Disclaimer: all main characters (except Khalee) are owned by Lucasfilms. I just borrowed them for a bit.

AN: Good grief, where do I go from here!

Chapter 8

After lying on her bed for hours, trying to make the memory of his hands on her face disappear, Khalee decided that she couldn't hide from what happened. Why did it have to happen at all? Am I being punished? Over the past few hours, she severely berated her emotions for becoming tangled with thoughts of him…all the time it seemed. She was beginning to lose sight of why she was really there…to be a friend to her sister and uncover the truth behind why someone would want to hurt her.

Resigning herself to a long day, Khalee got up and walked over to her window so slowly it seemed she had lead in her legs. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cool glass. This must be resolved…and soon.

Khalee pushed herself away from the window and walked out to the kitchen, where she found Sunya readying a pot of tea and a fruit salad for her. "Good morning Sunya," Khalee said with a slight smile as she inhaled deeply the sweet scent of ripe fruit.

"Good morning, my lady. How are you this morning?" Sunya observed her master as she scooped the fruit into a bowl and set it in front of Khalee. Sunya had always known when something was bothering her sweet friend, and was hoping she could pry it out of her.

Khalee speared a piece of fruit and placed it in her mouth. Closing her eyes as the sweet, heavenly juices trickled down her throat, she sighed. "I am about as good as I can get. This fruit is delicious!" Khalee smiled at Sunya, tucking her musings about last night away. "Padme and I talked a long time last night, and I fear I have let my weariness overcome me. I cannot believe I slept so long."

Sunya knew that there was more to the story, but knew best not to pry when she gazed at her master. Whenever Khalee got that look in her eyes, Sunya knew better than to try. It would most likely result in yelling and things mysteriously combusting. "It was not so long," Sunya smiled as she poured Khalee a cup of tea. "Lady Padme is still in bed and it is not yet mid-morning."

Khalee turned around and looked towards her sister's bedroom door and sighed. "Well," Khalee said as she turned back towards the table, "I guess I should wake her. We have a long and strenuous day ahead." Khalee stood up and walked towards her sister's bedroom door. Stopping just before it, she turned back to Sunya. "Khalee's not a morning person…I suggest having a cup of strong tea and some toast ready when I come out." Khalee laughed at the thought of her sister's temper in the morning, something only she had ever been able to handle. When Sunya nodded and set to work preparing Padme's morning fare, Khalee turned and knocked on her sister's door and opened it before hearing an answer.

Padme was having an amazing dream…the lake house, a white dress, and a temperamental Jedi…it all seemed so real. She groaned aloud when she was rudely pulled from the dream by a knock at her door. Rolling over, she opened her eyes and saw her sister close the door behind her.

"You better have a really good reason for waking me." Padme mumbled into her pillow as her sister opened the curtains on the windows. Padme screamed into her pillow as the bright light reached her eyes. "Are you trying to kill me!" She yelled as she rolled onto her back and covered her eyes with her hands.

Khalee chuckled, something she knew would aggravate her sister even more. "Get up, sleepyhead. We have a long day today." After catching a mumbled reply, Khalee walked over to the bed and stared down at her sister with a devilish smile on her face. "Don't make me make you get out of bed," Khalee grinned mischievously as she saw a look of annoyance and anger flash across Padme's tired face.

Knowing that she should either relent or face being forcefully dragged from her bed, something that had happened too often over the past few weeks, Padme opened her eyes and sat up. "You sure do know how to bug the cheer out of me," she grumbled and she got out of bed.

Smiling as she turned towards the door and opened it, Khalee looked back at her sister, who was putting on her robe. "Hey, what are sisters for?" Padme smiled, quite a concession for having just been rudely awakened. The two sisters walked into the kitchen to a patient Sunya pouring tea for Padme.

"Thank you for breakfast, Sunya," Padme said with a smile as she sat down. Completely amazed at the kindness she was constantly offered from Padme, Sunya curtsied. "You are very welcome, my lady." Looking at the two women, she placed the pot of tea on the table. Knowing she had work to do, Sunya turned and headed to each of the sister's rooms to pick out outfits for the day ahead.

Khalee watched Sunya leave, content in the fact that her handmaiden was so observant as to her needs. She was always aware of what needed to be done and usually did so without asking for guidance. That was always the mark of a good handmaiden. Khalee turned back to Padme, and smiled. "So, how many hours until we can sleep again?"

"Too many," Padme frowned, wishing desperately that she could go back to bed. "Too many."

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Khalee looked out the window, longing for just one moment away from all the bureaucratic talk. She and Padme had literally been locked in the same room all day. Lunch had even been served at the meeting table. Apparently, the concern on Naboo over the growing number of rumors of unrest in the rest of the galaxy really got all the council members worked up. Herself and the two Jedi knights were the only "outsiders" in the meeting. Throughout the whole day, she had tried not to look across the table at Obi-Wan, but she continued to be drawn to him.

He had managed to maintain his composure all day long, something Khalee had tried, but the past hour had severely grated her already frayed nerves. Watching him, she noticed that he was diplomatic and had an air about him that calmed even the most frantic council member. Staring out at the sunset she was missing, she rolled her eyes as the same topic was again rehashed.

Glancing across the room again, she found the Jedi knight's eyes on her with a questioning gaze. He seemed curious about her state of being. She sent him a look as if to say, I'm fine, but I would rather be somewhere else. Getting the meaning of her glance, Obi-Wan smiled briefly and then was again drawn into the debate. Being on the outside looking in isn't always fun, Khalee thought as she again relaxed her face so that her annoyance with the day's proceedings would not show.

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After another grueling hour of listening to concern's over the galaxy, the Queen called an end to the meeting. On her way out, Khalee and Padme were pulled aside by the Supreme Chancellor, who had come to his home planet on a short visit.

"My dear Khalee, you look wonderful!" Palpatine exclaimed as he bowed to the beautiful woman. "How are you enjoying your visit to Naboo?"

Khalee bowed her head at the Chancellor and smiled. "I am flattered, your highness. Thank you. My visit has been wonderful." Smiling back at her, Palpatine turned and gestured to the Jedi knights, who were exiting the room. The two Jedi bowed to the Chancellor and walked over to him. "Gentlemen, I would be sorely remiss in my duties if I allowed these two exceptional women to wander the palace grounds alone tonight. It would be an honor to me if you would escourt them." Leaving no room for either of the women to protest, Palpatine bowed and exited the room.

Khalee continued to watch the Chancellor as he left. That was an interesting request, Khalee thought uneasily. It wasn't just the thought that she felt as though she had been scolded by her grandfather. It was that she would be forced into the company of Obi-Wan for the rest of the evening.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and attempted to calm himself. After hearing the Chancellor's request, his stomach began doing back flips, as if to remind him of the events earlier that morning. Part of him, his logical and professional side, kept telling him (in the voice of his former master) to forget about what happened and move on. His other half, the boisterous and inconsolable side, kept telling him that she was someone special and that he should see where it could go. Unfortunately for Obi-Wan, both sides were right.

Anakin, smiling and internally rejoicing at having been asked by the Chancellor to escourt the sisters for the evening, walked over to them and bowed. "My ladies, it appears we have our orders." Padme smiled at him and then looked sideways at her sister. Khalee was lost in her own world, staring out the door as if she could still see the Chancellor. Padme poked her sister to bring her back to reality. Maybe she's losing her mind…

Khalee glared at her sister after being so rudely handled. She noticed that Padme had already taken Anakin's arm. Rolling her eyes, she watched the two walk through the doorway, leaving her alone with Obi-Wan. Feeling her heart jump into her throat and her stomach become infested with butterflies, Khalee weakly smiled at Obi-Wan. "So, should we follow them?"

Obi-Wan smirked at Khalee. "Why? Don't you trust them?"

"No, I trust my sister. I'm just not so sure about your Padawan." Knowing that she was baiting, Khalee turned and walked to the doorway, stopping and looking back over her shoulder at Obi-Wan, who stood sulking. "You coming? After all, it was an order!" Khalee laid on the sweetness thick as she verbally twisted the bait.

Obi-Wan followed Khalee from the room and continued to glower at her back until they made it outside to the courtyard. His worse half getting the better of him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him.

Khalee felt herself rudely come up against something very solid and manly. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she turned to see a fuming Obi-Wan staring down at her. "Who are you to question my loyalty!"

Twisting herself away from the Jedi, Khalee faced him. "You have no right to handle me that way!" Balancing on the edge of her anger, Khalee's eyes narrowed into deadly slits. "And if you ever touch me like that again, I will remove your reason for being a man!"

Stepping closer to the fuming female, amazed at the depth of her anger at this moment, Obi-Wan glared at Khalee. "As if you could. I seriously doubt you learned anything from Maani."

Khalee could not believe the audacity of the Jedi. Staring at him, she regained her composure. "I learned more from Maani than you will ever know." Turning, Khalee fled from the Jedi, leaving a stunned man behind to wonder what she had learned.

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Khalee flopped down on the couch in front of the fireplace. Sunya had been dismissed for the evening, but had set out some tea and dessert cakes and lit the fireplace before leaving. Khalee was somehow grateful for the solitude. She had fairly ran back to the apartment after her spat with Obi-Wan.

Why do I let him frustrate me like this! Feeling the need to calm herself with exercise, Khalee locked the apartment door. She strode in to her room and locked her bedroom door. After lighting a solitary candle, she closed the curtains, making sure that no light could escape. Khalee walked over to her dresser and opened the bottom drawer that contained a hidden, locked compartment. This was where she hid her biggest secret.

Waving her hand over the compartment, it opened and revealed a box of green velvet encasing a silver handcrafted casing containing a very powerful weapon. Closing her eyes as she felt the Force coursing through her, she picked up the weapon she had spent many, many grueling, sleepless nights crafting. Walking to the center of the room, she held it out in front of her and activated it. Pure, glorious white light surrounded her as she felt the hum of the lightsaber. She became enveloped in the Force at that moment, the fluidity of long-practiced motions emptying her mind as only it could. She was truly herself in those moments.

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Obi-Wan walked around the palace, looking for sanctuary where he could hide from his thoughts. He could not believe the things he had said. That was not like him. Being forced in to the company of a beautiful woman used to not bother him. But when he was around Khalee, all logic fled him and he became only a man with many unchecked emotions coursing through him. Realizing that he could not rest until he apologized to her, he walked the familiar path to her sister's apartment.

Arriving at the door, he felt the strangest sensation enveloping it. He felt, no he saw the pure beauty of the Force surrounding the apartment. Completely entranced by the speaking of the Force, he placed his hand on the door. Abruptly, the spell was broken and he was set adrift again in his sea of the Force. Strange, for a moment there I felt connected to someone else in the Force…

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Khalee felt the man at the door. It interrupted her movements and caused her to lose her concentration. Swearing words no woman should ever utter, she turned off her lightsaber and placed it in its hiding place. Freshening herself, she realized how calm she was. She no longer felt angry. She felt peace.

Khalee opened the curtains and then let herself out of her room. Calmly, she opened the front door and saw Obi-Wan's confused face staring at her. "Obi-Wan…to what do I owe this unexpected…pleasure?" Khalee leaned against the door as she stared blankly at him.

"I came here to apologize for my actions earlier. I cannot for the life of me understand what I was thinking." Looking at her as if he saw her clearly for the first time, he smiled. Obi-Wan saw her pure, kind soul and knew that her past had not been easy. She had been fighting for quite some time now against her own destiny, and it was something he admired in her.

Returning Obi-Wan's smiled, Khalee opened the door wider as an invitation. "Well, since we're supposed to be in each other's company this evening, why not come in?" Khalee took a deep breath and caught a whiff of his manly scent as he walked through the door. She turned and saw him settle himself on the couch in front of the fire. Closing the door, she walked in to the living room and stared at him with one hand on her hip. "I'll have you know you are in my spot."

Smirking, Obi-Wan stood up, moved ever so slightly to the left, and sat back down. Chuckling, Khalee walked over and sat next to him. "You think you're so clever, don't you?"

Sitting forward, Obi-Wan clasped his hands together in an effort to keep them from having a mind of their own. "Khalee, may I ask you something?" Surprised that he was being so informal with her, Khalee nodded. "Why are you hiding from yourself?"

Shocked that he had asked her the very question that had been plaguing her thoughts for the past few weeks, Khalee stood up and walked to the window. Her breaths came quicker as she teetered dangerously on the edge of losing her composure. "I don't know…maybe because I always have…"

Coming to stand behind her to offer some kind of support, Obi-Wan looked down at the nape of her neck and suddenly became very warm. "What happened to you to make you want that?" He felt as though his heart had been wrenched from his chest when she began to sob into her hands. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he turned her around and pulled her to him, holding her until she stopped sobbing uncontrollably.

Khalee became enveloped by Obi-Wan's comforting arms around her and let go. She let go of all the hurt and anguish she had felt over the years. In her moments with the Force that short time ago, she knew she had been fooling herself. The Force was so pure, so honest, and it had been asking her to be true to herself for years. But, for some reason, whenever she was almost there, her mother's cruel words on Khalee's last days on Naboo would turn her cold and unfeeling again. Now, with Obi-Wan holding her, she felt the poison of her past being drawn from her wounded heart.

When her breathing again became steady, Obi-Wan pulled away from Khalee slightly to look at her face. She looked more lovely than any woman he had ever known. "Are you alright?" He placed his finger beneath her chin and turned her face towards him. He became completely lost in her starry eyes when she looked at him and smiled. "Thank you, Obi-Wan."

Pushing away from him, Khalee walked in to the kitchen and poured two mugs of tea. Needing something else to occupy her at the moment, she found a serving tray and placed the dessert cakes and tea on them and walked back in to the living room. There she found Obi-Wan seated on the couch- not in her spot- waiting for her to tell her story.

AN: I am just full of updates today! You know what to do! ;-)