Chapter 2: The Mysterious Woman
Obi-Wan could not resist the temptation to return to the tavern the next night, and the next night, and the one following that. He made a habit to be there each night for almost nearing 6 months and had learned much about Naita.
She was the slave of an irritable Kubaz by the name of Ginfor, and had been her entire life. She had absolutely no memory of her mother, father, or any family for that matter.
Obi-Wan enjoyed conversation with her, and would spend more than 4 or 5 hours a night at the club just chatting about their lives. Obi-Wan would tell her about where he had been and all the creatures he had seen from planets far across the galaxy, and she was absolutely mesmerized by it. She herself, had never left Tatooine, and the fact that there were other worlds out there amazed her. The bar tender, Slaif, could always count on seeing them together and it brought a small smile to his cold face.
One night Obi-Wan came to the club and looked for Naita, but she was nowhere to be found. He asked some of the other regulars, and slaves if they knew where she had gone but none of them seemed to have a recollection. Finally Obi-Wan sat at the bar and patiently waited.
It was almost closing time, and Obi-Wan left his pay for Slaif on the counter and began to exit when Naita stumbled through the door.
She had been badly beaten. Bruises were all over her body, and were black to her core. There was a small cut above her right eye that she kept shut. She was choking from crying and trying desperately to catch her breath. Obi-Wan didn't waste a second and paced over to her and held her close to his chest.
"Naita, what happened?" He demanded, trying to control his anger.
"Oh…Ben…." She groaned her breath becoming slow against his chest. Obi-Wan stood back a moment and looked at the woman. She had passed out from exhaustion, or fear, or both. He glanced back at Slaif who was shaking his head with disappointment.
"Has this ever happened before?" He asked the tender quietly.
"A few times." Slaif answered, not looking up from wiping the bar clean. "They say Ginfor is violent when he's angered and Naita has been known for not following the rules. Usually she stays here in the back a few days until she's healed enough to work again."
The large creature sighed and began to make his way to the back, scratching his snout with slight irritation at the situation.
"Slaif…" Obi-Wan called, and the orange mass turned. "There wont be any need for that. I'll take the liberty of caring for her until she's back on her feet." He called behind his shoulder. The bar tender shrugged.
"Doesn't matter to me either way kid. Just make sure she's back in a few days or Ginfor is gonna have the planet crawling with hit men to find her."
"Why would he be so…possessive of one slave?" Obi-Wan asked with a confused look.
"That's just Ginfor for you. He's one of Jabba's right hand men, and people with that kind of power don't want anything out of line. You see what I'm saying?"
Obi-Wan nodded and headed out the door to his speeder looking down at Naita with such sympathy. It broke his heart that anyone could treat any thing living this way.
Once they had arrived at his dwelling Obi-Wan laid Naita on his bed and went to change his clothes and prepare some disinfectant to clean her cuts. Slowly and respectively he peeled back the linen of her clothes that clung to her skin with blood and sweat. Gently he swabbed at each wound with ease cleaning the dried blood away and treating each one to a fresh gauze and bandage.
Her fingers were short and callused from all the work she had done throughout her life. Each part of her body was strong, each muscle defined. Obi-Wan admired such strength to take such a beating and he smiled a small bit as he continued to dress her wounds. He swabbed at the cut above her eye and she flinched opening them half way.
"Hmm… Ben?" She groaned groggily holding her head. "My head…feels so heavy."
He smiled down at her as he more or less forced her to lie back down trying to quiet her. "Shhh Naita. You need to rest now." He urged to her softly. "Lay your head back down…that's a good girl."
She eased back against the pillow shaking slightly, but smiling up at him as he continued to clean her up. Her eyes shut, and she sighed heavily.
"Im sorry." She said in a low tone.
Obi-Wan was taken aback by the statement and in a shocked voice asked: "Why, whatever for Naita?"
"For imposing on you like this."
He smiled some, brushing her hair back and pulling the cover up to her chin. "You're not imposing at all. I volunteered to take care of you until you were well again. But now, I want you to sleep." She nodded and relaxed against the pillow drifting into a deep state of unconsciousness.