The Price of Freedom
Disclaimer: I do not have any affliation with the Star Wars saga or George Lucas.
Spoilers: None
The soft beads of cold sweat clung to his skin, twisting his long orange whiskers that clung to his pale flesh, forcing him to stir out of his unrequited dreams that haunted him during the most common of nights. He had propped himself up, turning the silky green sheets that covered his body to move down his body to reveal the simple Jedi pyjamas that had been designated for all to wear, only a few had refused to wear the tanned outfit claiming the hot itch of the material kept them from fulfilling any hours of sleep.
He had still, taking in the night air that brushed the white curtains into a dance that he was all to farmiliar with when he awoke from one of the nightmares that caused him pain and torment. The breeze had done little to remove the harsh sweat that formed on his body, except to pull him from the bed that the senator in her taskfully duty had prepared for him, until his duty as one of her guardians was served to the point that the senate could accept that she was safe beyond doubt.
The ball had gone by uneventful except for the ease of his former padawan's hatred and dislike for the man that was prince of a planet that in its own nature was barbaric and cruel to any of the people that they considered to be less than worthy of kindness. He had not questioned the feelings of the man that under his watchful eye had grown from a youngling into a man, and from there into a Knight under the protocol of the Order that both swore to uphold no matter their own bodily desires, he already knew why Anakin Skywalker detested the man without even having to retrieve a thought from his own personal memories to back up the reasoning.
Ropa had picked up on it too, it had been plain to anyone observing the two men in the heat of a near confrontation after a simple mistake one of the twins had made, which lead to an unexplained crash of a table which held a cake with two small figurines of Ropa and Padme on the top to crash into the crowned prince. Soaking him with the baked treat and its outer creams. He had not been the least bit amused by the antics of either twin, threatening to have them expelled from the comfort of the life that they currently lead for something he had promised to be worse once he married the woman who played the role mother to them, to the point that he had raised his fist to hit the small blond child that stood quietly before him, trembling with fear that his sister did not paramount at all.
His sister had spat back at him, words that to his surprise the three year old had placed into her vocabulary with the ease of a woman far beyond her age, though her childlike voice did not deter at all. Padme had in her own attempt grasped at the man's hand to stop him from slapping the boy, though it had not done much and the boy had fallen to the ground, with a loud cry of pain as he held his cheek firmly where the hand had made its stinging contact.
Anakin had been quick to react, drawing and igniting his green lightsaber and bringing it to the man's throat as he violently clutched the senator's arm, causing her to whine in pain. Her eyes had been frantic searching over the man's facial expression that in his own rage grew dark and foreboding. Ropa had released her, staring into the deep blue of the man's pupils before spitting a comment that had lead to a promise that if a day came, and the situation was correct, they would meet in combat against one another to draw one's life away from the other.
The ball had dispatched shortly after, though Anakin had left smuggling the two children beneath both of his arms with the certain permission of the senator to act in such a manner. He had found Anakin when he had arrived back with the senator and her family, reading to the two children a story of a Tatoonie and the evil sorcress that had taken the land and produced the sands that plagued the people out of spite for their treatment of her and her evil ways, and from her evil ways came to souls that in their own heroic exploits and eventual death had killed the sorcress and created the single sea that provided much of the water to the inhabitants plus the technology to withdraw moisture from the otherwise barren land that no amount of magic could undue.
The child Leia had greeted the story with laughter, as the name that she herself was bestowed with at birth had appeared alongside the name of her twin brother, before she placed light kisses onto the bronzed skin of the man, without a doubt or a question that he would not accept them. The boy Luke, had remained quiet, the stain of Ropa's hand had remained burnt onto his flesh, as Anakin pulled the sheets about the boy planting a kiss on the boy's brow before extinguishing the light in the hopes that they would fall into a deep slumber without any trouble.
The charms of the night had spilled away from the room, as the sun lifted itself up from the horizon demanding another day be done. Anakin and Padme had spoke briefly about escaping to another resort with the children, requesting that Obi-Wan stay to protect her family in case the assassin was to think that she had remained. After an hour's worth of debate and tedious questions, he had agreed to the senator's conditions. She would be fine with Anakin and the children, and he could inform her of any new activities that aroused themselves under the name of her wanted death.
She had smiled at him, before slipping away to her own bedroom chambers with an eye of mystery to her appearance as she stared longingly back into the living room at the younger man. The whisper of a secret on her lips, though Obi-Wan in his own attempts could not read it, no matter how hard he had tried. The only thing that he could get from Anakin was that she wished to escape for a few days before she was to marry the nightmare of her dreams, prompting Obi-Wan to promise not to tell of their location to anyone including her own family and fiance.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: Sorry for not updating this story sooner, I have been busy with other things, especially school work. I hope you all liked this chapter, I had a bit of trouble starting this one and including Obi-Wan into it. I figured that he had pretty much became a background character and since his character in his own respects is one of the best characters in the Star Wars saga I could not allow that to happen. Hopefully I will be back sooner rather than later with the next chapter of this story.