Chapter 2: The Decision to Leave

The meeting was wrapping up and Khariya stood in the shadows of the grand room. Anakin stood beside Padmè in his Jedi stance ready for any danger that could have possibly came to a mile's distance of the Galactic Senator. When all was done, Khariya stood by the end of the hall waiting for her sister to join her. One of the leaders of Naboo brought up the subject of Senator Amidala's safety. As Khariya had predicted, Padmè suggested the summer palace in Nairoet Lake.

"In all due respect, m'lady," Anakin objected. "As you're bodyguard, I want to have a say in where you'd be most safe." Khariya grinned finding it funny how Anakin's tongue was uncomfortable in saying m'lady. Like always Padmè argued back and won the fight. With Padmè's back turned away form her and Anakin's eyes able to see her, Khariya imitated Anakin's stance and silently mocked how he talked. Anakin looked past Padmè's shoulder and spotted Khariya horribly imitating him. "I'm sorry, m'lady," he said finishing the argument and bowing slightly.

Padmè said something in return to accept his apology but Anakin did not hear it. He was too busy looking at Khariya, who had just imitated his last actions silently. Anakin could barely contain himself. It was horribly funny how a respected aristocrat of Naboo was standing like a Jedi in her flowing red dress and mouthing words silently in mockery. He let himself a smile and looked back at the group of people in front of him.

"Yes, m'lady." He said knowing nothing about what he had just said yes to. He looked back at Khariya hoping to catch her smile but he could see her face had fallen and she slipped out of the room silently.

"I am a sir, young Padawan. Not a lady," a man said. Anakin was surprised. What did he just agree to? "Well then it's settled. Anakin and Amidala will leave for the summer palace tonight and Khariya will stay here."

"No," he cried out. Now he knew why Khariya looked a little hurt when she left the room. "I changed my mind. Khariya should come with us." Everyone looked surprised.

"I see no reason why the sister of the one to be assassinated should be held in protection too," the man said.

"They might use her to draw out myself and the Senator," Anakin reasoned hoping that would be enough to get them on his decision. "They might use her as bait. As a future Jedi I've been brought up to protect those that are in any possible danger. I think that maybe Lady Khariya should be protected as well for she is close to the Senator." The man nodded and shrugged.

"So be it," he muttered.

As they were leaving, Padmè said, "Khariya will be grateful that you're letting her stay with us at Nairoet."

"I hope so," Anakin replied. They all walked to the dinner table and as they all sat down Padmè realized that Khariya wasn't at her seat.

"Sabè, where's my sister?" Padmè asked as her handmaiden sat next to her. Anakin looked up in curiosity.

"Khariya took her dinner and went up to her room. She said she didn't feel well and asked to not be disturbed," Sabè answered. Padmè's face creased with worry.

"Anakin, I can't leave the guests. Can you please check on Khariya? Just make sure she's okay," Padmè requested.

Anakin nodded and stood up. He walked through the rooms and halls and finally reached the hallway that led to their rooms. As he walked stealthily down the hall, Anakin took out his vidcom to take a peek at what Khariya was doing.

The vidcom took a second to respond and when it did that picture was blurry. He could only see her body's silhouette walking around in the room. Anakin's body tensed in worry. That video camera should have been picture perfect. He couldn't help but wonder if someone was trying to sabotage Khariya's cameras. Without even thinking, Anakin rushed through her doors and lit up his light saber.

The moment he saw Khariya, he almost fainted. He had caught her in the middle of putting on her robe. Even if it was just for a moment, Anakin caught a glimpse of Khariya's naked body.

"Anakin!" Khariya gasped, embarassed. Anakin put down his light saber and put it in his belt again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have covered the cameras but." She paused for a second as she stretched to try to take down the translucent veils on the camera lenses. "I was about to bathe and I. I knew you'd be on the other side watching and I didn't want you to look." With every word she said, Khariya turned redder and redder. Anakin was blushing also. His eyes went toward her bathtub and then blushed harder.

"It's all right, m'lady. I shouldn't have barged in like that," Anakin stuttered. Khariya stopped her walk to her closet and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't say m'lady, Anakin," she smirked. "You sound like you have a cold saying it. You really can't."

"About this afternoon at the meeting." Anakin started.

"No, it's all right Ani. I'm not in danger. Padmè is. I can't be a distraction when my sister is in danger," Khariya replied.

"Does that mean you're not going with us tonight?"

"Where to?"

"Nairoet. I decided that you might be in danger too. The assassins might use you as bait so I want to keep my eye on you too," Anakin answered.

"Seriously," she grinned. Anakin nodded adding to the happiness that he could see in Khariya's face. "Oh Thank You Anakin. You have no idea what it means to me to be able to come." She ran and put her arms around the Jedi Padawan. Anakin didn't know how to react and just smiled back at her.

"Well go on with your bath. We're leaving soon. Get ready," he grinned. All Khariya could do was smile as he left.

When he disappeared, her face fell in realization of what the situation would be like at Nairoet. Anakin and Padmè would be alone together most of the time and she would be left to watch. They would feel their spark and she would be left to feel . nothing. She would watch her heart break like that. She was beginning to have second thoughts about the trip. Anakin could feel her reluctance to go vaguely as he walked down the hallway. He stopped, wondering whether or not he should turn back and see what was wrong. He felt skeptically, emotional pain and then. tears. He turned back around and knocked on her doors.

"Khariya!" he called. "Is something wrong?" Khariya started in the water. She had already let her tears come at the thought of falling for the man that was falling for her own flesh and blood.

"Anakin?" she answered through her door. Anakin smelled the sweet scent of the water in her tub and for a second he had an image of Khariya bathing naked in flower petal covered water, candles around her and then he saw himself in there with her doing things he would never have thought himself doing to Khariya. Padmè maybe but not Khariya. His thoughts were broken by Khariya standing at the door soaking wet. Anakin saw a trail of water from the tub to the floor, a puddle where she stood when she put on a robe. "Is there anything else?"

"What's going on in there?" Anakin asked, concerned. He saw that her eyes were pink. "I felt. Were you crying?"

Khariya frowned at Anakin. "Umm. I got some of the essence in my eye." Anakin knew, of course, that she was lying. He concentrated and heard her thoughts.

"Ani. I know you can read thoughts. If you have any respect for me at all, please keep your mind tricks away from my head. Let me have my privacy." Anakin was taken aback when all of a sudden she put a guard on her thoughts. He was closed from them, completely. He didn't know she could do that. Usually, only Jedi could do that. "Not only Jedi, Anakin."

"You can. You can use the Force?" Anakin asked taken aback. "It's actually much easier than I thought it would be," she reminisced. "And Obi Wan was a wonderful teacher." She leaned on the door recalling on her lessons with Obi Wan. Lessons that she wasn't suppose to be given.

"Obi Wan? As in my Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi?" Anakin asked still shocked. Fact was Obi Wan was a prude and he went by the rules no matter how hopeless the situation if you had to use the rules. She nodded.

"Wait, how come you can have privacy but you can read my thoughts easier than you can read books?"

"I don't need the Force to see you thoughts Ani," she smiled. "You eyes can tell me all your secrets in one glance." Khariya was talented in reading people's thoughts through their eyes. Anakin wasn't. He just couldn't place anything with this girl especially the sort of wistful look in her eyes as she looked into his. "You have beautiful eyes, Anakin. Don't try to hide them."

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked.

"Every time you're confused, your eyes cloud up," she explained. "I mean, it has this. tendency to show every emotion you have but you always start to squint and you hide your eyes just when it starts to become even more beautiful with passion. Don't let it do that." With the mention that he had emotion, Anakin had a moment of resentment toward Khariya.

"I don't have emotion and I don't have passion, Khariya. A Jedi doesn't have that. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to control the Force the way he could," Anakin said flatly. "To use emotion is to become Sith."

"That might be what you think but I believe more in emotion than I do in the Force," Khariya grinned. "And I'm not really an evil Sith Lord am I?" Anakin let go of her first comment and smiled in return.

"I don't know. You do border the Dark Side every now and then. I even remember the things you did when both of were children like the time in the towers and how all the vases and statues broke mysteriously," he teased, with twinkling eyes. Khariya turned serious immediately.

"Anakin," she whined, quietly. "No one knows about that but us. Can we keep it that way please?" Her eyes turned insistent. "Padmè is still furious at the mention of that. It turned out that one of her darling charms were in those statues. Padmè might not be very materialistic but once one of her favorite things is broken. You do not want to do that. ever."

"Okay, okay!" Anakin cried out putting his hands up in surrender. "Just make sure that your sister doesn't know how to use the Force." "Please," Khariya scoffed.

"Padmè? The Force in her? A rock on the stone has more midichlorians than that woman. It probably even has more chance in becoming Jedi than Padmè. Smart and powerful but the Force. not quite." She sighed and looked at her bathtub, noticing that there was no steam rising from its fragrant waters.

"So much for my bath. I really wanted to take it. You on the other hand kept bothering me for thinking that I was crying for some reason." She smirked but then. There it was again! That look in her eyes that was driving Anakin crazy with wonder was there again.

"I KNOW you were crying. You're just lying through your teeth. Otherwise, you wouldn't be blocking your thoughts from me," Anakin retorted. Ignoring the comment, Khariya looked down the hall and back at Anakin.

"Padmè is looking for you downstairs. She wants to eat and they won't eat until you're there. Just call me when we're to leave," she held softly. She closed the doors and he knew it was the end of any conversation for the night.