Chapter Twelve

Obi-Wan found his master meditating in the ship's lounge on one of two couches there. Obi-Wan was grateful there were two. The Neimoidian vessel was small, with only one sleeping unit, and the couches were not long enough to accomodate his Master's long frame. But he never heard Qui-Gon complain. They had slept on much worse.

He joined Qui-Gon's posture on the matching seat and waited. Some time later, Qui-Gon's eyes fluttered open, but instead of the small grin Obi-Wan was accustomed to seeing, he noticed a frown etching the older man's face.

"What is it?"

Qui-Gon chose his words carefully. During his meditation, he had seen two possible futures -- one in which Obi-Wan risked his very status as a Jedi. He stared at the young man seated across from him.

He's no longer a boy, he argued with himself. He is twenty-two years of age. He will be a knight in just a few years.

He must make his own decisions, even if they aren't the right ones.

"You have helped her recover her memories."

"Yes, Master."

"Did you find anything of significance?" Qui-Gon stretched his long legs out in front of him and leaned back against the wall.

"I'm afraid not. I saw a shadow of her abductor, but it was too dark. He has a beard and wears a dark hooded cloak, but that's all I can tell you."

Qui-Gon was silent for a moment before replying, and then proceeded with a statement that he found surprisingly difficult to say. "She obviously trusts you, padawan. Perhaps once you have spent more time with her, she will share what she has been through. Only then will she begin to heal."

"Yes, Master."

The Jedi Master was then on his feet and walking back toward the cockpit of the ship. "Let me know if she reveals anything of relevance."

Obi-Wan watched him leave the area, becoming increasingly confused. He could feel his Master's worry through their bond. But what was he worried about? The Queen?

Obi-Wan withdrew the pendant from inside his tunic, opened the locket and looked again at the pictures inside. A small smile eased onto his face as he took in the beauty of the young woman. However, he quickly shut the locket and his head shot up as the realization struck him.

Qui-Gon was worried about him. He was worried about him becoming attached to this young woman! That had to be it.

He liked her, that was obvious, but they were developing no more than a friendship, weren't they? He did enjoy listening to her and talking to her. She was a strong and beautiful young woman.

Beautiful.

Obi-Wan was not unfamiliar with the charms of beautiful women. During their missions, he had had his share of offers, but his heart belonged to the Jedi Order. It was not in danger. Was it?

No. He was merely helping a younglady get through a most difficulttime in her life. She trusted him. He wanted to help her, and as long as he could, he would. Simple as that.

He tossed the necklace up into the air, caught it as it fell back into his palm and then tucked it back into his tunics, stood and walked back toward the sleeping unit where he had left Padmé some time before.

He knocked on the sleeping quarters' door but received no reply. He turned then, following his instincts back down into the belly of the ship, into the cargo bay, where he found Padmé sitting on a stack of crates almost reaching the ceiling. He began to climb the adjacent stack and soon was seated slightly above her.

"Did you sleep?" He asked as he tucked his legs underneath him.

"Not very long. I never do. I have dreams, and they aren't good ones I'm afraid." She glanced up at Obi-Wan.

"Want to talk about it?"

She smiled as she met the sincerity in the green-gray eyes gazing down at her. Never before could she remember feeling so comfortable with someone, especially lately.

"When I was taken from the palace, I was put aboard a transport ship. It was crowded with beings of several races." Her eyes shut as she accessed the painful memory. "There was barely enough room to sit down. I was scared to death."

She opened her eyes to look back up into Obi-Wan's, and found the comfort and strength she needed there to continue.

"I don't know where we landed. It was dark and then someone grabbed me and started shoving me out the exit ramp. We were loaded onto another transport and taken to some type of storage building. I actually thought the worse was over until that night. I woke up to see the most hideous face I had ever seen. It's the face I see in my dreams."

"What did this face look like? Did you recognize the race?" Obi-Wan questioned her, hoping to glean some evidence from her description.

"His face was tattooed, red and black. I didn't notice the horns in his head until much later, after he had begun raping me."

Obi-Wan watched as Padmé began to shake and tears began falling from her eyes, but he did not move from his position on the top of the crate. He sat still, hoping that she would continue, for her own sake.

"I stayed with him for a while. I'm not sure how long. I guess he got tired of me,because he took me back to the storage building. There were not as many beings there now, but they all were shackled, and soon, so was I." Padmé absentmindedly rubbed the diminished scar on her wrist.

"I was taken to my first auction and was bought by a man. At first, I thought I was lucky. He appeared quite wealthy and friendly, and at least he was human." She laughed slightly, despite the pain revealed on her face. "But I was wrong. He was one of the worst. He beat me, and I never understood why. After that, something in me just snapped. I knew I wouldn't survive this, so I figured I might as well die fighting."

Obi-Wan wanted so badly to reach out to her in some way to comfort her, but he still did not move. He began to think that her silence declared the end of her story, but then she began speaking again, this time much quieter, and he had to strain to hear her voice.

"I was bought by another man. A senator. He liked to put me on display in front of his friends. It was completely humilitating. It was at that point that I decided to put an end to it, one way or another. So...I killed him."

She glanced back to Obi-Wan to read his face, and smiled gently as she saw nothing but support there. "They arrested me and took me to Raxus Prime. I was actually glad. At least I would no longer be a slave….or so I thought. But then the prisoners started telling me rumors about the warden operating a slave ring from inside the prison."

She stood then, walking toward the crate on which Obi-Wan sat, and stopped, her eyes directly across from his. "If you hadn't found me, Obi-Wan, I wouldn't be here today. I would have killed myself. I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me any…."

Obi-Wan didn't finish his sentence as he found his mouth immediately occupied by a soft kiss. Quickly recovering from his shock, he pushed Padmé gently away.

"Padmé…"

"Please, Obi-Wan, I need this. It's been so long since I've felt anything other than pain. Please."

Obi-Wan looked into the dark eyes that were beseeching him, his furrowed brow softening, his head turning slightly, allowing the full red lips to meet his once more.