"What's wrong with Master Obi-Wan?" Anakin turned to Padmé after seeing his mentor disappear through the arena entry, followed by other Jedi filing out of the stands. He received several pats on the back and congratulations as they passed by.
Padmé didn't answer him, but sank back onto the bench and slumped in disappointment.
How much more of this could she take?
Yoda turned around in his seat and looked at her with a sympathetic expression. "Begun it has."
"Yes." Padmé agreed. She knew exactly what he meant.
"What are you talking about?" Anakin asked from his stance above them. "What's begun?"
"How much feel you?" Yoda asked Padmé, ignoring Anakin's interruption.
Padmé glanced down, searching inward for the source of emotion that linked her with Obi-Wan. "I know that he's ill. And he's confused."
Yoda nodded his head, looking concerned and thoughtful.
Padmé brought a hand up over her mouth, fighting back a sob as a tear slipped down her face. "Master Yoda. I can't do this any more. This is affecting him much worse than me."
"Affecting him only because he denies what is there." Yoda accented his words with the pointing of a clawed finger.
"I thought he was a Master of the Force! How can he not understand what is happening?" Padmé exclaimed with a frustrated gesture of her outstretched hands.
"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Anakin stated a little louder.
Mace Windu finally looked up at the apprentice and frowned at his impatience. "A bond has begun to form between the senator and your Master, padawan."
Dropping onto the bench beside Padmé, Anakin's face displayed his lack of understanding. "But they haven't gone through the Shidoki yet."
"Only traditional formality, the Shidoki is." Yoda pointed out to him. "Unncessary to form a bond."
"Oh." Anakin replied simply. He must have skipped that chapter.
As realization occurred to him what Yoda's words meant, his eyes immediately swept through the exiting crowd in search of one particular young woman.
And suddenly, everything made much more sense.
Padmé stood up and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. "I'm putting a stop to this right now."
She began to move away from the two seated council members, but was stopped as a large hand reached out and grasped hers. She looked down to see the dark-skinned hand of Mace Windu holding onto her and then looked into his face. His eyes were sympathetic and almost pleading.
"Please have a seat, senator. Let me explain something to you."
Padmé sighed in resignation and sat back down as Windu began.
"When Kenobi's first bondmatch died in the field, it hurt him. Badly. He recovered in time, but when Master Qui-Gon was killed, it re-opened old wounds."
Padmé nodded in awareness. She remembered the depth of the young man's grief on Naboo.
"Obi-Wan vowed never to get close enough to anyone to allow himself to feel that level of pain again. He devoted himself fully to the Jedi and in training his apprentice. He assumed that he would be alone the rest of his life. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make in order to protect himself and his heart."
"All the more reason that I need to tell him what's going on." Padmé argued, only wishing for Obi-Wan's pain to stop.
"No." Mace countered firmly. "Master Yoda is correct. You must wait until the right moment or he will never accept this. Trust in the Force, Padmé."
The young woman looked up and met the Jedi Master's gaze once more, surprised to hear the elder council member use her first name and then reluctantly began shaking her head.
"All right." She announced somberly, although her heart was screaming out against her decision.
Anakin, on the other hand, had other plans. He didn't need to reach along their training bond to know where his Master had gone, and after taking Padmé home, he was going to go have a little talk with the stubborn man.
The third level training salle reserved for Masters was empty and dark, except for the swirling blue glow at the far end of the room. Anakin watched the movement of the lightsaber and quickly recognized the fifteenth kata and that recognition disturbed him. The fifteenth kata was designed to purge a Jedi of overwhelming emotions. It was also designed to be followed by a lengthy meditation. He knew that if he was going to have chance to talk to his Master this evening, it was going to have to be now.
He approached the Jedi Master slowly, noting that his mentor did not yet seem to be aware of him.
Stepping stealthily up to the Jedi, Anakin met a downsweep of his Master's lightsaber with his own. The shock of his gesture showed in Obi-Wan's face. He had been so focused on his exercise, he had not been aware of his apprentice's presence in the room.
Their lightsabers crackled as they pressed against each other.
"What do you think you're doing?" Anakin dared to ask.
"Nothing of your concern, padawan." Obi-Wan shot back as he swung his saber down and around, dislodging it from Anakin's and then turned to walk away.
"Forgive me, Master, but this is my concern."
"No it's not." Obi-Wan spun around to face him. "Your only concern, padawan, is to get through this next week and follow through on your Shidoki ceremony. You've made a commitment, and I expect you stick with it." He made two steps toward the younger man.
Anakin observed his Master closely. Sith! He would glad when this was over. Not only was this bond stuff messing with Obi-Wan physically,but his whole Force sense seemed off. He was not himself. No longer the serene and compsed Jedi he always appeared to be, the frustration and worry was literally etched into his face.
He should just blurt it out. Get it over with. Tell him exactly what was really going on.
Obi-Wan stared at him through their silence before he finally spoke once more. "What is you want, Anakin?"
Just say it.
But as the words began to form in his mind, the Force apparently wouldn't allow them to cross his tongue. He gritted his teeth and ground out instead. "I was worried about you, so I came to check on you."
"Worried about me?" Obi-Wan chuckled as he clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt. "You should be worried about yourself and Padmé. Your actions tonight could have damaged your relationship."
Anakin powered off his lightsaber and stared at Obi-Wan in the dark. "Are you talking about Ashlyn?"
Obi-Wan glared across at his apprentice. "Possibly. What is between you two exactly?"
"We're just good friends, Master."
"Uh huh." Obi-Wan replied sarcastically. "Sometimes, padawan, I wonder if you care about Padmé at all."
"I care about her!" Anakin retaliated quickly.
"Do you?" His master asked with a raised brow.
"Yes, Master."
"Then I suggest that you begin to act like it." Obi-Wan pulled back on his tunics, bent over to grab his robe and headed toward the exit.
"I'll be in my quarters meditating, if you need me."
"Yes, Master." Anakin replied dutifully as he watched Obi-Wan leave the room.
So much for his plan. He should have known better than to go against Master Yoda and the will of the Force. Now, like Padmé, all he could do was wait.
"Damn." The young man muttered as he slowly walked toward the exit himself.