Padmé was awakened the next morning by the clank of a metallic tray. She leaned up on her elbows to see Kenobi consuming part of their breakfast. In between mouthfuls, he glanced her direction. "You'd better get up and eat and be quick about it."
"What's the rush?" She groggily replied.
"We're docking to pick up some supplies. You're coming with me."
"I will not."
He chuckled softly and took another bite. "You will and you'll wear this." Reaching behind him, he picked up a dark blue velvet cloak that lay across his own black one and tossed it her direction.
Exiting the ship after a hastily eaten meal, Padmé regretfully found herself walking closer and closer to her kidnapper. She was unsure of what planet they had landed on, but she was beginning to have a very bad feeling about it.
Their small party was soon accosted in the streets outside of the space dock by apparent beggars, who never got anywhere close to the captain, his crew keeping the mob at bay, violently when needed.
The pirates entered a rather seedy looking establishment, whose name she could not read since it was written in an unrecognizable language, but a quick study of the interior revealed the type of establishment she thought it might be. She finally got up the nerve to speak to her captor. "Where exactly are we?"
The drawn dark hood of his black cloak hid his features from her. "Seralia III."
Padmé stifled her gasp with her hand. A brothel planet. She pulled on her hood to further conceal her face.
"We'll be well hidden here amongst the other...scum." The shadow of his cloak hid his smile.
Grasping her elbow gently, he ushered her to a small corner table and motioned over his first officer, who immediately stood guard behind her. Kenobi left the area to join his other comrades at the bar. Padmé watched in repulsed horror as several of the pirates were now pawing over scantily dressed pleasure maidens, taking some of them away from the bar and down darkened hallways. She watched another approach the captain and Padmé felt a twinge of an undescribable feeling deep within her. She was surprised however, to see Kenobi brush the woman away with his hand, as he turned his attention once more to his drink. A nod of his head and Jarell was moving to his side, returning momentarily to grab Padmé by the arm and direct her down one of the dark halls.
She was taken and left in one of the pleasure rooms, its door shut and bolted from the outside. A quick glance around offered little entertainment. This place apparently served one purpose as the room offered a 'fresher, one chair, and a bed. She approached the latter, sat upon its squeaky mattress and waited.
She must have dozed off for a while, because when she awoke, the high window in the room was now darkened as was the small room. She leaned over to switch on a light, got up to use the 'fresher and came back and sat down upon the bed. No one had obviously come into the room since she was left here and she began to wonder if she had been completely forgotten.
The sudden metallic clank of the bolt being unlocked startled her, the door creaked open and Kenobi stumbled in, apparently quite drunk. He dropped his gun belt on the floor, slid out of his boots and barely made it to the bed before he passed out. Padmé sat in silent contemplation. The door was unlocked! If she could get out of this room and away from this building, perhaps there was someone on this wretched planet who could help her. She swung her legs off the bed, but her hopeful momentum was stopped by the clang of the bolt on the outside of the door. Damn!
She turned back to stare at the facedown form of the man on the bed. He was definitely out of it. Her eyes then focused on the boots and belt on the floor, which revealed a blaster. A blaster! She reached down and retrieved the gun, turned and crept back toward the bed. Taking aiming at his head, putting her finger on the trigger, she increased the pressure of her finger slightly before abruptly releasing it as she saw a smile spread across his face.
She couldn't do it. No matter how horrible the stories she had heard about this man were, he had done nothing to her. Maybe the stories weren't entirely true. He didn't seem cruel or vicious at all. In fact, when she had tried to kill him, all he had done was kiss her. He had kissed her and she had enjoyed it, and more amazing than that, she was really hoping that he would do it again, and soon.
His eyes squinted tightly as a result of the throbbing in his head. He had drank too much again. But this time, it wasn't entirely his fault. It was that woman! That damn princess! The sudden realization of a soft whisper of exhaled breath on his face caused his eyelids to fly open. He closed his eyes once more, squinted them tightly and re-opened them, to ensure that what he saw wasn't a remnant of a drunken hallucination. She was lying right in front of him, facing him on the bed, one hand curled under her sweet face, her lips pouting gently, a pleasant expression of peaceful slumber causing her to appear even more beautiful than she usually did.
Wait a minute! What was she doing in bed with him? Did they? Did he? His hand immediately flew to his chest and groin. Nope. He was fully dressed as was she, he noted as his eyes beheld her still clothed petite form. He sighed softly, greatly relieved and then frowned thunderously. He was falling in love with her. He knew that, but he also knew that if he even stood a chance of gaining her trust, he couldn't take advantage of her. He wouldn't force her, no matter what. She had to come to him, and readily. He just hoped it would be soon. It was a tremendous struggle to keep his hands off of her as she slept.
His heart seemed to skip a beat as if she had read his thoughts. Her small hand was suddenly reaching up to his face, and with a gentle caress along his cheek, her eyes fluttered open.
What was she doing? She immediately withdrew her hand as if it had been burned. Her look of shock was replaced by wonder. He was smiling at her, a big beautiful smile. His eyes were green this morning, not the usual gray-green, and they were glittering in the morning sunlight streaming through the small high window. The beauty of him released a smile of her own.
"How do you feel? Got a bit of a head?"
"A bit." His smile lessened slightly.
"Thought you'd be used to that by now. Don't pirates usually get drunk a lot?"
"Not usually, at least not me." His smile was now a quirky grin, which Padmé found quite charming.
His heart rate had increased dramatically at the warmth of her gaze and thatgorgeous smile. He had hoped that their relationship would evolve, but he was surprised it had happened so soon. He had expected her to at least try to kill him one more time, he thought as his hand absentmindedly reached for his gun belt. His head came up suddenly as his hand gripped nothing but cloth.
Padmé hadn't missed the motion or the reaction. "Your boots and gun belt are on the chair."
He relaxed once more, propping his head up against his bent arm, staring down at the vision before him. She had had the chance to kill him and she didn't. Things were improving, indeed. And the way she was looking at him now -- an unmistakable invitation, and one he found he could not refuse. Bending down slightly, his intention was clear, as his eyes fell to her slightly parted and moistened lips.
"Captain!" Jarell burst into the room just at that moment.
They both released frustrated sighs at the same time and an exasperated Obi-Wan turned to face his first officer. "Yes?"
"A Star Destroyer has come out of hyperspace and an imperial shuttle is entering the atmosphere."
One word escaped Kenobi, sounding worse than any four-letter expletive he could think of. "Maul!"