"This way Knight Kenobi." Captain Panaka motioned beyond the hangar to the entrance to the main palace. "Queen Amidala is expecting you."
His feet felt like lead. His hands were sweating. His mouth was parched. This wasn't nerves. This was sheer panic!
But underneath it all, with every labored step, was a calmness welling up in his soul, a bubbling spring of contentment -- the source of that spring just a few steps away.
He didn't pay attention to the extravagant pink feathered gown that she wore, or the equally extravagant arched headdress. The only thing he saw was the dark eyes that locked onto him, pulling him to her like a ship caught in a tractor beam. It took every ounce of his control to stop his movements and slow his increased respirations.
Padmé glanced at the trio of handmaidens that stood beside her, certain that they could hear the fluttering of her heart. She intentionally took a deep breath and let it out slowly in order to calm her nerves.
Captain Panaka was escorting him. He would be here very shortly. She knew that as a fact, even though she could not yet see him, could not yet hear his footfalls. She could feel him. It was that now all-too-familiar urging within her heart.
He was now in the room moving toward her and that urging was becoming so powerful, she wasn't sure that she could resist it. What would he do if she ran to him and flung herself into his arms?
As of their own volition, her legs flexed to do just that, and she had to physically restrain them. It was if her body had a mind of its own, and that mind had only one focus: Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"We appreciate your prompt arrival, Knight Kenobi." Panaka was addressing him, and he knew it was rude of him, but for some reason, he was absolutely incapable of tearing his eyes away from the dark brown gaze that was now fixed upon him.
"The mining corporation leaders will be here for negotiations and dinner shortly. If you would accompany us, we are heading for the dining hall now."
With just a quick glance at Panaka, Obi-Wan accepted his invitation before returning once more to Padmé's captive gaze.
Panaka's own eyes shot back and forth between the Jedi and the Queen, before touching her arm to move her in the direction of the dining hall. Obi-Wan followed behind them.
The handmaidens brought up the rear, falling back slightly.
"What was up with that?" Rabé whispered to Yané.
"You're telling me! Did you see the way she was staring at him? I mean, he's hot and all that, but really." Yané shot back.
Rabé leaned once more toward Yané. "There's something going on."
"More than you both realize." Sabé informed them. "Her highness hasn't been eating lately and she's beginning to lose weight. She's also been acting strange latelyand asking weird questions. If you ask me, I think she's in love."
"In love!"
"Shhh!" Rabé scolded Yané for her raised voice.
"That's impossible!" Yané continued, quieter now.
"Why?"
"Because Jedi are forbidden to fall in love. He's just going to break her heart." Sabé informed them, her voice more hushed than even before.
The trio continued slowly, keeping their distance from the company walking ahead of them, ensuring the privacy of their conversation.
"What are we going to do?" Yané asked.
"The only thing we can do! Our job. Protect the Queen. We have to keep them separated until he leaves."
Three heads nodded in unison as they finally entered the dining hall.