DISCLAIMER: Katri Narabe, Derin Narabe, and their daughter Arianna belong to my friend Beth (ff.n sn: Reach4thestars19). They are not to be used without permission by her. The characters in this story belong to George Lucas except Queen Mei'inda, her handmaidens, and those which are not currently in the Star Wars storyline.
* . . . drip . . . drip . . . drip . . .*
The next thing I knew I was in a dank cell with a leak somewhere in the ceiling. To me, there was a slight stench of rotting fish - one which I did *not* like. I got up and walked over to the only window in there, only to see that I was being held in what I thought was a mining facility. The Byss Mining Facility. How long was I out? Why was I here? Or yet, who brought me here?
The screams of the tortured echoed off the cold walls in Sabe's cell. With a sharp yell coming from down the hall, the fearful woman turned in the direction of the disturbance. *What did I do to deserve this?* There was no place for her to go . . . nowhere for her to run.
Suddenly, two figures appeared in front of the cell. One of them opened the door and stood aside for the second to enter. Just by looking at the build, she could see that the approaching figure was a 'he.' When he stepped into the light, she could see that he was wearing a long black cloak with the hood pulled over his face. From what she *could* see of his face, she saw that he was a really old man and had a creepy smirk on his face. "Sabe Kenobi," he said in such a way that a chill ran down her spine. "Its good to see that you're awake . . ."
I knew that voice from somewhere. I could see that, from his robes, he had some affiliation with the Sith. It just got to me that I knew the voice but couldn't place the person . . .
"Who are you?" The Sith Lord laughed - it was an even more scary laugh than the smirk on his face. "You already know who I am, Sabe. If you think about it, you will figure out who I am." She went over all the people she knew who fit the description:
Relatively short
Male
Older
Yet, she still couldn't find any connection with the voice and the person. Her confusions must have shown through on her face. "Don't worry, young one. In due time you will figure it out." With that, the figure began to move towards the door.
~*~(A Few Days Later)~*~
How long had she been here? She would have never known what time it was or what day it was if she hadn't thought of keeping track of the days and nights…
I guess I had been on a type of hunger strike since the day I had been thrown in that cell. I couldn't remember eating anything that they had given to me. All I wanted to do was go home - the screams of the tortured were starting to get to me and I didn't know how long it would be until I was next . . .
It had been awhile since the guard had slid her nightly bowl of food through the door - by now it probably was cold. Once again, as the past nights had held, she curled up in the corner. It got pretty cold in the cell at night, and this night looked to be no different. The usual screams were still echoing through the halls as she set her chin down on her knees. Her eyes slowly closed…
…but were reopened when she heard an all too familiar hum. Her eyes flitted around the room - where was it coming from? That presence…wait, there were two… "Obi-Wan," she said keeping her voice down. Excitement began to build as she saw a blue light slicing through the bars in the window. She stood up, wanting to run over to him and throw her arms around him in joy. Managing to restrain herself, however, she waited until he managed to get through the window safely. "Sabe…" she heard him say as she ran over to him. He embraced her and held her so tight that she thought he would never let go. Anakin was right behind him, she saw, as he propped her chin up.
"It seems like they didn't do anything to you," he said. "That's good. I don't know what I'd do if they had. I don't want to think about it…" He then looked back to his padawan. "Anakin, prepare the ropes to get us out of here." There was no movement from the younger Jedi. "Anakin. Now." "Yes, Master…"
Anakin really scared me that night. My fear was out of good reason. He was there . . . it was the fact that *he* wasn't. The person in his eyes wasn't the Anakin Skywalker that I had met on Tatooine about 20 years ago. No . . . he was different. Almost like the way I had seen the people affiliated with the Empire. Obi-Wan said that he was just upset that he wouldn't let him take the Trials. Something inside of me told me otherwise.
Obi-Wan and I repelled down the wall together. It was quite uneventful - quite surprising to me. I was expecting high security because of what I had witnessed inside. Nothing happened, though. When a guard *did* come by below us, Obi-Wan manipulated the Force enough to make a noise far enough away to get all three of us away. Anakin made it down safely also. When he landed, I could see an eerie glint in his eyes. I would have said something to my husband, but he quickly got us out of the path of danger.
"Padme has been worried sick about you, Sabe. The others have too." As the three humans made their way through the shadows, Obi-Wan was telling his wife about what was new on Naboo. "Padme is about ready to have her children any day now, though she won't reveal who the father is. She keeps hinting that he's a Jedi, but it just doesn't make any sense to me."
I knew who it was . . . I just didn't have the heart to tell him that his Padawan had deliberately disobeyed the Jedi Order . . .
"Padme of course wants you there when her children are born. We need to get you back to Naboo as soon as possible…" "She's not going anywhere, Master." Anakin had stopped and drawn his lightsaber. "Anakin?" Obi-Wan said. "What are you doing?" "She's not going anywhere…and neither are you. Master Sidious won't let it happen." With that, he quickly advanced forward and attacked, though he was stopped by his Master. He quickly countered the attack and an all-out duel was launched between Master and Padawan.
*Sabe, get back to the ship! Find someplace safe and stay there!*
The former handmaiden snapped to attention when she heard her husband come across their bond. "Where is it?" she called out. Obi-Wan managed to knock his apprentice back for a short time. "Back that way," he pointed before he turned his full attention back to the ensuing fight.
I wanted to help him so much…to just get him out of there safely would have been enough for me. However, I couldn't disobey him…after all, if I had done so then most likely I would have been killed as well as my unborn child, whose presence I was able to protect from all Force-using people…unfortunately that included my husband. The world had just not been the right place for his birth to have been announced. And yes, I could feel that it was going to be a boy.
Anyway, I found the ship a few minutes later and I saw that it was one of the Nubian Fleet. This was good - I knew the layout of the ship really well. There was a cargo hold which was just big enough for me to curl up in. Quickly I got in and shut the door. I was fearful that something had happened to my son, but I felt that he was all right. He was okay. Soon after I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was back on Naboo…
*Sabe…Sabe, wake up…where are you?*
Her eyes opened and she was met with darkness. All the memories of the previous night had come flooding back to her, but when she heard her husband over the bond they shared, she knew that he was all right - however pain stricken. She pushed open the cargo door and crawled out, careful not to put too much weight on her stomach area. She was met with a hand to help her up. Taking the help, she found herself in the arms of her husband. "So…what happened?" she asked.
As she looked over him, she could see a few cuts and bruises, but nothing too big. It was his face that worried her so - he looked like he had lost a son. "Obi-Wan…" A tear ran down his cheek as he spilled it all. "Anakin's dead…I let him die…" She had to let the words soak in before she fully understood. Wrapping her arms around him, she drew his head into her shoulder. "I failed Qui-Gon," she could hear him saying. "Anakin's dead…I failed Qui-Gon…" "Shh," she said trying to console him. "It'll be all right…it'll be all right…"
