A/N: Hi guys! Red Bess Rackham and LegolasGirl5, thanks for my reviews! Makes me very happy! There will be some romantic bits but I'm still establishing the characters and want it to be slow and as realistic as possible! So bare with me :)

Chapter Four - Recognition.   

Ariana was sat in silence in one of the grandest aircrafts she had ever seen. And she was being transported in it.

Only a mere few hours ago Ariana had been smarting in her room that she was never called or given any roles. Now she wasn't entirely sure she wanted her wish after all.

Obi-Wan wasn't speaking to her and Qui-Gon had been silent since they boarded. He was sitting away from his Padawan's with his eyes opening and closing very slowly, his shoulders rising and falling in steady rhythms.

Ariana swallowed hard, feeling the lump she had in her throat pushing against her voice box horribly. To say she was nervous was an understatement.

Qui-Gon had explained briefly to her about their mission and it sounded quite dangerous. Ariana wished she could just go on a routine trip or something but she had been thrown in at the deep end.

"Obi?" She uttered quietly, her voice barely audible over the rumble of the engine. "Obi? How old is Queen Arliss?"

Obi-Wan looked up at his friend for a little while. Ariana faltered under his gaze and looked away before flitting her eyes back to him then to the wall, to the ceiling and back to him.

"Fourteen," Obi-Wan replied tonelessly, lowering his gaze.

Ariana sighed. Why was Obi-Wan being so off with her recently? He had a short temper, that was no secret but over the past few weeks Obi-Wan had become less and less responsive to her questions and jokes and generally uncaring toward her.

Ariana shifted under her cloak she had thrown around her shoulders and looked back to Obi-Wan who was merely inspecting his hands and nothing more.

"Is something troubling you Obi?" Ariana asked boldly after a few minutes debating in her head. Obi-Wan did not look up.

"Yes," He replied flatly.

"What is it?"

Silence.

"Obi?"

"Ariana, you need to learn to stay out of people's business. Keep yourself to yourself and away from matters of my own mind," Obi-Wan explained firmly, giving her a hard look. She felt like a child under his gaze, silly and immature.

She looked at him with hurt in her eyes then looked over to Qui-Gon who still wasn't acknowledging either of them.

With a sigh Ariana looked back down at her lap and wished she was back home talking with her friend Trinny. Ariana could not quite believe she felt this way as she had her wish except it wasn't going quite to plan.

With a small shake of her head, Ariana turned her mind to Queen Arliss. She was only fourteen? That had been the age Obi-Wan was when Aurelia had died.

Ariana thought about the time when she was fourteen and couldn't imagine herself being in charge of a whole planet with hundreds of people depending on you.

Ariana decided the young Queen must be so scared, where ever she was. If it wasn't enough being a Queen, she was being held by rebels or possibly dead by their hands. Ariana would be frightened out of her mind if it were her now at eighteen let alone at fourteen. Arliss was only a child really.

Ariana looked back to Obi-Wan again who was mimicking Qui-Gon and had his eyes shut. She saw his long brown eyelashes resting on the tops of his cheeks quivering slightly and watched his nostrils flare as he breathed in and out.

"What?"

Obi-Wan had snapped his eyes open so quickly, it had taken Ariana by complete surprise. Her breath had caught in her throat and her heart was pounding against her ribcage.

"Nothing," She breathed. "Nothing, I was just..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing," Ariana sighed, not quite sure why her mind had forced her to settle for that answer. Why had she been staring at him exactly? She'd only been looking at his eyelashes because Ariana had just realised just how long they were. She'd never really looked at Obi-Wan hard enough before.

While Ariana was panicking slightly at her thoughts, Obi-Wan was giving her his best patronising look.

"I'd just noticed your eyelashes ok?" Ariana said, answering the look he was giving her. "They're long."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow slightly, what was she talking about? His eyelashes?

"My eyelashes?" He repeated, now blinking more.

"I'm tired, I'm going to go to sleep for a little while," Ariana said, changing the subject and shifting in her seat. She pulled her legs up under her chin and cuddled her cloak around herself and rested her head back against the seat she was in and closed her eyes, leaving Obi-Wan to stare at her this time, frustrated slightly.

Obi-Wan was confused. Very confused. Perhaps it was just the excitement that was making her go strange? Although she had been acting quite strange the past few days.

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan slumped down in his seat slightly and closed his eyes also, feeling the lull of sleep calling him.

Qui-Gon Jinn on the other hand was looking between the pair with steely eyes. It was the first time he had looked up for the entire trip.