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Obi-Wan Kenobi hadn't slept much. Something about these people just didn't seem right to him, although he couldn't put his finger on it. Time and experience, little that he had, had taught him to pay attention to these types of Force warnings.
Of course, that wasn't the only thing that had kept him awake. There were his changing feelings for Arella that had him utterly confused and at a loss for what to do next. There was no room in a Jedi's life for distractions, especially a padawan. His focus needed to be straight forward on the mission's goal, not on the soft, passionate kisses of a unbelievably attractive female who had the most beautiful brown eyes...
- // Here you go again, Kenobi. Stop it!// he yelled at himself. //You know better than to act like such a fool. What's wrong with you?//
- Unable to get any rest, he had risen with the breaking of dawn and made his way down to the stream to freshen up his 'outlook.' As he was crouching down on the bank of the stream, he didn't hear the approaching footsteps until the visitor was upon him.
- "Good morning!" Arella said cheerfully. Obi-Wan rose to meet her with an awkward smile. She looked well rested, he noted, and indeed she was for she had spent the night dreaming of a certain young Jedi with an irresistible cleft in his chin.
- "Morning," he offered wiping the remaining drops of water from his stubbly face. It had been days since he had last shaved, and he knew he must look a bit scruffy. "How are you today?" he asked formally.
- "Well," she began confidently, "I'll be much better once I've had a bath." That's when he noticed the towel draped over her arm and the bar of soap in her hand.
- "You-- you're going to bathe in the stream?" he asked in astonishment. She liked his reaction.
- "Where else would I do it? They don't have indoor plumbing, if you hadn't noticed." The mischievous twinkle in her eyes almost undid him. "Besides, I'm quite looking forward to experiencing nature in all my glory." The blossoming redness on his cheeks was like a great reward to Arella, and she simply could not stop there. "Care to join me?" she asked.
- "WHAT?!" Obi-Wan choked out. He didn't know it was possible to choke on air.
- She sauntered closer to him and smiled slyly. "In case you had forgotten, you took a rain check last time." She noticed before he did that he was standing on a bed of very unstable gravels and took another step toward him. "Yes, I believe your exact words were 'you scrub my back, I'll scrub yours'. Ring any bells?"
- She had come within inches of him, and he was suddenly very warm and very uncomfortable. The memory of her in her blue silk robe flashed in his mind and he fought to regain control of himself.
- "I... uh... I...," he stuttered clumsily.
- "What's the matter?" she whispered seductively. "Cat got your tongue?" She was enjoying herself way too much, but couldn't stop. She ran a finger up his chest and stopped right in the middle. He stared helplessly down at her, speechless, and then she gave him just the slightest nudge with her finger and back he went, right into the stream with a loud splash.
- She couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing, hoping that she didn't wake the whole village. The sight of the Jedi sprawled, mouth agape, in the stream was actually quite satisfying to her. Oh, she liked him, but she was still herself, too, and this chance at revenge had been too great to pass up.
- Well, at least he had cooled down. The shock wore off after a few seconds and Obi-Wan couldn't help but laugh, too.
- "All right," he conceded. "I guess I deserved that."
- "Yes, you did!" she yelled back as he splashed his way back to the shore. It would take a while for his tunic to dry out, so he slipped it off and began arranging it on a nearby boulder. Then he walked over to her, the rest of him also dripping wet and shook. Arella squealed as he intentionally got her wet. "No!!!! Stop it!!!" she yelled. "You're getting me wet!!!"
- He stopped then and looked at her, a gleam flashing in his green eyes. "Well," he said as he quickly scooped her up in his arms and headed for the stream, "isn't that what is supposed to happen when you take a bath?!" And he held her struggling form tightly as he walked back out into the water, chuckling the whole way.
- She fought him, uselessly pounding her fists against his now bare chest, but not too strongly. She couldn't help but continue laughing even though she knew she was going to get wet. But then he halted.
- Their eyes locked and the laughter ceased. Arella stopped fighting him and was suddenly aware of his strong arms holding her snugly against his lean, muscular chest. His hair was matted to his face and his padawan braid was lying across her chest. She swallowed hard as both of their gazes followed its path. Seconds seemed like hours as they stared hard into one another's eyes, until finally she moved ever so slightly towards his mouth and he quickly laid claim to her lips. Her right hand moved across his neck and shoulder and down the taut muscle in his arm.
- Slowly, he pulled away from her kiss and looked at her with her eyes still closed. She was beautiful. In another second, her eyes opened and he thought she looked disappointed that he had stopped his tender assault.
- "I... uh.... I...," now she was the one stuttering. "Man, it's really hot this morning, isn't it?" she said. He just grinned.
- "Not if you're wet," he stated, and then he dropped her into the water. She screamed, but he could tell she wasn't really that upset. He chuckled all the way back to shore as she splashed and yelled meaningless threats at him. Tossing the bar of soap out to her, he added, "If you need me, I'll be up there behind that tree... drying out. Enjoy your bath."
- Arella watched his retreating form and smiled. //Oh, he likes me!// Then, once he was out of sight, she removed all but her underclothes and basked in the feeling of cleanliness she hadn't experienced for days. No bath had ever felt as good. Of course, she wasn't sure if it was the water, or the aftereffects of being in the arms of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
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- After breakfast, Obi-Wan left with Mylo to hike back to the speeder and see if any other parts could be salvaged. The young Jedi didn't figure much was remaining that was of any use, but perhaps this man could make treasure out of the trash.
- He had pulled Arella off to the side, away from everyone else to give her instructions for while he was gone. Even though he was hesitant to leave her, he felt confident that she would be safe with Mylo's family. Del couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her, as a matter of fact, and it irked Obi-Wan tremendously.
- "Just don't let anything slip out of your mouth that shouldn't," he had carefully warned her. She just looked at him funny.
- "I'm assuming you mean information, right?" she replied coyly with a mischievous grin. Making him blush was becoming a frequent game of hers, and she played it with finesse.
- "Yes, of course," he muttered looking down at his boots. Then he glanced back up at her as if wanting to say something but not being able to form the words. She searched his face waiting for him to speak until she decided to wait no longer.
- "Would you like to kiss me good-bye?" she asked suddenly. He was startled by her comment, and stuttered a response.
- "I,uh, I, um....."
- She grabbed a handful of his tunic pulling him toward her, leaned up on her tiptoes, and kissed him deep and full on the mouth to put him out of his misery. His strong hand cupped her face as his thumb gently caressed her cheek. She sighed breathlessly, and it only caused him to deepen his kiss and pull her closer to him. Finally, out of breath, they separated lips but not eyes.
- "Hurry back," she whispered. He only nodded, unable to speak after that mind-numbing kiss.
- As he and Mylo trekked through the forests of Shreeana, his mind kept wandering back to Arella and her soft lips, and he thought he could even feel the faintest hint of her mouth lingering on his.
- This was getting out of hand.
- What would Qui-Gon say about this? Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the thought. Qui-Gon would have never allowed things to progress this far and in such a manner. When had he lost control?, Obi wondered. At the start of this fiasco, he had not been able to stand being in her presence for more than five minutes at a time. Now..... now he couldn't bear being away from her. It was insane.
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- Arella was enjoying herself more than she ever thought could be possible. Daylonne had taken the girl under her wing and within a matter of several hours had taught her more domestic skills than her mother had taught her in her whole nineteen years. She was in the process of making bread---- from scratch!-- when Kaylee burst into the small hut and made an announcement.
- "He's here, Mama! He's here!" The look of utter joy on the little girl's face told Arella that whomever HE was, was someone the little girl loved. Just as quickly as Kaylee had come in, she was gone like a bullet out the door. Arella looked to Daylonne as the woman wiped her hands off on a cloth and made her way to the door.
- "Come, Ana. Come and meet our friend."
- Arellla wiped her hands and followed the older woman out of the hut. She couldn't wait to see who it was causing such excitement.
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- "Del," the newcomer declared as he stepped out of his speeder, "how are you, buddy?"
- The man slapped the young man's back and Del smiled broadly.
- "Fine, fine. We expected you sooner." The taller man threw his arm around the silver haired youth and began walking toward the main hut.... Mylo's hut.
- "Well, things didn't work out like I had planned. We've been working on a new plan in town and I just need to go over some things with your father. Is he around?" The dark-haired man stopped and searched the surrounding camp for a sign of the leader.
- "No, no, he's gone with Be--"
- "Kaylee!" the man exclaimed as the little girl ran and threw her arms around the man's legs and squeezed as tightly as her tiny body would allow. "Oh my! What a welcome!" He bent down and picked her up in his arms. "If only I was younger!" he smiled and pinched her cheek. The little girl kissed the man on the cheek and giggled. "What have you been up to, my sweetheart?"
- "I've been helping Mama and Ana make bread."
- The man looked at Del in confusion. "Ana? Who is Ana?"
- "Oh, Papa found her in the woods the other day and --- oh, there she is!" The little girl pointed to the woman that had just exited a hut with Daylonne, and he froze in place.
No..... it couldn't be! Arella assured herself as she stood glued into place in the doorway of the hut. Her eyes were locked on the man in front of her. His long dark hair, his piercing green eyes, his flawless build. It was like her worst nightmare come back to haunt her.
"Ana," Daylonne began, "this is our friend, Jex Masin."
Jex couldn't believe it. *Is she real?*, he asked himself about twenty times within ten seconds. The cause of all of his problems over the last few days.... and she was here? He and his colleagues had searched for her after the fateful speeder chase, but she had vanished like a ghost. Two of his friends were dead because of her. Fate must be smiling on him today, and it was about time. A smile spread across his face.
"Jex," Daylonne continued politely, "this is our new friend, Ana."
"Ana, is it?" he replied smugly. He slowly set Kaylee down and shooed her off to play without taking his eyes off of the woman in front of him. She wasn't getting away this time.
Arella swallowed hard. The gig was up. No one was here to save her this time. The memory of a blaster butt crammed into her back and his low voice threatening in her ear flashed in her mind, and she thought she might vomit.
Jex couldn't help himself. "Ha!" he blurted out slowly at first and then he began laughing uncontrollably, doubling over from the hilarity of it all.
"Jex?" Del questioned, wondering what his friend's problem was. "What's so funny?"
Mahlee and another youth had joined the scene and were also wondering why Jex was acting so strangely.
"Jex?" Daylonne said.
Finally he caught his breath. Sith!, he hadn't laughed that hard in years. He was surprised to find he still had it in him at all. All the years of fighting a corrupt yet powerful government had made quite the cynic out of him.
"My friends, I do apologize for my behavior, however it is I who should be doing the introductions." He returned his gaze to Arella, and she saw the confident arrogance in his eyes. "May I introduce to you Miss Arella Tenot." He bowed and offered a hand in her direction.
The look on all of their faces was priceless as their mouths dropped to the ground and their eyes looked from him to Arella and back again several times before anyone said another word.
"What?" Del asked totally confused.
"No need to be confused, my friend," Jex assured him. "She is who we have been looking for all this time. She is Arella Tenot, the senator's daughter. Aren't I right, Miss Tenot?" he added looking back to her.
Suddenly, all eyes were once again back on her and under their scrutiny she knew there was no use denying the truth. Come what may, there was no hiding now.
"Yes," she stated with a confident raise of her chin. "Yes I am."
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