Chapter 8: The Unforgettable Night

As Obi-wan was climbing up the marble staircase to the handmaidens' room, he was trying to straighten his appearance. He was wearing his ordinary old Jedi robes, since he didn't have a clue to what you're supposed to wear at a.er. "date." Fortunately, his apprentice would soon save him from the humiliation of being thought of as a fool. On his way up, Anakin stopped in his tracks and stood in Obi-wan's way. "Whoa, master, even though I know you haven't gotten out much often, that gives you NO excuse to give a lady the wrong impression. Remember, you have to be suave, and sweep her off her feet! Oh, c'mon, I guess I still have a few spare minutes before I have to meet Padmé. She'll understand that you're in a desperate need of cleaning up," Anakin teased in a French debonair accent. Obi-wan rolled his eyes and trooped off after his young Padawan. He led him to his room, and while he helped him get ready for a romantic evening with the love of his life, Anakin gave him a few dating tips. "Of course, even though women keep going on and on about how it only matters about what's in the inside and blah blah blah, you can't actually believe that. You must keep the best appearance, so you must wear a tux at such an important occasion as this and wear light cologne, because if it's too much of a heavy scent, you'll make your woman gag with disgust, and you wouldn't want to do that now, would you?" Anakin paused and waited for an answer, but Obi-wan remained silent because he was in a slight meditation trance so he wouldn't psyche up for the upcoming "evening engagement." Anakin smiled at his master, who both was trying not to look nervous & had a goofy grin on his face, and went on. "Second thing is that you must keep up an interesting conversation, and only talk about Jedi stuff if they ask you to. Speak with confidence and directly from your heart, but don't act like an idiot, and remember that this is the woman you truly and deeply love. Now, from what I've heard, we might be hearing wedding bells pretty soon, so if you're popping the big question tonight, make it the spectacular finale. I do hope you got her a suitable ring, mostly gold and diamonds, hmm?" Anakin said with a sly grin on his face. Obi-wan had looked quite startled from the last couple of statements. "Who gave you the ridiculous idea that there was going to be a proposal tonight, eh?" Obi-wan said with a fake amused laugh. There was an awkward pause before Anakin pulled on yet another sly, boyish grin and bursted with joy. "I knew it! I knew you were going to propose to her! That's the absolute perfect thing to do to show her how much you care about her," Anakin excitedly exclaimed, thinking how he'd look as best man at the wedding. Obi-wan rolled his eyes, trying to hide the fact that that was exactly what his plan was going to be. A candle-lit dinner for two, a Venice-style boat ride out across the private royal lake, and when they bid goodnight, he'd serenade her outside her window, and when she comes out on the balcony (and let's hope that she will), he'd show his undying, everlasting love for her by proposing to her. Obi-wan hadn't realized that Anakin had been trying to get his attention. "Master. master. MASTER!!!" Anakin shouted, snapping Obi-wan out of his daze. Anakin smiled and pushed him out the door towards Sabé's room. "Go get 'em, tiger!" Anakin said and winked. Obi-wan slowly walked towards her room, tried to regain his composure, and was thinking of what exactly to say to her. When he reached the door, he was reluctant to knock, and finally did. Almost immediately after, Sabé opened it, and looked as nervous as him indeed. They saw this, realized there was nothing to worry about, and smiled. Obi-wan had been taken aback by Sabé's beautiful appearance and gaped at her until they reached the stairs. Sabé was wearing a strapless pale yellow silk gown that softened her features and brought out her eyes. She wore gold glitter on her eyelids, her cheekbones powdered with golden dust, and she wore pretty pink lip-gloss. Her hair was down, nice and flowing waves covering her bare shoulders. She was adorned with a gold, pearl, and topaz necklace, a gold bracelet, pearl stud earrings, and a topaz ring. She looked like a golden autumn goddess. Sabé was worried because Obi-wan was staring at her so strangely and she told him of his concerns. He flushed furiously and said, "I was just stunned by your amazing beauty, that's all." That made Sabé blush, too. Obi-wan offered his arm and Sabé gracefully took it. They walked down the marble staircase, looking like the finest couple in Naboo. Anakin and Padmé were at the foot of the stairs, catching a glimpse of their best friends at their happiest. When Obi-wan and Sabé reached the floor, they all smiled knowingly at each other. Anakin was looking exceptionally handsome in his tux, and Padmé was looking gorgeous in her elegant beaded and sequined baby blue dress that dragged on the floor behind her. Anakin and Obi-wan exchanged winks and Sabé blushed again when Padmé whispered "trés chic!" As Obi-wan and Sabé walked towards the banquet/fine dining room, Padmé looked into Anakin's eyes and whispered, "I hope tonight goes well for them." "Don't worry, their night will go as well as ours will," Anakin said with a reassuring smile. They walked away, hand in hand, to the nearest pier to get a yacht to get to a private island, secluded from royal civilization, to spend some time together, alone. Meanwhile, Obi-wan and Sabé were seated to their special table, located in a concealed corner of the room. Obi-wan had it arranged just the way he imagined it. On the table were the finest white and gold place settings, as a symbol for the purity of his love for her, the napkins were folded into swans, as a symbol of her beauty and grace, and two single candles were lit, as a symbol of themselves, two single flames burning together, producing as strong a light as their passion. Sabé smiled with sheer delight, and as Obi-wan pulled out her chair for her, her eyes slowly looked all around the small table, taking in the exquisite sight before her. "Obi-wan, thank you so much for getting reservations and having this set up. You're so thoughtful," she said. Obi-wan smiled, hoping that the romantic evening he planned would go as well as he expected it to. They engaged in a good conversation, and surprisingly, she laughed at all of his jokes. They laughed whole-heartedly, and were thoroughly enjoying their time together, and there was a slight pause, a precious moment shared between the two lovers, in which they smiled with content, silently thinking about the other. 'Gods, I love the way she laughs, her face lights up, and even though my jokes are horrible, she finds something in them that thoroughly amuses her,' Obi-wan thought to himself. 'Gods, I love the way he tells me jokes, even though they're horrible. The way he tells them makes them hilarious, and I love the way he looks when he tells me. He just looks so adorable!' Sabé reached out for Obi-wan's hand, and he took her soft hand in his and both marveled at the warmth and stillness. But alas, the waiter came with the dessert tray, but that was wonderful, too, since they fed each other heavenly forkfuls of strawberry swirl cheesecake. 'This night is the best night of my entire life. I wonder, what could happen tonight that could be even better than this???' Sabé thought to herself. 'I've loved the time I've shared with Sabé tonight, and I hope she feels the same way. I bet if she's not as overwhelmingly happy as I am right now, she will be and perhaps even more when the night is over,' Obi-wan thought. Anakin held his hand out to help Padmé out of the yacht, and she stepped down daintily and squealed when a small wave flowed over them. Anakin laughed and Padmé said in a scolding tone, "That's not funny! If I had been wearing my new, expensive blue gown and pumps, they would have been drenched!" But Anakin wasn't listening. Instead, he splashed her and ran as fast as he could down the shore. "Hey! Come back here, you coward!" she exclaimed with delight as she chased after him. When she finally caught up with him, they had a splash fight and had a great time laughing and getting soaked. Just as they leaned in to share a soft, intimate kiss, a big, strong wave came rushing towards them and they fell over onto the beach. They laughed even more, but paused when they looked deeply into each other's eyes. Their lips softly touched but slowly deepened and intensified. They just lay there, passionately filling the other's desires, ignoring the salty ocean water washing over them. Suddenly Padmé screamed when she realized a frightening sight right before her.