Chapter Eight

When Padmé awoke, she couldn't tell if it was day or night. She rose to look out one of the low round open windows, surprised to see it wasn't raining. She moved back to the bed and glanced to the place where Obi-Wan had been sleeping, but noticed he wasn't there.

"Obi-Wan?" She called out in a whisper, but received no reply. Quickly putting on the long cream-colored tunic that nearly reached her knees, she slipped her feet into the heavy boots and crept out the door.

Peering through the misty haze that hung thickly in the atmosphere, she could barely make out his robed form standing just down the bank at the edge of the swamp. Contemplating whether to interrupt his privacy or return to Yoda's hut, she chose to approach him, deciding that she had avoided him long enough.

Padmé moved up to Obi-Wan's side and was about to speak when he hushed her with a finger to his pursed lips and then motioned out onto the swamp.

Flittering just above the surface was a swarm of winged creatures – their bodies glowing with prismatic light. Padmé couldn't tell if they were insects, but assumed they were since they were too small to be birds.

The group of glowing life forms seemed to be performing some sort of dance over the water, dipping and diving in perfect rhythm, swirling around each other in intricate patterns until forming a vortex of color moving slowly over the murky surface.

"Watch." Obi-Wan told her quietly.

The swirling movement of the creatures slowed and suddenly the vortex burst, colors of an entire spectrum rocketing up and out, painting the mist that floated about them. It left Padmé speechless for just a moment.

"That was…amazing." She whispered into the fog that had resorted back to its natural hue.

"The Living Force is strong here." Obi-Wan explained. "Those were glow moths."

Bugs. I was right. Padmé grinned to herself.

"They called to me during my sleep."

"They called to you?" She asked, somewhat intrigued.

"Yes." Obi-Wan's eyes still looked out over the marshy waters. "I believe we just witnessed a type of mating ritual that occurs only once a season. Their presence was so strong in the Force because of that, it woke me. They didn't wake you too did they?" He asked, glancing down to her.

"Oh, no." Padmé responded. "I don't know what woke me up. Being on a strange place, I guess. And Dagobah is a little strange." She noted looking about her at the moss-covered trees, the heavy fog and murky swamp. "But what we witnessed just now was …beautiful. There is beauty here, if you know where to look."

"Yes…there is." Obi-Wan replied in a tone of voice that drew Padme's attention.

Her heart pounded as she met his steady and soft blue-green gaze, accepting the compliment with a slight blush and then accepted his kiss with a quickly escalating passion.

Her hands immediately moved to twine about his neck while his pressed against her back, pulling her even closer. When his tongue traced along her bottom lip, Padmé felt her knees weaken, and when she met the caress of his tongue with her own and drew him inside the warmth of her mouth, she began to quiver. The kiss deepened until Padmé felt dizzy and was trembling with desire, but then to her disappointment she felt Obi-Wan pull away.

"Are you cold?" His words came out in a fog that quickly disappeared into the mist.

"No." She managed to reply, wrapping her arms about him even tighter, wishing he would kiss her again.

I'm on fire and I actually think I may be melting -- she wanted to say, but for too many times to count these past few days, the words wouldn't come out.

Obi-Wan was grateful that Padmé had tightened her hold on him, because after a kiss like that, he wasn't sure he could stand upright. But then lying down didn't seem like such a bad idea.

But maybe another time.

She was still holding something back. He wasn't sure what, but he wouldn't take this any further until he found out exactly what it was.

"It will be dawn soon." He leaned his head down, touching his forehead to hers. "I need to go conceal the ship and contact Master Yoda. Then, I'll see if I can catch a fish or two out of this bog."

"Okay. Hurry back." Padmé replied dreamily before feeling a brush of a kiss to her temple. She crossed her arms to replace the loss of warmth from his and watched as Obi-Wan walked away. Looking back into the mist now rising off the surface of the swamp, she suddenly felt as if she could float right along with it.

He was gone longer than she anticipated and her stomach began to growl. After waiting a few more minutes, she decided to try and catch some fish on her own and searched Yoda's hovel for something do it with. What she found was a worn-out net attached to a long wooden pole.

She took the net back out to the swamp and ran it through the water,but was disappointed to findnothing but moss and leaves inside it when she drew it back up. Maybe the fish were further out.

Stepping into the water about calf-high, she swept the net back through the water and brought it back up. A thrill of excitement went through her as she saw a long black fish trapped inside. So excited about her catch and about being able to provide Obi-Wan with something to eat other than those horrible protein bars, she didn't notice the large creature snaking itself through the dark waters until it was too late. It's long tail curled around her legs and she immediately was taken under the water, inhalinglarge amounts before she even realized what was happening.