TITLE: First Knight - Part Six
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As Obi-Wan fell towards the ground, he quickly attuned his use of the Force to compensate for Onara's added weight. He had not lied to her. He had done this many times before; he had just never done it carrying someone. Onara was no longer screaming, but her arms were wrapped so tightly about his neck he feared she was going to choke him.
As the ground rushed towards him, Obi-Wan readied himself. Drawing upon the Force, he eased the speed of his descent and landed safely. He lowered Onara to the ground, but she continued to cling to his neck. He turned his head and saw her eyes were tightly closed.
"Milady," he said softly. "We're on the ground. You can let go of me now."
Onara slowly opened her eyes. She looked around and Obi-Wan had to suppress a smile as she tested the ground with her feet.
"We're alive," she gasped. "I don't believe it. We're actually alive."
"What? Did you think I was suicidal? I told you to trust me."
Onara looked up at him as she continued to hug him about the neck. Her arms were soft and warm and Obi-Wan found it a bit unsettling as to how much he was enjoying the fact she was pressed so tightly against him.
"No, I didn't think you were suicidal, Master Obi-Wan," she said, her eyes dancing. "Insane, yes. But not suicidal."
He laughed and, reaching up, gently took hold of her wrists and slowly unclasped her arms from about his neck. The truth was, he could have stood there far longer than he would have liked to admit, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, enjoying the way the soft curves of her body molded onto his, but he remembered she had made it quite clear she wasn't interested in him in that way. And neither was he, he reminded himself.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Onara said as she stepped back from him. Even in the moonlight he could see she was blushing.
"Quite alright, milady."
"Please stop calling me that."
"What? Milady?"
Onara nodded. "I'm not a milady."
She turned and looked up at the window of the bridal chamber far above them. She stared at it for a moment, then turned around in a circle, flinging her arms about her.
"I'm just Onara," she cried as she whirled around laughing joyfully. "And I'm free. If only for this night. Free just to be me. Not my father's daughter or Edress's wife. Just me. Onara."
Obi-Wan laughed with her, then grabbed her to stop her from turning around.
"You'd better stop before you make yourself dizzy. I think one fainting spell is enough for one night. Don't you?"
Onara giggled, but she stopped her twirling, stumbling a bit as she steadied herself.
"You're right, Master Obi-Wan," she gasped as she looked up into his eyes.
Hers were full of moonlight and, as she fought to catch her breath, her bosom rose and fell rapidly. Obi-Wan let himself gaze for a moment on the way it swelled so lusciously out of the bodice of her dress. His thoughts whirling, he pulled her hard against him, his hands clutching her arms, his eyes locked on hers.
Onara gasped, her eyes widening. Then, with a hard stagger of his heart, Obi-Wan recalled that night long ago with Silia and what he had done to her. He quickly released Onara's arms and stepped away from her. He cleared his throat and tried to look everywhere but at her.
"Are these your father's lands?" he asked, gesturing widely around him, desperate to draw her attention from what had just happened.
"Yes," Onara said as she looked curiously at him. "It's been in our family for hundreds of generations."
Obi-Wan nodded. "It's very beautiful. Even in the moonlight I can see that."
"My father would be very pleased to hear that," Onara said. "It's been difficult, with the war and all, to keep it this way." She looked over at him, her eyes full of warmth. "But thanks to you, Master Obi-Wan, we now have peace and my father can concentrate on those areas of our province that were devastated by the war."
"Your father is a good man."
"Yes he is. I love him very much."
"And he loves you. I can see that."
Onara smiled at his words. "Well, shall we go see the Dance, Master Obi- Wan?"
"All right. But only if you promise me one thing."
"And what is that?"
"That you call me Obi-Wan. Not Master Obi-Wan. Just Obi-Wan. I think I'd like to feel a little free myself tonight."
Onara smiled widely at him. "Agreed."
Obi-Wan turned and pointed to his right. "I believe we need to go that way."
Onara nodded. "The Malia River is that way. We'll find the Katarra near there."
Obi-Wan was about to set off towards the forest, when Onara suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes?"
She gestured with her hand toward the window of the bridal chamber.
"How will we get back up?"
Obi-Wan smiled at her. "The same way we got down."
Onara frowned. "Obi-Wan, I don't pretend to understand the Force, but I do know that when you leapt out of the window, gravity was helping you. However, in order to leap back to the window, you will have to fight against it. That will be impossible, I would think. Even for a Jedi."
Obi-Wan nodded. "If, as you say, I fight against gravity then yes, it will be impossible."
"But, we'll be stuck outside," Onara cried. "And they'll discover we've left the chamber."
She grabbed Obi-Wan's arms and squeezed them. "Father will be disgraced and Grandmother..." She stopped, her eyes widening with horror. "Oh, Obi-Wan, you have yet to see how truly angry she can get."
"Really?," Obi-Wan said smiling. "Curious. She seemed quite enraged when she discovered you were not wearing the blessing gown but, judging from your expression, I gather that was nothing compared to what she is truly capable of."
Onara nodded quickly, her eyes as wide as saucers as she let got of his arms. Obi-Wan laughed softly.
"Don't worry, Onara. I won't fight gravity on the way up. That is not the way one uses the Force. When it is time for us to return to the bridal chamber, we will. Now, shall we go? We want to be sure to be back before dawn."
Onara looked back up at the window of the chamber. Obi-Wan could see she was still skeptical. He touched her arm and indicated they should go. She looked at him, nodded and walked with him towards the line of trees.
----------- Obi-Wan and Onara walked in silence for awhile she, like him he imagined, just taking in the beauty of the night and the fact they, at least for the time being, they were both free from the expectations of Onara's father and grandmother as it related to the blessing ceremony.
As Obi-Wan looked around, he was again struck anew by the varied kinds of ecosystems he had encountered on the many worlds he had visited during his life as a Jedi. The forests of Ahjane were ancient and magisterial, the tops of the trees sweeping across the star-filled heavens, their trunks knotted and pitted with age. The moonlight and starlight glimmered on the large, palm-like leaves and the noise the leaves made as the wind drifted through them was like the whispers of ghosts.
"It's like something out of a story, isn't it?" Onara said softly, breaking into his thoughts as she walked beside him.
Obi-Wan looked around at the tall trees that soared over them.
"Yes, very much so," he agreed. "One could almost imagine the trees were castles or fortresses."
"When I was little, I used to come into the forest and make up stories."
Obi-Wan looked over at her, a smile on his lips. "Really? What kind of stories?"
"Just stories," Onara replied. She glanced at him, then looked down, her hand swinging along her side, her fingers straying along the edge of her dress. "Sometimes, I'd run away when I got tired of Grandmother scolding me about something. She did that a lot. I could never seem to please her." She sighed heavily. "Anyway, I would run away into the forests and hide. Do you know, once it took them two days to find me."
"Two days? How old were you?"
"Five."
"Five! Onara, your poor father must have been beside himself with worry."
"Oh, he was. Very much so. I didn't mean to frighten him, but that particular day Grandmother had..." Onara stopped and bit her lip. "Anyway, when they finally found me Grandmother made Father lock me in a closet for two days, the same number of days I'd gone missing."
Her voice grew softer. "I made up stories as I sat alone in the dark. And I didn't cry or beg to be let out. Not once. Not ever. And that, I think, made Grandmother even angrier."
Obi-Wan looked over at Onara. The moon's light slid along her slender neck, highlighting her dark hair, loose tendrils of which had fallen about her face. He had tried to not let himself be affected by her beauty, but it was difficult. For she was beautiful. And, what made her even more beautiful was that he could sense she was completely unaware of it. Most beautiful women knew they were beautiful and, as a result, had certain expectations from people. Such women did not interest Obi-Wan.
But Onara was completely oblivious to her physical charms and that made her all the more attractive to him. He wondered if her grandmother had had something to do with that. Perhaps her constant criticism over the years had led Onara to believe she had no favorable qualities. Obi-Wan then tried to imagine Onara as that stubborn little girl, refusing to cry or be afraid even as she sat alone in that dark closet, determined to defy the grandmother who, Obi-Wan could only imagine, had made her childhood a living hell.
"Onara?"
She turned and looked at him and he could see in her eyes that, despite her words, she was still haunted by what had happened to her. He decided to draw her thoughts away from those dreadful memories.
"Tell me one of your stories," he said gently.
"One of my stories?"
He nodded. "The ones you made up when you were a little girl."
She stared at him for a moment, then smiled, the darkness that had been swirling in her eyes replaced by their usual brightness.
"Well, if you'd really like to hear one," she said.
Obi-Wan nodded, smiling.
"Let's see. All right. There was one in which I was a pirate captain. I'd pretend that the Malia River was the ocean. I had washed up on shore because my mutinous crew had stolen all my treasure, leaving me for dead. I swore vengeance on all of them. So, I lived alone in the forest, living only on berries and tranga roots, but growing stronger every day. Then, one day, while digging for roots I came upon a magical sword and with it I hunted down my traitorous crew and cut off all their heads. I then took back my ship and my treasure, found a new crew and sailed away, never to be seen again."
Obi-Wan chuckled. Onara stopped walking and frowned at him.
"What's so funny?" she asked sharply, her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, Onara. I guess that's just not the kind of story I would have associated with you."
"Oh, really?" she said, her dark eyes narrowing as she glared up at him. "And just what kind of story would you associate with me, Master Kenobi? One in which I'm some weak, simpering, witless princess, waiting for some equally witless prince to come and rescue me from my enchanted golden tower?"
"No, of course not," he said quickly. But he was still smiling at her.
Onara stared at him for a moment, her eyes boring into his. Then she smiled and shook her head.
"All right," she admitted. "I guess it was a rather bloodthirsty tale. But I liked it."
"It was a fine story, Onara. Quite enjoyable. It might even make a good holofilm."
"Holofilm? I've never seen a holofilm."
"You haven't?" Obi-Wan shrugged. "I don't watch them much myself. Anakin is quite fond of them. A little too fond, I think."
"I'd like to see one."
"Perhaps you will."
Onara shook her head. "I doubt it," she said sadly as she gazed down at the ground. "I will never leave Ahjane."
Not wanting to see her so disheartened, Obi-Wan reached over and touched her chin. She looked up at him.
"Why don't you tell me another story while we walk?"
"Another story?"
"Yes," he said as he took her arm. "Tell me a story about us. I'll establish the setting. We're in the deep, dark forest and we're lost and frightened, because..." and he looked over at her, indicating she should continue.
"A story," Onara mused as she fell into step beside him. "Hmmm, let's see. All right, I have one. You and I are royal twins."
"We're twins?" Obi-Wan said skeptically, mindful of the fact she was so much younger.
"It's a story, remember," Onara said. "Anyway, you and I are royal twins and we've just escaped into the forest. We're running away from our father."
"Why are we running away from our father?"
"Because he's evil," Onara said, with no lack of irritation in her voice. "Now, please, hush and let me tell the story."
Obi-Wan chuckled. "I'm sorry. Go ahead."
"As I said, our father is evil. Very evil. Once he was good, a Prince of Light, but something terrible happened to him and it made him angry and hateful."
"What happened to make him so evil?" Obi-Wan asked.
Onara sighed as he helped her over a tree root that was sticking out of the ground.
"I don't know, Obi-Wan. I'm making this up as I go along. Something terrible, that's all I know, but it made him very angry. And the anger was like a noose around his heart. It squeezed out all the light and all the love. However, he had once loved a woman. A brave and beautiful woman. Our mother. She became pregnant by him, but not long after he became a Master of the Darkness."
Onara paused. Obi-Wan looked over at her. She looked as if she were in a trance, her eyes unfocused, the words flowing out of her. He touched her arm. She jumped and looked over at him.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
Onara stared at him for a moment, then went on as if he had not spoken.
"Fearing for our safety, for a prophecy had foretold that a child of his would destroy him, our mother hid her pregnancy from our father and, fortunately, during the later part of her pregnancy, our father was absent from the kingdom, subjugating all the lands around him to his dark will. So he never learned of us. Once we were born, our mother hid us among the villagers. And then," and Onara paused, "she died from grief and sorrow. The two of us grew up in the village, ignorant of our true heritage. But one terrible day our father learned who we really were and came to kill us, so we left the village and ran away."
"Into the forest," Obi-Wan said, now so completely entranced by her story he had stopped walking and stood in front of her, waiting for her to go on.
"Yes," Onara said as she looked up at him, her dark eyes locked on his. "And we hid in the forest, fearful our father's troops would find us and kill us. Then, one day, we happen stumbled across a hut hidden deep in the forest. And in that hut lived a very old man. Older than the mountains, older than the grass, but very wise. And guess who he was?"
"Who?"
"Our father's former wizard. He had taught our father everything about the Light and the Dark, but he had wanted our father to use what he had learned for good, not evil. When the wizard tried to stop our father from doing his hateful, terrible things, they had a terrible fight. They battled fiercely, their struggle taking them over land and sea, into deep tree-shrouded valleys and to the top of snow-capped mountains. But, after a long and fearsome fight, our father finally defeated the wizard."
Onara paused, her eyes again unfocused and unseeing. Obi-Wan's heart was beating very hard and, as Onara had spoken, it was almost as if he could see that terrible battle between the wizard and his former student.
"However, unable to destroy the wizard," Onara went out, "our father banished him instead. Weak and frail, both his body and heart broken, the wizard went away to hide in the forest where he waited for us to grow up. Our mother had told him about us, you see, and he knew that one day we would find him. And we did. And there in the forest he secretly trained us to someday rise up against our father."
Onara stopped talking. She tilted her head back and looked up at the night sky arching over them. Obi-Wan waited for her to continue, but she seemed preoccupied with her star-gazing.
"Well? What happened next?" Obi-Wan blurted out.
Onara lowered her gaze from the stars and looked over at him.
"When we were ready, we journeyed to the castle to kill our father so that his reign of evil would finally end. But you," and Onara stopped and looked solemnly at Obi-Wan.
"Yes?" he prodded her.
"You wanted to try and save our father," she said in a soft, sad voice. "To give him one last chance to redeem himself. I pleaded with you not to go, but you went anyway. You went to face him. Alone."
"What happened?" Obi-Wan asked. "Did I save him? Or did he destroy me?"
Onara blinked several times, then shook her head. "I...I don't know, Obi- Wan. I'm sorry. I don't know how the story ends." Then she laughed nervously and shrugged her slender shoulders. "Actually, I don't even know where that story came from."
They both were silent for a long moment and Obi-Wan felt something move along his spine, like pale, cold fingers.
"That's all right, Onara," he assured her. "It was a very good story. Although a rather sad one."
Onara looked up at him, her eyes swimming with moonlight and darkness.
"Aren't all good stories, Obi-Wan? Aren't they all a little sad?"
"I suppose. But, I must admit I do like a happy ending."
"I do too," she said. Then she sighed. "I just don't believe in them."
Obi-Wan heard the sadness in Onara's voice and knew she was thinking of the life she would soon be leading as wife to Dynast Edress. He didn't blame her. Forced to marry a man for political reasons who, Obi-Wan knew, did not love her and probably never would. Having to leave her home to go live among strangers in a strange land. Who would not look at their future bleakly. But Obi-Wan, despite his cautious nature and by-the-book view of life, was also optimistic.
He reached over and took her hand. "Don't give up hope," he said gently as he stroked her fingers. "As long as there is life, there is always hope."
She gazed up at him and he was shaken when he felt her fingers moving along his.
"I wish I could believe that, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan swallowed heavily as their fingers slowly intertwined.
"You must believe it, Onara. You're still young and not even the wisest of us can know what the future will bring. Perhaps it will bring grief and sorrow beyond our darkest imaginings. But, you must also try to believe there's as much chance the future will bring you happiness and joy beyond your wildest dreams."
Now their fingers were joined and the very air around them seemed electrified. They gazed into each other's eyes and Onara's were not just filled with stars, they were the stars. Obi-Wan didn't know if it was his heart or hers he felt beating through their fingers. Perhaps it was both.
"Is it true the Jedi can see the future?" Onara whispered. "Can you see mine, Obi-Wan?"
"Some Jedi are prescient," he said, his voice low and throbbing, his breath catching as their fingers caressed and stroked each other's hand. "Master Yoda, for one. But, even if we could see the future, we would not let it guide our actions. The future is always in motion, Onara, for that is the way of the Force."
"What is the Force like, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan smiled. He was pleased by her question and squeezed her hand to let her know.
"The Force is an illimitable ocean, Onara. Boundless, dimensionless, outside of both time and space, yet inextricably bound within them. It binds the universe together."
"It sounds wonderful. I wish I could feel it."
"You can."
She arched an eyebrow. Obi-Wan laughed, the tips of his fingers sliding slowly over the back of her hand.
"Perhaps not in the way we Jedi experience it," he said warmly, "but if you quiet your mind and listen to that small, still voice inside you, the voice of your truest self, you will experience something of what the Force is like."
Onara nodded, then her eyes widened as she glanced behind him. She drew her hand from his and pointed. Obi-Wan turned and saw, in the grove of trees just ahead, green and gold lights flickering among the darkness.
"They're heading for the glade," Onara whispered.
"The glade?"
She nodded. "It's where they will perform the Dance."
"What should we do? Will they let us approach?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I don't know. When I was a girl they never paid us any mind when Father would bring me to watch them. But, with the war..." and she shrugged.
"Why don't we give it a try since we've come this far. If we are a disturbance to them, we will leave."
Onara nodded. Obi-Wan wanted to take her hand again, but she was already moving through the trees so he followed her to where the Katarra were gathering in the glade.
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Anakin gingerly worked out a kink in his back. The chair he was sitting had become decidedly more uncomfortable as the night wore on. He looked over at Lady Tsara. She was still knitting, but Anakin had caught her dozing off every now and then. He hid a smile. Although he had slipped off to sleep himself a few times, if he chose to he knew he could go without sleep far longer than she.
Nearly an hour had passed since they had heard Onara scream. Although Lady Tsara had assumed it had something to do with Onara and Obi-Wan's lovemaking, Anakin knew better. The two were no longer in the bridal chamber. He had sensed their absence, though where they had gone and why, he had no clue. He was confident, however, that his master knew what he was doing and would return before dawn. Anakin supposed he should have mentioned that Onara and Obi-Wan had left the chamber, but saw no reason to do so. Plus, he did not want to witness the firestorm of Lady Tsara's rage if she were to discover their absence.
As he crossed his booted ankles and tried to settle himself more comfortably in the chair, Anakin wondered why the two had left. Although he was well aware that among the younger Padawans at the Temple, Obi-Wan was sometimes known as Oldie-Wan Kenobi because he was such a strict disciplinarian and something of a stick in the mud, Anakin suspected there was far more to his master than met the eye.
He wondered if perhaps Obi-Wan had just wanted to make love to Onara outside, for Anakin had convinced himself there was no way his master was going to pass up the opportunity to be intimate with such a beautiful woman. Or at least Anakin hoped he wouldn't. Sometimes he worried about Obi- Wan, for the Jedi took himself and life a little too seriously for Anakin's tastes.
And it wasn't like Obi-Wan was going to get into trouble if he did make love to Onara, Anakin thought. Master Yoda had said it was all right for him to do so. And, really, how many fathers actually encouraged you to take their daughter's virginity, begged you even. Anakin knew he wouldn't have passed up such an opportunity. Notwithstanding the fact he was still a virgin.
Anakin snorted softly, then looked over to see if Lady Tsara had heard him, but she was fast asleep, her knitting abandoned in her lap. He shook his head. Didn't matter if he was still a virgin. By the putrid pit of Carkoon, if Dynast K'lia had asked him to bless Onara's marriage to Dynast Edress by making love to her, he wouldn't have thrown a fit like Master Obi-Wan. No way. He would have jumped right into that big, soft bed, thrown his arms tightly around Onara, kissed her warm, sweet mouth and...and....
He frowned. Well, he would have done something, that's for sure. And with that thought, he closed his eyes and slipped into a light meditation.
To be continued....
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As Obi-Wan fell towards the ground, he quickly attuned his use of the Force to compensate for Onara's added weight. He had not lied to her. He had done this many times before; he had just never done it carrying someone. Onara was no longer screaming, but her arms were wrapped so tightly about his neck he feared she was going to choke him.
As the ground rushed towards him, Obi-Wan readied himself. Drawing upon the Force, he eased the speed of his descent and landed safely. He lowered Onara to the ground, but she continued to cling to his neck. He turned his head and saw her eyes were tightly closed.
"Milady," he said softly. "We're on the ground. You can let go of me now."
Onara slowly opened her eyes. She looked around and Obi-Wan had to suppress a smile as she tested the ground with her feet.
"We're alive," she gasped. "I don't believe it. We're actually alive."
"What? Did you think I was suicidal? I told you to trust me."
Onara looked up at him as she continued to hug him about the neck. Her arms were soft and warm and Obi-Wan found it a bit unsettling as to how much he was enjoying the fact she was pressed so tightly against him.
"No, I didn't think you were suicidal, Master Obi-Wan," she said, her eyes dancing. "Insane, yes. But not suicidal."
He laughed and, reaching up, gently took hold of her wrists and slowly unclasped her arms from about his neck. The truth was, he could have stood there far longer than he would have liked to admit, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, enjoying the way the soft curves of her body molded onto his, but he remembered she had made it quite clear she wasn't interested in him in that way. And neither was he, he reminded himself.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Onara said as she stepped back from him. Even in the moonlight he could see she was blushing.
"Quite alright, milady."
"Please stop calling me that."
"What? Milady?"
Onara nodded. "I'm not a milady."
She turned and looked up at the window of the bridal chamber far above them. She stared at it for a moment, then turned around in a circle, flinging her arms about her.
"I'm just Onara," she cried as she whirled around laughing joyfully. "And I'm free. If only for this night. Free just to be me. Not my father's daughter or Edress's wife. Just me. Onara."
Obi-Wan laughed with her, then grabbed her to stop her from turning around.
"You'd better stop before you make yourself dizzy. I think one fainting spell is enough for one night. Don't you?"
Onara giggled, but she stopped her twirling, stumbling a bit as she steadied herself.
"You're right, Master Obi-Wan," she gasped as she looked up into his eyes.
Hers were full of moonlight and, as she fought to catch her breath, her bosom rose and fell rapidly. Obi-Wan let himself gaze for a moment on the way it swelled so lusciously out of the bodice of her dress. His thoughts whirling, he pulled her hard against him, his hands clutching her arms, his eyes locked on hers.
Onara gasped, her eyes widening. Then, with a hard stagger of his heart, Obi-Wan recalled that night long ago with Silia and what he had done to her. He quickly released Onara's arms and stepped away from her. He cleared his throat and tried to look everywhere but at her.
"Are these your father's lands?" he asked, gesturing widely around him, desperate to draw her attention from what had just happened.
"Yes," Onara said as she looked curiously at him. "It's been in our family for hundreds of generations."
Obi-Wan nodded. "It's very beautiful. Even in the moonlight I can see that."
"My father would be very pleased to hear that," Onara said. "It's been difficult, with the war and all, to keep it this way." She looked over at him, her eyes full of warmth. "But thanks to you, Master Obi-Wan, we now have peace and my father can concentrate on those areas of our province that were devastated by the war."
"Your father is a good man."
"Yes he is. I love him very much."
"And he loves you. I can see that."
Onara smiled at his words. "Well, shall we go see the Dance, Master Obi- Wan?"
"All right. But only if you promise me one thing."
"And what is that?"
"That you call me Obi-Wan. Not Master Obi-Wan. Just Obi-Wan. I think I'd like to feel a little free myself tonight."
Onara smiled widely at him. "Agreed."
Obi-Wan turned and pointed to his right. "I believe we need to go that way."
Onara nodded. "The Malia River is that way. We'll find the Katarra near there."
Obi-Wan was about to set off towards the forest, when Onara suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes?"
She gestured with her hand toward the window of the bridal chamber.
"How will we get back up?"
Obi-Wan smiled at her. "The same way we got down."
Onara frowned. "Obi-Wan, I don't pretend to understand the Force, but I do know that when you leapt out of the window, gravity was helping you. However, in order to leap back to the window, you will have to fight against it. That will be impossible, I would think. Even for a Jedi."
Obi-Wan nodded. "If, as you say, I fight against gravity then yes, it will be impossible."
"But, we'll be stuck outside," Onara cried. "And they'll discover we've left the chamber."
She grabbed Obi-Wan's arms and squeezed them. "Father will be disgraced and Grandmother..." She stopped, her eyes widening with horror. "Oh, Obi-Wan, you have yet to see how truly angry she can get."
"Really?," Obi-Wan said smiling. "Curious. She seemed quite enraged when she discovered you were not wearing the blessing gown but, judging from your expression, I gather that was nothing compared to what she is truly capable of."
Onara nodded quickly, her eyes as wide as saucers as she let got of his arms. Obi-Wan laughed softly.
"Don't worry, Onara. I won't fight gravity on the way up. That is not the way one uses the Force. When it is time for us to return to the bridal chamber, we will. Now, shall we go? We want to be sure to be back before dawn."
Onara looked back up at the window of the chamber. Obi-Wan could see she was still skeptical. He touched her arm and indicated they should go. She looked at him, nodded and walked with him towards the line of trees.
----------- Obi-Wan and Onara walked in silence for awhile she, like him he imagined, just taking in the beauty of the night and the fact they, at least for the time being, they were both free from the expectations of Onara's father and grandmother as it related to the blessing ceremony.
As Obi-Wan looked around, he was again struck anew by the varied kinds of ecosystems he had encountered on the many worlds he had visited during his life as a Jedi. The forests of Ahjane were ancient and magisterial, the tops of the trees sweeping across the star-filled heavens, their trunks knotted and pitted with age. The moonlight and starlight glimmered on the large, palm-like leaves and the noise the leaves made as the wind drifted through them was like the whispers of ghosts.
"It's like something out of a story, isn't it?" Onara said softly, breaking into his thoughts as she walked beside him.
Obi-Wan looked around at the tall trees that soared over them.
"Yes, very much so," he agreed. "One could almost imagine the trees were castles or fortresses."
"When I was little, I used to come into the forest and make up stories."
Obi-Wan looked over at her, a smile on his lips. "Really? What kind of stories?"
"Just stories," Onara replied. She glanced at him, then looked down, her hand swinging along her side, her fingers straying along the edge of her dress. "Sometimes, I'd run away when I got tired of Grandmother scolding me about something. She did that a lot. I could never seem to please her." She sighed heavily. "Anyway, I would run away into the forests and hide. Do you know, once it took them two days to find me."
"Two days? How old were you?"
"Five."
"Five! Onara, your poor father must have been beside himself with worry."
"Oh, he was. Very much so. I didn't mean to frighten him, but that particular day Grandmother had..." Onara stopped and bit her lip. "Anyway, when they finally found me Grandmother made Father lock me in a closet for two days, the same number of days I'd gone missing."
Her voice grew softer. "I made up stories as I sat alone in the dark. And I didn't cry or beg to be let out. Not once. Not ever. And that, I think, made Grandmother even angrier."
Obi-Wan looked over at Onara. The moon's light slid along her slender neck, highlighting her dark hair, loose tendrils of which had fallen about her face. He had tried to not let himself be affected by her beauty, but it was difficult. For she was beautiful. And, what made her even more beautiful was that he could sense she was completely unaware of it. Most beautiful women knew they were beautiful and, as a result, had certain expectations from people. Such women did not interest Obi-Wan.
But Onara was completely oblivious to her physical charms and that made her all the more attractive to him. He wondered if her grandmother had had something to do with that. Perhaps her constant criticism over the years had led Onara to believe she had no favorable qualities. Obi-Wan then tried to imagine Onara as that stubborn little girl, refusing to cry or be afraid even as she sat alone in that dark closet, determined to defy the grandmother who, Obi-Wan could only imagine, had made her childhood a living hell.
"Onara?"
She turned and looked at him and he could see in her eyes that, despite her words, she was still haunted by what had happened to her. He decided to draw her thoughts away from those dreadful memories.
"Tell me one of your stories," he said gently.
"One of my stories?"
He nodded. "The ones you made up when you were a little girl."
She stared at him for a moment, then smiled, the darkness that had been swirling in her eyes replaced by their usual brightness.
"Well, if you'd really like to hear one," she said.
Obi-Wan nodded, smiling.
"Let's see. All right. There was one in which I was a pirate captain. I'd pretend that the Malia River was the ocean. I had washed up on shore because my mutinous crew had stolen all my treasure, leaving me for dead. I swore vengeance on all of them. So, I lived alone in the forest, living only on berries and tranga roots, but growing stronger every day. Then, one day, while digging for roots I came upon a magical sword and with it I hunted down my traitorous crew and cut off all their heads. I then took back my ship and my treasure, found a new crew and sailed away, never to be seen again."
Obi-Wan chuckled. Onara stopped walking and frowned at him.
"What's so funny?" she asked sharply, her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, Onara. I guess that's just not the kind of story I would have associated with you."
"Oh, really?" she said, her dark eyes narrowing as she glared up at him. "And just what kind of story would you associate with me, Master Kenobi? One in which I'm some weak, simpering, witless princess, waiting for some equally witless prince to come and rescue me from my enchanted golden tower?"
"No, of course not," he said quickly. But he was still smiling at her.
Onara stared at him for a moment, her eyes boring into his. Then she smiled and shook her head.
"All right," she admitted. "I guess it was a rather bloodthirsty tale. But I liked it."
"It was a fine story, Onara. Quite enjoyable. It might even make a good holofilm."
"Holofilm? I've never seen a holofilm."
"You haven't?" Obi-Wan shrugged. "I don't watch them much myself. Anakin is quite fond of them. A little too fond, I think."
"I'd like to see one."
"Perhaps you will."
Onara shook her head. "I doubt it," she said sadly as she gazed down at the ground. "I will never leave Ahjane."
Not wanting to see her so disheartened, Obi-Wan reached over and touched her chin. She looked up at him.
"Why don't you tell me another story while we walk?"
"Another story?"
"Yes," he said as he took her arm. "Tell me a story about us. I'll establish the setting. We're in the deep, dark forest and we're lost and frightened, because..." and he looked over at her, indicating she should continue.
"A story," Onara mused as she fell into step beside him. "Hmmm, let's see. All right, I have one. You and I are royal twins."
"We're twins?" Obi-Wan said skeptically, mindful of the fact she was so much younger.
"It's a story, remember," Onara said. "Anyway, you and I are royal twins and we've just escaped into the forest. We're running away from our father."
"Why are we running away from our father?"
"Because he's evil," Onara said, with no lack of irritation in her voice. "Now, please, hush and let me tell the story."
Obi-Wan chuckled. "I'm sorry. Go ahead."
"As I said, our father is evil. Very evil. Once he was good, a Prince of Light, but something terrible happened to him and it made him angry and hateful."
"What happened to make him so evil?" Obi-Wan asked.
Onara sighed as he helped her over a tree root that was sticking out of the ground.
"I don't know, Obi-Wan. I'm making this up as I go along. Something terrible, that's all I know, but it made him very angry. And the anger was like a noose around his heart. It squeezed out all the light and all the love. However, he had once loved a woman. A brave and beautiful woman. Our mother. She became pregnant by him, but not long after he became a Master of the Darkness."
Onara paused. Obi-Wan looked over at her. She looked as if she were in a trance, her eyes unfocused, the words flowing out of her. He touched her arm. She jumped and looked over at him.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
Onara stared at him for a moment, then went on as if he had not spoken.
"Fearing for our safety, for a prophecy had foretold that a child of his would destroy him, our mother hid her pregnancy from our father and, fortunately, during the later part of her pregnancy, our father was absent from the kingdom, subjugating all the lands around him to his dark will. So he never learned of us. Once we were born, our mother hid us among the villagers. And then," and Onara paused, "she died from grief and sorrow. The two of us grew up in the village, ignorant of our true heritage. But one terrible day our father learned who we really were and came to kill us, so we left the village and ran away."
"Into the forest," Obi-Wan said, now so completely entranced by her story he had stopped walking and stood in front of her, waiting for her to go on.
"Yes," Onara said as she looked up at him, her dark eyes locked on his. "And we hid in the forest, fearful our father's troops would find us and kill us. Then, one day, we happen stumbled across a hut hidden deep in the forest. And in that hut lived a very old man. Older than the mountains, older than the grass, but very wise. And guess who he was?"
"Who?"
"Our father's former wizard. He had taught our father everything about the Light and the Dark, but he had wanted our father to use what he had learned for good, not evil. When the wizard tried to stop our father from doing his hateful, terrible things, they had a terrible fight. They battled fiercely, their struggle taking them over land and sea, into deep tree-shrouded valleys and to the top of snow-capped mountains. But, after a long and fearsome fight, our father finally defeated the wizard."
Onara paused, her eyes again unfocused and unseeing. Obi-Wan's heart was beating very hard and, as Onara had spoken, it was almost as if he could see that terrible battle between the wizard and his former student.
"However, unable to destroy the wizard," Onara went out, "our father banished him instead. Weak and frail, both his body and heart broken, the wizard went away to hide in the forest where he waited for us to grow up. Our mother had told him about us, you see, and he knew that one day we would find him. And we did. And there in the forest he secretly trained us to someday rise up against our father."
Onara stopped talking. She tilted her head back and looked up at the night sky arching over them. Obi-Wan waited for her to continue, but she seemed preoccupied with her star-gazing.
"Well? What happened next?" Obi-Wan blurted out.
Onara lowered her gaze from the stars and looked over at him.
"When we were ready, we journeyed to the castle to kill our father so that his reign of evil would finally end. But you," and Onara stopped and looked solemnly at Obi-Wan.
"Yes?" he prodded her.
"You wanted to try and save our father," she said in a soft, sad voice. "To give him one last chance to redeem himself. I pleaded with you not to go, but you went anyway. You went to face him. Alone."
"What happened?" Obi-Wan asked. "Did I save him? Or did he destroy me?"
Onara blinked several times, then shook her head. "I...I don't know, Obi- Wan. I'm sorry. I don't know how the story ends." Then she laughed nervously and shrugged her slender shoulders. "Actually, I don't even know where that story came from."
They both were silent for a long moment and Obi-Wan felt something move along his spine, like pale, cold fingers.
"That's all right, Onara," he assured her. "It was a very good story. Although a rather sad one."
Onara looked up at him, her eyes swimming with moonlight and darkness.
"Aren't all good stories, Obi-Wan? Aren't they all a little sad?"
"I suppose. But, I must admit I do like a happy ending."
"I do too," she said. Then she sighed. "I just don't believe in them."
Obi-Wan heard the sadness in Onara's voice and knew she was thinking of the life she would soon be leading as wife to Dynast Edress. He didn't blame her. Forced to marry a man for political reasons who, Obi-Wan knew, did not love her and probably never would. Having to leave her home to go live among strangers in a strange land. Who would not look at their future bleakly. But Obi-Wan, despite his cautious nature and by-the-book view of life, was also optimistic.
He reached over and took her hand. "Don't give up hope," he said gently as he stroked her fingers. "As long as there is life, there is always hope."
She gazed up at him and he was shaken when he felt her fingers moving along his.
"I wish I could believe that, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan swallowed heavily as their fingers slowly intertwined.
"You must believe it, Onara. You're still young and not even the wisest of us can know what the future will bring. Perhaps it will bring grief and sorrow beyond our darkest imaginings. But, you must also try to believe there's as much chance the future will bring you happiness and joy beyond your wildest dreams."
Now their fingers were joined and the very air around them seemed electrified. They gazed into each other's eyes and Onara's were not just filled with stars, they were the stars. Obi-Wan didn't know if it was his heart or hers he felt beating through their fingers. Perhaps it was both.
"Is it true the Jedi can see the future?" Onara whispered. "Can you see mine, Obi-Wan?"
"Some Jedi are prescient," he said, his voice low and throbbing, his breath catching as their fingers caressed and stroked each other's hand. "Master Yoda, for one. But, even if we could see the future, we would not let it guide our actions. The future is always in motion, Onara, for that is the way of the Force."
"What is the Force like, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan smiled. He was pleased by her question and squeezed her hand to let her know.
"The Force is an illimitable ocean, Onara. Boundless, dimensionless, outside of both time and space, yet inextricably bound within them. It binds the universe together."
"It sounds wonderful. I wish I could feel it."
"You can."
She arched an eyebrow. Obi-Wan laughed, the tips of his fingers sliding slowly over the back of her hand.
"Perhaps not in the way we Jedi experience it," he said warmly, "but if you quiet your mind and listen to that small, still voice inside you, the voice of your truest self, you will experience something of what the Force is like."
Onara nodded, then her eyes widened as she glanced behind him. She drew her hand from his and pointed. Obi-Wan turned and saw, in the grove of trees just ahead, green and gold lights flickering among the darkness.
"They're heading for the glade," Onara whispered.
"The glade?"
She nodded. "It's where they will perform the Dance."
"What should we do? Will they let us approach?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I don't know. When I was a girl they never paid us any mind when Father would bring me to watch them. But, with the war..." and she shrugged.
"Why don't we give it a try since we've come this far. If we are a disturbance to them, we will leave."
Onara nodded. Obi-Wan wanted to take her hand again, but she was already moving through the trees so he followed her to where the Katarra were gathering in the glade.
---------------
Anakin gingerly worked out a kink in his back. The chair he was sitting had become decidedly more uncomfortable as the night wore on. He looked over at Lady Tsara. She was still knitting, but Anakin had caught her dozing off every now and then. He hid a smile. Although he had slipped off to sleep himself a few times, if he chose to he knew he could go without sleep far longer than she.
Nearly an hour had passed since they had heard Onara scream. Although Lady Tsara had assumed it had something to do with Onara and Obi-Wan's lovemaking, Anakin knew better. The two were no longer in the bridal chamber. He had sensed their absence, though where they had gone and why, he had no clue. He was confident, however, that his master knew what he was doing and would return before dawn. Anakin supposed he should have mentioned that Onara and Obi-Wan had left the chamber, but saw no reason to do so. Plus, he did not want to witness the firestorm of Lady Tsara's rage if she were to discover their absence.
As he crossed his booted ankles and tried to settle himself more comfortably in the chair, Anakin wondered why the two had left. Although he was well aware that among the younger Padawans at the Temple, Obi-Wan was sometimes known as Oldie-Wan Kenobi because he was such a strict disciplinarian and something of a stick in the mud, Anakin suspected there was far more to his master than met the eye.
He wondered if perhaps Obi-Wan had just wanted to make love to Onara outside, for Anakin had convinced himself there was no way his master was going to pass up the opportunity to be intimate with such a beautiful woman. Or at least Anakin hoped he wouldn't. Sometimes he worried about Obi- Wan, for the Jedi took himself and life a little too seriously for Anakin's tastes.
And it wasn't like Obi-Wan was going to get into trouble if he did make love to Onara, Anakin thought. Master Yoda had said it was all right for him to do so. And, really, how many fathers actually encouraged you to take their daughter's virginity, begged you even. Anakin knew he wouldn't have passed up such an opportunity. Notwithstanding the fact he was still a virgin.
Anakin snorted softly, then looked over to see if Lady Tsara had heard him, but she was fast asleep, her knitting abandoned in her lap. He shook his head. Didn't matter if he was still a virgin. By the putrid pit of Carkoon, if Dynast K'lia had asked him to bless Onara's marriage to Dynast Edress by making love to her, he wouldn't have thrown a fit like Master Obi-Wan. No way. He would have jumped right into that big, soft bed, thrown his arms tightly around Onara, kissed her warm, sweet mouth and...and....
He frowned. Well, he would have done something, that's for sure. And with that thought, he closed his eyes and slipped into a light meditation.
To be continued....