PS: Again, I'm sorry it took me a whole week to update but I'm pretty busy these days, so I hope you forgive me.
Back From The Storm
Obi-Wan's eyes hurt from the sand that was covering them. Sweat was dripping off his face and his throat felt as dry as the air that he was breathing. As if that wasn't already enough, he also had to push the landspeeder because it had gone out of energy. He did not see anything but he knew that he must be somewhere near the cabin. Somewhere near to Padmé. Her presence was so close to him, that he could almost breathe it in. Her warmth embraced him gently and her soft voice whispered words of relief into his ear. Every single second that she spent thinking of him made him feel better and stronger, and the sandstorm seem so ridiculous.
The twin suns were already setting when Obi-Wan finally reached the cabin in the mountains. His arms were deaf and every bone inside his aching body seemed to weigh a ton. He could not remember when he had felt so weak and horrible for the last time. But the main thing was that he made it. He made it back home and he was still alive. And all because of her.
Out of breath and coughing, he entered the house, where Padmé had been waiting for him and was now falling into his arms, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Ben ! I'm so glad you're alright !" she whispered as she was hugging him tightly.
"I heard you calling me through the Force." he replied quietly.
"And I heard your answer." she said and smiled at him happily. As she let go of him, she had to grin a little bit.
"What ?" Obi-Wan looked at her kind of confused.
"It's just… your so full of sand… You look almost like a mummy !" she giggled.
"Ah, a mummy. Yeah… Only two seconds ago, you fell into my arms almost crying and now you're making fun of me ! You're so cruel, Padmé !" he returned, pretending to be deeply hurt by her words. And his acting skills were definitely not bad.
"Oh, Ben, I'm sorry ! I didn't mean to…" she started but before she was able to finish the sentence, Obi-Wan laughed out loudly.
"You've fallen for it !"
"You bastard !" Padmé shouted, her hand beating against his chest until his legs suddenly gave in and he fell down on to the ground.
"Ben ! You alright ?" Padmé asked worriedly and knelt down beside him.
"Yes. It's just… I'm tired and everything hurts. I think I just need some rest… and a shower.." he said coughing while Padmé was helping him to get up again.
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"There you go, Master ! A damn sandstorm !" the girl complained while spitting out a little bit of sand. She had been following Obi-Wan's traces which he had left in the Force. Led by her feelings, she heard him cough and moan, and she heard someone calling out his name.
"Force, this is so disgusting ! I shoulda known it better. Dammit, I live here on this forsaken planet, and I know how dangerous these storms are. Why the hell is everyone taught not to go outside when such a storm's gathering ? Because everything in your mouth tastes sandy, because your clothes are covered with sand completely and because you cannot take one single step forward without the damn sand blowing into your eyes. And now, Master, explain to me why I ignored all of this to follow that guy into the deepest desert ?" she shouted.
"Calm down, padawan, and shut up ! Why do you think your mouth is full of sand ? It's because you just can't stop talking and complaining about the situation. Now concentrate on the Force." the wise voice of her invisible Master answered sharply.
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While Obi-Wan was in the bathroom washing the sand off his tired body, Padmé sat on the wooden bench in the living room in front of a canvas, holding a brush in her right hand. She was painting a picture, using cool and refreshing colours that reminded her of Naboo. Padmé had started to paint a while ago. It was a kind of therapy for her. Whenever she felt uneasy, sad or weak, she painted a picture. Somehow it was also sort of meditation exercise because she kept her eyes closed whenever she took the brush in her hand. Only the Force led her moves with the brush, only the Force drew the pictures from her mind. And sometimes, she did not even really hold the brush. It just moved the way it should move.
Padmé was lost in her painting when a sudden knock on the door shook her out of her thoughts. She put the brush aside and went to the door to open it. As soon as she had moved the handle, someone charged into the house and slammed the door quickly. Breathing heavily, the person sat down on the wooden bench in front of the fireplace, leaving Padmé standing in front of the door, mouth opened and shocked.
Padmé went over to the person who was wearing clothes that were pretty similar to hers and Obi-Wan's. Her head was covered by the hood of a black Jedi robe, so Padmé could only have a look at the streak of bluish hair that fell over half of her face. She looked at her in amazement and also in shock for quite a while, then she suddenly opened her mouth.
"Ah… excuse me ?" Padmé began. The person raised her head and looked straight into Padmé's eyes.
"What are you doing here ? And who are you ?"
She coughed twice, then got up and finally revealed her face completely. It was a human face with a strange tattoo on its left side and perfectly blue eyes. At first their look was kind of gloomy but then her face expression turned into a grateful smile.
"Thank you for opening the door. I thought I would die out there in that damn storm. You saved me, so thanks a lot." a friendly voice said.
"You're welcome. But you actually didn't answer my questions." Padmé returned impatiently.
"Well, long story short… I was searching for someone and then there was that bloody sandstorm and I got lost or… whatever. I saw your house and thought I could probably stay here until the storm's over." she tried to explain.
"And… uh, my name's Shayariel." she added and offered her right hand.
"I'm Padmé, nice to meet you, Shayariel..."
To Be Continued