Sabé peeked her head through the barely open door of Queen Amidala's bedchamber. It was midday and although dressed, the Queen had not made an appearance outside of her room. She had even cancelled all of her meetings for the day.
Sabé peered around the expansive room, finally seeing the Queen standing near one of the arched windows overlooking the gardens. Sighing to herself, Sabé resolved to leave her in peace and retreated quietly, closing the door behind her. She walked solemnly down the hallway, eventually brought out of her worried reverie by the voice of Rabé.
"Has she said anything to you?"
Sabé shook her head sadly. "No. And I don't like this at all. The doctor says there is nothing physically wrong with her, but..."
"I know." Rabé grasped ahold of her friend's arm in order to give her comfort as well as take some for herself. Together, they strolled in silence, painfully aware that there was little else they could do.
The midday sun was shining through the glass in front of her, but its rays failed to warm the skin they touched. Padmé felt bitterly cold and was beginning to wonder if she would ever feel warm again. Even though it was summer in Theed, the chill seemed to sink into her bones.
Since the Jedi Council had made its decision to separate her from Obi-Wan, she found herself incapable of feeling anything. Her days were monotonous hours of going through the motions of just surviving. Sometimes it was as if she needed to remind herself to breathe, and then wondered why she put forth the effort. It would be so easy to stop. To stop breathing, to stop...living. Maybe then the pain would stop.
Her pale, thin fingers reached out seeking warmth from the sun-touched glass, only to find it cool to her touch, as she expected it would be.
"Obi-Wan..." her mournful plea ghosted across the window's surface as her forehead fell lightly against the pane, her eyes drifting shut, a lone tear releasing from long, dark lashes.
Padmé slowly sank to the floor, her last coherent thought of how easy it would be to just stop.
--------------------------------
The metallic clang of the lightsaber hitting the steel floor echoed across the training arena.
Obi-Wan could faintly hear the voice of his Jedi friend, Bant calling out his name, but it seemed muffled and far away. His vision seemed blurred as well as he found himself lying on the floor, attempting to focus on the ceiling. It was almost as if he were underwater.
Maybe he had worked himself too hard. But he had too. The Council was expecting a lot out of him now that he was a Knight. They had already decided to send him on an important mission. He would be leaving tomorrow. Obi-Wan felt that in the meantime, aggressive training would be best. Maybe if he over-exerted himself, the pain would stop.
The council had sent Padmé back to Naboo without even giving him a chance to say goodbye. He had also completely shielded himself from communicating with her through their bond, thinking it would be easier.
There was nothing easy about this. It was a daily struggle just to function. The pain of their separation was a constant reminder of what he had lost, and it was not getting better. He had been reporting to Healer T'Pal every day for the past two weeks. She had very little help to offer him. It was with her recommendation however, that he had accepted this mission, with the belief that the bond would become less painful the further away from Naboo he could get. He would be in the Outer Rim for several months.
"Obi-Wan, can you hear me?" He could barely make out the garbled words of his friend as she hovered over him.
His mouth formed the words, "so tired," unsure if Bant heard them or not, before his eyes drifted shut. He would just sleep a little while. The pain didn't seem so bad now.