To all my reviewers who have demanded more!
Sorry it took so long but my server has been down
Chapter 7
Naomi shivered as a gentle breeze blew across her skin. She opened her eyes and sat up. It took her a moment to remember where she was. There was a blanket folded on the sofa but she could not see Obi-Wan anywhere. She reached out with the Force and found him on the balcony, along with another tantalizing aroma. She pulled a dark blue satin robe over her thin white nightgown and tied the belt loosely around her waist. She padded across the room and stepped out onto the balcony. Obi-Wan sat by the table which was covered with several plates with assorted pastries. A large steaming pot was there also. Like her he was still clad in his sleeping attire. His hair was slightly rumpled and his chest bare.
"Good morning," Obi-Wan said as she joined him. Naovi self-consciously pulled her robe tighter. She was not used to her Master seeing her in such attire.
"Sleep well?"
"As a matter of fact I did," she said thoughtfully. She really had slept better than she had in a long time. No nightmares, no shadows, just peaceful dreams of sandy beaches.
"I hope you don't mind, but I had breakfast sent up"
"No, it's fine," she said. "If you waited for me to have breakfast you'd probably starve"
"You do rather enjoy sleeping in," Obi-Wan said chuckling. "Qui-Gon did too." They sat in comfortable silence as they ate. Once the plates were empty and the last of the caf swallowed a droid came in to clear the plates.
"I thought we might walk down to the lake today," Obi-Wan said. "It's private and very peaceful"
"Sounds wonderful," she said standing. "I'll just go get changed." She pulled a bright gold jumpsuit out of her suitcase and a pair of comfortable brown ankle boots. After showering and drying her hair, she braided her hair and hung her nightgown in the closet. She glanced over where Obi-Wan was getting dressed. He wore a pair of brown trousers, and brown boots. He was pulling a dark green tunic from his suitcase. She found herself, unknowingly, studying him. She'd never really listened when she heard the other female padawans gossip about how handsome her master was. Even before Bantalian had begun his torture she never really looked at Obi-Wan that way. Now she realized he really was quite good looking. The sandy hair, the deep blue eyes, the hard sculpted chest and back, and the perfect backside...Whoah, Naovi thoughts suddenly jolted to a halt. Where had that come from? She couldn't be having such thoughts about her master. It was forbidden by the Jedi Code to have such feelings for anyone, let alone her master. She was startled out of her thoughts by Obi-Wan's hand on her arm.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
"Yes," she said, trying to ignore the heat that shot straight to her belly as Obi-Wan touched her. They packed a large bag with food and water and left the hotel. It was two miles to the lake and they walked it in silence. Though her mouth stayed silent her mind was not so quiet. She was trying to rationalize what had happened in the hotel room, how Obi-Wan's presence could be affecting her now, when it never had before. Perhaps it was because in this place, with no mission to accomplish, she was starting to see him less as her master and more as a man. And could it be that because she was seeing him as a man that she was inclined to act differently toward him. It made sense. Last night she'd taken extra time trying to make herself look beautiful, something she'd never cared much about. Did she want to look beautiful for Obi-Wan? Did she want him to see her that way?
"Your thoughts are far too troubled for someone on vacation, Naovi," Obi-Wan scolded gently. "Sorry Obi-Wan," she said. "I seem to have too many thoughts for my own good"
"It is never a crime to think," Obi-Wan said. "But the true strength of a Jedi comes from knowing when to bury them and when to listen to them"
"Yes, master," Naovi said with a small grin. "Still teaching even though we are on vacation. Qui-Gon would be proud." Obi-Wan shot her a look that she had come to know far too well. The look he gave when she'd won. The sun was beating down on them by the time they reached the lake. They pulled off their boots and rolled up their trousers. Naovi sighed with pleasure as she dipped her feet in the water. She felt all the tension leave her as she laid back against the soft grass and closed her eyes. "Can we just stay here forever?" she said quietly.
"It would be tempting,"Obi-Wan said. "Just stay here for the rest of our lives. Give up the Jedi way of life. But it wouldn't change who we are. We would still have the powers we do. And the responsibilities that come with them"
"I suppose," Naovi said. "It would be the easy path though"
"The easy path is not always the best," Obi-Wan said. "For instance, what would be the easiest path to get to that waterfall." Naovi sat up and looked across the lake. About fifty yards out she saw small waterfall surrounded by rocks.
"The quickest way to get to it would be to swim across the lake, however the easiest way would be to walk around the lake"
"See," Obi-Wan said. "Quick and easy are not always the same thing. But which way is the best?" Navoi thought for a moment.
"It depends," she said.
"On what"
"On why you choose the path. If I were to choose to swim across, is it because it's faster or is it because it's a challenge. If I chose to go around, would I be choosing out of fear. Did I choose the easy path because I'm afraid to swim across the lake. I would choose to swim across because I can't be ruled by fear. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side"
"Exactly," Obi-Wan said standing up and offering her his hand. She looked up at him questioning.
"What are we doing?" she said nervously.
"Not being ruled by our fears." Naovi raised an eyebrow but took his hand. They waded out into the lake until the water was to their waists. Naovi kicked up from the bottom and stroked out with her arms. Next to her Obi-Wan swam hand over hand, keeping in time with her. By the time they reached the waterfall, they were both soaked through and exhausted. Behind the waterfall was a small cave. Naovi suck in a hard breath and ducked under the water. She swam down until she felt the pounding of the falls lessen. She darted forward until she felt the rock and then kicked up. She gasped for breath as her head popped to the surface. She pulled herself up onto the rock and leaned agaisnt the cave wall.
"I suppose that was one way to get here," Obi-Wan said behind her. She brushed her wet hair out of her eyes and turned to look at him.
"How did you get here?" she shouted to be heard over the falls.
"I swam around," he shouted back, "I was almost afraid you weren't going to make it"
"Confronting my fears," she said sheepishly. He smiled and took her hand. She felt the heat shoot from her fingertips straight to her belly. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her pounding heart as Obi-Wan led her through the cave. It was a long winding tunnel of cold damp stone. She was relieved when she saw the sun streaming into the cave. They followed it until they came out. Naovi looked around and realized the were at the top of the falls. She could see the shore where the remains of thier lunch lay. They settled down on the rocks to catch thier breath. Naovi looked down at her tunic and realized that it was sticking to her skin, making her breasts rather visible. She crossed her arms over her chest. Her clothes would dry soon enough. She glanced over at Obi-Wan. The water in his golden hair was dripping down into the collar of his tunic. "Obi-Wan," she said softly.
"Yes Naovi"
"When I was under the falls, and you were afraid I wasn't going to make it to the surface, why didn't you come after me?" Obi-Wan didn't answer for a long time.
"You know Naovi, one of the hardest parts of being a teacher is knowing when to let the student go. As your master, I admit I have been a bit more overprotective than I may have been if circumstances were different"
"If Bantalian hadn't abused me, you mean."
"Yes," Obi-Wan admitted. "When you went under the water my first instinct was to pull you back. But I resisted the urge because if I don't let you do things on your own you'll never learn"
"It makes sense," Naovi said. "I suppose that's why Bantalian never let me do anything. He wanted me completly dependent on him. Another way of controlling me I suppose." She was surprised how easily she spoke of her former master.
"He hurt you deeply didn't he?"
"What do you mean"
"I don't need to tell you that the trust between a master and a padawan is sacred. When someone we trust in that way betrays us, it hurts us. In here," he laid his hand over his heart. Naovi thought about what Obi-Wan had said.
"I don't know if I ever trusted Bantalian in that way. Not the way I trust you. He never gave me the chance to trust him. What he did, it started so soon after I became his padawan"
"It?" Naovi bit her lip. She had to be more careful about what she said.
"The abuse," she said.
"Navoi," Obi-Wan said gently, "you know that you can tell me anything." Naovi felt her back stiffen.
"I have told you everything, Obi-Wan," she said.
"I think we both know that that isn't true. I've been in your mind enough to know that there are some secrets that you still keep protected. You still do not trust me completely Naovi. If you did we would have no secrets from each other. You will never reach your full..."
"My full potential," Naovi snapped jumping to her feet. "I am so tired of hearing about reaching my full potential. That's all any of you care about. You, Master Yoda, Master Windu...none of you care about how I feel. You don't know what I've been through." Tired of listening to him Naovi jumped from the cliff, used the force to slow herself down and hit the water. She swam quickly to shore and grabbed her boots. She pulled them on quickly and ran away into the woods. She needed to get away from Obi-Wan and clear her head.
There! I hope that'll hold you all for a while.