They reached the stall that Obi-Wan had seen the scarves in. The items were gone and there was no attendant.
After examining the stall and collecting what evidence he could, Uzza shook his head. "There'll be another day. At least we have a lead with the men we got." Then he smiled. "Jedi, you'll be joining us at the ball, of course. You'd better go get changed. It's going to be a grand night."
Obi-Wan sensed that Uzza wanted to avoid having the Jedi involved in this. Since it was an internal matter, he understood and didn't protest. "Of course, Lieutenant. I look forward to the evening. And my compliments to you on the training of your daughter. She handled the situation well."
"Thank you, Jedi. I'm very proud of all that's she's done. She's quite a young woman, not only because of her role in taking back the Palace, but also how well she's coped with becoming a widow during our attack on that Trade Federation ship, and raising a child alone," Uzza said. He hesitated, narrowing his eyes and studying Obi-Wan's reaction.
Obi-Wan's face betrayed his surprise at this information for only a moment, but it was long enough for the sharp-eyed officer to catch.
"Anyway, I won't bore you with family details. I'm sure you have much to do. Be seeing you." Uzza nodded, and left.
Obi-Wan returned to his room and got out the robe he was to wear. He cast a disdainful glance on the outfit as he laid out the pieces of the ensemble. The tunic and pants were made of a spruce green velvet, trimmed in black, and decorated with elaborate tone on tone embroidery. The cloak's velvet matched the green, but its embroidery was gold thread done in a leaf pattern. Highly polished black boots were provided to complete the set. He realized that for the Naboo, this was understated, so he would don what he saw as ostentatious clothing, and play along. After all, it was only one night.
Obi-Wan got to the Ballroom of the Palace too early to blend in with the other celebrants and avoid being announced. All eyes were on him, as he was brought in, honored once again and presented before the Queen. She nodded, and flashed him a hint of a smile.
He bowed gracefully, and scanned the area of the court. He had hoped Sabé would be here. She would be able to introduce him to some of these people and give him guidance on who they were. It would be nice to have a familiar presence to get him situated. But she was not there, or at least had not entered the ballroom yet.
In the meantime, he was getting rather a lot of attention from many of the young single women, who were wondering how best to approach him. None of them was as interested as Handmaiden Liraé, still on duty, quietly watching from beside the Queen.
Some time later, Sabé rushed into the back entrance to the Ballroom. There was an area where the Queen, handmaidens, and staff could prepare or refresh themselves, and she wanted to make sure she looked right before she appeared in public. It had been a rough night with what had happened earlier. Filing the report on Jaquill and his accomplices had taken longer than she expected, then she had to go back home to change from the clothing she tore during the brief fight into a fresh gown, emerald velvet this time, and fix her hair. All that activity had roused Meira, so it took time to get her settled back down, even with a babysitter that the child liked watching her for the night. Finally, she had made it, and though she had missed some of the presentations and dancing, she was still determined to enjoy the occasion.
The Handmaidens were allowed to take turns leaving their duties for short periods of time to enjoy the festivities. Amidala was just releasing Liraé when Sabé emerged from behind the curtains. The Minister spoke quietly to the Queen, relating the news of the fight as Liraé stepped down, and slinked to Obi-Wan.
Sabé scanned the room and insantly spotted the Jedi, even with his back to her and wearing unfamilar clothing. She was waiting for him to turn so she could catch his eye and see if he wanted to dance. As she watched, Liraé smoothly approached Obi-Wan and set her snare. She had been concealed in the burgundy cloak that the Handmaidens wore that night, but on the way to her target, she threw the hood back to reveal waves of red hair spilling out. She undid the front clasp to show her gown, low cut at the top, and a slit running to mid thigh. The men she passed stared, but she paid them no mind.
As she reached Obi-Wan's side, she turned and looked back for just a moment. Her eyes met Sabé's. She smiled at the Minister, reached over and very deliberatly patted the Jedi's rear.
Sabé assumed a cool demeanor. The other Handmaidens looked at her with wide eyes, wondering what her next move would be. She remained calm, letting no hint of her thoughts show on her face.
Obi-Wan jumped in surprise.
Lirae batted her eyes. "Jedi, would you like to dance?" she asked.
Obi-Wan looked at her, still startled. Clearing his throat, he spoke. "I could spare one dance, perhaps." He looked over Liraé, seeking Sabé once again. Their eyes met for a second. Sabé inclined her head in acknowledgment, but gave no sign of her emotion.
Obi-Wan took Liraé in his arms and began the waltz. He focused his attention on the Handmaiden and her emanations. Although her physical charms were quite distracting, there was something about her that made him uncomfortable. He was looking for what it could be, but he was not able to pinpoint it yet.
"I'm sure a man such as you must have been through some terrible fights. You are so brave the way you helped us and our world," Liraé cooed.
Obi-Wan nodded, and answered all her fawning with noncommittal phrases. He wanted nothing more than to fulfill his social obligation and move past this woman.
Sabé was gazing around the ballroom with a look of boredom on her face. She moved closer to Sache. "Handmaiden, didn't you say something to me just the other day about getting into circulation?"
"Indeed I did, Minister," Sache replied in the same detached tone. However, her eyes were betraying her amusement. She could hardly wait to see what Sabé had in store.
"It involved getting out and having fun, if I remember correctly."
"That's exactly what it involved, Minister."
"I thought so, Handmaiden. So tell me, which of the guards is the best dancer?"
"On the dance floor or behind closed doors?" The gleam in Sache's eyes turned wicked.
"Both," Sabé answered curtly.
"If I were in your position, I would choose Holben, second on the left there. He should meet your needs quite nicely," Sache advised.
"Thank you," Sabé responded. She looked at Holben, who was very attractive indeed. Blond hair, blue eyes, tanned and muscular, he was second only to Obi-Wan in the amount of attention received from unattached females in the room. Sabé smiled, nodded to Amidala, and stepped down from the platform to cut a path through the crowd, straight to him.
The Queen signaled to Rabé, who leaned down and listened attentively as Amidala whispered something. The handmaiden grinned, then conveyed the message to the orchestra.
The musical number that had been playing was ending as Sabé reached the guard. The small group around him parted, clearing the way for the Minister. Everyone was surprised at this move. The Minister had never been one for social activities since the war. The gossip had it that she was still in mourning. Whispers started around the room.
"It's about time," one young man stated.
"Do you think he's the one who'll thaw out the Ice Queen?" another speculated.
A daughter of the Music Advisor huffed. "And I was going for him! Well, that's that for the night." She stomped her foot as she departed.
Sabé reached out her hand to Holben. "May I have the pleasure of the next dance?" she asked.
The young guard was taken aback at her request, but smiled broadly as he took her hand. "The pleasure is certainly all mine, Minister." He turned back toward his friends as the pair made their way to the dance floor with a see-what-I-got-you-can't-have-any look on his face.
After examining the stall and collecting what evidence he could, Uzza shook his head. "There'll be another day. At least we have a lead with the men we got." Then he smiled. "Jedi, you'll be joining us at the ball, of course. You'd better go get changed. It's going to be a grand night."
Obi-Wan sensed that Uzza wanted to avoid having the Jedi involved in this. Since it was an internal matter, he understood and didn't protest. "Of course, Lieutenant. I look forward to the evening. And my compliments to you on the training of your daughter. She handled the situation well."
"Thank you, Jedi. I'm very proud of all that's she's done. She's quite a young woman, not only because of her role in taking back the Palace, but also how well she's coped with becoming a widow during our attack on that Trade Federation ship, and raising a child alone," Uzza said. He hesitated, narrowing his eyes and studying Obi-Wan's reaction.
Obi-Wan's face betrayed his surprise at this information for only a moment, but it was long enough for the sharp-eyed officer to catch.
"Anyway, I won't bore you with family details. I'm sure you have much to do. Be seeing you." Uzza nodded, and left.
Obi-Wan returned to his room and got out the robe he was to wear. He cast a disdainful glance on the outfit as he laid out the pieces of the ensemble. The tunic and pants were made of a spruce green velvet, trimmed in black, and decorated with elaborate tone on tone embroidery. The cloak's velvet matched the green, but its embroidery was gold thread done in a leaf pattern. Highly polished black boots were provided to complete the set. He realized that for the Naboo, this was understated, so he would don what he saw as ostentatious clothing, and play along. After all, it was only one night.
Obi-Wan got to the Ballroom of the Palace too early to blend in with the other celebrants and avoid being announced. All eyes were on him, as he was brought in, honored once again and presented before the Queen. She nodded, and flashed him a hint of a smile.
He bowed gracefully, and scanned the area of the court. He had hoped Sabé would be here. She would be able to introduce him to some of these people and give him guidance on who they were. It would be nice to have a familiar presence to get him situated. But she was not there, or at least had not entered the ballroom yet.
In the meantime, he was getting rather a lot of attention from many of the young single women, who were wondering how best to approach him. None of them was as interested as Handmaiden Liraé, still on duty, quietly watching from beside the Queen.
Some time later, Sabé rushed into the back entrance to the Ballroom. There was an area where the Queen, handmaidens, and staff could prepare or refresh themselves, and she wanted to make sure she looked right before she appeared in public. It had been a rough night with what had happened earlier. Filing the report on Jaquill and his accomplices had taken longer than she expected, then she had to go back home to change from the clothing she tore during the brief fight into a fresh gown, emerald velvet this time, and fix her hair. All that activity had roused Meira, so it took time to get her settled back down, even with a babysitter that the child liked watching her for the night. Finally, she had made it, and though she had missed some of the presentations and dancing, she was still determined to enjoy the occasion.
The Handmaidens were allowed to take turns leaving their duties for short periods of time to enjoy the festivities. Amidala was just releasing Liraé when Sabé emerged from behind the curtains. The Minister spoke quietly to the Queen, relating the news of the fight as Liraé stepped down, and slinked to Obi-Wan.
Sabé scanned the room and insantly spotted the Jedi, even with his back to her and wearing unfamilar clothing. She was waiting for him to turn so she could catch his eye and see if he wanted to dance. As she watched, Liraé smoothly approached Obi-Wan and set her snare. She had been concealed in the burgundy cloak that the Handmaidens wore that night, but on the way to her target, she threw the hood back to reveal waves of red hair spilling out. She undid the front clasp to show her gown, low cut at the top, and a slit running to mid thigh. The men she passed stared, but she paid them no mind.
As she reached Obi-Wan's side, she turned and looked back for just a moment. Her eyes met Sabé's. She smiled at the Minister, reached over and very deliberatly patted the Jedi's rear.
Sabé assumed a cool demeanor. The other Handmaidens looked at her with wide eyes, wondering what her next move would be. She remained calm, letting no hint of her thoughts show on her face.
Obi-Wan jumped in surprise.
Lirae batted her eyes. "Jedi, would you like to dance?" she asked.
Obi-Wan looked at her, still startled. Clearing his throat, he spoke. "I could spare one dance, perhaps." He looked over Liraé, seeking Sabé once again. Their eyes met for a second. Sabé inclined her head in acknowledgment, but gave no sign of her emotion.
Obi-Wan took Liraé in his arms and began the waltz. He focused his attention on the Handmaiden and her emanations. Although her physical charms were quite distracting, there was something about her that made him uncomfortable. He was looking for what it could be, but he was not able to pinpoint it yet.
"I'm sure a man such as you must have been through some terrible fights. You are so brave the way you helped us and our world," Liraé cooed.
Obi-Wan nodded, and answered all her fawning with noncommittal phrases. He wanted nothing more than to fulfill his social obligation and move past this woman.
Sabé was gazing around the ballroom with a look of boredom on her face. She moved closer to Sache. "Handmaiden, didn't you say something to me just the other day about getting into circulation?"
"Indeed I did, Minister," Sache replied in the same detached tone. However, her eyes were betraying her amusement. She could hardly wait to see what Sabé had in store.
"It involved getting out and having fun, if I remember correctly."
"That's exactly what it involved, Minister."
"I thought so, Handmaiden. So tell me, which of the guards is the best dancer?"
"On the dance floor or behind closed doors?" The gleam in Sache's eyes turned wicked.
"Both," Sabé answered curtly.
"If I were in your position, I would choose Holben, second on the left there. He should meet your needs quite nicely," Sache advised.
"Thank you," Sabé responded. She looked at Holben, who was very attractive indeed. Blond hair, blue eyes, tanned and muscular, he was second only to Obi-Wan in the amount of attention received from unattached females in the room. Sabé smiled, nodded to Amidala, and stepped down from the platform to cut a path through the crowd, straight to him.
The Queen signaled to Rabé, who leaned down and listened attentively as Amidala whispered something. The handmaiden grinned, then conveyed the message to the orchestra.
The musical number that had been playing was ending as Sabé reached the guard. The small group around him parted, clearing the way for the Minister. Everyone was surprised at this move. The Minister had never been one for social activities since the war. The gossip had it that she was still in mourning. Whispers started around the room.
"It's about time," one young man stated.
"Do you think he's the one who'll thaw out the Ice Queen?" another speculated.
A daughter of the Music Advisor huffed. "And I was going for him! Well, that's that for the night." She stomped her foot as she departed.
Sabé reached out her hand to Holben. "May I have the pleasure of the next dance?" she asked.
The young guard was taken aback at her request, but smiled broadly as he took her hand. "The pleasure is certainly all mine, Minister." He turned back toward his friends as the pair made their way to the dance floor with a see-what-I-got-you-can't-have-any look on his face.