Chapter 5 - Peaceful Pleasures

Obi-Wan had woken up with the sun, surprised to find that the temperature hadn't went up very much from the night before, but at least it was bearable. He exhaled and saw the fog as his hot breath mingled with the cold air. Removing one arm from the warm body at his side he rubbed his eyes.

Mariska didn't wake up from his movements and he started to get anxious. Maybe the cold was effecting her differently. He didn't have time to think about it too much as he heard someone walking outside their small shelter.

"Master jedi!"

The voice seemed to be full of authority and Mariska woke up. Looking up at Obi-Wan's face she felt the warmth leave her as he shifted away to crawl out from under the brush.

"I'm here."

Three soldiers turned around when they heard the distinct voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was brushing twigs off his robe as Mariska exited the small shelter.

"The Supreme Lord had us come looking for you. We were afraid you had gotten lost and hoped you found some shelter, the winds were expecially brutal last night."

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. "Oh yes, they were. We managed however, thank you."

The first soldier nodded and handed the jedi two horses for them to ride. "These are two of the Lord's finest stallions. They are for you to ride on till we get to the palace. A very good breakfast is waiting for you also as well as warm baths and clothing."

Obi-Wan bowed repectfully and helped Mariska on her horse.

SW

The palace was huge, large marble staircases and walls wound through the land and Mariska looked up to see the top most steeple. "Look Obi-Wan, that's where you will be sleeping every night till we leave here."

"Very unlikely. If that is where they intend for me to sleep I will refuse."

"So you intend to sleep under the brush?"

Obi-Wan gave her a sideways look and looked back up to the steeple.

"Master jedi! How wonderful it is to see that you are here safely. If I would have known you were going to be out all night I would have warned you about the weather. You both looked chilled to the bone, come in and warm yourselves."

Obi-Wan looked at Mariska who was wondering the same thing. 'Who was that?'

The guard seemed to sence their confusion. "That was the Lord's wife, Narissa. Please, she is very well tempered and loves to have guests. No doubt you will both be pampered while you are here."

'Oh great.' Obi-Wan thought to himself. The last time he was 'pampered' he was followed around all day by a young girl from Hija who seemed to have a never ending list of questions for him about everything ranging from 'Why is the sky blue?' to "What is the difference between girls and boys?" Obi-Wan decided that her parents would probably not like him to be the one to explain the different anatomies of the male and female body. Chuckling softly to himself at the memory he lowered himself off the horse and helped Mariska.

"Are you alright?"

He watched as she closed her eyes to center herself and get her balance. "I'm fine Obi-Wan, just a little chilled is all. Let me take a warm bath and change out of these clothes and I'll be fine."

Obi-Wan was a little skeptical but nodded and walked with her into the castle.

"Welcome to the palace Master Jedi. I am Sampson, Lord Haitius's son."

The two jedi bowed to him and Mariska felt her stomach churn. She would have introduced herself but Obi-Wan sensed her discomfort and didn't trust her to speak.

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is Mariska Oghan, we are both jedi knights here to serve you."

The boy, Sampson, wasn't looking at Obi-Wan but rather at his friend. The jedi caught his glance and she raised her eyes.

"Forgive me, it's just that you look flushed Knight Oghan."

"Thank you for your concern, I will go clean up and shall be ready in a few moments."

"No need for the rush, the council doesn't meet for a few hours. Please, let me show you to your rooms."

The two jedi nodded and followed the younger boy down the hall to two large double doors. When he opened them Mariska had to bite off a gasp. The rooms were beautiful. Two red satin couches sat facing each other with a small table in the middle, a kitchenette was off to the side with chrome framework and lace table cloths. She was anxious to see the rest.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened in surpise when he saw the room, he didn't know getting pampered was going to be this ravishing.

"You like it? We have other rooms for you to choose from, my mother just thought the two of you would like this best." He said, shifting his gaze to the floor and trying to find the courage for his next words. "It was the room my parents stayed in when they were first married."

Obi-Wan caughed and Mariska laughed a little. "Oh I believe you have it all wrong. Me and Obi-Wan are partners on this mission together, not life partners." She said and giggled some more.

Obi-Wan thought he was a teenager again haveing to deal with giggly girls.

"Well, the whole kingdom heard of Obi-Wan Kenobi and his wife coming. I'm sorry if this complicates things. Don't worry though I'm sure no one will notice, we know jedi aren't very forward with their emotions." He said looked Mariska over again which was starting to annoy Obi-Wan.

"It can be our little secret." He said and winked before he left.

Obi-Wan stood staring at him as he left. "Can you believe him?" He said when they walked into the rooms fully and closed the door.

"What? I'm not surprized Obi, let's just argue fruitlessly over who gets the bed tonight, which will be me, and then get ready to go to the council tonight."

"Yeah alright. I want the bed."

"No."

"Okay."

Mariska laughed and went into the bedroom. "Obi-Wan, come here."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and walked in, he was rooted to the spot. "Wow."

The bed was a beautiful perfect white with a canopy that streatched almost to the high ceiling. The winows were large, letting in the most sunlight. The carpet felt good even though he was still wearing his boots.

"Obi-Wan what do you think?"

"I want the bed." He said and jumped on it.

Mariska rolled her eyes and opened the dresser drawers. Inside there was beautifuly hand made undergarments, blouses, skirts, and the occasional pant. "Obi-Wan, we even have clothes." She said and held out some of the items.

He looked over at her and bounced a few more times on the bed. "It's squishy."

"You're not paying attention!" She said and sneezed.

"Maybe you should go take that bath now."

She nodded in agreement and opened the closet to look for a robe. "Obi-Wan,"

"I don't want to hear my name any more today." He said and closed his eyes.

Mariska decided to play along. "Fine, I guess you don't want to see this very revealing pajama set I just found in the closet."

Shocked Obi-Wan looked and found himself upset when he saw her holding a beautiful blue dress. "That's not a pajama set."

Mariska laughed. "Come on Obi, I was joking."

He grunted and buried his head in the pillow.

"Well have a nice nap, I'm going to take a bath."

He grunted again and smiled.

TBC

I know it's short but I had to get this chapter out before I went back to school today. Expect Qui-Gon and Anakin soon. Review!

The chapters will be longer also, even though it's been a while since I've written less than 1000 words but that's not very much...