Deceptions
Chapter 5
Obi-wan watched ruefully as Padmé Amidala, full of indignity, left the small cafe without so much as an oblique glance behind her. She had been furious with him and on reflection, perhaps almost rightfully so. Their luncheon had started off pleasantly enough; they had spoken along more neutral lines such as the projected end of the war and the difficulties of refugee placement. Padmé had shared her frustrations of having her hands tied on one issue or another and Obi-wan had commiserated. It seemed at times that his duties as a General had only resulted increasing the amount of complaints he received and precious little else. Eventually, inevitably, the conversation had turned to Anakin and things had rapidly gone downhill from there.
"Are you afraid of loosing him Obi-wan?" she had asked him innocently enough but he had retorted by asking about a relationship. It had initially been a half hearted attempt to redirect the conversation, or so he wanted to tell himself but he realized that it had gone far deeper than that. Her question had stung, and coming from the person he was beginning to perceive as (his replacement?) the one whom Anakin trusted (confided in, shared with?) more so than any one else...
He took a deep drink of his Caf, draining the cup and quietly signaled the droid waitress for a refill. Implementing a practice not used since before the formation of the Republic, Anakin had been given the rank of Châtelain. Châtelains were almost a half knighthood, being beyond a Padawan yet having not yet passed the trials. They had become almost a necessity with the increasing number of Masters being separated from their adult Padawans for extended periods of time. Padawans were still expected to communicate and train with their Masters as often as possible but sadly, with Anakin as with many others, this had not been the case. Indeed, Anakin had become even more withdrawn over the last few months, certainly not going out of his way to contact his master, even in times of crisis. It had been Amidala (again) who had informed him that Anakin had been severely injured at Salliche and would be recovering on Naboo...
Another nasty jolt. Naboo... Andeous... a very young Padawan named Deho had been given his very first solo assignment. Anakin. It was to be a test of Deho's abilities as well as Anakin's, with Deho's project being a simple one, to find and observe his fellow Jedi for a period of three days without being discovered. If he had been successful, he would have presented himself to the elder Châtelain at the end of this time and returned to the capital as quickly as he could. Simplicity in and of itself, but for one thing. Anakin... Deho had broken the communication silence with a panicked message, certain that what he had seen had NOT been his Jedi assignment. Jedi did NOT... well... demonstrate affection in that manner, especially in public and out in the open... he was certain that the person he had seen was a changeling and not the real Anakin Skywalker (who was considered a bit of a hero in the initiate set). After all, Anakin Skywalker would never do something like that...
Obi-wan sighed and rose to pay the cheque. He would have to have a word with Anakin as soon as he arrived back from this latest tour of duty, even if it meant... well, it wouldn't come to that, but if the conversation with Amidala was any indication he had already put this off for far too long...
******************************************************
Padmé arrived back at her apartment almost too exhausted to undress. The lunch she had shared with Obi-wan was sitting in her stomach like a rock and she knew that she was fighting a loosing battle to keep it down. Dormé, ever patiently helped her removed the bulk of her clothing and to her bedroom to lie down. She found it impossible to hide the concern she felt for her mistress.
"Are you alright, M'lady?" she asked, guiding Padmé to the bed. "Do you wish me to summon a healer?"
Padmé closed her eyes and sighed. "No, I just a little sleep..."
"You received a message while you were away," Dormé said softly as she pulled the covers over her mistress.
"I'm sure I received a lot of messages," Padmé mumbled already drifting off to sleep.
"This one was special... it was very short, shall I tell you what it says?"
"Alright... if you think it's that important..."
"It was a text message... It reads simply, 'Jewel of the Republic'."
Padmé's eyes opened wearily "Ani?"
Dormé smiled openly, "I've already checked, it's due to arrive in three days... get some sleep M'lady, he won't arrive any sooner if you don't."
She closed the door behind her as she crept out. "I'll have some supper waiting for you when you wake..." But Padmé had already fallen back to sleep, dreaming of her husband.