admit it," she added grudgingly. "I'm sure my father has something to do with all of this," she said motioning to the village surrounding them. "I'm not sure what exactly, but somehow I know he's to blame."

Obi-Wan looked into her face and saw genuine regret. "I'm sorry. I know it must be strange for you," he offered kindly.

"No stranger than these past few days have been," she said with a smile. Then she sighed and leaned back to look up at the stars in the night sky. "I never realized how some people have to struggle just to survive from day to day. I've always had everything I need and a lot more, most of which I don't need at all."

Obi-Wan simply leaned back and let her talk. He could tell it was exactly what she needed to clear her mind and focus her thoughts. Over the past few days he had been witnessing this change in her, and only now was she acknowledging it to herself. Noting this change of heart was what was drawing him to her, making him want to get closer to her. Bravely, he reached out his arm and wrapped it around her, and she willingly snuggled in tight.

"You know, I'm almost ashamed of myself and where I come from. There's got to be something I can do to set this all to right."

"Well, for right now, why don't you go get some rest. In the morning you'll be ready to decide what to do." She looked up at him with her big, brown eyes and a sweet smile, and he couldn't resist placing a tender kiss on her forehead. Pulling his lips away, she was still gazing up into his eyes, and he got another urge. Wrapping his other arm around her waist, he pulled her in close and kissed her firmly on the mouth to which she completely melted into his arms.

Breathless, she broke from his kiss and wished him goodnight before heading back into the tiny hut.

"Goodnight," he replied. "Sleep well." He watched her small figure vanish into the house and swallowed hard. "Whoa," he exclaimed to no one but himself. Things sure had changed since that first meeting on Coruscant. Shaking his head as if to shake out the thoughts running rampant in his mind, he laid down and forced himself to sleep.